One Million Dollar Car Crash In Monaco

A five-car pileup with no injuries is a snooze -- unless a Bentley Azure hits four other extremely expensive luxury cars outside the casino in Monaco. That's worldwide news.

A blue Azure (Bentley's "flagship convertible" with an MSRP of $363,000 for a new model) crunched the side of a white Mercedes S-Class (starting at $93,000), then struck a black Ferrari F430 ($230,000). Then an Aston Martin Rapide ($210,000) and a Porsche 911 Carrera (starting at $77,800) were also damaged, according to published reports.

"It appears the woman clipped the Mercedes S-Class first before ploughing into the other cars," The Monaco Times reports.

It happened in a roundabout in Monte Carlo, which is in the wealthy principality of Monaco, putting on quite a show for the multitude of tourists. (Some of the best photos can be found here.)

"Her gaffe in front of Monaco's swanky Place du Casino has become an overnight news sensation, with many labeling it the world's most expensive accident," wrote AsiaOne in Singapore.

Jack Bellamy wrote in England's Daily Star,

"This was the moment a dippy blonde caused the world's most expensive shunt when she pranged five luxury motors."

It is estimated the crash will cost more than £40,000 (about $65,700) with the Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin requiring new front wings and bumpers. The Bentley will need the same repairs, plus a new door.

Some unoriginal thinkers felt compelled to point out that the driver is a blonde. In fact, the Daily Mail called her a "hapless blonde."

What could such a crash do to a Bentley owner's insurance rates?

According to MSN Money's insurance rate finder, the yearly premium for Porsche 911s is about $2,300 to $3,100. The Bentley is not listed there. Nor does it appear at Edmunds.com's True Cost to Own search tool. Car insurance companies won't give you a quote unless you own one (I don't), but several discussion forums mentioned a monthly cost of $500 to $600.

Of course, a lot depends on your driving record, including whether you've caused any accidents.

10% of brain...

10% of brain myth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 10% of brain myth is the widely perpetuated urban legend that most or all humans only make use of 10 percent (or some other small percentage) of their brains. It has been misattributed to people including Albert Einstein.^[1] By association, it is suggested that a person may harness this unused potential and increase intelligence.

Though factors of intelligence can increase with training, the idea that large parts of the brain remain unused, and could subsequently be "activated" for conscious use, is without foundation. Although many mysteries regarding brain function remain, every part of the brain has a known function.^[2][3]

GOP distort truth to attack Obama

A friend who's been watching the absurd machinations in Congress asked me "what happens if we don't solve the budget crisis and we run out of money to pay the nation's bills?"

It was only then I realized how effective Republicans lies have been. That we're calling it a "budget crisis" and worrying that if we don't "solve" it we can't pay our nation's bills is testament to how successful Republicans have been distorting the truth.

The federal budget deficit has no economic relationship to the debt limit. Republicans have linked the two, and the Administration has played along, but they are entirely separate. Republicans are using what would otherwise be a routine, legally technical vote to raise the debt limit as a means of holding the nation hostage to their own political goal of shrinking the size of the federal government.

In economic terms, we will not "run out of money" next week. We're still the richest nation in the world, and the Federal Reserve has unlimited capacity to print money.

Nor is there any economic imperative economic to reach an agreement on how to fix the budget deficit by Tuesday. It's not even clear the federal budget needs that much fixing anyway.

Yes, the ratio of the national debt to the total economy is high relative to what it's been. But it's not nearly as high as it was after World War II -- when it reached 120 percent of the economy's total output.

If and when the economy begins to grow faster - if more Americans get jobs, and we move toward a full recovery -- the debt/GDP ratio will fall, as it did in the 1950s, and as it does in every solid recovery. Revenues will pour into the Treasury, and much of the current "budget crisis" will be evaporate.

Get it? We're really in a "jobs and growth" crisis - not a budget crisis.

And the best way to get jobs and growth back is for the federal government to spend more right now, not less -- for example, by exempting the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes this year and next, recreating a WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps, creating an infrastructure bank, providing tax incentives for small businesses to hire, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, and so on.

But what happens next week if Congress can't or won't deliver the president a bill to raise the debt ceiling? Remember: This is all politics, mixed in with legal technicalities. Economics has nothing to do with it.

One possibility, therefore, is for the Treasury to keep paying the nation's bills regardless. It would continue to issue Treasury bills, which are our nation's IOUs. When those IOUs are cashed at the Federal Reserve Board, the Fed would do what it has always done: It honors them.

How long could this go on without the debt ceiling being lifted? That's a legal question. Republicans in Congress could mount a legal challenge, but no court in its right mind would stop the Fed from honoring the full faith and credit of the United States.

The wild card is what the three big credit-rating agencies will do. As long as the Fed keeps honoring the nation's IOUs, America's credit should be deemed sound. We're not Greece or Portugal, after all. We'll still be the richest nation in the world, whose currency is the basis for most business transactions in the world.

Standard & Poor's has warned it will downgrade the nation's debt from a triple-A to a double-A rating if we don't tend to the long-term deficit. But, as I've noted, S&P has no business meddling in American politics -- especially since its own non-feasance was partly responsible for the current size of the federal debt (had it done its job the debt and housing bubbles wouldn't have precipitated the terrible recession, and the federal outlays it required).

As long as we pay our debts on time, our global creditors should be satisfied. And if they're satisfied, S&P, Moody's, and Fitch should be, too.

Repeat after me: The federal deficit is not the nation's biggest problem. The anemic recovery, huge unemployment, falling wages, and declining home prices are bigger problems. We don't have a budget crisis. We have a jobs and growth crisis.

The GOP has manufactured a budget crisis out of the Republicans' extortionate demands over raising the debt limit. They have succeeded in hoodwinking the public, including my friend.

Robert Reich is the author of Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, now in bookstores. This post originally appeared atRobertReich.org.

Gilgamesh predates Noah go figure

The story of a great flood that destroyed the earth was not unique to the Hebrews, who recorded it in the Bible. The Sumerians, who were earlier than the Hebrews, had their own version of a great flood. Read the Sumerian Flood Myth.

The Flood Myth:

The Sumerian hero Gilgamesh traveled the world in search of a way to cheat death. On one of his journeys, he came across an old man, Utnapishtim, who told Gilgamesh a story from centuries past. The gods brought a flood that swallowed the earth.

The gods were angry at mankind so they sent a flood to destroy him. The god Ea, warned Utnapishtim and instructed him to build an enormous boat to save himself, his family, and "the seed of all living things." He does so, and the gods brought rain which caused the water to rise for many days. When the rains subsided, the boat landed on a mountain, and Utnapishtim set loose first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven, which found land. The god Ishtar, created the rainbow and placed it in the sky, as a reminder to the gods and a pledge to mankind that there would be no more floods. See the text Epic of Gilgamesh: Sumerian Flood Myth.

Sumerian Flood Myth

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Gilgamesh flood myth is a deluge story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Many scholars believe that the flood myth was added to Tablet XI in the "standard version" of the Gilgamesh Epic by an editor who utilized the flood story from the Epic of Atrahasis.^[1] A short reference to the flood myth is also present in the much older Sumerian Gilgamesh poems, from which the later Babylonian versions drew much of their inspiration and subject matter.

China's Fake Apple Stores

China has more than just four Apple Stores. A blogger revealed this week that besides the two official locations in Beijing and two in Shanghai, that there are at least three counterfeit Apple Stores in the southern city of Kunming.

Apple hasn't commented on the fake stores, which on the surface, appear to be actual Apple Stores, with such details as acrylic product information panels, long wooden display tables, and a spiral staircase leading to the second level. Even the employees are outfitted in Apple t-shirts and white Apple name tags. It's unclear if Apple will crack down, or if it even can.

However, on the heels of this buzz-worthy news, Chinese industrial and commercial authorities have begun to inspect electronics stores in Kunming, Reuters reports.

The inspections are not authorized by Apple. A worker with Kunming's industrial and commercial department told Reuters they will explore "business licenses, authorized permits on brand use, and the purchase channel of each store."

A store doesn't have to be an official, typically glass-fronted Apple Store in order to sell Apple products. It's possible to become an Authorized Apple Reseller through an application process. For example, there are reports that Apple product maker Foxconn is in the gaining authorization to start selling Apple products in its own stores.

There are 13 authorized resellers in Kunming, but the three stores in question don't have this kind of designation, although they're selling real iPads, iPhones, iPods, and other Apple swag. There is no indication that the store's owners will try to become legitimate, or if Apple would even allow it.

Anders Behring Breivik’s killing rampage...

Norway killings:

The laughing gunman who shot 85 young victims, one by one

By Nick Meo, Harriet Alexander in Oslo and Robert Mendick12:51AM BST 24 Jul 2011

The right-wing extremist who shot dead at least 85 people at a youth camp laughed, cheered and shouted “you all must die” as he sprayed the youngsters with bullets.

The full horror of Anders Behring Breivik’s killing rampage emerged on Saturday as Norway entered a period of national mourning.

The country’s prime minister said Breivik had turned a “paradise into hell”.
The 32-year-old Norwegian was being interrogated by police on Saturday night amid growing concern that he may not have acted alone. Police were poring through his home computer for links to other extremists and terrorist groups.

The killer set off a massive car bomb on Friday afternoon in the centre of Oslo’s political district, killing seven people. He then drove to the island of Utoya where he continued his rampage.

The confirmed death toll on the island yesterday was 85. However, police said last night the final total could rise to 98 as the search for missing teenagers continued.
His defence lawyer Geir ­Lippestad last night said of Breivik: “He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary.”

On Saturday night a video emerged in which the killer, posing with weapons, appears to set out his motivation for the attacks, calling for the eradication of Islam and Marxism from Europe.
Breivik shot several teenagers as they tried to swim off the island to safety. Police teams were searching the water and rocky inlets looking for more corpses.

A mini-submarine was called in to help the search for bodies, along with divers.
Survivors told how they hid under bunk beds, behind rocks and in cabins as Breivik, dressed as a police officer, beckoned the youths to him, promising them safety. Youngsters who fell for his ploy were shot in cold blood.

Survivors told how they had heard people plead for mercy. Thorbjørn Vereide, 22, who ran away and hid in a cave, said: “He seemed very focused. He took his time and picked victims out one by one. People lay on the ground, and he went over them and shot them in the back. He shot them all twice to make sure they were dead.
“He kept shouting: ‘It’s safe to come out. You’ll be saved. I’m a cop.’”

Nicoline Bjerge Schie, 21, who cowered behind a rock near the beach, said: “I could not see the gunman but I heard him screaming and laughing and he gave several cheers.”

She watched at least five of her friends being hit by the gunman’s bullets and watched as the bodies tumbled off the rock and into the lake.
Adrian Pracon, 21, who was shot in the shoulder, said from his hospital bed: “He was yelling out that he was going to kill us all and that we all must die.” Mr Pracon played dead but survived.“He tried everyone, he kicked them to see if they were alive, or he just shot them,” he said.
Erik Kursetgjerde, an 18-year-old Labour Party youth member, said Breivik “would tell people to come over: ‘It’s OK, you’re safe, we’re coming to help you.’ And then I saw about 20 people come towards him and he shot them at close range.”

Edvard Foernes, 16, said the gunman walked through the camp, saying: “Come out and play with me. Don’t be shy.”

Rescuers told of the agonising decisions they had to make as they headed to the island in boats to collect children trying to swim to safety.

Torill Hansen, who was camping nearby, said: “I could only take 10 people in the boat and even with that many it was nearly capsizing. Having to decide who to take was horrible.”

Breivik surrendered to an armed, specialist police unit which said it had arrived on the scene about 40 minutes after being called out by youngsters at the camp, organised by the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labour Party. By then, Breivik, who had two guns when he was arrested, had been shooting for 90 minutes without anybody able to stop him.

Breivik, who surrendered without firing a shot, had undergone military training as part of his compulsory national service and held licences for two weapons including a Glock semi-automatic pistol.

He was also a member of Oslo’s Masonic lodge and posted pictures of himself on the internet in the masonic regalia.

A keen body builder and gun enthusiast, he had held several positions in one of Norway’s biggest political parties, the Right-wing Progress Party, from 1999 to 2007.
His views had become increasingly extreme in recent years and he had been seen by neighbours wearing paramilitary uniform.

Writing on the internet, he cited his hatred for Muslims and enthusiasm for the English Defence League. On the social networking site Twitter Breivik posted a quote on July 17 by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.”

It emerged on Saturday he had run a farming business and only 10 weeks ago had bought six tons of artificial fertiliser, which he is believed to have used to make the car bomb that was detonated in Oslo’s political district.
The suppliers thought nothing of selling such an amount to a farm businessman. After the bomb exploded, it appears Breivik drove a silver-grey van to Utoya. The van, recovered by police on Saturday, also contained explosives.
Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said: “It’s very difficult at this point to say if he was acting alone or if he was part of a larger network.”
Police have refused to name the victims but said two members of the government were killed in the blast. Norway’s royal family and prime minister led the nation in mourning on Saturday, visiting grieving relatives of the dead youths.
Oslo Cathedral became home to a makeshift shrine with hundreds going there to lay flowers and light candles.
Fighting back the tears, Jens Stoltenberg, the prime minister, said: “It was a paradise of my youth that has now been turned into hell.”
King Harald said: “I’m horrified at the rising toll of fatalities. In the midst of this all we have seen a prime minister handling the situation in a remarkable way.”

Americans Respond to Norway Attacks by Shooting Each Other

Lauri Apple — If you spent yesterday huddled in a corner with a bottle of vodka, crying and depressed about all of the massacre and death news that this weekend has brought us so far, well ... you might want to get a refill on that drink.

It's been quite the deadly weekend here in the gun-toting US of A, as some of our fellow countryfolk have taken it upon themselves to go on shooting sprees that have ended lives, caused unfathomable pain and suffering for dozens of families, and turned places where people once felt safe into memorials where people will mourn the senseless loss of life for years to come. So far:

• Earlier today, a man walked into the nightclub in Seattle, Washington's Muckleshoot Casino, saw "his" woman with another guy, and started shooting, wounding at least seven people. Two victims are in critical condition. Cops caught the gunman.
• In the city where I live, four people were shot and killed and 13 others were injured overnight in what I'll call a meta-spree. In one of the non-fatal shootings, two men were shot by the same man.
• Six people died at a roller rink in Grand Prairie, Texas on Saturday when Tan Do killed his estranged wife, her sisters, her brother, and her sister-in-law, before turning the gun on himself. The occasion happened to be a birthday party for one of his kids. What the hell.
• In Stockton, California, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed at a backyard birthday party, and eight others were wounded.
• In Apopka, Florida, nine people were injured Saturday night during a shooting that took place at a birthday party. All the victims were teenagers; fortunately, all are expected to survive.
• A masked gunman started shooting people outside a nightclub in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood on Saturday. Two victims are in critical condition.
• In nearby Kent, Washington, at least 12 people were wounded late Saturday afternoonduring a gun fight that took place outside a car show. Luckily, no one died.
• NYPD Detective Harold Thomas was shot early Saturday morning while vacationingin Miami. He reportedly got into a scuffle with somebody outside his hotel. His condition's unknown.
• Three people died and one was seriously injured in a shooting that occurred Friday night—the opening night of the "Too Broke for Sturgis" motorcycle rally, near Flagstaff. Investigators are trying to determine whether this incident was a murder-suicide, as a gun was found near the hand of one of the dead.

Please, nobody give me any reason to update this list! Go hug somebody, plant a flower, bake a pie, draw a cat picture, play some badminton, anything. Just stop shooting each other.

VillaVellano 2011 Shooters Standings- Knute S. Shoots 23

These Are The Accumulative Standings

Top Male Shooter Knute s. Germany 23 Bullseye

Top Female

Top Shooter Teresa E.

Stoney Creek 17 In One Night!

The VillaVellano 2011 Target Shooting Tournament

.177 Pellet Rifle with Scope

65 feet Target Is A Soda Can

Standings

Knute S Oakville 23 Bullseye Germany

Teresa E. Stoney Creek 17 Bullseye Poland

Fd Mississauga 16 Bullseye Canadian/Italian

Ross M Toronto 9 Bullseye British

Joe H. Mississauga 8 Bullseye Pakastani

Phil Stoney Creek 7 Bullseye Isreal

Pierre Mississauga 6 Bullseye France

Dick S. Rochester NY 6 Bullseye USA

Dennis M Mississauga 5 Bullseye Ireland

Greg P. 5 Bullseye Spain

Lorus Thorold 4 Bullseye Italy

Sandy B Georgetown 3 Bullseye Scot and Brit

Sam C. Niagara Falls On. 2 Bullseye Italy

Angela B Oakville 1 Bullseye First Female Italy

MaryV Mississauga 1 Bullseye Italy

Carmen Villa. Female Italy 1 Bullseye First Attempt!

Yet to qualify:

Laura Woodbridge

Joe Villa Italy (Woodbridge

Elda Villa Italy

Tony Villa Italy Woodbridge

Herb S. Mississauga

Roseanne Mississauga

Jim M. Brooklin

Rob D. Etobicoke

Bruce V.Whitby

Greg G. Georgetown

Simone G. Georgetown

Mike M Wasaga Beach

Stefan S Toronto

Rens R Collingwood

Antoni G Sarnia

Bunker Style Home In Warsaw Poland A Must To See!

This is a modern home design located in Warsaw, Poland. visible from the front of this house like a bunker. This is a modern home design located in Warsaw, Poland. visible from the front of this house like a bunker that does not resemble a house, but behind the house looks a modern house which is very admirable and minimalist. This is a luxury design house with pool suitable for leisure and lifestyle as covered by the glass around the pool. At the door rolls to be a place to watch together using an LCD projector. Structuring a neat garden also impressed very beautiful plus trees in the back of the house to make more natural. Let’s see design of modern house-shaped bunker in front visible.

“Safe House” was designed by Kwk Promes Architects Warsaw, Poland. The aim of the project was to create a two-level “fortress” that would provide a high level of security for the owners. Which is why the house features movable concrete walls that can pretty much isolate the entire residence when the owners are away for example. The house can literally be “closed” and “opened” according to the needs of the inhabitants. Here is more from the architects: “When the set of 15 meter-long retractable walls on the eastern and western side are slid all the way out, the entry plot is enclosed into a temporary courtyard space. The back of the house, which faces an expansive garden to the south, features a 6 meter-high roll-down gate that completely opens up the interior to the exterior. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, presenting the living space with an effectively contrary impression to the one offered by the solid mass of the building".

The 6,100 sq. ft. home features movable concrete walls that can literally be opened or closed according to the needs of its residents. In order to enter, security codes are required. Once those are entered, guests are led into the "safety zone," an area bordered with concrete walls, before finally being let inside the house.When the fortress is in its closed state, it turns into a big concrete cube. When it's open, a draw bridge lowers, connecting the home to the indoor swimming pool. This house is also equipped with movable walls, mobile shutters, and a rising aluminum gate, which gives off an expansive garden view. Since the entire home transforms with built in electronic engines, everything opens and closes with just a touch of a button.

The architects “When the set of 15 meter-long retractable walls on the eastern and western side are slid all the way out, the entry plot is enclosed into a temporary courtyard space. The back of the house, which faces an expansive garden to the south, features a 6 meter-high roll-down gate that completely opens up the interior to the exterior. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, presenting the living space with an effectively contrary impression to the one offered by the solid mass of the building.”

(Photographer: Aleksander Rutkowski)

Source

Cancer relay for life donations...where does the money go?

The American Cancer Society

The mission statement of the American Cancer Society (ACS) reads: "Founded in 1913, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. With more than two million volunteers nationwide, the American Cancer Society is one of the oldest and largest voluntary health agencies in the United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the ACS has state divisions and more than 3,400 local offices."

Many chose to become involved with the ACS fundraising events, including the "Relay for Life". The funds collected by the ACS are used for many causes. The numbers, in millions:

Childhood Cancer Research - $6.2

Other Research - $143

Prevention - $177

Detection/Treatment - $129

Patient Support - $275

Management - $63

Fundraising - $222



Looks black and white to us. The numbers speak for themselves with regard to the funding for childhood cancer, but just to be clear, 0.6% of funds are directed towards research to cure the entire suite of childhood cancers.


Imagine you participate in a Relay-For-Life. You raise $1,000. $270 (27%) goes to admin and fundraising costs. Only $150 goes to any research, and only $6 of that $1000 you raised is targeted towards childhood cancer.

The Stats
Overall, Charity Navigator gives ACS 3 of 4 stars but only 1 of 4 stars for efficiency. John Seffrin, Chief Executive Officer earns $685,884 or 0.06% of expenses. Program expenses (what it spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver) are 72%, management 6% and fundraising expenses 22%. Total revenue in 2009 was $897,051,000.

Halifax man loses $14K in online romance scam

A Halifax man scammed out of $14,000 by a fake online romance is speaking out to help others.

Rob Rogers said his misadventure began with a MySpace message from a flirtatious woman. He wrote back to say she'd made a mistake.

"I wish I'd never even written her back to say anything, but I did," he said Wednesday.

The two began emailing back and forth and then switched to instant messaging. Eventually they started talking on the phone. The woman said her name was Rams Murtala and that she was a lonely widow in Ghana.

She also said her in-laws were mistreating her and she asked Rogers to help.

"It was probably four to six weeks before she asked about getting her power turned back on, which at the time seemed like a simple request," Rogers said.

Rogers began lending her small amounts of money, but it added up to $14,000. Rogers dipped into his pension savings to cover her needs.

One day Murtala agreed to fly to Canada from Africa to meet Rogers in person. He waited for her at the airport, but she never came.

"I don't even know if I could describe the emotions when I was watching other people coming off the planes, and hugging one another, and reunions going on," he said.

"Loved ones finding each other. I don't even know if I could find words to describe what that emotion was like when I realized that I was sitting there for no reason."

Rogers then discovered that Murtala never existed and that the photo she used was in fact of an adult actress called Raven Riley. Riley was not involved in the sting.

Rogers said the emotional damage was terrible, but he turned it into a plan to help others avoid similar scams. He is a peer counsellor on the website Romancescams.org. It offers a check list to see if you may be falling victim to a scam.

Halifax Regional Police do not keep numbers for such scams, but an officer said they have seen crimes like the one Rogers fell for before.

Det. Const. Dana Drover said there are ways to test if your online romance is real.

"A criminal wants to be anonymous, they don't want to be found," he said.

"In many cases they'll never ever engage in a webcam conversation, because that can be recorded. And clearly they don't want their identity being known."

Drover said scammers play off the victim's emotional needs. Rogers agreed.

"They knew that I had no children and I would have wanted children," Rogers said.

"She started playing with the, 'Well, I'd love to have children with you and come over and be with you.'"

Rogers said he is still single and has given up on finding love online — unless they can easily meet in person.

Google Streetview peddles around small streets

Julio Tang often gets mistaken for an ice cream vendor when he rides the Google Street View tricycle with its bulky white box on the back.

"That happens all the time," says Tang. "They think that you're an ice cream truck and then they get closer and realize it's a Google trike."

But there's no disappointment at the revelation, says Tang. Instead people "actually get more excited" and begin waving in hopes of being captured for posterity on the company's famous panoramic map views.

Off the beaten track

After photographing cities around the world with its fleet of camera-mounted cars, Google is now deploying the tricycles to tackle locations otherwise inaccessible.

"Basically this gets us off the roads and onto trails, university campuses, hopefully theme parks, places like that, that let people experience and really get inside those places on Google Maps," says Mike Pegg, a senior product marketing manager with Google.

"For people who are looking to plan a trip to Canada, tourists to Canada, people that live in a community, it gives people an opportunity to see what's in that place," adds Pegg.

Landmarks captured by Google's trikes around the world include Rome's Colosseum and England's Stonehenge.

Jon Bunning, who recently moved to Toronto from the U.K., came out to see the Google trike at Yonge-Dundas Square on Tuesday to check out its gadgetry, but also to find out where the vehicle will travel.

"I'd like to …show it to my friends, encourage them to come visit me," says Dunning. "These are the things that get people to spend the cash to come from England, to come pay me a visit."

Team effort

For the past two months, Toronto friends Tang, 24, and Jonathan Chang, 27 — the duo applied for the job as a team, as required — have been cycling locations off the beaten track across the Greater Toronto Area. Over the next couple months, their work will continue in the Toronto area. Separate crews will photograph Vancouver and potentially other cities as well.

Unlike the cars traversing publicly accessible streets, the harder-to-reach locations targeted by the trike are often located on private property and require special permission to photograph.

Google wouldn't reveal specific locations photographed by the camera-mounted trike in Canada, saying it was still awaiting permission to release details about the private locations.

Bunning hopes that the trike captures more than just landmarks, but also a bit of the heart of Toronto.

"I'd like to see an event covered … just to show how alive the city is in the summertime," says Bunning.

Uphill battles

Navigating off public roads with Google's 360-degree cameras not only comes with increased legal and privacy challenges for the company, but also physical obstacles for its riders.

Pushing the 180-kilogram trike and equipment uphill is the biggest one. But Tang and Chang quickly figured out a low-tech strategy, one that also ensures they don't end up in the shots and compromise Google's imagery.

When the duo approach an upcoming hill, one of them runs ahead, hides in a spot the Google cameras can't view, then dashes out to push the trike at the key moment when the rider hits the incline.

"I have to try to not to be in the shot," says Chang. "I have to duck down and then run and then just push it up, while ducking down just so the camera doesn't catch me."

Inevitably, though, the two end up in a smattering of Google shots — and in that regard, he can empathize with the passersby eager to jump into the Google camera's line of sight.

"It's pretty cool that you're on something that thousands of people are going to be looking at," he says.