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Visiting Mona in Tasmania

Mona - Museum of old and new art, 655 Main Road Berriedale www.mona.net.au http://www.mona.net.au/

It's different thats for sure. 800 visitors a day go there. Currently its free. I was expecting attitude to this new icon but discovered a very unique state of the art gallery museum. There is no grouping of the works or chronological order the ancient sit next to the modern which is a very interesting way of presenting the pieces. Very clever engineering has gone into building this underground building. If you are a builder, architect you will be intrigued amazed at the reverse underground engineering. If you are an artist you will also be surprised and delighted at the collection. There is also a tinge of political feeling for the refugee situation. Again cleverly done.

The place is closed Tuesday. If you are staying in Hobart you can drive there. Get there early as it opens at 10 am and closes at 6pm. Not a big drive to get there. Otherwise you can get a ferry there. They have their own $1.25 million ferry and jetty at the Hobart wharf. The ferry costs $15 for a return ticket and is worth it for a view of the harbour.

A word of warning here. Some people like the place to bits and could spend two days there. Some can do it all in 3 hours. If you find your full day there is dragging on and you travelled by ferry then you can change your departure time at Mona reception. If by car no problem to leave whenever and maybe pick up the Cadbury factory (costs $7.50 ) on the way back to Hobart.

The staff are very friendly and can still have a joke with you dispite all the visitors they get there. MONA is Australia's largest private gallery with over 400 works and you'd have to go a long way to see a more eclectic and exciting range of artworks.

It is a testament to the owner, multi-millionaire businessman David Walsh that some people who make a quid give something back to the community in which they live.

Tata Motors is ready to introduce Air Car - Will it be the next big
thing?Tata Motors is taking giant strides and making history for itself.
First the Land Rover/Jaguar deal, then the world's cheapest car, and now it
is also set to introduce the car that runs on compressed
air.

There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from
your pocket. According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees per
100 Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double
that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of
driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where 80% of
motorists drive at less than 60 Km. The car has a top speed of 105
Kmph.

Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted
petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and
at a cost of approximately 100 rupees, the car will be ready to go another
200-300 kilometers.

As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be
connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000 Km).The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal airconditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

New Michelin Tyres... Absolutely SCARY looking... Look for'em in August.
These tires are made in South Carolina, USA .

SEE THROUGH TIRES!
Radical new tire design by Michelin.
The next generation of tires.
They had a pair at the Philadelphia car show.

Yes, those are 'spoke' like connections to the inner part of the tire from
the outside tread 'wrap!' The next picture shows how odd it looks in
motion...

Makes you wonder how the ride feels, doesn't it?

These tires are airless and are scheduled to be out on the market very
soon.

The bad news for law enforcement is that spike strips will not work on
these.

Just think of the impact on existing technology:
A. no more air valves...
B. no more air compressors at gas stations...
C. no more repair kits...
D. no more flats...
This picture was taken at the South Carolina plant of Michelin