Los Angeles Sheriffs Getting Electric Mini Coopers

Written by Jerry James Stone

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LA County Sheriffs stuck driving Crown Vics are about to be left feeling tragically un-hip. Their Board of Sups just approved a deal with BMW to lease 17 fully electric MINI Coopers.

Approved on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will lease the MINI Es for only $10 a month. With a market lease rate of $850, automaker BMW offered up the bargain price in exchange for deputy’s feedback.

Um, BMW, I too will give you feedback for $10 MINI E lease.

I’m sure the MINI’s will sport the standard police flare, but my vote is for the pimped out–and unrelated–version above by Agent Provocateur. Not that the 60’s style isn’t cool too.

BMW wants feedback for how the MINI Es drive and handle on Los Angeles County road conditions, Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said. You know, like can they chase Ford Broncos and stuff like that.

On top of the discount price–which constitutes a gift to the county–MINI USA will also be installing charging stations and handling all vehicle maintenance and repairs. The MINI Es will be accompanying the police force’s full size Crown Vics, Caprice Classics, and more recently Dodge Chargers.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the gift as it supports the county’s strategic goal of promoting environmental responsibility. The cars will be used for administrative, recruitment, volunteers, and other specialized units.

“It’s clean-energy, it’s cost-effective and it could prove to be a boon for the county,” Whitmore said.

The MINI E model is currently only available to drivers in the U.S. as part of a field trial. And only 23 of the 450 Mini E prototypes have been delivered thus far.

While here in the States a MINI cop car might sound a bit ridiculous, it’s not that odd of an idea. The Cooper has a long history of being a police vehicle. Even Oregon’s Tualatin Police Department has one!

Here are some MINI cop cars, both real and fake:

Source: AllCarsElectric

Photos: AROnline, MalaysiaMiniLover, Classic Vehicles on Flickr, CincinnatiMINI, PoliceMINICooper, ForBunk on Flickr

California man creates life size Bumblebee Transformer in front yard.

This story is a couple months old but I couldn’t find a whole lot of information about it on the web so I thought I would re-share it with you. A Lemoore man decided he liked the Transformers so much that he built a life size replica of the cartoon version of Bumblebee in his front yard.

“I’ve always been a fan of the Transformers,” Tom Rhoads Rhoads stated to the crew at mim. “And when my son was born I decided to make the statue.”

The statue stands at 18 feet tall and built from a used Volkswagen, yes that’s right a used Volkswagen, in this economy who can afford to chop up a new Camaro and besides some of us liked the cartoon characters better!

The statue took him and a friend a year to build in their spare time:

“Sometimes it seemed as if we would never get through it, all the parts spread out, but then it just came together.”

A crane had to hoist the 1200 lb robot onto its feet after the welding was completed. Its legs are made of steel and angle iron to keep it secure.

If you asked me, he should have killed two birds with one stone (sorry PETA) and made the gun in its hand be Megatron. We all know he was a lame gun in the cartoon version, right?

Stay tuned, as Tom’s next project is the semi truck in the back. I wonder what he has planned for that…..

Washing machine that uses one cup of water

An environmentally-friendly washing machine developed in Britain that uses only one cup of water to clean clothes could be on sale next year.

By Alastair Jamieson

Only a small amount of water and detergent is needed to dampen the clothes, loosen stains and create the water vapour that allows the beads to work Photo: GETTY

The appliance, which could save billions of litres of water a year, has been developed at the University of Leeds.

It uses less than 10 per cent of the water of conventional machines and 30 per cent less energy by replacing most of the water with thousands of tiny reusable plastic beads to attract and absorb dirt under humid conditions.

Xeros, the company behind the technology, will start selling the machine to commercial customers such as hotels and dry cleaners before taking the idea to ordinary household consumers

Only a small amount of water and detergent is needed to dampen the clothes, loosen stains and create the water vapour that allows the beads to work. After the cycle is finished, the beads fall through a mesh in the machine’s drum and can be re-used up to a hundred times.

Xeros has signed a deal with GreenEarth Cleaning, an environmentally friendly dry-cleaning business, to sell the technology across North America.

Chief executive Bill Westwater said: “We’ve got an eye on the consumer but it will take time and we hope commercial success could act as a springboard to move into the consumer market.

“We’ve been very encouraged by the response from people, but the proof is in the pudding and that means putting a machine into someone’s operations and justifying the savings.”

The technology has been developed by Professor Stephen Burkinshaw of the University of Leeds and funded by IP Group, an intellectual property commercialisation group.

Suds With Securb: Ten Beers You Must Drink This Summer

by Bruce Owens

I want you all to look at this column as a summer reading list. These are the 10 beers you must drink this summer. Some of these beers you are probably very familiar with, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for example. Think back when is the last time you had an ice cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on a 90 degree day? This is all about rediscovering some classics and finding new favorites.

There are a ton of other great beers out there to beat the heat. Alaskan Summer Ale and Yuengling Lager come to mind. That being said I am trying to make sure these beers have a wider distribution so that all reading this column can enjoy.

10. Victory Prima Pils – The perfect BBQ beer. This beer has the body and flowery aroma of a pilsner but is one of the hoppiest pilsners on the market. This allows Prima Pils to stand up to the spiciness of peppery BBQ’ed meat coming off of your grill. Prima Pils also has a great sparkling carbonation that not only is refreshing but will cleanse the pallete of thick BBQ sauces and pasta/potato salads.

9. Landshark Lager – I first had this refreshing Lager on a 105 degree day in Las Vegas. This is a perfect summer session beer. This larger is crisp, clean and satisfying and is a perfect beer to ice down by the six-pack in a bucket. The perfect cooler companion.

8. Saison Dupont Farmhouse Ale- Perfect for those scorching August nights. This beer is very dry and crisp with a lot of characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc. During those moonlit summer nights this is the beer to be shared with someone special. Dupont’s caged, corked finished bottle will add a little class to your special evening.

7. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – You can go home again. Admit it this is the beer that started you off on your journey into the world of microbrews. Now that you have trained and sharpened your palette this is the perfect time to rediscover this classic.

6. Pabst Blue Ribbon – I have a cold can of PBR in my hand right now as I write this. This 2006 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner is so under rated. Not only is this a hoppy American style lager it is inexpensive. At $15 dollars per 30 pack it is a perfect beer to fill you cooler to the brim. Available in 12 ounce cans it is an awesome companion for the golf course or beach.

5. Sam Adams Summer Ale – This is a great American style wheat beer. What makes this beer stand out among the throng of American Wheat Beers is grains of paradise, a rare pepper from Africa. The lemon zest makes this beer a no brainer to pair with grilled lemon pepper chicken or shrimp on the barbie.

4. Ommegang Witte Ale – This is a light Belgian style wheat beer with tart citrus flavors and a touch of coriander. This beer is best paired with a fresh citrus fruit salad. Throw some chilled grapefruit, orange and tangerine in a bowl with some mandarin oranges now you have the perfect companion for this great beer.

3. Harpoon Summer – The classic Kolsch Ale. It has the body and color of a pilsner, with the fruit esters of ale. I call this beer the crowd pleaser. It is light enough to appeal to American Lager drinkers and has more than enough flavor to satisfy any beer geek or even snob. Harppon summer is also great with all of your outdoor fare. Harpoon Summer matches up just as well with a New England Clambake as it does with burgers and dogs.

2. Stone Cali-Belgique IPA – What can I say, Stone does it again. This is a huge American IPA with Belgian yeast. When I say huge I want you to understand this beer is coming at you at 77 IBU’s. Cali-Belgique is not only the hoppiest of our summer drinking list it is the strongest. This beer is weighing in at 6.9%, not quite an IIPA but with the IBUs an alcohol by volume Stone Brewing Co. could have given this beer that moniker. The spiciness of the Belgium yeast playing off of the Chinook hops makes this a very interesting summer sipper.

1. Erdinger Weissbier – This is a classic German style wheat beer. This is a cloudy beer due to the fact it is unfiltered and bottle conditioned. Banana and spice aromas are obvious in the aroma of this beer along with a touch of grass and lemon. Traditionally this style of beer is served with a lemon slice. Ignore the status quo and go with an orange slice or a wedge of grapefruit. Better yet cut up a bowl of mixed fresh melons. Some cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon mixed in a bowl with a bit of pineapple are the perfect back deck companion for this great brew.

Ancient Holy Land quarry uncovered, team says

Play Video Reuters – Ancient Holy Land quarry found

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli archaeologists said on Sunday they had discovered the largest underground quarry in the Holy Land, dating back to the time of Jesus and containing Christian symbols etched into the walls.

The 4,000-square-meter (yard) cavern, buried 10 meters beneath the desert near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho, was dug about 2,000 years ago and was in use for about half a millennium, archaeologist Adam Zertal said.

The cave's main hall, about three meters tall, is supported by some 20 stone pillars and has a variety of symbols etched into the walls, including crosses dating back to about AD 350 and Roman legionary emblems.

Zertal said his team from Haifa University first discovered the site three months ago while they were putting together a detailed archaeological map of the area.

"We saw a hole in the ground ... and went down and discovered this giant cavern, originally a quarry, built uniquely with hall after hall," Zertal told Reuters.

The team believes the stones were used in buildings and churches in the region, but Zertal said further research was necessary.

The site may eventually be turned into one of the largest underground tourist sites in the Holy Land, he said.

(Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Michael Roddy)

The Coolest PC Game Gun Mod

June 20, 2009 by Ruibo

Get ready to ejaculate as you feast your eyes on this new mod known as the PC VR Game Gun. You can now get your lazy a** off the couch and get in some real live action. Can you say, real life video game simulation? Perhaps Project Natal and Nintendo can learn a thing or two here.

Some features include low-cost, dual-axis miniature rate gyroscope that is fully self-contained for easy integration into human input devices such as the PC VR Gamegun. A unique electromagnetic transducer design and a single etched beam structure utilize the Coriolis effect to sense rotation in two axes simultaneously. Operating between 2.3 and 3.6 volts. 1K of available EEPROM storage on board. Low drift.

Full Motion Tracking - Move the gun and it moves the mouse.

Specs

• 7″ Widescreen Active Matrix TFT Display
• Sleek, Stealth Design
• Emulates as a Windows Mouse 100% compatible
• Built-in Game pad 3 triggers and dual axis no drivers
• High-Quality Black Finish with Black Shroud
• High Dot Resolution: 1440 (H) x 234 (V)
• 3 Selectable Screen Modes (Full, Wide, Normal)
• Wireless Remote Control with Front Panel Controls
• On Screen Display (OSD)
• Power Supply: 12 VDC
• Standard RCA Composite Video Input (NTSC only)
• Dimensions: 5″ H x 9″ W x 0.7″ D
• Plug ‘n play USB, no special drivers or software needed

Check out the video below for more details.

If you’re interested in picking up one of these bad boys, check out blackhall.net.

Update: The wireless version.

Giant Cowboys Stadium LED wall caught playing Xbox 360 during downtime

by Donald Melanson


The 72 x 160-foot LED wall at the center of the new Cowboys Stadium is certainly impressive enough when it's showing game highlights or concert footage, but no giant screen ever truly earns its credentials until it's been put to some real use: playing video games. Thankfully, Jonas Brothers video director Steve Fatone somehow pulled himself away from concert preparations to do just that earlier this week, and apparently became the first person to ever play Xbox 360 on the display in the process. As you can see above and in the gallery below, the two certainly seem to be made for each other, although it looks like the controller can get a tad touchy if you stray too far while trying to play it.
Update: Our man Steve hooked us up with a video of the rig in action -- head after the break to check it out.
[Thanks, Steve; photos thanks to Troy]

Gallery: Giant Cowboys Stadium LED wall caught playing Xbox 360 during downtime

Giants Stadium Demolition and the Hunt for Hoffa

By Sarah Schorno

With Giants Stadium scheduled to be torn down next year, authorities could have the opportunity to see if Jimmy Hoffa really is buried under the turf. Turns out they don't plan on finding out.

According to officials at the FBI, they aren't planning on taking advantage of the demolition to put a 20 year-old rumor to rest.

"If there was some credible information, we wouldn't wait until the stadium was being demolished," Special Agent Bryan Travers told the [Philadelphia Inquirer]. "We would go in there and aggressively look for it ...

"We would never wait this long. ... We would have no problem digging a giant hole at the 50-yard line if we thought there was reason to act," he said.

Wait. They bulldozed a horse farm in Michigan, ripped up blood-stained floorboards after a death bed confession, and destroyed a backyard pool, all in search of Hoffa's remains. Yet they won't take advantage of an existing demolition to close a 34 year-old case?

The rumor that Hoffa is buried under Section 107 at Giants Stadium has become very much a part of the stadium's history. Maybe it's one of things that is better left to imagination and mystery. Like the Black Dahlia. The lone gunman. The Bermuda Triangle. Steve Nash's hair.

Flying car coming sooner than you think

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It can take off and land at any airport, but the Terrafugia Transition is more than just a plane.

CTV.ca News Staff

The man behind the Terrafugia Transition, dubbed "The Flying Car," says you could see his vehicle on the road and in the skies as early as 2011.

The two-seater vehicle completed its first flight last March and just recently completed 27 additional flights, wrapping up the first of a four stage process to bring the Transition into production.

"It's been very successful," Carl Dietrich, co-founder and CEO of Terrafugia, told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview.

"We've got a very good handling vehicle and our test pilot said that the flights were just remarkably unremarkable -- it just flies like a really nice, little airplane."

It's a new aircraft that you can fly from point A to B and then drive it home.

The tests were held to demonstrate how the vehicle can drive, fly, and automatically transform between the two.

Dietrich said the vehicle targets pilots who currently face a number of obstacles that prevent them from flying on a more regular basis.

"Weather sensitivity is a huge one," he said.

"This vehicle allows a pilot to at any time, if the weather changes, to divert to the nearest airport, fold up their wings and drive safely under the weather."

After landing, transforming from plane to car takes the pilot less than 30 seconds.

Dietrich said a second barrier is the expense of owning an aircraft.

"With the wings folded up, the vehicle actually fits inside a single car garage," Dietrich said.

He said that equates to large savings for pilots because they don't have to spend money storing the vehicle in a hangar.

In the air, the Transition can cruise up to 725 kilometres at more than 115 km/h.

It has front wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. Both modes are powered by unleaded gasoline.

The vehicle is expected to cost around $200,000 and Dietrich said he already has 60 deposits of $10,000.

The Terrafugia Transition, which will be registered with the FAA as a Light Sport Aircraft, can convert between a plane and a car in 20 seconds with the touch of a button .

Tony Hawk Skates The White House

Tony Hawk Skates The Halls Of The White House / courtesy twitpic

We were following the twitter stream of @tonyhawk today and came across this twitpic of Tony doing a manual down the halls of the white house. It appears that Tony was at the White House today for Cnn’s First Fathers event. Apparantly Ashtun Kutcher sent this tweet to Tony which basically called him out to skateboard in the white house.

With the permission of the White House officials, Tony Hawk skated the grand foyer and the nearby Old Executive Office Building. Hawk also sent out a few other tweets from today like “The Prez addressing all of us fathers before we split up to visit DC charities,” and “D Wade & Etan T make me feel short.”

Ashton Kutcher dares Tony Hawk To Skateboard in the White House

PETA Asks Phish to Change Name to 'Sea Kittens'

Posted by Brinson

Quickly, for relevance purposes: people who listen to a lot of Phish travel frequently, and Phish's new green travel blog is known as "Traveling Light" (lawsuit forthcoming, natch.) With that out of the way, let's get down to the nitty gritty (and get this show on the road): PETA spokespeople have asked Phish to change their name ... to the "Sea Kittens."

Is this the stupidest thing ever and a blatant publicity stunt by an increasingly irritating organization hell-bent on punching everyone in America squarely in the eye? Most likely. Hence, a letter issued to media outlets!

The letter, addressed to Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon and Page McConnell, says the request is an attempt to gain empathy for fish, "because few people are aware that fish are actually smart animals with personalities."

"For example, they communicate and develop relationships with one another, feel pain when injured (their lips are particularly sensitive, and they use them like we use our fingers), show affection by gently rubbing against other fish, and even grieve when other fish they like die," the letter continues.

OhmysweetGod. COME ON. I mean, really. REALLY? This is what it's come to now that Michael Vick has served his prison sentence and Phil Spector is no longer allowed to wear dead squirrels on his head? Harrassing a hippie-trust-funded jam band that doesn't seek in any shape or form to take empathy away from actual fish?

It's not even annoying anymore, it's just freaking sad.

How To Load An Armored Bentley On A Jet

By Matt Hardigree

Last week, we showed you the under-construction armored Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed. It's finished, which means it has to go home to, we assume, Southeast Asia. How do you load that much awesome on to a giant cargo jet?

How To Load A Bentley On A Plane

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As you can see from the photos, it's a careful dance involving two forklifts, a lift, various staff, and precision timing. This one-of-a-kind Bentley has a high-level of armor capable of protecting the vehicle from sniper fire, landmines, and whatever else baddies can throw at it. On top of all the equipment it's still a custom Flying Spur Speed designed to the specifications of an unnamed head-of-state, which means you don't want to drop it. And because it's an armored car, you want to start off any transportation by assuring the smoke screen works. [Source: TAC]

The World's Top 10 Mega-Yachts

Missile-Detection Systems, Helipads, Pools: Meet the World's Top 10 Yachts

By ALAENA HOSTETTER
LONDON, June 18, 2009

Click here for The World's Top 10 Mega-Yachts