How do you define the “Best of 2009“? That’s this weeks PhotoFriday theme so that’s what I had to work with. It’s hard enough when you have a specific theme but something so broad makes it tricky. Best could mean personal favourite. Or most talked about. Most favourited on Flickr? Most views? Highest rated? (By some measure.)

In the end I went for the above shot, taken in Spain, because it ticks a number of boxes. It’s a bit different from the kind of thing I normally end up with; a few people commented on it; the simplicity makes it one of my favourites; and, finally, I’ve not used it for PhotoFriday yet this year!

I always associate snow with “Winter“, this weeks PhotoFriday theme, so the above was an obvious candidate for my entry. It was taken not far from home in some of the worst weather we’ve had in the UK for a good few years.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Homemade.” I’m entry number 158.

• US switch to new lethal injection scrutinised – However you do it, killing people is a cruel and unusual punishment.
• Rudiments of Language Discovered in Monkeys – “Lemasson … suspects that a dense jungle environment drove the evolution of syntax. Since the monkeys had trouble seeing each other, they compensated by talking.”
• Google DNS – Why would Google make their own DNS service if there’s no direct way to sell advertising from it?

Photographing concerts is hard. This one of Blackroom at the Water Rats in London was no exception.

It’s dark and with fast movement, which is a bad combination in itself. Low light implies longer shutter speeds; movement implies the exact opposite.

But just in case you managed to figure out how best to cope with low light and animated performers, there’s the added bonus of bright, flashing lights. This throws off the automatic metering that the camera performs, leading to a dark blur or a white blur, neither particularly appealing.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Homemade” and I went to quite some effort to get this image of a homemade tiramisu.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “From My Past.” I’m entry number 166.

• The November Plan – Post now updated with my recent trip to Austria.
• Apple’s Mistake – “How much of the goodwill Apple once had with programmers have they lost over the App Store? A third? Half? And that’s just so far. The App Store is an ongoing karma leak.”
• The Daily Shoot – A great idea to help people (myself included!) to take more pictures. I think a lot of us have the will, just not the time or inspiration. Time is hard but inspiration just got a little easier.

While there was a very long short-list of places to go, Vienna eventually won the coveted prize of being the destination of my November trip, 2009. Before I stepped onto the plane I confess that I have little idea what there is to see in Austria’s capital city. It certainly has a famous name but you can’t base an entire trip on an Ultravox song and the teenage home of one of the least loved people from the twentieth century.

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “From My Past.” I guess this image shows something from all of our pasts, except perhaps the glasses. I saw this in the Natural History Museum in Vienna and it amused me.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Vehicle.” I’m entry number 167.

My entry for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Vehicle,” was partly inspired by a conversation last weekend about the highlights of Norway. This is the train — vehicle — that takes you on the Flåm railway, twisting and turning down the side of Sognefjord from the top to the water front.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Three.” I’m entry number 227.

Finding three of something for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Three,” was harder than I was expecting. In the end, the answer was staring me in the face.

It may look like a hacked Rubiks cube but actually it’s designed this way. B brought it back from her recent trip to Tokyo. This three-by-one puzzle is, I think, much simpler than the real thing. Though this could also just be an older me. The last time I solved a real cube I just took the stickers off…