What do you call a Blog that never gets updated?....

....a Glob because it just sits there!

Hi everyone! Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated; I know it has been several weeks since I promised regular updates, but I have been far busier than I ever expected.

I don't want to skip the events of the last several weeks though, so I'll include a quick summary of a few things 

along with photos:

    I saw (briefly) just about everything in London: the British Museum, the British Library, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the London Eye, Big Ben, etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how compact the 

city is; if you have a little patience, most sights are within easy walking distance from each other.

    I saw most of the typical sights (by the way, London Bridge is quite small, Tower Bridge is the famous bridge that everyone thinks of) but, the most unusual thing I ran into was this:

    This man is an official "falconer" for the city of London! I ran into him outside of Westminster Cathedral (the Catholic one, not the one where the Royal Wedding took place). Apparently, Londoners came up with a unique solution to their overpopulation of pigeons! The falcon hunts down pigeons that nest throughout the city; when the trainer gets a call from vector control, he just walks to the given location and lets the bird loose. After James Bond's, it's probably the coolest job in the British government!

    Also, orientation with the other UC students was amazing.The accommodation was very clean and comfortable. The showers seemed to be built for people under 6 feet though. They were VERY small (like 2.5x2.5 feet). I met a lot of other UC students from the various campuses, and most of them are all very friendly and excited about the program; everyone probably feels that way. I also got a "tracphone" cell-phone yesterday. It's pay-as-you-go. The phone cost 5 pounds and I bought 10 pounds in credits (quite the deal).

    We also saw Buckingham Palace from the inside. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed; but, I will say that I envy the Queen. Seriously, I'd want to be friends with anyone who has several Rembrandts and Titians in their personal 

residence!

    Anyways, I'll leave you all with this:

    It's called the "Squander Bug." Apparently during the Blitz, this was a piece of propaganda meant to scare Londoners about the perils of being wasteful. The Imperial War Museum had typical displays (planes, tanks, etc.) but, I found the propaganda exhibits the most fascinating. What do you think? Does it make you want to conserve?

    I'll be sure to follow up rapidly with a quick post about campus life so far; hopefully that should bring my blogging up to the present day. I promise to be more diligent in the future!