No PAIN No GAIN

Posted on June 8, 2012 by admin

If you:

1)      Hate your day job

2)      Think Praemonitus, Praemunitus (Forewarned is Forearmed)

3)      Urgently need to imagine an enemy in pain

Read on….

Justin O. Schmidt is an entomologist from the Carl Hayden Bee Research Centre in Arizona and he has kindly dedicated his entire life to do all the research needed to provide the rest of us with the Schmidt Sting Pain Index to rate the relative pain caused by Hymenopteran (order of sawflies, wasps, bees and ants) stings.

In a paper published in 1990 Schmidt classified the stings of 78 species and 41 genera of Hymenoptera and in 1996 the following summary was coerced from the man himself by Outside magazine.

            THE SCHMIDT STING PAIN INDEX

10        SWEAT BEE

9          FIRE ANT

8          BULLHORN ACACIA ANT

7          BALD FACED HORNET

6          YELLOWJACKET

5          HONEY BEE & EUROPEAN HORNET

4          RED HARVESTER ANT

3          PAPER WASP

2          TARANTULA HAWK

1          BULLET ANT

MORE FACTS ABOUT PAIN AND INSECTS

*  The bullet ant can be found in the rainforests of Central America between Nicaragua and Paraguay where the locals weave the ants into clothes made of leaves as part of their initiation rites. Initiates have to wear the jacket for 10 minutes at a time… and repeat the exercise 20 times.

Steve Backshall tried it for himself:

* Species with the most painful stings tend to be the most aggressive and even release a pheromone that calls other insects to the biting party.

*  Why do insect stings hurt? Because the enzymes released burst open our cellular membranes – including those of the nerve cells which directly short circuits our electrochemical signalling and results in more signals fired at random. Chemicals can also restrict blood flow to concentrate the pain.

*  A dolorimeter is an instrument used to measure pain threshold and pain tolerance

*  The Starr sting pain scale created by entomologist Christopher Starr also measures overall pain of Hymenopteran stings and he is in agreement with the Jason Schmidt scale rating (from least to most painful) the Southern Fire Ant, Honey bee, Africanized Bee, Bumble Bee, Yellowjacket,, Velvet ant, Paper Wasp, Pepsis Wasp and in the number one spot yet again the Bullet Ant.

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Origami to Stay Afloat

Posted on May 28, 2012 by admin

Christmas is still a while away but you might be able to find another excuse to have your very own origami sailboat!


The Foldboat fits right into your backpack (1m x 50cm x 60cm) or can fold out from a single flat sheet in only two minutes to a very respectable sailboat with a person inside. All you need is one person, a couple of clips and 3 folds and Bob’s your uncle!

    

Design students Max Frommeld and Arno Mathies showed off their product at the London Design Festival 2011. The idea was born in a London’s Royal College of Art production design session.

Both the backpack and the flat sheet boat come with plastic and ash oars and a waterproof floating cushion (just in case!) It costs around £800 and the plastic that it is made from can be folded over and over again for up to 6,000 times.

The Foldboat is available to order now. For more information go to www.foldboat.info

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Fancy a Dip! The Best of the Best….

Posted on May 22, 2012 by admin

We have our very own favourite, favourite swimming pool and you will agree that it takes some beating in the ‘best pool in the world’ stakes!!

But as the Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island is currently closed due to high water levels at Victoria Falls I have gone on a hunt for other spectacular swimming pools around the world.

Crystal Lagoon at San Alfonso del Mar Resort, Chile

The Guiness Book of World Records says this is the largest pool in the world (it is quite large enough to sail boats on), swimming from one side to the other is the equivalent of 20 Olympic-size swimming pools
It is also particularly lovely due to the fact that the special filter system fills it with 297 million litres of Pacific seawater and then the sun warms it to a balmy 26oC. If hanging around on the surface is not your idea of fun you could also dive here – to a depth of 35 metres (another world record)

- The Citystars Sharm El Sheikh development will create an even larger lagoon… so the Crystal Lagoon will officially lose its World Record title when the new pool opens.

The 24th floor pool in Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao Holiday Inn, PRC

From the inside it looks like this:

From the outside it looks like this:

 

The Nemo 33 in Brussels, Belgium

The largest indoor pool in the world goes down 34 metres and divers will have a bunch of caves to explore as well as windows at various depths for the curious to enjoy your diving skills!

The Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore

This hotel has a 150 metre long infinity pool set on the world’s largest public cantilevered form ensuring fabulous views of the city.


Blue Lagoon Geothermal Resort in Grindavík, Iceland

Find your inner peace in six million litres of geothermal seawater that is renewed every 40 hours and has a temperature that fluctuates between 37 and 39oC!

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Venus in Transit

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin

Sit up and take note people … unless you have already made your deal with a Devil of some description you will not live to see this again!!!

On June 5 and 6, 2012 Venus will transit the sun as it overtakes Earth – on most overtake cycles Venus will pass above or below the Sun – the next transit pair will occur in 2117 and 2125. Basically there are two transits eight years apart every 243 years.

It takes six hours for the planet to travel from one side of the Sun (ingress) to the other (egress).

What you see will greatly depend on where you are so you need to check your location for optimal Transit of Venus spotting potential


Then you can watch it happen through special eclipse shades or binoculars / telescope with special solar filters OR you can project the Sun with your own Sun Funnel

The Transit of Venus also has a number of special phenomena that goes with the occasion! They happen at the start and end of the transit – the first is the aureole which was first observed in 1761 and is a thin arc of light around the part that is still off the Sun. Then there is also the black drop that arises from blurring by the earth’s atmosphere and is evident in a greyish hue lasting a couple of seconds between the limbs of the Sun and Venus when the planet touches the inside of the solar limb.

 

There is great excitement about this event and a number of international projects to join if you are passionate about the heavens!

Happy sky-gazing!!!

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Rorscharch Test for Bird Lovers

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin

Starlings occur naturally in the Old World from Europe, through Asia and Africa as well as the islands of the tropical Pacific and Northern Australia. In fact there are so many of them that it is easy to almost look past them most of the time! All this anonymity and every day lack of glamour makes the images of starlings in defensive formation that much more … well… Startling!

Nature is proof that Bertrand Russel was quite correct when he said that “The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.” For a flock of starlings cooperation is literally survival as they fly in formation to inadvertently mimick a giant bird and confuse sparrowhawks, buzzards or Peregrine Falcons. The birds remain in formation for a quarter of an hour until the Peregrine gave up!

Scientists put the incredible formations down to each starling’s ability to track seven other birds in the formation at all times.

Starlings as Bird of Prey – Images courtesy of Rob Wolstenholme taken at Shapwich Health National Nature Reserve.

There are actually a number of startling starling images out there … what do you see?

 

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THINK LOCAL ACT GLOBAL

Posted on May 9, 2012 by admin

The next time you need to find a little something extra special for the girls in your life:

Catherine Nicole believes fashion is a fun tool for self-expression. So far so not too unique – but scratch the surface and you quickly realise that this designer does things very differently. She is the perfect example of how travel can open your eyes to global problems and while her jewellery speaks of the distant lands she visits sales of these beautiful designer pieces contribute to both BRAC allowing impoverished girls access to micro loans to start their own businesses and Chicks against Child Brides.

   

The effortless, timelessly bold statements of femininity are responsibly cast with recycled metals, hand fabricated in sterling silver, 14 karat gold fill or vermeil, and feature brilliant, multi-faceted crystals and gemstones. Borrowing from the ornamentation of ancient cultures throughout India, Africa, South America, Asia and the West Indies her designs avoid using non-renewable materials.

BRAC is a development organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor to bring about change in their own lives. This organisation is a pioneer in recognising and tackling the many different realities of poverty. They focus on women, organise the poor and unleash human potential through a comprehensive approach. Self-reliance is a key theme and BRAC has a proven track record. They currently work in Haiti, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

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A Singapore Supertree Forest

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

There is a new forest in Singapore. Excitement is building before the scheduled June 19 opening of the Gardens by the Bay walkway.

A skyscraper made up of 18 super trees! At the moment they are all bare construction but eventually they will be covered in shady vines, flowers and leaves.

Supertrees that are between 25 and 50 metres high with concrete trunks weighing hundreds of tonnes and thousands of thick wire rods will be Singapore’s latest tourist attraction – a vertical, artificial, garden that has been designed to give visitors the proverbial bird’s eye view on tropical Singapore’s financial district. The aerial walkway (also known as the OCBC Skyway) is set against a Marina Bay backdrop and at around seven storeys high it certainly will make for seriously panoramic viewing. The final phase (not visible now) will be the addition of 20 – 85 tonnes of canopy that will take between 3 and 4 hours to hoist into place.

There will also be solar panels on 7 of the trees to provide lighting for the areas below and the structure will eventually house a cluster of green conservatories with trees and plants from around the world. Hanging gardens and rainwater catches will add to the environmental splendour and hot air will be released from the conservatories below forming a version of an urban ecosystem.

On the 2nd of July the OCBC Light and Sound Show will kick off – featuring multimedia special effects, the show will be on every night. And the tallest tree will feature a bistro as well!!!

This national landmark is all part of a massive three project initiative. This one will create a green space around the Marina South district and the other two will tackle Marina East and Marina Centre in a bid to become the botanical capital of the world. This park will be the future home of the Singapore Garden Festival and a continuous ring of greenery will have all three gardens wrapping around the Marina Bay area.

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Mix it !!!

Posted on April 23, 2012 by admin

Travel is about so much more than a change in geography. It is possible (and quite frankly downright necessary) to visit the outer limits of our daily comfort zones occasionally.

If you have a favourite cocktail or always dreamt of being the kind of cool dude who can mix up a mojito in minutes… you can now blow all expectations right out of the water with a ‘do it yourself’ Molecular Mixology Kit.

Buy it direct from Montreal- based Molecule-R, choose from one of 30 recipes (full DVD directions included) and stand back as your guests’ jaws hit the floor!

Lime foam in your Tequila shot…. DONE

Layered Martini…. DONE

Bubble of Mojito…. DONE

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Floating Cinema!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

It is almost unthinkable that anything could be cooler than Tilda Swinton… but it does exist and we have tracked it down. The Archipelago Cinema is an auditorium raft that is designed to float on the sea and it was premiered at the inaugural edition of the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi (curated by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Tilda Swinton herself).

Designed by German-born and Beijing-based architect Ole Scheeren the quiet waters of Nai Pi Lae lagoon on Kudu Island Thailand was the perfect launch pad for this atmospheric convergence of nature and cinematic narratives. Exploring Scheeren’s interest in non-architectural projects and interventions, the project creates alternative scenarios and realities by combining an ability to comprehend diverse yet specific context with the power of imagination and fantasy. The audience is suspended between sea and sky, somewhere amongst the rocks.

Modular pieces are loosely assembled and congregated to form an auditorium. Strong connections to the local community was forged with fishermen who usually construct floating lobster farms, the raft is built from recycled materials and it will eventually be returned to the island and donated to its actual builders, the community of Yao Noi as a playground and stage in the ocean.

The raft will travel to other places as an auditorium for other film screenings on water and this festival is set to become an annual meeting place for art and film. Just in case you fancy catching a movie floating on a Thai lagoon next spring!

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Flirt a little….

Posted on April 5, 2012 by admin

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay

and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’”

 

– Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

 

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Take a walk on the wildside…

Posted on April 11, 2012 by admin

Fancy hanging out with some red leaf monkeys, exotic rhinocerous hornbills and more than a little magic?

No I’m not going on about orangutans again I promise! I have discovered that there is so much more to Borneo than our closest relative as far as species go…

The 480 metre Canopy Skywalk in the Mulu National Park hangs over a primary forest that is over 500 years old. The world’s longest tree-based canopy walk,this Skywalk is suspended around 20 metres above the forest floor and was built by local communities with expert advice on design and structure. This is a world where the Jacuzzi is courtesy of nature and the Gara Fish pedicure simply a happy addition to your swim! Should I mention that (anti) leech socks really exist and are a good idea on this trip?

Yes Borneo has turtles, proboscis monkeys, fantastic diving and great caves well … let’s rephrase that: Deer Cave is the world’s largest natural rock chamber and can contain London’s St. Paul Cathedral five times over.  Never seen St Paul’s …o.k. how about a space that can fit 40 Boeing 747s side by side? But I digress! But if you can pick only one thing to do in Borneo then you must takea walk on the wild rainforest side.

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Change your perspective!!

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” – Alan Keightley

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Livingstone arrives in Manila

Posted on March 28, 2012 by admin

[slideshow]

So …. the Italian knitwear empire is designing the interior of Acqua Livingstone, the coolest condo in Manila!

“MISSONIHOME is known for creating its own style that reflects a celebration of life,” notes Vittorio Missoni, Marketing Director and shareholder of Missoni S.p.A. “Our brand is an experience of happiness, excitement, beauty, creativity, style and elegance. We are inspired by the seasons of nature and we play with color because life is more beautiful with color.”

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Things you can do for Rhinos…

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

My favourite Rhino Saving charity recommends:

Work or volunteer in the conservation / charity sector

There are currently exciting opportunities at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. On their conservation programme, you will have the opportunity to help to create an effective monitoring programme for Northern White rhino, as well as to work on various ecological monitoring projects. This is a great programme to gain experience in the field, and we thoroughly recommend it. Please contact laura@savetherhino.org for further details and see the links : OlPejetavolunteerpolicy.pdf & OPejetavoluntaryopportunities.
Also check the excellent sites below for voluntary opportunities and advice.

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Design your Darkness

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

We love this earthhour design game!

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Save the Orangutan!

Posted on March 30, 2012 by admin

Palm oil companies are deliberately lighting fires inTripa forest on the coast of Aceh province in northern Indonesia killing hundreds of Orangutans – if not directly by fire then due to slow starvation as their food disappears.

It is almost impossible to avoid palm oil and even militant Greenpeace is pro sustainable palm oil.

The Orangutans need all the help they can get right now!!

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My Big Fat Gypsy Delay…

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

Never travel without your own entertainment!

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