BLACK

With Grace away for the weekend and nobody around to play with i decided on a solo mission to the Lakes...

Helvellyn was the mountain of choice as the route i had ridden before so no navigational issues and i knew the descent down sticks pass was worth the 'hike and bike, to the top.. plus the chance to ride in snow is always fun and since we rarely see snow at low level these days the summit of Helvellyn at this time of year almost always has inches of the stuff.. its a given.

With an early start from home the first scare of the day was not on the bike but in the car.. turning from an A road into a minor road in the lakes i wasn't ready for ice and was taken by surprise as i turned the wheel left and the car was still going straight.. luckily i got traction back to steer away from oncoming stone wall.. low gear and driving with due care was the order of the day.

Getting ready in the car park it was cold.. i hate the cold... i have bad circulation so drop a degree or so and i can't feel my hands leading to much pain when they warm up.. to try and combat this i have invested in some thick ski like gloves.. i can't really change gear or brake properly but its a price worth paying to try and keep them warm.

The ride starts up a valley flanked either side by steep slopes... the first hour of the ride is fairly rideable, the hiking starts as you make towards grisedale tarn... alot of careful stepping up seriously icy rocks... didn't want to ruin my weekend before it had started so i took my time. When i got to the tarn it was spectacular... looked like glass surrounded with snowy hillside... amazing..




From the tarn you make towards dollywagon pike.. this is a bike on the back and slog up the step like stones that have been laid.. getting passed this section it was rideable as you pass the pike... a nice pole was used for a good photo moment..



From here you drop down a few rises climbing the other side with the summit almost in site..



at this point riding was in snow with the descending plenty fun sliding about in the snow... shoes and pedals had packed solid with snow so clipping in was difficult.

A brief lunch was had at the shelter near the summit of Helvellyn then off again.. the descending from the top to bottom of first rise is steep and twisting so saddle was lowered and one leg used to hang out there and steady on the turns.. leaving the front brake well alone and steering with the rear wheel... so much fun.

After another rise or so the start of the sticks pass descent began.. this descent is technical and in places way beyond my ability.. i may learn to descend one day but can't see it happening soon... i was hanging a foot for most of the descent in the snow.. there was a brief reprise as the trail levels to quite flat before the final tech section which i rolled into with confidence.. then realised i was on sheet ice..panicked.. and ejected over the bars running out and leaving the bike behind... first battle scar tot he Genesis Altitude.. scratch to the fox forks:(

After this section its fast switchbacks then full on speed all the way down to glenridding.

I made the ascent and descent in such good time i decided to lap Ullswater to finish... its a road ride to Pooley bridge then an off road climb.. with a few more ups and downs you get to the lakeside final 3-4 miles which are amazing singletrack.. very technical with great views when you dared take your eyes off the trail.



This finishes at Patterdale and back to the car and get changed.

I had decided to just camp as i was on my own it seemed the easiest option... campsite was only a few miles down the road and was reached just as it was getting dark... showers were plenty powerful enough and hot which was welcome.. food in pub was more than acceptable.

The nights camping can be summarised as being an acceptable temperature to eventually being really cold.. sleeping in all my clothes with blanket round my head made sleeping possible:)



Sunday, After such a big day saturday i wanted an easy ride so decided to go lap North Face trail at Grizedale forest... was a little concerned about the wooden board walk sections and the ice.. my concern was realised when i had to stop on a cambered icy bit of board walk.. i had a foot down then realised i had no grip on , my feet either, i tentatively reached down to hold the wood and steady myself and as i took hold my feet went from under me and i decided to call it a day at one lap... the rest of the trail was great.. other sections of wood were rideable... the rest of the trail was fast and flowy and the crisp air and great scenery made for a great short ride out...

Drive back to manchester and back to the reality of having to work tomorrow:(

Project Better Place Video



Better Place is a venture-backed company that aims to reduce global dependency on oil through the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles, providing consumers with a cleaner, sustainable, personal transportation alternative. The main obstacle to the mass adoption of electric cars is driving range and costly batteries. Better Place eliminates these barriers through the use of swappable batteries to extend the range of the car and by owning the batteries directly so the driver doesn’t have to. With an infrastructure of battery charging spots and battery exchange stations, drivers experience the feeling of infinite range at a cost less than the cost of driving an internal combustion engine (ICE) car.

More info HERE

Or scroll down to the end of this page for another video

After a tough first half of the Premiership season, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has stated that there is fund available for Arsene Wenger to spend in the transfer window. Its well documented that the best players are bought pre-season and that buying players in January rarely changes a team's performance but the pressure will be on to strengthen the Gunners defence and defensive midfield where Arsenal have looked vulnerable. Arsenal are currently fifth behind Aston Villa and have lost 5 league matches already. There has been friction with the captaincy of William Gallas and have lacked the finshing of Adebayor, who should play today at Stamford Bridge in the 4pm match against Chelsea.

"He certainly has money if he wants to spend it," Hill-Wood told Arsenal TV.

"There have been suggestions we keep stopping him from buying - that is not the case.

"He's very sensible with the way he approaches the transfer market, he's not going to buy anybody just because the press or fans say he should.

"He's only going to buy somebody if he thinks they're going to improve what is a young squad but a very talented one."

The Big Ask: Climate change, "ACT NOW!"



On 10th August, more than 6,000 people took part in the recording of The Big Ask-video clip at Ostende on the Belgian coast. This was the largest event against climate change ever organised in Belgium. The CO2 E - Race is working on the same premises: Many people sharing the intent of making a change and ACT NOW.

TTXGP - World's First Clean Emission Carbon Free Grand Prix



TTXGP is about competitive innovation. Pushing the frontier and making the next leap. TTXGP allows different technologies, systems and methods battle for supremacy on some of the most glorious motorsport venues in the world. In a market place of free ideas, TTXGP is where you get your vision of the future valued.

More information HERE

After missing out on an entry to the first round of the Thetford Winter Series, a series that has always been my winter highlight, i was looking for something else... enter a brand new race series based in Wales so not far from my new base of Manchester... Pedal Power Enduro 3hr.

WOR Events are experienced race organisers, all be it in the field of Off Road Motor Biking, so a well organised race was expected it was just the course that was gonna be the unknown.

The race categories weren't like a normal enduro.. more a mix of xc elite/expert cats and then the lower cats organised by age.. i optimistically entered the expert category.. with no elite entrants this became the top category.

The weather on race day was bleak at best... as me and Grace left Manchester the rain was hammering down and Wales isn't famed for its dry weather so it was only gonna get wetter or wetter and colder.. welcome to british winter racing.

As we got to the race venue... a forestry access road.. we were greeted by a well informed marshall, level of organisation was already obviously good... park up and sign on.

The weather was showers of cold rain.. temperature wasn't too bad so went for arm warmers and Endura gilet over a long sleeve to give me options if i got too hot during race ( what was i thinking but gave myself marks for optimism).
Rode a quick warm up the access road and after another chat with a marshall who described the course as 3 major tight wooded sections with alot of hard pack fire road i opted to raise my seat a little.

Upto the start line... we were strangely arranged diagonally in a line towards start.. hard to explain but we were told this was common fair in motorbike racing in case someone stalls the others can still get round.. unsure what the mtb equivalent of stalling is but we found it funny on the line... the expert class got to line up first on the start and although i didn't know any of the other guys in the class from previous races good race line banter was had.. i offered up that we ride out the 3 laps (11mile laps) that we expected to complete at a steady pace and race the last 10m which was received well but as it turned out no one went for it.

The start siren went and i found myself out the front sprinting up the fire road... i am useless at gauging a start so i gave it do or die effort... unfortunately we hit the first tech section before the field could properly string out.. the wooded sections were techie to say the least... really steep in places.. off camber.. muddy.. with roots cutting diagonally across the trails and you were always trying to traverse the slope. I dropped a few places in here as i struggled to get to grips with this stuff.

It was during this section we came across the first major obstacle.. a big moss covered boulder with a big drop on the back side... 3 of us got to it at once and all anchored on confused at how to tackle it... easy... ride round it:)

The first major climb my lack of training kicked in and the faster guys pulled away from me... order of the day was just to maintain a pace i could sustain for the 3 hours and get to grips with the technical downhill sections.




As the race progressed i spent most of my time alone... there was a steady long road climb at the mid point of the course and i would have loved lock out for my forks as i tried to get low and power up..




There was one climb in the race from which you could see who was chasing you down and i noticed a guy gaining on me lap 1 and 2 and by the mid point of the 3rd he had caught me and was leading the over 50's race.. normally i would have been disappointed to be caught but hey i was riding a fresh bike and with no base miles i was happy to still be upright.

The weather really got a bit chipper towards the end of the 3rd lap... just as i had used every spare calorie turning the pedals the temperature dropped and the horizontal sleet kicked in.. i was so cold.. luckily only a road downhill and fireroad climb remained as i couldn't feel my hands or feet.




As it turned out they changed the race to 3 laps rather than 3 hours although only the winner would have got out for a 4th... 33 miles completed.. think i finished top ten overall but enjoyed the good kicking i got and looking forward to coming back for more.

A really well organised race and a great course... congrats to WOR Events for this excellent race.




All pictures i have used in this race report were supplied by CETRA gallery and studio @ Cetra.co.uk

Dodge Viper 500 hp Vs Tzero Electric Car



Only about 15% of the energy from the fuel you put in your tank gets used to move your car down the road or run useful accessories, such as air conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies and idling. Therefore, the potential to improve fuel efficiency with advanced technologies is enormous. With an Electric Car it costs just $2.00 per 100kms with MUCH more performance than with petrol at $20.00 per 100kms. (from 2006!)

Detroit News: Dodge ZEO Concept



With the name ZEO being an acronym for, Zero Emissions Operation, Chrysler continues to beat the green drum with the sporty Dodge ZEO Concept.

Saab 9-X Biofuel Hybrid Solar Electric Concept Car



Renewable energy concept car uses a solar panel to assist with charging the hybrid battery. Engine runs on combination of battery electric motor and biofuel combustion engine.

Belt Drive Vs. Direct Drive on Turntables



Same concept can be applied to the Fossil Fuel Cars and Electric Cars

MINI E at the L.A. Auto Show Nov 2008



The BMW Group will be the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic.

E - Scalextric



..and the Largest track in the world



The majority of Scalextric Products are 1:32 scale, though between 1968 and 1970 Super124 cars and track were manufactured at 1:24 scale. In the late Nineties, Micro Scalextric at 1:64 scale was introduced.[1] Cars and track are not compatible between scales; however 1950s models should run on modern Scalextric track and vice versa.[2]

At the beginning of the 21st century Scalextric did a major redesign to make the track easier to assemble. The new design is known as Scalextric Sport. Scalextric Sport track can be connected to the classic design of track using special adaptor pieces

IBM Study: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)



Placing an added emphasis on corporate social responsibility and ensuring it is at the core of a business' strategy can yield financial benefits, according to a study from IBM. The survey, "Attaining Sustainable Growth Through Corporate Social Responsibility," indicates many companies now view CSR as a growth opportunity and not just a regulatory compliance. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed say they are using CSR activities to help generate revenue. In addition, many companies also view these types of initiatives as a way to gain a competitive advantage and access new business opportunities. Increased awareness by consumers on issues from climate change to product safety is, in part, driving corporate concern for these issues, according to the survey. In turn, the increased visibility of corporate behavior is influencing consumers' decisions on what to buy and who to buy from, who to work for, who to partner with and where to invest. The survey is based on responses from top executives at more than 250 companies worldwide.

Amr Zaki, on loan at Wigan from Zamalek will be sold at the end of the season and it will be the parent club that will be responsible for this sale.

Zaki has scored 8 goals in his last 12 seasons and has definitely impressed in the Barclays Premier League.

The following statement was made on Zamalek's official website:

"Amr Zaki has been in the limelight for a while, and the mass media have been fuelling speculations over his next move and whether Wigan would let him seal a new deal or not and so forth.

"We hereby assure that we have the legal rights to either accept or reject offers for the aforementioned player, and no other club are authorised to interfere in potential negotiations.

"We would accept the highest bid for the player."

If the Vatican Can, so Can We!



The first solar panels have been installed on top of the papal audience hall at Vatican City. Pope Benedict XVI's has made conserving the Earth's resources an important concern of his papacy. The plan is to make the Vatican State the first CO2 neutral state in the world. Does the Pope wear a green hat? No, but it's still funny.

Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

This was my fourth trip to The City of Manchester Stadium, out of the 3 I'd seen Spurs win twice so despite Man City having a very strong squad I was quietly confident of Tottenham gettng something out of this classic fixture.

Manchester City started brighter than Spurs in the first twenty minutes, with Shaun Wright-Phillips delivering the pace and Robinho dazzling quality with effortless through balls. This culminated in the opener with Robinho slotting home within the box after the Spurs backline crumpled under some pressure from the home team. With the early dominance, this looked to be set up for a home win. However there was a big surprise when Fernandes accrued two yellow cards for bad challenges, the second on Bentley led to his sending off which silenced the home support. Tottenham then did a great job of capitalising on the extra man by passing the ball continuously to tire the City players. Darren Bent scored shortly after Modric had a shot saved at close range and this set the scene for the second half.

In the second half, Spurs struggled to penetrate Mark Hughes' stubborn 10 men. After having most of the possession, in the 64th minute a long pass from Huddlestone reached Jenas who controlled the ball, passed to Bent who calmly side footed the ball into the net off of the far post.

Manchester City then had Dunne sent off towards the end for a foul on Darren Bent who was directly in on goal. After Ekotto was sent off for a second yellow card it was 9 versus 10 and Manchester City had some superb chances but Harry's men held on for another win. This lifted Spurs out of the bottom three and showed the home team that Spurs away support is very strong. A friend commented that the Tottenham fans were 'the best away support at Eastlands this season' and it clearly meant a lot to the Spurs players as they celebrated in front of the away folllowers.

Did we enjoy it? Oh yes. This was the real away tribal experience, standing all the way through the game, chants consistently flowing and plenty of drama. Great stuff Harry.

Bit of a trip out to Eastlands - an hour journey and I will be in front of my beloved Tottenham Hotspur. This will be an intriguing contest between two teams that are both well funded and in recent years have both had dramatic developments both on and off the pitch.

Manchester City with their huge budget fueled by the pre-season takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group have a fantastic talent in Robinho, as well as the return of Wright-Phillips. No doubt in the transfer window they will continue to add some very expensive signings to this squad, with a rumoured £190m to spend in January 2009.

Tottenham Hotspur contrastingly have had yet another managerial catastrophe with Juande Ramos struggling to get any wins in the Premiership and the set up between him and Damien Cammoli (also sacked) has given new manager Harry Redknapp an unbalanced squad with 4 left backs and 3 strikers. However, out of the last 3 games Redknapp has motivated the team to generate 7 out of 9 points, notably a win against high flying Liverpool and 1 point against North London rivals Arsenal. However other team in and around the drop zone have also had good results and Tottenham still remain bottom. Today will be a big test against the fashionable Man City - if King can keep Robinho in check then Spurs could win.

Prediction: 1-1

JFK Calls for a Revolution



From GREENPEACE's Energy Revolution

Why do people bet on football? My tips for midweek in the Champions Leagure were awful and a reason why 'dead cert' betting in football in particular the Premiership is a very risky game.

Perhaps so far my football betting tips have been totally rubbish, but I still think I can pull off this today:

Sunderland v Portsmouth
West Ham v Everton
Wigan v Stoke

All to be under 2.5 goals. we'll see!

Rafa Benitez is looking to quickly secure his new contract at Liverpool to concentrate on the job at hand. With 18 months remaining on the current deal and Liverpool looking good in the Premiership Benitez may be looking at a 5 year contract. Benitez's track record at Liverpool in his four year reign is good - winning the Champions League and the FA Cup in this period. Keeping this mangerial consistency is a similar approach to rivals Manchester United and Arsenal which may well pay off for them in the long term.

Arsenal v Man Utd 8th November 2008 Preview
What a fantastic fixture this is. Memories of clashes over the years come back - mainly of the fierce midfield competition between Roy Keane and Patrick Viera that fueled the atmosphere. How much would Arsene Wenger love Viera in that midfield today which has lacked the physical prescence since his departure to Inter Milan three years ago. The new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has recently remarked on the physicality of the Premier League this season and Wenger has hinted that this is Arsenal's biggest weakness. The Gunners have lost three games this season and will know that the pressure is on to get something out of this game to keep up points wise and prove that they are still a dominant force in the race to win the Premiership.

“The morale is of course down when we don't win,” said Wenger, in a recent interview to club website arsenal.com.

“One week ago on Wednesday night we played very well against Tottenham and we didn't win. But it doesn't take away the fact that we played in a very convincing way. Afterwards at Stoke we had a lot of possession but we were not really sharp and I believe it was a hangover [from the Spurs game].

“Against Fenerbahce we dominated and had 70 per cent of possession but we didn't score. If we had scored and forced them to come out we could have scored plenty of goals.

“That’s why we have to keep winning, learn from what has happened to us and continue to believe in our strengths.

“But now we want to focus on Man United because it is a fantastic opportunity to show how strong we are when everyone is doubting us.”

Manchester United did show signs of a hangover from the 2007/2008 season after their Champions League and Premiership double. They are unbeaten in their last seven Premiership matches and Berbatov is showing signs of adding a fantastic new dimension to the creative energy that makes Man Utd a team that you can never write off despite Chelsea's machine like success so far this season. Wes Brown will miss the trip to the Emirates but Gary Neville will be available for selection.

Despite Arsenal's recent dip in form Alex Ferguson's guard will be up. In early November Arsenal are 20/1 to win the Premiership but Arsene Wenger will be drawing on his 12 years of Premiership experience today to grind out some points today.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United

Did Gerrard dive....do we care?!

Liverpool 1 Athletico Madrid 1

94 minutes into this game and Athletico Madrid must have thought that this Champions League tie was won. After Maxi Rodriguez's first half goal, Athletico defended gallantly in an attempt to preserve the lead and get to the top position of Group D. However Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had other plans and controversially went down after a challenge with Marian Pernia. The Athletico Madrid players looked around shear disbelief when the penalty was awarded. Gerrard netted the penalty, 4 Athletico players got booked after as they showed their distaste to the referee/linesman's decision.

Predictably Steven Gerrard's actions has created a media witch hunt against this fantastic English footballer. Personally, I think its simple. Diving where there is no contact at all is definitely 'simulation' and can easily result in a yellow card with the use of modern TV replay technology. Where a player goes down where there is contact between two players can raise debate for days after the incident currently - and the game has changed to favour the attacking player in this scenario. Most professional footballers in a tight game will go down in the area if they are contacted by a defender. This is not a new phenomenon and I don't see much wrong with it. This type of activity is much more like gamesmanship in comparison to the traditional diving which originated in South America in the late 1980's as a way of influencing refereeing decisions.

Steven Gerrard may be a player that never excels at the international level but the criticism that he gets is ridiculous and football fans should enjoy his fantastic skills and talent as opposed to elements of his game that most international players possess.

OBAMA ON CLIMATE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY



...and his speech to MoveOn PAC on Energy Independence
(from 2006!)

Its the off season.. well as close to an off season as mountain bikers get, with the new popularity of winter enduros the racing season is now year round.

This doesn't leave much time for getting back to riding for ridings sake.. no agenda.. no intervals.. certainly no heart rate monitor.. just bikes, friends and big days out.

I have been keeping a low profile, swimming, turbo training, spin classes.. nothing too focussed just keeping the legs working before the real work starts.

With work now taking over a large part of my life i jump at the chance to warrant booking some time off to get away.. i am definately on the 'work to live' side of the fence and certainly never ' living to work' unless someone stumps up to pay me to ride my bike for whatever reason i don't care:)

The chance to take some time of came in the form of an invite from a fellow endurance racer, Richard Rothwell, to do some big days in the Lakes...

I won't pretend to know the routes we took as as Rich has spent a large amount of time in the Lakes he was the guide and i was the passenger... but the climbs were big, downhills were sizeable and bike handling skills were needed in plenty.

Day one started just outside of Ambleside...



(new bike but thats another story for the future)

The plan was to stay low and skirt the valley sides picking off all the choice sections and stringing them into a great days riding... we hit so many good spots with Rich wanting to show how good the riding is there without the need to head up a mountain.... weather was close to perfect.. just the right temperature and dry:)



I hav lost track of how many climbs and descents we took in that day... highlights being the badly timed 2 up timetrial we had to do to catch the ferry to get across windermere to take in the last descent which just so happened to be in the dark with no lights and Rich clling out which side of trail to be on and when the the stuff was coming up.. madness.

Day two..

This was all about height gain... starting in Coniston and heading up and over Walna scar.. the goign was ride and push but the descent on the other side was all rideable.. the top section has recently been resurfaced so was full on 30 plus mph descending then into the loose rocky section with some serious arm pump building up!!

Th pic shows the downhill cutting down the hillside...




Before we could get going furher we had to cross my worst nightmare.. wet stepping stones!!! My shoes are so worn they have zero traction.. i managed to get across without a soaking ( this time)..




The next section was a drag and a pull through boggy marsh.. followed by another choice downhill which dropped us at bottom of Wrynose pass.. luck was on my side and we wer turning left and away and not right and up.. i like the odd climb but 30% ers are another level.. We rode the road down the valley the turned to Boot and joined a bridleway onto another marshy climb.. when we crested this final climb we were 4 hours in.. nothing left now but to turn around and ride back:)

The return trip rode alot easier than the ride out and it was definately the prefered direction to be riding it.. highlights on the return trip were definately me and Rich getting bogged down literally in a bog.. the going went soft so we tried to gas it out only for Rich to end up to his waist and me to my knee in lovely cold water:)

As we got back tot he stepping stones it was dark so we lighted up.. i decided that as it wasn't that cold and i was wet anyway i wasn't gonna chance a fall so walked through the river:)

This just left Walna Scar to ride/push up in the dark... it definately seemed longer and tiredness set in... a lone wlker coming down that complained about our bright lights was lucky to get away unscathed as wind was now howling.. i was down to one overshoes as the other had fallen foul to the rocky walks.. and i was hungry but wanting to push it out till the top then wrap up for the descent..



On the descent Rich gave me a sound lesson in technical descending.. in the dark i was reduced to walking some sections but he destroyed them.. this is skill money can't buy and seems to belong to people that have spent large amounts of time riding the Lakes which is really the only place you can find these crazy long rock infested downs. End of the ride.. we got back and went for a well earned curry and beer.. off season race diet:)

Day three..

The last day of riding.. with back to back 8 hour days under our velts we decided to throw out a short one.. a route around Skiddaw was chosen.
This was a welcome change.. most the climbing was middle ring and the views were amazing..



The final descent was un typical of the lakes and more like the Peak district leafy steep flowy descending i can get involved with.. manual rolling.. jumps.. super fast.. it had it all.

All in an amazing few days riding.. big thanks to Richard Rothwell.. top rider and top lakeland guide:)

Hopefully i will update later with a more detailed route description.. or people could just ontact Rich directly for a first class lakeland kicking!!

THE ELECRIC MINI



(from 2007)

Being a Spurs fan, what do I know about the Champions League?! Well, I do know that the English sides are strong in Europe so my accumulator for this week's Champions League fixtures has 3 English teams to win:


Barcelona to beat Basil
Liverpool to beat Athletico Madrid
Manchester United to beat Celtic
Arsenal to beat Fenerbahce


Lets hope these games come in now..!

After the first three matches Liverpool and Athletico Madrid are both on 7 points in Group D going into tomorrow evening's Champions League match at Anfield.

Fernando Torres has recovered from a hamstring injury and should partner Robbie Keane upfront against his old club. He will have a late fitness test and has a "70% chance of featuring in the game" according to Rafa Benitez.

Sergio Aguero scored twice against Real Mallorca in their 2-0 victory on the weekend and will play against the Reds.

A selection of Electric Cars

EFFICIENT CARS, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE & CLIMATE CHANGE

CO2 and Flying

AAAS Climate Change



"You must be the change you want to see in the world"

- Mahatma Gandhi
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

Sir David Attenborough: The Truth About Climate Change

TESLA CURVE


Tesla Roadster drifts around corner with Mercedes Mclaren SLR, Ferrari F430, 1963 Corvette Stingray and Yamaha Motorcycle on the streets of L.A.
From a Youtube channel

More on the Tesla HERE

THE ELIICA



Electric car Developed by prof. Hiroshi Shimizu.
More about the Eliica HERE

THE JAPANESE H20 C02 NEUTRAL CAR



Genepax Co Ltd from Japan developed the technologies used in the new fuel cell system "Water Energy System (WES)," which uses water as a fuel and does not emit CO2. The system can generate power just by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes.

After a fascinating weekend of football, the Premiership title race is entering a new phase where the big teams know that one loss can mean that they are off of the pace for the whole of the season. Manchester United are well experienced with this type of pressure with players such as Ryan Gigg and Paul Scholes that have been playing in the Premiership for over 10 seasons. Chelsea are setting that pace currently and on paper probably have the strongest squad but you cannot predict what the next few months can bring in terms of form and in particular injuries to key players.

Liverpool and Arsenal must be the teams most aware of this 'must win' pressure. Both sides are desperate to win the Premiership and have really struggled in recent years to lead the pack with confidence for a prolonged period of the football season. Liverpool have been showing the right type of behaviours - consistency in their first eleven, winning away at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge and (by far the most important) winning by narrow margins when not playing very well. However the Reds wobbled yesterday with a 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the Harry Redknapp factor, Liverpool dominated hitting the post twice and the bar once. Spurs 'keeper Gomes looked weak to say the least but Spurs managed to keep the game at 1-1 until the last minute where Pavlichenko snatched a massive win for Tottenham. Liverpool were unfortunate but cannot afford too many more defeats in the Premiership if they are mounting a serious bid to win the title.

Arsenal play the most attractive football in the Premiership in many people's eyes but in the last two games have only got one point. It started with a curnch North London Derby against Spurs where they conceded four - Gallas and Silvestre didn't convince as a robust central defensive partnership and then away at Stoke where the misery worsened when they lost 4-3. The two goals that Arsenal conceded were from Rory Delap throw-ins which have caused many Premiership teams problems were tough to defend but the Premiership winners will be able to deal with that type of set piece pressure. Wenger is now in a tricky position, where their issues at the back and deep midfield are really limiting their success. This may well be something that he has tried to confront with Mikael Silvestre who was signed in August 2008 on a 2 year deal from Manchester United. However the back four of he Arsenal team do have great talent it is apparent that not only are they missing a 'Tony Adams' style centre half but the type of cover that Partick Viera supplied for the Arsenal defenders is now missing. Denilson is a great player but is not neccessarily the best defensive midfielder.

"We tried hard to win but Stoke, at the moment, are very sharp physically," he said. "We looked a bit jaded because we have played a lot of games recently.

"At the moment we are suffering. I don't believe it is confidence; we put a lot in on Wednesday night and we play again in midweek in Europe.

"We have very bad injuries. We have Adebayor, Walcott and Sagna as well as one or two others who have knocks, but that's the kind of game we played here. When you are not as sharp, you are less agile and you can't get as quickly out of tackles."

He added: "We had lots of possession against a team who defended very well and was very well organised, but we were not sharp enough to to create chances with the possession we had."

48 year old Diego Maradona may be confirmed as Argentina's new coach next Tuesday by the Argentina Football Association. If Maradona gets the post, then he will be travelling to the UK when Argentina play Scotland in a friendly. Argentina are struggling in their World Cup qualifying group and are currently third. Undoubtedly Maradona is a player that the Argentinian squad have idolised but the drugs ban that he had does not make him best placed to be a role model for youngsters interested in football.