Would you jump off a mountain without a chute?
Month: February 2007
Surfing in the Arctic
Rip Curl Introduces the H-Bomb
Thanks to Randy Marks in warm Florida to point out a new powered Wetsuit demonstrated above the Arctic Circle.
Video: Rescue of 200 Stranded Horses – Netherlands
You may have heard about the herd of horses that were trapped for 3 days on a tiny piece of land in wind and rain in the Netherlands a short while ago? They were trapped on a small piece of land, surrounded by water. Their natural instincts kept them from swimming to solid land, from their tiny perch. There were about 100 horses huddled together against the wind and water.
The Nation was mesmerized watching this drama as 18 of the horses perished, while others were slowly weakening. First the fire department, then the Dutch army, tried to rescue them – both efforts were unsuccessful. Then, with a break in the weather, the water level went down and four women hatched a plan to attempt a rescue by luring the horses into the water. Here’s a video of the successful rescue. Thanks to Mike Douso
‘Green’ arms the new killing trend
‘Green’ arms the new killing trend | NEWS.com.au
BRITISH arms manufacturer BAE Systems is designing “environmentally friendly” weapons, including “reduced lead” bullets, “reduced smoke” grenades and rockets with fewer toxins, The Sunday Times said.
Other initiatives include developing armoured vehicles with lower carbon emissions, safer and more sustainable artillery and even recycling or composting waste explosives, the newspaper added. Continue reading “‘Green’ arms the new killing trend”
A cartoon that could end the war in Iraq…
The Japanese Gyroball Mystery
The Japanese Gyroball Mystery – New York Times
Tezuka came up with the gyroball in 1995, when he was given a toy known as the X-Zylo Ultra. The toy, a flying gyroscope, could travel as far as 600 feet when thrown with a spiral. Tezuka wondered why the motion could not work on a baseball.
Tezuka visited the Rangers’ spring training complex Tuesday, mainly to see Otsuka, but he was approached by several other pitchers. They had the same questions everybody else does. First, they wanted to know if the gyroball is for real.
Then, they wanted to know how to throw it.
East Germany Lives On – As A Tiny Cuban Island
79 – East Germany Lives On – As A Tiny Carribean Island « strange maps
Most people think East Germany ceased to exist in 1990, when the (East) German Democratic Republic was absorbed by the Federal Republic of (West) Germany. So did I. Turns out I was wrong: the GDR lives on, and in a very comfortable climate to boot: a small island off Cuba is the last official territory of the good old Deutsche Demokratische Republik. Click on the link to see a Google Map picture) Continue reading “East Germany Lives On – As A Tiny Cuban Island”
Can wild grass produce clean fuel?
» Can wild grass produce clean fuel? | Emerging Technology Trends | ZDNet.com
The body of a plant is composed of polysaccharides, such as cellulose, which can be converted to ethanol by fermentation. Using the entire plant body as a starting raw material will result in a higher yield of fermentable sugar per unit of land, Somerville said. The ideal plant for producing cellulosic ethanol, he added, is Miscanthus, a perennial grass native to subtropical and tropical regions of Africa and southern Asia, which is used as an ornamental plant in the United States.
And here are some more reasons to use miscanthus.
“It uses less water per gram of biomass produced than other plants,” he said. “For example, to make a pound of alfalfa or spinach requires about 600 pounds of water, while to grow a pound of Miscanthus requires only about 200 pounds of water.” According to Somerville, Miscanthus produces about twice as much biomass per acre without irrigation than other grasses, and reaching the president’s target of 35 billion gallons of biofuels annually would require putting far fewer acres of land into Miscanthus production.
The Undercover Mosque
The New Horizon The Undercover Mosque «
When I first posted this video it was quickly replaced with this message: “This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Hardcash Productions Ltd. because its content was used without permission”.
So even though it is 48 minutes long, it may not be posted on Google Video much longer. Fox news bought the US rights and used many portions to create their own version about the enemy within.
After seeing these hidden camera videos shot by UK Channel 4, you will understand why British Muslims are considered by the Zogby Poll to be the most radicalized in Europe and why “assimilation” is their greatest fear.
Storm rider’s miracle survival
Storm rider’s miracle survival – National – theage.com.au Photo: Robert Chappel
A German paraglider survived lightning, pounding hail, minus 40-degree temperatures and oxygen deprivation after a storm system sucked her to an altitude higher than Mount Everest.
Ewa Wisnierska, 35, passed out due to a lack of oxygen and flew unconscious for up to an hour covered in ice after reaching an altitude of 9947 metres – near the cruising height of a jumbo jet.
The champion sportswoman’s survival was like “winning Lotto 10 times in a row”, Australia’s most experienced paraglider says.
Wisnierska says experience told her she had no chance of survival, but a doctor told her that blacking out had saved her.
“It was because that I got unsconscious because then the heart slows down all the functions – it saved my life,” she told ABC radio. Continue reading “Storm rider’s miracle survival”