Aye Up Lad!

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This week the podcast is waaaay different from normal. Sometimes we record podcasts out of the studio. This week, we are very far away from the studio, in Yorkshire, England.


After a nightmare landing Verizon global Android phone not working, Sixt rental car being in a different terminal and not having the car booked and Greg and Simon arriving in different terminals...we managed to get organized and over to York. Not wanting to rest, we immediately blasted off and headed into York and Greg was shown York Minster, an 800 year old Cathedral, replete with Roman foundations,  Clifford's Tower, and the Shambles. 


We then drove across the rural countryside (avoiding main roads) to see Castle Howard (from the outside, across the lake), into Malton, Simon's home town, and eventually back to York, via Bulmer and Sheriff Hutton.


Phew.


Next day, it was into Castle Howard properly, to walk around the spectacular grounds and tour the main house. We ate at the Worsley Arms hotel in Hovingham, a tiny village, and it was gorgeous. After that, it was into Malton to hang out with some very cool people, had dinner in Malton (Greg said it was one of the best Italian meals he's ever had) and then hung out at Suddaby's pub in Malton....where Greg of course, got invited to see the beer cellar. A brilliant day.


Phew again.


Next day, we headed off to Whitby. This is a coastal town, built in an estuary, and has several claims to fame. It is where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, after being inspired by several events that happened there. (Greg explains in the podcast). It is also where Captain Cook siled from to discover places like Hawaii, New Zealand etc, etc, etc. It is also the location of a very spooky ruin....Whitby Abbey, founded in 657. It lasted until 1538, when Henry 8th had his falling out with the Pope and shut Catholic Abbeys down. We then went back into York in the evening to view the Minster at night (gorgeous), grabbed a quick bite in Betty's, which is a fabulous tea shop in York. Greg was exposed to Curd tart...which is gorgeous. We also went into the Guy Fawkes Inn, where the aforementioned baddie was born, and Greg continued his exploration of local brews. (The Inn's web site.)


Stay tuned as we'll be recording more on the trip for release next week (after we're back, but who cares). Later in the week, we're heading north to the Yorkshire Dales, and plan to visit Wensleydale....then Ashok will be joining us later in the week too...how freakin' great is that?!?!?!


OK, later.....BMSMA.


G&S

Pay attention....Ve Vill Be Asking Qvestions later.

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We cover a lot of ground today. Loads, so hope you're paying, as we will be giving a pop quiz at the end!

We start by talking about the Masters golf tournament, which was going on this week, and Greg was watching avidly....at the Cohiba store, where else! (We divert onto Barry Bonds and Martha Stewart...now there's a segway!)

Simon was busy this weekend too, with a photo shoot and a fancy schamcy dinner party (Roast pheasant no less...yummy.)

We do talk about our upcoming trip to northern England (Yorkshire) and the fact that we're going to be recording like crazy when there, for upcoming podcasts.

This week is the 150th anniversary of the start of the US Civil War.

Yuri Gagarin....the first man in space. The Russians have finally released the text of his exchange before he blasted off. His main concern was having enough sausage to eat in space.

We talk about the US government shut down, closely averted, but still.....good grief.

And when you thought things couldn't get any stranger. Holy crap....the FBI released a memo stating the a UFO did in fact crash in New Mexico in the 1950's. Holy crap.

4G network baby.....Simon just got it on Verizon. It's 7 times faster than his broadband (DSL). 7 times faster. The podcast took less than 2 minutes to upload this week. It usually takes 20 minutes on the DSL. Bloody amazing. Verizon rules.

Next week, the podcast comes from York, England. It might be Monday, as usual or it may be Tuesday. it depends how it goes.

BMSMA

G&S

It's crazy out there man!

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This week we play catch up. Last week we had to re-release one of our favorite ye olde podcasties due to Simon being late from a flight and not being back in time to record :-(


SO, this week Greg regales us with stories of fun times at, you've guessed it, the Cohiba store, where he seems to have taken up semi permanent residency....wonder if they give out citizenship for regular visitors?


Simon fills us in on his most recent flying exploits, of which there have been several due to actually having a week of decent weather. 5 weeks off due to a semi perpetual down-pouring of heavenly waters, lead to being grounded. On Thursday, he had to fly his wife to South Los Angeles...Yikes. So, this led to him doing that flight on Monday, since LA is some of the nation's busiest airspace, as he wanted a practice run. That was done in an old, but fast Cessna Turbo 182RG. That thing moves pretty decently, but since it's old, it's loud, vibrates quite a bit, courtesy of having only a 2 blade propeller, and it's cheap....it's a good choice for a practice run. Here's the video footage. The shaky stuff was when the camera was mounted on the side window directly. The non shaky stuff was hand held. The clouds and snow capped mountains were gorgeous, esp from 11,000 feet. Since there was not a cat in hell's chance of him taking his wife down in that plane, he needed to re-acquaint himself with the one he would be using since he hadn't flow it since Christmas! It was a relatively new Cessna T182T, with full Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Tuesday, he nipped down to Hollister with a couple of buddies and did just that. Thursday, the big day, Simon flew his wife and a colleague for a meeting at UCI. The sky was clear and the flight was just about 2 hours, with lots of vectoring around LA airspace. Here's the footage. The flight was into John Wayne Orange County. Yes, that's right....they names an airport after John Wayne!


Then we get grumpy, talking about the lousy drivers we've both been experiencing this week, and question what the hell has been happening with Transocean......huge bonuses being given out to their top executives for exemplary safety in 2010? So, that BIG accident in the Gulf of Mexico didn't happen then did it?


Then we ask, why is there a record hole in the Ozone layer? Didn't we solve that problem 25 years ago? So what the hell is going on here?


OK, so curmudgeonly grumblings over for the week. Catch you all next week.


BMSMA


G&S

BEST OF: Akbar Kurtha & Wendy Hall Visit Us!

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All right, friends! Simon had to do a bit of flying this evening, so we decided to go into our vast archives (okay, barely a year old) and what did we find? A special visit, pretty much exactly to the day, from actor Akbar Kurtha (http://www.akbarkurtha.com) and blogger Wendy Hall (http://www.losangelescoldcasecrimes.blogspot.com)!

And heck, we even remastered it for ya. How cool are we?

Check out our original blog post here --> http://wthjh.libsyn.com/now_that_was_a_fun_weekend_

And, until next week, BMSMA!

- G&S

Japan, Libya and other shit......

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We both had fun weekends....duh.....of course!

Greg went to see "The Soul of John Black", playing at Biscuits and Blues, in San Francisco.

Simon went to see the movie "Red Ridinghood" which is a spectacular take on the weirwolf theme.excellent movie.

We talk about Japan of course, and how things are progressing there, as well as Libya and the most recent events.

Japan....

Libya....

We close by expressing our feelings towards religion as a whole, best summarized by this.

BMSMA

"Japanese is it?"

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This week, it's all about Japan of course, and the disaster currently unfolding there. 
Holy crap, this is intense. Never before has a drama been so vividly videoed by so many people and broadcast in such a widespread manner. We delve into the whole experience and share some thoughts on it all. Yeh, we crack a few jokes and have a laugh along the way, but not at the expense of those suffering.


We do talk about the donating experience and here is where you can donate if you want to. Lots of choices.


We also talk about emergency supplies and what's involved there, since here in California, we too live in an earthquake zone. Most people, as can also be seen from the Japanese footage, don't have enough food, water, or other vital supplies in their houses. Best be prepared!
Here are some links for supplies. (Also, remember to think as if you'd be going away camping, and all the extra personal items you'd need.)


Emergency kits, or individual items (look at the left hand menu)
http://www.quakekare.com/home-survival-kits-c-1_2.html


Lots of stuff here too. 
http://www.thereadystore.com/survival-kits/72-hour-kits


Specialized food store.
http://beprepared.com/quickshoplist.asp_Q_c_E_80_A_name_E_Dehydrated%20Food%20Storage%20in%20Cans


BMSMA.
G&S

Welcome to reverse world.

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This week we start everything in reverse. We start off grumpy (but get happier during the show) with Greg unhappy about people going into work sick, when there's no need. Bollocks!


Why bowling allies and small kids don't mix.....and why kids are irritating, parents are shirking their responsibilities and other people have to pick up the pieces.


Career politicians and why they're destroying the nation/world. "It's a series of tubes." Clueless politicians, like the late Ted Stevens, who's classic line is cited here, are legislating the rules for the internet....and they haven't got a freakin' clue. This applies to pretty much every aspect of life. Super rich politicians are legislating for the average person.....and you wonder why things are in a mess?


Why kids should be forced to do menial work before graduating school/university, with no opt out option for politician's kids....and a surprising benefit for the nation.


Mexico blames the US for it's gun problems.....and why this isn't true at all.


Why the right to self defense is one of the key human rights.


Discovery's last flight and why Bill Shatner rules.


One unexpected benefit of Greg's time in the Cohiba store.


Silicon Valley is running out of telephone numbers.


BMSMA.


G&S