As a pilot, every now and then you'll have a chance to catch a sight that just burns into your memory. The spire of the Empire State Building piercing a setting sun while approaching New York's JFK airport, or watching a satellite pass overhead while holding above a thick cloud layer of fog over Anchorage.

But nothing can top the scene witnessed by every airplane crossing the North Atlantic on July 22nd, at around 3 a.m. in whatever time zone we were crossing.

At first, we thought we noticed a faint glow of the northern lights. Pretty soon, the colors became so spectacular that we began calling the flight attendants up to the cockpit to check out the light show.

But these aurora borealis weren't moving or changing colors. And the colors that were starting to appear, didn't match the usual green glow I was used to.

It didn't take long for pilots on 123.45, a VHF channel that's normally used to report ride conditions and any weather deviations, to start a discussion about what we were seeing.

Today's Photo of the Day comes from Damiel who captured this picture in front of Notre Dame, in Paris. Damiel has a great collection of pictures from his trip there last week. He really did capture much of the city in perfect clarity. Nice job!

I'm always a sucker for a narrow depth of field, which brings out the subject in the photo in detail. This picture is a good example of this technique.

Are you a Flickr user who'd like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling's Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

During the sterile-cockpit period we don't get into non-essential conversations; we're required to limit it to only what's required for the safe operation of the airplane. This keeps all of our attention focused on flying and reduces the chance that a distraction could lead to a potentially serious mistake. This sterile period is defined as anytime the airplane is moving under its own power and below 10,000 feet.

That said, whenever we have a chance to set the parking brake while we're on the ground during a delay, or when we're above 10,000 feet, it's a great opportunity to get a picture, especially when I'm a relief pilot sitting in the jumpseat.

I've been struggling to properly expose both the inside and the outside of the cockpit, which can be challenging. I managed the nice shot below because the sun was reflecting off the instrument panel from the left side and behind us slightly.



But what about the times when the sun isn't helping you out? In the past I've used a flash to 'fill' in the cockpit areas while exposing for the outside of the airplane as seen in this picture:

Those looking for a taste of the glamorous side of the 1950s can find it in Paris. The City of Lights and snobby waiters was a hot spot for the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies of yesteryear.

Grace Kelly is probably the ultimate example of 50s fame. An exhibit at the Hotel de Ville showcases the life and times of the American movie star who the French embraced after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace.

The exhibit is no mere collection of black and white snapshots. Kelly's Oscar is on display alongside ball gowns and other articles of clothing. Also of interest are a collection of Kelly's letters. I suppose it might be interesting to learn that people actually wrote letters once upon a time, but Kelly's letters where to the who's who of the day. The collection includes correspondences with Alfred Hitchcock and Jackie Kennedy.

So this exhibit might be a bit over the top, but perhaps a bit refreshing. After all, Grace Kelly defined glamor before glamor became all silicone and botox. I doubt there will be a similar exhibit featuring any of today's starlets in 50 years.

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The biggest choice I get to make each month when picking a schedule isn't generally where I'll fly or what days off I'll get. Since I'm much closer to the bottom of the seniority list than the top among 767 international co-pilots in Boston, my choice is generally between flying a set schedule (known as a line) or 'sitting' on reserve.

If I choose reserve, I'm on call for more days a month, but on many of those days the company doesn't need me to fly at all. In return, the pay is 10-15% less than flying a full schedule. This difference in pay is enough to cause most pilots to choose to bid a line.

When I'm able to hold a line, I tend to pick up trips and trade around so a normal schedule of, say, three-days on and three-days off might be a complete mess after I add a trip and bunch a few others together.

But nothing has compared to this past week. This is the first time I've worked at this company with just one day off in the past 15 days.

A service at Paris area airports will have people dancing in the terminals. Literally.

As a special summer promotion provided by Aeroports de Paris, dance classes will be offered to passengers before they hop, or samba, onto their flight. Call it France's version of the reality hit So You Think You Can Dance. Styles include tango, salsa, modern jazz, and mambo. There is even instruction in hip hop and rock and roll.

You are imagining a teacher wearing a leotard and leg-warmers prancing around Charles De Gaulle critiquing each step that students take, aren't you? It's not quite like that. Passengers are given a set of headphones on which instructions and music are played. They are pretty much on their own after that. The classes run for about 15 minutes and are only offered during weekend daytime hours.

According to airport authorities, over 4,000 people have used the service since it began at the end of June. No word yet on whether these ground-breakers participated willingly or not.

Are in-terminal dance classes the wave of the future? Or is it simply a ploy to get people talking about something besides how high oil prices are making air travel so damned expensive?

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The bike sharing program in Paris known as Vélib has been so popular that the city's mayor is considering launching the same version with electric cars. Just like its sister cycle program, with Autolib a driver could pick up a car on the Left Bank, cruise the Champs Elysées and return it a couple of hours later with enough money left over for a pain au chocolat.

There is some debate regarding the program, which would launch in late 2009 or early 2010 with a fleet of 4,000 cars. Some -- motivated by high gas prices and the parking nightmare -- love it. Others are less excited, holding that it would lead to more car dependence in a city already packed with vehicles.

Judging by the craziness of Parisian traffic, I would personally stick with the bicycles. Take the metro or a nice stroll and save yourself some stress; leave that to the Parisians.

[Via Huffington Post]

Ah, the metro, where I've spent countless of my weekend hours toiling away underground, staring off into space, sitting on wooden benches and people watching.

This photo, taken by Luke Robinson, was shot outside of the Parisian underground, where I have spent many hours commuting between my sister's apartment in the 17th and downtown Paris. If only all subway systems were as sprawling, clean and inexpensive as the French metro.

Have any panography shots you want to share with our Gadling readers? Add it to the Gadling photo pool on Flickr and it just might get chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure that it's under creative commons though, or we won't be able to use it.

I know what you are thinking. It's not a very summery photo I picked. that's exactly why. As I'm sitting here, sweating my butt off, this photo actually looks blissful.

Ultraclay! took this picture on Champs-Elysees in Paris, presumably in the winter. I love that the statue looks like it could be a real person, walking against the wind and snow. You could almost picture the Battle of Stalingrad this way.

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