A silent slide show of pictures from our departure in Worthing to a walk we had yesterday lunchtime, to stretch our legs, get a little exercise, and make angels in the snow.

I just got the leftovers

So, youngest brother, Paul, has made sure that I am not the only one in the family making podcasts. He was recently interviewed for a show called THE LABMAN ...

April 2008 click the link to listen

Designing Experiments the Automated WayExperiments tend to work better if they're planned, and experiments are less laborious if automated. This month The Lab Man explores the combination of both - Automated Design of Experiments. It's all about software to design great experiments and then sitting back and watching your automation carry out the plan!

It is only when you listen that you realise in the eternal scheme of things, when God was dishing out the old IQ rations to the Taylor family, he held back on the first born, and had a bunch left over for the last born!

Flying Pig Visits

My brother Paul, known in the family as Pig (I had better explain that) flew in from JFK yesterday. A fleeting visit on the way to business in Austria and Germany, he had managed to detour via Gatwick to make the chance to come visit. We had a pleasant lunch out at the World's End, a pub-restaurant near the delightful village of Patching - which is about a 10 minute drive from our house. It has become a favourite eating place for us. Patching village is the kind of place we would love to live in, if only we had lots of money! Houses in delightful villages are expensive.

About that Pig. Somehow, one day long ago, Mark - Rogan - Paul got abbreviated to Mick -Rig - Pig and it stuck. Only family seems to use the names, but they are definitely terms of affection. The photo above is after an excellent meal and before we all went home for a Sunday afternoon nap. Paul and Carol live in Connecticut, with various children and a slightly deranged chiwowow (I think that is the American spelling).

The wedding happened

Being part of the wedding party did not make it easy to take pictures, but here is a first pic of Paul and Carol at their wedding yesterday. We have only had a few hours sleep after a wonderfully marvellous time together. I am waiting for the rest to be ready for church ... Rogan is preaching this morning at the local United Methodist Church here in Watertown, CT. I will post some more pictures when we have had time to see who has what on our various cameras. The wedding took place at the pretty Chippanee Golf Club, in Bristol, CT. The venue building can be seen in the link to the club.

Mark & Rose last night

The eagle has landed

Arrived at JFK around 11.15am local time on Saturday. We had met my mom at the boarding gate at Heathrow, and travelled on the same flight. Interesting to note the quietly efficient way security has been stepped upsince my last (pre 9/11) visit to the USA. There was a cursory passport check as we exited the plane, and then at the Immigration counter, two fingerprints and a photo were taken digitally. The Immigration official was very pleasant and chatty, but managed to competently weave in the 'right' questions to check that our stated purpose of the trip matched my visa data.

Carol met us at the airport, and we had about a two hour drive to Connecticut, and lots of great family reunions. We hadn't seen Paul since dad's funeral 5 years ago. Rogan and Caroline are here from Zimbabwe, and their eldest daughter Amy arrived from LA, where she is at College.