Category Archives: Other Stuff
Samsung and Apple have literally been at war recently, trying to grab technology-markets, each with their own products. The companies however do agree on one thing, the fact that the environment needs saving, and have been looking towards the sun for an answer. Samsung has already waded into solar energy, unveiling solar powered devices including the Android-powered Replenish smartphone and the upcoming NC215S netbook. Apple though is still at its drawing boards and has already stashed a bunch of patents relating to solar-powered tech.
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This week, the Rich Traveller checks in to the new Harrods store at The Corinthia Hotel London, before taking off for some retail therapy at St Barths. If you’re trying to be cautious with your diet this summer, you must speak to the guys at Gluten Free Travel -Us, and stay healthy. On the other hand, if you’re looking to indulge this summer, MSC Cruises will be serving different cuisines prepared by specially-invited celebrity chefs on their different itineraries. This week we have some truly inspiring holiday ideas : choices include lapping up it in luxury at the very very pink Eloise Suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York, getting cozy with your partner on Richard Branson’s heart-shaped island, taking a wellness journey in the Maldives or experiencing the Great Wildebeest Migration in Kenya. We also bring to you a pleasant surprise with the Lakes’s my lake hotel & spa in Wörthersee, Austria.
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Some prefer burials while others look to cremation as final resting places for their bodies. Well, if you’re looking for a unique way to deal with your body when you leave for heavenly abode, bioartist Jae Rhim Lee has a suit that’ll do just that, in a manner that somewhat made us cringe. Lee designed a suit with Infinity Mushrooms that eat away your body and decomposes it once you die. Carefully adjusted and bred to break down human hair, nails and skin completely, the suit seems to be a pretty feasible way to put bodies to rest.
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We just came across an innovative way to supply those goldfish you’ve bred in your pond with a constant supply of fresh food, straight from the living ecosystem! Here’s how it works. The system includes a device to be placed in the pond. Featuring a solar LED light, it attracts insects in the dark. And once close at hand, the naïve insect is trapped inside, and ends up as a gourmet dinner for you goldfish. This one certainly doesn’t cost much to build and is a simple DIY process, while all you’ll need for it is a LED light that uses solar energy to power up, a float, duct tape and a bit of mesh!
[Instructables]
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There’s been green flowing out of UAE time and again. Dubai’s done it again, this time with solar-powered places to pee. Soon, solar energy will be used to power up new public toilets in Dubai, generating energy from the sun to power up the fluorescent lights, exhaust fans and small water pumps in the toilets. And if all goes well with the pilot project, Dubai’s older toilets will be upgraded to solar-powered too. Also, these will be free for public use, and Dubai is also drawing up plans for solar-powered swimming pools and solar panels for abattoirs up ahead. A pat on the back for Dubai and its solar powered escapades!
[TheNational]
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If you’re one of those fashion-conscious pool-regulars who throw away old swim-wear on a seasonal basis, here’s an interesting concept that might just catch your eye! Designed by Linda Loudermilk, what you’re looking at here is the world’s first compostable swimsuit! Once you’re done using it and decide to buy a new one, all you need to do is dig a hole in your backyard, and bury this one six feet under, and it disintegrates in 180 days. Shown off at the HauteNatured swimwear show at the Miami Swim Week, these degradable swimwear are sure to make you look fabulous too, making heads turn, as you walk around the pool.
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Eco-adventures can rejoice as luxurious hotel operator Ritz-Carlton, have announced plans for their first reserve in the Americas, while the posh Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa was recertified two years in a row for their Carbon Neutral status. Lenny Kravitz is the latest celebrity to turn his hand into designing for rooms at the SLS Hotel at South Beach, set to open next year in Miami. With all eyes on Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022, the country is now building a $1.6 billion sports facility in Doha. Travel experiences continue to evolve with transparent bubbles that will let you camp under the stars or a Chandelier Bar enveloped in crystals and definitely making news is Abramovich’s Eclipse yacht, which is now available for charter at $2m per week! In other hotel news, the iconic Grand Hyatt San Francisco has announced plans for a $70m refurbishment while the Viceroy Hotel Group will take over management of the iconic Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
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Making electric cars a lot more energy-efficient than they already are, General Motors has joined hands with OnStar, a smart-grid solutions firm, to develop a smart-grid pilot that will substantially help reduce charging costs for Chevy Volts around. The OnStar system being set up will help utilities directly control EV charging for the participating Volt users in the program, offering discounts or other incentives to encourage drivers to charge their EVs when overall electricity demand is lowest. Also, hundreds of utility workers will lease out Chevrolet Volt vehicles and drive them to work every day, plugging them in at night, participating in this program.
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This week we saw Air travel fly to greater heights as the first solar-powered aircraft readies for a take-off. Airports are getting trendier, with a new Ducati retail outlet in Rome Fiuminino while Dubai gets a brand new Lufthansa Senator lounge for their first-class passengers. Four Seasons is in the news with their new rooms & suites at the Four Seasons Hotel Amman while the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is looking to welcome golfers with a fantastic new ProAm package. A few new hotels have opened doors, with the luxurious Kempinski Grand Hotel Gelendzhik on the Black Sea, while Mr Trump opens his new palatial Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower also the title of Latin America’s tallest building, while the Marriott Hotels opens two properties; the JW Marriott Ankara and the Jaipur Marriott Hotel. Virtuoso’s latest ‘Travel Dreams’ survey has revealed that today’s rich travelers consider Cruising as the most desired travel experience – and almost taking cue, Anantara has launched the Anantara Cruises, a truly unique offering in their 100-year-old rice barges while the St. Regis Punta Mita Resort now offers a 70-foot luxury motor yacht for cruising across Puerto Vallarta’s lovely Banderas Bay.
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Driving through foggy highways at night can be risky indeed, and usually, drivers require a lot more assistance than just fog lamps to prevent pile-ups. Designer Da Wei Xing has come up with an innovative and sustainable way to prevent accidents on highways. Called the SafetyDistance, the system includes the use of solar powered signs to be located on highway side-railings. These cylinder-shaped signs use motion sensors that on detecting passing cars, set of warning lamps that inform the following car of the vehicle ahead’s presence and distance. A green glow from the lamps denote that the car ahead is at safe distance, while a red light means the car ahead’s too close.
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