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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese takes his wife for a spin
The fun starts at around the two minute mark.
Suspicious homeless polar bear deemed safe
It was clearly a dangerous situation: Yellow police tape crisscrossed the intersection, innocent civilians were ordered out of harm's way and the Metro station was shut down.
The bomb squad rolled in with their armoured vehicle, and out waddled the stiff, spaceman-looking officers ready to protect Washington yesterday morning. The situation? A homeless polar bear was rummaging through a trash can. Or rather, a mannequin dressed to look like a bear.
Photo from here.
The display that caused a ruckus near the Columbia Heights Metro station yesterday appeared to be street art.
The tall mannequin beneath the polar bear head wore a tattered flannel shirt and dirty pants. Some onlookers said it was there for several hours, peering into the trash can at 14th and Irving streets Northwest until someone called police at 10 a.m. "It's a suspicious package," police spokespeople declared. So in came the bomb squad and all the precautions of a post-Sept. 11 world.
Metro shut the station. Seven shuttle buses were summoned to move 218 people out of the blast zone, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel. Traffic was diverted; firetrucks and ambulances lined the streets.
Onlookers watched a bomb technician in a blast suit walk slowly toward the bear, then pounce and cut it open. He pulled out wads of newspaper until the big, white head flopped over.
The bomb squad rolled in with their armoured vehicle, and out waddled the stiff, spaceman-looking officers ready to protect Washington yesterday morning. The situation? A homeless polar bear was rummaging through a trash can. Or rather, a mannequin dressed to look like a bear.
Photo from here.
The display that caused a ruckus near the Columbia Heights Metro station yesterday appeared to be street art.
The tall mannequin beneath the polar bear head wore a tattered flannel shirt and dirty pants. Some onlookers said it was there for several hours, peering into the trash can at 14th and Irving streets Northwest until someone called police at 10 a.m. "It's a suspicious package," police spokespeople declared. So in came the bomb squad and all the precautions of a post-Sept. 11 world.
Metro shut the station. Seven shuttle buses were summoned to move 218 people out of the blast zone, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel. Traffic was diverted; firetrucks and ambulances lined the streets.
Onlookers watched a bomb technician in a blast suit walk slowly toward the bear, then pounce and cut it open. He pulled out wads of newspaper until the big, white head flopped over.
Israeli town uses dog DNA to combat street fouling
Officials in an Israeli city have come up with an innovative way of tracking dog owners who allow their pets to foul the streets - DNA analysis.
Authorities in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, are setting up a special DNA database of local dogs.
They will use the data to match dogs' droppings to owners - and punish those who do not clean up after their pets.
While those who keep the streets clear will be rewarded, owners who fail to scoop the poop could face fines.
Authorities in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, are setting up a special DNA database of local dogs.
They will use the data to match dogs' droppings to owners - and punish those who do not clean up after their pets.
While those who keep the streets clear will be rewarded, owners who fail to scoop the poop could face fines.
Cycling vest shows how fast you are pedalling
An inventor has created a cycling vest that displays its wearer's speed to other road users. The high visibility Speed Vest is aimed at increasing road safety.
US inventor Brady Clark said it would boost safety by making motorists more aware of bikes. The vest displays the wearer's speed on their backs in large, lighted numerals.
It uses a sensor on the wheel to send a signal to a microcontroller that calculates the speed and turns the numbers on and off on the vest. The battery-operated vest can display a top speed of 70 miles per hour.
Mr Clark said: "The Speed Vest was invented because we were curious to know if putting more information in front of drivers might change their awareness of bicyclists. We suspect a lot of people don't realise that an average person can bike 10-15 mph."
He said he thought the vest could encourage motorists to take up cycling if they realised they could pedal at relatively high speeds.
The Speed Vest is currently only used to teach children about road safety but could be available to buy early next year.
You can read all about the Speed Vest here. Scroll down.
US inventor Brady Clark said it would boost safety by making motorists more aware of bikes. The vest displays the wearer's speed on their backs in large, lighted numerals.
It uses a sensor on the wheel to send a signal to a microcontroller that calculates the speed and turns the numbers on and off on the vest. The battery-operated vest can display a top speed of 70 miles per hour.
Mr Clark said: "The Speed Vest was invented because we were curious to know if putting more information in front of drivers might change their awareness of bicyclists. We suspect a lot of people don't realise that an average person can bike 10-15 mph."
He said he thought the vest could encourage motorists to take up cycling if they realised they could pedal at relatively high speeds.
The Speed Vest is currently only used to teach children about road safety but could be available to buy early next year.
You can read all about the Speed Vest here. Scroll down.
Chicken-footed duck scared of water
A Chinese farmer is baffled after he bought a duck that has feet like a chicken and is scared of water.
Curious villagers in Huangjin village, Xicheng town, are flocking to the home of Fu Haiwen to see the duck.
Fu said he bought the duck in June but did not notice its unusual feet for ten days.
It was only after he noticed it acting differently to the rest of the ducks that he examined it closely and was surprised to see it did not have webbed feet. "It never went with the other ducks to swim in the river," he explained.
Curious villagers in Huangjin village, Xicheng town, are flocking to the home of Fu Haiwen to see the duck.
Fu said he bought the duck in June but did not notice its unusual feet for ten days.
It was only after he noticed it acting differently to the rest of the ducks that he examined it closely and was surprised to see it did not have webbed feet. "It never went with the other ducks to swim in the river," he explained.
From bust to lust... 'Lehman Brothers' employees' caught in 'credit clinch' on TV news report
Two men have been caught in a 'credit clinch' on a live TV news report in the US.
The amorous pair could be seen kissing and fondling behind the back of the unsuspecting CNN reporter, who was reporting from outside the Washington HQ of the under-fire bank.
Back in the studio, a presenter then tries to salvage the situation by telling viewers the two men "were trying to make light of a bad situation, pretending to console each other".
I understand that the 'employees' are actually two gentlemen from the Howard Stern show.
The amorous pair could be seen kissing and fondling behind the back of the unsuspecting CNN reporter, who was reporting from outside the Washington HQ of the under-fire bank.
Back in the studio, a presenter then tries to salvage the situation by telling viewers the two men "were trying to make light of a bad situation, pretending to console each other".
I understand that the 'employees' are actually two gentlemen from the Howard Stern show.
'Upside down rainbow' caused by freak weather
Exceptional atmospheric conditions created a rare and stunning display in the skies above Cambridge.
At 4.45pm on Sunday, a circumzenithal arc - which looks like a bright, upsidedown rainbow - was visible above the city.
Cambridge-based astronomer Jacqueline Mitton captured the stunning sight, caused by sunlight being refracted through ice crystals high in the atmosphere, with her camera. The phenomenon is rarely seen outside the polar regions.
She said: "The conditions have to be just right: you need the right sort of ice crystals and the sky has to be clear. It's quite surprising for this to occur somewhere like Cambridge, usually it is in places that are colder."
The intensity of the colours in the rainbow was heightened by the sun being at the optimum spot in the sky - 22 degrees.
A Met Office spokeswoman said: "They are fairly rare. It is convex to the sun and is formed by refraction in suitably-oriented ice crystals and may show vivid rainbow colouring, as in this case."
At 4.45pm on Sunday, a circumzenithal arc - which looks like a bright, upsidedown rainbow - was visible above the city.
Cambridge-based astronomer Jacqueline Mitton captured the stunning sight, caused by sunlight being refracted through ice crystals high in the atmosphere, with her camera. The phenomenon is rarely seen outside the polar regions.
She said: "The conditions have to be just right: you need the right sort of ice crystals and the sky has to be clear. It's quite surprising for this to occur somewhere like Cambridge, usually it is in places that are colder."
The intensity of the colours in the rainbow was heightened by the sun being at the optimum spot in the sky - 22 degrees.
A Met Office spokeswoman said: "They are fairly rare. It is convex to the sun and is formed by refraction in suitably-oriented ice crystals and may show vivid rainbow colouring, as in this case."
Press Complaints Commission raps Daily Sport for glamorising suicide
The Press Complaints Commission has censured the Daily Spurt for a "gratuitous article that glamorised suicide" after the tabloid published a "Top yourself tourism" list.
The Daily Spurt published a list of the UK's "top 10 suicide hotspots" using information released by the British transport police that showed 25 people had died on one stretch of railway line over three years.
Choose Life, a government-backed education project working to reduce the numbers of suicides in Scotland, complained to the PCC that the piece "had provided unnecessary detail which might encourage vulnerable people to visit the places shown and take their own lives" and said the piece was "highly irresponsible".
The PCC upheld the complaint and said it breached clause five of its code of practice, introduced in 2006 following discussions with the Samaritans to try and reduce the risk of imitative suicide. It was the watchdog's second censure of a complaint under the new rules.
Clause five of the code states that "care should be taken to avoid excessive details about the method used" when reporting suicides, though it does not prohibit reporting on suicides if it is written in the public interest.
The Daily Spurt said it was fully aware of the seriousness and sensitivity surrounding mental health issues and that it had felt the article was a fair, balanced and factual report. But the PCC disagreed, ruling that the article "was simply a gratuitous guide to how and where individuals have killed themselves".
The Daily Spurt published a list of the UK's "top 10 suicide hotspots" using information released by the British transport police that showed 25 people had died on one stretch of railway line over three years.
Choose Life, a government-backed education project working to reduce the numbers of suicides in Scotland, complained to the PCC that the piece "had provided unnecessary detail which might encourage vulnerable people to visit the places shown and take their own lives" and said the piece was "highly irresponsible".
The PCC upheld the complaint and said it breached clause five of its code of practice, introduced in 2006 following discussions with the Samaritans to try and reduce the risk of imitative suicide. It was the watchdog's second censure of a complaint under the new rules.
Clause five of the code states that "care should be taken to avoid excessive details about the method used" when reporting suicides, though it does not prohibit reporting on suicides if it is written in the public interest.
The Daily Spurt said it was fully aware of the seriousness and sensitivity surrounding mental health issues and that it had felt the article was a fair, balanced and factual report. But the PCC disagreed, ruling that the article "was simply a gratuitous guide to how and where individuals have killed themselves".
World's smallest man meets woman with longest legs
Standing at just 2ft 5in high, He Pingping, from China, has been officially named the smallest man in the world. Svetlana Pankratova, meanwhile, owns the longest legs in the world, which stretch to 132cm.
Mr Pingping barely came up to Ms Pankratova's knees at a bizarre photoshoot held to mark the launch of the new Guinness Book of World Records. But the pair seemed rather happy in each other's company as they posed for photos on Trafalgar Square's steps in central London.
With video.
Mr Pingping barely came up to Ms Pankratova's knees at a bizarre photoshoot held to mark the launch of the new Guinness Book of World Records. But the pair seemed rather happy in each other's company as they posed for photos on Trafalgar Square's steps in central London.
With video.
How to revive a chalk giant
The Cerne Abbas chalk giant on a Dorset hillside is one of the most striking landmarks in the UK.
The BBC discovered how the National Trust keeps the 180ft "Rude Man" looking fresh after a wet summer.
Video.
The BBC discovered how the National Trust keeps the 180ft "Rude Man" looking fresh after a wet summer.
Video.
Traffic wardens to fine idling cars
Traffic wardens will be able to fine drivers who leave their engines idling when they pull over under new plans to improve air quality. West Sussex County Council has agreed to investigate a scheme giving officers power to hand out penalties to motorists who fail to switch off their vehicles when they are at a standstill.
The punishments would initially only be handed out around the Shoreham area, where an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has been set up, but be expanded across the county if they prove successful.
The council said they would specifically target areas where exhaust emissions build up unnecessarily, such as at railway crossings or in town centres.
It wants to get people out of the habit of leaving their cars ticking over out of convenience. Signs are already in place at level crossings asking people to switch their engines off.
A council spokesman said: "We would stress that this is just an investigation at this stage. If it was ever introduced the fixed penalty would probably be £20. But we would hope that the vast majority of motorists would be willing to co-operate and not leave their engines idling."
He said there would be exemptions for lorries with freezer units and others that have to keep their engines running. Under the plan traffic wardens will be instructed to issue a warning to any drivers they catch leaving their cars idling. If the motorist refuse to comply with the instruction they will then be issued with a fixed penalty notice.
The punishments would initially only be handed out around the Shoreham area, where an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has been set up, but be expanded across the county if they prove successful.
The council said they would specifically target areas where exhaust emissions build up unnecessarily, such as at railway crossings or in town centres.
It wants to get people out of the habit of leaving their cars ticking over out of convenience. Signs are already in place at level crossings asking people to switch their engines off.
A council spokesman said: "We would stress that this is just an investigation at this stage. If it was ever introduced the fixed penalty would probably be £20. But we would hope that the vast majority of motorists would be willing to co-operate and not leave their engines idling."
He said there would be exemptions for lorries with freezer units and others that have to keep their engines running. Under the plan traffic wardens will be instructed to issue a warning to any drivers they catch leaving their cars idling. If the motorist refuse to comply with the instruction they will then be issued with a fixed penalty notice.
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