Containers by the river Rhine, near BASF in Ludwigshafen

Containers by the river Rhine, near BASF in Ludwigshafen, originally uploaded by miquel_martin.

Containers sitting at a dock. Lots, and lots of them. Ever been curious about them? Unsurprisingly, there's a bunch of ISO standards regulating everything about them, which is why they all look the same... and a good thing they do! Imagine a harbor full of assorted, oddly shaped boxes! (Indiana Jones anyone?)
Now, these things weight up to about 5000kg, and you can stuff it with 25000kg worth of goods. They have a unique "License plate". Together, they have revolutionized goods handling, but not all is peachy. Some 10.000 containers end up in the sea every year (sometimes turning up rather.. unexpectedly), and empty containers are sometimes too expensive to return home, once they are empty, and the goods transport doesn't quite compensate (5000kg, remember?) and you have huge areas full of the empty things. Oh well, they've given us endless hours of entertainment in countless movies and series, not to mention other more unorthodox uses!


Contenidors esperant a un port. Molts, molts contenidors. My t'ha picat la curiositat? Com era d'esperar, hi ha una colla d'estàndards ISO regulant-ne cada detall, d'aquí que tots tinguin la mateixa pinta... i encara sort! Imagina't uns molls plens de caixes estranyes i diferents! (recordeu l'Indiana Jones ?)
Bé doncs, aquests monstres pesen fins uns 5000kg, i hi pots entaforar uns 25000kg de mercaderies. Cada un te una "matríla única". Tot plegat ha revolucionat el transport de mercaderies, pero no tot es de color de rosa. Cada any, uns 10.000 contenidors acaben al fons del mar (i de tant en tant reapareixen, per sorpresa de tothom). A més a més, tornar cap a casa els contenidors buits (5000kg, recordes?) pot tenir un cost superior al de producció, i acabem amb àrees enormes plenes de contenidors buits.. Bé, en qualsevol cas, ens han donat incontables pel.lícules i séries, per no parlar d'altres usos menys ortodàxes!

If you'd like some more info on this picture, there's a bunch of extra details in flickr.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

The Spirit of Ecstasy, originally uploaded by miquel_martin.

The Spirit of Ecstasy, photographed at Speyer Technical Museum. This figure is Rolls Royce's mascot/hood ornament. You might think it an angel, but it's actually a (presumably ecstatic) woman holding her arms stretched to the back, clothing billowing in the wind (and looking a lot like angelic wings).
Started as a hint to a secret love, it evolving towards speed, and eventually, the sheer ecstasy of driving. Henry Royce (Yes, there is also a Mr. Rolls) thought it got in the way, and it took a while until becoming what it is today: a must have for every Rolls-Royce. Well, unless you're a Queen, perhaps!

El Spirit of Ecstasy, fotografiat al Museu Técnic de Speyer. Aquesta figura és la mascota/decoració de capó de la marca Rolls-Royce. Podria semblar un àngel, pero de fet es tracta d'una dona (aparentment en ple écstasi) amb els braços estirats cap al radera, i la roba bufant al vent (i amb tota la pinta d'ales angelicals).
La figura comença la seva historia com a guiny cap a un amor ocult, i evoluciona cap a símbol de velocitat, i finalment, de la pura alegria de conduir. En Henry Royce (Sí, també hi ha un Senyor Rolls) era de l'opinió que tot plegat reduia visibilitat, així que va passar un temps fins que la figura es va convertir en el que és avui: quelcom imprescindible per a qualsevol Rolls-Royce.... bé, a no ser, pot ser, que siguis una Reina!

If you'd like some more info on this picture, there's a bunch of extra details in flickr.

May all traffic jams be like this

May all traffic jams be like this, originally uploaded by miquel_martin.

10am on a January, by the Victoria Tower in Mannheim; A traffic jam, but a gorgeous sunrise to compensate.
It's summer now, so I was wondering how it could be so dark, so late. It turns out (instructions here), however, that we have a three hour sunrise time variation over the year, (not accounting for summer time)!. Well, we're way better off than Helsinki, or further north, with true midnight sun at Santa Claus' home in Rovaniemi. For the extremes, check Qaanaaq, somewhere in very northern Greenland (77°N) and Nairobi, Kenya, almost on the equator (1°S). Do your own checks here. Happy summer solstice!

10 del mati, Gener, a la vora de la Torre Victória a Mannheim; Un bon embús, pero també una sortida de sol genial per compensar.
Ara som a l'estiu, aixi que em preguntava com podia ser tan fosc, sent que era tan tard. Resulta (instructions aquí),que tenim unes tres hores de diferència en la sortida del sol al llarg de l'any (sense tenir en compte l'horari d'estiu)!. Bé, ho tenim força millor que a Helsinki, o més al nord, amb sol de mitjanit a casa de Santa Claus a Rovaniemi. Si voleu veure els extrems, mireu Qaanaaq, molt al nord de Groenlàndia (77°N) i Nairobi, Kenya, quasi a l'equador (1°S). Feu els vostres càlculs aquí. Feliç solistici d'estiu!

If you'd like some more info on this picture, there's a bunch of extra details in flickr.