A European family wanted to spend some time in the Dubai desert on a cool afternoon. Since they did not own a 4×4 they decided to park their car on the side of the road and camp close by.

A local man driving by with his 4×4 noticed the car on the side of the road and foot prints leading into the desert.

Out of concern he ventured in with his 4×4 and followed the trail to make sure everything was ok. Not too far away he came by the family happily camping and taking pictures.

He greeted them and welcomed them to Dubai with some traditional local coffee he kept in his car.

Who could this kind and generous local man be?

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makoum - the ruler of Dubai, and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Mohammad greets the family with coffee

Sheikh Mohammad getting more coffee

Sheikh Mohammad meets the family.

Here’s a link to the video, which can’t be embedded in this post Youtube-style

Very cool little video. This is one of the many jobs I would do if I ever got my “52 week” project to life.

Good contextual marketing, but unfortunately for Mr. John van der Zanden, I’m not in the market for slaughterlines. However, it does make for some very interesting reading:

• Cattle Lines: “we have several diffeent killing boxes for cattle..”
• Pigs: “a very modern slaughterline with a horizontal bleeding conveyor and a double Goliath dehairing unit.”
• Poultry: “Line includes: Stunner, Killer, Bleeding trough, Scalding tank, Plucker, Head puller..”

And if you can’t afford a new slaughterline, you can always choose from a selection of used equipment including an Intestine Cleaner, Bleeding Table, Gizzard Harvester or a Spinal Marrow Sucker…

It’s almost enough to make me want to be a vegetarian

I knew that the only way to save him would be to perform a forequarter amputation – removing what remained of his arm, and his shoulder. It is an incredibly difficult operation and only about ten people in the UK undergo it each year. There are only two or three surgeons in the UK who are able to do it, and I was not one of them. Fortunately, I knew somebody who was.

The amazing was that “somebody” was a surgeon in the UK, who sent him the instructions via text message!

A truly amazing story. You can read his account of the story here.

But Mahler’s symphony would not let him rest. Over the next few years he attended every performance within reach, met his future wife in the adjacent seat at London’s Royal Festival Hall and, as the obsession intensified, took 18 months off work to study the score and discuss it with such leading interpreters as Leonard Bernstein, Sir Georg Solti and Leonard Slatkin.

It’s an amazing tale of one man’s love for classical music, and how he has made his dream a reality.

Now then, it’s about time I got onto the Carmina Burana…

You can watch the video here, or get the full lyrics here.

My favorite line: Did you get high today? I see the nuns are gay.

This is why I love cats so much..

America. The whole message is wrong. The creative brief—The Constitution—is great, but the execution is horrible. Today, its reputation is almost beyond repair (we may even need a new name and flag). Hopefully we’ll be getting a new managing team in soon.

Click here for the full interview

Apparently, he used to have an airstrip near his old house, but was sued by his neighbors and then moved to Jumbolair.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration pilot database, Travolta is qualified in several types of single and multi-engine aircraft, and has the highest pilot medical certification possible. “We know that Travolta’s an accomplished pilot. A lot of people fly for the pleasure of it, and he’s one of them,” said John Clabes, an FAA spokesman. “If you have this many ratings on these types of high-performance aircraft, you’re obviously a good pilot.”

Here’s a link to an Architectural Digest article with lots of imagery, and an air trip video over his house.

How long before they build one in Dubai?

The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills: the libero must wear a contrasting jersey color from his or her teammates and cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any back-row player, without prior notice to the officials.

This replacement does not count against the substitution limit each team is allowed per set, although the libero may be replaced only by the player whom they replaced.

The libero may function as a setter only under certain restrictions. If she/he makes an overhand set, she/he must be standing behind (and not stepping on) the 3-meter line; otherwise, the ball cannot be attacked above the net in front of the 3-meter line. An underhand pass is allowed from any part of the court.

You can read the full answer here.