I spy… an AlpspiX
Here I go with my dreams again. I had a dream last night about extreme heights. I was ‘dangling’ from some place high above I-don’t-know-where, and alongside me was my (don’t laugh) cat… (I heard that snicker). For some reason I was more concerned with Camille’s well-being than my own, as she was more terrified than I. I’m thinking the whole thing was a direct result from that muscle-relaxer I took last night before bed.
Employees work on the AlpspiX viewing platform at the southern Bavarian Alps mountain Alpspitze in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 29 June, 2010. Photo courtesy http://www.daylife.com
Ironically enough, I just heard about the new AlpspiX in Germany. It’s almost finished and set to open on 4 July. Suspended a whopping 1,000 meters (3300 feet) in the air high over the German Alps, the AlpspiX is a viewing platform consisting of two 24-meter long arms that cross each other to form the letter X. The ‘arms’ protrude more than 13 meters (43 feet) over an abyss at the base of the Alpspitze mountain. Each arm of the X is just 3 meters wide and formed of a grid, which will allow snow to pass through it during winter. For your enhanced viewing pleasure, each of these arms will end in a glass wall for an unobscured view. The structure was designed so that one platform slants toward ‘heaven’ while the other element descends toward the valley of ‘hell’, the Höllental.
Photo courtesy http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1290807
Don’t forget to pack your nerves.
Beam me to the Beach?
Saturday morning is finally here. What to do, what to do. There’s a whole list of things, actually.
Yesterday after work I splurged on myself and indulged in a pedicure. I’ve been doing them myself for many months now, and it felt so nice to be pampered that way, especially on a Friday. Last night we went to a local diner/club that had a band playing. Had a couple beers, ate some fried pickles and quesadillas, and listened to some good music. Definitely a nice ending to the work week!
Got up on a low-key morning (couldn’t sleep late, up at 0730 drat) and had the celebratory weekend bagel. I’m gonna meet up with a friend after lunch and go in on a a Sam’s membership with her. Hoping I’ll get a lot of use outta that – there’s a location that’s very convenient in my guy’s town that I think we’ll use a lot. Maybe they’ll even be cheaper on some pool supplies, who knows.
It’s amazing that it seems like everyone on Facebook is at or going to the beach. I’ve got such beach fever that I’m literally on fire. Good thing I have my favorite beach cams for an (albeit temporary) fix.
Back to the weekend, peace!!
Just some observances, and a little rant
I know opinions are like assholes – we all have one. I didn’t make that little ditty up, and it’s very true. But blogging forces out the best in me, as well as the worst. I’d like to I must share my opinion on the spoiled brat little dutch psychopath killer.
Urine vander Shit. And I did make that little ditty up.
Based on the facts I’ve already heard, and presumptions on the ones I haven’t – here’s a quick Bon-take on what really happened.
After meeting Holloway in the casino in Aruba that night, he slipped her a date-rape pill. (The same or similar to the evidence recently found in Flores’ car.) From that time to her death I can only speculate, but I’m all but convinced some sort of date-rape drug was used on Holloway, since that same speculation has already all but been proven on Flores. Note the way she was walking with her head down behind him – and from the video I perceived her to be swaying from side to side a bit more than she should.
He’s already admitted to Flores’ death. Everyone knows his daddy got him off with the lawyers on the Holloway case in Aruba – add to that the fact the Aruban police and officials totally mutilated the case. They handled the whole thing like the amateurs they are. I wouldn’t doubt the stress of all his son put the family through is what killed his father anyway.
I also believe there’s a strong possibility that there are others he killed. Now it comes out that his mere presence in Peru that enabled him to kill Flores was most likely caused by our own Feds funding to vander Shit for him to tour the world. Twenty-five grand, in fact. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. The US was the Enabler. Plain and simple.
Once again I present to you – our government, at it’s best.
Sea me?
I seriously miss the ocean. It’s a source of natural healing and joy to most everyone. The sound, the smell, the look, the feel – all of it.
Salt + Water
It’s always been a magical, mystical, healing place and state of mind. The rolling of the waves, the consistently rhythmic sound of them crashing on the shore. The ocean not only completes me – but when in it’s presence, all my problems become nonexistent. It’s no wonder I want to live at the coast.
I never tire of hearing the new song Water by Brad Paisley (see high-def video here!). (You really should check it out, it’s an awesome feel-good video) 🙂
All you really need this time of year
Is a pair of shades, and an ice cold beer
And a place to sit, somewhere nearrrr…
Water.
I crave salt, and water. The solution… is dilution.
The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.
~Isak Dineson
Murky water
I recently resolved myself to the fact that I wouldn’t write anything if I didn’t have anything to talk about. I don’t like to hear myself talk that much. So….
Here’s my little poem for the day.
I want ☀
Instead I have ☂
I’ll give you the ☽
If you’ll put me on a ✈
Okay, I should’ve quit while I was ahead.
❤
Freak of nature
Some things in life run unbelievably short of what my mind is able to comprehend. Things. Like Tidal Waves. Mega-scrapers. Terrorism. Sharks. Adultery. A faulty sort of bend in reality is how I feel about these things. Even though life is continually reminding us of their true existence, the full perception of them never seems to develop within my brain. I think that’s why I like to write about these things, bring them to the surface. My fears.
Yeah. All of them seem to fall into that same category. My fears.
I wrote about the Burj Dubai when it opened. It’s another massive architectural feat that I can’t read or see enough of. I’ve wanted to write something on the Skywalk since I started blogging – but I think it must blow my mind so much more so than the average person, that I’ve just never been able to convey my thoughts into words. I’ll give it a grave attempt now.
How about this one:
Picture source: Skywalk Website (www.grandcanyonskywalk.com)
If you were presented with the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon and walk out on the glass skywalk, would you? Or should I ask, could you? Keep in mind, this ain’t no stroll across the mile-high swinging bridge, my friends.
If asked the question above I would respond quickly with a firm no. I personally would be unable to walk even one small step onto the platform. No way, no how. If I were forced, my heart would most certainly fail me then and there. This would be the ultimate test of my own fear of heights, resulting in Epic Fail.
Then again, my fear of heights surpasses that of most others. I abhor the word fear – always have. Rather, I like to think that I’m altitude-challenged. 😀
Situated on the Hualapai Indian Reservation (pronounced wä’lə-pī’), this remarkable achievement in engineering was constructed with more than a million pounds of steel beams including dampeners that minimize the structure’s vibration. It was designed to hold 72 million pounds, withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake 50 miles away, and endure winds in excess of 100 mph. The horseshoe-shaped walkway juts out about 70 feet into the canyon.
It has been estimated the walkway could carry 822 people that weigh 200 pounds each without overstress, but maximum occupancy at one time is limited to 120 people. (The question has been asked, just how comfortable would you be walking alongside 119 other people on this thing? Again, just a personal observation…)
I have to keep reminding myself these measurements are in METERS. Picture source: Skywalk Website (www.grandcanyonskywalk.com)
The Skywalk is commissioned and owned by the Hualapai Indian tribe. According to Hualapai officials, the cost of the Skywalk was $31 million. Future plans for the Grand Canyon Skywalk complex include a museum, movie theater, VIP lounge, gift shop, and several restaurants including a high-end restaurant called The Skywalk Café where visitors will be able to dine outdoors at the canyon’s rim. The Skywalk is only the cornerstone of a much larger plan by the Hualapai tribe, which it hopes will be the incentive for a 9,000-acre expansion to be called Grand Canyon West. This development would precipitate the growth of a 100-mile stretch along the canyon’s South Rim. The vast addition would include hotels, restaurants, a golf course, as well as a cable car to ferry visitors from the canyon rim to the Colorado River – an area which has been previously inaccessible. All this blows my mind… I especially cannot fathom which piece of land they might choose for a golf course.
A short doable 2 1/2 hour drive from Las Vegas, this magnificent framework promises a sure thrill for the not-so-faint-at-heart persons unlike myself. A flat rate adult admission of around $30 allows access to the Skywalk, where you may ‘hang out’ as long as you like up until closing. You know – hang around, have some casual conversation, file your nails, do a little barfing. That type of thing.
Click for a short video that showcases the sheer height of the Grand Canyon Skywalk
Total elevation: 4825 ft. / 1471 m (estimated)
Sources: Wikipedia and Official Grand Canyon Skywalk website
‘Scuse me, while I kiss the sky
Once in a while I like to write about something that just totally captivates me. This captivation can vary from admiration to curiosity; abhorrence to outrage; and can even be generated from the greatest of fears imaginable to me. In this case, it involves marvel and fear – my fear of extreme heights.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, also known as the Burj Dubai, opened January 4, 2010 taking the world record by a landslide as the tallest building ever constructed. But that’s not the only thing about this mammoth architectural undertaking that breaks a record.
Current records include:
- Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m/1,671 ft)
- Tallest structure ever built: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m/2,121 ft)
- Tallest extant structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m/2,063 ft)
- Tallest freestanding structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m/1,815 ft)
- Building with most floors: 160 (previously Willis Tower – 108)
- World’s highest elevator installation, situated inside a rod at the very top of the building
- World’s fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
- Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 449.2 m/1,474 ft)
- Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 606 m (1,988 ft)
- The first world’s tallest structure in history to include residential space
- Highest outdoor observation deck in the world (124th floor) at 442 m (1,450 ft)
- World’s highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at a height of 512 m (1,680 ft)
- World’s highest swimming pool (76th floor)
- World’s highest nightclub (144th floor)
- World’s highest place of worship (158th floor)
- And, most recently – the structure is now home to the newest record of the highest ever recorded base jumping.
September 21, 2004 began the construction on this massive megastructure, with the architecture and engineering assigned to the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago IL. When the idea was first conceptualized it was unknown just how high a skyscraper could be built. In fact, the Burj, which is the arabic word for Tower, reaches such unforeseen heights that a new word was coined to describe its magnitude – ‘Superscraper’. I’ve substituted this with the word Megastructure, it just sounds more fitting.
The final height of the Burj is equivalent to the previous record-holding Taipei 101 Tower in Taiwan with the Eiffel Tower on top of it. A whopping 828 meters, 2717 feet, 160 stories, HIGH. That’s over half a mile high. Already-seasoned visitors to the tower have reported that the best views come from in between 70-80 stories, since it’s near impossible to make out what is on the ground from the top of the structure.
The tower is designed to sway as much as 5.5-6 feet in the worst weather conditions. Not surprisingly, this figure has become controversial – with other experts saying it could be as much as a 10 foot sway. This gives me chills and a visual that’s all my own. You see, to me – this is the stuff nightmares are made of. Which, if you read this blog often, you already know I have some real doozies.
I’ve followed the progress of this monster for years, and the completion of such a feat is something I never could have envisioned. A few people I know say they would love to cruise to the top of this bad boy. I wish I could say the same, but unfortunately I wouldn’t even make it halfway! This thing is way massive, and oddly enough I have a kind of sick respect for the fellas that recently base-jumped off of it. The platform from which they launched from wasn’t even at the top – and it still beat the record by a sizable margin, if that tells you anything.
I cannot imagine living in the city where this colossal cloud-buster resides. To even see it in my peripheral vision would probably give me vertigo. 🙂
Of course, I’m only detailing the facts here that are of interest to me. So here’s a couple good websites to check out extra notable stats and current info on the Burj….
Wikipedia
Burj Dubai Official Site
Life of Bon 
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