The Happier the Hotelier, The Happier the Guest
When launched Qbic got featured on CNN. I didn’t see it myself. I red the transcript once, but thanks to fellow Blogger Época Alta I found the Youtube link:
The first ever Qbic Hotel is four months in operation now and its occupancy rates are reportedly over 90%.
Unofficially, according to a comment on its Blog, confirmed by a post on the official WSC Blog, Dutch Nuna4 has won the World Solar Challenge.
They arrived at Port Augusta at 16.54 hr local time, just 6 minutes before closing time of the control and finished the official timed stretch of the race. The Port Augusta to Adelaide (where the official finish is) leg seems not to count as a timed part of the race, as the leg has too much traffic and racing would be too dangerous.
The Nuon sponsored Delft Technical University Team rules the waves (err the sun rays) as this is the fourth consecutive win on a row of this biannual challenge.
Apparently they did not beat the team’s prior average speed record, because they met more clouds and rain under way.
Now I am curious if they will consider competing in a solar car race in the United States of America, for instance the 2008 American Solar Challenge, a 2400 mile race from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta.
To be updated.
Update 1) It seems the servers of the various sites are groaning under heavy traffic……
With this magnificent photo that I pinched from the Panasonic World Solar Challenge site today, I’ll give you a short update after 3 days of racing and a rest day in Alice Springs:
It is a pity that the organization is so scarce with giving proper information. I believe there is a lot of interest for multimedia coverage of this race, but alas not much to be found…..For instance in the Volvo Ocean sailing races and in the America’s Cup match sailing races we can follow the races in real time in our armchair behind the computer while each competitor has a camera and a GPS tracking device mounted on their yachts. Same is the case with the World Rally Championships.
Very sadly the US competitor of the University of Michigan, the Continuum of UM Solar Car Team, due to an accident are way, 11 hours and 24 minutes according to their Blog, behind Nuna4, but they seem to gain now.
Today and tomorrow 27 ministers of defense meet “informally” in Noorwijk, just a couple of miles North East from The Hague.
According to the Nato site they will
discuss the way ahead for NATO’s operations and Alliance transformation.
The ministers will discuss ways to ensure that the NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo remain correctly configured and properly resourced.They will also consider NATO’s role in Afghanistan as part of the wider efforts of the international community to support the development of national security, governance and development in Afghanistan.
They will also address the continued transformation of NATO’s defense capabilities and how best to continue ensuring the availability of forces and capabilities for the Alliance’s operations and for the NATO Response Force.
In the informal meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the 27 Ministers will address civil and military activities, as well as cooperation in Afghanistan and in the framework of NATO’s counter terrorism operation in the Mediterranean, Active Endeavor.
In order to make the meeting as secure as possible luxurious Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin has been fenced off from the outside world and looks like a military fort. Its premises and the complete town of Noordwijk have been declared temporary military zone. Without due form of process anybody can be searched and moved away from the area. A Dutch Marine minesweeper is anchored in front of the seashore located hotel and secures the seaside. Airplanes heading for Schiphol Amsterdam Airport have to make a detour as the area is declared a no flight zone as well and Noordwijk is just located in one of the frequently used approaches for the airport.
I am not sure the Huis ter Duin Hotelier is really very happy with this prestigious venue.
We visited the 10th Istanbul Biennial. On that occasion the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art had a temporary exhibition on the whole ground floor called “Times Present Times Past” with an overview of the 9 past Biennials.
The building itself is excellently located on the Bosphorus. I was mezmerized by the restaurant and bar: what a stunning view over the Bosphorus while having a lunch or simply an expresso (or Turkish Coffee).
What struck me most were four photo’s of Shirin Neshat from her series “Woman of Allah”.
As one of the most controversial of contemporary artists, Shirin Neshat will participate in the exhibition with her works from her series Women of Allah, which was part of the 4th İstanbul Biennial in 1995. In René Block’s biennial, Neshat’s work was introduced to the international community and widely discussed. The Iranian-American artist, who participated in the 4th, 5th and 8th İstanbul Biennials, was recognized internationally after her Women of Allah series, in which she used the images of Iranian revolutionary women who were ready to die for their convictions and combined a poetic expression with a problematical political content. Neshat left Iran in 1979 at the time of the Iranian revolution to resume her studies in the U.S.A. and had to live in exile until 1990. When she returned to her country after having spent 11 years in the U.S.A, she began questioning the role of women in the public sphere under the Islamic regime; in the series Women of Allah, which she produced between 1993 and 1997, she concentrated on issues relating to womens’ body, text and political action.
Immediately I associated these photos with the film Submission made by then controversial member of Dutch Parliament and current Bush think tank associate Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, a distant relative of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh who was murdered after the film was presented.
Last edited by GJE on December 7, 2011 at 1:41 pm