Rare Cloud Formations

"Crop Circles in the Sky", with cute little tails sticking out of them

We covered bizarre cloud formations before, but there seems to be no end of them... The tsunami-looking fogwave was strange enough, and now these "gateways in the sky" - circular absence of clouds, with wispy tendrils reaching out of them...



Punch Hole Clouds may appear as a circular or oval holes in a layer of supercooled clouds; sometimes they assume a form of a perfect circle and persist for quite a long time, drifting together with the cloud layer. One explanation seems to blame the air traffic (the jet contrail intersections) combined with a thermal inversion (a circular motion of a rising warm air). Here is one, observed over the Gunnison Valley in Colorado:


(image credit: Cuerling)

Another strange hole in the cloud, reported from Mobile, Alabama USA, Dec. 2003 (and covered by BBC News):


(images credit: Joel Knain and Weatherlings)

Photo taken in Melbourne, Australia in 2003:


(images via)

It seems both rising and sinking air currents can create the same effect. Sometimes a very stable, uniform layer of high-altitude clouds can get "punched though" by a pocket of cold air, which sinks toward the ground - creating the circular hole formation. 


(image credit: Neil Johnson(The Tampa Tribune) and Gwen Swinburne)

These "cloud holes" can look like the footprints of some celestial being (UFO enthusiasts rejoice!) or can be amazingly round, like this pair observed in Gallatin, Tennessee by Wayne Carter:


(image credit: Wayne Carter)

NASA takes satellite images of this phenomenon

NASA Terra satellite equipped with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has captured these images over Acadiana area in southern Louisiana - a splattering of round holes actually stretched over several states: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Some were elongated, some appeared to have smaller clouds inside them. 

"This strange phenomenon resulted from a combination of cold temperatures, air traffic, and perhaps unusual atmospheric stability. The cloud blanket on January 29 consisted of supercooled clouds. Supercooled clouds contain water droplets that remain liquid even though the temperature is well below freezing, and such clouds are not unusual. As aircraft from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport passed through these clouds, tiny particles in the exhaust came into contact with the supercooled water droplets, which froze instantly. The larger ice crystals fell out of the cloud deck, leaving behind the “holes,” while the tiniest ice particles in the center remained aloft." (source)



(images credit: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA)


Cloud Vortices: another "holey" sky phenomena

Theodore von Karman's "Cloud Vortices" are something else, again: they form when the wind encounters a barrier - such as the Aleutian islands, in this case - and the flowing eddies of cloud create a weird pattern. The image you see below was photographed from the International Space Station, and the animation shows the double row of vortices, which rotate opposite from each other.


(image credit: NASA)


(image credit: Cesareo de la Rosa Siqueira, via)


More Incredible and Fascinating Clouds

...that make our sky worthy to look at from time to time (those who only look at the computer monitor, take note). Here is an extremely strong thunderstorm cloud that brewed over northwest Calgary:



(images credit: D'Arcy Norman)

Another supercell cloud in Alberta skies, this time over Edmonton:


(image credit: Greg)

'shrooms:


(image credit: Cloud Appreciation Society)

Another cloud "wave", similar to the one over South Dakota Badlands (see here):


(image credit: Barry Slade)

Roll clouds... get into a small plane and start "surfing" them! -


(image credit: Russell White)


(image credit: Dan Bush)

A Cloud Angel -


(sent in by Dave)

Two light-sabers get crossed in the sky:


(image credit: Olga Olgert)

A fire-breathing rabbit-dragon, and a fantastic cloud edge:


(original unknown)

A "genie", coming out of a bottle:


(image credit: Raoul Pop)

Spectacular lenticulars in the morning light... and a whole "pancake" stack of them, over at Mount Rainier in Washington:



(image credit: Arco Images, Alamy, National Geographic)

Stormy:


(image via)

An interesting rainbow effect:


(original unknown)

Nacreous clouds - good page about them, with lots of info:


(image credit: Atmospheric Optics)

Prepare to get squashed, Earthlings! -

Fog Storms

Monstrous Waves of Fog - Coming at You!

On June 18, 2008 Mike Hollingshead from "Extreme Instability" documented the advent of the weirdest storm: giant waves of rolling thick fog, cresting over the landscape....

With his exclusive permission, here are some images of this unreal event.



As though the weird quality of the fantastic landscape of South Dakota Badlands was not enough, huge rolling clouds (or rather very dense fog) descended to advance majestically over surreal rock formations... The fog front left in the wake of a severe Rapid City storm, rising above in an impossible crested wave:



Two weather fronts converging at the same time... coming in very fast, with a deafening wind:





Here is the video of this phenomenal event:





Badlands' Pinnacle overlook is very cool in itself - a perfect backdrop for the unfolding grand weather spectacle:
(with some bighorn sheep walking among the rocks, as a bonus)


(images courtesy extremeinstability)


Other Fog Storms

Similar weather phenomenon, according to witnesses, happened in England (Penzance, Cornwall) - perfectly defined, very slow moving wall of the densest fog ever seen. Here is another bank of thick rolling fog - this time at Rock Mills Rd. in Rappahannock County, Virginia:


(image credit: Albert Dodd-Henze)

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Don't miss other recent storm hunting by Mike Hollingshead. Here are some examples of extremely low-hanging shelf clouds, created by a monster supercell off Yankton, South Dakota. (it spawned a tornado, too) See more on this page.

MILITARY LIFE...............funny pics

It's a Blast!

Even the harshest life in the most dangerous environment brings a funny moment sometimes. Enjoy this collection of military and police-themed photos, sent in to us in the past couple of months, with sources mostly being MilitaryPhotos.net, Exler, KenigTiger, Paravoz and various Israeli Army forums.

Army Training


Photo: EPA / Sergei Chirikov
















Extreme field exercises:






















Learning to fly:













Sleeping in the field:
(images credit: Jean-Marc Bouju, Eric Feferberg, AP/Reuters)














(image credit: WarOnline)





Aah... The Good Life -










Exciting pasttimes, too :)
(don't worry, it's Photoshop)



UPDATE: The picture above is actually not a Photoshop job (thanks Eric Luttrell). According to this link, "In fact, it was taken in October 1978, as the Big E was leaving the Philippines... and this was seen as an acceptable way to get rid of an old, no longer needed car."

This one is certainly Photoshop:




Army Knives: In Switzerland -



in Russia -




Cool army vehicles:



This is a real museum piece, an armored train vehicle:



A concept art for farmers:



Good for American farmers, too:







Women in the Army

Check out the wonderful forum of various sfw pictures of girls in Israeli Army.



women in the other armies:









taking care of kids:



North Korean parade:



North Korean militia:



Russian Parade:
(photos by Vladimir Lipka)
















Faces of the Russian Militia

Documented by "Roulon Oboev" photographer (not a real name - it means "a roll of wallpaper" in Russian)








































Classic Soviet recruitment poster:


(image credit: Valery Korneev)

Real life for young recruits is definitely not that exciting:





"Are you talking to me?"

This kind of intimidating response can be expected from some policemen with high opinion of themselves, which (depending on their mental abilities) may be even followed by "Do I look stupid to you?". In this case it's better not to answer this question truthfully. Fact is, some police personnel is downright funny, and some police methods are bordering on hilarious. Here is an attempt to put together some visual (and factual) proof of this phenomena:

Action!





Clowns can protect themselves, if needed:





The picture above is scary enough, but it's actually a cosplay (costume play) based on "Jin-Roh" anime...

However, it's not too far away from reality:



Ukrainian military police training:



Chinese hardships:





Palestinian police training (Rafah, Gaza):


(image credit: Reuters)


Police cars have to be tough

"Here's what 44 rounds of 7.62 from an AK-47 and .38 will do to a brand new
police car." (more info)



Some vintage police cars were also quite stylish:


(image credit: BlenheimGang)

Today, the world's fastest police car: Lamborghini Gallardo -








(image credit: Serious Wheels)

Check out the video of driving it here.

Among another cool police vehicles is Lotus Esprit s4:



Lamborghini Murcielago lp640 of the London police:



Porsche 911 Carerra German police


(image credit: Serious Wheels)

German Police usual Mercedes cars do not look too shabby either:



and this Volkswagen is simply the best:



Quite a different Mercedes, quite different police:



Segway-mounted police looks quite strange, frankly:
Segway i2 police transporters in Chicago


(image credit: segway.com)

Russian militia has to carry a CANNON around to adequately counter Russian mafia firepower:



Maybe Moscow militia does not even need cars:



Italian police vehicle:




They mean business: Iranian Women Police


















(images credit: Javad Moghimi, Fars News Agency)

Bursting into action:


(image credit: Javad Moghimi, Fars News Agency)


North Korean militia girls do not look as frightening:



Winter mobile units of North Korean militia:




Strange Encounters



Police has a weird thing with animals sometimes:
Walk your pig, barbeque it later:



Yea, but what do you do with a snake?



Maybe if that snake was trespassing, or obstructing traffic:



Smaller fry:



Somewhere in Russia, the military is bored:





Dogs have to endure things....



... but only to a point:



Chinese military is bored:


(photo credit: China NewsPhoto/ Reuters)

Indian military is bored:



The "White Helmets" motorcycle display team (members of the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army):





Airport customs personnel can be bored, too:



This police is also bored, but then again, it could be photoshop:



Simply bored:

 




"Are you talking to me?"

This kind of intimidating response can be expected from some policemen with high opinion of themselves, which (depending on their mental abilities) may be even followed by "Do I look stupid to you?". In this case it's better not to answer this question truthfully. Fact is, some police personnel is downright funny, and some police methods are bordering on hilarious. Here is an attempt to put together some visual (and factual) proof of this phenomena:

Action!





Clowns can protect themselves, if needed:





The picture above is scary enough, but it's actually a cosplay (costume play) based on "Jin-Roh" anime...

However, it's not too far away from reality:



Ukrainian military police training:



Chinese hardships:





Palestinian police training (Rafah, Gaza):


(image credit: Reuters)


Police cars have to be tough

"Here's what 44 rounds of 7.62 from an AK-47 and .38 will do to a brand new
police car." (more info)



Some vintage police cars were also quite stylish:


(image credit: BlenheimGang)

Today, the world's fastest police car: Lamborghini Gallardo -








(image credit: Serious Wheels)

Check out the video of driving it here.

Among another cool police vehicles is Lotus Esprit s4:



Lamborghini Murcielago lp640 of the London police:



Porsche 911 Carerra German police


(image credit: Serious Wheels)

German Police usual Mercedes cars do not look too shabby either:



and this Volkswagen is simply the best:



Quite a different Mercedes, quite different police:



Segway-mounted police looks quite strange, frankly:
Segway i2 police transporters in Chicago


(image credit: segway.com)

Russian militia has to carry a CANNON around to adequately counter Russian mafia firepower:



Maybe Moscow militia does not even need cars:



Italian police vehicle:




They mean business: Iranian Women Police

This is another side of life in Iran (see more peaceful side here)
















(images credit: Javad Moghimi, Fars News Agency)

Bursting into action:


(image credit: Javad Moghimi, Fars News Agency)


North Korean militia girls do not look as frightening:



Winter mobile units of North Korean militia:




Strange Encounters



Police has a weird thing with animals sometimes:
Walk your pig, barbeque it later:



Yea, but what do you do with a snake?



Maybe if that snake was trespassing, or obstructing traffic:



Smaller fry:



Somewhere in Russia, the military is bored:





Dogs have to endure things....



... but only to a point:



Chinese military is bored:


(photo credit: China NewsPhoto/ Reuters)

Indian military is bored:



The "White Helmets" motorcycle display team (members of the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army):





Airport customs personnel can be bored, too:



This police is also bored, but then again, it could be photoshop:



Simply bored:

  




Get your fix of funny pictures from the life in the military, and show some respect!!..

Extreme conditions, extreme training, extreme hilarity. It's all there, and more than you ask for. Having a good sense of humor, then, becomes a survival technique.






Settling in for a long flight... (somewhere in Iraq) -



This chopper means business (it can be a Decepticon, for all we know) -





(image via)

Here is how that flush toilet ended up in the middle of the desert:
(a full story is here)



Much needed equipment:


(image via)

------------

"A hard drill makes an easy battle" (General A. Suvorov)

This looks painful....








Question in his eyes -




Chinese paramilitary police, photo by REUTERS/Stringer (China)

Confidence training in Finland:


(image via)

Strange rituals:



New Zealand military learn from the warrior dances of Maori (see video, this time it's a 'Powhiri' welcome dance) -


(Photo by Corporal Chris Moore)

Elements of yoga:



Knights of the New Crusade? No, Chinese' paramilitary police method of improving posture:


image credit: REUTERS/Stringer (China)

Sleepy classes...


(image credit: Reuters)



There are better days:



In the end - sheer triumph!


(image credit: Reuters)

"In all seriousness" (these guys are unimpressed) -


North Korean leader Kim Jong Il poses with the soldiers of People's Army, photo AP

Propaganda never slumbers, nor sleeps:




See more cool posters here

------------

Who Will Rise to Defend the Motherland?

The answer is everybody, of course! - anybody who can hold a gun, that is:



(images via 1, 2)

------------

Problems? Challenges!

Military equipment gets wrecked, twisted, burned and generally mistreated in these - appalling! - photographs. Here are two Russian fighter jets, fighting over a runway:


(image via)

We know how birds are a huge problem for airplanes, but apparently bees are not welcome on F404s, either:



(images via)

I can almost feel the pain of getting this wire mess off...







"A Georgian Port Authority employee passes in front of a Russian rocket on August 11, 2008 in Poti, Georgia. The rocket landed on the Georgian Military Police car..." -


(Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Compare it with the size of WWII bomb:





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Outrageous Ammunition and Weaponry

If you guessed that anything can be converted, or serve as a weapon, you guessed right.





India also has some security force (Corps of Border) riding camels, more info.

Guess what this is... looks like a normal truck, but look closely - this is DIY rocket launcher!!! (made in Iraq, of course) -




The strangest tank... bike... something... that we'd ever seen (any info?)



Photoshop section: Here is how the myths about Russian Army super-weapons get born:



This one, however, appears to be legit:



Why not?



------------

Watching the Girls Go By



Not just watching...



------------

Good Crowds

Some vintage photographs... they don't make them like that any more:
(click to enlarge, obviously)



This is a fragment of much larger picture (see here)
Life-Guards The Emperor of Austria's Kexholm Regiment. [L.-Gv. Keksgol'mskii Imperatora Avstriiskago polk.] 3rd Guards Infantry Division. Warsaw. 1903



Truly a landship - British Mark IV tank, 1916 -


(image via)

Imperial Japanese Armada at Nagato, 1929:


(image via)

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Militia, Police, Security - they need to have fun, too

Jumping & running around:






Weight lifting:



Dealing with some unique characters:



Helmets are appreciated: