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Embouteillage pour cause de sapin sur l’autoroute a1 en direction de Lausanne Blecherette

Byrichard

I went snowboarding at it was great fun. At some moments the snow was great fun so it felt really good. I love the feeling of snowboarding at a fast rate down ski slopes and keeping up with skiers who don’t mind waiting too much.

All the snow canons were active because there’s a lack of natural precipitation. Some resorts are worried about what to do but as long as it’s cool then fake snow can be created to make a base on which for skiers to have fun. It’s tomorrow the resorts open properly, when all the tourists arrive.

On the way home on the radio I heard there was a traffic jam on the way to lausanne due to a christmas tree being on the road and I burst out laughing. only in Switzerland would you hear such a traffic jam warning.

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On it being cold but sunny

Byrichard

It’s winter, I can tell. There are icicles hanging from the metal parts and the wooden covers are on fountains to prevent them from freezing entirely. Add to this my birthday yesterday and the winter tires today and there’s no mistaking this time of year.

I worked on my dissertation yesterday, seeing how familiar I am with certain elements of the documentary genre. I watched a few open university documentaries about the university and there’s one that makes me want to go back to Sienna to see the building in more detail. I’ll wait till the summer.

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Progression of satellite broadcasting

Byrichard

Satellite broadcasting has progressed since I was last able to watch a lot of television. The spacing of channels and the programs have progressed. I’ve watched France 24, Al Jazeera English and a few more channels.

As time is progressing so the channels are re-indexing themselves within the sky digital world. They are no longer organised by the discovery channel. Instead, we find that some of the documentary programs are included within specific interests. In particular, I’m thinking of travel documentaries. They are now cataloged within the travel section of the life and culture channels. It’s good because the travelogue documentaries are organised together. It allows for those dreaming of travel to visit these pages.

I watched Al Jazeera English and one thing that’s marked me is how many short features they have on a number of subjects. They have the everywoman program, the witness, and others. It’s a different take than that by BBC World. It’s interesting.

I want to travel. I don’t want to be stuck in uni anymore. I want to go to various locations and do some of these travel documentaries, see different parts of the world.

Maybe I will get to Australia in May.

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Some impressive timelapses

Byrichard

I’m back in Switzerland now and I’ve been around for a little over a day now. I can’t be bothered going out so I’m watching one of the discovery earth documentaries and there’s a really interesting series of plant time-lapses that have been included. They’re used to illustrate what happens when a tree falls down and how the plants struggle with speed to take advantage of the increase in light.

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New York

Byrichard

10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. The doors open. I walk forward a little more, a picture is taken, go up another 6 floors and I’m on an observation deck.

That’s the experience people get as they go up to the observation deck of the empire state building. It’s amusing because although the view is great it doesn’t feel that high, probably because the structure is so massive compared to other parts of the world.

What you see are many buildings, some sticking out by themselves and others clustered together. There are a lot of sky scrapers although it’s hard to see them with the haze.

When down at ground level you see the valleys or canyons of buildings. Structures are tall requiring you to look up more than usual to see the top. The streets are long and straight making it easier to see for miles. The taxis and buses are numerous. The emergency services always have the lights on which is different from other countries I’ve visited.

During my time in New york I visited a number of sights around the city. I went to Ellis Island, Statten Island and Liberty Island. Manhattan itself is an island connected by several famous bridges and a number of tunnels.

Plane crash

Byrichard

I saw the aftermath of the plane crash which occured today in New York. I took some video of people on phones, asking to reach loved ones and commenting on what they saw.

It’s a small cessna aircraft with a yankee star that crashed killing two people.

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Third day in New York

Byrichard

Today I’m going to Statten Island in New York.

It’s the third day I’ve been here so far and I’ve already visited the UN, Battery Park, Central Park, Times Square (at night), and other locations.

I transited through Amsterdam from London, stopping there for a few hours. The flight was aboard a 777. I watched both Tsotsi and The Devil Wears Prada.

I have another seven days here and it should continue being good fun.

When I have a little more time I’ll add some pictures for people to view