Category Travel

Nov 10 2015

Warp drive looks more promising than ever in recent NASA studies

spaceship Interstellar-Distances

“Interstellar travel may still be in its infancy, but adulthood is fast approaching, and our descendants will someday see childhood’s end.” The Starflight Handbook

The first steps towards interstellar travel have been taken, but the stars are very far away. Voyager 1 is about 17 light-hours distant from Earth and is traveling with a velocity of 0.006 percent of light speed, meaning it will take about 17,000 years to travel one light-year. Fortunately, the elusive “warp drive” now appears to be evolving past difficulties with new theoretical advances and a NASA test rig under development to measure artificially generated warping of space-time.

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Nov 4 2014

Iraqis show their love on bridges

BABIL, Iraq — Sarmad Blaibel, a young reporter who works for the local news station, went to a bridge in the city of Babil to hang a love padlock and throw the key into the river as an expression of love for hiA couple walks on a bridge covered with padlocks hung by lovers in Basras sweetheart. This act resembles the well-established tradition in France, for instance, where railings of the Pont Des Arts bridge, overlooking the Seine, have been damaged by the increasing weight of love padlocks.

Summary⎙ Print The love padlocks on Pont Des Arts in Paris has inspired young Iraqis to show love for their sweethearts with padlocks on bridges, but not everyone approves.

Author Omar al-JaffalPosted October 27, 2014

Translator(s)Pascale el Khoury.

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Jan 16 2012

Captain’s favor to head waiter to blame for cruise ship disaster?

Story updated 4:53 p.m. ET: The captain of the luxury cruise ship that capsized after hitting rocks off Italy had sailed perilously close to the coast to “make a bow” to people on a Tuscan island, according to media reports.

Francesco Schettino made the dangerous maneuver so that the Costa Concordia’s head waiter could salute his family on land, according to reports.

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Mar 9 2011

Finding happiness in mystical Bhutan

(CNN) — When you’re heading to what’s been called one of the happiest places in the world, it’s a good idea to pack many pairs of long black socks.

They make excellent gifts for the local men, Lisa Napoli was advised before her journey to Bhutan, while lip gloss and tea are the perfect offerings for women.

Not that presents were foremost on Napoli’s mind.

Gripped by a fierce midlife crisis and questioning everything from her single status to her career choice, she was about to leave her home in Los Angeles to find some perspective in the remote Himalayan kingdom — a trip that filled her both with excitement and fear.

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By IDS Promo • Posted in Travel
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Feb 7 2011

10 Best Beaches from the Movies

From the scenic waters of ‘Blue Lagoon’ to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’

Ten landmark movies, 10 ridiculously beautiful beaches. We’ve found Hollywood’s most vaunted locations — and given you the keys to get there.

Phi Phi Leh, Thailand — “The Beach” (2000)
The flick: The movie that gave voice to a generation of backpackers, “The Beach,” based on Alex Garland’s novel of the same name, centers on the quest for the Thailand’s last pure beach, one untainted by tourism. Look out for: the scene in which Leonardo DiCaprio swims beneath a seemingly impenetrable wall of cliffs, only to surface in an impossibly idyllic cove.

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By IDS Promo • Posted in Travel
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Feb 1 2011

British Airports Get First Holographic Helpers

Two UK airports have become the first in the world to introduce holographic announcers.


By Juliet Turner 3:09PM GMT 01 Feb 2011

Passengers at Manchester and London Luton airports will both be greeted by holographic staff from this week in a bid to reduce security bag check queues.

Recordings of actual employees John Walsh and Julie Capper have been appearing to travellers entering the security search area at Manchester’s Terminal 1 since Friday. The pair explain the liquid restrictions and remind passengers to have their boarding cards ready.

Dubbed “John” and “Julie”, the images were created by the same company which brought the chart-topping animated band Gorillaz to life on stage.

The new technology, developed with Musion, was launched as a world first by the airport’s bosses last week, only for Luton to unveil their own holographic announcers just days later.

“Holly” and “Graham” were introduced on Tuesday and were custom designed for Luton by Tensator, a British company that specialises in queue management and digital signage.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8296304/British-airports-get-first-holographic-helpers.html