Just What Every Tourist Wants to See

October 11th, 2007, 2 Comments »

When we sat down to dinner at a restaurant in Xlendi, Monique noted an odd correction to the menu:

I have no objection to people eating horses–it’s just peculiar that they subsequently crossed it out. Did they run out of horse? What meat are they using instead?

In related news, Monique has written an exhaustive and illustrated account of her and James’s first week on Gozo. It’s pretty typical of what our guests do. Give it a read if you want to live vicariously through them. You may also want to check out their photo sets.

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Why is the Ocean Warmer Than Our Pool?

August 27th, 2007, 5 Comments »

Random Pool ShotIf I’d been paying closer attention in Physics 12, I might know the answer to this question. We have a small pool in our backyard, and a small ocean about 10 minutes away. All summer, the Mediterranean has felt warmer than our little pool.

This seems counter-intuitive, because I’d imagine that, over the summer, the sun would heat up the relatively-small amount of water in our pool. The water and surrounding stone would store some of that heat over night, and so would get cumulatively warmer over the summer. That’s happened to some degree, but it’s no match for the ocean.

When I went swimming at Xlendi this morning, the ocean was bathtub warm. What gives?

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