Dippy's Miscellany of the England Excursion

Insertion of the wrong power adapter disabled our camcorder on the day of our flight. I have complained about the thing for years, so the error may have been subliminally intentional.

Prior to departure, a lunchtime purchase of a solid-state (no tape) Samsung SC-X210L turned out to be a good decision. Experience with most digital cameras has been frustrating due to poor user interface design, but this camcorder just works — and is the size of a cigarette package.

Observations

1. Fuel (gas or diesel) costs about $5.25 per gallon (1 pound per liter), so don’t complain about $3/gal.
2. A mid-sized Citroën Picasso diesel with manual transmission got about 50 miles per gallon, so why aren’t there more diesels in the USA? Where is the diesel hybrid?
3. Traffic circles are scary at first but keep traffic moving. The downside is they take up more land, but there are no traffic lights and fewer stops.
4. There is no space before a question mark, and there is a space between an ellipsis and a period.
5. When changes are required due to construction on a road or subway, the British put a lot more effort into providing explicit signs and people to assist with directions.
6. British road signs are confusing, as they rely on you knowing the towns between where you are and where you are going. Despite owning 0° longitude, they never use N, S, E, or W on a road sign.
7. Always keep an international calling card with you.
8. A digital photo of Google Maps directions can help in a pinch.
9. Pack fewer clothes and wash some if you are staying in one place for more than a day.
10. Write down the TV shows you discover (Sugar Rush, Little Britain) and then struggle for the rest of your life to get them legally in the US.
11. Buy the best map you can get. Take guidebooks from the library.

Here are all of the digital photos.

A smaller camera with lower resolution is better for travel than a bulky camera. Someday there could be a digital SLR with good manual control, but it’s not here yet.