Cow Power Now Available

Farmers in Vermont finally have a way of getting rid of all that cow manure and get paid for it: CowPower™! It's basically a program where generators are installed that run on methane gas produced by burning cow shit. The implications are, of course, mindboggling. Imagine, if you will, a world where your computer runs on what you did in the toilet not twenty minutes ago! A veritable fountain of crap has opened up, allowing one and all to use what was the last un-recyclable waste for electricity generation. It's not as inefficient as you think either. Look at what one lowly farm can produce:

Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport is the first farm to provide energy through CVPS Cow Power™. Several other farms are expected to begin Cow Power production late this year or in early 2007. Blue Spruce has 1,500 cattle, enough to produce 1.75 million kWh a year.

By comparison, a typical coal plant (500MW - costing around $500 million to build) produces 3.5 billion kWh a year. Some quick math: a cow produces 1,166k kWh a year, so to get the same power as a coal plant you need...exactly 3,000,000 cows. Not too bad, when you consider there exist a whole 150,000 cows in the entire state. Sometimes I wonder...

Doritos Pack A Punch...or A Kick

Just enjoy:

It would seem that Japanese Dorito fans are a little more enthusiastic about their product than their U.S. counterparts.

Dinner in the Sky with Diamonds

I don't think I've ever mentioned this, but having dinner while strapped to my chair with a four-point harness and being 80 feet up in the air are pretty much the only things I have left to do before dying happy. It seems I won't need to save for retirement any more, because a company called Benji Fun has got together with Dinner In The Sky, an upstart "entertainment" outfit to offer this:

The picture shows 22 people (chefs in this case, it was taken during a promotional something or other) having dinner while suspended 50 feet by a very large crane, with the waiters and/or entertainers in a space in the middle. At 7500 USD for an 8-hour session it is a bit expensive for a romantic night out with your wife, but it would make for a very cool shareholders meeting ("Mr. Stevens, either you sign your resignation or your harness will accidentally snap off"). Link here.

Rugby Player Relieves Himself On Field

Apparently I've underestimated the importance of starting rugby games on time and with all the players on the field. In fact, the need is such that all other considerations are moved aside, and I do mean all. Problem is that, in this wondrous age of cameras everywhere and *ludicrous speed* internet-fication of anything remotely amusing and related to, how do I put this...crap, there is no chance in hell something like this goes unnoticed:

New Zealand has reacted with indifference to Jerry Collins's unplanned call of nature before the Tri-Nations match against Australia Saturday.

The loose forward was caught on camera on bended knee, discreetly relieving himself on the pitch moments before kickoff.

Assistant New Zealand coach Steve Hansen described the incident as unfortunate.

Hansen said he would be offering Collins simple advice.

"'See if you can get your ablutions done before you get out on the track'," he said.

It would seem, after a first reading, that New Zealand must have very smelly but well "fed" grass in their rugby fields. And nice weather. From Reuters.

Concrete Soccer Balls New Berlin Sensation

I would introduce the story, but it is just too good:

BERLIN (Reuters) - Police in Berlin said on Wednesday they had arrested two men on suspicion of placing cement-filled soccer balls around the city and inviting people to kick them.

At least two people injured themselves by kicking the balls, which were chained to lampposts and trees alongside the spray-painted message: "Can you kick it?"Police said they had identified a 26-year-old and a 29-year-old and had found a workshop in their apartment where they made the balls.

The two are accused of causing serious physical injury, dangerous obstruction of traffic and causing injury through negligence, police said.Berlin hosts the World Cup final Sunday.

What surprises me is that no one has reported people doing this before. Of course, the Aztecs actually played the whole game with balls not much softer than concrete.