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Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Grand Canyon Skywalk: Stepping Over the Edge

From: http://www.vivaboo.com/


Stepping out onto the Grand Canyon Skywalk is like walking effortlessly across the sky. You step out over the edge, a full 4,000 feet above the Colorado River below and walk along the skywalk, experiencing the Grand Canyon from a truly amazing perspective. Being able to walk 70 feet straight out from the rim allows you to take in the beauty that only Mother Nature can create…the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon Skywalk 3 The Grand Canyon Skywalk: Stepping Over the Edge
Image By Jonas K
The Grand Canyon itself is 277 miles long and stretches over 18 miles wide at some points. It has been a national monument for over 100 years, but its history dates back millions of years. The canyon we see today is estimated to have taken at least 3-5 million years for the Colorado River, erosion and nature to carve.
Up until 2007, visitors were only able to go to designated viewing sites and of course, travel down into the canyon (which is a life-changing experience all its own). Then in 2007, the Grand Canyon Skywalk was officially opened making the Grand Canyon an even bigger tourist attraction that it was already.
Now this skywalk isn’t for those who have any fear of heights. Although, there is no need to worry about safety, it is very sturdy and safe. The skywalk was built strong to withstand not only the daily tourist traffic, but to withstand the elements as well.
The deck was built to handle 100 lb per square foot load. It weighs in at a little over 1 million lbs with a counterweight of about 1.6 million lbs. The skywalk deck floor consists of 6 layers of low-iron glass and structural interlayer glass, which is what gives it its structural integrity while still allowing visitors to see directly below them to the canyon floor.
The “walls” of the skywalk are made of the same glass, but are only 3 layers thick and stand at just over 5 feet tall with a curve in them designed for a better viewing experience. As only 120 visitors are allowed on the skywalk at one time (even though it could handle over 800), the skywalk truly delivers a breath-taking experience.
Keep in mind though, as you walk out onto the skywalk, you will be standing over the canyon at a height that is taller than the Gateway Arch, the Empire State Building and the CN Tower combined. Enjoy the views!
Grand Canyon Skywalk 2 The Grand Canyon Skywalk: Stepping Over the Edge
Image By wikimedia
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Craig Ferguson - The lost Dr. Who Cold Open

youtube.com — Minutes before the start of Craig Ferguson's Doctor Who special, he was informed no one acquired the rights to the Doctor Who theme song. Here is the awesome we missed out on. 21 hr 54 min ago

Billie Joe Armstrong To Join ‘American Idiot’ Musical For 50 Shows

By Travis Woods
From http://beatcrave.com/
Picture 13 Billie Joe Armstrong To Join American Idiot Musical For 50 Shows
Apparently Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong got a kick out of performing in the Broadway musical version of his band’s American Idiot album (God help us), as, according to Billboard, he has signed on for 50 more performances (ok, He’s not helping us).

“Producers said Tuesday the Green Day frontman will reprise the role of St. Jimmy in the punk rock musical that his songs inspired beginning Jan. 1 and ending Feb. 27 at The St. James Theatre.
“Armstrong will appear in the show in three large chunks – Jan. 1-9, Jan. 18-30 and Feb. 10-27. Original Broadway cast member Tony Vincent will end his run as St. Jimmy on Dec. 30.”
Apparently, when Armstrong made his Broadway debut in American Idiot last September, the box office was over $1 million, as opposed to the show’s usual, non-Armstrong take, which last week was $600,000, according to Billboard.  So it makes sense to toss Armstrong in—hey, it can’t be any worse than having a Broadway musical based on a teenager given super powers by a radioactive spider with music written by U2, right?  Right?

Daft Punk Tron: Legacy Soundtrack Broken Down to 21 Minutes




Find more artists like Hollywood Records at Myspace Music

We promised you the most comprehensive preview of the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack on the Internet and you got… well, the most comprehensive preview of the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack on the Internet.

Here it is: A condensed version of the soundtrack, paired down to one continuous 21-minutes-track filled with Daft Punk goodness. And, as you’ll hear, the French electro godfathers did not disappoint. It’s sort of like a mix CD of all the moments on the soundtrack that you will hear once it’s released this Tuesday, but boiled down to the best parts. Enjoy.

Magic Chair

Chinese Student Lives In Tiny Green Egg House

by Lloyd Alter
from http://www.treehugger.com/
tiny house china egg minihome photo
Images credit Zhao Kang

Rents in Beijing are high, so designer Daihai Fei built himself a wonderful little green home that may well become a new icon for the Tiny House Movement.
Tipster Spooky writes:

Daihai Fei built his amazing egg-house on a bamboo frame, covered with various insulating materials, and topped with a layer of stitched bag. The bags themselves are filled with sawdust and grass seeds, which he sprays with water regularly, to help the grass grow faster. Inspired by the grass-covered roofs of Norway, he knows the grass will over greater protection for his home. On the inside, he has all the necessary facilities, including a bed, a small sink, a lamp powered by a small solar panel and even a tiny bookshelf.
tiny house china egg minihome photo
It looks quite comfy, and it is parked right across the street from where he works so that he saves on time and transit. (That is another virtue we preach about mobile living)
tiny house china egg minihome photo
I am not certain what keeps the water out; burlap bags do not exactly work like shingles. He also appears to use public facilities rather than having any in the egg.
tiny house china egg minihome photo
The solar panel is nicely integrated into the roof. Daihai Fei built the whole thing for only 6,400 yuan ($960).
More at Oddity Central

NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures)

From: http://gizmodo.com/5704158/nasa-finds-new-life

NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures)
Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything. Updated.

At their conference today, NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe Simon will announce that they have found a bacteria whose DNA is completely alien to what we know today. Instead of using phosphorus, the bacteria uses arsenic. All life on Earth is made of six components: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Every being, from the smallest amoeba to the largest whale, share the same life stream. Our DNA blocks are all the same.

NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures) 
The new life forms up close, at five micrometers.

But not this one. This one is completely different. We knew that there were microorganisms that processed arsenic, but this bacteria—discovered in the poisonous Mono Lake, California—is actually made of arsenic, with phosphorus absent from its DNA. The implications of this discovery are enormous to our understanding of life itself and the possibility of finding beings in other planets that don't have to be like planet Earth.

NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures) 
Even closer, showing their internal structure.
No details have been disclosed about the origin or nature of this new life form. We will know more today at 2pm EST but, while this life hasn't been found in another planet, this discovery does indeed change everything we know about biology. I don't know about you but I've not been so excited about a bacteria since my STD tests came back clean. And that's without counting yesterday's announcement on the discovery of a massive number of red dwarf stars, which may harbor a trillion Earths, dramatically increasing our chances of finding extraterrestrial life. [NOS—In Dutch]
Mono Lake photography by Sathish J — Creative Commons