April 12, 1911: Pierre Prier makes the first Non-Stop flight across the English Channel from London to Paris. The flight was made in a Bleriot XI (11) (model shown below). The flight lasted 3h56m, to fly the 290 Miles/ 466 Kilometers.
Aviator Pierre Prier - Image Courtesy: EarlyAviators.com
Bleriot XI (11) -Image Courtesy: Whatjustflewby.blogspot.com
(Source: Institution for Mechanical Engineers, UK)
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The video says it all.. Quite an awesome product. Wondering if anyone in the Washington, DC managed to snag one of these bikes? If you are a proud owner of a Brampton and you are reading this, please drop a note (in the “Comments” section below) sharing your personal experience riding/owning this beauty. Though the bikes are made towards the Urban commuter market, it seems to be very versatile as shown in this BBC video. Also to note is the fast growing popularity of these bikes – 30,000 units churned out of the Brampton factory per year – despite the steep price (around $1400 – $1600 as seen on the web). It will be nice to know what it feels like to ride one of these.
(Source: Google)
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Google hits a home-run with this real-life demonstration of its autonomous vehicle by putting a vision-impaired person behind the driving wheel in the regular streets. Steve Mahan, the man behind the wheel, is legally blind (95% gone) and he goes about what most of us drivers do in a normal day – runs errands, stops by a drive-through window for a burrito, picks up his dry cleaning, etc – all this without touching the steering wheel. For people like him this self-driving car should feel like a god-sent and the level of autonomy it offers should be priceless.
(Source: LiveLeak.com)
Moral of the story is clear as a crystal: Never mess with folks on Brazilian roads. These are some crazy drivers who will go to any extent to prove a point..Scary stuff! Glad neither party did not have a lorry or a freight truck (for that matter a gun) else this could have turned into a nightmare for many involved. Interestingly, the driver of the car is a woman, a fact that I did not even realize until I started reading the comments below the video. Drivers of Brazil, spare the poor motorcyclists.
Doing some of these stunts in the video on a warm sunny day on a concrete pavement is difficult enough.. But this crazy stunt ace, Jorian Ponomareff, does it on ice.. At times its hard to control clutching my hands when I saw him drift so damn dangerously .. Anyways, yet another cool video from Jorian’s stable.. Enjoy!
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(Source: via Reddit)
Interesting to know how Chilliwack, Canada enforces its no-cell-phone-use-behind the wheels law. True story! Redditor mlane201 shared this picture and reading through the comments he shared, I came to know how it is done – Constable Martell will be on the watch holding this sign by a roadside, looking for drivers using their cellphones while operating the vehicle. Once Constable Martell spots an offender, he will radio in his colleagues who are sitting a little father up the road and they will comfortably pull over the offending driver and issue the tickets. Pretty nifty strategy there, right?
Image Courtesy: Imgur.com via Reddit
(Source: Daily Mail, UK)
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Seriously, TSA should exercise some discretion when it comes to these pat downs. Interestingly, the video shows it was filmed during Spring 2010 at O’Hare in Chicago, and let’s hope TSA has changed some of its invasive procedures at least when it comes to kids. The look on the little boy’s face is really disheartening and the parent is doing all he can to assure the kid that it is all okay. Not sure what prompted the swabbing for explosive residues but it seems a bit too excessive given the age of the toddler. One may argue that TSA is simply doing their job and is just ensuring the safety of the flying public by subjecting everyone through the same batter of tests. But I think the swabs for a 3 years old is still a bit too much. The only saving grace here is that the TSA officer was as nice as he can be to the little kid and was not rushing or doing things that will spook the kid more upset/terrified than he already is.
(Source: via Laughing Squid)
What an awesome stunt! Improv Everywhere converted a late night New York City subway car into an unauthorized sleeper car, complete with three beds (video). Pajamas, sleep masks, and earplugs were also provided as part of this unauthorized free service. The Improv Everywhere website says the project took place on the above-ground N train in Astoria, Queens around midnight on a Sunday evening. The Sleeper Car was produced by Improv Everywhere as part of the Guggenheim Museum exhibition stillspotting nyc.
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Someone please bring this to Washington, DC and offer a bit of comfort during the endless Redline delays!
