I was born in Toronto, and my wonderful parents and twin sister live in Nova Scotia. I just finished two and a bit years teaching in Taipei, Taiwan, and I needed a break. At this very moment, I can be found exploring the wonders of Australia. Or maybe just serving coffee in Perth. Here are some pictures, thoughts and stories for friends and family to keep track of my life. .
Stacey and I headed to the 1st Australian Red Bull Flugtag on Sunday. I wonder if I'm the only one who has been dying to see it for years? There is something so inspiring about groups of people conceptualizing, designing and creating a flying machine, and then hurtling themselves off a 6 meter platform to almost certain failure (the equivalent of a belly flop). There were some great ideas for the "flying machines." It's hard to tell, but this one is shaped like a giant flip flop. There were flying clocks, flying pizza, and a recreation of the Wright brothers' first airplane. The world record is 60 metres, but I think the farthest we saw was about 12. Oh well, it was the first year, hopefully the entrants will improve next year with experience!
We got there pretty early, and Stacey's friend had already staked out a spot on the hill. A very, very steep hill. The top soil was loose, and just trying to walk to our spot was terrifying. Although there were hundreds of people below me to break my fall, I just imagined the mortification of tumbling, Jack-and-Jill-style, down the hill. People just kept coming and coming. It was almost as entertaining watching the security guards try to direct crowds as watching the competition. It turns out they had been expecting about 20,000 people, and 60,000 showed up. And there certainly wasn't room!
And lastly, a couple of short videos I took of the competition: just so that you can really get a sense of it...
Stacey and I headed to the 1st Australian Red Bull Flugtag on Sunday. I wonder if I'm the only one who has been dying to see it for years? There is something so inspiring about groups of people conceptualizing, designing and creating a flying machine, and then hurtling themselves off a 6 meter platform to almost certain failure (the equivalent of a belly flop).
There were some great ideas for the "flying machines." It's hard to tell, but this one is shaped like a giant flip flop. There were flying clocks, flying pizza, and a recreation of the Wright brothers' first airplane. The world record is 60 metres, but I think the farthest we saw was about 12. Oh well, it was the first year, hopefully the entrants will improve next year with experience!
We got there pretty early, and Stacey's friend had already staked out a spot on the hill. A very, very steep hill. The top soil was loose, and just trying to walk to our spot was terrifying. Although there were hundreds of people below me to break my fall, I just imagined the mortification of tumbling, Jack-and-Jill-style, down the hill. People just kept coming and coming. It was almost as entertaining watching the security guards try to direct crowds as watching the competition. It turns out they had been expecting about 20,000 people, and 60,000 showed up. And there certainly wasn't room!
And lastly, a couple of short videos I took of the competition: just so that you can really get a sense of it...
Read or Post a Comment
<< Home