Son of the Rock
Virtual reality
A few weeks ago I wrote that I had the opportunity to try a virtual reality headset at Stirling Castle. At my family business, Radio Music Store in Bannockburn, we’ve just taken delivery of the latest Samsung‘Oculus’headset and I’ve had a few days to have a much more in-depth play around with it. As gadgets go, this one has the potential to really have a huge impact on our lives.
Perhaps the most unnerving app I’ve played around with is Google’s Street View. The headset allows you to stand on any of the streets you would normally see on a monitor – except on the headset you can look completely around and it feels like you are actually standing on the street. It allows you to visit any location on the planet and have a look around. Ironically, I chose to visit Radio Music Store in the virtual world while actually standing in the store.
The unnerving part was that the virtual picture was taken last year, so some of the items have moved around or have been sold – they simply disappeared when I lifted the headset.
A click of a button and you’re suddenly not in Bannockburn, but in Toronto, in a harness and “skywalking”around the famous CN Tower. Despite knowing fully you’re not there, it does make you feel very dizzy!
“Cirque Du Soleil”have an app where you can watch one of their routines from the edge of the stage. You have literally the best seat in the house and it is remarkable. Netflix has an app where you can watch their programmes on what appears to be a huge cinema screen floating in front of your eyes.
The technology has only been around for a couple of years and is only now coming to market, but already it is impressive. What will happen in the next few years will be exciting to watch. Next week sees the Scottish Parliament election – perhaps in five years’time candidates will be having“virtual hustings”where we can watch them debate without having to leave the house. Or rather than looking at old pictures of Stirling on Facebook forums, we might soon be able to visit the streets of 50 years ago – which would, I’m sure, be nostalgic and weird all at the same time.
The downside to them is that they’re pretty anti-social. If my kids had a set, I’m pretty sure we would be living in different realities for much of the time.
What is also remarkable is that these headsets are under £100 and available now (albeit you need a smartphone to make them work). Next time you’re in Bannockburn, pop in for a demonstration.
Drone flying
While we’re on the subject of gadgets, I’ve bought myself a drone and have spent the last few weeks trying to learn how to work it so that I can fly it safely. There are a huge number of safety rules and regulations regarding drone flying – some of them are common sense (don’t fly six feet above the ground towards people) and some of them are legal requirements (don’t fly above 400 feet and not over congested areas).
Drones are here to stay and in the coming years, if we’re to believe Amazon, will be delivering goods to your door minutes after you’ve ordered them. For now, my favourite reason to fly a drone is to get some amazing perspectives on landscapes we don’t normally get to see.
On a quiet day at Braehead Community Garden I managed to get to see the geometric pattern of our raised beds that we’ve only seen on paper before – it was great to see it in the real world. I promise I’ll not be one of the reckless few who are banging into the Wallace Monument and other public buildings!
Such choices
I was in Bite East in Port Street for dinner on Friday night and was highly impressed, if more than a little bewildered, by the range of food on the menu.
Along with all the usual, they also had sushi and sashimi and eels and golden crabs and pretty much every part of a pig (from its belly to its feet to its intestines).
When I have a Chinese takeaway, I’m a chicken curry or a sweet and sour chicken man, so it took me almost 20 minutes to decide what to have – a personal best for indecision in a restaurant! It is certainly something different and I would highly recommend it.