Noiz Waves

Yesterday I went on a full day tour of the DMZ.

One of the highest mountains on the south side of the DMZ has an observatory on it. From here, you can see over to North Korea. In the second photo, you can just make out two flag poles. South Korea’s is 100m tall, and North’s is 160m tall:

Then we visited Camp Bonifas, a tense location where both North and South have buildings. Security is subtle but very present; you are always being watched. Here, you can just see a North Korean soldier by the entrance to one of their buildings:

Then we went into the room where talks between both sides are held. There are always South Korean soldiers in this area in the Rock Ready pose:

And here I am! Technically I’m on the North side of the line dividing the DMZ

Yesterday, this was the view from Iris Korea headquarters:

This morning, we woke up to this:

Brrrrrrrrr!!!

Yesterday evening we headed out to stretch our legs and get some dinner. We took the subway around.

We ended up at a friend chicken place (surprise surprise). We had chicken and beer. Unfortunately the chicken evaded a picture, so here is the beer and Styrofoam snacks:

After this we visited a bar and had a beer. We didn’t stay long because it was fairly quiet. It did have some awesome drink names:

Like most flights recently, the trip commenced with a layover to Red Rooster:

Flight from Perth to Hong Kong was good; had a spare seat next to me, so my legs flailed over to that side. Meals were good, slept a little. Got to Hong Kong with enough time to sit down at the gate:

The flight from Hong Kong to Seoul was relatively quick. Here is a view from arrival gate in Seoul:

This was not my plane. It just looked better than mine. This is the arrival lounge.

Joe picked me up and we took the bus to the city. We passed lots of big things:

Now I’m hanging out with Joe in his mother-in-law’s apartment.

So I’m heading off to Seoul in a little over 6 hours time. It is very cold there:

Someone wanted to come along for the trip. I told her she could come, but customs would not let her back in. After some persuading, she decided to hop out:

Now I’m all packed; suitcase is full but not bursting at the seam, backpack is very reasonable:

Really looking forward to this flight; it will the first time I try my new loafers. Lace up shoes are irritating at airport security checkpoints, so these slip off shoes should make the whole process easier. Fingers crosse.

Please check back here for regular updates. The goal this trip is to post frequent & small posts w/ pictures instead of lengthy diary entries. So stay tuned…

So it was my birthday this week. 24 years. It was quite a good a good birthday. The norm is probably to feel older, but if anything I feel stronger; that must be due frequent attendance to Pump class recently.

My bike also hit a milestone (a birthday of sorts if you will); 1000km. Here’s photographic evidence of the momentous occasion:

The photo was taken just after Joondalup Drive and Kendrew Crescent. Just after because 1000km was hit dead on the intersection; a very inconvenient and dangerous location to stop and take a photo

The journey to work is around 11km. This translates to approximately 90 return trips. If these 90 trips were made using public transport, they would have cost $324. With an overall investment of $600 into the electric bike, this means the investment is almost half paid off!

So I’m heading to Seoul in just over 2 weeks time, very excited about the trip! My friend Joe recommended I hunt down a good, comfy pair of loafers as there will be a lot of shoe removal/putting on over there. Over there, the floor is more than a place for walking, but part of the furniture; you sit down on the floor to eat. So it makes sense to take off shoes before entering a building.

Whitfords shopping centre is usually a good place for shoes, so I headed up there. Tried several shops with no luck. Some people hadn’t even heard of loafers, were out of stock, had nothing in my size, or just downright clueless. One of the shop assistants suggested looking in Cite; never heard of it before.

The guy there was very helpful, directed me to their shoe selection, and pointed out several shoes that were loafer’ish. 1 pair caught my attention immediately…

Bright, bold, patterned, casual, and with just a dash of grandpa’s slipper. And they were in my size. And on sale!! I’m not usually one to get excited about shopping/shoes/sales, but OMG it must have been a sign. Tried them on, and they were super comfy. That sealed the deal! $60 later, these beauties were mine. Even if they don’t get much action in Seoul, they will when I get home!

Why hello there my colourful rectangular friend! Why do you grace us with your presence?

Oh my freaking god, it has a door, and it just like OPENED!!! Maybe life on other planets does exist!

Hey… is that… Kindle? How did the colourful rectangle get ahold of Kindle?

It’s Kindle!

Enough with the insanity. Big thanks to Ruth for her precise sewing skills and generously donated time to turn the raw materials into a cover for Kindle

I really like the material. The bright organic pattern really contrasts with the Kindle’s sleek and efficient design. The pattern is also similar to that used on some of the logo/marketing gear from Amazon. All in all, it works really well!!

Purchased some raw material the other day (under the creative advisement of Mark and Ruth):

These materials have the potential to be turned into something very awesome, useful and cool! All it needs now is some free time from 1 caring sister to complete the job Stay tuned for pictures of the final result!

P.S. Having a great time reading The Strain. It’s the bookchild of Blade 2 and Fringe!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This year I was sincerely surprised to discover a Kindle when unwrapping my presents!! Not sure exactly how Santa knew I’de like one, but I suspect he colluded with one of my Kindle possessing friends.

The device itself is very thin, streamlined and simple to use. Books can either be bought on the device or on a computer. Once purchased, they are transferred to the device via inbuilt wireless 3G or the included USB cable (this saves you $2 in ‘international roaming fees’).

I like the concept behind the Kindle as it encompasses the entire discover-purchase-read process involved with reading. The Amazon store can be browsed directly (via the free 3G access) from the device and serves as a complete substitute for a PC + web browser. This can be used search for books, explore categories, or find similar books. Books can then be purchased and sent to the device wirelessly, ready for reading within a minute.

Kindle is reported to hold 1,500 books. From my POV, it has 1430mb of storage space, and books that range in size from 200kb up to several mb. Even with 1 book downloaded, the device feels lighter and thinner than a regular novel.

I’ve wanted to get back into reading for quite some time now. The Kindle should make this both an enjoyable and convenient activity