MUSCLE CARS VS ALTERNATE FUELS

MOST CARS CAN NOT DO A BACK FLIP

THE MINI COOPER JCW 2012 HAS DONE IT  (do NOT try this at home !)

WHAT IS COMING IN NEW (2014) CARS

Electric Cars 

     The Trans-Canada Highway is being billed as the “world’s longest greenest highway project”. Sun Country Highway founder  (Kent Rathwell) has provided FREE dedicated car charging stations located in businesses such as hotels and restaurants from coast to coast. According to their site on Jan 30th, 2013:

     "Currently the average distance is about 150 kilometers. We have stations every 1 to 230 kilometers across the entire country. Our next goal is to shorten that distance by creating a more dense infrastructure that will allow all EV's to travel coast to coast".

     To make a point, Rathwell drove an electric car in temperatures as low as minus 32 degrees from St. John’s to Victoria. O.K. – so he drove in a $125,000 Telsa with a large battery, but it still makes a point. 

     A charger is available that cuts recharging time for a Ford Focus electric from 15 hours to four hours. The range on a single charge is from a certified 75 miles (120 Km)  to 100 miles (160 Km)  depending on driving habits.

Click HERE to open an interactive page to find a Fueling Station
Locator for ELECTRIC (EV) charger plugins in Canada.
Click HERE for a page an Alternative Fueling Station Locator for USA filling
stations (Electric, LNG, Ethanol, Hydrogen, Propane, Bio-diesel).

Hybrid Cars 

       A hybrid car never needs to be plugged in for a recharge - whenever you step on the brakes, some of that energy is stored in the batteries. If the batteries get really low, the car can just run on gas until the combustion engine recharges them, so range is not an issue. For an explanation of hybrid cars, check out  How Hybrid Cars Work
     The Honda Accord Hybrid has a two-motor hybrid system for larger vehicles and competes with the Chevy Volt, Ford Fusion, and ToyotaCamry hybrids in the marketplace.

Hi-tech goodies

    In 2003, BMW set up a Group Technology Office in Silicon Valley to do technology research into connectivity to your music, navigation and favorite electronic devices and to develop a unique level of customization.

     In 2007 they joined GOOGLE in developing car computers to provide assistance in driving/parking. Most of the major car manufacturers have followed BMW in increasing card ability to detect pedestrians as well as other cars an to assist the driver in avoiding them.

AND THEN THERE ARE THE "MUSCLE CARS"

 (Street legal racing cars)

1) Chevrolet Camaro
      Thanks to a supercharger, the ZL1 now makes a whopping 580-hp, allowing it to hit 60 mph in under 4 seconds, 
     The magnetic ride control allows suspension settings to be adjusted up to 1,000 times per second. This allows the car to be as responsive as possible, and provides precision on the track, and comfort on the street.

2)  Ford Shelby GT500 
    It is a 550 horsepower Mustang with a supercharged 5.0 L V8, Brembo brakes and  white racing stripe.

3)  Ford Mustang Boss 302

     It puts out 24-hp more than the normal Mustang GT for a total power of 440 hp.

4) Taurus SHO

      Twin-turbo direct-injection 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 rated at 365 horsepower, 6-speed automatic and all-wheel drive with the practicality of a large sedan

5) Chevrolet Corvette
      The style of the beloved stingray returns for the 7th generation with:
     - added muscle in a  6.2L V-8 LT1 engine with over 450 horsepower

     - a nod to being eco-friendly by having half of the eight cylinders deactivated when
       not needed  (which I think could be most of the time)

    The car is not yet available so the price is not known, but it will be determined by a variety of optional goodies which are alluded to by the company's own words:

     "Controlling all this is the console-mounted Drive Mode Selector, which dials from Tour to Weather, Eco, Sport, and Track. It alters the operating parameters of the electronic differential (if equipped), cylinder deactivation, throttle mapping, stability control, traction control, launch control, auto transmission shift mapping, Performance Traction Management (if equipped), Magnetic Ride Control (if equipped), steering weight and ratio, and the gauge cluster display . . .  Performance Package, available Performance Traction Management offers five settings of torque reduction and brake intervention for more confident driving on the road. The machine serves the driver . . .  a precision-born machine."

      I have only the foggiest idea what all that actually means but it sounds impressive.   

A FEW INTERESTING PRODUCTS

1) LINITOL  (also called "muscle" or "magic" wire is a nickel titanium alloy)

          

     Nickel titanium alloys exhibit the unique property of shape memory. Shape memory is the ability to undergo deformation at one temperature and then recover its original shape upon heating above its "transformation temperature". 

     It is being used in the 2014 Corvette where a shape memory alloy wire opens the back hatch vent whenever the deck lid is opened in the rear of the car. Heat from an electrical current activates the small wire, which moves a lever arm to open the vent, allowing the trunk lid to close. Once closed, the current switches off, and the wire returns to its original shape.      This replaces a conventional motorized system that weighs approximately one pound more. Chevy points out that "there are about 200 motorized movable parts on the typical vehicle that could be replaced with lightweight smart materials". 
     The following "magic trick" video demonstrates how well Nitinol works. To purchase check eBay for good prices.



2)  LiveScribe, the creators of the Lernstift digital pen hope to bring handwriting into the 21st century by having the pen vibrate to indicate when the writer makes spelling and grammatical errors or exhibits poor penmanship.

(use <+> to magnify picture)

There are two modes for the pen: calligraphy and orthography. Calligraphy mode senses “if a letter is written wrong or illegibly,” according to the company, and then vibrates once to alert the user to the error. With the Orthography setting, “the pen vibrates once for a misspelled word and twice to point out grammatical errors in a sentence.” Note that the pen simply alerts the user that an error has been identified; it’s then up to the user to figure out the problem and correct it. It’s a teaching pen, not a spellchecker.

3) "LivesOn" App
          Soon (March?) you will be able to tweet after you die 
          Click on the link above - this is so weird on so many levels I am speechless.

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new

HOLD YOUR BREATH AND WAVE
(Asteroid DA14 flying by Earth Friday 15th afternoon)

Click here for more

info or just hope the

calculations are correct.

SNOOZE BUTTON ALARM PROBLEMS?

(GOOGLE “unusual alarm clocks” for info on these and dozens of other funclocks)

1) Clocky Alarm Clock 

An unusual alarm clock that jumps off your night
stand and runs away BEEPING until you catch it and
turn it off. 

2) Shape Up Alarm Clock

This dumbbell-style alarm clock wants to start your day off right! Just set the alarm and in the morning it will buzz until you have done 30 reps.

3) Puzzle Alarm Clock

This little analog clock will have you waking up totally puzzled. When the alarm sounds, it shoots puzzle pieces off of the top and they go flying. In order to silence the alarm you have to collect the pieces and put them in their rightful place.

4) Flying Alarm Clock

This clock launches it’s rotor in the air, and you have to catch it and return it to it’s base to silence the clock. 

5) Target Alarm Clock

With this digital clock you can enjoy target practice every morning In order to shut off the alarm, you have to shoot the matching laser gun at the target and make a perfect bulls-eye.

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Our Russian Spy and Sagging Pants

WHAT IS IMPORTANT THIS WEEK

(so many things, so little substance - in no particular order)                                         

1) In a shocking turn of events, Manitoba is in for another six weeks of winter. Manitoba Merv, a golf club cover, acting as a groundhog hand-puppet who  resides at Oak Hammock Marsh, interrupted his slumber Saturday morning and was able to see his shadow, despite suffering from the handicap of being an inanimate object. We have to use a puppet because our live groundhogs hibernate and don't talk.

2) The Canadian penny becomes history on Feb. 4th as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan in its own web site and Department of Finance Canada Eliminating the Penny Web portal.  As Canada's Minister of Finance explained it, "The penny is a currency without any currency,” and they “take up too much space on our dressers at home” and take up “far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs.” It is always nice to have a clearly thought out explanation.

4) The Ikea monkey continues to be a regular news item (appearing in Saturday's Winnipeg Free Press). The Idle No More movement did not make it into our Saturday paper although it did make CBC news on Jan 28 with its demonstrations nationwide to mark the sitting of Parliament. Again, the monkey wins.

4) Canada is slowly reacting to the "Sagging Pants" syndrome appearing in society and schools. Obama's reaction in 2008 to the anti-sagging-pants ordinances being suggested in several states at that time was, as are most of his responses, very common sense and honest:

     "Here's my attitude: I think passing a law about people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time . . . There are some issues that we face that you don't have to pass a law [against], but that doesn't mean folks can't have some sense and some respect for other people. And, you know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I'm one of them."
     In 2009, county judge Laura Johnson in USA ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, and that the baggy pants trend is protected by "freedom of choice and liberties guaranteed under the 14th Amendment".

    I was frequently reminded of saggy pants a couple of weeks ago when I was in New Orleans (now often referred to as "NOLA"). I accidentally discovered a fellow with a short shirt and sagging pants which answered my recurring question of, "how can they stay up?" I had been thinking of Velcro, but it turns out that there are pant garters available at a reasonable cost. And it leaves your hands free for other activities other than holding your pants up.

CANADA ACTS TO DEAL WITH A RUSSIAN SPY
(after six years)

       Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle first came to the attention of the RCMP in a letter from the FBI

 in the United States on Dec. 2, 2011. It is now Feb 2013 and he has pleaded guilty in a Halifax court to breach of trust and two counts of passing information to a foreign entity between July 2007 and Jan. 13, 2011. His two-day sentencing hearing began Jan. 31, 2013

    

     When the FBI tipped off the Mounties, Delisle was the threat assessment officer for the Canadian navy based in Trinity on the East Coast. His job came with a Level 3 top secret security classification — the second highest possible — that gave him access to secret information gathered by the CIA, the FBI, CSIS, and British, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services.

    But the warrants show that Delisle's top secret security clearance had lapsed before he was transferred to Trinity in August 2011. The transfer came after Delisle was promoted to an officer, giving him access to more classified material. "Jeffrey Delisle's security clearance is Level 3 — TOP SECRET and is currently being updated. The last information request made to approve this clearance was completed on March 22, 2006," the warrants state.

    The Defence Department has confirmed to CBC that Level 3 security classifications are supposed to be updated every five years. Delisle's should have undergone the rigorous security process in March 2011, five months before he moved to Trinity. 

    But that check never happened, and the warrants don't explain why.

 A brief TIME LINE of relevant events

2006 - Delisle begins working at the chief of defence intelligence office in Ottawa.

2007 - Delisle starts a stint at the strategic joint staff division in Ottawa.
        - July 6 according to the RCMP, Delisle first breaches a trust or communicates safeguarded 

           information. The Mounties have yet to elaborate on the details of this breach.
        - Delisle was working on a system called the Stone Ghost, said CBC reporter Rob Gordon,

          who  reviewed court documents related to the case. "It's a computer system that links the 
          five eyes".

          The five eyes are the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

          All their information is shared on the "Stone Ghost" computer.

       - He would go to work every time with a thumb drive and download reams of information,

          which he would then make available to the Russians on a monthly basis by copying
          information onto a common email account as a "draft" which the Russians would log onto
         and then read.
          There were no email records because no emails were sent - just read as "draft". 

2011 August - Delisle joins HMCS Trinity, an intelligence facility at the naval dockyard in Halifax

          that tracks vessels entering and exiting Canadian waters via satellites, drones and
          underwater devices. The centre is a multinational base with access to secret data from
          NATO countries.

        December - Delisle's house is raided as part of the investigation by the military and the RCMP.
2012 Jan. 13 - According to the RCMP, this is the date that Delisle last breached a trust or
         communicated safeguarded information.
         Jan. 14-15 - Delisle is arrested by the RCMP.  He is charged with breach of trust and
         communicating safeguarded information to a foreign entity without lawful authority. Delisle is
         the first person charged under Section 16(1) of the Security of Information Act.
         Jan. 23- The military evacuates HMCS Trinity in order to search the naval communications
         and surveillance centre for evidence of espionage or devices meant to leak information to the
        outside. In a separate development, Delisle’s lawyer, Cameron MacKeen, quits the case. He
        does not explain why, or whether his ties to the Conservative Party and Peter MacKay
        influenced his decision. Delisle retains his new lawyer, Mike Taylor, on Feb. 27.
 2012 Oct. 10 -In a surprise move, Delisle pleaded guilty to all three charges. His two-day
          sentencing hearing begins Jan. 31, 2013.
2013 Jan. 31 -Deslisle's sentencing hearing will begin in a Nova Scotia provincial court.
         The Security of Information Act lays out an array of breaches, ranging from threatening the
         safety of the Forces to selling software and the technical details of operations. The Criminal
         Code charge can net a five-year prison sentence, and convictions under the Security of
         Information  Act can lead to life in prison.

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Jan 28, 2013 World Day of Action for IdleNoMore.

Due to most of the Canadian media's strange determination to ignore this movement,

 you may be surprised to know the movement is worldwide. 

Some relatively impartial information Links of interest are:

* wikipedia
* 9 questions about Idle No More

* Students focus on social stigma at Idle No More rally

* Idle No More movementbrings Canadian history into focus

* Idle No More Quebec Gaining Momentum

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WOMEN PREMIERS IN CANADIAN POLITICS

Now six of Canada's ten Provincial Premiers are women, with the latest being 
openly gay. These 6 premiers represent 87% of' Canada's population:

1) Kathleen Wynne (Ontario - Liberal - is premier-designate and will be Canada's sixth

      female premier) Jan. 2013

2) Eva Aariak (Nunavut - chosen under the territory’s consensus style government as 
     Nunavut’s second premier and first female leader)  Nov. 2008

3) Kathy Dunderdale (Newfoundland and Labrador - Progressive Conservative)

     Dec. 2010

4) Alison Redford (Alberta -Progressive Conservative) Oct. 2011

5) Christy Clark (B.C. - liberal - 20 years after Rita Johnston who was the first female
     premier in Canada) March 2011

6) Pauline Marois (Quebec - (Parti Quebecois) Sept. 2012

***************

Number of female legislators in Canada's provinces and territories

Female legislators out of total seats in each of Canada's provinces and territories

Alberta:                                23 of 87     (26.4%)

British Columbia:                 27 of 85      (31.76%)

Manitoba:                            16 of 57       (28%)

New Brunswick:                    7 of 55       (12.7%)

Newfound. and Labr:            8 of 48       (16.7%)

Northwest Territories:           2 of 19       (10.5%)

Nova Scotia:                       12 of 52       (23%)

Nunavut:                               3 of 19       (15.8%)

Ontario:                               30 of 107     (28%)

P.  E. I.                                   6 of 27       (22.2%)

Quebec:                               41 of 125     (32.8%)

Saskatchewan:                    11 of 58       (19%)
Yukon:                                   6 of 19        (31.6%)

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A SERIOUS (?) QUESTION

   
On Jan 22/13, I went through security a the New Orleans Airport. It was quite thorough. I was told to leave my shoes on even though others were taking theirs off - not a good sign. Then I was told to empty my pockets into their little dish, but left my belt on.

 I failed the full body scan because I had a single flattened Kleenex in my back pocket. (My wife keeps telling me not to leave Kleenex in pockets for laundry reasons, but I never seem to learn). So I had to remove the Kleenex and got a "pat down".

Then came the part I didn't understand: after the pat down he swabbed both my palms and checked the swabs in a little machine, with the explanation that "we have to do that anytime we touch your butt".

I really wanted to ask him how HIS touching my butt would mean he had to swab MY palms. However, I didn't want to encourage any further activity in that direction so I said nothing. I have never had a strip search and it is not on my “bucket" list of things to do.

I tried asking "Mr. Google", and found out that palm swabbing has recently become more frequent but no explanation as to why HIS patting my butt would make ME more likely to have handled explosives. Does anyone have an explanation? I would really like to know.

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Montreal Simon: Idle No More and the Bigot Bullies

Montreal Simon: Idle No More and the Bigot Bullies

WHY IS "COMMON SENSE" SO RARE ?

(Rhetorical Question)

2012 Innovative Inventions
(from Gizmag.com)

 In Music 

- Bananaphone synth was likely inspired by the excellent MaKey MaKey circuit-building kit and makes use of a few bananas as keyboard keys, which produce tones when touched.

- Wrist Piano: turn your incessant table-top finger drumming into something more pleasing with the cheap and cheerful Wrist Piano may help. It only has eight notes, but packs three sound banks, a built-in speaker and different volume levels (although whether a player would make use of the meowing cat sound is anyone's guess).

Self Driving Autos

- Audi has become the second recipient of a license to allow it to test autonomous vehicles on Nevada’s public roads. It follows Google, which was given the first self-driving license and exclusive red license plates last year. In 2010 the company’s Autonomous TTS research car completed the 12.42-mile (20 km) that make up the Pikes Peak Hill Climb course in an impressive 27 minutes. That’s around 10 minutes longer than an expert human driver would take in the same car.

- Toyota and its Lexus division took a step closer to the autonomous car as they unveiled their Advanced Active Safety Research Vehicle (AASRV) at a press conference in2013 in Las Vegas. The AASRV uses automated vehicle safety technologies to work toward the goal of eliminating "future traffic fatalities and injuries. The company’s approach is to use this technology to enhance the driver’s skill. It’s designed to avoid crashes, to prepare the car in the event of a crash, use passive technology to minimize the danger of a crash and to aid rescuers after a crash.

                 

             From: Winnipeg Free Press,  January 11, 2013

Sometimes it lasts in love, sometimes hurts instead(medical - (funny, but OUCH!)

By: W. Gifford-Jones MD / The Doctor Game       Posted: 01/11/2013 1:00 AM

 

     What does a mixed-martial-arts (MMA) fighter worry about before a fight? I've interviewed boxers, never an MMA fighter, but I suspect losing the match is the first concern. Or possibly breaking an arm, leg or sustaining other serious injuries.
     But I'd bet one MMA fighter, even in his wildest dreams, never envisioned he'd encounter this sexual nightmare.
Ray Elbe, who was on The Ultimate Fighter season 9, was on a training tour in southeast Asia. Like any other testosterone-driven male, he, too, realized there's more than just training all the time. So why not arrange for a little "amour?" His sport is dangerous, and vigour in the ring provides the win, but the bed has different hazards. In this case, the ultimate fighter suffered the ultimate injury -- a fractured penis.
     In an online video message, Elbe revealed his injury and cautioned other males: "Keeping it safe during sex isn't just wearing a condom."
     So how often does this physical and psychological sexual nightmare occur? Possibly more often than we think, as who wants to admit it happened?
     Many years ago, I was in a hospital library looking through medical journals. To my surprise, I found a study reporting 67 documented cases of the fractured male organ. One case involved a man who was admitted to the emergency department at 1 a.m. in obvious distress. He was agitated, his skin cold and clammy, suggesting blood loss. Doctors were shocked to discover a markedly swollen penis. Emergency surgery was required to remove a large blood clot.
     How did it happen? The man was reluctant to explain, but finally admitted he had been masturbating vigorously and suddenly heard a loud snap followed by intense pain and swelling. The diagnosis? A fractured penis.
When I read about how other such cases occurred, it was hard not to chuckle.
     One amorous Romeo was making love to his partner standing up. It appeared he must have been a fantastic lover, as she suddenly fainted. She didn't suffer any harm, but the her sudden fall caused quite a snap.
      Some males suffered this embarrassing malady after bumping into a chair or bedpost during the night. Others were kicked during a fight.  Another Romeo was injured while having sex in a moving car, and when the car came to a sudden stop, his penis smashed against the dash.
     It takes some imagination and a course in gymnastics to speculate how another such accident happened. The victim claimed his penis was fractured when he closed the car door.
     Then there's the case of the shepherd who was sitting in a tree watching his sheep. He fell asleep, had an amorous dream, developed an erection, fell out of the tree, landed on a wooden bar and there was another snap for the medical records.
     But what happened to the UFC fighter is unknown. Perhaps his Waterloo was similar to the "honeymoon syndrome."
A 26-year-old man's honeymoon suddenly ended when his penis slipped during sex, striking his wife's pubic bone. There was a clicking sound and the penis was bent. Can you imagine the scene and the angst?
     Treatment depends on the extent of the injury. Most such injuries require pressure dressings, ice packs, support for the penis and tranquillizers to calm the psyche. Surgery is needed when there's a massive blood clot.
     Years ago, following my initial column on this subject, a farmer contacted me. He said I wouldn't be chuckling if I were a farmer and this happened to my favourite bull.
     I also vividly recall that seven editors in the U.S. Bible Belt fired me for writing the column. Now I have more than the Bible Belt to concern me. Today, being a free-lance journalist is a hazardous job. Newspapers have to cut expenses, and I never know when this column might end.
  
     So I'd recommend adding your name to my free website: www.docgiff.com . You'll continue to receive the column if this happens.

 

Winners and losers at the CES 2013 tech circus

 Click on the link to see the good and the bad of Consumers Electronics Show from CBC

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Montreal Simon: The Media Assault on Idle No More

Montreal Simon: The Media Assault on Idle No More