Thursday, March 30, 2006
Japanese Indoor Beach
Ocean Dome has its own flame-spitting volcano, crushed white marble sand, and it also boasts the world's largest retractable roof, providing a permanently blue sky. Temperature, wind and humidity are closely controlled to provide an ultra-safe sea-side experience.
Every hour, the volcano erupts and the hi-tech wave machines start up, starting a few minutes of sanitised surfing. Entrance costs US$50, which seems especially expensive given that there is a free, natural beach only 300 metres away.
Imagine a beach where the sky is always blue, it's never too hot or cold, the water isn't filled with salt and pollution, and the surf is always perfect. Welcome to Ocean Dome, the world's only indoor beach.
Labels:
Entertainment,
Only in Japan,
Travel
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Hamann Lamborghini Gallardo 2006
Lamborghini - the brand is synonymous with sporty automobile pleasure for the street. And when you see the new Gallardo, you also know why. 500 hp is at work inside this attractive and, most importantly, airflow-optimized body. HAMANN MOTORSPORT is now offering a styling and tuning packet especially for the Gallardo that brings its motorsport character clearly into focus, and that gives this noble »bull« even more performance.
Already the first impression the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo makes indicates that this is hardly a standard model. The HAMANN specialists constructed a comprehensive aerodynamics program for this racy sports car. The front is dominated by an innovatively designed front spoiler. The HAMANN engineers indeed oriented themselves in the develop on Italian design, but they also included the typically powerful and sporty stylistic elements of the tradition-rich company. The impressive appearance is also reinforced by the frontal airscoops, thebroad side skirts and the air intake screens located on the sides. No question about it - the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo is a genuine racing car for the street. More than anything else, the rear portion makes this clear. A mighty, three-piece rear wing à la motorsport doesn’t just assure the appropriate optics, but also increased application force on the rear axle at higher speeds. Almost the same applies for the wide HAMANN rear diffuser. It makes the rear appearance of the Gallardo unmistakable, and the car virtually sucks itself onto the asphalt.
Thanks to the comprehensive aerodynamic components, the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo makes a clearly sportier and more exclusive impression. And it wouldn’t be a real HAMANN if the performance was not optimized as well. By using sport steel catalytic converters and two double-pipe sport mufflers with 76 millimeter diameter in a V2A stainless steel design, the performance of the HAMANN Lamborghini was increased by a total of 28 hp up to 528 hp. At the same time, the maximum torque was increased by 50 Nm to a total of 560 Nm as a result of this modification. This data speaks clearly and confirms the external appearance.
The sporty-sophisticated concept of the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo is rounded off by the multi-part light metal ANNIVERSARY II wheel rims. These exclusive wheels, in a multispoke design, convey a sense of pure motorsport feeling. The silver wheel rim, with its highly polished INOX steel lip, makes a simultaneously refined and luxurious impression. The front axle bears wheels sized 9 x 19 inches with 235/35 Z R19 tires. In the rear, the ANNIVERSARY II in the size 12 x 19 inches with 295/30 Z R19 tires was selected.
Thanks to its aerodynamics packet, the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo is optically a thoroughbred racing car for the street. The performance increase also gives this proud bull the necessary power. More than anything else, the successful mixture of power, sportiness and exclusivity make the HAMANN Lamborghini Gallardo so special.
Labels:
Cars and Vehicles
Monday, March 27, 2006
Winter in Niagara Falls
It was a short two nights vacation. We went to Canadian Niagara Falls in winter for second time. I new what to expect and got my camera and tripod ready, but the weather was not too good. First night -20C and wind with mist all over the place. I could not get close to the Canadian Falls, so I shoot plenty of American Falls and night city. But second day was amazing, mild and sunny. And the mist was only above the falls bottom, so I could get as close as possible and shoot them both in day and in the night. All Falls illumination colors are real, no filters and no tweaking in PS, they are just that amazing.
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