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We're staying in the Crowne Plaza King's Cross on IHG points, which does not include breakfast. I went ahead and prepaid for four mornings of breakfast for two (£19.99/$25.50 each). This is less expensive than what we were paying in Reykjavik, and still pretty good, with eggs, hash browns, breakfast meats, pastries, juices, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. However, we were so tired last night that we came close to oversleeping and missing breakfast this morning. Fortunately, on weekends it is open until 11 AM.
( Breakfast and a Walk to St. Pancras )
Inside St. Pancras, we were able to buy a couple of UK-to-North America adapters and I got a Starbucks, and we walked back to the hotel, stopping along the way to buy more drinks. It's been (relatively) warm and muggy, leaving us missing the cool of Iceland and causing us to consume plenty of liquids, all of which seem to be passing right through us.
Computer trouble: my personal computer wouldn't start at all, either on batteries or plugged into a ground power. Its lights flashed and it made a little noise, then turned itself off. I guess it's just as well that I had to bring my work computers, because I can check my personal email and do a few other things, although not as much of the heavy lifting as I can on my personal machine. I set it aside for now.
The afternoon was slipping by, but we did have just enough time to take in the Rail Mail Experience at the Postal Museum, which is only a few hundred meters from the hotel. We knew it was nearby, and thus ideal for this sleep-shortened day.
( Riding the Mail Train )
I created a separate Flickr album for the photos I took here, but I haven't had time to document them as thoroughly as they deserve. It was a fun experience, and both Lisa and I enjoyed it.
We had to rush through the rest of the Postal Museum, so we sort of short-changed ourselves. I suggest giving yourself at least two hours in that part of the Museum so you can appreciate the exhibits better. As it was, we had less than an hour.
After a brief trip back to the hotel, we walked to Farringdon, from which our travel tomorrow starts, in order to confirm how long it takes to get there unencumbered. We also went into a Sainsbury's Local and bought more groceries in lieu of going out to dinner. On the way there, we stopped in a hardware store, where Lisa got some batteries. I sort of wish we'd gone that way earlier; they have similar plug adapters that cost less than what we got at St. Pancras.
When we got back to the hotel, I ended up spending most of the evening making sure I could use my work computer for the things I needed, after which I used Skype to call Dell support. To my surprise, they showed me a way to reset the computer so that it would at least boot, but it continues to make intermittent unhappy fan noises. While it passed the fan diagnostic test this time, I did manage to convince them that it needs to be repaired. But getting the warranty repair done needs me to ship the computer to them. I explained that I'm in the UK right now. For some reason, the technician seemed puzzled by me saying, "I'm in London right now." "London?" "Yes, London, England, United Kingdom!" After finally convincing them that I'm not in Nevada where my address in their files has me, they agreed to open a case and leave it open. When I get home, I will call them back and give the case number so that we don't have to go through the troubleshooting again, and then I will ship them the computer and, I hope, they will replace the fan. Until then, I plan to try to avoid using the computer unless there's no alternative. That means no video editing, I think. I'm not happy about that, but I am happy that I'm not part of the official videography team for the WSFS Business Meeting, so I'm not letting down the side.
( Breakfast and a Walk to St. Pancras )
Inside St. Pancras, we were able to buy a couple of UK-to-North America adapters and I got a Starbucks, and we walked back to the hotel, stopping along the way to buy more drinks. It's been (relatively) warm and muggy, leaving us missing the cool of Iceland and causing us to consume plenty of liquids, all of which seem to be passing right through us.
Computer trouble: my personal computer wouldn't start at all, either on batteries or plugged into a ground power. Its lights flashed and it made a little noise, then turned itself off. I guess it's just as well that I had to bring my work computers, because I can check my personal email and do a few other things, although not as much of the heavy lifting as I can on my personal machine. I set it aside for now.
The afternoon was slipping by, but we did have just enough time to take in the Rail Mail Experience at the Postal Museum, which is only a few hundred meters from the hotel. We knew it was nearby, and thus ideal for this sleep-shortened day.
( Riding the Mail Train )
I created a separate Flickr album for the photos I took here, but I haven't had time to document them as thoroughly as they deserve. It was a fun experience, and both Lisa and I enjoyed it.
We had to rush through the rest of the Postal Museum, so we sort of short-changed ourselves. I suggest giving yourself at least two hours in that part of the Museum so you can appreciate the exhibits better. As it was, we had less than an hour.
After a brief trip back to the hotel, we walked to Farringdon, from which our travel tomorrow starts, in order to confirm how long it takes to get there unencumbered. We also went into a Sainsbury's Local and bought more groceries in lieu of going out to dinner. On the way there, we stopped in a hardware store, where Lisa got some batteries. I sort of wish we'd gone that way earlier; they have similar plug adapters that cost less than what we got at St. Pancras.
When we got back to the hotel, I ended up spending most of the evening making sure I could use my work computer for the things I needed, after which I used Skype to call Dell support. To my surprise, they showed me a way to reset the computer so that it would at least boot, but it continues to make intermittent unhappy fan noises. While it passed the fan diagnostic test this time, I did manage to convince them that it needs to be repaired. But getting the warranty repair done needs me to ship the computer to them. I explained that I'm in the UK right now. For some reason, the technician seemed puzzled by me saying, "I'm in London right now." "London?" "Yes, London, England, United Kingdom!" After finally convincing them that I'm not in Nevada where my address in their files has me, they agreed to open a case and leave it open. When I get home, I will call them back and give the case number so that we don't have to go through the troubleshooting again, and then I will ship them the computer and, I hope, they will replace the fan. Until then, I plan to try to avoid using the computer unless there's no alternative. That means no video editing, I think. I'm not happy about that, but I am happy that I'm not part of the official videography team for the WSFS Business Meeting, so I'm not letting down the side.
