As Far As You Know

Had an easy drive on the motorway down to the Algarve region, but was struck by the toll charged for the trip from Lisbon: €18.60, which equates to nearly $27!

I am settled in at the Vale Do Lobo resort, and was upgraded to a higher level of accommodation, which was nice. So I have a two-bedroom apartment with a private pool at my disposal for the next few days. The weather is warm but rainy and this is clearly the off-season for this place, as there don't seem to be many people in my immediate neighborhood in spite of the holidays.

I stupidly failed to pack any of my adapter plugs for the various devices (MacBook Air, iPhone, two iPods, Kindle, digital camera, a portable DVD player, and portable speakers for the iPod) I brought with me. (Okay, okay, I admit I have a hard time cutting the technological cord when I travel!) I have a couple of cheap European adapter plugs as well as the Apple World Travel Adapter kit back home, but that does me little good now! So I am rationing the use of each electronic gadget for the time being, as there apparently is not an appropriate adapter for U.S. plugs to be found in the south of Portugal--and I have looked in the resort newsagent, two local supermarkets, an electronics store, and a Staples office supply store. I did find an adapter for U.K. plugs in one store, which didn't surprise me as the majority of guests in this resort seem to be Brits (apparently this is a favorite holiday and retirement destination for the English).

I did, however, discover online an entertaining article on why plugs and voltage are different around the globe. It's an educational and witty read.

I am digesting the Season 3 DVDs of Friday Night Lights while on holiday here in Portugal and had forgotten just how excellent this show is. I had sort of lost touch with the series midway through the second season, but am enjoying every minute of each episode in this collection.

The resort had its own pretty elaborate fireworks display at the stroke of midnight to mark the arrival of 2010. Happy New Year, everyone!

Spent time today reading David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp, a graphic novel released in 2009 that was lauded by the critics. I can see why: this work is brilliant. It "combines a modernist style, a formalist structure, and a story about a bristly academic" as one observer described it. Highly recommended.

Lots of speculation about Apple's reserving January 26th for a "special presentation." Most observers believe the company will unveil its tablet plans with a trademark Steve Jobs rollout. It might well look something like the rendering above--an oversized iPod Touch crossed with a Mac OS X dock--but who outside Cupertino really knows at this point? There is some good analysis on the topic here.

When I first started this blog in April 2004, I posted this map indicating the countries I had visited up until then:

Here is my updated map of countries I have been to as of the start of 2010: