Simon Butcher

Summer in the city

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Comments 5

Stage rigged, lighting being programmedAs I try to refrain from The Lovin' Spoonful references, I have to say that lately I've been feeling more and more at home living in the city. I love summer in Brussels, because all the plebs that live outside the pentagon bugger off on their holidays and the city centre turns into one amazingly friendly village (so long as you ignore the tourists).

Brussels also comes alive in a certain indefinable magic way, not only because it has it's own beach on the canal, or the arrival of the carnies at the medieval city gate in the south, but because of a fantastic summer festival.

This year, the festival has come to my doorstep!

Since yesterday, which I might add was a public holiday, crews have been working hard to turn my square into a concert venue, with the stage being built in twelve hours yesterday and the rigging done today. I have a pretty good vantage point, since the stage points mostly in the direction I face when I chill out on my window sill.

This will be interesting, since by the time I plan to get home on Sunday, I'll be confronted with «Les Fatals Picards», the French entry to this year's Eurovision song contest, with whom I apparently failed to see the humour of. I'm secretly hoping Tom's correct in saying it's the other Fatals Picards that were mildly popular in the 1980s in the UK. I'm also hoping they're not one and the same.

After them are the crazy, yet unique, French punk band, «Les Wampas», who will probably continue to do more harm to my already horrible French.

With so much going on around me, it's almost impossible to keep track. I think I miss out on a lot of what's going on because I commute to work underground in the metro. This is something I've been thinking of changing, especially since John's hard-slog back in May. Despite all the talk about wanting to go running, I just don't seem to have the motivation.

Since my brush with Cyclocity back in June, I've been preoccupied to the point where I haven't been able to do anything other than ponder if I should buy my own bike, or a yearly subscription to Cyclocity. I feel quite limited by the Cyclocity stations, but think it's easier than finding a place to store my own bike.

To cover both running and cycling, and to feed my inner-geek, I went off a bought a Garmin Forerunner 305, mostly because a colleague in the USA recommended it a long time ago. In fact, Mr. Giordanelli swears by his 205, the older model, but I really wanted a heart-rate monitor. I took it on its maiden voyage last Sunday with Al for a small test on an unplanned route at a very relaxed pace; but more on that another day.

Now I'm thinking it's possible for me to cycle to work, so long as I buy a decent bike with good coverage of low gears. I live in a bit of a valley, and most of my morning commute would be up-hill. I presently walk in the mornings to help wake me up, and I think this would replace the morning coffees. Surprisingly, I'm more motivated to cycle to work than to run, despite the fact that this Summer has been more of an Autumn.

Will I still have the motivation to cycle to work as it gets colder, and will I have the want to spend the money?

It's a pity that the days can't be like the nights, in the summer, in the city… in that I wouldn't have to go to work. Errm, sorry about that, it's stuck in my head now.

How the hell can you wheeze like a bus stop, anyway?


Categories Rambling, Belgium

Comments

  1. Wow, our route actually looks quite impressive (even if it was only 16km). Nice little gadget you got there. It even shows our "route rethinks" and your turn around the roundabout waiting for me! :)

  2. And my dad in his garden!! HAHA. Brilliant.

  3. Is it just me, or is Google Earth and the GPS coordinate system a little out-of-whack? Not by much. Around 5 - 10 metres maybe?

  4. (Author)

    Well, even with selective availability now “permanently” disabled, there's always going to be a margin of error when GPS devices cannot track satellites adequately. Since GPS signals are fairly weak microwaves, line of sight is fairly important, so cloud cover can distort signals slightly, as can trees. Sources of reflection can also warp signals in a nasty way, such as tall buildings. Most GPS devices cannot compensate for this. Since GPS is essentially based on very accurate clocks, using calculations based on announced position of the satellite in orbit and the time taken to receive the same time-stamp from several satellites, errors can be easily introduced. GPS satellite clocks can be wrong causing errors up to two metres (less than a microsecond out) courtesy of relativity (thanks Albert), although they are set to run a little slower than clocks on Earth, and often get corrected from ground stations. Clouds and trees can introduce about another metre or so of error. Reflected radio sources can introduce from one to twenty meters error depending on how many satellites (“channels”) the receiver can use at one time. If Galileo ever happens, it will to have a lot of new technologies that will fix these errors. It's no wonder, since it's a 30 year jump ahead in technology. Google have issues with terrain and roads because of several different cartography systems in use. Some treat the earth as a ball, some as the more correct squished-ball shape, and some as if it's simply one big rectangle. Different countries normally have their own standards, and calculations to correct errors between the systems can be really complex and still inaccurate. Look at steep cliffs or roads compared to the texture mapping. Further to this, Google have further issues with their texture mapping not necessarily matching the co-ordinates on the sphere being rendered because they're mostly based on aerial photography instead of satellite photography. Many defects can be introduced from humans, despite the incredible sophistication involved these days. Follow a lot of highways and eventually you'll come across one which fades out at one place, but fades in a few kilometres away, where the next aerial photo takes over. In particular, look at cross-over points between aerial and satellite photos. Personally, I think the 5–10 metre accuracy of something slightly bigger than a watch that depends on a system designed in the late-1970's, being used on an overcast day, under heavy foliage, is really impressive! Technology these days is amazing if you think about what's behind it, but I too fall into the trap of moaning about how things aren't quite right yet.

  5. Fine. Now where's my flying car, dagnabbit?

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