Across Weirdish Wild Space

So, spent the weekend at Alton Towers grace of a friend who makes a yearly pilgimmage there.

I have to admit I was a little sceptical about a British theme park. As a friend stated back in Canada when I was IMing with them once I got back, “Theme parks seem rather un-English.”

But it was scads of fun.

And besides pondering how much fun it must be to be a roller coaster designer and that a good book scam would be travelling the world and rating all the world’s amusement rides (and getting soaked because of the drizzle, a maniac insisting on a water ride and catching a rather bad cold in time for work on Monday), I have to say that Alton Towers, while small, was absolutely loads of fun. Doubly so if you stay overnight in the hotels. Stay in the Alton not the SplashLandings which is more for kids (but has a waterpark !).

Anyhow, here is my list of rollercoasters tops list :

1. Rita: Queen of Speed
   Just damn fun because of the speed. 100mph in 2.5 seconds off launch. It’s fast… sooo fast…
2. Oblivion
   For sheer holy shit ! value, this had to take it. Literally it’s just a freefall plunge from roughly 200ft up into a dark hole in the ground and pulling about 4Gs but the absolute evil part if they hold the coaster for a few seconds with you dangling over the edge of nothing, before they suddenly drop it. Plus the production value on the slightly orwellian tv screens and commentary as you go up are fantastic
3. Air
   I had never seen a coaster like this, so it was a bit of a first for me. You are strapped in and then tilted up so you are literally doing a Superman around the entire ride. Massively fun with loads of loops, spins and through some engineering marvel, one of the most incredibly smooth rides I’ve ever been on. Way better than Nemesis which is similar in that you dangle your feet.
4. Pinball-Whizzer
   The great thing about this coaster is that the entire car can freely rotate 360 degrees so you are spun about while moving round corners and up and down hills. Fantastically fun and twice as good if you get into the seats facing backwards.

Oh, and a special mention to Hex which takes place inside the semi-restored and absolutely gorgeous castle of Alton Towers (will someone please give them some money to restore this beautiful edifice up to its former glory ?). A ghost story of super high production values with a fabulous little finale that is part ride and a fantastic bit of optical illusion. I have to say I was impressed even though I knew what they were doing.

Hammed it up with loads of posed photos taken on the rides but didn’t think in advance enough to get the oh so important chess playing photo :

Almost forgot to mention why I was in Berlin.

I’m here attending RailsConf Europe 08. Some of it’s been incredibly interesting and useful, some of it strange and almost incidental (why is everyone obsessed with performance and JRuby all of a sudden ?).

More details and write up to follow when I’ve got a chance.

Somewhat strangely, considering how much of my undergrad studies focused on the Cold War, I’ve never actually been to Berlin, but am off this week (while someone minds the house) to visit the German capital.

Iconically, I’m staying a stone’s throw away from Checkpoint Charlie on the Alexanderplatz, behind the former Wall, so kinda intrigued to see the city.

Don’t speak any more than a sprinkling of German, but at least my Turkish has been improving rapidly and should come in handy considering where I’m staying.

Sure I’ll be posting some photos and scribblings soon…

I haven’t really been watching the American political race very closely so I can’t really comment on the relative merits of the current Democratic and Republican leaders going into the race. I’m sure anyone who knows me can figure out which way I’d be leaning. Either candidate, whatever the case, would be a massive improvement as far as I’m concerned over the current administration.

Nevertheless, this speech, regardless of the echoes of JFK’s and whatever you think of Obama personally, is a phenomenal piece of speech craft and an incredible piece of oratory. Let’s hope that it’s promises about a vow for unity and a global pact for working to solve our shared problems for a better world gets delivered on.

Bit long, and even though he brings up some unpopular issues on the American agenda in the middle, it still is a pretty amazing speech and definitely worth the time you’ll take to watch it.

On my recent visit back to Paris, it was hard to miss the Vélib’s now everywhere in the city (in fact, there is a rank of them right outside my old apartment in the 10éme).

Without question, they’re popular. The NYTimes (via WorldChanging) served up some extremely encouraging statistics on them just recently.

• Riders took 27.5 million trips in the first year.
• The current pace is about 120,000 trips per day.
• The program includes 20,600 bikes.
• The 1,450 self-service rental stations are available every 300 metres.
• The bikes are heavy and expensive — $3,460 and 50 lbs — built to withstand theft, mistreatment, and heavy riding.
• Still, 3,000 bikes have gone missing (or been misplaced), about 15% of the total.

First off, you have to be impressed with anything that makes Parisians exercise. While it’s definitely a walking city (and you do notice how much thinner and seemingly active people are than London), it’s a feat to say the least.

The real benefit though, besides a healthier, more mobile populace, is the reduction in carbon emissions. WorldChanging estimated (using a simple model) that this probably removes about 40,000 metric tons of CO₂ a year. Roughly the same amount as removing 5700 cars from the road a year. While WC sees these as modest, especially in consideration of the costs involved in the Vélib program, I think that’s more than a little unfair considering its popularity, non-controversial nature and the fact it’s a complete win-win solution all round.

Overall, the only thing I think you can really comment on is that it’s not enough even if it’s a great start (the other problem is that this model assumes people are taking cars instead of the metro or merely walking so it’s got a lot of assumptions in it).

Still, the bikes are awesome and the model is gaining traction. New York is eying the same idea and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before other cities think about the same thing. Even more so, I think these are “gateway drug” programs that can start people also becoming more active about demanding these types of changes for the better. Less car-centric cities, more public transport and greener cities in general.

Now if they could only do this with rollerblades…

(via WorldChanging.)

I know Paris perhaps better than any other city in the world, having lived (and loved it) there than perhaps any other place with the exception of the town I went to high school in and Toronto. It still ranks as probably the best place I have ever lived and in a sense it perhaps holds an overly romantic spot in my heart as a place I lived, loved and learned from.

So, it always feels strange taking photos of it, despite it’s grandeur and beauty. Shots never seem to do it justice and the fact is you’re always too busy running round enjoying the moveable feast it is to take those perfect shots you want that can express what it means to you.

But I wanted to be there on my birthday since this birthday marks, quite astoundingly, a decade since I arrived and started living there. Introspective reflection and nostalgia perhaps but it was fantastic being there and I spent the days around my birthday visiting cherished friends, rollerblading amok through the city past its fabulous architecture and along smooth streets, pondering my existence sitting on terraces and peoplewatching and drinking deep of the cultural, artistic and linguistic heritage it has given the world (when my boss wasn’t forcing me to work, and even then it’s much nicer to work remotely from Paris than be in the office in London.).

So, trying to figure out a way to financially and pragmatically live in Paris and keep this crazy job of mine in London.

But anyhow, a little photographic taste of Paris.

This is article, I have to say, is extremely interesting :

Free and Flush, Russians Eager to Roam Abroad – NYTimes.com: ””

One of the thing it was impossible not to notice on my recent trip to Turkey, particularly near Antalya, where the hotel this article talks about is, was the incredible numbers of Russians and Germans on the south coast (and increasingly, Bulgarians as well).

I was trying to explain to a Russian newly-made friend there about how strange it seemed, since when I was growing up, Russia was an identifiable enemy in the Cold War and trying to illustrate it with a trip to Seattle I had taken where a Russian attack submarine was on display as more of a curiosity and amusement rather than this nuclear weapon of terror during the 80s.

Anyhow, it’s quite fascinating, how the growth of some of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are totally changing the face of tourism and influencing their own home countries. To be honest, other than the carbon footprint (I shudder at), I can’t really view it as anything other than a good thing.

Though, it does also change the destination countries they end up going to I find. The fact that trying to learn to speak Turkish did nothing but seem to amuse Turks while I was in the country (though did get me free into some places just for trying) and the fact that every Turk seemed to be working on learning German or Russian (in fact, in Kas German was hear dmuch more than even English).

Definitely interesting, though this Las-Vegas-ification/Disneyfication of countries for the benefits of package tourist guests is always worrying.

... though for some reason I notice I never take that many photos of places I’ve already been before (and, someone pointed out, never enough photos of myself – kicking myself I don’t have ones with Danu and co, as well as NZ/RG).

Still couple of very nice shots of the people I was visiting and it was a very nice weekend filled with raspberry and cherry beers, Pierre Marcolini chocolates, the oldest (and best) waffle house in Belgium (Dandoy) and way, way too many frites (the Maison Antoine has been serving them up to des Belges for 58 years apparently). Yes, I feel like I gained weight…

Oh, and just one more thing… I love the Eurostar. I keep forgetting how great it is and I’m always shocked at the amount of work I can get done on it. If they could just get the ride to Paris down to 1.5 hours, I’d seriously consider living there and commuting to work !

Anyway, I really liked how this night shot of the City Hall in the Grande Place came out though.

Click the image to see the rest of the snaps.

Off this week to the little land of beer, chocolate and moules frites to take care of some business and visit my very good friend Danu, who I haven’t seen since leaving A’dam, and who is moving to the Congo for 2 years for reasons as yet undisclosed to your correspondent.

As well, two good friends from Vancouver who shacked up together, NZ and RG are introducing the old world parents to the new world boy, so that ought to be interesting.

Oh, and there might even be a possibility of ZA stopping in on her way back from holidays !

Staying just off the Grand Place, so if anyone else I missed is in range, please give a holler.