First off, this entry is dedicated to James Doohan, better known to the world as the Enterprise's Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on the Original Star Trek. He passed away today at the age of 85. His character was an inspiration to many and the mark he made will be remembered for generations to come. In fact, "Scotty" was one of the many role models I looked up to and probably influenced me in some small way to choose Engineering as my major. He now joins DeForrest Kelley & Gene Rodenberry up there somewhere. May you all rest in peace.
Continuing on, there was a fire in downtown Dunedin yesterday. It was pretty crazy walking out onto the main road outside my flat and seeing billowing smoke rise from the Octagon area. Ironically, the fire began, I think, in the "Toast Bar." Toasty alright...
And here we are at the main topic of today's post: the Signal Hill Lookout. A nice, high 300+ m above the lovely town, you get a beautiful view of the harbour, the town and everything else in the vicinity. Ryan did it two days ago. Stuart did it yesterday. I did it today. Not sure if the other guys got pics, but I'm fairly certain that I had the best weather out of all of us.
Here's the monument that stands at the center of the lookout. Not sure what it's for, but the rock that is right below it is from the ground that Edinburgh Castle is built upon. It represents the connection that Edinburgh and Dunedin share since Dunedin was primarily settled by Scots. Also, a bit of trivia, Dunedin is the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh.
And here I am at the lookout with Dunedin behind me. I must say, it was a spectacular view. Quite refreshing after the gruelling climb to get up there. It was good to go out and stretch the legs and I'm sure it'll help me judge my physical condition as we try to prepare for some serious tramping later this semester. The real indicator will be how sore I am tomorrow...more on that later.
For now, I think that'll do it. I'm off to my physics lab and hopefully tonight will also have in store a Nobel Laureate lecture (*edit* Just got back from the lecture. The speaker was 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics Award winner Anthony J. Leggett. He spoke about quantum physics and how they may relate to macrosystems. Professor Leggett, who was knighted for his achievements, gave a good talk with a sprinkling of "scientists' humour." I just wish the mic was clearer in the back...where I was sitting.) and Open Mic night at the Jam Jar (*edit* Pic below). Take care everyone!
Please pardon the limitations of the cameraphone in low light conditions...Anyways, here's Ryan doing his singing/guitar playing thing at the Jam Jar's Open Mic night. A modest 3 song set that, considering the conditions, equipment and occasionally indifferent crowd, was quite a good performance and well received. He even got an invite to join some Kiwis for a jam session later on!
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