I’ve been lusting after the Parrot AR.Drone for years, (remember their amazing outdoor play area at CES in jan?) not sure why i never gave in to it till now, but NOTlabs definitely needs some fun toys… and running around Fry’s, there was one just there… calling to be brought home! So here’s a peek at the unboxing ~ and a few random images from test flights… but to be honest, it’s so fun to fly, it’s hard to remember to take pics of it at the same time, especially cell phone pics since you’re using iPhone/iPad and/or Android to control it! Touted as the first AR Flying Video Game, it’s gorgeous, amusing, surprisingly stable and even has two cameras mounted on it (front facing and downward facing)… so take a look at what’s inside the box on the next page…

p.s. i’m sure Shawn will be coming up with more NOTlabs projects to dronehack this one in to when we’re not busy flying it around the lab/yard. So more to come… and we might need another to properly play each other!

p.p.s. fun to see what other apps people have been developing for it!

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Tags: flying - gifts - shopping - technology - toys - unboxing

On amazing little journeys ~ we started at the dock/house/helipad area on the water where we originally met the group of Mercedes-AMG SLS Roadsters… and our bags were waiting for us to head to the airport… via helicopter! So i have some video of the quick flight along the Cote du Azur as well as the landing (i felt like i was in a toy as we came in to land, it’s fun riding shotgun!) Then on to a quick Nice to Munich flight… over the alps, which are always stunning. The shadows. The way the snowy mountain tips peek through the fluffy clouds. The melting snow into lakes. The tiny green towns tucked between it all… and before landing there were amazing amounts of teeny tiny sail boats below out in a lake! Take a peek at all of it on the next page!

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Tags: airplane - europe - flying - france - germany - Operation Window Seat - photography

So, who would have thought the Pittsburgh/LA direct flight route (one a day in each direction on United!) would be so awesome. With no wifi, a small plane, magical first class upgrades, food, and super nice crews… with window seats and great timing on the flights to catch sunsets mid flight… i’ve been getting some of the best meditative/ME time! Awesome naps and placemats filled with notes ~ and between naps today i scrambled for my camera as soon as my eyes opened a crack and thought i was in some otherworldly place. Turns out a cloudy day below can make for quite the surreal flight home… some of the shapes were unreal, how did the clouds even make those angles and layers?!?! How did those layers of clouds start to look like a glassy ocean with peeks of the midwestern farmlands below barely showing through? And the way the dramatic shadows change as the sun begins to set… mesmerizing. While cloud watching is fun laying on the grass, staring up at the sky… seeing what creatures and objects you spy… it can be even more amazing from the side, or from within the layers of them! So take a peek at Operation Window Seat’s first Cloud edition on the next page… what do YOU see in them?

p.s. for whatever reason the first thing my subconscious thought was: care bears + game of thrones. And the picture above looks like a rather pointed submarine with an arrow like periscope… or am i just seeing periscopes since its one of the current NOTlabs research project?

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Tags: airplane - flying - Operation Window Seat - photography - travel

More fun surprises that arrived while i was in NY! Gorgeous pack for The 2011 Hangar One Vodka Blimp Tour… it’s fun to see that SF/Alameda’s Hangar One is now taking the country by… BLIMP! This very minute, the Hangar One blimp is adrift in the skies somewhere between Long Island and Boston. There’s nothing quite like a crazy continental blimp tour! The 120 foot aircraft with a vintage Hangar One airstream is on an epic 6 month tour which kicked off from Miami last month. Over the next 6 months, the blimp will be visiting over 20 cities across the US, before finally docking in Hangar One’s home of Alameda, CA at the end of November. Check out the blimp schedule to find when the team will be docking in your town. Because when the blimp comes to town, it’s more than a pit stop. Each stop is also a competition between 15 bartenders with winners for every stop.

Beautiful branding, illustration and packaging that goes along with the tour by Dead As We Know It! The gorgeous drawings have a homely feel that captures the handmade, small scale production of the spirits. The illustration runs throughout the press kit and the company’s website. Check out the gorgeous intro at the Hangar One Vodka site as well as The Ballad of Hangar One and documentaries about Hangar One’s Story, Farm and Process, created by Dead As We Know It… Now as for the goodies in the cardboard case that arrived ~ take a peek at the unboxing of the poster, BLIMPSPOTTING stickers, hat, t-shirt, and more on the next page!

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Tags: drinks - flying - gifts - liqurious - packaging - shopping - travel

This post is brought to you by Lowe’s, and is the brainchild of NOTCOT. Find inspiration and encouragement as you plan, begin and complete do-it-yourself projects at Lowe’s Home 101.

I find myself staring into the sky a lot lately ~ especially in dense cities like New York, i can’t help but to stare upwards often. The clouds are just different! And the sunsets and Manhattanhenge have been awesomely dramatic… so when looking for home inspirations for this latest Lowe’s sponsored post, it seemed like the perfect excuse to see the color palettes we can pull out of these many sunset pics i’m finding on my phone this week! Take a peek at some of the stunning views on the next page!

p.s. I’m also playing with and very impressed with the camera/UX on the new HTC Sensation! These sunset pics were all snapped with its 8mgp camera!

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Tags: flying - Lowe's - new york - Operation Window Seat - sponsored - sunset - travel

StndAIR! Yes, André Balazs and the Standard Hotels now have their own sea plane! And will even give you a ride from the New York City to East Hampton on peek weekends (perfect for hopping over from the Standard New York to Sunset Beach)… or you can charter it for anywhere in a 300 mile radius. Adorably red, “Willa” certainly can’t be missed! This 8 passenger Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian aircraft, staffed by two pilots, officially takes flight tomorrow, but we’ve got some fun sneak peeks at the sketches behind her and her first flight! And in full Standard style, “The cheeky flight experience will include André Balazs Rosé, Swedish Fish, StnAir Branded Water and a Standard flight greeter at departure and arrival.” (Mmmmmm Rosé and Swedish Fish.)

And of course they take the experience even further with their StndAIR Flight Board: “Travelers can ‘compete’ to charter flights at more affordable rates provided they recruit friends to fill the 8 seats on the plane, or take their chances with others seeking the same destination.  The first person to book receives the lowest price and there’s a sliding price scale that gradually increases as more participants sign up for that flight. The first to fill a flight gets the confirmed charter.” So… what are you waiting for? Let’s get a group of 8 together and go! Take a peek at StndAIR’s inaugural flight on the next page!

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Tags: airline - airplane - flying - hotels - new york - standard - travel

Justine seems to be taking over my Operation Window Seat addiction… and is taking it to a whole new level. Armed with her new Canon 60D, on her LAX home to LHR flight, she has started taking some amazing TINY PLANE SPOTTING pics! Found these in my dropbox shortly after she got home. You have to see how incredibly tiny they look! Then let yourself imagine how many people are in there! They are pretty amazing, almost surreal, and i swear i didn’t photoshop them in! So very fascinatingly tiny, check them out on the next page!

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Tags: airplane - flying - Operation Window Seat - travel

SO! Did the Virgin America redeye LAX-JFK ~ and even went for a window seat in hopes of photographing sunrise on the way in… sadly we got in SO EARLY, the sun hadn’t risen yet. So no pics of that… but on silly design details i couldn’t pass up… when they brought me the fruit and cheese plate - it had this adorable airplane salt and pepper shaker i had to share with you! It’s like the toy in the cereal box… only instead of cereal, it was with the fruit and cheese… Anyhow! It’s cute, check out more pics on the next page…

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Tags: airline - airplane - flying - food - kitchen

I passed out as soon as i sat down on the plane from SLC to LAX ~ i barely remember take off ~ and then suddenly when turbulence jolted me awake somewhere in between, all i saw out the window were surreal and stunningly dramatic shadows on snowy mountains… and i was so mesmerized, then something kicked in, and i half awakenly grabbed my camera, and felt like i was dream shooting all the way back to LA. So fun to see the world from that view ~ such a nice perspective shift from what’s felt like a very conceptually nazel gazing last few days. I love the way the snow transitioned into dessert… and into cities… and the way roads are carved into the snowy tree filled mountainside… the way the city glowed with the hollywood sign and downtown popping out as we landed… Take a look on the next page!

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Tags: aerial - airplane - flying - los angeles - Operation Window Seat - photography - travel

I had one of my “wow, i love LA” moments as i was flying in from NY the other night… after not sleeping the night before, i crashed hard in a strange and contorted position for 5 hours on my JetBlue flight home, and as my eyes started to open, i was disoriented and fascinated by the sparkles of the city below me. It was such a clear night. and the colors felt different… i couldn’t help but wonder if it was the increase of things like LED billboards that are so blindingly bright when i’m on the ground changing the landscape of lights from above. They felt brighter and sharper ~ twinkling as we approached… and of course, i couldn’t help but snap a few pics to share with you. Also, nice placement of your URL, JetBlue, it’s as if you knew people would be taking pics out of the window… or just looking out of the window constantly…

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Tags: aerial - airplane - flying - los angeles - Operation Window Seat - photography

As i clean through many ICFF pics ~ i snapped a few as we were coming in to LAX, and it was such a foggy day the sunset was absolutely stunning, and caused some crazy lens flare with awesome orange blobs i'm quite liking tonight... and the colors... if you haven't been able to tell by now sunsets/sunrises/incredible views are just so inspiring and entrancing to me! So here's a random weekend post of the glowing orbs my camera found... you can watch the sun disappear on the next page...

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Tags: aerial - airplane - flying - los angeles - Operation Window Seat - photography - sunset

I'm back to real life now ~ 18 hour direct flight was surprisingly less painful than expected... also the all business class flight with lay flat beds certainly didn't hurt... 4-5 movies and like a 10 hour nap... and i am home! (You can take a peek at some of the pics on the LAX-Singapore flight here) Took off at 4:15pm landed in LA at 5:00...

It was a good trip, putting in some family time to pay my respects to my grandmother and help with family affairs... nice chance to step out of my NOTCOT life for a few days... but of course i couldn't help myself and i have a little pile that just jumped out of my suitcase waiting to be photographed and shared! With the perfect timing on the flights this trip back the views were so gorgeous i couldn't help taking a few snapshots and mini videos with the point and shoot... so check it out on the next page! Also some fun details of Changi airport... i love the backlit walls of hanging plants and the giant robotic flower fan!

(ok videos are taking forever on Vimeo ~ will add those when they are up!)

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Tags: aerial - airline - airplane - flying - la - Operation Window Seat - photography - singapore - travel