Devil's Bridge

French driving in the summer in the south of France involves many cars. Add in varied toll gate adventures and you need to have your no phasement travel face in a calm place. Bumper to bumper is common even on freeways but it will pass. The choice of destinations is endless and varied. Today it was the Pont Diable mainly because we could cool off.  It doesn't matter how remote or hilly or dry, those ancient religious types will build a church anywhere in Europe. St Guilhem is one of them.
Seems St Guilhem was having trouble getting the bridge built because during the night the devil was knocking down all the work that had been done during the day. He went down to the bridge one night and confronted the devil. He said why don't you just help us make the strongest bridge ever. The devil said yes but wanted the soul of the first across the bridge when completed. St Guilhem agreed so the Devil got to build the best bridge but St Guilhem sent a dog across first. Try as he could the devil couldn't break his own bridge and ended up in the water.

Pont du Gard

1. I have seen a few impressive engineering feats in my day like The Burj Khalifa, the Sydney Harbour bridge etc but it is the old stuff like the Pont du Gard that makes you think how did they do it without a crane. They did have an assembly that lifted stuff so it was a crane of sorts.

Swiss Time is Running Out

Took the series of cable cars to the top of Mt Titlis. There is a lot of ice up there. -6 degrees when we were running around and the glacier ice is a blue colour. On the way down we got off at Trubsee and spent three hours waking down to Engelberg. The trails are well marked and the network is extensive.  Some luck is needed with the weather although we did venture out in overcast conditions for another three hour walk to Swandd and Bergli.

Desert Sand meets Disneyland

One thing about Dubai in summer is that the resorts aren't that crowded as long as its not the end of Ramadan. This means that the water parks are relatively queueless. Get there at 10:00 am just to be sure. The electronic wrist bands are getting better. Open and close, lockers, pay for lunch, gain access. Tip number, two stay at the water park's hotel. Unlimited access and through the resort doorway.

Before you go Syndrome

I wonder if this has been diagnosed as a medical condition or at the very least the subject of a thesis on time management, whereby everyone else wants to make your date for going away into their deadline to get some project or other done involving you.  I am now beginning to think that the best way forward is to put about a bogus date.  Not sure how well this would work as the inevitable build up would occur a bit earlier around the false date.  It may achieve a plateau effect where their stuff drops off but your immediate tasks take over, typing blog entries included.

Unreality BLOCK TV

There has been a bit of a to do about tradies lately and whether they can get things done in time. I have been surrounded by tradies over the years including this particular cabinetmaker. It doesn't surprise me that these cabinets weren't installed in time given our experience of him a couple of years back.  Yes on the one hand you have a chance to show your wares on national TV so you would want to get it right, given a lot of people are watching, however it was only one day late. Ordinarily if you were putting in a new kitchen and said cabinets were installed a day late, I wouldn't be making too much of a fuss, especially if they are quality.  This proves to me that trying to make building or renovation into a competition is unreality. Awarding of prizes and judging a kitchen refit is an artificial exercise completely foreign to most tradies.  And the hosts didn't even get the sales pitch to off load three fridges.  Kevin McCloud would have a fit at the idea of racing to finish by a timeframe  rather than doing it right but taking longer.

Lying in Counterpane

Whether sleeping fine or lathered
Deep beneath the quilts are gathered

Stuff of skin and hair and other
So much of it nightmares smother

Dreaming of the beasts that smite us
All just there in sleep's detritus

Counterpane is a land of dread
Where sleep walkers never leave the bed

Very small but mighty motes
Living, breathing in our throats

So do not toss and stir with grievings
Sleep in peace with the body's leavings

Proof Reader

Spent the last two days doing some proof reading of a new book. Not something you do every day. In this case the proof  is a penultimate copy of the text prior to printing.  Seems in the old days etched plates, known as proofs, needed to be carefully checked before going to the printers.
Michael Gerber knows how to get those practical notions down into words, not to forget the co-authors, one of which is my wife. She has done a marvellous job building her enterprise and is the main reason I am typing this now as opposed to being out doing the daily grind. 
 Doing some proof reading isn't as hard as writing the thing in the first place but if you are working in a practice and would rather work on a business then read it numerous times. If you have a head for business or want to change direction or just make a better return on your bookkeeping then this book is for you.