An hour’s drive from Tampa, Florida, there's a spring so deep that no one has ever found the bottom.

And in that spring, beautiful women with intricate fishtails swim through the 74-degree water that bubbles up out of the ground.

Welcome to Weeki Wachee Springs, where "mermaids" are real and perform three shows every day.

Click here to jump right to the mermaid photos >>

The park was opened in 1946 by a former Navy officer named Newton Perry who had previously trained SEALS to swim underwater. After happening upon the spring, he built a theater with 18 seats six feet below the surface. In those days, if the female performers heard a car passing by on highway U.S. 19, they'd run to their pedestals in their swimsuits and wave to the passers-by to come see their show.

In 1959, the park was purchased by the American Broadcasting Co. and a new, larger theatre was built with 500 seats 16 feet below the surface. Celebrities like Elvis Presley and Esther Williams began to flock to the shows, which by then featured as many as 35 mermaids. 

But with the opening of larger parks like Disney World, people began to lose interest in the vintage-y mermaid park. In 2003, Weeki Wachee was threatened with permanent closure, but a campaign by the current and former mermaids saved it. Today, it's an official Florida State Park.

British photographer Annie Collinge first stumbled upon the park online, and the more she read about it, the more she realized she needed to visit the park herself to believe it.

"I was actually having a look at a website about the Coney Island Mermaid Parade and there was an interview with a guy that makes Mermaid tails," she explained in her artist's statement. "They asked him what first inspired him to start making them and he said that he had grown up next to the Weeki Wachee Springs.  I had a look on Google and instantly knew I had to go there."

What she discovered was a group of women who not only love their jobs, but who are exceptional swimmers and athletes as well.

"The thing that you don't realise about their job is, its very physically demanding," Collinge says. "They all have advanced Scuba qualifications and are very strong swimmers.  To get into the theatre you have to swim without air down a tunnel with their tails on, and that is definitely not for the faint-hearted."

Collinge’s exhibition, “Annie Collinge: The Underwater Mermaid Theater,” is currently on display now through January 5 at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. You can follow the photographer on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on her website.

Welcome to Weeki Wachee Springs, the vintage mermaid park that was first opened back in 1946 by a former Navy officer named Newton Perry.

Source: Weeki Wachee Springs

Newt trained the girls to swim with air hoses that were peppered throughout the landscape so they didn't need to use a visible breathing apparatus or carry an air tank on their backs.

Source: Weeki Wachee Springs

The women perform 16 to 20 feet below the surface where the current runs a strong five miles an hour. Even staying in one place takes an immense effort.

Source: Weeki Wachee Springs

Here they are: the most important charts of the year. 

We asked our favorite portfolio managers, strategists, analysts, and economists across the Street for the charts that they deem the most important right now, and this is what they sent us.

Much of the focus is on the 10-year Treasury yield — where does it go, and what is the read-across for other financial markets around the globe? Many are focused on the stock market as well, the consensus being that indices will rise to new highs again in 2014.

But there are a lot of other things going on as well.

Emad Mostaque, Noah Capital Markets

Jack Bogle, The Vanguard Group

Byron Wien, Blackstone Group

The editors of the journal Science have chosen cancer immunotherapy — using the body's immune system to attack tumors instead of targeting the tumor itself — as the biggest breakthrough of 2013.

"Cancer immunotherapy clinched the #1 spot because it's causing such a paradigm shift among researchers in how they tackle cancer," the journal's editorial team wrote in a statement.

The technique involves training immune cells to recognize the characteristics of cancer cells, and then fight back. There's still a lot of work ahead since the treatment has only worked for a few patients and some types of cancers so far, but the results from clinical trials offer hope for a new weapon against cancer.

Nine other groundbreaking achievements that were chosen from this year are detailed below.

Scientists discover the first real reason we need sleep

By studying a newfound pathway in mice, scientists identified the first major mechanical reason we need to sleep: to clean the brain. When the brain is sleeping, channels between cells grow. This allows cerebrospinal fluid into the depths of the brain tissues to flush out toxic proteins that build up during the day, including the kind that are responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

A gene-editing tool called CRISPR soars in popularity

CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, was discovered in bacteria where it operates like an immune system against invading viruses. The structure is made up of a series of repeated stretches broken up by short "spacer" sequences. The short sequences come from viruses that infected the bacterial cell. Researchers use CRISPR as a gene-editing tool to "cut DNA at precise locations — and at several sites at once, if desired — so that they can test the effects of mutations inside a cell,"Patricia Fitzpatrick explains in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. This year, dozens of teams of researchers have used the revolutionary technique to "manipulate the genomes of various plant, animal and human cells," the editors of Science write.

Scientists Succeed In Growing A Variety Of Mini-Organs

Mini organs grown in the lab, called "organoids," provide scientists with new ways to test drugs and examine diseases in a human context. This year, Austrian researchers grew mini human brains, three-dimensional blobs of tissue about the size of an apple seed. The tiny brains have no blood supply, but still provide a better biological model than, say, mice for researchers to understand how the brain develops and study disorders.

Researchers recognize the importance of microbes for our health

Researchers are finally understanding that bacteria and other organisms that live in the human body can be good for us. The body hosts trillions of tiny organisms called microbes. Some microbes, or "germs," cause diseases, but the majority of them are harmless and others even benefit our immune and digestive systems, scientists have found. This year, gut microbes have been shown to influence anticancer therapies in humans and play a role in weight loss and protection again allergies and asthma in studies of mice.

Perovskite cells show promise for high-efficiency, inexpensive solar power

A new solar cell material called perovskite showed great promise this year as a low-cost, more efficient alternative to traditional silicon-based cells. Within four years of development, perovskite cells reached efficiency levels that took more than a decade for technologies used today to reach. Researchers still have to find a way to make perovskite as durable as silicon and prove that it doesn't contain toxic elements that would make it unsafe for use.

Researchers use structural biology to make a new vaccine

For the first time scientists developed a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common childhood virus, using a technique called structural biology. Efforts to create a vaccine against RSV had stalled using traditional methods — exposing the body to dead virus or a weak strain and letting it make a random assortment of antibodies against it.

Instead, researchers used a different tactic — they aimed to get the body to make a special antibody that makes some people resistant to the virus. They did so by analyzing the structure of the RSV protein when it is bound to the antibody. They then made a mutated version of a RSV protein that was a slightly different shape than normal, but the change in shape made the part that binds this killer antibody more visible. That means that body makes more of these killer antibodies to fight off the virus.

Scientists make human stem cells through cloning

Researchers were able to make embryonic stem cells by cloning human skin cells, a feat that has been in the works for more than a decade. Since stem cells can turn into any tissue in the body — and in this case are an exact genetic match to the cloned cell — the technique may one day be used to develop replacement tissues and organs to treat diseases. It also takes us one step closer to producing cloned babies. The cloning technique is essentially the same one used to clone animals, including Dolly the sheep 17 years ago. After years of failed attempts, scientists realized that adding a bit of caffeine enabled them to produce stems cells from cloned human embryos.

The CLARITY imaging technique makes it easier to see the brain

CLARITY allows scientists to see through the entire intact brain without slicing it up, which was problematic because it severed connections between cells."Studying intact systems with this sort of molecular resolution and global scope — to be able to see the fine detail and the big picture at the same time — has been a major unmet goal in biology, and a goal that CLARITY begins to address," study leader Karl Deisseroth, a bioengineer and psychiatrist at Stanford University, said in a statement.

Scientists found the source of cosmic rays

The origin of cosmic rays, high-energy particles that speed through space and smash into Earth's upper atmosphere, has eluded scientists since they were detected 100 years ago. But this year, scientists found evidence that at least some cosmic rays come from exploding stars, or supernovas. Supernova remnants act like an "expanding shell of matter,"explains ScienceNow. Protons that interact with gas surrounding the supernova get accelerated to almost the speed of light until they shoot off into space in all directions as cosmic rays.

SEE ALSO: The Most Amazing Satellite Images Of The Year

Join the conversation about this story »

Logitech has a released a new game controller for the iPhone called the PowerShell controller + battery. It supports the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and the fifth generation iPod Touch.

It's one of the first game controllers made for iOS 7 and it costs $99. 

I tested over the past few days and here's what I liked and what I didn't like.

The set up process is very easy.

It doesn't require much effort to set up the PowerShell. All you have to do is slide the iPhone or iPod into the center of the controller. Although the device will be encased in the shell, you'll still be able to answer calls and have full access to your phone.

Some of the games make you feel like there is a Playstation in your pocket.

Once its locked securely in the dock, download games from the app store. Logitech touts console-style controls for the PowerShell and certain games certainly feel like your playing a miniature PlayStation. While gobbling up dots in multiple levels of Pacman, I felt like I had a classic 80's arcade game in the palm of my hands. The directional pad was responsive when helping Pacman find his way through the maze and the letter controls worked well for adjusting playing options such as turning up the sound. Here's a full list of what you can play.

Players will have long hours of gameplay.

At the top of the PowerShell, there is a small silver switch that activates the controller's powerful battery. If your iPhone or iPod battery gets low, turn on the PowerShell's battery. My iPhone 5S was fully charged in under an hour while I completed several levels of Fast & Furious 6.

Now, here's what needs work.

The controls need some more improvements. While the directional pad worked well for some games, it was AWFUL for others. As I mentioned above, it responded well with PacMan but was extremely hard to use on some of the strategy games like Bastion. I had to push down multiple times in order to scroll through menus and keep my character moving in a straight line. If Logitech had wanted to make the definitive controller for iOS 7, they could have put some more effort into refining their controls.

Also, I don't recommend using an iPod in the PowerShell. In order to use headphones, you'll have to hook your headphones into a flimsy power adapter. It took me several tries to sync my headphones into the dongle and the sound quality wasn't great. You're better off muting the volume on your iPod. 

Conclusion

I thought the controller was good, not great. The gadget fits great in your pocket and was fun to use while I was on my train to work. But ultimately, I think there should have been more features to justify the $99 price. 

Join the conversation about this story »

In a perfect world, it really shouldn't matter what sexual orientation successful people are.

But given that young LGBT people throughout the world still experience bullying at school, we think it's important to highlight some of the brightest LGBT talents in the tech industry. 

“The general idea of corporate America taking on gay issues — with tech companies being out in front — has had an important influence on public opinion,” law professor Gary Gates of the University of California at Los Angeles, one of the country’s top scholars on gay rights and demography, told Politico earlier this year. “They have been first movers on anti-discrimination, on relationship recognition and now on most of the transgender issues.”

Companies like Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and IBM all have adopted LGBT benefits. Google, for example, has provided LGBT partner benefits since 2010. Twitter also has similar anti-discrimination policies in place and domestic-partner benefits in place since the very beginning.

31. Chuck Osborn

Chuck Osborn is a long-time gaming expert who recently became the new managing editor at IGN, a leading online media publication focused on gaming. 

Prior to joining IGN, Osborn wrote for publications like PCXL, PC Gamer, and NVISION. 

30. Kane Sarhan

Last year, Kane Sarhan teamed up with Shaila Ittycheria to launch Enstitute, an on-the-job alternative to attending college.

Enstitute helps place aspiring entrepreneurs in apprenticeship-like programs. It recently expanded to Washington and opened up an online application platform to help people pursue opportunities in business, technology, design, and entrepreneurship.

Enstitute places it students at startups like Thrillist, Tracks, and Bitly. Halfway through its pilot program last year, 70% of students received preliminary full-time offers for permanent jobs.

Prior to co-founding Enstitute, Sarhan worked as the creative director at hot New York-based startup LocalResponse. 

29. Christy Gaughan

Genentech is one of the most innovative biotech companies out there, and a lot of that is thanks to Christy Gaughan, its associate director of BioOncology marketing science. 

Gaughan also serves as Genentech's LGBT employee group co-chair.

Health care and technology industries are booming in the United States, but which specific jobs are expected to grow over the next decade? 

Using projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on job growth from 2012 to 2022, we've identified the fastest-growing jobs in America. 

There's something for everyone, with at least 10 jobs that don't require any education beyond high school, several that require only an associate's degree, as well as jobs for those with master's and doctoral degrees.

We ranked the jobs on projected percentage growth from 2012 to 2022. We also included the number of jobs expected to be added during that period, typical education needed, and the average salary.

30. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

Percent growth: 30.4%

Jobs added through 2022: 15,700

Median salary: $52,070 

Typical education needed: Associate's degree

29. Helpers, construction trades

Percent growth: 30.6%

Jobs added through 2022: 65,300

Median salary: $26,570

Typical education needed: Not indicated

28. Marriage and family therapists

Percent growth: 30.6%

Jobs added through 2022: 11,600

Median salary: $46,670

Typical education needed: Master's degree

Tree-fellers, shoemakers, and postal clerks, beware. More than 30% of these jobs may disappear over the next 10 years.

A new release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics sheds light on which American occupations will shrink the most in the coming decade. The 30 fastest-declining jobs are ranked by projected percent decrease between 2012 and 2022, and are expected to lose between 15% and 43% of their workers.

Some industries are taking a bigger blow than others. Textile work, for example, is tanking. And many U.S. Postal Service workers may soon be hanging up their mail bags.

Want a career that will thrive over the next decade and beyond? Then stay away from these fields.

30. Manufactured building and mobile home installers

800 jobs lost between 2012 and 2022

A projected decline of 15.1%

Workers earned a median salary of $28,080 in 2012.

29. Cutters and trimmers (using hand-held tools)

2,200 jobs lost between 2012 and 2022

A projected decline of 15.3%

Workers earned a median salary of $24,530 in 2012.

28. Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers

14,200 jobs lost between 2012 and 2022

A projected decline of 15.3%

Workers earned a median salary of $21,470 in 2012.

Now that Apple has announced that the iPhone will be available on China Mobile, the world's largest carrier, it's time to take a serious look at China as the main battleground for the mobile industry. 

At BI Intelligence, we recently surveyed some of the best data available on China's mobile computing market. We collected it in an in-depth PowerPoint presentation. The full 50-slide version, as well as our ongoing China coverage, is only available to subscribers. But we're publishing an abridged version, below. 

BI Intelligence is a research and analysis service focused on mobile computing and the Internet. Subscribers can access the full report associated with this deck, download the deck as a PDF or PowerPoint, and access the individual charts and data. Please sign up for a free trial here.

Earlier this year, we posted a map of the most popular shows set in every state made by Redditor SomeGuyFromCanada.

Upon closer inspection, we didn't agree with a lot of his picks. (After all, "Breaking Bad" wasn't even included.)

We refined the list leaving out reality shows unless we couldn't find a popular enough series. 

Selections were based on each show’s longevity, critical acclaim, awards, and lasting cultural impact.

Did we get your state right? Let us know in the comments if you have another suggestion.

See a complete, annotated version of the above map here.

ALABAMA: "Any Day Now" (1998-2002)

Network: Lifetime
Seasons: 4

The hour-long drama followed the friendship between two girls of different races during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.  

The series flashed back and forth between the two women, Mary Elizabeth O'Brien Sims (Annie Potts) and Rene Jackson (Lorraine Toussaint), during childhood and as adults. 

Watch a clip here »

ALASKA: "Northern Exposure" (1990-1995)

Network: CBS 
Seasons: 6

What started out as an eight-episode summer series, gradually turned into a popular staple on the network.

The two-time Golden Globe winner followed Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) as he's forced to move his practice from New York to Cicely, Alaska to complete scholarship requirements from college.

Buy the series here »

ARIZONA: "Medium" (2005-2011)

Networks: NBC / CBS
Seasons: 7

Patricia Arquette plays a medium who uses her powers to speak with the dead and see future and past events to help solve police investigations. 

The show aired its first five seasons on NBC before airing two final seasons on CBS. Arquette won a Primetime Emmy for her role in 2005.

Buy the series here »

A few years after leaving Wall Street, Scott Mead, a former top Goldman Sachs investment banker, made a remarkable discovery while moving some boxes from his attic.

Or rediscovery, that is. 

Mead, who is known for advising Vodafone's nearly $200 billion takeover of Mannesmann, brought down boxes of old his photographs, negatives and cameras that had not been touched in years.

"I was aware it was sort of the physical baggage--the physical manifestation of some baggage we all park in our brains.  So I brought these down just partly out of curiosity, partly for some inexplicable reason."

He described this rediscovery process to us as "the most overwhelming experience." 

Click here to see his photos »

"It was like traveling back in time," he explained adding that it was like "getting to know another person." 

Mead, who grew up passionate about photography, spent the next year educating himself again and editing and printing these photos he had taken more than 30 years ago.  

"Since then, it has been a really amazing journey — exhilarating, humbling and everything in between." 

Eighteen months after bringing those boxes down, he put on an exhibition from several of the 8x10 negatives he found and printed called "Looking Back" at London's Hamilton Gallery.

Since then, he has done a number of exhibitions. Of the photographs he sells, 100% of the proceeds go to charity.

Mead has kindly shared some of the photos from his "Looking Back" portfolio with us in the slides that follow.

A few things you should know about the collection before you see them — The reason the images in this portfolio are round is because that's the way the human eye sees the world, Mead explained.

This technique brings the viewer back to a more authentic perception of what an eye, or in this case the camera lens, sees.  The black around it, particularly with the portraits, helps create a framing, highlighting the center of the compositions, he told us.  

Mead told us he first started taking photos at age 13 when he was given a press camera by his grandfather, who was a press photographer and journalist.  

From there, he taught himself how to develop photographs and spent a huge amount of time in his parents' basement.  

He was so enthusiastic about photography, that he studied it in high school and in college.  He focused on photography intensively until his 20s.  

When he began his 22-year investment banking career, photography eventually moved to the back-burner.

That being said, one of the key messages from his work is to highlight these beautiful moments that we might otherwise miss in our extremely busy lives.

"They are about finding what are ordinary places, times of day, patterns of light or shapes which we often overlook in the day to day of all of our busy lives and making them special through composition, print quality and balance—and hopefully conveying a sense of tranquility and peace," he told Business Insider.

First, let's meet our photographer, Scott Mead.

Here's a more recent photo of him. Amazing, right?

Apple Tree, 1974

Week 16 of the NFL season is nearly over. While we wait for the Monday Night Football game, let's take another look back at the best highlights from Sunday's action.

This week's collection includes Tom Brady still looking for high-fives, a failed onside kick attempt, and Rex Ryan freaking out on the sideline.

Here are our 18 favorites.

Who needs a referee when the Redskins have Chris Baker?

Poor Tom Brady is still struggling to get high-fives on the sideline.

via FoxSports.com

This is one of the most bizarre interceptions you'll ever see.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Garabedian family's famed Christmas House in the Bronx.

Family matriarch Nelly Garabedian, a former seamstress, wanted to turn her simple family home into a holiday hotspot to give back to the community. With the help of her grown children — Gary, Linda, Elise and Michael — the extravaganza has only become more outsized over the decades.

Three sides of the Garabedian house at 1605 Pelham Parkway North are filled with dozens of mannequins in ballgowns and tuxes. They're made to look like movie stars and famous fictional characters. There are at least 40 outside, but Linda told Business Insider she doesn't know them by number, only by face. 

Santa's sleigh is parked on the roof, while an elaborate Nativity scene sits nearby. Christmas trees, cherubs and chandeliers stuff the rest of the yard. Unlike many Christmas displays, the Garabedians' is more about props than twinkle lights. 

"When we celebrate Christmas in our house, what do we do?" Linda said, "We all get together with friends and family and celebrate. Our vision was to have our house look like a big Christmas party." 

Linda and Gary took Business Insider on a tour of their house decked out for the holidays. 

The Christmas House sits at 1605 Pelham Parkway North in the Bronx.

The side of the house features a Nativity scene with movie star mannequins gathered for a Christmas party.

Santa and his reindeer sit on the roof above the Christmas House's front door.

A decade ago, Google had not yet gone public, the Affordable Care Act wasn't law, and no one saw big data coming. The job market was entirely different then, as it will be a decade from now. 

A new data release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals which industries are going to grow the fastest between 2012 and 2022. Health care and technology, already giants today, are expected to keep up their rapid growth over the next decade. At the same time, manufacturing is expected to continue its rapid decline. 

So if you're looking ahead to the future, here are the industries that are going to boom. 

Facilities support services

Number employed in 2012: 125,800

Number projected in 2022: 164,400

Percentage growth: 30.6%

Why: Companies will always need janitorial, security, and maintenance services, which can't be outsourced to other countries or replaced by technology (at least not yet).

Veneer, plywood, and engineered wood product manufacturing

Number employed in 2012: 63,800

Number projected in 2022: 83,500

Percentage growth: 30.9%

Why: This is one of the industries that will benefit from increased construction spending, as the effects of the housing bubble wane and people start to build again. 

Offices of health practitioners

Number employed in 2012: 3,968,000

Number projected in 2022: 5,193,800

Percentage growth: 30.9%

Why: One side effect of the Affordable Care Act is that previously uninsured people will be more likely to seek out health care. Add that to an aging population, and you get plenty of demand for health care services.  

Google's offices are really incredible places.

They're filled with all sorts of odd, playful touches. They make going to work look like it would be fun.

No Google office exemplifies this spirit of work and whimsy better than Google's engineering hub in Zurich. Design firm Camenzind Evolution did the Zurich space in 2007.

The Zurich offices are surreal. They are filled with micro conference rooms, game rooms, snack rooms, and, oh yeah, some space to do work.

It's a pretty nondescript building from the outside.

But inside, it's very Google-y.

There is, of course, a slide.

In every homeowner's worst nightmare, a recent lawsuit alleges that two Coldwell Banker realtors in New Jersey kept potential buyers away from a vacant home so they could use it for their "sexual escapades,"according to NorthJersey.com writer John Petrick.

Robert Lindsay, a former president of the Passaic County Board of Realtors, and another Coldwell agent named Jeannemarie Phelan were allegedly caught by hidden security cameras using the defendants home as a crash pad for their trysts.

According to the suit: "Defendants Coldwell and Lindsay were engaged by [Richard and Sandra Weiner] to market and sell their home in Wayne, New Jersey. Instead, Lindsay and Phelan, through Lindsay’s illegal and dishonest acts, used the Weiners’ home as their play pad to have sexual relations in the Weiners’ bedroom, among other places in the home," NorthJersey.com writes.

The suit also reportedly says that the agents listed the home way above its market value at $650,000 to keep it on the market (and vacant) for longer. Their alleged month-long affair lasted for over a year until January 23, 2012 when Sandra Weiner happened by chance to see the real estate agents on the camera feed, and called the police, NorthJersey.com reports.

"The police opened the door to the house and found Lindsay pulling up his pants," the suit reportedly states. "Lindsay lied to police by telling them that he was there to prepare the house for an open house. … Instead, Lindsay and Phelan were at the house to have sex." 

"Immediately after learning of the allegation of improper behavior at the property by two independent contractors in January 2012, we ceased our affiliation with the agents," Hal Maxwell, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, told NorthJersey.com.

SEE ALSO: 11 Unusual Homes You Can Buy Right Now

Join the conversation about this story »

Air Force boneyards appeal to the child in us. The rows of rusted out planes look like old, forgotten toys, which a child could reach out and grab and lift into the air again.

The feeling is even stronger for airmen.

In an excellent article in Airman Magazine, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Bates describes retired Col. Bill Hosmer admiring a derelict F-86 Sabre:

To retired Col. Bill Hosmer, it’s still beautiful. He walks around the old fighter and stares in admiration. He slides a hand over the warped metal fuselage and a flood of memories rush over him.

“I haven’t been this close to one of these in years,” he says. “Of course, that one was in a lot better shape.”

So was Hosmer. Time has weathered and aged them both, the plane’s faded paint and creased body match Hosmer’s own worn and wrinkled skin. Even the plane’s discarded wings stand as a metaphor for Hosmer’s own life now – a fighter pilot who can’t fly, standing next to a fighter jet with no wings.

Aircraft from all military services cover the desert landscape of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

An old, weathered flight manual sits inside the remains of a CH-3E Jolly Green Giant. After years of standing in the desert sun of the boneyard, aircraft and equipment slowly age and erode.

The Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed, (formerly Airborne Laser) weapons system now sits decommissioned in the boneyard. The YAL-1 was primarily designed as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles with an airborne laser system.

Even if you want to work at Google, you probably don't want to be there forever.

Well, it turns out there's a bucket list for Googlers, too. A bunch of former Googlers listed everything you should do before you leave the company on Quora.

A lot of them are related to taking advantage of Google's perks, but the take-away is that Google has a ton of resources that will make you a better engineer — so take advantage of them.

Without further ado...

Learn how to be a badass coder.

"Google invests a significant amount of effort in engineering education and in producing detailed codelabs with exercises that bring you up to speed on core abstractions like protocol buffers."

Translation: Google wants you to be a better software engineer, so take advantage of the tools they are giving you. Be like Jeff Dean.

Attend talks by celebrities and tech geniuses.

"You might be able to catch Lady Gaga and President Obama when he was running for office. While I was at Google, I went to talks by Freakonomics author Steven D. Levitt, cartoonists for The Simpsons, presidential candidate Ron Paul, Java collections architect Joshua Bloch, Python language creator Guido Van Rossum, and many more."

Translation: Google attracts some really cool people to its campus. Go see them.

Enjoy the power trip of using all of Google's resources.

"Run a MapReduce on thousands of machines. Few places offer you access to so many resources at your fingertips, and your first one feels quite empowering."

Translation: Googlers have a huge amount of computing power and resources at their fingertips. Ride the wave.

Australia has only won nine Winter Olympic medals.

It makes sense — there's no snow there and the winter games take place in Aussie summer.

But Australian athletes are starting to figure out ways of getting around those inherent disadvantages.

During October and November Aussie athletes worked out on the beach, snowboarded on sand dunes, and put wheels on their bobsleds in preparation for the upcoming Sochi Olympics.

It's pretty impressive.

Alpine skier Katya Crema set up a starting gate in her backyard, and her friend tried it out.

The aerial skiing team trains by jumping into a lake at a facility in Lilydale.

The ramp.

Before the U.S. invasion, before the Russian war, before the Marxist revolution, Afghanistan used to be a pretty nice place.

An astonishing collection of photos from the 1960s was recently featured by the Denver Post.

Amateur photographer, and college professor, Dr. William Podlich took a leave of absence from his job at Arizona State to work with UNESCO in Kabul, bringing his wife and daughters with him.

Later, son-in-law Clayton Esterson revived the later doctor's photos and put them on the web. The response was amazing.

Esterson told the Denver Post: “Many Afghans have written comments [on our website] showing their appreciation for the photographs that show what their country was like before 33 years of war. This makes the effort to digitize and restore these photographs worthwhile.”

On the left is a picture showing the photographer's daughter in a pleasant park. On the right is that same park 40 years later.

Even in the 60s, this blonde attracted looks in Afghanistan.

Many wore nice western clothes in the 60s.

Winter is always a good time to stay in and catch up on a little finance reading.

In case you missed them, we've compiled a list of 22 classic works that every Wall Streeter should read.

These are the books that show up time and again in lists of books recommended by the pros themselves.

Topics covered include everything from the fundamentals of investing to the stories behind some of the Street's most speculative episodes in history.

"The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham

"This classic text is annotated to update Graham's timeless wisdom for today's market conditions... The greatest investment advisor of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham, taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" -- which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies -- has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949."

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"Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" by Philip Fisher

"Widely respected and admired, Philip Fisher is among the most influential investors of all time. His investment philosophies, introduced almost forty years ago, are not only studied and applied by today's financiers and investors, but are also regarded by many as gospel. This book is invaluable reading and has been since it was first published in 1958."

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"The Theory of Investment Value" by John Burr Williams

"This book was first printed in 1938, having been written as a Ph.D. thesis at Harvard in 1937. Our good friend, Peter Bernstein mentioned this book several times in his excellent Capital Ideas which was published in 1992. Why the book is interesting today is that it still is important and the most authoritative work on how to value financial assets. As Peter says: "Williams combined original theoretical concepts with enlightening and entertaining commentary based on his own experiences in the rough-and-tumble world of investment." Williams' discovery was to project an estimate that offers intrinsic value and it is called the 'Dividend Discount Model' which is still used today by professional investors on the institutional side of markets."

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