Web_geM: Hurricane Fay

By John de Guzman on August 25, 2008 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) |

Every once in a while, something pops up on the web that even
HAWT finds noteworthy. This is the series called Web_geM,
and it's gonna snuggle you into clapping, hitting refresh
and forwarding it on to everyone you know...

Hurricane Fay may have caused flooding in Florida, but it certainly was gentle with its touch on the dangling state. (Compared to Katrina & Wilma.) The most interesting way to look at it, I say? At a macro and a micro level. Luckily for you readers, I have two videos to pull it in perspective for you, thanks to one of HAWT's favorite site, Live Leak.

Awwww, yeah.

First, the macro. This is a video from the International Space Station... up.. in space...

To capture this, the ISS was, luckily, in the right place with the camera at the right angle. The result is a unique shot of the giant water-pillow that was raining on the panhandle.

The second video takes on the micro, and it's amazing.

Micro comes from parasurfing. Parasurfing? Essentially, you strap a surfboard on your feet and lock a harness around your chest. The harness is hooked up to a kite and when the wind blows, you go with it. It is a beautiful sport, and I've spent way too much time staring at parasurfers in Hood River, OR.

To practice parasurfing, to get the feel of the harness/kite, one leaves out the surfboard. One stands on the beach and gets the feel for the wind and how one could control oneself in the winds. Well, only an idiot would parasurf in hurricane winds. Heck, only an idiot would even practice parasurfing in hurricane winds.

Here's an idiot.

I hope you got to see that man fly by the screen like an insect. The parasurfer ended up hitting a building and is still in the hospital. I'm sure the collision did nothing to help his intelligence. Maybe we'll get more of these from him if he ever gets better...

[Live Leak] via [gizmodo]

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