Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Sept. 11-Sept. 18

Perhaps you noticed that Monday was Weird America at Gadling. Granted, it may seem that many days are weird at Gadling, but Monday’s post centered on the odd and unusual. Caves, squirrels, monsters, ghosts, mysterious structures, Superman, leaping postmen and a gigantic tire were part of the mix.

But that’s not all that showed up in our offerings. These are some you may have missed in the line-up.

  • In the middle of August, when my son, daughter and I became part of the masses that were visiting Venice, I wondered if anyone actually lived there. It was hard to tell. Katie’s post tells about one possible solution to the crush. Ban day-trippers.
  • If you’ve ever wondered what happens to planes once they’ve outlived their use, Scott has proof on one answer. Planes with the Mojave Desert make an interesting visual mix.
  • Reading Tom’s post on the reopening of the Sanctuary Swala in Tanzania is one way to develop travel envy. Although a stay there is not cheap, there are deals that can make a stay there within reach. Besides, wouldn’t this be a stay of a lifetime?
  • Although it may be too late to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival this year since it’s happening this weekend, this festival is one to put on next year’s calendar. Brenda details what makes the longest running jazz festival in the world so outstanding.
  • Here’s an event I’d love to attend. Jeremy gave a heads up to one of the most creative festival ideas. At the Sydney International Food Festival in October, each participating country’s flag will be represented by food in a way that also represents that country. How cool is that?

Here’s to hoping you’re having an outstanding weekend no matter where you are and what’s on your agenda.

The Mojave Desert boneyard – where old planes go to slowly die

I’m a sucker for photos of dying airplanes. There is something both disturbing, and peaceful about seeing the workhorses of the sky slowly fall apart in the desert sun.

Mental Floss has a fantastic lineup of photos showing an airplane boneyard in the Mojave Desert that I can highly recommend you check out. Be sure to take a look at the photo of an aircraft interior with the Skymall catalog still in the seat pocket. Those damn catalogs are just like planes – they too refuse to go down without a fight.

For full size versions of the photos, be sure to check out the site of the photographer, Ransom Riggs, his work is amazing, and I’m really grateful he took the time to finagle his way into the boneyard to take these photos.

Google Wants a Moon Rover Bad: More Private Space Travel to Follow?

Fly me to the moon. If it’s a robot you’re talking about, you’re on. Google has a grand plan. The company will pay 30 million dollars to the company that can make them a robotic moon rover, get it there, and get it to beam images and a video back to Earth so they can put it on their Web site. This endeavor is being run like a contest. Any private company in the world that can do this by the end of 2012 gets the dough. If there isn’t anyone who is successful by then, the contest is still on until 2014, but the prize money drops to $15 million.

If you have a private company that might be up to the task, here’s a little check list to help you keep track of the Google X Prize contest requirements. The moonrover must be able to:

  • survive a landing with cameras and high definition video in working order
  • trek at least 1,312 feet on the moon
  • take pictures of itself, plus panoramic shots and a real time video (close to real time)
  • beam those shots and video back to Earth so they can be posted and streamed on Google’s Web site.

These robot building races are not new. In a contest last year, robots raced across the Mojave Desert. William Whittaker who is at Carnegie Mellon University, was in charge of two of those robots and now has his eyes on Google’s carrot, and probably not so much for the money. It’s not that anyone will make a fortune if they are successful. Space missions are pricey. Getting the rover to the moon is a large part of the cost so financially it may be a wash, particularly if you don’t meet the 2012 deadline.

From what I read, it sounds like the challenge of saying, “We did it” might make this happen more than the money will. If it does, this might make commercial space travel closer to the rest of us. Since Google has paired with X Prize Foundation, the organization responsible for the first private spaceflight in 2004, I’d say we might be watching a moon rover do it’s thing on our computer screen one of these days. By 2012, I wonder what those computers will look like? Doesn’t 2012 sound like a long way away? It’s only 7 years. Gaad.