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While in the United Kingdom, Photographer, Dylan Winter caught this amazing flock of Starling’s in their yearly migration which is referred to as murmuration. This amazing sight can contain thousands of Starlings and the patterns they help create flawlessly in the sky is truly awe inspiring!

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Fortunately, that all happened in slower speeds. However, a few weeks ago in West Virgina, this incident below happened on an interstate with much higher speeds and true zero visibility. In this case, the results for the driver of the camera fortunately were good, but not for the guy trying to stop right next to him:

Keep in mind, this was during just a brief snow squall. Those things can be exceptionally dangerous in that they are so brief and it usually clears up quickly after they pass.

But folks, this winter has been a bit on the unusual side when it comes to snowfall, especially in the Eastern Part Of The Unites States. The winter is NOT over yet! Please be careful out there!

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Jesus would be proud :)

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But recently I got to see Santa in a truly different way: Riding A Motor Cycle!:

He don’t need no reindeer these days ;) Holiday Holidays All!

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However in storm chasing circles, the one thing that has been talked about recording on video is of a tornado near a Wind Farm. With the large amount of wind farms in the plains, the possibility of being seen is fairly high but never really had been recorded on video. On November 7, 2011, when a supercell produced several tornadoes (One rated EF4 in Intensity near Tipton, OK) one landed near a Wind Farm in this video. In fact, one of the twisters, went right over several of the windmills and even totally wrapped it up in its circulation. Amazingly, the windmills came out undamaged!

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Sony Center Roof

The following is a collection of HDR, or High Dynamic Range, photos that I took. If you’d like to know how this works, you should go read my friend Trey’s HDR tutorial. That will explain everything.

Enjoy!!!

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Norm Flores Streaming Across America

This is his first time on camera actually doing a show. He may need to work on his facts a little…

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The Naked Cowgirl

You might have heard of the Naked Cowboy (who plays guitar and stands around in his underwear), but did you know there is actually a Naked Cowgirl who wears a short skirt and pasties and stands around playing guitar and taking photos with crazy tourists?

What I found most amazing was that I was actually pretty cold when I took this video and the photos. I’d say it was about 70 degrees, but with some wind. So its interesting that she was standing out there all night like that without freezing!

Oh, that and the fact that for a tip she’ll make out with you while your girlfriend snaps photos! I wouldn’t actually care, but I worry about her ending up catching a cold (or herpes or something).

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The World’s Largest Patio Chair

They kicked off the road trip right in our back yard, Dallas, Texas at Sunnyland Furniture to see the World Largest Patio Chair!

The Half and Half Post Office

Then, as they moved from Texas to Arkansas, they stopped right on the border. Yep, the border is no long an invisible line – the line actually goes right down the middle of this post office!

The Big Dam Bridge

In Little Rock, Arkansas, there’s a bridge that’s 4226 linear feet that goes over a dam. There’s all sorts of technology that John explains…

Graceland

You can’t pass through Memphis without stopping at Graceland! And John took a different approach to the Graceland tour. They found out just how geeky Elvis Presley was!

The Parthenon

John’s Greek and proud of it, so he was determined to stop by the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. Athena is huge!!

Norm’s 8th Wonder Mystery

Um…yeah…

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Hey gang, in case you haven’t heard, John is going on a 5-day road trip with WebBeat.TV producer Norm Flores. They’re headed to New York City for the CEA LineShows. Along the way we’ll be stopping at all kinds of awesome attractions and giving away all sorts of prizes thanks to our partner, Newegg!

Want some free stuff like a Nintendo 3DS? How about a Nuve GPS or Eee Netbook PC? Keep on reading to find out how you can win!

The Event

The CEA LineShows are like a smaller version of CES, but it’s trade only. Don’t worry guys, GeekBeat LIVE has partnered with them to stream the entire event so you guys will get to see everything! Hit up GeekBeat.TV/GBTour for more details on all that.

The Trip

Norm and John are travelling for 5 days across the Eastern half of the United States in this awesome and totally decked out truck and trailer. You can see more pictures at GeekBeat.TV/LLTrailer. The epic adventure starts in Dallas and the boys are making stops in Arkansas, Tennessee, and more until they reach their destination in New York City!
Their entire trip is mapped out via Google Maps at GeekBeat.TV/AcrossAmericaMap so if they are stopping near you, go see them! They’ll be giving out shirts and having a good time visiting awesome attractions. Just look for the awesome trailer!

FREE STUFF!

Ok ok. I know what you’re saying! “Hey guy! Get to the free stuff already!” I can’t help it! The CEA LineShows event is sure to be nothing short of amazing!

Let’s get to the giveaway. The rules are simple. Everyday during the trip, John will tweet something with the hashtag #GBTourPrize. For a chance at winning, all you have to do is retweet it! Simple, right? Of course this means that you need to be following @JohnPoz on Twitter. Since the trip is sponsored by @Newegg, you have to follow them as well!

You can get full giveaway details and rules at GeekBeat.TV/Giveaways.
The prizes you can win are listed there as well! Nintendo 3DS, external hard drives and GPS systems! Oh my!

John and Norm would be delighted if you joined them during their trip and we’ll see you guys LIVE June 22nd and 23rd for the CEA LineShows event!

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So here is something you will basically never see… photos and video footage that lets you know what its like behind the scenes at the world’s favorite movie company!

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Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

Seriously, I’m willing to bet that even the Queen of England doesn’t actually know what all she’s supposed to be ruling over! Heck, I just watched this video and even I can’t repeat what I just heard.

And here is that summary again if your head is still spinning…

Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

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TSA Full Body Scanner

“We Don’t Save The Photos.” Really?!?

Despite promises that these full body scanning systems will not save naked photos of you, recently it was discovered that 35,000 photos of naked citizens were being stored by the U.S. Marshal’s Service (another Federal agency) and over 100 of those photos were leaked.

In response to this, the TSA posted on their official site:

Myth: TSA Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) images can be stored on the AIT machines located in our airports.
Fact: Completely false – TSA’s machines should not be confused with the recent stories about the U.S. Marshals Service. The machines used by TSA at our airports cannot store, print or transmit images. They simply don’t have that ability.

Note the claim that the images are not transmitted? Yet they’ve also told us that the images are transmitted to another location where a different TSA agent is viewing them. So which of their two stories are we to believe?

They are also being extremely specific when they say the LOCAL machines at the airports don’t store images. I’m willing to bet images are being stored in a central system somewhere, just not LOCALLY. Considering that the TSA is also certainly tapped into every flight manifest, it doesn’t take much work to start matching up images with travelers so they can build a database of what every man, woman and child in the US looks like in their birthday suit.

Remember, it only takes ONE employee with access to take home millions of scans on a portable drive to ruin your day. And these things happen all the time.

So What? How Detailed Could The Images Be?

Well, you tell me what you think. Here is a scan that was simply inverted to show you what’s possible. The TSA technology is MUCH higher resolution than this.

In fact, in England, use of full-body scanners is considered a violation of child pornography laws, and the machines are banned for children under 18.

What if You Opt Out of the Body Scanner?

Well, I’ll tell you since the TSA doesn’t. I’ve opted out about 90% of the time, unless I’m in a huge hurry – and even then it didn’t always help.

When you opt out of a body scan you are placed into a separate line where you wait for the next available TSA agent to come get you and do a screening. In literally every case except one when I did this I had a TSA agent with a very bad attitude come get me. (More about that in a minute.)

• The agent will ask you where your items are that went through the metal detector and then carry all of them over to a table. You are not allowed to touch your stuff or help carry it. You stand there and wait.
• Next, the agent will tell you what they are about to do and describe how they are going to frisk you using the front of their hand in places that are not sensitive, and the back in other places.
• They they have you hold your arms to the side and begin to frisk you. When they get to your genitals they absolutely go all the way there – every time. YES, you will have their hands on your junk. (Hopefully you enjoy that kind of thing.)

For females who go through the screening process, they will use the back of their hands to rub completely around the outside of your breasts. The bad news is, you will be fondled. The good news is that it doesn’t cost you a dime to get felt up!

By the way, Dave Barry had similar experiences with the TSA you can read about here, and here’s a little video about the new pat down procedures:

Lets say that you decide to forgo the manhandling and breeze through the body scanner! Well, 50% of the time when I’ve done that I still get dragged aside for the probe! Damn! This tells me that you might as well not even bother and move straight on to the anal probe.

Why do All the TSA Agents Have Bad Attitudes?

I don’t know if dealing with so many people every day makes you numb or what, but 90% of the TSA agents that I’ve interacted with treat me like cattle. This lack of treating people with respect and dignity comes from the top. If the executive leadership demanded it, it would filter down. But clearly they do not.

Here is an example of how unreasonable TSA agents can be:

I’ve had several screeners come up to me and ask questions in accusatory and demeaning ways, and when I respond in a similar fashion they act as though I have no right to question them or attempt to retain some shred of human dignity. I’ve also experienced what can only be described as threats and intimidation.

One agent went so far as to attempt to “stare me down” when he overheard me speaking to a travel partner saying that I didn’t believe this made us any safer.

What Else is the TSA Wasting Money On?

I’ve got two words for you – behavior detection. Did you know the TSA has 3,000 agents deployed in airports across the country at an annual cost of $200,000,000 trained in “behavior detection”. Yet they’ve never apprehended a single terrorist.

Oh, and the GAO released a report that said at least 16 individuals later accused of involvement in terrorist plots flew 23 different times through U.S. airports since 2004. Yet none were stopped by TSA behavior detection officers working at those airports. None.

The bottom line is, the TSA spends $6.3 BILLION per year, has 60,000 employees, and has does not seem to have made us safer. Their argument might be that TSA run programs prevent people from even trying… but security existed in the airports for decades prior to the TSA and the results were no different.

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And by the way, the Chinese aren’t putting up crappy buildings that you wouldn’t want to be caught dead in! Just take a look at the amazing buildings Trey Ratcliff captured on his recent trip to China over on StuckInCustoms.com.

Anyway, here is the description from Yahoo News on this new building:

The work crew erected the hotel — a soundproofed, thermal-insulated structure reportedly built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake — with all prefabricated materials. In other words, a crew of off-site factory workers built the sections, and their on-site counterparts arranged them on the foundation for the Ark project.

Despite the frenetic pace of construction, no workers were injured — and thanks to the prefab nature of the process, the builders wasted very few construction materials. Below is a time-lapse video that shows the hotel being built from the ground up in less than a week:

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This year, we’re going to do something a little different than last year. Since BlogWorld is being held at the Mandalay Bay, we are going to start our walk there, and head on down towards the new City Center. This means we’ll end up at Aria for those who want to go to the MashBash party at Haze.

We’ll meet at the front entrance of Mandalay Bay near the registration desk at 7:30pm and then begin our leisurely walk down the strip, stopping to capture all sorts of interesting photos! Heck, maybe we’ll even reenact the photos that got me banned from Excalibur just for fun!

Things I’d highly recommend you bring on our photo walk:

• Comfortable walking shoes
• A jacket – seriously, it can get cold in the desert after dark!
• Your camera!!!
• A tripod (Seriously, your photos will be 1,000% better. Just wait till you see the huge one I’ll have.)
• A photo bag or backpack (to carry some water, snacks and goodies)

While we’re on the photo walk I’ll point out some potential great shots (yeah, I’ll be stopping to take photos myself) and I’ll also offer tips and tricks for taking the best photos and getting the most out of your cameras. I’ll bring some high end professional gear, and be happy to demonstrate how I use it. We’ll also talk about High Dynamic Range photography, how to use some of your camera’s manual controls, and anything else you’d like to learn along the way.

If you really want to learn how to take better photos, and have been intending to upgrade your camera, now is the time! I recommend either the Canon G12 if you want a pocket camera, or the Canon T2i if you want a real SLR. I haven’t yet written a review of these two cameras but I did review the G11 and T1i, which were the predecessors here. I’d say the main difference between the newer and older models is dramatically improved video capabilities. But if you are having difficulty getting the newer models, the older ones are still fantastic and absolutely worth doing – especially if you can get a good price break.

For those of you who show up with one of these new Canons, I’ll happily give you all the training you need to get some really great photos. For any other cameras I’ll help all I can, but I’m not as familiar with Nikons as Canons…

If you want to join in but would rather enjoy everyone else’s photos afterwards that is awesome and we’d still love to have you! Here are the photos from last year’s walk, which took us to old downtown Las Vegas.

Also, make sure you are following me on Twitter if you’re coming and keep an eye out for my tweets prior to the walk as that is how I’ll give any last minute updates or changes to the schedule. I’m looking forward to a nice walk in Vegas with everyone! See you soon…

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Elie and I started taking snap shots, and eventually we got this one. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to share it with you guys. Hope you enjoy!

(You probably know this, but you can click through this image to get to larger versions of it.)

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Fort Carroll is a 3.4 acre (14,000 m²) artificial island and abandoned fort in the middle of the Patapsco River, just south of Baltimore, Maryland. It is named for James Carroll (1737-1832), a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1847, the State of Maryland gave permission to the United States War Department to construct a fort in the shallow water of Soller’s Point Flats to protect the city of Baltimore. Fort Carroll was important for the defense of Baltimore — before the fort was created, Fort McHenry, just outside the city, was the only military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay. The Fort was part of the “Permanent System” or Third System construction program, which aimed to defend America’s most important ports.

Then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee designed the hexagonal structure and supervised the construction, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers commenced in 1848. Lee went on to become Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point before the fort named on 8 October 1850.

In addition, in 1853 a lighthouse, now abandoned, was built on the ramparts to aid navigation into Baltimore Harbor. In 1898 a new lighthouse was built, the one still seen today. It was automated in 1920 and discontinued operations before 1945.

The original design foresaw the fort being armed with some 225 cannon on three levels. However, in April 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War, Fort Carroll’s walls were still less than half the planned height of thirty feet. Only five gun platforms were ready and only two were armed with guns. Still, the Army emplaced about thirty cannon and manned the fort throughout the war. In April 1864 torrential rains flooded the fort’s magazines, which led the Army to move all the powder and ammunition to Fort McHenry.

When the United States entered into the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Army again manned the fort’s batteries, which were by then completely obsolete. The Army therefore commenced the construction of modern concrete gun emplacements following the designs of the Endicott Board. The Army created three batteries: Battery Towson (two 12″ barbette disappearing carriage guns), Battery Heart (two 5″ balanced pedestal-mount guns) and Battery Augustin (two 3″ balanced pedestal-mount guns).

The new batteries were ready by September 1900, well after the end of the war. They received their names on 30 March 1903.

After World War I broke out, in 1917 the Army removed the guns from Battery Heart and in 1918 those from Battery Towson to use elsewhere. By 1920 all the guns were gone.

In March 1921 the Army officially abandoned Fort Carroll and moved whatever military equipment was left to nearby Fort Howard. The War Department declared the island excess property in 1923, but took no immediate steps to sell the land.

In World War II the Army used the fort as a firing range. It also served as a checkpoint for vessels.

In May 1958, a Baltimore attorney purchased the island for $10,000, but development plans never materialized. The fort is now deserted and the habitat for various animals. It is also a site for occasional urban explorations.

Here is a neat little story by a guy who went to visit the island and took a few photos. And here are some nice photos from Dan Haga. Personally, I’d like to guy this island and turn it into a sweet, sweet vacation party spot! How bad ass would that be?!?

Photo courtesy of Christina.

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I had taken along the trusty Canon 1D camera and was snapping away while wandering around. So I thought I would share some of the photos that I took which turned out well. I hope you enjoy! Please let me know if you do. ;-)

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Well, not only did I get the chance to spend a few days with the Golden Knights, I also had the extreme privilege of going on a tandem jump with Sergeant Jon Ewald while Sergeant Joe Abeln took care of videography duty documenting my first ever jump. Michael Battise, the battalion’s resident multimedia expert assembled the following edit of clips from Joe’s footage. I’ve also got some additional footage that I’ll be working on another edit with later so stay tuned for a different take entirely.

I should note that the Golden Knights are the same team that took President George Bush on a tandem jump just a few months ago.

In addition to getting to personally experience the thrill of free falling, I was also able to spend time with all of the members of the various teams. The Golden Knights are comprised of several groups of specialists who each do different things. For example, Jon and Joe work on tandem jumps – meaning Jon straps people directly to himself, while Joe flys around him shooting photos and videos. They take people like Tony Stewart, Channing Tatum, Anthony Munoz, Steve Harvey, and so many more awesome people on the ride of a lifetime.

But it’s not all about thrill-seeking. The tandem missions have roots in real-world applications. For example, these Airborne Special Forces team members are called upon to deliver mission critical supplies or personnel into war zones. As an example, sometimes a translator, doctor, or other specialist might be needed in an emergency situation. But without parachute training they need to be personally delivered into a hot zone. That’s where the tandem certified team comes in.

But there are other teams too. Some do demonstration jumps, like into the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race, skydiving exhibitions, or even high school sports events.

Some teams focus on competitions. They demonstrate amazing teamwork along with incredible feats of individual skill. They even routinely set records such as the new 14 person heads down record, and the world’s record for furthest distance in freefall in a wingsuit.

All of the member’s of the Golden Knights also rely on an amazing staff of highly trained and competent support personnel, to whom those of us who are given the opportunity to jump owe a great deal! So, thank you to the entire Golden Knights organization for making an absolute dream and miracle happen for me and the others who you share the experience with.

When I wasn’t preparing for the jump I was turning my camera on the team, and I’ve selected nearly 100 of my favorite photos from the trip to try and share the story of what it’s like being a Golden Knight. I’ll share more later, and for those of you who are attending OpenCamp, I’ve got some special treats in store for you. Stay tuned…

The Photos

Here is a slideshow of the entire photo set I uploaded to Flickr. If you’d like to view the set on Flickr directly you can do that here.

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