Jul 01
Hooray! More funny and random pictures!
Jun 29
Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can’t Index
AUGUST 31, 2005 | ISSUE 41•35
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Executives at Google, the rapidly growing online-search company that promises to “organize the world’s information,” announced Monday the latest step in their expansion effort: a far-reaching plan to destroy all the information it is unable to index.
CEO Eric Schmidt speaks at Google’s California headquarters.
“Our users want the world to be as simple, clean, and accessible as the Google home page itself,” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt at a press conference held in their corporate offices. “Soon, it will be.”
The new project, dubbed Google Purge, will join such popular services as Google Images, Google News, and Google Maps, which catalogs the entire surface of the Earth using high-resolution satellites.
As a part of Purge’s first phase, executives will destroy all copyrighted materials that cannot be searched by Google.
“A year ago, Google offered to scan every book on the planet for its Google Print project. Now, they are promising to burn the rest,” John Battelle wrote in his widely read “Searchblog.” “Thanks to Google Purge, you’ll never have to worry that your search has missed some obscure book, because that book will no longer exist. And the same goes for movies, art, and music.”
“Book burning is just the beginning,” said Google co-founder Larry Page. “This fall, we’ll unveil Google Sound, which will record and index all the noise on Earth. Is your baby sleeping soundly? Does your high-school sweetheart still talk about you? Google will have the answers.”
Jun 27
In Bolivia, a road called the North Yungas Road, also known by such names as Grove’s Road, Coroico Road, Road of Death and Death Road is widely considered the world’s most dangerous road. It is around 60km and known for its extreme danger, with 200-300 people killed every year on the road. This is usually from their vehicles falling off the side of the cliff.
The road was built in the 1930s to transport prisoners during the Chaco War. It connects the capital city of Bolivia to the Amazon rainforest, and the ascents and descents are massive. Its single-lane width and 600 metre drop-offs are responsible for its status, with roads no wider than 3.2 metres for the majority of the road. The lack of guard rails is not helped by the common rain, fog and falling rocks from hills above.
The road rules specify that downhill drivers don’t have the right of way and must move to the outer edge to allow uphill drivers through. This forces vehicles to stow down and negotiate safely. The rules also specify that drivers need to drive on the left-hand side of the road (Bolivia drives on the right side normally) so that drivers can see their outer wheels while transcending the road and moving around other cars.
Bolivia’s worst road accident occurred on this road in 1983 when a bus veered off the side of the cliff of the road and killed more than 100 passengers. Crazy? Check out the pictures!
Jun 25
Here’s the deal: you’ve won $500k in Lotto and you have a 3-car garage to fill. Choose your weapons.
The Rules
1. You have a maximum of $500,000 to spend on a dream garage. You can spend less but not more.
2. Your maximum three cars must be current production models and road registerable in Australia.
3. Each car must fulfill one of the following criteria:
- Can be used as a daily driver
- Can carry four adults & luggage
- Can be used as a weekend track car
My Choices
Daily Driver
BMW M3 Coupe $162,901
Sleek looking, smooth and extremely fast. It’s got the luxury and comfort features to be perfect for a daily driver, while also being able to spare a bit of room for any extra passengers or luggage.
Four Seater
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG $144,365
The Mercedes-Benz C63 by AMG has a big 6.2-litre V8 with plenty of room and four large doors to easily carry five people in complete comfort and luxury, and then there’s the power in case you and your passengers are in a rush.
Track Weapon
Nissan GT-R $155,800
Why buy a Porsche or a Ferrari when one of these is just as fast, specifically tuned for the track and a couple of hundred K less? The Nissan GT-R is an awesome car, extremely fast and more than capable of track work. It would be a whole heap of fun for sprints or hot laps on the weekend.
And with that there’s $36,934 left for on-roads, extra features and possibly even modifications!
Jun 23
Has anyone seen my cat? He was last seen near the front door and went missing shortly after…
Jun 21
The world is a huge place and there are so many sights, cities and activities I can’t wait to visit when I begin travelling around the world. With all these places to go and things to see, I thought it would appropriate for a blog of the top 10 cities I can’t wait to visit.
10 – Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is a vibrant and futuristic city and at the same time is full of culture, good food and shopping. There’s the Imperial Palace, countless shrines, museums and temples such as the Sensoji Temple and Meiji Shrine. And for some modern sights there’s Tokyo Tower, Dome City and even Tokyo Dinseyland.
09 – Shanghai, China
Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world with a modern and continuously expanding skyline including the fantastic looking Oriental Pearl Tower. Shanghai is the home to the world’s fastest growing economy.
08 – San Francisco, United States
San Francisco is one America’s most popular destinations and one of the country’s most liberal cities. San Francisco is a warm, sunny city with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge as its highlight and the beautiful surrounding bay. There’s also Alcatraz, the famous island prison located in the harbour. Most of all, I can’t wait to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.
07 – London, England
It’s expensive and cold but London is the capital of the country formerly the centre for finance, business and the highest standard of living. There are attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye and the Tower of London. Maybe I’ll even see the Queen!
06 – Toronto, Canada
Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the fifth most populous city in North America. Something has always told me to visit Canada, and Toronto seems like the place to be. Toronto is known as a global city and one of the financial centres of the world. There’s also the CN Tower, the tallest free-standing land structure in the world.
Jun 19
I’ve written about it before in my Freedom Ship blog, but I just thought it would be cool to expand a bit on Knock Nevis, the world’s biggest ship. As mentioned previously, the Knock Nevis is the largest ship ever constructed with an overall length of 458.45m and is longer than many of the world’s tallest buildings are tall. It is classed as a floating storage and offloading unit and is currently owned by a company called Fred Olsen Production.
The Knock Nevis has constantly been modified over the years to expand its size and capacity. It has been known under several names, originally known “Porthos” in 1976. It has also been known as “Seawise Giant” and “Happy Giant” among others along its years of different ownership and continuous construction.
To comprehend the amazing length of the ship, the ship is 458.65m long, whereas the Eiffel Tower is 300m high. The Statue of Liberty is only 93.5m high (whereas the figure alone is 46.4m tall). Its length exceeds the tallest land structure, the Petronas Tower of Malaysia which is 424 tall. It is 77 metres longer than the Empire State Building. If the Eiffel Tower was laid on its side it could easily be carried by the Knock Nevis.
The ship is also very wide at 69 metres at its widest point. It is too wide to pass through the 51km wide English Channel and can also not pass through the Suez or Panama channels. It takes nearly 9km to come to a stop and has a huge turning circle of over 3km.
Jun 17
The brand new Subaru Legacy, or Subaru Liberty as us Australians know it, was recently revealed at the 2009 New York International Auto Show. The previous Subaru Liberty was known for its quality and smooth performance, and the 2010 model continues into the fifth generation of the vehicle.
The new model features brand new engine developments, increased technological and comfort features, improved safety and a completely new exterior design and platform. And once again, all-wheel-drive is standard across all models, a unique feature of Subaru in the midsized car segment.
The base model features a new 2.5i 4-cylinder Boxer engine with 125kW. It comes in base, Premium and Limited models. The 2.5GT model carries the engine based on the latest WRX engine, with 2.5-litres of turbocharged and intercooled engine, good for around 200kW.
The 6-cylinder has now increased capacity to a 3.6-litre Boxer engine and are labeled 3.6R models. They output around 190kW and do not require premium fuel as in the previous 3.0R.
There is also a futuristically redesigned interior with all the new features including steering wheel controls on all models, automatic lights on and iPod input. Upper models have features such as heated seats, dual zone climate control, voice activated GPS, 8” LCD display, reverse camera and Bluetooth capabilities.
The new model is sure to continue Subaru’s Legacy.
Pictures: NetCarShow.com
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