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That Gazprom building is just asking to be shredded by Tony Hawk.

I wonder what the Gazprom building would look like during a Sunrise?

Oh well, guess that will never happen.

From the Gazprom article:

The Russian Union of Architects boycotted the contest out of concern for the historic skyline of St. Petersburg.

So all of the competition’s architects are foreign. Not that I think anyone has an illusions of Gazprom being a responsible corporate citizen in even the slightest way, but you’d at least kind of expect a Russian company to have a modicum of reverence for such an historical city as St. Petersburg.

But no, they want to build a freaking abstract superstructure to dwarf everything in sight.

My brother Sam gave me a Gorrillapod for Christmas, and it’s been one of the best gifts I’ve ever received—it weighs next to nothing and it’s tiny, but it’s an absolutely great tripod. I’ve also had good luck curling it around a walking stick to use as a portable monopod.

That Fishtank is kinda cool – but one thing springs to mind…

how do you fill it, and once it is filled, how do you stop the water coming out?

With the tube being that high, as soon as you open what have to be sealed tanks at either end, the water would come rushing out under gravity. Having the thing sealed in a vacuum would solve that, but make it not too pleasant for the fish, as it would soon suffocate.

OK – reading that back doesn’t make much sense to me, but there is something about the tube above the filling point (the tank) that makes me think it is not quite right. Having the tube crawl across the floor, or along a table top (but always lower than the point at which you add food, more fish, more water) would make more sense.

The Gorillapod looks to be one of ‘the photo gadgets’ of this year – and it’s incredibly simple design is one of those “D’Oh – Why didn’t I think of that kind of designs”

I’ve been using a Gorillapod for months. It’s absolutely great—with a lot of attention to detail (just take a look at the snap-in camera attachment).

You can also buy it directly from the manufacturer (for a bit less, even, if you can live without packaging): http://www.joby.com/

Sometimes it needs some balancing, especially with cameras that are a bit heavy. But after a few tries you get it done pretty quickly.

Anyway, it’s great for getting pictures you couldn’t get otherwise—particulary in combination with a camera that comes with a swivel display.

I hope that Gazprom will never build anything like that near Petersburg. It’s foreign architecture for this city. Looks like aliens invasion…

I know one of the Joby guys; he got married last year, and everyone at the reception got a gorillapod. They’re seriously great, despite the caveat about heavy cameras that Grin mentioned.

(I should specify that the caveat applies to the mini version. I’ve not tried the larger model yet.)

David, You are wrong about the water flowing out of the top part of the tank. Because it has water at both ends, and assuming it’s airtight, once you fill it up the water cannot flow out of either end.

The connection will ensure the levels in each tank are identical and after that, so long as it is airtight at the top, it will remain in the pipe.

For the water to flow away, it would need to be replaced by something (e.g. air). Thus if the pipe is air tight, it cannot flow.

Once it is filled, you don’t even need to seal the tanks at either end if you build it well.

It’s amazing what’s possible with a bit of ingenuity :)

I am wondering if fish can even swim like that naturally?

Also, it is cool that you can buy the GorillaPod sans packaging for cheaper. Can anyone think of any other mass market product that you can buy sans packaging?

I second the comment about Gazprom’s alien invasion on Petersburg. This building would look totally like The Citadel building from the Half-Life 2 game series.

I’ve been using a Gorlliapod for the past few months; it’s fantastic. The first thing I did after it was delivered was wrap it around my bike frame shoot pics on a local trail.

It’s small enough to take anywhere and sturdy enough to get great pics like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flow14/216626231/

They have a coupon code on Flickr that will knock an extra 15% off the price. [ http://www.flickr.com/groups/gorillapod/ ]

I just popped out for lunch, and stopped into Ted’s Hi Fi in Brisbane Australia and saw the Gorilla Pod for AU$29.95, and bought it, only to come back and read this article.. funny.

the packaging is almost as cool as the actual Gorilla Pod, so if you have the chance get it with the packaging so you can appreciate it too.

Take a bowl and fill it with water, then take a small glass and submerge it completely in the bowl. Now slowly lift the glass out of the water bottom-up. The water will stay in the glass until the rim of the glass gets above the level of the water. It’s the same principle that makes their crazy fish bridge work.

Can’t work out how to submit a designed for you (maybe you like finding your own), but I like the Ridgid drill plug: http://machaggis.net/bluefacedpixie/index.php/2007/01/15/nice-design-lifetime-warranty/

The link to the fish tank is broken.