A Scanner Darkly

Philip K. Dick is one of my favourite authors, so I was pleased to see that another of his books is being turned into a film. From watching the trailer they seem to have stuck closely to the original too. There are some big names involved (Keanu, Harrelson and Wiona Ryder!) and it seems to be produced entirely in a comic strip style of animation. Interesting. I read the book last year, it's funny, depressing and crazy. All the character are paranoid drug (substance D) abusers, the lead character ends up spying on himself. Can't wait to see it!

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The Pitts

Well, I have arrived in Pittsburgh. I am right next door to a new conference centre, and just caught the end of a conference for people who like to dress (and behave) as animals. I saw dozens of people walking around with furry tails, and a few with little ears too. I didn't manage to photograph any, but I found a few photos on flickr.

The good things about the city are:

- The city centre is small, you can walk around the whole thing.
- There are plenty of sports to go and watch.
- There are a couple of museums.

The bad things about Pittsburgh are:

- I can't find any fresh fruit or healthy food.
- There's not much else to do other that what's listed above.
- I'm in the business district, and everywhere is shut in the evenings.

Oh well, I might try and get a car and travel. I took some photos around the area of my hotel:

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Farewell Orlando

Tomorrow I am flying up to Pittsburgh, where I will remain for the rest of my stay here in the States. So today we visited the home of CO2 emissions, Kennedy Space Center. We were fortunate enough to (just about) see a shuttle on the launch pad. Walking around the Saturn V rocket was amazing. It's quite daunting to think that when it's waiting on the pad ready to launch, 91% of it's weight is rocket fuel. I wouldn't want to be strapped to the top of it.

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Islands of Adventure

As a treat we visitied the Universal Studios 'Islands of Adventure' theme park today. There were loads of good rides, and I even got to meet my favourite superheros. The best rollercoaster was the Incredible Hulk. You start the ride by slowly being pulled up a slope which is completely enclosed in a tunnel, and then without warning you are shot up the slope at high speed and fired out, spun up-side down and then straight down a steep drop. You reach a top speed of 67 mph, and accelerate from 0-40 mph in 2 seconds. I was glad to get off.

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Photos of Orlando

Here are some pictures from around where I'm staying. I went for a walk to the local mall, and discovered that walking is not something America is designed for. I had to run across the interstate motorway, and wrestle and aligator (well I didn't actually see any 'gators but I did see an eagle).

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