Photo Of The Day: Kalalau Trail Hikers

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day comes from Gadling Flickr pool member Buck Forester who captured the image in Kauai, Hawaii. The image is titled “Kalalau Trail Hikers.”

The Kalalau Trail runs along the coast of Kauai approximately 11 miles (18 kilometers) on the island’s north shore from Keʻe Beach to the Kalalau Valley. Experienced, fit hikers complete the trail in a day, but most people require two days and will also camp along the trail.

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Airlines Push Entertainment Options, Legroom Too, Eventually

by Chris Owen on

It sounds like a dream come true for many airline passengers. A new generation of technology promises to deliver in-seat headphones, video screens and the ability for airline passengers to use their own devices – all the time. But at what cost? Existing technology runs through miles of leg room-consuming wire threaded through seats, but the future promises great entertainment and more space too.

Right now, the trend differs. “It’s of more value for an airline to add two rows worth of seats and have a good inflight entertainment system rather than do the opposite and give passengers more legroom,” aviation writer Mary Kirby told Technology Spectator.

Looking to the future, TriaGnoSys has teamed with Siemens to launch what the two firms say is the smallest, most complete in-flight entertainment and connectivity solution available.

The new system will replace expensive, leg room-consuming technology and can provide:

“The fact it incorporates both IFE content and connectivity makes it possible to provide live updates, for example for news, sport and destination information,” said Siemens CMT vice-president of technology Gerald Schreiber in Electronics Weekly.

All the necessary airborne hardware used with the new system is small and light enough to be mounted within the ceiling panel and connects to the aircraft’s existing communications system.

The idea is that once seats are free of wires and cables, airlines can use less bulky seats.

It would be a win for airlines, enabling them to maintain the number of seats they need to make their profit recipe work out.

It could be a win for air passengers as less bulky seats give back legroom, unless airlines get greedy and add more, less bulky seats.


Flickr photo by hugojcardoso

What Goes On At Sea World At Night?

by Grant Martin on

Sea World, one of nation’s top destinations, is known for being one of the heaviest trafficked, family friendly places. But not when the gates close at night, the park transforms.

Over on Reddit there’s an ongoing Q & A with “hghost,” a graveyard worker at Sea World. Here is a cross section of some of the best questions posed by users and answered by the worker. Note, quotes are taken verbatim.

Q: What is your job? Security? looking after the animals?
A: The official title is “night ops” basically janitorial work.

Q: Any crazy, aquatic tales of the night life? Or is it just creepy? Its creepy that’s for sure.
A: At about sunrise the dolphins and whales go crazy. Every night at about the same time the dogs will wake up and start barking and howling. Same with the sea lions

Q: Do you know why?
A: From what I know of the whales and dolphins is that they don’t sleep. Unlike us, they have to think of breathing to actually breathe. So every morning they, like most of us, are well rested and have energy to burn. As for the dogs, I’m not sure. That’s what dogs do I suppose.Q: Are those outdoor penguins kept outside overnight? If so, are they as awesome at night as they are during the day? Or are they mostly sleeping? When I was there last, I saw them getting tummy rubs from an employee and had I recorded it, it probably would have been worth like a million karma.
A: They’re out all night in their exhibit usually sleeping. Every so often there’s one or two pulling an all mightier walking around their exhibit quietly. At about 530 or 6 every morning they start to wake up and sound like they’re singing to each other. One will start it and then the others repeat. Reminds me of the music numbers in happy feet.

Q: Do you bond with Shamu? Can you put in a good word with him for me?
A: The whales as well as some other animals learn to recognize you and will usually come up and greet you or try to “talk” to you. He’s too big of a star. Maybe Dolly or O.p

Q: What’s the worst incident that you’ve had to deal with?
A: Having trash bags rip spilling trash all over the place including on my clothes. Smells bad

Q: Do you take dates to Sea World or can you not stand the place?
A: Yeah, I have in the past. Its a fun place, I enjoy it there so I like to go on my time off usually. I like the educational aspect of the park. Manta is amazing too. So that also helps…

Q: Dude how creepy is it by the tanks w/ no lights? Oh my god, just thinking about being by a shark tank in the dark just makes me want to cry!
A: Yeah the creepiest tank to be by is the killer whale one. Because down in the under water viewing it is near pitch black darkness and all you can see is the big white spot of the killer whales “eye patch” swim by slowly as it watches you. The sharks that I see aren’t so bad. I think its just the massive size of the whale.

Q: What’s your favorite of the animals you encounter at work? Why?
A: I’d probably have to go with the dolphins, because they never sleep so tend to watch us work when we’re around their tank. They will learn to recognize what you look like and come up and greet you and follow you around their tank. Here are some watching me sweep up. They’re fascinated by a lot

Q: Do you ever come across animals that just up and die in the middle of the night, and need to fish them out, or are the sickly ones identified well enough in advance that you don’t end up with floaters?
A: I personally haven’t but each of the main animals get full medical exams and vitamins and all that daily so they are kept under close watch. If they’re looking sick they go to the veterinary area of the park

Q: Are you ever afraid you’ll get murdered there in a Scooby-Dooesque manner?
A: No because I know creepy Mr Jenkins wanders around in his Bigfoot costume. There are parts I try to avoid when the lights get shut of and the parts of the park turn to near pitch black.

5 Of The World’s Best Places For Viewing The Night Skies

by Laurel Miller on

If you grow up in Southern California, school field trips to the Griffith Observatory are practically a requirement. For whatever reason, I always found the Planetarium more frightening than enlightening, especially in the sixth grade, when David Fink threw up on me on the bus ride home.

Despite many youthful camping trips with my family, I also can’t recall ever paying attention to the night skies (possibly because many of these trips were in the cloudy Pacific Northwest). Fast-forward 20-odd years, and to a solo camping trip on Kauai’s North Shore. It was my last night and the rainclouds had finally blown away. I stared up at the starry sky awestruck. It’s the first time l ever really noticed the stars, due to the lack of light and environmental pollution. I’ve been a stargazer ever since, and coincidentally, many of my travels have taken me to some of the world’s best locations for it.

Below, my picks for top-notch night skies, no student chaperone required:

Atacama Desert, Chile
This stark, Altiplano region in Chile’s far north is the driest desert on earth, as well as home to the some of the clearest night skies on the planet. You don’t need anything (other than perhaps a great camera) to appreciate the stars, but a stargazing tour, offered by various hotels, hostels and outfitters throughout the town of San Pedro de Atacama, is well worth it.

I highly recommend the Astronomy Tour offered by the Alto Atacama Hotel & Spa, located just outside of San Pedro proper. For hotel guests only, this two-year-old program is led by one of the property’s guides, a naturalist and astronomer. The hotel has its own observation deck and a seriously badass telescope; you won’t be disappointed even if stargazing isn’t your thing. In addition to learning the constellations of ancient Quechua myth such as the Llama and Condor, you’ll have incredible views of the Milky Way, and be able to see telescopic images of Sirius and Alpha Centauri with a lens so powerful you can actually see a ring of flame flickering from their surface.

%Gallery-157717%Exmouth, Western Australia
Uluru (aka the former Ayers Rock, which now goes by its Aboriginal name) is considered Australia’s best stargazing, due to its location in exactly the middle of nowhere. In reality, the Outback in general has night skies completely untainted by pollution. But as I’ve discovered after many years of visiting Australia, the only bad places to stargaze are urban areas. The skies are also stellar above remote coastal regions, most notably in Western Australia (which is vast and sparsely populated).

The best skies I’ve seen are in Exmouth, located along the Ningaloo Reef. At Sal Salis, a coastal luxury safari camp, an observation platform and stargazing talk will help you make sense of the Southern sky. Be prepared for striking views of the Milky Way stretching across the horizon, seemingly close enough to touch.

Mauna Kea, Hawaii
In 1991, the year of the Total Solar Eclipse, hundreds of thousands of visitors flocked to the Big Island’s Mauna Kea Observatory – located at the top of the volcano – to watch the sky grow dark mid-morning. I was waiting tables on Maui, so all I noticed was a brief dimming, in conjunction with some of my tables pulling a dine-and-dash. A visit to the volcano, however, will assure you stunning views if you take a Sunset and Stargazing Tour offered by Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. Day visitors can hike, and even ski in winter.

Bryce Canyon, Utah
This national park, known for its bizarre rock spires (called “hoodoos”) and twisting red canyons, is spectacular regardless of time of day or season. On moonless nights, however, over 7,500 stars are visible, and park rangers and volunteer astronomers lead Night Sky programs that include multimedia presentations and high-power telescopes; schedules and topics change with the seasons.

Churchill, Manitoba
Located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay on the fringe of the Arctic Circle, the village of Churchill is famous for three things: polar bears, beluga whales and the Northern Lights. Its location beneath the Auroral Oval means the “best and most Northern Lights displays on the planet,” according to Churchill’s website, and you don’t need to sign up for a tour to enjoy the show. Save that for the polar bear viewing.

[Photo credits: Atacama, Frank Budweg; Mauna Kea, Flickr user sambouchard418;Aurora Borealis, Flickr user Bruce Guenter]

Photo Of The Day: Kalalau Beach

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Kalalau Beach – the name alone sounds like something that might bubble out of your mouth in an overheated tropical stupor.

Or maybe these are just the words of someone living in a rainy place.

Some context: two weekends ago, London was dreamily hot. As I reclined on a flannel sheet in Victoria Park in the afternoon shade, drinking a Pimm’s Cup and gazing at Londoners of all types and creeds, all deeply intoxicated by summer, it occurred to me that lazy, hot weekends are the point of life. All this all-weather hardiness is just for show. What we all long for is a perfect day outside under hot clear skies.

Not really, but I felt it then. And I remember it today, gazing out the window at rainy, cold (57 degrees!) London. This romantic image of Kalalau Beach on Kauai, shot at sunset by Flickr user Buck Forester, reminds me of how I felt that day.

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