I’ve been fascinated with wingsuit flying ever since the first video I saw a couple years back. I’ve posted about wingsuit flying previously, and I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve shared videos like Jeb Corliss’s Grinding the crack with people. When watching videos of BASE jumpers with wingsuits I always have the thought, “When are they going to pull their parachute?” What if the answer was “they aren’t”?

Gary Connery plansto be the first person to do exactly that. In April of 2012 he will be the first person to jump from a helicopter with a wingsuit but no parachute. It will all go down in the UK, in the Ridge Wood area, just northeast of Henley-On-Thames. Gary will be jumping from a helicopter at a modest, but still dangerous, height of 2,400ft. He will quickly accelerate to around 80mph, then glide at 60mph (while falling at 22mph) almost a mile away to land in a box rig. (A box rig is a large stack of cardboard boxes commonly used in the stunt industry to cushion falls like this 150ft jump). Approximately 200ft away from the box rig, Gary will need to flare his custom made wingsuit in an attempt to bring his gliding speed down to 50mph and his vertical falling speed to 15mph before not-so-gently landing in the pile of cardboard.

Jumping from high places and flying in wingsuits is obviously nothing new to Gary. He has over 880 skydives and 450 BASE jumps under his belt, and has spent the last 8 years focusing on wingsuit flying. He’s also an experienced stuntman who’s done a number of jumps for movies such as The Beach, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as well as an experienced stunt coordinator for dozens more. Check out his IMDb page as well as videos of him flying through the infamous “Crack”, and doing a 60ft jump into a box rig.

Gary Connery, much like Jet Man Yves Rossy, is doing this all with the help of a watch company. The British based company Bremont is sponsoring this attempt at breaking a world record of being the first to land a wingsuit. In addition, Gary is working closely with Tonysuits, a wingsuit manufacturer, to make a custom designed wingsuit that will help him land this attempt. Best of luck to Gary and I can’t wait to see the video!

Press release from Bremont

On Sunday I hopped in my car, attached my GoPro camera to the windshield and headed down Highway 1. For those not familiar with the area, Highway 1 winds down most of the coast of California and affords quite the view out across the Pacific Ocean as you wind around hills, fields, and cliffs. It’s one of my favorite drives and I recommend it over Interstate 280 if you’ve got the extra time. I recently realized that I’ve been missing long drives by myself. I really enjoy how they give me time to think while the scenery constantly changes and good music plays on the stereo. Plus driving along a beautiful highway with all sorts of interesting turnouts makes for a good way to spend the afternoon.

My recent acquisition of a GoPro HD Hero2 camera (thanks Heather!) and various accessories has me using it for all sorts of things. In addition to shooting wonderful 1080p video underwater in the British Virgin Islands, one of the features of the GoPro camera is a time lapse mode where it can take a nice high resolution image every second. The small size and portability of the GoPro as well as the various mounts make it much easier to use versus my gigantic Pentax K20D dslr. But, not having a dedicated LCD screen makes aiming the GoPro a bit difficult, so the video is slightly tilted as the windshield mount isn’t perfectly level and when I took it out on the cliff I was just using a Gorillapod in the grass so you might have to tilt your head a bit. I do have the LCD Bacpac to help with lining up shots, but for time lapses the Battery Bacpac takes priority.

For those wondering how I put everything together, it’s actually quite simple. Quicktime Pro 7 has a great “Open image sequence” feature that I used to make all the individual clips, then I wrestled with iMovie 11 and its limitations to put together the clips with some simple transitions and audio. I used ccMixter to get some Creative Commons music that would work with the track, eventually settling on DLDN Instrumental by timberman. I’m still trying to figure out a good system to match up the music I’m actually listening to while the photos are being snapped and try to recreate the feeling in the final video, but haven’t figured that out yet, not to mention the copyright issues of posting that music on video hosting services. In this case the soundtrack to a good portion of the trip was “Moods for Take Out”, an album I had received from the musicians themselves the previous weekend. Throw in some High Contrast, Underworld, and Boards of Canada and you’ve got the playlist for the afternoon.

If anyone’s interested, my route, tracked by my Garmin Vista HCx, is below. As you can see, I had a bit of a roundabout journey through the city thanks to a few blocks of the Great Highway being closed around Ocean Beach. The video of that fiasco as well as video of all the hanggliders and paragliders at Fort Funston was sadly never captured. (Note to self: check camera blinky red light more often) But as I headed south I managed to hit a handful of beaches and recognizable areas including my favorites: just past Devil’s Slide at the beginning of the video, Pompanio Beach, and Pescadero Beach. As the sun set, I watched the light of a boat on the horizon blink as it rolled on the Pacific waves and the stars and planets dotted the sky. Not a bad way to spend my Sunday.

(via Laughing Squid)

Check out GeoEye‘s annual high resolution picture of Burning Man from the sky, taken on Thursday, September 1st, 2011. See if you can find your camp!

Click here for full size image (13MB).

Photo: Thomas Pedersen

As I mentioned, Copenhagen Suborbitals is non-profit and open source. If you’d like to help support them, they’ll gladly accept donations.

Copenhagen Suborbital’s site
Danish article about the launch

This past weekend the Lost Horizon Night Market came to West Oakland. Tucked away in an alleyway next to a concrete mill, trucks opened up to the in-the-know public and created new and different experiences for everyone that attended. For those that aren’t familiar, the idea of the Lost Horizon Night Market originated in New York, but a San Francisco version has since been opened. In short, a number of customized box trucks (usually around 20) all gather in a predetermined location on a chosen evening. Some trucks serve food, others put on a show, but they all provide experiences of some sort to the patrons of the night. For both of the San Francisco Lost Horizon Night Markets I have been a proprietor rather than a participant, teaming up with Nelz, Matt, and others to run the Mission Impossible truck.

When we first started throwing around ideas for a truck for the Market, it was agreed that we wanted something low-effort but high-impact: something that wouldn’t take us hours and hours of work, but would still provide for a unique and fun experience for people. Inspired by the spy caper movies, we decided we would create a “laser field” that would protect “confectionery devices”, aka cupcakes. People would have to manuever their way through the lasers in order to rescue a cupcake. If they tripped a laser, they would be eliminated by the robot sentries. The lasers were actually orange strings with bells on them and the robot sentries were people hidden in the darkness with fully automatic Nerf rifles. Throw in a smoke machine and a black light to make the “lasers” glow and we were basically done.

The first time we ran the truck we quickly gained a line and spent most of the night trying to get people through the line and the experience. Additionally we didn’t really perfect our “pitch” since we had spent most of the time putting the truck together: painting wood, building guard booths, stringing bells, etc.

We decided that our goal this time was to not have a line. How to accomplish this? We would provide people with a task, some sort of small hurdle that they would have to complete before they even got a chance to get in the truck. Several ideas were tossed around about what sort of tasks we could ask people to do. I was very interested in making people interact with other people at the Market. I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but somehow a friend who was helping with another truck became our point person for these tasks. Since we had experience with Santa’s Little Secret Service, we were easily able to get into Secret Service mode, donning suits, earpieces, dark sunglasses, and a serious attitude. When people asked what our truck was about, my pitch went something like this (with a serious and straight face mind you):

“We’re guarding some highly unstable confectionery devices and we’re looking for people with the experience and dedication to help defuse these devices. However due to the inherent danger in this mission we need to make sure you’re up to the task. You will need to seek out the Man in the Mask. He will provide you with additional information.”

Photo by Audrey Penven

Most people would instantly understand and go off hunting for the Man in the Mask, who we had given a handful of silver marbles and carte blanche to give people whatever missions he wanted. To be honest, I don’t even know half of the stories Evan, our man in the mask, told people. All I know is that if someone showed up with a “high density spherical memory storage device” (aka a silver marble) and a good story about what they had to do to get here, we’d let them into the truck to try to get their cupcake.

Over the course of the night things got more and more complex as more people got pulled into the shadowy ruse. Evan would tell people to go find another person and ask them for a task. At first these other people didn’t even realize they were part of the Mission Impossible truck, but were quick to send the person on some sort of mission. People would return to our truck anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or two later after running around the Night Market, following detours left and right.

One group of 6 people returned with a dream stolen from the Dream Library truck. I quickly called all the other agents for our truck and escorted the group to the semi next to us, which just happened to be “The Jail”. We announced to the warden that they were charged with stealing dreams and needed to be locked up for their crimes. The group was put behind bars, and I ran off to the Dream Library to return the stolen dream. Upon my return to our truck I discovered that the group had broken out of jail and rushed our truck all at once! So many rules, shattered.

Another group, actually friends of a friend, were told at the very beginning of the night that they would want to experience our truck and they should get started on the mission early. At the end of the night they finally returned, with stories of being sent around to a number of different people, continuously wondering when it would all end and they would get into this mystery truck. I fessed up to them and told them that in all honesty none of the people involved with the Mission Impossible truck had a full picture of what was going on. In turn they told me stories of people stealing their marble, sending them to other truck to steal other objects, and getting pointed to one person after another for their next mission, and just a general state of confusion over the course of the night. As the market was coming to a close, we finally let them into the truck to run the laser course and get their cupcakes as they had surely earned them even if they had lost their marble.

Despite our efforts, at one point in the night we ended up with a line of about 4 groups deep. I had to make up something quick to stall. I explained to one group that there had been a serious laser malfunction and that they would need to find a red lighter, as red is the only wavelength of color that could successfully be used to repair the lasers. They rushed off into the darkness on the hunt. I turned to another couple, also ready to get in the truck. I told them that we needed a clean handkerchief. I don’t remember the reasoning behind the need for this object, but after a bit of arguing they too ran off into the night in pursuit. They returned with one of them wearing the bandana over her face. She told me that on their way back, she had started giving people tasks to do in order to get into the truck too! So much chaos, so much confusion, so much fun.

For the next Night Market, we won’t be doing the Mission Impossible truck again. It’s been done, perfected, and it’s time to move onto something new. However it was a great experience in just how much fun it can be to spark people’s excitement and provide a sense of adventure. A huge thanks to Nelz, Matt, Rochelle, Evan, and everyone else that helped make things interesting.

Running a Panel: Last year I led the Core Conversation “How To Not Be A Douchebag at SXSW” with Violet Blue and John Adams. This year I resubmitted the idea and SXSW decided it should be a panel. So along with John Adams, Scott Beale of Laughing Squid, and Amber Osborne (aka Miss Destructo) we taught a packed room of mostly first-timers how they can avoid being a douchebag at SXSW. Overall it received a very positive reception, and I didn’t see too many people sneaking out of the “at capacity” room.

If you missed the panel, SXSW was nice enough to record it. You can listen to it on the SXSW site, download it here, or listen below.

The Austin Chronicle has a summary with some quotes. Methodshop, KMP Blog, and Curiosity have write-ups as well.

Attending Panels: Once again I didn’t make it to too many panels this year. I’ll be honest, part of the reason was the late nights out with old and new friends. Getting up and out of the hotel before noon was a bit difficult most days. The time zone change and the Daylight Saving change didn’t help. As such I missed quite a few early morning panels that I really wish I could have made it too. One other hurdle for making it to panels was that they were so spread out. I didn’t attend any panels that weren’t in the Convention Center or the Hilton. I understand the want to have more panels available to the steadily growing SXSW Interactive crowd, but I was sad to miss a number of friends’ panels just because they were scattered or double-booked. I quickly stopped even bothering to look at venues other than ACC/Hilton when I wanted to go to one. I don’t have a solution, this is just my experience and the similar sentiments I heard from others.

Hotel: My first time at SXSW I stayed at La Quinta Inn Oltorf because I decided to go at the last minute and all the other hotels were booked. That was terrible, don’t do that. Last year and this year I split a room with friends (@violetblue, @dotben and @ekai) at the Hilton, which was awesome. Splitting the room four ways (two beds and a roll away bed) made the room more affordable as well as more fun. This Hilton is also right next to the Convention Center and also has panels in its own building. Definitely the most convenient place to stay in my opinion and I’ve never had any problems with service or accommodations there.

Badge: I got a Gold badge again this year because I was a panelist. Last year’s Gold badge came in handy because I got a chance to attend the screening of Objectified. This year however I didn’t make it to any films. With so much to do and so many people to spend time with I didn’t want to wait in line for a movie that may or may not be enjoyable. I wish it was easier/more convenient to see films. If I had to buy a badge, I’d go with an Interactive only badge in the future. We also had several people in our group that didn’t even have a badge and most times that wasn’t a problem except for a couple of SXSW-only parties.

Parties: We went to quite a few parties this year as well as created our own. At the SapientNitro party (at Venue 222) DJ Spider was awesome and we played the Primal Scream Game (get people to give their best primal scream). The ACLU/Google party at Maggie Mae’s was a fun 80′s themed party where Amy was given the challenge of collecting 13 silly straws (she completed it). Five or six of us won free Timbuk2 bags from the WatchDotTV people at the Mashable party at Buffalo Billards and then we caught Eclectic Method. And then there was the Twitter party at Icenhauer’s, which was one of the few parties I actually waited in line for since it was packed and I wanted to see friends inside. It was worth the wait. The gdgt party at Purevolume was kind of a joke, as it was “RSVP only” and after cashing in my +5 RSVP we found out it was basically a trade show. A couple free beers and a free iPhone case and we bailed, but not after taking over a table and attempting to find investors for Spacerack (more on that later). Sadly, I missed out on all the parties at the Seaholm Power Plant which I thought would be a cool venue; next year perhaps.

Shenanigans: Saturday night was Brides of March so I donned my wedding dress and we went pub crawling with a dozen or so beautiful brides. We started at Casino El Camino and hit Beauty Bar, Trophy Room for some bull riding, classed up the Driskill, danced at Oil Can Harry’s, pondered a ride on the RVIP Lounge (it was too crowded for all of us), and finished off at Fado’s with the last few remaining brides. (Afterward we ditched the dresses and headed to Elysium, Austin’s goth club.)

Monday night was the 2nd Annual Revolving Door Party in the Hilton’s revolving door. Matt scored some great party supplies (hats, noisemakers, glowsticks, and even stamps for the door). It was much shorter than last year’s party but was very crowded. While we partied the annual foursquare Hilton lobby backstroke competition went off.

Throughout the week I tried to pitch as many people on my latest startup: Spacerack. Everyone is starting to store their data in the clouds these days, but Spacerack wants to take this one step further. We go above the cloud. That’s right, satellite based storage technology. You can safely store your sensitive data outside any terrestrial jurisdiction. Additionally you can increase the distance between your sensitive data and the magnetic field of the earth, which scientists have discovered is the number one cause for bit rot. We currently have funding from ScoNelz which helped us launch our first two satellites. We’re looking for additional funding to get 5 more satellites up next quarter, and are aiming for a moon base to help with redundancy by Q4 2013. Don’t tell anyone, but our exit strategy is to get acquired by Rackspace. Rackspace Spacerack == $$$$

People: I met so many new people and got to spend time with a lot of old friends over the course of SXSW. Now would be the time to list of all of them, but I don’t know where to start and where to end. To all the people that I met and spent time with at SXSW whether it was at a panel, hitting some tech party, bouncing around to random bars, having lunch/dinner together, running around in a wedding dress, late night food adventures, or at a BBQ, thank you for making SXSW an awesome event and one I look forward to returning to next year. In the end it’s all about the people.

Oh hell, here we go: @violetblue, @dotben, @scottbeale, @missdestructo, @netik, @evacide, @nelz9999, @efng, @scottyiseri, @redshoes, @jonathanstray, @compressorfilms, @heathervescent, @ahnie, @jess_stang, @spitfiregrrrl (thx for the book!), @wombatina, @amywhiggins, @danger_ranger, @willpants, @mariangoodell, @netdiva, @calliloopy, @kittenhotep, and more

Just wanted to make this hiatus official so I can stop feeling guilty about this neglected site.

Anyone that’s peeked into my music collection knows I love DJ Shadow. And if you follow my Flickr stream, you know I spent Monday night checking out Omega Recoil’s test of their tesla coil and that I dig tesla coils. What happens when you combine the two? Pure awesomeness.

More info on Arc Attack, the people behind this, over on Doc Pop’s Laughing Squid post. Oh, and they also cover Dr Who.

We’re all doomed if they ever become sentient and pissed off.

via danger_ranger