Perfect Circles

Over the years, I have taught my kids the story of the Italian painter, Giotto. He may not be the most famous of the many talented Middle Age painters, but my kids were fascinated by the story of "the perfect circle". At one point the Pope asked Giotto to draw something to prove his skills as an artist, and Giotto proceeded to draw a circle so perfect that everyone thought he had used a compass.

My kids were naturally skeptical of their father's claims about perfect circles, until last week when my daughter found the following video on YouTube:

I was likewise fascinated, and it turns out that there may be even more background to this story.

Regardless, every now and then I catch myself trying to draw a perfect circle. Let's just say that I don't think Giotto has to worry about my outperforming him!

The Venus Project

A few months ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the work of renowned futurist, Jacque Fresco. Over the years, he has developed a number of amazing theories about how to structure our global human society in ways that are much better -- on so many levels -- that our current systems.

To showcase his work, he started creating a microcosm community in Venus, Florida. The culmination of his life's work has taken the shape of The Venus Project, which I hope to visit later this year.

Since Jacque is about to turn 98, I want to get there soon. In the meantime, here are some images of the amazing buildings and communities he has designed:

Camille Seaman -- Incredible Photography

My 14-year-old daughter is an aspiring photographer, and she was initially hooked by taking pictures of clouds. Well, Camille Seaman takes this type of photography to a whole new level. She was highlighted in a CNN feature, which is truly awe-inspiring. Here is just a sample:

Overview Effect

Some of you may already be familiar with the "Overview Effect", which is "a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface." It has been nurtured and promoted by The Overview Institute. Many astronauts, space enthusiasts, sociologists, and even politicians have espoused its virtues.

The video below is a terrific introduction to the power of this effect, in the words of astronauts who have actually experienced it firsthand.

Ed Lu & the B612 Foundation

On February 15, 2013, a small asteroid named 2012 DC14 passed extremely close to Earth, garnering global attention. Despite many "boy who cried wolf" accusations in the past, it seemed like this particular fly-by was getting too close for comfort, and people took particular notice of ongoing expert warnings of imminent natural catastrophes from a potential direct impacts.

Enter Ed Lu. He is a former NASA astronaut, who I had the pleasure of meeting during our 2012 Sea-Space Summit at Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley. He is dedicating his life to saving our planet from rogue asteroids.

Ed knows that we currently have the technology to divert any asteroid heading directly toward Earth. The challenge is giving ourselves enough of a warning. Therefore, in true entrepreneurial fashion, he helped launched the B612 Foundation. Named after the title character's asteroid home in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the Foundation has plans for a modern asteroid early-warning system based on a single infrared space telescope placed in orbit around the sun. Their "Sentinel Mission" would identify and map any potentially threatening asteroids.

To customize an oft-quoted phrase, "If the dinosaurs had had Ed Lu, the B612 Foundation, and the Sentinel Mission, they would probably still be around." Let's hope modern homo sapiens take advantage of our good luck.

"Chasing Ice"

Someone recently sent me a link to this video, and I absolutely loved it. It contains some amazing footage of a huge glacier calving in Greenland. Truly epic. Enjoy!

Giant Squid Caught on Video!

Human history is filled with stories about fanciful ocean creatures that reach out of the deep to consume entire ships and drag sailors to their watery graves. Over the years, scientists have developed theories based on scant evidence that "giant squid" truly do exist ... living at extreme depths, sporting tentacles spreading wide enough to grab large buildings, and feeding on some of the largest mammals on the planet. However, no one has ever seen a giant squid alive in its natural environment. Until now.

A few months ago, an expedition funded by NHK TV in Japan set out to find these elusive predators. Several of our friends were involved in the project, most of them piloting the submarines carrying the scientists and filmmakers. They ultimately succeeded in their mission, and their story will soon be told to the world. Here is a video trailer previewing their amazing discovery.

Black Marble

In an earlier post, I wrote about an updated image of Earth reminiscent of NASA's original Blue Marble. Now NASA has gone one step further, compiling images of our planet AT NIGHT ... hence the name, Black Marble.

Chris Sharma

Several years ago, I was really into rock climbing, and I came across a young guy who was an emerging star in the sport, even as a teenager. His name was Chris Sharma. Now 31, he has truly become a living legend, with a long track record of success to his name. Below is a NatGeo film trailer that gives you a good idea of just how phenomenal he is. Amazing!

Great Photos of 2012 (so far)

A friend pointed me to this cool site with some of the best photos of 2012 so far. Here are some of my favorites:

"Ocean Men: Extreme Dive"

Last fall I had the privilege of spending a fair amount of time in Monterey with Bob Talbot, who is a world-reknown photographer and a gifted film maker. He shared with our team his IMAX documentary, Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, which tells the story of two world record free-diving rivals: Cuban-born Pipin Ferreras and Italian Umberto Pelizzari. It is a fascinating story told through Bob's amazing imagery. You can enjoy it on Hulu or on YouTube below.

Amazing Photo of Earth

Many of you have previously seen Blue Marble, NASA's image mosaic of Earth. However, the Russians recently one-upped the Americans by capturing the following image ... in a single shot:

This amazing photo was taken by a geostationary weather satellite (Electro-L). You can read more about it at Gizmodo, and you can see more in the incredible video below. Enjoy!

Gigapxl Project

I was recently introduced to the Gigapxl Project, which is REALLY cool ... even if you know very little about photography (like me). I won't do it justice trying to explain it, so I will merely encourage you to visit the site, learn more about their work, and enjoy the many stunning images. Below is a sample ... but to be truly appreciated you should click on them to see additional details.

Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset

SpaceShipOne and White Knight

Devil's Tower

Neil deGrasse Tyson Quote as Comic Strip

I recently discovered on the Web an extremely talented illustrator by the name of Gavin Aung Than. This guy is insanely good! I really like his Zen Pencils site, where he illustrates in comic book style some of the most famous quotes in history. My personal favorite is this one by Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Let's Explore the Ocean (Infographic)

I love infographics, especially when they relate to one of my passions!

Created by: MastersDegree.net

Lakes and Oceans

A friend sent me this very cool graphic (click on it to enlarge):

Fun with "ANTIPODES"

My company's flagship submarine is Antipodes, so we get many questions about the name's origin. There are many historical answers, but here is my favorite:

The term "antipodes" comes from the mathematical field of geometry and refers to a point on a sphere that is diametrically opposed to another. For example, if you place the index finger of your left hand anywhere on a basketball and place the index finger of your right hand at the point on the basketball directly opposite along an imaginary line through the center, then your right index finger will be on the "antipodes" of your left index finger (and vice versa). Another way to imagine this is to look at a (now) old-fashioned desk globe that spins along an axis held by a stand at the North and South Poles ... they are each the "antipodes" of each other.


Enough math! What does this have to do with a submarine?!

Well, our planet is a sphere that happens to be mostly covered in water. Because of the geographic distribution of land mass, less than 4% of land has a land-based antipodal point. This means that just about every human settlement on Earth has its antipodes somewhere in an ocean ... which can be explored only in a submarine. Hence the name. Make sense?

Here is a map that helps visualize the rarity of finding land-land antipodal pairs:


For a fun interactive exercise, check out this Google Maps mash-up that allows you to find the antipodal point of any location on the planet!

Cameron Succeeds!

I wrote an earlier post about the "Race to the Bottom" of the world's oceans. Well, yesterday James Cameron succeeded in his solo dive to the deepest part of the world. Very exciting times ahead for ocean exploration and manned submersibles!

"Race to the Bottom"

Over the past few weeks, the global media has been making a big deal about a proclaimed "Race to the Bottom". This "race" refers to several individuals and companies seeking to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the planet's oceans, in a variety of different submarines. Of course, this is really not a race at all, since two men (Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh) already made the descent over 50 years ago as part of a U.S. Navy exercise. In fact, as Walsh likes to put it, this current frenzy is really just a "Race for Second".

That being said, there is no denying that this recent crop of adventurers and explorers is helping to rekindle a worldwide public interest in the oceans, manned submersibles, and exploration in general. Here is a brief overview of each participant in this "race":

James Cameron


The famed director of mega-hit films like the Terminator and Alien series, Titanic, and Avatar, has had a long-time fascination with the oceans, manned submersibles, and exploration in general. He is close friends with the recognized godfather of research submarines, Anatoly Sagalevich, he has made several descents to the Titanic, and he has produced underwater documentaries such as Aliens of the Deep and Ghosts of the Abyss. Overall, he has over 70 dives in deep submersibles. He leads a NatGeo-backed team that has spent almost eight years developing a one-person submarine specifically for the attempt to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench. If successful, Cameron will set the world solo diving record, and the team will boast the world's deepest diving active submarine.

Outlook. Cameron will likely make the full descent by the end of March 2012.

Richard Branson


In late-2010, sailboat racer Chris Welsh decided to honor one of his heroes, world-record aviator/sailor/explorer Steve Fossett, by taking up the challenge he was working on when he perished in a plane crash in 2007: the world solo diving record to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Fossett had commissioned Graham Hawkes to design a submarine specifically for the world-record attempt, but he died before the sub got to its sea trials. Welsh purchased the unfinished sub from Fossett's estate, hired Hawkes to complete the project, and partnered with Richard Branson, Fossett's long-time partner, to create Virgin Oceanic ("VO"). While Branson has garnered the media spotlight during this "race", VO still remains Welsh's passion project, expanded to include diving to the deepest points in each of the world's five oceans.

Outlook. The sub has not yet passed its pressure tests, so it is unlikely that VO will make its dive attempt until late-2012.


Triton Submarines


Triton is a reknowned builder of submarines specifically tailored for use aboard luxury yachts. The company is fronted by master-marketer Bruce Jones and headed by acclaimed sub expert Patrick Lahey, and together they have delivered six submarines ranging in depth capabilities from 1,000 feet to 3,300 feet and carrying 2-3 passengers in different configurations. They have extended their unique sub designs to include a three-person Full Ocean Depth ("FOD") model 36000/3, which could reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Outlook. Triton is still looking for its first client to pay for the development of the FOD 36000/3.


Deepsearch


The brainchild of famed ocean explorer Sylvia Earle and initially backed by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, the Deepsearch project is taking a unique "open source" approach to community-based design and development of a deep-diving submarine. The project is spearheaded by Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, an ocean engineering firm headed by Sylvia's daughter, Liz Taylor.

Outlook. This project is still looking for additional financing to move beyond initial design stage.

Cave Diving in the Bahamas

Over the past year I had the pleasure of connecting with Kenny Broad, a University of Miami ocean researcher who was also named 2010 National Geographic Explorer of the Year. His work exploring underwater caves in the Bahamas resulted in some breath-taking images captured by award-winning photographer Wes C. Skiles, who shared the Nat Geo honor with Kenny. Sadly, Wes died in a diving incident shortly before his photo below graced the cover of Nat Geo Magazine. For more stunning photos, check out this gallery.

click for larger image

Wes C. Skiles