HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Sailing with a kite!

The power of wind has been the most used energy source throughout the history of sailing. Currently, the use of wind power is limited to small boats with recreational purposes and commercial shipping depends exclusively on fossile fuels. What if we could avoid the carbon emissions generated by the thousands of cargo vessels that sail through the world every day? A german company has recently developed a wind propulsion system for cargo ships based on large towing kites. The SkySails system consists of an automated towing kite and a system that optimises the route according to the wind. When the wind conditions are suitable, this system can be used additionally to the propulsion of the ship’s engine. By using the SkySails-System, a ship‘s fuel costs can be reduced by 10- 35% on annual average, depending on wind conditions.

The first cargo ship with SkySails-Sytem, the Beluga Skysails was christened at Hamburg on December 15th, 2007. The future will tell if this environmentally friendly technology meets the requirements of commercial shipping. Maybe we will be the witnesses of a the start of a revolution in sea transportation.

If you want to find out more, have a look at the company's official website:

Skysails

A guitar that tunes itself

If you play the guitar, you must be used to spending a few minutes tuning your guitar. These days are over...

After many years of research Gibson has released the Robot Guitar, a guitar that is able to tune itself in less than a second. The instrument includes robotics technology that allows the processor to recognize the guitar pitch and send a signal to direct the six motor pegs to tighten or loose the strings accordingly. And that's not all, there are six nonstandard preset tunings that you can use to play different styles.

By now, this technology is only available for those who can spend around 2000 € on a guitar, but... who knows? Maybe in the future, there will be a robot in every band to make musicians' lives easier.
If you want to see a live performance of the Robot Guitar, check out the following video:



Robot guitar official site

Will is going to will

Many students have difficulties with the use of future verbal tenses. Here you have a link where the BBC provides us with very useful materials to work on the different future tenses. You can listen to clear grammar explanations that you can download and you can also practice online. What else could you ask for?

BBC Grammar Challenge

A different way of learning English (just hilarious)

That's one small click for a man, one giant leap for...

The Smithsonian Institute is the world's largest museum complex and research organization formed by 19 museums and 9 research centers. The Smithsonian is located in Washington (US), but you can visit it online. Their web site offers a lot of interesting information and great interactive materials dealing with history, science, nature, art...

Today, I suggest visiting the online interactive exhibitions at the National Air and Space Museum, where you can track the path of humanity through the skies.

Smithsonian Institute
National Air and Space Museum

The Spanish Amsterdam

Valencia is a great city for cycling. An increasing number of people use the bike to circulate aroud the city. The advantages of the bicycle are obvious: you can avoid traffic jams, you dont't have to spend half an hour trying to find a parking place and last, but not least, it is harmless for the environment and for your health. Due to the growing number of cyclists and tourists, several cycle events are regularly organised, such as the monthly demonstration organised by Valencia en Bici. There are also companies that organise cycling tours around the city, including night tours and guided tours in English. For more information about cycling in Valencia, have a look at the following links:
www.valenciaenbici.com (useful information for cyclers in Valencia; a downloadable map of the cycle lanes is available) www.valenciaguias.com (guided tours) www.doyoubike.com (guided tours and rental service)

Do you speak English?

Blackle: The energy saving web browser

Blackle is a new version of Google, the most popular internet search engine. Instead of the Google's white background, Blackle's screen is predominantly black, making your computer save energy.Try setting Blackle as your home page. This way every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Blackel is available in both English and Spanish.

www.blackle.com
www.es.blackle.com