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Friday, April 3, 2009

April Fools’ Day pranks harmlessly pervaded worldwide again this year. Media outlets and internet sites have joined family, office workers, and friends to provide a wide variety of practical jokes. Ireland, France, and the United States celebrate April Fools all day, whereas a few countries celebrate jokes only until noon such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.

Car and Driver claimed that GM and Chrysler were ordered out of NASCAR by the White House by the end of 2009 in order to receive any more government loans. There are press releases about this short-lived prank which received controversial feedback.

The Swiss Tourism Board has announced that volunteers were desperately needed, The Association of Mountain Cleaners “makes sure that our holiday guests can always enjoy perfect mountains. Using brooms, brushes, water and muscle power, they clean the rocks of any bird droppings.”

This year Gmail produced a new autopilot feature for April 1, 2009 which can read your email and automatically respond to every message.

BMW released its new Magnetic Tow Technology which allows your BMW to magnetically attach to the vehicle ahead of you. This enhanced technology allows the driver to remove their foot from the gas pedal and turn off the motor.

The Guardian proposed its move to Twitter, which would allow the newspaper to fit its article content into 140 character messages or “tweets”. Included in this venture was the archiving of past events reported by The Guardian, such as, “1927 OMG first successful transatlantic air flight wow, pretty cool! Boring day otherwise *sigh*”

Google’s technological break through for April Fool’s Day was CADIE, (Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity). By extracting internet search patterns combined with Brain Search, a part of CADIE technology, Google can now search your thoughts and memories.

Wikipedia even fooled Fox News who claimed that “every item on the home page of the user-generated site Wikipedia is fake. The featured Wikipedia article regaled the “Museum of Bad Art” in Boston.” However, each item on the main page was based on reality — even news articles such as NASA reports a shower of diamonds over the Republic of Sudan, which was based on a meteorite which passed over Sudan whose fragments did reveal diamonds upon discovery.

The Conficker Internet worm had been in the news warning of a worst case scenario when computers worldwide would be affected by the virus. Even the chief security adviser for Microsoft, Ed Gibson, didn’t want to make any predictions about what would happen. Experts just knew that it was set to go off on April 1. Several anomalous happenings were attributed to Conficker including Leroy “Mac” MacElrie who claimed to be the programmer of the Conficker worm and turned himself in to police.

Hotels.com ran an advertisement offering hotel room bookings on the moon which would be offered on European websites starting at £800 a night.

Qualcomm ingeniously revealed a new wireless networking technology called wireless convergence. Making use of the flight patterns of pigeons. They then use innovative solutions to converge the birds with wolves to protect the internal improvements.

Media outlets were not the only ones pulling pranks. Gaming websites across the internet Blizzard, Joystiq, and affiliates posted reviews and announcements of games with tongue in cheek. YouTube offered viewers a unique April Fool’s experience as videos were offered upside down. In Ireland, U2 fans received a U2opia concert on a shopping centre roof top concert rather than the real thing.

Monday, March 2, 2009

American radio broadcaster Paul Harvey has died at the age of 90. Harvey died while at his home in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, February 28. According to reports, his family and friends were by his side at the time of his death. The cause of Harvey’s death has not yet been released.

Harvey was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His radio career started in 1933 at KVOO Tulsa, while he was in high school. His initial job was cleaning the station and later went to fill in on air for reading news and commercials. He was best known for his The Rest of the Story program.

Harvey was credited with coining several words on his broadcasts, including Reaganomics and Guesstimate. He was inducted in to the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.

In a written statement ABC Radio Networks president Jim Robinson said “Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation’s history. As he delivered the news each day with his own unique style and commentary, his voice became a trusted friend in American households.”

Former President George W. Bush in a statement condoled Harvey’s death by saying “Laura and I are saddened by the death of Paul Harvey. Paul was a friendly and familiar voice in the lives of millions of Americans. His commentary entertained, enlightened, and informed. Laura and I are pleased to have known this fine man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Monday, January 15, 2007

The New Zealand Commerce Commission is investigating Australian-based lottery competition company, TMG Asia Pacific Pty Limited, under alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act after quite a few text-based lottery competitions have been running on New Zealand television.

To enter the competitions, the entrants must answer a simple question and then text the answer to a special text number, 8555. The competitions are shown during advertisements on New Zealand television stations, and include possible prizes of televisions, game consoles, exercise equipment, and more.

The Commerce Commission said that they have received around 180 complaints regarding the text competitions and the charges they incur on their mobile phones. The charges are when a person texts the correct answer to 8555 they are agreeing to sign up to their subscription based services which charges them NZ$3 for each text message received. A maximum of $15 is charged a month unless the special keyword to stop receiving text messages: STOP is texted. The Commerce Commission said that the complaints reflect that the entrants do not know about the subscription, even though the advertisements briefly state in fine print that the competition is a subscription competition, how much a received text costs, etc at the bottom of the ad.

An employee of TMG Asia Pacific Pty Limited questioned about the subscription charges claimed that the majority of the charge for each text message sent to competition entrants goes to Telecom New Zealand, and a fraction is paid to them.

The director of Fair Trading for the Commerce Commission, Deborah Battell, said: “[180 complaints] is an exceptionally high number of complaints for a single issue.”

“The Commerce Commission is investigating whether the disclosure of the terms and conditions of these promotions was adequate,” Ms Battell said.

In November of 2006 the Commerce Commission had contacted TMG Asia Pacific to discuss their concerns over their promotions. Ms Battell said: “The company has been made well aware of our concerns. The Commission has now asked the company to respond by 4pm, Thursday, 18 January 2007.”

A compilation of brief news reports for Friday, June 8, 2007.

After a three-month delay, space shuttle Atlantis has launched. The reports say that there were no major technical problems with the shuttle and forecasters predicted good weather for this evening. The shuttle launched this evening at 7:38:04 p.m. ET (22:38:04 UTC) to continue the construction of the International Space Station. The crew members plan to stay 11 days in orbit and their goal is to carry out the two missions that were left incomplete from the previous flight due to broken and jammed equipments. During the flight, the shuttle and its seven astronauts will deliver a new segment and will install energy-producing solar panels to the International Space Station. Sources

• “NASA: Atlantis is ready to launch” — CNN News, June 8, 2007
• Traci Watson. “Atlantis crew learns from previous mishaps” — USA Today, June 8, 2007

A British police officer has been banned from driving after drinking over the limit of alcohol. PC Andy Walker, 51, drank a glass of wine and two glasses of beer at a “family party”. When a police officer stopped his car to investigate, after Walker was having trouble parking his car Sunday morning, he found that his fellow officer’s blood alcohol level was 61 micrograms, while the limit is 35 micrograms. At a court hearing today, Walker admitted the charges and has been since banned from driving for 16 months.

“I made a monumental mistake in my judgement when I decided I was fit enough to drive,” Walker admitted.

Walker has been active in many anti-drinking-and-driving campaigns throughout the years.

Sources

• “Officer banned for drink-driving” — BBC News Online, June 8, 2007
• Simon Bristow. “Drink drive PC gets ban” — Yorkshire Post, June 8, 2007

The prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that the parliament won’t block if the Turkish Armed Forces ask for authorization to attack. The armed forces had an exercise today at Cizre, Turkey, 10 kilometers away from the Turkish-Iraqi border. After a series of attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkey has commenced large scale exercises and operations within Turkey. Local news also reports that many troops and artilleries have been delivered from Diyarbakir, Turkey to the Turkish-Iraqi border regions.

Related news

• “Turkey secures Kurdish zone border with Iraq” — Wikinews, June 7, 2007

Sources

• “Turkish Military Agitating to Fight PKK” — IraqSlogger, June 8, 2007
• “S?n?ra sevkiyat sürüyor” — Haberturk, June 8, 2007

A bomb aboard a bus parked at a public market in Cotabato on Minandao in the southern Philippines exploded today, killing one person and injuring 10 people.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. Embassy in Manila had issued a warning about such attacks in the region.

Sources

• Anthony Vargas. “Cotabato bomb blast hurts 10” — Manila Times, June 9, 2007
• Associated Press. “11 wounded in bus bomb in southern Philippines” — Sun.Star, June 9, 2007
• “Blast kills one, injures 10 in Philippine south” — Reuters, June 8, 2007

Monday, August 27, 2012

London, England — As Paralympians ready for the Games which are set to open later this week, they have access to a world class fitness center inside the Paralympic Village which is designed to maximise their pre-Game preparations.

According to volunteers staffing the center, instead of being a single large room, as in Beijing, the building has numerous rooms. It, along with the adjacent Village Services Centre, is designed to be converted into a school after the games conclude. Rooms have been structured as a gym, an auditorium, and science laboratories.

Gym equipment is supplied by Technogym, an Italian firm that has supplied gym equipment for the Olympics since 2000. Equipment has been provided not just for for the Fitness Centre, but for gyms at all the Olympic venues. The newest equipment is oriented toward maximum flexibility, allowing athletes to exercise the particular muscles that they most require for their sport.

In addition to the equipment, the Fitness Centre also provides instructors trained in the use of the equipment, the likes of which athletes from many countries have never seen before. There are also a number of instructors available to provide motivational training.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

A pipe has burst in New York City, the largest city in the United States, causing a generator to explode. The explosion occurred in Midtown Manhattan near Grand Central Terminal (GCT) and the Chrysler Building, and approximately at the intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue. Nearby buildings have been evacuated, and a large area has been blocked off. There are reports of a very large crater at the scene.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has officially ruled out terrorism. Grand Central Station was quickly evacuated soon after the incident. Subway lines 4, 5 and 6 have no service in both directions between the 125th Street Station and the Bowling Green Station. 42nd Street Shuttle service has been shut completely.

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received a call at 5:56 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) reporting an explosion. More than 170 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Witnesses reported that buildings in the nearby area shook. This was a five-alarm response.

At least 20 people have been reported injured, and one woman, Lois Baumerich, died from a heart attack. Two people are currently in critical condition.

There are potentially harmful materials at the scene of the explosion and HAZMAT crews are on the scene to clean up debris. There are reports that pipes were wrapped in asbestos, but the air is being tested, and results should be available late Wednesday night.

ConEdison Workers are on the scene as well, and it appears that they are working nearby.

Emergency workers are reporting that the situation is not under control. They are still unable to confirm why the pipe exploded due to the inaccessible nature of the scene at the source of the explosion. The pressure of steam has subsided and the air appears to have cleared, revealing the crater. Disruption of electricity in the surrounding area is minimal.

GCT is reported to be reopened at this time. An area was cordoned off and people trapped in the vicinity due to fears of asbestos pollution resulting from the explosion.

According to a press conference with the mayor, the pipe involved was built in 1924, and a likely cause of the eruption and explosion was cold water leaking into the pipe, possibly from rain or from a water pipe. A tow truck had fallen into the crater left by the explosion, and the explosion also shattered glass on nearby buildings.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

A bomb positioned below the car of a police officer in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom has exploded, killing him. The unidentified 25-year-old officer, recently employed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland after graduating from a college of police training three weeks prior, was directly involved in the incident as he sat inside the vehicle outside his residence in Omagh, County Tyrone, which occurred at a time immediately before 1600 BST (1500 UTC) today. The man, who died at this location, has now been identified as Constable Ronan Kerr.

It is currently uncertain as to whether or not any other individuals were killed or injured as a result of the incident. It is also unclear who was responsible for committing the act. It is thought that dissident republicans were responsible for the bomb blowing up today, due to numerous similar prior incidents involving them.

Gerry Adams, the current president of Sinn Féin, has stated: “I want to send my condolences to his family at this hugely traumatic time. Sinn Féin is determined that those responsible will not set back the progress of the peace and political process.”

Shaun Woodward, the present Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has claimed that “[t]his evil and cowardly attack will sicken everyone across Northern Ireland. These crimes are targeted on those who protect the community. We all deeply mourn the brave young man whose life was taken by this savage crime. We all have a duty to stop those behind it from succeeding.”

Over the course of the past one-and-a-half years, numerous incidents of a similar nature have taken place with Police Service of Northern Ireland employees being targeted. Despite various devices being unsuccessful in detonating, a police officer suffered an explosion in January 2010. As a consequence, both of his legs were lost. In a separate incident in May 2008, another police officer lost their legs as the result of a bomb attack. In March 2009, a group of dissident republicans were responsible for fatally shooting a policeman in Craigavon, County Armagh.

David Cameron, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, said of today’s incident: “Those who carried out this wicked and cowardly crime will never succeed in dragging Northern Ireland back to a dark and bloody past. Their actions are rejected by the overwhelming majority of people right from all parts of the community.” Meanwhile, Peter Robinson, the current First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, commented that “[i]t was a young man who was bravely entering the police service, recognising that he was putting his life on the line. I have absolutely no doubt the overwhelming number of people in NI want to move on. It’s only a few Neanderthal who want to go back. They will not drag us back to the past.”

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Conservative Party leader David Cameron was last night a victim of crime following the theft of his bicycle.

The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom was out shopping in West London when the incident happened at around 6:30 last night. He was said to have chained the bike to a short bollard while he picked up some groceries in Tesco on Portobello Road. When he came out, the bike along with its chain had vanished.

He stated that he “would very much like it back” and that to him “it was absolutely priceless”. He is also said to have reported the theft on the Scotland Yard online reporting website, but was pessimistic about it being returned. The thieves are said to be a group of teenagers.

Around 19,000 bicycles are reported stolen every year in London alone.

Cameron’s spokesperson said he had owned the bike for five years, and used it regularly to cycle to work. She stated he was “pretty hacked off” by the theft.