Friday, March 17, 2017

Airbus A380


I was amazed by the size of this aircraft, so I had to look up some numbers. If you would like to buy one, Airbus will be glad to add your order to its list for only $436.9 million dollars. As a standard three class aircraft it carried 525 passengers on two decks running the length of the plane. Configured as a one class economy plane it will hold 853 passengers. It has a range of 8,350 nautical miles. The take off weight is 1,268,000 pounds, or 575 tons, and yes, it does fly. Emirates Airlines is the largest owner of these planes with a current fleet of 93 aircraft and another 49 on order. Airports need special modifications to allow these planes to load and unload passengers. 

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Yugo


No, this has nothing to do with the car by the same name, or Yugoslavia. It is a scooter located with a cell phone application for You-Go anywhere you like. It is designed to look like an old Vespa scooter, but these are all electric, no gas motor. The cell phone app is used to open the trunk where there are two crash helmets and activate the ignition switch on the scooter. Jump on and You-Go. This is a project of two young men from Barcelona who only make these available in this one city. This is perfect nonpolluting urban transportation where distances are not great and parking for car is nonexistent. 

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

El Greco, The Fable


El Greco painted this picture in 1580. He may have based this picture on a picture in Pliny the Elder, or   on a local fable. His use of light and shadow would not occur again until the 19th Century. He was ahead of his time. The original painting hangs in the Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain. 

Monday, March 6, 2017

Strobel's Mural


This is a painting by Barthelomaus Strobel el Joven painted between 1630 and 1633. It is titled, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Herod's Banquet. The original hangs in the Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.