London at Night

My friend Mike shared this link on his Google Reader account the other day. These are great pictures of London at night.

From Jason, the photographer:

"Shooting aerial photography during the daytime had its own difficulties, you are strapped tightly into a harness leaning out of the helicopter, shouting directions through the headsets to the pilot. If shooting in the day can be difficult, night and the lack of light causes its own set of problems, but overcoming them is half the fun and the results can be stunning. I shoot at night using the very latest digital cameras, mounted on either one or two gyro stablazied mounts, depending on the format of the camera and length of lens I'm having to use."

Check them out!

Trip Tech: The iPhone LoJack Mod

Being the techy guy I am, I have to have a way to stay connected. This past year I purchased an iPhone. To put it bluntly, this device is badass but I'm not here to sell you one. Your BlackBerry is badass too.

Most users purchase devices and never use them to their full potential. I on the other hand buy devices and find a way to reverse engineer them. Everything from roomba vacuums, iPods, Xbox consoles, watches, PlayStation consoles, wireless internet routers and dvd players. My original iPod video lasted a whole 3 days before I modded the firmware, unlocked it and gave it the freedom a device like that deserves. It's been running like a champ since 2005. So far, my iPhones original software has lasted this long because of my company participating in the Apple 2.0 iPhone software beta program and the additional applications that you can now download. But, all good things must come to an end. Like Tom Bradys ACL.

Enter, the iPhone Jailbreak mod.

Simply put, this mod requires you to do something that Apple would never recommend, nor would they promote doing. If you are uncomfortable making operating system level changes to your computer or don't know what a shell script is, I'd probably advise against trying this. Now before I go crazy and you hear me vent my hatred towards DRM; I'm going to tell you that by doing this, you will be opening your iPhone up to a whole new world of possibilities but at the same time you will void your warranty. Google it.

So Ryan, what does this have to do with Europe? Ahh, thanks for getting me back on track.

Enter, the iPhone LoJack mod.

After you jailbreak your iPhone (or iPod touch) and install the LoJack mod you can sign up for a twitter account and use the findme script that is provided. So, long story short...I can be walking down the street in Brussels, Belgium, hit the "findme button" and have my iPhone triangulate through the nearest cell phone towers where I am (down to the street) and post it on my twitter feed and then to this very blog.

This entire process can be automated. It was created as more of a theft deterrent but for a techy backpacker like myself it works both ways.

Sweet huh!

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Things to do: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Tour Heineken Brewery

One of the must see places for beer lovers. The original Heineken brewery in Amsterdam dates back to 1930. Between 1930-1988 tasty beer was made right at this spot. Now the building is the Heineken Experience beer museum.

For an admission price of 10 EUR you can discover the secret of making one of the best beers in the world. From the big malt silos to the steering wagons, and of course to the bar where you'll be given a Heineken beer to "taste".

In my opinion, Heineken is a good beer, but gives me nowhere near the level of drinking satisfaction of a Goose Island 312, Bells Oberon Ale or Red Stripe. (I sound like an alcoholic don't I? I'm just a beer snob, trust me.) Nonetheless, I think this would be interesting. Has anyone been there?

The Red Light District

Ok, I have to make a confession. This is one of the places I am not leaving without seeing. To me Amsterdam is everything I am not used to and I think that is part of the attraction. This trip is about getting outside of the norm. Walking down these very streets will ensure that this is not a usual "Disneyland" type trip. For those who do not know, the Red Light District is known for its legalized prostitution and legalized Marijuana.

After some googling, I stumbled into some organized tours of the Red Light District. The tour seems to be the best idea when you want the inside scoop. There are some good reviews of that particular tour. From the research I've done, this costs 13 EUR. Some of the reviewers said that the tour guide even takes you out to a bar and buys everyone a round at the completion of the tour. It looks pretty sweet and I think would be worth looking into.

To my readers, I know you are out there. I've seen some rapid blog growth as of late. Got any tips or Red Light District stories?

Go Clubin' - Amsterdam Style

Little known fact: Amsterdam has over 1200 pubs. Each very unique in its own way.

For pre-partying, head to Lux (Marnixstraat 403), Bitterzoet (Spuistraat 2), or Seymour Likely (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 250) for live DJs.

Join the dance crowd at Club More Amor (Rozengracht 133), and Paradiso (Weteringschans 6-8). For a laid-back vibe and chillout atmosphere check out Café Alto (Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 115) for local jazz acts. According to iamsterdam.com, Café Alto is a great first date place so I guess if I meet the woman of my dreams in Amsterdam, I'll take her there.

This list is also a great resource for those of you who might be staying in Amsterdam for a longer period of time. It was created by Thomer M. Gil, who once was a resident of Amsterdam. The site was updated this past January so it has information that is relevant and not dated.

I cannot wait to hit the clubs here. You have no idea. I'm a drummer and Amsterdam is DJ Tiesto country. I've got to be honest though, Oakenfold and Tiesto are about the only electronic artists I get into. I'm not really sure why this type of music only exists in niche clubs over in America because musically its more in depth than a lot of garbage they play on the radio these days over here in the states.



This post will be updated....

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Things to do: London, England

National Gallery

The National Gallery, London houses one of the greatest collections of European painting in the world. These pictures belong to the public and entrance to see them is free. The National Gallery's permanent collection spans the period from about 1250 to 1900 and consists of Western European paintings.

Tower of London

One of London's most famous landmarks, the historic Tower houses the Crown Jewels, the prison cell of Sir Walter Raleigh, known as the Bloody Tower, and the Chapel of St. John and the Royal Armories.

Borough Market

Borough Market is London’s oldest food market. It was established on the south bank of the Thames when the Romans built the first London Bridge. It has occupied its present site for 250 years. Borough has a long and distinguished history as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market - wholesale trade takes place every night except Saturday from 2am – 8am.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today it is The Queen's official residence, with 775 rooms.

Eat at Hard Rock Cafe

Standing on Old Park Lane since June 14th 1971. It still houses the first ever piece of memorabilia donated to the Hard Rock Cafe, Eric Clapton's Lead II Fender, originally donated to reserve a space at the busy bar, the London Cafe is as charming and authentic now as it was 35 years ago.