Post weekend post

Back in the office today after a long weekend back home in Scotland. Highlight of the trip was the surprisingly-impressive Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift that joins the Union Canal with the Forth & Clyde Canal. It can shift up to eight boats at a time (four in each direction) weighing a combined total of six hundred tonnes, using the same trifling amount of electricity it would take to boil two kettles. The rest is all done with the weight of the water. Clever stuff.

Was nice to get up close and personal with the Forth Bridges again on the way home too… they’re not looking their best at the moment thanks to a few running repairs, but the Forth Bridge itself (that’s the one that carries the railway) is just a stunning piece of engineering, especially given that it’s nearly 120 years old. The Forth Road Bridge is no slouch either– it was the longest suspension bridge in Europe when it opened– but it just doesn’t have the visual impact of its neighbour’s unique cantilever design.

A veritable Christmas-like array of parcels awaited me at my desk when I got back in today, mostly stuff I’d ordered with my birthday money before I left… almost made up for the paltry three cards I got on the day :/ Among the highlights, a decent pair of headphones for my iPod Mini (another birthday acquisition), a PS2 controller with a built-in keyboard that I got cheap off eBay, the Uncle Devil Show CD, and The High Life and Press Gang Series 4 on DVD. (It’s a crying shame that Series 2 is still the only one to feature any commentary from writer Steven Moffat, or anyone else for that matter, given how keen he’s always been to contribute. Hopefully Network will redeem themselves with the fifth and final series, but I’m not hopeful…)