Odd News From Around The World.

[beer monkey]

No more worries about finding your way round Tesco's.

A SATNAV gadget to help pensioners find their way around the shops is being developed by scientists.

Dubbed SatNan, it will even be able to guide OAPs to special offers in supermarket aisles.

Boffins hope the gizmo like a car satellite navigation system will help people baffled by ever-changing shopping centres and shelf display

Professor Paul Watson, of Newcastle University, said yesterday: “Many older people lack the confidence to maintain ‘normal’ walking habits.

“This is often due to worries about getting lost in unfamiliar, new or changing environments.”

The gadgets will be designed to be worn “unobtrusively”, he said.

The university has been given £12million by the Government’s Research Councils UKK to produce SatNan and other hi-tech products.

The device is likely to use both the global positioning system that powers car satellite navigation devices and the latest mobile phone location coordinates.

Newcastle University is already testing a gadget for people with dementia so they can be tracked if they get lost.
(Thesun.co.uk) Here

[westerby]

Octagenarians operating modern satellite navigation systems? Gimme a break!

[old-timer]

The Sun Newspaper wrote:A SATNAV gadget to help pensioners find their way around the shops is being developed by scientists.

it's not a bad idea at all - I wouldn't mind a gadget like that to help me find my way around Udon Map sometimes ........

[beer monkey]

Professor Paul Watson, of Newcastle University, said yesterday: “Many older people lack the confidence to maintain ‘normal’ walking habits.

Ok what all you older members say....Do you have lack of confidence in maintaining 'normal' walking habits..? lets hear it true or not, i don't recall seeing any old crumblys having trouble with wandering around the aisles in Tesco's....

[Pakawala]

And besides, most satnav systems I've come across won't work unless you are OUTSIDE so it can receive a clear signal. I guess they'll have to take the roof off the Tesco and Big C stores. Sounds like a great use of the 12 million pounds in British Tax money.

[westerby]

And besides, most satnav systems I've come across won't work unless you are OUTSIDE so it can receive a clear signal. I guess they'll have to take the roof off the Tesco and Big C stores. Sounds like a great use of the 12 million pounds in British Tax money.

You can get repeater systems that you install in aircraft hangars and avionics labs so you can test inside.

[Pakawala]

Thanks Westerby, now I'll be able to use my new SatNan system inside the store... assuming I can convince Tesco and Big C to install a repeater system.

[laphanphon]

may come in useful here, since they seem to rearrange the stores here every 6 months.

[beer monkey]

And besides, most satnav systems I've come across won't work unless you are OUTSIDE so it can receive a clear signal. I guess they'll have to take the roof off the Tesco and Big C stores. Sounds like a great use of the 12 million pounds in British Tax money.

You can get repeater systems that you install in aircraft hangars and avionics labs so you can test inside.

Ehh say that again...

[Ter]

I think you will find that the nurdle valve is to close to the foo foo spline.

[beer monkey]

Don't confuse matters with confusing Avionics speak Ter.. ,In laymans terms.. the connection between the trolly and statalites should be acheived by using the Helical Friction Principle, with markers hidden amongst the shelving to guide confused elders around stores....all this new fangled stuff happening today, but will it help them maintain normal walking habits..

[Ter]

What was wrong with the old system ? though I suppose for those who shop the in M&S who continually confuse the customer by moving stuff round the shop, it would help.

[westerby]

And besides, most satnav systems I've come across won't work unless you are OUTSIDE so it can receive a clear signal. I guess they'll have to take the roof off the Tesco and Big C stores. Sounds like a great use of the 12 million pounds in British Tax money.

You can get repeater systems that you install in aircraft hangars and avionics labs so you can test inside.

Ehh say that again...

A GPS, or SATNAV, system needs to receive the GPS satellite signals to give you your position, but it won't work if you are inside because the radio waves are not strong enough to penetrate walls, etc. What the aerospace industry do is receive the GPS signals outside via an antenna and then route them into the hangar or avionics lab to a repeater so you can test your aircraft or system without having to drag it outside. You can get GPS signals and navigation if you leave the hangar doors open but it's not reliable. Outdoor reception of signals is also the reason why you stick your Tom Tom/Navman to the windscreen so the GPS signals can get through the glass.

[beer monkey]

Mmm getting to complex for the oldies, as long as they know where the Horlicks,Salmon,Lard,Denture Fix and Senakots are kept all will be well.

[westerby]

Mmm getting to complex for the oldies, as long as they know where the Horlicks,Salmon,Lard,Denture Fix and Senakots are kept all will be well.

Well yes, couldn't agree more, which is why I said this:

Octagenarians operating modern satellite navigation systems? Gimme a break!

Can you imagine it, Nanna going down Tescos armed with her SATNAV to find the Marmite and peanut butter. She'd be cornering spotty shelf stackers asking, 'where's the Steradent, it was at grid co-ordinate 476321 last week'. Sounds like jive ass honky ---- written by a Sun reporter with time on his hands.

Nannas with GPS? Honestly....

[beer monkey]

peanut butter

Would have to be 'smooth' option as the nuts get trapped in teeth.

What with T'internet i reckon the oldies will just do their weekly shop on-line and get it delivered to their door....so maybe the Satnan is not so good after all.

[westerby]

YouTube helps man deliver baby

Source: BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8028625.stm

An engineer in Cornwall delivered his baby son after watching a instructional video on YouTube.
Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.
Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth.
"I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted up," Mr Stephens told the BBC.
Jo Stephens said they had planned a home birth, but not quite in this manner.
"I woke up and realised I was having contractions every five minutes," Mrs Stephens said.
"I woke Marc up and we phoned the midwife, but they were all so busy they couldn't come round to our house and told us to call an ambulance. But before it arrived, it all started."

Preparation

A few hours earlier, Mr Stephens has been reading up on home births and how to cope with anything unexpected.
"The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier." Mr Stephens said his wife was on all fours when he saw the head starting to come out.
"This is our fourth child now and while for our first I spent most of the time at my wife's head, now I'm not afraid to go down to the business end.
"I was still on the phone to the midwife and told her that 'this is it'," he said.
Mr Stephens said he felt no panic, putting his ability to stay calm down to his Royal Navy training.
After delivering the 5lbs 5oz boy, Gabriel, the Stephens went to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, where both mother and baby got a clean bill of health.

Yes, I know, it doesn't add to the knowledge base, unless your wife is pregnant and you live out in the sticks.

[beer monkey]

Uk...Speed camera boss Gets driving Ban...For Speeding.....
5/5/09

A speed camera boss has been given a six-month driving ban after being caught speeding at more than 100mph.

Tom Riall, the chief executive of Serco's Civil Government division, was clocked at 102.92mph on the 70mph limit A14 in Newmarket, Suffolk, just before 1pm on January 4.

Riall, 49, of Ufton Nervet, near Reading, was banned from driving for six months by magistrates in Sudbury, Suffolk, after having six points added to his licence for the offence.

After entering a guilty plea, Riall told the court he would like to "formally apologise" and added: "In my role I am all too aware of the consequences of speeding." Last year, he publicly backed a road safety campaign and spoke out against "reckless and dangerous" driving.

Road safety charity Brake said: "He has obviously shown a disregard for the law that his company is instrumental in upholding.

"I think it's up to the company to look closely at his actions and to consider whether he is appropriate to represent the company in light of this conviction."

A Serco spokesman said: "Tom Riall has apologised and his apology has been accepted."

Riall is the chief executive of the arm of Serco that installed and maintained thousands of speed cameras across the UK.

But magistrates' chairman David Hooley added six points to Riall's licence and said a six-month driving ban would be imposed as a result of the conviction. He also fined Riall £300, ordered him to pay £46 towards prosecution costs and £15 to victims of crime.

Outside court, Riall said: "I accept the decision of the court. I recognise that speeding is not acceptable. I very much regret what happened and I have made a full apology to the court."

[westerby]

Tom Riall, the chief executive of Serco's Civil Government division, was clocked at 102.92mph on the 70mph limit A14 in Newmarket, Suffolk, just before 1pm on January 4.

That part of the A14 road going past Newmarket ain't so good and the dual carriageway ain't so wide. I wouldn't do 102 mph down there. A steady 45 for me at all times, thank you very mutt.

[beer monkey]

Well you got only a slim chance of doing 102.92 in the old Deawoo Matiz Westers...so i wouldn't worry yourself about it....stick to 45 but do change into 5th gear.