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Monday, October 15, 2007

7 (More!) Underground Wonders of the World: Lost Caverns and Buried Cities

Poland 1

The world is full of wonders, from abandoned towns and deserted settlements to underwater cities and underground architecture. Humans burrow into the Earth out of anything from necessity to superstition, driven by coincidence or coerced by circumstance. Without further ado, here are seven more underground wonders of the world.

Turkey 2

Turkey 3

Turkey

Kapadokya, Turkey is home to hundreds of linked rooms that, together, form an ancient system of underground cities over 2,500 years old. Areas are separated by narrow corridors lit once lit by oil lamps as well as other architectural devices for maximizing the defensibility of the spaces. Settlement initially started on the surface, then slowly moved underground over time.

Hobbit House 2

Hobbit House 1

Pembrokeshire, Wales is home to a family with a house straight out of The Hobbit. This amazing architectural wonder is created virtually completely from the natural materials found around the residence. The walls are made out of stone and mud and water enters the house by gravity from a nearby spring. Non-natural materials, such as windows and plumbing, were recovered from trash.

Edinburg 1

Edinburg 3


Edinburg 2

Edinburgh, Scotland has a long and strange history, though perhaps the oddest story of all is the tale of a bridge that was buried underground. After this bridge was built, superstition following a prominent death led to its disuse. As property values in the area grew, however, people first built under and then even on top of the bridge. Eventually leaks forced the abandonment of the spaces below, which were subsequently filled in. They were recently rediscovered and opened for tourists!

Tokyo 3

Tokyo 2

Tokyo 1

Tokyo, Japan is at the heart of a strange and gripping mystery involving seven riddles and a supposed secret underground city. It all began when Japanese researcher Shun Akiba found an old map of the Tokyo tunnel system that didn’t match current maps. Since then, he has found six other strange inconsistencies in historical maps and other records that suggest the existence hidden spaces. His claims have been vehemently denied by the Japanese government.

Seattle 1

Seattle 3


Seattle 2

Seattle, Washington’s Pioneer Square district has a very peculiar historical quirk: a century ago, they raised the streets by an entire floor. People actually died falling off of the street to the lower sidewalks below before they managed to raise the sidewalks to the same level. Eventually, what was street level became completely unused and abandoned, though it was recently reopened for visitors.

Poland 3

Poland 4




Poland 2

Wieliczka, Poland sits atop one of the world’s oldest salt mines, in continuous operation for over 800 years until just this year. As these images show, the mine is now open to tourists, with winding paths and bridges as well as art, much of which is carved right out of the salt in the mine. Over 1,000 feet deep, the mine even housed an airplane factory run by the Polish resistance during the 2nd World War.

China


Xi’an, China is now famous for featuring the Mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the biggest imperial tomb known to Chinese history. This subterranean wonder was constructed in 38 years by 700,000 laborers, and is perhaps best known for the host of terracotta warriors buried with the Emporer. During the process numerous world-shocking relics were brought out, but this is just the tip of the iceberg, and more treasures remain buried in the underground palace.


Denver Airport Mystery

Bizarre Underground Conspiracy Theory - Honorable Mention:


Denver, Colorado has an impressively large airport, and, some believe, an even more impressive series of underground tunnels. If they exist, these tunnels are (it is largely agreed) not home to aliens or fascists. A number of mysterious construction choices, murals and other objects have led some to theorize that such tunnels might be home to anything from a secret military base to a Masonic Temple.

All wheel Drive shootout


There are only four vehicles currently offering all wheel drive and over 420Hp.

Check out two of them here- The amazing Audi R8 vs the swaggering Jeep Cherokee SRT8.

It's closer than you think

SpudWare

SpudWare Cutlery made from potatoes
by Tylene

SpudWare Cutlery, Biodegradable Cutlery

Say goodbye to plastic cutlery and hello to SpudWare—cutlery made from 80% potato starch and 20% soy oil that’s just as heat resistant and every bit as strong as plastic cutlery. The kicker? It biodegrades in just 180 days! SpudWare can even be washed and reused, so you can eat your potatoes with potatoes for months to come.


In the US, a party pack of 50 spoons, 50 forks and 50 knives costs just $20 at Treecyle, readers in the UK can purchase potato starch cutlery from online retailer Vegware.

Interested in buying in bulk? Spudware is available at wholesale from Califonia-based wholesale distributor Excellent Packaging & Supply. Each SpudWare purchase from EPS comes with a Certification of Compostability from the American Society of Testing and Materials.

$20 from Treecycle

Via the San Francisco Chronicle

Vimanas, Ancient Flying Vehicles

As we search for clues to our ancient past, one that is linked to creation from an external source, we search for visitors who may have come here millennia ago, to that end. We also wonder how glyphs, found in one part of the planet, credited to a specific civilization of that region, have turned up half way around the world created in the same timeline. Did the ancients have flying ships? Did the ships belong to their gods? In the inserts of our reality program and and all things are possible, as we await explanation of our creation and where it is all going. Today many people see UFO's of different descriptions, and most believe alines exist and in same way interact in our program, if only for biogenetic experiments, mirroring the Nazi Program of WW II, which ended as the alien grey program began. We still search for proof and disclosure, which we sense is not far away.

Images on the ceiling beams of a 3000-year old New Kingdom Temple,

located several hundred miles south of Cairo and the Giza Plateau, at Abydos.




I took these images while visiting Egypt in December 2000.


From this images we see many craft that resemble modern day flying machines.


Helicopters





Submarine (1940) - or UFO?







Glider




Zeppelin - Hindenburg - 1940 - UFO?







Wow Stinky


Woman Goes 30 Years Without A Bath



This odd woman hasn't taken a bath for 30 years.

SINGAPORE: She doesn't have to worry about laundry, because she never washes her clothes.

There's an old woman in the Lion City who never washes her clothes. She wears them for a whole month, then throws them away and wears a new set.

She also hasn't taken a bath for 30 years!

The woman looks normal enough, except for the foul odour emanating from her body The smell causes other residents to avoid her.

Zhang, the 67-year-old woman, not only refuses to take a bath, but also does not wash her face, brush her teeth or wash her clothes. Her actions are baffling.

On Sunday, she suddenly began camping on the ground floor of the apartment block with her wardrobe, bed and other necessities.

When interviewed, the old lady said she used to stay with her younger brother and his children in one of the units upstairs, but someone moved her things to the ground floor on Saturday. When she found out her bed had been moved outside, she didn't feel like sleeping on the bare floor of her bedroom, so she went to the ground floor of the apartment block to sleep on her bed there.

Personal Belongings Removed After Pleas Fall On Deaf Ears

From what is known, the woman is still single. She used to be an artisan, but has since been unemployed for over 20 years now.

Her nephew Mr. Zhang, 30, who works as an accountant, told reporters, "I've lived with my aunt since I was little, and have never seen her take a bath or wash her clothes. She wears her clothes for a whole month straight and throws them away, then puts on new ones.”

Mr. Zhang said his wife would give birth in two weeks' time, and he is worried an unhygienic environment would affect the baby's health. He had pleaded with his aunt, asking her to start bathing. It was only when she continued to refuse that he felt he had no other choice but to move her things out.

Butch Stearns talks over the National Anthem at Fenway



From the Stool:You know that you shouldn’t be talking during the National Anthem. I mean you said it yourself. So why continue with the broadcast? I mean isn't this Broadcast Journalism 101? You don't talk over the National Anthem. It’s up to you to call an audible in this situation. Throw it back to the studio or something. But don’t continue along like nothing is wrong. You led poor Dewey into the bowels of hell. He’s just an ex ball player trying to make a living. You’re the professional. It's your job to make a play here.

This Guy can Really FLy

Insane Cliff Jump


Insane Cliff Jump - Watch more free videos

HEINEKEN WOBO: The brick that holds beer

October 11, 2007

HEINEKEN WOBO: The brick that holds beer

by Ali

WOBO, world bottle, Heineken, John Habraken, Rinus van den Berg, Alfred Heineken, Netherlands, Amsterdam, upcycling, cradle to cradle, Garbage Building, Martin Pawley, wobo_5.jpg

Upcycling is a 21st century term, coined by Cradle to Cradle authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart, but the idea of turning waste into useful products came to life brilliantly in 1963 with the Heineken WOBO (world bottle). Envisioned by beer brewer Alfred Heineken and designed by Dutch architect John Habraken, the “brick that holds beer” was ahead of its ecodesign time, letting beer lovers and builders alike drink and design all in one sitting.

WOBO, world bottle, Heineken, John Habraken, Rinus van den Berg, Alfred Heineken, Netherlands, Amsterdam, upcycling, cradle to cradle, Garbage Building, Martin Pawley, wobo_1.jpg

Mr. Heineken’s idea came after a visit to the Caribbean where he saw two problems: beaches littered with bottles and a lack of affordable building materials. The WOBO became his vision to solve both the recycling and housing challenges that he had witnessed on the islands.

The final WOBO design came in two sizes - 350 and 500 mm versions that were meant to lay horizontally, interlock and layout in the same manner as ‘brick and mortar’ construction. One production run in 1963 yielded 100,000 bottles some of which were used to build a small shed on Mr. Heineken’s estate in Noordwijk, Netherlands. One of the construction challenges “was to find a way in which corners and openings could be made without cutting bottles,” said Mr. Habraken.

Despite the success of the first “world bottle” project, the Heineken brewery didn’t support the WOBO and the idea stalled. Interest was reignited in 1975 when Martin Pawley published Garbage Housing which included the chapter ‘WOBO: a new kind of message in a bottle.’ Heineken once again approached Habraken who teamed up with designer Rinus van den Berg and designed a building with oil drums for columns, Volkswagen bus tops for roof and the WOBO bottles for walls, but the structure was never built.

Today, the shed at the Heineken estate and a wall made of WOBO at the Heineken Museum in Amsterdam are the only structures where the ‘beer brick’ was used. As to the remaining WOBO’s it’s not clear how many exist, or where, but the idea, even some four decades later, remains a lasting example in end-use innovation.

Heineken International

Heineken Museum

John Habraken

WOBO, world bottle, Heineken, John Habraken, Rinus van den Berg, Alfred Heineken, Netherlands, Amsterdam, upcycling, cradle to cradle, Garbage Building, Martin Pawley, wobo_2.jpg

WOBO, world bottle, Heineken, John Habraken, Rinus van den Berg, Alfred Heineken, Netherlands, Amsterdam, upcycling, cradle to cradle, Garbage Building, Martin Pawley, wobo_3.jpg


How to use the Zune a hard drive.

Fantastic news for the handful of people who actually own a Zune. Someone's found a way to enable a sort of hard drive support, which although doesn't assign a drive letter to your Zune, does allow you to drag and drop files from it.

Turns out it's just a registry value to enable visibility in the shell. Cake! Hit the jump for the instructions.

1. Make sure your Zune is not plugged in and your Zune software isn't running 2. open up regedit by going to the start menu and selecting "run". Type regedt32 and hit "OK" 3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet001\Enum\USB\ 4. Search for "PortableDeviceNameSpace". This should be contained in the Vid_####&Pid_####\########_-_########_-_########_-_########\Device Parameters within the above ...\USB\ The ##'s listed here will be numbers and letters specific to your Zune 5. Change the following values: * EnableLegacySupport to 1 * PortableDeviceNameSpaceExcludeFromShell to 0 * ShowInShell to 1 6. Plug in your Zune, and make sure the Zune Software starts up. 7. Hopefully at this point you can open up "My Computer" and browse your device, though it does NOT show up as a drive letter.

Right now I can access it both as a harddrive and sync through the Zune Software.

The Solar Sailor

by Jorge

solar sailor, solar ferry, ferry, solar, electricity, wind, solar powered boat


One of the coolest sights in the Sydney Harbour (aside from the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the Pirate Ship) is the fully solar-powered ferry known as The Solar Sailor. This rather unique boat, designed by Robert Dane, uses both solar power and wind to reduce its emissions by half compared to standard ferries. What better way to travel?

The super green ferry uses a rather innovative flexible wing sail covered in solar panels, a design inspired by the evolution of insects. The steel and plastic structure is thus able to use solar and wind power to move, weather permitting. The wings move automatically, tracking the sun for optimal solar collection and the wind for optimal sail power. In extreme wind situations, they fold down against boat. When there is not enough sun or wind, the boat is powered by regular fuel and even biodiesel. The first boat, which was capable of moving 100 persons, began operation more than 5 years ago during the Sydney Olympics.

We have in fact already talked about this boat a few months ago, when we casually mentioned that one of the tourist ferries would in fact be a solar ferry created by this company. More recently, the company has been looking at providing solar powered boats to the Sydney transport authority for use in the public ferry transport system. And even more interestingly, those who go visit the Statue of Liberty, might just be traveling on a similar solar boat in the near future.

+The Solar Sailor

+Green Ships for Blue Highways @ CNN

Restroom with a view

FireFox Boob Logo

Mums stick with swapped babies

This would never fly in the USA


From correspondents in Czech Republic

October 13, 2007 07:00am

Article from: The Courier-Mail

THE Czech mothers at the centre of an astonishing baby mix-up have refused to swap back their daughters.

The two women, who have cared for the girls for 10 months, said they could not go through with the exchange agreed earlier this week.

Jaroslava Trojanova and Jaroslava Cermakova, both 25, gave birth in the southern Czech town of Trebic in December.

But it was only last month that the suspicions of one of the fathers led to the disclosure their children had been accidentally exchanged in hospital.

Ms Cermakova and her husband Jan have been living with Veronika, although their real daughter is Nikola.

Ms Trojanova and her partner, Libor Broza, took home Nikola, although Veronika is really their child.

The families struggled to cope with their extraordinary predicament before deciding on a pre-Christmas swap.

But yesterday, Ms Trojanova was adamant she could not give up her non-biological baby.

"I cannot even begin to imagine a life without Nikola," said the factory worker.

"How can I now see her as someone else's child and not my own?"

Ms Cermakova, who is pregnant again, also insisted she would not hand over the girl she was given.

"I have loved my daughter for almost a year now," she said.

"This time cannot be erased from my heart.

"But I will learn to love my other, biological daughter too."

The couples have moved into a retreat and have discussed raising the children as "one big family".

Disagreeing with his partner, Mr Broza, 29, insisted he wanted to take home his real daughter, Veronika.

The county court in Zdar Nad Sazavou ruled on Thursday the birth certificates would not be changed and that the couples should simply swap babies.

The Daily Mail, in The Courier-Mail

Stained Glass

Chismillionare's Monday deal of the Week


Microsoft Zune- $99.99 from Buy.com