World Jumper

Man’s amazing parallel parking job

2011-08-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ask anyone what the hardest thing about learning to drive is and chances are they'll say: "parallel parking".

Ronny Wechselberger has no such problems though. The precision parker, known as 'Ronny C-Rock', slid his VW Polo into a parking space just 26 centimetres longer than his vehicle.

He performed the high speed maneuver on German TV back in April -- and swiftly entered the record books.

As the footage below shows, he was even awarded a Guinness World Record medal and plaque for his troubles.

However he's already had to give them back as a certain Zhang Hua managed to flip his car into a space two centimeters shorter on the Guinness Book of Record's Chinese show.

Sadly there's no video of his stunt yet, but you can still watch C-Rock's no-less spectacular effort below.

Pearl Harbor Attack Photos

2010-11-13T17:21:00.001-08:00

Repeat for some, but good reminder with December 7th, right around the corner

PICS TAKEN 68 YRS AGO & LEFT IN A BROWNIE CAMERA

Isn't is amazing how a film could last so long in a camera without disintegrating?
Fantastic photos taken 68 years ago. Some of you will have to go to a museum to see what a Brownie camera looked like?
Here is a simple picture of what we are talking about. . .

These photos are absolutely incredible....Read below the first picture and at the end.

PHOTOS STORED IN AN OLD BROWNIE CAMERA
Thought you might find these photos very interesting; what quality from 1941
Pearl Harbor photos found in an old Brownie stored in a foot locker.. and just recently
taken to be developed.
THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM A SAILOR WHO WAS ON THE USS QUAPAW ATF-11O.
I THINK THEY'RE SPECTACULAR!
PEARL HARBOR
December 7th,1941 ..

Pearl Harbor
On Sunday,December 7th,1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. By planning this attack on a Sunday,the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States mainland.)
In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam,Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.
At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 'Kate' torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 'Val' dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor. Within the next hour,the second wave arrived and continued the attack.
When it was over, the U.S. Losses were:
Casualties
US Army: 218 KIA, 364 WIA.
US Navy: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA.
US MarineCorp: 109 KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA.
TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA
-------------------------------------------------
Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor.
USS California (BB-4 4) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) - Light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - Sunk.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) - Light Damage..
USS San Francisco (CA-38) - Light Damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage..
-------------------------- -- ---------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin - (DD-372) Destroyed Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) - Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) - Light Damage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)

Share this with ALL ages...Elderly will remember; Young will be Awed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Early morning flash floods cause havoc all over again

2010-07-18T22:51:00.001-07:00

A torrential downpour in the early hours of Saturday morning triggered flash floods in various parts of Singapore.

Among the hardest hit areas were Braddell Road, Joo Chiat Terrace, Changi Road, Opera Estate, Bukit Timah and Delfi in Orchard Road.

It is the fourth time in recent months that heavy rain caused havoc to motorists and resulted in severe flooding.

Twitter user and Fly Entertainment CEO Irene Ang (@flyirene) commented, “My whole lane — Joo Chiat Terrace – and I heard Telok Kurau and Geylang also!” when asked by Yahoo! how badly affected her area was.

Irene Ang's Twitter comment, "Me and my neighbours' 10 houses sharing a 25meter lap pool now!"

courtesy of Twitter user @RJT

Twitter followers of @yahooSGnewsroom, Winnilicious and PohLeng, also said Tampines and homes in Opera Estate were also hit.

Residents staying in Opera Estate awoke to screams from neighbours alerting them that flood waters were gushing into their homes, even as trash bins, buckets and shoes went floating down the road.

The Straits Times reported that the basement carpark in Tessarina Condominium and Cluny Court in the Bukit Timah area were submerged in knee-high waters.

Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel also had to evacuate 60 people in 20 different places, including passengers who were stuck in an SBS bus along Upper Thomson Road.

The same paper reported that shops along the area were badly damaged, with huge fridges overturned and smashed.

24-hour food haunt The Prata Shop was also badly hit, with thigh-high waters flooding the eatery and leaving about 50 customers stranded.

Owner Mr Ikbal Mohamed Ali, 55, was quoted as saying, “It’s the worst flood in our 18 years of business. Three of our refrigerators toppled over.”

The Delfi Orchard, which was hit by its worst flooding in 26 years last month, was again not spared.

One of the building’s tenants, Ms Shanta Sundarason, told the same paper, “So much for the ‘once in 50 years freak flood’ along Orchard Road. It would be nice for the problem to be addressed and dealt with, rather than a sweeping statement from the ministry.”

Beside Wheelock Place, fast food chain, Wendy’s, which is under renovation after incurring S$500,000 in damages from last month’s flood, was also submerged in waist-deep water.

By about 1pm, however, most of the floods in low-lying areas had receded.

Late last month, PM Lee warned Singaporeans that they cannot expect the island republic to be completely free of floods.

“I don’t think it is possible in Singapore to expect the place to be completely free of floods,” he said, as torrential downpours are a part of the climate for “an island in the tropics”.

He also added, “We have to learn from these episodes, do post-mortems, find out what happened, and upgrade our infrastructure and systems.”

Thank you for the incredible, amazing response to Yahoo!’s Fit-To-Post blog so far. We continue to welcome your views and comments but please don’t abuse this opportunity. Be nice. Be courteous. Be sensible. Respect the feelings of others and refrain from using any kind of offensive language.

Source: Fit To Post

Sinkhole in Guatemala: Giant Could Get Even Bigger

2010-06-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

this photo just posted to the Guatemalan Government's Flickr feed shows a spontaneous sinkhole ("hundimiento") 20 meters deep and 15 wide that appeared today in Zone 2 of Guatemala City, after overwhelming saturation of rains from tropical storm Agatha. Local press reports that it swallowed an entire 3-story building. Not Photoshop, sadly: these happen from time to time during major storms in part because of unstable geology, and in part, bad urban engineering—read more about it in the comments. A break in the over-stressed sewage pipes after the storm was the cause for this one. There are rumors of other sinkholes now forming nearby. See it on Google Maps. (News reports: Prensa Libre, and blogs)

Strong earthquake in Tonga

2009-10-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

KUALA LUMPUR: A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 occurred in the Tonga Islands at 9.08am Friday at latitude 15.82 South and longitude 174.8 West.

A Meteorologial Department statement here said that the epicentre was located 7,021km west of Davao in the Philippines and from 7,717km west of Tawau, Sabah.

There is no tsunami threat to Malaysia. -- Bernama

source; www.thestar.com
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/2/nation/20091002123613&sec=nation

Waterfall in India

2009-09-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it make you think of the Garden of Eden?

Dubai Construction Update

2009-09-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Every house has a beach -- Architecture @ its best !

Now see this stuff
This is taken from world's tallest building 'Burj Dubai' @ 2,620 ft / 801m!!!

What do you think guys

Really amazing

Look at the edge (uppermost right corner) of the picture, you can almost see the turn of the earth

The persons who are working on the upper most Girders can see the 'ROTATION OF EARTH' So terrifying.

Souvenir Landmarks by Michael Hughes

2009-08-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Michael Hughes is talented photographer who travels all over the world and he took pictures of cheap souvenirs in front of famous landmarks.

Hey, that’s creative, you can do that too if you happen to visit famous places around the world.

What A Gorgeous World!

2009-07-29T01:08:00.000-07:00

I've never see so much beauty contained in one e-mail before.

It's A Beutiful World after all!

2009-05-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

15 Unusual and Creative Bus Stops

2009-05-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

You gotta check this out peepz!
Cool and very creative bus stops from around the world.

Got this from toxel.com while stumblingupon.

Enjoy!

Creative and unusual bus stop designs that make the time you spend waiting for the bus a bit more bearable.

Futuristic public transport bus stop in Curitiba, Brazil.

Football goal posts were placed in bus shelters around Sao Paulo, Brazil to promote the World Cup.

Strawberry Bus Stop

Yummy strawberry bus stop from Japan.

Yosemite Falls Bus Stop

Beautiful Yosemite Falls trail bus stop is perfectly suited for the setting.

Hammock Bus Stop

Relax while you wait for the bus to arrive.

Air Conditioned Bus Stop

Fully enclosed bus stop with air conditioning in Dubai.

Casar de Caceres Bus Stop

This minimalist structure that looks like a single sheet of white concrete was designed by architect Justo García Rubío and located in Casar de Caceres, Spain.

Moroccan Style Bus Stop

No ordinary bus stop decorated by Iris Hynd in Cornwall, England.

Estonian Bus Stop

Beautiful bus stop design from Estonia.

Watermelon Bus Stop

Creative watermelon bus stop in Ishaya, Japan.

School Bus Bus Stop

Unusual “school bus” bus stop from Athens, Ga.

Swing Bus Stop

Creative London bus stop by Bruno Taylor gives commuters a chance to have a little bit of playtime while they wait for the bus.

Vitra Bus Stop

Bus stop designed for the Vitra design museum in Germany.

Sheffield Bus Stop

Creative bus shelter with grass roof in Sheffield, England.

LED Bus Stop

Designed as part of the smart mobilities project, this bus stop was presented in Paris in 2008. Users waiting inside the bus stop could engage via a touch screen interface while pedestrians waiting outside could interact with a 6ft. custom LED display.

Atlantis , Dubai

2008-11-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

A sneak preview of what Atlantis looks like.

Who is Barack Obama?

2008-11-06T17:11:00.000-08:00

Who is this man Barack and where did he come from? A picture is worth a thousand words!

Obama Photo Gallery

WHERE DID HE COME FROM?

MOTHER and SON

FATHER and SON
Barack Obama Sr. poses with his son in the Honolulu airport
during Obama Sr.'s only visit to see his son while he was
growing up in Hawaii . Young Barack was in the 5th grade
when the photo was taken

Barack Obama Sr., a native of Kenya , met his future wife while they were students at the University of Hawaii . In 1963, he essentially abandoned his family to continue his studies at Harvard.

Grandparents and Mom

THE DUNHAMS: precocious, self-assured
Stanley Ann (left); her impetuous father,
who named his only child after himself;
her mother, Madelyn, the quiet, firm
influence in the home.

At their home in Jakarta , Ann Dunham poses in this undated photo with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, their daughter, Maya, and Barack Obama.

Mom, Sister and Barack

WHAT ARE GRANDPARENTS?

Barack Obama with his maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham during a 1982 visit to New York , where Obama was attending Columbia . (Courtesy of The Obama Family

Barack Obama walks with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama at his father's house in Nyongoma Kogelo village, western Kenya , in Aug. 2006. (AP file)

Barack Obama with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, in Africa (Courtesy)

In this Obama Family photo ares: (bottom row, from left) half-sister Auma, her mother Kezia Obama, Obama's step-grandmother Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama and unknown; (top row, from left) unknown, Barack Obama, half-brother Abongo (Roy) Obama, and three unknowns. (Courtesy of the Obama Family)

FATHER

Barack Obama as a toddler.

(Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack Obama as a child. (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack walks along Waikiki Beach shortly before he and his mother moved from Hawaii to Indonesia to live with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, in 1967.

Barack poses with his mother, Ann, half
sister, Maya, and maternal grandfather
Stanley Dunham in Hawaii in the early
1970s after the family returned from I
ndonesia. Neighbors remember the
close relationship between young
Barack and his grandfather.

A page from Barack Obama's senior yearbook features his personalized message to family, friends and teammates. (Photo from The Oahuan yearbook / March 23, 2007)

Barack Obama hugs his younger half sister Maya at his high school graduation.

Barack Obama shakes hands during his graduation ceremony from Punahou School in 1979. While in his early teens, Obama chose to stay at the school and live with his grandparents after his mother decided to move back to Jakarta , Indonesia.

At his high school graduation, Barack Obama gets a hug from his grandmother Madelyn as his grandfather Stanley beams. His maternal grandparents raised Obama in Hawaii while his mother was living in Indonesia .

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama's half sister, teaches her Education in American Society class at the University of Hawaii .

The wedding day of Barack Obama Jr. and Michelle LaVaughn Robinson...... (Courtesy of the Obama Family)

Barack and first born

THE FAMILY

Quotations
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.'

Barack and Michelle

Be sure to share!

OBAMA '08

Now you can change your car colour easily!

2008-10-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Awesome Fountain in Peking

2008-10-13T18:25:00.001-07:00

Amazing Striped Icebergs

2008-09-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet
fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can
freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a
green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up
when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

... Is this amazing??

Antarctica Frozen Wave Pixs - Nature is amazing!

The water froze the instant the wave broke through the
ice. That's what it is like in Antarctica where it is the
coldest weather in decades. Water freezes the instant
it comes in contact with the air. The temperature of the
water is already some degrees below freezing..

Just look at how the wave froze in mid-air!!!

Having the Internet means that we get to see something
that we never imagined! Pass it on for others to enjoy!

Real Sim City Comes To Life In Dubai

2008-08-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Dubai is INSANE!
Rich people need something to do apparently.

Tallest Skyscraper in the World Almost Completed

2008-08-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Burj Dubai tower, the tallest skyscraper in the world, is about to be completed. To celebrate it, David Hobcote has taken a series of amazing high resolution pictures from the air which give an exact impression of the breathtaking, massive scale of this building. Inside, it looks like a set from Blade Runner or the interior of the Death Star

Source: Gizmodo

25 Most Colorful Lakes

2008-08-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

Awesome photos!!

1. The blue hues captured in this stunning photograph of Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, show just how awesome the natural world can be.

2. Perito Moreno in Patagonia, Argentina gets its vibrant turquoise color from light reflecting off suspended glacier ice melt particles.

3. Five Flower Lake in Jiuzhaigon National Park, China, is known for its crystal turquoise waters. The floor of the lake is littered with ancient fallen trees from the surrounding forests.

4. Another view of Peyto Lake in Banff, demonstrating how light reflection can drastically alter the colour of water.

5. This volcanic lake in Flores had been turned bright turquoise from algae and bacteria living in the water.

6. Bacteria may have turned this lake a blue/brown color but we can’t help thinking of steaming hot chocolate when we look at the picture. Mmmm.

7. Deep aqua marine hues bounce off Blanca Lake, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

8. Yamdrok Tso, meaning Turquoise Lake, sits about 4500m above sea level, Tibet. It was created after a dam for the nearby hydroelectric power station was built.

9. This amazing shot was taken near Uyuni, Bolivia. The dark green waters are so calm the mountains are reflected perfectly.

10.Wise Lake turned green from overhanging trees at Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

11.A cleverly placed sunglasses lens in front of the camera turns Kournas Lake in Crete an interesting green colour.

12. This awesome photo of Golden Lake is all natural. Amazing isn’t it?

13.Sunset at Bluff Lake near Starkville, Mississippi.

14. Deep burnt orange hues of Henley Lake, New Zealand, at sundown.

15.Green Lake, Wisconsin, just before dawn.

16. Wonderful shot of a large salt lake, Uyuni, Bolivia. The red colour is caused by astronomical numbers of microscopic, unicellular organisms living in the water and salt crust.

17.A deep red lake at Sanetsch Pass, Switzerland.

18.Red Lake at Uyuni salt plains, Bolivia.

19.Another red lake near Albertville in the French Alps.

20.Red salt lake, Tunisia. How the bacteria survive in the intense desert heat is truly amazing.

21.A lake with no name in Berlin. We’re not sure if the image is ’shopped’ or not but the result is still pretty spectacular.

22.Lake Francis, California at sunset giving off the most amazing purple, pink and orange hues.

23.Wonderful orange and purple skies over Lake Murray, South Carolina, at sunset.

24.Purple and blue skies at sunset over Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada.

25.Deep red tones over Lake Michigan at dusk.

Source: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com

The Olympic Opening Ceremony in a Minute

2008-08-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.236.com NBC's coverage of the Olympic Opening Ceremony clocked in at over four hours. While Zhang Yimou's display was certainly memorable—regardless of the CGI fireworks—even the Chinese couldn't figure out a way to computer generate a procession of obscure African/Eastern European countries that lasted less than three hours. So, in case you missed it, here's the whole thing in sixty convenient seconds.

Traffic from Space Videos Blow Our Minds, Pants, and Socks

2008-08-13T05:47:00.001-07:00

Here's how the air, ground, data, landline, cellphone, and sea ship traffic looks from space in Great Britain, one of the busiest countries on Earth. The BBC's Britain from Above documentary took satellite and air images and mixed it with 3D GPS data to create these breathtaking high resolution pictures and videos:

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS

Source: www.gizmodo.com

Styrofoam Homes Are Typhoon-Resistant, Refillable with People or Coffee

2008-08-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Styrofoam homes may sound like a recipient for disaster, but Japan Dome House Co., Ltd. thinks they're the future. A future in which all of us will be hobbits or smurfs. Made with 7-inch-thick 100% expanded polystyrene foam modules, the company says that they don't have the maintenance problems of wood or metal structures, and they are "highly resistant" to earthquakes, fires, and typhoons. Still, the 480 domes at Aso Farm Land resort village in Kyushu look like a suburban community on Mos Eisley's outskirts or a world from Myst.

Inside, however, the homes look huge.

Each module is only 175 pounds, and they can be carried and assembled by a couple of people in a matter of hours. I don't know how that is compatible with "typhoon resistant," but since it has been approved by Japan's safety-obsessed government, we would have to believe it's true. Head to Pink Tentacle for more pictures and details.

Source: http://gizmodo.com

Machine Age in Japan...Amazing!!!

2008-08-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Vending machines in Japan.
Japan is another world.
Everything is available in vending machines everywhere!

UMBRELLAS

NOODLES / RAMEN

POPCORN

RICE

Even their Coke machines are a lot better

Fishing line, fish hooks and even bait can be purchased here.

TOILET PAPER

FLOWERS

Fried Foods (French fries, hot dogs, etc.)

ICE CREAM

BATTERIES

NEWSPAPER

This Is How They Roll In Japan

2008-07-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

I love these new bikes from Japan. .Sure would love to have one park in my room hahah!
Smaller version would fit my style.:)

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Beijing Olympics Garden

2008-07-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

How smart are the Japanese?

2008-07-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? What will the Japs think of next? lolx!

TAMING TYPHOONS: Incredible Storm Water System in Japan

2008-07-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

If you think that’s a computer rendering, guess again. The incredible engineering masterpiece pictured above is a massive stormwater management solution for the metropolitan area of the city of Saitama, Japan. While it looks like the set of the next action blockbuster or music video, the structure is real and will leave you washed away if you overstay your welcome when a typhoon hits. Coming in at 25.4 meters tall (83 feet) and 78 meters (255 feet) wide and running 177 meters long (580 feet), the massive underground system started construction in 1992, and is open for tourists interested in exploring a vast concrete landscape.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Space Toilet

2008-05-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how astronauts take care of their personal, um, business, in space? This pod will show you how ..

Source: www.current.com

South Korea To Build Robot-Themed Parks By 2013, Destruction Of Human Race Ensues

2008-05-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Found this article from Digg..Talking about robots themed-park for human destruction? Judge for yourself:)

The government of South Korea is drawing up a code of ethics to prevent human abuse of robots--and vice versa.

The new charter is part of an effort to establish ground rules for human interaction with robots in the future.

"Imagine if some people treat androids as if the machines were their wives," Hye-Young Park of the ministry's robot team told the AFP news agency.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE..

Visions of Eart by National Geographic

2008-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Not far from its Franklin Island colony, a lone Adélie punctuates the looping scrawl of penguin tracks across plates of Ross Sea pack ice. Some 2.7 million of the birds populate the Ross Sea region.

Eiffel Tower, Paris

2008-04-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Eiffel Tower (French: Tour Eiffel, /tuʀ ɛfɛl/) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris and one of the most recognized structures in the world.[1] More than 200,000,000 have visited the tower since its construction in 1889,[2] including 6,719,200 in 2006,[3] making it the most visited paid monument in the world.[4][5] Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.

When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319 m — 1,047 ft tall) was completed.[6] The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).

The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure including non-metal components is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6-7 cm (2-3 in) in the wind.[7] As demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic meter. The tower has a mass less than the mass of the air contained in a cylinder of the same dimensions,[8] that is 324 meters high and 88.3 meters in radius. The weight of the tower is 10,100 tonnes compared to 10,265 tonnes of air.

The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to access the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. From the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether they have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket. The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level there are 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress of ascent. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower although some short stretches of the stairway are enclosed.

Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey.[9] On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre

The Sahel 2

2008-04-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Swallowing all but the tallest trees, dunes have buried cropland near the city of Goudoumaria, where a herder follows goats in search of forage. Reduced rainfall has withered vegetation and dried up wells in parts of southern Niger, forcing villagers to move. The Sahel experienced droughts in the 1970s and '80s, and although rainfall has increased since the 1990s, a decades-long dry spell continues.

HYPER-PARIS TIMELAPSE - Music PETER BAUMANN

2008-04-16T09:14:00.001-07:00

Parisian Wheel- Timelapse

2008-04-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Japan Timelapse

2008-04-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon ? , officially 日本国 Nippon-koku (help·info) or Nihon-koku) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes identified as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan comprises over 3,000 islands,[5] the largest of which are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for 97% of land area. Most of the islands are mountainous, many volcanic; for example, Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji, is a volcano. Japan has the world's tenth largest population, with about 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Na Pali Coast

2008-04-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just before setting, the moon silvers the waves washing Kalalau Beach. An old Hawaiian legend tells of Pele, goddess of fire, coming to this coast in search of a home, but she was driven away by a goddess of the sea. Their contest continues today, with the sea winning bit by bit.

Na Pali Coast

2008-04-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

Dusk settles on Kalalau Beach at the valley's western edge. Though now a remote retreat for hikers and the occasional hermit, the largest valley on Nā Pali Coast sustained a significant population of native Hawaiians for more than 600 years. Though they abandoned Kalalau around 1919, their terraced taro fields are still evident throughout the deep valley, evoking a simpler time and a natural beauty that now attracts visitors from around the world.

The Sahel

2008-04-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Riding a mountain of belongings, migrants who had left Niger for Libya return home in the face of antiforeign sentiment. The Sahel was once the center of a camel-borne trade that took slaves, ivory, and gold to Europe and the Middle East, but it now lies on the margins of the world's economy. Many of the region's young men have gone to wealthier countries such as Libya and Algeria to find work.

Panama Canal Timelapse

2008-04-15T00:44:00.000-07:00