Make Electricity Whilst You Exercise

Springwise, a source of some great ideas, has spotted an idea on how a gym can generate electricity. The energy created by the bikes and cross-trainers at California Fitness are used to power the lights and any excess energy is stored in batteries.

The concept is called “Powered by YOU” and was, according to their press release, created by French inventor Lucien Gambarota. Their president, Steve Clinefelter, explains, “One person has the ability of producing 50 watts of electricity per hour when exercising at a moderate pace, which means that to prevent 12 liters of CO2 from being released into the air a person needs to produce the same amount of electricity by exercising on the specially setup machine for one hour. If a person spends one hour per day running on the machine, he/ she could generate 18.2 kilowatts of electricity and prevent 4,380 liters of CO2 released per year. So exercise can improve not only your health but contributes to a greener environment.”

Currently the energy created can only power 10 or 11 60 watt lightbulbs but if every gym did this then the benefits to the environment are obvious. Every little bit helps….

Win a Novel - Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools

This competition is now closed

Life Goggles has three copies of Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools by Philip Caveney to give away.

If you’ve not heard of it, it’s a cracker.

Sebastian Darke is the real hero of this story but typically he’s left it to me, his faithful companion Max, to tell you all about it.

Young Sebastian has the hopes and fortunes of his family resting on his shoulders so together with his trusted companion, the dashing and witty Buffalope Max (that’s me!), he must journey to the far-off city of Keladon to seek the patronage of King Septimus.

The trouble is, his father was the one with all the talent. Sebastian doesn’t really have what you’d call ‘the gift’. In fact, as far as jesters go, he’s pretty hopeless. So it’s probably just as well that his quest, if you can call it that, is interrupted by enough thrills and spills and mortal peril to keep anyone busy, with just a tiny dash of romance thrown in for good measure.

This fantastical fairy-tale yarn has all the hallmarks of a great buffalope adventure story; you will gasp in amazement at my audacious feats of derring-do and chuckle at my witty one-liners. I’m also reliably informed that you will adore the beautiful, yet feisty Princess Kerin (she isn’t quite hairy enough for my tastes) and even I was impressed by Cornelius the pint-sized warrior and his famous Golmiran Death Leap. Sebastian, I suppose, manages to hold his own in a couple of fights and even tells a funny joke or two. I still think it should be my name on the cover of the book though.

Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools cannot possibly fail to win over even the most serious of readers. Fans of Shrek and The Princess Bride will love it.

Worth £9.99 the book is available to buy from Amazon and you can learn more about Sebastian Drake and Philip Caveney here. You can also hear him talk about the book and his change of direction writing for adults to writing for children at these four places - one, two, three and four.

Thanks goes to Lu Newton @ Hyperlaunch.

To enter, simply answer this question*:

What’s the name of Sebastian’s faithful companion?

* You will be signed up to our weekly email and you must confirm to be in with a chance of winning. Your email address will never be spammed, shared or sold. Winners will be picked at random after the closing date of 11 April 2007.

A White Sheet of Paper and a Sheep

More of the paper art. This week: baaa.

What To Do With Your Old Glasses

Recycling a pair of spectacles may not be the first thing that enters your mind when you buy the a new (presumably fashionable) pair, but it’s easily done.

Vision Aid Overseas (VAO) is a charity which sends optometrists and dispensing opticians to the developing world to establish clinics, provide eye tests and dispense spectacles - that’s where you come in.

Once you have donated your old pair, either at an opticians which supports VAO such as Vision Express or sent directly to them, they are (believe it or not) sent to UK prisons to be cleaned, graded and packaged for sending abroad.

They say great care is taken to match a pair of glasses with a patient so it’s a great way to recycle your old specs.

Finger Painting

Here’s a cool video of some finger painting - that’s painting on fingers, not just by using fingers. That would just be “normal” painting, or something….

Win Shitdisco Vinyl and Windmill and Autokat New Albums!

This competition is now closed!

We’ve got a 12″ and a 7″ disc of Shitdisco to give away. Check them out below:

Wikipedia says:

SHITDISCO are a dance punk band from Glasgow, Scotland. They were formed in 2003 while studying at the Glasgow School of Art. Their first single “Disco Blood/I Know Kung Fu” was released in December 2005 and sold out quickly. They are signed to record label Fierce Panda. Shitdisco released their new single “Reactor Party” in October 2006 and charted at number 73 in the UK charts[[1]] with the help of their large underground following.

Until they were evicted in summer 2006, the band held free parties in a large dilapidated house on Glasgow’s West Princes Street, known locally as “61″. They have attracted a reputation for organising and playing free parties and raves in peculiar places; including squats, streets, abandoned railway tunnels and club toilets.

The group have been compared to Talking Heads and The Rapture, but admit influences ranging from Donna Summer, Arthur Russell and The Prodigy to Gang of Four and The Clash. Since the release of “Disco Blood/I Know Kung Fu” the band has toured extensively in the UK and Europe, even playing as far afield as Bangkok and Istanbul. In March 2007 they go on the road again supporting The Rapture on their forthcoming tour of the UK & Ireland.

We also have promo discs from Manchester band Autokat…

… and emerging singer-songwriter Thomas Dillon, aka Windmill.

Just enter your email address* and write which prize you would like to win - Shitdisco, Autokat or Windmill.

Thanks to Will at In House Press.

* You will be signed up to our weekly email and you must confirm to be in with a chance of winning. Your email address will never be spammed, shared or sold. Winners will be picked at random after the closing date of April 6th 2007.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 7: Nothing to Hide

I think we’ve been spoilt. Even a really good episode like this makes me wish for a big thing happening at the end. Actually to be fair we do get a big thing when Hiro and DL team up, but then go their separate ways. You’d think they’d realise and join forces or something but I suppose each have their own problems.

But the rest is little things like Claire’s brother finding the tape (could be a problem in the future), meeting Nathan’s wife, the missing painting etc. All important stuff that helps the story move along but nothing wildly exciting happens. But some important things do.

Ted and his powers for one, the mark on his and Matt’s necks, Mr Linderman’s name popping up again (will we see him before the season finale?) and Peter realising that he can absorb powers. I presume that’s what he was doing when he grabbed hold of Nathan - daring to fly in front of the reporter.

A decent episode and I love the series, but it just makes me want to see the next episode, which I suppose is the makers’ job!

Look here for a full review of each episode.

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