Happy Pi Day
Pi, the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle, has captivated imaginations for thousands of years — perhaps even since the first person tried to draw a perfect circle on the ground or wondered how to construct something round like a wheel. Approximately 3.14, the number has its own holiday on March 14 — 3-14, get it? — which also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday.
FACTS ABOUT PIGeometry: Half the circumference of a circle with a radius of 1 is exactly pi
Record for calculation: 2.7 trillion digits (by Fabrice Bellard, December 2009)
Record for memorization:67,890 digits (by Chao Lu, 2005)
How random? There are no occurences of the sequence 123456 in the first million digits of pi
As for taste, Pi is not nearly as delicious as a slice of the Grasshopper Pie on a chocolate crust.
Green Never Looked This Good
Made from the weave of the bark from the banana tree, AussieBum’s new eco-friendly line of underwear comes with built-in supply of jokes.
Book of Mormon Takes Europe
Joseph and his magic spectacles translate the shorthand of God.
Marriott plans to double European properties over the next few years. Hard to tell if this is a business expansion, or a mission.
Marriott International, Inc. is a publicly traded company and according to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, “Marriott International, Inc., is a leading global lodging company supporting LGBT travelers worldwide. Marriott International has more than 3,200 lodging properties located in the United States and 66 other countries and territories.”
U.S. Finally Creates National Travel Promotion Program
President Obama signed legislation into law Thursday to create the United States’ first national travel promotion program.
“By signing the Travel Promotion Act, President Obama has acted to support the power of travel to serve as an economic stimulant, job generator and diplomatic tool,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.
The act will create a nonprofit Corporation for Travel Promotion that will promote the U.S. as a travel destination and explain travel and security policies to international visitors.
Tsunami-Like Waves Hit Mediterranean
Freak tsunami-like waves have killed two passengers on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. Measuring almost 30ft high, the waves ploughed into a Mediterranean cruise ship, sweeping two passengers to their deaths and injuring many others. The horrific tragedy unfolded on the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty near the French port of Marseilles after the walls of water appeared from nowhere.
The New Face of Political Asylum Seekers
Getting out of Germany
The Romeikes are not your typical asylum seekers. They did not come to the U.S. to flee war or despotism in their native land. No, these music teachers left Germany because they didn’t like what their children were learning in public school – and because homeschooling is illegal there.
Test Your Travel IQ Online
Online games and quizzes to test your travel knowledge of geography, culture, history, landmarks and an array of other details you might not even realize you don’t know. The best among them tell you the correct answer if you got it wrong, and supply you with an instant score. Some are free; some are so easy they’re not worth taking. A few are ego-bruisingly difficult.
Hometown Island of Cristiano Ronaldo Suffers Massive Flooding
The hometown island of iconic footballer and Armani Model, Cristiano Ronaldo, has suffered some of the worst storms and flooding in over 100 years. First discovered in 1420, this archipelago some 600 miles from mainland Portugal was instrumental in the exploration of the new world. Telegraph UK reports that dozens have died in violent storms on this Portugal holiday island. Here’s wishing a speedy recovery to the island, which lies 300 miles from the Moroccan coast, known for its Madeira wine, flowers, and spectacular fireworks show, believed to be the largest in the world.
Design Within Reach in Time for Carnaval
Made in Brazil has a pic and post of the new public urinals in Rio for Carnival. Hopefully these new urinals will keep everyone happy, from the beer-filled revelers to the politicians and police. While such open-air depositories would never fly (or flush) in the USA, this is borderline genius design for a practical solution to a common problem. Besides, pee-shy party people and all-around-prudes need not participate in Carnival to being with. I’m wondering tho what options they have for the female gender.
Oh No! Is Rio de Janeiro Losing Its Edge?
This is where all the beer ends up in Carnaval
via Chron.com. Rio de Janeiro’s mayor’s year-old, zero-tolerance campaign against petty crimes and disorder is on full display at the first Carnival since Rio won its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
Those who drink too much beer at giant street parties and want to use gutters as toilets – always tolerated in the past – are out of luck. Police have already arrested nearly 100 such lawbreakers. Beaches no longer resemble full-service bazaars with greasy snacks delivered on command under a sprawl of rented umbrellas. Beach football by the sea? After 5 p.m. only please.
And something else is missing. Rio’s world-famous waterfront pickup club for legal prostitutes has closed to make way for a museum. The changes were getting mixed reviews even before the party officially started.
“The plan is doing the impossible: making Rio square,” said Marcus Paulo Reis, a 36-year-old businessman sipping beer at lunch this week in the beachside Arpoador neighborhood. “They’re trying to get rid of the grit that gives Rio its flavor.”
While this all makes me a little uneasy, to see this intrusion on Carnaval and the forced cultural assimilation of an entire city as unique as Rio, I’m fairly confident it won’t last. The laws of physics at times require public urination during Carnaval. And there’s isn’t a politician in Brazil brave enough to mess with football or Carnaval. - JVS
Money Talks and New Mexico is Set to Walk
This just in via The Huffington Post. New Mexico House Votes 65-0 To Move State’s Money To Credit Unions, Community Banks. New Mexico’s House of Representatives voted Monday to pass a bill that allows the state to move $2 billion – $5 billion of state funds to credit unions and small banks.
The Move Your Money campaign was spearheaded by Arianna Huffington and Rob Johnson over frustration over the big banks lending policies and support from the taxpayer, detailed here at the Huffington Post. Need proof that money talks? Then walk the walk. You’re in good company!
The Brazilian Central Bank Unveils New Currency Design
We like this!
The Central Bank of Brazil will be making cash-carrying in Brazil a little more civilized (as in European). Fashioned after the Euro, the new bills in Brazil will vary in size according to denomination, and begin circulation in 2012. The year, 2012, is an interesting launch date for the refurbished currency. Given that Brazil’s monetary system has maintained a 15 year success rate, with relatively low inflation… I guess it must be the end of the word. If this is what Armageddon looks like, I say bring it on!
via Folha Online – Dinheiro – BC lança nova família de notas do real em tamanhos diferentes – 03/02/2010.
Glowing Wallpaper Could Light Your Home
Mother Nature Network reports that new technology based on organic light-emitting electrochemical cells (or LECs), the transparent electrodes made of the carbon material graphene, could one day light our homes.
“By using graphene instead of conventional metal electrodes, components of the future will be much easier to recycle and thereby environmentally attractive,” said one of the scientists, Nathaniel Robinson from Linköping University.
My question is simple, How do you turn it off?
The Modernists are Coming to Palm Springs
The 5th Annual Modernism Week in Palm Springs promises it will be bigger and better than ever, with expanded events over 10 fun-filled days.
Some of the 2010 Modernism Week’s highlights include:
A special tribute to renowned modernist architect Albert Frey.
An exclusive home tour concluding with a chic reception at a celebrity home.
A vintage fashion show. Architecture and design film series.
An exhibition of Airstream vintage travel trailers.
Sounds like a retro-good time to me. I hope the special celebrity will be Suzanne Somers. Second thought, the food would suck.
I hope it’s at Barry Manilow’s home.
Ancient Tribe Becomes Extinct
CNN.com reports that the last member of an ancient tribe that has inhabited an Indian island chain for around 65,000 years, has died.
Survival International, a group that campaigns for the protection of indigenous peoples said in a statement, Boa Sr, who was around 85 years of age, died last week in the Andaman islands, about 750 miles off India’s eastern coast. “The Bo are thought to have lived in the Andaman islands for as long as 65,000 years, making them the descendants of one of the oldest human cultures on earth,” it states. With her passing, one of its most endangered languages on earth, called Bo, was silenced.
Rest in Peace, Boa Sr.
