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| Right is wrong |
An obedient German motorist followed the command 'Turn right now!' from his car's sat-nav system and crashed into a small toilet hut by the side of the road about 30 metres before the crossing he was meant to take.
The man from Freiburg drove his SUV off the road onto into a building site, up a stairway and into the shack housing the construction workers' dunny, according to police in the eastern town of Rudolstadt, causing $3,300 worth of damage. |
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| Copyright is child's play |
The 52,000 boy scouts in the Los Angeles area will now be able to earn a merit patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.
The patch depicts a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, and is presented when the scout has completed a course devised by the movie industry, which includes the basics of copyright law. |
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| Talk like an Egyptian |
An opinion poll conducted by an Egyptian government body showed that 61 percent of those surveyed had never heard of opinion polls before.
The Egyptian state-owned media, which is the main source of news and information in the most populous Arab country, hardly ever publishes opinion polls - the concept is relatively new in the Arab world. |
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| Wwwacky website |
So much more than just a packing material, Bubble Wrap® is a very effective stress-reliever in offices all around the world. So it's no wonder that finally someone has come up with a way of translating to the internet the satisfaction that only popping a sheet of tiny plastic-covered air bubbles can provide.
Just click with your mouse over the realistically rendered patch of on-screen bubblewrap on www.virtual-bubblewrap.com to hear a cacophony of oh-so-fulfilling little pops. When there are no more bubbles left to pop, you can click a button and a whole new sheet appears without the need to order goods to be delivered that you just do not need. |
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Volume 11.11
November 2006 |
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Hello Welcome to the November issue of Fleettorque, brought to you by Fleetcare!
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Take our survey and help us look after Australia |
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 You would have received an email from fleettorque last week inviting you to complete Fleetcare's 2nd Annual Driver Survey. It lets us know what you think about a variety of issues, gives you a chance to win some great prizes and it's also a bit of fun.
What's more, for every survey completed, Fleetcare will donate $1 to Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA).
CVA makes a fantastic contribution by protecting and enhancing our Australian environment through its extensive volunteer network. In 2004/2005 (their last official stats) they facilitated 105,825 days of volunteer work and planted over 750,000 trees in urban, regional and remote communities across Australia. A massive effort you'd agree. To find out more about CVA or to become a volunteer yourself, please click here.
Remember the survey closes at 5pm AEST on Wednesday 1st November so to be in with a chance of winning click here to take the survey. |
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Design a dream car |
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 Apart from adding a spoiler here and there and a few go-faster stripes it's hard to make your car stand out from the crowd, that is unless you have very deep pockets and happen to be at the front of the queue for a unique creation by Italian design house Pininfarina.
Since the company revealed its one-off Maserati Birdcage at the Geneva Motor Show last year it has been inundated with requests from car enthusiasts clamouring to have a totally individual car designed for them too.
The Birdcage is rumoured to have cost $6.2m though, and similar unique-build models are unlikely to be very much cheaper. But at what price being able to spot your car in the supermarket car park straightaway? |
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The screaming phone |
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 Phone thieves in Europe could get a shock if they happen to pick the pocket of a subscriber to a new phone management service - their ill-gotten gains may well let out a blood-curdling wail as soon as a button is touched.
The Mobile Manager service from Synchronica sends a horror movie-like scream to a stolen cell phone, while simultaneously locking the keypad and wiping every bit of data, rendering the phone totally useless to the thief. |
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Pavement power |
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 Wheelchair users need to hold onto their hats with this brand new model recently unveiled by Suzuki, which runs on the same fuel as a drag racer.
Called the Mio, the chair hits a top speed of 9.6kph, so extra-large armrests have been designed to act as safety barriers. The chair can travel for 25 miles on les than a gallon of methanol in its fuel cell, which replaces the more usual pressurised container of hydrogen. Its only emission is water vapour and presumably tyre marks on the pavement. |
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System addict |
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 At least one in eight Americans are addicted to the internet, according to a new study for Stanford University School of Medicine, and scientists predict that a similar situation could be developing here.
Internet addiction is a serious issue, with symptoms similar to alcoholism - 13.7 per cent of the American study's respondents found it hard to stay away from the internet for several days, 8.2 per cent said they used the internet as a way to escape problems or relieve negative moods and 8.7 per cent admitted that they conceal their internet use from family and friends. Analysts blame a general emphasis on the benefits of internet use, without acknowledgement of the problems it can cause for a minority of users.
The Australian government body responsible for advising on internet safety NetAlert identifies instant messaging, chat and online gaming as being particularly addictive and offers a free telephone helpline (1800 880 176) for those looking for more information on internet safety and addiction.
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