Olympic athletes don red lenses to combat Beijing smog

At least one Olympic team is seeing red over the pollution at the upcoming Beijing games. Word is that the English hockey team is training with red lenses which are said to help with visibility in the Chinese city's smog-filled conditions. And it won't come as a great surprise should other participants take the cue as well.

The performance-enhancing contact lenses may make the wearer look like Darth Maul, but these are specially designed for players to see better, particularly in bright sunlight.

Beijing's bad air has been making headlines as it nears its August 8 Olympic Games launch. A recent Greenpeace report on the Chinese capital's air quality noted that the city was well short of international guidelines and that levels of particulates in the air were twice as high as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

In fact, fearing for his health, Olympic gold-medallist and world record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who suffers from asthma, reportedly pulled out of the Beijing marathon. Australia has also told its athletes that they can withdraw if the air pollution poses a threat.

On its part, the Chinese authorities have promised that the haze pollution will not last throughout the Games and are taking measures that include banning cars on alternative days according to licence plate numbers, closing a number of factories, and playing weather God.

Via The Sun | Picture credit: Nike

Oxygen-making backpack a breath of fresh air

Out of Japan comes word of a backpack containing a battery-powered oxygen generator. It's doubtful you'll need the O2 Bag if you're going for a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park near your house (unless the park near your house happens to be Yosemite). But if you're ascending to higher elevations, it could prove a nice alternative to bottled oxygen supplements.

The backpack's maker, Japanese adventure supply company Ymup, is touting the product as a first. It can even be operated via remote control, potentially helpful if you find yourself climbing, biking, or trekking in narrow spaces where it's hard to maneuver your gear.

The oxygen comes at 30 percent concentration and is inhaled via a nozzle. The company says the battery lasts up to 2 hours, though the folks at Ubergizmo noted that they wouldn't mind seeing a solar panel attached.
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Weather control for the Beijing Olympics

Because Storm from X-Men is fully booked for the year, the capital of China has to come up with alternative methods to make sure there isn't a downpour during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. According to Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of the Chinese Government, the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Bureau will be using a combination of techniques, including cloud seeding, to make sure it will be dry on the evening of August 8.

Cloud seeding involves spreading silver iodide crystals or dry ice into clouds. Such action can be undertaken to delay or speed up rain, depending on the situation needed at hand. It's not just about controlling the clouds, accurate information is also needed before any action can be taken. It was about a year back that the bureau purchased a powerful IBM supercomputer to predict rain during the Olympic period. The System p575 can deliver a trillion operations per second and was reported to have cost the state several million dollars.

Beijing is sparing no expense to make sure it doesn't rain on its party. Will it work? We'll see in two weeks.

Image of IBM System p575 courtesy of NASI

Volkswagen's diesel-friendly BlueMotion in Singapore

Forget hybrids, think diesel. Because that's the way Volkswagen says is the future if you aim to cut both your fuel costs and carbon footprint. Before you utter shock and horror over the idea of diesel, which conjures up images of smoke-spluttering taxi cabs and lorries, the German car maker is out to change your perception. Its first BlueMotion diesel passenger car in Singapore, launched over the weekend, is a fuel-sipper that's not only kind to your wallet, it's kind to the planet. This is identified by a BlueMotion logo on the number plates and "CO2 neutral" stickers on the sides.

With rising gas prices burning a hole in our pockets, BlueMotion's weapon is a technology that gives the 1.4-liter Polo BlueMotion an average fuel consumption of 3.8 liters/100km. Besides reportedly better mileage, regular gasoline costs about S$2.11 a liter (Unleaded 98) vs. S$1.87 for diesel. Though given diesel's rising price, the fuel savings differential appears to be narrowing.
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Sticky goo does your computer good

It's neon yellow, putty-like and looks like a toy, but Swiss-made Cyber Clean is actually a cleaning product for computers and other gadgets.

Made to squish in between keyboard keys and phone buttons, the yellow blob disinfects and picks up debris.

The Cyber Clean Web site claims keyboards harbor large amounts of germs, as well as waste that can be harmful to devices.

The site says the germ-killing goo is lemon-scented and biodegradeable.

Though it's not available in US stores, clean freaks (or goo lovers) can buy a 1lb pot for the equivalent of US$16 on Expert Verdict.

Via CNET Crave

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