I have been using last.fm to keep track of the music I listen to for over two years now. On my two year anniversary back in January I had accumulated a total of 31,236 songs played. On average that is 42.8 songs per day, every day, for two years. Obviously you can’t look at the data like that, because there were times where the iPod would be in the car on a weekend road trip playing non-stop, while other days there was little time for more than a three song set. In the end, no matter how you slice it, that’s a impressive number.
Archive for February, 2008
A recent survey reported on by ABC news reveals that nearly half of all Australians are below the acceptable benchmark for understanding their own language. I touched on this data in a previous post, where I expressed astonishment in the size of that number. In a press release I read today Frontier College, Canada’s original literacy organization, is calling for greater attention to be paid toward literacy rates in our country. In the press release they indicate that, “Forty-two percent of adult Canadians don’t have the literacy skills they need to participate in today’s workforce.” The data is drawn from the International Adult Literacy Survey done in 2003, and updated in 2005, that indicates that approximately 42% of adult Canadians fall within Levels 1 and 2. Level 3 and higher is considered necessary to function using technology and information found in many of today’s households and workplaces. This data is again discussed in a recent Toronto Star article ‘Education ministers tackle 40% illiteracy rate‘.
When this study uses the term ‘literacy’ it is not talking about the commonly understood meaning ‘being able to read and write’, because we can see from the CIA factbook, Canada has a literacy rate of 99%. The report uses the term to describe how well a person can read and write. Level 1 on the prose literacy scale indicates below middle school skills, while Level 2 indicates below high school skills. To think that half the population of a first world country, and almost half of Canadians, do not possess the literacy skills to function in today’s society is nothing short of frustrating. Despite these numbers that stupefy me, Canada finishes a solid third in world literacy rankings behind Norway (1) and Bermuda (2), and ahead of Switzerland (4) and the United States (5).
The full report can be obtained online for free from Statistics Canada.
The AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) is releasing a shirt covered with the annotated gene sequence map of human chromosome 1, to celebrate the mapping of the human genome. The t-shirt was featured on a recent cover of Science magazine. I may or may not want this shirt. [via gizmodo]
1301 florescent light bulbs were installed beneath a stretch of high voltage power lines and were powered by the magnetic field created by the power lines. It was an art installation, but is also some pretty cool science. [via Gizmodo]
Not one to waste an opportunity to see something I’ve never seen before, I landed in Los Angeles with thoughts of fame and stardom. I had booked into the LAX Travelodge, as I had found a fantastic rate online, and I did not want to worry about finding my way around Los Angeles. By the time I looked into a hostel, then got to it, I’d have wasted a lot of time and probably come out even money. The only complaint I have about the Travelodge is that the free shuttle took forever to come. I must have just missed a shuttle and ended up waiting the better part of an hour for the next pick-up. I was getting a bit antsy because I feared this delay would cost me the opportunity to book onto a tour of LA.
After checking in my first question was about getting on a tour. As I guessed, this hotel, and I’m sure every other one, works with a particular tour company, and they had a bus going out in about 30 minutes. I signed up, checked into my room for a quick clean up, and was back in the lobby in time to meet my bus. I was on the early afternoon tour, and doing the math I wouldn’t want to be departing any later, as being winter the sun would be setting around 5:00pm.
The tour was just what I expected it to me, no more and no less. I selected the general LA tour which made stops at the Farmers Market, Hollywood Boulevard and all the buildings there (the Kodak Theater, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, a big mall, and the Roosevelt Hotel), then on through Beverly Hills (no sign of the Walsh’s) and finishing on Rodeo Drive. It was from Hollywood Blvd. that we got a view of the famous Hollywood sign, and I was able to snap a photo right before low cloud cover rolled in and erased it from sight. I was able to compare my foot size in the prints of many of Hollywood’s great: Humphrey Bogart, George Burns, Gregory Peck, Rita Hayworth and Jack Nicholson to name but a few. As we drove from location to location we passed many ‘historic’ locations such as: Flynt Publications, The House of Blues, CBS Studios (home of the Price is Right), FOX Studios, The Viper Room, and countless others I don’t care to recall. I think the funniest part of the tour that I have neglected to mention is that on this bus that can hold upwards of 30 people there were 3 of us. Talk about the personal touch! The tour lasted about 5 hours, but I calculate that just less than half of that was spent in the bus driving and sitting in traffic. There are a lot of cars in LA, and I’m happy I don’t have to negotiate the grid lock. The driver called this a light day — I’d hate to see a heavy day.
At the conclusion of the tour or driver dropped off the other two guests first then headed back toward my hotel. As we drove down the coast I looked up to see a sign the helpfully reminded me that a gratuity was expected to be given to the driver. Ah yes, the tip. I hadn’t tipped in just shy of a year. It is not something you forget how to do, but it does make one a bit upset to know that a tip is required, thus in my mind, making it less a tip and more a service charge. Can’t we just call it what it is? As I was saying, as we drove back to my hotel the driver continued providing information of a Hollywood type about this and that movie being filmed here and there. We drove right passed the basketball court used in the filming of White Men Can’t Jump and all I could think was, “Damn, I’m gonna have to tip extra for this.”
I ended me day with a meal at the 24 hour Denny’s attached to my hotel and retired to my room for a bit of TV, free Internet, and a much needed rest in my king sized bed. I didn’t feel overly jet lagged, as I manged to nap here and there on the plane. Considering I just did what physicists have spent a life time arguing, namely time travel, I felt more tired than anything else. I had left Auckland at 7:40pm and landed at 10:00am the same day (9h40m before I left). My biggest concern was how to manage the time stamps on my camera (in the end I just left them on New Zealand time). In the long run I was just given back the day that was stolen from me on my initial flight to Australia, but what they didn’t bank on was the plethora of jokes from the 1985 classic film Back to the Future I was now legitimately able to use in conversation with friends.
Below is a short 3 minute video montage of my time in Los Angeles, and with that, this concludes my 11 months abroad.
My 15 days in New Zealand had come to an end. As I returned the car at the airport and picked up my suitcase from luggage storage, I didn’t give much thought to my impending departure. I still had a 12 hour flight to Los Angeles and a 23 hour layover before I landed in Toronto. As mentioned periodically in previous posts my friend from University, who spent the last few years teaching in New Zealand, was flying back to Canada on the same day as me, all be it on a different airline and a via a different path. We met up in the airport lounge for a final beverage before our flights. And that, as they say, was that.
I left Tauranga and pointed the car toward Auckland. The day was as all days had been recently, overcast with the threat of rain. I had remembered seeing a tunnel to nowhere and a walking bridge on my way to Tauranga, and planned to stop and explore on the return journey. The town was called Karangahake, and after reading signs I learnt that it was an old gold mine town that I wished I had more time to experience.
History Alert!
Karangahake became the centre of the Ohinemuri gold fields in 1878. At the Crown mine, the world’s first field test of the cyanide process of gold extraction took place. The mines covered 507 acres at a vertical range of 1500 feet, and produced 3,510,691 ounces of bullion valued at ₤2,958,013. At the end of the First World War, known ore reserves were exhausted, forcing closure in 1918. (source)
End Alert.
I had the better part of an hour to explore this large area, and had to choose carefully which direction to begin my walk. I decided to head toward an old train tunnel that had since been decommissioned and transformed into a walking trail.
The tunnel was dark, with few lights, and I had not grabbed my torch from my bag. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and decided to walk it’s length. It took me almost 15 minutes to walk from one end to the other. While walking through the tunnel I could hear water dripping. There were sections of light, but they were not very bright, and they were separated by large sections of pitch black.
I couldn’t see the hand in front of my face. I took some blind photos of the tunnel walls, and the photos ended up showing graffiti. I had thought I might stop half way, as time was ticking, but I wanted to see what lay on the other side. When I reached the other side I thought I might be able just walk around the corner to get back to the start, but was not sure, so walked the length of the tunnel back. It Turned out my thinking was right, but there is no need to split hairs over it.
After the tunnel I walked back to the central area and took a set of stairs up that led into the valley and toward the actual mines.
The area in this direction was fascinating, as the old rail lines for moving the ore around were still in the ground, but grown over. As I walked along the track I came to a tunnel cut into the sheer cliff face that allowed the rail to continue into the valley. The first tunnel I could walk through, as it was well lit from nature, but the second tunnel looked to plunge deep into the mountain and I still did not have my torch. I back tracked and admired the walking trails constructed in this area, and took a slightly different path back to the car, that went down stairs and back along a river.
As I crossed the bridge to return to my car I took a rest on a bench overlooking the river and swing bridge I had just crossed. It was time to enjoy a few tangelo’s that I was given fresh from a tree a few hours earlier. The tangelo is an enjoyable fruit, and after eating two I still had four left. Not one to let food waste I offered them to the first group of people who walked passed me, and they took them eagerly. As I left the parking lot the tangelo’s were being enjoyed while a light mist of rain descended from the sky.
Happy to leave the confines of Auckland I drove south, then east through suburbs and eventually farm land toward Tauranga, the fastest growing city in New Zealand. It lies at the heart of the Bay of Plenty, a never ending stretch of coast line on the north coast of the north island. I was shocked to see the two lane highway I was travelling on morph into a four lane expressway, complete with overpasses, as I entered Tauranga. I had ventured down this way to met up one last time with my mate who was working in Taupo, as he was now in Tauranga with his girlfriend before they both flew back to Canada on the same day as myself. Another fortunate coincidence was that a cousin of my grandfather on my mothers side lived in Tauranga. My uncle has been in contact with them for a few years, and on hearing I was in the area, they extended an invite to visit. Not one to miss the comforts of family — no matter how distant the connection — I contacted them and made arrangements to meet them for morning tea.
To stay in line with the majority of my time in New Zealand the sun continued to play it’s games, and the weather was mostly overcast. This did little to put a damper on a planned beach day by my friends girlfriend and her co-workers from a local school. We went down to the beach in Mount Maunganui for a BBQ and relaxation. It was not the warmest day, but we still had an enjoyable time. I had hoped to get in the water for a surf, as the swells here are some of the best in New Zealand, but unfortunately the ocean was not cooperating. It was small, sloppy, and cold. I would have to think back fondly to my last few sessions in Wollongong for the foreseeable future.
The day had finally arrived. Around 7:40pm I was scheduled to depart Auckland en-route to Canada via Los Angeles, but not without a few more activities on my way back to Auckland. It was this morning that I had arranged to meet for morning tea (I had a coffee) with two of the nicest people I had met in New Zealand. I was treated to some wonderful cookies, and heard how I had ended up sitting on their deck drinking my coffee. The story goes, as close as I can remember, that my grandfather was stationed in England during the war and visited relatives there. He had met a young boy David, a cousin, and took him fishing. It was this young boy, along with his wife, who now sat across from me in Tauranga. After a lovely time together I was given a bag full of tangelo’s for my 3h journey back to Auckland.
I had spent the evening in Auckland when I first arrived in New Zealand. I ended up staying right downtown, and was shocked when we walked past their Sky Tower on the way to find some dinner. The following morning I waited in the misting rain to catch a bus to the airport to begin the journey I have spent the last few months recounting.
This second arrival in Auckland was in the late afternoon, and we found our way to a Garden Party hosted by a friend of a travel companion. It was nice to relax after a long trip in a backyard with a wonderful view of the city. The next morning I made a trip into the city to drop off the rental car and met up with the girls, as we were staying at different places (yay free accommodations). We went to the Victoria Park Market, and wow, what a let down. Having been to the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, and the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, the VPM was empty, boring, and drab. It was mostly useless nick-nacks, with no fresh food in sight, and it was obscenely small. One end ran into a parking garage that smelt like garbage. As we doubled back I turned down a passage praying it led to an indoor area, but no such luck. What I did run into was a Canadian friend who I know from University as well as Wollongong. What a small world. Sure we knew we were both going to be in New Zealand, so running into her was more probably than running into anyone else, but to happen to be in the same spot, in the same city, at the same time is still remarkable. She was to fly out of Auckland later in the day and had the same idea to spend the morning at the market. Having found it to be a dead-end we all decided to walk across the city to a park and relax in the emerging sun.
It must be the hills, or the climate, or something, but the parks in Auckland and Sydney tend to be more beautiful, and more utilized than parks in Toronto. We found space on the grass near some trees with a pleasant view of the harbour and the city. We sat and chatted about Wollongong, Australia, New Zealand and about how our time was just about up in this corner of the world. On her departure we met up with the rest of our crew, who had been out late the night before and thus slept in, and were taken on a thorough walking tour of Auckland I’m sure most people don’t do. We ended up at a fish market, in a far forgotten corner of town, then walked back to the city centre along the harbour. Numerous condos are build right onto the harbour, and one even allowed you to dock your boat at your front door (with the help of a lock).
As the day came to a close I said good-bye to two of my travel companions as they would be flying back to Wollongong the following evening and I would be departing along the coast in the afternoon. I had a few extra days in New Zealand and I was not going to spend them stuck in Auckland. The following morning our host took two of us out to the black sand beaches of Phio Beach, west of Auckland. There was a bit of swell pushing in on the overcast day. I could see my self surfing here if conditions were a little better, or if I happened to have a long board in my backpack. In the afternoon we returned to Auckland and I picked up my rental car: destination Tauranga.
Rotorua is the tourist black hole of the North Island, with activities for every appetite, and attractions always within a stones throw, looking to depart visitors from their money. The most notable feature of Rotorua is the smell. Thanks to the thermal activity, parts of the city are smothered in pungent sulfur scents that sting the nostril. I can only assume one gets use to the air quality. Unfortunately we kept moving from zones of smell to zones of no smell, so we were unable to acclimatize to the odour.
Vary few things are free in Rotorua. If you want to see steaming hot baths, or bubbling mud, let alone a gushing geyser, you are going to have to part with some money. The only free activity we found was a peaceful walk through Whakarewarewa Forest, home of The Redwoods. Numerous California Redwoods were planted in 1901 in an attempt to create a lumber industry. We enjoyed another make shift lunch among the trees then spent 25 minutes walking through them. Though not yet the size of their siblings that line the west coast of North America, they are still a powerful tree.
We decided on a moderately priced ‘authentic Maori village’ experience in Rotorua that would provide us a look at how the indigenous people used the thermal character of this area to live, as well as a examples of traditional song and dance. The village was very interesting, with steam vents wherever the eye looked, along with pools of bubbling water and mud. We were shown how they use the thermal pools to cook food, and learned how they use them to also warm homes. It is a highly self-sufficient lifestyle. Thanks to the introduction of cement by the Europeans the village that stands today is able to stave off erosion and other destructive affects that befall the area. In the village there is always a chance that a new vent will open up, and a few examples of this were visible, were a structure collapses into a newly formed hole.
We were content to depart Rotorua after a near futile attempt to locate a cup of coffee. With only a few hours left before we reached Auckland our thoughts turned to what we had seen on or New Zealand road trip. For the four of us our time was nearly up, as my travel companions would be returning to Australia before their eventual return to Canada. I had a few extra days in New Zealand before flying home to Canada. But first, Auckland.
fresh comments