Most readers will be aware that here in London we’re experiencing the worst winter for many years. We woke up this morning with a layer of snow that went past my ankle, which, sure, isn’t going to get any Norwegians worrying but is quite dramatic by SW19 standards.

Unlike many people, I actually made it into the office but, rather than get stranded there, I came home at lunch time and took a few pictures before sitting back in front of my laptop.

I didn’t have an exact picture in mind for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Costume,” but I did have an event: on the Norwegian Constitution Day there’s a huge parade in most major cities, including the biggest which is in Oslo.

So I fired up iPhoto to see which was the best image to use and… they weren’t there. So I spent much of this afternoon finding my negatives and scanning the whole, missing roll of film in. I’d forgotten why I’d moved to digital!

Petra and its Treasury are justly considered travel icons, which, I think, makes it a great candidate for this weeks PhotoFriday challenge, “Icon.” Shots like this are used almost everywhere Petra is mentioned (the other is the Treasury with a camel sat in front of it), which kind of makes it an iconic — in the sense of having a conventional formulaic style — photo, too.

• NetNewsWire and iPhone-Sized Data – “Lesson learned: It’s not enough for an iPhone app to sport an iPhone-optimized user interface. It needs iPhone-sized data, too.” I agree with this in principle but I’ve been thinking how I’d apply it to my iPhone application, Yummy, and coming up with a blank. How can you decide in advance which bookmarks you’ll want to see? Most recent? Those with a particular tag? I can’t think of an option other than ‘all.’
• The Inauguration of President Barack Obama – In case you’re not sick of the inauguration already, here are some great images of the day.
• Gordon Brown withdraws plan to keep details of MPs’ expenses secret – “The PM said proposals for reforms of MPs’ expenses would provide ‘more transparency’ than in most other parliaments around the world.” I’m not convinced that this is a standard we should aspire to. Let’s face it, our parliament is more open that North Korea and less tyrannical than Iran’s but really that’s not much of an achievement.

A Tibetan monk spends a lot of his time meditating. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture of one so this weeks PhotoFriday, “Meditation,” is a picture of the many people who meditate, pray and prostrate outside the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “White.” I’m entry 266.

According to my dictionary, “Disorder,” this weeks PhotoFriday theme, means “the disruption of peaceful and law-abiding behaviour.” This image of central Hanoi in Vietnam shows locals on scooters blaring their horns (lack of peace) and zipping all over the road in a display that should be illegal even if it isn’t. There were certainly worse displays of disorder and chaos on Vietnamese roads but I value my life!

• Mike Ash on Private APIs – Nice discussion on the pros and cons of using private API’s in your applications. The only time I’ve consciously used them was years ago with a large PL/SQL program on an Oracle database. I got all the upside (quicker development) without any of the down (having to maintain it). Yuk yuk.
• Electric dreams for pop in 2009 – Apparently synth-pop is making a come-back for 2009. Yay! Less derivative guitar bands and more cheesy pop please!
• 2008 – The Year in Pictures – Some really beautiful images in here. Wish my photography was up to their standard!

It was hard to pick my “best of 2008.” I’ve taken well over four digits worth of images from five countries (Denmark, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany and Portugal) as well as back home. In the end I chose this one as it’s a kind of photography that I don’t normally even try and it worked out okay.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Weathered.” I’m entry number 236.

Maybe I’m being a little mean to this camel handler from Wadi Rum in Jordan, but for the purposes of this PhotoFriday Challenge I am calling his face “Weathered.”

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Dusk.” I’m entry number 128.

This slightly understated image, taken around dusk, is one of my favourites from my trip to Egypt last year. At first glance it’s just a sunset taken over a “generic” city, but a more comprehensive look reveals the pyramids, meaning that it must be Cairo.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Black.” I’m entry number 226.