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Different ships of the New York City Staten Island Ferry service offer various kinds of boat seats. Some designs allow you to lay down flat almost as comfortably as on any other hard bench, while other types feature seats with what is meant to be an ergonomic curvature that makes them unsuitable for laying down on.

Most times of the day, of course, a ferry’s boat seats wouldn’t be available for such a use anyway, seeing how packed New York rush-hours can be, even for transportation to the so-called “forgotten borough” of Staten Island.

Other times, however, particularly on the weekends, seating is plentiful and many a commuter takes to them as to a bed, almost. You can be positive it’s a commuter, one who habitually travels on the ferry, because visitors are otherwise too busy oohing and ahhing over the sights.

After all, looking at Lady Liberty from the confines of ferry boat seats – none next to the windows face out – is nothing in comparison against leaning over the railing at her. And who wants to take pictures with the most famous statue in all of the United States from behind a glass window, anyway?

No, if you have come this far, well over a mile from the harbor of downtown Manhattan Island, you will experience her the way countless immigrants have, in passing in the open air, you are actually heading in the opposite direction, away from the city, in common with countless soldiers spanning two world wars.

Other differences exist, too, between the various ships employed by the Staten Island ferry service. Some offer a second storey observation deck of sorts, while others can carry cars as well. However, since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, vehicles have not been allowed on the ferry.

Mention marble sculpture and most people will think about something like Italian marble statues, such as as Michelangelo’s David or Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. But some of the greatest works of marble are entire buildings themselves, for instance India’s Taj Mahal in Agra, an ancient bustling city on the banks of the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh.

First mentioned in the old Hindu epic the Mahabharata, where it was referred to as Agrevana, or “the border of the forest,” today’s Agra is most famous for the Taj Mahal, Urdu for “crown of buildings.” It’s a marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtza Mahal.

It’s most likely the most breathtakingly beautiful piece of marble sculpture anywhere, an entire complex constructed to symbolize eternal love. It is not for nothing that the Taj Mahal is generally found on lists of the seven wonders of the modern world, including one made by polling a hundred million people.

Thus the Taj Mahal attracts anywhere from two to four million visitors each year, of whome about two hundred thousand are from outside the country. This is a significant fact, as admissions are substantially lower for Indian citizens than for foreigners.

The very best time to see this spectacular work of marble is during the cooler months of October and November, which are important considerations since plenty of walking can be expected (the whole complex comprises of several buildings and sweeping gardens) on account of the strict air pollution controls in place that ban all traffic, except for some electric busses. Environmental pollution is also a serious matter in the area around the Taj Mahal.

Its storied white marble had turned yellow, and now there’s a four thousand and fifteen-square mile area around this UNESCO World Heritage Site where emissions are subjected to the strictest standards.

It’s interesting to watch old science fiction movies and compare the technology onscreen with current state-of-the-art technology in real life. For example, isn’t it funny that the world of interplanetary travel depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” should not have thought of cell phones and invented them – though in fact, such devices were in reality just another five or so years away from commercial feasibility! And it’s funny how with all the cinematic attention focused on such grand ambitious technologies like extraterrestrial travel the wonders that really did take place, in the real world, should carry, arguably, a lot more weight, impacting as they do our lives in maybe much more important ways. Take, for instance, the sort of rides operated by serial entrepreneur Zalman Silber.

Zalman Silber is the founder of a number of tourist attractions in the United States and Australia. Some are really great, such as Skywalk and The Edge, while others are rather uninspired, such as the Skyride and Oztrek. These latter two are billed as an immersive you-are-there experience for the whole family – blah blah blah – but they’re nothing more than travel flicks the type you can get on public TV, educational fare you’ve seen a million times over already in school, even. They are helicopter fly-bys of New York and Sydney, respectively, with the only concession to “multimedia” (a buzzword that’s been commonly used to ballyhoo them) being so-called motion seating providing kinetic feedback in sync with actions onscreen.

Nothing, as mentioned already, anyone hasn’t seen before.

Yet such things were to be found in many a science fiction film (albeit B-grade knock-offs, admittedly), someone’s vision of what hi-tech audio-visuals would be like one day! Obviously, that just speaks to the poverty of the imagination on the part of the writers more than anything else, but the point is that such contemplation makes for much amusement when screening the science fiction films of yesteryear.

Or take one of the earliest scenes from “Logan’s Run,” when the title character uses a kind of television-teleporter to find a date. Instead of going to a bar, the people of that world use this device to summon dates! It’s nothing short of a kind of 3-D Craig’s List!

These “everyday details” tend to show up in the more thoughtful and interesting movies, and on the whole make up one useful yardstick by which much of the best examples may be separated from the mundane. For most sci-fi flicks focus on laser guns and starships, but leave out what really makes science fiction interesting in the first place, the nexus between science and technology and the everyday lives of human beings.

See how the worldwide web has changed everything? And what is it but a network of computers connecting to one another, serving up information, ordinarily in a graphical (and truly multimedia) way? Nothing especially sophisticated here; no “warp drive” or “plasma cannon” here – proving the old adage that life is stranger than fiction!

Racing is not on the minds of most bicycle commuters, unless they happen to be messengers or deliverymen who, normally, ride to work! And in such instances, it would not be too surprising to find them employing what could pass for ad hoc racing strategies of the sort found in informal alleycat contests.

It might seem surprising that people who have to ride all day, every day, would also ride so fast, especially when not actually on the job but merely commuting there. Wouldn’t such people rather take a little break from any kind of racing for a while? Wouldn’t it make more sense to slowly ease oneself into one’s day instead of rushing, rushing, rushing all the time?

Most people would agree. But for the speedsters, it is all about the speed. For such individuals, it’s like how fish have to swim and birds have to fly. It is not so much a conscious choice as an inborn need. If anything, it is how they warm up for the day ahead.

Of course, the majority of people commuting by bicycle would like to get there as fast as possible, as well. But for them, what’s possible is a great deal more limited, in all likelihood, than for the racers who tend to make their living from bicycling all day.

Such people have so much practice, and they will have accumulated so much experience. They’re virtually fearless – and though fear normally lend wings to feet, fear when bicycling, particularly in an urban environment, can be an impediment to speed.

Actually, habitually slow riders tend to be those with no confidence. They’re afraid – and understandably so. But the fear slows them down – not that speed is an absolute necessity for them anyway. The point is that it isn’t a matter of some being fast so much as others being slow.

Unless you’ve got one of them portable Coleman Roadtrip grills, camping food will most likely mean something like an MRE, or Meal, Ready-to-Eat. Originally developed for the U.S. military, MREs are self-contained light-weight rations available in a wide variety of flavors. They’re also produced by other nations for their militaries, with all of the familiar flavors a local would expect!

As an example, MREs for South Korean troops feature such regional delicacies as kimchi, while Italians enjoy beef tortellini; Swedes and Norwegians get cod stew with sour cream and potato, and Poles make do with bogracz (beef goulash). And though soldiers in the field can’t use camping grills for obvious security reasons, thanks to the marvels of modern science MREs now provide hot meals flamelessly!

Today’s MREs contain a Flameless Ration Heater, or FRH, which will increase the temperature of an eight-ounce entree by a hundred degrees Fahrenheit in no more than twelve minutes. FRHs use a simple chemical reaction to provide heat sufficient to warm up the precooked contents of an MRE.

The concept is to use the natural oxidation of a metal to generate heat. MREs now reach boiling point within seconds, steaming and bubbling! In ten minutes or so, dinner is ready. As can be imagined, they aren’t anywhere near the power of your least expensive Coleman Roadtrip grills, but they ain’t any person spending the night outdoors.

No, combat cuisine does not compare to camping fare, but it’s not really that bad, and, frankly, isn’t roughing it part of the overall experience, regardless of whether in the military or living out of doors?

Of course, you could just opt to go completely authentic and hunt game and roast it over a campfire spit! But an MRE is really a nice compromise between that and a Coleman grill.

Mention rhinestones and folks of a certain age may well remember Elvis Presley and his crazy outfits. But the singer had always been a little outrageous in his gyrations, and for much of his career, even earlier on, his outfits have tended to push the envelope of establishment tastes. Rhinestones, then, were only the latest in flamboyancy for him, though, to be sure, his tastes did progress to a lot more extravagant designs.

Given such popular perceptions of him, tied as they are to his choice of dress, even when off the stage, it is amusing to contemplate that once upon a time he was more square-cut than not. Instead of rhinestones and the like, the worst that might be said of his appearance was the lock of hair that fell over his forehead, out of place from the slicked back coif he wore at this time.

Next he was drafted into the Army, in 1958. Wisely, he made the decision, at least partly on a former manager’s advice, to serve his tour as a regular soldier instead of receiving preferential treatment by performing musical performances that would have kept him in touch with the public.

Wiser still, producers at RCA, his record label, made sure to keep him in the popular imagination through the ingenuous marketing of previously unreleased material, ten of which turned out to be Top Forty hits, in addition to the recompilation of old favorites across four albums.

All while on active duty with the Army in Germany! Far from harming his career as he’d feared, Elvis became quite the Everyman for serving like everyone else. In contrast to some of his fellow musicians, Elvis was typically considered the most respectable, the most presentable, to mainstream/establishment sensibilities. Parents might still fret at his highly suggestive and deliberate pelvic gyrations, but at least that was all they could object to concerning his public persona.

Here’s a novel thing to do in New York as a tourist: personal training. Forget the tourist traps like Zalman Silber’s Skyride; if it’s honest-to-goodness thrills you desire, how about hiring one of the many attractive personal fitness trainers available for a jog, swim, stretch, or bike-ride around town? Really, there’s no better way to take in the sights than in a manner a native might.

Thousands – no, hundreds of thousands – of New Yorkers exercise each day, whether specifically working out or otherwise enjoying a physically rigorous leisure activity. Why not you? It can be a lot cheaper than the above mentioned Zalman Silber affair. Instead of helicopter flyovers on film (which is all that his Skyride is – and not even “all” at that, but only “some,” to be exact), why not jog past the West Side heliport near the downtown nabe of Chelsea? Or just take a bicycle ride past the USS Intrepid a mile uptown, along the same waterfront, with its fighter jets and other military aircraft permanently parked above deck.

You want excitement? There’s no thrill more visceral than working out with an attractive able-bodied trainer when new in town! Not only will you enjoy the company of someone that’s good-looking, but you’ll also be able to stay healthy. Even if you’re not exercising at all, picking it up for the first time (or after a long while) when in a new unfamiliar environment can be really fun. In fact, it can be so exhilarating that you need to be mindful of checking your own enthusiasm so as to not get hurt, especially as a beginner!

Indeed, organizations like the 50 States Marathon Club were founded to serve people who already have, all on their own, combined fitness and traveling into one unbeatable vacation package. And for many who are retirees, exercise and travel go hand-in-hand every day! It’s a great idea with which almost anyone can participate along.

Naturally, many people have long traveled just to do certain things at, specifically, certain places. Climbing and hiking come to mind immediately; they are probably the pastimes most associated with travel. But there are many sports and otherwise physically challenging activities that can be intimately tied to a certain place. Bicyclists and kayakers are as similarly enamored of particular places as climbers. Surfers and hangliders, too, as these sports depend on conditions that are often most dependable at specific spots.

And so when in New York one may bike, swim, run, kayak, and of course simply walk all over the place. Indeed, it is one of the most versatile cities in the world in this regard, with very free open space in most cases: row or paddle where you will; run or pedal as long as you can. This isn’t news for natives, to be sure, but tourists may be surprised that New York truly has it all, including outdoors life!

Virtual travel has basically only come of age now, in the 21st Century, thanks to the kinds of Web 2.0 applications like Google Magps’ Streetview function. Unlike something like the sort of uninspired movie one might view at a Zalman Silber Skyride or Oztrek, where the audience simply sits back and watches tape of a helicopter flyover intended to induce a you-are-there feeling, virtual travel today is really virtual, and much more interactive – which is all to say, realistic like never before.

Indeed, two people have even embarked on that grand old tradition of The Great American Road Trip – only this time, thanks to the marvels of modern technology, they will do it all from the comfort of their own homes. Using Google Maps and its Streetview option, Peter Baldes and Marc Horowitz have been able to trek across the country without paying for gas – or speeding tickets!

Perhaps best of all, however, are all the strangers you can meet along during such a road trip – and they aren’t necessarily locals, either! Thanks to those same marvels of modern technology, it’s easy for others to check in on you, joining you for a part of the virtual trip by webcasting the trip live, just as Marc and Pete mentioned above had done. After all, what’s virtual travel without virtual companions?

Unlike the travel videos of yesteryear, virtual sightseeing this way is fully open-ended, just as if you’d won the lottery and can afford to do whatever you want, whenever you want to! No longer will you merely be following along passively; with the simple click and drag of a mouse you can instantly teleport anywhere! Started off in Rome and suddenly longing for Paris? Have most of Germany covered and now want to check out Japan? It’s easy, and fast, with virtual travel in the 21st Century!

Of course, as any Physics 101 student will tell you, you don’t get something for nothing in this universe. And with respect to sightseeing virtually, you give up a lot even as you save a lot of time and money. You won’t meet folks face-to-face, or feel the wonderful weather or sample regional specialties, culinary and otherwise. Most of all, as any globetrotter knows, much of the fun lies in the journey itself, the very getting there. All this, and much more, are lost on a virtual trip.

It is, in many ways, about what you get with a Zalman Silber spectacle, only without the professional production values – a flowing stream of images, as if instead of a juicy well-done steak on your plate you are presented with a glossy high-resolution photo of one! Virtual travel will likely never replace really being there yourself, and it still has a long way to go before it can even begin to rival the same level of fun offered by the real thing – for right now, the sizzle is the most attractive thing about it.

Pass by a statue in the park, and chances are that it’s a bronze sculpture, which rank among the most popular of cast metal works due to a naturally occurring trait that makes it more convenient to fashion than many other materials. Bronze alloys expand a little prior to being set, and this helps to ensure that even the finest details of a mold are filled.

Moreover, bronze sculptures are strong while not being brittle, a quality recognized as ductibility, so that works may be fashioned that illustrate actions performed mid-sequence, as if frozen in time, for example leaps and flights, simply because the needed supports require will smaller and thus less obvious (that is, visually intrusive) cross-sections.

Few examples from antiquity exist comparable to those sculpted of stone and ceramics due to the precious nature of the metal. In instances of war, such art was simply melted down for arms, or victorious conquerors melting them down for recasting and to create new statues.

Few bronze statues survived from ancient times, and those which do are often not in good condition. The originals on display in museums have been painstakingly restored to a quality suitable enough for exhibition but even the naked eye can still easily discern traces of wear and tear.

Modern-day works are normally some ninety percent cooper and ten percent tin, though in ages past other components figured into the alloy, elements like phosphorus and manganese and aluminum and silicon. But reactive chemicals are frequently added these days in order to achieve novel effects such as a marble-like luster.

Such corrosive materials are applied after final polishing in order to form a patina or film, establishing for the sculptor a degree of control over the color and finish. As could be imagined, working properly with bronze requires a high degree of technical skill.

Tourist traps. Thought-up to wring every last dollar out of you. It’s as if they were thought up to ruin your vacation. And sightseeing rides rank right up there.

Take Zalman Silber’s Skyride in New York’s Empire State Building. With a name like that, you’d expect it was up there at the top, where it’s located. Instead, it’s only on the second floor. Moreover, express access to the top – for which you pay an additional fifty percent of the ticket price – is just a matter of skipping a few lines. It’s not as if you go straight to the top. You’ll still have to wait on lines, only perhaps one or two less.

And so what is the Skyride? A movie. A half-hour film. That’s it! Definitely a case where the sizzle sounds better than how the steak tastes.

But Zalman Silber redeems himself with his other attractions, the Skywalk and The Edge. The first amusement is aptly named for sure, essentially a catwalk a thousand feet above street level outside the top of the Sydney Tower in Sydney, Australia. It’s an exhilarating experience where, unlike traditional observation decks enclosed behind glass, visitors walk out onto a metal plank that juts out of the building, creating the breath-taking feeling of being suspended in mid-air!

As can be imagined, wind gusts are quite strong at such a height, and special “skysuits” cable-tethered to support structures are used to ensure guest safety. But the Skywalk is open in most kinds of weather, and available practically the whole year.

A similar attraction is The Edge at the Eureka Tower in Melbourne, Australia. This time, visitors are in a fully enclosed cube that sticks out of the building near the very top, with fully transparent glass all around – even beneath one’s feet! A really cool feature of this amusement is how everything is initially opaque, and only suddenly transparent to create an exciting sense of unexpected suspension almost a thousand feet above ground!

These two are great fun and a must for any to-do list when in Sydney or Melbourne. These are the kinds of experiences that really make vacations memorable. After all, vacations are about more than simple relaxation and getting away from work. They are about experiences – ideally, new experiences, positive experiences, unique experiences. And while such attractions as the Skywalk exist elsewhere, such as over the Grand Canyon in the State of Arizona, there’s only one such thing in Sydney and one such thing in Melbourne, offering stunning vistas outdone only by a helicopter flyover.

So beware the tourist traps and spend your hard-earned dollars instead where it would go the furthest. Patronize only those rides which offer true value for the money!

During those bygone halcyon days of console gaming, when a system failed, the oft reaction was to raise one’s hands toward the sky and curse the God’s of every pantheon for having smote your system. There was little in the way of diagnostic options leaving most to wonder vainly what affliction had stricken their beloved console, snatching it from this mortal coil. The power would be activated and nothing would happen and there’d be little choice beyond cursing nefarious fortune and her ambiguous design, frequently plunging into a void of existential woe. Nonetheless, with the most recent generation of consoles, there’s at least some onboard indication of what evils have befallen your system, most infamously the X-box 360 and the Red Ring of Death.

One can’t help but wonder if this knowledge has been of greater use to mankind, or if the question of console demise is one best left unanswered, for where tragedy once came like a breath of wind and left as little trace, it now bears a face and a name to be loathed by mortals. Four times divided, each of the ring’s quadrants on the face of the X-box 360 displays a vibrant green hue when in good health. However, when hardware malfunction or pestilence or an ancient curse has marked a console with its wicked taint, the four lights will glow a hellish fiery red to indicate the source of its ailment. The configurations of these cursed runes are telling of the particular affliction and are interpreted as follows.

When the ring is solely aflame in its southeastern most quadrant, facing the same direction as the flight from the migratory birds, the X-box 360 is then victim of hardware failure, the exact nature of which is alluded to only by the apocryphal two-digit sequence of symbols that appear upon the linked display. When the ring is cleft in twain from scalp to groin by the purple hue, a great fever has taken your console causing its components to overheat.

When cloaked entirely in the Masque of the Red Death, you most likely just forgot to plug the AV cables in, jackass. Or some higher malevolence has seized some vital component to your console, for which you might seek the guidance of a soothsayer, an apothecary, or even… Microsoft. But seriously, just check to make sure it’s plugged in. Most feared, however, among we mere puppets on this earthly stage are the red lights that seize the ring in all quadrants save for that between north and east.

Glance but for only a moment to confirm your sickly apprehensions, then avert thine eyes for what stares back is the eye of the devil whose red gaze will indelibly sear the soul. General Hardware Failure, plight of men and Gods alike and bane of all things good and sacred, has corrupted your X-box. Abandon all hope, for even among sorcerer’s alchemy and mystic’s incantations there is naught that men of earthly constitution can summon.

But one option remains, to turn over your console to the ethereal high court of Microsoft or perhaps a trusted third party hardware technician whose tangible connection to the divine can provide the steel of nerve, the authority of conviction, the edge of wit, the fortitude of soul required to perform the ritual exorcism which will rid your X-box of its demons. Please allow two to three weeks for repairs.

Green energy. You hear about it all the time nowadays. The U.S. needs it. China is getting ever more involved with it. Green energy. But what does it all mean? Our newspapers tell us that it’s the wave of the future, the only way forward. Yet nothing is happening in this country, where most green technologies have been invented, and it’s China that seems poised to dominate this industry of the 21st Century.

So what makes for green energy, and why is it so important? The term is much more accurately referred to, technically speaking, as sustainable energy, energy that meets present needs without compromising the environment upon which future generations will also depend.

To be regarded as sustainable typically means to be renewable in such a way as wind, solar, and water-generated power is. Conventional fission power, or nuclear, power is technically a eco-friendly form of energy though many environmentalists believe that its potential hazard far outweighs the advantages to be derived.

Moreover, disposable of spent nuclear fuel rods is a major challenge, with a high likelihood of leagage in most scenarios. Now how has China gotten into the issue? Well, it is not only the world’s fastest-growing economy, but also its fastest-growing polluter, rivaling the United States.

It also happens to be the largest market for eco-friendly technologies and, as the “workshop of the world” also the single largest manufacturer of all the hardware involved. And so any conversation on anything green must, in the end, focus on the role of China.

But what is China’s position in all of this? As it is generally been: driven by necessity. With the world’s largest population living only on a mere fraction of its arable land, the nation is extremely sensitive to all kinds of issues related to the environment, energy policy, and economic growth. Going green, China’s leaders recognize, is the best chance they’ve got to not only survive in the post-industrial world but also to prosper.

The all-important first date. Such getting-to-know-you can be greatly enhanced by an amusement ride, and the most thrilling one of all must be the Skywalk by Zalman Silber. A serial entrepreneur who made his first big fortune with New York’s infamous Skyride, a much ballyhooed but modest thirty-minute movie of helicopter flyovers, Sydney, Australia’s Skywalk is a much more visceral affair – and for a first-date, visceral is where it’s got to be at!

No, get your mind out of the gutter – “visceral” here simply means heart-pounding thrills which, studies show, make dates more attracted to one another. Yes, really: the more physically exciting the activities the more likely dates are to view one another as being physically attractive. Scientists have paired up total strangers of the opposite sex and asked them to secretly rate one another’s attractiveness. Then each pair was put through a roller-coaster, sitting side-by-side, and asked again to rate one another’s attractiveness after the ride. The second set of responses were almost always substantially higher than than the first set!

So if you need to make a great impression, make sure to get her (or him!) engaging in some kind of physically exhilarating activity with you – such as the aforementioned Skywalk from Zalman Silber. Located at the top of the Sydney Tower, the Skywalk is simply a catwalk with glass flooring that provides visitors with a panoramic view of the city a thousand feet above street level. Being a catwalk, everything is out in the open, with no windows between guests and…nothingness. The Skywalk offers not only a bird’s-eye view of the Harbour City but all the visceral feelings to go with it as well!

And if the simple fact of being up so high doesn’t get your date’s heart throbbing, make sure she looks down! Visiting the Skywalk is a perfect first date because the Skywalk is the perfect ice-breaker. Don’t be surprised if she instinctively grabs your arm! Even though everyone is tethered by cable to sturdy metal support structures, the frequent gusts of wind can be strong enough to make one forget all the safety features built into the experience. Afterward, you and your date can retire to the conventional observation deck of the Sydney Tower to enjoy the romantic view while sharing fond memories of your Skywalk. Or better yet, purchase another set of tickets to really jack up the excitement and send her emotions through the roof!

By no means go hiking without a camping tent – I learned that the almost-hard way. I say “almost” because considering that I’m not only alive to tell the tale but suffered no injuries, either, it probably wasn’t as hard as it might have been had I not been so lucky.

I and my companions did not have a camping tent between us since it was just supposed to have been an simple day-hike over (and up) easy terrain. A thousand-foot mountain affords nice enough views, to be sure, such that the curvature of the earth could be faintly seen, but it isn’t considered a big deal by any who hike or climb real mountains.

So, of course, we didn’t bring a camping tent. And sure enough we get lost, and with only another two hours of sunlight left most of us choose to backtrack downhill – except for myself and another friend. And although we do eventually summit, as novices we make the mistake of mistiming our descent, such that it is already twilight by the time we decide to head back.

You see, being so inexperienced we mistook the fact that there was still light in the sky for having enough time to get back down. But of course we were at the summit, where we had a excellent view of our surroundings – this was Mount Buck, the highest point in the whole Lake George area of New York.

And though the sun was low on the horizon it seemed wonderfully bright all around. Golds mixed with blues turned pink and white – it was a swirl of colours matching the happy dance of emotions within that we’ve finally reached the top.

Lost in our reveries, we did not realize that not only does the sun set in seconds, but that in a forest the canopy of foliage will make even mid-afternoon seem much, much later to the human eye….