And then there were 30

Yep I turned 30 this past Sunday (thanks for outing me Mrs. Bob... I may have remained silent if it hadn't been for you).

It was weird... the moment I turned 30 a pigeon came by and delivered a little rolled-up note. The note stated that, now that I'm "one of them", I am to tell every individual who is approaching 30 that the occasion is a horrible, scary, devastating and mind-altering experience. Apparently this is so that those younger folks will quit having fun and start developing ulcers in dread of the big day.

I could be wrong about the pigeon. Maybe it was a falcon. Or a figment.

Seriously, no problems turning 30. It just happens. Oh, except the hair...

The day before my b-day I went to the barber to get my first haircut of 2007. This is generally not a big ordeal but I couldn't exactly go into great detail on how I wanted my hairs cut since we were linguistically on completely different pages. And then to pay $40 for a cut that was less than perfect... oh well. I know, you ladies are scoffing at the low low price. Well, it's not so low low when you count on one hand the number of hairs that need tending to. (And yes I have an unusually large hand with dozens of digits.)

Anyway. So the hair is cut. As is the case after every haircut, I notice that my scalp is just that much more visible than the last time. I can't believe I started balding before 30! (Apologies to those who really are balding... I suppose my hairline is still on the front side of my head.) But at least I'm not going grey yet.. now that would have been a blow!! (Again, apologies to those who... oh forget it. My time will come.)

We're off to some cool places over the next two weekends, so hopefully I'll have something substantial to blog about the next time around.

Ciao!

Four weeks later...

Apparently it's not nice to go almost a month without blogging, but that's what happens when one doesn't do anything exciting. The only thing I did that was of any importance was go to the Geneva Auto Show. It is one of the major international auto shows, is held annually, and attracts about 750,000 people over 11 days. Since Carrie wasn't terribly interested in going I went on a weekday morning, a less busy time than weekends.

The event was held in a single rather large building, which I enjoyed over Toronto's layout which has you commuting between buildings by bus. And although that commute is free, Toronto's piddly auto show cost $20 whereas Geneva's (much bigger) was only $14.

I must say that a height advantage is a good thing at any people-infested event: I can stand in the third row of neck-craning oglers and my camera does all the looking from a height of 8 feet.

Since I didn't want to be there all day, I got there at 10:30am, stayed for 3 hours, and clicked till the camera died... 275 pictures later. What did shutterbugs ever do before the digital camera?

One slightly annoying thing was the multi-level floor. Many parts of the floor were raised a couple of inches, probably to hide cables and stuff under. But I don't understand why these raised areas couldn't end at the edge of a display area instead of extend into the walkways. As a result, every 8 seconds or so, I'd see someone suddenly become a little shorter, having suddenly walked off the edge of their known dimension. It must have happened to everyone, myself included; eventually we ceased to look around sheepishly after stumbling, resolving to look awkward with pride.

Some major auto shows have plenty of home-grown production vehicle debuts (e.g., Detroit), but since Geneva has no local automakers, there is a fair bit of focus on concept cars. Since everyone knows what cars look like, it's almost pointless to post any pictures. But really now, what's a post without pictures?

Not that there was any lack of space, but some cars were parked in the oddest places.


This Toyoa Auris is for you if you enjoy driving around in a giant mirror.


A random bunch of car pictures is not complete without the ultimate family sedan: a nice four-door Maserati. This one's price tag: well, you'd have to choose between the family sedan or a family home.


As expensive but less roomy is the Morgan Aeromax. You'd think after a 100 years they'd have changed the style a little, but hey... apparently it's cool. You could put down a $60,000 deposit at the auto show to reserve one. Only 100 of these will be made and they were all spoken for before the show was over.


This Spyker C12 Zagato is blog-worthy just because it's Dutch. And looks pretty snazzy.


Aston Martin. Every auto show needs a James Bond car. Nuff said.


In the realm of exotic cars, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 takes the cake. 16 cylinders. 1000 horsepower. 400 km/h. Oh, and 1.5 million bucks. Pretty much the top end of all supercars. Some pros, like 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. But some cons, like about 6 miles to the gallon.


And then some concept cars. Ford, Hyundai...


Honda, Citroën...


Toyota, Stola (talk about leg room!)...


And lastly, something that I guess you'd want to drive if you were trying not to get noticed in a crowd of ladybugs...