- The World Cup is barely underway, but Gabriel
Herrera’s work is in full swing. Who is Gabriel Herrera, you ask? He would be
the man in charge of the Argentine embassy’s legal and consular section in Rio
de Janeiro and for the next few weeks, he’ll be working out of a van…down by
the beach. Specifically, he’s doing his business out of a blue and white van
parked along Rio's famed Copacabana Beach. He is there to assist Argentines in
Brazil who have a beer or six too many and lose their passport while cheering
their soccer team on to glory. Much like the Australian government sets up a
temporary embassy in Munich every fall to assist drunken Aussies who get
kerslammered and lose their ID during Oktoberfest, Herrera will be there to
assist some 50,000 of his countrymen. His duties will include assisting with lost
passports and stolen phones, but could also mean dealing with members of
Argentina's infamous hooligan gangs — known in Spanish as "Barras
Bravas" — if they somehow find their way to Brazil. "We are expecting
the worst, and hoping for the best,” Herrera said. Putting Argentinean and
Brazilian fans in such close proximity is usually a bad idea for the geographic
rivals and it is expected that Argentine visitors could top 100,000 for the
last match in Group F on June 25 against Nigeria in the southern city of Porto
Alegre, just a short drive from Argentina. "Having only easy problems
would be good," Herrera said. "People have been walking by asking for
tickets, which we don't have. So far, that is probably the top request."
Fortunately for all involved, the only way the two nations could meet on the
field is in the final and that is an extremely unlikely outcome. Argentina has
some of the world’s most notorious soccer hooligans, so the sooner their team
is eliminated and they can stage their inevitable riot in response, the more
peaceful the rest of the tournament will be………
- It takes a bold man to rock the last name Musk and Tesla
Motors CEO Elon Musk is proving he has the kahones to do so. Musk announced Thursday
that Tesla is making its vast array of technology patents available to the
public for free as part of a daring initiative to spur development of electric
vehicles in the face of climate change – oh, and create business for itself by
increasing demand for its own batteries. Musk explained in a blog post that
Tesla has removed framed patents from the wall at the company's Palo Alto
headquarters in order to propel the "open source" movement. Simply
put, the company will not initiate patent suits against "anyone who, in
good faith, wants to use our technology." Going forward, Musk said, the
company plans to apply for patents only to protect itself from being hampered
by patents taken out by others for the same technology. "Tesla Motors was
created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport," Musk wrote.
"If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but
then lay intellectual property land mines behind us to inhibit others, we are
acting in a manner contrary to that goal." Tesla’s all-electric Model S
sedan and in-development crossover SUV still haven’t gained mainstream
acceptance, but the company plans to break ground this month on a
"gigafactory" for batteries for electric vehicles and stationary
energy storage products for homes, commercial businesses and utilities. As of
the end of 2013, Tesla owned 203 patents and had more than 280 patent
applications pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and
internationally. Musk added that it is “impossible for Tesla to build electric
cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis,” thus the decision to open the
doors to more parties. Previously, the CEO has lamented the puny portion of overall
auto production comprised by electric cars – less than 1 percent of the 100
million vehicles sold each year – and perhaps if more automakers join the
party, such vehicles could actually become more affordable to the common man………
- This is just depressing. If there was any sure sign that
it’s not 1984 any longer and that the Hollywood icons of yesteryear have aged
out and should be put out to pasture, this is it. Well, assuming every
“Expendables” movie ever made wasn’t enough of a sign. Harrison Ford boldly
removed his tacky earring and agreed to be a part of the cast for the
reincarnation of “Star Wars,” jumping on board even with George Lucas gone. That
was a bold decision made for a big payday and yet, it is Ford who is paying
dearly right about now and causing every fan of his best films to feel really
old and really dated by comparison. Ford broke his ankle on a garage door and
required medical care at a hospital near to the Pinewood Studios in London,
where the film is being shot with director JJ Abrams. There is nothing more
old-person-ish than snapping your ankle doing something that would almost never
injure a younger person and although a spokesperson for Lucasfilm said filming
on the title will continue while Ford recovers, having a star hopping around on
crutches tends to be bad for business. "Harrison Ford sustained an ankle
injury during filming today on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII. He was taken
to a local hospital and is receiving care. Shooting will continue as planned
while he recuperates,” Lucasfilm said in a statement. The injury reportedly
occurred when a door fell unexpectedly, but there’s no way Ford going down like
a past-his-prime baller playing 5-on-5 at the local YMCA isn't depressing,
Injury not withstanding, the eagerly-anticipated sequel is due for release in
December 2015 and it will be the seventh installment of the iconic
dork-friendly franchise………
- Auto racing is still not a sport. That doesn’t mean it
can't be funny and entertain the masses; it merely means that you cannot
consider its drivers to be athletes because they don’t play an actual sport. But
even so, the hijinks between Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and his pal Ryan Newman are hilarious and should be enjoyed
by one and all. Earnhardt and Newman were in a place so many of us have been
and their lack of communication led to a brain far that has befallen every band
of bros at one point or another. The NASCAR driving amigos were traveling to
Michigan for this weekend’s NASCAR Spring Cup Series event at Michigan
International Speedway. Thinking like an environmentally responsible person who
doesn’t have to pay for his gas anyhow, Newman had arranged to hitch a ride to
the track with Earnhardt. Then, in a scene so many people have endured because
they have a friend who goes brain-dead at the worst possible time, Newman
realized that his plan to fly with Earnhardt to Michigan for this weekend's
event, leaving at 8:30 a.m., had gone horribly wrong. Earnhardt took off, made
it to Michigan and zipped over to the track without ever realizing Newman
wasn’t with him. Earnhardt told reporters upon arrival at the track that it
totally slipped his mind after his schedule was moved up 30 minutes for media
commitments and that he just woke up, grabbed his bags and drove to the airport
for departure without thinking about who should be with him. "I didn't
know about (the change). I didn't look at my calendar and when I got up this
morning, I didn't look at the clock -- I just got in the shower, went
downstairs, got in the car and drove to the airport and got in the plane,"
Earnhardt said. "I forgot about Ryan." That always makes a person
feel good when a pal just forgets they were supposed to be around. “Weekend started
off on wrong foot. Left @RyanJNewman at the airport. Forgot he was riding with
us. Imma pay for this one,” Earnhardt later tweeted. “I'm hoping and praying
that the reason @RyanJNewman isn't responding to my text are because he is at
40,000 feet. Please be at 40,000 feet.” When Newman finally arrived at the
airport, he found no Earnhardt and no plane. His wife confirmed to Earnhardt
that he found an alternate flight and made it to the track in time……….
- In a long-overdue move, a four-mile steel wall is going up along the
Jersey Shore beachfront. The powers that be have finally seen the wisdom of
protecting the world from the GTL-ing meatheads who…. wait…. The wall is
actually a massive project to be undertaken by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection to keep residents safe from storms like Hurricane
Sandy? Honestly, protecting the rest of society from the “Jersey Shore” set
seems like a wiser use of money, but the wall will be constructed for different
reasons and placed on the beach through Mantoloking and Brick. Crews will begin
work in a few days, drilling into the ground the anchor the first steel sheets
on Herbert Street in Mantoloking, according to Doug Popaca of the Mantoloking
Office of Emergency Management. Eventually, the wall will rise along a 12-foot
dune in the two municipalities, which were both devastated by Sandy. “We lost
200 houses that either were destroyed the first day of the storm, or had to be
torn down,” Popaca said in explaining why emergency management officials a
tall, corrugated steel wall is warranted to protect residents. When the wall is
finished, it will stand alongside the existing dune and extending some 16 feet
above sea level. To make it less of an eyesore, it will be covered with sand
and despite reaching 22 feet high, it will be completely obscured from view.
The one sour note is that the wall will block the views of the first floors of
most homes.. Then again, a blocked view is usually an acceptable trade-off for
still having a home once a hurricane rolls through……….
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