Ed is curious as to whether A-Z of browser URL auto-completion can reveal any insight. So, let’s see:

• A = http://antispam.kasei.com/
• B = http://bitmetv.org/
• C = http://craigslist.org/
• D = http://dohop.com/
• E = http://en.wikipedia.org/
• F = http://facebook.com/
• G = http://google.com/
• H = http://hanza.net/
• I = http://iii.co.uk/
• J = http://jwz.livejournal.com/
• K = http://kayak.com/
• L = http://last.fm/
• M = http://maps.google.co.uk/
• N = http://needahotel.com/
• O = http://oanda.com/
• P = http://priceline.com/
• Q = http://qantas.com.au/
• R = http://reddit.com/
• S = http://seb.ee/
• T = http://thegreatescapade.com/
• U = http://use.perl.org/
• V = http://vienna.yapceurope.org/
• W = http://wexas.com/
• X = http://xkcd.com/
• Y = http://yourmaninindia.com/
• Z = nothing at all

Approximately half of those are directly or indirectly related to travel, which is of little surprise as today as my last day in Estonia.

It’s been absolutely fantastic living here, and I think I’ve managed to successfully detox from the poison that is living in the UK. This became very clear when I was in London for EuSpRIG in July, and was completely overwhelmed by just how many signs there were everywhere telling me all the things I wasn’t allowed to do. And then, later, when the Toaster came to visit, and I got to watch him flounder outside his normal environs, I got to marvel at just how pervasive the poison has become, even within those are aware and actively resist it.

But, for a variety of complex residency issues, it’s time to move on. Tomorrow I fly to Vienna for YAPC::Europe (See ‘V’, above), and then at the end of the week I’m off to Скопје for a while. Macedonia appear to be trying to reinvent themselves as the new Estonia, the government are making a lot of the right noises (10% flat rate income tax!), and the technology infrastructure is, rather bizarrely, amongst the best in the world (100% wifi coverage across the whole country). So I’d like to see first hand what it’s like down there, below the Germanic divide. (Although I’m not looking forward to the 40ºC heat.)

After that I plan to chase the light by flying south for the winter. The travel bug has bitten hard: so far this year I’ve spent time in Estonia, California, Northern Ireland, Finland, Norway, Slovakia, England, and Sweden. With Austria and Macedonia already scheduled for this month, I should easily meet my goal of one new country a month. I see no reason why I can’t keep that up for at least another year or two.

I’ve almost, but not quite, managed to reduce my possessions to one suitcase full. I plan to offload a few more things in Vienna to achieve that target. Even though I marvelled at how liberating it was to declutter before moving here, in the 8 months I’ve been here, I’ve still managed to accumulate too much stuff again. (Mostly books. I tried to give lots of them away for free on Facebook, but to marginal success. The rest I gave away to the fantastic little second-hand bookshop just south of Town Hall Square who couldn’t believe I didn’t want any money for them.) Hopefully as I pick up the pace of travel, I’ll manage to keep my ‘stuff’ to a minimum. Really, I don’t need very much other than a laptop and some changes of clothes.

The life of the global nomad beckons.