I Got High

No, not high in the drug induced sense (you can breathe now, Mom) but in the literal sense. Last Friday, I went to the top of the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101.

 
While the building itself is very impressive, I was more impressed by the elevators. Taipei 101’s elevators reach a top speed of 1010 meters/min (37.5 miles/hour), making them the fastest in the world. I stepped into the elevator on the 5th floor and a mere 39 seconds later, I had arrived at the indoor observatory on the 89th floor. That works out to 2.28 floors per second. Impressive indeed.

Here are a couple shots from said observatory.

 
Another thing I was really impressed by was the giant tuned mass damper that resides in the middle of the 88th floor. For those that don’t know and are too lazy to follow the link provided, a tuned mass damper is a device designed to help stabilize tall buildings against wind and seismic events. The damper in Taipei 101, which not surprisingly is the world’s largest, reportedly reduces swaying of the tower by 40%. It’s amazing how that can be accomplished by something that looks to be nothing more than a huge mass of steel.

One thing I was somewhat disappointed in was the outdoor observatory on the 93rd floor. I was hoping to get a better view of the city but my view was kind of restrained by a fence of metal bars.

 
However, the gap between the bars was wide enough to fit my camera between and I was able to take this photo of the city below. It’s just too bad I wasn’t able to see this view unobstructed with the naked eye.

 
All in all, I had a pretty good time. I don’t care much for heights but I didn’t feel all that uncomfortable while I was there. It’s weird how when I get to a certain height, I seem to lose my acrophobia. The same thing happens when I look out the window of an airplane. Maybe it’s something psychological… or maybe I’m just strange. My money’s on the latter.

Nan Liao

Nan Liao is a small “town” on the west coast of the island.  It’s about a 20 minute scooter ride from Hsinchu.  If I remember correctly, it’s a mere 90 miles away from Mainland China, making it the closest point in Taiwan to China.

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day.  About 75 degrees and not much humidity.  Well, not much for Taiwan, anyway.  So I went to Nan Liao on Sunday afternoon just to kick back, relax, and enjoy the weather.  Sadly, that is only the second time I’ve been to Nan Liao.  I really must venture there more often.  Anyway, here’s a lovely photo of the ocean for you that proves just how beautiful it was.  I mean, if I can take a picture that looks this good, you know the scenery must have a lot to do with it.

Air Supply

Right now, I’m listening to Even the Nights Are Better by Air Supply. Yeah… you read that correctly… Air Supply.

I have fond memories of Air Supply. I remember them from way back when I was in grade school some twenty-odd years ago. Whenever my family took a car trip, my brothers and I were presented with a dizzying array of soft rock from my father’s eclectic three cassette tape library. One of those select few musicians was none other than Air Supply.

Accompanying the boys from Air Supply were their good friends Anne Murray and Crystal Gayle. Who says the 80s were a musical wasteland? The artists listed above are quality defined. I mean, what more could a budding music fan ask for than an eight hour road trip filled with the sweet sounds of Lost In Love, Sleeping Single in a Double Bed, and Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue?

All sarcasm aside, I really do like Air Supply. Those boys are on their own level of cheesiness. So cheesy, in fact, they’re actually good. That is a very rare and admirable talent and it just so happens that Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock have it in spades. If and when I ever get married, you can be sure I’m gonna be pushing hard for Making Love Out of Nothing at All as the track to which my wife and I share our first dance.

Taiwanese Baseball Tickets

If anyone is interested, this is what a Chinese Professional Baseball League ticket looks like.

Sadly, I did not get to attend the game because there was a mix up with my ticket. Hopefully I’ll get to another one some time soon. I really miss baseball.

Lack of Motivation

Cripes. After managing a “record” fourteen entries in March, I followed that up with a pathetic three entry month in April. I’m not sure what’s happened, to tell you the truth. I seemed to have lost all motivation to write. I’ve had a few things that I have been wanting to write (the golf thing comes to mind) but I have just not had the desire to put anything down onto “paper”.

To be honest, I haven’t had much motivation to do anything, actually. My days basically consists of going to work, coming home, slacking off, and going to bed. Work sucks and everything else is boring. Life seems to have become quite pointless. I have a number of other things that I need to, such as searching for another job. But for some reason, I just don’t have the proper motivation to do so. Sooner or later I’ll get around to it, I suppose.