Friday, January 8, 2010

Break is coming to a close...

LONDON, UK -- Well I figured before things get too crazy next week I would update the blog!

It has been a really nice and relatively relaxing break, even with all my travels included, and as such I am getting excited to start up the engines again for next week with some new classes and the like!

This week has been really low key, and I definitely needed a low key week (it has been FAR too long since I've had more than 24 hours to just sit around and do nothing). That said I still have been getting some things done, and my productivity in the last couple of days has gone way up... I wrote an essay on environmental regime theory as it pertains to Copenhagen, yesterday spent the entire day in Oxford wandering the town, done some grocery shopping for food, cleaning up the room, need to do some laundry. Tomorrow I'm off to LSE for the first time in a month to head to the library, as I have some reading to do and a summary to write.

I also uploaded TONS of pictures to facebook today! It seems like just about everyone who reads this is now on fb, so you should be able to see them. If you are on fb and not friends, just add me and then you will be able to see them. Pictures from London, Copenhagen, home, Arizona, and Oxford are all on now.

Check out this picture of the UK, snapped by a NASA satellite yesterday: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/42000/42237/gbritain_tmo_2010007_lrg.jpg

The UK is totally covered in snow!

Also, an interesting read from the BBC about the future of wind energy in the UK - they just approved 10 new HUGE wind farms that will begin construction next year, and then they're going to connect via underground cables to 8 different national power grids across Europe to sell excess power when it is more efficient/buy excess renewable power from them when it is more efficient, all to make the system greener. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8443865.stm

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are unstoppable. They have won 22 of their last 28 games (including 3 out of the 3 I got to go at home), and now are sitting on top of the entire NHL. I would comment more, but what could I say? They simply are THE best team in the entire league, and are finally getting the type of national recognition they deserve. Want some more reading? try http://espn.go.com/nhl/ or http://espn.go.com/chicago/, http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/, http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/blackhawks-confidential/, or http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/blackhawks/.

Chelsea is still on top of the table in the Premier League, and just advanced past the 3rd round of the FA Cup (while Manchester United LOST, suckers!).

A few other random things... it is finally back to light out at 4PM again, and we are no longer in the darkest month of the year, so there is good news on that front! It's still quite dark all the time, but yeah, progress is progress. It is definitely colder, but even then the high is still in the 30s, which beats the pants off of what it has been at home recently. As you can see in the picture noted above, it did snow here (and everywhere in the UK), but honestly not much more than a dusting here. Oxford, on the other hand, got a good 5-6 inches of snow, and we spent the entire day yesterday walking through it and on condensed ice, which is always fun.

That's all for now - have a great weekend everyone and I shall post again soon with class schedules and updates!

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