Mereja

Author: Serkadis

  • Watch: teaser for God of War III "Unearthing the Legend"

    Some special editions are alright, some are pretty cool, while some are just plain ripoffs. But for God of War III Ultimate Edition, that godly Pandora’s Box replica (qjnet/playstation-3/swag-of-the-gods-god-of-war-iii-ultimate-edition-and-pre-order-bonuses.html) won’t be the only selling point. In case

  • Meizu’s M8 UI promo video is surprisingly professional, catchy

    Oh, Meizu, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways. The KIRF-rooted company has released a promo touting the UI for its M8 phone. If any of it seems familiar, just remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Honestly, we’re a bit surprised just how professional the video feels, and the tune’s pretty memorable to boot. Get it caught in your head all day, footage is after the break.

    Continue reading Meizu’s M8 UI promo video is surprisingly professional, catchy

    Meizu’s M8 UI promo video is surprisingly professional, catchy originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  sourceYouTube  | Email this | Comments

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  • 2010 NAIAS Gala Raised $2M+ for Children

    The 2010 North American International Auto Show Charity Preview gala welcomed nearly 8,500 guests at the fundraising event this year, and managed to raise more than $2 million for 12 local children’s charities. This year, ticket sales represent a more than 25 percent increase over tickets sold in 2009.

    "In the past year the Motor City has overcome many challenges and as we embark on 2010, we need to build on the new directions, new beginnings and feelings that allow us to prevail,"… (read more)

  • [Architektura] Holandia – Śmietnik lat 80

    Pomysł tego wątka zrodził się tu.
    Po budownictwie rewolucyjnym, ekspresjonizmie i architekturze współczesnej, przyszedł czas na "de jaren 80 troep", czyli – śmietnik lat 80 – prawdopodobnie najgorszy okres w niderlandzkiej architekturze. To, że współczesne budownictwo Holandii jest jednym z najlepszych na świecie, jest po części wynikiem ogromnego kaca, jakiego Holendrzy nabawili się w latach 70-80, próbując zmienić swoje największe miasta w doskonałe oazy dla wszystkich.

    Tłumaczenie na podstawie tekstu ze strony www.Amsterdam.nl

    Wielka operacja odnowy

    Od początku lat 60 ścierają się dwie wizje rozwoju miast. Konflikt ten najwyraźniej jest widoczny w Amsterdamie. Polityków nurtuje pytanie, czy Amsterdam powinien rozwijać się przede wszystkim jako ośrodek przemysłowy, czy miasto atrakcyjne do zamieszkania. Stolica pozostaje centrum ekonomicznym kraju, jednak wizji miasta przemysłowego zaczyna powoli przeciwstawiać się idealny obraz miasta-kolebki nowych idei. Ten wyidealizowany obraz powstaje w latach 60, gdy Amsterdam zostaje opanowany przez rewolucję anty-hierarchistyczną, a eksplozja kultury młodzieżowej przynosi miastu światową sławę. Amsterdam staje się drugim po San Francisco, największym ośrodkiem subkultury hippisowskiej na świecie. Popularne i legalne jest spanie w parkach i na centralnych placach miasta. Napływ nowych mieszkańców generuje nowe problemy – konieczna jest budowa ogromnej ilości mieszkań w krótkim czasie.

    Overloop, czy miasto zwarte?

    Około roku 1970 rewitalizacja miasta staje się koniecznością. Amsterdam boryka się z problemami komunikacyjnymi i odpływem mieszkańców na przedmieścia. Politycy nie potrafią pogodzić dwóch wizji rozwoju – jedna z nich to tzw. overloop, czyli centrum jako ośrodek ekonomiczny, a gminy ościenne jako miejsce z atrakcyjnymi warunkami do zamieszkania. Zakłada ona przekwaterowanie (overloop) połowy mieszkańców stolicy do rozbudowywanych miast satelitarnych. Ludzie mają dojeżdżac do pracy w centrum (do złudzenia przypomina to model amerykański).
    Druga wizja to miasto zwarte, którą próbują przeforsować mieszkańcy wyludniających się dzielnic, gdzie nie ma już pieniędzy na remonty. W 1978, gdy nasila się problem zakorkowanych autostrad, zapada kurtyna – zwycięża wizja miasta zwartego. Rozpoczyna się okres masowego budownictwa komunalnego.

    Zapowiedź – będzie jazda bez trzymanki 😀

  • New UST Gymnasium [4F|mix|u/c] Manila

    The general contractor has started construction work for the new UST Gymnasium after foundation works were completed late last year. :banana:

    This four-storey mixed-use structure will house the offices and classrooms of the Institute of Physical Education & Athletics and of the facilities of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences on the first and second floors, food establishments and possibly a bank also at the first floor, the main basketball court convertible to a mixed-use venue at the second floor, an indoor track in the third floor and the bleachers at the fourth floor. There will be covered basketball courts around the gym, as well as additional parking spaces.

    A model of the proposed structure is currently on display at the UST Main Bldg. Lobby.

    http://www.varsitarian.net/news/2009…sports_complex

    pics c/o kjlg
    construction poster

    the New UST Gym construction site

    bored-pile foundation

    youtube video c/o manila_eye

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by manila_eye
    (Post 48395037)
    got this from pex… here’s the plan for the new gym of UST

    early plans of the proposed new UST Gym

    – one of the architecture students’ plate (pic c/o Kirk Andrew)

    – render of early version (recio & casas) pic c/o ishtefh_03


  • Bernie Ecclestone afirma que no todas las escuderías estarán presentes en el GP de Bahrain

    Bernie Ecclestone ha realizado unas declaraciones que no dejan indiferente a nadie. Afirma que varias escuderías de la Fórmula 1 no llegarán al primer evento de la temporada, el GP de Bahrain.

    Bernie Ecclestone

    Según afirma Ecclestone, las escuderías que no llegarán a tiempo a esta primera cita serán USF1, Campos Meta, Lotus F1 Racing, Sauber y Virgin GP. Demasiados nombres en el punto de mira del inglés y que a mi parecer dudo mucho que sean tantas las ausencias.

    “Puedo ya anticipar que varias escuderías no estarán en la parrilla de salida. Nos aseguran que la situación no es dramática, pero estoy seguro de que lo es”.

    Related posts:

    1. Bernie Ecclestone desea que se celebren 20 carreras la próxima temporada
    2. Nuevas escuderías en la próxima temporada de la F1
    3. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren y Ferrari serán las escuderías más fuertes

  • Confused on the 1hr or 2hr testing mark

    Hi Im new to the forum and was DX about two months ago.Im really confused on the testing times. one week ago I had a higher carb meal then I should have had. I have always been under 140 after 2 hrs (**** 119 with a slice of pizza) but for some reason I tested one night at the 1 hr mark,I was at 150?then at the 2 hr mark I was down to 127 should I be concerned with the 1 hr reading?some people say the 2hr reading is the only one that matters? is that true

  • Cops warn of armed robberies near UIC campus

    Police issued a community alert Saturday warning of strong-arm robberies near the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on the Near West Side.

    Three robberies occurred near the UIC campus between Jan. 9 and Jan. 12, police said.

    The victims were approached by two suspects from behind, beaten and knocked to the ground before being robbed of their property, police said.

    The suspects, who were wearing dark clothing at the time of the robberies, are described as being between the ages of 15 and 19.

    They are approximately 5 foot 4 inches to 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds, police said.

    The first robbery took place on Jan. 9 in the 1000 block of West 14th Place. The second occurred on Jan. 10 in the 800 block of West Maxwell Street, police. The last incident happened on Jan. 12 in the 1400 block of South Peoria Street.

    Anyone with information on the robberies should contact the Harrison Detective Division at 312-747-8253.


  • Lenders use ‘good faith estimate’ loophole

    Mortgage lenders exploit a loophole in HUD’s new ‘good faith estimate’ rules

    Many are sidestepping the legal requirements for accurate disclosures of fees and settlement charges by using ‘work sheets’ and ‘loan scenario’ forms.

    Reporting from Washington – The federal government’s efforts to eliminate settlement cost surprises for home mortgage applicants may have opened the door to a new — and potentially costly — set of consumer problems.

    Starting Jan. 1, mortgage lenders nationwide were required to begin issuing new “good faith estimates” to applicants covering loan fees and settlement charges.

    Under the regulations issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the estimates that lenders provide upfront must be accurate — the same or nearly the same as the fees that are later charged at closing.

    The idea is to eliminate some of the most controversial practices in home mortgages — the intentional or inadvertent underestimation of fees. Under the old system, some lenders lowballed their estimates to lure applicants away from competitors.

    The net effect was to hit unwary consumers with eleventh-hour surprises at closings — fees that sometimes were thousands of dollars higher than the estimates.

    In the past, no federal rule penalized these lowball numbers, leaving shellshocked borrowers to pay the difference. Loan officers and others who provided the low estimates were not held responsible.

    As of the new year, this was all supposed to change. The reformed good faith estimate, or GFE, requires lender-related fees to be identical — from application to closing — and allows just a 10% tolerance, or wiggle room, for estimates in other areas such as title insurance and closing fees.

    When the charges at settlement exceed the estimates, the lender — not the customer — must eat the difference.

    The new GFE also is designed to facilitate comparison-shopping on fees and other loan terms. It contains boxes allowing consumers to compare as many as four lenders’ quotes and estimates, each essentially guaranteed to be accurate at closing.

    Consumer groups applauded the new rules. Banking and mortgage industry groups complained that the Jan. 1 start date was too early for them to master the complexities.

    So how have the first two weeks of the reforms been going? Not exactly as planned. Many loan officers and lending institutions are sidestepping the new, price-bound GFE by giving shoppers “work sheets” and “loan scenario” forms that come with no legal requirements for accuracy, and were not even contemplated under the reforms.

    In effect they are substitutes for the new GFEs but, in the wrong hands, they are open to lowballing and bait-and-switch games.

    The work sheets purport to contain much of the information provided by a GFE. Typically they are issued only when shoppers do not provide — or are asked not to provide — key information that constitutes an “application” under HUD’s definition in the rules.

    For example, if a consumer does not provide the address of the property to be financed, there is no application and therefore no requirement to issue a tolerance-bound GFE.

    Loan officers defend the work sheets as necessary adaptations to HUD’s get-tough regulations on costs. They contend that HUD is forcing them to provide hard-and-fast estimates on services or charges that they cannot always know with accuracy — especially those involving title and settlement services.

    “We can’t be 100% certain on every cost that HUD is asking us to be certain about,” said Steve Stamets, a loan officer for Union Mortgage Group Inc. in Rockville, Md.

    “So when there is no full application, or you’ve got people just shopping around, we can help them” with the work sheet estimate.

    Tom Balk, a senior loan consultant for Mortgage California Inc. in Alamo, Calif., says the work sheets enable him to give clients “an accurate sense of the fees they’d pay if they move ahead to a full application,” at which point he’d be able to issue an official GFE.

    Asked for HUD’s position on all this, Vicki Bott, the agency’s deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, said that although the reform rules were silent on the subject of work sheets, such forms “can be a useful tool when the consumer doesn’t want to give enough information” to constitute a formal application.

    However, Bott said, if work sheets are becoming commonplace and threaten to water down the consumer protections on settlement fees provided by the GFE reforms, her agency will need to take a thorough look at the situation and possibly issue “updated guidelines” to lenders.

    Bottom line for loan shoppers in the meantime: If you want hard-and-fast guarantees on fee estimates and are serious about comparing competing loan costs, demand a GFE. If loan officers will provide only work sheet estimates, be on alert. The lowest quotes you get may not be for real.


  • Wirtz working hockey games for fun, fans

    Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz walks down the stairs into the Ketel One club at the United Center Thursday night with his family — wife, Marilyn, daughter, Hillary. He is dressed in a gray suit and a tie. His stepdaughter, Elizabeth, says she’s never seen him wear jeans.

    He orders a chicken Caesar salad and a glass of red wine. Diners nearby turn and stare, and a few snap photos with their cell phones. Ald. Brendan Reilly stops by, and one brave man steps up to the table, apologizes for the interruption and says, “Rocky, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

    “That’s so nice,” his daughter, Hillary, says after the man leaves. “People are so nice.”

    Rocky Wirtz, 57, having turned the Blackhawks into a winning franchise almost overnight, is quite possibly the most popular businessman in Chicago. But it hasn’t always been that way. He says he hasn’t forgotten the local headline that topped a story about his divorce from his first wife: “For Better or For Wirtz.”

    Time: One minute into the game; Brian Campbell scores.

    Wirtz sits in a folding chair, behind the last row of 100-level seats in a corner of the arena with a great view of the net. Wirtz waves to Bobby Hull, who is watching from a box, and some Jersey Boys singers, who are sitting below to his right. His son, Danny, who is vice president of the $1.5 billion Wirtz Beverage Group, joins the group along with Elizabeth and Carol “Mickey” Norton, a Bulls and White Sox partner.

    He points out that Norton has seven “rings,” six from the Bulls championship, one from the White Sox. She is wearing two of them tonight.

    “I just want one,” he tells her. “I’m very envious of your seven.”

    Norton later tells him in the private Sonja Henie room that he’s setting the bar too low. “One at a time, Rocky,” she says. “Get them one at a time.”

    Time: Second period, Dustin Byfuglien scores.

    Wirtz misses it. He’s walking to visit Hull and Tony Esposito. Wirtz, a former high school football player, has handsomely cut brown hair, a long nose and a million-dollar smile. His humor is wickedly dry. (At times during his father’s regime, he quips, “Even the guy who ran the mailroom said ‘no, thank you’ ” to tickets.)

    Hull recaps Byfuglien’s goal, saying Campbell’s early score “wasn’t going to be enough.” The fact that the two are talking is remarkable. Wirtz said the most important decision he has made was to woo the franchise’s famous alumni back into the fold. Of them all, Hull, 71, bitter over years of disputes about money, took the longest to persuade.

    “We really have to not hold grudges,” he says.

    Time: Period three

    Wirtz rides the crowded elevator to the 300 level. On the way, a ticket holder, who doesn’t recognize him, warns everyone that he’s just eaten a ton of beans. Such is the risk of mingling with the mortals.

    Wirtz passes the Jagermeister stand and the new bars he had installed but barely has time to point them out before he is mobbed. Men reach out to shake his hand; again, more thank-yous; and he begins to attract a small crowd asking for autographs. A few start chanting, “Rocky. Rocky.”

    Wirtz pulls out his personalized Sharpie. His lifelong friend, John Miller, CEO of North American Corp., had “Rocky Wirtz” stenciled on it as a practical joke.

    “He has a bad sense of humor,” Wirtz says.

    One woman asks Wirtz to sign a hat for her nephew. After he turns to the next autograph seeker, she whispers to me, “Who is that?”

    Game time: Duncan Keith scores in the third.

    Wirtz watches from the owner’s box, which he has handed over to team president John McDonough. Wirtz stands behind the bar and adds two bottled waters to the ice bucket. The game is on Comcast SportsNet on a flat-screen TV behind him, which is again remarkable. Among his first moves after inheriting the team from his father was to get the Blackhawks’ home games on television.

    “Hey, that’s Lori Healey,” I say as the camera pans the crowd and catches Mayor Richard Daley’s former chief of staff. The camera cuts to a woman wearing a black sweater, “And that’s my secretary!” Wirtz says. The camera cuts again. “Hey, Rocky, that’s you,” I say, and after, a few-second delay, I realize, “And me.”

    Time: A minute or so left in the game; victory in hand.

    Wirtz is back in his folding chair. I point out that a few reporters have derided him as not being “a hockey man.” He admits to spending most of his time on his beverage business. “I only work this during the games,” he says. But, he argues, he has been attending hockey games since birth. And he knew that he was going to take over the franchise when he was in the sixth grade.

    “We had a succession agreement in place,” he says rather nonchalantly, as if such a thing were normal for a teenager. He seems to have been plotting strategy ever since, warning his family’s longtime PR man, Guy Chipparoni, “Get ready. You’re going to be busy.”

    The buzzer sounds. He says that he loves to watch fans jumping and dancing. One turns around to shake his hand and congratulate him on the win. Then, he asks, “Mr. Wirtz, can you buy the Bears?”

    Until Thursday, the closest Melissa Harris ever came to Bobby Hull was filling in his name in a crossword puzzle. She can be reached at [email protected] or 312-222-4582.

    Follow her on Twitter @ChiConfidential.

    Read the original article from WGN Chicago.


  • More Funding for Fisker

    American carmaker Fisker Automotive recently secured an additional $115.3 million in private equity funding to develop plug-in hybrid cars. This funding is necessary to access a $528.7 million U.S. Department of Energy conditional loan that will, in part, help speed completion of the Fisker Karma, the company’s first plug-in hybrid.  

    The majority of the funds will go to Project NINA, in charge with the design, engineering and assembly of Fisker’s next generation of plug-in hybrids. The rest … (read more)

  • Fisichella to Sign Deal with Sauber F1 – Report

    It seems Pedro de la Rosa is no longer favorite to grab the vacant racing seat with Swiss team Sauber F1 for the 2010 Formula One season. Although some previous media reports in Spain had suggested that De la Rosa’s signing a deal with Peter Sauber’s team was only a question of hours, it has now been revealed that the Spaniard will in fact continue his test-driving activities with McLaren Mercedes.

    The news came via a Jenson Button interview this weekend. The 29-year old Brit was present at t… (read more)

  • Golf Club house


  • Apple files complaint with the ITC, seeks to block the import of Nokia mobile phones

    nokia-apple-scale

    Apple fired another shot to Nokia in the ongoing legal battle between the two technology powerhouses. Following Nokia’s lead, Apple filed a patent-infringement complaint with the US International Trade Commission on Friday which seeks to block the import of Nokia mobile phones into the US. Apple’s complaint is a legal response to a similar complaint filed by Nokia on December 29th which requests a ban on the import of Apple iPhones, iPods and MacBooks. A copy of the Apple complaint was not yet available but we don’t need to read it to know that watching all this legal gesturing play out will be a lot more entertaining than any episode of Maury Povich.

    Read

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  • Nintendo Weekend Warrior – the BIG edition

    This week is all about BIG we’ve got big dates, big games, big numbers, and a bigger DS. Let’s not forget Beyoncé’s big…heart. Seriously though, if you’ve got anything Nintendo on your wishlist right now, this

  • serious dawn effect

    I am a 33 year old type 1. I have had good control for the most part, but lately I’ve had some serious dawn effect problems. I take Levemir twice a day (about 15-17 units at 8am and 8pm) and Novolog at meals. I take the Levemir twice a day instead of once to help make it work consistently across a 24 hour period.

    Last night I had a big meal and took about 11 units of Novolog. A couple hours later, my blood sugar was 55. So, I had a very small snack (20 carbs maybe). I was up at 5 and my blood sugar was 182. Okay, not too bad. I actually took 1 unit of Novolog because I know it tends to go up this time of day. At 8:30, just 3-1/2 hours later, I got and tested and it was 342. What the ****???

    This is ridiculous. I suppose the big meal I had last night might be to blame, but when it jumps up like that in such a short time and without having eaten in 7 hours or so, I feel helpless. THoughts??

  • Berlin 1920 i dzis

    Znalazlem w Tagesspiegel fajny artykul i wklejam stamtad te Zdjecia:


    Villa Haus in Charlottenburg


    Osiedle gdzies na Köpenick.

    Lichtenberg, dom przy Marie-Curie Allee

    Berlin – Mitte Wallstrasse

    Fabryka w Moabit


    Borsigwerke Tegel


    Tempelhof Das Ullsteinhaus. Obok jest moj ulubiony Night Club 😀

    Szkoda tylko, ze najcenniejsze budowle tego typu nie przetrwaly wojennych bombardowan 🙁

  • American Bald Eagles – Lock & Dam #14

    about a 3 hours drive from Chicago on the border with Iowa. This is from the Iowa side. its an amazing site to see….

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  • Coimbra | Intersecção entre as avenidas Inês de Castro, de Conimbriga e João das Regras

    Boa tarde.

    Alguém tem material informativo sobre este prejecto que estava incluído no Polis Coimbra mas ainda não tem prevista a sua execução?

  • Food and drink in your city

    Birmingham’s Michelin-starred restaurants keep status in new guide

    Jan 15 2010 by Richard McComb
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    The Birmingham Post’s food critic Richard McComb reports on the winners and losers in the 2010 Michelin Guide.

    Birmingham’s growing reputation as a culinary city has been cemented in the 2010 Michelin Guide with three restaurants retaining their coveted one-star status.

    Purnell’s, Turners and Simpsons all maintain their position in the prestigious guide, which was leaked four days early – the second time in two years Michelin’s publicity embargo has been breached.

    Elsewhere in the Midlands, La Becasse and Mr Underhill’s in Ludlow both retain their stars, as does Mallory Court, near Leamington Spa, Lords of the Manor in the Cotswolds and The Stagg Inn at Titley, Herefordshire.

    Le Champignon Sauvage at Cheltenham keeps two stars – one of only 14 restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland in this category.

    In Birmingham, there was also good news for Pascal’s, which keeps its Bib Gourmand listing for “good food at moderate prices.”

    Bibs also go to Malbec Petit Bistro in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Bell Inn at Yarpole, Herefordshire.

    However, there was disappointment for Edmunds in Birmingham, which had been widely tipped for a star – including by me. It would be interesting to find out why Andy Waters, one of the industry’s nicest and most talented chefs, missed out this time and there was widespread surprise in Birmingham’s restaurant circles at the snub from Michelin.

    Lasan in Birmingham carries the torch for Birmingham’s terrific Indian restaurants and chef Aktar Islam and director Jabbar Khan will be pulling out the stops following their triumph as the F Word best restaurant in Britain.

    And although 2010’s guide came a little too soon for Lasan, I wouldn’t bet against Michelin elevation in the not too distance future.

    Nationally, the headlines go to Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, which is promoted to the giddy heights of three stars. I reviewed Ducasse for the Birmingham Post in October last year (here) and can attest to the brilliance of the place.

    My starter of “roasted chicken and lobster, sweetbread, creamy jus” was unforgettable and as I usually get everything wrong I am delighted to have got this one right.

    Ducasse now sits alongside the Fat Duck and the Waterside Inn, at Bray-on-Thames, and Gordon Ramsay in London, which all have three stars.

    However, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s suffered the ignominy of being stripped of its star, as did Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House.

    The guide features just one new two-star establishment, The Ledbury in London.