scotland

If Scotland passes proposed legislation, it's possible that a Jedi officiant, complete with brown robe and lightsaber, could stand before two lovers and say, "Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of the Force to witness and bless the joining together of these two people in Jedi-blessed matrimony."

The Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill (PDF) backs several other updates to marriage law, including same-sex marriage. But the BBC reports that the allowance of a Jedi-managed wedding has incensed some religious conservatives in the region. The Free Church of Scotland spoke out against the bill, which opens the door for leaders of Jedism and other movements to officiate at weddings.… Read more

Inspired by a Los Angeles Times article about Scottish people having trouble with Siri on the iPhone 4S, comedian Gavin McInnes created a parody ad that will have you rolling.

While the "commercial" starts with the familiar soul-searching music and closeup of Siri's interface in a typical Apple advert, it becomes quickly obvious after the first question that this clip is not like those other civilized parodies. McInnes asks some simple questions, but the programmers behind Siri's voice recognition obviously are not prepared for references to "chip butty," "jammy dodger," or "Caledonian 80." The results (below) are hilarious. … Read more

The European Union will consider whether a massive wave energy project from Scotland should receive a piece of a renewable-energy and carbon reduction project fund that could total billions of euros.

The Pentland Orkney Wave Energy Resource (POWER) project was nominated this week by the U.K. government for the NER300, a fund managed jointly by the European Commission, European Investment Bank, and member states that's named after the 300 million carbon "allowances" being sold to raise the funds.

If approved, funded, and built, the wave energy farm would be the largest grid-connected wave energy farm in the world, according to the Scottish European Green Energy Centre.

The POWER project as currently proposed would place 24 wave energy converters from Pelamis Wave Power and 10 Oyster 3 wave energy converters from Aquamarine Power in the Orkneys off the coast of Scotland. They would tie in to the Scottish electric grid and, together, they would make up a 28-megawatt wave power farm.

The Pelamis wave energy converter is a floating serpentine machine made up of multiple sealed cylinders that each contain power modules, hydraulic cylinders, and motor generators. The cylinders are connected by two-direction hinged joints. Jostling by the motion of ocean waves in relation to the hinges enables the machine to generate electricity, and transfer it by subsea cable.

The submerged Oyster, meanwhile, is shaped like an oyster shell that opens and closes from wave motion. It uses that energy to pump a hydro-electric turbine back on land to produce electricity.… Read more

TOOELE COUNTY, UTAH--The Speed Scotland team this week will try to beat the 12-year record of 313 mph in the Salt Flats of Utah at the 62nd annual running of Bonneville Speed Week.

The team completed a "rookie run" on Saturday, reaching a top speed of 170 mph at the second mile marker of a five-mile run. Cars are clocked three times on the track. Each entry receives an average mph between the second and third mile, the third and fourth mile and the fourth and fifth mile. The team did not complete runs on Sunday or Monday.… Read more

I've reviewed or listened to a lot of speakers over the years. Hundreds and hundreds of them, and I instantly forget most of them, but I guarantee that if someone asks me about the Tannoy Prestige Kensington SE speaker in 10 years, I won't have a problem remembering what it sounded like.

Tannoy, founded in 1926, currently manufactures a vast range of speakers for audiophiles and recording studios. The company started out building sound reinforcement systems and is still a major player in that business: the Hong Kong Convention Center, Sydney Opera House, London Palladium, Coca Cola Headquarters in Atlanta and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas all use Tannoy speakers. Tannoy is based in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The Kensington SE has a 10-inch, dual-concentric driver and a mahogany-veneered, high-density birch wood cabinet. The Prestige line dates back to 1982 when Tannoy introduced the mighty Westminster speaker, which was upgraded and renamed Westminster Royal in 1987. It's still in production and goes for $35,000 a pair. The Kensington SE ($13,120 a pair) is one of the newer Prestige models, just 7 years old, and the entire line was upgraded to SE status with newly designed crossovers and internal wiring in 2007. Tannoy also sells speakers for under $1,000 a pair.

The speaker's front panel hosts a conspicuous set of tone controls for the tweeter labeled "Treble Energy" and "Treble Roll Off." That sort of tweakability is rare in high-end speakers, but it lets you dial in exactly the right treble balance to accommodate your room's acoustics. … Read more

Experts may take years to examine and analyze the latest purported video of the Loch Ness Monster, henceforth known as "Nessie." But our crack analytic team, to wit CNET editor Lori Grunin, has identified the camcorder used to take that footage.

Lori took a look at the Scottish TV video of the cameraman and his sighting. After examining the video of the camcorder, she tells us it's an antique Sony DCR-TRV130E (an old Digital 8 model). At any rate, the camcorder is far more modern than the legends of Nessie, which go back more than 2,500 … Read more