I love this very cool video of the Sydney Opera House – think of all the things you could project onto that beautiful surface.
Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Where am I living now?
May 18, 2015
I like this floating, partially submerged, house, boat, houseboat developed by the Kleindienst Group and showcased at the recent Dubai International Boat Show.
CEO of Kleindienst Group, Josef Kleindienst comments,‘since launching the floating seahorse we have been inundated with local, regional and international inquiries. we are excited to not just offer people a once in a lifetime investment opportunity in Dubai but on a global scale. the floating seahorse is not restricted to Dubai waters and can be designed and fabricated in Dubai for other resorts and destinations worldwide.’
Moving up to the luxury boat’s sea level, the accommodation which includes a fully-fitted kitchen with a dining area and an open plan living area, has floor to ceiling windows, offering uninterrupted ocean scenes. furthermore, when the glass façade is open, the sun deck becomes an extension of the living space. on the upper deck, the floor is suitable for alfresco dining and relaxation, featuring an informal bed, mini bar, kitchenette and a glass-bottomed jacuzzi. the project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2016.
I am trying, however, to picture it on Lake Erie, hmmm, maybe not.
What am I looking at?
May 16, 2015
Seen from above, a seamless sheet of white paper—folded into the shape of an eye—holds and beholds 81 dancers from the New York City Ballet. This 6,500-square-foot composite image was a collaboration with the French artist JR.
Credit: National Geographic
April 29, 2015
I always thought it was remarkable that astronomers found little, bitty Pluto at all – and now we are getting color photos of Pluto and Charon. Captured by Ralph and Alice – perfect.
Pluto and Charon photographed by the cameras Ralph and Alice on the New Horizons spacecraft.
In a historic first – just one of many that will be made over the next several months, to be sure! – the New Horizons spacecraft captured its first color image of Pluto and its partner/satellite Charon on April 9 from a distance of 71 million miles – about equivalent to that between Venus and the Sun. The orange blobs above are the two worlds locked in an orbital dance a mere 12,200 miles apart… that’s 20 times less than the distance between Earth and the Moon!The image was captured with New Horizons’ “Ralph” instrument, a Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) built for the mission by Ball Aerospace (which is a spinoff of the same company that became famous in the U.S. for its glass canning jars.)
Ralph is one of six science instruments aboard New Horizons; it is paired with “Alice,” an ultraviolet imaging camera. (Think Ralph and Alice Kramden.) When New Horizons makes its close pass by Pluto and Charon on July 14 these cameras will capture details of the icy worlds like never before seen.
Ralph will be the main eyes for New Horizons during its July flyby. it will capture images of Pluto’s surface to a resolution of 250 meters (850 feet) per pixel and also be able to map surface temperatures as well as scan for the presence of nitrogen, water, and carbon monoxide.
“This is pure exploration; we’re going to turn points of light into a planet and a system of moons before your eyes!” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. “New Horizons is flying to Pluto — the biggest, brightest and most complex of the dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt. This 21st century encounter is going to be an exploration bonanza unparalleled in anticipation since the storied missions of Voyager in the 1980s.”
Read more: Closing In on Pluto: An Interview with Principal Investigator Alan Stern
Traveling over 31,000 mph New Horizons is now within 1 AU of Pluto and Charon and getting closer every day, every hour, every second. This image is only a hint at what we’ll soon be seeing from this far-flung member of our planetary family!
What am I sappy cat blogging?
April 24, 2015Hello Kitty Dim Sum Restaurant in Hong Kong
If you love dumplings as much as you love Hello Kitty, it’s time to book a flight: the first Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant in the world is now open in Hong Kong.
Hello Kitty Chunanoki opened in Yaumatei on April 16 and fans waited for hours to snag one of the 80 seats so they could enjoy some of the 37 Hello Kitty dim sum options. Every part of the restaurant is themed, from the tables, glass chandeliers, to the wall artwork. Even the chopstick holders are shaped in the form of Hello Kitty’s iconic hair bow.
For devoted fans, Hello Kitty decor simply isn’t enough, sometimes you just want to eat her face. I say that in the most adoring of ways. The restaurant serves traditional dim sum items, all with a Hello Kitty twist. Rice and noodle dishes come family-style in the shape of her head, while traditional dim sum options like custard-filled steamed buns and pork bao are irresistible when adorned with Hello Kitty’s wide-eyed expression.
Cuteness knows no bounds when you open up the lid of a bamboo steamer and see steaming Hello Kitty manju staring back at you. Even the popular dim sum dish har gow gets the Hello Kitty treatment. The thinly wrapped plump shrimp dumplings somehow taste even better when embellished with tiny pink edible bows.
The restaurant will only be open for a 2-3 month trial period so Hello Kitty fans will have to act fast to get their kawaii dim sum fix. Check out the video above for an up close look at the interior and unabashed kitty-adorableness.
Images via Jetsoclub and Kotaku
Credit: Jenn Fujikawa
And Cynthia Moore
What am I watching?
April 23, 2015
Click on the image to take an elevator ride through time. Watch the changes to the New York City skyline and watch the years go by as the elevator rises.
The story, in the NYTimes, is here.
Why am I saying, “road trip!”?
April 20, 2015
London to New York City by car?
It could happen if the head of Russian Railways has his way.
According to a March 23 report in The Siberian Times, Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin has proposed a plan for a massive trans-Siberian highway that would link his country’s eastern border with the U.S. state of Alaska, crossing a narrow stretch of the Bering Sea that separates Asia and North America.
The scheme was unveiled at a meeting of the Moscow-based Russian Academy of Science.
Dubbed the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TEPR), the project calls for a major roadway to be constructed alongside the existing Trans-Siberian Railway, along with a new train network and oil and gas pipelines.
“This is an inter-state, inter-civilization, project,” the Siberian Times quoted Yakunin. “The project should be turned into a world ‘future zone,’ and it must be based on leading, not catching, technologies.”
“Are we there yet?”
The road would run across the entirety of Russia, linking with existing road systems in Western Europe and Asia.
The distance between Russia’s western and eastern borders is roughly 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
Yakunin said the road would connect Russia with North America via Russia’s far eastern Chukotka region, across the Bering Strait and into Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.
The road would likely enter Alaska some distance north of the town of Nome, where the famed Iditarod sled dog race ends.
How would drivers span the ocean gap between Siberia and Alaska? Ferry? Tunnel? Bridges?
The report didn’t offer specifics on the route across the sea.
The shortest distance between mainland Russia and mainland Alaska is approximately 88 kilometers (55 miles), according to the Alaska Public Lands Information Centers.
The main route of the Trans-Siberian railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok and covers 9,258 kilometers.
A theoretical drive (as fancifully calculated by CNN) from London to Alaska via Moscow might cover about 12,978 kilometers (8,064 miles).
Relatively isolated even by Alaska standards, no road connects Nome with the rest of the state’s road system.
About 836 road-less kilometers (520 miles) across desolate terrain separates Nome from the closest major city and road network in Fairbanks, the unofficial northern terminus of the Alaska Highway.
From Fairbanks, Canada and the 48 contiguous U.S. states can be reached by road.
Assuming a road to Nome were ever built (the idea has been studied by the state of Alaska), a fantasy road trip from London to New York might cover a grueling but presumably photo-op-laden 20,777 kilometers (12,910 miles).
Facebook posts from forlorn Siberian rest stops might alone make the trip worthwhile, though the journey would also easily establish irritating new records for “Are we there yet?” gripes from the kids.
Who’s gonna pay for this thing?
Yakunin has been described as a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some sources have speculated that he could be Putin’s likely successor as president.
TEPR would reportedly cost “trillions of dollars.”
According to Yakunin, however, massive economic returns would more than make up for the massive cash outlay — about which the report also included no details.
Why am I glad I was not invited to the 111th Explorers Club Dinner?
March 23, 2015I have always wanted to attend. I fantasized myself being an intrepid explorer such as Osa Johnson (I Married Adventure).
I figured that kind of lifestyle would garner me an invitation to the Explorers Club where I could hobnob with people such as Sylvia Earle, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Robert Ballard.
This year, however, I am happy to give the dinner a pass. The menu, always somewhat exotic in nature, this year featured an array of insects and other arthropods.
These are fried tarantulas and the red powder is paprika.
Give me a good old steamed lobster any day.
There is more to the story here.
Photo credit: Megan Gannon/Live Science
Why am I freezing?
February 25, 2015Interesting photos from WordlessTech, et al . . .
Ice-Covered Eastern States – Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
New York Harbor in the cold – Image credit CBS via gizmodo
Ice on the Potomac – Image: J. David Ake/Associated Press
I was in DC yesterday and was amazed at the amount of snow there – and the ice-covered Potomac. I am sorry I did not think to snap a photo from my airplane window. And there was no heat on the plane.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 
