Archives for July 2007
From my iPhone
This dodgy photo is uploaded only because it was taken from an iPhone in the NYC store (which, incidentally, allowed me to send texts and emails). It’s certainly a seductive device, all touch screen and no buttons. The browser is quite easy to use, Google Maps integration excellent, and on-screen jiggery pokery as beautiful as Mac OSX.
But in the ten minutes I spent playing I found the camera to be of a poor quality and very slow to capture a picture, plus the touch screen keypad was too fiddly to use with my fat thumbs. Is it a category-breaking device? I’m unconvinced. A Blackberry is probably much easier to use to send messages, and has equally good internet browsing. A regular phone has a better dialling keypad, although the contacts synchronisation is neat. Perhaps it’s form over function. Although even the form ain’t great, given that my Sony fits into my pocket far more comfortably.
Sure looks nice though. Would I buy one? Possibly, when it’s cheap enough, but not as my only handset. And in this world of the ubiquitous iPod*, the diversity of mobile phones is rather appealing dontcha think?
* Yes, I know some of you are proud that you have some crappy Creative device or a Walkman. Lucky you.
Out of control
I have great sympathy with the flying student whose death was recently investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Board (full report here).
On just his second round of solo circuits at Southend Airport he was cleared for takeoff and into the circuit, at which point the Air Traffic Controllers swapped shifts. When on final approach the new controller instructed the student to change direction to get out of the way of a faster aircraft, which seems to have bamboozled him, leading to a stall a few moments later and no chance of recovery before hitting the ground.
It appears that the second controller was not aware that this was a student, and so inexperienced, therefore assuming he could make the requested manoeuvre. The pilot had kept the engine at idle power, the normal setting for final approach rather than a climb, and presumably stalled the aircraft when pulling back on the control stick.
He’d lost situational awareness, was overloaded and couldn’t do everything asked of him. I experienced something very similar early in my circuits but thankfully I had an instructor next to me which prevented an uneven face-off between me and a 737 trying to land on the same runway from different directions. It’s difficult to explain how many things there are to think of when in a busy circuit, particulary in the early stages of a flying career. Let’s hope the recommendations are taken up, in particular to give students a special callsign. It may sound a bit numpty, but it could prevent such an accident happening again.
Another flight instructor truism:
If an air traffic controller makes a mistake, he still goes home at the end of his shift; if a pilot makes a mistake, he might die
The Simpsons take Manhattan
A dozen US 7-11s were converted to Kwik-E-Marts to tie-in with the opening of the Simpsons Movie.
A trip to the New York branch was impossible to avoid. The changes were pretty small – revised signage, a few Simpsons-related products, typically disgruntled staff in Apu uniforms – but the marketeers had tried to develop a sense of humour.
More photos here.
Explosion in Manhattan
I was crossing Lexington Avenue on my way back to the hotel when I noticed that the traffic was stationery and the streets were crowded. Looking downtown there was a huge plume of what seemed like smoke billowing up. Locals were understandably gawking at the sight. Was this another terrorist attack? Cellphones buzzed.
Thankfully, it was a burst steam pipe; but the pressure, and impact, was astonishing.
Hirst’s at it again
Like him or hate him, Damien Hirst’s art is distinctive. Someone gave him a few million dollars to spend on creating his work in bronze and plonking it in front of the (sorry) seminal Lever Building.
I rather like this photo. One of my favourites.
The Pod Hotel, New York, NY
New York’s always a real hassle in which to find reasonably priced accommodation: the cheapest I could find through my normal discount channels came in at about $220 a night plus tax. Good, then, to stumble upon The Pod Hotel. Just nine months old it receives consistently good reviews and provides a compact room with most things you’d need (except a shower, if you go for the share option like me, but you can pee in the sink if you’re desperate). For $89 a night. That’s a remarkable bargain.
The location on 51st and 3rd is great, it’s airconditioned, comes with free wireless internet, a flat screen TV and an iPod docking station. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend it for a romantic getaway, if you’re in NYC on your own money and intend spending your time outside the hotel then this is highly recommended.
Bridgewater Corners, VT
An early start down from Vermont and back to Boston, before flying down to New York on surprisingly comfortable Jet Blue.
Away from the big smoke, things are pretty slow in Bridgewater Corners. The bridge is falling down, the stop lights are at red, and bingo never ends.
Walking the sausage
Is, without a doubt, one of the hardest things to do on a lake. The secret is to be first on. Water removes friction and spells t r o u b l e.
Lake Rescue Chalet, Benson Point, VT
For Google’s benefit, as well as a brief summary of our trip to Vermont. More detailed version of the picture here.
We’d booked into Lake Rescue Chalet at Benson Point, Ludlow. It simply wasn’t up to scratch, as our chief booker’s message to the owners explained:
The matters that caused us some concern fall into two categories, the first concerns the suitability of the house to accommodate 16 people, which was one of the important factors effecting our choice. I have to say that 16 people cannot be accommodated in that house with any practical degree of comfort. The infrastructure of the house in terms of the hot water and plumbing made showering an impossibility when the house was fully occupied, and the fact that three of the six bedrooms were basement rooms built into the side of a hill, thus lacking any light and smelling strongly of damp, made sleeping in them an unpleasant experience for those forced to do so. As members of our party suffered from asthma, it became necessary for them to actually move out and incur the expense of booking alternative accommodation during their stay.
The second area of concern was cleanliness. All of our party have experience of renting holiday accommodation in all parts of the World and I have to say that none of us were ever presented with such dirty conditions as those we encountered in the house. As our party contained infants and children as well as a senior citizen, it was necessary to spend some 10 hours of intensive cleaning just to ensure that a reasonably safe level of hygiene could be achieved.
I would like to think that you will take these two areas of concern seriously and with regard to marketing the house, would point out in future that for anything other than an occasional overnight stay, the house is not suitable for occupation by as many as 16 people. With regard to cleanliness, I would suggest that you take steps to ensure that in future nobody has to encounter the situation we had at the start of their vacation.
And it’s not on the Lake! We moved into Hawk Resort after a couple of days, money much better spent.
I do hope that the property has improved since July 2007, but potential renters should be aware.
From the top of Mount Killington
From the top of Mount Killington, Samuel de Champlain gave the name les Vert Monts – Vermont, or the green mountains.
