Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Oxigen

SHOULD SURFERS BOYCOTT THE 2020 OLYMPICS IN JAPAN

Oxigen — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 17:04:08 +0800

Surfings inclusion in the 2020 Olympics has caused much excitement in some areas, but there is a huge white elephant in the room and that is the Japans abhorrent treatment of whales and dolphins.

It was very disconcerting to see my timelines filled with teams arriving at the ISA World Games coinciding alongside posts of dolphin slaughter signifying the launch of the Taijia massacre. I was stoked for the teams but it was pretty uncomfortable seeing images of dolphins being herded up and being brutally killed just up the coast. The dolphins die long, brutal and painful deaths.

While some are prepared to brush over the event a lot of surfers, including Japanese, have very strong opinions to the contrary. In a Facebook poll on Carvemag in December we asked if the ISA and WSL should boycott the 2020 Japan Games in protest at their whaling policy. Out of 3,500 votes 90% said “Yes!”

https://www.carvemag.com/2019/09/should-sur...-whale-hunting/

The California High-Speed Rail Authority board

Oxigen — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 16:21:58 +0800

The California High-Speed Rail Authority board voted unanimously Tuesday on a route that may ultimately connect the San Joaquin Valley with San Jose – though it didn’t come without some backlash from community groups.

The board’s preferred alternative crosses a grassland area of western Merced County and continues with a tunnel through Pacheco Pass. Additionally, on the route, high-speed trains would ultimately share upgraded and electrified tracks with the Caltrain commuter rail system between San Jose and Gilroy.

But the vote also took heed of concerns raised over the course of a two-hour hearing over the potential danger of at-grade railroad crossings in communities along the San Francisco Peninsula.

Some residents also worry about the potential impacts of an even busier rail corridor on neighborhoods in San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Three additional alternatives included variations of elevated tracks, embankments or different routes through San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

Boris Lipkin, the rail authority’s regional director for Northern California, emphasized Tuesday’s vote was only one part of a lengthy process that’s far from over.

Plus, Lipkin said all four options will receive equal attention and scrutiny in a detailed environmental impact report.

“This is not the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning,” Lipkin told the board. “This is not a final decision.”

All four options share common characteristics between Gilroy and western Merced County – including a 13-mile tunnel between Casa de Fruta and a site north of San Luis Reservoir, and tracks perched atop embankments across the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area northeast of Los Banos.

HURDLES FOR PROPOSED SEGMENTS
The environmental impact report for the four alternatives is just one among many hurdles that will require board approval before a Valley to Gilroy/San Jose route becomes a reality.

Right now, the state’s primary focus is pursuing scaled down plans to establish high speed rail between Bakersfield and Madera. That construction’s ongoing.

Until state money is available to build high speed rail from the Valley to San Jose, however, those plans will remain on the backburner.

Regardless, environmental studies will continue for all remaining segments between San Francisco and Southern California to prepare for future work, if and when that money becomes available.

Trains: Traveling by Rail in Germany

Oxigen — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 11:00:03 +0800

erman trains are clean, comfortable, reliable and fast. Between the downtown areas of most German cities the travel time by train is as fast or faster than the travel time by plane, when you calculate in the time it takes to get to and from the airport.

Germany's privatized national railway, the Deutsche Bahn, features the super-fast InterCity Express (ICE) trains. They zoom around the country at hourly and two-hourly intervals and link up all major cities. Transferring from one of them to another is usually just a matter of crossing the station platform and speeding off again within minutes of your arrival. Some ICE trains also operate between major international destinations including Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.

The ICE trains are quiet and fully air-conditioned with reclining seats, tables at seats, dining and bistro cars. And they are fast. An ICE line connects Frankfurt and Cologne in only 58 minutes.

Trains similar to the ICEs, with the same internationally stipulated quality standards, connect major cities in Germany as well as German cities with major cities of neighboring countries. The trains connecting German cities are called Intercity (IC) trains and the ones connecting German cities with neighboring countries are called EuroCity (EC) trains.

The ICE trains have laptop connections and repeaters to make use of cell phones easy. And they have special compartments for handicapped travelers and travelers with babies. There are plenty of “Rest Areas” on an ICE where the use of mobile phones, ring tones and loud music (including with headphones) are not welcome. Reservations are highly recommended for special features such as the repeaters or baby and handicapped compartments. Seats on the trains can be reserved, for a fee of €4.50, as much as three months in advance. A reservation is also recommended on ICE and EC trains if you plan to travel on summer weekends or during holiday periods.

CityNightLine (CNL) trains are sleepers with economy and deluxe sleeper cars (with single, double, triple or four bed configurations and private WC and showers) as well as couchette cars that can accommodate up to six people and cars that have reclining seats. There are now 17 of them operating between a variety of destinations. They usually reach the destination city before the first plane of the day does.

Not only is train travel often faster than air travel, it is also more reliable. Air travel is more subject to weather-related delays. Because of this, major efforts are being made to integrate air and rail travel. ICE trains stop at the Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Köln-Bonn airports.
https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/trains.html

Japan Nankai "Rapit" appears 14 cm cracks !

Oxigen — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:54:34 +0800

According to NHK News, at Nankai Electric Railway's “Rapit” connecting Osaka City and Kansai Airport, a vehicle truck was found to have a crack of approximately 14 cm. A crack of less than 10 cm in length was found on another vehicle's carriage.
https://www.tellerreport.com/life/2019-08-2...ByxHemuzSS.html

MH 907 - Worlds First Motion Sensitive Headphone

Oxigen — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:23:50 +0800

MH907 - Worlds First Motion Sensitive Headphone By Sony Ericsson

cool technology - cant wait to get one!!

-cheers-

[WTA] Calling All 2nd Hand Honda Jazz Owners

Oxigen — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:03:57 +0800

calling all 2nd Honda Jazz owners
seeking your advise/comments/feedbacks on purchasing the 2nd hand Honda Jazz.
mainly, what is the the upmost important aspect/criteria to check before purchasing the 2nd hand Jazz and any information that could be provided as I am seriously interested to get one very soon.
additionally, recommendations are welcomed for a good 2nd hand Jazz dealer
btw, noticed that the VTEC version is not as much as the IDSI in the current 2nd hand market.

comments are appreciated

-cheers-

Penang CM: No link between Wi-Fi and Illnes

Oxigen — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:58:45 +0800

this is something new and scary if true! what about users in KL then?

-cheers-

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday quashed fears that the usage of Wi-Fi frequencies would pose health problems.

He said there was no evidence that the Wi-Fi systems had a direct link to illnesses.

"So far, there is no evidence of such links to illness and if there were, we would not proceed to use them." Lim said South Korea had been using the Wi-Fi system without any problems. However, the state government would be meeting soon to discuss the issue. Lim was responding to calls that the state's Penang Free Wi-Fi project be stopped until it was proven safe.

Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris had last week urged the state government not to allow a technology which has not been proven to be safe, to be imposed on residents. He said residents would be unable to avoid the electro-magnetic radiation, and the state government should take a precautionary approach as it would affect the health of all.

Lim had earlier launched the WiMAX broadband services operated by Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd at the Penang Development Corporation office. "The availability of WiMAX in the state provides a boost to the industries here. "With this partnership, we are taking another step in bridging, if not eliminating, the digital divide in Penang."

Emedia Source