Author: Serkadis

  • Dr. Faustman and the Cure

    Research by Dr. Denise Faustman offers the possibility of a more natural, biological approach to curing type 1 diabetes. It is based on the observation that the islet cells of diabetics continue to be regenerated throughout the life of the patient, but the autoimmunity continues to attack them, so the critical mass of islets is never regrown to allow for normal metabolism to be restored.

    Faustman’s treatment operates in two stages. First, an old and safe drug, BCG, long used in treating tuberculosis, is given to the patient to stop the autoimmune attack on the beta cells of the pancreas. Since in practice this does not allow the already heavily damged beta cells to regrow, the second stage requires giving the patient some substance to stimulate the regrowth, and the main agent used for this so far is INGAP polypeptide. In theory, the combination of BCG and INGAP should stop the autoimmune assault and stimulate regrowth of the beta cells, so the patient would no longer be diabetic.

    It is clear that this works in mice and hamsters, but these animals do not provide a very good model for diabetes in humans. In hamsters it has been found that the beta cell mass, after having been chemically destroyed, increases again in the presence of INGAP polypetide by about 75% of the original mass within 30 days and restores normoglycemia. Proctor and Gamble has been testing this in human subjects since 2003 but the study has not yet reported any final results.

    However, there are some problems. First, severely damaged tissue in the human body is typically severely resistant to regrowth. For example, although immunosuppression with Cyclosporine usually causes massive overgrowth of gum tissue in normal subjects, in diabetics who have lost considerable gum mass before treatment, there is absolutely no gum growth. This same lack of regrowth may occur in those who have suffered an especially virulent or long-term autoimmune attack on the pancreas.

    Also, tuberculosis used to be the main complication of diabetes, and still is in some third world countries, so many people, including some new diabetics, have certainly been treated with BCG over the years. But no spontaneous regrowth of pancreatic beta cells with its associated improvement in blood glucose levels has ever been reported in any patients taking BCG. That there has been no spontaneous regrowth, even in very new patients, raises questions about the capacity of BCG to stop the autoimmunity.

    Finally, Faustman’s own research casts some doubt on the foundation of her own hypothesis. She and her co-workers have published a study which theorizes that the cause of type 1 diabetes is not autoimmune disease at all, but is rather the result of a perfectly normal, healthy immune system attacking as foreign tissue the diseased beta cells of the pancreas, which look foreign to the immune system because they contain abnormal nerves, which send out pain signals causing the immune system to suspect an infection where there is none. The actual cause of type 1 diabetes would then be some genetic or gestational problem which causes a malformation of the nerves associated with the beta cells of the pancreas, rather than a diseased immune system. If this is true, then altering the immune system with BCG and stimulating pancreatic regrowth with INGAP will only produce more diseased beta cells according to the blueprint set down already in the genes of the patient, and these beta cells will forever be re-attacked by the patient’s own immunity. The only solution to this would then be to give the patient extremely toxic immunosuppressive drugs for life, which causes more problems than it solves.

    Sources: G. Pittenger, et al, "The role of islet neogenesis associated protein (INGAP)," CURRENT PROTEIN PEPTIDE SCIENCE, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 37 (2009); A. Lonyai, et al, "Fetal Hox11 expression patterns predict defective target organs: a novel link between developmental biology and autoimmunity," IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY, vol. 86, no. 4, p. 301 (2008)

  • BERLIN | Kulturforum WEST Scharoun, Van der Rohe, Gutbrod

    Ihr Gleichgewicht sucht die Stadt auch noch 20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall. Berlins Mitte nimmt langsam Gestalt an, doch im Westen verkommt die zweite Museumsinsel. Der ehemalige Senatsbaudirektor Hans Stimmann beklagt den fahrlässigen Umgang der Stadt mir dem Kulturforum.

    Auch 20 Jahre nach dem Fall der Mauer hat die Stadt Berlin ihr inneres Gleichgewicht noch nicht gefunden. Das zeigen schon die Themen der aktuellen Städtebau- und Architekturdebatte: Es wird um die einstige Altstadt im ehemaligen Ost-Berlin gestritten und um das Aushängeschild des früheren West-Berlin, das Kulturforum mit der weltberühmten Philharmonie und der Neuen Nationalgalerie.
    Anzeige

    Im ersten Fall stehen die SED-Planungen für das Staatszentrum der DDR auf dem Prüfstand, zwei Kilometer weiter westlich sind es die Stadtlandschaftsplanungen West-Berlins als Antwort auf die Museumsinsel, die auf das Engste mit dem Architekten Hans Scharoun verbunden sind.

    Beide Areale verbindet heute bei allen sonstigen Unterschieden die Idee eines besonderen Ortes bedeutendster Kulturbauten. Dabei konzentriert sich seit dem Fall der Mauer die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Rekonstruktion der Museumsinsel und deren Erweiterung durch das Humboldtforum.

    Das Kulturforum dagegen liegt buchstäblich im Schatten des neuen Potsdamer Platzes. Dabei erinnert – wie in der Altstadt Berlins St. Marien – am Kulturforum nur noch die verloren herumstehende Kirche St. Matthäus daran, dass hier einmal eine ganz andere Art von Stadtleben seinen Mittelpunkt hatte.

    Was hier rund um die von Stüler entworfene Kirche seit Anfang der 1960er-Jahre geplant wurde, war eine Antwort auf die durch den Mauerbau abgetrennte Museumsinsel und das gesprengte Stadtschloss: Hier entstanden die Philharmonie und die Neue Staatsbibliothek von Hans Scharoun, die Neue Nationalgalerie von Mies van der Rohe, Kunstgewerbemuseum, Kammermusiksaal und Gemäldegalerie.

    Aber trotz intensiver Planertätigkeit mit Wettbewerben und Gutachten verharrt das Areal bis heute als unwirtliches Fragment. Die aktuellen Debatten über eine Rückverlagerung der Gemäldegalerie in das historische Zentrum verstärken den fragmentarischen Charakter durch mögliche inhaltliche Verluste.

    Aber schon die Beseitigung der durchweg als Missstand empfundenen städtebaulichen Situation fällt schwer, weil hier das Leitbild der „Stadtlandschaft“ mit solitären Gebäuden herrschte. Dieses ist der Grund für die heutige Unwirtlichkeit des Ortes.

    Hinzu kommt, dass die neue Stadtlandschaft am Kulturforum auch eine Antwort war auf die hier ab 1933 von Albert Speer geplante Nord-Süd-Achse mit dem „Runden Platz“. Die erstmals im Hauptstadtwettbewerb von 1957/58 von Scharoun gezeichnete Stadtlandschaft mit Autobahnen war das Gegenbild zu jeder Form von Achsialität, Monumentalität und traditioneller Stadtraumbildung.

    Das Fatale ist, dass mit dieser rigorosen Verdrängung der Speerschen Planung gleichzeitig jegliche Erinnerung an die Geschichte des Tiergartenviertels als Zentrum des liberalen, aufgeklärten Bürgertums ausgelöscht wurde.

    Hier – auf dem Areal des heutigen Kulturforums – lebten zwischen Tiergarten und Landwehrkanal die führenden Vertreter der jungen Metropole. Sie wohnten in Villen und Stadthäusern, die zum Besten gehörten, was Berlin um 1900 an Privatarchitektur hervorgebracht hatte.

    Allein die Namen der Bewohner verweisen auf den unendlichen Verlust bürgerlichen Lebens in unmittelbarer Zentrumsnähe. In diesem „Dahlem der Jahrhundertwende“ wohnten von Lorenz Adlon bis Carl Zuckmayer u. a. Bruno und Paul Cassirer, Ludwig Bamberger, Franz Duncker, Moritz August von Bethmann-Hollweg, Athur Hobrecht, Georg Kolbe, Oskar Tietz, Emil Rathenau, Uris Lathanel Rothschild, Emil Mosse, Luis Ullstein, Georg Wertheim.

    So wie die Nazis begonnen hatten, den östlichen Teil dieses Quartiers zuerst durch Regierungsbauten umzunutzen, um es dann für den Bau der Nord-Süd-Achse systematisch auszulöschen, zeigte sich das Gebiet nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges als eindrucksvolle Trümmerlandschaft ausgeglühter Wohn- und Geschäftshäuser mit dem monumentalen Fragment des Hauses des Fremdenverkehrs.

    Für den Bau des Kulturforums sind dann nach und nach bis auf die Kirche und die bis zuletzt vom Abriss für die Museumsplanung bedrohte Villa des Verlegers Paul Parey sämtliche architektonischen Spuren der beiden Geschichtsperioden beseitigt worden. Die Sprengung des Hauses des Fremdenverkehrs erfolgte im Oktober 1962, nachdem es kurz zuvor noch als Filmkulisse für Billy Wilders Kalter-Krieg-Komödie „Eins, Zwei, Drei“ gedient hatte. Das Gedächtnis des Kulturforums reicht wie in der Altstadt nur bis in die 50-er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts. Die systematischen Abrisse unter der politischen Verantwortung der SPD-Senate und die damit verbundene „Geschichtsverdrängung“ bilden die Grundlage für die bis heute andauernde kulturpolitische Unsicherheit im Umgang mit dem Kulturforum.

    Natürlich stand auch hier mehr an denkmalswerter Bausubstanz, als man wahrhaben will. Aber mit dem starren Blick auf die Speersche Planung wurde auch die Architektur des späten 19. Jahrhunderts sozusagen stellvertretend Opfer für die NS-Barbarei. So als hätte dieser steingewordene bürgerliche Reichtum die politische und moralische Katastrophe hervorgebracht.

    Was man in den zwei Jahrzehnten nach dem Ende des Krieges „Enttrümmerung“ nannte, geriet so zur zweiten „Zertrümmerung“, der bezeichnenderweise auch die relativ gut erhaltene Villa des Fabrikanten Liebermann an der Tiergartenstraße Nr. 4, in der NS-Zeit Zentrale der Euthanasie, zum Opfer fiel.

    Die systematische Zerstörung betraf zudem – wie in der Altstadt Berlins – auch den Stadtgrundriss als Träger des Stadtgedächtnisses, u.a. die Matthäi-Kirch-Straße zwischen Landwehrkanal und Kirche (heute Teil der Neuen Nationalgalerie) und noch bedeutender die erst 1967 erfolgte Bebauung der alten Potsdamer Straße mit der Neuen Staatsbibliothek. Soweit zur Geschichte.

    Zwanzig Jahre nach dem Fall der Mauer kann es nicht mehr darum gehen, die alte West-Berliner Debatte über den Denkmalwert dieser innerstädtischen Stadtzerstörung zu wiederholen. Es muss vielmehr darum gehen, den Raum zwischen den Kulturbauten als öffentlichen Stadtraum wiederzugewinnen.

    Auch dieses Bemühen hat inzwischen seine eigene, gut dreißigjährige Geschichte. Die allmähliche Abkehr vom Denken und Planen in den Kategorien verkehrsgerechter Stadtlandschaften begann 1973 mit einem städtebaulichen Ideenwettbewerb für das gesamte Tiergartenviertel als Teil eines sogenannten „City-Bandes“. Dabei gehörte die hinter der Staatsbibliothek geplante Stadtautobahn „Westtangente“ ausdrücklich noch zum Programm.

    1983 wurde mit dem preisgekrönten städtebaulichen Entwurf von Hans Hollein der Versuch unternommen, mit einem bescheidenen, von der evangelischen Kirche definierten zusätzlichen Bauprogramm mit relativ geringem architektonischen Aufwand zwischen den Kulturbauten einen Kulturforumsplatz baulich zu fassen. Nichts davon wurde je realisiert.

    Stattdessen setzte sich der Prozess der Verunstaltung des Kulturforums mit dem Baustopp der Gutbrodschen Planung, die uns die Rampe vor dem Eingang der Gemäldegalerie beschert hat, und der Fertigstellung des maßstabslosen Kammermusiksaals bis zum Fall der Mauer fort.
    Kulturforum links liegen gelassen

    Für den Neubeginn der Planungen nach dem Fall der Mauer gibt es ein Datum: Es war der Beschluss des Senats von West-Berlin gemeinsam mit dem Magistrat von (Ost-)Berlin vom 10. April 1990, unter Berücksichtigung des Ansiedlungsvorhabens von Daimler-Benz, einen städtebaulichen Wettbewerb für ein Büro- und Dienstleistungszentrum auszuloben, der das Kulturforum buchstäblich links liegen ließ.

    Parallel zu den Arbeiten am Potsdamer Platz begannen die Planungen für das Parlaments- und Regierungsviertel im Spreebogen und für die Friedrichstadt und für die Wiedergewinnung der alten Stadtmitte. Die betraf und betrifft auch die Museumslandschaft mit der inhaltlichen und architektonischen Rekonstruktion der Museumsinsel u.a. mit dem Humboldtforum im Schloss.

    Das Kulturforum aber blieb von diesem wahrlich historischen Prozess ausgeklammert. Es liegt im Schatten des Potsdamer Platzes, von dem aus kommend sich beispielsweise die Besucher der Philharmonie über einen Parkplatz zum Eingang des Konzerthauses durchschlagen müssen – und den gastronomischen Mittelpunkt bildet eine Imbissbude an der neuen und deswegen breiten Potsdamer Straße.

    An diesem Zustand änderte auch die Debatte über das „Planwerk Innenstadt“ nichts. Die Stadt war 1999 noch nicht bereit, die durch die Wiedervereinigung geschaffenen Möglichkeiten einer gemeinsamen Innenstadtentwicklung produktiv zu nutzen.
    Verharren im Zustand von 1989

    So blieb nicht nur das Areal rund um St. Marien bis heute Staatsraum der DDR, auch das Kulturforum als Teil des Westens verharrt im Zustand von 1989. Es ist mit seinen Straßen, Plätzen, Rampen und Bauten zweifellos ein Stück Nachkriegsgeschichte.

    Ob es aber in dieser fragmentarischen Form als solches ein städtebauliches Denkmal ist, muss bezweifelt werden. Dem Senat schien eine solche Haltung eher als ein Zeichen von Resignation. Er hat sich daher in mehreren Workshops unter Einbeziehung verschiedener Architekten für die Weiterentwicklung entschieden und dann 2005 einen Beschluss für einen Masterplan gefasst.

    Dieser Masterplan für die Weiterentwicklung des Kulturforums respektiert und inszeniert die vier architektonischen Monumente: Philharmonie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatsbibliothek und St.-Matthäus-Kirche. Zur Inszenierung gehört die Anordnung weiterer Baukörper für privat finanzierte kulturnahe Einrichtungen, mit deren Hilfe die öffentlichen Räume etwa um die Matthäikirche und im Bereich der Philharmonie aufgewertet werden.

    Im Zentrum des Projektes aber stehen der Abriss der Rampe und die Anlage eines von einer Kolonnade gefassten Platzes als Eingang in die Gemäldegalerie, das Kupferstichkabinett und das Kunstgewerbemuseum. Weiterentwicklung heißt aber auch die Anlage eines neuen Museumsplatzes anstelle der vorhandenen Rampe. Der neue Platz soll nicht das Zentrum des Kulturforums, sondern nach dem Vorbild des Neuen Museums ein Eingangsplatz für die Museen mit einer hohen Aufenthaltsqualität sein.

    Seit dem Beschluss des Senats von 2005 herrscht am Kulturforum anstelle von Weiterentwicklung Stillstand. Selbst das Zentrum der Debatte hat sich zur alten Stadtmitte verlagert. Und als sei ein Forum-Desaster nicht genug, werden bei der Planung eines neuen Rathausforums – wie am Kulturforum – Geschichte und Stadtraum ausgeklammert.

    Der Autor war von 1991 bis 2006 Senatsbaudirektor bzw. Staatssekretär für Stadtentwicklung in Berlin.
    http://www.morgenpost.de/kultur/berl…-verkommt.html

  • Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2, Elm and Pureness spotted at CES

    elm

    Today we took a brief look at Sony Ericsson’s line-up at CES and fondled the Pureness as well as the X2 and Elm. SE also had black and white versions of the X10 available, but you all saw that two months ago when SE held its announcement in NYC — so we won’t really dive into that much. If you’re itching to see more snapshots in our gallery as well as get a brief low-down on each handset, hit the break!

    Click on over to our Sony Ericsson at CES 2010 gallery!

    elm

    One thing we noticed at this year’s CES is that there is a lot of green, or eco-friendly technology and the Elm is definitely in that category. The plastics are recycled, there is an in-phone e-manual, green apps and a power saving charger are packed into a small packaging box for minimal waste. Voice quality on the phone features noise reduction and what SE calls “intelligent voice adaptation.” Don’t let the simple looks fool you, though: the Elm is capable of accessing your Twitter and Facebook accounts along with home screen widgets. The Elm has a 5MP camera with LED flash and face detection, too.

    hazel2

    There isn’t much to say about the Hazel because it features almost everything the Elm does — green technology and same social networking integration. Even the camera is the same. The only difference we noticed with our very brief time with the devices is the obvious form factor. The Hazel is a slider phone whereas the Elm is candy bar styled.

    pureness

    The pureness was rather impressive, but only for its novelty. You’re all already aware of the sky-high price for this thing, and unless you’re a fashionista looking for something sleek regardless of price, it’s probably not worth it. The glass see-through screen is pretty interesting, but it’s very difficult to see what’s on it if there are a lot of highlights in the background — if you’re holding it above a white table or in front of a white wall or sunlight, you might not see much. The phone is devoid of visible buttons when it is turned off, but when you turn it on all the numbers and menu keys light up. Neat concept and it’s what Sony Ericsson calls a “holiday from technology” since all you’ll be doing on this thing is talk, text and checking the time.

    x2(2)

    The XPERIA X2 brings more of the features you might want in a phone these days. As you know, it’s a Windows Mobile 6.5 touch screen device with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. We checked out the panel manager for multiple desktops and it has a nice thing called SlideView for quick access to the applications you use most. SE’s X2 also has Wi-Fi, DLNA media server support and TV out, too, with a 8.1 megapixel camera sensor that has auto/touch focus, just like the iPhone.

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  • Femeile si investitiile

    Femeile au multe talente.Unul dintre ele este ca se pricep foarte
    bine la investitii.Recunosc dintr-o privire o oportunitate,fie ca e vorba de bani,viata,barbati…
    Si mai mult decat atat : intotdeauna gandesc cu un pas inainte.
    Iata un exemplu :

    Dan era burlac.Locuia in casa parintilor,cu tatal sau vaduv si lucra la afacerea de familie.
    Cand a aflat ca o sa mosteneasca o avere (dupa moartea tatalui sau),Dan s-a hotarat ca e timpul sa-si gaseasca o sotie cu care sa imparta banii.

    Intr-o dupa-amiaza,la o sedinta,a observat cea mai frumoasa femeie pe care a vazut-o vreodata.
    Frumusetea ei naturala pur si simplu i-a luat respiratia. (un fel de Berlin-Take my breath away)

    “Poate ca arat ca un om obisnuit”,i-a spus ei,”dar in curand tatal meu va muri iar eu voi mosteni 200 de milioane de dolari.”

    Impresionata,femeia i-a cerut cartea de vizita si dupa 3 zile … a devenit MAMA LUI VITREGA!!!

    Concluzia ? Femeile se pricep mult mai bine la investitii financiare …

    financial-planning

    P.S Uneori ne pricem si noi :))

    Related posts:

    1. Femeile si barbatii
    2. Femeile si gandirea barbatilor
    3. Femeile sunt complicate
    4. Cum sa cuceresti o femeie
  • Chasing Liberty

    chasing-liberty“Mandy Moore e Anna Foster, fiica de 18 ani a lui James Foster (Mark Harmon), presedintele Statelor Unite. Anna a dus o viata privilegiata dar, in acelasi timp, a trebuit sa reziste prezentei constante a agentilor secreti care-i limitau independenta. In timp ce se afla intr-o excursie in Europa, fata reseste sa scape de paznici sai pentru o scurta perioada. Inevitabil, ea cade in bratele tinere ale romanticului britanic Ben Calder, cu care se bucura de o vacanta europeana proaspata si neingradita. Nevrand sa-i strice distractia, ea nu-i spune despre specialul sau statut social. Anna nu stie, insa, ca si Ben are o identitate secreta…”

    Related posts:

    1. Because I Said So
    2. If only
    3. He’s Just Not That Into You
    4. Confessions of a Shopaholic
    5. Over Her Dead Body
    6. No Reservations
    7. 27 Dresses
    8. Til There Was You
    9. The Nanny Diaries
    10. Just Friends
  • Bonn

    Hi!

    Here are some photos I toke when I visited the city of Bonn in June 2009.

  • Greater Rotterdam

    Paar dingen:

    1. de VPRO had onlangs een programma over stedenbouw 2040. Een Amerikaanse planoloog had het over de agglomeratie AmBrusTwerp: Kijk naar de nightsky op Google-earrth en je ziet in west-Europa een agglomeratie die zich uitstrekt van Amsterdam tot Brussel. Dat is kennelijk de stedenbouwkundige schaal waarop gedacht moet worden.

    2. Onlangs heb ik wat ANWB-plattegronden gekocht van het gebied zuid-Randstad: In de hoek Den Haag – Zoetermeer – Westland – Capelle / Rotterdam wonen 3,5 miljoen inwoners. Dat is Rome. Met Dordrecht erbij is het nog giga’er. En dan heb je het enkel over de zuidvleugel van de Randstad. Op een steenworop daarvan ligt de noord-vleugel met dito inwoners. Dat is een dubbelstad Rome-Berlijn.

    Wat doe je daar in stedenbouwkundige zin mee? Wat doe je daar qua infra mee?

    3. Die amerikaanse planoloog had het over Amsterdam als kernpunt in die agglomeratie. Rdam zou een Oakland van Frisco zijn. Een giga buitenregio waar kunst en newthings kunnen bloeien.

    Wie krijgen hier nog meer inspiratie van???

  • Colonia del Sacramento | Uruguai | Patrimônio da Humanidade, palco das disputas entre Portugal e Espanha às margens do Rio da Prata.

    COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO

    Colônia do Sacramento (em castelhano Colonia del Sacramento) é uma cidade do Uruguai, capital do departamento de Colônia. Tem origem na antiga cidade de Colônia do Santíssimo Sacramento fundada em 1680 por Manuel Lobo, a mando do Império Português no século XVII. A área onde localiza-se a fundação portuguesa, hoje faz parte do Centro Histórico, reconhecido pela UNESCO como Patrimônio da Humanidade.

    A Coroa Portuguesa expressou novamente os seus interesses em estender as fronteiras meridionais de sua colônia americana até ao rio da Prata quando determinou ao governador e capitão-mor da capitania do Rio de Janeiro, D. Manuel Lobo (1678-1679), que fundasse uma fortificação na margem esquerda daquele rio. Desse modo, com o apoio dos comerciantes do Rio de Janeiro, desejosos de consolidar os seus já expressivos negócios com a América Espanhola, em fins de 1679 a expedição de D. Manuel Lobo partia de Santos, alcançando a bacia do Prata em Janeiro do ano seguinte. A 22 desse mesmo mês, as forças portuguesas iniciaram o estabelecimento da Colônia do Santíssimo Sacramento, fronteiro a Buenos Aires, na margem oposta. O núcleo desse estabelecimento foi uma fortificação simples, iniciada com planta no formato de um polígono quadrangular.

    O texto acima foi extraído do Wikipedia: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonia_del_Sacramento

    Colonia foi palco de muitos confrontos entre Espanha e Portugal, ao longo dos anos seu território mudou de mãos diversas vezes, como pode ser visto através da seguinte tabela (só disponível na versão em inglês):

    Cada um desses conflitos e tratados estão descritos no Wikipedia para quem quiser saber mais detalhes.

    Cheguei a Colonia de barco vindo de Buenos Aires. Três empresas realizam a travessia (Buquebus Turismo, Colonia Express e SeaCat). Existem duas opções: lenta – 3h e expressa – 1h (que foi a que peguei). É possível fazê-la no ferry especial que também transporta automóveis.

    1 – Deixando BsAs pra trás.

    2 – Já em Colônia, próximo a entrada do antigo muro construído pelos portugueses para proteger a entrada.

    3 –

    4 –

    5 – Vejam o brasão da Coroa Portuguesa

    6 – Rua dos Suspiros. Notem a rua, em pedra, naquele formato similar a Paraty, feito em forma de V para que a água e o esgoto fossem para o centro da rua e com a alta do rio, levadas para fora da cidade, mantendo-a limpa.

    07 – Esse farol foi construído nas ruínas de um convento destruído em um do inúmeros conflitos travados na cidade entre Portugal e Espanha.

    Ao longo do Barrio Historico é possível identificar muitas casas com influências arquitetônicas portuguesas, espanholas e a mistura entre os dois estilos.

    08 –

    09 –

    10 –

    11 –

    12 – Na ocaisão da declaração de patrimônio da humanidade, muitas escavações foram feitas e nessa praça encontraram as ruínas do que foi a casa de um administrador português, destruída e enterrada pelos espanhóis.

    13 – Catedral

    14 –

    15 –

    16 – Essa pia foi trazida da Bahia na ocasião da construção

    A partir daqui fotos do alto do Farol. Infelizmente minha máquina amadora não conseguiu captar, mas é possível ver BsAs lá do alto.

    17 –

    18 –

    19 –

    20 –

    21 –

    Para quem quiser conhecer a cidade, ela dispõe de 7 museus que funcionam em esquema de rodízio, a cada dia fecham 02.

    Espero que gostem!

  • Weekend Update 01.09.10- The Hangover Edition [Digital Daily]

    pi

    Only a few days ago, the AllThingsDigital team left home freshly pressed, pockets full of cash (or at least as full as journalist’s pockets get these days) and ready to take on the geek horde at CES 2010 in Las Vegas. They had big plans but in the end even a copy of Eric Boyd’s How to Count Cards Like an MIT Freshman could not save them. They did do a heck of a lot of reporting on CES though. At least they could bring back some news, if not new Ferraris from the dealership at the Wynn.

    BoomTown is no stranger to Vegas, so Kara got settled in quick and spent day one all over the strip watching presentations and fiddling with gadgets of all sorts. She caught up with Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer after he rocked his keynote just a little too hard and the power went out. I guess maybe he shouldn’t have turned that tablet prototype all the way up to 11. Kara caught the scoop on Electus’ Ben Silverman and his new deal with Yahoo. It seems the Internet portal has brought him on to “produce content” for its new you-centric efforts. Yahoo (YHOO) is hanging its hopes on Silverman who had success in his early career producing for TV. Kara even got the other side of the deal, catching up with Jimmy Pitaro, who heads Yahoo’s Vertical Audiences Experience, and SVP of North American Revenue Joanne Bradford. Kara hasn’t’ actually made it back to the West Coast yet, so we’ll keep you posted on when she resurfaces. Vegas can be a cruel mistress.

    John was a CES coverage juggernaut this week, churning out post after post or indispensable, up to the minute CES nerdery. Early in the festivities, Intel (INTC) opened the door on their newest family of Core processors. With model names like i3 and i5, and with a feature called “Turbo,” you know they have to be good. The real story is that the release of these chips puts Intel a solid year ahead of expected releases from AMD (AMD). Though there were no reported sightings of any iSlates, John did deliver a little nugget from the CES rumor mill about their manufacture. Analysts are expecting the device to have an aluminum chassis when it may or may not be shown to the world at an unconfirmed Apple event Jan. 27th. John was our correspondent in the audience at AllThingsDigital’s Mini D event at CES. While there were posts aplenty, it was comments from Palm (PALM) CEO Jon Rubinstein that have been making the rounds on the internet. Everyone was a little surprised when Rubinstein claimed never to have used an iPhone. Weekend Update has used a Pixi and we might just believe him.

    Peter was in full effect at CES this week, trolling around CES with his sizable entourage. Ok, maybe the Media Memo groupies aren’t that numerous, but Peter was a reporting rock star none the less. In advance of his on stage interview with Netflix (NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings, Peter wrote about the deal inked between the rental giant and Warner Bros. that would delay rental of new DVD releases in exchange for more streamable content. In a quick breather from CES news, Peter reported that Google’s (GOOG) Eric Schmidt and some other Technorati are dining with Secretary Clinton at the State Department earlier in the week. No word on which reality TV stars would be crashing that party. Media Memo rounded out the week with a post about Hearst’s effort to save their sinking ship. It turns out when the ship is in trouble, you turn to a Skiff for help. The newspaper giant has reportedly plowed $35 million into the nautically-named e-reader and Peter brought us a sneak peek.

    Our very own Mr. and Ms. CES (Walt and Katie) may come home with blisters and a bad case of “qwerty thumb” after handling so many new gadgets this week. The Personal Technology column was all about Google’s Nexus One, the latest super smartphone from everyone’s favorite search giant. Walt’s review was a mixed bag for the Nexus One, which got high marks for advancing the Android platform forward, for forcing the other super smartphone giants to up the ante on their cameras and for some of it’s cool Google-connected features. He wasn’t as upbeat on the menu-driven interface of the phone, and also had qualms about the four hard-wired buttons. The battery life for some features also wasn’t as competitive as it might have been.

    Katie spent some pre-CES time investigating the so called mega-zoom digital camera offerings from Nikon, Panasonic and Casio. These in-between cameras aren’t quite as cumbersome as DSLRs, but offer serious zooming capabilities with lots of other pro level features. Katie fell in love with the higher picture quality and flexibility, even if these cameras were a little bulkier than the smartphone she’d been using for her photo needs previously. All in all though, she gave the class of cameras high marks and said they were a great next step for people looking to take their pictures a little further.

    Weekend Update has to get going. Its our job to prepare the ibuprofen, cold medicine, ice, bandages, crutches and bail money that may be needed by the staff as they make their way back from CES. Stay tuned through the weekend for a few more tech revelations, and please try not to play your stereo too loud if you’re driving near our Noe Valley HQ this week. Hangovers after a gadget binge are the worst.

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  • Lexi e-book reader probably won’t ever be called sexy (hands-on)

    We swung by the Audiovox / RCA booth in search of the new Lexi e-reader but sadly were met with a non-working version that was effectively useless. We’ve heard about the specs but were lacking in the image department, so it was good to at least see what the thing will look like when it hits the increasingly crowded e-reader space. The design is basic, and from the signage in the booth, so is the UI on the handheld itself. There’s not much else to say here, and the PR reps weren’t the most helpful, but we managed to snag a bunch of shots anyway so check them out below.

    Lexi e-book reader probably won’t ever be called sexy (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Engadget Podcast 178: CES 2010 Day 4 – 01.09.2010 [Chopped n’ Screwed Remix]

    I hopped off the plane at LAS with a dream and my MacBook Pro
    Welcome to the show of tech and glow, whoa will I make a big win?
    Jumped in a cab, here I am for the third time
    Look to the right, and I see the CES sign

    This is all so crazy, everybody seems so nerdy
    My tummy’s turnin’ from some cheese I ate at DigEx
    Too much e-ink and I’m wired
    That’s when the podcast man turned on the radio

    And the Miley song was on
    And the Miley song was on
    And the Miley song was on

    Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
    Producer: Trent Wolbe
    Song: Party in the U.S.A. (Chopped and Screwed)

    Hear the podcast

    05:00 – Pixel Qi screens to be used by a major manufacturer in 2010
    15:30 – Qualcomm Mirasol display video hands-on in glorious 1080p
    19:35 – Live from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo’s CES 2010 keynote
    32:43 – Andy Rubin on multitouch in Android: ‘I personally don’t like two-handed operations’
    33:20 – Live from All Things D at CES 2010
    40:01 – Dell divulges Mini 3 details, tablet (Mini 5?) caught running Android 1.6 (update: video!)
    46:20 – Windows Mobile 7 coming to MWC in February, not just ‘evolutionary’
    59:15 – Boxee Box interface demo video

    Subscribe to the podcast

    [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
    [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
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    [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

    Download the podcast

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    Contact the podcast

    1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

    Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

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    Engadget Podcast 178: CES 2010 Day 4 – 01.09.2010 [Chopped n’ Screwed Remix] originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Synaptics Fuse concept hands-on

    Good news and bad news: the good news is that we got to look at Synaptics’ Fuse concept phone, which pairs capacitive touch overload with tilt sensing, squeeze sensing and a fair bit of haptics. The bad news is that Synaptics is holding off on showing the actual UI until MWC in February. So for now we’ve got a working prototype that demonstrates that the sensors really do work. It’s an abstract affair, involving the formation of little 3D spheres that roll around on the screen and can be tweaked, pushed and generally confused by the various input methods. Everything works great, with wonderful touch sensitivity on the back of the “phone” being one of our favorite elements we’d like to see in more devices. One thing that became clear while playing with the phone is that while it’s targeted at improving one-handed operation, it’s actually impossible to actuate all the various sensors simultaneously with one hand, which we suppose Synaptics should see as a mark of distinction. Check out a couple videos of the demo in action after the break.

    Continue reading Synaptics Fuse concept hands-on

    Synaptics Fuse concept hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Qualcomm’s Brew Platform Gains Speed With Commitments From AT&T And Sprint


    Qualcomm's CEO Paul Jacobs At AT&T's Press Conference

    Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) is becoming a major software supplier in mobile for mid-range devices in the U.S., but rather than make money on the platform, it hopes to sell more phones with its chipsets inside.

    Up until now, Verizon Wireless was the largest customer of Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile platform, but at CES this week, AT&T (NYSE: T) committed to it for all of its mid-range devices starting by the second half of year, and Sprint (NYSE: S) confirmed to mocoNews that it was also planning to use it. Sprint’s President Steve Elfman: “I am comfortable with it becoming a standard…We’ll definitely be using Brew Mobile platform.”

    By having the three largest carriers in the U.S. using the platform, Qualcomm becomes a significant middleman in the delivery of applications and other mobile content. If developers didn’t consider building their applications on Brew before, they most likely will now. The platform is free to carriers, developers and the handset makers; Qualcomm will make money by selling chipsets inside the phone. But that wasn’t always Qualcomm’s business model. Previously, Qualcomm charged everyone in the Brew ecosystem, including developers, who had to have their applications certified. Qualcomm’s CEO Paul Jacobs said during AT&T’s keynote: “It’s an open platform now. It’s free to OEMs and operators. This is as open of a platform we know how to make.”

    As part of AT&T’s announcement, it said that Pantech, LG (SEO: 066570) and Samsung have committed to using the Brew platform. HTC was also named, despite the company only previously making smartphones using the Windows Mobile and Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Android platforms. By adding Brew, HTC opens itself up to a much bigger market that includes lower cost phones. HTC said its Brew phones will carry the name “HTC Smart,” and will come with its Sense user-interface overlay that’s found on some of its Windows Mobile and Android devices. Generally speaking, these mid-range devices are fairly functional, and commonly have full Qwerty keyboards or touchscreens and have access to email and a browser. But typically, they have cheaper hardware components and are given away for free. Subscribers may not have to pay for an unlimited data plan either, like you do on the iPhone and other devices. AT&T calls the category “quick messaging” and said by the end of 2011, 90 percent will be running Brew.

    One of the potential outcomes of both AT&T and Sprint choosing Brew will be less fragmentation in mobile—or at least that’s AT&T’s hope. Currently, mid-range devices run a plethora of systems, from Java to Flash and to homegrown proprietary ones built by handset makers. The idea is for all Brew applications in existence today to be able to work across a larger footprint. Qualcomm’s Jacobs: “It’s backwards compatible to other Brew apps, and supports Java and Flash.”

    As part of adopting Qualcomm’s Brew platform, AT&T said it will launch a new app store called AppCenter. AT&T said developers will be able to keep 70 percent of the revenues and AT&T will take 30 percent, which is the same formula Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) uses. John Zehr, the SVP and GM of mobile, said he was very excited about the announcement. “With all the fragmentation going on, it will make it easier. We are encouraged by it,” he said. ESPN (NYSE: DIS) already has a number of applications built on the Brew platform with the help of UIEvolution, a mobile-application shop.

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  • The Switch From iPhone To Android, And Why Your First Impression Is Wrong

    Earlier this week we saw the launch of the Google Nexus One, the second very high profile Android launch in as many months. And, as should be expected, the phone is drawing numerous comparisons to the iPhone — it seems you can’t find a related review, blog post, or tweet that isn’t gauging the device based on how it compares to Apple’s juggernaut. That’s as it should be. But for anyone considering making the jump to Android, you need to keep one thing in mind: many of these early adopters have been using their iPhones non-stop for years. And it takes days, if not weeks, to unlearn your iPhone habits and judge Android on its own merits.

    Imagine if you took a longtime Windows user and sat them in front of a Mac for a couple days. They’d probably complain about superficial things like the change in mouse acceleration and the “unintuitive” button placement (the Close button is on the opposite side of the window). It’s not until a week or two after you start using a Mac as your primary computer that you overcome these issues and begin to fully grasp some of the benefits it offers. No, it may not be for you, but there’s really no way you can tell for sure without taking the plunge and using one as your primary computer. It’s the same way with Android.

    I know, because I had the same experience when I made the leap from the iPhone to Android a few months ago. When I got my Droid, I was initially very pleased with it: the screen is amazing and the device flies. But as the luster wore off, I began to have my doubts. I couldn’t figure out how to access options that should have been readily visible. Menus weren’t where they should have been. All in all, Android made me feel stupid, because much of what I had learned about using the iPhone — habits that had become nearly instinct — no longer applied.

    A week or so later, it clicked. When I want an option that isn’t already visible, I hit the dedicated ‘Menu’ button just beneath the screen. Need to jump to a previous screen in an app or the web browser? Hit the dedicated ‘Back’ button. In some ways, these are actually better than the soft buttons located in iPhone apps, because they’re always in the same place. It also saves some screen real estate. Using them has become totally second nature to me. But they aren’t the reason why I’ve decided I prefer Android over the iPhone.

    Which brings me to the things that have turned me into a full-time Android user. Gmail on Android kicks the pants off of the iPhone’s Email client — something that I’m not the only person to notice. As someone who does a lot of Emailing, that makes a huge difference to me. Google Voice integration is fantastic. The ability to run multiple applications at the same time is a breath of fresh air. Those three things were enough to seal the deal.

    Had I only used an Android device for a few days, these aforementioned pros may have been overshadowed by the fact that the phone felt so unfamiliar. Or I may have been turned off by one of the things Android gets wrong, like that there’s no way to update multiple applications at the same time and the default music player is remarkably ugly. But when it comes to using the phone in real life on a day-to-day basis, those problems aren’t enough to outweigh the productivity benefits Android offers me.

    And, really, that’s my point. Many of these iPhone users who are testing out Android for the first time tend to get hung up on things that feel unfamiliar, or are griping about issues that will only affect them once in a blue moon. No, Android isn’t as pretty as the iPhone, and there are plenty of things it doesn’t do as well as it could. But until you’ve taken the plunge to see what lies beneath its less-polished exterior, you haven’t really seen what it has to offer.

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  • CES: Destinator 9 GPS Navigation app to be released worldwide

    Press release: Continuing the global expansion of Destinator GPS navigation software across geographic markets, smartphone application stores, and mobile handset makers, Intrinsyc Software International, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions for mobile devices, announced today the expansion of its Windows Mobile applications into the UK, Australia and Western Europe – which are available immediately for download through Destinator NavStore (www.destinatornavstore.com).  From the company that has powered the GPS solutions of the biggest mobile brands and navigated millions of people worldwide on mobile devices, Destinator 9 is the newest and brightest turn-by-turn app for your smartphone. Destinator 9 goes beyond navigation and brings a fresh GPS experience across the hottest mobile platforms across the globe.

    Destinator Delivers Beyond Navigation

    At its core, Destinator 9 is a solid and reliable turn-by-turn navigation application with the highest quality on board maps and a routing engine that exceeds performance benchmarks. In addition to a host of new features designed to get people to their destinations easily, quickly and safely, Destinator 9 takes the navigation experience to a new level with added functionality to make navigating the application and the road ahead more enjoyable and less stressful.

    * More features. Destinator delivers the biggest and best set of features on the market. Here’s a few to highlight – Google Local Search. Real-Time Traffic Updates. StickyPOIs. NavStrip™. NAVTEQ maps. Destinator makes it easier to find what you need and get there with less effort and stress.

    * More social. Destinator taps into the new wave of social mapping. What’s better than a feature to send your location or your favorite POI to a friend? It’s the beginning of a social mapping revolution and Destinator is at the leading edge.

    * More integrated. Destinator’s secret ingredient is the ability to work better with your phone. Destinator seamlessly blends with your smartphone functions allowing you to simply route right from your existing contacts or your messages.

    * More…for free. A first among on board turn-by-turn application providers, you can experience Destinator 9 first-hand courtesy of a free trial. The 14-day trial of the full application will allow users to see the unique features and functionally that make Destinator the best choice for navigation and location based services on their mobile device.

    A GPS App that Packs a Punch

    Destinator 9 delivers an unmatched navigation experience with a host of exclusive, next-generation features. The intuitive NavStrip™ delivers one-click access to key navigation functions such as address entry, route, and search. This provides the quickest path to navigation with the fewest taps while displaying the map. Users can browse maps in 2D or 3D views. The 3D display includes a horizon display that automatically updates based on weather conditions. Destinator 9’s weather feature provides a 3 day forecast for the user’s current location or destination. Users can navigate to any map location using the TapNGo™ feature by simply using a long press on any point on the map and then tapping “Go” for voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation. TapNGo also features other actions such as “Call”, “Save” location, and “Add to Trip Planner”.

    “We have developed and delivered a navigation app that is both reliable and exciting at the same time. Destinator 9 is a premier GPS app with a fresh set of features that makes your travels easier and less stressful while also delivering an element of fun and usability,” said Souheil Gallouzi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Mobile Products Development, Intrinsyc. “Destinator has a heritage of providing exceptional, reliable turn-by-turn navigation solutions and we are proud to bring the latest generation of our application to the hottest mobile platforms around the globe. We are confident that our customer base will continue to appreciate the Destinator Experience.”

    Windows Mobile users will now be able to enjoy reliable, true turn-by-turn voice guided navigation that not only works in areas of limited mobile coverage but also takes advantage of the phone’s data connection. This seamless connectivity enables integrated online search powered by Google and weather forecasts as well as the sending of locations with rich map content and easy-to-use interface.

    With Destinator, users can also enjoy multi-destination routing by setting multiple trips with various stops to help plan a day’s drive to different locations – all with the fewest clicks possible and an easy-to-use interface. A one-click widget brings up a Google Map view of the current location, when available on a device with a data connection. Destinator’s revolutionary StickyPOI™ feature allows users to quickly display popular Points of Interest (POI) categories with a just a couple of screen taps. Tapping on a category, such as hotels or restaurants, automatically displays the nearby POI on the map. In addition to turn-by-turn navigation, drivers and pedestrians can view a direction list or route summary by a simple tap or two. Destinator delivers voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions with complete visual dashboard information in portrait mode and on the Side Bar in landscape mode. Users can set destinations by browsing a location on a map or entering an address, street, city, intersection, or postcode, keyword search of POI, history, favorites, and SMS. All these features are delivered with a crisp, clear and rich map view in 2D or 3D that can switch automatically to day or night view mode depending on GPS or system time.

    Intrinsyc is a 2009 winner of the Microsoft Windows Embedded Excellence Award. Read more at www.intrinsyc.com.

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  • CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker Integration

    ihome3 200x300 CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker IntegrationI was lucky enough to get a hands-on peak at iHome’s new iPhone/iPod App which will be free for everybody. The integration into their iA5 and iA100 alarm clock speakers was outstanding. Seriously. The app, iHome+Sleep, is positioned as a beefed up alarm clock with a phenomenal user interface. Before I get to the application I will explain the integration. When iPhone is plugged into the dock of either speaker sets you can adjust their settings. You can change the time (or sync it to your iPhone time), change the display/brightness, and adjust EQ settings. On to the application (which I got pretty excited about)…it is optimized to work with the iA5 and iA100, but it is by no means any less usable without the devices.

    The home screen of the application is a large clock and a graphical view of weather. Also there is a small status box of your alarms and schedule. Alarms are extremely customizable. You can set up a variety of rules. Wake up to some loud rock music on Monday at 8am and wake up to some relaxing indy music on Saturday at 10am. You can set iTunes playlists to play directly from the app. There is also a gentle wake alarm that will gradually get louder. If you want to listen to some music before you go to sleep you can easily set a sleep timer. Don’t worry about going to sleep with the volume on low, because you can set the alarm volume to always be loud. iHome+Sleep will log when you go to sleep (you must set this) and when you wake up. It keeps a running log of your sleeping behaviors, logging hours slept per night and per week, average number of snoozes, favorite music to fall asleep to and more. If you’re just waking up, press a button and view all the news you missed while you were sleeping.

    ihome1 200x300 CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker Integration

    If you can’t incorporate social media into your life enough while you’re awake, then try it out while you’re sleeping—share wakeup and bedtime status updates automatically (although if I’m following your feed I would kind of prefer you to not do this). So that is iHome+Sleep wrapped up in a nutshell. Currently the app is mid-approval process so we should be seeing it shortly.

    The iA5 had some pretty good audio, it sounded better than a bunch of iPod speakers I’ve heard this week at CES. It will be priced at $99 and should be available relatively soon. The iA100 is the premium model and will be released at a later date. iA100 incorporates Bluetooth which means the iPhone does not need to be docked to play music and wake up to music alarms. Also you can use the iA100 as a Bluetooth speakerphone to make and receive phone calls (phone keypad included). It even has a backup system where it saves your alarm settings. If your iPhone cannot be found via Bluetooth it will still wake you up, but with a generic alarm. iA100 plays AM/FM radio and can be used as an alarm too. I did not get to hear the iA100, but I know it includes their Bongiovi Power Station real-time DSP (Wednesdays acronym-of-the-day: Digital Signal Processing), which scans audio and restores details lost through compression. This was a very impressive feature and made music sound better even to those lacking the audiophile ear. This will be priced at $199 with no word on when. We’re crossing our fingers at Chip Chick that we’ll get to demo one of these products soon!

    ihome4 300x218 CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker Integrationihome2 300x169 CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker Integration



     CES 2010: iHome+Sleep iPhone App coming soon with iHome Speaker Integration