How Much House Can You Buy with Your $1,900,000?

What You Get for ... $1,900,000.  Homes for Sale in Virginia, Los Angeles and Iowa.  (The New York Times, 12/24/2014)

1355 Miller Place, Los Angeles, CA.

47 photos of Marion Iowa McMansion.

Robots as Camel Jockeys

Sprinting Over the Dirt, With a Robot on the Hump.   Camel Racing Blends Centuries-Old Traditions and Modern Technology.   (The New York Times, 12/26/2014)

Sports are important in this region, both in the U.A.E. — where big-money sponsorships and high-end events happen in everything from cricket and soccer to rugby and golf — and in other countries, like Qatar, which will host the 2019 track and field world championships and the 2022 World Cup. Yet while much of the action here is geared toward outsiders, there is at least one aspect of sporting life that remains primarily a locals’ game. 

Camel racing, in one form or another, has been part of Arabian culture for generations, with some historians tracing races to the seventh century. Camels are viewed as magnificent creatures here — there are even camel beauty pageants — and racing is seen as a unifying activity, a sport that brings together people of all backgrounds, whether royals or paupers, businessmen or laborers.

This video is from 2007.



Related posts;
Grillbots or grill brush.  (12/27/2014)
Workers of the world, meet your new comrades.   (12/17/2014)
Robots at the Westport Library.  (10/4/2014)
The Botlr boy.  (8/13/2014)
Hands-free milking.  (4/23/2014)
This security guard works for $6.25 an hour.  (12/4/2013)
One day my robot will come.  (5/20/2013)
Teleoperation:  The key to mining's efficiency, productivity, and profitability.  (3/7/2013)
Time to revise those library page job descriptions?  (9/2/2011)
Remote-control robots enter the workforce.  (8/26/2011)

Subway Evildoers, as Identified by Readers of the New York Times

Door Hogs, Music Blasters, Litterbugs: Readers Sound Off About Subway Rudeness. (The New York Times, 12/28/2014)

I like the print headline better.

Door Hogs and Big Bags:  Readers List Subway Evils. 

Some members of the dishonor roll.

1.  Manspreader.  (Which has already been covered here.)

2.  Door hog



3.  Pole hugger, a.k.a. pole hogger.

4.  Litterbug

5.  People who smell, or eat smelling foods.  Mexican fast food and Chinese takeout are specifically mentioned.)

6.  People who make irritating sounds.

7.  People who indulge in inappropriate personal grooming.

• clipping fingernails
• removing nail polish.  ("The fumes were overwhelming.  Who does that?")
• applying makeup
• plucking facial hair
• flossing teeth
• applying deodorant

 8.  People who carry heavy, overstuffed backpacks.



9.  People who take selfies.

10.  Children playing loud video games.

11.  People engaged in loud conversations.

12.  Creepy starers.


But then again......