Ferrari 20.5.11 The FIA is in talks with Ferrari about the new rear wing that has been introduced by the Italian squad for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, with Technical Delegate Charlie Whiting eager to establish the legality of its design ahead of final practice tomorrow. "No teams have complained to me at all," said Whiting. "We are aware of the development on the Ferrari rear wing of course, and we are currently discussing it with Ferrari." When asked about the possibility of the device being banned, he replied: "That will depend on what we will decide tonight. It's a very clever interpretation of the rules, and we've got to decide whether we think it's a good interpretation of the rules. It will be clear tomorrow."
NEXT
Circuit de Catalunya
Barcelona, Spain
20.5 - 22.5 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Gambling : The biggest losers
ARE you an American who lost the month’s rent in Las Vegas? A Briton whose sure thing missed at the Grand National? You are not, alas, in particularly good company among your countrymen. Vegas and the high-street bookies take in plenty of cash, but measured proportionally to population—net spending in the country’s legal forms of betting divided by the number of residents over age 16—America and Britain lag not merely Australia and Hong Kong, but also Scandinavia and Finland. Macau and Monaco, which derive nearly all of their gambling revenue from tourists, do not make the list. Seeing Singapore so near the top is surprising, but don’t get used to it. Three years ago the country had no casinos; today the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa alone nearly outgross the entire Las Vegas Strip, but outside of Macau they enjoy first-mover advantage in betting-mad Asia. Western-style hotel-casino complexes are being built in Vietnam and the Philippines. Developers salivate at the prospect of markets opening in India and Japan. Singapore has had a lucky run, but lucky runs don’t last.
by The Economist online
Hip hoop hooray! Basketball fans catapult themselves into the record books with incredible medieval-style long shot
The Legendary Shots are a group of basketball fans who go to great lengths to get the ball in the net - literally.The Alabama friends recently scored a basket from around 150 feet - potentially a new world record - but it was actually the method of the shot that pleased them more than the distance.
The nine-strong gang built a wooden catapult which they used to fire the ball across a street and through the rim.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389165/Basketball-fans-score-long-shot-homemade-catapult.html#ixzz1Myn2Zbth
The nine-strong gang built a wooden catapult which they used to fire the ball across a street and through the rim.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389165/Basketball-fans-score-long-shot-homemade-catapult.html#ixzz1Myn2Zbth
Friday, May 20, 2011
Europe considers plastic bag ban
BusinessGreen: European Commission launches consultation seeking to reduce plastic carrier bag waste
Businesses and individuals have been urged to give their views on whether the European Union should tax or altogether ban plastic carrier bags, as part of a new consultation designed to tackle rising levels of plastic waste.
The European Commission launched a public consultation this week, open until August, considering options to reduce plastic carrier bag waste and improve the way a bag is labelled to indicate how it will biodegrade.Some countries have already introduced taxes or reached voluntary agreements with the retail sector to phase out plastic bags, but no specific measures exist at EU level.Although most plastic carrier bags are theoretically recyclable, many are still sent to landfill. Moreover, because of their low weight and small size, they can easily escape the waste management process and end up in the sea or rivers where they pose a serious threat to wildlife and can contaminate waterways and soil.
It has been estimated that there are already around 250 billion floating plastic particles and 500 tonnes of plastic in the Mediterranean alone.
Businesses and individuals have been urged to give their views on whether the European Union should tax or altogether ban plastic carrier bags, as part of a new consultation designed to tackle rising levels of plastic waste.
The European Commission launched a public consultation this week, open until August, considering options to reduce plastic carrier bag waste and improve the way a bag is labelled to indicate how it will biodegrade.Some countries have already introduced taxes or reached voluntary agreements with the retail sector to phase out plastic bags, but no specific measures exist at EU level.Although most plastic carrier bags are theoretically recyclable, many are still sent to landfill. Moreover, because of their low weight and small size, they can easily escape the waste management process and end up in the sea or rivers where they pose a serious threat to wildlife and can contaminate waterways and soil.
It has been estimated that there are already around 250 billion floating plastic particles and 500 tonnes of plastic in the Mediterranean alone.
Why Google Would Defend The Pirate Bay
So important is the principle of free speech to Google, that the search giant is ready to stand up for sites like the Pirate Bay as European governments prepare to launch new laws to block them.
“Hopefully, the French or any other country won’t pass laws that are so foolish they force Google not to be able to operate in those countries,” Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt was quoted by The Guardian as saying at the company’s Big Tent event in Britain, after his keynote address.
The British government recently held talks with music rights holders and local internet service providers like BT, over a new voluntary code of practice for the web that would include blocking bittorent sites like the Pirate Bay.
France currently gives people who download from filesharing sites three official warnings, before they are reported to a judge for punishments including a potential block from the Internet.
Schmidt said that if the British government rolled out new laws in the “wrong way,” it could set a “disastrous precedent” for censorship and freedom of information.
“I would be very, very careful if I were a government about arbitrarily [implementing] simple solutions to complex problems,” he said. A government might find taking down a domain name server (DNS) an appealing solution, “but it sets a very bad precedent because now another country will say ‘I don’t like free speech so I’ll whack off all those DNSs’ – that country would be China.”
Such rhetoric will not stop politicians from going ahead with their plans, though. Minister Jeremy Hunt also said at the event that Britain’s plans to block certain file-sharing sites were on schedule, according to The Guardian.
“Hopefully, the French or any other country won’t pass laws that are so foolish they force Google not to be able to operate in those countries,” Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt was quoted by The Guardian as saying at the company’s Big Tent event in Britain, after his keynote address.
The British government recently held talks with music rights holders and local internet service providers like BT, over a new voluntary code of practice for the web that would include blocking bittorent sites like the Pirate Bay.
France currently gives people who download from filesharing sites three official warnings, before they are reported to a judge for punishments including a potential block from the Internet.
Schmidt said that if the British government rolled out new laws in the “wrong way,” it could set a “disastrous precedent” for censorship and freedom of information.
“I would be very, very careful if I were a government about arbitrarily [implementing] simple solutions to complex problems,” he said. A government might find taking down a domain name server (DNS) an appealing solution, “but it sets a very bad precedent because now another country will say ‘I don’t like free speech so I’ll whack off all those DNSs’ – that country would be China.”
Such rhetoric will not stop politicians from going ahead with their plans, though. Minister Jeremy Hunt also said at the event that Britain’s plans to block certain file-sharing sites were on schedule, according to The Guardian.
London 2012: One million bid for Olympics 100m tickets
London 2012 organisers have received more than one million requests for tickets for the Olympic men's 100 metres final.
The session, at the Olympic Stadium on 5 August next year, is one of the most sought after of the London Games.Some 40,000 seats are available after the stadium capacity was halved through sponsors, VIPs and the media.Applicants will find out by 24 June whether they have got any of the 6.6 million Olympics tickets available.
Some 1.8 million people applied, with a total of 20 million ticket applications.Competition to see the 100 metres final - likely to feature Jamaican sprinter and reigning Olympic champion Usain Bolt - was always going to be fierce.Such was the level of demand in the recent ballot for tickets that the Olympic Stadium in east London could have been sold out at least 20 times over.
BBC sports editor David Bond says those who have applied for Olympics tickets will be watching their bank accounts for a clue to what tickets they have been allocated.But with other big events likely to be just as over subscribed as the 100 metres final, millions of people could be left disappointed.
The price of Olympics tickets ranges from £20 to £725 for the showpiece 100 metres final, and reaches £2,012 for the opening ceremony on 27 July.
The session, at the Olympic Stadium on 5 August next year, is one of the most sought after of the London Games.Some 40,000 seats are available after the stadium capacity was halved through sponsors, VIPs and the media.Applicants will find out by 24 June whether they have got any of the 6.6 million Olympics tickets available.
Some 1.8 million people applied, with a total of 20 million ticket applications.Competition to see the 100 metres final - likely to feature Jamaican sprinter and reigning Olympic champion Usain Bolt - was always going to be fierce.Such was the level of demand in the recent ballot for tickets that the Olympic Stadium in east London could have been sold out at least 20 times over.
BBC sports editor David Bond says those who have applied for Olympics tickets will be watching their bank accounts for a clue to what tickets they have been allocated.But with other big events likely to be just as over subscribed as the 100 metres final, millions of people could be left disappointed.
The price of Olympics tickets ranges from £20 to £725 for the showpiece 100 metres final, and reaches £2,012 for the opening ceremony on 27 July.
Obama administration grants $737 million for a 24/7 solar power plant
The Obama administration on Thursday offered Santa Monica solar startup SolarReserve a $737 million loan guarantee to build a 110-megawatt solar thermal power plant in Nevada that can generate electricity 24 hours a day.That’s the holy grail for intermittent sources of carbon-free energy such as solar and wind and the SolarReserve loan guarantee is a sign that the United States Department of Energy is willing to gamble on a technology untested on a commercial scale.
The Nevada project, called the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, will be built on federal land in Tonopah, Nev., about 220 miles northwest of Las Vegas. SolarReserve said the molten salt can extend Crescent Dunes’ daily operation by 10 to 12 hours and the project can power 75,000 homes at peak output. “Today’s announcement is about one thing: creating good paying clean energy jobs right here in Nevada,” Harry Reid, the Nevada senator and Senate majority leader, said in a statement that noted Crescent Dunes will create 600 construction jobs and 45 permanent positions.
The Nevada project, called the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, will be built on federal land in Tonopah, Nev., about 220 miles northwest of Las Vegas. SolarReserve said the molten salt can extend Crescent Dunes’ daily operation by 10 to 12 hours and the project can power 75,000 homes at peak output. “Today’s announcement is about one thing: creating good paying clean energy jobs right here in Nevada,” Harry Reid, the Nevada senator and Senate majority leader, said in a statement that noted Crescent Dunes will create 600 construction jobs and 45 permanent positions.
Apple’s Next Multi-Billion-Dollar Business: Connected Televisions
For more than a year now, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been insisting that Apple (AAPL) is plotting a move into the television business – and soon. He thinks the company will start selling TV as soon as the end of calendar year 2012.
Munster estimates that the flat panel TV market will be 220 million units in 2012, and that 48% of those, or about 106 million, will be Internet connected. He thinks Apple could sell 1.4 million units, adding $2.5 billion in revenue, growing to $4 billion in calendar 2013, and $6 billion in 2014.
Concludes Munster: “Recent developments in Apple’s strategy, including the component deal we believe could secure up to 50″ LCD displays, bolster our confidence that the company remains serious about the connected living room.”
Munster estimates that the flat panel TV market will be 220 million units in 2012, and that 48% of those, or about 106 million, will be Internet connected. He thinks Apple could sell 1.4 million units, adding $2.5 billion in revenue, growing to $4 billion in calendar 2013, and $6 billion in 2014.
Concludes Munster: “Recent developments in Apple’s strategy, including the component deal we believe could secure up to 50″ LCD displays, bolster our confidence that the company remains serious about the connected living room.”
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Lady Gaga Tops Celebrity 100
The Queen Monster's $90 million in earnings and mastery of social media push her past
perennial No. 1 Oprah Winfrey.
perennial No. 1 Oprah Winfrey.
The Spanish Revolution grows and spreads
Protestors have decided to keep up their camp in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid after voting in the local and regional elections on Sunday
There are now thousands of people concentrated in the Puerta del Sol in the centre of Madrid, ever more convinced that Sunday, the day of the local and regional elections, will not be the last day of their protest
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_30572.shtml#ixzz1MpxxX6Iy
There are now thousands of people concentrated in the Puerta del Sol in the centre of Madrid, ever more convinced that Sunday, the day of the local and regional elections, will not be the last day of their protest
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_30572.shtml#ixzz1MpxxX6Iy
Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be released on $1 million bail
Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid, will be freed, probably Friday, on $1 million in bail and a $5 million bond. He will be under house arrest, with a 24-hour guard and electronic monitoring.
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