travel

Travel

The Overview Effect

If you are in Kansas City today, you’re probably trapped inside do to the snowstorm. That means you probably have 20 minutes to spare. If you’re living some place where the climate is being a bit more hospitable take some time and watch this short documentary anyway.

The Overview Effect, first described by author Frank White in 1987, is an experience that transforms astronauts’ perspective of the planet and mankind’s place upon it. Common features of the experience are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.

‘Overview’ is a short film that explores this phenomenon through interviews with five astronauts who have experienced the Overview Effect. The film also features insights from commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for society, and our relationship to the environment.

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

The Art of Packing, by Louis Vuitton.

I pride myself on the ability to pack a suitcase for a trip in the most space efficient way. I also pride myself on the ability to pack the minimum amount of items needed for a trip. Case in point, when I went to South Africa for 14 days, I packed a small duffel bag for the trip. Seriously, I put 14 days worth of stuff into what was basically a gym bag.

This morning when I was going through RSS feeds, emails, and other sources of information, I came across a link to the Louis Vuitton micro site “The Art of Packing“. While I will probably never own a Louis Vuitton suitcase, the site was worth a visit.

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This Flash based interactive site showcases 3 of Louis Vuitton’s luxury suitcases, Alzer, Pégase and Keepall. (please note that none of these bags are large. If you are the kind of person that packs your entire closet for a weekend trip, you can move on.) The micro site shows potential customers how to pack in the most efficient way allowing you to get the most out of the space, with a less wrinkly results. In addition to space saving tips, the site actually shows you how to pack your clothes in the best way. Yes there is an art to it.

A Little Bit of Mountain Magic.

Sometimes you get a little bit of unexpected magic. Today I went on a 6 mile round trip hike to Fern Falls in the Rocky Mountain National park. Most of the day mother nature spit on us with light rain and sleet. By the time we got to the falls it had stopped, but then the sky opened up with a dense snowfall that last for about 30 minutes. Images and video can’t capture just how beautiful it was, but I tried. As we started walking back down the mountain the snow lifted, the sun came out, and the weather in Colorado changed yet again.

10 New driving rules I learned in Johnson County Kansas today.

I’m sure these things happen everywhere, but after spending a couple of hours driving around Southern Johnson County today, I was filled up with the road rage and ready to unload. I had to renew my driver’s license a couple of months ago, and I found out you no longer have to even take the written exam to renew your license. Frankly after what I saw today, I think every driver in both Kansas and Missouri should have to take a full driving exam every 4 years. It might cut down on the stupid factor that seems so prevalent on Kansas City roads these days.

Turn signals are always optional.
If at all possible execute left turns from the right lane, and right turns from the left lane. (I’m pretty sure rule number 8 has something to do with this)
If you crawl up a persons butt, they will go faster or get out of the way, if they don’t honk and give them the finger. Either way, tailgating is good. The closer the better.
When the light turns green, count to five before stepping on the gas.
You must have a cell phone glued to your head when you are behind the wheel.
Weaving across the traffic lanes is OK. See rule 5.
No matter how long you have lived here, use a GPS that is stuck to your windshield and obstructing part of your view. In addition please fiddle with the GPS at all times.
Always trust the route the GPS gives you, even if it is wrong.
Traffic clusters are good. If at all possible, bunch up into large clusters and drive 10 miles an hour under the speed limit.
At a stop light everyone must line up single file behind the first car there, no matter what lane it is in, unless the first car is in a turn lane. The objective is to form the longest line of cars at any given light.