Audi R8 V12 : World’s first Diesel Supercar

April 26, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

Watch out for this Green Supercar this September.

The Audi R8 TDI Le Mans was originally shown as the R8 V12 TDI at the Detroit Auto Show, earlier this year. It is the world’s first ever diesel-powered supercar aimed at mass production. The show was carried off at Florida’s South Miami Beach, a few days ago. Drunk, shirtless males with flip flops sniffed up the bikinis of the far classier (mostly) females of the collectively buzzed subspecies, all paying a minimum of $400 per night to stay in any room of any hotel near the beach. This car has already thrown the Dade County invasion for a loop. Whether the Germans’ Diesel Strategy will work or not, we will know once it is released, this September. An R8 with the meanest, highest-tech, race-inspired diesel in it should play the good ambassador. Hope so.

For the sake of this early 2-day prototype test under the hot and humid tropical sun, the R8 TDI was let out to a 40 mph V-max, and the Florida Highway patrol shut down various Miami streets. It is not only a working prototype, but, I must say, a tender Beast. Of primary importance is starting a healthy debate regarding what diesel technologies can do for the environment, and also for high performance driving and racing. So much for talking.

Now let’s get into some real stats. When allowed out to full tune, the R8 TDI Le Mans can provide 737 pound-feet of torque b/w 1750-3500 rpm to go along with its 493 hp. It shares some philosophy with the 5.5l twin-turbo V-12 in the Audi R10 LMP1 race car, But there are some key differences like packaging needs, reliability, emission, and driving comfort. This 6.0l has a V-angle of just 60 degrees between the cylinder banks.

Additionally, the crankcase is not of Aluminum, but of special alloy. Emissions are almost ZERO, thanks to the intricate X-gen clean diesel treatment relying on a 6 gallon tank of AdBlue. If we remove the stock high-revving 90 degree 4.2l V-8 gas engine from the back of R8, Audi pushes the rear firewall forward by 2 inches to create room for the V-12 TDI engine that is approx. 6.5 inches longer. The gaping NACA duct behind the passengers’ heads within the transparent polycarbonate roof is a gorgeous piece of functionality. It’s amazing what such ultra-ready torque can do to make the blood race. The first several seconds up to the speed-nanny came out to be very enlightening, during the speed test. First gear is almost unnecessary. That is what a Twin-turbo V-12 gets you.

The turbo/intercoolers’ wheezing and hissing is a constant companion above 1700 rpm. I was almost shocked to see that there is no plastic anywhere. It is all anodized aluminum.

Special Specifications:

Performance and Efficiency:

  • 4,200 cc 4.2 liters V 8 front engine with 12.5 compression ratio and four valves per cylinder

  • Main premium unleaded fuel tank

  • Power: 313 kW , 420 HP SAE @ 8,250 rpm; 317 ft lb , 430 Nm @ 4,500 rpm

Handling, Ride and Brakes:

  • Four-wheel ABS

  • Brake assist system

  • Four disc brakes including four ventilated discs

  • Electronic brake distribution

  • Immobilizer

  • Stability control

  • Multi-link front and rear suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs

Exterior & Aerodynamics:

  • Driver and passenger power heated body color door mirrors indicator lights

  • Projector beam lens Bi-Xenon headlights

  • Luxury trim alloy on gear knob

  • Fixed rear window with defogger

  • Tinted glass on cabin

  • Trunk/hatch spoiler

  • Windshield wipers with automatic intermittent wipe and rain sensor

Interiors:

  • 12v power outlet

  • Air conditioning with climate control

  • Diversity antenna

  • Peripheral anti-theft protection

  • Manufacturer’s own audio system with satellite and CD player CD player reads MP3

  • Front seats cigar lighter

  • Front ashtray

  • Clock & Compass

  • Computer with average speed, average fuel consumption, instantaneous fuel consumption and range for remaining fuel

  • Full dashboard and floor console

  • Cruise control

  • Delayed/fade courtesy lights

  • Sports heated electrically adjustable driver and passenger seat with height adjustment, lumbar adjustment, fire adjustments and tilt adjustment

  • 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat with pre-tensioners, height adjustable 3-point reel front seat belts on passenger seat with pre-tensioners

  • Knee airbags : driver and passenger

  • Illuminated entry system

  • Remote power locks

  • Low tire pressure indicator

  • Vehicle speed proportional power steering

  • Seven speaker(s)

  • Leather covered multi-function steering wheel with tilt adjustment

  • Illuminated driver and passenger vanity mirror

  • Ventilation system

Posted in Automobiles. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Suicide Booths

April 22, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

A suicide booth is a fictional machine for committing suicide. Suicide booths appear in numerous fictional settings, including the American animated series Futurama and the Japanese manga Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita. Compulsory self-execution booths were also featured in an episode of the original Star Trek TV series. The concept can be found as early as the 1895 story The Repairer of Reputations by Robert W. Chambers, in which the Governor of New York presides over the opening of the first “Government Lethal Chamber” in New York City in the then-future year of 1920, following the repeal of laws against suicide: “The Government has seen fit to acknowledge the right of man to end an existence which may have become intolerable to him, through physical suffering or mental despair. There a painless death awaits him who can no longer bear the sorrows of this life.”

Suicide Booth in Futurama

In the world of Futurama, Stop-and-Drop suicide booths resemble phone booths and cost one quarter per use.

The booths have two modes of death: “quick and painless,” or “slow and horrible”. “Quick and painless” is only shown from outside the booth as a bright flash around the door and a whooshing noise, so it is likely a form of disintegration. “Slow and horrible” involves a variety of electrical discharges and power tools (including drills and saws). It ends with a single thrust and twist of a knife aimed at the average human gut. After a mode of death is selected and executed, the machine cheerfully says (despite whoever used it would not be alive to hear it), “You are now dead.

Thank you for using Stop-and-Drop, America’s favorite suicide booth since 2008,” as heard in the first episode of Futurama.

The first appearance of a suicide booth in Futurama is in the first episode, in which the character Bender wants to use it. Fry at first mistakes the suicide booth for a phone booth, and Bender offers to share it with him. Fry requests a collect call, which the machine interprets as “slow and horrible”.

It then turns out that “slow and horrible” can be survived by careful contortion around the implements (which is exactly what Fry did to save them both), leading Bender to accuse the machine of being a rip-off. This initial appearance of the suicide booth was closely enough associated with Bender’s character so that in 2001 it was featured as the display stand for the Bender action figure.

In the Star Trek

In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “A Taste of Armageddon“, people who were deemed war casualties by the government of Eminiar VII were required to enter suicide booths. Treaty arrangements require that everyone that is calculated as “dead” in the hypothetical thermonuclear war simulated using computers actually dies, without actually damaging any infrastructure.

In the end, the computers are destroyed, the war can no longer be calculated in this way, the treaty breaks down, and faced with a real threat, (presumably) peace begins.

Other References

In Ivan Efremov’s 1968 novel The Bull’s Hour a similar idea of suicide booths referred to as the Palaces of tender death (Russian: Дворцы нежной смерти). They’re commonly used on the Planet Tormance to control the birth rate. While not a booth, suicide chambers are used to allow people to choose a pleasant form of euthanasia in the movie “Soylent Green,” where the character named Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson) left a note saying that he was “going home.” That was a euphemism for committing state-approved suicide via a large, well-appointed, attended suicide booth.

But, what’s the real story?

The closest thing to a suicide booth to have been actually constructed is the Euthanasia Machine invented by Philip Nitschke, consisting of a piece of Windows software, “Deliverance,” which asks the patient a series of questions, and automatically administers a lethal injection if the correct answers are made. The system and questions are so constructed that the supplier of the machine cannot be held responsible for ending the life of the patient, who takes responsibility by operating it.

Posted in Entertainment. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Expiry Dates

April 19, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

We use a lot of items daily for our livelihood, without caring how old they are. Are they fit to take in? Just because your friend/relative has given you an item, you use it for friendship’s sake. Now onwards, before you do any such thing, just take notice of how old they are, and, are they fit to use? Here is a list of items we use regularly in our livelihood, and their corresponding Expiry Dates.

Item Expiry Date
Beer 4 months (unopened)
Brown Sugar Infinity
Chocolate 1 year
Coffee 2 years (unopened)
Soft Drinks (in plastic bottles) 3 months
Frozen Dinners 12-18 months (unopened)
Frozen Vegetables 18-24 months
Honey Infinity
Bottled Fruit Juice 8 months(unopened)
7 days (opened)
Ketchup 1 year (unopened)
Pickles 18 months (unopened)
White Rice 2 years
Soya Sauce 2 years (unopened)
Vinegar 42 months
Red/White Wine 3 years from Vintage Date (unopened)
Fine Wines 20-100 years
Alkaline Batteries 7 years
Lithium Batteries 10 years
Spray Paint 2-3 years
Bar Soap 3 years
Body/Face Wash 3 years
Body Lotion 3 years
Deodorant 2 years
Lip Balm 1-5 years
Lipstick 2 years
Mascara 2 years (unopened)
Mouthwash 3 years
Perfume 1-2 years
Shampoo 2-3 years
Shaving Cream 2 years (minimum)
Posted in Research. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

PMO : Maturity does matter

April 14, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

Implementing a PMO is not a panacea to an organization’s project woes. Instead, it is the maturity of the PMO that makes the difference, according to a new study. As a PMO matures and assumes more responsibility in areas such as portfolio and people management, organizational success metrics improve, elevating the PMO’s value to the organization.

Organizations are increasingly implementing enterprise-wide project/program management offices (PMOs), but at the same time, they are wrestling with newfound challenges, according to a new research report by PM Solutions’ Center for Business Practices (CBP). The State of the PMO 2007-2008 found that 54 percent of respondents said that they have an enterprise-wide PMO in place, up significantly from 35 percent in 2006. In 2000, only 47 percent of respondents had implemented any kind of PMO at all. “The spread and growth of PMOs is a strong indicator that organizations recognize the critical value of successful project management,” said Jim Pennypacker, director of the CBP. “Our research shows, though, that simply implementing a PMO is not enough.

PMOs, like all organisms, need to be nurtured and supported to become effective. A PMO’s value lies in its maturity.”

“As PMOs become more mature, organizational success metrics improve”, he added.

Facts Revealed:

· PMOs have been in place 29 percent longer in high-performing organizations (4.5 years) than in low-performing organizations (3.5 years). High-performing organizations are 30 percent more likely to have steering committees (65 percent) than low-performing organizations (52 percent).

· PMO functions performed significantly more by high-performing organizations include strategy formulation, portfolio risk management, benefits realization analysis, contract preparation, outsourcing, project opportunity process development, resource assignment process development, management of a staff of project planners/controllers and business relationship managers, and resource identification and optimization.

· There is no correlation between project managers reporting to the PMO (as opposed to them just being supported by the PMO) and organizational performance. High-performing organizations have larger PMOs (30 percent more staff) and rely on more specialized roles (they have more staff performing those roles), including mentors (136 % increase), team leads (467 % increase), planners (147 % increase), controllers (116 % increase) and relationship managers (698 % increase).

· PMOs at high-performing organizations are 66 percent more mature than at low performing organizations (average level of maturity is 2.9 vs. 1.7).

In addition to these, we also found that

· Organizations average (median) 31 projects per year. Organizations with a PMO work on more projects per year (38) than those without a PMO (18). PMO budgets range from 0 to $50 million a year (with a median average of $600,000).

· The PMO budget is on average, 1.7 percent of the organization’s budget (median).

· Governance issues top the list of PMO challenges: companies lack the compliance structure to make project management processes consistent throughout the organization, and project leaders still labor under conditions where responsibility and authority are not allied. But as PMOs age and mature, they have fewer challenges and are significantly better at meeting all challenges.

Posted in Research. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Batman is coming to town…

April 11, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

While photographic evidence of the upcoming Lotus 2+2 sports car known as Eagle has been, for the most part, blurry and uninspiring, some highly trained photographers have managed to get some nice shots of the car. These new Eagle images are about as clear as they come, but the wildly angular camouflage is fairly effective at hiding the inner secrets of the newest Lotus. It’s not likely that the Eagle will steal sales from any of the upcoming 4-seat supercars viz, Aston martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. Rather, buyers will use the tiny rear seats for golf bags or luggage for a weekend adventure trip. The Eagle is expected to fit in between the Elise and the next-generation Esprit when it makes its official debut this summer. The Eagle boasts of a Toyota-sourced V-6 in the range of 3.0 litres and is capable of 0-60 times in the lower 5-second range, with the horsepower hovering somewhere between 200 and 300 hp.

We just got our first glimpse of Lotus’ all-new 2+2 sports car, and managed to snap this set of shots before the test driver could escape back into the safe confines of his Arctic Testing Grounds. Knowledgeable sources in the U.K. have given us iron-clad confirmation that this prototype is the car that Lotus has codenamed “Eagle.”

The new four-seat Lotus will make its official public debut in July at the London Motor Show, but this is the first time that the car has been photographed in its full production form. The angular camouflage is very thorough, but it’s clear that a very svelte, sexy shape lies beneath. Don’t be fooled by the Eagle’s mid-summer debut, as there is still a lot of development to be done. Finished, production-ready models aren’t due to reach showrooms-and their lucky buyers—until sometime in the Spring of 2009. The bodylines are still not clear, as they have squared off all over.

Whatever it is like, to know, we will have to do just one thing: Wait.

Posted in Automobiles. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Marijuana : Why is it illegal?

April 11, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

Many people assume that Marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug. The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You’ll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate. You’ll also see that the history of marijuana’s criminalization is filled with:

  • Racism
  • Fear
  • Protection of Corporate Profits
  • Yellow Journalism
  • Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators
  • Personal Career Advancement and Greed

These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal.

History of Marijuana

For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It’s not a recently discovered plant, nor is it a long-standing law. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it’s been in use. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy. The marijuana (hemp) plant, of course, has an incredible number of uses. The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, and over the centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. This adds to some of the confusion over its introduction in the United States, as the plant was well known from the early 1600’s, but did not reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900’s. America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law “ordering” all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed. There were several other “must grow” laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp — try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements – rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth.

The Mexican Affiliation

The first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug.

Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915.

Other states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). These laws tended to be specifically targeted against the Mexican-American population. When Montana outlawed marijuana in 1927, the Butte Montana Standard reported a legislator’s comment:

“When some beet field peon takes a few traces of this stuff… he thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico, so he starts out to execute all his political enemies.”

Alcohol Prohibition and Federal Approaches to Drug Prohibition

During this time, the United States was also dealing with alcohol prohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933. Alcohol prohibition was extremely visible and debated at all levels, while drug laws were passed without the general public’s knowledge.

National alcohol prohibition happened through the mechanism of an amendment to the constitution.

Earlier (1914), the Harrison Act was passed, which provided federal tax penalties for opiates and cocaine. The federal approach is important. It was considered at the time that the federal government did not have the constitutional power to outlaw alcohol or drugs. It is because of this that alcohol prohibition required a constitutional amendment.

In 1930, a new division in the Treasury Department was established — the Federal Bureau of Narcotics — and Harry J. Anslinger was named director. This, if anything, marked the beginning of the all-out war against marijuana.

Harry J. Anslinger

Anslinger was an extremely ambitious man, and he recognized the Bureau of Narcotics as an amazing career opportunity — a new government agency with the opportunity to define both the problem and the solution. He immediately realized that opiates and cocaine wouldn’t be enough to help build his agency, so he latched on to marijuana and started to work on making it illegal at the federal level.

Anslinger immediately drew upon the themes of racism and violence to draw national attention to the problem he wanted to create. He also promoted and frequently read from “Gore Files” — wild reefer-madness-style exploitation tales of ax murderers on marijuana and sex and… Negroes. Here are some quotes that have been widely attributed to Anslinger and his Gore Files:

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”

“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”

“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.”

“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”

“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing“

“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.”

“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”

And he loved to pull out his own version of the “assassin” definition:

“In the year 1090, there was founded in Persia the religious and military order of the Assassins, whose history is one of cruelty, barbarity, and murder, and for good reason: the members were confirmed users of hashish, or marihuana, and it is from the Arabs’ ‘hashashin’ that we have the English word ‘assassin.’”

Yellow Journalism

Harry Anslinger got some additional help from William Randolf Hearst, owner of a huge chain of newspapers. Hearst had lots of reasons to help. First, he hated Mexicans.

Second, he had invested heavily in the timber industry to support his newspaper chain and didn’t want to see the development of hemp paper in competition. Third, he had lost 800,000 acres of timberland to Pancho Villa, so he hated Mexicans.

Fourth, telling lurid lies about Mexicans (and the devil marijuana weed causing violence) sold newspapers, making him rich.

After Anslinger

The narrative since after Anslinger has been a continual litany of…

  • Politicians wanting to appear tough on crime and passing tougher penalties
  • Constant increases in spending on law enforcement and prisons
  • Racist application of drug laws
  • Taxpayer funded propaganda & Political contributions from corporations that profit from marijuana being illegal (pharmaceuticals, alcohol, etc.)

… but that’s another whole story.

Check out this documentary:

Posted in Entertainment. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments »

The story of Kraken

April 11, 2008 — theultimaterenaissance

In Norwegian sea folklore, the Kraken is an enormous sea monster which would sometimes attack ships and feed upon the sailors. It was supposed to be capable of dragging down the largest ships and when submerging could suck down a vessel by the whirlpool it created. It is part octopus and part crab, although others refer to it as a giant squid or cuttlefish. It was first described by Pontoppidan in his History of Norway (1752). The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works (see Kraken in popular culture). The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are estimated to grow to 13 metres (46 feet) in length, including the tentacles. These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and reportedly have “attacked” small ships.

Kraken is the definite article form of krake, a Scandinavian word designating an unhealthy animal, or something twisted. In modern German, Krake means octopus, but can also refer to the legendary Kraken. Although the name kraken never appears in the Norse sagas, there are similar sea monsters, the hafgufa and lyngbakr, both described in Örvar-Odds saga and the Norwegian text from c. 1250, Konungs skuggsjá. Carolus Linnaeus included kraken as cephalopods with the scientific name Microcosmus in the first edition of his Systema Naturae (1735), a taxonomic classification of living organisms, but excluded the animal in later editions. Kraken were also extensively described by Erik Pontoppidan, bishop of Bergen, in his “Natural History of Norway” (Copenhagen, 1752–3).

Since the late 18th century, kraken have been depicted in a number of ways, primarily as large octopus-like creatures, and it has often been alleged that Pontoppidan’s kraken might have been based on sailors’ observations of the giant squid. In the earliest descriptions, however, the creatures were more crab- like than octopus-like, and generally possessed traits that are associated with large whales rather than with giant squid. Some traits of kraken resemble undersea volcanic activity occurring in the Iceland region, including bubbles of water; sudden, dangerous currents; and appearance of new islets. In 1802, the French malacologist Pierre Dénys de Montfort recognized the existence of two kinds of giant octopus in Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière des Mollusques, an encyclopedic description of mollusks. Montfort claimed that the first type, the kraken octopus, had been described by Norwegian sailors and American whalers, as well as ancient writers such as Pliny the Elder. The much larger second type, the colossal octopus (depicted in the above image), was reported to have attacked a sailing vessel from Saint-Malo, off the coast of Angola. Montfort later dared more sensational claims. He proposed that ten British warships that had mysteriously disappeared one night in 1782 must have been attacked and sunk by giant octopuses. Unfortunately for Montfort, the British knew what had happened to the ships, resulting in a disgraceful revelation for Montfort. Pierre Dénys de Montfort’s career never recovered and he died starving and poor in Paris around 1820 (Sjögren, 1980). In defence of Pierre Dénys de Montfort, it should be noted that many of his sources for the “kraken octopus” probably described the very real giant squid, proven to exist in 1857.

Posted in Entertainment. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
« Older posts