Monday, June 8, 2009
Turkey Photos
Selected Turkey photos are up, complete with a map. I generally picked good photos over novel ones. Enjoy. http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/Turkey
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Turkey cop-out.
Yinz have been very patient with regards to the (lack of) Turkey postings. I'm going to delay further by directing you to Tim's Blog and Photo Album. I hope that will help you to know what we did, while I conjure up some color commentary.
Report on the Monday Night Skate
At the risk of irreparably damaging some of my new friendships, I thought I'd comment on Zurich's roller skating scene. I just returned from this season's second installment of the Monday Night Skate, bringing the Switzerland total to one in Aarau and two in Zurich. This should be more than enough fodder to compare it with San Francisco's Friday Night Skate.
In short, the Swiss skates are way larger, enough that it changes everything. The most people I could remember on the dozen or so FNS events I attended was close to 100, and usually it was around half that. Two weeks ago, the first Zurich skate drew 1000, and I suspect tonight was similar. So, unlike the FNS where we have, well, D, the Swiss skates have routes and maps and safety volunteers and medics and a police escort and an ambulance.
So how does it break down? The FNS is far more treacherous, and in my mind, far more fun. The Zurich course is pretty flat (though the Arrau one is rolling farmland, so it's like skating through the Midwest). SF streets have cars, busses, bikes, people having cigarettes outside of bars, and more than their share of potholes. There's none of that on the Swiss skates, though they're not without hazards: dozens of tram-rail crossings, and about a thousand other people skating right next to you.
The pace of the Swiss skates is much slower and steadier, so there's one break instead of 8 for the same distance (~12 mi). It also means that folks tend to bump -- or at least skate too close -- and subsequently wipe out. After kissing the pavement in Aarau, I decided to hang back in the crowd where it's not so crazy.
Well, that was the plan. A few minutes before today's Zurich skate, I was recruited for mobile traffic cone. In short, they dress you up in bright green, give you some blinkenlights, and then ask you to skate ahead, stand in the street, wait for the group to pass, and then skate back up to the front. So I did that a bunch of times.
The verdict? It's not bad. It replaces the skating-next-to-people-all-the-time problem with a have-to-pass-everyone problem. So generally, I think it's safer. Also, it means you have license to go balls out in the middle of the street, which solves the too-slow problem. It's also exhausting.
In the end, I'll probably traffic cone again -- there's not much to lose -- and I'm undecided about heading out to Aarau on alternate weeks. It was a decent enough skate, and scenic, but it's also ~50 minutes each way, which is not awesome. We'll see.
In short, the Swiss skates are way larger, enough that it changes everything. The most people I could remember on the dozen or so FNS events I attended was close to 100, and usually it was around half that. Two weeks ago, the first Zurich skate drew 1000, and I suspect tonight was similar. So, unlike the FNS where we have, well, D, the Swiss skates have routes and maps and safety volunteers and medics and a police escort and an ambulance.
So how does it break down? The FNS is far more treacherous, and in my mind, far more fun. The Zurich course is pretty flat (though the Arrau one is rolling farmland, so it's like skating through the Midwest). SF streets have cars, busses, bikes, people having cigarettes outside of bars, and more than their share of potholes. There's none of that on the Swiss skates, though they're not without hazards: dozens of tram-rail crossings, and about a thousand other people skating right next to you.
The pace of the Swiss skates is much slower and steadier, so there's one break instead of 8 for the same distance (~12 mi). It also means that folks tend to bump -- or at least skate too close -- and subsequently wipe out. After kissing the pavement in Aarau, I decided to hang back in the crowd where it's not so crazy.
Well, that was the plan. A few minutes before today's Zurich skate, I was recruited for mobile traffic cone. In short, they dress you up in bright green, give you some blinkenlights, and then ask you to skate ahead, stand in the street, wait for the group to pass, and then skate back up to the front. So I did that a bunch of times.
The verdict? It's not bad. It replaces the skating-next-to-people-all-the-time problem with a have-to-pass-everyone problem. So generally, I think it's safer. Also, it means you have license to go balls out in the middle of the street, which solves the too-slow problem. It's also exhausting.
In the end, I'll probably traffic cone again -- there's not much to lose -- and I'm undecided about heading out to Aarau on alternate weeks. It was a decent enough skate, and scenic, but it's also ~50 minutes each way, which is not awesome. We'll see.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Milan
Last weekend (the 24th and 25th) I went to Milan. I took a 7am train from Zurich on Saturday, hoofed it around for a while, crashed near the train station, and took a 7pm train back on Sunday night. Pictures should appear shortly here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/Milan
There were some questions with regards to my packing for the weekend trips. Actually, skepticism is a better word. I hope that the first two pictures put things in perspective. As you can see, there's ample space for a change of clothes, books, travel documents, and all manners of gadgetry.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/Milan
There were some questions with regards to my packing for the weekend trips. Actually, skepticism is a better word. I hope that the first two pictures put things in perspective. As you can see, there's ample space for a change of clothes, books, travel documents, and all manners of gadgetry.
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