Storm win over the Dream!
I had to get the news on the Internet since I was in Sweden. I went to game 1 of the finals with Shannon. We also went to game 2 of the conference championship series against Phoenix. We were there for both Seattle Storm wins in the 2004 WNBA Championship series. A long drought. It is great to see good basketball from great seats at a low price. My seats for the championship game were a third of the price of the nosebleed section for the upcoming Illinois-Gonzaga men’s game at Key Arena. And that game means next to nothing for either team. I still miss my Sonics. Curse you Howard Schultz and you Oklahoma dickheads.
Hiking in Tyresta National Park
Tyresta National Park is a beautiful and unique landscape just outside of Stockholm Sweden. I enjoyed a nice day hike there while visiting the city for the UA Europe Conference in September. The park is a giant hunk of granite that has been pulverized and reformed over hundreds of millions of years. It provides a fertile table for all kinds of lush vegetation. A variety of mosses and lichens and ferns carpet the exposed rock.
The well-maintained trails meander through forests, meadows, marshes, bogs, and even an area gutted by fire. The fire destroyed a significant portion of the park about ten years ago. Now central part of the trail system makes an eerie traverse of the burnt landscape. It is not barren though. Shrubs and grasses have filled in the bare spots and the forest is regenerating.
The route I followed was 14 kilometers and took my about four hours. That included a few breaks. The trail is mostly flat. The only encumbrances are roots and stones. Wooden boardwalks take your through the marshy areas with dry feet. Other parts of the trail leave the dirt path and take you over sections of smooth rock. The trail is easy to follow. But it is also marked at close intervals by colored shapes painted or nailed to trees. Signposts with distances are at all trail intersections.
Getting to the park from Stockholm is easy by subway and bus. The 807 bus travels regularly throughout the day from Gullmarsplan to the village of Tyresta By. The village is the site of an ancient Viking Settlement. A small farm offers sandwiches and beverages. There is a modern visitor center with free maps and helpful staff. And access to Tyresta is free!
Hi-speed Internet is long overdue
It was interesting to read that a public utility in Chattanooga is offering one gigabit internet service – albeit at $350 per month. But it shows a couple of things. One, that the capacity is a function of economics and not the technology. Two, that a public utility is able to offer something that my for-profit provider won’t. It is a shame the US Internet structure is so inferior to other countries. We’ve allowed anti-competitive monopolies to take control of this vital resource.
Personally I use a premium Comcast service. It costs $60 per month for 22 down and 5 up. This relatively high speed (by American standards) is consistently delivered right on the numbers. I’m always getting what I’m supposed to be getting. It is using the same pipe as the lower speed mainstream service. But good luck getting consistent bits with that.
If we really had a capitalist system I should be able to choose between any of the providers in the country based on price. Bits are bits and mine are packet-switched around the world on a minute by minute basis. All the routing infrastructure should be supported with a flat tax that takes into account regional variations in costs. We also need to legally separate the bit providers from the content providers. I don’t need Comcast forcing me to accept packages of content that I don’t like.
Not keeping up with the kids
A quick review of this week’s top music downloads shows I’m as clueless as ever about today’s ute. Of the top ten, I like Katy Perry and Kesha. I’m still trying to come to grips with that. I’ve heard of Usher, Nelly and Taylor Swift but can’t name a song by any of them. Never heard of Taio Cruz or B.o.B. Enrique Iglesias? Is that Julio’s kid? And Eminem. How does that idiot reemerge on the charts after ten years?
About this site
This is a site for general musings of a personal nature for me, Joe Welinske. I’m a lifelong bleeding heart liberal, securely tucked under the left wing of politics, and I’m a card carrying supporter of the ACLU.
I’m pretty good at separating my work from my personal. So if you are interested in the work side, please check out writersua.com and my work blog. No politics or profanity there.
British Airways boarding pass app – broken but interesting
I was doing the check-in process on my laptop for a British Airways flight when it offered me the option of using their iPhone app. I guess it supposed to act as a digital boarding pass. The app downloaded to my phone just fine but bonked with an error when I tried to access my flight info. Good thing I had printed the pass too.
I’m interested to see how it works when it actually works. It would obviate the need to have access to a printer. That would be cool. There could be a lot of cool add-ons but I doubt they will happen. For example, once I’m logged in it could find my location on the ground and overlay that on an interactive airport map. It could tie into live flight updates at the terminal and let you know when boarding starts.
