Unboxing Imperial Veterans

The latest expansion for X-wing has already hit the shelves, here, in old Europe, a good week before than expected in the U.S.A.
There have been enough spoiler about the contents already at the FFG webpage, so I am not going to bother you with a description of it, just some pictures of those new, cool, awesome miniatures :)

La Manga - Spain

I have never been before in this part of Spain (Wiki), but last two weeks of June we managed to get there and enjoy some fabulous time.
The weather is pleasant on that time of the year and by far not so hot as it will became in July and specially in August. Actually it was already quite warm and the sun was getting more agressive every day.
The place is a refugee for families with kids and people with a lot of time to spend doing nothing as due to it peculiar geography everything is far away. So, basically either you go nowhere or you use the car all the time.
There are some small shopping malls along La Manga and several supermarkets, so you will never run out of supplies. The idea is to go there to a rented apartment or to a hotel for a shorter stay and enjoy the beach and the sun.
Close by is the city of Cartagena (Wiki) which is a nice place to visit, full of history and naval tradition including the original submarine build by Isaac Peral y Caballero (Wiki), probably the first modern submarine.
However, one of the best discoveries for us was an Italian Ice Cream shop, owned by an Argentinian couple called New Bo (Web), which probably has one of the best Ice Creams in the area as the owner has been in Italy and has learned the traditional Ice Cream making there. Really worth a visit :)

Doctor Who Experience

Great Experience !
Really, one of the best things to do in London those days.
The setting is everything you would have expected. The entrance to the show lies on the way of the TARDIS where you are received by the very enthusiastic crew. The waiting is not a big deal as some real size models of events in the Doctor Who universe are around to keep you busy.
One inside the show, you will see a short film before entering the crak in time and space and try to help the Doctor to escape out of the Pandorica.
The experience is really interactive since the very first moment as the Doctor is really talking to you, as part of the audience in your way through time and space, wherein and wherewhen you encounter several iconic moments of the story.
After the show, there are some exhibitions rooms, one dedicated to the Doctor, one to the Companions and one to the Adversaries (they call them Monsters, but I prefer the term adversary as more neutral :D )
In the room dedicated to the Doctor (depicted) you can see all the incarnations of the Doctor as well as read something about his character and mood under such incarnations.
The Companion's room shows all the past Companions of the Doctor as well as reproductions of the TARDIS and some footage from the old TV Series.
The Adversaries section can spoil you some of the more recent episodes (2011) as the accompanying text details the outcome of some episodes.
Here you will find also a projection room where you can watch some of the "how it was done" of the last season episodes.
At the end there is, of course, the shop where you can buy some nice merchandising, including DVDs and books.
A very thrilling experience for all the family.
Enjoy !

13

I watched this film last Saturday and I am still thrilled.
I would like to watch also the original one (13 Tzameti) but taking into account that both films were written and directed by the same filmmaker (Géla Babluani) and the info on wikipedia for the plots (beware of total spoiler if you read them in advance), it seems to be that more this time the remake is really a remake (total copy) of the original one.
A dark story, full of psychological violence and tension.
Just awesome.

Now, You know what I do for a living

Great movie.
True, Stallone looks old, but let's face it, he is old.

But, as far as I know this movie is the first and only one with Stallone, Schwarzeneger and Willis on it.
The scene they play together is just great.
I concede that Arnold only plays less than one minute in the movie, but, on the other hand he is retired from the movie business, maybe too busy being Governator (and being parodied by The Umbilical Brothers [Official Site]).

The plot is very linear ad without many surprises, but that is not the point, this movie is not Casablanca, but more like a burger in a MacDonalds, you know what you are getting for your money.
And in this case, what you get is a bunch of action movie guys beating up a whole army :D :D

Hope you enjoy it !

Sail 2010

The harbour of Amsterdam (Wiki) was the host of the Sail 2010 (Official site)  this last weekend.
Some amazing tall ships were there open to visitors and curious. Some of them are currently academy or school ships of the corresponding Navy, as the Russian Sedov (Wiki), a nice ship from the beginning of the XX century with German origins.
In the context of the event there were displays of fireworks and activities for all ages.

I got some more pictures which I will upload to the Visual Archives on picasa as soon as possible.
Currently, the ships are on their way to the Sail 2010 - Bremerhaven (Official site).

Quick Fingers !!!!

Madrid (Spain).

Xmas time.

Metro (aka Subway).

A couple goes into a crowded train, close to the end of the wagon, on the corner. Later a girl enters the train and moves directly between the two of them, blocking the way.
The train is packed, so it could be seen as unavoidable. The girl blocking the couple does not moves to much, but lingers over the female member of the couple. Both start thinking that something is going on but still are not really sure.
Anyway, the first girl, suspicious of the girl interposed between them, try to keep the grip on her handbag solid, however she think to feel something estrange as the other girl makes a controlled move around her.
Alarmed she start to check her handbag, but as suspected, the purse is gone. Just on that moment the train stops on the next station, the people start moving, including the estrange girl, who just before leaving point to the ground of the subway where the purse lies.
Obviously, the money was gone, with the girl, but at least the cards (IDs and bank) where left behind.
Total time of the action, less than 30 seconds.

Be aware. They are faster than you can think and they are in every subway system of the big cities.

Blitz !

Just a few lines to let you know about the Segway (wiki) as I have tried this great invention last weekend in Paris.
There is company in Paris which offers several tours, one of those is with a Segway. The tour is around four hours and you get to see the more relevant parts of the city (Eiffel tower, Les invalides, Louvre on so on).
Obviously, the city itself is worth the visit but the Segway is just amazing :D
The machine is really easy to drive. After a short explanation and a few minutes of practice, you can start "riding" the city :D
To speed up you just need to bend forwards, to break or go backwards just bend that way and to turn around just move or best say, push the handle to the right or to the left. This will make that one wheel will move slower than the other an the machine will turn around that wheel.
Only drawback is that every one is looking (or even making pictures) in your direction as you pass by ;D

Inglourious Basterd

No spoilers here.


Just go to the cinema and watch it if you didn't yet.

Great movie, sometimes a bit too slow, but clearly a Tarantino's film.

Origin

In few words: Great Movie.

For those of you who have already read the comics (Wolverine Origin), tell you that the movie summarised the comics in more or less 2 minutes and then goes on with its own argument and plot.
But there is nothing wrong with this. The first X-Men movie was already not following the comics 100%, a trend which was continued by the second and also the last part.
The characters in those movies were already known by every Marvel fan, but the story behind was a bit different.
With Wolverine Origin is again the case. The main characters are already known, namely Logan and Striker and for everyone who has watched the second movie, it is clear that there has to be a connecting point between both of them and the adamantium.
A lot of questions are solved by this film, but of course, a lot more arise.

The best part is to try to recognize all the mutants who are in the movie, some are obvious (no names, no spoilers here), other maybe not.

Also a good deal of special effects and some plot twists which maybe are not the taste of everyone, but which make the film version of the Marvel universe astonishing also for comic readers.

My advise: go to the cinema and enjoy it !

Don't want "Excluses", want results !!!

Sorry for the bad joke as I don't think that any english speaker would be able to understand it, actually even not a native Spanish speaker will understand it at all, which was the language the joke came out first.

The weird title refers to a failed trip we did in The Netherlands to visit the famous "Storm surge barrier" a.k.a. as The Maeslant Barrier (http://www.keringhuis.nl/).

The route to get there is not so easy, according to our knowledge at the time, the barrier should had been in a place called Hoek van Holland, which is almost the right place, but alas, almost...

The real way to arrive there should be:

From Rotterdam:
A20 to Hoek van Holland. After Maassluis, take the Hoek van Holland exit. Follow the N220 to Hoek van Holland, take the exit on the left to the Maeslantkering. Follow the signs ‘Maeslantkering’.

From The Hague:

Follow the signs for Hoek van Holland. At the Hoek van Holland - Maassluis (N220), take the ‘Maeslantkering’ turn. Follow the signs ‘Maeslantkering’.

Once you follow the signs to Maeslantkering, you will find a building of the company DSM, after crossing the rails of the train, just turn left and you will see a long road, crowded with cyclists enjoying the nice weather (there are ALWAYS people on bikes around in The Netherlands). At the end of that road you will see the Barrier.

Inside of the visitors center it is possible to see a model of the Barrier. 

The model not only explains how the barrier works, also moves to show it.

Basically the idea is that the two moving parts (called gates or retaining walls) rest on the dock, close to the ground (down position). When the situation requires it (test drill or heavy storm), the gates rise form the ground and impulsed by the locomobile (the red box close to the water) they move into the channel.

Once the gates are in the middle of the channel, they are open, so that water fill their inside and lower them onto the channel ground. On this position the gates are only 2 meters above the water level, but this is enough to stop the storm.

They close off a wide of 360 meters, are 22 meters high and 210 meters long. The point of movement (ball joint) weights 680 tons and it is on a base which weights 52000 tons and is able to move with a 2 millimeters accuracy.

As you can see the weather was great, maybe the last good day of the Dutch summer, and the view from the elevated observation point was pretty nice.

In the last two pictures you can see the arm of the gate and also the joint. On the background a little boat is pulling one of the harbor's towers.

X-Ray

Today I want to share some interesting photos. The quality is not very good, because they were taken with my mobile phone some months ago, but the "subject" can be clearly seen.



In the first one we can see a human chest (male, 93 years more or less) but, what's the bright point just in the middle?



In the second one, we have a lateral view of the same grandpa. The bright thing is also visible here.



And finally, the last photo. I think that in this one is clear what the object really is. This man has a bullet in his mediastinum since the spanish civil war. It's awesome, isn't it?