Recycling for Schools is a scheme set up by mobile phone recycling giant, RPC Recycle.

Currently, it has been trialled in schools local to the company in Suffolk and Norfolk and has proved so successful that RPC intend to roll it out further. This is a way of teaching children valuable lessons about our planet and how we can all play a part in looking after it. It provides them with a chemistry and physics lesson about how all the different components are broken down and either re-used or recycled and it gets them invovled.

Any parent or teacher will tell you the best way for a child to learn anything is when they are actively involved in a process. Children have been pestering their parents for old, un-used mobile phones (and lets face it, we all have at least one kicking around in the back of the dusty junk drawer!) and taking them into school to drop into the recycling bin.

The bins are then emptied by RPC and the school receive a cash reward that goes towards educational equipment so the children see the added beenfit not just to the environment but to themselves as well.  Anybody can get involved in this form of recycling by trading in their old mobile phone either for cash or as a trade offagainst a new phone. Alternatively, trade it in for another recycled phone – you’ll have an up to the minute mobile phone that is as good as new but without being responsible for leaching contaminants into the atmosphere!

In the world today there are is a massive array of different industries that regularly utilise large format scanning and printing. The need for high quality images in large sizes and the capability to scan large images so that a digital version can be created is important in many areas that would not normally spring to mind.

One of the industries that regularly use large format scanning and printing is within design. Designers and architects regularly use large format scanning and printing to back up their hard copies. It is still the case that many architects will draw their designs by hand and then scan them to create a digital copy. The problem however is that as many architects and designers use large paper sizes; typically A3 is a minimum, a larger scanning device is required.

Large format scanners are also used within the fine art world. Understandably not everyone can afford to own masterpieces from the Renaissance or the surrealist movement. Many companies will scan these paintings, selling copies for half the price so that modest art collectors can own the painting they like. In this industry image quality and the abilities of the scanner to faithfully reproduce the image is essential. Within the fine art world only the most high spec scanners and printers are used.

These are just two of the industries that use large format scanners and printers on a regular basis.

It is doubtful I will ever have the money for a chauffeur and the only time I have used chauffeur hire in my life was a leaving dinner in my school days. Unfortunately the glamour of that moment in my life was somewhat marred by the awful Hawaiian shirt I chose to wear on that fateful night. That said, after scouring the internet the other day I found this joke that could possible help to diminish the negative effects of my chauffeur hire experience and that shirt.

The joke goes thusly:

The Pope lands on a state visit and his chauffeur hire company have sent a somewhat inexperienced chauffeur to look after his holiness. The chauffeur loads all of the Pope’s bags into the back of the limo and then is bemused to find the Pope standing by the roadside rather than in the limo where he is supposed to be.

The Chauffeur sparks up the courage to ask “Excuse me your holiness but could you please enter the vehicle so we can get going?” The Pope then resolutely answers the chauffeur “no, I wish to drive as I never have the chance to do so at the Vatican.”The chauffeur is naturally confused, he doesn’t want to lose his job but sees no way out of it, after all who can say no to the Pope?

So the Pontiff jumps behind the wheel and leaves the airport, gets on the motorway and puts the pedal to the metal. 100 miles an hour comes up quickly and despite the chauffeur’s protestations the Pope is happy bombing along weaving in and out of the traffic.

Understandably the site of a limo going at 100 miles per hour plus attracts the attention of a local policeman. On go the sirens and soon the PC has pulled over the Pontiff at the side of the road.

The policeman then walks to the driver’s window and his mouth falls to the floor. Naturally the policeman feels his authority doesn’t quite go this far and gets on the radio to the Chief.

Explaining the situation the PC says “Chief I have just pulled over a limo doing 100 mph or more”, the Chief responds with “well you’ve got to book him”. At that, the policeman reconsiders his position, he retorts to the Chief, “I don’t think I can Chief this guy is big, like really big!” The chief sees this as even better and implores the PC to book this maniacal driver.

After arguing for while however the chief asks “Well how big is he, is it a celebrity?” The PC replies “bigger”,

“Is it the Prime Minister?”

“Bigger”

The Chief getting a bit annoyed now asks ” Well who could be bigger than the Prime Minister?”

The PC responds, “God”

The Chief’s fury at this point is about to boil over as he asks “What in the hell makes you think that you’ve pulled over God for speeding?”

The PC calmly replies “Well he’s got the Pope as his Chauffeur!”

Now I am someone who loves to stay cool in the summer, but this guy has to take the biscuit. Granted I do not live in tropical climbs, far from it, the UK is hardly renowned for its weather but to go as far as attach an air conditioner to the top of my car? I think not. Look at these images of the homemade air conditioner and it is clear to see that this guy has got issues, whilst I admire his ingenuity, surely it would have been easier to buy a car with air conditioning built in?

From the pictures it is clear to see that this guy has taken a regular, albeit somewhat small air conditioner and simply bolted it to the top of his car. This is certainly impressive but I dread to think what this is doing to his drag coefficient.

Surely the benefits of having an air conditioner are outweighed by the fact his aero-dynamics are now completely screwed? Not to mention that if he goes above forty miles per hour he is likely to lose his improvised air conditioner, causing a fair amount of devastation behind him on the road, in fact is this thing even legal?

Not only has this guy managed to completed ruin the outside of his car, the second image shows that he has cut a hole in his roof for the vent doing his very best to ruin the interior also,  although the welding does seem pretty good. What amazes me above all however is that this guy seems to have sacrificed any re-sale value of his car for the sake of staying cool, in my opinion surely opening the windows would have been a far better, and more advisable course of action.

While many may think that dog clothes and dog fashion are simply something for pampered pooches and owners with far too much time on their hands this opinion is remarkably ignorant. The dog clothes industry is booming, perhaps a result in the growth of popularity of small dogs such as Chihuahuas and films such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Whatever the reason there are a growing number of dog clothes companies offering everything from dog carriers, coats and personalised luxury items.

Whilst I am in no way endorsing using a pet dog as a toy, there is an element of fun to these items that are less about adorning your dog with trinkets and more about making them feel special. Dog clothes however are not simply a bit of fun; there is a serious side such as thick winter coats for dogs with thin fur and sun suits that prevent pooches from getting sunburnt and even developing skin cancer. Whatever you opinion, dog clothing serves a purpose and in many cases can be considered a viable business idea.

This weekend another round of qualifiers for next year’s world cup in South Africa are taking place. Rather unbelievably England have already qualified for the finals next summer with games to spare in the qualification phase. This however has led to a problem; with the collapse of Setanta earlier in the year, their rights to the England qualifying games were lost when the company went under. Seemingly, no other television broadcaster in the UK wants to take the rights and pay out for a somewhat pointless match, leading to the momentous occasion of the first ever England game to be solely shown over the internet.

The company taking the work on is a Swiss based operation called Kentaro. Football fans have the option to pay online to stream the match or to visit an Odeon Cinema, where the game will be shown. While it is likely that Kentaro will make their money back, and most likely a healthy profit, the fact that England have already qualified and that sitting around a computer screen or cinema hardly has the atmosphere of a pub or living room surely means that viewing figures will be well down. As a Sky customer I already fork out a large amount of money each year for football I rarely watch, it is unlikely that I will pay the extra to watch a match on my computer that will be poor quality and most likely will crash half way through the game. Once again the FA has chosen to pursue profits rather than provide the loyal fans of the national team with a practical way to watch the weekend’s match.

They say that some of the best inventions come to people when they are asleep. It is well documented that many of the world’s finest inventors always had a notepad by their bed just in case a flash of inspiration came to them in a dream. I am in no way comparing myself to these inventors but the other day I came up with a fabulous piece of product design in a dream. The dream contained a huge house, converted from a church and gloriously decorated. The most memorable part of this house however was the bathroom.

This bathroom was decorated with sleek black tiles much like the Department of Mysteries from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The decor was not the only great piece of design within this bathroom however; it contained a shower that had a circular disc underneath the showerhead. This disc had controls upon it that controlled a massage function. The user simply had to programme the device, lean against the wall of the shower and the disc would rotate and move up and down the person’s body, providing a massage whist they showered. I am not sure whether this device has yet been patented but for those who are interested there is a rather poorly drawn schematic of the device below. Perhaps I will take it to Dragon’s Den one day.