Daily Blog 01/24/2013


  • As inquiries go, this one was more a meeting of minds than a clash of ideas. Witness after witness made points that were, if not identical, then at least angling towards the same goal. The hugely courteous panel of inquisitors gave every indication they thought the same.

    That was always likely to be the case for the all-party parliamentary cycling group (APPCG) inquiry into how we can, as the title goes, Get Britain Cycling.

    As I’ve pointed out before, if you think more people on bikes is a good idea for a country – and I’ve yet to hear an argument against based on logic rather than ignorance and/or prejudice; that sounds rude but it’s true – then we already know how to do it. Other places have shown the way. Indeed, it took all of about 90 seconds of evidence yesterday morning before the first bike-bingo box was filled in with a mention of Denmark.

    tags: cycling

  • On the photo above is a strategic bomber M4 designed by the Myasishchev design bureau in the beginning of the fifties. When it first appeared in public, at the military parade 1954 over Red Square, it deeply impressed people. It was the first time they saw such a big strategic bomber in the sky.

    tags: russia bomber aeroplane

  • On the south of Russkiy island of the Russian Far East there is an island called Shkota. It used to be populated by militarymen but today it’s fully abandoned. Only ruins of military barracks and a coastal battery remind of people who used to live here.

    tags: russia military abandoned

  • A Norwegian tunnel turned into a mouth-watering hellish inferno of flavor and terror this past Thursday when a truck carrying 27 tons of Brunost burst into flames in the Bratli Tunnel at Tysfjord, Norway. Brunost is caramelized brown goat cheese, a Norwegian delicacy that apparently is also incredibly flammable, as the fire burned for five days.

    tags: cheese norway

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.