Like something out of the Jetsons, the Japanese firm, Gen Corporation, has unveiled a 75kg helicopter, the GEN H-4. It has a set of two rotors and can fly at a max speed of 50 kilometres per hour.
Its Japanese developer, Gennai Yanagisawa, 75, is planning to take his invention to the Italian city of Vinci, the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci, to honor the Italian artist and inventor, who had drawn up plans for several flying machines, including a helicopter and a light hang glider, several hundred years ahead of his time.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Like father like son
Robbie "Kaptain" Knievel, son of the late daredevil Evel Knievel, successfully jumped over 24 delivery trucks Saturday night at the site of one of his father's most famous stunts.
"Hopefully I'll see you after the jump," Knievel told the crowd before he climbed the start ramp.
Knievel, 46, had said he would need to be going 95 miles per hour at take off for the 200-foot jump, which began from a three-story tall ramp and was completed amid wild cheers, booming explosions and shooting flames at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati.
"Hopefully I'll see you after the jump," Knievel told the crowd before he climbed the start ramp.
Knievel, 46, had said he would need to be going 95 miles per hour at take off for the 200-foot jump, which began from a three-story tall ramp and was completed amid wild cheers, booming explosions and shooting flames at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati.
International Poncho Day
Residents of Nobsa, a township located in Boyaca province in Colombia gathered on Sunday to celebrate International Poncho Day and leap into the record books by making what they claim is the biggest poncho ever made. The Mayor of Nobsa was convinced the town had a world record on its hands.
For two months dozens of artisans participated in making the poncho that would be exhibited at Nobsa's cathedral as an example of their work.
The huge poncho weighs 1,500 pounds
According to local authorities, the idea of making the biggest poncho came about as they wanted to honor the work artisans do in the township and to strengthen their economy, which is based on wool products.
And it wasn't just the locals who were wearing them - all day dogs, cats, sheep and even parrots were seen adorned in the traditional outfit.
For two months dozens of artisans participated in making the poncho that would be exhibited at Nobsa's cathedral as an example of their work.
The huge poncho weighs 1,500 pounds
According to local authorities, the idea of making the biggest poncho came about as they wanted to honor the work artisans do in the township and to strengthen their economy, which is based on wool products.
And it wasn't just the locals who were wearing them - all day dogs, cats, sheep and even parrots were seen adorned in the traditional outfit.
New amazon tribe found
Deep in Brazil's jungles, one the world's last remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed for the first time from the air. The pictures show tribesman, painted red head to toe, aiming longbows at the aircraft circling above.
The tribe was found in the far western Amazon jungle, near the Peruvian border, Brazil's department for Indian affairs said Thursday.
The region they were found in was an Ethno-Environmental Protected Area, said the government foundation known as Funai. Funai said it photographed "strong and healthy" warriors, six huts and an area of crops. It is not known which tribe the group belonged to.
"Four distinct isolated peoples exist in this region, whom we have accompanied for 20 years," Funai expert Jose Carlos Meirelles Junior said in a statement.
Funai does not make contact with indigenous people and prevents invasions of their lands, to ensure total autonomy for the tribes, the foundation said.
There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, said Survival International, a group that works to protect the human rights of tribal people.
The tribe was found in the far western Amazon jungle, near the Peruvian border, Brazil's department for Indian affairs said Thursday.
The region they were found in was an Ethno-Environmental Protected Area, said the government foundation known as Funai. Funai said it photographed "strong and healthy" warriors, six huts and an area of crops. It is not known which tribe the group belonged to.
"Four distinct isolated peoples exist in this region, whom we have accompanied for 20 years," Funai expert Jose Carlos Meirelles Junior said in a statement.
Funai does not make contact with indigenous people and prevents invasions of their lands, to ensure total autonomy for the tribes, the foundation said.
There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, said Survival International, a group that works to protect the human rights of tribal people.
Coming out of the closet
A homeless woman who sneaked into a man's house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Japan after he became suspicious when food began disappearing.
Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday.
The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months.
One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police, believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived, they found the door locked and all windows closed.
"We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide," Itakura said. "When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side."
The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man's house about a year ago when he left it unlocked.
The closet is part of a Japanese-style room, one of several rooms in his one-story house where the man lived alone -- or so he had thought.
Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet and whether she had taken anything else besides food.
She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean."
Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man's closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday.
The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months.
One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police, believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived, they found the door locked and all windows closed.
"We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide," Itakura said. "When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side."
The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man's house about a year ago when he left it unlocked.
The closet is part of a Japanese-style room, one of several rooms in his one-story house where the man lived alone -- or so he had thought.
Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet and whether she had taken anything else besides food.
She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman "neat and clean."
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Diamond record
A 101.27 carat diamond, the size of a ping pong ball, has been sold at auction in Hong Kong for more than $6m (£3m). The stone is the largest colourless diamond to appear at auction in 18 years, says auction house Christie's.Set in a tiara, the diamond is one of only four colourless diamonds of over 100 carats to have come up for sale. The auction was the biggest jewellery sale ever conducted by Christie's in terms of value.
More than $60.1m worth of jewellery was sold at the event in Hong Kong. The diamond was the largest ever sold in Asia.
Christie's said the diamond's appearance on the market had "created a sensation".
Toilet trouble for space station
International Space Station astronauts are eagerly awaiting the arrival of shuttle Discovery - it is bringing a new pump to mend their broken toilet. The station's urine collection unit, as opposed to its solid waste unit, has been malfunctioning for several days.
Nasa said it thought a separator pump was at fault, and the three male crew members were operating it manually. To make room for the new part, Nasa has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
On its website, Nasa said the crew first realised something was wrong when they "heard a loud noise and the fan stopped working". The crew replaced many of the toilet's working parts, but had to adopt "temporary manual operation of the pump", and a backup system for the separator unit.
Nasa said one of its employees was rushing from Russia to Florida with the spare parts for the Russian-built toilet ahead of the shuttle launch. A 50cm-long (20in) pump and additional hardware, weighing about 16kg (35lbs), would be carried as hand luggage on a commercial plane, Nasa said.
The employee is expected to drive the parts to the Kennedy Space Center, and they should be packed on the shuttle on Thursday. For a while, the crew was told to use toilet facilities in the Soyuz capsule docked at the ISS, and several other backup solutions are available.
The space station's solid waste unit is said to be functioning well.
Nasa said it thought a separator pump was at fault, and the three male crew members were operating it manually. To make room for the new part, Nasa has had to remove other equipment from the shuttle, which launches on Saturday.
"Clearly, having a working toilet is a priority for us," shuttle payload manager Scott Higginbotham said.
On its website, Nasa said the crew first realised something was wrong when they "heard a loud noise and the fan stopped working". The crew replaced many of the toilet's working parts, but had to adopt "temporary manual operation of the pump", and a backup system for the separator unit.
Nasa said one of its employees was rushing from Russia to Florida with the spare parts for the Russian-built toilet ahead of the shuttle launch. A 50cm-long (20in) pump and additional hardware, weighing about 16kg (35lbs), would be carried as hand luggage on a commercial plane, Nasa said.
The employee is expected to drive the parts to the Kennedy Space Center, and they should be packed on the shuttle on Thursday. For a while, the crew was told to use toilet facilities in the Soyuz capsule docked at the ISS, and several other backup solutions are available.
The space station's solid waste unit is said to be functioning well.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Jail for sale
Maine - If you're in the market for a roomy brick-and-stone Victorian — complete with some pretty impressive security features — look no further. The Somerset County Jail in downtown Skowhegan is for sale. It has a price tag of $200,000."It's an interesting building. It could be used for many, many things," said Philip Roy, chairman of the Somerset County commissioners.
The 14,000-square-foot lockup, which was built in 1897, is scheduled to shut down later this year when a new 200-bed county jail opens in Madison.
One of the selling points, said Tonya Allen, an assistant real estate broker, is that the building is situated in the heart of downtown Skowhegan, with no zoning or permit-use restrictions.
Roy said some ideas for the old jail include turning the property into a restaurant, an art gallery, a gift shop or even a bus station.
The razor-wire fencing comes included
Wait for me!
A French skydiver's latest attempt to set a new free-fall record ended when his ride to the sky left without him. The helium balloon Michel Fournier was going to use Tuesday to soar to the stratosphere detached from the capsule he was going to use to jump from 130,000 feet.It happened after the balloon was inflated on the ground at the airport in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The balloon drifted away into the sky without the capsule.
A disappointed Fournier left the capsule and walked to the hanger. He was hugged by members of his supporters.
"It was like having a hammer over my head," he said later. "When it doesn't work like that you just cannot think of anything. You just say, `How come it didn't work?' "
The launch team members said static electricity may have caused a small shock which set off one of five charges designed to release the capsule from the balloon after the jump.
Fournier isn't giving up, saying he'll try again in August.
The balloon cost almost $400,000 and Fournier was said to have already exhausted his finances. But he said he'll bring two balloons next time.
Sorry Lithuania
Czech Republic - The Latvian flag was in the game program along with a photo of the Latvian national soccer team. Before the match, Czech organizers played Latvia's national anthem. However, the Czech Republic was facing Lithuania on Tuesday night, not Latvia.
The Czech Republic's soccer federation apologized Wednesday to its Lithuanian counterpart and to the Lithuanian embassy in Prague. The federation said in a statement that the mistakes were inexcusable and measures will be taken not to repeat them in the future.
Federation spokesman Vaclav Tichy took responsibility and resigned from his post. His deputy was fired and another federation official fined, the statement said.
The Czech Republic, preparing for next month's European Championship, won 2-0.
The Czech Republic's soccer federation apologized Wednesday to its Lithuanian counterpart and to the Lithuanian embassy in Prague. The federation said in a statement that the mistakes were inexcusable and measures will be taken not to repeat them in the future.
Federation spokesman Vaclav Tichy took responsibility and resigned from his post. His deputy was fired and another federation official fined, the statement said.
The Czech Republic, preparing for next month's European Championship, won 2-0.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2008
GLOUCESTER, England - Fearless thrill-seekers on Monday flipped, slipped, somersaulted and tumbled down a suicidally steep slope in western England to try to catch a giant runaway circle of cheese.
The cheese rolling event at Coopers Hill is one of Britain's more unusual annual events and is not for the faint-hearted but it was made even more perilous this year by torrential rain that turned the course into a mudbath.
Organisers claimed the downpours that lashed much of southern Britain over the weekend made the vertiginous slope softer underfoot but more than 30 first aid volunteers were kept busy as 19 people limped in with injuries.
A 19-year-old man, Christopher Anderson, won the first race but was carried from the hill on a spinal board after tumbling past the finish line head over heels, hurting his back in the process.
"The conditions were horrific, you just have to get your head down and hope for the best," said his friend, Shane Beard. "Chris went absolutely flying -- he is completely fearless but I hope he hasn't hurt himself."
More than 3,000 people cheered on the competitors, many of whom came from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as they careered down the 200-metre slope in five bone-crunching races.
In parts, the normally grassy hill has a 1:1 gradient.
A 17-year-old student, Flo Early, won the women's race and got to keep the wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. She then declared: "Next year I want to take on the boys."
Cheese rolling is thought to date back as far as the ancient Britons or the Romans, but no one knows for sure how the race started. During rationing between 1941 and 1954, a wooden substitute with a token piece of cheese inside was chased by competitors.
The cheese rolling event at Coopers Hill is one of Britain's more unusual annual events and is not for the faint-hearted but it was made even more perilous this year by torrential rain that turned the course into a mudbath.
Organisers claimed the downpours that lashed much of southern Britain over the weekend made the vertiginous slope softer underfoot but more than 30 first aid volunteers were kept busy as 19 people limped in with injuries.
A 19-year-old man, Christopher Anderson, won the first race but was carried from the hill on a spinal board after tumbling past the finish line head over heels, hurting his back in the process.
"The conditions were horrific, you just have to get your head down and hope for the best," said his friend, Shane Beard. "Chris went absolutely flying -- he is completely fearless but I hope he hasn't hurt himself."
More than 3,000 people cheered on the competitors, many of whom came from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as they careered down the 200-metre slope in five bone-crunching races.
In parts, the normally grassy hill has a 1:1 gradient.
A 17-year-old student, Flo Early, won the women's race and got to keep the wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. She then declared: "Next year I want to take on the boys."
Cheese rolling is thought to date back as far as the ancient Britons or the Romans, but no one knows for sure how the race started. During rationing between 1941 and 1954, a wooden substitute with a token piece of cheese inside was chased by competitors.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The Telectroscope
New Yorkers could see their English cousins across the pond Thursday without benefit of cable TV or video conferencing, courtesy of an unusual live optical hookup created by a conceptual artist with a fanciful tale of a long-lost tunnel.An optical device called a "telectroscope" was placed at the Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn and another one on the Thames River in London on Thursday.
Spectators stepped up to the machine on both sides of the Atlantic and waved and wrote greetings to each other in real time on wipe-off message boards.
They told knock-knock jokes, asked about the weather and found time for a few shout-outs to Queen Elizabeth and the Manchester United soccer team. Manhattanite Lorena Yeves, 21, even exchanged cell phone numbers with a fellow on the London end.
The contraption is the invention of Paul St George, a London artist known for his tiny replicas of monumental pieces of art.
Publicists will say only that it uses fiberoptic communication. St George prefers to stick to his story that the machine was started by his great-grandfather in Victorian times and transmits images via a tunnel under the ocean.
According to the project's website, St George's work "has always been concerned with questioning the relationship between the viewer and what is viewed. His work is also often associated with different realities, spectacle and viewer participation."
The telectroscopic spectacle and viewer participation will be in operation on both sides of the Atlantic until June 15.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Croc eats shark
DARWIN, Australia -- An Australian fisherman watched in amazement -- and snapped pictures -- as a saltwater crocodile ate shark for dinner.Paul van Bruggen told the Northern Territory News that he and his companions heard splashing and saw a shark's tail emerge from the Daly River, followed by a crocodile's head. He said that the crocodile appeared to realize that the shark would be helpless on land.
"How smart is the crocodile? It if was you or me it would be dragging you in to drown you but it takes the shark up on dry land,'' he said.
Van Bruggen had gone to the Daly River last Friday for the Barra Classic fishing competition. He said that the crocodile ignored him and his companions even though they were only about 50 feet away.
The saltwater crocodile, affectionately known in Australia as the "saltie," is the world's largest living reptile with males known to reach lengths of 20 feet. Its range includes northern Australia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia and parts of India.
You can keep your pants on
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (Reuters) - Employees counting donations at a popular Hindu shrine in southern India will no longer have to take off their underpants at work after the local human rights commission intervened.
Police and temple authorities imposed the dress code at the Sabarimala hill shrine in Kerala five years ago after thefts were reported from the shrine's strongroom.
Employees in the vault, all of whom were men, were made to work topless wearing only a dhoti -- a cotton wrap worn around the waist -- with nothing underneath.
But they found it degrading, and their union complained to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission.
"The employees on duty are made to strip before an officer before leaving the office to ensure that they do not carry anything in their underwear," said Chavara Gopakumar, the union leader. "It is humiliating and an insult to human dignity."
The state's human rights commission agreed.
Authorities at the shrine, which is dedicated to Ayyappa, a south Indian deity, said on Friday they would end the practice and have begun looking into electronic surveillance systems.
Police and temple authorities imposed the dress code at the Sabarimala hill shrine in Kerala five years ago after thefts were reported from the shrine's strongroom.
Employees in the vault, all of whom were men, were made to work topless wearing only a dhoti -- a cotton wrap worn around the waist -- with nothing underneath.
But they found it degrading, and their union complained to the Kerala State Human Rights Commission.
"The employees on duty are made to strip before an officer before leaving the office to ensure that they do not carry anything in their underwear," said Chavara Gopakumar, the union leader. "It is humiliating and an insult to human dignity."
The state's human rights commission agreed.
Authorities at the shrine, which is dedicated to Ayyappa, a south Indian deity, said on Friday they would end the practice and have begun looking into electronic surveillance systems.
Wild boars thwart thief's getaway
A herd of wild boars has thwarted a suspected car thief's getaway.
Police in Schwerin, northern Germany, said the 18-year-old abandoned a stolen vehicle he was driving after failing to shake off a chasing patrol car by driving into a field.
The driver initially got away by running into nearby woods.
But officers then heard the fugitive shouting for help - he had run into a herd of angry wild boars which were keen to protect their young.
Police rescued the man from the boars -
Police in Schwerin, northern Germany, said the 18-year-old abandoned a stolen vehicle he was driving after failing to shake off a chasing patrol car by driving into a field.
The driver initially got away by running into nearby woods.
But officers then heard the fugitive shouting for help - he had run into a herd of angry wild boars which were keen to protect their young.
Police rescued the man from the boars -
Fries for the bride
A burger-loving couple who fell in love over the internet will celebrate their marriage with a Big Mac at McDonald's.Alice Clark, 26, and her fiance Terry Speller, 25, from St Austell, will be chauffeur driven straight from their wedding at Falmouth Maritime Museum to the town's McDonald's fast food restaurant.
Once there, the happy couple will munch on burgers and fries for the first time as husband and wife, on June 21.
They will be joined by Alice's brother and sister-in-law at the fast food wedding reception before joining friends and family for a celebration at the County Arms in Truro.
The unusual wedding meal originated from Alice's loathing of buffet food. She said: "Terry's parents are organising a buffet and I hate buffet food so Terry jokingly said let's go to McDonalds.
"I immediately said: 'In full wedding gear?' Terry then realised I was being serious so said 'why not'. "I spoke to our car driver and he said yes, but we can't do the drive through as the car won't fit."
The couple first met on the internet over networking site My Space. Terry knew few people when he moved to Cornwall from Essex so emailed people from the county with similar interests to himself.
He said: "When I found Alice on the website I thought she looked really nice in her photo. I emailed her but did not hear for a month or so and then she replied." The couple swapped emails and phone numbers for a while before meeting on a night out in Truro.
Terry said: "The more I got to know her the more I got to like her. The picture did not do her justice. I thought when I first saw her she was the one for me."
A McDonald's spokesman was pleased at the couple's wedding day meal choice.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Pricey Burger
Its creators admit it is the ultimate in decadence: a $US175 hamburger. The Wall Street Burger Shoppe just raised its price from $150 to assure its designation as the costliest burger in the city as determined by Pocket Change, an online newsletter about the most expensive things in New York."Wall Street has good days and bad days. We wanted to have the everyday burger (for $4) ... and then something special if you really have a good day on Wall Street," said co-owner Heather Tierney.
The burger, created by chef and co-owner Kevin O'Connell, seeks to justify its price with a Kobe beef patty, lots of black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flecks of gold leaf on a brioche bun.
The eatery sells 20 or 25 per month in the fine dining room upstairs versus hundreds of $4 burgers each day at the diner counter downstairs, Tierney said.
Pocket Change previously designated the double truffle burger at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne as the most expensive at $120, and the Burger Shoppe set out to top that.
Boulud's creation - available only during black truffle season from December to March - rose to $150 this past season, so the Burger Shoppe raised its price on Monday to $175.
More than they bargained for
Some overly appreciative workmen got more than they bargained for in the Far North town of Kerikeri when the woman they wolf-whistled stripped bare to use a nearby ATM.
Police Sergeant Peter Masters said the woman, an Israeli tourist, told police she didn't take kindly to wolf-whistles from workmen involved in work on the town's main street.
Making the most of the balmy late-autumn day, she stripped bare to use the ATM, then put her clothes on again and calmly walked away.
"She said she had thought `bugger them, I'll show them what I've got'."
Mr Masters said the woman said she had been harassed by New Zealand men, and was fed up with it.
"She gave the explanation that she had been. . . pestered by New Zealand men. She's not an unattractive looking lady. We treated it as a one-off. She was taken back to the police station and spoken to and told that was inappropriate in New Zealand," Mr Masters said.
He said the woman was due to leave New Zealand today.
Police Sergeant Peter Masters said the woman, an Israeli tourist, told police she didn't take kindly to wolf-whistles from workmen involved in work on the town's main street.
Making the most of the balmy late-autumn day, she stripped bare to use the ATM, then put her clothes on again and calmly walked away.
"She said she had thought `bugger them, I'll show them what I've got'."
Mr Masters said the woman said she had been harassed by New Zealand men, and was fed up with it.
"She gave the explanation that she had been. . . pestered by New Zealand men. She's not an unattractive looking lady. We treated it as a one-off. She was taken back to the police station and spoken to and told that was inappropriate in New Zealand," Mr Masters said.
He said the woman was due to leave New Zealand today.
Kasparov buzzed by flying penis
Former world chess champion turned Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov has been on the receiving end of an unconventional prank launched by his political foes - one that draws its inspiration from the virtual world of Second Life.
Kasparov was attending a weekend meeting of a coalition of opposition groups which had assembled in Moscow to launch a symbolic alternative parliament. As he was addressing the gathering of more than 500 delegates, he was buzzed by a remote-controlled flying phallus.
The device - which appeared to be a modified twin-rotor toy helicopter - caused a sudden commotion with security guards springing to attention.
A video shot at the event shows the modified chopper briefly evading capture before a man later identified as a security guard leaps from the stage and swats the device with a well-aimed left hook.
According to the Moscow Times website, the prank was staged by "a couple of pro-Kremlin Young Russia activists" who had launched a "plastic phallus on propellers".
Kasparov was attending a weekend meeting of a coalition of opposition groups which had assembled in Moscow to launch a symbolic alternative parliament. As he was addressing the gathering of more than 500 delegates, he was buzzed by a remote-controlled flying phallus.
The device - which appeared to be a modified twin-rotor toy helicopter - caused a sudden commotion with security guards springing to attention.
A video shot at the event shows the modified chopper briefly evading capture before a man later identified as a security guard leaps from the stage and swats the device with a well-aimed left hook.
According to the Moscow Times website, the prank was staged by "a couple of pro-Kremlin Young Russia activists" who had launched a "plastic phallus on propellers".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)