NASA Removes The Ice From Antarctica For Our Best View Of The Continent Yet

by Kraig Becker on

Thanks to an incredibly thick layer of snow and ice, the topographical layout of the Antarctic continent has always remained shrouded in mystery, leaving geographers to ponder what exactly it looks like. Back in 2001, an extensive survey using modern technologies gave us our first real glimpse at Antarctica without the ice. That project resulted in a map called “Bedrock” that provided the most detailed view of the Antarctic surface ever seen, showing mountains, valleys and other hidden features.

Since then, NASA, along with the British Antarctic Survey, has been using satellites and specially equipped planes with laser-powered terrain sensors to fill in even more detail. Last week they released “Bedrock2” to truly show us how Antarctica would appear if all of the ice were removed. Judging from the images shown in the video below, the frozen continent is a wild, mountainous place that would remain rugged and demanding even if it weren’t buried under a mile of snow and ice.

Four Down Two Across: Eagle River, Wasilla And Mt. McKinley

by Will Shortz on

Sunday is the 160th day of the year, and my 160th consecutive day playing table tennis — on my quest to play table tennis every day in 2013.

As I mentioned yesterday, Robert and I stayed overnight in Eagle River, at the home of Boyd and Shirley Bennett, who could not have been more hospitable hosts. Also, they happen to have a professional-quality table tennis facility above their garage. Players started arriving around 11:30 am, and we played nonstop, both singles and doubles, until 3:30. Karl Augestad, of the Anchorage club, took lots of pictures and video, some of which he’ll probably post at akttc.squarespace.com. Boyd doesn’t play anymore, but he watched and conversed with us from the sidelines, smiling the whole time.

At one point Shirley brought out Boyd’s Golden Ulu, a gold medal he won in table tennis at the first Arctic International Games. An ulu is a curved Eskimo knife, a word I knew previously only from crosswords.

After a late lunch and a shower, Robert and I hit the road, heading north to Denali National Park, passing through Wasilla (Sarah Palin’s home) on the way. From the highway at least, Wasilla is just an undistinguished commercial strip.Around 7:30 we reached the edge of the park, where we’re staying at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. It’s on top of a mountain, facing Mt. McKinley — unfortunately obscured by clouds this evening. We hope to get a better view in the morning.

Regarding yesterday’s puzzle, there is an almost-answer in 4 steps — EAGLE, GLARE, GRAVE, GIVER, RIVER. However, the directions specified that there must be a rearrangement of letters at each step. So I think the best answer, in 5 steps, is EAGLE, GLARE, RAVEL, LOVER, VIREO RIVER. If you can do better, let me know.

Meanwhile, here’s an easy new teaser: Rearrange the letters of DENALI in three different ways to spell common, uncapitalized words. One of the three words is hyphenated. The other two are solid. I’m not counting ALINED as a common word. Can you do it?

Follow Will and Robert’s Trip across Alaska through next week at “Four Down Two Across.”

Video: Inner City Surfing, The Latest Urban Adventure Craze

by Laurel Miller on

Germany and China don’t immediately call to mind hanging 10, but that’s about to change. The latest urban extreme sport pastime in these cities is urban surfing the big waves on their river systems. As reported by CNN, Munich’s Eisbach River and Hangzhou’s Qiantang River are fast becoming two of the world’s top spots for inner-city surfing.

Lest you think this is for those who can’t cut it on the ocean, it’s not for the faint-hearted. Each fall on the Qiantang, the world’s largest tidal bore, “a wave that travels against the current,” flows upriver. This creates waves up to 27 feet high, traveling at nearly 25 miles per hour. Surfers need to be towed in by jet-ski to ride the “Silver Dragon,” as it’s known.

Living in a land-locked place and thinking of taking up the sport? Watch this clip for inspiration (or a reality check).

Video: A Time-Lapse Tour Of Shanghai

by Adam Hodge on


Rob Whitworth’s time-lapses are always a cut above. His unique tracking and morphing shots draw you into a city’s routine and accurately sketch its character. His panning and zooming give the sensation of flying around a city and dropping in on its denizens for a look around at ground level before taking to the air again.

He’s applied his time-lapse talent to other Asian cities before, notably Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Hoi An, Vietnam, but this is his first video from China. Shanghai makes for a particularly apropos canvas. Its rapid development in the past few decades has draped a curtain of skyscrapers and high-rise apartment towers on a frame of traditional longtang alleys and lanes.

A cursory look at Shanghai would show the snarled motorways and brightly lit commercial towers of Pudong. However, Whitworth takes care to contrast the city’s frenetic development with its more human character: a flower vendor navigating traffic, her cart piled high with bouquets and potted plants; Shanghainese preparing and munching on the city’s famous dumplings; and even a brief flyby of the city’s fledgling Moganshan art district.

Four Down Two Across: Homer, Alaska

by Will Shortz on


Saturday morning, at the Ocean Shores motel in Homer, I was sitting at the desk peering out the big window at the water. I saw splashing in the distance. I asked Robert, “Is that a whale?”

Indeed it was. In fact, it was one of four whales, swimming up the sound, their backs visible in the water. Over the next hour or so we saw probably 20 whales altogether. A beautiful start for the day.

After breakfast at McDonald’s, we drove to Soldotna, a town of 5,000 about 90 minutes north, to play with the Soldotna Table Tennis Club. During the academic year the club plays at a school, then breaks for the summer. Since school was now closed, and we still wanted to play, special arrangements were made at the Soldotna Elks Club, which has two tables in a gym in the basement. Most of the club members were away, but six of us (including two teens) showed up, playing from noon to 2:30. We had a good time and a great workout.

Back on the road, Robert and I stopped for lunch again at Suzie’s Cafe in Sterling. Robert had his favorite, a chickenburger, while I tried the hot open turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. This is the very definition of “comfort food.”A little after 6 pm we arrived in Eagle River, just north of Anchorage, at the home of Boyd and Shirley Bennett. Boyd, 84, is many-time table tennis champion of Alaska, the first table tennis champion of the Arctic International Games, the coach of many younger Alaskan players, and the first inductee (in 2005) into the Alaska Table Tennis Hall of Fame.

Now with a couple of titanium rods in his back, Boyd doesn’t play anymore, but he’s still enthusiastic about the game. Boyd and Shirley built a wing on their house to hold two table tennis tables. The lighting, flooring, and overall conditions are professional. An Eagle River Table Tennis Club used to play here. After dinner Robert and I played a best-of-seven match, with Boyd and Shirley watching from the side. Robert spotted me 8 points per 11-point game. I ended up winning 4 games to 2, but as the score suggests, it wasn’t easy. Conversation about table tennis and lots more ran late into the evening.

Regarding yesterday’s puzzle, my answer was HORSESHOER.

Here’s a new challenge: Take the word EAGLE. Change one letter in it and rearrange the result to make a new word. Then change one letter in that and rearrange the result to make another word. And so on. How many steps does it take to change EAGLE into RIVER? Only common, uncapitalized words are allowed.

Follow Will and Robert’s Trip across Alaska through next week at “Four Down Two Across.”