| Clean, green muscle cars needn't be girly
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is hooking up with the MTV reality show "Pimp My Ride" for a special Earth Day episode that he hopes will boost the street cred of low-emission cars. Typically, the program features everyday people who have their trashed rides tricked out into bling-mobiles with built-in espresso machines or lava lamps. But for this episode, the crew will transform a 1965 Chevy Impala into a clean, green biodiesel machine. Efforts to reduce global warming and build a hydrogen highway helped parlay Schwarzenegger to an easy re-election last fall. But putt down the 405 Freeway in a Prius? That's not how the gov rolls. Sunday's episode of "Pimp My Ride" will show that "bio-fuel is not like some wimpy, feminine car, like a hybrid," Schwarzenegger said in the current Newsweek cover article.
Making new friends in high places
"Perhaps you ought to. The bald patch on top is spreading. I get a good view of it from up here. We CCTV cameras are rather de haut en bas, you might say. Sorry to mention it. I was just trying to make conversation." "You're supposed to be berating vandals and ticking off people who drop litter, not making personal remarks," I said, walking away, irritated. For the next week or so, the CCTV camera was silent as I passed, although I thought I heard it tut-tutting a couple of times. Then one day it spoke again. "Never brown in town. Your shoes. Brown. Haven't you heard that dictum? Never mind." The camera sighed. "How's life up your lamp post?" I asked. "Oh terrific. I'm stuck here day after day, watching youths hurl doner kebabs and kick Sprite cans. The only conversation I get is at 5am when the dustmen's lorry arrives and says 'Stand back, vehicle reversing' over and over again.
Army, police installations to sample CFL bulbs
Security installations, including military and police barracks in the country will be the first beneficiaries of a nationwide drive to replace the traditional, energy consuming incandescent bulbs with the energy saving lamps or CFLs.
The campaign, initiated by government would see a replacement of some six million onion bulbs used in lighting.
Energy experts say the bulbs are highly inefficient, as 95 percent of the electricity they draw is converted to heat with only five percent providing lighting.
When implemented, it is believed the country could save at least 200 Megawatts of electricity during peak load periods.
The project, according to the Minister of Energy was to have started over the weekend at the military and police barracks and government buildings, however the Energy Commission says it has been unable to implement it because it was yet to secure the permission of the ministries that own those buildings.
Digital-Camera Buyer's Guide
Megapixels: Camera companies keep advertising more and more megapixels -- 10 is the new premium number this year. But unless you're blowing your pictures up to poster size, you don't need more than six or seven to get quality 4-x-6 or 8-x-10 prints. Optical Viewfinder: As cameras get smaller, a feature that's often left off is an optical viewfinder (the window you hold your eye up to on the back of the camera). But a viewfinder comes in handy on a sunny day at the park when it's hard to see the LCD screen. Image Stabilization: If your camera has a big optical zoom, you're definitely going to need image stabilization to guarantee an unblurry shot. And make sure it's optical stabilization, not electronic. Autofocus Assist Lamp: Another feature that helps you shoot clear photos is a low red or green light that the camera shines whenever you prefocus (by holding the shutter release halfway down).
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