Madison Who’s Who Blog

Reality is having a more and more difficult time finding purchase in today’s world. Most have heard of Second Life and have been amused by the news and antics that emanate from that pretend world. But then, maybe not so pretend. We’ve mentioned the delusional idea that virtual rapes might merit prosecution in the real world. We also have written of Sweden establishing an embassy as well as sundry corporations establishing Second Life outposts.

If you have yet to find merit in a fabricated world, perhaps a tour will change your mind. In fact, if you are an entrepreneur, there is opportunity for you to profit from introducing Second Life to the uninitiated.

“Since volunteers make wonderful guides, but can’t always be relied on to show up at the agreed time and place, SL Tourguides is offering newcomers professional tours for a fee. The company focuses on business travellers: “You will learn the lingo, learn the protocols, ask questions as you go and find the places/experiences you need to know about. Once you’ve done a tour you will be better placed to decide whether you want to do business in SL.” SL Tourguides offers a 30-minute training session to get to grips with handling an avatar, learning to move, take pictures and store locations. Once they’ve covered the basics, customers can take shopping tours to see what’s happening in virtual retail (90 minutes), or visit examples of what other companies are getting up to in SL (90 minutes). All tours are priced at USD 10 per 30 minutes. SL Tourguides works with freelance guides, who pay the agency a 20% commission fee.”
from Springwise.com

Do you Jott? Jott is a new free online service that allows the caller to dictate a message from their cell phone which gets sent to the recipient via text message and email. You can jott to yourself, to your group and to individual recipients.

“The service is deceptively simple, and lends itself to countless applications. It can be used to leave notes to oneself, from a reminder to buy a carton of milk, to capturing a brilliant idea. Or to draft emails, memos, or the next chapter of a novel while driving home from work. Lawyers and doctors, accustomed to speaking their correspondence and notes, can dictate on the fly.

Intriguingly, Jott has humans transcribing voice messages. Since phones are often used in noisy environments, and Jott’s founders didn’t want members to have to train speech recognition software, Jott uses a mix of machines and overseas agents that also work on medical dictations. For privacy protection, agents have no way of associating personally identifiable information with the recorded jotts they’re transcribing (unless a users makes that information part of the recording).”
Springwise.com

Presently the service is free but the plan is to offer an ad- free premium service. For now, the service is only available in the US and Canada.

If, per chance, a visit to Israel is on your itinerary, you might want to visit the city of Eliat where you will be able to experience the unique opportunity to dine with the mermaids. Well, not really, but if there are any, you will spot them swimming next to all the other sea creatures that will entertain you during the course of your evening.

The Red Sea Star,consisting of 6,000 tons of steel and concrete, is 15 feet underwater, with two levels above water for dining and shopping.

“Enjoy a wide variety of exotic dishes in a magical atmosphere of beauty and peace, while observing through giant windows the colorful underwater coral garden and an endless shifting panorama of marine life in all their kaleidoscopic splendor. Next to almost every table in the restaurant there are two personal windows through which guests can observe the underwater surrounding - one in the wall, to which the table is attached, and the other in the ceiling above it. The restaurant of the Red Sea Star has a very rich and exclusive menu, including fish, meet etc.

At night the underwater garden surrounding the “Star” is softly lit, without disturbing its natural inhabitants (using specific light colors, specific wave length etc.), offering the visitors a unique “dry diving” experience at night as they eat. Ultimately, it all adds up to a wonderful exotic feast of the senses, which is simply unforgettable - a superior pleasure of colors and tastes.”

At a loss on how to spend your week-ends? Tired of the usual game of golf or tennis? How about a treasure hunt?

Geocaching

an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and “treasure,” usually toys or trinkets of little monetary value. Today, well over 350,000 geocaches are currently placed in 222 countries around the world, which are registered on various websites devoted to the sport.

wikipedia

If hitting the trail is a passion, then you may already be familiar with geo-caching. Geocaching is a pursuit that originated in 2000 by computer consultant Dave Ulmer.

” He called the idea the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt” and posted it in an internet GPS users’ group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit.

The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: “Take some stuff, leave some stuff.”

And the same rules apply today. Go to geocache.com, put in your zipcode and more than likely there is a cache stashed within less than a mile from your home. There are pages of listed geo-caches within miles of my address and quite a few in areas I’m in everyday.

All you need is a GPS and an adventurous spirit. It is the treasure hunt of the cyber age and can become the centerpiece of a family vacation or a fun way to spend the week-end. Almost any event can be organized around a geocache hunt.

“Shark Diver turns everyday adventure seekers into underwater explorers. Join us this year on board any of our hand selected shark diving vessels to meet huge Great White Sharks (Carcharodon Carcharias) in the industry’s largest shark cages. Divers and non-divers alike seeking a week long encounter with the ocean’s ultimate predator no longer need to travel over 5000 miles to South Africa or Australia. This newly named “Bio-Sphere Reserve” located 210 miles into the Pacific has it all…and we will take you there with our unique shark diving expeditions!”

If vacation planning has become humdrum, it is time to put the word “adventure” back into your itinerary. If deep submarine adventures and diving with “pre-historic Six Gill sharks off the Cayman Trench at depths up to 2000″ doesn’t take you to another vacation dimension perhaps a “cage-less Grey Reef shark encounter ” will do the trick.

“Shark Diver wants to share with you Mexico’s and the worlds most dramatic shark dive/observation destinations. This summer Shark Diver will continue operations with offshore shark observation and cage diving in 100-foot visability at Isla Guadalupe with up to 7 Great Whites at a time. Whether you are seeking unspoiled shark diving, or shark observations/filming Shark Diver can take you there. Call us today. The ultimate dive adventure is a lot closer than you think!”
SharkDiver.com

I don’t imagine that too many limo companies will be offering a stretch mini-Cooper with a swimming pool but the concept isn’t new. We’ve seen it in stretch pick-ups as well as stretch Hummers. It’s just very unexpected in the normally reticent little mini-Cooper.

“The six wheel, four door, six seater stretch MINI Cooper S features the John Cooper Works Tuning Kit and was built by a specialist coach builder in Los Angeles. Fully loaded with all of the toys you would expect to find in a limousine, the MINI XXL comes equipped with a retractable flat screen TV, a DVD player, CD and radio, air conditioning, sunroof, full black leather and a telephone in the rear so that passengers can communicate with the driver. However, the highlight of the MINI XXL is the whirlpool integrated into the rear section of the car. The whirlpool seats two people and is easy to operate. Its detachable roof means that it can be covered when not in use and emptying it is a simple matter of pulling the plug to release the water.

To accommodate the extra body length of the MINI XXL, the car is supported by a third rear axle that has two additional wheels.

Following its stay in Athens the MINI XXL will commence a tour around Europe and parts of Asia where it is set to be the star attraction at various events.”
(Source)

There are more private islands for sale than one might imagine. Rainbow Island, located on Bridge Lake in British Columbia seems to offer the best of both worlds. The package combines an “island of 63 acres with a romantic old cabin and a waterfront lot of 2.15 acres with a log chalet.” (click image to enlarge)

Kiplinger.com’s Island-Buyers Checklist cautions that the old shibboleth still applies. Location is the first priority, especially where ease of mainland access is a strong consideration. With a lodge and dock directly across from Rainbow Island, that criteria is well satisfied.

The checklist goes on to warn of white sand beaches which tend to host a disproportionate amount of sand fleas. The other counsel includes that obtaining permits for what you can actually do on your island can become a tangled weave. There is also the consideration that the rambling home that you imagine building can be twice as costly to build on an island than on the mainland - unless you have your own barge to haul heavy equipment and building materials.

Though a daydream for most, it doesn’t hurt to ruminate on the possibilities.

“Rainbow Island is the only private island on pristine Bridge Lake. It is approximately 63 acres (25 ha) with about 5200 feet of prime waterfront. Bridge Lake is 7 km long and located in the beautiful Interlakes area, 50 km east of 100 Mile House, BC. This region is well-known for its recreational beauty, abundance of wildlife, crystal clear lakes and creeks. Miles of maintained walking trails throughout the island make it possible to experience the magic feeling amongst majestic virgin fir trees. There are a number of spectacular bays and several excellent building sites to construct your dream home. A night in the old, charming cabin lingers as an unforgettable experience in the memory.”
Vladi Private Islands

The darn thing is under the palm of your hand for hours at a time. And if you are foolish enough to own a glass surfaced desk, your wireless option won’t work without one.They end up dreadfully stained and rather disreputable looking in short order. We are talking about a mouse pad, and the question is, what is the most that you would pay for one?
How much would you pay for that one pictured up there?
Fifty? One hundred?

“Surely you jest,” you demure. Surely I do not. Made by the same fabricators that create Formula One’s racing cars metal structures, this precious mouse pad is “made of polished carbon fiber with inlaid leather mouse area and an Italian black suede backing.” and can be had for a mere $525.

Really.

Surely there is one member of Madison Who’s Who will jump at the chance to have this unique computer accessory.I wonder if they end up looking as sad as the drab patch of material I presently own. Oh well, it would be a minor expense if you already owned this 24K plus ( no,that is not a typo) mouse.

(Hat Tip: The Luxury Portfolio)

As members of Madison Who’s Who are well aware, time to relax is most often relegated to the end of the to-do list, if it makes it on the list at all. We use our work outs and fitness regimen to a more practical end; for energy, health, and appearance. That mental acuity is also a product of physical fitness is almost an afterthought. But the mind needs to be given respite as well from the toll of 16 hour days and yoga and spa treatments will not likely to be inserted into a packed schedule. Madison Who’s Who offers a few suggestions to counter mental stress.

The appropriately named Mind Spa is a gadget that will wrap your mind in 8 different auditory and visual programs of approximate 30 minute duration, promising peace and the bonus of keener focus for your coming day.

“The MindSpa is even fit for daily use and its ongoing usage is guaranteed to improve focus and concentration and increase energy levels. The MindSpa creators offer money back too if you are not satisfied with the results. The portable gadget sells for $250.”
BornRich.org

Just in case you want to scrutinize the benefits of de-stressing with Mind Spa, Avidus offers the Stress Watch. The more stressed out you are, the faster time elapses, the more relaxed;time slows down. To avoid the stress of not knowing the actual time, that display is available as well.

Madison Who’s Who is pleased to feature valued member, Zhigang Qi, of Power Plug, Inc. Power Plug is “a fuel cell manufacturer whose products are economical, reliable and energy efficient, all driven by the goal to be “zero-to-landfill”.

Zhigang Qi
Fellow
Plug Power, Inc
Major Product / Service: Fuel Cells

Expertise: Chemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Fuel Cells

Marketing Area: International

Education / Degrees: University of Science & Technology Beijing, B. Sc., 1985; M. Sc., 1988;
Memorial University of Newfoundland, M. Sc., 1993;
McGill University, Ph.D., 1996.

Affiliations / Awards: The Electrochemical Society; American Chemical Society

Born in Northeast China, 4th son of Pengling Qi and Fengzhi Jing. Father of Lydia Cong Zhang and Albery Jie Qi.

Received B. Sc. in Chemistry and 1st M. Sc. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Science & Technology Beijing in 1985 and 1988, respectively. Taught at this University untill the end of 1990 before leaving for Canada. Received 2nd M. Sc. in Electrochemistry from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1993, and Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from McGill University in 1996. Conducted post-doctoral fellow work in Fuel Cells and Materials Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland from Jan. 1996 till July 1997.

Joined H Power Corp., headquartered in Belleville, New Jersey, in July 1997 as a Senior Staff Scientist, and later being promoted to the Supervisor of the Electrochemistry Lab. Moved to Plug Power in Latham, New York, in March 2003 as the Manager of the Analytical and Fundamentals Team, and became a Fellow in July 2004.

Regarded as an expert in the fuel cell industry. Be a member of the manuscript review committee for the Journal of Power Sources, and constantly involved in reviewing manuscripts for other journals as well. By 2004, published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, received 4 patents, held 15 pending patent applications.
Madison Who’s Who

Power Plug, in cooperation with Honda, developed a “residential-scale hydrogen refueling unit that not only provides fuel for a fuel cell or hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine vehicle, but also generates electricity and hot water for the home, all from natural gas…”(Source)