<div class=Ben Shephard announces departure from GMTV
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Ben Shephard announces departure from GMTV

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Friday, April 23, 2010

Ben Shephard has announced his departure from GMTV, the current television breakfast programme on ITV in the United Kingdom, having been a presenter on the programme for ten years. His current contract ends in April 2010, but he is expected to leave by the end of the Summer of 2010, according to the Press Association.

Initially, Shephard only presented an entertainment section of the television programme before being given a promotion to the sofa in 2005. He is the third presenter to leave GMTV within the last year, after the departures of Fiona Phillips and Penny Smith.

According to a statement released from Ben Shephard’s agent: “Ben’s two-year contract with GMTV is up at the end of April. Earlier this year, his management made it clear that he would not be renewing it, but would be happy to stay on temporarily during this transitional period. Ben is excited about moving on after 10 incredible years and will be focusing on a number of new projects with ITV and other channels.”

Adrian Chiles, who recently announced his departure from the BBC after modifications were made to The One Show — a show that he presented with Christine Bleakley — was recently reported to be appearing as a presenter on GMTV in the future.

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<div class=FIA lays out cost cutting measures for Formula One
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FIA lays out cost cutting measures for Formula One

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Friday, December 12, 2008

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has revealed the details of the cost-cutting measures for Formula One that were agreed on Wednesday in talks with the teams. The new measures are expected to save the manufacturer teams at least 30 percent of their budgets next season, with the savings increasing as more of the measures are introduced in the future. The raft of agreements has saved the teams from the threat of standardised engines until at least 2013 and savings for independent teams are predicted by the FIA to be even higher.

For next season the engines will now have to last 3 races, rather than thee current 2 race requirement, and each driver is allowed up to 8 engines throughout the year and the team is allowed a further 4 for testing. Engines will now be rev limited to 18,000 rpm and Renault managed to obtain agreement from the other teams for modifications of its engine to bring it into line with the other engines in the sport. Testing will be affected, with in season testing banned and wind tunnels not to exceed 6:10 scale or 50 metres per second. Teams will be expected to share fuel and tyre data at grand prix in an effort to save on the manpower requirement at the race weekends. The teams will also have to close their factories for 6 weeks a year. The FIA will also be conducting research into the possibility of using a medal system for F1 next season, an idea championed by Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of Formula One Management.

Starting in 2010 more changes will come into force, with the introduction of the cheaper engines being made available to independent teams, costing less than €5 million per season. Any contracts for the cheaper 2010 engines will have to be signed by the 20th of December, 2008. Another engine freeze will occur at the start of the 2010 season, with the engines from 2010 continuing through to the end of 2012. The FIA also intends to try to introduce standardised transmission systems in 2010 and will look at chassis design to determine which aerodynamic parts will be standardised or allowed to be competitive differentiators. Races will see more changes in 2010 with the use of tyre warmers and refuelling banned, and the possibility of shorter race distances has been put forward pending market research. What work the teams can engage in at the factories will also be further limited this season to reduce the manpower and other running costs.

The FIA has raised the possibility of a new power train entirely to be developed for the 2013 season, in consultation with the Formula One Teams Association, and will also discuss making Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) compulsory from 2010. KERS, which is being introduced as a voluntary measure in 2009, has divided the teams with some embracing the technology while others, such as Ferrari, have criticised it.

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Tips On Finding The Right Apartment Rentals In Ames

Tips On Finding The Right Apartment Rentals In Ames

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byAlma Abell

Among the most important decisions a person will have to make in their lifetime is where they will live. For some people, the prospect of buying a home is a bit out of their price range, which is why they have to rent. One of the best ways to get the space and amenities you need is by renting an apartment. In most cases, you will have a number of apartments to choose from in your area, which means you will have to do the right amount of research to find what you need. Here are a few tips on finding the right apartment rentals in Ames.

Know the Area

The first thing that you need to look at when trying to find the right apartment is the area that the building is in. You want to make sure that you choose a low crime area that is easily accessible and close to your work. The convenience level of a particular apartment should be a deciding factor due to its importance. The more you are able to find out about a particular apartment, the easier it will be for you to find the right one for your particular needs.

What Can You Spend?

The next thing that you have to take into consideration when trying to find the right apartment is the price. You want to make sure that the apartment that you get is within your price range and worth the money that you will pay for it. The best way to avoid spending too much on a new apartment is by setting a budget for yourself. The budget will allow you to know exactly what you can spend, and can be a great way for you to avoid overspending on an apartment.

If in need of high-quality apartment rentals in Ames, let the team at Furman Realty help you out. When you, you will be able to get the professional assistance that you need. Call them or go to their website to get more information on what they can do for you. Working with the professionals can get you into a new home quickly and easily.

<div class=Photoessay: The Idiotarod: When Good Shopping Carts Go Bad
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Photoessay: The Idiotarod: When Good Shopping Carts Go Bad

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Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Washington, D.C. —When you mix a shopping cart, six team members, bar hopping and bonus points for schmoozing bar hostesses and sabotaging your enemies, you get the annual Washington, D.C. Idiotarod race. On Saturday, this bizarre fund raising event, which originated in San Francisco 13 years ago, pitted teams of “sleds” together to race from bar to bar in Washington, D.C.’s fashionable Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. Each “sled” consists of a “borrowed” shopping cart and six human dogs to pull the cart. Points are given for originality, the best time and best sabotage of another sled.

The race is held to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center and is organized by Ellen Shortill and Kristen Heatherly. Their organization, called “SMASHED” or “Society for Mature Adults Seeking to Help, Entertain and Donate”, takes the position that donating small amounts many times ultimately benefits the smaller charities. Said Shortill, “Our goal is simply to have fun and raise money for those charities that don’t really get any attention.”

The race this year consisted of 22 teams. Although team “Save NOLA” got to the last bar first, teams can win bonus points for (among other things) flirting with bar hosts and hostesses at any of the five bars along the route. The route is approximately 3 miles long, and each team is required to spend at least 20 minutes in each bar. Heatherly noted that “it doesn’t matter who got here first, ultimately its the team with the most credits and the best time that wins.”

Unique among the participants are brothers Pete and Chris Magnuson who are attempting to get on the 10th edition of Amazing Race on CBS. Their team called “Pick Pete and Chris” ran through the streets with t-shirts hawking their website and their fervent desire to be chosen for the next edition of the television show.

“Its not really about who wins, its that we get to have a blast and raise some money,” said Shortill. The charity event raised about $500 and various canned goods for the food pantry.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

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<div class=Wikinews interviews World Wide Web co-inventor Robert Cailliau
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Wikinews interviews World Wide Web co-inventor Robert Cailliau

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

The name Robert Cailliau may not ring a bell to the general public, but his invention is the reason why you are reading this: Dr. Cailliau together with his colleague Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, making the internet accessible so it could grow from an academic tool to a mass communication medium. Last January Dr. Cailliau retired from CERN, the European particle physics lab where the WWW emerged.

Wikinews offered the engineer a virtual beer from his native country Belgium, and conducted an e-mail interview with him (which started about three weeks ago) about the history and the future of the web and his life and work.

Wikinews: At the start of this interview, we would like to offer you a fresh pint on a terrace, but since this is an e-mail interview, we will limit ourselves to a virtual beer, which you can enjoy here.

Robert Cailliau: Yes, I myself once (at the 2nd international WWW Conference, Chicago) said that there is no such thing as a virtual beer: people will still want to sit together. Anyway, here we go.

Contents

  • 1 History of the WWW
  • 2 Future of the WWW
  • 3 Final question
  • 4 External links
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Early Years Of Automobile History: 1672 1875

Early Years Of Automobile History: 1672 1875

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By Lawrence Reaves

Although the first modern car running on gasoline was developed by German inventor Karl Benz in 1885, there were a number of precursors that ran on steam. The earliest known design of a steam powered vehicle was invented by a Jesuit missionary to China from Flanders, Belgium, by the name of Ferdinand Verbiest, in around the year 1672. From his recorded description, it appears that this was just a tiny model or toy that was designed for the Chinese Emperor Kangxi. In fact, there is no proof that his design was ever actually built.

Following this, in 1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot came out with a three wheeled vehicle that ran on steam, intended for use by the French Army in transporting cannons. There was initial interest and a second vehicle was produced in 1771. However, it could not generate steam for prolonged periods of time, making his device of little practical value, military or otherwise. Cugnot’s vehicle was stored in the arsenal, and was rediscovered by Artillery General Rolland in 1800, however Napoleon was uninterested in the project, and it was again mothballed.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_foeKS2cQo[/youtube]

In 1784, Scottish inventor William Murdoch created a steam carriage with three wheels, but he was discouraged from developing it further. However, another Briton, Richard Trevithick, who at one point lived next door to Murdoch and presumably saw his invention, built a primitive steam carriage of his own in 1801. In 1803 Trevithick followed this with the London Steam Carriage, which carried eight passengers ten miles through the streets of London at a top speed of 9 miles per hour. However this project failed to gather steam (figuratively speaking) after an unfortunate crash, and the vehicle was scrapped. However other models by other inventors soon followed, coupled witht he invention of the internal combustion engine in 1807. Such ‘road locomotives’ enjoyed their heyday in Britain in the 1840s and 1850s, however the first Locomotive Act passed in 1861 was so restrictive, including a speed limit, that it and subsequent similar legislation resulted in the virtual disappearance of such vehicles from British highways for some three decades. The 1865 Locomotive Act not only imposed a maximum speed of 4 miles an hour (2 miles an hour in towns) but it further required a man with a red flag to walk in front of the vehicle, and required it to stop in the presence of horses, making their legal use virtually impossible for the time being.

Steam carriages were legally more tolerated in France and the United States than in Britain during this time, but nevertheless remained an extremely rare sight amidst more traditional horse drawn traffic. In 1875, Wisconsin legislature announced a ten thousand US dollar prize to anyone who could produce a steam propelled vehicle that was practical and road worthy. To claim the prize, the carriage would have to travel 200 miles within 40 hours. Seven competitors entered the challenge, held in July 1878, but five of them failed even to start, and one broke down. The final entry successfully drove the entire route in about 33 and a half hours, however the inventors ended up getting somewhat stiffed as the state only awarded half the prize.

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<div class=Aerosmith sued over late cancellation of gig in Maui, Hawaii
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Aerosmith sued over late cancellation of gig in Maui, Hawaii

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Sunday, October 21, 2007

Fans of the American hard rock band Aerosmith have launched legal action against the band in response to a late cancellation of a scheduled concert on the Hawaiian Island of Maui.

Attorney Brandee Faria filed a class action suit in Hawaii Circuit Court on October 19. The suit alleges that the band’s cancellation cost fans between US$500,000 (€349,944) and $3 million (€2.1 million) in travel and accommodation costs, as well as other related expenses.

The sold-out September 26 Maui concert – originally planned months before as the final show of a world tour that began in Brazil in April – was canceled by the band on the basis that they could not make it to the island in time after a September 24 concert in Chicago. The Chicago concert, which attracted 18,000 people, was rescheduled at the last minute after the original September 10 concert date had been postponed due to illness.

The band canceled the show at Maui’s War Memorial Stadium, which was set to be attended by 9,000 people, and apologized to fans. The band’s management company, HK Management Inc., gave no initial reason when they canceled on September 20, but blamed logistical reasons by the next day.

However, just days later, on September 29, the band traveled to the neighbor island of Oahu to play a corporate event in Honolulu for Toyota car dealers and private guests. An audience of 6,000 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Japanese automobile manufacturer at the University of Hawaii, with Toyota paying $500,000 (€349,944) to hire the campus. Aerosmith received $1 million (€700,000) to perform at the event. Faria alleges that Aerosmith abandoned the scheduled public concert on Maui in favor of the more lucrative corporate event on Oahu.

“…Defendants simply canceled the only public performance by Aerosmith in favor of the larger Chicago venue and the lucrative, private concert for the Toyota car dealers,” the complaint states.

Local officials had hoped the concert would attract other big names to the island.

Faria said that “I’ve had people contact me being out of pocket at much as $800 or $900,” adding that if the cancellation is found to be deceptive ticket holders may be eligible for a minimum of $1,000 each. The complaint also says that those aged 62 or over should receive at least $5,000 each. Currently about a dozen ticket holders are involved with the suit. If the action is approved by a judge, steps will be taken to contact everyone who purchased a ticket.

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<div class=Curfew in Haryana as protesters demand reservation for Jat quota
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Curfew in Haryana as protesters demand reservation for Jat quota

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Sunday, February 21, 2016

A growing number of cities in the Indian state Haryana have been under curfew since Friday. At least eight people are reported dead, with government offices, property, dozens of buses, and eight railway stations burned after protests over job quotas for the Jat caste turned violent in several cities including Rohtak, Bhiwani, and Jhajjar. Reportedly some protesters broke into an armory in Rohtak, stealing arms and ammunition.

I appeal to all my fellow Haryanvis to maintain law & order in the State, and ensure that harmony is maintained in society.

Shoot-at-sight was ordered for Rohtak, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Jind and Hisar. Shops, hotels, and restaurants were set afire by protesters. Thirteen national army columns were called, and helicopters were used to reach various places in the state. Internet was disabled in affected districts, and the state government ordered blocks of all social networking websites.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held a meeting to decide if Jats should also gain the reservation rights for government jobs and colleges by classifying them under Other Backwards Castes.

Burning of stations and uprooting of tracks affected 810 scheduled trains, according to The Indian Express. Police said protesters torched Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu’s house. The state might face water crises. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was to hold the Haryana Central Teacher Eligibility Test today, but cited “administrative difficulties” for suspending it.

Back in 2014, the UPA government appealed for a Jat quota which was rejected by the Supreme Court. This morning, Manohar Khattar tweeted “I appeal to all my fellow Haryanvis to maintain law & order in the State, and ensure that harmony is maintained in society.”

Last year, similar protest took place in Gujarat as Patels protested for reservation led by Hardik Patel.

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<div class=Bronis?aw Geremek, former Polish Foreign Affairs Minister, dies at age 76
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Bronis?aw Geremek, former Polish Foreign Affairs Minister, dies at age 76

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Sunday, July 13, 2008File:Bronislaw Geremek.jpg

Professor Bronis?aw Geremek, a former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, a member of European Parliament and chairman of the Freedom Union, has died today at the age of 76 in a car crash near Nowy Tomy?l, Poland. The accident occurred about 13:15 Polish time (12:15 UTC) along the way 92 near Lubie? in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.

According to the spokeswoman of the Greater Poland Voidodeships’s police, Hanna Wachowiak, Geremek died when the Mercedes he was driving collided head-on with a Fiat Ducato on the road from Warsaw to the German border. The reason of Geremek’s car crossing to the other side of the road and crashing into the oncoming car is still unknown. “The officers are investigating the reasons of the accident. They have interrogated first witnesses”, said Mariusz Soko?owski, the spokesman of the Main Command of Police in an interview with the Polish news channel TVN 24. Bronis?aw Geremek was the only casualty of the crash; the driver of the Fiat and his passenger as well as the passenger of Geremek’s Mercedes have been transported to hospitals in Pozna? and Nowy Tomy?l.

The daily Dziennik writes it was not the excessive speed which caused the crash. The newspaper’s Internet news service informs that both cars were driving with the speed of 90-100 km/h (56-62 mph). The daily reports it is assumed that Bronis?aw Germemek might have collapsed when driving; other assumptions include a defect of the car. “It lasted for a split of seconds. I don’t even know how it happened. I haven’t seen anything wrong happening to professor”, told Geremek’s passenger the police officers.

Bronis?aw Geremek was born on March 6, 1932 in Warsaw, Poland. Being a historian by training, he was an associate professor of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN), a member of the democratic opposition in the Polish People’s Republic, a member of Sejm from 1989 to 2001 and a chairman of the political party Freedom Union. He served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland from October 31, 1997 to June 30, 2000. He was also a member of the European Parliament from July 20, 2004 onwards.

Bronis?aw Geremek is survived by two sons.

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How And Why To Use Row Covers

How And Why To Use Row Covers

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By Marilyn Pokorney

Row covers are a matter of choice for gardeners. Some love them. Others hate them. If larger and more earlier yields of veggies is a goal then row covers are an excellent choice.

Row covers come in a wide variety of materials and can be used as tunnels supported by hoops or as floating covers which just lie gently on the growing plants.

The lightweight covers are used for keeping insect pests away from your plants while the heavier ones are used for frost protection in both the spring and fall.

Whether used with hoops or free floating the edges of the covers need to be weighted down to prevent them from blowing away in the wind and to prevent insect pests from getting under the covers. Weigh the edges down with rocks, bricks, or anything handy. A row of soil placed on top of the edges is an excellent and simple method.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVRMnsknQQM[/youtube]

Although studies show that most plants do best with hooped covers there are three plants that require hoops. Tomatoes, peppers and squash grow large and fast. These plants do best with hooped covers because the constant rubbing of the cover on the plants can damage the growing points and break the large leaves.

Added benefits of using row covers include:

Earlier and larger yields. Plants produce 1 to 3 weeks earlier than without row covers.

Frost protection of 4 to 7 degrees. Especially in the fall when the soil is much warmer than it is in the spring. Just one layer of row cover gives the added protection of moving the garden by one USDA growing zone.

Pest protection as long as the edges remain weighted down or buried.

Moisture Retention. The soil doesn’t dry out as fast under the row covers as the temperature isn’t as high as without the cover, and water under the row cover condenses and returns to the plants and soil.

Wind damage. Plants under row covers suffer less from high winds.

For more information on gardening with row covers visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/rowcover.htm

About the Author: Marilyn Pokorney, Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: apluswriting.net Email: Current address on website

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