Instead of being built on top of the soil, the whole structure rests on over 300 isolators. These giant bearings let the building move laterally during an earthquake. After Istanbul got rocked by a magnitude 7.4 monster in 1999, and another major quake predicted to occur within the next 30 years, you can see why engineers decided to make this massive building shake-resistant.

As terrible as a massive earthquake would be, it would be incredible to see a building this huge move from side to side. Maybe we will in a future “World’s Strongest Man” event. [Wired]

Clearly, when one computer goes down in Salt Lake City and it drags down America’s entire air traffic system, something needs to be done. At any rate, if you’re in the US and you have a flight to catch today, make sure to check its status before heading to the airport. [AP]

The idea comes from a guy named Adam Englund, but it’s definitely not just a floating airport. It’s an entire $US20 billion business plan. He’s dreamed up an airport on an “oil rig-style floating platform” with four storeys of space, a total of 18,580,000 square metres of it, which could be used for hotels, restaurants, even universities. An entire floating city.

It sounds insane, but apparently in initial reviews, Englund’s plan lacks any “fatal flaws”. I’d consider the absence of $US20 billion a fatal flaw, but the man’s a bigger optimist than I. [Infrastructurist via Stoke Report]

It seems like economy seats on aeroplanes are made for Hobbits. If only I was riding first class on a Swiss International flight. The new cabins on their A330 fleet make it seem like you are sitting in a cafe or restaurant. [Link]

Needless to say, bringing gadgets on planes is a pain in the arse these days. Airport “checkpoint friendly” bags make it easier for security to check the contents of your bag which, in turn, helps you zip through faster. [Mobile Edge via Link]

Want a new iPod or digital camera for your trip? Gadget vending machines like this one can help you pass the time at airports. Maybe you want to use this opportunity to diversify your portfolio and invest in gold? No problem — there are airport vending machines for that too.

I have trouble sleeping on aeroplanes (see earlier reference to aeroplane Hobbit seats) and I don’t mind looking like an idiot for a few hours if it means getting a little extra rest. Enter the Nap Cap. It keeps your head from swaying side to side during the flight, making conditions more comfortable for sleeping. Of course, you will probably end up leaning forward, mouth wide open, drooling in your lap. [Vacation Gadgets via Link]

Several major airports have begun using mobile phone boarding passes to help save passengers time. Unfortunately, my airport isn’t one of them. [Link]

Even if you can’t have fancy seats like the ones featured earlier on this list, you can still spice things up with these PlaneSheets slipcovers. Choose from options like “Leopard” and “Camo”. Oh yes, you may be in coach but your style is first class all the way. Plus, the slipcovers help separate you from any germs and other nastiness that might be lurking on your seat. [PlaneSheets]

As you can hear in this audio record, a Delta pilot spotted a UFO at New York’s JFK airport this Sunday. Allegedly, the object was a “paraglider” who landed illegally, and then took off on a potential collision course.

DAL164: Hey, do you see something over the… looks like a guy on a paraglider…almost over the approach, er, the threshold of two-two right?

…

Looks like he hit the ground, dropped something off.

…

Now he’s airborne again. I guess is it ah, looks like some guy on a parachute.

The question is: What the hell was he or she dropping? Why has nobody has found the dropped object yet—if there was actually anything? Air, land and sea police searches didn’t find any traces of this very stupid and insane person. Or whatever it was, because for now it’s just “unidentified”.

Thankfully, nothing happened as it climbed higher than 300 metres across JFK’s busy air traffic. [Flightglobal]

Both suspects were filmed by authorities rummaging through luggage bound for Miami on July 7th. They also switched luggage tags in a futile attempt to hide their crimes. The pair faces up to 4 years in prison if convicted—giving them plenty of time to swap stories with this guy. [Daily News via Gothamist via The Consumerist / Image via Flickr]

So what was it? Did tightened government regulations make operating impossible? Was there some kind of security breach? An issue with the TSA granting a virtual monopoly to a private fast track service? Nope! It was something simpler, and more timely. Cue their goodbye email:

Clear to Cease Operations

Dear xxxx xxxx,

At 11:00 p.m. PST today, Clear will cease operations. Clear’s parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations.

After today, Clear lanes will be unavailable.

Sincerely,
Clear Customer Support

Apparently not enough people were willing to spring for the service, which could cost as much as $US199. Looking at the numbers, though, it’s clear obvious that Clear never really took off, spreading to just 20 airports and garnering about 150,000 subscribers.

The company hasn’t yet announced how they plan to deal with those subscribers—an impatient bunch, I’m guessing—but as far as getting any kind of service refund, this sparingly worded announcement doesn’t bode well. [Clear—Thanks, Tom and David]

The man, Steve Bierfeldt, was detained for carrying too much money. Not that this is a crime or anything (it isn’t), but it was enough of a phantom infraction for the unnamed TSA official to remove him from line, put him in a windowless room, and interrogate him for an hour.

Enter the iPhone, and one of its many voice recorder apps (keep in mind this happened in March, so no 3.0 recorder just yet). Thanks to the recorder, we can now read about gems like this:

On a recording a TSA agent can be heard berating Bierfeldt. One sample: “You want to play smartass, and I’m not going to play your f**king game.”

All that because Bierfeldt, who’s in the employ of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, was trying to bring $US4,700 in campaign funds onto an aeroplane. An ACLU lawsuit is pending, which is probably the least surprising part of this entire story. [CNN via BBG]

See, while the Swine Flu may have not been as bad as originally thought, the fact is that it’s better to be overly protective than sorry. Or at least, that’s what governments think.

It’s just like anti-terrorist airport controls. These were increased to stupid levels after September 11 with measures like arbitrary limits on liquids, “Please Remove Laptop From Bag” rules, and the now-classic “Please Remove Your Shoes and Coat”—measures that only add hassle without actually increasing security. Not only they have been bypassed and rendered useless in countless occasions, but there are dozens of security breakpoints around airports everywhere that can be used by the bad guys to do bad things, even now.

We got those measures and everyone gladly accepted them, getting back to sleep into this false dream of total safety, all thanks to this daily airport security show and tell.

The same will happen with medical controls. Thermal scanners and cybersniffers capable of detecting viruses and germs designed to do the same thing: Give everyone a false sense of health safety.

It will be false because, until the technology is truly omniscient and really can detect the tiniest amount of any virus in any stage of development, the barrier will never be real. And even then, there will be other entry points for the virus. You just can’t put barriers in the air. You can try to contain, but at the end is a battle we are going to lose. At least for the time being.

Right now the fact is that, no matter how many controls we put in airports, if there’s a real outbreak of something really really nasty, with no cure whatsoever, we are fucked. Big time.

In the meantime, we will all get to re-enact that airport checkpoint scene from Total Recall every time we go on a trip. I can’t wait. [Boston.com]

Apparently the trials at 6 airports have gone so well that the TSA would like to have all passengers “go through the whole-body imager instead of the walk-through metal detector.” In other words, everyone who gets on a plane will be seen quasi-naked.

The TSA is quick to remind the public that the technician is “off-site” and unable to associate your grey naked body with your real, grey naked body.

Swapping all metal detectors to whole body scanners should make that 100ml liquid rule a thing of the past, but with each scanner running $US100,000 to $US170,000 apiece, the upgrade won’t exactly be free. And really, I think the TSA should be paying me if they expect to see my naked behind. At least then I’d know the money was worth it. [NYT and Budget Travel and Getty Images]