From Wonka To Timbuktu - Running on Chocolate Biodiesel

From Wonka To Timbuktu - Running on Chocolate Biodiesel
January 4th, 2008 by Steve Watkins
http://www.practicalenvironmentalist.com/alternative-energy/from-wonka-to-timbuktu-chocolate-biodiesel.htm



While this may sound like something out of a Homer Simpson fantasy sequence a group in the UK just made a journey from the UK to Timbuktu in a truck powered entirely by biodiesel made from chocolate; or rather the waste chocolate from a manufacturer.

The expedition will be delivering a biodiesel processing unit to MFC, a Malian charity, which will allow biodiesel to be produced locally form sustainable sources, and the carbon savings from the Malian fuel will help to make this expedition Carbon-Negative, a world first! saving 15 tonnes of carbon emissions in the first year alone.



The expedition left the UK on November 26th and arrived in Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa one month later.

In addition to raising awareness to the benefits of bio-fuels to people in the UK (and elsewhere) Ecotec donated one of their biodiesel production units so that the local women in Mali can use it to re-cycle their used cooking oil into biofuel.

In addition, all the equipment used for this journey was salvaged from scrap yards and will remain in Mali where it will be put to good use. This even includes the chocolate powered truck itself.

Man Paints with His Eyeball

Xiang Chen is an incredible man who can do… well… some incredible things.

Chen, from the Hunan province, can write amazing calligraphy with his eye. He can hold paint brushes, some as big as 4.4 pounds like in the picture below, under his eyelid and literally write and paint with his eye.



34 year-old Chen discovered his eyes were different from other people when he was 16.

He came home one day, from his construction work, and surprised to see that both of his eyes were full of sand and yet he didn’t feel any discomfort or pain.

Chen even tried poking sticks into his eyes but all he felt was a minor itchy sensation and it actually felt relaxing and good to him.



Outside of just painting and writing, Chen can also hold a stick in his eye and play the piano.

Doctors have checked Chen out and say that his eyes are no different than anyone else’s.

School Cancels Lunches Due To Oil Price Increase

People all over the world have been hit with the rising prise of oil. Some decide to drive less while others carpool more. A select few take more extreme measures, like a Yokohama Elementary school who decided to cancel lunches.

The Yokohama city education board announced that Ekoda Elementary School would cancel lunch and classes on two days in January as higher oil prices led to food cost increases. Meal costs for the school up to October already surpassed initial estimates by nearly 10%.



The schools prepare their own lunches and receive about $35.00 a month from the students and the schools cannot increase the charge.

This will be the first recorded incident where a school is going to be closed due to rising oil prices and a government official is quoted as calling it “unusual nationwide”.

Gaming Child Prodigy in Action

January 20th, 2008

We often see videos of teenage kids completely dominating various games like Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero 3.

It amazes us that someone could perfect a game so well and has us wondering how many hours did it take them a day to get this good.

Recently we saw one prodigy to top them all. This little kid must be around 5 years old, or younger, and is just amazing.

If you watch till the end of the video you will even see him walk away as if it was the easiest thing he had to do all day long.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JzcqALklRs

Follow Me, Follow You: Couples Tracking Service

Trust is obviously an issue in many relationships. Is she really with her friends shopping and did he really have a business meeting go late? Sometimes even with the best of situations, you can still find yourself wondering… are they really where they say they are.

In Hong Kong, you don’t have to worry anymore. A service that allows individuals to sign up and be tracked on their mobile phone, has been quite successful in putting people’s minds at ease.



With over 10,000 subscribed members, “Follow Me, Follow You” costs about $28.00 a month and offers subscriber unlimited searches to track the other subscribers through their mobile phone signal.

Although we introduce the service as a way of tracking for worried couples, many people use the service to do much more. Parents can watch their children and others use it to monitor their elderly parents. Some couples use it just to be able to find each other in a densely populated city that holds 6.9 million people.

The service requires both parties consent.

New Bush coins

Now that President Bush has declared martial law, it will be illegal to own precious metals after the first of the year. Here's a sneak peek at the new money from BlimpTV.net

http://blip.tv/file/520347


Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, January 10, 2008 11:02 AM | permalink
Picture 11-16 Funny video created to familiarize you with the new, petroleum-backed, Bush coins. Link (Thanks, PeaceLove!)

Thermochromic Toilet Seat

Thermochromic Toilet Seat

Design: Plusminus (Peter Crnokrak)
Date: 2003
Manufacturer: Self-manufacture

thermotoilet.jpg

“Being able to identify a public toilet seat that has just been sat upon (and is thus still warm) is of particular concern to a significant number of the population. Without warning, one can easily sit upon a seat and be instantly repulsed by the trace evidence of a previous user. Conversely, if one is looking for intimate contact with an anonymous stranger without the associated awkwardness of verbal discourse, one could seek out the warm toilet seat. The decision to sit or not to sit is facilitated by the colour change of the seat: orange=cool, yellow=hot. The object retains the heat memory of a previous user and displays it as a visual marker for the next user to assess.” (plusminus website)

An excellent piece of product design from expat graphic designer Peter Crnokrak.

-John Ryan