Boom – See the Shock Wave June 8, 2017
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Science & Technology, Video.Tags: Explosion, Video
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Super SloMo
5MB IBM Hard Drive, 1956 February 23, 2017
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Technology.Tags: IBM, Technology
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Same Place, Different Time May 3, 2014
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Photography.Tags: Cool photos, History, World War II
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Beatles Just Before Crossing Abbey Road April 27, 2014
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Music.Tags: Abbey Road, Beatles, Cool photos, Music, the Beatles
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While the Beatles got ready for their iconic walk across Abbey Road, this pensioner chatted with Ringo. More out-takes from the shoot.
20 Years Later April 18, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Humor, Lifestyle, Music, Photography, Technology, Video.Tags: Cell Phones, Humor, Technology
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World’s Tallest Palm Trees April 9, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Columbia, Environment, Nature, Palm Trees
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Colombia’s lush Cocora Valley, part of Los Nevados National Park, is the principal home for the country’s national tree, the palma de cera, or wax palm. The lanky tree is the world’s tallest palm tree, reaching up to 200 feet tall. Photograph by Alex Treadway
via Cocora Valley, Colombia — Travel 365 — National Geographic.
Earth As Art February 20, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Art, Cool photos, Enviroment, Photography.add a comment
Click on the link to earth_art-ebook to download a pdf file of an amazing collection of earth views from 16 NASA satellites
Some of the instruments aboard the satellites collect data in different ranges of wavelengths of light. These “spectral bands” break up all the visible and invisible light into chunks: the reds, the blues, the greens and even infrared, a wavelength of light that humans can’t see.
When researchers piece the image data back together, they can be selective about which “bands” of light are displayed in the final image. “The selection depends on the intent of the analysis,” Friedl wrote in an email. “An analysis of vegetation would probably select the red, green and infrared bands — vegetation is ‘bright’ in those bands and the analyst could differentiate between the types or health of vegetation.”

Phytoplankton Bloom, Baltic Sea, 2005 Massive congregations of greenish phytoplankton swirl in the dark water around Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. Phytoplankton are microscopic marine plants that form the first link in nearly all ocean food chains. Blooms of phytoplankton, occur when deep currents bring nutrients up to sunlit surface waters.
Friedl says analysts generally don’t go out of their way to make images look surreal, but this kind of spectral analysis can be used to great effect. “There are whole books written on what band combinations to use to bring out certain features,” he told me. Like rocks: When studying the retreat of the glaciers of the Himalayas, Friedl says, you can train software to recognize the light signature of exposed rock. And instead of directly measuring the glaciers themselves, you can see where new rock is getting exposed year over year.
via Earth As Art: ‘How Did Nature Do That?’ : The Picture Show : NPR.
Marlin Sinks Boat February 1, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, In The News, Sports.Tags: Fishing, Sports
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Not all the details are in, but apparently the captain began backing down on the huge fish, a common practice in big-game fishing when a fish is taking line. He puts the boat in reverse to chase the fish.
One commenter on Marlin Magazine’s Facebook post who apparently had some knowledge of the incident said that the captain fell as he was backing down on the fish at full throttle. The boat took on too much water and, finally, there was no correcting the situation. So, indirectly, the fish sank the boat.
Marlin Magazine reported that the boat went to the bottom of the sea and everybody on board was rescued by the photo boat. And, of course, the fish got away. Or as Marlin Magazine put it on its Facebook post, “Marlin Wins!” Thanks Randy Marks
via A hooked marlin sinks a fishing boat? Well, something like that.
34 Famous Photos in History Colorized January 22, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Art, Cool photos.Tags: Cool photos, famous photographs, History, image collection
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Reddit user mygrapefruit and self-taught colorizer Sanna Dullaway has colorized famous photographs in history. You can find the entire 34-image collection on Imgur . http://imgur.com/a/wapUe Using a Wacom bamboo tablet and Photosohp, each photo takes anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
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Is Great White Following Kayak Picture Real? January 20, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Cool photos, Environment, Great White, Nature
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I’ve always wondered if the well-circulated image was rea. The Photographer’s notes sound quite convincing.
©Thomas P. Peschak
When this photograph was first published in Africa Geographic, BBC Wildlife and later in Paris Match and the Daily Mail (London) it resulted in a flurry of e-mails, phone calls and letters from around the world asking if the image was a fake. The image became the most talked about of shark photograph ever.
The photograph is real, no photoshop, no digital manipulation, no nothing, in fact it was shot on slide film Fuji Provia 100 using a Nikon F5 Camera and 17-35 mm lens. For those conspiracy fans who still doubt its authenticity please read how I took the photograph.
To capture this image I tied myself to the tower of the research boat Lamnidae and leaned into the void, precariously hanging over the ocean while waiting patiently for a white shark to come along. I wanted to shot a photograph that would tell the story of our research efforts to track white sharks using kayaks. When the first shark of the day came across our sea kayak it dove to the seabed and inspected it from below. I quickly trained my camera on the dark shadow which slowly transformed from diffuse shape into the sleek outline of a large great white. When the shark’s dorsal fin broke the surface I thought I had the shot, but hesitated a fraction of a second and was rewarded with marine biologist Trey Snow in the kayak turning around to look behind him. I pressed the shutter and the rest was history. Throughout the day I shot many more images, most showing the kayak following the shark, but all lacked the power of that first image of the great white tracking the kayak.
55′ Snake January 15, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Environment, Nature, Snake, Wildlife
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This picture is claimed to be from Malaysia, where workers cutting a road through the jungle inadvertently killed this estimated to be 120 year-old snake with the pictured excavator. The driver supposedly felt so bad that he cried at what he had done.
17′ Florida Python – The hunt is on for a new record January 13, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: burmese pythons, Environment, everglades national park, florida everglades, Nature, Python
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Some estimate that nearly 150,000 pythons are living in the Florida Everglades. Officials say the Burmese pythons are eating wildlife and with no natural predator, the population is overwhelming. The Everglades have become crowded with the snakes and the pythons have started to move into nearby neighborhoods. Last year, a Burmese python was caught and registered more than 17 feet long and 160 pounds. The catch set a new Everglades National Park record.
via Florida Python Hunt Launched to Curb Slithering Population – ABC News.
Vanishing Act: Camouflage in Nature January 10, 2013
Posted by tkcollier in Books, Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Cool photos, Environment, Nature
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In this astonishing new book, legendary wildlife photographer Art Wolfe turns to one of nature’s most fundamental survival techniques: the vanishing act. His portraits show animals and insects disappearing into their surroundings, using deceptions, disguises, lures, and decoys to confuse the eye of both predator and prey. Click on this link and hit the “Slideshow” option and see how many you can find.
Vanishing Act: Camouflage in Nature | Art Wolfe Stock Photography 888-973-0011.
What are the most surreal places one can ever visit? – Quora December 19, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Lifestyle.Tags: Cool photos, memorable places, outdoors, travel
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Travelers from all over the world post their most memorable places here.
(1) Travel: What are the most surreal places one can ever visit? – Quora.
Mt. Everest – In Incredible Composite Detail December 18, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: Cool photos, Environment, Everest, Extreme Sports, Nature, outdoors
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This gigapixel image of the Khumbu glacier was captured by David Breashears during the spring of 2012, from the Pumori viewpoint near Mount Everest. The Khumbu Icefall is clearly visible here, and one can easily see the hustle and bustle of Everest Base Camp below.
Click the image to enter gigapixel navigation, then use the controls at the bottom of the screen to zoom and pan and find climbers on the glacier and around the base camp tents, which will give you perspective on the scale of what you are viewing.
via Khumbu Glacier – Mt. Everest – The Glaciers of the Himalayas.
Arctic Ocean Flowers December 15, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment, Science & Technology.Tags: Arctic Ice, climate, Cool photos, Environment, Nature, Science
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These spiky little bunches of ice form on thin and new ice in the Arctic Ocean. But these badboys can only form under very special conditions:
1) Calm winds. We can’t have these beauties blown away can we?
2) Cold, cold air. It has to be about 20C less than the water and since seawater freezes around -2C, that means the air must be about -22C or -7.6F. BRRR.
Frost flowers form when newly formed ice sublimates, that is ice changes directly from a solid to a gas totally bypassing the liquid stage. Initially, the water vapor formed by sublimation is the same temperature as the sea ice, but gets quickly cooled by the cold air. The air is then becomes supersaturated with water vapor, which means the air has too water much in it. Air really doesn’t want to hold all that excess water vapor, so when the supersaturated air touches another ice crystal the water vapor quickly turns back into ice. (Click the image to enlarge)
30 Baby Animals That Will Make You Go ‘Aww’ December 8, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Lifestyle.Tags: Animals, Babies, Cute, Productivity
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I’m posting this link in the hopes that it will improve the economic productivity in our offices; based on this study
Over-the-Top Christmas Light Displays December 8, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Humor, Lifestyle.Tags: Christmas
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The Griswolds have nothing on these folks. Click on the red arrow to start the slide show from the link below
Spectacular Ice Caves in a Swiss Glacier November 24, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Sports.Tags: climate, outdoors, Science
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British adventure photographer Robbie Shone descended into the Gorner Glacier near Zermatt in Switzerland to capture spectacular pictures of ice caves
via British photographer Robbie Shone explores beautiful ice caves in a Swiss glacier – Telegraph.
Burma by Baloon November 22, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos.Tags: Photos, travel
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Click on the picture to view the Gallery.
Lenticular Clouds Over Mt. Rainier November 7, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Enviroment.Tags: clouds, weather
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Moist air forced to flow upward around mountain tops can create lenticular clouds. Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the dew point, and clouds are opaque groups of water droplets. Waves in the air that would normally be seen horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the different levels where clouds form. On some days the city of Seattle, Washington, USA, is treated to an unusual sky show when lenticular clouds form near Mt. Rainier, a large mountain that looms just under 100 kilometers southeast of the city. This image of a spectacular cluster of lenticular clouds was taken in 2008 December. Click picture to enlarge. Credit & Copyright: Tim Thompson
via APOD: 2012 November 4 – Lenticular Clouds Over Washington.
“Michaelangelo” of Pumpkin Carving October 29, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Art, Cool photos.Tags: Art, Halloween, Pumpkins
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In 2007 Villafane was contacted by High Noon Entertainment and asked to participate in the Food Network’s Challenge Show for a segment called “Outrageous Pumpkins”. He competed against three other professional pumpkin sculptors and won all three rounds to receive the grand prize.[2] The Food Network contacted Villafane again in 2009 to come back to the show and defend his title. He was also the grand prize winner for the “Outrageous Pumpkin Challenge II”. In 2011, he carved the world’s biggest pumpkin to resemble zombies.[3] From Wkipedia
The Pumpkins « Villafane Studios – Pumpkin Carving, Sand Sculpting, Action Figure Creating.
Saudis Finally Allow Women To Drive October 22, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Humor, In The News.Tags: Humor, Islam. Burka, Saudi Arabia
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Ouracing Enemy Missles in the World’s Fastest Plane October 12, 2012
Posted by tkcollier in Cool photos, Geopolitics, Technology.Tags: Cold War, Spy Plane, SR-71
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Excerpts from Sled Driver, the amazing book by one of the SR-71 pilots, Major Brian Shul:
In April 1986, following an attack on American soldiers in a Berlin disco, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Muammar Qaddafi’s terrorist camps in Libya. My duty was to fly over Libya and take photos recording the damage our F-111’s had inflicted. Qaddafi had established a ‘line of death,’ a territorial marking across the Gulf of Sidra , swearing to shoot down any intruder that crossed the boundary. On the morning of April 15, I rocketed past the line at 2,125 mph.
I was piloting the SR-71 spy plane, the world’s fastest jet, accompanied by Maj Walter Watson, the aircraft’s reconnaissance systems officer (RSO). We had crossed into Libya and were approaching our final turn over the bleak desert landscape when Walter informed me that he was receiving missile launch signals. I quickly increased our speed, calculating the time it would take for the weapons-most likely SA-2 and SA-4 surface-to-air missiles capable of Mach 5 – to reach our altitude. I estimated that we could beat the rocket-powered missiles to the turn and stayed our course, betting our lives on the plane’s performance