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Life-Size Photo of a Blue Whale

Smivs writes "The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society have posted a navigable life-size photo of a blue whale! It will take a while to look at all of it, but it starts at the eye (which is a great idea). The picture is navigable — there is an insert of the whole picture and you can change the view by moving a cursor around — but if you just let it run, the whale will slowly 'swim' past you. It's a bit like being in a submarine with the whale going past a porthole. Definitely worth a look!"

84 comments

  1. Funny result of NoScript by Gigiya · · Score: 2, Funny

    "no content for you please install macromedia flash player 7"

    1. Re:Funny result of NoScript by apathy+maybe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But once you enable JavaScript, and assuming you have Flash, it is actually pretty cool. You can't actually keep the picture on one part (it just keeps floating), but it's a great way to examine the whale.

      Oh, and before some idiot says it, yes we all know blue whales aren't being hunted and probably won't be. However, they are threatened by extinction from various other sources, including pollution of various kinds, and too much noise meaning that they can't communicate. (And we all know what happens if you can't communicate, you can't copulate.)

      --
      I wank in the shower.
    2. Re:Funny result of NoScript by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Omg, the last part was so funny and so true. The hit really hurts thought :/

      I'd still think you deserve a +10 insightful for it :)

    3. Re:Funny result of NoScript by Original+Replica · · Score: 4, Insightful

      pollution of various kinds, and too much noise meaning that they can't communicate.

      It's not just that it's noisy so they can't communicate. The Navy is maiming whales with it deep sea sonar. Kinda like how a gunshot blast beside your head damages your hearing. They are perfectly aware of this and they don't really care other than the PR problems, but that is being addressed. First they just tried to use bad science to make it OK. And then the blinded whales started beaching themselves. But at least one court isn't fooled by the carte blanc of "national security".

      Disclaimer: I grew up in Virgina Beach, VA most of my friends and their families from back home are in the Navy. I want our Navy to be strong and safe, but I don't want to mutilate whales to do it. Good sonar didn't do jack shit for the USS Cole, and I don't think Iraq or Afghanistan has much of a Navy to worry about. How about a new better technology instead of just turning the volume up on the sonar.

      --
      We are all just people.
    4. Re:Funny result of NoScript by dwater · · Score: 1

      The hit really hurts thought :/ It hurts more than just thought!

      Though, I guess on /., perhaps you're right.
      --
      Max.
    5. Re:Funny result of NoScript by corbettw · · Score: 1

      I don't think Iraq or Afghanistan has much of a Navy to worry about. No, but Iran and China do. Not compared to ours, true, but both counties have submarines; China has ballistic missile subs, and Iran has torpedoes that travel over 200 mph underwater.
      --
      God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
    6. Re:Funny result of NoScript by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Is it weird english or no english at all or just wrong english?

      How do you say "vid nÃrmare eftertanke" or something like that in english then?

    7. Re:Funny result of NoScript by dwater · · Score: 1

      I think the joke was based on the use of 'thought' instead of 'though'.

      A common enough mistake, I think.

      Often, it will make the sentence incorrect, but that is not the case with the sentence you used.

      In this case, it implies it hurts your thought (ie what you are thinking about) - and since the post you were replying to was refering to 'copulate' and /. posters only really do that 'in their minds', the concept of "hurting thought" is surprisingly apt.

      Not funny anymore? Didn't think so. Perhaps it wasn't to start with.

      I've no idea what "vid nÃfrmare eftertanke" means. Sorry.

      --
      Max.
    8. Re:Funny result of NoScript by ravenshrike · · Score: 1

      Because leaving ActiveX running while setting up a firewall to deal with a separate problem is a smart move.

    9. Re:Funny result of NoScript by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      You forgot to mention the Chinese sub that got so close to a US navy ship that they almost actually. Here is a link to it. I can't find the one link that claims a few US navy ships had to correct courses because the sub was in the wrong place.

      Your right, this is a very real threat.

    10. Re:Funny result of NoScript by laederkeps · · Score: 1

      A few phrases that convey the same meaning, although not a completely perfect translation:
      "Come to think about it, ..."
      "Upon further consideration..."
      "Actually..."

    11. Re:Funny result of NoScript by mikael · · Score: 1

      Some of ex-navy folks in the UK have stories like that. One story that I heard about was the Russian submarine that was watching a NATO exercise and accidently strayed in front of another submarine which was using active sonar. The sonar reading read that there was a submarine less than 10 metres away. and was now ringing like a bell.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    12. Re:Funny result of NoScript by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      And we all know what happens if you can't communicate, you can't copulate.

      I don't know if I agree with that. I've definitely had relationships that were all copulation and no communication. In fact, looking back, I think some of them would have been better like that.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    13. Re:Funny result of NoScript by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      It doesn't surprise me. I had a friend who served something like 20 years on a sub in the US during the cold war who told me that a lot of what they did was trail other country's military ships to monitor their activities and every once in a while, after 3 or 4 days they would make themselves known while another sub was watching to see what kind of protective measures and reactions they would take. I guess we learned a lot about the Russians this way and they learned a lot about us too.

      This Chinese sub, like the tactics my friend told me about, weren't part of an exorcise even if one was going on at the time. It tested both the stealthiness of the sub and gave an idea of how to react if ever staring the enemy down. China must think we might be a potential enemy at some point which means they could be a bigger threat in the future as well as illustrating our need for a sonar that can see them.

    14. Re:Funny result of NoScript by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You make it sound malicious, which it's not. The normal course of action for the military is to ignore any concern that reduces their operational capability unless forced from above to do otherwise. The mindset allows them to be very effective at accomplishing their missions, but as this case shows, can lead to collateral harm.

      Iraq and Afghanistan may not have subs, but Iran and North Korea have the diesel-electric subs that typically operate in shallow water. Medium frequency active sonar, which is the most controversial, is more effective than other types here. China and Russia have ballistic missile submarines with nuclear missiles aimed at the US that often hide near the arctic icepack, another place where medium frequency active sonar is useful. Plenty of other nations have the capability to mine shipping lanes (Iran and North Korea both have done so), another application where active sonar is useful. Also, believe it or not, drug cartels have actually used submarines to sneak drugs into the US, and the Navy is sometimes involved in drug interdiction missions.

      If there were a new, better technology, the Navy would be all over it. Using active sonar in the ocean is like using a flashlight in the forest...the other guy will almost always see your light before you see them, but there are times when it is a tactical necessity.

      I'm not saying you're off base and the Navy shouldn't have to restrict their use of active sonar as much as possible, but neither should they give it up altogether.

  2. Similar here by xioborg · · Score: 1

    Similar results here, but with adzap. Just one big page that says "THIS AD ZAPPED"

  3. So? by pla · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society have posted a navigable life-size photo of a blue whale!

    I already have a life-size photo of a blue whale, thanks.

    Of course, from my 5MP digital camera, that means a resolution of only 2dpi, but still "life size" in the sense that it would take 110ft (by a couple dozen rolls wide) of plotter paper to print.

    1. Re:So? by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 1

      I already have a life-size photo of a blue whale, thanks.

      Of course, from my 5MP digital camera, that means a resolution of only 2dpi, but still "life size" in the sense that it would take 110ft (by a couple dozen rolls wide) of plotter paper to print. The kind of thinking that only comes from a lifetime of desperately struggling to come to terms with size-related inadequacy.

      My first thought was to flame you for being a jerk. Instead, you have my commiserations.
      --
      Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
    2. Re:So? by pla · · Score: 1

      My first thought was to flame you for being a jerk. Instead, you have my commiserations.

      I actually meant it as, y'know, a joke.

      Apparently, the mods have deemed it not a very good one. :(

      Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

    3. Re:So? by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 1

      Apparently, the mods have deemed it not a very good one. :( "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of trolls and mods."
      - urCreepyNeighbor
      --
      "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
  4. Cool! by sm62704 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That was the first useful use for Flash I've seen. I liked how when your cursor went over the "close" icon it says "Think before you close this window. This may be the last life sized blue whale you will ever see".

    Kudos to the presenter, and thanks to the submitter. When is Google Earth gong to be life sized? ;)

    --
    mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    1. Re:Cool! by Wandering+Wombat · · Score: 1

      Well, it's a life-sized EYE of a blue whale...

      Nine minutes in, and that's all that's loaded.

      --
      I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
    2. Re:Cool! by maxume · · Score: 1

      If you take a screenshot, you will be able to look at a life sized blue whale any time you want!

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    3. Re:Cool! by flyingsquid · · Score: 5, Funny
      When is Google Earth going to be life sized? ;)

      Actually, my startup company already has a working beta along those lines. It's a map search, it's life sized, and it's got a three-dimensional, interactive interface. We call it BoxSearch, and it works like this.

      You walk into the Immersive Interface Device, which looks like a large cardboard refrigerator box. We close the flaps on the Immersive Interface Device and render the environment: a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of the world, and then when you walk out of the device, you're in the BoxSearch virtual map. The resolution is incredibly high, the colors are bright and crisp, and using our proprietary BoxSearch technology, you can actually touch, hear, and feel objects in the BoxSearch virtual world, just as you would in the real world. The BoxSearch virtual world includes every object you would see in the real world down to individual grains of sand, and it's updated constantly to reflect the current location of people, cars, etc. The only drawback so far is that movement is limited to the speed through which you walk through the BoxSearch virtual map space.

      If you have a few million dollars and are interested in investing in the next Google, contact me and I'll put you in touch with the people at BoxSearch and give you a tour. For now, BoxSearch and the Immersive Interface Device are located in the living room of my apartment, but once we get more funding we're hoping to move to more professional accomodations.

    4. Re:Cool! by eldepeche · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must have one of those Apple 3000" displays.

    5. Re:Cool! by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Considering we both saw the link at slashdot, that's not surprising. What's surpising is that anything loaded at all.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    6. Re:Cool! by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Um, more like a whole lot of screenshots, printed out and taped to a very big wall.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    7. Re:Cool! by maxume · · Score: 1

      Any point I had was related to the fact that looking at the flash image is approximately equal to looking at any life size picture of a blue whale, and that it may be possible to construct a similar flash program at almost any point in the future.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    8. Re:Cool! by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1
      I liked how when your cursor went over the "close" icon

      Another nice touch, with FlashBlock on you get:

      no content for you
      please install macromedia flash player 7


      Content Nazi.
      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    9. Re:Cool! by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      I can't see any way it could have been done without either Flash, or a server-side script. If you are using flashblock (normally I do, but I'm at work) you are likely to not allow scripts to run, either.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    10. Re:Cool! by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1
      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  5. Thanks adblock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    no content for you
    please install macromedia flash player 7

  6. For which screen size? by funfail · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What does "life-size" mean? Isn't it dependent on the screen size?

    A 22" monitor has %34 larger area than a 19" one. Since the whale is 3 dimensional, it translates to a difference of %55.

    1. Re:For which screen size? by John+Napkintosh · · Score: 1

      My guess is that the resolution/viewport changes with screen size, but the image viewed through the viewport does not. You'd just have to scroll less on a larger monitor.

      --

      Long signatures suck.
    2. Re:For which screen size? by funfail · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. My notebook's 10.6" screen is natively set to the exact same resolution (1366 x 768) as my 42" HD-Ready TV.

    3. Re:For which screen size? by pushing-robot · · Score: 2, Informative

      The size of your monitor isn't significant; it's the dot pitch that matters. Almost all current desktop LCDs are between 0.25mm and 0.275mm; if they scaled the image for the middle of that range, it should be accurate to ~5% on regular monitors.

      Consider also that not all whales are the same size. At birth a blue whale is around 7m long. A large adult can exceed 30m. "Life size" is not an exact number.

      I don't think they need to add a disclaimer just because some guy out there might decide to view the site on a large format (+very high dot pitch) display.

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    4. Re:For which screen size? by LoudMusic · · Score: 1

      No, not dot-pitch. That's the space between the pixels. What matters is how many pixels there are per inch.

      --
      No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
    5. Re:For which screen size? by ed.mps · · Score: 1

      the smaller the dot pitch, the more pixels per inch you have.

      --
      !sig
    6. Re:For which screen size? by kylehase · · Score: 1

      Either use dot pitch + resolution OR screen size + resolution are important. In either case you can set your resolution incorrectly and throw off the "actual size" calculation.

      As for the image, I'm running 1024x768 on a 17" LCD and I swear that thing is much too small. Maybe it's a baby whale.

      I did some calculations and found that the thumbnail is about 1/125 scale (on my screen). The whale on the thumbnail is 10.2cm which would make the whale 12.75m. Seems small to me but according to this site size at birth is 4-5m and adult is 15-20m. Wikipedia says up to 27m were recorded.

      --
      You want fun, go home and buy a monkey!
    7. Re:For which screen size? by Faylone · · Score: 1

      A small dot pitch with huge pixels would still result in fewer pixels per inch: If I use a single pixel that's a square inch, it will be one pixel per inch, even if you had the pixels a plank length from each other.

    8. Re:For which screen size? by FishAdmin · · Score: 1

      The size of your monitor isn't significant; Actually, the size of YOUR monitor isn't significant; MY monitor is magnificent, and fierce, and huge-ish ;-)
      --
      Last night I played a blank tape at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.
  7. Life size? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On what size monitor set to what resolution?

    They should know better than advertise specifics on Slashdot without thinking of the details...

    1. Re:Life size? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "They" probably didn't submit this to Slashdot.

  8. Scary by Calibretto23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    One of the most horrifying experiences I've ever had was at the National Museum of Natural History and seeing the Blue Whale replica as a small child. Thanks for bringing those memories screaming back to the surface.

    1. Re:Scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Wimp, LOL

      Uh, at the risk of being rude, are you serious? What was so horrifying? The fact it was bigger than you??? Lots of stuff is so not sure I quite get this one...

    2. Re:Scary by haystor · · Score: 1

      That's Job Calibretto. His run-in with whales is well documented.

      --
      t
    3. Re:Scary by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      And here I was about to call him Ishmael.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    4. Re:Scary by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I also like swimming with the blue whale in Endless Ocean on the Wii. You can really get a feel for just how big these animals are. Probably not as good as your experience, but still somewhat cool.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    5. Re:Scary by rwa2 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dude, you need to have kids (or borrow some) and take them to see Finding Nemo on the big screen, if just for the whale scene. It will totally give you awesome nightmares. For some definition of awesome.

    6. Re:Scary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've never ever seen a whale in person, or seen a replica whatsoever, but it fuckin gave me the creeps... dunno why, but large sea animals creep me out (hell, I even got goosebumps... just as when playing the underwater sections in super mario 64... now I know I just DON'T have to see finding nemo)

      BTW I'm 28 yrs old and I'm a teacher...

  9. A neat concept but... by east+coast · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why don't they have some kind of method to stop the "swimming"? At least I didn't see one. It's kind of annoying to be frank about it.

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    1. Re:A neat concept but... by 0racle · · Score: 5, Funny

      You mean something like a harpoon?

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    2. Re:A neat concept but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +5 funny
      and yet,
      -1 motherfucker ;)
      Really, I LOLed, in a sad kind of way :D

    3. Re:A neat concept but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      click and hold with the mouse, then drag it a bit to the left, and keep holding. There, stopped.

    4. Re:A neat concept but... by ReKleSS · · Score: 1

      Reminded me of Harpooned, a "Cetacean research simulator."

      --
      md5sum -c reality.md5
      reality: FAILED
      md5sum: WARNING: 1 of 1 computed checksum did NOT match
  10. Photo? by ludomancer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's really nice regardless, but it looks more like a high-res CG render.

    1. Re:Photo? by kilraid · · Score: 1

      It is, looking at the polygonal edges of the fin on the back.

  11. Server is already dead.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    after only 10 comments... anyone have a mirror?

    1. Re:Server is already dead.. by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      Yep.

      Things always look smaller in the mirror.

  12. That's nothing. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have life-size map of the US. The scale says "1 mile = 1 mile".
    When people ask where I live, I say "E5".
    [Thank you Steven Wright.]

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re:That's nothing. by MyDixieWrecked · · Score: 3, Funny

      I want to get a tattoo of myself on my entire body, only 2" taller.

      --



      ...spike
      Ewwwwww, coconut...
    2. Re:That's nothing. by mediocubano · · Score: 1

      Life Size map of the earth: "and it is a bitch to fold" - Steven Wright

    3. Re:That's nothing. by dwater · · Score: 1

      only 2" taller. Did you mean when lying down, or have you need told that is not important?
      --
      Max.
    4. Re:That's nothing. by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      At least your dream isn't a tattoo of a butt tattooed on a butt tattooed on your butt like in Beavis and Butt-head when they meet the serial killer.

    5. Re:That's nothing. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Last summer? I folded it.

  13. Slashdotted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Site taking too long to respond. :(

  14. The frist blue wale by fluch · · Score: 1

    which got /.-ed...

    1. Re:The frist blue wale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe the server was harpooned.

      Guess I'll find that site with the whale/cow hybrid.

  15. Bah by EkriirkE · · Score: 1

    It's just a painting. I thought the article said photo :(

    --
    from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
  16. "Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by dpbsmith · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This calls to mind a wonderful book by one Kees Boeke... who I assume is no longer alive... published in 1957 and entitled (in its English translation, anyway) Cosmic View: The Universe in Forty Jumps. The book is a series of more-or-less realistic drawings, starting with a girl sitting in a chair in a Dutch school playground, then zooming outward, picture by picture, each picture drawn on a tenfold smaller scale than the next.

    The third or fourth picture shows a blue whale, which, for some reason, managed to beach itself in the school playground.

    After ascending outward to show a cluster of galaxies, it then resumes in the schoolyard, zooming inward, tenfold larger each time. I recall that the girl has a small cut on her hand--to give later opportunity to zoom in on blood corpuscles--and, again for no good reason, there happens to be a copepod (of all things) lying on the edge of the cut!

    Later, the same theme, with explicit acknowledgement to Boeke, was pursued by Charles Eames and Philip Morrison in a photographically illustrated book called Powers of Ten, and an animated movie of the same title by the Office of Charles and Ray Eames. The medium-scale shots are aerial photographs of Chicago's lakefront area, perhaps the Museum of Science and Industry, and I guess are undoctored photographs... no whale in it, anyway. Too bad.

    Both books are absolutely marvellous, real mind-openers for nerdy kids of the right age... (Click, click) Can it really be that both are out of print? A shame...

    1. Re:"Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 2, Informative
      --
      "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
    2. Re:"Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by 12ahead · · Score: 1

      Fear not: http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/cosmicview/ has an online version of the book!

    3. Re:"Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by Trogre · · Score: 1

      This visualised pretty well here

      (Java required)

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    4. Re:"Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by complete+loony · · Score: 1

      I prefer powers of one myself.

      --
      09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
    5. Re:"Cosmic View" and "Powers of Ten" by Scynet85 · · Score: 1

      You should try out Universcale by Nikon: http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/universcale/index.htm Truly an awesome application.

  17. To Whom it May Concern by Kamokazi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Sir or Maddam:

    I am an attourney from the firm Dewey, Phucum, and Howe, contacting you on behalf of the company, Redundant, Overly-broad, Far-fetched, Lame and Completely Obscure Patents and Trademark Exploiting Registry, LLC. (Hereafter known as ROFLCOPTER, LLC). ROFLCOPTER, LLC. asserts that you have violated 1,337 of their patents in your 'BoxSearch' product and demand that you cease and desist all development and production and turn all assets over to ROFLCOPTER, LLC, along with eleventy billion dollars to cover legal expenses. Foremost among these patents is USPTO# 867,530,911, which covers "Any large box used in a manner that causes you to make large sums of money." Clearly your BoxSearch product is an exact copy of ROFLCOPTER, LLC.'s patent, and therefore you owe us 'large sums of money'.

    We look forward to your large check.

    Sincerely,

    Harrison Richard Spallsitch
    (The guy on the back of the phone book...two from the right)

    --
    As our way of thanking you for your positive contributions to Slashdot, you are eligible to disable Slashdot 2.0.
  18. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  19. Re:20 years late, but... by coren2000 · · Score: 1

    wrong whale type. ST:IV had humpbacks.

  20. Re:Bah, just a painting by rwa2 · · Score: 1

    Drat, I think you're right. I was really looking forward to mapping out all of the interesting barnacles or something.

    But come to think of it, this is really something we need more of. Especially of humans. You'd think the porn industry would already be on top of it.

  21. Still looking... by stoofa · · Score: 2, Funny

    But haven't spotted the pot of petunias yet.

    Go on, flame me till I'm charcoal about it being the wrong type of whale... you know you want to ;-)

  22. Do they blink? by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    Or is my flash not working? =)

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  23. Google Whale? by RealErmine · · Score: 1

    I can't wait for the Cmdrtaco version. Here's to hoping there's a "Steet View" option!

    --
    Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!