Interesting things

The final resting place of three Apostles?

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These are the famous Apostles, Saint James, Saint Peter, and Saint Thomas:

Technically, I am referring to Saint James, son of Zebedee, since there is a second apostle also named James. The Spanish people call Saint James by a different name, Santiago, and he is buried in a cathedral I visited in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela:

Saint Peter is probably the most famous saint, having been killed not just by crucifixion, but by crucixion-upside-down, in this Roman square that I visited, now known as Saint Peter’s Basilica:

But I’m not sure if anyone really knows where Saint Thomas is buried.  According to the locals, Saint Thomas travelled to India and eventually reached Chennai, having died and been buried somewhere quite close.  There is a famous church I visited there, known Saint Thomas Mount:

Saint Thomas is known as the Patron Saint of India – but unfortunately there is some dispute as to whether these claims are true.  I hope they are true, because it would make the people who believe them very happy.

So by coincidence and not by plan, I’ve visited what may be the final resting place of 25% of the twelve Apostles.

Convergent evolution vs. design patterns

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In biology there is the concept of convergent evolution:

“In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches.”

In software engineering there is the concept of a design pattern:

“In software engineering, a design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem in software design. A design pattern isn’t a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template for how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations.”

During recent trips to both Spain and Texas, it made me first realize that both convergent evolution and design patterns are describing something very similar.  Have a look at this:

Spain is filled with Spaniards, and as everyone knows Spaniards are very tiny people. So until recently they drove very tiny cars. But recently Spaniards are getting bigger. I took this picture in Spain, which now seems to be representative of how Spaniards park their cars:

Texas is filled with Texans, and as everyone knows Texans are very big people indeed. But in recent times, Texans have been getting even bigger. I took this picture in Texas, which now seems to be representative of how Texans park their “dualies” (as they call pickup trucks with dual rear tires):

Convergent evolution (biology) or design pattern (software engineering) – you be the judge!

The tallest structure in the world

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This is the Burj Khalifa. At 2’788 feet, it is the tallest structure in the world.

I was on holiday here during the hot summer month of August –   which, by the way, is a great time to get good deals on airfare and five star hotels!

And this is the Tokyo Sky-Tree.  Coming in at 2’080 feet, it is the second tallest structure in the world. I took this picture during the peak of winter season in Tokyo – also a great way to save money on airfare and hotels.

So I guess I am quite fortunate to have seen the top two tallest structures in the world!

To quench one’s Thirsk

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The famous fictional books All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot and set in the Yorkshire village of Darroughby were actually written by Alfred Wight and were based on his veternary practice in Thirsk, Yorkshire. Thanks to a good friend I got a wonderful chance to see this town.

This is a historical picture of Thirsk, what James Herriot before WWII would have seen:

And this is Thirsk today:

So you can see, it hasn’t changed much.  Interestingly, Dr. Wight wasn’t intentionally trying to trick anyone. There were very strict laws in England at the time that prevented doctors and veterinarians from advertising, so it was necessary for him to change the names and places.

PS. What I find fascinating is the color variation you can see on the lower photograph, which approximately follows the original road shown in the top drawing.  Are we seeing visible signs of the archeology?  Only one way to find out: dig a test trench!

Did Jesus live in France?

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If you are ever in the southwest of France, do not hesistate to visit Rennes-le-Chateau.  Although the tourists flock to the nearby historical city of Carcasonne, Rennes-le-Chateau will impress you even more.

What is this place?  It is an unbelievably isolated hill station that has a 360-degree panoramic view of the Languedoc region in Southern France.  It’s a long, lonely one-hour drive up a very steep one lane road.

Historically, the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (and later, the book-turned-movie The Da Vinci Code) put Rennes-le-Chateau on the map.  According to this book, the local priest in the 19th century discovered a buried treasure that gave evidence that Jesus and his wife (Mary Magdalene) settled in southern France.

 

Is the story real?  Who knows?  But . . . if you travel to Rennes-le-Chateau you will realize how unbelievably hidden and remote this place is – so in my view, it would make a wonderful location for a buried treasure, if one ever existed.

Amazing Ants

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There is something quite frustrating about some local South Indian farmers I’ve met.

But first, this is the largest ant mound I’ve seen in India (or anywhere else for that matter):

amazing-ant

I spotted this one just outside of Tiruchappalli (or more commonly called Trichy, as the locals call it). If you don’t know it, Trichy is famous for its white rice – and the locals say the taste is so good because of the special properties of the soil.  So, I guess it would only be natural that the ants enjoy this great soil and build super-mounds like this one!

But what’s so frustrating about some local South Indian farmers?  I could never find any farmers (or locals for that matter) who referred to these as “ant mounds” or “termite mounds.”  If you ask the locals, they will always tell you they are “snake houses.”  OK, probably they make nice homes for snakes – I don’t dispute that.  But it always makes me wonder if they know who the builder was, not just some of the tenants!

You can see my other Amazing Ants photographs here:

A German bunker in France?

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While driving through Lorraine, France, I discovered many, many bunkers that looked identical, like this:

luneville-bunker-small

But as you may know, Lorraine is quite far from the German border and the famous Maginot Line, which was a series of bunkers to defend France against the German army in World War II.

So what are these bunkers, and why were they built?

After a bit of Internet research, I discovered that this area in Lorraine was the previous boundary between France and Germany, dating back the FIRST world war, World War I.  In fact, France invaded Germany here, and the Germans built a series of fortifications to defend against the French.  The previous link shows a terrific map of the border:

battle-of-lorraine

On the one hand, it is too bad that historical artifacts like the ones I saw are not labelled, so visitors can learn why they are there.  But on the other hand, with the help of the Internet a little “amateur archeology” is fun . . . and I didn’t have to dig a test pit or extend the trench.

(PS. There are still some interesting mysteries. For example, why were all the bunkers identical?  Probably to make building them fast and easy – but did the German army have a “bunker kit” that distributed the materials to the various construction sites? Or, were the bunkers all built by the same team?)

 

Amazing Ants

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ken-ant-1

Well, technically termites, not ants – and despite having lived a few years in Southern India, I still never learned much about the various species – but you can generally recognize them by the shape of their mounds.  I discovered this one somewhere between Bangalore and Shravanabelagola.

I remember reading somewhere that these mounds grow on average as little as 1 cm per year – and if that’s true, these are very old mounds.

You can see my other Amazing Ants photographs here:

MyPost24: The Swiss innovation hasn’t stopped yet!

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For more than I year I’ve been a big fan and user of the Swiss postal system’s electronic portal for snail mail.  Any snail mail you get is not delivered to you directly, but instead it is re-routed to a special post office where it is opened and scanned.  You are notified about any new snail mail via email – and you can look at your mail, delete it, or chose to have it snail mailed to you or anyone else.

mypost24

Just when you think it can’t get any more innovative: MyPost24!  This is an automated post office.  It is a standalone collection of lockers – and with this system, you can receive packages or snail mail, or you can send packages or snail mail.

I can imagine they have systems like this in other countries . . . but it is wonderful to see how the Swiss are among the first adopters of new and innovative technologies!

Test Tower

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The Thyssen Krupp test tower is just amazing.

TKTurm

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The importance of elevators takes on a whole new meaning when you read the blurb from Thyssen Krupp’s website,

Over 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. . . . A report from the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that cities will need to construct floor space equivalent to 85 percent of all of today’s residential and commercial building stock by 2025, making this one of the greatest challenges of our time.

Hidden canals #2: Canal du Rhône au Rhin

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Here’s why I find canals so fascinating: they were massive, transformational public works projects, still visible today, but whose need and impact to society have all but left our cultural awareness.

And here’s why I find hidden canals so fascinating: out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Dismantling sections of a canal, or covering them over, or filling them in, is the the first step in their disappearance from public knowledge and their relegation to archeology. Ask anyone about a hidden canal, and they will tell you they vaguely remember something but usually can’t quite put their finger on what they remember.

Continuing the series, this is a section of the Canal du Rhône au Rhin in village of Mulhouse, in the eastern part of France:

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And here is the bit that is now hidden, covered over by a park and a busstop:

Mulhouse1

Just to prove a canal is truly hidden here, I simply turn 180-degrees to get this view:

Mulhouse2

And here is a historical photograph. Next time I get to Mulhouse I’ll have a look if I can find any of these old buildings. But you’ll see immediately from this picture how prominently this canal was incorporated into the landscape architecture : the city was proud the canal ran through it, and the integration (both landscape and cultural) was tight.

Mulhouse5

Zibelemärit: the most strange and unusual market you’ll ever see!

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Zwiebelmärit

The Zibilemärit is held on the fourth Monday of every November. It is a huge, world-class, one-day-only street market in the UNESCO city of Bern, Switzerland.  What is so unusual about the market: it opens at 3:00 AM, by 4:00 AM the market is already full of many thousands of visitors, transported here from all over Switzerland by special trains that the Swiss Federal Railways schedule.

And aside from beer and wine, the only product that is sold at the dozens and dozens of stands and vendors: onions and garlic.  The best part is all the hot food you can eat: garlic soup, onion soup, garlic bread, onion cookies, you-name-it-with-garlic-and-onion!

The history of the market dates back over 650 years: after a fire destroyed much of Bern, the villagers in the neighboring village of Freibourg volunteered to help rebuild the city. In exchange for this kindness, the Fribourgers were allowed to sell their goods in Bern, free of taxes.

When rainbows collide

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Rainbow

 

Here’s something you don’t see every day: almost every rainbow attribute in just one photograph, taken just outside my apartment on Lake Thun, in Switzerland. Clearly visible are a primary rainbow, a secondary rainbow, supernumerary rainbows, a reflected rainbow – as well as two clear dark areas known as Alexander’s bands. The region between the secondary and reflected rainbow is especially dark, and that is very rare to observe.

 

Pillar of moss and slime – 1

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PillOfMossAndSlimeBern

If anyone knows what these things are really called, please let me know. I call them “pillars of moss and slime.” It is a column over which water slowly and continuously trickles. And because of this, the column is host to a variety of natural molds, slimes, algae, moss, and grass – growing in different areas on the column, depending on the ambient light, wind direction, and time of year.

This pillar of moss and slime is located in Bern. I’ve seen similar structures scattered throughout western Switzerland (Bern, Zürich, Lausanne, Geneva, Montreux) as well as southern France. I’ll post further pictures as time permits.