Keith Thomson's Blog, page 12
May 4, 2014
The World's Most Unusual Bars, chapter 1
Truskavets, a city in western Ukraine's Lviv Oblast, near the border with Poland, is world-renowned for its mineral springs and resorts. Those may take a back seat to this giant coffin—20 meters long, six meters wide and six meters tall—a funeral-themed bar called Eternity.
Related links: ONCE A SPY
April 28, 2014
Plane Crazy Architecture
Crazy about planes? Need a house. Here are some ways to have the best of both:
747 turned into a cliff house in Malibu.
Really liked this one, except it's a bit too big and 8,100 miles from our kids' school. (Abuja, Nigeria)
Dream writing office—for some writers.
Inspired hotel in Costa Rica.
Nice bar, also in Costa Rica. Let's have a look inside...
The Hotelicopter. Just a concept. Here's hoping...
The New Jalisco Library in Guadalajara, Mexico, is being made from tons of retired planes.
Don't think this one was intentional.
For your interior, there's a lot of furniture out there made from old plane parts.
And a lot of ceiling fixtures.
Some are pretty pricey.
Some aren't.
Related Links: 7 Grams of Lead
Birdwatching (plane pix)
April 26, 2014
30-Second War Story
November 10, 1943 Pacific Theater: On approach to landing on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise, a Grumman F6F Hellcat tailhook caught a wire.
Almost at one, flames enveloped the fuselage.
While the carrier's crew rushed to fight the blaze with fire hoses, the catapult officer, a Philadelphian named Lieutenant Walter L. Chewning, Jr., clambered up the plane's side. Chewning assisted Ensign Byron M. Johnson, the pilot from the burning aircraft. Both escaped without significant injury.
Chewning received the Navy Cross, Marine Corps medal for his quick action.
Related Links: Amazing FA/18 crash landing
April 23, 2014
The Latest in Humongous Model Planes
Here, as you have have guessed, are some giant radio-controlled planes pix, as well as a few of ship hobbyists who aren't about to be outdone.
Last, an actual (rc) sea battle vid. Shooting BBs, the ships can sink one another.
Related links: Supermodels (more giant model plane pix);
Birdwatching (hundreds of interesting aircraft pix), Once a Spy
More Humongous Models
The first batch of radio control planes is here. And below, as you have have guessed, are some more, as well as a few ship hobbyists who are about to be outdone.
Last, an actual (rc) sea battle vid. Shooting BBs, the ships can sink one another.
Related links: Birdwatching (hundreds of interesting aircraft pix), Once a Spy
April 22, 2014
The UFO in Mexico
Here's amateur video of the UFO spotted over Mexico City the other day. As you'll see, a dog barks repeatedly as the craft passes overhead. Also, as the National UFO Center is quick to point out regarding this story, there was a big earthquake in Mexico the next day. Proof of extraterrestrial life, or what?
Here's a "capture."
By the way, there are round, saucer-like unmanned aerial vehicles (a.k.a. drones). I'd source these, but it would save a lot of time if you just Google "round drone."
This is the Navy's X-47B. For more information, see http://keiththomsonbooks.com/blog/x-47b
Related Links: My True Area 51 Story
April 21, 2014
VTOL UAV WTF?
What is this?
It's the updated version of the Thai navy's DEFENSE & SECURITY 2012 VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) DTI (I don't know what this stands for) RTN (ditto) KSM (don't worry, I won't be quitting my day job to become an aviation writer) 150 unmanned autonomous helicopter platform UAV unmanned aerial vehicle. Here are a couple of additional and a video with actual useful information.
Related links: Birdwatching (aircraft and UAV photos gallery), Blackbird (SR-71 Blackbird pix)
Supermodels
This is either the world's biggest radio-control B-52, or the world's smallest B-52. It has a wingspan of 22 feet. The eight turbine engines alone cost $12,000, according to the Internet.
The B-52 has company. Lots of it. Here are more model planes that are bigger than planes…
Here's a video of the Globemaster in flight.
Here's one of the B-52…not a happy ending, as the YouTube title suggests.
For more information, see FlyingGiants.
For more photos, see Birdwatching, a warbird, rocket, UAV and other aircraft gallery.
April 20, 2014
Your Chances of being Hit by an Asteroid
Asteroid stories circulating the internet have rekindled fears that the Deep Impact plot will play out in real life. Based on NASA projections, there is indeed a chance that such an asteroid will impact Earth this year.
It is 1 in 2,518,072
This number is derived from NASA calculations of the likelihood of a strike by any one of the six substantial Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) whose current course could intersect our planet's the next year. The most likely of the bunch has a 1 in 4,000,000 chance of impacting Earth. In other words, there's a 99.999975% chance the thing will miss the planet, let along you.
What do these numbers mean? Here's some context. Based on National Safety Council data, the chances are less that you will be killed by an asteroid than by the following:
Motor vehicle accident: 1 in 6,539
Exposure to noxious substances: 1 in 12,554
Assault by firearm: 1 in 24,005
Accidental drowning: 1 in 82,777
Exposure to smoke, fire or flames: 1 in 92,745
Exposure to forces of nature (lightning, flood, storms, etc.): 1 in 136,075
Falling out of bed or off other furniture: 1 in 329,819
Choking on food: 1 in 343,179
Air and space transport accidents: 1 in 502,554
Exposure to electric current, radiation, temperature, and pressure: 1 in 705,969
Being bitten, stung or crushed by another person or animal: 1 in 1,841,659
Conclusion: There's not much reason to worry about asteroids. But be careful with your choice of space travel provider.
Related Link: 7 Grams of Lead
April 19, 2014
The Latest in Invisibilty
Invisibility cloaking technology in real life is catching up to Harry Potter. Can you tell which of the following photos are legit and which aren't? The answer is at the bottom.
[image error]7 Grams of Lead
