Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Nov 27, 2006 23:10:58 GMT 7
Wow! This thing is only a sketch on a cocktail napkin, and people are already plunking down $200k to be the first batch of test subjects passengers. Let's see. $200,000 divided by 2.5 hours (9000 seconds) comes to $22.22 per second. I suppose I shouldn't complain - I ended up spending about $100 a second to launch something really cool. Sadly, the impact at the end of the 6th second kinda ruined the fun. Sky's the limit as rich Chinese buys ticket to space Mon Nov 27, 5:14 AM ET SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese businessman has paid $200,000 (about 103,000 pounds) to become his country's first space tourist, hoping for lift-off some time by the end of 2008. The man, from eastern China's Zhejiang province, is among a first batch of 100 passengers who will board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo for the suborbital trip, said Shanghai-based Rupert Hoogewerf, who serves as an adviser to the firm. About 20 men and three women from China -- out of some 65,000 people globally -- had applied for tickets, and a female Chinese space traveller had still to be selected, he added. Hoogewerf, who publishes an annual list of China's wealthiest people, said the man was under 40 and that he had asked for his identity to be kept secret. Virgin Galactic, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, competes with Space Adventures travel agency to take private individuals to space. Its space trip will last 2.5 hours. Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket-powered vehicle will carry six passengers and two pilots for a 2.5-hour weekly flight, the company says. It plans to launch its flights from spaceports in California and New Mexico, while Space Adventures has announced plans to build spaceports in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. So far, four private tourists have visited space, paying around $20 million each. A U.S. businessman in 2001 became the world's first paying space tourist, travelling to the orbiting space station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. He spent a week in orbit.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Nov 28, 2006 22:28:19 GMT 7
JJL is going to be so disappointed that there are fake monks running around.
19 men detained for impersonating monks Mon Nov 27, 4:43 PM ET
BEIJING - Nineteen men have been detained by police in southwest China for impersonating monks and selling fake or shoddy goods, a local official and state media said Sunday.
Police in Wuhou, a district in the city of Chengdu, were tipped off by locals last week who said that 50 men with shaved heads and wearing monks robes were selling trinkets, a Web site for the Chengdu Business Daily said.
They claimed to be from the "Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Performing Troupe," the newspaper said.
"But they aren't monks, they are con artists," said a Wuhou police official who would give only his surname, Jing. He would not give any more details and said the newspaper's account was accurate.
When police officers arrived at one site, they saw 10 of the men attacking journalists from a local television station trying to film them, the paper said. Some 180 officers gave chase after the monks escaped in two vehicles and fired warning shots into the air after they intercepted the vehicles, it said.
An investigation shows that the gang was led by Wang Shengli and Zhang Gaofeng, from Henan province, who hired boys from local martial arts training schools to cheat ordinary citizens by selling fake goods, the paper said. It did not give any details on what the goods were or whether Wang and Zhang were detained.
The other 31 members of the group were under investigation, it said.
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Post by Jollyjunklass on Nov 29, 2006 4:29:08 GMT 7
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Post by Lone Traveller on Nov 29, 2006 17:00:15 GMT 7
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 1, 2006 5:56:09 GMT 7
I'm glad I'm flying with United instead of China Southern.
Please fasten your seatbelt and cross your legs.. Thu Nov 30, 10:54 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese airline has calculated that it takes a liter of fuel to flush the toilet at 30,000 feet and is urging passengers to go to the bathroom before they board.
As Chinese airlines come under increasing pressure to cut fuel expenditures, China Southern's latest strategy is to encourage passengers "to spend their pennies before boarding the aircraft," Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.
"The energy used in one flush is enough for an economical car to run at least 10 kilometers," Captain Liu Zhiyuan, who flies regularly between Hangzhou and Beijing, was quoted as saying.
Citing a survey by the company's logistics department, Liu said carrying one kilogram of items such as blankets and pillows by air for one hour uses 0.2 kg of fuel.
"This means the blankets and pillows on board the aircraft eat up 60 tonnes of fuel every day. If each seat is loaded with three 450-gram magazines, another 60 tonnes will be consumed," Liu explained.
Another cost-saving technique will keep 47 million yuan ($6 million) a year in the airline's coffers, Xinhua said.
"The company has asked logistics staff to fill the water tank only 60 percent full."
In the first half of the year, the "aggregated loss" of Chinese airlines was estimated at around 3 billion yuan, Xinhua said.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 3, 2006 8:21:28 GMT 7
Endangered = tasty???
Alligator soup raises eyebrows in China By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 1, 3:41 PM ET
SHANGHAI, China - Even in anything-edible-goes-in-the-pot China, the Huifu Fine-food Restaurant is drawing attention with special menu offerings that include alligator kebabs and soup — complete with the endangered species' head and tail.
The restaurant, in the scenic city of Huangshan in eastern Anhui province, has been doing a roaring business since it started serving alligator dishes last month, staff said Friday.
"Yes, we do serve alligator here, but the amount is limited every day so you'd better book it at least two or three days ahead," said a staffer at the restaurant, who like many media-shy Chinese refused to give his name.
He said the most recommended dishes were alligator steak and soup. "Both of them keep the natural taste of the alligator meat," he said.
The species of alligator served at Huifu — the "alligator sinensis" — is a critically endangered species in its natural habitat, with only about 150 thought to be living in the wild in Anhui and neighboring Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces along the Yangtze river.
The restaurant obtained a special license from the Forestry Ministry for serving meat from reptiles raised at a breeding center, said a manager at the restaurant, who gave only her surname, Lin. She said four restaurants in Anhui were serving alligator.
Despite the establishment of protection zones and laws against poaching, the population in the wild is falling by 4 percent to 6 percent a year, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The number of farmed alligators has soared to more than 10,000 because the animals breed prolifically in captivity, unlike another rare Chinese species, the giant panda.
Although breeding centers are struggling to prevent inbreeding among the captive species, the number hatched each year exceeds 1,500.
The Chinese penchant for exotic dishes includes all sorts of creatures, including snakes and other reptiles — "anything that flies, walks or swims," according to one traditional saying.
While some reports questioned the wisdom of stimulating demand for an endangered species and potentially encouraging poaching, supporters say sales of alligator meat and skins can help support efforts to save the species.
The alligators slaughtered for food are only those in the third generation of captive breeding — those most likely to be affected by inbreeding, said Wu Xiaobing, an expert on Chinese alligators at the Wuhu-based College of Life Science, Anhui Normal University.
"In my opinion, there's no problem with this," Wu said.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 3, 2006 8:22:44 GMT 7
And what kind of wine would you like with your alligator?
Free wine cellars for China's rich Thu Nov 30, 1:23 PM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China's rich are in line for an unlikely form of charity with wine cellars worth tens of millions of dollars to be handed out as part of a marketing ploy, state press said.
The International Wine Culture Promotion Association will give 100,000 cellars worth around 1,000 dollars each to "middle class" families in a bid to promote wine drinking in China, the official Xinhua news agency said.
To qualify for the free gift, a person must own a home that is at least 120 square meters (1,290 square feet) and a car, or be a "VIP" in the banking, aviation or telecommunications industries, Xinhua said.
The criteria were to ensure recipients were "genuine wine lovers who could afford to be wine lovers," Xinhua said, citing the association.
The recipients also have to first pay 2,980 yuan (380 dollars) to join the association, but they can get that back through discounts on buying wine.
Each "cellar" is a wooden, box-like structure that will be installed inside the house rather than underground, Xinhua said.
The promotion body, using investments put forward by wineries from 11 countries, has budgeted around 64 million dollars to fund the project.
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Post by Noodles on Dec 4, 2006 16:30:11 GMT 7
I might be wrong, but i cant really seeing this taking off. It's the insert part that bothers me most Is this spray can the condom? (Reuters) Updated: 2006-12-03 13:58 BERLIN - German sex educators plan to launch a spray-on condom tailor-made for all sizes. Jan Vinzenz Krause from the Institute for Condom Consultancy, a Singen-based practice that offers advice on condom use, told Reuters Thursday the product aimed to help people enjoy better and safer sex lives. "We're trying to develop the perfect condom for men that's suited to every size of penis," he said. "We're very serious." Krause's team (spraykondom.de) is developing a type of spray can into which the man inserts his penis first. At the push of a button it is then coated in a rubber condom. "It works by spraying on latex from nozzles on all sides," he said. "We call it the '360 degree procedure' -- once round and from top to bottom. It's a bit like a car wash." Krause said the plan is to make the product ready for use in about five seconds. He said it would function more effectively as a contraceptive because it would fit better and not slip. However, before the new condom can be sold in shops, the firm must ensure that the latex is evenly spread when sprayed, as well as optimize the vulcanization process. Krause hopes the high tech condom, which will be available in different strengths and colors, will on the market by 2008. He said the spray can would likely cost some 20 euros ($26) as a one-off purchase. The latex cartridges -- sufficient for up to 20 applications -- would cost roughly 10 euros, he said. Krause said he had hit upon the idea when considering the difficulties some people faced using condoms, and drew inspiration from spray-on plasters now used in medicine.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 4, 2006 20:40:52 GMT 7
How deeply do you love me?
And the bride wore a dirty black .. Mon Dec 4, 4:29 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese coal mine has made the news for a reason other than the grim series of accidents nationwide -- it is claiming a world record for the highest number of simultaneous weddings held underground.
The Datong Coal Group in Shanxi province held weddings for 10 miners on Saturday 300 metres (1,000 ft) down the pitshaft, the People's Daily said on Monday.
"The weddings were unprecedented nationwide, even worldwide," mine manager Liu Suisheng told the newspaper. "We're going to apply to Guinness World Records."
China has the world's deadliest coal mining industry with fatal accidents occurring almost daily as safety regulations are ignored and production is pushed beyond safe limits in the rush for profit.
The weddings aim to "lessen the depressing impression" of the mining industry, Liu told the newspaper.
"Marrying the man I love in his workplace is really meaningful to me," one of the brides, 22, was quoted as saying.
"I had been considering a unique wedding, but never thought of down a mineshaft."
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 4, 2006 20:42:41 GMT 7
Wow! Does anyone know what it takes to get a law license to practice in China?
This little piggie took the expressway Mon Dec 4, 3:01 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A freeway operator in northeast China has been ordered to pay the equivalent of $150,000 in compensation to six people injured in an accident caused by -- a pig.
In January last year, the six were heading along the expressway from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, to Daqing.
"As the vehicle approached Zhaodong city, the driver saw a pig loom up in front of him," Xinhua news agency said. "To avoid a collision, he ploughed into a road barrier."
All six were injured, one seriously, Xinhua said.
The driver was initially held responsible for the accident but the six injured sued the operator of the Harbin-Daqing freeway, demanding compensation.
A court ruled the company, which collects toll fees, was responsible for "ensuring that the freeway is safe and free of obstacles".
It should bear 80 percent of the total losses suffered by the plaintiffs. The remaining 20 percent would be borne by the local insurance company.
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Escaped Lunatic
Barfly
Civet Burger? Sounds tempting. Can I get fries with that?
Posts: 567
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Post by Escaped Lunatic on Dec 4, 2006 20:45:09 GMT 7
How close is this to Dongguan? I definitely want to check this out.
Chinese nuclear plant to double as tourist site Sun Dec 3, 1:53 PM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Tourists in China have another potential point of interest to add to their sightseeing itineraries now that the country's biggest nuclear power station has opened its doors to the public.
For a 30-yuan (2 pounds) admission fee, visitors to the Dayawan nuclear power plant located by the South China Sea in southern Guangdong province will be able to learn about its construction and safety measures through models, photographs and videos.
They will also have access to "Lovers' Island", a wharf and a lookout point offering a view of Dayawan and Lingao, another nuclear plant being built nearby, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Only 300 people will be allowed to visit the plant each day and all proceeds will go to charity, it said.
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Post by Vegemite on Dec 12, 2006 10:39:57 GMT 7
Anyone interested in a summer job? xtramsn.co.nz/lifestyles/0,,12614-6687996,00.html Condom testers are needed - and they prefer to ask the Kiwis 'cos we are more experienced at these things...supposedly...
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