Back in Schiphol. I see the US TSA security theatre has opened my bags. Never ever lock your suitcase when travelling to the States....if you are on a round the world (i.e. they see it as one way tickets) then you are guaranteed to get the full body search and detailed inspection. It means the dreaded "SSSS" on your boarding card. I am surprised that the Schiphol check-in staff don't warn you about not locking luggage....if the TSA can't open the suitcase they will break the lock. 

They claim it is all new.... 

BBC America has a poster at Newark airport. Looks like they are recycling the earlier UK seasons. 

Transmission Towers

I note that on the way to Newark, we pass several baseball stadiums (Yankees), but also a lot of AM radio stations. WINS must be out here somewhere. Close to New York, but flat and marshy...ideal for mediumwave radio.


Lou Josphs, based in Washington DC, used to help out with the Media Network show. If anyone understands transmitter sites, it is Lou. He writes "looks like 570 WMCA..now a Salem station carrying right-wing religious material. The other side of the road used to have the tx of 1130 kHz am but that was moved. Remember this whole wetlands area is built on a giant trash dump. The stadium in NJ that you passed is the Meadowlands, it's the US football Giants/Jets."
 

Time to head home....the suitcase is bursting with clothes. US is about half the price of the Netherlands for polo shirts, even with the Euro exchange rate not being so good as last year. 

And this one... 

See what I mean? 

Hot and humid in New York today, but the flowers seem to like it...beautiful. 

Waiting for the train to Penns Station at the Jamaica interchange. Jim Cutler, a great friend and leading voice over artist for many US radio and TV stations, shows me around the radio city. It's going to rain, but the stories are not doing to dampen the enthusiasm. 

The waiting room at WINS....European radio station managers would be amazed at what they guys can build into such a small space. 

In New York city today doing interviews, among them at one of the top all news stations in the US, WINS, on 1010 kHz AM 

I am really enjoying Supernova 2005, a unique mix of futurists, realists and IT people. There is an information overload in the next few days, but one of the best places to interview people for a documentary series. A unique venture and still one of the best. 

Just had a short but fascinating meeting with Joshua Fouts, who is the executive director of the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy. He's starting up some fascinating research on new ways in which the US can enter into dialogue with other cultures. It may be that games are more effective than traditional radio and TV programs. Check out the website at http://publicdiplomacy.usc.edu 

Best tour in town, so it turned out.... 

Not sure what that stuff is on a stick.. 

Shop until you drop.... 

Chowder and chili...and heartburn big time... 

Great, but expensive, skyline. 

Taking the Bay Bridge a meeting in Oakland 

Alcatraz was the only prison in the US to have hot showers in the 1950's...to prevent prisoners getting used to the cold water around the island. 55 degrees Farenheit. 

Thanks to the date line you can leave Singapore Sunday morning and take a cruise around the Golden Gate bridge at 2.30 the same day. Good that I could get a bit of sleep on the plane. It was incredibly clear... 

Vodka and Raspberry...exclusive at Singapore airport...apparently. 

Madan Mohan Rao

Delighted to meet Madan Mohan Rao from Bangalore while in Singapore. He is an acomplished author on the way Asia is tackling the challenges of the new media. Had a great chat with him and hope to set up some projects together in the future. Check out...

"Visions" a paper for the ITU's World Summit on the Information Society
Book review: The Media and Elections (by Bernd-Peter Lange and David Ward)
ICTs in rural areas: Frameworks for electronic markets, local knowledge
Book review: Smart Mobs (by Howard Rheingold)
And on a more entertaining note: world music reviews in Rave magazine:

And there are gadgets you didn't know existed.. 

Trust the sales guys in Singapore to slip in an extra hour of shopping into your schedule. 

Great food at the roadside cafes.