From Vienna to Bangkok

The flight from the Vienna International Airport to Bangkok was uneventful – apart from Z saving Princess Bala from General Mandible and Bruce Willis saving the world (for the nth time) from the terrorists (yipi-kay-ai!). Onboard etertainment, courtesy of Austrian Airlines and DVD technology. The flight crossed Austria, Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia (the Tblisi, not Atlanta variety), Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Bay of Bengal, Burma, and Thailand. Some of these places are not the best to fly over, but I felt secure, knowing that Bruce Willis would help, if needed. He did so in Air Force One, and would have saved even the passengers of the Titanic, were he cast in that movie instead of Leonardo di Caprio.

Intermezzo: Vienna Airport

It's cold. It's very cold. I made the mistake to leave my winter jacket in Romania. After all, I am going to Southern Asia ... all my other clothes are in the checked luggage, and until I check in for the flight to Bangkok, there is still a lot of time. Trouble is, I will spend three weeks to the tropics, and then, when I will return, it will be to a very cold Romanian winter. This year, Timisoara witnessed an unusual snow in November. Take that, Al Gore! Global warming? I would rather say, a new ice age. But, I am biased ... I never understood how Santa Claus chose his job. I mean, he was a bishop from Asia Minor (I visited his church in what is today Turkey), and imagine the shock on his flock when he declared: M'dears, I shall move to Rovaniemi, Republic of Finland.
But I diverge. Here I am, in Vienna, happy that at least there is free wireless internet and an available electricity plug. I wish there was a bed somewhere, where could sleep. And a warm jacket. This reminds me: "What is blue and kills old people? Hypothermia!"

First leg: Timisoara-Vienna: no cold water

Here I am, in the lounge of Timisoara's airport, waiting for my flight to Vienna. The airport is changing at a very fast pace - due to Carpatair (I will actually fly Austrian), Timisoara is becoming a regional hub. Building works as building works, but what is not excusable, is the lack of water in the bathroom. My hands are full of dry soap ... as I commented with the security staff, the "good times" (Ceausescu's) are back. The security staff actually envy me for leaving the airport - they have to stay here for the whole day.

Austrian Arrows - operated by Tyrollean - flying from Timisoara to Vienna under the aegis of Austrian Airlines - code shared with Tarom. Easy to understand, isn't it?

Why do people smile when they are photographed? Why do I smile? No idea.

t- 2 hours

What would a 21st century traveler do, before leaving home? Starting a blog (how unoriginal) and posting the first note, while the luggages are still unpacked (now, that is daring!). Last night, I booked almost all my accomodation over the internet, and two nights ago, I bought all my plane tickets. The cost of the air travel, whilst in South-East Asia? 498 euros! That is budget travel. And here comes the itinerary:

Yuri's Night in Timisoara, club CCCP

"Cultura la doi pasi" with Simona Pele, Radio Timisoara

Radio Timisoara's Simona Pele has me as a guest to "Cultura la doi pasi", where she interviews me about Yuri's Night and space travel.

The Investor: "Terenul pe Luna - intre excentricitate si pionierat"

Alice-Claudia Gherman writes about space property rights in "The Investor": http://www.theinvestormagazine.com/ro/index.php?id=10025%E2%8C%A9=ro&concl=articol&nr=39&rubrica=11&pag=1

Timisoreanul Virgiliu Pop, doctorand in drept la Universitatea din Glasgow, a publicat anul trecut o carte pe acest subiect - “Unreal Estate - The Man Who sold the Moon". El pledeaza pentru un drept de proprietate in spatiu bazat pe fundamente reale, nu pe simpla dorinta "de a fi stapan acolo". "Celebrul tratat din 1969, la care au aderat multe tari, interzice suveranitatea in spatiu", spune el. "Pe plan privat, aceasta se traduce prin vaduvirea asa-zisilor Ťproprietariť de posibilitatea andorsarii statale asupra Ťproprietatiiť lor. Proprietatea nu se dobandeste doar prin dorinta de a fi proprietar, ci pe baza unor acte de luare in posesie. O revendicare nu inseamna o improprietarire". Problema de nuanta, continua Pop, este ca nimeni nu vinde in realitate teren pe Luna sau altundeva. "Ceea ce se vinde e o simpla hartie, frumos incondeiata si atat. Un fel de indulgente medievale. Cine este proprietarul Lunii acum? Toata lumea si nimeni! Este un bun public, actualmente - poate fi folosit de oricine, dar nu poate fi insusit de nimeni". Pe scurt - o tranzactie imobilara cu bunuri... mobile. "Problema vanzarilor de pamant pe Luna nu este exotismul lor, ci faptul ca sunt neadevarate", subliniaza Virgiliu Pop.
In replica, Adrian Dragan, a carui companie este reprezentanta Lunar Embassy in Romania, spune ca Pop vede doar jumatatea goala a paharului...

Pus in fata argumentelor lui Virgiliu Pop, Dragan subliniaza ca este o chestiune de timp. "In clipa in care Luna va deveni astroportul Terrei, un particular va face acolo baze si se vor construi nave spatiale, atunci se va pune problema dreptului de proprietate in cel mai serios mod posibil." ...

"Virgil Pop i-a trimis odata lui Dennis Hope o factura, cerand bani pentru lumina si caldura de la Soare. Hope i-a raspuns ca cere prea mult: "Recunosc dreptul de proprietate asupra Soarelui, dar nu pot sa platesc, asa ca inchide-mi lumina si caldura.". - Adrian Dragan

"Cine e proprietarul Lunii? Toata lumea si nimeni! Este un bun public, actualmente - poate fi folosit de oricine, dar nu poate fi insusit de nimeni. Problema vanzarilor de pamant pe Luna nu este exotismul lor, ci faptul ca sunt neadevarate". - Virgiliu Pop"

Virgiliu Pop on the "Cultura Nova" show

On November 11th, 2006, George Gaina of the "Europa Nova" TV in Timisoara had me as a guest on the "Cultura Nova" show.

SF Gate: "Unreal estate -- for some, the moon's the limit"

Carol Lloyd, from SF Gate, interviewed me for an article on space property rights (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff=/c/a/2006/10/22/REGIELSHR91.DTL):

What do you get when you take the real away from real estate?
Unreal Estate, of course. Otherwise known as space real estate, this intergalactic enterprise zone has been around for centuries. ...
Earlier this year, Virgiliu Pop, a Romanian space law expert, published his monograph, "Unreal Estate: The Men Who Sold the Moon," which chronicles the history of celestial space grabs and their legal ramifications.
Interestingly, Pop, like many other space lawyers who have weighed in on the issue, aren't focused on consumer protection so much as the protection of his profession.
"Space law is very complex -- it deals with issues as varied as sovereignty in space, pollution in space, registration of satellites," he states in an e-mail. Since his doctoral dissertation for the University of Glasgow deals with property rights in outer space, he's concerned that Hope and other celestial "space oil" salesmen are influencing what should be a serious discussion about how to control space ownership in the future.
"This issue (of unreal estate) has hijacked the public perception of space law," he writes. The primary issues he's concerned about vis-a-vis space law currently involve how governments determine satellite positioning, and regulating satellite frequencies and other potential conflicts between national uses for outer space.
"In the public mind, space law ... does not mean regulation of the frequency spectrum, it does not mean registration. For the regular person on the street, space law concerns the sale of extraterrestrial real estate."

Corod, toamna 2006

This house belonged to my great-grandmother, and used to be my childhood paradise (1974-1988). It may not mean much to others, yet to me, it has a huge emotional value.