A group of 40 scooter riders were zipping around Singapore this morning to deliver Lunar New Year snacks to the less fortunate.

Spotted on the roads this morning; 40 vintage Vespa scooters cruising in a convoy.

The bikers were going around Singapore to deliver red packets, mandarin oranges and sacks of rice to the old folks' homes.

Aziz Omar said, "I feel great knowing that we can assist the elderly, even the poor for that matter. On Hari Raya, we all got together to do one for the poor. Now for Chinese New Year, we do one for the old and the aged."

Philip Xavier added, "In Singapore we always say multiracial so its nice to get together with all our friends, Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, others. It's nice to meet one another as a family."

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Pizza as we know it was invented at Lombardi's—then a bakery—around 1895, inspired by flatbreads fabricated in Naples since Roman times. Heck, Pompeii boasted a pizzeria. Earlier this year I made a Neapolitan pilgrimage to trace the origins of America's favorite pie. That charming city, where laundry hangs from every window in trash-strewn streets, is as enamored of pizza as we are. In fact, Naples reminded me of Brooklyn; both places you can hardly walk a block without passing a pizzeria. The pizzas are strikingly different, however. Naples's are a foot in diameter, calculated to satisfy only one person. Delivered uncut, the pies must be eaten with silverware, and it's comical to see an Italian boho clad in jeans and torn sweatshirt hop off a Vespa, run into a pizzeria, then daintily scarf her pie with a knife and fork. (read the rest)

We're pretty sure that this won't work with the Engadget Harley, and it's certainly not as cool as the Vespa Puter, but for our more refined European audience we present the mobile Stereo System with iPod dock by Scooterworks. The system is actually a do-it-yourself kit for Vespa Stella and P-series models that includes an amp, two 4-inch Alpine speakers, replacement glovebox door with pre-cut holes, and a cradle/connector for hooking up your 'pod or other DAP. We're pretty sure that you could piece together your own scooter-mounted stereo for less than the $300 that this costs, but if you're really trying to save some loot, the not-recommended-by-us, cruising-around-with-headphones-on method still can't be beat.

This morning's Wall Street Journal reports on the Parisian company Citybird, a taxi service that relies on select Piaggio and Suzuki scooters.

"A quick analysis also indicated that large motorcycles were too big to squeeze through traffic jams and too costly to operate. Instead, they selected top-of-the-line Piaggio and Suzuki motorscooters, which are cushier than the compact and classic Vespa. The models use about half the fuel of a large motorcycle and offer lots of storage space for bags. And the partners figured that for most trips, it wouldn't matter that scooters don't move as fast as motorcycles."

Citybird's target customers are an upscale crowd. The main appeal: guaranteed punctuality and significantly shorter trips. During rush hour, Citybird promises it can slash the travel time between central Paris and the airport from around 90 minutes to 30 minutes.

Chris Ayres

“Don’t worry,” she cooed. “You’ll look cute on it.” Now, as any man knows, there is a whole universe of difference between cool and cute.

Don't worry, I say too, Chris. Once you've logged more than 50 miles and have gotten past the wobbles, you'll be cool. [Thanks to Pete Selkowe, Vespaway reader and PX200 rider from Racine, Wisconsin for this story]

The show this year was a bit of a let down as compared to years past. I just felt like there wasn’t much of a wow factor at the show. Admittedly it was fantastic to see a nice big Piaggio presence. The GTS was on display in prime position and it looked great. I am just mesmerized by the digital display on the bike. On top of that the improved shocks, extra 50ccs and fuel injection are all major improvements. I am hoping to test drive one in the next month or two (as I did with the GT). When I get my hands on one, I will certainly be writing about it here.

Aprilia is now part of Piaggio so there more scooters than just the LX, GT & GTS on display in the booth. Check out the pic of the 500cc Scarabeo that was one display. Now that is A LOT of scooter.

Aside from Piaggio & company, even though other vendors had scooters on display they were usually pushed towards the back and sales folks just did not have any interest in answering questions about them. I think that’s a pretty sad state of affairs when scootering seems to be taking off in urban America.

But some vendors were making an attempt to reach the scooter community. The folks at Yourbikeyourshirt.com were very quick to point out that amongst the many designs they embroider on their shirts, Vespas were included.

The people from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course given at Farleigh Dickenson University were there as well. I have spoken about the MSF before, and FDU happens to be where I took my course. I think the safety course is a must for all new riders. When I took the course I learned on a motorcycle. However the guys at the booth were very eager to mention to me that they are trying to reach the scooter community and will be running a once a month course customized for scooterists! So please contact them or your local MSF folks and enroll in a course soon. It will save your life! Keep up the good work MSF!

This happens to be the picture of the day on Wikipedia today, the anniversary of the first commercial flights of the Concorde. How does this relate to Vespa you ask?

Piaggio was, and is today with Piaggio Aero, an aircraft factory. After World War II, recognizing the need for conversion to civil market, it approached this idea using internal skill, expertise and spare parts: in the first exemplar one can recognize the typical aircraft technology of molded steel sheets riveted at the edges, the front wheel with lamp was actually a landing gear, the engine was derived from a starter of an airplane engine, attention to aerodynamics is evident in all the design, in particular on the tail.

If you have to ask, ask Wikipedia.

Mobile phone use does not lead to a greater risk of brain tumour, the largest study on the issue has said.

This news from the BBC prompted me to go a-hunting for a fitting geurrilla image pasted up at several strategic intersections in the Bay Area. What I found, to my delight, was this:

Its source is Yellow Pages Commando. How had I not found this hilarious blog before? I think the site is supposed to be about advertising and marketing but this guy Dick Larkin goes so far afield he makes my allusions to comic books and jazz footnotes seem like direct quotations from a Piaggio factory manual. Makes for a good read, though, don't it? His, I mean -- me, I'm just getting started still. Anyway, the pic here is from a 2003 archive and, in a momentary deficit of commentary the only context he has is This sign is popular everywhere except New York. Now it is this week's brain teaser for me. I don't get it. Maybe Mr. Larkin thought New Yorkers were upset a whole two years from being the first State to mandate hands-free phoning while driving (that is to say, you can't be holding a phone in your hands -- you're not required to use a phone at all if you don't want to). Trust me, Dick, New Yorkers moved on. Since then, only one other State and the District of Columbia have enacted similar laws. Many cities have done it, and more are working on it [2004 reference: Seattle Post-Intelligencer]. Man, though, California, I gotta say, of all places, I mean, I've been known to espouse the wonders of modern telecommunications on this site because, yeah, it's great but, geez, California, WAKE UP, HANG UP AND DRIVE. The image I was originally looking for is of a skull with a cell-phone in its skeleton hand. Make no mistake. Mobile technology can kill people in quicker ways than with cancer.

Expect lots of pics and comments on cool stuff!