The total solar eclipse on the 22nd of July 2009 will be the longest of the 21st century. Lasting over six and a half minutes at the maximum duration (in the same Saros as the long 1991 eclipse). Starting in India along the western shore near Surat the path of the shadow heads towards Butan [...]
Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven astronauts are in orbit after an on-time launch at 6:03 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following a smooth countdown with no technical issues and weather that steadily improved throughout the afternoon, the shuttle lifted off from Launch Pad 39A and began its orbital [...]
The state of Texas spent $2 million in federal grant money to install 14 Webcams along its border with Mexico. After its first year, the crowd-sourced surveillance program is out of money and has only yielded 11 arrests, according to published reports. Texas’ “BlueServo,” dubbed a “virtual stake-out,” was supposed to be revolutionary. Why hire [...]
The first wind turbine for Germany’s alpha ventus project, the first offshore wind development for the country, has been installed by the Deutsche Offshore- Testfeld und Infrastruktur GmbH (DOTI) consortium. The DOTI consortium, comprising EWE, E.ON and Vattenfall, have completed construction of the first of 12 wind turbines for the €250 million development in the [...]
Trafalgar Square, in the heart of the city of London, England, is famous for its statue of Admiral Nelson (victor of the Battle of Trafalgar) high at the top of a column. There are also four large platforms (”plinths”) on the square, three of which bear statues of worthy 19th century men. The fourth has [...]
Apparently workers of the Keihin Electric Express Railway have to go through daily smile scans, a routine designed to increase their customer service aptitude. The system, running on software developed by Japanese company Omron, scans the worker’s face (presumably through a webcam) and creates a smile rating of 0 to 100. The assessment is based [...]
Wednesday 8th July 2009 sees the start of the npower Ashes Test cricket series between England versus Australia. The 1st npower Ashes Test cricket match takes place at Glamorgan’s SWALEC Stadium at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales. The 1st npower Ashes Test match will be a historic event – the first time a “home” Test [...]
Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona Webcam Welcome to the Plaza del Castillo, Pamplona. The Plaza del Castillo is in the heart of Pamplona’s old town and the major focus for partying during the world-famous San Fermin festival, during which ‘el encierro’ (The Running of the Bulls) takes place. July 7th, marks the first encierro of San [...]