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NEWS Stranger than fiction
A rap song honouring the late Sir Edmund Hillary is proving a hit in New Zealand. The song is called 'The Humble Mountain Man' and was recorded by New Zealand rapper Trillion the day after Sir Edmund died. The video shows dozens of people holding up $NZ5 notes, which feature an image of the man known as 'Sir Ed'. The song's message is that the famous mountaineer will live on in people's hearts and their pockets. It asks people to keep a note handy in their pocket in case they meet a needy person. It also includes a mention of the website of Sir Edmund's Himalayan trust, which he set up in 1960 to raise money for schools and hospitals in Nepal.
Imagine a vat of liquid cow manure covering the area of five football fields and 33 feet deep. Meet California's most alternative new energy. On a dairy farm in the Golden State's agricultural heartland, utility PG&E Corp began on Tuesday producing natural gas derived from manure, in what it hopes will be a new way to power homes with renewable, if not entirely clean, energy. The Vintage Dairy Biogas Project, the brainchild of life-long dairyman David Albers, aims to provide the natural gas needed to power 1,200 homes a day, Albers said at the facility's inauguration ceremony. "When most people see a pile of manure, they see a pile of manure. We saw it as an opportunity for farmers, for utilities, and for California," Albers said.
A burglar has been caught because of his bow-legged walk, but how easy is it to catch a criminal by analysing their gait? John Rigg was both lucky and unlucky when he was caught on CCTV near a house he had burgled. Lucky because it didn't catch his face. Unlucky because the footage showed his walk, which was, to the casual observer, rather like John Wayne's. Rigg's DNA was also found on an object near the burgled house, but the evidence of podiatrist Ian Linane was crucial in his conviction. Linane used gait analysis on behalf of Lancashire police to establish that the bow-legged man in the blurry black and white CCTV footage, was the man police already suspected of the crime. He was jailed for two years. With the ubiquity of CCTV cameras, many of which produce only very low quality pictures, the use of forensic podiatry is booming. "You could probably do a certain element of this yourself - all humans have to recognise someone by the way they move," says Linane, who treats foot and ankle problems as his day job. But the forensic podiatrist goes further. Taking a frame by frame analysis of video of the suspect, analysing each and every element. "Gait means the way people walk, but it's every aspect - how they use their head, their shoulders, their arms, their elbows." The podiatrist will then advise investigators on how to get the right footage for comparison purposes with the original CCTV of the suspect to confirm identity. Linane's analysis might include an explanation of how holding an object like a weapon is altering the gait. And wearing bulky or baggy clothes does not stop the analysis. Linane concedes that gait analysis is not like fingerprinting where a 100% match can be found. But there is a sliding scale, he says, between a possible match and near definite identification. In the movies it's even easier to see who did it. From childhood, Linane noticed the baddies in Westerns had "externally rotated foot position" - their legs and feet were turned outwards. "That was what baddies were meant to walk like." Sadly, in the real world, the criminals have many different walks. |
LONDON: A 62-year-old woman has finally passed her driving test - 27 years after her first lesson. Teresa Clarke, of Wroxham, Norfolk, spent 15,000 pounds in fees, had 450 hours of tuition from 20 instructors and failed 12 previous tests and cancelled a further 35 and had 50 mock exams. She had her first lesson in 1981 shortly before American president Ronald Reagan was shot and Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. However, Clarke was lucky for the 13th time, thanks to the help of her stepson, who runs a driving school, she finally was allowed to ditch her L-plates last month. "It took a long time for it to sink in when I was told I had passed. I was so happy I kissed the woman instructor," the Telegraph quoted her, as saying. Clarke, a former shop assistant who is 5ft tall and has to sit on a cushion to reach the steering wheel, has admitted that she was a hopeless learner because she found it very difficult to concentrate for long period of time. She was such a disaster that many instructors refused to carry on teaching her after a few lessons - either too scared or too frustrated to continue. However, then Richard Minkler, her stepson from her first marriage, stepped in and offered her his best instructor. She was given 56 hours instruction in a two week intensive course and told to give up coffee and tea to aid her concentration. "I was little upset after I failed my first couple of tests - but I never really got disheartened," she said. "I was very persistent and I always knew I would pass one day. Now my dream has come true and I am just delighted. "I used to fail my tests on all sorts of different things although my main problem was my lack of concentration. "I used to have at least three cups of strong Italian coffee every day and when I stopped it really improved my driving by helping me to concentrate." "My previous one three years ago ended up refusing to teach me anymore after I failed my test with him. "He just said, 'I am awfully sorry, but you are no good. You will never pass'. His comments upset me and I am delighted to have proved him wrong," she added.
The New Zealand city of Dunedin has an unusual new tourist attraction - a fitness mad grandfather. Baldwin Street in Dunedin is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the steepest street in the world. Every day tourists watch local man Dave Kernahan run up and down it 30 times. The 56-year-old began his ambitious exercise regime 11 years ago when he was made redundant. But he says there is a good reason he has not tackled the street today. "I've got to go out and get another pair of shoes," he said. "The last pair I got only lasted about three weeks." He admits he is obsessed with running and estimates he has climbed the street about 120,000 times.
The body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day will be used to heat a new office building nearby. Some 250,000 people pass through the station each day, rushing to catch trains and subways or simply visit the many shops and stores inside. "All people produce heat, and that heat is in fact fairly difficult to get rid of. Instead of opening windows and letting all that heat go to waste we want to harness it through the ventilation system," Sundholm said. He said the body heat would warm up water that in turn would be pumped through pipes over to the new office building, which will also house a small hotel and a few shops and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010. |
The world's first ever sand hotel has been made in Dorset and is accepting its first guests for £10 a night. It took 1,000 tonnes of sand and a team of four sculptors working 14 hours a day for seven days to build the structure on Weymouth beach. Guests can book to stay in the hotel, which includes beds made out of sand, until the rain washes it away. The structure was created by a hotel company to celebrate a resurgence of holidaymakers flocking to the seaside. Research by Laterooms.com predicts 37 million people will enjoy British beaches this year. The sand hotel offers a twin and double bedroom, while the roofless structure gives guests the chance to "star-gaze" at night, the firm said. But there are no toilet facilities and people were warned the sand "gets everywhere". Mark Anderson, creator of the sand hotel, said: "It is the biggest sandcastle-like structure ever in the UK. "Four of us worked hard and with the help of a JCB we got it built. "The beds are made of sand so it can get everywhere, especially between the toes. "But the best thing is in the morning the tide laps through the door, what a great way to wake up." Kathy Gwinnett, of Laterooms.com, said: "It's great that British beach holidays are enjoying a renaissance and that some of the less obvious resorts, such as Weymouth and Torquay, are getting rediscovered by a younger generation."
HAVING a humble cuppa could help older Australians stay safe in the future, a seniors group says. Japanese technology can link a kettle to a mobile phone, so every time an elderly person boils water for their morning cup of tea a message is sent to a family member letting them know their relative is up and well. Such advances are among the opportunities, rather than just the challenges, the National Seniors Australia (NSA) group wants to discuss at the 2020 Summit in Canberra at the weekend. By 2025, it is estimated that more than one quarter of the population will be aged over 65. NSA chief executive Michael O'Neill said it was critical not to frame the issue of an ageing population as a threat, but recognise the potential for positives. "So without any invasion at all of a person's space or dignity, you are able to know that that person is alive and having a cup of tea or whatever the case may be," Mr O'Neill said.
Police in Germany were shocked to find a man running down a major highway pulling a three-wheeled trailer -- but even more surprised to learn he was a Polish pilgrim on a 3,000 km (1,800 mile) trek. Motorists near Coburg in Bavaria saw the man towing a load with a rod attached to his back and called police. "Officers' initial astonishment quickly turned into admiration," a police statement said on Tuesday. After questioning the man, police discovered he was a devout Roman Catholic Pole on his way home from a European pilgrimage that had taken him as far as Portugal. Inside a converted roof luggage box, which also served as a bivouac, the 35-year-old was carrying all he needed for the journey, police said. After inspecting the vehicle, officers declared it roadworthy and sent him on his way
STATE police have urged motorists to use maps instead of GPS devices to avoid being stranded on remote roads. Most recently, a family with a young child used GPS to navigate the shortest route home via Bright. The satellite navigation unit directed their sedan to a 4WD track in the Tea Tree Range, where they became stranded on a steep, wet slope and had to contact police for assistance. “The function of a GPS is to give you the shortest or fastest route to your destination and does not take into account the suitability of your vehicle for that particular road.” Sen-Sgt Incoll said motorists should always carry a map to check their route. “A seemingly simple mistake can quickly become a very dangerous situation that can lead to serious injury or death," he said. “It is easy for drivers to put themselves and their family in danger, however it can easily be avoided by simply carrying a map.”
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