Travel in the 21st Century

The extent that digital technologies are shaping - or at least infiltrating - my travel experience has totally caught me off-guard. The advance online hotel and ticket booking systems have been standard protocol for a while, and it certainly eased things to know where i was going to keep my stuff, sleep and shower the first few days of this trip, enabling me to fully focus on reawakening my traveller's mojo (what's left of it). What i'm talking about is the ubiquitous presence of wifi and myriad hand-held devices everyone is now using to moderate interactions and design their daily itineraries. Truly, a new age is dawning (has dawned!). Feigning impartiality, i can only say that while i miss the physical immediacy of a handwritten journal, sweat-stained paper maps, that simplicity if you will of old school travelling, the options for enhancing personal communication and sharing information now are just fantastic - maybe even a little fantastical.

i had a small taste of the digital traveler's syndrome a couple years ago in Amsterdam, where i met some friends from the states who initiated their daily 'down time' by firing up notepads and kindles to write facebook updates and keep abreast of events as reported in the NY Times. There were also more immediate practical uses, like checking movie times and restaurant locales. Since i was with Americans, it felt very much like a catch up session on where Silicon Valley and Seattle software designers were taking people who can afford to indulge in their newest toys; Amsterdam of course always cutting edge.

Then i get to Turkey and discover this is all much more internationalized than i'd suspected and that i am much farther behind the technology curve than i'm comfortable admitting. Some examples. Sitting on the wall along Istanbul's Marmara shoreline to watch the sunset, i was joined by a guy hawking picture books for tourists who took it upon himself to instruct me on where all the great Istanbul area beaches are located. Initially, he used the age old method of pointing to towns on the other side of the water, but that was all just too indistinct, so out came the Samsung and in less than a minute, we're squinting at Google maps and he's detailing which buses will take me to which plots of sandy beach. The following day on the bus to Cannakale, i sat next to a young woman who spoke as much English as i do Turkish, so to subvert the language barrier she pulls out her phone, logs into Google and brings up Zargan, an online Turkish-English translator.... away we go, no word or phrase off limits.

i’ve just spent 6 days in Turkey and these are thing things i learned how to say:

Thanks

Thank you very much (formal version)

rudimentary counting, especially currency denominations (not so hard because of similarities to Azeri)

milk (for coffee)

no sugar (ditto)

stuffed mussels

garlic

wind turbine

wine

smile (imperative form, for picture taking)

population/inhabitants

young male camel (don’t even try to guess)

seafront

Inevitably there were other words figured out in the context of specific interactions, but i couldn’t say now what they were and anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that with so many people carrying around Bluetooth and most cities now full of wifi networks, i didn’t need a large working vocabulary to discuss anything - from water sources at Troy to the best temperature for storing Turkish delight. Of course all of those conversations were grammatical nightmares, but since i don’t really speak Turkish and the people keying words into Zargan didn’t actually speak English, who noticed (or cared about) the grammatical inadequacies? One significant impact of this technological (r)evolution is that people seem more intent on conveying ideas or bits of information which more deeply reflect who they are, how or what they think. Another tourist at Troy used his phone to bring up the word ‘accompany’ when suggesting we go to the bat cave together. He was a bit creepy so i had to decline, but at least i got a different message than ‘invite’ or ‘take’ would have implied.

As far as the young male camel goes, this is probably my favorite technotale to relate. On a ferry crossing the Dardenelle Straights one evening, an extended family sat down around me and i had to ask about the hat one of the boys was wearing. His name is Bura (our young ship of the desert), he spoke a little English but his dad spoke quite a bit and turned out to be a professional soldier, stationed way out in Anatolia to guard the border with Iran. i didn’t recognize the name of the town, but Bura happened to have his little GPS device in tow – ‘I LOVE GPS’ he tells me – and with myself and even more awestruck mother-in-law looking over his shoulder, in about 30 seconds dad had zeroed in on where his guard post is located (within about 10 km). FYI that’s him on the left, aptly attired for messing with the minds of his Iranian counterparts.

As i’ve frequently admitted, i am a total technoweenie when it comes to things like synchronization, proxy servers and the like. i’ve little doubt these stories create the impression that i also live in a time bubble, utterly naïve/out of touch with 21^st century technology. Closer to reality is that i’m just a person living in a constant state of working poverty and why self-inflict depression by window shopping electronic devices i’ll never be able to afford? More importantly, do i really need these things to manage my life in any way? Well, the answer is apparently ‘yes and no’.

Online mobility today has become what business cards were in the ‘80s and ‘90s: a form of legitimization, of ascertaining and securing one’s PRESENCE. The number of Facebook users may be slacking in the US, but in this part of the world, talk with anyone 40 and under for any length of time and they will inevitably want to know if they can find you and ‘friend’ you, maybe even skype you. Some do, some don’t, but the main thing i’m finding on this trip is that ‘Are you connected?’ has replaced ‘What do you do?’ in most casual introductory cross-cultural conversations.

This seems overall like a positive development although, like any other communicative and technological opportunity, it all depends on what one does with it. With digital dictionaries, maps and other such applications, people have a tool through which to moderate interactions they might otherwise forego due to shyness, lack of communicative/language ability and so on. Also a good thing so long as we don’t lose perspective on who is ultimately responsible for successful communication, i.e. ourselves.

An old friend of mine and cyber scholar is in Egypt now to learn about how these technological platforms are influencing the politics of activists and others in that country; it will be interesting to get his assessments on how they (the platforms) are helping and hindering substantive socio-political change there. i may be naïve about many of the technologies or how easy it is now to access them, but i want to think i’m smart enough to know the difference between political tools and political movement. Caveat emptor: we are not what we tweet. i look forward to being further impressed by it all making my way around anarchist-ridden Greece. Old habits die hard, i still use a Lonely Planet, but it’s great experiencing what this century is bring to travel and perhaps by my next trip, i’ll have shaped up into a modern digitized woman. There’s gotta be a grant somewhere for that, right? Better start googling. Good thing this city provides free wifi :-)

All that remains of her is a garlic press

If, like myself, you've contemplated the possibility of having more than one turn as a creature on Mother Earth, the options of what you'll come back as have probably been limited to biological organisms, from the corpulent to the minute. Most people i've met who believe in reincarnation actually limit their options to human, and i have more than a few friends who are certain they've already lived other human lives. Detractors of this multiple lives theory often use the argument that the ever-burgeoning human population makes it impossible for everyone to have had a previous existence. This reasoning only works if rabbits, cannabis plants or masochistic polar bears (a species whose days are clearly numbered) are excluded from the reincarnation catalogue, but what if the form we take in our next life could be extended to include beloved household objects? What anal personality wouldn't enjoy being a dirt devil, sucking up every last bit of dust and detritus from a home's magnificent Persian carpets?

Don't Panic has posted an interview this week with a Dutch designer who has been exploring this very concept. Wieki Somers' show Consumer or Conserve poses the questions, "How can human ashes be reused by means of rapid prototyping or 3D printing, so that we may afford someone a 'second life' as a rocking chair, vacuum cleaner, perhaps even a toaster? Would we become more attached to these objects if this was the case?" i encourage you to take a look at her work, it's quite compelling - serene in a way that only the non-committal nature of gray can be. Personally, i'm not all that adverse to the idea of spending 30 years as an espresso maker, so long as my would-be owner is diligent about cleaning out the grounds. Alternately, one can easily imagine a columbarium filled with these sculptures, offering our cremated loved ones the option of coming back as art, each individual rendered into a unique and distinctive, albeit familiar, form.

Granted, the intrinsic, functional value of an art piece compared to that of, let's say, a cockroach, is debatable. i suppose it's partly a numbers game, since we tend to place greater value on things/organisms not readily multipliable by the millions in even the most contaminated terrestrial environments. Something Somers' work immediately brought to mind was the shadow children project someone did many years ago at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, inspired by images from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Art as a response to tragedy serves as an emotional function for many of us, so why not as a response to consumerism, as well? It might make people think more deeply about the material legacies of our time. There's no question that cockroaches are going to survive no matter what we do to the planet, whereas lava lamps and garlic presses are sure to keep 25th century archaeologists guessing.

Nanology of Virology

“We’re using a biological template that’s already on the nanoscale,” Belcher says. i guess this goes to show that while small may or may not be beautiful, it is definitely important enough to have earned its own self-contained metering system. (We can only hope that the anti-obesity squad doesn't start using nanograms as the basis for fining people: 'Sir, your body weight is off the nanoscale - that'll be 1000 Yen!) Dr. Belcher of MIT has just reported a breakthrough in the development of viral batteries. If they can do this with viruses, i can't wait to see where stem cell research is going to lead.

Cell Phone Recycing

Explanation of Samsung's cell phone recycling program and their innovation in corn-based plastics.

Quickie World News Roundup

As hundreds of bloggers continue to explore the deeper meaning of Iraqi size 10's, Bush has moved on to Afghanistan to shake (rather than hold) hands with President Select Karzai. Some time ago, The Onion did a nice report about W visiting places in the US his policies and incompetence have destroyed (first stop: New Orleans); it seems he's now doing the same for entire countries he's pushed over the proverbial cliff... or maybe he's just trying to get as far away from Obama as possible? (No doubt the Obamas' request for an early move into Blair House sparked a reality check freak out, or maybe it's just that W isn't keen on mixed race neighborhoods.)

The media have finally discovered that drugs provide a way to cope with the tension of living in a war zone, with the high number of Gazans addicted to painkillers and sedatives making the front page on every major daily. (Next week expect an update on heroin addiction in Iraq: Nodding Out While the Conquerers Do Noel.) The Israeli siege of Gaza is apparently continuing in order for the jewish state to make relevant the Hanukah story wherein there rebel warriors had only enough oil to light one little candle a night. Christian zionists like to think that their scriptures will eventually see the light of day in jewish cannon; one supposes that Israelis believe Hamas will eventually embrace the Macabees. Speaking of being holed up in temples, there have been 7 fires in Istanbul mosques over the past 3 days. Although no one has been hurt, it's unclear whether the causes are electrical or arson. Muftis are praying for calm while their prayer books are going up in flames.

Weather events are taking a toll in New England, where 800.000 still don't have electricity, and in France as well, where an estimated 100.000 are without power and at least 3 have died. England and Italy are dealing with floods, Australians are recovering from floods, and Papua New Guinea was struck by flooding brought on by extreme tidal surges. All of these events are, of course, designed to make a martyr out of George Monbiot and an idiot out of Andrea Merkel. While many have touted GPS-phones as one way to reduce the loss of life in natural disasters or other emergencies, the Egyptians are forcing Apple to remove the GPS function from its new iPhone 3G in order to prevent users from engaging in effective terrorist attacks. This is undoubtedly a strategy thought up in the aftermath of the India's 'Not 9/11' Mumbai attacks and is in no way connected with Egypt's on-going crackdown on civil rights of bloggers, gays and whomever else Mubarak doesn't like.

In miscellaneous news, the US entertainment media is apoplectic over Jennifer Aniston's bare all cover for GQ, either because it's taking attention away from her ex's latest interview with Rolling Stone or has redefined the nature of the power tie. Hugh Jackman has been announced as 2009 host for the Oscars, apparently in an effort to reduce the comedy and increase ratings in Australia. With many predicting Sean Penn will win best actor for Milk, the last thing the Academy wants is a lot of gay humor and anti-Prop 8 rants running roughshod over its family value ratings. This segues nicely into the quote of the day, from Adrián Dárgelos of the Argentine group, Babasónicos: Mi arrogancia es una decisión póética. Go Hugh! Go Oscars! And George, have a nice visit in slippered Islamabad.

Barbar goes mobile

Check out this latest innovation for tracking elephants who could be heading toward local villagers' crops. The technique is called 'geofencing' and my friend Barbar wonders why it can't also be used on Taliban/al-Qaeda members as a first step in shutting down Bagram and Guantanamo. Alternately, my buddy Mohammed wonders if they could start putting them on Israeli settlers in order to keep them away from Palestinians trying to harvest their olives. Of course, technology is only good as our imaginations... where o where should we confine Dick Cheney to after January 20th? The intestines of a West Virginia coal mine might suffice.

A quick shout out to friends and comrades in Baltimore, who are now in the midst of an unraveling police surveillance scandal. Though never integrated into a terrorist investigation of any merit, anti-war and anti-death penalty groups were nonetheless being illegally 'monitored' (like a heartbeat?) by Maryland State Police. Here's a report from the Sun on pressure to hold state hearings on the matter. It will be interesting to see the type of information they were collecting, and whether these clever little insect spies were employed in gathering it.

Have a look at what the lurked upon are up to: National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, Baltimore Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Committee to Save Vernon Evans.

Alternative Tides

"Not only will atomic power be released, but someday we will harness the rise and fall of the tides and imprison the rays of the sun.” Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)

Thomas Edison was a man truly ahead of his times, an absolute visionary; like Donald Rumsfield, only different. (Must i provide a reference for that? if you need one, then probably you’re better off reading this instead.) My own brain apparatus being a fine example of low functionality – especially by comparison - i marvel considerably more than Edison ever would at what’s happening in the world of renewable energy technologies. Thus, on the heels of my little foray into algal fuels, news about the first tidal power station feeding into the UK’s electricity grid naturally caught my attention and fired up the old Amaze-O-Meter again.

Located off the coast of Northern Ireland, this single underwater turbine will be generating 1.2MW of power by the time it reaches full capacity in a few months, which translates into enough electricity for approximately 80 households (depending on the number of appliances and energy-efficient measures employed). The technology employs the same principles as those found in wind power and achieves the same results, using the currents of both neap and ebb tides in the same way that wind turbines use air flow. Marine Current Turbines, which designed the SeaGen device, offers this short animated look at the technology. As noted on their site, one of its important features is that the whole apparatus can be raised above the surface for maintenance, eliminating the substantial expenses involved in underwater repairs, etc.

Apparently this is just the beginning of a major push to bring the contribution of tidal power up to 20% in the UK, while Scotland projects supplying 25% of Europe’s total marine-based energy through a combination of wave and tidal power stations. Given that the Scots have already surpassed their 2010 goal of 18% renewable, it seems reasonable to place confidence in their projections as well as determination to meet them. The Orkney project will be the world’s largest marine energy undertaking to date, and is scheduled to begin installation of its complex array of wave and tidal energy devices this year at a cost of £13 million (compare this to $13 billion – £6.5 billion – for one nuclear plant). The Scots are collaborating on this project with Hammerfest Strøm of Norway, who, in 2003, were the first to connect a tidal power generator to the public grid network.

Elsewhere, turbines similar to SeaGen and designed by the Canadian company, Blue Energy, will be employed in that company’s joint project with the Philippine government:

The Dalupiri Ocean Power Plant will utilize 274 ocean-class Davis Turbines, each generating from 7MW to 14 MW. However, the $2.8 billion project is just the first phase of a much larger proposed Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) project to be transferred to the Philippines after 25 years. Used to generate large scale renewable energy, the San Bernardino passage could help the Philippines to become a net exporter of electrical power.

That, to me, is pretty amazing. South Korea is also catching this renewables wave in a joint venture between Lunar Energy, a British tidal power company, and Korean Midland Power Company. The Wando Hoenggan project will be the world’s largest tidal wave generation “plant” and is anticipated to supply electricity for about a quarter of a million households. The turbine design is completely different, the advantage apparently being that seabed ducts will not interfere with safe passage of ships at the surface

Photo from Times.UK

Looking for critiques of these systems, what i found were a range of position papers and articles decrying the environmental impacts of tidal barrages. These are essentially dam networks constructed in coastal areas that allowed the operators to surge water (and thus, create current) at will. Problems are then more or less the same as what we’ve seen in standard hydro dams: impacts on wildlife, marine creatures, local hydrology and so forth. This analysis of such a system in northern Canada looks at some of these issues, though largely in the context of public-private investment and not clearly concluding that the problems are insurmountable.

In the non-tidal wave marine energy sector, progress is also being made from both technological and application standpoints. Portugal has a small wave farm of 3 units generating a total of 2.5MW 5 km off the coast at Aguçadoura, with plans for expansion in the works. According to folks at the British-based renewable energy center, wave energy entrapment is currently less advanced than its tidal counterpart, but more diverse in approach; clearly an area of development with many groovy innovations yet to come.

In all likelihood, this blog will continue to betray my own ignorance about renewables as i continue to survey what’s happening in the alternative energy sector. As Santayana once noted, “The tide of evolution carries everything before it, thoughts no less than bodies, and persons no less than nations.” Like anyone trying to escape those feelings of despair that wash over us when W justifies the destruction of Alaska for oil drilling or Sarkozy applauds Gulf emirs for signing on to nuclear power, i find that i can subvert my fatalism by reading about non-nonsense alternatives to the dominant paradigm. When it comes down to it, that’s pretty much the best that atheism has to offer. Not necessarily belief in science, but belief in the future - and free will to make the most of it.

Convergence of Conspicuity

Anyone who’s been following preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing may have come to a premature conclusion that it would have been better if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had selected some other city for these games - and i don’t mean Shanghai. Just three months ago, following the Chinese government’s severe response to an uprising in Tibet, the games’ grand global unity vision seemed at the point of derailing from a potential boycott. Then an earthquake struck Sichuan, stretching thin the premise that this is the right time for China to be throwing the world’s premier sports extravaganza (out of respect for the ~80.000 dead). Environmental problems have been generating concerns about the efficacy of Beijing as host city, and censorship continues to be a sticking point for those who believe that countries in which media activists are thrown into prison should not be celebrated as beacons of fair play. As someone who is not very interested in the sports world but extremely concerned about the planet’s health, i would posit that the Beijing Games have served to generate an obviousness about the latter that probably could not have happened were the games to be held in any other country.

This week, the IOC released a statement expressing its satisfaction with how preparations have been proceeding, asserting that “these Games have set a gold standard for the future,” while also acknowledging that air quality remains a concern. An article in Le Monde this week quotes world champion of the 100 and 200 sprints, Tyson Gay, as saying that many people have been telling him to wear a mask, which he refuses to do. According to Le Monde, particulate matter concentration in Beijing’s air remains well above the WHO’s acceptable limit. Chinese authorities have told Beijing area residents that if possible, they should work at home, and official business hours will be reduced from 20 July onward. If the air quality does not improve, i think some of the events won't be allowed. High polluting vehicles have been banned from the city and industrial emitters are being shut down altogether for the duration. With car sales in China increasing at the rate of 15% (10 million cars sold this year), this problem clearly will NOT be drastically impacted by a mere month of controls on vehicular use. However, one has to hope that China’s budding environmental movement will take advantage of the attention air pollution in their country is receiving and use this olympic-sized window of opportunity to generate some deeper national thought about the consequences of having a billion cars on the roads.

The other significant environmental problem has been an algae bloom covering more than 12,900 square kilometers (5,000 square miles) of the Yellow Sea off the coast of Qingdao, where the Olympic sailing regatta is to be held. As of 30 June, 100.000 tons of algae had been removed, and the cleaning operation continues unabated. Outside of the official government line that the algae has drifted in from the deep sea, the scientific as well as lay consensus is that sewage and high phosphate-nitrate runoff from agriculture and industry are responsible for causing this freak phenomenon. (‘Freak’, in case you haven’t noticed, is now becoming the norm for describing a whole range of environmental events around the globe: typhoons, tornadoes, infestations, etc.) Here’s a short clip of the algae removal operation, just to be sure everyone reading this has an accurate visual of what we’re talking about here, in terms of scale.

In a time when millions of people are suffering from malnutrition and outright starvation, seeing all this rich green plant matter being carted away to probably be dried out then thrown on a fire (after the Olympic games, of course) i couldn’t help but think we’re seeing a lost opportunity here of some magnitude. It turns out i was right, but not in the area of food production, directly. Algae are extremely greasy, using the vernacular, and in fact are the source of many of the oil deposits on which our material existence has come to depend (yes, it’s fun to think we’re using decomposed dinosaurs to run our air conditioners, but percentage-wise, the dinos of the Jurassic can’t hold a candle to their microscopic counterparts). To read about the progress that’s already been made in developing algae-based biofuels is to hit one’s head against the wall listening to G8-types lament the rock vs. hard place decisions they’re being pushed to make with respect to grain-based fuel.

"Algae have long been known to produce lipids that can be used for biodiesel production," says Dheepak Ramduth, [a lead researcher affiliated with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa]. "With the current worldwide focus on cleaner fuels and environmental awareness, algal biodiesel is an attractive option, as the specific production of oil per unit biomass is extremely high in algae compared to most seed crops. Current biodiesel technologies utilise oil seed crops that are either food crops themselves or could potentially compete with food crops for limited arable land and hence threaten food security in the country," says Ramduth.

Somewhat predictably (since alternative fuels development is consistently stifled in the US), the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado was working on algal energy development 25 years ago. Their final report on the potential of of algal biodiesel can be found here. Based on the research conducted, these folks reached the conclusion that, “… Algal biodiesel could easily supply several ‘quads’ of biodiesel – substantially more than existing oil seed crops could provide. Microalgae systems use far less water than traditional oil seed crops. Land is hardly a limitation. Two hundred thousand hectares (less than 0.1% of climatically suitable land areas in the US) could produce one quad of fuel.” [italics mine]

Quite a few countries and small firms have been pursuing this technology, with a company in New Zealand announcing in 2006 they’d produced their first sample of algal biodiesel from a sewage plant. In additional to alternative vehicular fuel, scientists have also been working on photobioreactors which can be used – get this – to scrub pollutants out of coal and other industrial plants, the “waste” product - pure algae with high carbon content - then sent on to become FUEL or food. Check out this tour that Alan Alda took of MITs unit, which certainly spun my head around - very impressive.

Let’s imagine that China installed these reactors at just 10% of their coal-fired power plants. It seems the impact on air quality would become significant in a rather short period of time. Herein lies our convergence of conspicuity. Technologies exist for us to manage at least some our technological needs or expectations in a way that uses harmless natural processes, i.e. PHOTOSYNTHESIS. These solutions are there, right in front of us: solutions for fuel, solutions for food (not referring to algae here, but the food crops we already grow that are being used to power cars instead of feed humans), even solutions for capitalist stalwarts who’ve got money to invest but refuse to do so because the current oil=profit structure is too deeply imbued in their greedy little subconsciouses.

Can it possibly be made any more obvious? 100.000 tons is a whole lot of cost-free fuel doing a whole lot of scrubbing. Olympic athletes running the track in breathing masks – unquestionably the most fit of all human specimens - are a sure sign that most mammals cannot continue to live a healthy basic existence in today’s as well as tomorrow’s urban context (fanning out to rural, as well). Industrial leaders wringing their hands over food shortages caused by seed crop diversion to fuel (“Oh George! Oh Gordon! They’re not going to take away our golf courses to grow potatoes, are they?”) – please, spare us the ethical horror of repeating that scene yet again, and of seeing China excluded from the whole conversation. Having the spotlight shine on them this year, amid these myriad crises, the Chinese Olympiad has also served as an opportunity to concentrate our awareness of the urgency – and the possibilities – we face in dealing with our planetary catastrophes. When that gun goes off, Olympic Games runners know they better get moving if they want to carry a medal home at the end of the day. In the race for human survival, what will motivate a critical mass? Not another military invasion of someone else’s oil fields, i hope, nor a repeat of the Chernobyl disaster. Isn't it enough to know that we beat Chevron's odds? Personally, i'm fine with China being the hub of us leading ourselves out of Catastrophe Planet.... though they may well need a small revolution first, which makes them no different from the rest of the world, as much as some might like to believe otherwise.

Requiem for the Bunny

Waking up with music blaring inside your skull can lead to bizarre tendencies in the early morning. Case in point: today Cafe Gitano's Que Poca Cosa Es la Vida was running through my cerebral cortex, a song which has absolutely nothing to do with technology whatsoever, yet the book i pulled off the shelf was Digital Islam, and the news story that caught my eye - and imagination - was this one from the BBC. It's about nanowires in clothing - nanofibres - that can be activated by body movement to power various types of electronic devices. We're talking about the end of the Energizer Bunny here, my friends. Who needs AA and AAA batteries when your underwear can power that iPod? Lest you think i'm joking, here's a direct quote from Professor ZL Wang at Georgia Tech:

"If we can optimise the design we can get up to 80 milliwatts per square
metre of fabric - that could potentially power an iPod."

Hard to say what the side effects of electronifying our individual physical momentums will be, though if your email traffic is anything like mine, an end to viagra would be more than welcome. Instead of a cute little toy bunny to guide our purchasing behavior, we'll probably start seeing chimps waving their arms around to activate blackberries, maglites and who knows what else. Yes, a new microdawn approaches. Que poca cosa a poder la vida....