Headvoice

Attack of the Killer Spyware

Don't click on that, Peter said.

It was too late. I had clicked... and within 15 seconds my laptop was overtaken by vicious spyware. It was a stupid move, but I was trying to do six things at once.

At home that night the backup began, burning back up files onto DVDs. And the following morning it was time for a spanking clean install, and a reorganization---spring cleaning as it were, complete with a new Luigi desktop.

Metal and Sky

Left Looking

Spray Hate

It isn’t every day that a simple walk in the park with Luigi reveals a little hate. I don’t know Damian is personally and I probably never will, but I winced at this graffiti because it could have been my name splayed across that dumpster.

For the most part I dodged much of the taunting that other kids suffered. I was capable of making my potential torturers laugh, thereby disarming them. But it didn’t always work, and it was plainly obvious how devastating kids could be when someone was perceived as being gay, even if it didn’t happen to me that much.

Life goes on and the lucky among us grow old. Old wounds scar over, but it only takes a little spray paint to take you back.

No Typing Please

There is a part of me that simply wants to lie on a beach for a couple of days, with no email, voice mail or any other mail variant capable of disturbing me. Of course the irony is that I typically spend more time on email when it is less available. And I notice that other people show this tendency also...

So even though the idea of running off to a sunny beach much nearer to the equator may sound idyllic, I would be the twit most likely to be found lingering over his laptop off in the hotel lobby corner.

Spring break my arse.

Processing

Lots of quick communications and conversations this weekend... the clicks and clacks of a connected world were heard from Hawaii to Montreal. I had some time to process my experience in London and make enough meatballs and marinara sauce for a charity supper.

Luckily, both reheat well.

Activism

She was sitting across from me this afternoon. I was describing the networks that my company builds and enables.

"Can we hack into that?"

"I am an activist."

Yeah... congratulations.

The Tip of Greenland

Somewhere between "Walk the Line" and "Being Julia" the Captain cut into the PA system on the plane today and noted that the tip of lowest tip of Greenland was approaching, plainly visible from the right side of the plane.

I was in the window seat, and peered out to view this frozen bit of the world for a good thirty minutes. This globe we live on is so majestic, why do we treat it so poorly...

It is nice to be home and know that the Harrod's raincoat fits Luigi.

Weekend Review

It was my weekend to explore London for the first time, and so I did. Leaving the hotel early on Saturday morning I didn’t have much of a plan, so I headed towards the same spot I had visited for the previous few days before going to the office, where breakfast pastries and tea had been enjoyed.

Right before the shop a red tour bus pulled up. Even the locals had heartily recommended these tours; as you could jump on and off the buses at will as they circled the city visiting the sights. So I paid and climbed aboard, taking a seat upstairs in the cold morning air. At least the sun was out…

And London unfolded before me as we drove, from narrow ancient streets to the most recent millennium constructions. At Hyde Park I left the bus and wandered down Knightsbridge to find something I wasn’t expecting. There I was, at the same spot in front of Harvey Nichols where Patz and Eddie had parked a car blocking the entrance. I was having an Ab Fab moment.

In I went and explored the first floor a bit and then downstairs to the men’s department. Ah, Christian Lacroix sweetie! Look, a hideous yellow and brown plaid for only 220 pounds (about $400 US) or a crinkled shit brown leather coat for 2100 pounds. Ack!

Upstairs to the fifth floor where the food and restaurant resides… and the gawking kicked in again. Was that Naomi Cambell pushing half full cart selecting potatoes? Maybe…

Down the street I went and into Harrod’s. Luigi now has a raincoat, lined with green plaid, and bless the two clerks that argued over what size to buy for him. That is service.

Sunday morning I was off again walking, through the narrow back streets of Soho down to the Palace, where I was too impatient to wait for an hour to see the changing of the guard. Then it was brunch at the Soho Hotel with a London based colleague, which reminded me just why snotty hotels can be so enjoyable.

Here till Thursday morning… and even though I am enjoying myself and making progress at work, I miss Mark and Luigi.

London - Day 5

London - Day 4

London - Day 2

Here I am at work in London. It is everything I expected and then again completely new; a conundrum.

I haven�t taken a picture yet. That will happen this weekend.

Nor have I done anything that could even remotely be considered a tourist activity. But I gave directions to a bloke(!) at Oxford Circus to Great Portland St. late yesterday afternoon. If you passed me on my way to the office this morning there is no way you would have picked me out of the crowd as a New Yorker here for the first time.

My aunt was correct about scarves. You need one to be a Londoner in winter. In fact, they are even tied in a nuanced way. That I haven�t quite mastered yet.

The hotel I am staying at is very near to our office and though the room is quite small, it is comfortable. Looks to be a great week and a bit�