After a disastrous experience with international banking, Iceland has a new angle to attract investment. BBC News reports that a company called Verne Global is currently converting an unused warehouse at the former US Navy airbase (Keflavik) near Reykjavik into a carrier neutral datacenter / colocation facility. The promise is abundant carbon-neutral low cost electricity and the lack of need for any air conditioner system. With a mean June/July temperature of only 13C, Iceland can use air side cooling to dissipate the heat generated by densely packed servers. Iceland is not exactly the best place in the world telecom-wise, but it is linked to Europe and North America by the FARICE , DANICE and CANTAT-3 cables.
posted by thewalrus on Oct 10, 2009 - 15 comments

Pssst. Hey, kid. Check out these bottle rockets. You can make them yourself. Via: Make.
posted by loquacious on Aug 26, 2009 - 31 comments

42 Works of Modern Earth and Land Art. 42 Works of Water, Snow and Ice Art. 30 Works of Air, Sky and Wind Art. 42 Works of Fire Art and Design.
posted by homunculus on Dec 28, 2008 - 5 comments

Alpha Beta Gaga
posted by vronsky on Apr 2, 2008 - 16 comments

Madrid's "Air Tree" is a working experiment in combining public spaces with energy generation.
posted by Burhanistan on Jan 25, 2008 - 21 comments

The Big Ox. Power oxygen for real extreme athletes... available in a variety of flavors: Polar Rush, Tropical Breeze, Mountain Mint, and Citrus Blast. Is this The Next Big Thing? [more inside]
posted by ph00dz on Dec 12, 2007 - 60 comments

Buildings UI, good and bad
posted by nthdegx on Aug 13, 2007 - 38 comments

vayama is a very slick flight booking site.
posted by chunking express on Jun 20, 2007 - 27 comments

Releaed British navy commander: We were gathering intelligence on Iran (Watch the interview)
Tony Blair: The sailors were on a legitimate UN mandate
The Observer: The MoD confirmed last night that the Iranians had made the claim that they had become interested in Cornwall's activities after learning about it on British television, but denied the decision to allow the ship's crew to be interviewed while on active duty had jeopardised the mission.
posted by hoder on Apr 8, 2007 - 30 comments

Load testing a Boeing 777 wing. To failure! Also, engine testing, and maximum rejected takeoff.
posted by loquacious on Jan 22, 2007 - 26 comments

Horns Inc.
posted by hama7 on Nov 15, 2006 - 13 comments

AirTorture - Your Premiere "Whisked Away" Airline
Book your flight from **Undisclosed location** to sunny **Undisclosed location** today! Or you may just have a flight booked for you. Enjoy the waterboarding sports!

It's a no brainer (NSFW background)!
posted by fenriq on Nov 4, 2006 - 13 comments

Air guitar? Been done. Air sex? More fun!
posted by dirtynumbangelboy on Sep 30, 2006 - 17 comments

[ConspiracyFilter] Was the alleged "binary liquid explosives" plot actually plausible, in the sense of being capable of producing "mass murder on an unimaginable scale?"
posted by ijoshua on Aug 17, 2006 - 138 comments

Nice gun camera shots from WWII. Includes a bit of strafing. The Plane.
posted by IronLizard on Jul 16, 2006 - 27 comments

Air France: Apparently abandoning any pretence that traveling economy in the back of an A330 is an enticing experience, they've launched this site which looks back at the days when women wore fur, men smoked pipes and air travel was glamorous. Quite a few nice little movie vignettes of life chez Air France from the ‘50’s and ‘60’s.
posted by marvin on Apr 24, 2006 - 22 comments

FOAM When foam tests go wrong.
posted by vronsky on Apr 16, 2006 - 30 comments

Jeremy Hermanns' flight on Alaska Air #536 was out of the ordinary, to say the least. A baggage handler ran into the plane before takeoff and didn't bother to report it. So when the plane reached altitude, its cabin suddenly depressurized, and was forced back to Sea-Tac Airport. Jeremy, who has experience as a pilot, posted about what happened on his blog. Rather than offer an apology, Alaska Air employees have taken to bashing him from company IP addresses.

This brings up a larger question, though. What should companies do when their products or services fail, and consumers (almost inevitably) discuss it in a public forum? Jeff Jarvis' Dell incident comes to mind. In that link, he mentions Dell's no talking to customers on blogs policy.

Would you rather have a company that reached out to disgruntled customers, or pushed them away? I've seen more than one small software company comment on a blog or take direct action as a result of a post -- is that the preferable route today?
posted by bitter-girl.com on Dec 30, 2005 - 40 comments

Note the champagne boxes. Lots of amazing interior and aerial photos of the new Airbus A380 are up on Airliners.net. It's a huge, huge plane. [There is more inside.]
posted by brownpau on Dec 10, 2005 - 36 comments

Robert Novak gets it wrong again. Predicting that Ellsworth Air Force Base in North Dakota would fall victim to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BARC) thus damaging the political career of Republican John Thune, Novak argued that the White House was "ignoring Thune" contradicting "the image of a White House that puts politics first. Instead, the Bush team looked like tone-deaf, old-fashioned Republicans interested more in going by the book than winning elections." Thune promised that only a Republican senator could save Ellsworth, South Dakota's largest employer, from closure. That promise played a prominent role in his campaign. In defeating senate minority leader Tom Daschle, Thune's victory marked the first time since 1952 that a party leader in the senate was defeated. When Ellsworth was nevertheless put on the list for closure, Thune's politcal future appeared doomed. As promised, Thune went into action. Yesterday, Thune announced Ellsworth is saved! Contrary to Novak's opinion, the image of a White House that puts politics first is as strong as ever.
posted by three blind mice on Aug 27, 2005 - 21 comments

Passenger plane on fire at Toronto airport. About 200 people on board.
posted by ori on Aug 2, 2005 - 56 comments

Roll your own air-conditioning. I'm a student, with limited funds and a cheap house without air conditioning. To avoid dying this summer, I've built a primitive air conditioner. It's a basic heat pump, using water as the medium. You'll probably need to fiddle a bit with the dimensions of the supplies based on your resources and preferences. Not sure I'd do this but hey, when you're sweltering hot, anything is worth a try.
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Jun 15, 2005 - 48 comments

This company has released a device which claims to provide water "anytime, anywhere" (No Goodies jokes,please) - from the humidity in the air. With two other companies selling these machines in Australia and prices ranging from AUD1,000 to AUD2,300, is this a viable solution to the massive water shortages around the world, or just something else to talk about around the water cooler?
posted by dg on Mar 19, 2004 - 18 comments

"Hitting Home: Coercive Theory, Air Power and Authoritarian Targets" will answer your questions on how aerial bombardment fits into the range of options between coercive diplomacy and total war, questions such as: -- What should be targeted for bombing? -- Exactly how much do you need to destroy to achieve your government's political objectives?
posted by sheauga on Dec 17, 2002 - 5 comments

"a huge victory for breathers" of course industry "experts" beg to differ: "EPA tends to overstate health concerns," said Dan Riedinger, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute.
posted by specialk420 on Mar 27, 2002 - 2 comments

BP made an incredible achievement. I originally heard this on NPR and thought it was worth sharing.
posted by BlueTrain on Mar 11, 2002 - 17 comments

Strict environmental rules have reduced air pollution levels to below life-threatening levels, and produced this great headline too.
posted by rorschach on Jan 5, 2001 - 1 comment