Aeolus Airship: Human-Powered Blimp: TreeHugger
Setting the bar pretty high for airship design is this one from Christopher Ottersbach: Called the Aeolus Airship (named after Aeolus, the Greek wind god) it is designed to be aerodynamic than conventional airship designs, and stay aloft for up to two weeks on a supply of helium and, furthermore, is pedal-powered by the crew of 2-4 people.
Beautiful. Like something out of a Japanese Anime. More on Inhabitat.
My photos from Tibet and Morning Light (Kham, October 2006) from the album The Scent of Light. Over 1,800 images at 6 frames per second.
Nice Hong Kong slideshow on Flickr.
When I stayed in Hong Kong for a month (((or was it two months??))) in 1978, I felt that Hong Kong might be an example for how humans might live in the future. Dense vertical structures instead of extended sprawl would allow wilderness to remain.
BBC NEWS | Europe | Milan poor to get seized caviar
Beluga caviar seized by Italian customs officers is to be distributed to poor people in Milan as a Christmas gift.
About 40kg (88lb) of caviar was confiscated in November after two couriers travelling from Poland were stopped with the hidden cargo.Newspaper Corriere Della Serra says the caviar had an estimated value of $550,000 (£370,000). Tests showed the caviar to be edible, so it is to be given to canteens, hospices and shelters for the poor.
I love that line – Tests showed the caviar to be edible. Did somebody grab a crust of bread, put some caviar on it, eat and pronnounce it edible… or did they take it to a lab?
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Goa bans Christmas beach parties
Christmas and New Year beach parties in tourist resorts in the Indian state of Goa have been banned because of security concerns, say the authorities.
30 years ago you would have found me at the New Year beach party in Goa…
U.P.S. adds bikes to the fleet| TerraPass: Fight global warming, reduce your carbon footprint
Of course, each U.P.S. bike delivery system (typically a $350 mountain bike pulling a custom trailer) can haul only 15 to 20 packages per trip — a mere fraction of what a truck can deliver. Nonetheless, the company estimates that for every three bikes deployed during peak season on the West coast, it will save around 17 gallons of fuel per day and about $38,000 dollars in vehicle maintenance costs.
Monumental Land Art of the United States
Land Art, also called Earth Art, Environmental Art or Earthworks, is primarily a sculptural movement encompassing creative work that integrates physical or conceptual elements of the landscape into the finished piece. The most famous of these are often known as much for their monumental scale as for the intrinsic qualities of the artwork itself.Listed below are links to satellite and topographic imagery of the best known large earthworks, both old and new, still extant in the continental United States, as well as a few significant smaller scale pieces. The images provide a sense of comparative scale; the topographic views provide a sense of the terrain; and the geophysical coordinates provide a sense of their proximal relationship.
(Via The Long Now Blog)
Water-tower pierced by artillery during the last battle of the Spanish Civil war.
It’s Tuesday Morning in Freiburg. Really enjoyed performing at the Jazzhaus last night. I should have taken some photos of the vaulted ceilings. In a little while we will drive to Köln and right now I’ll go to find coffee…
