Summer Heat and the Google UK Big Tent Event 2012

Firstly I must say I enjoyed this event… This is the 2nd year Google UK has run this event and it really is a place where great conversations can happen and awkward topics broached. It can also help people in the industry realise where everyday people are with tech in their lives – because that really is the information the industry seeks without assumption. The event itself was also accompanied by the Channel 4 news team and a posse of people from the Guardian newspaper that showed some interesting things later on, not to mention various journalists from a wide range of other publications.

First upPeter Barron from Google welcomed everyone as usual and kicked off the proceeding with – Porn: how do we keep our children safe online? Well this is an age old discussion, but one that is always sidelined through complete and total ignorance…  This is either because of the prudish nature of one or more of the participants, or simple discomfort.

Porn for all its sins is different in the eyes of each individual person, in cultures where people are generally covered up; the simple act of showing a bare arm can be enough to create a response, so while in western society we’re used to seeing semi naked bodies it often comes down to why should someone else’s beliefs impact you and how you should or should not dress and so on.  For this very reason there is no defined definition of what porn truly is. But the main question was raised by Daily Mail journalist Amanda Platell. Her point was that as a responsible parent wanting to make sure that her child doesn’t come across anything they should not online – what does she do? Especially as she’s not computer savvy and doesn’t know how to do things like block sites etc. She went on to say that government or the ISP’s should offer a service to make sure things are blocked. She then continued saying that the night before she’d gone to the site “pornhub.com” and described the sexual acts she watched being carried out… She did this in great detail. So before I finish this, on her recommendation we tried to find the said video… Nope, couldn’t find it anywhere!! Something similar, but not the one she described (so it was probably a good job I refrained from heckling “How many times did you have to watch it before you got off?”). Infact the subject covered was seriously “niche”, so we’ll leave you to your own thoughts to why she had to stand on a stage and describe all this in such detail. So, in response to what should a responsible parent who isn’t computer savvy do…. the answer is simple – LEARN!!

On to the totally awesome Dr. Aleks Krotoski  who showed off her Serendipity Engine which was interesting, insightful and frankly if the results of what could end up being a lifetime of research bear fruit – the very same system/algorithm etc will very probably prove the key to Chaos Theory.

The Minister of State for Science and Universities came on and proclaimed new things at universities yet missed the points completely. Even Eric Schmidt mentioned the UK has disregarded what made it good – leadership with flair and our skills. It almost seems to me that every country wants to have its own Silicon Valley – but they shouldn’t and can’t… We should do what we’re good at and in the global age it makes us stand out. The UK is the hands on engineering country… that’s it, pure and simple. However, we’re seriously lacking in training and education in schools, not just in Computer Science, but the far bigger and more vast areas that make up the rest that knowledgeable people talk about and the “App crowd” (there is a phrase I just invented and is now copyright TWBrit lol) don’t even know about – embarrassing stuff in front of engineers and people who build the infrastructure for the “App-Crowd” to use their toys on.

The next session was “Copyright in the Digital Age “This is one of the biggest subjects on and about the internet now. Some fascinating things were talked about here. Firstly the media industries as a whole need to re-address how they work out their losses and stop being so blinkered in their overall approach. Bottom line is that it created a rod for its own back, we’ve been recording music etc ever since it was possible to do so, whether music off the radio in the 70’s and of course hooking video machines together at home in the 80’s.

After lunch Eric Schmidt gave a fascinating talk about Globalisation and mentioned a few things like how in some schools in Africa they don’t have textbooks – they simply use Google and YouTube to teach from these. And then there was the obvious yet simple observation as to why educational and help software or information doesn’t come pre-installed on mobile phones; pointing out it’d cost very little or nothing to do so. He talked about the next billion users of Google and then got the whole thing kyboshed when some journalist kept pushing questions about stuff regarding Google and the EU Govt. which he answered that they’re waiting to hear exactly what the complaint is about so they can take a proper look at it. Yet the journo kept pushing… That’s not called great journalism – it’s called f’king everyones day up inside a tent with a room temp of around 130f (thanks moron!!) The result was that we didn’t get to hear good questions and become informed more. After all, we really wanted to hear what Eric had to so say – not listen questions on conjecture. But because of the nature of these questions Eric had to answer them clearly and properly.

Someone from the Guardian Newspaper then came on and did a bit about how they tracked the London Riots last year. They showed how little information the Police gave them, so they went to get court documents of who had been charged etc. Then they turned to Twitter and gained information of who tweeted what, the terminology used, the “#-tag” information and suddenly came up with some frankly amazing information, statistics and a mountain of other things. This simply and finally proved that our want and need for tech, apps and the latest thing – is the very thing that is creating a 100% guaranteed “Big Brother” future for all of us… remember : put any info out there – and it’s there forever!!

With the breaks becoming more and more needed due to the heat inside the main tented hall, it was refreshing to see and have a sit down with Dr Sue Black: not to be confused with the Curry Queen of Camden Town (I also just made that up). As soon as myself, Sue and this blogs editor Gabsatrucker sat down – the ladies went straight to geek mode in their phones and reminiscing of their road-trip between Little Rock and Austin, Texas a few weeks ago.  After briefly meeting Sue’s son, [hold it, I gotta add something] Sue Black has the most amazing kids, most of whom are grown up. But one has to wonder just what an amazing mom she is because every time I meet one of them – they are truly the nicest of energetic, confident and charismatic individuals. This of course doesn’t stop me yanking Sue’s chain a little, but as I’ve said before; Sue gives as good as she gets and is a straight arrow. If you ever get chance to meet Sue, your life will be better for it.

Anyway… Back into the sweat box for the final session mediated by the awesome Sarah Smith. This final session covered something that is becoming what I believe is a serious blight of the web; the true “Big Brother” issues surrounding the Web 2.0 and social media.

Ever since the dawn of the ability to write a letter, social media has grown and grown. Now that information is for sale, that information is all about you, me and everyone. Privacy is getting seriously trampled on, so in light of this two authors “Andrew Keen” and “Nick Harkaway” who have differing opinions on this subject took to the stage. In my own personal view, I feel both of them were 75% correct, but were offering no middle ground; they seemed to be at one extreme or the other.  Thankfully signed copies of their books were given out at the end of the day, so I’ll be sure to take my time and read both.

Typically I have been a little scathing at some things. While it was hot, we can’t blame Google for weather Gabsatrucker brought from the US, but in all things these were discussions. Insightful and highly educational – but simply discussions… who knows what they will amount to. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, enjoyed meeting the people I did, enjoyed Aleks Krotoski’s work and left in fear of what the surface media will make of it all.

Published in: on 25 May, 2012 at 10:05  Leave a Comment  
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Running for Joplin

It was year ago next Tuesday the 22nd May, that the small town of Joplin, Missouri hit TV screens around the world, and almost instantly the un-edited videos appeared on YouTube displaying the true nature of what had occurred as fights for survival were still happening.

It wasn’t a case of the magnitude of what happened in Japan or in many other places. But for the most part it was proportionately the same. A town was almost wiped from the map with over 160 dead and over 900 seriously injured. Identification was sometimes near impossible due the frankly horrific nature of what happened that day. This was of course a mile wide Tornado with winds in excess of 200 mph – a rare EL5… Stories of heroism abounded, stories of survival against all the odds and videos of both still litter YouTube.

It’s times like these that only selfless acts can or will save lives and those whose job it is to help, have to risk their own lives in order to save others – if you want to know what life is about, what true success is, then you just read it. Here is a video by CBS News that says it all – Joplin; a year on…

This Saturday I’m proud to say that Gabby, better known as Gabsatrucker is running in and for Joplin. Yes it’s a Half Marathon that raises money for the town – but it also tells a people that others still care deeply enough to help and to be there to help rebuild lives in whatever small way they can.

Published in: on 18 May, 2012 at 15:50  Comments (1)  
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The Week That Was…

So a lot seems to have happened in the last week, in fact a surprising amount. Microsoft showed off a new screen system in Austin, which reminded me of back in 2004 when they showed off their “Touch-Light” concept. It was so good I was all over them to get my hands on the finished product at a time when only Bill Gates was shouting the future of end-user tech will be all about touch interfaces and tablets… Indeed, at that time the only people really using it was Motion Computing on their tablets. Here is the original Touch-Light vid followed by their new concept.

Talking of Motion Computing; all I have stated here and on Twitter about them insomuch as don’t buy a bling toy tablet, buy the real deal from Motion… Well I really think they’re now getting to grips with the concept when this ad was emailed to me….

Motion, you could have at least offered  me a fully loaded J3500 in the post ;-)

That said, if I was given a gift of the products I do recommend – I’d have no room left. But what I would have – would totally rock! However, it turns out that parking of large wide-bodied aircraft isn’t exactly cheap – who knew…

This week saw two of the most disliked people in the UK give their evidence at the Leveson Inquiry; frankly I’m surprised they show their faces in public and I’ve never heard such evasive BS in my life.

Talking about evasive… President of Yanksville; Barack Obama, came out and stated that he has nothing against Gay marriages… I have no problem with it either. But what is gobsmacking, is the amount of people whom believe marriage is only a religious thing… Well if it were – how the hell did we all get here before Christianity, the Jewish and Muslim faiths? No, marriage is where two people have declared publicly that they wish to be together forever…  Not only this but in this argument regarding faith, irrespective to what you personally feel – ALL faiths have a core that states your greatest gift is freedom of choice… Not abstention – but to teach moderation and understanding…  This is whatever anyone wants it to be, but on the other side of the US political ranks; Mitt Romney claims he doesn’t remember shearing the scalp of a long-haired gay guy at college… Pranks aside, but I know and remember 99.5% of every prank that I did and in turn was done to me at school. Heck I remember every single first day at school I ever had. So instead of doing or saying something honourable – he denied remembering it… hmmmm interesting!! However, in a moment of coffee choking (care of Andrew Baron) he pointed towards what people were trending on Twitter about the issue.

moving on…

A week on Monday, intrepid blogger, one legged 1/2 marathon, sideways and nose runner not to mention this blogs hindrance and help “Gabsatrucker” heads to the UK for a while. Now Gabby is many things, and in this my sarcasm holds no bounds – but yesterday against 951 competitors she came third place and gained a new door stop, not only this – but she came 1st place in her age group – the age of the nearest person to beat her? 15 years younger!!

Well done G, very well done!!

And we don’t stop there with our intrepid travellers… Tech head, geek gurl, and one of my better friends; Sue Black is conference kicking over in NYC. While out and about with her younger daughter known to all as “The Cheekster”, well The Cheekster told Sue that her daddy should wear this….

I’ll leave you to worry about this yourselves. :D

 Sue is bouncing off to SF soon, but not before she makes arrangements to go drinking with Gabsatrucker in London upon her return…(under the guise of “I’ll get you away from that horrible man” – aw blessem) Thankfully with the Olympics drawing closer – the military has been busy moving a lot of weapons and hardware into central London, so people should feel somewhat safer at this knowledge and need not concern themselves with a return to rioting seen last year ;D

Fenny of Hooloovoo42 is also USA bound next Saturday too. Fenny tends to divide the US up into chunks to explore a couple of times a year and this time she’s kicking the far north-east and possibly over the Canadian border a ways. But just in case she gets into bother, I have notified 1 x Botson who is playing war on behalf of the Royal Air Force in the US at present and is due to head north to Canada in another week or so.

So what’s left? Oh yes, me :-)   Well last week I had blocked drains and had the joy of dealing with that for days until shovel came out – only to find the gas company had smashed straight through it to lay a gas line, also a little basic fault-finding on my washing machine which was this! And finally I have the joy of sitting with my lawyer next week to go through some old school stuff. Actually the lawyer is a good laugh, the school stuff – not so much. And with that – I’ll take my leave until my next post :-)

Published in: on 12 May, 2012 at 23:50  Comments (3)  
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March : In like a Lion and out like a Lamb

Or so they say…

Today I decided to sign up to Adobe’s Pre-launch software program in the vain of Photoshop CS6. You see, pre-launch software is vital and works for 12 months. As you can see on and around this blog, shop etc I use Photoshop CS2 a lot. I have tried trail software, but feel it rarely lasts long enough to be able to achieve enough of an understanding to commit to purchasing. At the same time Adobe, the number 1 graphics, audio, publishing and movie software company needs to get a real feel of how user friendly new things are and if there is anything wrong anywhere. I hope I’m accepted and of course if I am, there will be much Adobe talk in the future :-)
I must add that this in no way will improve my artwork on the grounds that my mind is apparently a dangerous thing, or place ;-)

This months and of course this week sees the beginning or South By South West (SXSW) over in Austin, Texas and I certainly wanted to be there this year.
The reason I’m not is the shear cost of the tickets!!
Austin makes a lot of money from SXSW, in fact it’s becoming the major source of income for the city, after of course, companies like Dell etc.
SXSW is the only event of it’s type in the world covering Tech through what it calls “Interactive”, and since its integration with the music and film, parts of sxsw it has been a place of real action, it was after all where Twitter got its hold on the world.

There are many that say the event is now losing it’s brilliance, innovation and energy to advertisers and end user tourism “CES with entertainment” was one quote.
I can’t comment personally because I haven’t been to it and with new knowledge that next year Sue Black and Gabsatrucker will be going together in 2013, it will leave sxsw uncharted territory (albeit, so help Austin ;-) )
There is more on this and the ever evolving sxsw on a post by Rocketboom’s Andrew Baron HERE
If you’re at or going to SXSW this year, I’d certainly love to hear your thoughts on all of the above. I feel it would be a great shame if it has become too commercialised and would love to know if there are ways to prevent it from becoming so.

Buddy Kevin down in Devon sent me an eBay link to something a little unusual.. a 6×6 Discovery – yep, they did make them and here it is.

[UPDATED] Next week will see the repatriation of 5 members of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment family (3Yorks) and a member of The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment (1 Lancs) to the UK after their sad loss in Afghanistan – a war that needs now to drawing to a close.
For those interested  Tuesday 20th March 2012 The plane will land at approx 1:30pm and the cortege will pass by the Memorial Garden at between 4:30pm and 5:00pm, reaching the John Radcliffe Hospital at around 6:00pm

I recently watched a fantastic interview with CBS Correspondent and native S.African Lara Logan at the Washington DC Press Club.
Lara has been in the press a lot over the last year due to her being attacked and almost killed in Cairo in 2011.
She has been in every major hotspot around the world for more than 10yrs and it becomes very apparent that she has a real insight, knowledge and a firm grip on the pulse of what is going on in the world, especially with regards Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
I respect this journalist very much and kinda wish she had her own “no holds barred” tv news channel that shows just how bad things really are in places. As for her personal life, the media seem to have taken a great interest in this – yet private lives are always kinda awkward and I certainly have no interest in that.
She is a very serious person, I certainly doubt she’d ever come by this blog, but if she did – I’d give anything to sit down and have a conversation with her.
Here is the interview/talk.

Published in: on 12 March, 2012 at 20:42  Leave a Comment  
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Ready for a new week?

A lot seems to have happened over the past few days; Lawyers seems to have been moving from one firm to another, a Monkee died, train crashes in Poland, a radio host in the US took to calling a girl a slut on air and yet not one Govt. has stood up and acted about Syria and the now “full-on” slaughter being carried out there – reminds me of when Blair stood up and said “that’s it” regarding Kosovo and then did absolutely nothing for months while the people were raped and murdered… Only then to go on and claim Kosovo as a victory…

So on that almost cheery note, I shall continue…
Help and hindrance “Gabsatrucker” has entered another tough Trail run for the end of the month. Strangely it has the tang line of “No Whining”… I think they meant “No Bloody Whingers”… At this rate Gabsatrucker will soon be renamed Sherpa Tenzing and words like K2, Eiger, Matterhorn, Everest and of course “The Piano is on my foot” will become all too common as she continues to find tougher and tougher challenges.
Hammy, old boarding school buddy and 24yr veteran of some strange outfit going by the name of The Black Watch, told me the other evening on Skype that he had been chopping a little firewood in preparation for the oncoming of winter.
Hammy lives in New Zealand (Sth Isle) hence winter is approaching. But seemed to be feeling a sense of achievement – well, then he posted his efforts on Facebook…


My response…”Whos winter… the bloody Eskimos?!” ;-)

Also this weekend I had a brief email with another escapee from school who seems to have spent a lifetime in the Royal Navy doing some very interesting things indeed. He even seems to have played host a couple of years back to my old mob The Duke of Wellington’s Regt, now of course known as 3Bn Yorkshire Regiment.

It is time to ramp up the support for the our Falkland Island cousins so I have designed a mug logo to support the freedom of the Islanders. Frankly, the prices are as low as I can go, but really – CafePress, your base prices are vicious!!!
Anyway, I’m buying one of them and I hope you all do too. Just click on the shop link over there on the right or on any of the images below.

Published in: on 4 March, 2012 at 23:00  Comments (3)  
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Whoooaaa!!

I know, it’s a catchy post title, but that was the point ;-)
So, in a week that brought us my buddy Dr Sue Black asking her other half to marry her on Facebook, the sad news that Davy Jones of the Monkees has died, Gabsatrucker looking on in disbelief as a locksmith offered to unlock her friends car with a lump hammer, Angelina Jolie proved that she has finer legs than any table and I made my own cup of Tea for the first time in years – yer gotta ask “what’s next?”

Well I’m getting drawn more into Adobe art things and think I’d like to qualify properly in it at some point, so much so I bought a Wacom drawing tablet, and for those whom know me – me actually spending anything is kinda rare (especially on myself). So it was to the finest market in the world (eBay) to acquire said item for 1/3 its RRP. :-)
This my friends also means you’re gonna have to put up with more of my crazy artwork at some point :D

Now… The Argies..
On my birthday, it will be the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War… I remember this war well, a few friends of mine fought in it, most notably in South Georgia,  Goose Green, and the other, after establishing the Beach Head at San Carlos, walked 70+ miles to battle.
The reason I mention this isn’t because I have some benign rhetoric on this issue – just that simply, the UK isn’t shouting about this, there is no dispute here. Argentina on the other hand is running around screaming blue murder everywhere and even getting famous folk like Sean Penn and now Roger Waters of Pink Floyd harping on about it…
JUST SO WE’RE CLEAR… The Falkland Islands are NOT under UK control, they no longer belong to the UK – they belong to the people of the Falkland Islands…
WE on that basis (and that they wish to remain British) will defend their right to do so…
Basically the freedom of the people of the Falklands is our priority… as it should be for any free and fair society on earth.
The military strength on the Falklands is simply at a level to repel another illegal invasion of the islands and incarceration of its people. People failing to understand this have a serious flaw in their over all ability to be intelligent – I should know, I’ve met a few flawed folks in my time (and you should see me when I’m drunk).

Moving on:
I was grimacing about some fashiony type things while being shown a website on Skype the other day, this led to Gabsatrucker falling about laughing and suggesting I should create a fashion blog or website with my point blank point of view (i.e. as rude as hell). This I could see strangely working because my opinion is often very straight, blunt and clear – when you look like sh*te, I’ll tell yer. This is based of course on a lifetime’s practice of looking this way, which I believe (as do others) puts me squarely in the ballpark of being ever correct and on the ball… But it will of course be funny, very rude and probably get me sued :D

This blog’s very own culinary expert in all things of where is best to eat wherever you are in the world (Dom Joly) [ok, I say "this blog's", but I simply tweet him and he tells me where to go] is drawing his epic global monster hunting expedition to a close as he looks for real life source material for his book due to be released later this year.
As I write this, Dom is in Tibet and due to return to Blighty tomorrow. As such he has been filling the columns of The Independent newspaper and you can read about his exploits HERE and check out some of his pics HERE. If you want a fun read though, Dom’s other great book “The Dark Tourist”, and you can find it at Amazon by simply clicking this book cover.

Finally…
Now I know I mentioned the new life brought into this world by Gabriela and of course Dad; Alex Elwood… but how can I go without posting a pic?
Ladies and Gentlemen from whatever country you reside, whatever language, faith, creed or other things you hold dear, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to:

Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and better known to you as

Benjamin Elwood

Published in: on 29 February, 2012 at 23:34  Leave a Comment  
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Busy weekend for many

The news of this weekend is about all the  things others seem to be doing – and this kicked off with @jamescraven28 informing me that it is one of those very rare occasions – raining in Saudi!! He then went on to try to recruit me to the eastern region. This I’m not against, but working in the east comes with a possible benefit – living in Bahrain and commuting to work.

The day also brought this blogs hindrance and help Gabsatrucker, out running a steady 10 miler before breakfast with her running crew and then Twitter buddy @amanjo was doing a run up a sky scraper in aid of “Fight For Air Climb”. She did however making one major mistake – she mentioned she’d be on Fox 9 tv station… a few clicks of the mouse and live streaming commenced as you can see ;-)

Now… it only seems like yesterday that we welcomed this blogs anarchist and accomplished song writer and pianist Alex Elwood and his better half Gabriela brought their first-born into to the world. That was March 2010 and today I can happily also state that Elwood 2.0 has arrived albeit a week and a half late… I shall resist a comment on that – but here is what Alex posted on Facebook.

Congratulations to everyone today, but a heartfelt one goes especially to Alex and Gabriela.

Published in: on 25 February, 2012 at 20:08  Leave a Comment  
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A Busy Few Days

This last week has been a hive of activity in the TWBrit bunker… Much of this has been around doing various amounts of artwork for a Café Press shop which is still very basic. The thing that kills me about Café Press and all of these online print shops is while for a one-off item things are “ok” in pricing – they’re unique etc… But the mark up on the basic items is practically daylight robbery!!  Items like mugs cost in excess or $10 before you even put a logo on – which after a quick scout around Chinese suppliers online turn up to cost little more than 0.35c !! But then there is what will and will not work as artwork.. I did this for a fun if not crazy mug print (click to make it bigger), it looks great as a hi-def image, on the site – it looks dire… So the weekend is here and I’ll take a break from it. As and when it’s ready there will be a shop link over in the right hand column –>

Also this week, Bill Gates… Now here is a guy I have a little time for… no, not because he has more money than several countries put together (he earned it, he deserves it!!) but he did a couple of things this week; firstly he said on BBC News  – he should pay more tax… Tax should feel to have the same impact on me as it does on the rest of society – it’s only fair… Well that I can respect… in another interview he told of how they had all but eradicated Polio in India – Polio (thanks to the Gates Foundation) is a heartbeat from being the 2nd ever disease to be entirely eradicated – Rockin!! Then at a south London school, students looked on with jaws hanging open as the guest speaker stepped up to talk to them – yep, the very  same Bill Gates!! The guy is a friggin rock star!

I have been enjoying a blog recently, I started getting hits from somewhere in California and then some WordPress “Likes” tags…. So I went to look at Lesley Carter’s blog…   and apart from a bit of baby talk, she runs a truly great blog about her travels and adventures – it’s really is enough to take your mind off the daily grind and well worth a read. I should re-do all my Blog Roll listings and include hers.

On the subject of blogs – @Ritchhh has decided to give the blogasphere a hefty kick with his new blog. Now, it’s early days and there is a little “feet finding” going on… but he’ll be kicking it real soon enough…

Big talks this week about going to SXSW… if so – when? And then how long for? And so on… It all started when Sue Black of the infamous “Mustang Sue’s Wreckin Crew” asked if and when we’re going… Well the real question is can I survive a Mustang Sue’s hard-assed partying, the other is sheer cost – we’ll see ;)

Fenny this week sounds like she has fought on the battlefields of apprenticeships and employment… well my answer to this is – you’re only here once… kill’em all ;)

The blogs help and hindrance @Gabsatrucker has not only chalked up some good fitness mileage of late but has also started her road in tech know-how and professionally qualified genius status – and good for her…

In other news, we had a solar storm! A large one, but not a monster thankfully, but they’re still expecting a huge one at some point. As yet, the total damage is unknown, but we’ll know soon enough… if you don’t know about solar storms – HERE is a post I did in 2009 that has been referenced by many including the media.

And last but not least – Monty Python :) Yep the boys are coming back to do a CGI Sci-Fi movie and I for one can’t wait!! No doubt it’ll cause offence to the weak of mind…. But who needs them anyway ;)

Published in: on 28 January, 2012 at 10:07  Comments (2)  
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Austin… the saving grace of Texas

Now I could go into the history of this City, the capital of Texas – but that is what Wikipedia is for… so go there to read it ;-)

I on the other hand will write of my brief experience of this Oasis of a city and one I’d like to return to. Beyond the complaints of the I-35, a little known parking lot that runs the entire length of Austin. As you approach Austin at night it looks like an oasis of high-tech and modern living. Indeed, Andrew Baron of Rocketboom even called this city “The saving grace of Texas” and for the most part I can see why.

Oh, it is an oasis… but furthermore it’s also a city of culture and has a “cosmopolitan feel” if you like. Like all modern cities though, the concept of skyscrapers in the centre have not escaped Austin, crushing much of it’s history into oblivion. Yet down there in the heart of it is the famed and acclaimed 6th Street and if you add in 4th, 5th and Congress Avenue… then there is more than a heart beat or pulse of this city’s history and entertainment right there.

These days, the area of South Austin seems to have a greater vibe, open parks, restaurants, leafy suburbs and a greater “wellbeing” feel. Something I found very attractive and yes from what I could see, it’s obvious the town planners have long term goals for making the city greener and healthier than most.

Austin like any large city has its good and bad, the first day we walked down 6th Street (2nd Jan) around 2pm and a full on brawl broke out in front of us. Two guys punching the living daylights out of each other without a care in the world of who they bounced into, or where in the world they were from.. No police presence, and while I sidestepped them as they flew past – this blogs buddy @Gabsatrucker got fully barged out of the way by them, just before skulls met the concrete sidewalk. This was certainly, how should I say… interesting… We went to Starbucks and I said “soooo, this is Austin huh?” Gabby on the other hand was really not happy either… This was on the back of the news that on New Years morning 3 people had been shot, one to death and someone was killed trying to cross the I-35… Kinda leaves you with a cheery feel… That and the fact that Austin has oh so many people begging on street corners in the 4th,5th and 6th street areas at night.

But nevertheless… there is a vibe to the city as a whole you can’t quite put your finger on, the south is awesome and the club names like Antone’s, reverberate through the music scene globally. In fact one night in Antone’s made up for a lot of the misgivings we had earlier.

Yes Austin does have it’s many sides, but it’s this mix that probably makes it so intriguing and apart from having to change hotels due to rather unpleasant smell at the first one – it is a city I will definitely spend more time to explore.

Austin also has quite a few interesting slogans “Keep Austin Weird” is something you’ll see just about everywhere and then the “Austin, Live Music Capitol of the World” and it’s fair to say they’re not wrong! It’s a city of modern culture, hi-tech industries, fitness and fresh air – heck they even name the flight between Silicon Valley and Austin the “Nerd Bird”… It also has to be right up there with as one of the biggest conference venues in the world along side cities like Dubai and with it being home to South by South West (SXSW) there are hotels galore – some better than others, but the closer you get to downtown the prices go from reasonable to extortionate.

This is one of the major centres of entrepreneurship in the US and certainly with regards to technology, but it’s frankly stunning that Dell computers does not seem to have anything for the public, nerds and geeks to visit or see… In fact I was seriously surprised there was little in the way of Dell’s visibility at all – certainly an opportunity lost on Dell’s part. A “Dell Technology Showcase” or “Experience” is seriously needed.

With so much going on I think the city will grow, continue cleaning its image. But if you want to enjoy a fitness lifestyle, then look no further than this awesome city with the Lance Armstrong cycle way, large parks and running areas and even a park on the water front with a special area to allow dogs to run freely.

Yes, it’s right to keep Austin weird, but it’s also right to redesign and build for future tourism, future-tech transportation systems and greener more hi-tech lifestyle and I really think Austin will…. Because if it doesn’t, it’ll just grow more monolithic buildings and increase its number of tourist t-shirt shops that will be more about a “has-been” city than the heart and soul of the great state of Texas… I some how doubt that will happen though :-)

Austin is (with insight from; Andrew Baron, Gabsatrucker and Mary Hennig and adored by Dr Sue Black )

100% TWBrit Highly recommended

I guess I should make an actual TWBrit approved logo now then lol…

Published in: on 13 January, 2012 at 02:27  Leave a Comment  
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The Eagle City and watching the generation of Pain

(do click on pics to expand – most pics taken with a Motorola Atrix 2 phone)

So… after my face finally tried to explode then got better, I jumped on a 747 for DC, thanks to finally having a decent Dentist and his assistant. Into Dulles and transport into DC was straight forward: for the exact fare of $6 (no change given) the 5A bus on the far right of the upper level gets you to the Rosslyn Metro Station… for the Blue and Orange Metro lines..In my case, I was heading to Foggy Bottom and where my first frustration of DC took place. My sense of direction is good in the very worse case… so how did I end up outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy? :(

Well DC Metro could better their “You are here” directional maps and maybe even put a North, East, South, West mosaic on the pavement outside the stations – because it seemed every one was getting lost lol….

Kit dumped, and off in search of food, beer and delights that this city had in… which yielded results in the form of Marshalls Bar and Grill – wonder why I chose that place lol.
The Following day, sunshine was gone and in its place sleet and snow and the presence of the one I’d come to trip up – @gabsatrucker on the 36th USMC Marathon… Then on to apparently pick up what they call “The Packet” in Marathon circles – aka sign in, get your t-shirt and loads of freebies. This took place right across the other side of town at the Stadium Armory.

And what a Marathon…. 30,000 people willing to suffer, including a load of guys from 3 Rifles and 16 Air Assualt..
The 16 Air Assault guys were staying at the same hotel and the locals were bemused to see 12 guys getting ready to run 26 miles with beers and cigarettes… I pointed out that it was just the way things are in the British Army, if you can’t run a marathon drunk – where’s the fun of running a marathon at all  ;)

Washington DC is a bland city in many respects, there aren’t shops obviously located, Malls are so hidden, you walk right by. If it wasn’t for the amazing monuments and its historical and political heart, I fear it’d be boring…

But amongst the bland grey limestone, DC is incredibly colourful… with autumn kicking in fast, the sun rising and illuminating the features of a city known throughout the world… it was a majestic sight and a place of real presence.

The Marathon was getting underway, and the sheer numbers were impressive if not retarding by the sheer mass. In fact I would say that because of it, no one could seriously consider making a good time. The amount of people out cheering was stunning and the support, totally outstanding.

I headed from Arlington Cemetery across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Lincoln Memorial…


Cheering crowds behind me I started to come across memorials which for some reason I thought were elsewhere.

First was the Korean War memorial… the statues here tell their own story, and while fantastic to see in this light, I kinda wish there had been a ground mist or mild fog to enhance the atmosphere of it… Awesome…

So I walked on and came across the one memorial you can’t not have heard of… The Vietnam War Memorial.
With so few people around I took my time, looking at the simplicity of this slit in the ground, bearing witness to a hard fought fight for what many believe was a bullshit war… So much so, the veterans had to fight tooth and nail for this memorial and the fact that this place exists at all. It is witness to the determination of those whom witnessed this war first hand and knew it must not be forgotten.

Here the names mean nothing to me at all… (other than the names of the 7th Cavalry) here, a monument that had nothing to do with my own nation and a war that has seen the inside of Hollywood and the butt of much sarcasm… but I can’t help but say that when I drew close to the centre of this place, I became choked…

It’s powerful to stand in the shadow of monolithic black slabs bearing the names that few truly care about.
It’s a message as well as a remembrance… and one we today are so ready to ignore…

The Nam memorial to me – was indeed a moving experience and something a nation should be and is proud of… for every name, there is deep suffering, and you start to feel it standing there. As many of my regular readers may have noted, I have immense respect for the retired Lt General Hal Moore… It is through his experiences and the testimony of his men that I have come to learn so much more about this war and what it was truly about. Yet I cannot, not even for one minute, imagine what these men went through, or how the living must feel when standing here.

On then… and walking east I noticed that in the sun it was warm and in the shade – bloody freezing.. And if I stayed in the sun in any one place too long, I suddenly got cold again… the reason was this…

I never really thought about how big this sucker was – but it’s Bloody HUGE!!!!!

Also with the help of a park ranger we managed to hold my new phone steady enough to zoom in half a mile to grab a pic of the White House – so I didn’t have to walk the mile there and back to get it ;-)

Back to the Marathon and noticing that the USMC really like to fly their helicopters low – at tree top level (especially when it’s a Huey)…
The stream of colour and encouragement that was the marathon, was broken intermittently by the hard punching sound of rock in the form of live bands and on this occasion – the School of Rock itself.. In other areas, there was Blue Grass and just about every style of music being performed live!

Another pic I only just got was of two marines running, one was blind and being chaperoned by his buddy – that to me is dedication and the force of will to carry on, be a part of society and something I just felt moved by.

Gabby stopped by for a photo opportunity (show off) and I headed towards the Metro…
Seriously… The DC Metro, dark, dingy and VERY badly sign posted and probably the worse ticket machines on the planet – lol… If you go, here’s the trick – shove your cash in first ;-)

Off to the finish line where I met loads of amazing people, most looking salty and crusty… I spoke to one guy who was trying to stretch his muscles out. He had come in from Nashville for the race and the night before had proposed to his GF, who also came over – now having a “Just Engaged” label covering her back… Of course as a guy I do know to ask to see her ring ;-) and frankly I can honestly say I really don’t think I’ve seen a rock that large that wasn’t fitted to a royal crown… I can only assume that guy owns a carrot farm ;-)

With @Gabsatrucker finishing I couldn’t help notice the sheer number of US Marines limping…. But being fair, they were accompanied by 30,000 others whom all seemed to have learned the same dance – this is apparently called the MCM Shuffle :-)

One thing I will also add, the Medal for this Marathon was stunning!! Seriously!! even the little blue globe thing spins around – other marathon organisers should take note!!

Well the numbers were large, the organisation was good, the long walk around the Pentagon to the start line yielded some things of interest… a couple of Osprey’s flew over and everyone took pics. It was all very Sci-Fi really with a thought of – that’s the future of modern policing right there..
Another thing was, they apparently don’t like you taking pictures of the Pentagon.. except from the memorial side… But the thing is, no one went past that side and we were far enough from the building to honestly state that all sides look exactly the same – but apparently it’s ok to to take pics of the prime area of where terrorists prefer to attack…
Basically, in Washington I became all too aware (as did some of the 16 Air Assault guys) that they are paranoid about security and frankly know fk-all about it… I would elaborate, but that would be just wrong.

But in no way is this a whinge, DC is great… the people are fantastic and true to fine American hospitality at its very best; Gabsatrucker got booted and suited after the Marathon and took me to dinner and showed me around and got me to see and do all I wanted.

A great weekend, good to catch up with Gabby again (after all, she bought the food – yet…. no cake) and the one thing i’ll remember is DC is a city of bright colours :-)

Back to Dulles for me, sit staring at the BA 777 until such time to board… It turned out we had a helluva following wind and hit London in 5.5hrs!! doing 760 mph only to sit in a stack for what seemed like an eternity…

I was brought to the attention of this when I heard someone state “but a 777 can’t go this fast”  We soon reduced speed – but it left me wondering what the structural limit of the 777 truly is.

Hey ho, life’s like that lol…

Especially after Gabby posted this picture of me looking bewildered around Rosslyn when I really try to stay anonymous ;-)

Published in: on 3 November, 2011 at 01:30  Comments (3)  
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