Traffic congestion intensifies in UAE on world car-free day. D’oh.
An unfortunate coincidence
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Gavin does Georgia
Gavin is blogging from Georgia. At the moment he’s on the tourist trail in Tblisi, but he’s headed for the Caucusus in a few days. I would encourage you to check in with his blog as he does the travelling/photographing thing of the country, which bears very obvious signs of the recent conflict with Russia:
I guess getting the tourist thing out of the way first is a good thing. But even while doing the tourist things there are signs of the recent conflict. We passed a communications antenna damaged by Russian bombing (no good photos), and a few places where refugees from Ossetia (will be returning to some of those later) are temporarily residing. One school down the road is housing refugees, with the inevitable images of clothes drying on the school railings.
Hard work and science
It’s a love song, after a fashion:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahVxU1lnFQc[/youtube]
Questions
1. When a barber is snipping away at your hair, should you lose total confidence when he winces and says: “Oh, I’ve cut myself again”?
UPDATE: He’s now very much on my hitlist, as I have just realised he shaved part of my beard on one side of my face but not the other.
2. Why does much of Cork city centre smell like an elderly man who has wet himself and allowed it to dry?
Wave power and business
The sea is an abundant source of energy and, with traditional supplies constantly fluctuating in price and subject to extinction, wave power could be an ideal solution for many countries (particularly Ireland). A good number of start-ups in the US and Britain have seen the potential business opportunities; Earth2Tech has a snapshot of 13 that are worth watching.
DNA and doggie do
The Israeli city of Petah Tikva is building a DNA database to help reward and punish dog owners.
The animal is taken to a vet for a swab and the results are kept on file.
Owners who scoop up their dogs’ droppings and place them in specially marked bins on Petah Tikva’s streets will be eligible for rewards of pet food coupons and dog toys.
But droppings found underfoot in the street and matched through the DNA database to a registered pet could earn its owner a municipal fine.
It’s certainly a novel way of doing things. But, as one Slashdotter muses, ” I wonder what sin you had to commit in a previous life to find yourself the official dog poop examiner of Petah Tikva, Israel”.