A friend of mine at work teaches digital rendering at Graz University and he gave the students a KTM design project, so we went down to check that out and the rest of the show.




Gerald Kiska gives his feedback to the students.

the university is right next to a train manufacturers.

This is about all I saw of Graz but the show was really good, and we had a bbq afterwards bottom left of the photo above.
They made a movie which they were going to show to some key players in the Auto industry from Audi and BMW, and they interviewed me for it.
Question: What can the Auto industry learn from the students at Graz?
Answer: On a day when the price of a barrel of oil hit a new historic high of over $143 a barrel, why is it all of the students projects incorporate progressive electric engines into their vehicles whilst the big Car companies are still focusing on internal combustion engines? We don’t have long to transition away from Fossil fuels so if the students are aware of this, why are the big car companies who must be aware of this, not doing more?

Oh man… I posted an article about how it will affect the UK, and here is one about how it will affect America.

Envisioning a world of $200-a-barrel oil
As forecasters take that possibility more seriously, they describe fundamental shifts in the way we work, where we live and how we spend our free time… Continue reading..

A big storm rolled through last night. Somehow I got lucky and managed to press the button at the right time.

From riches to rags

The bar chart up top indicates the cost of importing oil and gas to the UK ballooning to about $200 billion (£100 billion) per annum by 2013 – just 5 years away. This completely dwarfs the riches of North Sea oil and gas production the UK enjoyed up to 2004, which were exported at rock bottom energy prices. The chart is indicative since it is unlikely that this will ever come to pass. It is unlikely that the UK will be able to source or pay for this ever rising energy bill on the international markets.

Left to market forces, the problem will be solved by spreading energy poverty throughout the UK population. The wealthy who can afford the small amount of expensive energy on offer will be fine whilst the poor will just have to go without – personal transport, heat, light and power.

Here are a few pointers to what I think we can expect in the next 18 months:

• Forever rising energy import bills will pressure Sterling which will continue to fall, pushing up the cost of energy, food and consumer goods even more.
• Public sector workers, no longer able to borrow to supplement income will begin to strike once they discover that 3% wage increases do not come close to covering the rise in the cost of living (the great inflation lie will be found out).
• Unemployment will begin a steady rise as financial services, banks, building sector, airlines, airports, leisure and retail come under severe pressure. They will be joined by public service workers as the government struggles to fund public services with falling tax receipts, spiraling debt and a falling pound. (already happening in Aberdeen with deep cuts in education spending across the city and teacher numbers being slashed).
• I won’t go into the spiraling and compounding nature of this on the property market since this is an article about energy.
• The elderly and poor will really struggle this winter to pay their energy and food bills. If the weather is cold, the grid might fail and the vulnerable will begin to die from cold and starvation.

Continue reading….

Check out this self powered 80-story residential tower with revolving floors, ostensibly set for construction in Dubai this fall designed by David Fisher. “It’s the first building that is dynamic, changing its’ shape. You can adjust the shape any given moment.” Fisher says he is also slated to build one of the “dynamic” buildings in Moscow, and, he hopes, New York City. He says the buildings also double as power generators: wind turbines on every floor will provide power. “Wind has a very negative affect on skyscrapers we all know. So I say ‘why do we want to fight the wind?’ Why don’t we use the wind, to our own benefit?”

 Just thought i would post one of the many amazing bits by George Carlin who passed away last night. He was a great comedian that was damn funny and didn’t care about offending anybody. RIP but probably won’t. Thank you.

We drove an hour from Salzburg to leogang bikepark, which consists of a long telecabine lift, a downhill course, a freeride course, 4cross, jumps, drops etc etc. Basically a meca for anyone into riding bikes.

First time I managed to do a proper wallride..

First run down we took the track, carving back and forth, but after that, everytime we just bombed fullspeed down across the grass. So fun.

Time to buy a full face helmet I think..

this is at the very bottom of the hill..

My bro Luke came out from England for the weekend. He took all of the riding shots.

This was the last riding photo of the day. I was totally knackered and my right hand slipped off halfway up the wall. Very nearly got a great faceplant into the wall photo.

I came across this website with some seriously amazing photo stories. The site is here but I have pulled a few photos below for you to look at.

Iraqi soccer fans celebrate Iraq’s win over China in the Asia 2010 World Cup qualifying match as they gather in a cafe in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, June 14, 2008. Iraq ousted China from World Cup qualifying with a 2-1 victory Saturday.

An Afghan Special Forces policeman walks through a poppy field as he searches for Taliban fighters in the village of Sanjaray in Zhari district early April 26, 2008.|

A U.S. Soldier from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 6th Infantry Division, assigned to Task Force Regulars receives a lift from an Iraqi boy and his mule on Route Douglas in the Jameela Market in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, May 31, 2008.

Water from the swollen Cedar River rushes past downtown buildings Thursday, June 12, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets.

Switzerland’s Patrick Mueller, left, Turkey’s Arda Turan, center, and Switzerland’s goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, right, vie for the ball during the group A match between Switzerland and Turkey in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 11, 2008.

All photos from the Boston Globe’s Big picture. They look much better on their site because they are really big. Well worth checking out.

How could I possibly ever compete with your Birthday invitation so have done most awfully ugly designed card with desired purpose of letting you shine!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POOOOOOOPER!

♥ Claleee Laleeee xoxoxoxox

Hahaha

My friend is selling his 385hp Porsche GT3RS if anyone is interested. If you can afford it (Counts me out, I’m as broke as ever) you might as well have some fun while you still can I guess. It’s an amazing car and it’s been kept in brilliant condition, as he’s obviously a big fan of this particular vehicle. If you’ve not had the pleasure of owning and driving a Porsche before, now’s the time – in fact, any time is the time.

So take a look and see how you feel about it. Whether you’re used to the fun of driving a rumbling v8 or you’re an indoors type more fond of watching Top Gear and playing a bit of foxy, this is your chance to own a truly wonderful vehicle. Shame I can’t have it, but there’s no harm in making sure someone else gets the chance to own a car like this. Offers below.

Photos of Yann’s travels to China.

My friend Yann got back from a trip to Vietnam and sent me some photos. Looks well nice there.

The gods must be crazy. -273.

Things are getting seriously out of control alarmingly quickly. Oil up $16 in 2 days??!! The biggest jump ever recorded, to $139.2 a barrel.

US unemployment figures surged to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent, the sharpest monthly spike in 22 years, the dollar dipped and the dow dropped 3%, the biggest drop in more than 15 months in both percentage and points terms..

At the same time Israel’s transportation minister and a deputy prime minister, Shaul Mofaz, said Friday that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites looked “unavoidable” if Iran did not abandon its nuclear program (how can they abandon something they have already said they are not doing??!) and since they are the 2nd biggest producer of oil within Opec this had a major impact on the price sending it jumping even further.

The airlines especially are taking a major hit right now as they have no viable business plan for surviving with oil at even half this price. Reuters reports a host of smaller European airlines are likely to go bankrupt in coming months if the oil price does not drop significantly below current levels, to add to the 24 which have gone bust this year already.

How much longer can people go about business as usual with Oil at this price? Not long I would say. The current petrol price, already crippling to those with long commutes is apparently only reflecting oil at $90 a barrel, the truckers are striking causing breakdowns in the delivery system, the fishermen are striking, and the global economy is tanking. My mum says not to worry about these things since there wont be a major breakdown in her lifetime. The evidence is already (unfortunately for me, her and everyone else) starting to prove to the contrary.
Interesting times.