Blue Bulls vs Canterbury Crusaders

For the first 35 minutes, and the last 10 minutes; The Crusaders absolutely dominated The Bulls. They forced the Bulls to make mistakes, dominated possession and it was mostly one way traffic. In those 45 minutes, the visitors scored most of their 30 points, to the hosts' 6.

A final push from the Bulls before half time, resulted in a penalty score, narrowed the half time deficit. After the break they came back a team possessed, scoring 20 unanswered points. For the 30 minutes, they were unstoppable; but then things went wrong as they went back to losing possession, and making stupid mistakes. But despite the last desperate moves, more than a couple of minutes past the final horn, the Crusaders still came 2 points short.

Actually, it should have been a comfortable victory for The Crusaders. But the reliable Dan Carter missed 3 kicks, 2 fairly easy ones too. And that was the difference.

Gautrain to the game

The success of public transport can be measured not only how well it works during working hours, but also how useful it is for leisure activities. It is in the latter, that Gautrain is quite lacking. After all the train stops at 8:30pm, when clubs etc are still thinking about opening!

This afternoon, I decided to go watch the Bulls play the Crusaders at Loftus in this weekend's Super Rugby matches. The train was quite full, so I was not the only one with the same idea.

Hatfield, the closest station, is still quite a distance from the stadium (about 20 minutes walk). I noticed that this is the same for Supersport Park. So a simple suggestion; have some auxiliary transport arrangements during big events; matches concerts etc; and then the value of the train becomes so much more!

Music: Savage Lucy and Cortina Whiplash

It has been a long time since I have been to a rock gig in SA. Partly it's because there aren't many venues in the Jo'burg-Tshwane region that seems to play live rock (with a number of venues having closed down since I moved here), and partly because M doesn't like the one venue (The Bohemian) that regularly features rock bands.

With M away, and needing to kill quite a bit of time before picking up J at the airport at the ungodly hour of 23:30, I decided to go to The Bohemian with just the knowledge that there was some live performances, but no idea who. I only got to see the first two bands since the bands started well after 21:30.

Savage Lucy

The first band, was a three piece (guitar, bass and drums) with no vocalist. It was an amazing set driven by some great musicianship; a medley of styles - the first song had the theme from "in the hall of the mountain king", some had hints of riffs from other well known bands and I think I heard some samba/Latin guitar riffs in the last song.

I was absolutely blown away! There aren't that many bands that just play music, and in the style of Pink Floyd, their songs are quite long exploiting the various instruments (and their effects) to the full.

They have won some awards recently, and this is certainly a band to watch out for in the future.

Cortina Whiplash

They are a 4 piece, all girl, young rock band. After the musical medley that was Savage Lucy, their style was a lot more sedate and a bit more traditional rock. They also had a bit of a "bad girl" attitude, not sure if it was for show or real; but it did feel a bit contrived.

That doesn't mean they were bad. They have a good sound, with very clear vocals. The lyrics were interesting, and they actually have quite a good stage presence. All girl bands are a bit of an attraction on their own; this one has good music to back them up.

The Volume of Internet Porn

There used to be a saying, that the Internet was built on porn. It was afterall the first successful online commercial venture - long before Amazon.com and the likes, Internet porn was profitable.

Extremetech has a great article on the volume of Internet traffic that is consumed by porn. The numbers are staggering; and really dwarf Internet sites including some of the most popular websites. Much of the traffic is made up of streaming data (contributing to the volume), but even the unique visits etc. are impressive.

Article here: http://www.extremetech.com/computing/123929-just-how-big-are-porn-sites

Russell Peters' Notorious World Tour

Russell Peter's "Somebody gonna get hurt real bad" (YouTube) is probably one of the best comedy routines, and even though the joke itself is retired; it is still what Russell Peters is mostly known for. His observational comedy, especially on race and immigrants (himself being a child of immigrants) backed up by some brilliant accents.

Russell Peters' new show, "Notorius World Tour" just started (with South Africa being one of the early stops); and there are still some rough edges. What is possibly the sequel to "Somebody gonna get hurt real bad", featuring his white friend "Stephen", and the difference in parenting approaches has a lot of potential; but it just doesn't feel like the end version. The highlight of his show, for me, were his various impromptu conversations with the audience; and drawing out the various cultural stories and observations. The rough edges really showed in the short awkward pauses where Russell didn't say anything, and the audience didn't applaud - a bit of nothingness. It wasn't that the comedy wasn't funny - it was - the show itself just didn't seem to flow that well.

American comedian, Ruben Paul, was the support act. Like a number of comedians, his show was about relationships (what is it with comedians giving advice to the audience on relationships); and off course what it is like for an African American to get back to Africa. His show was actually a lot more polished in some respects; but I suppose he wasn't trying out new material.

The decision to go to the show was very much last minute. I saw some tickets were still available, and went to Carnival City (which remains the dreariest casino I have been to) and bought tickets before the show. The tickets were expensive, and to be honest, I am not convinced it was worth it. It was a good show; but not that great.

My Trip in Mugs

It was partly inspired by M's comments on the blandness of my coffee mugs; partly because it would be a practical souvenir and partly because it was likely to be found everywhere. I decided, in Seattle, (though I did think of it originally in San Francisco) to buy mugs or similar drinking implements as souvenirs for the trip.

The first mug, was bought in Seattle. Other than Pike's Market, there are not many places selling souvenirs; so a souvenir from the Space Needle, Seattle's most recognizable landmark felt appropriate.

San Francisco's souvenir market seems to be congregated in Chinatown. Close by, the Cable Car museum, also sells souvenirs and since the entrance is fee; I felt it was a better place to buy a souvenir from!

Belgium is known for its variety of beers. In fact, a store near the town hall advertises that it stocks more than 400 varieties. A glass beer mug with the Antwerp crest, was better than the other options in my opinion; as most of the souvenirs seemed to be advertising Brussels!

Helsinki's markets are more interesting in the warmer days I think. Regardless, a traditional wooden mug was really interesting; though the ornate shot glasses were a close second.

After going through many souvenir shops in Tallinn old town (other than souvenir shops and restaurants there seems to be few other commercial ventures), finding something unique was difficult. But there seemed to be only one shop stocking these mugs, and it is the prettiest of the lot.

The shop just before Neuschwanstein ha an interesting deal - 5 Euros for a mug, with a hot drink and a slice of cake. I wasn't planning on buying a mug; but this was a good deal!

Munich and beer, synonymous I think. So a beer mug it was; though I still want one of those really ornate ones!

The Phantom of the Opera

It is the most successful theatrical production, and its popularity is easily shown by the fact that the Jo'burg run was not only extended once, but twice - running all the way into May (for a total of around 6 months). I don't agree with the advertising tag line of "The Greatest Love Story", but it is a great story and musical.

I have seen the musical before in New York in 2004; although by that time the original cast had off course left. Compared to the Broadway theatre, Monte Casino's Teatro is quite small and intimate. It is a local cast; and a production of very high quality; with a particularly impressive set design.

The lead actor, Johnathan Roxmouth, gives a superb performance as the Phantom - and has the commanding, haunting voice expected by such a character. I felt that Robin Botha's performance of Christine was not in the same league although M disagreed with me in this regard.

It was a packed sold house show; and it is well worth seeing. Given the recent extension, there may still be tickets left!

Thoughts on AirBnB

Except for Antwerp (where a hotel was more convenient) and Seattle (where I stayed with a friend) I have relied on AirBnB for accommodation. AirBnB has been on a massive growth spike this past 18 months, morphing to one of the biggest travel services companies in a very short space of time.

AirBnB focuses on sharing of rooms and/or couches in personal homes. The idea is, many people have a spare bedroom or want to share their couches and host visitors who are traveling in return for some money. For visitors, they would be staying with the locals and experience the city from a local perspective.

Of the three hosts, my hosts in San Francisco were the most organised and well set-up. They clearly liked to host visitors and share their experiences of San Francisco. I think my experiences in San Francisco were definitely impacted positively by M&M.

My host in Helsinki, A, wasn't as organised; but it was definitely not an unpleasant stay. It did shed a different light on Finland, but A was definitely hosting on a semi-business arrangement. This is not to say that M&M were not deriving a financial benefit; it just didn't come across that way.

The last host W, in Munich, was very much engaged in a business endeavor. Together with his partner, they owned a series of rooms and apartments in Munich. The rooms were very well furnished (tv, hi-hi, etc) but it lost some of the charm of actually staying with locals.

In South Africa, almost all the hosts on AirBnB are BnB operators; having stayed at many I am not sure I would particularly choose a BnB over a hotel. That said, for future trips AirBnB will definitely be the first place I consider.

Perceptions of South Africa

It was always argued that the biggest benefit of the world cup, was the advertisement of South Africa as a tourism (and business) destination. Over the course of the past 4 weeks, I have come across numerous people who have either been to South Africa or want to go to South Africa. Of those people who want to go to South Africa, almost all of them learnt of it via the 2010 World Cup and/or Invictus.

In San Francisco, many of the business meetings started with a short discussion on the world cup. This was with Americans; people who are not fanatical about football (played with a round ball). In fact, I am not sure they watched the games; but they sure seen to have watched the associated tourism videos to ask whether surfing was better in Durban on in PE; or whether it was really not that great to visit Cape Town in June/July. The other influencing factor seems to have been Invictus; a movie where I think SA actors would just not have got the same level of name recognition even though the movie should have been watched due to the story and not who represents the players.

In Europe, most of the commenters had not only been to SA, but at least two, including another tourist (from Korea) went to the World Cup itself.and they also talked a bit about the football :)

The common thread across all of these conversations; was overwhelmingly positive. Those that have been commented that they felt the negative portrayals as over the top; that they really enjoyed South Africa and would go back (and recommend others to go). Those that haven't (and are wanting to go) commented that most of their acquaintances who have been felt that the negativity was unfounded; and asked whether I would concur.

Yet at the same time, news articles from SA websites and comments therein talked only about the negativities. It is not that negativity Is not warranted; but I think we have forgotten the good stuff. I think we have forgotten to enjoy some of our own attractions. And most of all, by not looking at any of the good news; we keep staying in the past.

One of my company's executives commented on a difficult project I was (intimately) involved in; that we often looked at the hard work or negativity of the project and didn't celebrate the successes, regardless how small, enough. I think the same applies to South Africa in general - we are mired in the depressive news and just don't celebrate the good things. Perhaps that is what we need to do more.

Random Stats and Facts from my Trip

Number of flights: 10
Approximate total time on planes: 60 hours
Number of different airports traversed: 9
Approximate total time in airports: 20 hours
Best legroom in economy class: United
Best Airline in terms of service: Virgin America
Worst Airline in terms of service: FinnAir
Best Airline Food & Drinks: SAA¹
Number of delayed² flights: 0
Best Airline Website: Air Berlin
Best Airport Traversed Through: Munich
Worst Airport Traversed Through: Tie between Berlin Tegel and Brussels
Number of cities (and surrounding towns) visited for more than 4 hours: 7
Number of cities visited for under 4 hours: 2
Number of transit cities (ie didn't set foot outside airport): 2

Number of intercity trains: 4
Number of ferry trips: 3
Number of bicycle trips: 1
Number of metropolitan transport systems used: 9

Most expensive single purchase: Bose QuietComfort headphones
Number of persons identified as South Africans (not traveling from same flight out of SA or known before hand): 3
Number of persons identifying me as a South African: 1 (Chinese tourist, supplier to K-Way)

¹ SAA was the only airline to include a full bar service for free. It was also the only airline that gives bottles of water, cans of drinks and cartons of juice instead of pouring half into a glass in Economy class.
² I am only counting in terms of arrival time. United flight out of San Francisco was delayed in departure by 45 minutes, but arrived almost on time in Chicago due o strong tail winds.

Long live the SLR?

I bought an iPhone (4S) before this trip, mostly for two reasons - the iPod functionality on my iPad (1) wasn't great, and I wanted to use some of the travel apps (more on that on another future post).

What I used it for, more than anything else however, was the camera. In fact, I took more photos with my iPhone than with my SLR. All the photos on the blog from this trip, are taken with my iPhone. In the latter parts of the trip, I started seriously thinking on whether I should carry my SLR at all.

The SLR takes great photos, and has a few advantages that I doubt the iPhone will ever have. There is the obvious - a variety of lenses, for different conditions and/or effects. Associated with that is the control on the field of depth - optical zoom for consumer cameras. Even the versatility I have with my modest set of two lenses will be hard to replicate. It is also easier to use in some respects; easier to hold, has a neck strap (ie I don't have to hold on to it or dig it out of my pocket all the time), and can be used with gloves (and not freeze my fingers off).

But the iPhone does have its advantages. It is far lighter, it is an easy platform to blog from (the blogger app resizes automatically), email, tweet etc and backs up photos to Photo Stream seamlessly. It is also easy to take it to venues where cameras aren't allowed - like inside opera halls and concert venues.

So ultimately, I find that the SLR is not useful for the normal day to day city sightseeing. But going on a hike, or taking a photo of a scenic object from afar; it will remain the better tool. As for the photos of the detailed sculptures or frescos ... The SLR is better, but when you have a throng of people wanting the same shot, perhaps just a poorer shot with a phone will suffice.

"Es ist das neue iPad"

The launch of the new iPad in Munich (at the Apple store by Marienplatz) was obviously an event: people queueing up from the night before outside the store, bouncers at the door, ribbons to manage the queues and the store lit up brightly. It was well organised; the queuers had brought along camping chairs, there was security marshals and even water seemed to have been provided. Every now and then, a passerby would stop and ask, what's the fuss. A guard would state, that it is the new iPad, the passerby, young or old, would nod their head (as if it made complete sense) and perhaps even consider joining the queue. Even this afternoon, almost 6 hours after the launch, the queue and the queries remained the same.

No, I did not get the new iPad, not yet.

Wagner's Die Walküre

The Bayerische Staatsoper is one of the top opera companies in the world; and their theater, the National Theater, is in the heart of Munich's Altstadt. While walking around earlier this afternoon, I discovered that Wagner's famous Ring Cycle is being performed in the first half of 2012; and they had just started with Die Walküre, probably the most famous of the lot.

I took a chance and decided to see if there were any tickets left. There were; some of the best seats - center seats in the balcony, and damn expensive too. Ignoring the impact on my credit card bills; I took the plunge - the combination was hard to resist (and this is where Die Walküre had its debut performance to boot). It was close - the opera was scheduled to start in 75 minutes.

The National Theatre is beautifully ornate, but then it is the theater of kings. It is smaller than I thought it would be (given how big it is on the outside); but it still holds a lot of people. The audience was mostly older, and very formally dressed - almost every man had a tie, and they were all fully suited up. Ladies were very much dressed in their evening finery. I was very much out of place!

This production has a very modern feel, and is quite minimalistic in set design. That is not to say that the sets themselves were not interesting with a lot of moving parts to simulate the passage between scenes. The orchestra was conducted by the Japanese-American maestro Kent Nagano, who is also the music director of the Bayerische Staatsoper.

The modern bent did seem to split the audience, especially a little "gumboot" dance at the beginning of Act 3 (before the famous Ride of the Valkyrie music starts) which got both boos and applause. Notable for me, was the vast gulf in the depiction of Wagner's gothic/medieval world in Neuschwanstein and the modern costumes used in the opera. For example, Wotan, the king of the gods, wears a coat of tails and not a full blown Norse god costume.

Although I was aware of the basic outline of the story, I didn't know the details. Being a German opera in Germany, there was no translation either. The action does help in deciphering the story, but the minimalist approach does detract in conveying certain parts. I took the opportunity in one of the two breaks (the total performance is over 5 hours long) to go to the nearby Starbucks and load up on information! The Wikipedia article was particularly useful.

At the end of the opera, there is an interesting fire animation projection on the opera house. It is quite cool to watch as it takes form on the building facade.

I am glad that I did go to see the opera, it was an amazing performance at an amazing venue. Click on photos for a slight enlargement.

Munich Altstadt

Being a fairly old and powerful city, Munich's old city is fairly large. Due to the World War 2 bombing raids, there was significant destruction but many of the buildings have been rebuilt.

Although there are a lot of tourist places within the old city, it is also used by the locals; and is filled with commercial, residential and off course the leisure areas.

Marienplatz, is the centre of the old city and indeed Munich. The plaza is dominated by the "New Town Hall", with its famous Glockenspiel. Besides the churches, of which there are many, there are open air markets, there is the "royal" area with the palaces, the gardens and the opera hall. There is a significant amount of construction underway, regardless it is still a great place to walk around; especially at this time of the year.

Click on photos for a slight enlargement.

Munich Altstadt's Churches

Though one of the smallest, the 1746 baroque church Asamkirche has to be the artistic gem of the city. It is amazingly decorated by its creators, two brothers, who are also responsible for the frescos at other churches in Munich. Most of the other churches are also well decorated, and although their paintings are rather drab their frescos usually make up for it.

The best view of the city, that was open at least, was St. Peterskirche (which is also the oldest church), whose 90 odd meter tower provides for wonderful views; at a cost of 1.50 Euros and a lot of effort in climbing a single file staircase.

Neuschwanstein

It is one of Germany's biggest tourist attractions, was the inspiration behind Disney's signature castle and when it was being built, one of the most advanced construction projects of its time. Built by Bavarian King Ludwig II, it was designed to be a "modern" medieval castle with recreation of Germanic mythology inspired by Wagner's masterpieces.

The castle is only accessible via a guided tour, which are run with the expected German efficiency. Tickets are bought from a centralised ticket office at the nearby Hohenschangau, Ludwig's ancestral home, which have a designated time and tour number. Tours start every 5 minutes, with a strict control of the ticketed flow. It is a fairly steep hike up from the ticket office, though it is possible to take a bus or horse drawn carriage partially up the hill.

Unfortunately, photography of the interior is not allowed, though you are allowed to take photos of the outside view from the castle windows. The completed parts of the castle (it was not completed by Ludwig's death and construction was halted thereafter) are lavishly decorated, with amazing paintings (of mostly Wagner opera scenes) and furnishings. Some of the advanced technology installed in the castle, such as a telephone and bathrooms with running water are also on display.

It is certainly worth the visit, and the trip; though beware of the steep walk up and the stairs that need to be climbed. Click on photos for a slight enlargement.

Hohenschangau

A very small town (or is it a village?) that seems to only exist to service the tourist traffic to Neuschwanstein and also King Ludwig's ancestral home of Schloss Hohenschangau. Surprisingly the cost of food and souvenirs were very reasonable.

Click on photos for a slight enlargement.

Füssen

In the southern end of Germany, at the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, it was once a key Roman town. Nowadays, it's the gateway to Neuschwanstein, and the last stop (or beginning) of the "Romantic Road". Thus it is now a town fueled by tourism, and has been since Neuschanstein was opened to the public in the late 1800's.

Remarkably, the town was mostly untouched by both World Wars, and thus the old town is well preserved, with wonderfully decorated facades. The information centre heavily punted a waterfall just outside the old town, which was fairly unremarkable; but the views of the, still, snow capped Alps made up for it. And of the buildings that were open after 4pm, the small but lavishly decorated Holy Ghost Hospital Church (built 1748) is well worth a visit.

I had also intended to visit Tegelberg, with its Roman excavations and reputedly the best views over whole area. Unfortunately, by the time I got back from Neuschwanstein, the last viable bus had already departed.

Click on photos for a slight enlargement.

Spring Transformation

Even last week when I returned from the US, there was ice and snow around Munich. 3 weeks ago, it was completely blanketed. Now spring has arrived, and as the grass and plants have sprouted, it is green everywhere. The Alps are however still snowbound, and this the countryside with the mixture of greenery and snow capped mountains is beautiful.

Security controls at concerts

I have been surprised at the relative unsophistication of the concert security at both concerts. In most large concerts (and for that matter events of any kind) in South Africa, specific ticket categories get an associated coloured wristband. This wristband is given in exchange for the ticket at entry; thus there is a positive verification of the ticket (through the barcode and/or physical hologram) and the seat classification. The exchange also ensures that replay attacks (using the same ticket more than once) are minimized if not removed all together.

In both concerts, it would be easy to forge the tickets if you had knowledge of the ticket format. An original ticket is still required to enter the venue (as this is checked via a 2D barcode, on an online system it seems). However, once inside, there is only a visual check on the ticket type (eg standing or the seating zone). Thus, it would be quite easy to fake entry to a wrong zone or for that matter cause clashes in seating. Additionally, while the ticket check at entry was online, I think it was limited to the integrity of the ticket itself (ie whether this was a true ticket) and not whether the ticket details (eg seat 293) matched. Thus, this could be easily extended to alter PDF tickets if desired. I draw this inference from the validity check on the machine at the entrance which just stated OK, instead of showing the seat number or zones. Replay attacks on the entrance itself should also be possible, since tickets are not taken away; and a person can claim to have gone out for a smoke etc. At both concerts, there didn't seem to be any controls for people wishing to leave the venue completely, though I did not investigate this.

Another attack, which is much simpler is a replay attack for the standing zone. This would require a friend with a standing ticket who then passes it over to a person in the seating zone (there is a little wall as separation) though jumping is easier to detect and control via the sporadic marshals.

I think it would be easy to create the fake tickets, as tickets are sold online in PDF form (thus easy to manipulate) and also sold resold on eBay (thus easy to get more samples).

I am not sure to what extent this is exploited. What got me thinking about it, was the number of empty seats in Nightwish, given that it was a sold out concert. Since the ticket price is the same, the only concern is for the fire safety; which given the pyrotechnics is a real concern. There is otherwise no commercial incentive to enforce tickets, something that is true for concerts in South Africa.