Trottoir roulant rapide / High speed travelator

Totally off-topic and via Slashdot, a high-speed travelator is on trial in Paris till October. BBC News gives diagrams and a report. People not used to it can get hurt, and you have to keep your feet flat on the ground. Slashdot also links to Segway, albeit without a picture of President Bush falling off it.

I do like reading about new technology in weblogs. Joi Ito had a nice radar detector recently. I actually need the opposite – a device that will tell me when German drivers are approaching from behind and I have to go over the speed limit if I’m not going to be subjected to rude gestures.I found another Japanese weblog devoted to gadgets recently – Kokoro.

While looking for Kokoro, I just found Gizmodo, which describes itself as follows:

bq. Gizmodo is a fast-growing web magazine, dedicated to everything related to gadgets, gizmos, and cutting-edge consumer electronics. Our influential audience (see below) stops by frequently to check out the latest news, reviews and recommendations for products including laptops, cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, home entertainment and more.

Actually, what I really wanted to say about Joi Ito was how it seems to encapsulate the feeling of blogs, that you get a glimpse of somewhere different through a guide you feel you know slightly. Recently he had a report on a trip to a hotel (I think), with photos of the countryside and fascinating streaming video of pounded rice being made. Although the quality of the video was not very good, it brought something totally foreign to life.

2 thoughts on “Trottoir roulant rapide / High speed travelator

  1. No need for a device to tell you when German drivers are approaching close from behind, Margaret (how do you know they are Germans?). Do what I do and as soon as you can make out the fillings in their teeth, turn your rearview mirror up towards the roof – they can’t miss it because they are concentrating on cursing the back of your head and if you are lucky they will have a stroke right there and then, if not you will lay the foundations for them to get a stomach ulcer over the next 2 or 3 kilometers (you should have two outside mirrors to avoid committing an offence yourself). Derek

  2. You’re right, of course. On the last occasion I was driving along what I regard as a difficult road, the Schwäbische Albstraße, and I reached a point where the speed limit was 70 kph and some signs said the road was dangerous. Since I don’t know the road very well, and some of the curves are difficult, I was pleased I was driving at 70, but would need more practice to do the 80 or 90 of the local residents. When I pulled off the road to let two vehicles past (the first was a van that had already forced someone else off the road and was going so close it was dangerous), the second one backed up to me and shouted through the window that I have to do 70. This was really annoying because I knew I was doing 70. And, indeed, he had a Central European accent. I have to regard these people all as Germans because I associate this behaviour with Germany.

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