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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

PlanetSolar

World's biggest solar powered boat sets sail. This sleek catamaran-styled yacht, named the PlanetSolar, measures 102 feet long, almost 50 feet wide and 24-1/2 feet high (31 meters by 15 meters by 7.5 meters), but its most interesting feature is that it’s covered with 5,382 sq ft (500 sq m) of solar panels that gather sunlight and help it sail the sea nice and smooth.
Built by Knierim Yachtbau and designed by PlanetSolar SA of Switzerland, the world’s largest solar boat has a futuristic shape that gets the eye. The vessel has been unveiled for the first time during a press event held at the HDW shipyard in Kiel.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A council in Britain has banned its staff from cracking mother-in-law jokes. Such humor is no longer acceptable, according to officials at the London Borough of Barnet. Daily Telegraph reported Monday that the order was issued in a 12-page booklet called "Cultural awareness: General Problems". "Humor can be incredibly culture-specific, and is very open to misinterpretation or even offense by other cultures. And don't forget when you don't know what people are laughing at, it is very easy to imagine that they are laughing at you.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Golden Retriever puppyAfter rescuing stranded people in mountains and hilly terrain and guiding the blind, dogs are now being used in German schools to boost performance in the classroom. Despite a grainy, gray September morning, the mood is upbeat in a class in Karlsruhe in Germany: and that's largely because Paula, a six year-old Golden Retriever, is here. Some parents were skeptical at the start, said teacher Bettina Brecht who has been bringing her dog to the classroom the past five years. Dogs are being brought into schools since the end of the 1990s and there are about 120 institutions welcoming canines.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Revenge Of The Garbage

Bin-men took their revenge on a driver who had blocked their way by stacking dozens of empty bins round the car.The incident was caught on camera and the footage is now a Youtube Hit.
The 62-second clip shows three men, each of them wearing a high-visibility jacket, dragging bins into the alleyway beside Stephenson Street, Horwich, near Bolton, Greater Manchester.
An accompanying narrative reads: “This shows Horwich Bin Men getting their own back on a car owner who has obstructed a back alley with their car.
“The bin men usually drive their van through this back alley to the next street and they are a bit annoyed they have to drive round via Chorley New Road, which is very busy.”
One local refuse collector claimed to be unaware of the incident but said: “These things do go on, but it is just a big of harmless fun.
“It can be frustrating when cars block the wagons, but the lads will have made sure they didn’t damage the vehicle in question”.
Officials at Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council believe the footage is at least four years old. They said they took such incidents “very seriously”.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Suspended Animation

Chinese artist Li Wei creates images of himself and his friends being thrown off buildings, dangling from bridges and hanging off cars, all in the name of art. Li's photos can take up to six months to set up and involve huge crews organizing props such as smoke, mirrors, wires and cranes. After the photographs are taken the father of one removes traces of the wires with a computer. Li, from Beijing, said: "One of the most difficult and expensive shots was where myself and 12 people were flying behind a car and we had to use a lot of cranes to keep us all suspended" "The images can involve me getting battered around a bit - most times I will pick up an injury from the stunt wires, one time I got my head stuck in a pane of smashed glass"
One of Li Wei's images is shown and it was taken with the help of cranes holding the people in position.