Take a look at the video clip below – it’s AWESOME!!! I can’t imagine doing my own wedding like that, but it really looks like it’s a lot of FUN!

YouTube to help creators of one-hit wonder videos make money
(article from news.com.au)

* One-hit wonders to get ad revenue
* Extension of YouTube’s revenue plan

YOUTUBE has offered a way for creators of videos which become a big hit to cash in on their success.

The Google-owned video-sharing site said in a blog post that it was expanding its YouTube Partnership Program to the creators of successful “one-off” videos.

The program had previously focused on what YouTube described as “prolific users who regularly produce videos that reach a wide audience”.

“Now, when you upload a video to YouTube that accumulates lots of views, we may invite you to monetise that video and start earning revenue from it,” said YouTube product manager Shenaz Zack.

One recent example of a clip that became a global phenomenon was the JK wedding dance video, which showed a Minnesota couple’s wedding party performing an entrance dance routine.

It was seen more than 10 million times in less than a week and picked up by various TV news outlets. But according to YouTube executives, the makers never made any money from the clip.

YouTube said a user whose video is eligible would receive an email and an “Enable Revenue Sharing” message would appear next to the video.

“Once you’ve chosen to enable revenue sharing, YouTube will sell advertising against your video and pay you a revenue share,” YouTube said.

YouTube did not reveal a breakdown of the proposed revenue share.

It said individual video partnerships would only be available in the US for now but that it hopes to extend the program internationally soon.

Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $US1.65 billion ($1.97 billion) but the California-based internet search and advertising giant has not yet managed to turn a profit with the site despite its massive global popularity.

- with Reuters

(from news.com.au)
Lost luggage makes grown men weep
April 04, 2008 09:58am

• One third of Australians travel without insurance
• Guide: How to make an insurance claim

PEOPLE mill around the baggage carousel at their destination’s airport eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of their luggage.

As the crowd begins to thin out and bags are piled high on to trolleys, the grim thought that yours may not appear is sure to creep into your mind.

Of the three billion bags that are checked in at airports around the world each year, about 1 per cent disappears, a new survey has revealed.

When it comes to lost luggage in Australia, a spokesman for online financial services company ARTOG.com.au, Kevin Sherman, says such statistics are not something airlines are keen to boast about.

And when baggage does go AWOL, it’s the women who keep their cool, the study has found.

According to the online survey of 2328 Australians, 49 per cent of women react in a practical way to this harrowing situation by borrowing clothes and keeping fuss to a minimum.

On the other hand, 51 per cent of male respondents admit they are likely to make a scene and shout at staff before leaving hastily to buy a replacement wardrobe.

The study, conducted by ARTOG.com.au, has also found that one in three Australians, despite the dire consequences, travel without insurance.

A spokeswoman for ARTOG.com.au, Edith Fink, says people are confused about what insurance costs and what it will cover them for.

“Consumers obviously believe lost luggage happens only to the other guy,” Ms Fink says.

Mr Sherman agrees the facts are plain and simple.

“Scenario one: you travel with no insurance. It’s at the discretion of the airline whether they say `sorry’ or just go, `Look, here’s 50 bucks’.

“Your chance of getting any kind of compensation is minimal.

“Travelling with insurance, you should get some sort of meaningful contribution toward replacing your things, provided that when you bought the insurance, you were honest with yourself in terms of how much cover you thought you needed.”

A traveller backpacking through India doesn’t need to insure his goods for $5000, but a high-powered businesswoman may need to if she’s travelling with a case full of designer suits, Mr Sherman says.

Tips for minimising the chance of losing your luggage:
BOOKING direct flights, because connections increase the chance your luggage will be misplaced.

REMOVING old airline stickers from your luggage.

CHECKING your luggage in early rather than at the last minute.

ENSURING your handler attaches the correct destination sticker to every bag.

MAKING your luggage stand out. Distinctive ribbons, stickers, patches and colours ensure your bag isn’t just another black suitcase.

PUTTING your name and contact details on the outside and inside of every bag.

PACKING your valuables in your carry-on bag.

ENSURING you have adequate travel insurance.

(from news.com.au)
Headstone beats man to death
January 31, 2008 03:07pm

A MAN has discovered his own grave – including a headstone awaiting his death – while visiting a cemetery.

After being given six months to live, 71-year-old British man Andy Lees paid a funeral company for a grave and a headstone – but did not expect the gravestone to be erected until after his death, the BBC reported.

Mr Lees told the broadcaster that he was “shocked” when friends began calling him to see if he was still alive after seeing the headstone at a cemetery in Blackburn, in England’s north west.

The father-of-four said he wanted to have his grave paid for before his death, but this was too much.

“I decided to pay for my own funeral before I died so that my kids didn’t have to pay for anything,” Mr Lees told the BBC.

“So I paid for everything but I didn’t want anything erected – but the next thing I knew, I was getting phone calls from people asking if I was dead or alive.

“It was a shock seeing myself in a grave, my legs started shaking and I had to be taken home.”

He said the funeral company had apologised over the incident.

“The funeral director said he was sorry and that he would take it down, which was a relief but the damage has now been done.”

The headstone did not contain the date of Mr Lees’ “death”.

Man’s best friend to best man
From correspondents in London
October 02, 2006 06:38am
(from ninemsn.com.au)

DOGS are being entrusted with a ceremonial role in their owners’ weddings, with some pampered pets wearing outfits matching the bride and groom.

The dogs perform their duties in tuxedos and bow ties, in silk dresses encrusted with costume jewellery and in bespoke collars made of flowers.

Church of England priests have been given the power to include dogs in the wedding service. A spokesman said: “While it would be inappropriate for a dog to replace (the) father of the bride, there would be no sensible grounds for objecting to it taking the role of ring bearer.”

Cliona Roberts, 36, and David Dargie, 40, have entrusted that role at their wedding to their West Highland terrier. The couple will dress their dog Teaser, 5, in a white bow tie for the ceremony in east London.

When Katrina and Martin Thompson married at Barnstaple parish church in Devon in August, their labrador-collie cross Shannon was ring bearer. The dog sat at the front of the church with the best man, with the rings attached by ribbons to a cushion around her neck.

Retailers are cashing in on the fashion. PetLondon, a specialist outfitter for dogs, sells a tuxedo and a bridesmaid’s dress and Velcro bow ties. The company sold 700 dog tuxedos last year and forecasts that sales will rise to 1000 next year. A dog tuxedo costs about 20 pounds ($50) and includes a white shirt with a black overcoat, bow tie and top hat.

For female dogs there is a silk and lace bridesmaid’s dress costing around 100 pounds. Melody Lewis, founder of the store, said she had sold 300 in the past six months.

Lewis said her customers treated their pets as if they were members of the family. “They think, ‘How can we leave him out of such an important event in our lives?”‘ she said.

The Sunday Times

(from Agence France-Presse)
Thousands in ‘Santa dash’
December 04, 2006 09:08am

THOUSANDS of people dressed as Santa Claus took part today in an annual “Santa Dash” in the English city of Liverpool, setting a new world record in the process, organisers of the event said.

To raise money for local charities, about 5000 people dressed up in red suits, white beards and black boots and ran for five kilometres through the streets.

The feat dwarfed last year’s event which saw the northwestern city earn a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the most Santas in one place at one time with 3921.

Though more than 5000 people filled in applications to enter the 2006 event, the exact number of runners, along with the total amount raised, has not yet been confirmed.

The event’s website acknowledges that it faces stiff competition for the world record from an event in Las Vegas later this month.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Santas also dressed up to take part in similar charity runs in two Welsh cities, Newtown and Oswestry, attracting nearly 2000 runners.

巧克力其實本身並不甜, 而是有種苦苦的味道 (dark choco 就是苦苦的). 加了糖, 巧克力才變甜. 說吃太多巧克力會變胖, 大概是因為太甜吧? 如果只吃dark choco的話, 還會越吃越肥嗎?

記得Back to the Future 2 那部電影開頭就有個 Mr. Fuel 可以把垃圾變成fuel; 這構想的一部分已經開始實現囉.

(from NewScientist)
Chocolate generates electrical power
01 June 2006

Willy Wonka could have powered his Great Glass Elevator on hydrogen produced from his chocolate factory.

Microbiologist Lynne Mackaskie and her colleagues at the University of Birmingham in the UK have powered a fuel cell by feeding sugar-loving bacteria chocolate-factory waste. “We wanted to see if we tipped chocolate into one end, could we get electricity out at the other?” she says.

The team fed Escherichia coli bacteria diluted caramel and nougat waste. The bacteria consumed the sugar and produced hydrogen, which they make with the enzyme hydrogenase, and organic acids. The researchers then used this hydrogen to power a fuel cell, which generated enough electricity to drive a small fan (Biochemical Society Transactions, vol 33, p 76).

The process could provide a use for chocolate waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. What’s more, the bacteria’s job doesn’t have to end once they have finished chomping on the sweet stuff. Mackaskie’s team next put the bugs to work on a production line that recovers precious metal from the catalytic converters of old cars.

Place the bacteria in a vat with hydrogen and liquid waste from spent converters, and the enzymes again get to work. The same hydrogenase used to produce hydrogen splits the gas into its constituents, generating electrons that react with palladium ions in the solution. This forces the palladium out of the solution, and it sticks to the bacteria. The palladium-coated bacteria can then be recycled as catalysts for other projects, Mackaskie says.

From issue 2554 of New Scientist magazine, 01 June 2006, page 25

孩子無照駕駛被取締 家長反怪警察大驚小怪
【中央社 】

（中央社記者曾立南投四日電）南投縣警局交通隊深夜執行路檢，查獲六名未成年少女分乘三部機車無照駕駛，家長被通知到場，不但不管教子女，還怪警察執法大驚小怪，交通隊長陳靖平不禁搖頭。

南投縣交通隊三日深夜在南投市軍功橋執行路邊臨檢，查獲六名只有十六和十七歲的女學生無照駕駛，見警察路檢還在橋上雙黃線迴轉，被攔下並帶回交通隊，除了勸導還通知其中一位住南投的家長到場。

那位家長到交通隊，先罵警察大驚小怪，還搬出民意代表朋友，要求放一馬；交通隊不賣帳，更搬出法令，指無照駕駛要罰六千元，雙黃線迴轉罰九百元，父母未善盡管教之職，將公布姓名，並接受道路安全講習四小時；一下子就把家長轟得無話可說。

交通隊依規定把失職的父母姓名，公布在縣警局網站，發現其中兩名少女父親分別在苗栗和嘉義當警察，意外給自己人難堪，還有些感慨。