Author: Serkadis

With all this talk of iPads and Kindles shaking up the print world, few people are sparing a thought for Sony’s noble Reader series, so the company would like to take this opportunity to remind you that it is “selling very well.” Fujio Noguchi, Deputy President of Sony’s e-book division, indicated that the gadget is its most popular item in the Sony Style store, with the Touch Edition selling the most units. He says that his focus is on “readability” and that the company will continue to use e-paper, good news for those with sensitive eyes, but that Sony has no plans for a color Reader until color e-ink screens are of sufficient quality. So, for now, you’ll just have to buy yourself the one on the left above if you’re looking to tickle your cones.

Sony says the Reader is selling ‘very well,’ thank you very much, isn’t planning color versions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Audi, Diesel

After finally losing the top spot on the Le Mans podium to Peugeot last June, Audi is bound and determined to recapture victory this year. To that end the automaker has signed on three new drivers for this year’s squad including one Peugeot veteran. Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Treluyer will man Audi’s third car in France after a warm-up race at the 1000-kilometer race of Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium in May.

Fässler ran a pair of races for Audi in the American Le Mans Series in 2008, while Lotterer drove one of the privateer R10s for the Kolles team last year. Benoît Treluyer was part of the nine-driver Peugeot crew at Le Mans last year.

Audi also released three images of each driver sitting in what may be a new version of the R15 diesel-powered race car dubbed the “R15 TDI Plus.” This new version of the R15 is being developed to address official complaints made by rival Peugeot about the original’s car design. The driver images don’t show much besides a decidedly sexy naked carbon fiber body, and the “Plus” moniker is a bit misleading as these modifications won’t likely help the R15’s performance in any way, which would give Peugeot cause for more complaints. With the new car still in development and Peugeot not willing to race against a modified version of the 2009 car, don’t expect the R15 “Plus” on the starting grid at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, though Audi is expected to be there testing the new car.

[Source: Audi, Fourtitude]

Continue reading Audi adds three new drivers to 2010 Le Mans lineup, teases R15 “Plus”

Audi adds three new drivers to 2010 Le Mans lineup, teases R15 “Plus” originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Bentley, a pilot-biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last summer during a visit to EPA’s Western Ecology Division in Corvallis, Oregon, when he took me, photographer Eric Vance, and scientists Steven Klein and Scott Leibowitz on two flights to photograph and document ongoing EPA research from the air (I blogged about one of the flights for the August, 26 “Science Wednesday”)

Thanks to the skill, professionalism, and patience of our pilot, we landed with a portfolio of several hundred stunning aerial photographs to support science and outreach efforts, a far better understanding of EPA ecosystem services research, and a deeper appreciation for the spirit of collaboration between EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Thanks to Ray’s quick smile and generous spirit, the trip was both fruitful and fun.

Last week, I learned the tragic news that Ray, along with his passenger biologist David Pitkin, died on January 17 when their plane went down in a wooded area west of Philomath, OR. The two were returning from a day spent flying over estuaries along the Oregon coast, counting ducks, geese, and swans for an annual mid-winter waterfowl survey.

Even though I only spent the better part of an afternoon with Ray, he made a big impression. His love of flying and wildlife were evident. As a wildlife aficionado and former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee myself, I loved hearing his tales of survey flights over wilderness areas and National Wildlife Refuges from Chesapeake Bay to Alaska. He even extended our first flight a few minutes to see if he could find a grey whale to show us off the coast of Newport. (No such luck.)

One of the best parts of my job is getting to work with people—scientists, photographers, and pilot-biologists included—who clearly love what they do. Ray’s passion for flying and wildlife conservation were obvious, and infectious. The flights he took us on were the highlight of a great week, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.

I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families, and many friends and colleagues of Ray Bentley and David Pitkin.

About the Author: Aaron Ferster is the lead science writer-editor for EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA recently launched a comprehensive step-by-step toolkit to guide cities and localities through the process of greening their communities. Taking inspiration from New York City’s highly-regarded PlaNYC 2030, the guide was created with the New York Mayor’s Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability. The toolkit is includes checklists, best practices, templates, and guidelines – detailed how-to’s for local officials. ICLEI USA includes 600 city, county and town members; their international group has 1,107 member towns, cities and counties in 67 countries.

Don Knapp, ICLEI USA’s communications officer, told Greenbuildings.com: “Our toolkit is a roadmap to guide any local government, big or small, through the process of creating a sustainability plan.  Staff from ICLEI’s local government members have been telling us how eager they are for a resource like this toolkit, because creating a sustainability plan can be a complex and lengthy endeavor.”

Knapp added: “There are so many steps to go through, so many individual initiatives to consider, so many stakeholders to involve, and it’s hard to know where to begin. Municipal staff didn’t want to have to reinvent the wheel and create their own process from scratch, especially when their resources and manpower are often so limited. Fortunately, big cities like New York have acted as the trailblazer.”

Worldchanging offered positive reviews: “Anyone already familiar with the Cities for Climate Protection program will recognize the hallmark ICLEI approach of dividing up complex problems into a series of manageable milestones. While Climate change is still a key focus, the toolkit shows how to couple emissions reductions with wins in other areas like reducing poverty, preventing sprawl, or diversifying the local economy. The core of the kit is a step-by-step planning guide that takes you from how to hire a sustainability coordinator to how to design, implement and monitor a local sustainability plan. Accompanying the guide, the toolkit includes a collection of model documents, inventorying software, and even sample job descriptions for municipalities just beginning their push toward sustainability.” 

The guide may also help break down the inter-governmental silos that prevent effective collaboration and help spur the development of comprehensive local sustainability plans: “the trouble with sustainability, or climate change more specifically, is that they are everybody’s problem, but nobody’s responsibility. They don’t fit nicely into the division of labor that has kept our cities running in the past. They also ask departments that don’t talk much (and may not get along all that well) to work together to get things done. It may seem unlikely, but often those dynamics (more than a lack of political will, or money, or knowledge) are why cities don’t green-up more quickly. Given that, it’s great to see at the core of ICLEI’s new toolkit, a detailed section on team-building, overcoming divisions between departments, and engaging the public.”

Strong leadership from the Mayor’s office is key, but the whole community must be involved: “Their key points are strong: manage sustainability centrally (preferably from the mayor’s office), bring representatives from all departments on-board, and open up the process to the community. No city has the resources to address sustainability and climate change on their own. If it is going to happen it has to be a shared project that makes the most of the expertise and skills of the local community.”

The guide includes a set of milestones local governments must progress through:

Milestone 1: Conduct a sustainability assessment
Milestone 2: Establish sustainability goals
Milestone 3: Develop a local sustainability plan
Milestone 4: Implement policies and measures
Milestone 5: Evaluate progress and report results

ICLEI USA also offers the STAR Community Index, which will formally launch in 2011. The STAR Community Index is a tool that helps communities gauge their sustainability and livability.

Read the article and download the toolkit.

The Microsoft machine seems to be picking up some serious steam. Sparked by strong sales of its Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft announced very strong quarterly earnings yesterday — highlighted by revenues of $19.02 billion; a new company record.  Here are some other figures form the balance sheet:

• Operating income $8.51 billion, up 43% year-over-year
• Net income $6.66 billion, up 60% year-over-year
• Diluted earnings per share $0.74, up 57% year-over-year
• Revenue of $19.02 billion includes $1.71 billion in deferred revenue from Windows upgrade program and OEM pre-sales
• Adjusted revenue $17.31 billion
• Adjusted earnings per share $0.60
  

Microsoft also mentioned that they have sold over 60 million Windows 7 licenses since its launch on October 27th of 2009, making Windows 7 the fastest selling operating system to date.

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Update: 12:09 Eastern

Scott Roeder found guilty on all three counts: 1) first degree premeditated murder 2) aggravated assault 3) aggravated assault.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nolal Foulston tells the judge the prosecution will purse the “Hard 50” option during sentencing.  Scott Roeder is facing a mandatory life sentence with possible parole in 25 years.  But the “Hard 50”, if granted, would not make Roeder eligible for parole until he has served at least 50.

Sentencing is set for March 9, 2010.

UPDATE: 11:37 Eastern

VERDICT IS IN.  It took the jury just 37 minutes to decide on the three charges against Scott Roeder:

Count 1 – First Degree Premeditated Murder

Count 2 – Aggravated Assault (for waving a gun and threatening to shoot a man who tried to stop Roeder from escape.

Count 3 – Aggravated Assault (for waving a gun and threatening to shoot a second man who tried to stop Roeder from escape).

Courtroom observers, reporters and families for both the defendant and victim.

Update 11:00 am Eastern:

The jury has been excused to the jury room and will now begin deliberations.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations today in the Scott Roeder trial. Roeder has admitted to shooting and killing abortion provider Dr George Tiller last May 31 while Dr Tiller was acting as an usher in his church.
Roeder’s defense had requested the jury be allowed to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter because of Roeder’s admitted belief he needed to kill Dr Tiller in order to save unborn babies. Judge Warren Wilbert rejected that request and instructed the jury that it may only consider first degree premeditated murder. If convicted, Roeder could receive a sentence of life in prison.

Long the dollar and short the euro according to Morgan Stanley's Sophia Drossos. That's because you're likely to come out making money across a wide range of economic scenarios in 2010.

If the global recovery continues, she expects U.S. growth to outperform other major economies. Note this fits with the consensus view for for how a rebound would play out. Higher relative economic growth implies likely dollar strength vs. the euro.

Even if the global rebound sputters, investors around the world would become more risk averse as a result. Given that the dollar has tended to rally when risk aversion rises, this means it should still do well, according to Ms. Drossos.

Sophia Drossos, CFA @ Morgan Stanley: Long USD is a trade that can work in environments of risk aversion as well as stronger global growth. Because we believe a revival in the global economy will be led by US growth outperformance against G4 economies. One way to express this view is to short EUR vs USD. EUR/USD has declined sharply from its peak in late November as growth data have become more positive in the US. Also, in the recent episode of risk reduction, EUR/USD fell nearly 3%. Continued concerns regarding fiscal frictions in the Eurozone are an important headwind to EUR that would likely be magnified in a prolonged bout of risk reduction. Short EUR/USD is one of our top trades for the year. The break below 1.40 in EUR/USD reinforces our conviction, and we target an eventual decline to 1.28.

Don't forget that Eurozone financial problems appear to be multiplying, hence the dollar could easily come out making money vs. the euro simply based on Europe scoring a few 'own-goals'. As an aside, here's a chart that shows Morgan Stanley's index for risk appetite below.

The Morgan Stanley Global Risk Demand Index (GRDI), our proprietary measure of risk appetite, dropped into negative territory last Friday, for the first time since early November. But negative readings on the GRDI over the past 12 months have been infrequent and short-lived, as Exhibit 1 shows. Indeed, the fundamental backdrop of rebounding global growth and still ample global liquidity has been conducive to solid risk appetite and higher beta assets.

(Via Morgan Stanley, Sophia Drossos, 'G10: Risk Appetite Down, But Not Out', 28 January 2010)

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See Also:

• Morgan Stanley May Sue Zero Hedge For Publishing Their Research As Its Own
• Morgan Stanley: Complacent Markets Aren't Seeing The Sharp Rise In Emerging Market Inflation
• Morgan Stanley: Greek Debt Panic Way Overdone In Emerging Markets

“Free advice is well worth the price.” Keep that in mind the next time you ask someone in Secondary Marketing if you should lock today or wait.

Freddie Mac announced a change to their condo policy for loans with application dates on or after February 1. Companies who sell to Freddie “may only use FHA condominium project approval to determine the eligibility of FHA and certain other federally guaranteed or insured condominium unit mortgages for sale to Freddie Mac. Conventional conforming condominium unit mortgages in FHA-approved condominium projects may still be eligible for sale to Freddie Mac provided the condominium project meets our requirements.” Freddie goes on to remind their customers that borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages in all condominium projects are eligible for their Streamlined Refinance Mortgage and Relief Refinance Mortgage – Same Servicer. For the entire memo, one can visit http://www.freddiemac.com/sell/guide/bulletins/pdf/bll1002.pdf

How far can an appraisal management company go toward originating mortgages? We may find out shortly. It is well know that many large companies such as Wells and BofA have interests in AVM’s but recently a story has made the press about an appraisal company getting involved in mortgage banking. Is it a possible conflict of interest? Stay tuned.

Markets don’t like uncertainty, and a little of that was removed yesterday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was approved by the Senate for a second four-year term by a 70-30 vote. Supporters admitted that that the Federal Reserve under Bernanke had missed signs leading up to the recent economic crisis, but argued that under Bernanke’s leadership the Fed had helped steer the U.S. economy away from utter catastrophe. But no one wants to switch horses in midstream, even if there could be found a “new horse” that was qualified.

Overall, how have the programs designed to stop mass foreclosures been working? Not so well, and for a variety of reasons. Servicers often don’t have the ability to do renegotiations in bulk, and sometimes make more money by dragging their feet. Loans being placed into securities, which are then sliced and diced, make things more complicated, and borrowers usually are not even sure if they’re eligible. We should all keep in mind, according to a recent paper by the Boston Fed, that foreclosing is often more profitable than renegotiating. Almost a third of delinquent borrowers “self cure”. And of those who have their mortgages modified, more than a third end up defaulting eventually anyway.  So in both cases, modifications make the servicer worse off. The housing bubble was very expensive – it will be surprising if we can deal with its consequences on the cheap.

more news on Flagstar’s future, Fed’s mortgage purchases and government participation, economy, rates, and joke of the day … <<< CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

In light of a recent federal court decision, four national organizations representing dentists, physicians and veterinarians called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today to exclude health professionals from controversial new regulation intended to combat identity theft.

A letter sent to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz by leaders of the American Dental Association (ADA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is the latest challenge to the so-called “red flags” rule.

The FTC’s interpretation of the regulation imposes an unjustified, unfunded mandate on health professionals for detecting and responding to identity theft.

The organizations asked the FTC to make it clear that the rule will not apply to their members given the result of recent litigation brought by the American Bar Association against the FTC.

In that case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that lawyers should be excluded from the requirements imposed by the red flags rule.

The court decision follows wide criticism that the FTC’s overly broad interpretation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT) led the commission to create a rule that oversteps its authority.

In response to these concerns, the FTC postponed the rule’s effective date to June 1, but it has never changed the position that the rule will apply to health professionals.

“Congress did not intend the original red flags legislation to apply to small businesses, but rather it was intended to encourage large businesses like banks, credit firms and national retailers to implement best practices to protect customers’ from identity theft,” said ADA President Ronald Tankersley, D.D.S.

In its ruling against the FTC, the court said that the application of this rule to attorneys “is both plainly erroneous and inconsistent with the purpose underlying enactment of the FACT Act.”

The court also stated that the FTC “not only seeks to extend its regulatory power beyond that authorized by Congress,” but also “arbitrarily selects monthly invoice billing as the activity it seeks to regulate.”

“The court ruling sends a clear signal that the FTC needs to re-evaluate the broad application of the red flags rule,” said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. “Our four organizations firmly believe that applying the rule to health professionals, but not to lawyers, would be unfair.”

“Postponement of the rule’s effective date is inadequate,” said AOA President Larry A. Wickless, D.O. “Our four organizations need a commitment from the FTC that it will not apply the red flags rules to health professionals if it is not applied to lawyers.”

“The burdens of complying with this rule outweigh the benefits,” said AVMA President Larry R. Corry, D.V.M. “The FTC’s interpretation of the FACT Act should be redefined to exclude health professionals.”

For a copy of the joint letter to the FTC, please visit the AMA Web site at: ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/ftc-letter-red-flags.pdf.

Illegal file-sharing is at the heart of a growing dispute in a number of countries around the world, but the UK has been taking center stage lately. A controversial ‘three-strikes’ law is now going through Parliament which would potentially kick alleged illegal file sharers of the internet for repeated offenses. There’s a heated de… (read more)

If you’re wondering what went wrong with the Japanese auto industry all of a sudden, the answer may be lying in some of the top secret research files of the troubled automakers or in some seriously bad karma. Either way, things are going from bad to worse, as Honda just announced a total of 646,000 units of its Fit/Jazz and City models, including 140,000 in the United States.

Though the cause may seem simple – a faulty window switch – it has already caused the death of an infant when a fire b… (read more)

A few days before Crimbo last year, Blam posted on the news that Virgin boss Richard Branson was getting into deep water. Well, we’ve now got a render of the hydrobatic Necker Nymph, as it’s been named.

The billionaire is taking delivery of the carbon-fiber underwater plane on February 20, and it will be available to guests at his luxury Necker Island resort. Sub, underwater plane, call it what you will, the Nymph uses fighter jet technology (pew pew) and is piloted with a joystick.

Although Branson has said that the carbon-fiber underwater plane would be able to go down to 35,000 feet, the $670,000 submersible can, for now, only dive to 130 feet. Yeah, well so can I, Richard – the only difference being, as far as I can see, is that I’m not a virgin. [Daily Mail]

 

For those of you who do not know the 3rd Annual Blogging While Brown Conference will take place in Washington, DC June 18-19, 2010. Since we will be in Washington, DC, the home of the First Lady, it seemed only fitting that we should have a Michelle Obama Watch Meet and Greet. This is a chance for all of our Michelle Obama Watchers in the DC area to come out and meet each other. Of course Gina, Patty, and I will be there.

We are asking our Michelle Obama Watchers who reside in the DC area to help us plan this event. We want to hear your comments and suggestions. What are your favorite restaurants and places to meet in our Nation’s Capital? The tentative dates for the meet and greet are Thursday, June 17 or Friday, June 18. We would love to do a happy hour, but we are flexible. So let us know your thoughts. As the time draws near we will post more information.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions and we look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

Posted by Aminah Hanan

If you’re European and you’re into aftermarket products for your car, ECU tweaks and stuff like that, we have important news for you: UK turbocharger specialist Owen Developments announced it has taken over the sole distribution, sales and marketing rights for the performance enhancing Dastek Unichip aftermarket engine management system for the European Union.

If you don’t know what we’re talking about, things are this way: Unichip ECU is a product of engine management specialists Dastek mean… (read more)

The Alabama Supreme Court this week stayed the execution of Robert Melson, which had been scheduled for February 18, 2010, because his appeal is still pending at the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Melson was denied all federal review of his constitutional claims because his incompetent lawyer did not properly sign a pleading and filed a notice of appeal in the wrong state court.

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President Obama announced this morning that the federal government would cut its emissions by 28 percent in 2020. It’s a small step compared to the nationwide carbon cap he hopes to institute — and which conservatives will battle tooth and nail — but it lends some quick credence to his renewed commitment to cleaner energy, as laid out in his State of the Union Wednesday.

“As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,” Obama said. “Our goal is to lower costs, reduce pollution, and shift Federal energy expenses away from oil and towards local, clean energy.”

That ought to shut bin Laden up.

Hitler, had some words to say when Windows Mobile 6.5 was released last year, and now with the new Ipad, he is more furious than ever. In the video Hitler gets ready to order the Ipad online when he gets the word that it has no multitasking, no flash, and is just a huge Iphone. He flips out and is more disappointed than he was about Windows Mobile 6.5, and disgraces Apples name.

Watch and comment below

Filed under: Car Buying, Recalls, Toyota

It’s been over one week since Toyota first announced a recall affecting 2.3 million vehicles across eight model lines. The recall involves defective accelerator pedal mechanism that could stick due to wear and cause unintended acceration. Since then, Toyota and the supplier responsible for producing this part, CTS Corp., have already developed and begun producing a replacement for assembly plants in North America. Problem is, that doesn’t help the 2.3 million owners who have recalled vehicles sitting in their driveways. Nor does it help Toyota dealers, who wouldn’t be able to handle the complex job of replacing defective accelerator pedal mechanisms on so many vehicles. Finally, CTS Corp. doesn’t have the capacity to make replacement parts for both the assembly plants that need them to continue operating and the millions of recalled vehicles already on the road.

Enter the humble shim. Toyota is almost done developing a simpler fix for dealers that involves “inserting a metal shim into a gap in the friction lever of the pedal,” according to Automotive News. Doing so will reportedly reduce friction and prevent the pedal from sticking and causing unintended acceleration. Toyota is said to be busy testing the shim fix for durability and ease of installation as we speak.

Though the automaker has not officially acknowledged the shim solution nor when it will be ready for dealers, sources say we should expect some kind of remedy early next week.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.| Scott Olson/Getty]

Report: Toyota readies pedal fix for dealers involving shims originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange Line trains in the Loop will be temporarily rerouted to operate on the Brown Line tracks from approximately 5:50 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 31 due to track work.

Orange Line trains will be rerouted from the inner track to the outer Loop track, and travel counterclockwise.

Entering the Loop, Orange Line trains will make their first stop at Adams/Wabash, then Madison/Wabash, Randolph/Wabash, State/Lake, Clark/Lake, Washington/Wells, Quincy/Wells, LaSalle/Van Buren and Library, then proceed to Roosevelt and resume the normal route.

Crews will install new switching equipment as part of the Loop Signal project that will replace the signal and train control systems in the Loop.

The Loop Signal replacement project is expected to conclude in late 2010.

The project is being conducted in phases to help minimize the impact to customers.

The majority of the work has taken place on weekends and in the early morning hours.