Adventures at home, abroad, and online

Category: Travel Page 40 of 63

Globetrottin’

Government 2.0

Listened to speaker after speaker at the O’Reilly Government 2.0 Summit, and got a sense of both where things are going right, and just how much further we have to go. Tim defines gov2.0 as providing a platform, the provider of data and services, but letting “the market” (both commercial and non-commercial) building the innovative apps we’ve come to expect. This is dandy in theory, and data.gov and the Sunlight Foundation are nice examples of it in practice.

However, the fact that data is “open” doesn’t mean it’s really usable. Just putting up a website with a set of PDF files isn’t enough. It’s like the interstellar bypass plans in the Hitchhiker’s Guide that was ” on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘beware of the leopard’.”

Adrian Holovaty reiterated that sites will take what they can get, scraping if they have to, but that we drastically prefer “diffs to dumps”, and that PDF is “the devil’s spawn.” I doubt the Adobe representatives in the audience were pleased at that.

John Markoff of the New York Times asked the pointed question: how do we ensure that these platforms enable liberation not control? Having a common platform isn’t helpful if it’s locked down and doesn’t interoperate.

While many of the presentations were very good, “death by slideshow” still ensued. Vint Cerf, chief architect of the internet, noted that “Power corrupts, but PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.” Many of the shown projects fell into the “dots on a map” paradigm or “open it and they will come” fallacies. Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus, asked for more “apps that matter, not just more bus trackers.” How apropos; I’m working on it, Mitch.

Home Again

Jared and Faith were nice enough to drive us to Tel Aviv, so we gorged ourselves on sushi, enjoying the decidedly unkosher crispy baconmaki, and then spent a few hours on the beach. Once the fine sand had infiltrated every crevice, I bandited a quick open-air shower before hopping on a plane for fifteen hours. Sadly, the Philadelphia Chick-fil-a was closed due to our arrival on the Christian sabbath, so the trip was not a total success. Instead, I will leave you with the enduring image of Nasrallah stroking his beard.

Hassan keeps it silky smooth

Wadi Rum

To finish off our epic journey, we spent a day and night in the breathtaking desert landscape at Wadi Rum. We started with a short camel ride from the village to Lawrence Spring, aided by two young Bedouin boys. Then our guide Saleh picked us up with his 4×4, and we continued the rest of the way by modern conveyance. We visited natural rock bridges, ancient Nabatean petroglyphs, twisting siqs and huge sand dunes. We had two excellent home cooked meals, and watched from sunset to moonrise at his tent. For the evening we were joined by a French family, three small cats, and their innumerable fleas. No camel spiders, though.

Sweaty and Tired
Wadi Rum Panorama
Land Cruisin'
Desert Driving
Ruth sur Camel


We arrived back in Bethlehem after sixteen hours of travel, ready for a shower and a real bed. Jared did not disappoint.

In Petra

I dragged Ruth around the whole of Petra today. The sun was fierce, but the air was cool, and we climbed to some of the lesser visited spots. Still as incredible as I remember it.

Cave Bar
The End of the World viewpoint
The Monastary
The Treasury

Local Flavor in Damascus

Spent our days in Damascus shopping during the day and drinking at night. We’re constantly in a state of mild dehydration, so two beers is usually enough. Not ten minutes after Ruth complained that we weren’t meeting enough locals on our trip, a Syrian/French couple invited us over to their table. They had seen us earlier in the day at the spice shop, recognized us in a bar, and proceded to buy us drinks and shisha for the rest of the evening. At first I suspected international espionage, but they were really just a sweet couple wanting to practice english. We discussed the state of the fashion industry, married life, and even some politics, while serenaded by an oud/tambourine duo. It’s a shame that this country has such a bad international reputation, as the people are incredibly friendly.


Struck down in my prime

Spent the next day in bed with the itis, which made me glad I sprang for the ensuite room with air conditioning. No Aleppo for us, just a logey day in Damascus. Ruth went out shopping, and brought me back some orange juice, which I dutifully drank and then promptly expelled. She was a good sport about it, though. Felt good enough by dinner time for a little walk around town, but it was soon time to retire. Back on my feet in the morning, so at least it was short lived.


Ruth and Charlie

Leaving Damascus, we met a man who called himself “one legged Charlie.” He was a guide for the US troops in Lebanon before their pullout in 1983, and spoke english with a rat-pack Chicago accent. Now he translates between tourists and cabbies at the bus station, bringing a smile to both sides and swearing like a sailor. If you’re ever in Damascus, look him up, and he’ll show you around town. No bullshit, daddy-o.

Page 40 of 63

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén