Hacker Tourism

From: Bill Higgins (higgins@fnald.fnal.gov)
Subject: Hacker Tourism (was Re: Neal Stephenson was there (was Re: Demise...))
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.fandom
Date: 1996/12/03

In article <581erv$hvr@dfw-ixnews6.ix.netcom.com>, trike@ix.netcom.com(Douglas Tricarico) writes:
> In 
> I wasn't as captivated by that article as you getlemen seem to be.  It
> was rather too long and unfocused, and as Stephenson himself points out
> (several times!), he isn't a journalist but a "hacker tourist."  The
> historical stuff was by far the most interesting bits of the article
> and I found myself skimming by the time I was halfway through.

De gustibus.  Stephenson has discovered, and has coined a name for, a
pleasurable activity that many of us have been engaging in for a long
time.  His definition of Hacker Tourism:

    "Our method was not exactly journalism nor tourism in the normal
    sense but what might be thought of as a new field of human
    endeavor called hacker tourism: travel to exotic locations in
    search of sights and sensations that only would be of interest to
    a geek." 

This is something I frequently do with my vacation time.  Sure,
visiting an accelerator lab such as CERN or SLAC might count merely as
a "Busman's Holiday" for me, but I've also visited NASA centers,
Lucasfilm, the Soo Locks, the Ackermansion, rocket factories, the
parking lot in Wheaton where Grote Reber built the world's second
radio telescope, and Henry Spencer's office.

So I recognized a kindred spirit in Stephenson's somewhat unfocused
account of his techie meanderings, and enjoyed reading it very much.

I don't think big museums count, as the Air Force Museum or the
Computer Museum are visited by lots of people, and hold interest to
more than just geeks.  Tiny, very specialized museums might count.

With the shoe on the other foot, I guess I've given my share of
Fermilab tours to visiting techies, too...

Also, though Stephenson seems to think hacker tourism is new, I can
prove that Charles Babbage engaged in the same activity in the 1820s
(and I've dropped a note to the editors of *Wired* to point this out).

"We don't want to rule the world,    | Bill Higgins
    we just want to                  | Fermilab
  make it more... interesting."      | Internet: higgins@fnal.fnal.gov
  --Chris Tucker on techies          | Bitnet:   Sic transit gloria mundi

• The mammoth German Museum in Munich
• Outtake:

  Am I the only one who doesn't love a good factory? I'm twenty-three years old and I still love to watch tours of Crayon factories on Mr. Rogers. And I wish instead of the Laverne & Shirley show, they'd have just extended the footage of the bottling plant they worked at for another 29.5 minutes. Seeing stuff made is just damn cool. You could compile a huge list of factories that are techie-related that would be fun to visit. And there are even more that have nothing to do with technology (other than the technology itself that is used to manufacture whatever the plant manufactures). Add a chance to actually do something like work the assembly line machines for a few minutes after some quick training and you would have a unique proposition.

Suggestions culled from the Slashdot discussion (Seeking Interesting Sites When Travelling the World?):

• Geek Travel Guide - another listing of potentially interesting locations
• Travelogues of a self-proclaimed hacker tourist - interesting
• Chasing Science: Science as Spectator Sport, a book by science fiction author Frederick Pohl
• The Bureau of Atomic Tourism - dedicated to the promotion of tourist locations around the world that have either been the site of atomic explosions, display exhibits on the development of atomic devices, or contain vehicles that were designed to deliver atomic weapons.

• Titan Missile Museum (Arizona) - a former missile silo for launching ICBM's carrying nuclear warheads, now converted into a tourist attraction.
• National Cryptologic Museum (Maryland)
• The Boeing Everett Factory - The world's largest building, so gargantuan that it has its own internal weather patterns.
  Urban Exploration
  • Infilitration - Infiltration offers a mix of the practice and theory of urban exploration in areas not designed for public usage.
  • Urban Adventure
  • Dark Passage
  • Article about explorations under Moscow
  • Notes from underground: Exploring Las Vegas' drainage canals

Culled from google:

• Going Ballistic! - another Wired article, though not from Stephenson - "A hacker tourist explores the deep recesses of fabled Air Force stronghold Cheyenne Mountain, where the Cold War never stops."
• Public Tours of Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado)
• Roadside America - lots of tacky attractions are listed on this site mixed in with some gems, but the writing alone is worth a visit.

My list of other places to go, things to do - not necessarily as a hacker tourist

1. Cavern tours (California) - the extended tours in California Cavern and Black Chasm sound really cool, and I have even heard that the California Cavern tour is definitely worth the expense
   Bay Area
   • Jelly Belly Facotry Tour (Fairfield, CA)
   Southern California
   • Borax Visitor Center (Boron, CA) - It's a brand-new building run by the Borax Corporation, with some models, product and ore displays, and a short film. After the film, you're treated to a view of Borax's huge open-pit mining operation. Out front sits one of the original 20-mule team wagons that brought Borax from Death Valley. Admission is $2 per car at a guard gate (since it's very near the mining operation), and they give you a free piece of ore with interesting transparent properties.
   • Buellton, CA - Ostrich Land
   • Culver City, CA - Museum of Jurassic Technology
   • La Brea Tar Pits (Lost Angeles, CA)
2. The May Natural History Museum (Colorado Springs, CO) - There are Colombian Beetles so large that they can break street lights and knock a man down if they hit him while flying. Among the hundreds of unusual creatures, one is the locust with colors that rival the rainbow; another, the moths that rob beehives and creatures that build log houses around themselves.
3. Apalachicola, FL (map) - Gorrie Ice Museum - inventor of the air conditioner - open MThFSS
4. Carabelle, FL (map) - World's Smallest Police Station - Where: On U.S. 98 in Carrabelle, Florida. Look for the blue phone booth on the north side of the road.
5. Orlando, FL - Keys to the Kingdom - Behind-the-scenes tour of the Magic Kingdom - review 1, review 2
6. Ona, FL (map) - Solomon Castle - guide tour of weird artist/sculptor's home - closed in summer and other days. Roadside America's feature is actually way better than the attraction's own web site.
7. Wakulla Springs, FL (map) - Wakulla Springs State Park
8. Fernandina Beach, FL [north east corner of Florida] Fort Clinch State Park - partial fort, Civil War era reenactors - see how a cannon works - one weekend per month - schedule
9. Agoraphone(MIT)
11. Nikola Tesla Museum (Belgrade, Serbia)

Places that I have already been that I found really intriguing