foresight feed

reflections on public spaces

2008-07-20T04:38:17Z

i had a four and a half layover in Chicago today. nothing again the windy city. [do you know how it got that name?] part of it was spent walking from one food court to the next avoiding the tshirt, jeans and bad sneakers clad population which seemed to permeate all walking corridors on Saturday afternoon. It is such a different look from London Heathrow on monday mornings. i wonder what ORD wold look like at 0800 on monday morning....any different? i would really hope so.

in the end it was fine. i retired to a lounge and ignored the really bad outfits.

i love hong kong

2008-07-10T17:08:51Z

it is really hard to understand exactly why i love hong kong. but i do. it has an energy that emerges from its history and its urban density that is hard to match. i am on the 19th floor of the hotel looking out at a sea of lights. the streets are teeming with life here around Mon Kok. it exudes vitality. this feeling despite the oppressive heat and humidity that settles on you the minute, no second, you walk out of the air conditioned buildings. my mints which i left open in my room were a congealed mass when i woke up this morning. good for the skin. hard on shirt collars. so why wear them? you ask. silly to actually. but the buildings are so cold that i need a wool vest so i don't freeze. crazy waste of energy.

i love hong kong.

The first Foresight Film

2008-07-09T15:31:14Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqk3dk97WyI

check it out.

now this is great. solar blinds.....

2008-07-06T16:01:33Z

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/01/solar.textiles/index.html?iref=intlOnlyonCNN

a really good commentary

2008-07-04T08:53:03Z

Matt Frei of the BBC wrote a really good comment from Houston, Texas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7486705.stm

Survival 2050

2008-07-02T11:57:56Z

The Science Museum in London currently has on display The Science of Survival . The exhibition provides visitors with a glimpse of the world in 2050 and "explores how we will all survive on a changing planet. " Four characters from the future - Buz, Eco, Tek and Dug guide participants through the interactive exhibition and give advice on how to tackle the challenges of 2050. The exhibition is divided into five sections: Eating, Drinking, Moving, Enjoying and Building, which take a look at what we need to do to survive climate change and resource shortages. All of the decisions visitors make along the journey are included at the end in the Future City so that people can see how their priorities and choices have a major impact on our world of tomorrow.

induction

2008-06-24T11:02:36Z

wires. i really have a growing dislike for wires. two large canvas bags are full of wires at home. a waste of oil and minerals...and my patience. i pine for the day when those lab fantasies of our devices of all sizes can recharge on almost any surface by induction. it will come.

Serena Mountain Village, Arusha Tanzania

2008-06-13T11:53:14Z

a place of peace and tranquility after three days in a hotel that was more like a prison than a place of hospitality. i would come back here. more later.

The Dolder Grand Hotel. Zurich

2008-06-06T11:53:13Z

it is hard to beat the top of the hill overlooking the city of zurich as a spot to place a hotel. the old Dolder Grand Hotel just went thru a multi-year, multi-millions facelift/addition. i stayed in the old one the week before it was closed courtesy of the Ecole Hotelier Lausanne. this time it was courtesy of the Swiss Steel Industry. Room 8309 is in the Spa wing. it barely has a view of the lake. very roomy. design willfully expensive. it was hard to find a corner in the room. everything is slightly curved. worktable is small, but sufficient for a laptop...just. in-room technology the latest B&O everything. light switches really hard to find on the walls. huge bath rooms. tub for two, or one large person. same for the shower room. so many nozzles that i was intimidated. and that takes allot. the staff were really fantastic. after checking in i was taken to the room -which is good as it would have been impossible to find otherwise - and given a tour of how the room worked - which again was good as it would have been a mystery without. wireless internet was fast and easy.

i would go back.

Walt Disney World

2008-06-06T10:59:08Z

Making Magic has been the hallmark of the Disney dynasty for many years. When i was young, Mutual of Omaha' s Wild Kingdom was always followed by the World of Disney on Sunday evenings with TV dinners. fond memories filtered by time. Last weeks' visit to the Disney World near Orlando was really great. Four days and four different experiences; Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and then Blizzard Beach. OF the four, the Magic Kingdom was my favourite. It seemed to be the one which maintained the 'magic' best. Each park had a 'ride' which we loved. Everest is a must. the Kilimajaro Safari is simply fun. Space Mountain remains a classic thriller. The Splash Mountain ride is a drencher with some of the best animatronics and suspension of reality. the 3D multi-sensoral experience of Mickey's PhilharMagic was my personal favourite. Monsters Inc interactive comedy was superb and Honey I Shrank the Audience quite delightful. Soarin' was a must. Mission Space, well, i left my stomach there and am still waiting for it to catch up with me.

The fast pass system is super. it allowed us to never have to wait more than 20 minutes for a ride. it is a bit of walking back and forth, but that was ok.

Epcot was a mixed bag. It was really disappointing that everything from the large attractions to the paper of towels in the toilet were co-branded. no magic there. the blatant tacky advertising by Kodak was at least tempered by the tasteful presentation by Nestle during the food of the future segment. This was the park which i had looked most forward to visiting and perhaps thus was most disappointed. the park seemed tired. the dancing fountains were off aim. the rocks around them were are shuffled revealing the plumbing. one receptacle was full and overflowing. no magic present. clearly the plumbers who were working on the fountain were either not part of the Disney team or couldn't care. the national zone is wonderful. we walked the entire 'world' while there. my son was especially attracted to the train. we were watching it then he asked 'why doesn't that yellow train stop at the platform? don't trains in America stop at platforms? ours do.' i looked and indeed the mountain train stopped a good ten inches short of the end station. another loss of magic. a closer look at the train area seemed to me represent the entire park. it looked great from afar, but up close it is simply not cared for. small pieces of litter everywhere. hard to get to, but noticeable. it seems that those who are responsible for the park need to go take a walk and look a hard look at it - and make the magic come back!

I have never been sympathetic to a chewing gum ban. however, after seeing the dozens of coloured globs at the entrances of many of the rides peppered about, i might have to reconsider.

This next critique rests with the ecosystem of the entire park. The transport system is a shambles. In theory the busses should be able to get you from one part of the World to another seamlessly. The reality is, if you have a car - DRIVE. And this is really disappointing and perhaps a deterrent from attendance. We waited over an hour to get a bus back to our Resort one evening. It would not have been too awful if we had known now long we would be in line or where the busses were, so we could have done something else. I really felt sorry for the family in front of me with three small kids who were in melt-down mode. In 2008 it is so simple to give information to the visitor which allows them to make better decisions. simple tracking of both infrastructure and visitors would give volume flows and anticipated wait times....just like for the rides...and save the park money thru efficiency gains. and the busses are really not nice. they need to make the transport part of the magic - not misery.

The last critique is waste. To me, it is inexcusable that in 2008 ALL garbage cans/bins are not connected to recycling. we had to SEARCH for bins which allowed one to separate plastic from paper. Why is it that Disney, of all groups in the world, cannot come up with a way to make this simple action part of the magic? surely with energy and transport costs only heading skywards they are aware of the opportunities that their own refuse offer for energy production and cost reduction????!!!!

So, all in all, the Disney experiences were great, but the parks operations disappointing. the subtle signals are so important to making magic. when the lights were off it worked. in the sunlight, well.....