Author: Serkadis

A 17-year-old boy is accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl at his South Side home over the weekend, Chicago police said this morning.

The boy, whom authorities declined to immediately identify this morning, was charged with predatory criminal sexual assault this morning in connection with the attack in the boy’s home in the 8600 block of South Morgan Street on Sunday.

Police could not specify the relationship between the boy and his victim.

The boy is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing this afternoon in Cook County Criminal Court.

– Staff report

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Article Tags: Green Tories, Public Polls

DAVID Cameron was given a stark warning yesterday that his enthusiasm for green policies is unlikely to be shared by the ­coming influx of Tory MPs.

A poll of the 240 Conservative candidates best placed to win seats at the election found most ranked tackling climate change as their lowest priority.

Reducing Britain’s soaring ­deficit was rated the most important issue facing the country.

The poll, published by the ­conservativehome website for Tory supporters, will come as a blow to the party leader. Mr Cameron has repeatedly campaigned on the slogan “vote blue, go green” and was famously pictured with huskies in the ­Arctic to highlight the threat of global warming.

Source: express.co.uk

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The perfect complement to your steering wheel desk, Brando’s "Steering Wheel Bluetooth MP3/FM Car Kit" features convergence up the ying-yang and places it right in front of you as you barrel down the highway at breakneck speeds.

For starters, you get a Bluetooth speakerphone. But! There’s also a built-in MP3 player. And to get those tunes to your stereo, we’ve got an FM transmitter. For private calls, there’s a detachable Bluetooth earpiece. A built-in phone book can hold 600 numbers! Feature overload! LCD display! Support for microSD cards! Rechargeable battery! Keypad! Only $48!

Steering Wheel Bluetooth MP3/FM Car Kit [Brando]

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Carbon fiber, people. That’s the ticket right there. It’s the miracle substance that allows Sony to stuff super fast components into a 13.1-inch laptop while keeping the weight at around 3.2 pounds. And while most ultraportable notebooks favor style over substance, the impending VAIO Z Series due from Sony in March will feature an Intel Core i7 CPU, NVIDIA graphics, 1920×1080 screen resolution, and the ability to stack four solid state drives in a Raid 0 configuration. Again, all at just over three pounds.

The line has been announced in Europe with a release window sometime in late March. It’d stand to reason that we’d see something similar here in the US sooner or later as well. The notebooks will be available in various configurations – here are a couple possibilities:

It’ll be interesting to see what Sony’s able to do as far as battery life is concerned. Those Core i7 chips suck quite a bit more power than the ultra low-voltage and Atom CPUs that we’re used to dealing with. Pricing, of course, will be a factor as well. Four solid state drives aren’t cheap but, hey, maybe there will be a configuration with a single drive.

We’ll find out more as we get closer to the actual launch — hopefully some info about US models as well.

Sony Press Release [Sony Europe via SlashGear]

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Filed under: Apple Corporate, Switchers, Apple History

It’s hard to believe that Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign is already 4 years old. Since its introduction, the campaign has invited both parody and serious responses from competitors. Plus, poor* John Hodgman and Justin Long can’t walk out the door without someone calling them either “Mac” or “PC.”

Some have been better than others (the Christmas ads are always a highlight), and Apple keeps several of each year’s ads on their site. If you’d like to browse the full history of these ads, check out this page assembled by the folks at AdFreak. They’ve gathered every TV spot and sorted them chronologically and by year. In case you were wondering, there have been 66 in total. The most ads aired in 2006 (19) and the fewest in 2009 (14).

Enjoy the archive and have fun re-watching your favorites.

*My sympathy is short lived, however. Consider their paychecks.

TUAWEvery “Get a Mac” ad in one place originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Randy Williams started the 2009 season as a non-roster invitee, but finished the final two months with the White Sox despite a rocky August.

It appears Williams is a lock as the second left-handed reliever to Matt Thornton unless non-roster invitee Erick Threets harnesses the wildness and overcomes the injuries that have stunted his development with the San Francisco Giants’ and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organizations.

Threets, 29, was throwing as hard as 97 mph in 1997 and made 10 appearances with the Giants in 2007-08. He struck out seven, but walked 12 in 12 1/3 innings.

Last year, Threets struck out 28 but walked 16 in 41 1/3 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque. He could be one of pitching coach Don Cooper’s prime spring-training projects.

Threets missed all of 2004 because of an arm injury.

By Mark Gonzales

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A 1990 Aston Martin Virage, first owned by famous comedian Rowan Atkinson is currently for sale for £22,995 on Auto Trader. You may know Atkinson better from his roles as Mr Bean, one of UK’s most loved characters.

Atkinson, however, has had several appearances in blockbusters such as James Bond’s Never Say Never Again, The Lion King, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually.

The star currently has a fortune estimated at £100 million, a part of which he invested in his passion for c… (read more)

Congratulations to Ryan Palmer on winning the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. Ryan won his third career PGA Tour title Sunday January 17, 2010 on the 72nd and final hole of the tournament outlasting Robert Allenby in an exciting back-and-forth day-long duel on the Seth Raynor designed Waialae Country Club. Ryan’s dreams became a reality on the final green when his approach chip struck the pin and settled inches away from the cup, leaving a tap in birdie to secure his 1-shot victory. Sunday’s exciting conclusion marks another great beginning to the PGA TOUR season the Sony Open in Hawaii has been delivering for the past 12 years.

Here are some clips from Ryan’s win courtesy of OttawaGolfBlog.com/Golf Channel:

Don’t miss the action at the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, the first PGA TOUR event planned to be shot in 3D.

Johnny Depp leads GQ Magazine’s annual list of the 25 Most Stylish Men in the World. Robert Pattinson, David Beckham, and Jay-Z also earned honorable mentions from GQ editors in this year’s poll.

The 1930 Ford Model A used by the infamous gangster John Dillinger to escape the police and later driven by Johnny Depp in the Public Enemies blockbuster movie about the outlaw’s life, is being sold during the 39th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale.

If you’re a 1930s gangster enthusiast with a gangster’s wallet and you want the car, you’ll have to hurry, as the auction started yesterday.

One of Dillinger’s greatest escapes happened in Wisconsin in 1934, and this Fo… (read more)

Company Also Announces Plans To Build A Similar Store In Orland Park

Innovation has been the key to Meijer’s success during the past 75 years, and it continues its focus on innovation with the opening of the company’s first smaller format, grocery-focused store in the Chicago suburb of Niles.

The new Meijer in Niles, which opens after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, is about half the size of most Meijer supercenters at 102,000 square feet.

The store is grocery and pharmacy focused, while still providing some general merchandise offerings.

The store is located at 9000 W. Golf Road, just east of I-294, and was built inside a formerly vacant retail facility. The Niles Meijer will be the 12th Meijer store in suburban Chicago.

The population of Niles, Illinois includes a diverse mix of cultures including Asian, Hispanic and Eastern European and the new Niles Meijer will feature many grocery items geared toward the diverse community that surrounds it.

“For several years, we have worked hard throughout the Midwest to offer specific grocery items that are relevant to the unique customer base in the communities we service,” said Meijer President Mark Murray.

“The Niles community is represented by a variety of cultures, and we are thrilled to be able to serve such a diverse community.”

Meijer is also announcing plans to expand this new concept in the Chicago area by building a second grocery-focused store in Orland Park, Illinois. The Orland Park Meijer will be located off 157th Street in the Village of Orland Park.

Construction of the planned store will begin in the coming weeks and includes a full renovation of a currently vacant retail site. The opening of the Orland Park Meijer is currently planned for later this year and will create up to 150 new jobs inside the store.

About Meijer

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Michigan, based retailer that operates 191 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

As the inventor of the “one-stop shopping” concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings.

Additional information on Meijer and the ability to shop for more can be found at meijer.com.

We’ve seen plenty of prototype mechanisms for autonomous dealies that can scale the straightest of walls, but never have we seen so many gathered together into what can only be called a festival of disconcerting feats of robotic ingenuity. One uses magnets, one has little claws, and one uses integrated hot glue guns that would leave you with no doubt that something sticky had been exploring your walls. They were all developed by a team of engineers working with Amir Shapiro at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, where he studies biomimetrics: technology that tries to do what animals do. Applications for all this? The Israeli military is apparently quite interested, a force that we will be working extra hard to stay within the good graces of from now on.

Continue reading Ben-Gurion University’s wall-climbing robots scale defenses, haunt nightmares, stain faux-finishes (video)

Ben-Gurion University’s wall-climbing robots scale defenses, haunt nightmares, stain faux-finishes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The excitement is starting to build on the Verizon front regarding the availability of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus on January 25.  Above is the full page ad that appeared in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, which we think may offer a hint about what sort of ad campaign Verizon and Palm are planning.

If you’re looking to go Pre or Pixi on Verizon, the big story at the end of the week was the new pricing for Verizon’s Data Plan.  Our own Derek did a post on what the tweak means for Pre and Pixi lovers.

So what else happened in the world of Palm?

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The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced it will draw on its human spaceflight experience, as well as its knowledge of International Space Station (ISS) operations and cargo processing, to bid on NASA’s ISS Cargo Mission Contract.

NASA released a Request For Proposals on Jan. 15 for a contract to provide technical support services including the analysis and physical processing of pressurized cargo and flight crew equipment to be transported to and from the ISS.

The contract also covers launch preparations and post-landing activities related to processing the flight crew equipment.

“Boeing’s experience with the International Space Station program allows us to provide an offer that supports NASA’s priorities for safety, mission success, and innovation,” said Brad Cothran, Boeing’s capture team lead for the contract. “We look forward to continuing our support of NASA and the future of the International Space Station.

The ISS is an important international asset as both a research laboratory and test bed for living and working in space.”

Boeing is the prime contractor to NASA for the ISS. In addition to designing and building all the major U.S. elements, Boeing also is responsible for ensuring the successful integration of any new hardware and software — including components from international partners — as well as for providing sustaining engineering work for the ISS.

The services and support Boeing provides under its Checkout, Assembly, and Payload Processing Services contract include planning for and receiving payloads, maintaining associated ground support systems, integrating payloads with the space shuttle, launch support, and space shuttle post-landing payload activities.

Proposals are due to NASA on April 1. NASA is scheduled to select a contractor at the end of September; work will begin in January 2011. The performance period for the contract is three years with four one-year options, for a potential total of seven years.

About Boeing Defense, Space & Security

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Adam Morgan, 281-226-4030
Space Exploration
[email protected]

Ed Memi, 281-226-4029
Space Exploration
[email protected]

I’ve talked before about researchers at the University of Rochester in New York using artificial photosynthesis to create hydrogen. Now, researchers in China at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University are taking a slightly different tactic to produce hydrogen by developing artificial leaves.

For several years now other scientists have been using sunlight through solar panels to generate electricity, split water via electrolysis and create hydrogen. But, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University researchers have decided to go nano scale and try to mimic the structure of a plant leaf, which in nature is very adept at using sunlight to split water into hydrogen.

According to New Scientist, “Then they dried the leaves and heated them to 500 °C to burn away most of the remaining plant material. This left a crystallised titanium dioxide framework plus many of the leaves’ natural structures. Titanium dioxide is commonly used in solar cells to enhance their efficiency, and in the leaf it catalyses the splitting of water molecules.

“The leaf retained features such as the lens-like cells at its surface, which catch light coming from any angle, and veins that help guide light deeper into the leaf. The replicas also captured very fine detail, including structures called thykaloids, which increase the surface area available for photosynthesis and are just 10 nanometres thick.”

The scientists found that leaves are twice as efficient as titanium dioxide that one can buy commercially at splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. By mimicking this structure in leaves and materials, the researchers believe they can also create a very efficient method of producing hydrogen.

Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) announced today it plans to build a Design and Development Competency Center in Columbus, Indiana, as part of its car seat product capital investment program which involves a total investment of US$20.8 million through 2013.  DJG will spend $3.6 million and will add 39 jobs at its Columbus facility with a total of 98 jobs being created over the next four years.

"The development of this world class technology center with specialized research and design facilitie… (read more)

According to a recent survey (qjnet/news/survey-says-only-15-of-gamers-buy-dlc.html), only 15% of gamers buy DLC and a much larger 43% aren’t even aware that they exist. While that particular survey wasn’t exactly scientifically conducted, Nintendo must have similar figures on

All Kankakeee District 111 schools are closed today because of a teachers’ strike, according to the district’s Web site.

The union and district failed to reach an agreement to avoid a strike late last week, and on Monday the district canceled classes for today in anticipation of the walkout.

About 5,800 students at 12 schools which include classes from kindergarten through 12th grade, will be affected until the two sides come to an agreement.

A 14th and so far last negotiating session was held Friday. And on Sunday, about 200 of the
373-member teachers’ union met to organize picket lines, make signs and rally.

The union and the district reached a tentative agreement Dec. 15, which averted a strike at that time.

But the union membership rejected the proposal two days later on a vote of 142-to-121, and no replacement proposal has been put forward.

– Staff report

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