Avoid traffic jams like a champ with the Aeromobile 2.5 flying car prototype -

Avoid traffic jams like a champ with the Aeromobile 2.5 flying car prototype - 



Would you buy a flying car? How about one from Slovakia?

This Eastern European country isn’t known for its car industry, which might explain why it birthed such an outlandish vehicle.

The Aeromobil 2.5 made its first test flight this week, a culmination of more than two decades of development. Aeromobil co-founder and chief designer Štefan Klein started with the 1.0 back in 1990, and hopes to begin selling the 3.0 production model (rendering above) soon.



Like the Terrafugia Transition, the Aeromobil is more plane than car. After landing, the wings fold behind the cabin, along a boom that houses the propeller shaft.

The rear-mounted propeller is driven by a Rotax 912 aircraft engine – the same one used in the Transition. In the air, the Aeromobil will reach a top speed of 124 mph. That top speed, however, drops to around 100 mph when the wheels are on the ground.

Terrafugia says the Transition will top out at 100 mph in the air and 65 mph on the ground. It looks like the Aeromobil is the sports car of the pair.

The chassis (fuselage?) is composed of a steel frame with carbon fiber bodywork. Aeromobil says its creation weighs 992 pounds empty.

Maximum flying range is 430 miles, or 310 miles in driving mode.

Since the production Aeromobil 3.0 is still a ways off, the company isn’t talking price. Buyers will have to factor in the cost of flying lessons if it ever make it to the United States, though.

According to science-fiction, flying cars are a harbinger of the future. Road-legal aircraft like the Aeromobil and Transition will help us find out if that’s a future we actually want.

Read more - 

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/24/avoid-slovakian-traffic-jams-like-champ-with-aeromobile-25-flying-car-prototype/?intcmp=features

Mysterious hum from mating fish keep residents in nearby town awake at night... -

Mysterious hum from mating fish keep residents in nearby town awake at night... - 



A mysterious hum has been keeping people in Hampshire awake all night, and scientists have said there could be something fishy about it.

The noise “pulsates” through homes, forcing some residents of Hythe near Southampton to evacuate the area just to get a good night’s sleep.

People have complained to their local council, and the blame has been put on everything from heavy industry to the large cargo ships coming in at Southampton Docks – some residents have even gone to the doctor thinking they had tinnitus.

Scientists now think that the noise is being caused by fish, competing to out-hum one another as part of an unusual mating ritual.

Male Midshipman fish let out a deep, resonating drone which attracts females and acts as a challenge to other males. They are nocturnal creatures, but once they get going can keep up the distracting hum all night.

Unfortunately for the residents of Hythe, the noise created by the Midshipman is of such a low frequency and long wavelength that it can carry through the ground, walls, and into homes.

This is not the first time fish have been blamed for keeping people up at night – a number of US cities suffer their droning on a regular basis.

But it was a problem which stumped various authorities in Southampton, including the National Oceanography Centre based there.

An investigation earlier this month launched by the Environment Agency and the New Forest District Council also produced no results, and it wasn’t until the Scottish Association for Marine Science waded in that a possible answer was found.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Dr Ben Wilson said: “It's not beyond the realms of possibility.

“There are certainly 'sonic fish' in the north Atlantic and the approaches to the English Channel.”

New Forest District Council received more than 30 complaints about the noise, with Linda Zammit from Woolston, Southampton, saying: “I thought I was going mad at first. I hear it every night unless it's windy or raining.

“It doesn't keep me awake but it stops me getting back to sleep if I do happen to wake up.”

Maria Dennett from Sholing, Southampton, said: “We regularly experience a humming noise at night.

“A few times we put it down to a neighbour's washing machine or dishwasher but it's happening so frequently that we know it's not the case.

“It's a really low pitched sound that literally pulsates through the house.”

Read more - 

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/mysterious-hum-keeping-people-up-all-night-could-be-mating-fish-8900747.html

Japanese 'Space cannon' to be fired into asteroid - in search for origins of the universe -

Japanese 'Space cannon' to be fired into asteroid - in search for origins of the universe - 



Japan's space agency has successfully test-fired a "space cannon" designed to launch a projectile into an asteroid as part of the search for the origins of the universe.
The device will be aboard the Hayabusa-2 space probe that is scheduled to take off in 2014 and rendezvous with an asteroid identified as 1999JU3 that orbits between Earth and Mars in 2018.
Once in position close to the asteroid, the space cannon will detach itself and remotely fire a 4lb metal projectile into the surface of the miniature planet.
"An artificial crater that can be created by the device is expected to be a small one, a few meters in diameter, but ... by acquiring samples from the surface that is exposed by the collision, we can get fresh samples that are less weathered by the space environment or heat," the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said in a statement.
The mother craft will then land close to the crater and user a small rover to collect samples that would have otherwise been below the surface of the asteroid and return to Earth in late 2020. In all, JAXA scientists say the craft will shadow the 2,950-foot-diameter asteroid for around 18 months.

Read more -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/10401177/Space-cannon-to-be-fired-into-asteroid.html

Man's body found hanging in apartment -- 8 years later... -

Man's body found hanging in apartment -- 8 years later... - 


The new owner of an apartment near Paris made a shocking discovery last week when he took possession: the mummified body of the previous owner which had been hanging for eight years.

The body was found in the apartment in the Paris suburb of Bussy-Saint-Georges on Friday, after the flat was sold at auction following its repossession by the bank, police and judicial sources said.

The previous owner, a former security guard of Cambodian origin, appears to have committed suicide by hanging himself with a sheet.

The man, aged around 40 when he died, had not been heard from since 2005 when he filed a labour complaint against his firing.

He had cut ties with his family years before and neighbours believed he had returned to Cambodia.

His apartment was eventually sold after he failed to make mortgage payments and to cover building charges.

A police source said the new owner discovered the body when he arrived to inspect the apartment and entered with the aid of a locksmith.

"The body was in perfect condition, as was the apartment," the source said.

Investigators were unable to explain why the body had not decomposed.

Neighbours said they had no inkling of what lay inside the flat.

"I thought it was an abandoned apartment," said Camille, who lives in one of the four-storey building's 20-odd apartments.

"Bussy is a commuter suburb, people don't see each other much," she said.

Read more - 

http://www.france24.com/en/20131023-mans-body-found-hanging-after-eight-years-flat-near-paris

Red Flags? Company behind ObamaCare site has a checkered past -

Red Flags? Company behind ObamaCare site has a checkered past - 



While the company behind the dysfunctional HealthCare.gov was virtually unknown to the American public until this month, critics say the Obama administration should have known this multibillion-dollar firm had a checkered history with other government contracts.

In projects stretching from Canada to Hawaii, parent company CGI Group and its subsidiaries ran into complaints about its performance. And this was while, and in some cases before, CGI Federal was paid millions, along with other contractors, to create the ObamaCare website. 

"The morning I heard CGI was behind [Healthcare.gov], I said, my God, no wonder that thing doesn't work," said James Bagnola, a Texas-based corporate consultant who was hired by the Hawaii Department of Taxation (DOTAX) in 2008. 

CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc., another subsidiary, had been responsible for overhauling the IT systems for the Hawaii tax department, and then, developing its new delinquent tax collection services. Not only was the software and implementation problematic, but the second contract, signed in 2009, paid CGI millions for work it did not complete, according to a state audit completed in 2010 on the matter. 

Still, they hold contracts all over the Hawaii government. Hawaii's Health Connector, the state's new health exchange for providing insurance options under ObamaCare, hired CGI to build its website. Like HealthCare.gov, the Hawaii portal had immediate problems when it launched on Oct. 1, but those have since been rectified and so far, according to Health Connector officials who spoke with FoxNews.com, they are not blaming CGI. 

Bagnola doesn't buy it, saying when they overhauled DOTAX's IT, "the system was broken all the time." 

"I can't believe people continue to hire incompetency," he added. 

The firm's performance was also called into question when parent company, CGI Group, was hired to design and execute a new $46.2 million diabetes registry for eHealth Ontario, part of the Canadian government health care system. That contract was canceled in September 2012 after a series of delays that rendered the system obsolete, according to news reports at the time. 

"They did not meet the requirements of their contract which was faced with many layers of delays, which caused great angst among the health care providers who are trying to do their best," Frances Gélinas, a member of Ontario's provincial parliament, told the Washington Examiner, in an Oct. 10 report. 

It was reported initially that Canadian taxpayers were not on the hook for the nearly $15 million already spent by CGI because a clause in the contract said that if CGI did not meet the deadlines, it wouldn't get paid. The registry was supposed to be up and running by June 2011. A later audit, however, found that the provincial government spent $24.4 million of its own money on the project before it was scrapped. 

Meanwhile, the state of Vermont is reportedly considering whether to penalize CGI for not meeting its deadlines for designing and producing Vermont's health care exchange, Vermont Health Connect, which is also experiencing the same kind of glitches as the federal system. In that case, the state recently signed an amended $84 million contract with CGI -- just $9 million less than the one it signed with the federal government in 2011. In late September, VermontDigger.org reported that CGI failed to meet 21 deadlines this summer and the state could charge as much as $125,000 a day in penalties as a result. 

Read more - 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/23/red-flags-company-behind-obamacare-site-has-checkered-past/

Birth order: Why first-born children are smarter -

Birth order: Why first-born children are smarter - 



A child's behaviour is often linked to birth order. But according to a new study, birth order also affects intelligence.

The National Bureau of Economic Research study found that "those born earlier perform better in school." The results showed that 33.8 per cent of mothers said their first-born was "one of the best students in the class," compared to the mere 1.8 per cent who put their child at the bottom.

For each child thereafter, the numbers fell for those stating their child was one of the best. The data polled only 31.8 per cent for their second child, 29 per cent for their third, and 27.2 per cent for their fourth.

Conversely, those stating their child was "near the bottom of the class" rose. The number increased to 2 per cent for their second child, 2.1 for the third, and 3.6 for the fourth. You get the picture. So while the study found that first-borns had higher IQs, it also found that parents considered them more accomplished.

So the question remains: why is this happening? The reason for first-borns having higher grades is directly based on parenting. Turns out, parents have a much stricter parenting approach with their first-born than they do with their second or third child.

The study explains that "parents 'play tough' when their older children engage in bad behavior -- tougher than caring, or altruistic, parents would prefer -- in an attempt to establish a reputation of toughness to deter bad behavior amongst their younger children."

Essentially, parents are trying to set a good example for their younger kids, so they practice stricter rules and punishment for their first child and are more involved in their academic performance. By doing this, parents hope to establish a "reputation" for being strict so that their younger kids will follow suit.

As a result of establishing this reputation in the household (or at least thinking so), parents relax their strict parenting approach on their subsequent children. Then with fewer pressures to do well in school, the younger children become relaxed as well, which leads to lower grades compared to their eldest sibling. It's as simple as that.

Read more - 

http://www.parentdish.ca/2013/10/22/birth-order-first-born-children-more-intelligent-study/

Pope temporarily expels German "luxury bishop" from diocese after 31M euro renovation -

Pope temporarily expels German "luxury bishop" from diocese after 31M euro renovation - 



Pope Francis has temporarily expelled a German bishop from his diocese because of a scandal over a 31-million-euro project to build a new residence and related renovations.

The Vatican didn't say Wednesday if Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst would permanently leave the diocese of Limburg. But it said Limberg's newly named vicar general, Monsignor Wolfgang Roesch, would administer the diocese during Tebartz-van Elst's "period of time away."

In a statement, the Vatican said the situation in the diocese had become such that Tebartz-van Elst "could no longer exercise his episcopal ministry."

The decision was taken after Tebartz-van Elst met with Francis on Monday.

The bishop has defended the renovation, saying it involved 10 different projects and that there were additional costs because of regulations on buildings under historical protection.

Read more -

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/world/Pope+temporarily+expels+German+luxury+bishop+from+diocese/9071173/story.html

Obamacare: Hidden Spreadsheet Shows Premium Rates For Every Health Plan In Your Area -

Obamacare: Hidden Spreadsheet Shows Premium Rates For Every Health Plan In Your Area - 



Healthcare.gov, the official Obamacare insurance exchange website, removed references to a nationwide premium rate spreadsheet, which allows Americans to determine the most inexpensive health plans in their area, but it is still available here. - http://static.infowars.com/images/health-plan-information-download.xlsx


The seven megabyte Excel spreadsheet, which can now only be found by a file name search on Healthcare.gov, is current as of September 27, 2013 and displays premium rates for medical plans across America.
By using the filters on the spreadsheet, one can find the cheapest health insurance plans available in his area.
For example, the cheapest “Bronze” option for a 27-year-old individual in Travis County, Texas appears to be Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Advantage Bronze HMO 006, with a monthly premium rate of $144.34.
The spreadsheet reveals some interesting observations.
Multiple counties in Virginia have the most expensive family plan in America, which has a staggering premium rate of $6,494.54 per month and is a “Gold” level plan offered by Optima Health.
The “Bronze” version of this plan is also available to a 27-year-old individual for $1,835.81 per month.
Single 27-year-olds in Comanche Count, Okla. are lucky.
They can get the cheapest “Bronze” plan in the country at $100.36 per month.
According to the spreadsheet, here is a breakdown of the average premium rates for families and individuals in America:


Read more - 

Superior Court of Justice ran short of prospective jurors - ordered the sheriff to round up more people at the mall -

Superior Court of Justice ran short of prospective jurors - ordered the sheriff to round up more people at the mall - 



When the Superior Court of Justice ran short of prospective jurors for an upcoming criminal jury trial Monday, the judge ordered the sheriff to round up more people at the mall.

Normally jurors are summoned by letter to court, they're asked some questions by Crown and defence during a vetting process and at least 12 are selected. Though 125 jurors were summoned, the jury could not be filled in this case.

So Justice Leonard Ricchetti made an order under a rarely used section of the Criminal Code to find more jurors immediately.

Court supervisor and sheriff's delegate Stephen Olschewski put on his sheriff's uniform, obtained a van and brought along two city police officers to start adding shoppers to the pool of prospective jurors.

Olschewski described in an interview Tuesday how he went about gathering 12 more people, loading them on the bus and delivering them to the Owen Sound courthouse.

“I approach people in the mall, explain to them who I am, explain to them that I'm approaching persons and the reason and then providing they answer some questions, like are you 18?, are you a Canadian citizen? – and I asked each individual person is there any reason they couldn't sit on a jury – and some did.”

He excused a man from Tobermory who was going to have knee surgery next week, Olschewski said. Only one person left quickly after being approached, Olschewski said, though he declined to discuss that. The rest were served with a summons.

“We give them the opportunity to speak to family, friends, stuff like that. And then we load them on the bus and we bring them to the courthouse.”

Olschewski said that by the time the bus arrived at the courthouse, a mistrial had been declared. The prospective jurors were driven back to the mall, or put in cabs to take them where they had to go. They also were paid $100, a discretionary payment ordered by Justice Ricchetti.

Olschewski said the judge relied on a “rarely, rarely, rarely used section” of the Criminal Code to round up more jurors “by word of mouth, if necessary.”

“People shouldn't see the sheriff come into the mall and start to panic,” Olschewski said with amusement. “It's rare. It's like 40-something years ago since we did something like this.”

He found people were agreeable when the plight faced by the court Monday was explained to them.

“I am extremely proud of the people of Grey County. They were good humoured. They understood the process, it was explained to them, and they were more than willing to participate.”

The trial was adjourned to Dec. 2, when another jury is slated to be selected.

Read more -

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2013/10/22/sheriff-scoops-up-jurors-at-mall-monday

Spiders Give Toyota Owners Reason For Arachnophobia - Cobwebs responsible for last week's big recall -

Spiders Give Toyota Owners Reason For Arachnophobia - Cobwebs responsible for last week's big recall - 



Spiders are to blame for Toyota's massive recall of more than 800,000 vehicles last week.

This isn't some Halloween prank. The critters have been spinning cobwebs and making their homes in tubes in the cars' air-conditioning units and causing all sorts of problems.

"Spiders have been implicated in the condition," said Cindy Knight, public affairs manager for Toyota. "It's a very rare occurrence, but a spider can get into the air conditioning drainage tube and build a nest."

Those nets were blocking drainage in the tubes, which led to leaks. In some cases, these leaks drained on top of the airbag control units in the vehicles, causing electrical short circuits and airbag malfunctions.

Toyota announced the recall last Thursday, but Gwen Pearson of Wired was the first to report the spider's contribution to the problem in this fascinating piece. "This makes sense to me, as a spider-watcher," she wrote. "It's warm under a car, it's dark, it's damp -– it's the perfect spider habitat."

Two people sustained what Toyota described as "minor" injuries in accidents when their airbags failed to deploy because of this problem, which has affected the 2012 and 2013 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Venza.

"The remedy," Knight said, "is to help prevent water from the condenser unit housing from seeping onto the airbag control module."

Airbag-related malfunctions have caused increased problems for automakers this year. They've issued 29 airbag-related recalls so far in 2013, which is a record. Toyota has recalled vehicles for airbag problems four times, and three of the four have recalled more than 800,000 vehicles.

Across the industry, those are the three largest airbag recalls this year.

This isn't the first time spiders have caused problems that resulted in a recall. In 2011, Mazda had to recall 65,000 cars because spiders nested in hoses attached to the fuel system. This dude sent his car to be painted, and it came back with a nest filled with freaky spiders. So he did the natural thing -- took a video and put it on YouTube. Of course.

It's not uncommon for critters to take residence in cars. One woman had an ant infestation. Rabbits caused a huge ruckus at the Denver International Airport after they were caught chewing on car wiring in the long-term parking lot. And one terrified family drove down the highway with a snake flapping around on the windshield.

Read more - 

http://autos.aol.com/article/spiders-toyota-recall-airbags-halloween/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000058&