Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Cyclone Yasi: countdown to landfall
12hrs 2mins Due at 10pm (AEST) Feb 2 based on latest projections from BOM
* BOM: Current Yasi track projections
* Local coverage at cairns.com.au
* Q&A: Preparing for a cyclone
* Email us your status and tips: news@news.com.au
* Evacuation and info hotline 1300 993 191
* Register as evacuee at Red Cross
10.43am The window of opportunity for evacuating will close in around three hours. Cairns hospital is already empty after staging the largest hospital evacuation in Australian history.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related Coverage
* Flood levy: 'Will just pass'
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Cairns airport will close at 10am local time.
10.34am Ms Bligh said the forecity of the storm could bring down transmission towers, meaning electricity could be lost in parts of regional Queensland that aren't even affected by the cyclone.
Ergo Energy is planning for anywhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people losing power.
"They expect that we could see the impact come as far south as Mackay in relation to electricity supply," she said.
10.24am Anna Bligh says the next 24 hours "will be terrifying". Ian Stewart says "we haven't forgotten" the smaller towns, even though much of the talk has been about the large population centres.
The most at risk areas are between Cairns and Cardwell.
700mm of rain, 280km/h winds and 2m storm surges will hit around 10pm tonight.
10.20am Ian Stewart urges people to prepare themselves and their neighbours as it will take 24 hours for the conditions to return to normal. He said people should prepare for the fact that "the roofs of the houses may lift off."
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/north-queensland-braces-for-cyclone-anthony-as-cyclone-yasi-brews-behind-it/story-fn7ik2te-1225997552623#ixzz1CkrQ5BJz
Cyclone Yasi: Satellite Image
SHOOT: It's a Cat 5 behemoth, and it's about half the size of the Australia right now, packing up to 300km/h winds.
Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said Cyclone Yasi was the largest cyclone he had ever observed in Australian waters on satellite images.
Overnight, Yasi was upgraded to a category five cyclone.
"The area that it's covering is massive and to see it so close to Australia, even 1000 kilometres away, is a bit haunting," Mr Dutschke said.
"It's definitely something I've not seen before."
Image courtesy of US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.And Yasi made Cyclone Tracy - the storm that destroyed Darwin in 1974 - pale in comparison.
"It's a huge contrast to Tracy. Tracy was a much smaller cyclone, a lot more compact and it just happened to pass directly over a major populated area," Mr Dutschke said.
"[Tracy] was a similar intensity to this one, but Yasi is much larger so it probably only has to get within a few hundred kilometres of a populated area and it could cause similar damage.
"It doesn't have to be as choosy as Tracy with its accuracy."
Mr Dutschke said such a severe cyclone was "always on the cards" during the La Nina weather pattern, because ocean surface temperatures were warmer than normal.
And Cyclone Yasi was so powerful, it could remain a cyclone even after it had reached the outback.
"The more intense they are when they make landfall, the further they need to go [inland] before they are no longer a cyclone," Mr Dutschke said.
"It's probably going to have to go 500 kilometres inland before it's no longer of a cyclone intensity.
"It can effectively be desert that far inland."
Once it reaches landfall, Yasi is expected to follow Cyclone Anthony's lead and head southwest.
Mr Dutschke said the effects of Yasi could be felt as far away as Adelaide.
"It will bring a lot of moisture and there's a reasonable chance for flooding along the Murray [River]," he said.
By comparison Cyclone Larry, which caused $1.5 billion worth of damage to Innisfail and surrounds, was a mid-level category four system when it hit in 2006.
"This of course is not only a system now tracking as more intense than Cyclone Larry, it is significantly larger than Cyclone Larry," Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday.
Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said Cyclone Yasi was the largest cyclone he had ever observed in Australian waters on satellite images.
Overnight, Yasi was upgraded to a category five cyclone.
"The area that it's covering is massive and to see it so close to Australia, even 1000 kilometres away, is a bit haunting," Mr Dutschke said.
"It's definitely something I've not seen before."
Image courtesy of US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"It's a huge contrast to Tracy. Tracy was a much smaller cyclone, a lot more compact and it just happened to pass directly over a major populated area," Mr Dutschke said.
"[Tracy] was a similar intensity to this one, but Yasi is much larger so it probably only has to get within a few hundred kilometres of a populated area and it could cause similar damage.
"It doesn't have to be as choosy as Tracy with its accuracy."
Mr Dutschke said such a severe cyclone was "always on the cards" during the La Nina weather pattern, because ocean surface temperatures were warmer than normal.
And Cyclone Yasi was so powerful, it could remain a cyclone even after it had reached the outback.
"The more intense they are when they make landfall, the further they need to go [inland] before they are no longer a cyclone," Mr Dutschke said.
"It's probably going to have to go 500 kilometres inland before it's no longer of a cyclone intensity.
"It can effectively be desert that far inland."
Once it reaches landfall, Yasi is expected to follow Cyclone Anthony's lead and head southwest.
Mr Dutschke said the effects of Yasi could be felt as far away as Adelaide.
"It will bring a lot of moisture and there's a reasonable chance for flooding along the Murray [River]," he said.
By comparison Cyclone Larry, which caused $1.5 billion worth of damage to Innisfail and surrounds, was a mid-level category four system when it hit in 2006.
"This of course is not only a system now tracking as more intense than Cyclone Larry, it is significantly larger than Cyclone Larry," Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday.
It's cool by the pool - right? [COLUMN]
"Happy New Year!" 2011 one month on... by Nick van der Leek
From a global perspective, things could hardly be more ominous. We have some huge storms at work in Australia, Eastern North America, and Britain is still suffering through temperatures between -2 and 2C in their coldest winter since records began. I predict that 2011 will be the year that the media finally wakes up to Climate Change. Journalists that have prided themselves on their calm, intellectual scepticism are going to slowly step out of their cloisters...I mean closets...assuming they are still employed a few months from now.
The big news, of course, is that oil prices are back above $100. Put another way, oil prices are at a level that makes the airline industry obsolete [yes even with the new Dreamliners and what-not]. More important, oil prices are driving another process which affects, sorry to say, everyone. Food prices. Especially the poor are having to fork out more than 50% of their meagre incomes on basic foods...and of course for the unemployed, these higher prices just seem increasingly cruel and unkind. Egypt's protests are no mistake - they are the world's largest importer of wheat, and guess what, right now there is a shortage of wheat on world markets. Why? Well, just weather problems is virtually every major breadbasket in the world: Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, the US prairies, Australia and South Africa. Only one country has had a good wheat harvest - Brazil.
A food crisis is very bad news for world peace. It's very hard to pacify a hungry mob. It's very hard to convince them to 'just be patient'.
Here's how direct food prices are to oil prices.
You should notice the correlation is actually intensifying. Look at how that blue line is breaking away right at the end there. That's climate change for you. And make no mistake, when you have floods, and freezing storms and sweltering heat, your energy demands increase even more, and your food supplies tend to come under increasing pressure. This isn't a problem if it's a regional problem. Unfortunately, it's not a regional problem. Climate change is real, and with energy [and it is partly due to our voracious use of energy] will form a double edged sickle, slicing through economies and populations in the coming years. I don't expect people to believe that climate change is real. It's in our short term interests not to.
In fact, it's obvious the bankers and businesses live on another planet. The Dow has shot through the 12000 mark today, it's highest level in roughly 30 months [2.5 years]. Appropriately enough, stocks were at very high levels immediately prior to the crash in 2008, with oil prices running up at the same time. Remember?
We're visiting the same territory again in 2011. Economies and egos and banks and bankers have 'recovered' and now seem to have the nerve to make money again. Business as usual has finally returned. Really?
The difference between 2008 and 2011? Well the climate has worsened quite quickly. 2010 has a slew of new climate records, including the warmest ever year for the Northern Hemisphere and tied for the warmest year on record [with 2005]. A Katrina size monster, Cyclone Yasi, is approaching Australia's northeast coast. It's packing 280km/h winds along a 500 km front. On the other side of the world, a 2000 mile storm front is about to hit North America and Canada.
Currencies are worth spit in 2011, hence the skyrocketing gold price. And unemployment everywhere continues to shoot up, causing social disorder to start stewing.
This time, there's no bail out money. GM and Chrysler are doing great, for now, but BP made a loss of around $5 billion [it's possible they will be bankrupt following the next collapse in oil prices]. How will these bailed out automakers do when the fuel for their machines is too expensive to justify using those machines? I know some are talking about growth and recovery, but the reality is, without surplus energy, and by that I mean cheap energy, your expenses are going to cut into your incomes. Growth is gone. It's part of an economic system called Capitalism that, like suburbia, and currencies, and airlines, has no future. Globalization, is also gone.
The bad news is that there aren't really any policies in place to curb CO2 emissions. The good news is there don;t have to be. Overpopulation, overshoot, and collapse are inevitable. In other words, economic convulsion will occur anyway, choking consumption and bringing economic activity to another abrupt halt at the economic freight train seizes in its tracks, and bounces along. It might not be derailed in 2011 either, but it will come close. The Euro and the Eurozone are toast. The USA and the dollar are toast. Even China, with its healthy 'growth' faces inflation and...ultimately...will not graduate into a middle class, developed nation. Sorry.
If the current food crisis facing the world's poor countries cannot be averted, there's a real chance of regional conflicts in Northern Africa and the Middle East spilling over and infecting more and more countries. India and Pakistan are suffering too, and another barb could ignite something in the shape of a mushroom. North Korea is another unknown. In fact, nowhere are the prospects safe.
I don't see 2011 shaping up to be a very happy year. 2008 started nicely and then took a nosedive. I think we're much closer to the nosedive right now. Maybe we'll get to March or April before the markets run off a cliff. Question is, once the dust settles, what will remain of international finance? If currencies become worthless, and we're fast heading towards that, it means markets will disappear and the middle class will be instantly introduced to the plight of hordes of poor, already starving people. The bankers and economists were wrong before. Will they lose what little is left? Given our denial on just about every important issue, and our talent for lying to ourselves, it's tough to see a happy ending. But life must go on and I'm sure, for some, it will, and perhaps eventually, for the better.
From a global perspective, things could hardly be more ominous. We have some huge storms at work in Australia, Eastern North America, and Britain is still suffering through temperatures between -2 and 2C in their coldest winter since records began. I predict that 2011 will be the year that the media finally wakes up to Climate Change. Journalists that have prided themselves on their calm, intellectual scepticism are going to slowly step out of their cloisters...I mean closets...assuming they are still employed a few months from now.
The big news, of course, is that oil prices are back above $100. Put another way, oil prices are at a level that makes the airline industry obsolete [yes even with the new Dreamliners and what-not]. More important, oil prices are driving another process which affects, sorry to say, everyone. Food prices. Especially the poor are having to fork out more than 50% of their meagre incomes on basic foods...and of course for the unemployed, these higher prices just seem increasingly cruel and unkind. Egypt's protests are no mistake - they are the world's largest importer of wheat, and guess what, right now there is a shortage of wheat on world markets. Why? Well, just weather problems is virtually every major breadbasket in the world: Russia, Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, the US prairies, Australia and South Africa. Only one country has had a good wheat harvest - Brazil.
A food crisis is very bad news for world peace. It's very hard to pacify a hungry mob. It's very hard to convince them to 'just be patient'.
Here's how direct food prices are to oil prices.
In fact, it's obvious the bankers and businesses live on another planet. The Dow has shot through the 12000 mark today, it's highest level in roughly 30 months [2.5 years]. Appropriately enough, stocks were at very high levels immediately prior to the crash in 2008, with oil prices running up at the same time. Remember?
We're visiting the same territory again in 2011. Economies and egos and banks and bankers have 'recovered' and now seem to have the nerve to make money again. Business as usual has finally returned. Really?
The difference between 2008 and 2011? Well the climate has worsened quite quickly. 2010 has a slew of new climate records, including the warmest ever year for the Northern Hemisphere and tied for the warmest year on record [with 2005]. A Katrina size monster, Cyclone Yasi, is approaching Australia's northeast coast. It's packing 280km/h winds along a 500 km front. On the other side of the world, a 2000 mile storm front is about to hit North America and Canada.
Currencies are worth spit in 2011, hence the skyrocketing gold price. And unemployment everywhere continues to shoot up, causing social disorder to start stewing.
This time, there's no bail out money. GM and Chrysler are doing great, for now, but BP made a loss of around $5 billion [it's possible they will be bankrupt following the next collapse in oil prices]. How will these bailed out automakers do when the fuel for their machines is too expensive to justify using those machines? I know some are talking about growth and recovery, but the reality is, without surplus energy, and by that I mean cheap energy, your expenses are going to cut into your incomes. Growth is gone. It's part of an economic system called Capitalism that, like suburbia, and currencies, and airlines, has no future. Globalization, is also gone.
The bad news is that there aren't really any policies in place to curb CO2 emissions. The good news is there don;t have to be. Overpopulation, overshoot, and collapse are inevitable. In other words, economic convulsion will occur anyway, choking consumption and bringing economic activity to another abrupt halt at the economic freight train seizes in its tracks, and bounces along. It might not be derailed in 2011 either, but it will come close. The Euro and the Eurozone are toast. The USA and the dollar are toast. Even China, with its healthy 'growth' faces inflation and...ultimately...will not graduate into a middle class, developed nation. Sorry.
If the current food crisis facing the world's poor countries cannot be averted, there's a real chance of regional conflicts in Northern Africa and the Middle East spilling over and infecting more and more countries. India and Pakistan are suffering too, and another barb could ignite something in the shape of a mushroom. North Korea is another unknown. In fact, nowhere are the prospects safe.
I don't see 2011 shaping up to be a very happy year. 2008 started nicely and then took a nosedive. I think we're much closer to the nosedive right now. Maybe we'll get to March or April before the markets run off a cliff. Question is, once the dust settles, what will remain of international finance? If currencies become worthless, and we're fast heading towards that, it means markets will disappear and the middle class will be instantly introduced to the plight of hordes of poor, already starving people. The bankers and economists were wrong before. Will they lose what little is left? Given our denial on just about every important issue, and our talent for lying to ourselves, it's tough to see a happy ending. But life must go on and I'm sure, for some, it will, and perhaps eventually, for the better.
Regime change has started in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan - but where will it end?
SHOOT: It's possible that this is the beginning of a cycle that may sweep the entire world. If globalization is indeed reversing, and Capitalism a system with no future, then the world [and it's constituent citizens and countries] needs to reorder itself. Imagine if we could do so peacefully?
(Credit: CBS) In the 20th Century, the phrase "domino effect" brought to mind the spread of communism to vulnerable states.
Today, a popular anti-government uprising in Tunisia has turned that phrase on its head, as protesters throughout the Middle East have begun rising up against their governments in support of more democratic reforms.
Once Egypt's populace became inspired by events in Tunisia and rose up against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak, news and political pundits took to the airwaves, guessing who will be next. The truth is, no one can possibly know, just like no one knew that an enraged Tunisian fruit vendor from a rural town who lit himself on fire in frustration against government policies would inspire millions to take to the streets in protest of government policies and economic duress.
(Credit: CBS) Today, a popular anti-government uprising in Tunisia has turned that phrase on its head, as protesters throughout the Middle East have begun rising up against their governments in support of more democratic reforms.
Once Egypt's populace became inspired by events in Tunisia and rose up against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak, news and political pundits took to the airwaves, guessing who will be next. The truth is, no one can possibly know, just like no one knew that an enraged Tunisian fruit vendor from a rural town who lit himself on fire in frustration against government policies would inspire millions to take to the streets in protest of government policies and economic duress.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
How to break your camera [without really trying] - a simple, step-by-step how-to guide
2. Remove camera from camera bag.
3. Place camera on the sand.
4. While this can suffice, for more effective results, place camera at ground level close to [or in] seawater.
5. Capture yourself being a wally by asking a photographer in the parking lot to shoot your act of stupidity.
NICHOLAS KRISTOF: Report From Cairo
SHOOT: Fascinating insights from inside Egypt. Kristof seems to be saying that this can only end in a military crackdown, iow, in tears. Hopefully not.
I’ve got a spare moment right now, while I’m waiting for demonstrations at Tahrir to heat up, so let me describe a bit of how I arrived and what I saw yesterday. I was in Davos and so flew from Zurich, and my plane to Cairo was just about empty. It was a huge plane (presumably because of the need to fly a lot of people out), but only a few scattered passengers. Some of the passengers were Egyptians trying to return to be a part of history – but most of the passengers were reporters pretending to be tourists. One American camera crew was pretending to be part of a wedding party, as a way to explain the cameras.
Some reporters have been turned back at the airport, but I had no trouble. The airport itself is jammed with foreigners trying to leave. People are sleeping on the floors, and at one point, when an announcement of a departing flight was made, a near riot broke out as people desperately crowded toward the gate.
I had dressed up for immigration, trying to look more like a banker than a journalist, and immigration hassled the person ahead of me but didn’t ask me any questions – just stamped my passport and let me go on. ATM’s weren’t working and the hotel counters were closed, and there weren’t many taxis at the airport. But I finally found one who took me to my hotel. That was my scariest moment in Egypt so far: my driver was a maniac.
The hotel turned out to be full of foreigners afraid to stay in their neighborhoods and waiting for flights out. I had made a reservation through Expedia, but the hotel (like the rest of Egypt) has no Internet and so had never heard of me. In the end, though, they found me a hotel room, and I scrounged up another taxi (who cheerfully overcharged me) and set off for Tahrir Square. I had lived for a year in the Bab el Luq neighborhood right next to Tahrir, so I tried to find my old apartment building. But tanks block some streets, and local residents have set up roadblocks on every other intersection. Every 100 yards, my taxi was stopped by these local roadblocks, set up by shopkeepers with clubs, iron rods, bats, machetes or an occasional gun. At first I was worried that I’d be robbed by these armed vigilantes, but in fact they were polite and very welcoming of journalists. But they’re also scared and armed, and there are inevitably going to be some accidents.
These roadblocks are the result of mysterious looting and attacks in a number of neighborhoods. I checked with my network of friends in Cairo, and heard about shootings in almost every neighborhood. The assumption is that some attacks are by criminals and looters, but perhaps some as well are by Mubarak’s police forces trying to create chaos that will justify a crackdown. There’s no proof of that, but it seems to be a plausible guess.
The atmosphere in Tahrir is festive and exhilarating. The army has tanks and armed soldiers, but they are friendly to the protesters, and many people take photos with them. At night, long after curfew, the mood is especially celebratory: people have campfires and sing songs, and everybody wants to give interviews and denounce Mubarak.
The people I talked to mostly insisted that the army would never open fire on civilians. I hope they’re right. To me, the scene here is eerily like that of Tiananmen Square in the first week or so after martial law was declared on May 20, 1989, when soldiers and citizens cooperated closely. But then the Chinese government issued live ammunition and ordered troops to open fire, and on the night of June 3 to 4, they did – and the result was a massacre.
In the past, the army famously refused President Sadat’s order to crack down on bread riots, and maybe they won’t crack down this time. But I’ve seen this kind of scenario unfolding before in Indonesia, South Korea, Mongolia, Thailand, Taiwan and China, and the truth is that sometimes troops open fire and sometimes they don’t. As far as I can see, Mubarak’s only chance to stay in power is a violent crackdown – otherwise, he has zero chance of remaining president. And he’s a stubborn old guy: he may well choose to crack heads; of course, whether the army would follow orders to do so is very uncertain. The army is one of the few highly regarded institutions in Egyptian society, and massacres would end that forever.
One troubling sign is that the government isn’t showing signs of backing down. It used fighter planes to buzz Tahrir, in what surely seems an effort to intimidate protesters. It moved the curfew even earlier today, to 3 pm. It has sent the police back into some areas. The Internet remains shut off. And the state media continue to be full of lies. None of that sounds like a government preparing to bow to the power of the people.
So, stay tuned. The hard part for me as a journalist is getting the word out. My mobile phones are working, but the Internet is down. So I have been going somewhere where I can get access to a (very slow!) satellite phone. But, especially after dark and after curfew, you think twice about making the journey. When I do get access, I tweet at http://www.twitter.com/nickkristof and post at http://www.facebook.com/kristof. So join me and let’s watch history unfold here in Cairo.
Some reporters have been turned back at the airport, but I had no trouble. The airport itself is jammed with foreigners trying to leave. People are sleeping on the floors, and at one point, when an announcement of a departing flight was made, a near riot broke out as people desperately crowded toward the gate.
I had dressed up for immigration, trying to look more like a banker than a journalist, and immigration hassled the person ahead of me but didn’t ask me any questions – just stamped my passport and let me go on. ATM’s weren’t working and the hotel counters were closed, and there weren’t many taxis at the airport. But I finally found one who took me to my hotel. That was my scariest moment in Egypt so far: my driver was a maniac.
The hotel turned out to be full of foreigners afraid to stay in their neighborhoods and waiting for flights out. I had made a reservation through Expedia, but the hotel (like the rest of Egypt) has no Internet and so had never heard of me. In the end, though, they found me a hotel room, and I scrounged up another taxi (who cheerfully overcharged me) and set off for Tahrir Square. I had lived for a year in the Bab el Luq neighborhood right next to Tahrir, so I tried to find my old apartment building. But tanks block some streets, and local residents have set up roadblocks on every other intersection. Every 100 yards, my taxi was stopped by these local roadblocks, set up by shopkeepers with clubs, iron rods, bats, machetes or an occasional gun. At first I was worried that I’d be robbed by these armed vigilantes, but in fact they were polite and very welcoming of journalists. But they’re also scared and armed, and there are inevitably going to be some accidents.
These roadblocks are the result of mysterious looting and attacks in a number of neighborhoods. I checked with my network of friends in Cairo, and heard about shootings in almost every neighborhood. The assumption is that some attacks are by criminals and looters, but perhaps some as well are by Mubarak’s police forces trying to create chaos that will justify a crackdown. There’s no proof of that, but it seems to be a plausible guess.
The atmosphere in Tahrir is festive and exhilarating. The army has tanks and armed soldiers, but they are friendly to the protesters, and many people take photos with them. At night, long after curfew, the mood is especially celebratory: people have campfires and sing songs, and everybody wants to give interviews and denounce Mubarak.
The people I talked to mostly insisted that the army would never open fire on civilians. I hope they’re right. To me, the scene here is eerily like that of Tiananmen Square in the first week or so after martial law was declared on May 20, 1989, when soldiers and citizens cooperated closely. But then the Chinese government issued live ammunition and ordered troops to open fire, and on the night of June 3 to 4, they did – and the result was a massacre.
In the past, the army famously refused President Sadat’s order to crack down on bread riots, and maybe they won’t crack down this time. But I’ve seen this kind of scenario unfolding before in Indonesia, South Korea, Mongolia, Thailand, Taiwan and China, and the truth is that sometimes troops open fire and sometimes they don’t. As far as I can see, Mubarak’s only chance to stay in power is a violent crackdown – otherwise, he has zero chance of remaining president. And he’s a stubborn old guy: he may well choose to crack heads; of course, whether the army would follow orders to do so is very uncertain. The army is one of the few highly regarded institutions in Egyptian society, and massacres would end that forever.
One troubling sign is that the government isn’t showing signs of backing down. It used fighter planes to buzz Tahrir, in what surely seems an effort to intimidate protesters. It moved the curfew even earlier today, to 3 pm. It has sent the police back into some areas. The Internet remains shut off. And the state media continue to be full of lies. None of that sounds like a government preparing to bow to the power of the people.
So, stay tuned. The hard part for me as a journalist is getting the word out. My mobile phones are working, but the Internet is down. So I have been going somewhere where I can get access to a (very slow!) satellite phone. But, especially after dark and after curfew, you think twice about making the journey. When I do get access, I tweet at http://www.twitter.com/nickkristof and post at http://www.facebook.com/kristof. So join me and let’s watch history unfold here in Cairo.
Winter Sport Fun
In the Northern Hemisphere the short, dark days of January can put people in a funk. Unless they embrace the weather. Playing in the snow may be the best cure for the winter blues. Collected here are pictures from the last month showing everyone from Olympic and professional athletes performing at the highest levels of their sports to ordinary people enjoying an old-fashioned snowball fight in the street. Who needs spring? -- Lane Turner (39 photos total)
Matt Bornitz stands his Ski-Doo on end as he tops out in a vast, undulating field of powder near Togwotee Pass January 7, 2011 in Jackson, Wyo. Togwotee Pass, in the center of the Continental Divide Trail, is famous for its high-altitude powder and dramatic scenery. (AP Photo/Jackson Hole News & Guide/Price Chambers) #
Hot air balloons take off during the 33nd International Hot Air Balloon week in the ski resort of Chateau d'Oex, in the Swiss Alps, January 23, 2011. Over 80 balloons from 15 countries are participating in the ballooning event in the Swiss mountain resort famous for ideal flight conditions due to an exceptional microclimate. (AP Photo/Keystone/Dominic Favre) #
Zoe Hart falls during the ice climbing competition during the 2011 Ouray Ice Festival January 8, 2011, in the Ouray, Colo., Ice Park. The daunting nature of the sport, pulling yourself up a slick, frozen surface that can break loose at any time, meant that until recently, the handful of waterfalls in the Pikes Peak region that could be climbed in winter mostly weren't. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette/Christian Murdock) #
What's the Difference Between the Human Eye and a Camera?
Pixiq has a great write up on the similarities and differences between the human eye and a camera. Apparently, we're the same in image focusing and light adjustment but different in lens focus and sensitivity to light. What else?
Pixiq's breakdown gets even more interesting when they explain how cameras work like our eyes. The cornea acts like a lens, the iris and pupil act like the aperture of a camera and the retina is like the imaging sensor of a digital camera.
There's much more interesting tidbits in their piece and I suggest you skim it all, you might even find out what the ISO of a human eye is. [Pixiq]
China Air Force goes 'Top Gun'
On Jan. 23, China's state broadcaster, CCTV, ran a story about an air force training exercise that contained some suspicious footage.
Around the segment's one minute 12 seconds mark (see above), as the China-U.S.-oriented blog Ministry of Tofu pointed out, "the way a target was hit by the air-to-air missile fired by a J-10 fighter aircraft and exploded looks almost identical to a cinema scene from the Hollywood film Top Gun."
Viewers were led to believe that what they were seeing was a live fire exercise. But according to Ministry of Tofu: "A net user who went by the name "刘毅" (Liu Yi) pointed out that the jet that the J-10 'hit' is an F-5, a US fighter jet. In Top Gun, what the leading actor Tom Cruise pilots an F-14 to bring down is exactly an F-5. Looking at the screenshots juxtaposition, one cannot fail to find that even flame, smoke and the way the splinters fly look the same."
Not convinced? The Wall Street Journal's China Real Time Report put the videos side-by-side.
The seemingly doctored footage has been removed from CCTV's website. But Real Time China Report notes that Chinese media has in the past been caught red-handed lifting fictional U.S. material in news reports.
"In 2002, the popular Beijing Evening News tabloid translated and published as genuine a satirical news article by The Onion about U.S. Congress threatening to leave Washington D.C. unless the city built them a new building with a retractable roof," writes Josh Chin. "Five years later, the state-run Xinhua news agency infamously used an x-ray image of Homer Simpson's head to illustrate a story about the discovery of a genetic link to multiple sclerosis."
CCTV has declined to comment in media reports.
SHOOT: I wonder if the idea occurred to them via the new Kulula ad, or vice versa?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)