Robot Assisted Electric Car

While perusing the Tree Hugger website, I came across an interesting new car.  Granted I don’t drive and probably have no use for a car since I live in the city, I still thought it interesting nonetheless.

It’s called the Pivo (short for Pivot) and it’s a concept car made by Nissan/Renault.  While it is a concept car, Portugal has agree to put in a network of electric charging stations in time for the 2011 release of the car in that country.

Here is an excerpt from the Tree Hugger article about the Robot Assisted Pivo 2 that discusses some of the more quirky features of the car:

The Pivo 2 is reported to have four wheel-based engines and a robot instructor communicating with the driver on the car’s different functions, using voice and feature recognition to sense a driver’s mood. One of Pivo’s coolest features is that the rotating cabin and pivoting wheels enable sideways driving, making conventional parallel parking a thing of the past - great for cities such as Tokyo and San Francisco!

There is no word as of yet as to the price point of the car or any additional specs regarding the build of the car.  But suffice it to say, it’s a really neat concept.  And yes, while it does look very cartoony (the Tree Hugger article likened it to something out of a Pixar film) it’s great to see major car companies trying to innovate. Could cars like these really be the wave of the future?  I guess we will see a  few years down the line just how readily people will adopt this new technology

If you want to read more about the car please click on the link below for the story entitled “Leading the Electric Charge.  Or you can see the car in action by watching the YouTube clip.

Leading the Electric Charge

The Trek Stop

Treehugger.com ran an article about something that was implemented in Madison Wisconsin.  It’s called the Trek Stop and it’s essentially a vending machine that allows cyclists to buy things to make minor repairs to their bike, or grab a road map or even an energy bar.

With gas prices rising ever higher and bicycles (and other forms of transportation) becoming more viable & popular machines like this would be quite useful.  I know I could see it working in the Toronto area.

As to where to place these machines, well in several spots in the downtown area where it’s difficult to get to a bike shop would be a good idea and one commenter in the article suggested possibly placing these on paved bike paths in the suburbs, which would be an interesting idea.  What do you think?  Do you think something like this could fly in Toronto?  Where would you want to see these Trek Stops?

Pescatarian Among New Entries for Dictionary

Merriam Webster has announced today that they’ve added a host of new words to the dictionary. Among them is the word “Pescatarian”

pescatarian

Main Entry: pes·ca·tar·i·an
Variant(s): or pes·ce·tar·i·an
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from Italian pesce fish (from Latin piscis) + English vegetarian
Date: 1993

: a vegetarian whose diet includes fish

According to a spokesperson for Merriam Webster several of the new entries relate to the nation’s (USA) growing interest in the culinary arts.  MSNBC has an article relating to the news of Merriam Webster’s new entries into the dictionary.

Beats, Breaks & Culture 2008

This weekend, the Harbourfront Centre was alive and kicking with the Beats, Breaks & Culture Festival. Although I didn’t get to experience it all, I was able to catch a few glimpses of performances. Mainly I caught the performance of Woodhands on the Sirius Stage. I also saw some b-boys battle it out on the Toronto Star Stage. It was a great weekend weather wise to take it all in. I have a couple of videos you can watch below. The clips are mainly from the Woodhands show, but it was a great show to take in. Enjoy!

Toronto Pride 2008

This year’s Toronto Pride festivities came and went rather quickly. Unfortunately this year I didn’t really get much of a chance to check it out. I also didn’t go to the parade this year because I wasn’t really in a parade-y mood. But from what my friends told me it was a bit of a mixed bag. Some said it was great to see the diversity of people. And some said that I really didn’t miss much.

I guess it really all depends on your perspective. For some who are attending Pride for the first time, it really does tend to be this wonderful and “magical” event. For those who have attended in the past it tends to jade you. It’s still a fun time, but it’s become far too commercial. Usurped by large corporations looking to grab your money.

I kind of agree with the latter. It does seem like Pride is becoming more and more commercial. But I guess the main thing is that everyone is having a good time and sharing good company in a great city.