…but estimates are it is to be back and running, with a slight improvement.

So, most people know the smart car is one of the smallest cars around…at least in the United States and only in current production. There have been plenty of cars in the past which actually have beaten it out for size. However, the most current rival was to be a car produced by the Tata Corporation of India named the Nano. Don’t get me started on the name of the car, the Tata Nano. Sounds like some kind of committee I heard about in elementary school. I have to admit it didn’t look that bad, and it has four doors. Well, today, the company announced they are going to shut down the plant that was to produce them due to land disputes. Talk about cutting the feet out from underneath before you are even started. However, they announced that they will produce an electric version of the car for Norway within the year. Hopefully they can find a new location for the plant and get things rolling. We need to disperse small ugly cars around the world!

Retrieved from -Engadget-

…but for the one I know at least, he should appreciate this. Now only if he would get back from England and the Doctor Who exhibit they have. And for those who are interested, it is a lovely video of a Dalek family.

…ending in era in movie history.

Some of you may, and some of you may not recognize the picture of Don LaFontaine. But I can assure that most of you would recognize his voice if you heard it. Most commonly known for starting his trailer voice overs with “in a world…”, the 68 year old man passed away Labor Day due to complications from a pneumothorax. In total, he has provided his baritone voice on almost 5,000 trailers and 350,000 commercials. Just a few of the trailer spots he voiced are: The Terminator, Terminator 2, Cast Away, Fatal Attraction, Batman Returns, Chicken Run, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Entertainment Tonight and many more. Most recently, I keep seeing the commercial for Geico where he plays a voice over actor.

It is a great loss to our popular culture, that is for certain. Farewell Don and I hope you find yourself “in a world” full of all the best things in life.

Retrieved from -ExtraLife Radio-
Don LaFontaine’s Website

…too bad it will be in 2029 and I will be gone!

I’m sure a lot of people have already heard about the asteroid named Apophis, but this near earth object (NEO) was discovered back in 2004. Originally, it was said that there was a 2.7% chance that this asteroid (approximately 690 to 1,080 ft in diameter) would impact the earth. Fortunately, authorities later stated that those odds were very small. But, the asteroid will pass VERY close by the earth. To really make you get an idea how close, the preliminary estimates show that Apophis will pass about 29,470 km away from the earth. Sure, that sounds like a pretty good distance away…but consider that the moon is 385,000 km. So, Apophis will pass VERY close indeed! Maybe we should hurry up with that research on how to avoid NEO. Unfortunately, we won’t know much more until 2011 or 2013 as to the more exact path the asteroid is following. Until then, go ahead and build that debt and wait for the end of the world!

Retrieved from -NASA-

…I feel that I can make my social commentary on one fellow.

The second name that a lot of people will remember (after Michael Phelps) is Usain Bolt, the sprinter from Jamaica who was quite confident (and flambuoyant) with winning his gold medals. Not only did he break the world records, but he did it while celebrating BEFORE crossing the line. This video is absolutely perfect for summing up how I view him.

…it’s been wreaking havoc with one of my local projects.

Nothing fancy about this post, but one of my local projects located near downtown Charlotte has had its first setback due to mother nature. Local flooding washed away the embankment the bridge will sit on as well as destroyed half of the temporary bridge that was going to be used to drive piles. Just goes to show how much damage water can do.

Click on the pictures for a larger image…

…when it starts to make speed bumps like the ones in China.

So, awhile back, I saw a new program that was started in Philadelphia to slow down cars without creating speed bumps called…and prepare to groan over this one…”Drive CarePhilly”. This lovely concept that was instituted in over 100 intersections involved using 3D decals on the ground to fake out drivers to thinking there was a speed bump there. Even if it worked for the first time, I would hope that humans are smart enough to tell next time that there really is no speed bump.

So China has decided to up the ante and show how they slow down travellers. I have to give them this, it definitely will slow down cars, no ifs ands or buts. They have placed a 100′ long x 2′ tall winding concrete block to slow people down on Jin Zhuang highway. That is what I call a no joke speed bump.

Retrieved from -Gizmodo-

Cher!

So, on G4’s news site, The Feed, I read last night that the villain in the third installment of the revitalized Batman movie series will be none other than Cher. So, right now, she is 62 years old. A very respectable age…but to be 62 and fighting the caped crusader? I think if he even came close to losing to her, I would lose all respect for Batman. The thing I would be most scared of is a spontaneous explosion due to all of the plastic surgery that has her skin stretched so taut!

Retrieved from -G4 The Feed-

…when it comes to a superhero named Bo-BoBo who uses nose hair as a weapon to defeat the forces of the bald enemy!

I like anime, don’t get me wrong, and I’m sure I would get a big kick out of this, but after losing my own war to nose hair, it disturbs me to no end to have that as a weapon to defeat a foe! See the following excerpt from the ever correct Wikipedia that describes the plot for the anime on Cartoon Network titled Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Yes, that is right.

In the year 300X, the entire world is under the tyrannical rule of the Maruhage Empire, and their ruler, Tsuru Tsurulina IV. His malicious Hair Hunt troop, which ranges from basic soldiers to block Commanders, and the insidious Heavenly Kings (Big Four), ruthlessly hair hunts innocent bystanders, leaving the people bald and their villages in ruins. Standing against this evil regime is the heroic, but bizarre, rebel, Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo, who fights the Hair Hunt Troop with his powerful Hanage Shinken (Fist of the Nose Hair) as well as the bizarre battle abilities known as Hajike (Wiggin’). Initially joined by the normal teen girl Beauty, the smelly teen warrior Heppokomaru (Gasser) and the similarly bizarre Hajike leader Don Patch (Poppa Rocks), Bo-Bobo is on an exciting, gag-filled quest to deliver his own hairy brand of justice to evildoers everywhere.

The show’s comedy is driven by its insanity and bizarre nature. Although fighting a rebellion against evil forces, none of the heroic characters take their job too seriously (nor do they seem to care for each-other), drawing their power from their spontenaity with a special “Hajike” (dub: Wiggin) style to create attacks that either parody what they are up against or have nothing to do with anything going on. Most of these gags are commented on by the more serious characters (particularly Beauty), breaking the fourth wall both as reaction as well as acting as the voice of the reading audience.

Retrieved from -ExtraLife-