Public Holidays, Gaming and Clever Cars!

Managed to struggle through yet another in the soon to end run of Public Holidays. Dinner on Monday night was a lot of fun, endded up a bit down on numbers but a nice relaxed evening none the less.
Anzac day was spent lounging in bed until I worked up enough courage to make it to the Xbox for some quality time with Burnout: Revenge, unfortunately making it to ELITE rank (and therefore having nowhere to go) took a little bit of the shine off the game so I went back to Metroid Prime: Hunters and Advance Wars: Dual Strike.

I must say Metroid is about the most fun I've had in a FPS for a long time. The fact that I get mouse like control and I can take it with me (except today because I forgot) is a pretty fantastic combination. The online play seems to work quite well, although I keep getting my butt kicked and not having anyone else I know online is never as much fun (the fact it's not released here doesn't really help).

Started a bit of a health kick this week, (well actually from Saturday) walking to and from work every day. It takes about 45 mins from my door until I have my laptop open on my desk (except this morning because they changed the locks and my key no longer worked). Which is about the same time as it takes from getting on a bus, with the added bonus that I don't have to wait for a bus and/or pay for a ticket. At the very least it's making me feel more awake by the time I get to work.

Of course if I couldn't walk to work this would be a good alternative.

The metre-wide, fuel-efficient Clever car which can carry one passenger. Sure beats riding a Vesper to work! Not only that I could fit it in the car park next to the MX-5

From The Age

BRITISH engineers have unveiled a three-wheeled car that, at a metre wide, is designed to squeeze into the tiniest of parking spaces.

Funded by the European Union and backed by BMW, it is trumpeted as more environmentally friendly than the average vehicle because it runs on compressed natural gas.

The car, called Clever (for compact low emission vehicle for urban transport, and a possible swipe at the Smart car brand) was launched at Bath University in south-west England, one of the centres behind the three-year project. Its developers hope to see it on European streets within five years at a cost of as little as £5000 ($A12,000).

Exhibited in the university's car park this week, Clever's most striking feature is the way the chassis tilts, like a motorcycle, when the vehicle rounds a corner. The tilt system, designed by the engineers at Bath, is controlled electronically to make sure the car is balanced at all speeds.

One of the engineers, Ben Drew, said: "The main problem was finding a way of making sure such a narrow car did not overturn as it went round corners. The tilt system does that. It also makes it really fun to drive."

The designers say the car combines the convenience and fun of a motorbike with the safety and comfort of a car. The body is enclosed in an aluminium frame and plastic coating.

BMW is considering making the Clever vehicle if, as is expected, the EU insists that car makers produce a quota of green cars to counter the effect of gas guzzlers.
The vehicle emits about a third as much carbon dioxide as conventional family cars, with fuel consumption equivalent to 2.17 litres per 100 kilometres. It has a top speed of 100 km/h and takes seven seconds to get from zero to 65 km/h. It can carry one passenger in a seat behind the driver.