England on strike

England is experiencing the "biggest public sector strike in a generation" today, as schools, hospitals, and border control at Heathrow all grind to a standstill except for emergency services.

Hey if you're going to make me feel like I'm in Greece, how about some warmer weather too?

Not my favorite Dutch invention

Apparently a researcher in Rotterdam led a team that created a mutated version of avian flu that could potentially kill half the planet.

Stick to good beer and football teams, boys.

England

Back in the saddle for work this week (which yes, feels weird) in the U.K.

My buddy Martin picked me up at Heathrow and fed me a great chicken dinner at his cozy Portsmouth-area home (his wife & kids are so great!) last night, and today we drive over an hour to Woking for the first day of work.

Schiphol goes big on holiday decorations

60 minutes free internet, but if you need more or need to recharge, the airport has you covered

Why can't all airports do this???

England, The Thames

Curiosity

NASA has launched its largest-ever exploration vehicle to another planet, the 'Curiosity' rover is a 1-ton "monster truck" of planetary exploration and is on its way to Mars.

Atlas V launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Back in Amsterdam

Cold, clear winter day on Thanksgiving, really helped get me back on European time to walk around out in the sun.

Glen's House

My condo I'm now responsible for faces south into the bay.

My friend Glen's house faces the opposite direction at North Beach, about a 10 minute drive across town.

Glen's yard, Straits of Juan de Fuca ... islands and then Canada straight across ... this is where every large commercial and military vessel entering Puget Sound hangs a right and goes south coming in from the Pacific

Whidbey Island

Glen's sitting room, fireplace

Glen's house

A dog named Boo ..... "Throw something!  Pleaaaaaase."

Facing west, Protection Island barely visible ... straight shot through the Straits to the Pacific

View from the kitchen sink

"Oh boy, a full boatload of holiday crap from China!"

Autobashed

Yikes, I drove this exact stretch of the autobahn back in September:

A 52-vehicle pile-up on a motorway in northwest Germany has left three people dead and 35 injured, according to police. The accident occurred on the A31 autobahn near the town of Gronau, on the border with the Netherlands. It is believed to have happened in foggy conditions. Hundreds of emergency workers were called to the scene, which closed a 10km stretch of the motorway for 24 hours.

NZ Herald