Text2Fly - African Mobiles "speak English" to Check Flight Schedules
Posted September 29, 2009 , comments closed) Text2Fly is a new way of searching for flight schedules by sending a text message that appears to be an English language sentence. The airline schedules arrive in a few seconds.
Leading commentators have predicted that Africa will be a hot bed of mobile innovation. A new mobile service that lets you check Nigerian flight schedules using plain old Sms proves just that.
Sms is a difficult medium for an application that would normally require lists of cities and other prompts to guide the user. But Text2Fly makes it easy by letting users enter what appears to be an English language sentence for example, “From lagos to abuja on thurdsay at 3pm”.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Timi Agama, the founder and CEO says “Text2Fly is so simple even your mother can use it. And your flight schedules arrive on your phone in seconds.”
This approach to delivering an application by Sms is patented and brand new. In theory it can be applied to searching for train times in London or bus schedules in New York.
Nigeria is the largest economy in West Africa and, with over 5 million domestic seats sold annually, has the most vibrant aviation sector.
However the “simple” task of finding flight schedules in Nigeria is much more difficult than it needs to be. Some people send their driver to get flight schedules from the airline ticketing office, but in a busy city like Lagos a short trip can take an hour in each direction. Others look in newspapers, but the papers only show the current day’s flights while Text2Fly lets you search a week ahead. Besides, not all papers carry the Nigerian flight schedules. A further option is to search online, but then you have to go to the web site of every single airline in a country where Internet access is very slow.
Text2Fly is like having a travel agent in your pocket. So to have a little less hassle when you travel, visit text2fly.com.ng to find out more.
Text2Fly is a product of Anthill Digital Limited, a Nigerian provider of innovative web-based solutions.
The Great Lakes Region
Posted September 24, 2009 , comments closed
The Great Lakes region is composed of some cities from US and Canada. It is surrounded by a wide shoreline and contributes greatly in technology and agriculture. The region of Great Lakes includes a large portion of a province in Ontario, Canada. It also includes eight states in the USA. These US states border Great Lakes and they are New York, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. The whole Great Lake portion of the Canadian shoreline is found in Ontario. The consequent geographical definition of the Great Lakes region is the terrain area that consumes into the said region. Great Lakes are distinguished for its significant contributions in the field of political economy, culture, technology, and natural resources. Among the prominent contributions are the democratic economy and government. In addition, industrial production and inventions for automobile manufacturing, agricultural machinery, transportation, as well as commercial architecture are considered its most prominent contributions. Lakes hold over a fifth portion of the surface freshwater in the world. This region has a huge number of mineral deposits like iron ore especially in the Mesabi Range of Minnesota as well as in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Moreover, southern Illinois and western Pennsylvania is rich in anthracite coal, also a valuable mineral deposit. The significant abundance of coal and iron provided the most basic materials for the largest steel production in the world during the late 19th century to early 20th century. The soil here is very rich and produces large quantities of corn and cereals. The first major “oil boom” in the world was hosted by Pennsylvania. The wild rice of Minnesota and the cranberry bogs of Wisconsin continue to yield natural rations, which were introduced by the Indians to some Europeans during the 17th century. In terms of technology, the region of Great Lakes is home to various globally prominent breakthroughs in the field of agriculture. Some of the most memorable contributions on technology include Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical reaper, grain elevator and the steel plow by John Deere. The University of Chicago and the Case Western Reserve University are important sites when referring to early researches about nuclear power. In Indiana and Ohio, automobile manufacturing was introduced. Automobile manufacturing was centered in Michigan’s Detroit Area. The movable assembly line of Henry Ford became a mark in steel industrial engineering, meat processing, and agricultural machinery manufacturing. The engineering of steel helped in revolutionizing the modern age of mass production build up. Two Chicago-based companies namely Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward balanced mass manufacturers with a mass detail form of distribution. The contribution in modern transportation includes the early airplanes of the Wright Brothers. Other popular contributions are the Great Lake Freighters as well as railroad beds made of steel rails and wooden ties. The 19th century Erie Canal as well as the 20th century St. Lawrence Seaway had expanded the engineering scale for a gigantic water-born cargo. Even prior to European immigration, this region has a well-established political economy. The Indians had traded with each other via the broad network of rivers, portages, and lakes that holds goods in the Mexican Gulf as well as in both the coasts of North America. Major exports in the region include western Pennsylvania’s natural oil, copper from the shorelines and islands near Sault Ste. Marie, pipestones of Minnesota, dried cranberries and wild rice from Wisconsin. Since the industrial revolution, this region had been the center for industry. Numerous American and Canadian companies are headquartered all over the area.
The Beatles on Tour
Posted , comments closedI’ll start off with a confession, I am becoming hopelessly addicted to Beatles Rock Band, I would play it eight days a week. My brother and I are big Beatles fans, so naturally we got the game, and despite genetic advantages, are still trying to get our high harmonies in sync.
Let’s just say I have new respect for the Beatles’ skills since they could score a double or triple fab every time, and we are still trying to get a couple per song consistently. Still my brother’s rock band guitar gently weeps.
A Fab Four of Viator Travelers on Abbey Road
Try to see it my way
But I digress. My burgeoning obsession got me thinking about why I like the Beatles so much and one reason, I think, is that they were great ambassadors of travel. Try to see it my way, only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.
One reason people travel is that they find it renewing, even inspiring. Think about the White Album, many argue the greatest Beatles album, largely composed while the Beatles took their famous spiritual journey to India, and possibly kicking off a whole travel trend of hippie kids journeying to India to find themselves. You don’t need me to show the way, love.
Or let’s go back even further, we can work it out. Remember when they hopped the pond to the USA? The Beatlemania screaming girl glamor of them stepping off the plane to greet a whole new nation of fans. And then the famous touring years - Tokyo, Shea Stadium in New York, Australia. I’d also be remiss not to point out the movies from around this period, Help! is a mishmash of sequences shot all over England, Salzburg / the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas.
Come together, right now
Beatles Story Museum
Let’s get back to where they once belonged. Who’d heard of, or cared about Liverpool before the Beatles? They’re synonymous with the city. As long as people love the Beatles, people will visit the Cavern Club, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and gawk at George’s house. Seriously, Viator sells an awful lot of the Beatles and Liverpool Day Trip from London. Or the curious case of Abbey Road. Without the Beatles why would anyone take a special trip to the Abbey Road crosswalk?
Still not with me? Come together right now. There’s evidence of the Beatles’ lovely travel (sometimes as allegory) songs: I”ll Follow the Sun, Magical Mystery Tour, Back in the U.S.S.R, Day Tripper, Ticket to Ride, Ballad of John and Yoko and Yellow Submarine to name a few of my favorites.
All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living, in my life I’ve loved them all.
PS: Feeling like you got to get the Fab Four into your life? Check out all the Beatles tours on Viator. I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello.
Funeral & Vigil for Edgar Allan Poe
Posted September 18, 2009 , comments closedHon, you may know Baltimore as Charm City USA. But did you know ‘Bawlmore’ is also home to Edgar Allan Poe? OK OK, so Poe was actually born in New York City. Whaddabout it?
Baltimore’s claim to fame is that Poe died here. He was found unconscious in the streets of Baltimore and admitted to the Washington College Hospital. He died on October 7, 1849, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Baltimore’s Old Westminster Graveyard.
Unmarked grave?! Now that’s something to celebrate, Baltimore! Very classy, burying one of America’s most famous authors of the macabre in an unmarked grave after he dies (of alcoholism? murder? disease?).
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…
Edgar Allan Poe: Vigil, funeral service & more fun!
So how does modern Baltimore celebrate the author of The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue and the poem “The Raven”? With a midnight vigil and an open-casket funeral service, of course. But wait, there’s more! Addams Family actor and Baltimorean John Astin will help celebrate the demise of Poe, along with hundreds of expected mourners.
The body of Edgar Allan Poe will rest in an open casket during a public viewing on Wednesday, October 7th. The viewing will take place at his last residence on Amity Street in Baltimore, now the Poe House and Museum. In light of the event’s grandeur nature, the Poe House will remain open for 11 hours, from noon to 11pm, giving Poe fans due time to pay their respects. Admission is $5 at the door.
Following the open-casket homage, there’s a midnight candlelight vigil on Thursday, October 8, at the Poe Monument in the Westminster Graveyard. From midnight to 7am, you can present a personal tribute to the late Poe in verse, song or spoken word.
Finally, the funeral service! The City of Baltimore is giving Poe the send-off he never had on Sunday, October 11. An antique horse-drawn hearse, lead by a drum and fife marching band, will carry Poe’s body from his Amity Street home to his final resting place at the Westminster Hall for burial services. The service will include a number of notable speakers reflecting on the life of Poe, as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Baudelair, Rupert Holmes and more. Admission to the service is $35 in advance and $40 at the door (children under 10 not permitted).
Exploring Poe’s Baltimore
The Edgar Allan Poe Tell-Tale Tour of Baltimore (thru October 17) gives Poe lovers the chance to explore Poe’s Baltimore (brought to you by the Greater Baltimore History Alliance). Collect a Raven Trail Guide stamp from at least five of the attractions along the tour.
Also check out the free exhibit “Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon” at the Baltimore Museum of Art, “Edgar Allan Poe: More Than a Poet” at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and ghost tours in historic neighborhoods.
-Viator Travel Team
6 Ephemeral Art Forms You Won’t Want to Miss
Posted , comments closed6 Ephemeral Art Forms You Won’t Want to Miss
Tired of visiting the same old museums, finding yourself craning over tourists to get that perfect picture of the diminutive Mona Lisa only to find a better reproduction in the museum shop? Sure, museums have their big fans, and were else are you going to see a collection of static art that just, well, stands there for time immemorial? Museum alternatives abound, but what’s an art lover/museum hater to do?
Temporary, or ephemeral art has a now-you-see-it-then-you-don´t quality to it. It may be constructed for the viewer, as a form of prayer, or even for the joy of the art itself. If you’re looking for a way to infuse art into your very pores while waiting on not a single museum line nor padding down a single hard marble museum floor amid the clicks and whirs of your fellow humans’ preferred recording devices, consider the following six forms of art that are as unique as the artists that create them.
Sandcastles
For artwork that absolutely will not stand the test of time, particularly on a windy, heavy-surf beach that’s subject to rain, nothing can beat the sandcastle. Kids’ versions with moats and scavenged trash these are not. Rather they are works of art that take hours (and sometimes teams) to construct.
One little-known secret is that dirty sand works better than pristine sand, as the grains of sand cling to one another a little better. Mid June brings crowds to Newport Beach, Oregon for the sandcastle building contest there, but true professionals will also be found at the US Open Sandcastle building contest which is holding its 30th annual competition on August 8th, 2010 in Imperial Beach California.
These temporary artworks won’t last long, so you’ll have to be there or crane to get a better look at your friends’ photos.
Sand painting
Religious sand art is present in many parts of Asia, particularly in Tibet. The sand mandala (from the Sanskrit mandala meaning essence, containing or circle circumference) is a colorful, almost kaleidoscopic circle designed by Buddhist monks and then filled in with sand using a series of funnels, bags and scrapers.
The mandalas are made of crushed sand or rock, though crushed lentils and other materials may be used. Mandalas are also present in Hinduism, where they may also be called Yantra. In both cases, mandalas contain religious symbols, and are not meant to be preserved. The making of the mandala is a form of worship by the person who makes it.
Ice Sculpture
Carving a giant block of ice into a recognizable glittering figure isn’t quite the same as standing on the beach under the hot sun, but it’s got that pop-culture element, and the results can be spectacular. Tools include a chain saw, drills with different bits, hand saws, picks and chippers, and of course, tongs. The usual uniform is somewhat unbecoming, with rubber boots and gloves being practically de rigueur. To buy your own ice carving supplies (including giant trays in which to freeze the ice blocks), follow that link.
For those of us who are less likely to hack at a piece of ice, and more likely to want to go see one, the winter festival in Quebec is a good option, or for the more intrepid, go to Harbin in northeastern China, where Siberia-like winter temperatures may drop to nearly 40 below. To see a more complete list of winter and snow festivals, click there. These competitions tend to take place in the winter, so plan on bundling up and heading out to see them in January or February.
Butter sculpture
Moving away from the frozen-solid and towards something a little warmer, are the different types of butter sculpture. The oldest instance of butter sculpture is actually a Tibetan religious artform called Torma, in which butter is mixed with other ingredients, such as flour and colorful dyes either as ritual items or to later be consumed. The monks work the cold butter with their hands as though it were clay, and form it into various shapes of religious significance.
A more mass-market kind of butter sculpture consists of shaping a giant yellow cow out of “pure creamy Iowa butter,” over a frame of wood and wire mesh at the Iowa State Fair every August. The tradition is long-lasting, though the cow is not. The cow has been reproduced every year since 1910, and versions have cropped up in states as far-flung as New York. Other themes such as the Last Supper have also been created, though plans to build a model of Michael Jackson were thankfully, scrapped.
Carved vegetables
Many of the garnishes that appear on your plate at a Japanese or Thai restaurant are truly works of art. If you’ve ever wondered how to make those tiny birds or clever radish roses, or even a giant carved watermelon where the red flesh is visible through the green rind, consider buying this book. The website also has links to different sets of peelers and carving tools you may need for your next play-with-your-food project.
But a better-known type of vegetable art can be seen mainly in late October, and mainly in the United States. Despite cold temperatures, the carved pumpkin (or Jack o’lantern) doesn’t usually stand much of chance of making it far into November, making it somewhat ephemeral as well.
Between neighborhood vandals, rot and the local fauna, these artworks are mainly best enjoyed on their shining night, which is Halloween, or October 31st. Impromptu parties abound, with children and adults hacking at pumpkins with slippery hands and old kitchen implements and seeded pumpkiny pulp stuck to nearly every available surface. To see a giant collection of carved pumpkins, join the crowds that pour into Keene, New Hampshire every year for their giant display at the Pumpkin Fest. They usually have more than 20,000 pumpkins, though they recently lost their most-carved-pumpkins crown to Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for sick children, which held its own Jack o’lantern contest in Boston in 2006. Tune in this year to see if Keene wins its title back on Saturday, October 17th. More details here.
Flower carpets
Carpets are usually long lasting, at least until someone spills grape juice on them. These carpets are made of flowers and flower petals, or of colored sawdust, to cover large surfaces and be seen from a distance. One very large display of this sort is the Tapis de Fleurs in Brussels, Belguim, which will be premiered this year on August 12th at 9 AM.
The concept for the first flower carpet in Brussels was developed by E. Stautemans, a landscape architect whose projects have included a massive carpet at Ghent of 164 x 42 meters, but the foreground of the Grand Place in Brussels is his favored setting, and this 77 by 44 meter carpet is still huge and impressive. For more information, visit the Brussels flower carpet site here.
Other flower carpets are constructed around the world at Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday that takes place in June. Carpets may be seen in areas as diverse as Tenerife in the Canary Islands, inside the Arundel Cathedral in Arundel, England, and of course in Rome. These carpets filled with religious symbols are meant to be admired, and at the end of the day, trodden upon, making them a truly short-lived affair.
With so many continually changing works of art (or kitsch) to see in so many locations, there’s no reason to limit yourself to museums, canvases or mundane sculpture materials. There’s bound to be something decorated, painted, carved or cast somewhere near you. Tell us about it!
Photo credits:
Sand cats by ThisParticularGreg on Flickr, Dogs playing poker by kandinski on Flickr, Sand dinosaur by wikimedia, Sand painting by wikicommons, Ice sculpture by Today is a good day on Flickr, Butter Harry by jakebouma on Flickr, Butter cow by wikimedia, Watermelon by bluemodern on Flickr, JackOLanterns by anonymous to you on Flickr, Carpet by vdhaeyere on Flickr