2010

Japanese poison gas production island now paradise for rabbits

by Scott Carmichael on Dec 27, 2010

Once home to a large scale poison gas production facility, Okunoshima Island is now considered a ‘rabbit paradise’. The Japanese island produced gas for the Imperial Army from 1929 till 1945, but was “erased” from the map of Japan for obvious reasons.

The first rabbit was beleived to call the island its home when a school teacher abandoned a couple of rabbits no longer welcome at school. And of course, with rabbits being rabbits, the population quickly grew.

The island is receiving more (human) visitors than ever thanks to next year’s zodiac animal, which is of course the rabbit. Photos of the rabbits are being used for greeting cards, personal blog posts and a fake residency certificate. A local hotel even used the rabbits for a New Year’s card design contest.

The island is about 60 miles from Hiroshima in the Seto inland sea. A ferry carries visitors from nearby Takehara.

[Photo from Flickr/Rankun76]

Carnival steering cruise biz through uncharted social waters

by Chris Owen on Dec 27, 2010

Riding the bumper of last weeks designation as official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Years Eve 2011 celebration, Carnival Cruise Lines launched this week a campaign that “inspires people to try new things to add more fun to their lives.” Carnival kind of “fun” that is.

Last week, Carnival invited everyone to get in on their signature “fun” by visiting their New Years Eve “Wishing Wall.” Visitors have been sharing their hopes and dreams for 2011 on slips of red, white and blue paper that will be added to the confetti used on New Years Eve. Make that a ton of confetti all falling literally in-your-face engagingly on Times Square.

“As a company that is built upon fun and memorable vacation experiences, we thought that it was time to help Americans put fun on the front burner,” said Jim Berra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Born this week is Carnivals “Hey America, DidJa Ever?” element where the line is collecting the “Top 100 Firsts” from over 420,000 Facebook fans. Fans are encouraged to tighten up relationships by sharing experiences through photos and videos aimed to create events and memories. Carnival will help make those dreams come true for fans giving away anything from cruise vactions for four to appearing on stage with a favorite band.

Carnival is tightly focused on incorporating the fun element in life for all, consulting Robert Mack, celebrity life coach and author of the best-selling book, “Happiness From the Inside Out: The Art and Science of Fulfillment.” He reasons that to live your best life, inspirational personal goals are the key, saying “If you can stay engaged and keep it fun, you’ll be more committed.”

Indeed, the line has quietly committing itself to social platforms, capitalizing on the signature “fun” element that pervades their culture. Carnival’s senior cruise director John Heald has a popular long-running blog, the company’s twitter handle, @CCLSupport, takes care of guest relations issues swiftly, the line’s website promotes more interactivity and even the line’s new batch of commercials feature actual guests having a good dose of that fun.

It looks to be a seamless package with plenty of room for expansiion that other lines will no doubt try to duplicate shortly.

Flickr photo by familymwr

Daily gear deals: $40 noise canceling headphones, $12 Bluetooth headset and more

by Scott Carmichael on Dec 27, 2010

Here are the hottest daily gear deals for today, Monday December 27, 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today’s first deal is for a pair of Q:Electronics active noise canceling headphones. The headphones come with 2 plug adapters and run off 2 AAA batteries. On sale for $39.99, click here for this deal.

A Canon digital camera for just over $100? The highly rated SD1300IS shoots in 12.1 megapixels and features a 4x optical zoom. On sale for $107.99. Click here for this deal.

Do more with your (new) camera when you learn how to use Photoshop Elements. On sale for $72.99 – with a $50 mail in rebate, bringing the price down to just $52.99 (rebate form is on the product page). Click here for this deal.

And finally in today’s lineup is a great deal on the Jabra BT2080 Bluetooth headset. On sale for
$11.99, includes an AC charger and user guide. Click here for this deal.

British team sets new speed record for Antarctic crossing

by Kraig Becker on Dec 27, 2010

In late November, a group of British adventurers and scientists set off on a mission to the interior of the Antarctic continent in specially designed research vehicles. Their plan was to undertake several environmental research experiments while journeying through one of the most in hospitable environments on the planet, but they also managed to set a new speed record for an Antarctic crossing at the same time.

Dubbed the Moon-Regan Transantarctic Expedition in favor of its two organizers, Andrew Moon and Andrew Regan, the plan was for the team to conduct research along the way. For example, they collected samples of the Antarctic snow in order to test the impact of pollutants in the atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere on the frozen continent itself. They also drove a specially designed snow buggy, powered by biofuels, in order to see how those experimental fuels performed in extreme conditions.

By all accounts, those research elements came off very well, but the real success of the mission was the speed crossing. It took the team just 13 days to drive from the Union Glacier Base to the Ross Ice Shelf, by way of the South Pole, on the far side of the continent. The expedition covered 1209 miles in 303 hours, using specially designed ground penetrating radar to help them avoid crevasses and other obstacles.

The expediton actually reached their destination back on December 9th, but then turned around and made the return trip so that the 10-man team, along with all their research vehicles and gear, could be plucked from the ice by Antarctic-Logistics and Expeditions, a company that specializes in delivering explorers to Antarctica. That happened last week, when the team was returned to Punta Arenas, Chile before making their way back home in time for the holidays.

Taking just 13 days to cross Antarctica is quite an impressive feat. While the team did indeed use motorized vehicles to do it, the terrain that they crossed is quite brutal on any kind of machine and the cold weather played havoc with their engines at times. Throw in the very real danger of driving into a crevasse, and you can start to appreciate the challenges of such a drive. This just might have been the most challenging road trip ever.

[Photo credit: Moon-Regan Transantarctic Expedition]

Breaking- Blizzard bearing down on cruise ports, delay announced

by Chris Owen on Dec 27, 2010

Strong winds and heavy snow closing in on the United States East coast promise to alter the travel plans of guests booked on sailings the first part of the week. Already, one delay has been reported and cruise lines are keeping a close eye on the storm and it’s effect on ships and airline schedules.

Carnival Fantasy’s arrival in Charleston, South Carolina, normally at 8 a.m. EST, “will be delayed by several hours due to inclement offshore weather” reports WCSC- TV news in Charleston. Embarking guests have been advised to arrive at the cruise port after 1:30 p.m. EST.

While no other ship delays have been announced so far, several other ships are scheduled to sail today. Norwegian Jewel sailing from New York should sail at 4 p.m. EST and Carnival Pride from Baltimore is scheduled to sail at 4:30 p.m. EST. No delays on those ships have been reported yet.

Delays to airline schedules for passengers both arriving and departing U.S. East coast airports servicing cruise passengers could cause modification of itineraries later in the day. During a major weather event, cruise lines sometimes hold sail-away, departing later than normal, to allow extra time for embarking guests to get to the ship.

This weather event prompts review of some important tips about cruise vacations:

Always arrive early to the city where your embarkation port is located, a day early in the Winter is a good idea just for this reason.
This weather event, which could cause cruise passengers to miss flights or the departure of a ship is also a really good reason to buy travel insurance that includes coverage for disruption of travel plans to or from the port.
Should travel plans be disrupted, those who booked using a travel agent may have an advantage over those who booked online.

Flickr photo by nesnet