Air-Car Ready for Mass Production May 31
By Bob Ewing
The world’s first commercial compressed air-powered vehicle is rolling towards the production line. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre, will be built by India’s largest automaker, Tata Motors.
The Air Car uses compressed air to push its engine’s pistons. It is anticipated that approximately 6000 Air Cars will be cruising the streets of India by 2008. If the manufacturers have no surprises up their exhaust pipes the car will be practical and reasonably priced. The CityCat model will clock out at 68 mph with a driving range of 125 miles.
Quote of the Day:
If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes.
–Mark Twain
Tallest Skyscraper in the world? April 21
CHICAGO - The city’s planning board has endorsed a proposal for a twisting lakefront tower that would become the nation’s tallest building.
With Thursday’s approval from the Chicago Plan Commission, the design and site plan for the 2,000-foot Chicago Spire goes to the city zoning committee next week.
“This is a wonderful project, and everyone is very enthused,” said Constance Buscemi, spokeswoman for the city’s planning department.
The 150-story tower, which would feature 1,200 residences, would unseat Chicago’s 1,451-foot Sears Tower as the tallest U.S. building. It would also top New York’s 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, under construction at the former World Trade Center site.
The Chicago Spire was designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Spanish-born architect known for designing the Milwaukee Art Museum addition and the Athens Olympic sports complex.
If the zoning panel approves the plan, the City Council will consider it May 9. If it is approved, construction would begin this spring, said Thomas Murphy, general counsel to developer Shelbourne Development Ltd.
Shelbourne executives have declined to estimate the building’s total development cost. Real estate experts put it at well over $1 billion, the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business reported on their Web sites Thursday.
The tallest building in the world is the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, which measures 1,671 feet and 101 floors. A tower in Dubai now under construction is expected to rise beyond 2,300 feet and more than 160 floors .
Fast Train April 3
ON BOARD TGV V150, eastern France (AFP) - France’s TGV train set a new world speed on rails Tuesday, hitting 574.8 kilometres (357.2 miles) per hour on a stretch of track in eastern France.
The experimental version of the Traine a Grande Vitesse (TGV), equipped with two supercharged locomotives and extra-large wheels, easily beat the 515.3 kph set by a TGV in 1990.
The TGV narrowly missed the overall world train speed record of 581kph (360.8 mph) reached in 2003 by a Japanese magnetic levitation, or Maglev, train.
One Plane 549 Passengers… March 19
An Airbus A380 passes a media group out on a runway as it makes an inaugural visit to New York’s Kennedy International Airport, Monday, March 19, 2007. The superjumbo jet is 239 feet long, with a wingspan of 261 feet, a range of 8,000 nautical miles and room for 549 passengers.
HD Glasses? February 16
Many of us wear glasses to correct imperfect vision, but what if a pair of glasses could help you see better than you ever thought possible? A California company says they’ve developed just that.
Quote of the Day:
Men achieve a certain greatness unawares, when working to another aim.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
GPS Shoes? February 15
With a touch of a button, anyone can locate you if you are wearing these shoes!
• New line of sneakers comes with an embedded GPS chip
• Sneakers work when wearer presses a button on the shoe
• Father came up with idea when his son went missing
• Sneakers will cost $325-$350; available in six designs
Isaac Daniel shows a sneaker he designed with a tiny GPS chip embedded in the shoe.
Quote of the Day:
Houses should be more like ovens. Self-insulating and self-cleaning!
–rdude
(while cleaning room)
The Next Step in Anti-Terrorism January 17
The FedEx flight marked the start of operational testing and evaluation of the laser system designed to defend against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles during takeoffs and landings.
Jet with anti-missile system leaves LAX
iPhone - The future of Communication January 10
I’m not a big fan of mac, but from a design aspect, I feel that they come out with some of the best designed products.
They recently introduce the iPhone, a iPod/Telephone system and it’s design and function is completely revolutionary. It has one button, and an LCD screen. The screen functions as a dynamic screen based on the function of the phone. Check it out yourself!
