IMB live piracy map 2008

Just providing a service folks.

What is remarkable from a technical perspective is that you can access this map anywhere in the world where you can get an internet connection.  It's updated in real time so you can keep track of activity. 

I wonder if the captain of the Le Ponant knew about this service and if not does that make the ship company liable for endangering the passengers and crew?

According to the ship owner's Web site, the three-mast, 64-passenger Le Ponant features four decks, two restaurants, and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. About a dozen pirates stormed the yacht April 4 as it was returning without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea.

...ah it was empty of passengers.

I know you've been curious.

Well here is a fascinating article that talks about how huge Baleen [called Rorqual] Whales feed.

I mean we all know that they open their mouths and let the water flow in and then squeeze it out through the baleen and trap the krill.  But the latest research fills in the details.

Essentially they cruise along at 600 feet below the surface and then open their mouth, dropping their jaw perpendicular to their body.  This causes their whole mouth to act like a giant parachute and stops the forward motion of the whale completely.

What the whale does next came as a complete surprise to the scientists. “It was still swimming, but it was slowing down really fast,” Mr. Goldbogen said. Even as the whale pumps its powerful tail, it comes to a compete stop in three seconds.

And the amount of water that they capture in their mouth during a gulp is truly gargantuan.

Mr. Goldbogen and his colleagues calculate that in just three seconds, the mouth of a 60-foot fin whale fills with more than 18,000 gallons of water. That’s the same volume as a school bus, and weighs more than the whale itself.

Go read the whole article.  It's a fascinating read.