Audi S5 cabrio a looker
Friday, May 30, 2008
Think we have it bad on gas prices- think again
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Do you think you are paying a lot for gasoline? Think of Europeans, who may be enjoying a strong euro exchange rate, but have to shell out plenty of euros to fill their tanks. The average price of gasoline in Europe is now double that of the U.S.
The Slovakian news service Tasr reported today on the frighteningly high prices European Union citizens are paying for fuel. The service concluded that gasoline is priced lowest of the EU countries in Lithuania, at $1.72 per liter. It's currently most expensive, at $2.65 per liter, in the Netherlands. Quadruple those numbers to get the price per gallon, and you see why Europeans are troubled by the situation. Bloomberg News reported that its own statistics show gasoline north of $8 per gallon in most of Western Europe. Norway's high gas taxes mean consumers are paying $9.69 per gallon of gasoline, and Germans are paying $8.33.
For diesel, Tasr said, the cheapest is currently in Malta, at $1.77 per liter, and the most expensive in Great Britain, at $2.50 — which is the equivalent of a sobering $10 per gallon.
The New York Times reported today that Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, has called on the European Union to put a cap on fuel taxes — but the proposal is opposed by countries that need the fuel tax income.
Meanwhile, truck drivers blockaded a highway in London, fishermen did likewise at ports in France and average citizens told reporters the situation is "a meltdown" and "nightmarish."
What this means to you: Where will it all end? That's what we'd all like to know. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
A huge collection of Space shuttle Atlantis photos
A great photo gallery (over 100 quality images) of the Space shuttle Atlantis, its missions, and astronauts...worth checking out for sure!
read more | digg story
Incredible pictures of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribe
Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away.
read more | digg story
Happy Birthday Golden Gate Bridge!
Take a look at one of the most beautiful sites today! Virtual tour available on the website.
read more | digg story
Alien Video To Be Revealed To Media Tomorrow, Man Claims
A video that purportedly shows a living, breathing space alien will be shown to the news media Friday in Denver.
Jeff Peckman, who is pushing a ballot initiative to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission in Denver to prepare the city for close encounters of the alien kind, said the video is authentic and convinced him that aliens exist.
"As impressive as it is, it's still one tiny portion in the context of a vast amount of peripheral evidence," he said Wednesday. "It's really the final visual confirmation of what you already know to be true having seen all the other evidence."
When Peckman went before city officials this month to discuss his proposed ET initiative, he promised to show the video.
Peckman said the general public will have to wait to see it because it's being included in a documentary by Stan Romanek.
"No one will be allowed to film the segment with the extraterrestrial because there is an agreement in place limiting that kind of exposure during negotiations for the documentary," he said.
But people won't have to wait too long to see it for themselves.
"There is an open, public meeting in about a month in Colorado Springs," Peckman said. "We'll hope to do one in Denver at some point, and then in a few months, there will be the documentary that anybody can have, and it'll have the footage."
An instructor at the Colorado Film School in Denver scrutinized the video "very carefully" and determined it was authentic, Peckman said.
Peckman, 54, said the video was among the reasons he was "compelled" to launch the proposed ballot initiative, which has generated news as far as South Africa.
"It shows an extraterrestrial's head popping up outside of a window at night, looking in the window, that's visible through an infrared camera," he said. The alien is about 4 feet tall and can be seen blinking, Peckman said earlier this month.
In a statement, Peckman said "other related credible evidence" proving aliens exist will be shown at Friday's news conference, too.
In 2003, Peckman authored an off-beat ballot initiative that would have required the city to implement stress-reduction techniques. The "Safety Through Peace" initiative failed, but garnered 32 percent of the vote.
chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099
8 reasons you'll rejoice when we hit $8-a-gallon gas
A further price rise as in Europe to $8 a gallon -- or $200 and more to fill a large SUV's tank -- would be a catalyst for economic, political and social change of profound national and global impact. We could face an economic squeeze, but it would be the pain before the gain.
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Secrets of the Guitar Heroes: Eddie Van Halen
How did you start playing guitar? My brother and I were forced to take piano lessons, and it wasn't fun for me. I heard music in my head, but I wasn't allowed to play it. Then I bought myself a drum kit, and somehow my mom convinced my brother Alex to take flamenco-guitar lessons....
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The 50 Hottest Female Athletes Of All Time [PICS]
Hot female athletes existed long before the 2000’s. Sure they might not have bared quite so much skin, but there were tons of foxes playing sports back in the old days when the Olympics were still the highlight of an entire year. For this list, we stopped at 50 women, but could have easily gone to 100, and we were faced with tons of tough choices.
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Top 15 Websites To Feed Your Music Addiction
If you're searching for the best free music sites on the internet, then check out these 15. The websites that are presented in this article are relatively new and are listed from best to better, and from top to bottom of the page.
read more | digg story
Little Fenway Wiffle Ball Park
Little Fenway, Essex Vermont --- "The next best thing to taking batting practice at Fenway Park"..."it's the eighth Wonder of the World"..."the Green Monster, the manual scoreboard, the Citgo sign, the tomato plants in the bullpen, all this place needs is a World Series banner." These are a few of the quotes from baseball enthusiasts who have visited the miniature ballpark known as Little Fenway, located in the valley of the Green Mountains in Essex, Vermont.
Little Fenway is a one-fourth scale replica of Boston's famed Fenway Park designed for WIFFLE ball. The Green Monster is 12.5 feet tall with a six foot net attached above the wall (Monster seats may be added in the future). Built in 2001, Little Fenway is situated in the backyard of Pat & Beth O'Connor about 3.5 hours north of Boston. It has served as the site for numerous charity and community events including a WIFFLE Ball game to benefit the September 11th disaster relief efforts, an annual tournament for the Travis Roy Foundation to benefit research into cures for spinal cord injuries, and weekly charity games sponsored by Vermont's number one radio station, CHAMP 101.3 FM.
"WIFFLE ball is the great equalizer," says Little Fenway owner Pat O'Connor. "It doesn't matter how skilled you are. Men, women, boys and girls can all play WIFFLE ball at the same time and have a lot of fun and laugther. We have had all sorts of folks here - Little Leaguers, youth camps, high school and college athletic teams, professional athletes, former major league ball players, businesses, and even a group of 70-90 year olds from an elderly day care. I never imagined this idea would grow into something which provides so much enjoyment for so many people. We are very blessed. I guess you could call it an east coast Field of Dreams."
Little Fenway is a one-fourth scale replica of Boston's famed Fenway Park designed for WIFFLE ball. The Green Monster is 12.5 feet tall with a six foot net attached above the wall (Monster seats may be added in the future). Built in 2001, Little Fenway is situated in the backyard of Pat & Beth O'Connor about 3.5 hours north of Boston. It has served as the site for numerous charity and community events including a WIFFLE Ball game to benefit the September 11th disaster relief efforts, an annual tournament for the Travis Roy Foundation to benefit research into cures for spinal cord injuries, and weekly charity games sponsored by Vermont's number one radio station, CHAMP 101.3 FM.
"WIFFLE ball is the great equalizer," says Little Fenway owner Pat O'Connor. "It doesn't matter how skilled you are. Men, women, boys and girls can all play WIFFLE ball at the same time and have a lot of fun and laugther. We have had all sorts of folks here - Little Leaguers, youth camps, high school and college athletic teams, professional athletes, former major league ball players, businesses, and even a group of 70-90 year olds from an elderly day care. I never imagined this idea would grow into something which provides so much enjoyment for so many people. We are very blessed. I guess you could call it an east coast Field of Dreams."
Thursday, May 29, 2008
San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal gets the green light
by Mike Chino
San Franciscans rejoice! The Transbay Joint Powers Authority just approved a stunning green design for the new Transbay Transit Center to be constructed in downtown SF. Planned by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the project consists of a graceful glass tower paired with an elegantly sweeping transit center topped with a five-and-a-half acre public park. Both structures will showcase a stellar set of sustainable features and will fulfill the project’s aim of centralizing the region’s transportation network while providing the SOMA neighborhood with a valuable community space.
Pelli Clarke Pelli’s design does an excellent job of balancing the center between three principles: transit, community, and sustainability. City Park is constructed as an expansive 5.4 acre green roof that will be freely accessible to the public and will host a variety of cultural activities. It will also be an educational resource, “exhibiting several local ecologies and sustainability strategies, and presenting interpretive information for each”.
The slender spire touts a curtain cut from high-performance glazed glass bolstered by passive solar shading. The tower’s top is crowned with wind turbines, and each floor draws fresh air directly from the outside via the structure’s facade. Geothermal heating and cooling helps to regulate the building’s temperature, and both the tower and the park will benefit from a sophisticated rain and graywater recycling system that can provide water to neighboring buildings as well.
Mayor Gavin Newsom has lauded the project, stating: “Through this forward thinking project, we can inspire change to an environmentally sustainable model of living while also enhancing economic growth in our City, region and State.” Construction is slated to kick of this year, and the center should be fully realized by 2014.
+ Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Via artdaily.org
More on the Ferrari California
Whenever you first see a convertible version of a previously hard-roofed car, it's a constant struggle to avoid those cringeworthy 'going topless' puns (ooh-err, nudge nudge etc).
But the Ferrari California has done things rather the other way round. This is the first time we've seen the new V8 GT with its roof up, as the original pictures only showed it roof-down.
We've got a bunch more information on the California, too. As you can see, it's a two-piece folding hard-top that stows away under a hinged boot panel. Ferrari says it'll close in just 14 seconds, with a loss of bootspace of 100 litres - down from 360 litres with the roof up.
The two-seat/four-seat confusion becomes a little clearer, too. Ferrari is referring to the California as a '2+' - there's space behind the front passengers for either very small people or a decent amount of luggage - but you do at least get rear seatbelts.
We've also got a better idea of how the California lines up against its rivals. At 456cm long, it's 10 centimetres shorter than a DB9 and a couple of centimetres longer than a Mercedes SL - but a whole 26cm longer than the mid-engined Lambo Gallardo. It's about the same width as the Lamborghini, though a good eight cm wider than the SL. Not tiny, in other words.
By Ferrari's standards, the California is a veritable fuel-sipper, recording 21.5mpg on the combined cycle. It may not sound very green, but don't forget the Gallardo manages a mere, erm, 14.5mpg.
If you're wondering about that slightly dodgy powder-blue paintjob, it's the Azzuro California livery - the very same colour that the original California Spider was shown in at the New York Show in 1962.
We'd probably stick with Rosso Corsa, but there's no denying that the California is lining up to be a seriously sorted bit of kit. Roof down or up.
Britain's Got Talent: Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh doing it again
Who Says Michael Jackson is Dead!!!
Cool act @ Britain’s Got Talent
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