One last quick post to wrap up my trip to Switzerland. I think I'm mostly recovered from the travelling, although I'm looking forward to the upcoming three day weekend to catch up on sleep properly. A few more photos...

I'll begin with a couple of horse/pony photos I dug out due to popular request. The first shows the horses that took us up the valley to the dairy farm. It was amazingly sunny so everything is a little overexposed. The second photo is one of the bossy ponies that lived at the upper Madrisa cableway station.

 
Next up, we have a photo of the sign at the bottom of the Madrissa cableway on the same day. It was about 15 degrees cooler at the top, thank goodness.

 
Here's a photo half-way up the same cableway on a different day (the day I encountered the lizard). The clouds started just above the valley floor and ended just below the upper station.

 
Now that I'm back, I've also copied off the video I shot of the cows and their bells. Sadly I was far away so the cows are small dots, but the bells can be heard quite clearly if you turn the volume up.

 
Finally, I'll leave you with a couple more landscape photos. The first is yet another view of the glacier, but quite a clear one. The second is of nothing in particular, but I loved the tumultuous landscape and the colours caused by the patchy cloud. The Swiss alpine region is undeniably magnificent.

I found this caterpillar creeping along the balcony this morning as I was packing. Not exactly a prime example of Swiss wildlife, but it was a fun caterpillar. I found the seed on the ground and, upon presenting it to the caterpillar, it proceeded to crawl back and forth along the seed casing.

I'm back home now but very tired, so a wrap-up post will have to wait until later in the week.

I returned to the pony paddock today and encountered this little creature not far away. I believe, after some Wikipedia poking, that it's a viviparous lizard; although if anyone with greater reptile knowledge disagrees, feel free to correct me in the comments. Whatever it is, it's cute though, even if it did prove difficult to capture in a photo.

I'm heading home tomorrow, so sadly this will probably be my last Swiss wildlife post, except perhaps for the video of the cows and their bells I mentioned earlier in the week.

Two rather bossy ponies just outside the entrance to Madrisa's upper cableway station. They shared a paddock with three donkeys and an alpaca, but it was clear who ran the place. If one of the ponies wanted hay that one of the other animals had, the other animal went hungry. It was fun to watch the politics at work.

A quiet stretch of the Schlappinbach in the middle of a forest around Monbiel. The Silvretta glacier can be seen through the trees. Everything is beautifully fresh and clean.

A pair of lovely horses just outside Klosters-Platz railway station. They later took us on an hour-long trip to visit a cheese dairy in Alp Novai, deep in the Monbiel valley, where the owner was all too happy to show us his cellars and let us sample his various cheeses; I don't think I've ever met anyone quite so enthused about cheese. The same horses, now refreshed, returned us to Klosters; the journey back was mostly downhill though so only took 45 minutes.

This was quite fun. The Schlittelbahn near Davos is a fairly short (500m) rodelbahn - a metal toboggan track designed for use in the summer months with a wheeled toboggan. I snapped this photo near the top of the course.

Another photo of the lake, this time from the Davos side looking roughly north. The lake is fed by a number of mountain rivers which start only a few miles away, and so is crystal clear, as should be apparent from the bottom of this photo.

Time for a few more photos. I'll begin with Lake Davos (or Davosersee), a small lake just outside the town of Davos, the settlement you can see across the water.

Here's another landscape snap from a walk I took this afternoon. The scenery certainly makes for more interesting walks than I can enjoy in Maidstone. >_> My vantage point this time was half way between Klosters and Davos on a small trail at around six thousand feet above sea level (or three thousand feet above the valley floor). It affords a slightly better view of the Silvretta glacier at the end of the valley than yesterday's photo did. Oh, and in case you were wondering if I climbed those three thousand feet, no, I did not; thankfully the region is well serviced by cable cars and mountain railways. Hooray for technology and mountain climbing the lazy way. :)

Today was quite hot and sunny, but 30°C down in the valley means 15°C a few thousand feet up which is a much more pleasant temperature for wandering. I haven't done much today other than explore a little bit of the local area, but it was still quite pleasant. I think the plan is to venture into Davos tomorrow as by the time we reached there today it was time to come home.

I also made friends with a sparrow this afternoon while waiting on the platform at Davos station. It had been searching the platform for dropped food which it then took back to a group of half a dozen sparrows waiting on the other side of the tracks. I would have said that they were a mother and her chicks were it not for the fact that the "chicks" were fully grown; I thought they would have been far from home by now, although I'm not an expert on bird behaviour.

Anyway, on a close pass, I offered the sparrow a grain of puffed rice from my cereal bar which was eagerly received. The sparrow stood for a second after picking up the rice and became quite vocal for a moment which it had not done previously when collecting fallen scraps. (I wonder what it was communicating and to whom?) After returning to the others and sharing the spoils, the same sparrow returned a further three times, landing right at my feet, and each time we completed the same ritual. On the fifth visit, once I had finished my snack, I held up my empty hands and apologised; the sparrow became vocal again briefly and went back to scouring the rest of the platform. I'm sure birds have more intelligence than we give them credit for.

On a completely unrelated note and to briefly touch once again on Twitter, I read this interesting article today. According to experts, only 8.7% of Twitter messages have any value. I would have said their figure was still a little high.

...with the sound of moo-sic. These lovely cows were camped by the side of a path I was walking along today. They may look grumpy, but they're just half-asleep. They were actually very friendly.

The sound of their bells carries for miles (I'm not exaggerating) leading to a melodious chorus of cow bells echoing down the valley whenever the herd is on the move. I may see if I can capture it on video to share when I get home.

For such a small creature, this little fellow made a lot of noise.

Sighted in the local Co-Op. The fractal vegetable is a bit of a rarity in the UK.

I'm going to keep this short as after an early start, close to a full day's travelling and a little sightseeing, I'm absolutely exhausted.

Klosters, a quiet town near Davos in the far east of Switzerland, will be my home for the next week. Apparently it's packed in the winter as skiers descend upon the town in order to hurl themselves down the steep slopes that surround it on all sides. In the summer though, it's quite a sleepy little village, its only visitors being construction workers eager to finish various projects before the harsh winter sets in and hikers who enjoy the sights of the glacial valley in the summer.

The photo above is a view I snapped after a quick cable car ride earlier this afternoon, looking over Klosters and down the valley towards snow-covered peaks and the Austrian border that lies just beyond them.

Just about to board the aircraft for our 0710 flight. Since I'm not going to pay roaming charges, my next post will probably be when I get to my hotel.

See you soon~

Spotted at Heathrow terminal 5.

This is a little experiment as this is the first time I've ever tried blogging photos from my phone. I quickly threw some code together to allow me to easily bring you photos from the field before I left today; sadly there wasn't time to do much testing so I'll just have to hope it all works.

I'm heading off to the mountains of Switzerland for a week so there won't be any lengthy posts for a while. I may however dump a few snaps here if I take any of interest.

The photo above is of a corridor in the hotel I'm staying in tonight. It's not very clear from the photo as cameras tend to flatten everything, but in person the corridor seems to stretch on forever... I should probably nominate this post as a candidate for the least interesting blog post I've ever made.

I went travelling at the weekend to attend a wedding. On the way, we stopped off at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. I don't tend to enjoy visiting zoos all that much. I think we're quite lucky in this country that the welfare of the animals being exhibited is taken into account. I've only ever felt uncomfortable enough about the conditions the animals were being kept in to walk out during a zoo visit once and that wasn't in this country.

Even so, a zoo is still a zoo and I prefer to see wildlife in the wild. I have to say that as zoos go though, Whipsnade does seem to be one of the better ones. Many of the species that aren't likely to munch on people or each other are allowed to roam free across the park. The elephant enclosure was very impressive; actually, it was less of an enclosure and more of a large field. But the space and features allowed the elephants in the park to exhibit herd behaviour and live quite naturally. There were a few areas I felt could be a little larger or more stimulating, but on the whole, it didn't seem a bad place to visit. (Although due to the size of some of the enclosures, the park is huge - be prepared to bring a good pair of walking shoes.)

I snapped a few photos which I'll leave here.
 

I was going to wait until Friday before posting this so that I had a whole week to dwell on all things Twitter. I don't know how much time I will have on Friday evening though, so I'm posting this a day early.

Last Friday, you may remember, I experimented with microblogging, posting frequent updates throughout the day in the style of Twitter's "tweets". (Why do all social networking projects use silly names and terms?) It was a silly idea that grew out of boredom, but there was a more serious side to it too. Despite obviously having an online presence and living much of my life online, very little other than this blog is public. I am very private and like to pick and choose whom I share things with rather than broadcast to the world. I was therefore a little curious what it would be like to do one of those things I've frowned upon for so long and dismissed as a shallow social fad.

Before I start commenting on my experience though, I thought that maybe someone out there might appreciate an explanation of each of the messages I posted last Friday. I wonder if any were completely misunderstood?
 

We begin with a simple statement of fact indicating that I was quite pleased that the week was nearing an end.
 

As Yuri pointed out, not much to say about this one - it is what it says. Somehow these clear, unambiguous messages don't seem much like the worthless, context-dependent messages I've seen on the few Twitter pages I've looked at before.
 

I think I ended up doing reasonably well with my contextless babble in the end though. Especially for a first timer.
 

This one does require some context to get the most out of. I suppose I could have explained more about the cats as I wasn't anywhere near the character limit, but I wanted to make this one as context-free and Twitteresque as possible to prove a point - that most "tweets" are worthless without background.

As I leave my flat, there's a window in the corridor just outside my door that overlooks another flat - a big, posh one with a balcony. Two cats live there and occasionally, when the weather is good, they come out and lounge around on a beanbag and chair. They must be able to hear me locking the door as they always look up when I leave if they're there. As I don't live with a cat at the moment but am very much a cat person, it is pleasing to see them a few times each week. They must have been busy snoozing elsewhere last Friday though.
 

Another semi-cryptic one. I have a kettle in the office at work (my own, since the office kettle broke and Boss wouldn't replace it) that I use once or twice a day to make myself a hot chocolate. It has a habit of wandering off when I'm not around though.
 

I work in an office with two others - both men, one in his late thirties and the other in his late teens. I used to work in silence when I was the only one there, but the others prefer to work with music on in the background. To keep things fair, the two get to pick a station to listen to on alternate days (I opted out). This particular day, it was the turn of the younger of the two, in case you hadn't guessed.

And I really, really do dislike that song. If you feel you have room for some more pain in your life, I have included this handy link. While I'm on the subject of bad songs, I also hate this one, another regular on the horrid KISS FM. Possibly even less original and even more dreadful than the Sugababes' effort.
 

I should probably get around to installing the patched versions soon...
 

>_>;;
 

Yes, I should. Bad SoZ.
 

A reply to Kiri's comment on KISS FM. Have I mentioned how much I dislike that station? For those unfamiliar with it (I would be if it weren't for its regular appearance in my office), it's one of those really annoying stations that has a playlist of about 5 songs that the public have decided are currently "cool" - and it plays them over and over.
 

Perhaps it's just me...

XKCD is one of two webcomics I read daily, the other being Dilbert. I used to read Penny Arcade religiously, but at some point during my wonky spell, I stopped. A pity as I usually found it quite enjoyable. I'd like to start again, but I want to catch up on the strips I missed before picking the comic up properly again. Since the strip and news post are generally related, there's quite a bit of reading to do per strip; I'd probably need a couple of completely empty days to plod through two or three years' worth of comics. OOTS is another one I need to pick up again.
 

Random work-related rambling. It would take a little while to explain and no one cares so I won't bother.
 

None at all. I meant to bring one to work in the morning since I didn't have time for breakfast, but I ended up forgetting.
 

Well, if Max does too, at least I'm not alone. It probably has something to do with me not really knowing the originals all that well and listening to the Weird Al versions many, many times several years ago.
 

I wonder why the character limit on Twitter is so short. To make them compatible with SMS, perhaps? Although multi-message SMS is common these days, so that doesn't make much sense. I can understand limiting the length of messages to force them to be short and to the point, but 140 characters feels really mean.
 

I was really missing my apple by now...
 

A short break from databases made a nice change. But ugh, Dreamweaver. It's another of those Adobe tools that attempts to be everything to everyone. Photoshop pulls it off much better though. For entry-level users, Dreamweaver is too intimidating; for advanced users, it tries to be helpful but just ends up getting in the way. I imagine its days must be numbered considering that the web has moved away from static content and its support for server-side scripting, AJAX and other current technologies is less than poor.
 

Nearly a week on and I'm still uncertain. Around noon, the novelty was definitely beginning to wear off.
 

It's just a short distance from the office so quite convenient for running out to get something at lunch when I haven't made sandwiches.
 

Kiri commented on a Tesco near him, so I thought I'd mention that my Tesco store probably wasn't in the same league as his - it's a "real" Tesco store rather than an Express or a Metro but it's tiny and doesn't stock a very wide range.

It was so tempting to make this reply a short, context-free comment, laced with double entendres referring to comparative size. I thought it best to keep it clean though. >_>
 

This was probably my most random "tweet" of the day. I was rummaging in my wallet to sort out money for Tesco when I came across a Japan Centre till receipt. There was a banner at the bottom that read "Served by Sayaka" and I decided I liked the sound of the name.
 

I had to move a few cables around. My desk at work is closed on three sides, so the hot air from the PC under the desk gets trapped there. Very cosy around my ankles in the winter.
 

Just a stray thought. I've never been able to work this one out. They're just not user friendly.
 

And I did remember! Although only after skimming through my post at the weekend. Perhaps I have discovered a useful purpose for Twitter.
 

I guess it's a mild autistic trait. There's just something about things being in the wrong place - be it screwdrivers in the wrong (but clearly labelled!!!) compartments or DVDs in the wrong cases - that really irks me. Usually I have to right the wrong before I can stop thinking about it. I don't expect everyone to have my anal attention to detail, but come on; if the picture on the label is of a small Phillips screwdriver, why on earth would you put an Allen key in there?
 

Poor Yuri. As if manic work wasn't enough, she has to put up with people "tweeting" at her too.
 

Friday is a bit of an odd day at work. Sometimes it can be incredibly slow and at other times a mad rush. The last day of the month is always busy though as the salespeople have to meet monthly targets. A Friday that happens to fall on the last day of the month is usually super busy.
 

An all-too-brief respite. This time I didn't have to wait for my kettle to come back though.
 

Back to Tesco. Since I lack a car, I have to plan my shopping a little. I usually pop to Tesco in my lunch hour during the week; even if I bring my own lunch, it's nice to get out of the office for a little while. I can pick up any groceries and essentials I need while I'm there. A couple of times a month though (generally after work on Friday), I do a much larger shop, which includes frozen and bulky/heavy items that I cannot buy during the week. I then get a taxi back to my flat. It costs exactly the same as a home delivery, except that I get to be picky and choose from all of the products on the shelf. I also tend to buy a lot of "on offer" products which are usually easier to spot in the store than they are on the website.
 

I read the best before date incorrectly. It was actually August 1st 2010. The packets normally retail at around £1, I think, so I've no idea how they ended up at 10p - unless someone made the same mistake I did and believed that they expired the next day. I tried them with both the pâté and cream cheese - both were delicious.
 

Now if only I understood mortgages. Not that I think I'll need to any time soon.
 

Evening news browsing... >_>
 

And as mentioned a moment ago, a very tasty one. It was a big packet though so there was plenty left for lunch the following day. Actually, I still haven't finished the packet...
 

Again, I think I ended up putting far more context into my replies than a real Twitter user would have.
 

It's a silly limitation anyway.
 

Hooray, a reply that relies on two other messages to make sense. I think I'm finally getting the hang of this speshul new method of communication now.
 

The third drink I've "tweeted" about today. Now this is what microblogging is all about!
 

The urge was satisfied a few moments later. Weapon Master Mode is proving quite fun.
 

A thought prompted by a comment in IRC. Apparently I don't, although I still have my doubts.
 

Still waiting. :/
 

Nearly there. One day of this was quite enough.
 

So, there we go. Now you hopefully have a better idea of what I was babbling on about. Assuming you cared.

The first thing I noticed was that microblogging was exhausting. For me, at least. I imagine that there are probably people out there who would enjoy sharing every inane moment of their day with others, but I am not one of those people. Those of a fnar mentality will probably best understand if I say it had the same kind of draining effect as being in a social situation. Not as bad, but still a very similar feeling.

I was hoping to highlight a few of the things that bug me most about Twitter, but I don't think I managed to submit any good examples. I don't think I'm a Twitter natural.

If I had to pick one issue to rant about, it would be that the social value of microblogging is close to nil because the "tweets" are generally meaningless on their own. Imagine someone copying a sentence from an encyclopaedia article, sending it to you, and then expecting you to extrapolate the rest of the article from that sentence. That is how the majority of Twitter posts seem to me. Devoid of context and meaning to all but the Twitter user.

Even to those who do know what's going on, the value of recording information in this way seems questionable. Assume that the Twitter user is happy to use his or her account to note daily events in a manner similar to a diary. Unlike a conventional blog, the style and brevity of "tweets" forces users to strip away important information leaving a now-meaningless core of words. Weeks after the event, when the details have long been forgotten, the post will have as much meaning to the poster as anyone else who comes across it.

The worst offenders are the "tweets" that reply to others. Generally prefixed with @name, these posts are doubly worthless since not only are they devoid of surrounding context, the few words they do contain depend upon words hidden away somewhere else to make any sense. Unlike a forum where one can follow a conversation as it develops, Twitter breaks down conversations into brief one-sided chunks. I can't describe how depressed a stand-alone post like "@Daniel He did, just not to me. Did you get them?" makes me feel. I expect even Daniel is depressed by it, even though it might make a little more sense to him.

Others have pointed out many issues they have with Twitter. Celebrity followers would be one - those who exist in a strange fantasy where they follow their celebrity's "tweets", reply with their own, and feel that they are in some way forming a two-way connection. I suppose it's very much like traditional idol worship, although it seems more widespread. To me though, the scariest thing about it is that people, believing that it is an effective tool for social contact, are using it as a substitute for the real thing. In trying to enrich the social aspects of their lives, they end up ruining that which they hope to improve. The same complaint could be targeted at other social networking services, but Twitter is an easy example to use because all of the things it does wrong it does to such obvious extremes.

Bashing social networking appears to be a popular pastime at the moment. In the past couple of weeks, a number of high profile individuals including David Cameron and an archbishop have looked down on it; the latter seems to have picked up on many of the social issues surrounding this new style of communicating with others.

I'll leave it there as I have quite a lot that I want to do before getting to bed and it's already late; plus I think I've said most of the things I wanted to say. Thanks again to Yuri and Kiri for being good sports and playing along last week.

I didn't do very much yesterday. A little pottering and cleaning, but mostly dozing. I didn't seem to wake up all day, despite spending the entire morning in bed. The result of a rather busy week, I suppose.

Still, I woke up a little earlier today so hopefully I can get a few more things done. This will be my last free weekend for a while as family commitments have claimed the next three.

I've been tweaking things on the site so as always let me know if you spot things that appear wrong. I fixed two outstanding bugs in the hastily thrown together comment system, one highlighted by w0lfeh months ago, the other by the random spammer last week. I've also added another comment filter which should block similar unwanted messages in the future.