Are you an Internet addict? (10 pics)

With all these Japanese kids dying from starvation right at the computer table and Chinese gold farms, hiring thousands of "employees" to make gold in World of Warcraft, you begin to wonder whether heroin has just become a trifle problem. The following comics selection may be ironic, but it may also be a sign of things to come.

Nike. just do it.

Size matters

Fifth Gear: can you loop the loop?

High school physics course shows us that looping the loop is possible, if it is entered at a certain speed. Drive a bit slower and the car will smash against the asphalt, drive a bit faster and the driver will experience monstrous overloads. Is it possible to do it just right in the real world?

Burj Al Arab: the most luxurious hotel in the world

Burj Al Arab, also known as "Arab Sail", is the most expensive and luxurious hotel in the world. The are no "standard" rooms here. Each one of the of 202 rooms is a deluxe suite. All rooms are two-storied, the smallest being 1830 square-feet large, and the biggest - 8400 square-feet. The cheapest suite will cost you $1500 per night. Claiming to be the world's first 7-star hotel, it has truly become the symbol of Dubai.

Sergey Dolya traveled to this magnificent place to tell us more.

Before the economic crisis, one could only book a room number half-a-year in advanced. Right now, rooms are usually available within a week or so...

Sheikh Mohammed - the ruler of Dubai - perfectly understood that his emirate needs a recognizable symbol. Same as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York. For that purpose, he hired the British architect Tom Wright. The idea of building a Sail-shaped hotel came to him accidentally. He was once sitting in a bar, drinking beer, when a Dhow boat drifted past the window. "Eureka!", he exclaimed, "here's a simple form even a child can draw!".

You can't just walk in on Burj Al Arab territories just like that. The hotel stands on an artificial island, only accessible through a secured bridge.



Two city tour options are available at the airport: a simple guided tour for $55, or a tour to the Burj Al Arab for $175. I, of course, refused to drink tea with cookies for $120.

On entering the hotel, you would face the staircase fountain, with an escalator on each side. The fountain periodically starts to play, spitting short streams of water.



The registration process is very simple. You give your passport to the employee and have a seat on the couch, eating dates and drinking coffee. I don't drink coffee and instead chose a wonderful hot drink made of ginger, lemon juice and honey.



All restaurants and elevators are located on the floor above, reachable through the escalator.



Upstairs there is another fountain.



Burj Al Arab has the highest hotel lobby in the the world: 180 meters. The hotel is shaped into a triangle and the front side actually looks like a taut sail from the inside.



Look above and you'll see a huge kaleidoscope.



Each floor slightly differ from the previous. The corridors have convex walls. The color of the ceiling changes from floor to floor.



Each floor has it's own reception desk and a concierge for the guests' comfort. You will always be greeted and accompanied from the elevator to your room. The butler always jokes, shows interest in how you spent your day and is extremely pleasant at all times. So you are unlikely to get lost in these surrealistic corridors. The fencing is very prominent and wide. It is uneasy to get a glimpse downstairs. I've made the following photo while holding the camera on stretched hands. The lobby looks tiny from above.



Usually I try not to book standard rooms (standard deluxe rooms in this case). By paying a bit more, you can get a much better room and more attention from the personnel. So I ordered a Panoramic Deluxe room with a total area of 2750 square feet. Panoramic rooms are larger than others on the floor and provide views to both sides of the hotel. Here's the evacuation plan for our room (hanging in a golden frame):



The hotel includes a total of 27 floors. I was provided with a room on the 14th floor, but keep in mind that each floor actually includes two. I say the following picture on entering the room:



Each room is equipped with a notebook, fax machine, photocopier and a color printer.



Our personal butler welcomed us on entering. He treated us to orange juice and showed us the suite. We began from the first floor:



Most of the area is taken by a large living room.





The TV is placed in a golden frame. Over 86.000 sq. ft. of gold leaves have been used for the construction of the hotel.



The pantry and the guest toilet:



The bedroom is located on the second floor.



The TV set can be raised from the mini-bar using the remote control.



The remote control deserves special attention. I especially liked the "Butler call" button. You can also open and close the blinds, light the DND sign or even open the front door, to avoid the hassle of coming downstairs...



And, of course, there is a huge bathroom with a jaccuzi upstairs.



The bathroom is "filled" with Hermes cosmetics. The butler said we can take it all with us, which we did. He also "allowed" to grab along the slippers and the beach bag.



Soon, our suitcases were brought in. I was completely shocked by the butler's question: "Would it be comfortable for you if I unpack the suitcases right now?". I hesitated for a little bit and responded: "Sure!". He unpacked our suitcases, put everything carefully on shelves and took the dirty linen for laundry.



When I woke up on the next morning, I didn't recognize the landscape. We were above the clouds and the nearby hotel's flags were barely visible through the clouds.



I couldn't hold the temptation of making a "World at my feet" photo.




Stay tuned for Part 2!

Photos & text (c) Sergey Dolya

How do people sleep?

My grand-grandma came by for a visit today...

Google Wave: Theory vs. Reality

I do have some invites available, if someone needs one.

World's worst photo-fit helps solve a crime

Bolivia's police arrested a man based on world's worst facial composite ever created. Rafael Vargas, a taxi driver from the city of Santa Cruz, was killed in March. According to the police, the crime was somehow linked with drug-trade or has been committed on jealousy grounds. The killer stabbed Vargas 11 times with a knife and then burned the body. A woman living nearby the crime scene drawn a photo-fit of the supposed murderer for the police. But the sketch turned out to be dramatically simple, resembling more of a child's drawing than a CSI facial composite. However, the photo-fit was shown in the news over and over again (the first video instantly became a viral hit on Spanish Youtube):



Surprisingly, the police managed to capture the suspect after several months. Since his guiltiness has not yet been proved, his face is disguised with the very same photo-fit in news reports:



Looks like even CSI: Miami's crime-solving capability has been surpassed in South America.

Airbus A380: 5-star hotel on wings

Continuing the luxury-review posts series — Burj Al Arab: the most luxurious hotel in the world.



The Airbus A380 is a true wonder of modern engineering. It is the largest airliner ever made, with a carrying capability of up to 853 passengers. Being 50% wider than the Boeing 747, it's closest competitor, the Airbus has truly surpassed all previous achievements of plane construction and interior design.

A380's level of comfort (well, at least for business-class passengers) is remarkable. The entire upper-deck is dedicated for premium passengers. All seats can be transformed into full-sized beds (190 cm in length) with a pillow and a mattress. Each passenger has his own mini-bar and a full-sized, bartender-serviced bar is available at the rear of the plane. And on top of all, there are two shower cabins available during flight.

Sergey Dolya, one of Russia's top bloggers, flew with Emirates last week to tell us the story of how flights could look like in the future.


Business and economy class passengers access the plane through different jet bridges and stay on separate floors during the entire flight.



Each row has only 4 seats:







Passengers are given chair stickers so that the air steward would know what to do in case you fall asleep.



The seat can be transformed into a nearly-horizontal 190-cm long bed.



In front of each passenger there is a 17-inch touch screen, electric plug, 2 USB ports (for USB-charging or viewing photos) and a remote-control combined with a satellite phone.

Each seat has it's own wireless control device regulating the backrest angle, lighting level and massage-modes of the chair.



Several external video-cameras are available for viewing.



The back section of the plane accommodates a bar with free drinks and snacks.



Two couches with safety belts are installed along the walls.



Five toilets are located on the second floor and ten are on the first.



Besides the toilets, there are two shower-rooms for first-class passengers. Albeit you must book them one hour in advanced before usage and water is available for only 5 minutes.





First-class passengers have their own bar with better drinks but no bartender for some reason.



A grand staircase is located near the showers. It leads to the first floor where the economy class passengers and the pilots are seated.



On the first floor there are 396 passenger seats.



In the center of the cabin two rooms are dedicated for the crew to rest. Up to 9 persons can sleep here simultaneously.



Some additional facts about the airplane:

14 first-class seats, 76 business-class seats and 396 economy-class seats are located on board. A 7-hour flight is serviced by 27 crew members:

2 pilots
4 head stewards
4 first-class stewards
8 business-class stewards
8 economy-class stewards
1 bathhouse attendant, responsible for the showers

2 additional pilots and 1 extra bathhouse attendant are additionally employed for 14-hour long flights, making it a total of 30 crew members.

Wing span - 80 meters. Fuel stock - 240 tons. The minimum distance for an aircraft trailing an A380 is 11 km. Even Boeing 747 risks being overthrown in air if coming closer to this massive giant.

Engine noise can surprisingly be heard very faintly. The only thing interrupting the silence is the ventilation system on the ceiling.

And for those wondering about the price: return business-class ticket costs $2500, first-class costs $4000 (Dubai-Bangkok destination).


Photos and text (c) Sergey Dolya

Continuing the luxury-review posts series — Burj Al Arab: the most luxurious hotel in the world.