Posts filed under ‘Break Time’
Jets Queue Up to Land at London’s Heathrow Airport
This is a cool video:
This is my first video from London Heathrow. This video shows how short the distances between approaching planes at LHR are. Thanks for watching and I hope you like it.
I like it!
Love how the planes zoom into place and then slow down and glide in.
They way they’re buffeted by the wind makes them look like they’re toys attached to strings.
Put It Into Perspective
(Image via KevinSchafer.com)
We saw the blue color from miles away. It was an iceberg made of dense ice, an impossible color beneath a leaden sky. I went to the bridge and cajoled the captain to take us in for a closer look. Astonishingly, he did.
As we approached this tower of blue, we spotted the penguins sitting on top. They were Chinstraps who had chosen this iceberg as the place to suffer through their annual molt, that
awkward time every year when penguins must grow new feathers to replace their old ones. It is a time when they cannot swim, and cannot eat, and essentially can’t do anything but stand around for weeks looking miserable.Yet although these may have been unhappy penguins, I was delighted to have them to provide a sense of scale for this magnificent iceberg. It was only after we sailed away that I began to wonder: “how did they get up there in the first place?”
One Amazing Animal
Mother Nature must have been in a very, very good mood when she designed the mantis shrimp:
(Image via Facebook.com/EvolutionaryBiology)
The mantis shrimp is one of the most incredible creatures found in our oceans. Over millions of years, it has equipped itself with an arsenal to rival that of any other organism, besting the limits of human technology on more than one front.
Firstly, it packs the biggest punch of any predator, with a sophisticated muscle mechanism allowing speeds in excess of 50mph to be attained. Couple this wit
h the ability to create extreme low pressure behind it’s extended arm, causing the water to spontaneously boil, no prey stands a chance. This action releases intense energy, enough to break sheets of glass.That is not all. The mantis shrimp has the most sophisticated and extensive eyes of any known creature. With their unique shape and composition, the shrimp can see in most directions simultaneously, as well as observing more of the spectrum than us humans, both at the infra-red and ultra-violet ends. This excellent asset, coupled with the killer punch, makes the mantis shrimp one of the most effective predators in the world, as well as being one of the most beautiful.(Via.)
Ouch! Divorce Cakes
Check out these “divorce cakes.” Woohah. Vicious, but understandably so I guess:
(Image via DailyMail.co.uk)
(Image via DailyMail.co.uk)
More photos here.
This is Not a Photograph
I’m rubbing my eyes. My brain can’t comprehend that these are d-r-a-w-i-n-g-s:
Many of portraitist Paul Lung’s subjects are his and his friends’ pets, which he draws with extreme care — sometimes taking upwards of 90 hours — using mechanical pencils.
Here are some of the cats he’s drawn over the last few years:
(Image via TwentyTwoWords.com)
(Image via TwentyTwoWords.com)
Lung must love what he does to have the patience to spend up to 90 hours on one drawing.
Good for him and good for us because we get to see the amazing, amazing results.
Wow.
Drunk Soccer Fans Cheer Woman as She Parallel Parks
It’s break time folks!
Ever feel embarrassed when it takes you three or four tries to get it right when you’re parallel parking? Then you’ll love this. It’s hilarious. (Best viewed with volume on high-ish.)
A woman trying to park her enormous car, encouraged by German football fans.
This was recorded in Münster after Germany’s win against Argentina at the World Cup 2010.
Taco Bell to the Rescue
OMG, this has got to be my Break Time! post for the day. I know, I know, I’m doing exactly what Taco Bell wanted but I can’t help it, it’s a fun story:
(Image via NYDailyNews.com)
Taco Bell took the notion of delivery service to a whole new level recently, helicoptering in a truck laden with 10,000 tacos to a small Alaskan town after learning that residents had been teased with false hopes of a restaurant opening.
What began as a feud between two area residents morphed into a full-fledged PR marketing opportunity on Sunday, when the world’s largest Mexican-style fast food chain deployed a helicopter from Anchorage to airlift in a truck full of tacos to the town of Bethel, population 6,200, according to local newspaper the Alaska Dispatch.
Throngs of local residents watched from the sidelines as a full-sized truck harnessed to a chopper was dropped gently in a community center parking lot. As soon as as the all-clear was given, thousands of people — adults and children — rushed the truck and gorged on the chain’s wildly popular Doritos Locos Tacos.
Last month, feuding pranksters papered the town with flyers and banners advertising the arrival of Taco Bell — what would have been a milestone for residents given that the only fast food chain is a Subway.
Ugandan Amusement Park Made of Thousands of Recycled Plastic Bottles
It’s break time as well as time for a dash of hope and inspiration:
(Image via Inhabitat.com)
Ugandan artist and teacher Ruganzu “Bruno” Tusingwire has created an amazing recycled amusement park for Ugandan children that is made from thousands of repurposed plastic bottles. The amusement park was designed for kids growing up in the slums who have limited access to safe areas for play and education. Tusingwire’s design gives the children a physiological and emotional lift through recreation, and the curious use of materials and inventive structures have sparked new ways for the children to learn from and engage with their environment. The project was just awarded the first 2012 TED Prize at the TEDxSummitin Doha, Qatar.
More info and images here.
Morning Photo
I periodically check NASA’s “Image of the Day” site because they post cool photos there. This is today’s. It’s called “Blue Marble 2012 — Arctic View.”
Beautiful.
(Image: NASA/GSFC)
Fifteen orbits of the recently launched Suomi NPP satellite provided the VIIRS instrument enough time (and longitude) to gather the pixels for this synthesized view of Earth showing the Arctic, Europe, and Asia.
Suomi NPP orbits the Earth about 14 times each day and observes nearly the entire surface. The NPP satellite continues key data records that are critical for climate change science.
(Via.)
Stray Dog Follows Cyclists 1,056 Miles Across the Himalayas
It’s break time folks!
Meet a fluffy, homeless little white dog now named Xiao Sa who was sitting by the side of the road in China one day when a group of cyclists came by and gave him a drumstick. No dummy, the dog figured the cyclists were good guys so he followed them for 20 days, over ten mountains, and for 1,056 miles into Tibet.
Needless to say, they’re all best buds now and the cyclists are going to keep him.
Great story:
(Via.)
The Answer to Everything: Rub Some Bacon On It!
I’m a bacon person through and through. I. Love. Bacon. So when I came across this video last night I knew it was meant to be my break time! post today.
Enjoy.
(Via.)
Cool House
OK folks, it’s break time and today we have a cool house to look at:
“Respect nature and the rest will follow” was the design philosophy behind the conch-shaped Casey Guest House in Florida. A small structure overlooking Sarasota Bayand a small oak forest, the guest house is constructed out of wood and sits very lightly among the surrounding mangrove trees.
(Photo via Inhabitat.com)
(Photo via Inhabitat.com)
Gorgeous.
For a slide show and more info, go here.
Terrifying Glass Floored Bathroom
Would you have a problem using this bathroom?
Terrifying: The bathroom of this stunning new penthouse in Guadalajara, México, is situated on top of an unused 15-story elevator shaft. (Via DailyMail.co.uk)
Ah! I would. That’s insane. I couldn’t do it. Just looking at the picture makes sort of shake.
More photos and info here.
Tiny Cute Things
I don’t know why I like looking at tiny things but I do and BuzzFeed has complied 86 photos of tiny cute things. Check them out. Good way to wind down on a Friday afternoon.
Here are three of my faves:
Tiny Donut Cheerios
Tiny Bug Memorial
Tiny Teddy Bear
Again, here’s the link.
Enjoy!
Edible Furniture-Shaped Treats
Check out these darling edible furniture treats:
Ryosuke Fukusada and Rui Pereira brought Milan Design Week visitors a special treat this year as they served up bite-sized delectable treats that took the form of lamps, tables and chairs. Dubbed Sapore dei Mobili(Taste of Furniture) the tastefully designed cakes were made using a special press – Fukusada and Pereira created the project to provide commentary on the way the contemporary furniture industry mass produces items and products to be consumed. The team offered the sweet pastries to passersby, grabbing everyone’s attention and helping visitors “fill-up” on furniture without having to go out and buy anything new.
Respect
I love 60s “soul music” and just about everything Motown.
Here’s Aretha Franklin singing “Respect” (in a time before there were music videos).
Turn your volume way up and dance!
More Grilled Cheese Ideas
What with today being National Grilled Cheese Day, there are grilled cheese sandwich ideas flying around all over the place. SeriousEats has a slide show with 21 varieties, like this absolutely decadent looking thing:
Want to impress your dinner date? Whip up a couple of French Melts. That's a big ol' pile of sweet, caramelized onions (see here for an easy technique to speed up the process) melted with a fat slab of Comté cheese. It's like French onion soup in an easy-to-pick-up, extra-buttery package. Set the table cloth and pull out the fine china, dear, tonight I'm wearing pants to the table!
I feel like running to the store for the ingredients right now. Yumee!
Happy National Grilled Cheese Day!
Okay, it’s break time folks and it’s also National Grilled Cheese Day! I lllooooove grilled cheese sandwiches.
Check out this BuzzFeed compilation of 40 ways to expand your grilled cheese recipe box. Some good ideas there These are my faves:
The “jalapeno popper grilled cheese sandwich:”
I would probably use Anaheim chilis. I think jalapenos, especially if they’re really hot, would wipe out the flavor of the cheese.
Barbecue bacon grilled cheese:
This isn’t a very appetizing picture. I’ve made grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon several times (talk about a heart attack on a plate) and unfortunately, they are delicious.
Dubai Says Screw Global Warming
If you have almost endless money I guess you can afford to waste it:
One might think that emirs of Dubai would learn from their past mistakes after Dubai’s artificial ‘The World’ archipelago surrendered its sands to the sea, but sinking islands and rising tides have yet to flag the Arab emirate’s ambitions of world building. Aerial photographs recently revealed that Dubai has been hard at work creating a new island – one shaped exactly like Dubai’s city center, but 1/3 the size. That’s not all – closer inspection of the photos shows that a smaller island shaped like Dubai is located off the coast of that island, and an even smaller Dubai-shaped island lies off the coast of that one!
So far, as many as ten mini Dubai islands have been spotted in the Persian Gulf, although we can only assume that an infinite number of replica islands are being planned and worked on. When questioned about Dubai’s new self-reflexive archipelago, the emirate’s constitutional monarch Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated: “When you consider the cultural and economic success of Dubai, it only makes sense to replicate our model again and again. It’s not like we’re running out of money or anything.”
What a dumb thing to do.
It looks pretty from space but I don’t think I’d want to buy a home on one of those islands.
More photos and info here.
Calling all Gardeners — Great Idea for Gardening With Shipping Pallets
It’s break time — time to think about gardening. Woohoo!
I like most of this idea: Shipping Pallet Garden Wows Visitors at the Canada Blooms Garden Festival.
Check out the photos (link above). This is the part of the project I love:
(1) Turning pallets into a garden wall, like this:
You wouldn’t necessarily have to use this many pallets; you could use one or two. You could paint them if you wanted or let them weather. I imagine them used either as a planting platform maybe up against a fence, with potted plants stuck randomly among the slats and/or as a privacy screen, again with plants scattered about.
And (2), I love the look and feel of this “room:”
Again, this could be modified but I can see how using pallets to frame a seating area in a corner of the garden (or even smack dab in the middle) would be so cozy. Imagine vines growing all over the wood.
I’m going to have to think on this and see if I can figure out how to do something with pallets in my yard.
Really like the look and the possibilities.
Fiona, a Blind, Lonely, Trash Pile Dog Comes to Know What it’s Like to be Loved
It’s break time folks. Time for the the story of Fiona:
A Dog’s Eye View of a Walk
For break time! today folks we have Riley the Corgi taking a walk up Runyan Canyon in Los Angeles set to the catchy tune, Here’s to Now by Ugly Casanova.
It’s delightful.
(H/t Liz. Via.)
Cool New Photos of the Titanic
The April, 2012 issue of the National Geographic contains cool new photos of the Titanic, like these before and after photos of a spa area:
Photograph by Byron Collection, Museum of the City of New York
Photograph by Discovery Channel, Mosaic by Ken Marschall
Eerie.
See the slide show here.
Break Time! Cute Dog Alert
OK folks, it’s break time. Take 47 seconds out of your day and watch a darling dog play with a battery-powered mouse and then look adorably bewildered when it stops working.
Enjoy!
(Via.)
Ice Wave Frozen in Time
OK folks, it’s break time. Time to take 57 seconds (you can do it!) out of your day to check out this spectacular, humongous hunk of ice filmed in the Antarctic. It looks like a huge wave that froze instantly as it was curling in mid-air.
Enjoy.
Little Monsters
OK folks, it’s break time and if you’re a dog lover like me you’re going to crack up at these photos of dogs underwater by Seth Casteel, the proprietor of Little Friends, Lifestyle Pet Photography.
From the dogs’ perspective, of course, the main thing isn’t how you look for the camera, it’s getting that freakin’ ball!
Photo: LittleFriendsPhoto.com
Photo: LittleFriendsPhoto.com
Are these hilarious or what? I love them. What a great idea.
See more at the link above.
