Category: Travel

The Astronaut who took this photo, is the only human, Dead or Alive that isn’t in the frame of this 1969 picture

7/23/2016

This picture of the Lunar Module was taken by Michael Collins. It contains Buzz Aldrin and Neal Aldrin and of course the Earth in the Background. This picture was taken during the Apollo 11 mission, and it makes him the only person to have ever lived who was not inside this photo.

Because Matter cannot be destroyed nor created, it means that every human that ever lived up to the moment in time that this picture was taken, still exists, in some form that is. It also means that every person that was born afterwards is also in this photo, again in some form. Even if you were not born yet, the matter from which you are made off is in this picture.

Collins, in his second and last mission, served as the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first to make a manned landing on the surface of the moon, Collins waited in the command module for over 21 hours for their return. When the command module drifter behind the moon, losing all communication with the Earth, he wrote:“This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two. I don’t mean to deny a feeling of solitude. It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the Earth abruptly cuts off at the instant I disappear behind the moon, I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.”

The Guardian interviewed Collins in 2009, and he revealed to be anxious about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s safety. Fearing that in the case of a calamity he would have to return to Earth alone. Being the sole survivor of a failed mission, he would be “a marked man for life”.

ISIS Fighters Reportedly Savaged By American Military Working Dog

5/24/2016

An American military dog is being hailed a hero after charging ISIS militants during a recent firefight in northern Iraq.
There are a million ways to be killed or wounded on the modern battlefield: bullets, bombs, drone strikes, a tomahawk-wielding SEAL Team 6 operator. But dogs? For jihadists squaring off with Western forces in the Middle East, the threat is real, and a group of ISIS militants learned that lesson the hard way when they recently ambushed a group of elite British commandos with the Special Air Service in Iraq. And they (or their corpses) have the bite wounds to prove it.

The incident purportedly took place in northern Iraq, not far from the ISIS stronghold of Mosul, and near the village where an American Navy SEAL was killed in battle on May 3. According to the British paper, Daily Star Sunday, a small team of SAS commandos were en route back to their base when one of their four vehicles was struck by a roadside bomb. The troops were immediately encircled by about 50 ISIS militants, who were armed with a pair of machine gun-mounted Toyotas.

Taking fire from three directions, the commandos dismounted their vehicles and scrambled for cover. A fierce firefight ensued, and the Brits feared they were being overrun. We’re assuming the jihadists were not expecting what happened next. As the battle raged, a U.S. soldier, who was attached to the SAS team, decided to give the enemy a taste of American might — or, shall we say, American bite — in the form of a pissed off German shepherd.

German shepherds — sometimes referred to as “Alsatians” in European countries — are often favored by U.S. military units because they’re intelligent, loyal, and extremely aggressive when need be. This one was no different. As soon as the American unleashed the K-9, the ISIS militants tried to shoot it. They missed. The dog leaped at one of the fighters, ripping into his face and neck, before mangling the arms and legs of another. Both militants turned and fled, screaming.

“[The dog] could sense the tension and had an overpowering urge to protects its handler and the other troops,” a source told Daily Star. “A snarling [German shepherd] running at you is very frightening and probably not something the jihadis had encountered. The dog did its job and returned to its handler with its tail wagging.”

The SAS commandos and their American ally had apparently just completed a 10-day training course with Kurdish peshmerga soldiers when the ambush occurred. The battle, which, according to Daily Star Sunday, took place last month, concluded how most skirmishes between Western forces and ISIS militants do these days: with U.S. fighter jets swooping in to bomb the terrorists to smithereens. No British or American casualties were reported, human or canine.

Someone Strapped A GoPro To A Rocket And It's Jaw-Dropping

5/6/2016

Maybe one day we'll think that rockets and space aren't that cool, but it's not today.

tags: Nathan finneman breedofspeed breed of speed rocket gopro space cool colorado finneman

Why ride IN a balloon when you can ride ON a balloon? nathan finneman

5/4/2016

Despite what it might look like, this is one of the most unique and tranquil ways to enjoy the wonderful world of ballooning in Vermont.

tags: nathan finneman breedofspeed breed of speed cool awesome balloon riding on top of balloon

Ferrari Is Planning to Build a Theme Park in North America

4/20/2016

Bloomberg is reporting that Ferrari is planning to build a new theme park somewhere in North America. Currently, the Italian company has a park, Ferrari World, on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island and another under construction in Spain, with a third scheduled to pop up in China.

As it stands, the North American location remains unknown, or possibly undecided, but don’t be surprised if the new Ferrari park winds up in theme park meccas Los Angeles or Orlando.

Regardless, expect the park to feature similar racing-themed attractions, including roller coasters, vertical acceleration towers, and virtual test tracks, much like the aforementioned Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi.

Stay tuned for more on the new North American Ferrari theme park.

Nathan Finneman : FLYBOARD AIR HOVERBOARD CAN GO 93 MPH AND SOAR TO 10,000 FEET

4/12/2016

The training engines are off people! There is now a real hoverboard that would get the Green Goblin giddy with maniacal delight and it’s called the Flyboard Air. Oh, and it can go up to 93 mph and fly 10,000 feet in the air.

No, you did not read those numbers wrong.

The Flyboard Air comes from the insanely inventive team at Zapata Racing, which is led by the—apparently—insanely brave Franky Zapata. If the Zapata company name doesn’t ring a bell, its original Flyboard probably will. The part-watercraft, part-aircraft (nicknamed “dolphin jetpack”) blew our collective minds when it appeared back in 2011 and showed riders springing out of the water and then flying and looping tens of meters into the air like marine mammals who forgot gravity is a thing.

But this Flyboard Air. This legitimately takes hoverboards to a whole new level.

Unlike the original Flyboard, the Flyboard Air doesn’t require a water source to propel itself, although it’s not 100% clear how it works, as no mechanical specifics have been provided by Zapata. Sources including Gizmodo and Gizmag speculate that it’s powered by a turbine engine fed by a backpack full of fuel. According to the heat (and crazy crazy stats) this beast is throwing off

In the above video, that would make sense. Zapata also says that the board is capable of full autonomy for up to 10 minutes.In the video, Zapata flies for about 3.55 minutes and reaches a top speed of 55 kph (about 34 mph), although the craft can supposedly go almost triple that. Zapata Racing also claims the Flyboard Air has a top altitude of 10,000 feet, which is just Joker-level insanity. For reference, lots of recreational skydivers jump from around 13,000 feet. Theoretically, you could ride this thing to its max altitude, and then skydive back to Earth no problem.

There is no word on when the Flyboard Air will be available for purchase, or even public use, although Zapata says it certainly won’t be on the market in 2016. For now, we’ll have to make do with our much less gravity- and death-defying Hendos.

What do you think about this Flyboard Air? Are you as excited and freaked out at the prospect of hoverboarding thousands of feet above Earth as we are? Let us know in the comments below!

tags: nathan finneman colorado hover board jet pack fly board aviation cool flyboard hoberboard breedofspeed breed of speed

Nathan Finneman : Navy flyer describes spotting island castaways

4/12/2016

Nathan Finneman : The U.S. Navy officer in charge of a flight crew that located three castaways on a remote Pacific island said Monday he has never seen or heard of another rescue quite like it. The stranded men, who were reported missing last Tuesday after a wave overtook their skiff, were found on a tiny Micronesian island on Thursday, officials said. The three had spelled out the word "help" with palm fronds after they swam to the deserted island when their boat capsized. "I've never seen anything like that, nor am I aware of anyone in our community seeing anything like that," U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander John Harkins said during a telephone interview.

Harkins' crew was searching an area given to them by the U.S. Coast Guard when Petty Officer 3rd Class Garrette Odor noticed a strong return on his infrared camera. Harkins said the heat came from a signal fire the stranded men had built, but had already gone out.

The Navy crew began to fly around the island when Petty officer 2nd Class Justin Burns saw the word "help" scrolled out on the beach. About 15 seconds later, three men came running out of the jungle waving their orange life vests over their heads, Harkins said.

After spotting the men, Harkins' crew made several low passes in front of them and eventually dropped a smoke signal to let them know they had been found. "Initially they weren't so sure that we had seen them," Harkins said. "We made an effort to alleviate their concerns."

The flight crew first rocked the aircraft's wings, then made several low approaches before eventually dropping the smoke marker in the water in front of the men. "Eventually they actually started relaxing," Harkins said. "We have a photo of all three of them laying down, some on top of the 'help' sign."

"Finding them on the island was not necessarily what we expected to happen," Harkins said of the mission. "We all stood up and gave each other high-fives." The men's families reported them missing Tuesday after they failed to show up at the Micronesian island of Weno, where they were traveling from their home island, Pulap.

The U.S. Coast Guard notified the Navy, and Harkins' crew began their search after a stop in Guam early Thursday. "Fortunately for them, they were all wearing life jackets and were able to swim to the deserted island," U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Melissa McKenzie said.

A local boat picked the men up and took them to back to their home island, which was only about 5 miles away from where they were found, Harkins said. The Coast Guard said it didn't have information on the men's condition, but officials told the Washington Post they were not injured.

The Navy crew followed the local boat back to their island, then made a final low pass and rocked their wings "to say goodbye," Harkins said. Two bulk carriers searched a combined 17 hours for the men as part of AMVER, a U.S. Coast Guard voluntary search and rescue program. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and ask them to help.

In the last two weeks, 15 people have been rescued in the Pacific with the help of 10 AMVER vessels and six aircrews, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

tags : nathan finneman breed of speed breedofspeed navy rescue water island

Nathan Finneman : Caribbean tourist hit by small airplane landing at dangerous airport

4/9/2016

The Gustaff III Airport on the Caribbean island of St. Barts was ranked as the third-most dangerous airport in the world by the “Most Extreme Airports” program on the History Channel. It has a steep descent arrival over a hilltop traffic circle and a departure that skims over the heads of sunbathers.

Video shot by Sebastien Politano of Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, confirms the dangerous nature of the approach as it appears to show a small plane grazing a tourist trying to take photographs as it approached.

Politano, 46, was testing out his 360-degree camera at the traffic circle when this happened:At the end of the video, the man with the white T-shirt and flowery shorts can be heard saying something that sounds like, “It hit me.”

The man told Politano he felt the wheel of the airplane touching his right hand,

Politano told Caters News that the man kept saying “it hit my hand, it hit my hand.”

“The guy showed me the traces of the tire on his hand afterwards,” Politano told Caters. “But I didn’t believe him. It was only when I saw the footage afterwards and saw how close it came that I believed him.

“I don’t think he knows how lucky he was it didn’t hit him harder.”

Another angle of the 360-video shows a motorcyclist duck his head as the plane shoots by.

The Gustaff III Airport is located in the village of St. Jean. It serves small regional commercial aircraft and charters with most planes carrying no more than 20 passengers, all of whom probably close their eyes during landings and takeoffs.

tags : nathan finneman breed of speed breedofspeed aircraft hits ground crash crazy

Has the secret of the Bermuda Triangle finally been discovered?

4/5/2016

The Bermuda Triangle is a well documented section of sea that has mysteriously claimed many planes and ships. These disappearances are often unexplained, and have led many to believe something supernatural must be going on in the area. Scientists now think the cause of these anomalies might be large craters in the sea floor. These craters release tons of methane gas which poses a threat to ships in the area.

While the Bermuda Triangle is the biggest hotspot for this activity, the craters actually stretch to the north of the British Isles. Monitoring a greater area might provide scientists more insight on how these craters change sea temperatures. The rapidly increasing heat combined with the gas could be the cause of many sunken ships.
Video is below for more info.

Nathan Finneman: 10 STARTLING IMAGES OF NEW YORK IN THE 1980S THAT SHOW HOW FAR WE'VE COME

3/30/2016