So it appears that the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi has an ATM machine that allows you to trade in your hard earned cash for bars of gold. Personally, I wish I had enough cash in my entire bank account to purchase one of these bars considering the value of gold has increased 6% in the months. That would be much more productive than my 401k has been.

Sounds like it is quite advanced in some respects. Every 10 minutes, it updates the value of gold to give you the most current exchange rates. On top of that, what would you think the ATM fee is for this?

Cash for Gold

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I’ve had my iPad for a week (in which this is my first time attempting to post via my WordPress app), and the one thing I’ve been lacking is a good background. I’ve always admired HDR photography and have my own amateur attempts at it myself, but Places2Explore has always been a great source for inspiration.

Just today I saw that they are releasing about 25 photos formatted for an iPad to be used as a background…for only $0.30 each! Now that is definitely a steal! Go buy and grab a few for your iPad, or if you don’t have an iPad, just take a look at some great photography.

Places 2 Explore

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Thought I would hop back on to good ol’ Enginerdiness and try my hand at it again. Cruising along, I found a post from Scott Johnson at Extralife that contained something…well…interesting. You just have to take a look at it yourself.

Retrieved from -Extralife-

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…at least, according to the Chicago Tribune.

So, the mafia, Cosa Nostra, in Sicily has long been getting money by bidding (and winning by cheating) on contracts for public works. Back in 2003, a proposal came up for a wind farm to be constructed on the island. Members of Cosa Nostra bribed officials with luxury cars, thousands of euros as well as breaking in to see a rival’s bid so they can counter it which all led to the eventual arrest of eight men. The businessman heading all this up had ties to Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the top bosses for the mafia.

Does this sound reminiscent of “The Sopranos” with the construction company? Maybe? That’s where they got all their ideas!

Who knew that the green power that Italy would have received would have been tied to their very own mafia that “protects” them?

Retrieved from -Chicago Tribune-

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…and once again reinforces why I vote Libertarian.

So it appears that our wonderful leaders in North Carolina are scrounging around to find money anywhere they can find it. Their thought…let’s tax all the internet users! A group of politicians is studying whether to apply a sales tax to digital downloads over the internet. This includes such websites as eBay, iTunes, Amazon and even the PlayStation network (PSN).

With all the economic problems we are having, a lot of people are resorting to entertainment to forget about their troubles. With games costing around $60, music costing about a $1 a song, we as consumers are already feeling the crunch. Taxing on top of that is like a virtual slap on the face.

I could really go on and on and on, but I would like to stop my rant before I say something not family friendly. I just wish politicians could get a grip on what their “people” they represent really want.

Retrieved from -News 14-

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…on March 1, 2009.

On that date, the traditional lighting source of incadescent bulbs will be banned from stores, forcing people to purchase more energy efficient bulbs such as compact fluorescents, halogens and/or LEDs. I have to say, at our last house, I had tons of halogen ceiling lights, which put out TONS of heat and had to be replaced about 3 times a year. That doesn’t seem ecologically friendly or energy friendly.

I have slowly begun converting some of our “main” lights in the current house to compact fluorescents, which with the ones I purchased, you have to get over two issues: one is the warm up time and the other is the color. I know that the color and warm up time can be compensated for by higher priced bulbs, but they also expend a bit more energy to have a constant “primed” bulb. I just figure it is a gradual light for late at night when your eyes need to adjust.

Now, for the LEDs, I am slowly becoming to love those little lights. They just need to come down on price before it can really be cost effective in a house my size. Maybe that will be the next experiment.

Anyways, do you think the people of Ireland will hate or love this change? It appears overall, there is a higher cost for the bulbs, so I wonder if that will sway them?

Retrieved from -Popular Science-

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…because it is scary to think that similar brain wiping science used in that movie is close at hand!

In “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, Jim Carrey plays a guy who decides to have the memories of his ex-girlfriend erased after she’s had him erased from her own memory. Well, researchers from the Medical College of Georgia and the East China Normal University have been looking into targeted amnesia which is removing a memory from the mind. Their hopes are that this experiment could lead to therapies that could erase traumatic memories from people’s minds and allow them to live their normal lives again.

I could definitely see the benefit of this, but something trips a fear in the back of my mind. Rebecca and I have been watching “Testees” on TV, where two guys earn a living from being lab testers. Last week, they underwent testing to cause amnesia and then all of their friends wreaked havoc on their minds by making them think they were types of people they really weren’t. Anyway, I wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig for targeted memory removal for fear of removing every memory I have!

Retrieved from -Boing Boing-

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but this catch at a college game truly makes me appreciate the athleticism that it takes.

How can one catch a throw like that and not have a broken spine? I’m torn between the words “Ouch!” and “That’s amazing!”

Retrieved from -ExtraLife-

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…never thought North Carolina would be the first.

So I am sure by now that most people have seen the television ads stating that at the beginning of next year, all television signals will be switched from analog to digital. Wilmington was selected for the first market and as of September 8, all broadcasting was switched to digital. There have been a few bugs at the switch over, but at least we can say the lessons we learned will be applied to all other markets. Yes, you all can thank us!

Retrieved from -Engadget-

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…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-

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