Traffic Lights

Traffic Lights. Love them or hate them, they're a part of driving. Although, I must say that it's something Americans do much better than the Brits.

You see, here in the US, the traffic lights are suspended above the junction (sorry, intersection) so that you can clearly see them from the stop line. Back in the UK, they sit on posts at the side of the road. This necessitates in lots of posts (that sometimes obscure the view of the junction, and means that the lights can't always be positioned for the greatest visibility.

There's one junction in particular on my commute home in the UK. If I pull up at the stop line, I can't see a set of lights without craning my neck to one side. Wouldn't be a problem in the US, because they'd dangle the light right where it needs to be.

America, I love your traffic lights!

Formula 1

It was always a bit doubtful whether I would be able to watch it out here. American's are very much Nascar, and not so much F1, so it was/is always a possibility that the networks would from F1 in favour of Nascar.

But the time is nearly here...

Formula 1 2009 - Round 1 - Australia is being screened on Channel 31 in about an hour. I've kept away from the news, on the internet and the TV all day so that I can enjoy the mystery. I'm hoping, of course, that Lewis Hamilton can pick up where he left off last year. But as ever at the start of the season, especially this year where there have been a lot of rule changes, it's really anyone's race, I think.

Charlotte

Yesterday, I went to have a nose around Charlotte. Unfortunately, it started raining again, so I decided to stay indoors, rather than getting soaked. Destination: Discovery Place.

First heard about Discovery Place when Ben and his partner drove me around downtown Charlotte a few weekends ago. Now seemed as good a time as any to have a look around, so I parked up and went in. Admission was not all that expensive at $10, and there were lots of really nice exhibits, and things to do. There was a show in "Einstein's Corner". Basically a nice chemist making lots of fire, explosions and loud noises. As well as this, there is a geological bit with lots of minerals and gems, a good aquatics and sea life bit with some really spectacular fish, and a simulated tornado!

It's somewhere to take the family to, I think, when the come over later in the year.

Cinema

I have a cinema just around the corner. I've been watching telly to see if there are any films worth watching, and one caught my eye. Knowing. Well, it was released on Friday, and I went to watch it last night (Sunday). I was going to go on Saturday, but I got carried away polishing the car, and was knackered.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, although I was a bit flummoxed by the refreshments. I ordered a small sized portion of popcorn and a small drink to go with it. Small wasn't really approriate. The portiions should be called Large, Larger and Largest. Unfortunately, I got about halfway through the popcorn, and couldn't eat any more for fear of exploding.

Maybe I'll ask them to half-fill it next time. I hate wasting food. Or maybe I'll invite someone to come with me. Much better idea.

A different view

I think it's about time to put up a different view.

First, I took a picture out the back. Then I realised that I should probably do a panoramic. The problem is, I left my panoramic stitching and fixing software back home. Unfortunately, I'm not as clever as the girl on the Microsoft advert who goes click click click and makes a flawless photo, but I can fiddle things a bit. Please ignore the cut-off flower and the tree branches dangling in mid-air.

Cars

So... After nearly 3 weeks, I finally gave up the rental for the "long term" car.

Everyone told me it was a Jeep Cherokee. They missed out one word. Grand. So it's a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Much bigger. Like a 5.7 litre V8 engine!!

It needed a service, and four new tyres, and I spent the afternoon giving it a polish and a clean on the inside.

It's nice to drive. Very quiet for what it is, and very comfortable. If I could a) afford to buy one, and b) afford to run one, I'd probably get one. As it is, the taxation in the UK, and the high petrol prices make it totally unfeasable to run, even if I could afford to buy, which I can't.

It's got this funny 4WD mode, which should be good in the snow, if we get some more next "winter", or if I decide to have some off-road fun somewhere. It's also got a regular mains electric plug on the end of a bit of wire, wrapped up under the bonnet. I guess that's the jump-start!

Heating Systems

So... I have a problem. Or at least I think I do.

It's heating related. In the UK, we have "wet" systems, where the boiler heats up the water and pumps it around in pipes, to radiators, which transfer the heat to the room. All lovely. I can fix these.

The new appartment, however, has a dry air system, with ducting, and a heat pump. Now I understand the basic principle of how this works, but (and this is the crunch point) my system doesn't seem to be "heating" all that well. Cooling, yes. Heating, no.

There's a "mode" switch that's on heating, cooling, or off. I've had it on "cooling" when I first arrived, and it was fine. Then the weather turned nasty, and I switched it to "heating". I got home form work, expecting a warm house, only the temperature gauge on the thermostat was hovering just under 60 degrees F (15 degrees C). It's been like that ever since.

I think it's broken. I'll call the property people.

Well, it turns out something was broken. And now it's fixed. And everything works.

Self cleaning cooker?

I have a self cleaning oven.

Or that's what it appears to be.

No idea how it works or whatnot, but I pressed the self clean button. It locked the door, and there have been some strange smells coming out of it for a couple of hours. Maybe it burns the grime off? Anyway, it's one less chore for me to do, and I hate cleaning ovens.

I also have a dish washer and a tumble dryer that I didn't have in the UK. The tumble dryer is really nice, because I can get all the weeks washing done on Friday night, and not have it hanging around the appartment to dry.

Note to self... Buy a tumble dryer when you get back to the UK.

TV is OK here too. I can get the Discovery Channel, and House is on every weeknight on Channel 54. Can't remember what the channel is called.

Rain rain go away

So... it's still raining.

I don't like too much rain. It just seems endless, and makes me miserable.

It'd be nice if it stopped, as I could go out and explore.

For instance, Ben, a friend of mine from work drove me around downtown Charlotte yesterday, pointing all the interesting places out and so on. It'd have been nicer to walk, I think. But it was raining.

Come on summer... I'm waiting....

No Smoking!!!

It seems that the "No Smoking" camp is spreading here in the USA. I've been to a couple of restaurants now, and noticed a little sign. It says that the restaurant will be no smoking from the 1st May 2009.

The City of Rock Hill have enacted a new ordinance.

Now, this (for me personally) is very good news, because I don't like going out and coming back smelling like an ashtray, or smelling cigarette smoke whilst I'm eating. It just makes me feel ill.

One thing I haven't noticed is all the media hype, though. In the UK, when the smoking ban was introduced, there was a lot of hype from everyone on the web, on the news and in the papers, that their customer numbers would diminish and business would decline and that would be a bad thing.

Well, whenever I've been out, it's seemed as busy as ever. I guess thats partly down to folks like me who previously wouldn't have gone out, but now can actually enjoy it.

What happened yesterday?

Well I'm not quite sure why, but yesterday was a no-post day.

Anyway, I've moved into the apartment, and I've been to Walmart, and I've got the broadband set up.

I had to move the furniture around a bit, because they had put a table in front of the door to the patio. The whole point of a patio is being able to walk onto it!

Anyway, my internet connections seems quick, but as some folks are aware, browsers have a habit of caching stuff to make it go faster. I did a speed test, and got over 1 megabit/second down, and over 300 kilobit/second up, so I should be OK with my webcam to the UK. Since they went to bed before I switched it on, I haven't done a live test yet.

Anyway, it being 22:20, I really should be going to bed myself now.

Sunday Night

Well it's Sunday night. The end of the weekend.

I've had a good weekend. Managed to get my hair cut, post a birthday card to Chloe, relax and visit a new place.


The week ahead sees some more changes. Hopefully the move to the new appartment will be a smooth one. As for work, I'm happy. I'm doing something that I enjoy doing.

Not a lot else to say for this particular post. All that is left for this week is a bath and a bit of telly, and I have a couple of hours to do it in.

Tega Cay

As I promised myself yesterday, I went for a drive up to Tega Cay. Parked up in the parking lot at Runde Park, and then walked the half mile or so to the shore of Lake Wylie. There's another park there, Pitcairn Park, but it is parking by permit only. I don't have a permit.

It's a really nice place, and will be shortly added to my "things I like" list, I think. There was a nice girl there on one of the decks, and she had two friendly dogs with her. I guess it sums up the whole place, really. Friendly.

Anyway, I'm back at the hotel wondering where my glasses have gone. They seem to have disappeared somewhere between leaving the hotel and arriving at Tega Cay. Luckily I have a spare pair for now. They'll show up somewhere.

Queue

Determined to try somewhere new to eat tonight, I decided to look around a bit. Just around the corner in Manchester village is The Olive Garden. And yes, it had a queue. Previously, I had tried to go to Longhorn steakhouse, but didn't queue. I did this time, though.


You go to the desk inside and they give you a pager. You then (in my case) sit outside and wait for it to vibrate. Anyway, the queueing was well worth it. Spaghetti and meatballs. Delicious.

It's been really warm today, up in the 80's I'd think. I went down town to the post office to post a card for my niece. It's her 1st birthday soon. I'm still trying to find a postcard for my Grandma, but I'm not having much luck.

Tomorrow, I've planned a trip up the Interstate. Might find some post cards there. If not, I'll try and make one from a photo. Might work..

A balanced view

I've got a list of things I like. I thought it was only fair to have a list of things I don't like too.

This particular "don't like" is bound to cause some debate.


In the UK, we banned smoking in bars, restaurants and clubs (except private clubs) a while ago, and it's allowed my to go out and have fun, and not come home smelling like an ashtray.

I suspect things are slightly different over here, because despite being in the "No Smoking" area last night, I still got a really bad odour of cigarette smoke. Nothing worse when you're enjoying your steak.

And it's the weekend!!! I'm going to have breakfast, then check to see what the state of play is with the hotel's laundry, and then go for a drive up Interstate 77.

Steaks

Well, I thought I'd try somewhere different tonight, so I drove up Dave Lyle Boulevard towards a Longhorn's steak house.

Got there and parked up only to find people queueing for a table. "Oh [bleep]" I thought. I came to eat, not to queue. I got back in the car again, drove back and went to Sagebrush. It's nice there.


When I do eventually get moved up to the apartment, I'll still have to pop back every now and again.

More on Appartments

I voted for the nice place in Rock Hill. It was waaaaay to nice to pass on, and Charlotte isn't that far away for a night out every so often.

I've sorted out the paperwork today, so, if things go to plan, I should move next Tuesday or Wednesday.

It'll be nice to get out of the hotel. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice place with nice people, and they make a good breakfast, but it's still a hotel. It's temporary.

I've had some other news, which is kinda occupying my mind right now, so maybe I'll type more later.

And another thing...

Another American thing I like. Root Beer. First sampled in 2007 in an American-themed restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They didn't serve Pepsi or Coca-Cola, but they did serve this "root beer" stuff. Now I thought it must be OK, because Sonny Koufax orders some in "Big Daddy", so I gave it a try

(See my logic? No? I don't either!)

Well, I loved it. It was short lived though, because I couldn't find anywhere in the UK that sold it. I even tried an American themed Italian restaurant, but no root beer.

Well, as soon as I came over, I went around to Walmart, and got a six pack. Sadly, I've just had the last one.

Walmart here I come..

American Coins

You see, in the UK, we have the 1,2,5 system, but here in The States, they don't. They have 1c, 5c (The Nickel), 10c (The Dime) and then jump to 25c (The Quarter). They have the 50c piece and a dollar coin to finish off the lineup.

It's a very good system, I think, although it seems that far too many things run on a quarter. Vending machines, laundrettes, car parking machines probably do too, although I haven't found one yet.

In the UK, there are far too many different coins. The coppers (1p and 2p) are somewhat useless. The 5p is physically tiny, and therefore a pain to fiddle into vending machines and the like.

Maybe we'll have a 25p coin soon...

Southern Hospitality

It's true.

Everyone I've met so far has been really nice.

Take my evening meal tonight. Sagebrush again. Partly because I like the train set they have hanging from the ceiling. Train set aside, it's a nice place, and tonights server, Corey, was by far the nicest so far.

Don't get me wrong, they are all nice, but tonight was different. Maybe because there were so few other people in the place.

Then there was Manchester Village. Now, although I didn't realise it, the place shuts up at 17:30. I pull up about 17:40, and go into the office. The salesperson still showed me around the appartment, even though the she really wanted to go home.

I should also mention Jacalyn on the hotel reception desk. She's been really helpful too. I've locked the keys in my room once, and managed to demagnetise them too, but on both occasions, she was pleasant and helpful.

Now, you could argue that all three are being payed to be nice. It's their job. But it goes beyond that. No-one in the UK would stop behind to show some guy around a flat. "Come back tomorrow mate" would be the standard reply.

I'm really liking this place. I don't feel quite so isolated as I thought I would.

Thankyou Jacalyn, Corey, Keller, Julia, Ashley and all the other folks who've made me feel welcome here in Rock Hill.

Appartments and stuff

So...

Once again there was ice on the car, and I smiled to myself. I've got a scraper. Probably the last of it, though. Supposed to be 70 degrees by the weekend.

I've found a possible alternative to the hotel just around the corner.

http://www.legacyatmanchestervillage.com

I've been and had a look around, and it looks really nice. The location is OK too, only a few minutes from the office. Some folks were saying I should move towards the night life in Charlotte. Fair enough, but in the immediate vicinity, there is a cinema, 4 restaurants with big bars, and some other place I haven't been to yet, but looks interesting. There's also a Walmart supercentre not too far away either, so I'd be well placed for stuff. If I did want to go out to Charlotte, then it's only 20 dollars or so in a cab, and I'd probably be sharing with a few guys from the office who live around here, so it's not so bad.

The rental company are coming up with another option, but it'd have to be really good, I think.

More ice?

Well, I've just got back from my fifth meal out, and as usual, it was good.

I can't help thinking that it's more like a snack to some Americans. The waitress, a lovely girl called Keller, asked me if I would like the dessert menu. This was after the "main course" of a chicken sandwich and fries. Although the chicken sandwich was more like a chicken burger and the fries filled the rest of a huge plate.

No thanks, love, I'm stuffed.

Back on topic, as I was coming back up in the lift, the couple elevating with me said that it was forecast to be 20 degrees tomorrow morning. 20 degrees F, of course. -6 degrees C in proper units. And on the way back from the restaurant, it really did seem cold. And the sky is clear

I'm glad I've got an ice scraper.

Ice Scrapers

On a more interesting note, the snow has more or less all gone now. I did have a thought last night that I would need an ice scraper for the obvious task of scraping ice off the car windscreen.

I looked at the offerings in the local Texaco gas station, Target and Walmart. Non of them sold an actual ice scraper. In the end, I bought a squidgee from Walmart, and took (well, broke) the squidgee bits off, and used that instead. Unfortunately, I had to get to work, so all the other folks had to wait for their car to defrost on its own.

All the assistants and the receptionist at the hotel could say was "We don't get snow this time of year".

Maybe they'll start keeping a small stock of useful things like ice scrapers at the shop now?

It's here!!

Well, I've done it...

I've set up a blog.

OK, I was gonna use Facebook, but somehow it seemed better to set up something that everyone can see.

Anyway, expect words, pictures and everything else you'd expect on a blog.