YouTube adds Magisto automatic video editing

YouTube today announced it's offering Magisto's new automated video editor to users. Click on the Magisto icon in YouTube's video toolbox to get started.

Now any video being uploaded to YouTube can be edited automatically. No manual intervention is needed whatsoever--just one click of a button--and Magisto's tool instantly "finds" the best scenes in your video and cuts out the blurry, bad and boring bits. Music and effects (wipes, transitions, titles, and fades) can also be added with two button clicks. The tool is dead simple to use as it literally walks you through the editing "process" in seconds.

Magisto launched publicly just yesterday, as reported. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, the company also announced it has secured $5.5 million in a series B funding round led by Horizons Ventures, the private venture firm of Li Ka-shing. Ka-shing, the world's 11th richest man, is known for making smart early-stage investments in companies like Facebook and Spotify.

With online photo sharing exploding, especially on Facebook, where tens of billions of photos are uploaded annually, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine Web-based video also blowing up on the world's busiest social network. And when CEO Mark Zuckerberg says content sharing is the new metric (30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook every month), and music, TV, film, and publishers are officially hoisting themselves aboard the company's platform this coming Thursday at the company's F8 developer conference, the prospect of the leading social network becoming a top, if not foremost, video destination is almost a no-brainer.

Source: cnet.com

HTC Sensation XE hands-on: First look

Out of one party and into the other - HTC is showing off yet more hot gadgetry and we’re going hands-on with it. After yesterday’s Rhyme launch, today we’ll be playing with an even hotter piece of smartphone technology.

The Sensation XE is not only the new HTC flagship, but its also the company's first dip into the audiophile pool.

The Sensation XE was officially announced a week ago and now we get a chance to play with it for the first time. Needless to say that we were pretty excited as it represents quite an improvement even over the already impressively specced Sensation. We are talking an even faster dual-core CPU (1.5GHz vs. 1.2GHz), an updated Sense UI (v3.5) and the addition of the highly regarded Beats audio to the mix here.

• General: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 126.1 x 65.4 x 11.3 mm, 151 g
• Display: 4.3" 16M-color qHD (540 x 960 pixels) S-LCD capacitive touchscreen; Gorilla glass
• Platform: Dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM 8260 Snapdragon chipset
• RAM: 768MB
• OS: Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)
• Memory: 1 GB storage, microSD card slot (16GB in the box)
• Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with face detection, touch focus and image stabilization; Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, dual LED flash, VGA front facing camera
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port,
• GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, TV-out (MHL)
• Misc: Sense 3.5 UI, DivX/XviD codec support, Beats audio enhancements and headphones in the package, 1730mAh battery, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, ultra-fast boot time
  
  
  Source: gsmarena.com

XANTHOS Stereo Console Gaming Headset

While having naturally fast reflexes that are attuned to the way that makes you the envy of your friends when it comes to computer gaming, sometimes natural talent can only bring you so far – especially when you’re going head-to-head with someone else

who is also equally talented as you are. Well, what then, becomes the determining factor between winning and losing? Surely this is where the right kind of hardware comes into play, and Speedlink intends to have your ears covered with their very own XANTHOS Stereo Console Gaming Headset.

This particular universal sound solution was not developed to cater to just a single gaming platform – no sir, this particularly stylish stereo headset will be able to cater to three different gaming platforms – namely, the Xbox 360, its close cousin the PC, as well as the other console, the Sony PS3. I guess with Wii owners moving up and about, a wired headset is not really advisable in the vicinity, swinging controllers and all.

Sporting atmospheric LED lighting, the XANTHOS Stereo Console Gaming Headset will be able to deliver sensational stereo sound on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Not only that, it will enable gamers to hold voice-chats with teammates as well as immerse themselves in the gaming sound on their respective consoles, letting you enjoy ear busting audio in maximum clarity without having to disturb anyone around. I guess this is suitable for those who love playing games late into the night – the XANTHOS Stereo Console Gaming Headset will almost certainly be able to deliver, and do so rather well.

Not only that, you can simultaneously play-back gaming sound on the headset and over the TV’s speakers, now how about that for an added touch of convenience? The XANTHOS Stereo Console Gaming Headset will ship with a three-metre cable for you to recline fully without being limited by a tugging cable, making it ideal for watching movies as well. Nice to know it does not come with a bank breaking price point, burning a mere €49.99 (pin)hole in your wallet.

Source: coolest-gadgets.com

India cap on text messages to deter tele-marketers

The telecoms regulator in India has put a cap on the number of text messages which can be sent from a mobile phone.

Under the new rules, no-one will be able to send more than 100 texts in a day, officials say.

The ruling is expected to be a big relief for millions of mobile phone users who have to deal with dozens of unsolicited text messages every day.

India has made several attempts in the past to rein in tele-marketing firms who bombard mobile phone users.

A BBC correspondent in Delhi says all the earlier attempts to deal with unwanted commercial messages and calls have been unsuccessful.

Subscribers can currently register their numbers with a "national do not call" list by sending a message to 1909.

In December, India announced plans to impose heavier fines on tele-marketing firms who called or sent text messages to those registered on a "national do not call" list.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) also barred commercial calls or messages between 9pm and 9am.

But the messages continue to be received late at night, sometimes even at 3am, our correspondent adds.

Many people have complained that they feel harassed by calls and text messages from tele-marketers trying to sell everything from credit cards to real estate to "slim sauna belts for weight loss".

Trai officials say the number of unsolicited commercial calls have come down drastically since the "do not call" registry was launched in 2007, but the number of text messages went up exponentially.

The cap of 100 messages per phone is expected to deal with the problem, they say.

India has the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world, with more than 700 million subscribers.

Source: BBC

Doctor in Brazil sends patient to morgue a bit too soon

RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian woman in her 60s being treated in hospital for pneumonia was given up for dead by her attending physician, and sent to the morgue too soon, O Globo newspaper reported Sunday.

The doctor felt no vital signs, ran tests and pronounced her dead. She was sent to the morgue and spent at least two hours in a plastic body bag.

"I went to give my mom one last hug, and I could feel that she was breathing. I screamed out -- my mom is alive! And they all looked at me like I was crazy," Rosangela Celestrino, the patient's daughter, told the paper.

"Not only did I have to go collect my mom from a cold storage drawer at the morgue, but when I got there, I find her still breathing," Celestrino went on.

Hospital officials said the patient, Rosa Celestrino de Assis, had two strokes and had been on assisted breathing. At 7:30 pm local time Friday, a nurse phoned the attending doctor because she did not show vital signs. The doctor confirmed her death and sent her to the morgue.

Hospital director Manoel Moreira Filho said the mistake was identified at about 10:00 pm, and the patient was immediately intubated and put back on life support. (AFP)

World's oldest operational car to be auctioned in October

LONDON: It isn't quite a car, but this steam powered 1884 De Dion Bouton Et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos runabout is claimed to be the oldest running motorized vehicle in existence. The 127 year old De Dion can reach 38 MPH thanks to it's twin compound steam engines which need a tank of water every twenty miles.

Amazingly, this runabout has only had four owners since 1884. If all goes according to plan, this piece of history will find a fifth owner at RM Auction's annual Vintage Motorcars of Hershey auction on October 7. Pre-sale estimates have the De Dion selling somewhere in the $2-$2.5 million range.

Baby born on airplane with no nationality

A Filipino woman has given birth to a baby boy on an airplane.

Aida Alamillo had been given the all-clear from her doctor to board a flight from Manila in the Philippines to San Francisco when she went into labour, according to NBC Bay Area.

Three nurses and cabin crew helped deliver the baby, though his nationality has yet to be confirmed as the plane might have been flying over international waters at the time.

The Alamillo family were moving to America, having acquired visas, and had been planning for the baby to be born there so he would gain US citizenship.

The mother was eight days from her due date.

A spokesperson for the Centre for Immigration Studies told Fox: "If a child is born over open ocean, it is generally considered a citizen of the country the parent has legal citizenship in."

The boy was named Kevin Raymar Francisco Domingo. Credit

Merdad's tuned McLaren MP4-12C to be called MehRon GT

Normally our response to something called a Merdad Mehron GT would be "The what what?" Having seen it, however, our response is: "That's hot." The British tuning firm that normally occupies itself turning Porsche Cayennes into hot, swollen messes has looked homeward

and out of nowhere done a bang-up job with the McLaren MP4-12C. As impressive as McLaren's offering is out of the box, to our eye, Merdad has made it better.

It has done so with a body kit that beefs up the svelte lines of the standard car. Up front is a new splitter with cues from the Ferrari 360 and GT by Citroën. Along the sides, gone are the twin gills, replaced by a single, massive vent that elegantly separates a fine front form flowing into a meaty business end. In back are new vents and color-cued diffusers and provide the type of rear end you'd expect from the house of the F1.

Merdad hasn't said much about it, but rumor is that we'll see it next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and it will be released next year along with a GT3 version.

Lotus Exige R-GT looks Group B fantastic for the modern era

Lotus has continually stated that it has big plans for the future. One of those being a return to the rallying world, and it will do just that with the all-new Lotus Exige R-GT. Sitting on the Frankfurt floor, the R-GT evokes visions of classic rally cars

while also providing a showcase of Lotus' current and future styling.

The car will compete in the FIA R-GT class, and it tips the scales at 2,646 pounds. Some of that weight comes in the form of class-mandated underside and side protection for driver and passenger, as well as the steel rollcage.

The Exige R-GT is powered by a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 engine, which produces 302 horsepower. That energy is routed to the wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission. The engine is the same as the one found in the standard Exige, however 34-millimeter air restrictors have been put in place to control the power, as is required by the FIA rulebook for R-GT racing.

Lotus will first offer the Exige R-GT to motorsports customers rather than dive into rallying with its own factory team. Either way, we're happy to see the Lotus name once again applied to a rally race car.

Sharp SH8298U 3D Android phone

Sharp has announced a new 3D Android smartphone in Japan, the Aquos SH8298U. This is the same phone whose images were posted a couple of months back on the FCC website.

The specifications of this phone are; a 4.2-inch, qHD resolution, stereoscopic 3D display,

Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with single-core 1.4GHz CPU and Adreno 205 GPU, 512MB RAM, 2GB internal memory, dual 8 megapixel cameras on the back for recording in 3D with a single LED flash, 1240mAh battery and Android 2.3.4. The model launching in Japan has a GSM radio instead of the CDMA version that we saw earlier in FCC images.

The phone is currently limited to Japan's SoftBank network but we hope to see this gorgeous device in other parts of the world as well.

Source: gsmarena.com

Man wins dumpling eating contest, dies

KIEV: A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a jar full of sour cream for coming first in a dumpling eating contest and then promptly died, local media reported on Wednesday.

Ivan Mendel ate 10 dumplings in half a minute to win first place and a one-liter jar of sour cream in the contest held in the town of Tokmak in the southeastern Zaporizhya region on September 18, Fakty I Kommentarii newspaper said.

Shortly afterwards, Mendel became unwell and died, according to local news websites.

Dumplings, called "vareniki" in the former Soviet republic, are a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and are often stuffed with a range of fillings from mushrooms to cherries. (Reuters)

Would you buy a phone like this? Samsun hopes so

What you are looking at in this picture is not a phone that is on the market today, but really should be. It is a concept phone by a designer named Heyon You for Samsung.

It is made from two AMOLED panels, a protective glasses cover,module case, and silicone rubber. It also has a foldable display, which is not new technology in the sense that someone has done it before. I’ve been hearing about foldable and rollable displays since I started reporting about tech 5 years ago.

I always thought that whoever gets their hands on the flexible display could make a killing, but they would have to work well. Samsung has stated that this bendable display can take a punishment of 100,000 folds before a six percent decrease in brightness along the seam.

My Source describes this phone as a clam-shell/candy-bar hybrid. It also suggested that a folded screen can display information like time, missed calls, text messages, and other quick info that my old clamshell phone displayed. When the phone is opened, the user can have access to all the apps.

I am all for that. Personally, I think that our phones have screens that are too small for what they can do. Just imagine a smartphone that can unfold into a tablet. Oh, the possibilities are endless. Source: coolest-gadgets.com

US woman is world's shortest, says Guinness

CHICAGO: A 27-inch tall (69 cm) college student whose hobbies include dancing and cheerleading is the world's shortest woman, Guinness World Records said on Tuesday.

Bridgette Jordan, 22, and her younger brother Brad, who measures 38 inches (98 cm) tall, were also named the "shortest living siblings" by the record-keeper.

Brad Jordan, 20, enjoys karate, gymnastics, basketball and performing magic tricks.

The siblings, who attend Kaskasia College in central Illinois, were both born with Majewski osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II.

"I believe that everyone should be confident in themselves," Bridgette said in a statement.

Previously, the shortest living woman was Elif Kocaman of Kadirli, Turkey, who is 28.5 inches (72 cm) tall. The record for shortest woman who ever lived was Pauline Musters, of the Netherlands, who measured 24 inches (61 cm) when she died from pneumonia at age 19 in 1895.

Jordan's record may not stand for long as 2-foot-tall (70 cm) Jyoti Amge in India turns 18 in December when she would qualify as the world's shortest woman, a Guinness spokesman said. (Reuters)

Electrolux concept laptop is also a stove

Electrolux has a Design contest every year, and I take it that they just love concept designs. This laptop is one of the more unusual ones.I don’t know how practical it is, and you can see how easy it is to describe.

It is a laptop that has a stove on it, for crying out loud.The first thing I could think of was “where is the keyboard”? I was guessing that it needed a separate keyboard, preferably wireless. Yet I have heard that it has touchscreen computer touch controls. You better make sure the burner is off before you start to type.

I have to admit that I like the idea of a stove laptop. I have gone to many conferences, and I wouldn’t mind cooking my own meals instead of eating the high-priced meals around the conferences. The designer, Dagan Trenchevski, has stated that this is exactly what this is supposed to do, and it is good for campers as well.

I don’t know how the battery can work with the burner on. Also, if you shut this thing while the burner is on, will the screen melt? I’m not looking forward to 911 calls where someone says: “I burnt my hand on my laptop!”

Source: coolest-gadgets.com

Nokia 700 preview: First look

Good stuff coming from Nokia lately but there’s always room for more. We like to be surprised and the Nokia 700 does just that. Instead of quietly falling in line behind the obvious leader, the 1GHz Symbian Belle powered Nokia 701,

the Nokia 700 puts on its best suit and goes it alone. A cute little smartphone ready for big things.

Just don’t let the size fool you. The slim Nokia 700 is no lesser smartphone than the Nokia 701 that we recently enjoyed in a preview. With a 1GHz processor and Symbian Belle, it’s got both its media and communication bases covered.

You need to hold the Nokia 700 in your hand to appreciate how small it really is. It looks like a toy compared to, say, the Galaxy S II all the while packing some of the best Nokia has to offer. The revamped Symbian Belle shows its friendlier side on a 3.2” ClearBlack AMOLED touchscreen. NFC pairing is the icing on the cake in the connectivity department featuring quad-band GSM and penta-band 3G support. Source: gsmarena.com

Curling Bridge In London

A curling bridge is a type of movable bridge, of which the sole example shown here is The Rolling Bridge, built in 2004 as part of the Grand Union Canal office & retail development project at Paddington Basin, London.

he bridge was conceived by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, designed by SKM Anthony Hunt with Packman Lucas, and built by Littlehampton Welding Ltd.

The bridge consisted of eight triangular sections hinged at the walkway level and connected above by two part links that could be collapsed toward the deck by hydraulic pistons, which were concealed in vertical posts in the bridge parapets. When extended, it resembled a conventional steel and timber footbridge, and was 12 metres long. However, to allow the passage of boats, the bridge could be made to curl up until its two ends touched, to form an octagonal shape measuring one half of the waterway’s width at that point.When operational, the Rolling Bridge was curled up every Friday at noon.

The bridge was removed in Summer 2008, and it is not know whether it will be re-installed. Although no official explanation has been given, locals in the area believed it had suffered from vandalism, and was too expensive to repair and maintain.

Source

3 Magic Tricks Using a Coin

Magic tricks can be simple and at times they can be very complicated. If you are just doing this for fun or maybe to impress a girl, there are three magic tricks you can do by using a coin.

The first trick is how to make a coin disappear. For this, you will need a coin, a piece of paper measuring 5 inches by 5 inches, a handkerchief and some tape.

If you don’t have a coin, ask the person you are with if you can borrow one. Get the piece of paper and show both sides so they will notice that it has not been altered. When you are done, put this paper flat on the table with the coin in the center.

Next, fold the paper in half leaving about half an inch in between the top and the half that has been folded. You then fold the right side of the paper around the back to the halfway mark and fold the left side back over this half.

Fold half an inch of the top of the paper down so it appears you created a packet. Hold it in front of them and let them touch it to let them know the coin is still there. You make one turn and with your back to the audience, you slip out the coin. You then pick up the handkerchief and put the coin down in the same movement.

You then cover the paper with the handkerchief and give this to the person. Say some magic word, lift the handkerchief and let the person open the folded piece of paper to discover that the coin that was placed in there disappeared. After you ask them where is the coin, you show it and hand this back to them.

The second trick is turning a dime into a quarter. This is where you will be using the tape and two sets of coins. Before you begin, make sure the quarter is already taped in your hand so you can make the switch later on.

You then ask the person for a dime. Once it is given, you hold on to this tightly in between the thumb and index finger of your right hand so you will be able to slide the quarter into position behind the dime.

Use your left hand to press the dime onto the tape covered side of the quarter and use your fingers to squeeze these two together.

Then it is time to take the coins between your left thumb and index finger and turn the hand so that the face of the quarter can be seen. Now drop the coin quickly into your right hand to make them think that you only used on coin for the trick.

Another trick is called Bend the Coin. For this, you will need to buy a coin that can bend in two or three places which is available in the magic store. You ask for a real coin that is the exact size of the one you are using and write your initials on it to make the person believe you didn’t switch it.

With the hidden coin in one hand, you make the switch and pretend that you are using a great amount of effort to bend it. After some time, they will see that the coin is bent and then quickly switch and return to them the original coin.

Coins are great to use for a magic trick. It just takes some practice to impress whoever is watching…Source 

Britisher grows heaviest onion

LONDON: Peter Glazebrook, a British pensioner has set a new record for the world’s heaviest onion.
The monster vegetable tipped the scales at 17lbs 15 and a half ounces - breaking the previous world record of 16lbs 8.37 ounces held by John Sifford, of the West Midlands, since 2005.Peter, a 67-year-old retired chartered surveyor, who lives near Newark, has broken ten world records in his 30 years of gardening.

He has been trying for the honour of cultivating the world’s heaviest onion for 25 years but always missed out until yesterday’s victory at Harrogate Flower Show.He said: 'I did not know the exact weight until they put it on the scales but I had been measuring it every day so I was very hopeful.'

Parking with iPhone demonstrated at Frankfurt car show

FRANKFURT: An equipment supplier put a new twist on its car parking system by introducing a system which can be controlled by the iPhone.

During the presentation at the 2011 International Motor Show, a representative for the supplier stood outside the car and parked it by merely using an iPhone application.

The car going in reverse turned its wheel into a narrow perpendicular parking spot between two cars.

Robot to attempt Hawaii triathlon

TOKYO: After scaling the cliff walls of the Grand Canyon and driving the Le Mans racetrack for 24 hours, a tiny Japanese robot is set for a new challenge -- Hawaii's grueling Ironman Triathlon course.

Fitted with three different bodies and three rechargeable batteries, the hand-sized "Evolta" from electronics firm Panasonic will swim, bicycle and run its way through one of the world's toughest triathlon routes, the company said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Luxury Car Made From the Wood

Many cars are made of metal, plates, iron, or carbon fiber super. But there are some people that makes it different from the others. Functions like an ordinary car, but all bodies are made of wood…Vasily Lazarenko wanted to make something other than when you first think of parts and car parts business seems to work.In the town where he lived in Chernovtsny, Ukraine, Vasily takes one and a half years to bring together a unique vehicle, convertable, luxury sedans, and wrapped it all with oak wood (oak). He said he would sell the car if the buyer can bid for your next project cost of the other creative. How good?  Source

US astronomers find planet with two Suns

US astronomers said Thursday they have discovered the first planet that is orbiting two Suns, much like the fictional home of Luke Skywalker featured in Star Wars.

Skywalker's native planet of Tatooine was hot and desert-like, but this planet, called Kepler-16b, is a freezing cold world about the size of Saturn, orbiting two parent Suns in a near perfect circle about 200 light years away.The planet was glimpsed with the US space agency's Kepler space telescope, which monitors the brightness of 155,000 stars, according to the research published in the journal Science.

"This discovery is stunning," said co-author Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. "Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality."While astronomers have previously glimpsed planets they believed were orbiting two stars, they had never before seen one actually passing in front of its two Suns so this discovery offers the first proof.

"Kepler-16b is the first confirmed, unambiguous example of a circumbinary planet -- a planet orbiting not one, but two stars," said co-author Josh Carter of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics."Once again, we're finding that our solar system is only one example of the variety of planetary systems nature can create."

If there were people on Kepler-16b, they could relax to the view of a double sunset, but such a scenario is highly unlikely due to the planet's extreme frigid surface temperature of -100 to -150 Fahrenheit (-73 to -101 Celsius).

The chill is likely due to the fact that even though the planet has two Suns which it orbits every 229 days at a distance of 65 million miles (105 million kilometers), they are smaller and cooler than our single Sun.One of Kepler-16b's Suns is 20 percent as massive as ours, and the other is 69 percent as massive.While the planet orbits them, the two Suns dance with each other in an "eccentric 41-day orbit," the study said.

The study was led by Kepler scientist Laurance Doyle of the California-based SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. (AFP)

Infant Pillow Simulates A Mothers Hand

The Zaky is a soft but weighted pillow that imitates the look, feel,scent and warmth of the parents’ hand and forearm. It is designed to help parents and their infants feel closer to each other especially in their parents absence. It assures proper positioning, especially in the NICU bed and the car ride home and in the stroller as well. This is really a must have for preemie babies. The pillow provides a sense of protection, and helps with the physical and psychological development of the child. Source 

World's youngest nuclear scientist

RENO: American Taylor Wilson has become the world's youngest nuclear scientist at the age of 17. Taylor spends his time advising the US Department of Energy on nuclear fusion research.

Taylor's name has been included in the Guinness Book of World Records. At age 7, he had memorised every rocket made by the US and Soviet governments from the 1930s onwards. At age 11, Taylor was mining for uranium with his dad in the New Mexico desert and at age 14 he become the youngest person in the world to build a nuclear fusion reactor.

RC Steampunk Nautilus Submarine

Created by Bob Martin, this remote controlled submarine is a replica of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The remote controlled, 66.5-inch sub is based on Disney's 1:32 scale replica kit. The Steampunk submarine has been built painstakingly to follow minor details in construction and in function. It has a watertight cylinder, ballast tank, and servo control; all powered by a lithium ion battery to ensure that the submarine is functional. (Link | Via)

Trilobis 65

Italian naval architect Giancarlo Zema dreamed big – really big when he designed a part yacht part submarine house called Trilobis 65. At first glance, the Trilobis looks as if it would be more at home soaring into the sky than plying the waters of atolls, bays and maritime parks. Looking at a computer image of the bow conjures up visions of the flying saucers in 1950s science fiction films. The Trilobis's blueprints, however, reveal a nautical heritage that reaches back to the humble dugout while simultaneously embracing 21st century technologies that include high-strength composites and nonpolluting hydrogen fuels.(Link | Via)

Shanghai Tourism Festival kicks off with grand parade

SHANGHAI: Shanghai Tourism Festival 2011 opened on Saturday in Shanghai International Fashion Center with a grand parade on Huaihai Road, which attracted more than 500,000 tourists.

A total of 21 floats and 30 perform teams from across the world participated in the parade.

Not only cities of Yangtze River Delta, like Suzhou and Hangzhou, but also Shandong and Macau sent their floats this time. Floats with characteristics of ethnic minorities, sent by Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region, also took part in the parade. Moreover, foreign countries like Japan, South Korea and Indonesia also sent their floats in order to show their tourist attractions and local cuisine.

More than 40 activities will be staged in the following month , including International Music and Firework Festival and Painted Boats Parade

Moreover, over 30 tourist attractions in Shanghai, like the Madame Tussauds, the 88th sightseeing hall of the Jinmao Tower, the sightseeing hall of the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Shanghai Oceanarium, will sell tickets at discounted prices during the festival.

Starved dogs eat owner

JAKARTA: Seven dogs starved of food and water for two weeks are suspected of eating their Indonesian owner after he returned to his hometown in Manado from a holiday, local media reported.

A neighborhood guard was curious when he saw luggage lined up at the front of Andre Lumboga's house, days after the 50-year old arrived back home. He approached the house, smelled something foul and called the police, according to a report.

"His skull was found in the kitchen, and his body was found in the front of his house," Eriyana, a local police chief in Batam, an island off Sumatra, told VIVAnews website.

Lumboga arrived home last Wednesday, but his body was just discovered on Monday.

"We suspect that the dogs were hungry, so they attacked Andre, because they had not been fed for 14 days," he said. Police also found bones of two other dogs, believed to have also been eaten by the hungry canines.

Lumboga was from northern Sulawesi island, a predominantly Christian area, where the local spicy diet is famous in Indonesia for including dogs, bats and forest rats. (Reuters)

Nautilus VAS Luxury Submersible

It seems like every rich guy in the world has a yacht these days. What ever happened to exclusivity? What's a billionaire to do if he wants to travel around the world's oceans in something so expensive and ludicrous almost no one else has one? A private submarine, naturally. The Nautilus VAS Luxury Submersible is a private submarine that's designed to launch off of yachts. It's got military-grade construction, so if you somehow get into a situation where people are shooting at you, you should be safe. And hey, it has a minibar and a stereo inside! Jaques Cousteau, eat your heart out. Oh, and it'll set you back $2.7 million. Just FYI.(Link | Via)

Deep Flight Super Falcon

Marine engineer Graham Hawkes' latest creation, Deep Flight Super Falcon is a $1.5 million battery-powered winged submarine that looks just like a plane, except it "flies" underwater.

It has a single rear-mounted propeller, looking much like an electric fan, drives the vessel, and a 48-volt lithium phosphate battery provides power. Its thick pressure hull is a carbon-epoxy mixture, and the two passengers aboard ride seated in cockpits fore and aft, observing their watery surroundings through thick Plexiglas canopies.

According to Hawkes, the craft “flies” just like a jet plane, with electric motors controlling for roll, pitch and yaw. It can fly downward at a maximum of 200 feet per minute, upward at twice that speed and keep flying for a maximum of five hours at 4 knots – about 4.6 mph. John McCosker, [California Academy of Sciences] chair of aquatic biology, said the agile submarine will enable him and his colleagues for the first time to follow along with the travels of “whales and dolphins and even super sharks – maybe even the mysterious giant squid.” (Link | Via)

Diamond fetches $2.84 million at auction

CLEVELAND: A 43.5 carat diamond was sold through an online auction for $2.84 million. The yellow diamond known as ‘The Golden Eye’ was confiscated from a smuggler by the FBI in 2006.

The actual value of the diamond has been widely speculated. Some have said it was worth as much as $20 million. It measures about 1 inch long and three quarters of an inch wide.

The US government seized the jewel in late 2006 during an undercover federal sting that led to criminal convictions against former Stark County businessmen Michael “Mickey” Miller and Paul Monea.

The diamond was being used in a private sale to launder drug money, authorities said.

Seabreacher X

Called the Seabreacher X, this incredible shark-shaped water submersible boasts "a 260 hp supercharged engine, propelling the vessel to a top speed of 50 mph on the surface and 25 mph below."

The Seabreacher X can sustain high speed dives and then breach the surface, launching the entire vessel clear out of the water. The new fully vectored thrust system mimic the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins. The custom tuned exhaust system also gives the vessel a more throaty growl as it tears across the surface.(Link | Via)

NASA twin spacecraft to map the inner Moon

The US space agency plans to launch two unmanned spacecraft Thursday that will chase each other around the Moon as they use gravity measurements to draw an unprecedented map of its inner workings.

Known as the GRAIL mission, or Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, the satellites will launch together on a single Delta II rocket as early as 8:37 am Thursday (1237 GMT), when the launch window opens.

Researchers hope GRAIL will answer some of the mysteries about the far side of the moon, which humans have never explored, and also shed light on how other rocky planets like Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury may have formed.

"GRAIL is a mission that will study the inside of the Moon from crust to core," said the 500-million-dollar project's principal investigator Maria Zuber.The project is part of NASA's Discovery program, which has launched 10 spacecraft since 1992 to study the solar system.

Zuber noted that the Moon has been amply studied since the dawn of the space age in 1959, with a total of 109 missions of various kinds.Twelve humans have stepped foot on the lunar surface, and 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of rocks and soil have been brought back to Earth for further study.In addition, three science satellites are currently orbiting the moon, she said.

After GRAIL, the US space agency plans to launch its Mars Science Laboratory in November on a nearly two-year journey to the red planet. (AFP)