Yup, it seems that the red light has gone on for the Umpire Decision Review System that initially received so much support from players and cricket boards alike. Despite Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager of batting his heart out to try and keep the system alive it has just not taken off and is being shot down mercilessly by boards world over. So what is the exact problem? It is not so much the cricketing reasons but the financial ones. Since broadcasters of the series involved and the home cricket board are supposed to bear the costs of the referral system, none is ready to take on the extra expenditure in these tough times.

The on going series between India and Sri Lanka is a prime example where BCCI shot down the idea of using referral system as Nimbus and the board had an issue with spending the money. With the richest cricket board in the world backing out, hope seems pretty bleak elsewhere. But Richardson is hopeful as he tries to garner support from Down Under in Australia where he feels both the ACB and the production channel will be more willing to help out.

While there is no doubt that the system is good for the game and viewers alike, it seems broadcasters are just not willing to go that extra mile on the issue. Or a game that is still largely confined to a handful of post-colonial colonies, it would be better to think long term than bother about short-term savings.

The story in the St. Louis Today was not so much about the Polar Bears but about how the festive season is bringing new business opportunities to the city, but the picture in the paper that came attached tells a whole different tale. The zoo at St. Louis has tried its luck with keeping polar bears several times in the past and unfortunately for the authorities there every time the saga ended with a disaster. It all started in May 2005 when a polar bear named Churchill died after eating a lunch that consisted of plastic and plastic from the bin in the zoo. (Yup, sheer negligence more than bud luck)

Just five weeks following Churchill’s death another polar bear named Penny died of infection and after her death the zoo officials found out that she was pregnant and would have given birth to two little cubs had she been alive. Finally, Hope the last polar bear died this April of cancer. With that the officials lost all hope and decided that they will just bring in electronic replacements; or so it seems as of now.

With many species being wiped out off of the surface of the planet at an alarming rate that unfortunate day might now be far away when every zoo in the world sports only replicas and stuffed models… sad, but so very true.

riverfronttimes

Landmines are arguably the gravest threat to both humans and wildlife alike in almost 87 countries across the planet and with war times long behind us the ugly scars and the undetonated landmines still haunt those who wish to put the past behind them. In countries such as Sri Lanka over 20 elephants each year are killed by landmines while men and women continue to die needlessly in the African nations. An estimated 1.6 million animals each year are consumed by these sleeping death traps. But now scientists have designed a new ally that will help us fight this demon- a genetically engineered bacteria that will glow around a landmine!

Produced using a new technique called BioBricking, which manipulates packages of DNA the newly created bacteria forms green patches when sprayed onto ground where mines are buried. Now forces can just air spray the bacteria from a flight and then give it a couple of hours before the bacteria starts to glow around the landmines.

While previous such attempts have been made scientists claim that this time the experiment will lead to a practical solution as it is cheap to mass produce this bacteria. For nations like Somalia, Bosnia, and Cambodia, which have been plagued by landmines these bacteria could be the best gift they received in a long, long time.

Treehugger

The holiday season is indeed here, but then for those working at the office the time leading up to the holidays can be really stressful with work mounting and plenty that needs to be done before going on the at vacation. After a long day’s work there is nothing better than a wonderful and relieving massage to sooth your senses. Obviously you cannot go to a spa everyday, so the folk at Kinatech have brought out a perfect way to bring home that relaxing experience. The Headtime scalp massager is in fact so cool tat you can comfortably dawn it while working itself!

The hat-like massager is styled to be worn at anytime of the day without any discomfort and the 29 silicon balls for acupressure and 34 ceramic balls inside the cap are superb when it comes to busting all that accumulated stress. The ‘helmet on top’ style of this scalp massager ensures that it is perfect for all those tech-geeks who spend hours in front of the system.

With soothing sounds of nature playing inside the Headtime and cool LED lighting to go along the latest gadget is expected to get pretty popular among both housewives and professional alike… Even we could use one, you know!

Aving

No, we are not kidding one bit. The diamond-studded 50 ct Black Spirit pen is indeed up for auction and if you wish to pocket this piece of royalty and exclusivity then all you need to do is bid for it. That’s right; this simply exquisite piece of artistry is up for grabs till 12 December and with bidding starting at $ 45,000, expect your pocket to get quite a bit light if you indeed happen to bring this shining beacon back home. Made from 18kt rose gold and set with numerous black diamond’s (weighing 50 carats in totality) as well as white diamonds (weighing 8.30 carats in totality) the Black Spirit sports an 18ct gold nib that adds glitter to your words.

The pen clip is mounted onto an internal mechanism which allows movement while maintaining a constant spring effect and residing in a beautiful black leather box, you can parade it every time you step into a board meeting or go for a contract signing. With auction still very much open at Billionairexchange.com, we will only find out after 12 December as to who will exactly take the Black Spirit home. Let’s just say that whoever does indeed win the bidding war is sure to discover a new found passion for writing!

Luxurylaunches

USB flash drives are now coming in various sizes, shapes, forms and are here to serve more than just the basic purpose of storing data. They are now pendants, key chains and stylish accessories that have evolved a long way in the past decade or so. Now it is the time for the world’s smallest USB-flash active Wink to make its appearance on the stage. Coming in the dimensions of 30,5 x12, 7×2, 5 mm and weighing no more than a breezy 1.5 grams in weight, the USB drive can fit in almost anywhere and is perfect in case you wish to hide your data from prying eyes.

The ultra-mini USB drive has a storage capacity that ranges from 2 GB to what is a staggering 16 GB for its miniscule size, depending on the model you chose and the amount of cash that you are willing to part with. The range of these tiny wonders starts from $ 7.95 and in case you are wondering how durable these tiny little ones can be, then think again. Coming with a waterproof module and wrapped in high-strength polymer that prevents damage, the smallest USB drives on the planet can hold their own even under the roughest circumstances.

techno-internet

There is a certain advantage that green initiatives bring to the companies that take them up and when giants like Coca-Cola step up for the planet’s cause you tend to understand how big the green movement has got across the globe. Going green is quite simply the best PR you can generate and more and more firms/people are realizing this fact. Irrespective of the motive though the good thing is that it all benefits the planet and at the end of the day that is what counts the most. Making an announcement that it is now distributing plastic bottles of Coke and other beverages made with up to 30% plant-based material, Coke has taken the initiative in reducing the non-decomposable plastic waste caused due t the use of PET bottles.

Coke aims to produce 2 billion PlantBottles by the end of 2010 as a part of its long term goal to create PET bottles that are made from 100% renewable raw materials and yet are completely recyclable. The current PlantBottle of Coke uses molasses from the sugarcane industry as its main plan-ingredient and in future the company plans to increase the content of the plant-component in the bottles. While a 100% plant-based bottle cannot store carbonated drinks, this fusion seems like the best way possible for now.

With Coke even embracing the green logo, it just seems that firms are lining up to occupy the moral high ground and win over consumers when it comes to going green, the entire process can only mean a ‘cooler’ future for the planet!

triplepundit

Crippling injuries are a part of sports and when you are involved in sports as physical as the UFC, injuries and pain become almost a part of the routine. But career crippling injury is a whole different story and the UFC champ Brock Lesner is currently facing a situation that could mean the end of his fighting career. Lesnar has been diagnosed with some sort of serious intestinal problem that UFC president Dana White says requires a ‘major surgery’. Now you might think people have come out of major surgeries before to resurrect careers, but when doctors tell you ‘you might never fight again’, things can never be too good.

Lesner was a revelation in the world of professional sports with his impressive physical specimen and despite his very limited in-ring talent made a huge name for himself in the WWE before he jumped ship and decided to join UFC. His career has always been full of promise and just when people though that Brock would fulfill that promise the current illness has put him out once again.

While fans and non-fans alike are wishing Brock the very best, Lesner himself could probably take heart from the life of one ‘Shawn Michaels’ who suffered a crippling back injury in 1998 and still came back in 2002 to WWE ring to work again fulltime. Hopefully Brock Lesner will script a similar fairytale in the UFC…

Citypages

NASA is pretty renowned for screw ups that only it can manage to pull off and after re-recording on the moon landing tapes its reputation has been on a one way trip down the spiral. With the International Space Station (ISS) in eternal need of repairs and pare parts and the space shuttles at NASA’s disposal only operation for another year or so, it is now pretty desperate to launch the Atlantis into orbit on the scheduled Monday afternoon.

Atlantis will carry a cargo weighing 27,000 pounds that include spare parts a couple of refurbished gyroscopes, pumps, tanks for ammonia and nitrogen and a piece called the “trailing umbilical system reel assembly” for the railway system that moves the station’s robotic arm. (Yup, it is almost as if they are building the whole thing again!)

Atlantis will not just carry a heavy payload but will also bring back to earth a balky toilet system that recycles urine into drinkable water. Apparently there is more than enough water for the guys up there at the moment! The 11-day mission is commanded by Col. Charles O. Hobaugh of the Marines, and the pilot is Capt. Barry E. Wilmore of the Navy and if all goes to plan then NASA will be pretty relieved as time is running out quickly for their space shuttles.

Nytimes

No matter on which side of the fence you are, one thing now is for certain: the use of cellphone does indeed change the configuration of your brain. But the question of the extent of damage that usage of mobiles can cause is still unanswered. If you were to believe the latest study conducted by researchers at Sweden’s Örebro University, then it seems that the use of mobiles is actually leading to a change that looks useful rather than harmful! Of course that is from the viewpoint of a layman who does not understand the mechanics of the human brain.

In their latest experiments researchers found that cellphone use increases the amount of a protein called transthyretin, which is part of the ceberospinal fluid that cushions and protects the brain. So, should that not mean that it is actually leading to an adaptation that in the long run could be useful? Well, scientists are still not clear about that part, but they state that this conclusively proves that mobile phone usage does leave a lasting impact in your head.

While adults are often far better equipped to deal with radiation that is caused by usage of mobiles, children and teenagers have much thinner skull bones and their brains have a lot more fluid and hence absorb twice the radiation. This is precisely why health experts and environmentalists are now lobbying for a decrease in the acceptable radiation mark. If that happens, expect the cell phone giants in US to make quite a fuss about it all!

Wired