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Kayaking with alligators

Bruce — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:46:11 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Our first joint trip to the USA was to NYC; our second was a holiday in Central Florida, which we shared with friends from Jamaica. We did the Disney thing (twice was enough), fulfilled a childhood ambition to visit the Space Center at Cape Canaveral, damaged our hearing on an airboat, went kayaking with American alligators, and got some experience driving in the US. What we got up to in pictures We rented an apartment in Bella Piazza, located in Davenport, Polk County, Florida. The location made an ideal base for exploring the attractions of Central Florida, with a nearby supermarket and adjacent eateries. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageBella Piazza's communal pool Disney's Epcot theme park occupied us for a full day. Lots of animatronics. Each ride or pavillion supplements a sales opportunity (shouldn't that be the other way around?). It's one of those things you (almost) have to do, and probably works best if you have/ borrow children. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageThe monorail at Epcot The Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral was a highlight. The shuttle Atlantis was already on the pad, ready for mission STS-125. Being able to walk beneath the Saturn V rocket (used in the Apollo moon landings) was awesome. We went back to KSC on our last day (tickets are valid for re-entry within 7 days) and watched a 3D IMAX movie about the International Space Station; 45 minutes of the most riveting footage I've ever seen. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageAtlantis on the pad at Kennedy Since the Everglades were ...

The Scottish Highlands in eleven days

Bruce — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:48:59 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Scotland. Even the name of the country causes something to stir in my McKenzie blood. The last time I was there in 1994 we didn't get to the North Western Highlands and so in early September, between the high season/ school holidays and autumn proper, we drove 2845km (1768 miles) in our tiny 698cc car to scratch that itch. Here is our admittedly full but rewarding route and accommodation plan, complete with downloadable maps, KML files for Google Earth, and itinerary/ POI files for TomTom navigation devices. For more photographs, see here. Day 1: Home to Glasgow Although not itself in the Highlands (as demarcated roughly by the Highland Boundary Fault), Glasgow served as the staging point for our expedition. We arrived mid-afternoon after a long drive so had several hours in which to visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the overrated SECC beside the black waters of the Clyde (not comparable to the Sydney Opera House as suggested), and the civic centre. We stayed centrally at the Thistle, a tired hotel not deserving of four stars (the window sill in our room had been used as an ashtray; we were flabbergasted to see a smoker puffing away in the corridor beneath a smoke alarm; housekeeping fit pillow cases inside-out, etc.). There's free WiFi for patrons at the Kama Sutra Indian restaurant—if you find yourself in the, err... position without it (excellent food with excellent service too). Day 2: Glasgow to Kilchoan Click thumbnail to enlarge imageRoute and points of interest for Day 2 Not far from ...

The limestone paving of Malham Cove

Bruce — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:11:58 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

This weekend just gone my wife and I met up with David from the Internet for a walk, talk, and geotagging/ track logging at Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales. One of the natural attractions along the Pennine Way, from the bottom this 80m tall and 300m wide crag is one impressive wall of rock. No water has fallen down the cliff face since prehistoric times; today the gentle Malham Beck mysteriously emerges from subterranean origins at the base. But it's the weather-eroded limestone "paving" at the top of the crag that is the real attraction. The dissolved plant-filled fissures are known as grykes, and the blocks are termed clints—since you asked. Aside from the oddity of the paving, the views from the Cove and surrounding hills are remarkable. The rolling green hills, dry-stone walls, and constant threat of drizzle are so quintessentially English. Well worth a day trip. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageThe limestone paving of Malham Cove

iPhone geotagging good for a laugh only

Bruce — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:59:23 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Geotagging outdoors with the original iPhone—which uses triangulation of cell tower signals—seems to be as entertaining as some of the "productivity tools" in the App Store. In other words, laughably useless. While the iPhone did somewhat erroneously relocate a pavement sign to the North Sea shipping lanes, it also managed to pin a photo of a rose to within 1.4km of the actual location. How can it be so inconsistent, and are things really as bad as they seem? The new iPhone 3G features built-in GPS, which although limited at present offers the prospect of enjoying a growing number of location-aware applications. One of these is geotagging using iPhone's built-in camera, and the good news is that those with first generation iPhones can update to version 2.0 firmware and experience similar functionality. Similar, not the same—because the original iPhone contains no GPS receiver hardware, and for reasons unknown Apple's Bluetooth implementation is currently neutered so iPhone cannot be paired to a data logger. The image below was recorded in Chesterfield, pretty much in the middle of the UK. To plot the iPhone-geotagged location you'll need to download the images using iPhoto; it's no use e-mailing them from the phone, because the EXIF-GPS data are stripped out. Something for Apple to fix! iPhone now includes "location awareness" for candid photography Aside: The "pick up or pay up" pavement graffiti is put down by the local council, using biodegradable spray paint. Despite such signs it's still a case of "eyes down" in our neighbourhood, as most ...

Lathkill Dale in the Peak District

Bruce — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:37:42 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Lathkill Dale in the Peak District is considered "one of the country's finest limestone valleys". Lathkill is one of five separate limestone valleys comprising the Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve, which is managed by English Nature. Friends took us walking in the area yesterday (we hadn't been for a while) and we were reminded how lucky we are to have such easy access to this part of England. The river Lathkill running through the Dale contains the clearest water we've seen anywhere in England. Some of the limestone outcrops that punctuate the valley walls can be seen above the stone wall in the right of the picture. This is fairly typical Peak District scenery, and quite hard to beat on a sunny Spring day. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageLandscape around Lathkill Dale The walk took us about 5 hours, first travelling west along the Dale from Youlgreave before climbing out of the valley just over half way to Monyash. At Monyash we stopped for liquid refreshments at the pub, then headed east along the second half of the Dale to our previous crossing point, climbing out at that stage to return to Youlgreave across the fields. As you can see in the following track, the panorama was taken from a high meadow looking down into the valley. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageOur route around Lathkill Dale Download a KMZ file (57KB) for viewing in Google Earth

The incredible dissolution of being

Bruce — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:25:51 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Another former communist-occupied country visited, another monument to the fallen photographed. How did communism's lofty ideal of equality become so twisted and evil, delivering oppression and brutality wherever it was (or is) practised? Having seen the poignant sculpture in Moscow commemorating Stalin's victims, and the collected skulls from the Killing Fields of Pol Pot's Cambodia, I wasn't expecting to find a similar memorial in the Czech Republic so moving. But death is only one way you can hurt people: how do you physically capture the dissolution of a man's spirit? The Memorial to the Victims of Communism is located in Prague's Lesser Town, on the lower slopes of Petrín Hill (since my image and this post are geotagged, you can retrieve the exact coordinates). This work by Olbram Zoubek, Jan Kerel, and Zdenêk Holzel was unveiled in 2002 and is succinctly described in this passage: It contains seven "phases" of a man living in a totalitarian state—from the first statue being a full man, up to the last statue where only a part of him remains. This evaporation represents the gradual physical and [psychological] destruction of a man who is ruled by any undemocratic regime. The man disappears due to censorship, secret police, no freedom of thoughts and expressions etc. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageThe incredible dissolution of being Very powerful imagery, I think reinforced by the shallow depth-of-field in this photograph which helps to blur the detail (and even the existence) of the more distant figures. It's not a great shot—taken in light ...

A break in the weather

Bruce — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:19:38 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Yesterday's treacherous weather foiled our walking plans. We set out under blue and sunny skies, arriving at our departure point some 25 minutes later under a blanket of grey and chilling precipitation. We didn't go far, returning to the car as the rain got heavier and then turned to sleet. We were safely home when it turned to hail, and then snow. Not to be thwarted this morning we were out the door before 0700h, but this time the skies co-operated and we enjoyed clear but crisp conditions as we took the opportunity to try out my recently-acquired Holux M-241 GPS data logger. As you can see from the following KML conversion of our track log, we drove in from the south east, and began our walk heading along Curbar Edge (seen here previously) in a north-west direction before continuing south along Baslow Edge. By zooming in using Google Earth we could confirm the accuracy of the track; each deviation corresponds to points of interest we left the path to inspect. A track log (in blue) showing Curbar Edge and Baslow Edge in Google Earth Click thumbnail to enlarge imageCurbar Edge after a sprinkling of spring snow The forecast for later today is 0 degrees with hail, sleet, and snow. English weather is fickle at best, but in spring especially it's the early bird that catches the sun.

A winter walk in the Taunus

Bruce — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:12:43 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

As January draws to a close I wanted to share the photo that has graced my desktop over the course of this month. I usually like a solid grey on my desktop to avoid distractions, but had to make an exception for this one of Simone's. The Times liked it too; it was selected for online publication in their travel photo competition (week 3). Simone took the photo on Christmas Eve 2007 while walking with family in the Taunus hills near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The bleakness of the fog-enshrouded scene is offset by a few penetrating rays of sunlight, hardly enough to counter the bone-numbing cold and icy cheeks I can almost feel. On another level the group of walkers seem insignificant and vulnerable in this forest of tall and strong trees. Click thumbnail to enlarge imageA winter walk in the Taunus

Argentine Iguazu

Bruce — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:58:15 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

As noted, we were recently in Brazil. We also crossed into Argentina for a day, in order to view the Iguazu Falls from their side of the Rio Iguazu. The falls are probably the single most impressive natural phenomenon we've seen. I've uploaded a short video to YouTube here, showing the impressive "Devil's Throat" and views from the Upper Circuit walkway. This YouTube video requires Adobe Flash Player. As you might imagine, filming a waterfall system over 1.5 miles across and cascading 1.3–1.5 million litres of water per second is wet work. Hence the water drops on the lens! The soundtrack is Morricone's The Mission (Remix B.O.F. La Mission).

Three weeks in Brazil

Bruce — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:13:40 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

We spent most of November in Brazil, part of the entourage for Simone's cousin who was attending a couple of conferences there. It was an unmissible opportunity for us to see Brazil in the company of someone who spoke the language, and to meet Brazilians outside the usual touristic environment. We didn't realize just how big the country is, loosing several days from our itinerary in just getting from place to place. Lisbon Thursday 1 November A walk through the old city took us to a traditional Portuguese restaurant that did not deserve its reputation nor popularity. A dinner comprising uncooked kebab, cold fries, and a seafood stew of sorts with rice that tasted of nothing but fish was not the most auspicious start. Friday 2 November We found a nice Italian café for breakfast, then walked past the former now facade-only rail station with its double horseshoe arches, the square in front of the museum, and down Rua Augusta noting the elevator to higher levels of the city. At the large square reached through the Triumphal Arch and beside the river (Lisbon is 15km inland) we got on an open-deck bus. We drove past the art deco theatre, patterned paving, the bull ring in Moorish style, Edward VII Park, 25 April Bridge, Discoveries Monument, the Tower of Belém, and cut short the tour at Hieronymites Monastery in order to get to the airport. Tower of Belém Fortaleza Saturday 3 November The almost 7 hour flight from Lisbon to Fortaleza was not so nice with a cold. It was ...