Robot Aiko

SHE is the perfect wife, with the body of a Page 3 pin-up and housekeeping skills that put all other wives to shame.

Her name is Aiko, she can even read a map, and will never, ever, nag. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t she fellas? And she is. Aiko is actually a robot, a fantasy brought to life by inventor Le Trung. Devoted Aiko — “in her 20s” — has a stunning 32-23-33 figure, pretty face and shiny hair. She is always happy to clean the house for “husband” Le, help with his accounts or get him a drink. Computer ace Le, 33, from Ontario, Canada, has spent two years and £14,000 building his dream girl. He had planned to make an android to care for the elderly. But his project — inspired by sci-fi robots like Star Wars’s C3PO — strayed off-course. Le said: “Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.” Robo-wife Aiko starts the day by reading Le the main newspaper headlines. The couple often go for a drive in the countryside, where Aiko proves a whizz at directions. And they always sit down for dinner together in the evening, although Aiko doesn’t have much of an appetite. Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn’t strayed into the bedroom, but a few “tweaks” could turn her into a sexual partner. Le said: “Her software could be redesigned to simulate her having an orgasm.” Aiko can already react to being tickled or touched. She also recognises faces and speaks 13,000 sentences. Now Le is seeking a sponsor to help him overcome the robot-maker’s biggest challenge — making Aiko walk like a human. Once Aiko has been perfected, Le hopes to sell clones for use as home-helps. He said: “Aiko doesn’t need holidays, food or rest, and will work almost 24 hours a day. She is the perfect woman.” Aiko sparks mixed reactions in public.

Le said: “Women usually try to talk to her. But men always want to touch her, and if they do it the wrong way she slaps them.”

India’s Bindra wins gold in Olympics - the Men’s 10m Air Rifle for India.

(BEIJING, August 11) — India’s Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle in Beijing on August 11 with an incredible performance in the final. Bindra shot a total score of 700.5.

China’s Zhu Qinan, gold medalist at Athens 2004, won the silver medal with a total score of 699.7.

The bronze medal was won by Finland’s Henri Hakkinen, who was leading the field after the qualification round, but was unable to hold off Bindra and Zhu in the final. The Finnish shooter shot a total of 699.4.

Hakkinen shot 598 in the qualification round, giving him a one point lead over Zhu. Bindra was one point further back with 596.

Bindra

Bindra signals his intentions early in the final, with a 10.7 on his first shot. None of Bindra’s shots in the final dropped below 10.0.

Hakkinen’s performance in the final was solid, but it needed to be better. He averaged 10.14 per shot in the final, compared to Bindra’s 10.45.

Going into the last shot, Bindra and Hakkinen were tied for first place, but Bindra secured the gold medal with his best shot of the final, an outstanding 10.8.

Conversely, Hakkinen’s last shot was his worst, a lowly 9.7. This allowed Zhu to overcome Hakkinen and win the silver medal. Zhu shot 10.5 on his last shot.

Zhu will be disappointed that did not become the first shooter to win two gold medals in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol. However, he was unable to reproduce his best – Zhu holds the Olympic record for the final score in the event, the 702.7 that he shot at Athens 2004.

Bindra, a Khel Ratna awardee, finished the qualifying event joint fourth with Romania’s George Alin Moldoveanu after the duo shot a score of 596/600.

Earlier, Bindra ended the poor run of Indian shooters at the Beijing Olympics by qualifying for the men’s 10m air rifle event finals. Bindra, a Khel Ratna awardee, finished the qualifying event joint fourth with Romania’s George Alin Moldoveanu after the duo shot a score of 596/600.

The bespectacled shooter managed a series of 100,99,100,98,100 and 99.

However, Gagan Narang failed to make the final cut in the same event finishing ninth with a score of 595/600. Narang shot a series of 97,100,100,100,98,100.

Abhinav Bindra:

“I have worked hard for this. It was my day. I have always believed that I could do this and am happy to have done it. I have been in the sport for ten years, and I know that the difference between winning and losing is not much. I didn’t do anything very different today.”

said Abhinav, who has been battling with a career-threatening back problem in recent months.

Namaste Solar Electric

Unique business aims to spread the use of Solar Power !

Namaste \’nah-mah-stay\: [Sanskrit] = Greeting of great respect, celebrating the interdependence of all living things.

Namaste Solar Electric is an employee-owned solar electric company dedicated to the betterment of the planet by bringing clean, reliable, and affordable renewable energy technologies to homes, businesses, and nonprofits throughout the Denver/Boulder area. Integrating both holistic and traditional business methods, Namaste Solar is the leading solar electric company in Colorado. With a values-based business model and reputation for philanthropy, Namaste Solar is a likely partner for homeowners and local businesses that want to make a positive impact on the community by purchasing a solar electric system.

Blake Jones, after three years in Nepal, returned to the USA in early 2005 to co-found Namaste Solar and implement solar PV projects in Colorado.

His business plan for Namaste Solar Electric, was so unusual; he confounded a lot of business experts !

• Environmental concerns would be a driving force in every aspect of the Namaste Solar.
• Six weeks of paid time off !
• A concept called FOH - frank, open and honest - to help eliminate gossip and grudges.
• Employees, no matter what their job description, have the same pay scale.
• One percent of yearly revenues go to solar systems donated to community groups.
• All major decisions would be made by consensus of all company employees.

How Namaste Solar Electric makes it work:

Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight (photons) into electricity (voltage) via the “photovoltaic effect.” They are made of semi-conducting materials, the most common being silicon, which is the second most abundant element on the planet, exceeded only by oxygen. Solar PV technology has been commercially used since the 1950s and has long been used to power calculators, satellites, road signs, phone call boxes, remote industrial applications, remote homes & cabins, etc. Due to decreasing prices via economies of scale and increasing government support, solar PV is now more cost-effective than ever for residential and commercial applications in urban areas.

Grid-tie solar electric systems are installed on homes and businesses where the electricity grid is available. They interface seamlessly with the electricity grid, allowing excess power that is produced from the sun during the day to be sold back to the utility company. When this happens, your electric meter spins backwards to give you retail credit for the electricity you produced. At night or during cloudy weather, your home or business takes power from the grid as normal, thereby spinning your meter forwards again. Each day your electric meter will spin backwards and forwards as part of “net-metering,” which allows you to reduce your electric bill to a “net-zero” on a monthly or annual basis. Going solar is a quick and easy process, requiring no changes to your lifestyle or to the internal wiring of your home or business. Each month, you’ll feel good about your lower electric bill and the positive difference you’re making for our environment.

.

Wimbledon Finals Schedule

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal

Wimbledon Finals India - Star Sports - Sunday - 6pm IST

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams

Wimbledon Finals India - Star Sports - Saturday - 6pm IST

Photographer photographs photographer

The following photographs were taken by a photographer Hans Van De Vorst at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The descriptions are his own. The identity of the photographer in the photos is unknown.

“I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock IN the Grand Canyon. The canyon’s depth is 900 meters here. The rock on the right is next to the canyon and safe…

Watching this guy on his thong sandals, with a camera and a tripod I asked myself 3 questions:

1. How did he climb that rock?
2. Why not taking that sunset picture on that rock to the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How will he get back?”

“After the sun set behind the canyon’s horizon he packed his things (having only one hand available) and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes. At that point he had the full attention of the crowd.”

“After that, he jumped on his thong sandals…The canyon’s depth is 900 meters here.

Now you can see that the adjacent rock is higher so he tried to land lower, which is quite steep
and tried to use his one hand to grab the rock.”

“Look carefully at the photographer. He has a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand. Only his right hand is available to grab the rock and the weight of his stuff is a problem.

He lands low on this flip flops both his right hand and right foot slips away… At that moment I take this shot.”

“He pushes his body against the rock. He waits for a few seconds, throws his stuff on the rock, climbs and walks away!”

We’ve come to the end of this little story.

Firefox 3 is COOL

Firefox 3 download FOR WINDOWS

Firefox 3 download FOR MAC

Firefox 3 download FOR LINUX