XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Sunday 26 June 2011

Nevada is the first state in the U.S. to approve the use of driverless cars like those being developed at Google Inc. -

Nevada is the first state in the U.S. to approve the use of driverless cars like those being developed at Google Inc. - 




Nevada is the first state in the U.S. to approve the use of driverless cars like those being developed at Google Inc.on its roads.
State legislators passed a law instructing the Nevada Department of Transportation to come up with rules including safety standards, insurance requirements and testing sites.
Google has tested driverless cars in California,driving about 140,000 miles with them.
The Nevade law defines permits cars that use artificial intelligence, sensors and GPS to drive without active the attention of a human operator.
Along with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG),Volkswagenhas been working on driverless cars.
Read more - 
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2011/06/26/nevada-oks-no-driver-cars-like-googles.html

Host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” asks Republican Presidential candidate - Michele Bachmann - “Are you a flake?” -

Host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” asks Republican Presidential candidate - Michele Bachmann - “Are you a flake?” - 


Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann says a new poll showing her near the top of the Republican presidential pack in Iowa is proof that voters see her as a serious candidate.
“I am very serious about what I want to do,” Bachmann said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that voters were impressed with her recent New Hampshire debate appearance. “People recognize that I’m serious.”
But host Chris Wallace pushed Bachmann on her history of making controversial statements and asked whether she was ready to be a national candidate.
“Are you a flake?” Wallace asked
“That would be insulting to say something like that,” responded Bachmann, pointing to her legislative and professional record. “Of course, a person has to be careful with what their words are. And now I will have an opportunity to speak fully.”
Read more - 
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0611/Bachmann_Im_serious_not_a_flake.html

$20.2 BILLION - U.S. military spends ANNUALLY on Air Conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan -more than entire NASA budget -

$20.2 BILLION - U.S. military spends ANNUALLY on Air Conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan -more than entire NASA budget - 






The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion.
That's more than NASA's budget. It's more than BP has paid so far for damage during the Gulf oil spill. It's what the G-8 has pledged to help foster new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia.
"When you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated places in the world — escorting, command and control, medevac support — when you throw all that infrastructure in, we're talking over $20 billion," Steven Anderson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin. Anderson is a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. David Patreaus' chief logistician in Iraq.
Why does it cost so much?
To power an air conditioner at a remote outpost in land-locked Afghanistan, a gallon of fuel has to be shipped into Karachi, Pakistan, then driven 800 miles over 18 days to Afghanistan on roads that are sometimes little more than "improved goat trails," Anderson says. "And you've got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every mile of the way."
Anderson calculates more than 1,000 troops have died in fuel convoys, which remain prime targets for attack. Free-standing tents equipped with air conditioners in 125 degree heat require a lot of fuel. Anderson says by making those structures more efficient, the military could save lives and dollars.
Still, his $20.2 billion figure raises stark questions about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. In the wake of President Obama's announcement this week that about 30,000 American troops will soon return home, how much money does the U.S. stand to save?
Read more - 
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137414737/among-the-costs-of-war-20b-in-air-conditioning

World's ugliest dog crowned, and she's quite the eyesore -

World's ugliest dog crowned, and she's quite the eyesore - 
Yoda parades in front of the judges. (AAP)

Of all the ugly mutts in all the lands, a cross between a Chihuahua and a Chinese Crested has been declared the most mutt ugly of all.
You only have to hear that her name is Yoda to get the picture.
But when you actually see her picture you fully understand why Yoda won a competition in northern California to find the world's ugliest dog.
The 14-year-old won the dubious honour at the 23rd annual contest to be held at the Sonoma Marin Fair.
She's got overlong legs, wonky eyes and her tongue is clearly too big for her mouth. That's not to mention the oversized ears and the off-centre nose.
One of the judges at the contest declared her to be "the smallest camel I've ever seen".
But her owner Terry Schumacher loves her, although she admits that she initially thought that Yoda was an overgrown rat when she discovered the dog abandoned around the back of her apartment block.
But every dog has his (or her) day, and now her 'talents' have been appreciated and recognised with an award.
A dubious one, but an award all the same.
Read more - 
http://www.joe.ie/news-politics/world-affairs/worlds-ugliest-dog-crowned-and-shes-quite-the-eyesore-0013485-1