AudioBoo - Not So Young Anymore.

Have bed, will travel.

We all have trouble deciding on what to pack and knowing what to take on holiday with us, don't we?
There just never seems to be enough room in your case does there? And, in these days of increased airline restrictions on what you have to pack, the reducing of the maximum weight allowed for your case and the hefty penalties if you do manage to squeeze too much in. This has all become even more of a problem and, if i'm honest, more stressful than many other parts of the modern travelling experience.

I'm not even going to mention the problems we also now have with all the extra leads and adapters, for all those new fangled gadgets we all seem to have to carry around with us nowadays. That's a topic for another day maybe?

But, there is one item that i'm sure we'd all love to be able to pack. But, for obvious reasons, we can't.
Our bed (and maybe a sneaky pillow too?)

There is something about your own bed, that just doesn't ever seem to be replicated by any other bed you sleep in. No matter where that might be.
You may be in the swishest hotel in the world. But, there's a good chance that the bed will not be to your liking. Either that, or the bed is acceptable, but the pillows just don't fit your head properly. No matter how much thumping and plumping you do.
So, you wake up with a stiff neck, a stiff back. Or, you end up sleeping on the floor.

So many of us now seem to take more care with our backs and consequently, have invested in often quite expensive mattresses, fluffy pillows, or sturdy bedframes. The mattress that we have at home, uses technology and materials developed for space craft. So, at least i know that i ever get to spend some time on the International Space Station, i should be sure of a good nights sleep.

Unfortunately, this type of technology doesn't usually extend to the beds in hotels, guest houses and holiday properties. I have slept in beds on several different continents and the problem appears to be the same everywhere.

So, what do we do?
Well, i suppose the obvious solution is to stay at home and sleep easy in your own bed, with your own pillows. With that option you can at least also cuddle your own teddy bear as well, if you are so inclined. Although, i can think of better options!

But, personally i enjoy my travelling too much. So, i guess i'll just have to put up with having the odd back and neck ache?
Maybe next time, i should just make a Doctors appointment, ready for when i come home?
Now, where did i put his number?....

Back To the Future?

Many of you might have seen stories floating around on the Internet, over the past couple of days, saying about how today was Future Day.
This all stems from the movie Back To The Future. The story being that today, or yesterday, depending on which story you read, was the date programmed into Marty McFly's De Lorean sports car.

Well, it's not true...
Apparently this all started when a UK based movie magazine reported the story. They then realised their mistake. But, they still produced a photo-shopped picture, supposedly showing the read out in the car, with the date as "Jul 05, 2010". I guess they were just having a bit of fun? But, you know how the Internet is these days. Stories like this spread like wildfire. Sites like Twitter & Facebook just help to fan those flames & spread them ever further. Maybe that's because we all want the stories to be true. It's almost as if we're willing them to be real, in some instances anyway.
I saw the story myself yesterday, via Twitter as it happens. I tried, in vain, to find out if this was true, as it seemed like aa amusing little story. Now i know why i couldn't prove it.

This whole episode made me think of two things.

Firstly, this re-inforces the fact that you just can't believe all that you read, or see on the Internet. As if you should do so anyway! So many people want to start a hoax, or just don't check their facts in the first place. In these cases & before you know it, that "fact", or deliberate falsehood, has become the "truth".

My second thought was that the future just isn't what it was made out to be. If i'd bought the future in a store, i'd have taken it back by now & asked for my money back.
In Back To The Future, Marty McFly was zooming around on a hoverboard. Well, i haven't seen anyone doing that in my neighbourhood yet & i don't expect to do so for some time to come. Even the De Lorean car seemed too revolutionary & disappeared into the sunset.
I remember watching "2001 A Space Odyssey", all those years ago & thinking, "Wow this is going to be happening in my lifetime. I'll be able to visit the Moon when i'm older" It sure beats some terrestrial resorts i can think of (Insert joke here about visiting the Moon & not liking it, because it had no atmosphere...)
In July 1969, we landed a man on the Moon. Now, we don't seem to be able to get any futher than orbiting the Earth.
I'm sure we can all think of many more examples of those exciting promises of what the future was going to hold for us.

So, what happened? Were we all lied to?
And, maybe most importantly of all. Who stole my future? I want it back.

Back To Basics.

Getting back to basics when making a video.
"We put too much pressure on ourselves to "produce". When all we need to do is talk"