Earlier this week, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) fired up their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft in a successful test to prepare for launch to the International Space Station, set for Friday, March 1, at 10:10 a.m. EST. Space travel fans can follow along ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Transportation
Friday Rocket Blast To Be Streamed Live
Earlier this week, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) fired up their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft in a successful test to prepare for launch to the International Space Station, set for Friday, March 1, at 10:10 a.m. EST. Space travel fans can follow along ...The Great Los Angeles Train Resurgence
I was on a commuter train – in Los Angeles. I kept repeating these words to myself as the Metrolink light rail whisked me through East LA, the city's underwhelming skyline in the distance. Union Station was the next stop and terminus. From there I'd gawk at the ...Video: Japanese Customer Service Is Different From Ours
In keeping with Japan's reputation as a most hospitable country comes this video from LiveLeak. Two Canadian backpackers are attempting to purchase subway tickets so they can visit Tsukiji Fish Market, but have problems with the dispenser.
No worries! Apparently, in ...
The World According To A Costa Rican Cab Driver
I would never think of getting in a cab in my hometown of Chicago and asking for a lift to Indianapolis, Iowa City or Milwaukee. But when I'm outside the U.S. without a rental car, I sometimes resort to long-distance taxi rides as a way of getting from point A to point B. On ...Video: A Week In The Life Of The International Space Station
The International Space Station is one of the wonders of modern technology. A series of interconnected orbital modules are home to a rotating crew of astronauts and cosmonauts plus a host of ongoing experiments. While the ISS only gets into the news every now and then, ...
The World's Prettiest Destination Tunnels
Size matters – with tunnels, anyway. Most lists of the world's most spectacular designs pant over the longest passageways, like Norway's Laedral Tunnel, currently the record-holder at 15.25 miles.
But beauty before distance, I say. Give me the arched canopy of ...A Vintage Submarine And Icebreaker In Tallinn's Seaplane Harbour
Tallinn has been an important port and Estonia's connection with the world since before recorded history. Because of this, the city has not one, but two museums dedicated to the sea. The Maritime Museum is housed in Fat Margaret, an old cannon tower that once protected the ...Mission To Mars Planned By Private Space Leaders
When we last heard from Dennis Tito, it was when the New York-born American engineer was catching a $20 million ride on the International Space Station. That was in 2001 and he did so against the wishes of NASA, instead hitting up the Russian Federal Space Agency for the ...Releasing My Inner Gringo In Costa Rica
I try not to be the stereotypical ugly gringo when I'm in Latin America. I tolerate leisurely or downright rude service, I use my poor but functional Spanish, and I try to go with the flow, bearing in mind that things are just different south of the border. But no matter how ...Breezy, Probably Unfair Generalizations About Panama Based On An Hour At Tocumen International Airport
Writers are famous for blowing into places for a very short period of time and then spouting off on them as though they were experts. Click on my name here and you'll see that I'm just as guilty as everyone else. And writers with a hell of a lot more talent than me have done ...Mandatory Car Rental Insurance: Watch Out For Bait-And-Switch Pricing
Mandatory insurance. Those are two words that I hate to hear when I'm renting a car outside the U.S. On Thursday night, I spent an hour and a half in a Thrifty Rent a Car location near the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, trying to understand how an eight-day rental that I ...Dreaming Of The RV Life? Here's Exactly How Much It Costs
The story of a Colorado family of 14 currently trekking and blogging around the country in an RV made "The Today Show" recently, highlighting a particularly dreamy type of wanderlust – and one that reached a peak in 2011 with 8.5 percent of U.S households owning an RV, ...Welcome To Hell: Chinese Lunar New Year Travel Madness
Looking for a nice, quiet place for a late winter holiday this week? Then why not celebrate the Lunar New Year in China, along with a billion plus new friends, many of whom will hit the road to see family members during the chunyun or spring festival travel season that runs ...Low-Cost Travel Insurance Offered For Adventure Travelers
Start talking about anything even remotely related to the topic of travel insurance and odds are the conversation will be short. This is not something that travelers dream about, plan for or share with their social networks. No one we know of has a scrapbook of insurance ...Budget Guide 2013: San Francisco
San Francisco has a well-deserved reputation for being expensive, but that's not to say you can't enjoy it to the fullest on a budget. The joy of this compact, walkable city is that you don't need your own transportation. Remember, though, that food is the soul of San ...Can't Drive A Stick Shift? Need A One-Way Car Rental? Confronting Common Car Rental Issues
Here's a killer idea for a venture capitalist with a few bucks to burn: start a rental car company that doesn't soak customers who want to return the car at a different location. Time and time again, I find myself needing to revise my travel plans because I can't find a ...Budget Guide 2013: Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio, is known as both "Cowtown" and "The Biggest Small Town in America," nicknames that begin to shed light on the destination's Midwest charm mixed with big city amenities. Relative to other urban centers, the streets are safe and the people are friendly, ...Budget Guide 2013: Las Vegas
If the thought of Las Vegas conjures up images of flashy clubs, glitzy shows, an endless parade of limousines and eye-wateringly high table limits – you're not entirely mistaken. This is a city where high rollers come to play and $3000-a-glass cocktails or ...Finding My Inner Speed Demon At Indy
Never knew I had a taste for speed. Never chewed up Jersey Turnpike miles singing "Born to Run," never flipped the bird at the drivers I left in the dust. Nope. Though I drive a traffic-cop-magnet red car, I have never gotten a speeding ticket; I just go with the flow of ...Scientists Develop Tractor Beam (On A Microscopic Scale)
A research team in Scotland and the Czech Republic has developed a tractor beam.
A press release from St. Andrews University reveals that scientists at that university and at the Institute of Scientific Instruments in the Czech Republic have for the first time been able ...
