This is something I created today for my website. It took hours to draw. It shows the tallest completed buildings each year, from 1900 until the present day… plus some additional planned towers for 2011-2016.
Those marked in red are the ones which set a new record (e.g. Empire State Building, Sears, Petronas, Burj Dubai).
Anyway, I’m trying to extrapolate a trend from this data, to calculate the most likely heights for 2017-2100. It’s proving very difficult though. Does anybody know how I can do this? Is there some statistical method I could use to make it as accurate as possible? Should I include the record breakers in red, or do they bias the results by "inflating" the average height? Any help would be greatly appreciated… đ
Much has been said about how loaded the first quarter of 2010 will be when it comes to new games. March, in partcular, is packed to the gills with one AAA title after another. But
I was in the process of packing my bags for home when there was another explosion on the Internet. The IPCCâs claim that climate change will result in massive melting of the Himalayan glaciers is false. This was disclosed in the UK Sunday Times and rapidly spread to other newspapers and the Internet. The Australian carried a headline article yesterday (Monday) and a full page plus two other articles in this morning’s edition.
This claim is the centrepiece of the IPCC assessment reports as well as Al Gore’s document An inconvenient truth.
The IPCC has repeatedly maintained that its conclusions are based on peer-reviewed papers in recognized scientific journals. It has now been disclosed that this claim never passed through the peer-review process.
The following is my summary of the sequence of events derived from media reports of the past two days.
Download PDF file to read latest report by Will Alexander
Services have been scheduled for Bears defensive end Gaines Adams, who died Sunday of cardiac arrest.
Viewing and visitation will be held Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Blyth Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Greenwood, S.C.
The funeral service is set for 1 p.m. Friday at Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley, S.C., located about 20 miles from Clemson, where Adams attended college.
A second autopsy is being conducted Tuesday on Gaines, whose death at age 26 is being attributed to an enlarged heart.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Specialized Foster Homes Services, 1201 E. Cambridge Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Toyota cars are being equipped with brake override systems, that’s a fact. The reason behind it isn’t the recent and as-yet-unsolved runaway car issues that have plagued the automaker. At least that’s what Toyota says; the company maintains that the change was already under development. While other companies have seemingly figured out brake override, Toyota has been busy perfecting its own setup. All of this is according to what Toyota’s quality general manager, Hiroyuki Yokoyama, tells Automotive News.
In the interview, Yokoyama admits that part of Toyota’s recent quality problems stem in part from from the automaker’s rapid growth as it overtook General Motors as the world’s biggest-selling automaker. More to the point, Toyota’s increase in production numbers and proliferation of model lines made quality harder to bake-in to every product. The competition has also improved in quality, closing the gap between Toyota and its rivals. Yokoyama also challenges the accusation that there are underlying problems with Toyota’s electronic throttle systems, citing the number of sensors and failsafes already designed into the system. Nevertheless, Toyota is looking at its pushbutton start/stop, admits Yokoyama. To shut the engine down, the button must be depressed for three seconds, a safety feature to prevent accidental shut-offs, but perhaps that’s longer than might be intuitive in an emergency.
Regardless of the reason for Toyota’s plan to equip all new models with a brake override system – be it due diligence, face saving or thinly-veiled panic – the immediate priority is to avert any further reputation hits and fix whatever they find.
[Source: Automotive News – sub. req. | Image: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty]
50 Cars or 1 Coach ad campaign in Sweden – Click above to watch video
Sweden’s Flygbussarna Airport Coaches asked Acne Advertising to make the case for travelers to take a coach to the airport instead of a car. Instead of leading with price, comfort, or ease, Acne went for hot air and green – as in CO2 and the environment.
To vividly illustrate that one Flyggbussarna coach can hold about 50 people – as opposed to the typical Swedish passenger car, which averages 1.2 occupants – while emitting the pollution of just four passenger cars, Acne built a coach out of fifty crushed cars – primarily expired Volvos and Saabs.
The installation was placed next to the road to Sweden’s largest airport, and what ensued was lots of public awareness. And traffic jams. Which would have increased CO2, ironically. Follow the jump for a video on the campaign. Even if the resultant congestion made the earth a bit warmer, it’s still very cool.
Whether major mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder and clinical depression, are the result of heritage or environmental factors has been a point of contention for some time now. Studies in the recent past have encountered difficulties mapping the differences in the genetic profiles between those affected by individual major mood disorders and others who are not. A new meta-analysis in Nature has widened the scope of study by looking at two major mood disorders at once, and by doing so, have found that individuals with either disorder tend to carry a certain allele on the same gene.
Similarities between major mood disorders, such as treatments, shared familial risk, and the concordance of a disorder between sets of twins, are considered to be evidence that the major mood disorders arise from at least some similar genetic factors. Studies done on major mood disorders typically concern themselves with one disorder at a time, such as major depressive disorder, but often don’t turn up conclusive evidence about which genes might be causing problems.
After a very public departure from Tesla Motors, a company he helped start, Martin Eberhard is now working for Volkswagen of America, spokesman Steve Keyes confirmed to Green Car Advisor.
Eberhard, who famously sued Tesla accusing current CEO, Elon Musk, of defamation and planning his ouster, the co-founder of the electric-vehicle maker is now working at Volkswagen of America’s California-based research and development lab in Palo Alto.
Volkswagen did not officially announce Eberhard’s appointment and Keyes said he’s not sure of what his title is at the German automaker.
In the past, we’ve seen time and time again how copyright has been used to lock up culture and make it inaccessible. At times this is literally destroying culture, as content is left on degrading media, and those who can preserve it are blocked from doing so. The latest example of this, as sent in by an anonymous reader, involves the famous comedian Jack Benny. Apparently, a bunch of Jack Benny fans have been seeking the right to digitize old audio/video footage of Benny from CBS in order to preserve it. But, in a short-sighted decision, CBS has instead decided to lock up the content and let it disintegrate away (literally):
Late last week the International Jack Benny Fan Club got some very bad news: rather than allow the club with the Benny family’s enthusiastic blessing to digitally preserve some unreleased public domain Benny show masters that CBS has in its possession, the network is giving a thumbs down to the idea — thus sealing these shows’ fate so they will never be seen again. In effect, it’s a bullet through the head of this body of Benny work. And here is the most frustrating tidbit for comedy fans and those who study comedy: the Fan Club offered to do the preservation at no cost to CBS.
Yes, some of this content is public domain. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone has a right to access it, but it is rather ridiculous that CBS won’t even bother to release the public domain material.
Update: In the comments, Ben pointed to this response which claims that there is more to this story, and that CBS just didn’t want to give the content out to this particular fan group. I still don’t quite understand what the problem is with that fan group, and why CBS won’t allow it, but it gives a bit more perspective on the story.
There are so many celebs using their starpower to reach out and help the citizens of earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Pop star Lady Gaga is no exception. Everyone’s Favorite Fashion Disaster has released a t-shirt to aid the cause. All proceeds from the sale of this t-shirt will benefit the Haitian relief efforts.
The tee now available for pre-order by visiting Lady Gaga’s Official Website and Monsters can expect shipments to begin going out this Friday!
The chairwoman of the International Olympic Committee’s oversight panel says Rio de Janeiro is on track to deliver a “very good” games in 2016.
Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco — who last week was selected to head the panel — said after two days of visiting Rio she is confident the city will meet all the requirements to host a successful Olympics.
Rio beat out Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid in October for the right to host the 2016 Games.
The two main issues of concern are transportation and safety.
El Moutawakel said Tuesday she was impressed with Rio’s proposals on transportation, involving rapid transit bus lines and extending the city’s metro system.
She said the IOC is confident Brazil’s government will do what’s necessary to ensure the safety of athletes and visitors.
A nova versĂŁo do software de segurança avast! Antivirus jĂĄ estĂĄ disponĂvel para download gratuito. Este software estĂĄ disponĂvel em duas versĂ”es, uma gratuita “FREE” e a Pro.
A versão Free pode ser utilizada em computadores pessoais, no entanto não inclui algumas das funcionalidades da versão Pro. Por sua vez a o avast! Antivirus 5 Pro tem um custo de 39,95 dólares por uma licença anual existindo desconto para compras em massa.
Jå o avast! Internet Security 5 tem um custo de 59,95 dólares por uma licença vålida para 3 computadores durante 1 ano, existindo igualmente descontos para compra de vårias licenças.
Se estå à procura de um bom Antivirus, o avast! pode ser uma boa solução para si. Poderå verificar mais informação e fazer download do software no site oficial do Avast!. Deixo desde jå uma pergunta no ar a todos os nossos leitores:
Looks like there won’t be a “Google phone” in China, not for a while at least. Well, an official phone; I’m pretty sure the gray market will take care of that. And yes, it has to do with the ongoing Google-China troubles.
The deal is that the phone, presumably the Nexus One, was supposed to launch on Wednesday. Google has postponed the launch because it says the applications on it won’t work as well as they’re designed to because of the restrictions China places on Google. Google it trying to get China to ease up on its restrictions, lest it pull out of the country altogether.
It should be noted that Google is nowhere near as big in China as it is here in the U.S. (Baidu is the top search engine in China, and by quite a distance.) Now, Google may look at that and say, “See, that means there’s plenty of room for growth in China!” Or perhaps more pessimistically, “We’re throwing money down a bottomless pit, let’s cut our losses and get out of here.”
Neither Google nor any unnamed source claiming to speak on Google’s behalf have said how long the postponement will last. It could be a temporary thing just to pressure the Chinese authorities into backing off (fat chance), or it could be a more long-term indication that Google is not a happy camper in China.
Again, as if the Chinese care that Google is upset. Google can’t storm into the harbor aboard gunships and demand policy changes, like the Europeans did back in the day.
Team CrunchGear, with a 1-1 record with one no-contest (accidental headbutt in the first round), used one or more Mi-Fi units at CESthis year. The Mi-Fi is a cute little portable Wi-Fi access point that you can use wherever you can get a cellphone signal. It takes the mobile data connection, then outputs it as plain ol’Wi-Fi, which you can then connect to from any computer. It’s also pretty hackable.
The big thing you can do is enable GPS on the device without the owner knowing, and then find out the user’s GPS coordinates. In the realm of remote attacks, this ranks, for me, at least, fairly well down the list. You can also find out the device’s access key, and from there you can do other nefarious things, like fire up something like ettercap and have the owner’s login credentials for whatever Web site be forwarded right to your screen. Not that I’d know anything about doing that.
Oh, I’m sorry, this has nothing to do with the Apple Tablet; nobody cares now.
It looks like Microsoft has moved to the “sticks and stones” method for handling public relations gaffes. As we reported yesterday, France joined Germany in suggesting that its citizens switch from Internet Explorer to, well, anything else. Now, Microsoft’s UK security chief, Cliff Evans, has responded by saying that switching to other browsers will only open you up to more security vulnerabilities than staying with Internet Explorer.
That’s saying a lot for the browser implicated in the Great Google Caper of 2010 and we have multiple security experts who said a lot on why it just isn’t true.
Sponsor
In a conversation with TechRadar, Evans said that “the net effect of switching [from IE] is that you will end up on less secure browser” and that “there are broader risks and issues with other browsers.”
Internet Explorer: The Reigning Champ of Security?
These statements just didn’t ring true in our ears, so we got in touch with Thomas Kristensen, the chief security officer for Secunia, a company that specializes in looking for security vulnerabilities.
“In my opinion the browsers aren’t the real problem for most users,” Kristensen told us. “The main concern for normal users is by far all the third party programs, such as programs from Adobe, Sun, Apple, and many other vendors, which are being exploited.”
Browsers, whether Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, update themselves requiring little if any user involvement, he said, so most vulnerabilities are taken care of. With other programs, however, updates often sit waiting for “months and even years before they update.”
Kristensen did concede, however, that the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Opera currently have no un-patched vulnerabilities and are therefor a more secure choice compared with IE, while offering the same caveat.
“The normal user faces the almost same risk whether they run IE, Firefox, or Chrome if they haven’t updated all their software,” said Kristensen.
Vincent Steckler, CEO of anti-virus software provider Avast, agreed that Evans’ statement didn’t really add up.
“Other browsers may also have vulnerabilities but to suggest that changing browsers can increase vulnerability is not correct,” he told us this morning. “It is changing from the known to the unknown – while it may not increase your protection, it will not decrease it.”
IE 6: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
So, while Evans’ statement doesn’t really hold much water according to security experts, he does note later in the TechRadar article that “the reality of the risk is minimal, even if you have IE6; you would have to go to a website running the exploit.”
On this point we can find some agreement. Michael Sutton, VP of security research at security provider Zscaler, notes that a switch may be a wasted effort, except for in one case.
“Switching browsers in response to a single vulnerability is a wasted effort. All browsers have vulnerabilities,” said Sutton. “So what happens when you switch to Firefox and they announce a critical vulnerability? The larger story here is that the attack succeeded by targeting users running IE6 – an 8-year-old browser.”
Whether you switch browsers or not, there is one thing for sure – you need to stop using Internet Explorer 6 already. In the end, though, it doesn’t come down to running an ancient browser, as the vulnerability may go well beyond that.
“Currently it is evident that running IE6 on XP or Windows 2000 is a very bad idea, and any other browser would be a better choice for XP and Windows 2000 users,” Kristensen told us. “It is also evident that there is an unpatched vulnerability in IE7 and IE8 which may or may not be exploitable on Vista and Windows 7.”
We have to admit, the French may be right on more than red wine and food. Go get yourself a copy of Chrome, Firefox or Opera if you haven’t already.
As reported yesterday, the 2011 Ford Mustang GT Glass Roof Coupe with the all-new 5.0L V8 will be the Official Pace Car for the 52nd Daytona 500 on Feb. 14. The model will go on sale for customers later this spring.
âThis is the resurgence of Ford, and pacing the field at the Daytona 500 is a great opportunity to showcase all of the technology that the new 2011 Mustang 5.0 brings to deliver 412 horsepower and projected unsurpassed highway mileage of 25 mpg,â said Mark Fields, president, The Americas.
The 2011 Ford Mustang GT pace car will features a special Daytona 500 paint scheme, a Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, unique painted wheels and an upgraded interior, including lit sill plates.
2011 Ford Mustang GT Daytona 500 Pace Car:
2011 Ford Mustang GT:
Press Release:
2011 FORD MUSTANG GT BECOMES DAYTONA 500 OFFICIAL PACE CAR, SUPPORTS CHARITY AT BARRETT-JACKSON
* Fordâs new 2011 Mustang GT Glass Roof Coupe with an all-new 5.0-liter V-8 under the hood will be the Official Pace Car for the 52nd Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, the first time in 40 years a Ford vehicle has paced this prestigious race
* The Race Red Mustang will be auctioned prior to the race at the 39th Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car Auction on Jan. 23; all proceeds from the car over MSRP will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
* The Mustang pace car features a special Daytona 500 paint scheme, a Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, unique painted wheels and a special interior treatment, including lit sill plates
DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 19, 2010 â Fordâs new 2011 Mustang GT will serve as the Official Pace Car at this yearâs 52nd Daytona 500, the first time in 40 years a Ford vehicle has paced NASCARâs biggest and most prestigious race.
Under the hood of the Mustang GT Glass Roof Coupe will be Fordâs all-new 5.0-liter V-8, which will be available to customers in dealer showrooms this spring.
Before the new Ford Mustang takes to the track, one lucky enthusiast will have the rare opportunity to own the pace car pony and help a deserving charity at the same time.
The Race Red Mustang, which carries a special Daytona 500 striped paint scheme, will be auctioned at the 39th Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car Auction on Jan. 23 at WestWorld of Scottsdale, in Scottsdale, Ariz. The event will be televised live on the SPEEDÂ channel. All proceeds from the car over MSRP will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a leader in research leading to a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
âOver the past three years, Ford is proud to have raised more than $2 million for JDRF through the sales of vehicles at Barrett-Jackson,â said Jamie Allison, director, Ford North America Motorsports. âThis year, one lucky bidder will not only experience the thrill of seeing his or her 2011 Mustang pacing the Daytona 500 in front of 43 of the worldâs greatest race car drivers, but will contribute toward finding a cure for juvenile diabetes at the same time.â
According to Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson, while many collectors have experienced the thrill of buying pace vehicles and historic racers on the Barrett-Jackson auction block, buying a pace car before it hits the track has never happened before at the famed auction house.
âIt would be a thrill to own this early VIN, one-of-one 2011 Mustang GT Glass Roof Coupe Daytona 500 Pace Car and watch it lead the famous race in February,â he said. âAnd knowing that you helped an amazing organization like JDRF would make it even better.â
This is the first time in four decades that a Ford Motor Company vehicle will pace the Daytona 500. The last time was in 1970 when the Ford Torino GT convertible had the honors.
In addition to the special paint, the Mustang pace car features a Brembo brake package, Ford Racing suspension, strut tower brace and mufflers, unique 19-inch painted wheels, summer-only tires and a special interior treatment, including lit sill plates. It also carries an early VIN and will be among the first 2011 Mustang GT 5.0-liter V-8s made available for sale to the public.
2011 Ford Mustang GT: Heritage, high technology and horsepower
The all-new 5.0-liter V-8 engine is the next chapter in the development of the world-class Mustang powertrain portfolio, delivering the performance and fun-to-drive factor that enthusiasts want, while improving fuel economy.
The modern 5.0-liter four-valve Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing V-8 engine in the new Mustang GT will deliver 412 horsepower and 390 ft.-lb of torque. At the same time, fuel economy is projected to be better than the previous model and unsurpassed in the segment. For 2011, the new Mustang GT adds specially tuned Electric Power Assist Steering, 11.5-inch front and 11.8-inch rear vented disc brakes, and an enhanced suspension featuring an improved rear lower control arm and stiffened rear stabilizer bushings.
A Brembo brake package upgrade â featuring larger rotors and calipers from the Ford Shelby GT500Âź Mustang â will be available for serious enthusiasts. Unique 19-inch wheels and summer performance tires also will be offered.
The new Mustang GT also offers drivers new convenience technologies, including:
o Standard message center
o Integrated blind spot mirrors
o MyKeyâą programmable vehicle key
From the signature 5.0 fender badges to the new engine cover, Mustang GT honors and continues the proud heritage of its predecessors. The speedometer increases to 160 mph, and the tachometer redline advances from 6,500 to 7,000 rpm.
Three vibrant new colors are being added for 2011; along with Race Red, these include Yellow Blaze Tri-Coat and Ingot Silver.
from aftertrikala, 15 January 2010: This letter was sent to a few anarchist comrades in London, and is a response to the question of Alfredoâs health and also what could be done by solidarious people. The letter is best read as part of an ongoing dossier that is being assembled by the same anarchist comrades.
“Greetings from Me and Alfredo who got your letter yesterday. Here things havenât changed at all from the moment we arrived. The main problem is still Alfredoâs very precarious health situation…” more
The folks at Boy Genius Report (BGR) have been speaking with a little birdie from Cupertino again, and this time it’s allegedly spilled details on iPhone 4.0.
If the source is to be believed, this update will bring multitasking and a new interface. First, there will be “A few new ways” to run applications in the background, which means multitasking — something developers and users have wanted for a long time. Also, multi-touch gestures “…will be OS-wide,” which makes sense if we’re to believe that the tablet OS is preventing the iPhone OS release.
Other rumor nuggets include improved navigation (which was on our list of requests) and improved syncing for contacts and calendar apps. Finally, the update will be limited to the iPhone 3G and 3GS (we assume this also includes the iPod touch), and will “…make them more like full-fledged computers.”
Now, we know that a single iPhone OS release may offer platform-specific features. For example, VoiceOver and Accessibility, as well as hardware features like Magnetometers, are not available on iPhones earlier than the 3GS. For that reason, we’re unconvinced that the anticipated “Multitouch Revolution” expected for the tablet device will extend in all of its glory to the iPhone. In other words …
New properties like Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Kameo haven’t quite worked out, so Rare has delved into its extensive back catalog in porting Perfect Dark and other N64-era games to the Xbox 360. Seems like it’s working out pretty well for them, because they recently hinted that other games may soon be getting the same treatment.
“We know there are a lot of people looking forward to [Perfect Dark]. There’s nothing to announce yet after Perfect Dark, but we’ve got over 25 years of IP to dip into so there’s no shortage of possibilities,” Rare’s Mark Betteridge told Computer & Video Games.
To this point, Rare has released updated versions of their Banjo-Kazooie and Jetpac properties. There’s no release date for the updated Perfect Dark yet, but it should be appearing soon.
You may have seen a mention of this over the weekend, but it’s something that bears repeating. Bungie is offering to donate as much as $77,000 to the Haiti relief fund if enough players hop online and play either Halo 3 or ODST on Wednesday or Thursday while using a special icon. More specifically, for every 1,000 people who play online during the period from 12:01AM PST on Wednesday until 11:59PM PST on Thursday, Bungie will donate $100 to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief fund. In other words, 770,000 people will need to play — certainly not impossible for a game like Halo.
Additionally, any and all profits that Bungie sees from Bungie apparel and accessories sold on the Bungie Store between now and the end of February will also be donated to the relief effort (with the exception of items like Xbox 360 games, HDTVs, and other items Bungie doesn’t see a profit on). There’s even a specially designed Superintendent t-shirt (pictured above) for $20 that is now available on the store.
Keep in mind, you’ll need to use a special emblem in order for your Halo 3 or ODST play session to count towards the relief fund. The directions for applying the emblem are as follows:
Edit your appearance settings so your character is wearing the RED HEART emblem.
Press START
Select “SETTINGS” / “APPEARANCE”
Select “EMBLEM”
Select “Hearts” ICON, “Circle” BACKGROUND
Back out to the APPEARANCES menu and select “COLORS”
Set “EMBLEM PRIMARY” to RED (or MAROON / BRICK / ROSE depending on which game you’re playing!)
Set “EMBLEM SECONDARY” to WHITE
So do your part and play some Halo this week. It’s not asking much of you and goes towards a very worthy cause.
A nova versĂŁo do software de segurança avast! Antivirus jĂĄ estĂĄ disponĂvel para download gratuito. Este software estĂĄ disponĂvel em duas versĂ”es, uma gratuita “FREE” e a Pro.
It looks like Microsoft has moved to the “sticks and stones” method for handling public relations gaffes. As we reported yesterday, 
The folks at Boy Genius Report (BGR) 
