Category: Dreams

Explorations of Nature’s Beauty

My friend and fellow photographer, Daniel Buckscott, has been blessed with many things. I think the one that I’m most envious of is the fact that he gets the opportunity to explore so many of natures beautiful places as part of his ongoing efforts to document it, educate others and protect the environment.

In time, I look forward to exploring with him, or even on my own. I have a feeling that with a little bit of Huck-Finn like energy, and a bit of cash, I could find some pretty cool, and remote, places. Here’s a quick example of what can be done with an afternoon and a helicopter (and camera & kayak & model):

icefield-kayaking

PS – Daniel, I hope, if you find this, that you consider it an honor that I’d love to do some of the things that you’ve already done! And, while I didn’t ask for permission to post this image, I am very hopeful that you’ll allow me to continue using it while I direct people to your awesome website: http://wildernesspeaks.com/

What it all means

Watch this. It’s of course slanted towards the photographer, as it was originally drafted & posted on Scott Kelby’s blog as a guest post, but it resonates with the soul because of his honest review. 100 mph on a dead end road, or something more significant?

Mushrooms and Shock Waves

The other day I sat down to watch Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (number IV) and saw a scene that for some reason sparked another idea of something cool to do in life.

I’m not sure how it will exactly work as I’m not particularly interested in being anywhere near an nuclear bomb, but nonetheless, I suddenly found myself interested in witnessing an explosion large enough to have a mushroom cloud and a shockwave. I think it’d be best if all participants had to be at least half a mile away for safety reasons.

Here’s a quick (bootlegged) clip from that scene in the movie that sparked my interest. In retrospect, I’m not totally sure why this would give me that “oh, I’ve gotta do that” sense. I guess I’ll take it where I get it!

Ronn Scorpion

Wow. I’m in love.

I like to drive fast, I like to recycle – this car is the perfect match for me. It’s a hydrogen powered sports car! Whee!

It’s only $150,000 and will be out sometime in 2009. Put down your $1000 “production reservation” fee to make sure you get one of the 200 produced!

Check out more details here: http://ronnmotors.com/cms/

Ronn Scorpion

Tempest Tours

What a neat idea. TempestTours.com allows folks with no experience with big mid-west storms to brave the elements with either a camera or a binky in hand — they chase storms for the sake of tourism!

Tempest Tours

You can visit any number of locations with varying themes to the tours. Most seem to be 10days/11nights or less. Oh! And you get a free tee-shirt!

Wanna join me on a tour?

“The Most Peaceful House Ever”

I recently installed a plugin to assist with crawling the web for particularly interesting pages quickly. One of the pages that came across my view was “The Most Peaceful House Ever“. I thought I would capture the photos and comment a bit about what I would like to have at some point in a future home.

Peaceful_00

I love the idea of a broad view of the surrounding area; I don’t feel a strong need to overlook water or a valley below, but having a vantage point with a view seems to be imperative. Perhaps a deck like this would allow for unobstructed views of a beautiful night sky, or city skyline.

 

 

Peaceful_01

Another view of what this deck is overlooking. Notice the open sensation through the use of windows and light color wood!

 

 

 

 

 

Peaceful_02

A hot tub, in the open air, with a view? What more could someone want? This edgeless variety rings of the possibility of a romantic evening with the wife, or just a relaxing way to unwind from traveling or playing with the kids!

 

 

 

Peaceful_03

This mist makes it look a bit surreal, but the I like this look of landscaping. A bricked path makes for easy and classy navigation, and the sign helps visitors make their way around. I love the lofted structures in the background. I might even consider a slightly higher version to accomplish a more removed and relaxed sense. Naturally, these buildings would be fully outfitted with the latest in tech advancements.

 

Peaceful_04

Another pool for relaxing in the sun. with my fair complexion, I might consider some type of light sun protection. As I think about having children, I think I’d want the far edge to have something there rather than a sheer drop off; maybe a grassy hill?

 

 

Peaceful_05

A close up of the lofted buildings! These are such a classy way to handle a myriad of needs. In this case, the previous sign suggested that one of these buildings was for a library, but I could easily see a guest house/room, a reading room, a nap-room, or just a play-house for myself and the kids.

 

Peaceful_06

The inside of one of the lofted guest rooms. Plenty of natural light. Comfortable seating and bedding. Professionally finished. I think I agree with using a light color wood to encourage the positive and natural atmosphere.

 

 

 

Do you have thoughts on what you might do if this were yours? Please comment!

The SleepTracker Watch

I like this idea, quite a bit. It’s been a desire of mine to really hone in on what my sleep cycles are like so that I can sleep an as little as possible, but still be completely recharged. I’ve never really enjoyed the alarm clock, so if I had the opportunity to rouse myself when my sleep cycle most supported it, that’d be great!

I nabbed the following details from their website at http://www.thesleepwatch.com

Check it out:

SleepWatch Lite  Sleepwatch Pro

“An innovative device designed to monitor your sleep cycles and awaken you at the optimal moment, leaving you refreshed and ready to start the day.

SLEEPTRACKER is ideal for anyone who wants to wake up alert and ready to start the day, such as frequent travelers across time zones, business people looking for that extra edge, students with fluctuating schedules, or busy moms who need to wake up easily. When you set the ALARM WINDOW, SLEEPTRACKER wakes you when you feel like you’re already awake — at one of those frequent times during a night’s sleep when you’re almost awake but usually drift back to sleep.”

10 Most Incredible Things to Do Before You Die

This article is by Nelson Doyle, Oct 6, 2007, of trifter.com

Wow! Can you imagine the adrenaline rush you could get from these 10 amazing activities!

It would cost a pretty penny to engage in most of these activities, but what the heck, you can’t take it with you anyway and if you should die in pursuit of completing this list, then you’ll have died doing what only a handful of other people have done in their lifetime. Continue reading 10 Most Incredible Things to Do Before You Die

House-on-a-Stick at home on land, sea or air

What a nifty idea. What about having several of them as forts throughout a property so that you can have a base camp to view wildlife. Think of it as a tree fort with it’s own tree!

This article was snagged from a post at scifi.com. I thought it’d fit nicely with cool ideas for the future.

-cb

House-on-a-Stick at home on land, sea or air

house_on_a_stick.jpg

We like to see houses built in odd locations, and this one’s a perfect example. Borrowing ideas from lollipops and billboards, a group of Polish architects designed this dwelling that sits atop a mast, giving you a two-story house that can be built just about anywhere. Its cantilevered design makes it easy to balance on top of a pole, which you see here pile-driven into a lake bed or sea bottom, or even bolted onto the side of a mountain.

The house’s narrow depth might result in cramped quarters with the dimensions of a large closet, but with strong enough steel, the cantilever principle could also be used to build it wider. We’d like to place solar panels on one side, and then install an electric motor to slowly and quietly rotate the house to maximize exposure to the sun throughout the day. — Charlie White