This new model represents, from a technological point of view, the most advanced high level machine in the market. It s been designed to obtain consistently the highest precision and stability within the capacity of 400 mm between centers for a maximum diameter of 290 mm.
All parts of the machine have been considered to obtain the maximum accuracy and reliability.
Mounted on a natural granite bed, the slides are driven by linear motors on linear bearings and controlled by the CNC via optical scales. The result is: maximum stability, maximum acceleration and maximum sensitiveness, in summary the best accuracy at the lowest cost in a very compact machine.
BUILT IN electro-spindles drive the wheel head and cover the full range of speed necessary for grinding with conventional abrasive (45 m/s), or super-abrasives (20-120 m/s) with the highest torque.
Traditional grinding technologies for hardened steel and high speed contour grinding for tungsten carbide pieces can be efficiently used in this machine.
This machine is intended for grinding small to medium batches of high precision parts with conventional grinding technologies or peel grinding with super abrasives for HSS or tungsten carbide parts.
High technology, high productivity and high accuracy at a lower cost.
AGME has recently signed an agreement with Walther systemtechnik to incorporate their Applications Systems to the range of technologies AGME can include in the special machines they manufacture.
Walther is a specialist in the production and development of Material Application Systems to components or parts. The materials can be:
Oils, grease, silicones, paints, releasing agents, alkalis, preservatives and primers.
After a previous analysis; AGME and Walther select the best application system for each product and process:
• Dosing technology
• Spraying technology
• Pulsing technology
The spraying and the pulsing technology are novelties that mean an important grease save and a cleaner process.
The greasing or fluid application technologies have multiple applications:
– Automotive: tyres, clutch, ball joints, bearings, seats, seatbelts, motor components..
– Locks industry: hinges, locks, guides, etc
– Household appliances: electrical systems, instruments panel, cogs, etc
– Industry in general: Rotating cylindrical bodies, bearings, pistons, chains, etc
Just a couple of years into its run, this is your slightly revised BMW M3, free of camo save for the taillights. The photog on the scene said there is nothing we should expect from the next Munich mauler save for new LED lamps in back and an updated interior. We speculate that cabin changes will include upgraded materials and lines that bring it closer to its recently unveiled siblings higher up the food chain. And that should be enough to keep everyone happy while BMW and M3 mavens focus on the M3 GTS.
The November manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Chain Management (ISM) showed a continued U.S. manufactuing expansion.
ISM: “The manufacturing sector grew for the fourth consecutive month in November. While the rate of growth slowed when compared to October, the signs are still encouraging for continuing growth as both new orders and production are still at very positive levels, and the Prices Index fell 10 points, signaling less inflationary pressure on manufacturers’ costs. Overall, the recovery in manufacturing is continuing, but many are still struggling based on their comments.”
It has been a long time coming. Google’s Chrome web browser has been available on Windows for over a year, while Mac users have been left with three options — take their chances with a nightly build of the open-source fork of Chrome (dubbed Chromium), use Google’s developer release, or wait for an official Google release.
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reported yesterday that Chrome for Mac is just a handful of bugs away from a release — specifically, seven bugs, in case you’re counting. But in order to reach their end-of-year deadline for release, the code-jockeys at Google had to do a bit of a hatchet-job on the Mac version of their browser.
So far, Siegler says, all signs point to the exclusion of the Bookmark Manager, App Mode (which emulates the single-window web app functionality offered by Fluid), Task Manager, Gears, Sync for Mac (for syncing bookmarks across Macs), Multi-touch Gesture support, Full Screen Mode and Extensions.
Mike Pinkerton, Technical Lead for Google Chrome for Mac, was asked by Twitter user @boundlessdreamz “When will extensions work correctly on mac? Is that a blocker?”
Pinkerton replied, “No on extensions for beta. But we’ll get them soon. Must draw the line somewhere.”
If you’re a Safari user, you won’t feel too bad about missing Extensions support. If Safari proves anything, it’s that a fully functional and productive web browser doesn’t need to be chock-full of third-party extensions. Mine has only two; Evernote and 1Password. And I could probably live without the former, if I’m honest.
The lack of Gears comes as no great surprise, either. Google Gears doesn’t work on Snow Leopard anyway, and Google has been uncharacteristically rubbish at communicating why it’s being so slow at fixing it. On this point, Siegler adds, “Apparently, Google plans to push ahead with full HTML5 support rather than rely on Gears, at least on the Mac.”
I wonder what prompted that decision? Timing? Complexity? Or perhaps Gears becomes less desirable in a standards-compliant WebKit-world where functionality, speed and compatibility across multiple devices and multiple form-factors becomes the driving force in browser development.
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know which technology more elegantly supports offline data storage; Gears or HTML5. In any case, Gears’ absence on Snow Leopard is deeply irritating for those of us who want to use GMail offline, or take advantage of drag-and-drop functionality in Google Wave. If Chrome marks the start of a Google-wide migration away from Gears and toward HTML5 (even if only for the Mac), I welcome it.
Also out of the equation (at this stage, anyway) is any mention of 64-bit compatibility. But there is, predictably, nothing surprising about that at all. If, like me, you’ve been pursuing the 64-bit dream, you’ll know how consistently disappointing the experience is — practically no one is building apps with true support for 64-bit OS X — and no, Apple’s home-grown Mail and iCal apps don’t count!
Why Should We Care?
For the last five months I’ve tried various builds of Chromium, which has so far been a bit of a mixed-bag when it comes to little things like performance and stability. Oh wait — did I say those were “little things?” Of course, what I meant to say was “stonking-great major issues.”
To be fair, Chromium shows promise, but it’s still much too “unfinished” to be my primary browser. And in case you were wondering, my primary browser is Safari. No, not because I’m an Apple fanboi, but because it’s stable, it’s lightweight, and it’s not a resource-hog. I used to love Firefox and recommended it to everyone, but I barely use the thing these days. Even with no third-party extensions installed, it takes an age to load and the UI is bafflingly inconsistent with the rest of OS X.
Ultimately, why should we care about Yet Another Browser? Well, just consider how much time you spend in a browser every day. Personally, most of my time is spent in Safari. I regularly have several dozen tabs open, often for days at a time. Most of my work is made up of hours spent reading, researching and writing, and while the latter used to take place in a dedicated word processor, Safari is now so stable and dependable I’ve gradually started doing more and more real-time, “live” writing inside the browser. I never would have taken that risk a year ago, but now I barely give it a thought.
In fact, the browser is such a primary, fundamental element in day-to-day computing that Google has built an entire operating system out of it.
In short, web browsers are big business, and make all the difference in how we perceive, experience and interact with the web. I’m all for a new browser that’s fast and functional and plays well with the websites and services I already use. I’m looking forward to putting Chrome for Mac through its paces — I hope it was worth the wait.
Confession: I have a wait problem. I hate to wait. When I want something, I want it NOW. My wait problem also applies to my need to lose weight problem. When I want to lose weight, I want to lose it NOW. But HOW?
Below are some of my personal tips on slimming up — while still eating spicy dark chocolate cookies!
Plus — a recommendation to check out my own holistic health expert — the amazing Donna Sonkin – who’s been there for me through thick and thin – helping me to stay thin and not thick!
Firstly, here are my personal “Stay Slim Tips” — which begin with going on a “Word Diet”!
I began changing the words I allow to exit my mouth — and this led to me changing the foods I allow to enter my mouth! Truly!
Check out my recommended NEW VOCABULARY MENU for the holidays:
1. I banned the word “DIET” – and renamed it as a “DO IT” — because I’m not just talking about staying slim — I’m really “DOING IT” dammit!
2. I’m now “APPRECI-EATING” my food! This word is all about slowing down how you eat — thereby tasting food more – so you’ll want to eat less. Studies show if you eat more slowly, you allow your body the needed time to signal to your brain that you are full — which is usually 20 minutes.
3. I now label foods as “F0RWARDS” or “BACKWARDS.” Every food I choose to eat I become consious of how it either moves me forwards to my FAB WEIGHT – or backwards to my FLAB WEIGHT!
4. I now talk about ways to “INCREASE MY APPETITE FOR LIFE!” It’s like this: If you want to be a slim, healthy person, it’s essential you swap the pleasure of food with life’s multitudinous other delights.
FACT: If you’re presently overweight, it’s because you’re not being hungry enough about pursuing life’s other abundant pleasures – and are seeing mostly/only the pleasure of food.
FACT: If you want to lose weight, you must make sure your appetite for life is far bigger than your appetite for mere food.
HOW DO YOU INCREASE YOUR APPETITE FOR LIFE? Stop allowing youself to focus SO MUCH on those depressing life circumstances — which only gets you feeling bummed — thereby leading to you to want to pig out — thereby increasing the size of your bum — and your feelings of bumness. Instead, consciously focus on happy life circumstances you enjoy doing — and create more of them! Swap chips and salsa for salsa classes! Stop eating cake – and start painting fruit baskets! Recognize how the joy of taking photos lasts longer than the joy of ice cream!
5. I have memorized these two words — and so should you: “DONNA SONKIN.” This is the name of my own go-to personal holistic health expert who has taught me how to fill my refrigerator and belly with all the best foods to sustain energy, health, sexual desire and slimness! If you live in NYC you should really check out Donna’s terrific coaching and seminars! Guess what, you lucky New Yorkers? There’s a new Donna seminar coming up — where Donna will teach you everything you need to know to keep healthy, vibrant and in your skinny jeans this holiday season. Donna will explain how to eat what you really want, what foods to pass up, how to party on and not pork out, the top three secrets to a healthy immune system, the #1 secret to anti-aging — plus — all the tools you need to have better sex starting tonight! I strongly recommend you join Donna for her upcoming life-changing, three-hour workshop — so you can start ASAP to benefit from all her tools and techniques to take charge of your life and your waistline this holiday season.
Yo, New Yorkers! Fun, slimness, enlightenment and chocolate chip cookies (the healthy kind) can ALL be found here:
Date: Tuesday December 8th 2009
Time: 6pm-9pm Location: 265 West 37 street 7th Floor (corner 8th ave.) Kathlin Argiro studio
Fee: $50 at the door or through Donna’s site!
Notsalmon Discount Fee – a siimmed-down fee of $35.00! How? Just write to me at [email protected] and I will send you the secret discount code!
For more info: www.GetThinForTheCamera.com
Have health questions? Write to Donna: [email protected]
Okay – that’s the skinny on staying skinny this holiday season! Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday -both two for two of these, dammit!
In an unexpected twist in the drawn-out battle between Psystar and Apple, the two companies agreed Monday to a partial settlement that could end the case after 17 months of back-and-forth between them, Computerworld is reporting. Details on the settlement are sparse, but what is known is quite surprising.
The terms of the settlement would see Psystar pay Apple damages, though the amount has not yet been determined. It would also see Apple drop any and all trademark, trade-dress and state law claims, which would effectively eliminate the need for a trial. As a partial settlement, the agreement would not go into effect until Psystar has exhausted all of its appeals before the court.
It’s an interesting deal, because it looks like it wouldn’t necessarily stop Psystar from selling its Mac clones. Instead, the company would be limited to selling its “Open” line of computers without OS X preinstalled, and that responsibility would lie instead with customers. Apparently that’s a compromise Apple is willing to live with, and with good reason, since the Mac maker would have to go after many other clone makers if it wasn’t.
Here are the terms of the deal, as stated in a motion filed Monday by Psystar:
Psystar and Apple today entered into a partial settlement that is embodied in a stipulation that will be filed with the court tomorrow. Psystar has agreed on certain amounts to be awarded as statutory damages on Apple’s copyright claims in exchange for Apple’s agreement not to execute on these awards until all appeals in this matter have been concluded. Moreover, Apple has agreed to voluntarily dismiss all its trademark, trade-dress, and state-law claims. This partial settlement eliminates the need for a trial and reduces the issues before this court to the scope of any permanent injunction on Apple’s copyright claims.
That means that Apple’s permanent injunction, which it filed last week, would still be decided by the court. Psystar moved to have its software, the Rebel EFI program, to be excepted from the injunction. Rebel EFI allows users to install any OS on any hardware, but Psystar maintains that since it is entirely its own product, and is not sold together with any hardware or Mac OS X, it should be exempt from Apple’s motion. Also, Psystar goes onto note that even its customers, should they choose to use Rebel EFI to install OS X on non-authorized hardware, should also be exempt from any legal repercussions:
Psystar’s end users do not engage in commercial use of Mac OS X and their use would qualify as use for “internal purposes” even under the standards articulated by Apple in its summary-judgment briefing.
Hard to vilify this new moderate stance taken by the clone maker, which is probably why Apple seems to have agreed to the terms. Whether or not Rebel EFI will continue to be sold, however, is now up to the courts.
Amatoya Reconnaissance and Suppression Vehicle – Click above for image gallery
Designer Liam Ferguson’s vision of how to fight fires almost makes us wish we were firemen – as long as we could have the keys to one of these. The Amatoya is a site recon and light tanker vehicle designed with a philosophy much more military than civilian. The seating position is like that of a AH-1 Cobra gunship, with the co-pilot up and behind the driver. The Amatoya is built on a monococque steel body, like armed forces MRAPs, insulated with NASA’s aerogel, and painted with “military grade sacrificial thermo ceramic intumescent paints.”
The Remotely Operated Suppression Cannon Outfit (ROSCO) can has a 2,200-liter (581 gallons) total water capacity, all the better for the fact that the crew members don’t need to leave the vehicle to employ it. Nor should they have much problem getting to the fire, with absurd clearances all around, directional spotlights, and a thermal imaging camera. The only weak point would appear to be the rubber tires, which would melt long before the Space-Shuttle-worthy body would.
Still, we’d take one in a second. Take a peek at it yourself in the gallery of photos below.
There have been many celebrity scandals over the years. Here are some of the most memorable scandals:
The OJ Simpson Trial
OJ Simpson was an American football player and actor, who became well known as a result of one of the biggest celebrity scandals of the 90s. In 1992, OJ Simpson divorced his wife, Nicole. Two years later, in 1994, Nicole, along with a friend named Ronald Goldman, was found murdered outside her home. OJ Simpson was immediately arrested after police discovered evidence that led them to believe that Simpson had committed the murders.
Later, when Simpson failed to turn up at the police station, a search began when police discovered a suicide note that he had written. After being chased for a while, Simpson eventually turned himself in. His trial began in 1995 and was highly publicised. It was thought that Simpson murdered his ex-wife as a result of jealousy and evidence to show that he had previously abused her was shown throughout the trial.
During the prosecution, it was revealed that a man matching Simpson’s description was seen entering Nicole’s home. However, the defence claimed that OJ Simpson, who was in his mid forties when the murders were carried out and had several health complications as a result of his past football career, was not fit enough to commit the brutal murders. Ronald Goldman was just 25 years old at the time of his death and the defence believed that a healthy young man would not have been so easily murdered by someone with Simpson’s health complications. However, evidence was provided to suggest that despite Simpson’s health problems, he was still capable of carrying out certain activities.
Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence to suggest that Simpson had committed the murders, he was found not guilty. By now, Simpson and many of the others that were involved in the case had become huge celebrities as a result of the amount of media coverage that the trial received.
In 2004, it was revealed that Simpson had previously confessed his guilt over the murders. The whole scandal received attention again when, in 2006, a book entitled “If I Did It” was released and was written by a ghostwriter with participation from Simpson, which led people to believe that the book was a confession.
Hugh Grant’s 1995 arrest
Hugh Grant caused a stir in 1995 when he was arrested after being caught with a prostitute in public. The incident came as a shock to many, particularly as Grant is well known for playing charming charismatic characters in many of his films. At the time of the incident, Grant was in a relationship with actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, which also caused others to question his actions.
The incident happened just a couple of weeks before Grant’s film “Nine Months”, was due for
release. In this time, Grant appeared on several shows, one of which was “The Tonight Show”, where he made a public apology for the incident.
Grant was fined $1,180 for the incident and put on probation for two years. His sincere apology helped “Nine Months” to achieve much success, becoming nearly as successful as “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. The incident had no effect on Grant’s acting career, and he continued to portray the charming, polite characters that the public knew so well, with roles in “Notting Hill” (1999), “About a Boy” (2002), “Two Weeks Notice” (2002) and “Love Actually” (2003).
More recently, Grant was arrested after it was claimed that he attacked a paparazzo. The charges were dropped due to the lack of evidence. On another occasion, he kicked a paparazzo.
Michael Jackson child abuse charges
Right up until his death in June 2009, Michael Jackson was a constant focus of media attention. The controversy first began when Michael’s physical appearance began to change drastically in the early 1980s, the most notable being his skin colour and the shape of his nose. Following the changes in his appearance, Michael was accused of committing several acts of child abuse in the early 1990s. During this time, he made several statements and gave various interviews denying the child abuse. His friendship with Macualay Culkin was also brought to attention during this time.
Despite all the media coverage, Michael’s success continued with the release of his album HIStory, which contained chart topping songs such as “Earth Song”, which went straight to number one over Christmas in 1995, and “You Are Not Alone”, which was released the same year and shot straight to number one on the US Bilboard Hot 100 and topped the UK charts.
Michael became part of another huge celebrity scandal in 2002, when his third child, who he nicknamed “Blanket” was born. Later that year, Michael dangled Blanket off a balcony from a hotel room in Berlin. The incident was witnessed by a crowd of fans who were standing below the balcony and Michael was heavily criticised as a result. He later apologised, but the incident was never quite forgotten.
In 2003, a documentary about Michael’s life aired. Michael was interviewed by Martin Bashir and viewers had the chance to get a glimpse at Michael’s life as well as a chance to listen to his views on his success, his altered appearance and most controversially, his explanations as to why he invited children back to his room. The documentary caused a stir and the child sex abuse allegations were raised again, resulting in a trial in 2005. He was found not guilty of child abuse.
Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Michael remained one of the most influential figures in the music industry and millions were left devastated by his unexpected death in June 2009, just days after he had been rehearsing for his comeback tour. His children, family, celebrities and millions of fans paid tribute to him and his memorial was televised.
Sinead O Connor’s SNL protest
Since the early nineties, Sinead O’Conner has been involved in a number of controversial events, the most famous being her appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1992, where she destroyed a photograph of Pope John Paul II in a protest against child abuse. Rather than causing a positive reaction with her actions, O’Connor caused outrage and the incident affected her future career.
As a result of her actions, O’Connor’s songs were banned from being played on the radio and she was repeatedly booed at concerts. O’Connor later stated they she had simply torn up the photo in a fit of rage, but later said that she had no regrets about what she did.
Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky
Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky was one of the biggest political celebrity scandals in the 1990s. Lewinsky was an intern at the White House and the affair began shortly after she was hired. Lewinsky was alleged to have had nine sexual encounters with Clinton and was told to keep gifts and items of clothing as evidence. Lewinsky told a co-worker about her involvement with Clinton and the co-worker taped several conversations between the couple.
Clinton strongly denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky and released a statement saying that the alegations were false. However, evidence was provided on an item of clothing (famously known as “The Blue Dress”) and Clinton was impeached for failing to be truthful about his involvement with Lewinsky. He was also charged with “abuse of power”.
Since the incident, Lewinsky has stated that she has found it difficult to put the incident behind her and that it has had a large effect on her career and personal life.
“Brangelina”
Jennifer Aniston married Brad Pitt in the summer of 2000. Five years later, they separated and were eventually divorced in late 2005. This event became a scandal when Brad Pitt entered a relationship with Angelina Jolie, who he worked with for the filming of “Mr and Mrs Smith” in 2004. There were rumours that his involvement with Jolie was the cause of his marriage breakdown.
The couple kept their relationship a secret until a few months after Pitt and Aniston’s divorce, when Jolie confirmed that she was pregnant with Pitt’s child. However, she denied that she had been involved with him during his marriage to Aniston, but did state that she and Pitt had fallen in love during filming. Pitt stated the same but also denied having an affair with Jolie.
Pitt and Jolie, who are now known as “Brangelina”, have since adopted several children and have two children of their own. There were rumours that Pitt and Aniston’s divorce was due to the fact that she did not wish to have children, but she denied this.
Despite all the speculation, Pitt has since stated that he and Aniston, who has had several relationships since the divorce, are on good terms.
Lindsay Lohan’s arrest
In the late 1990s and early-mid 2000s, Lindsay Lohan became well known for her roles in films such as “The Parent Trap”, “Get a Clue” and “Mean Girls”. Since her rise to fame however, she has become the centre of media attention as a result of her involvement in several car accidents and her alcohol and drug use. On one occasion in 2007, when she was 21, she was arrested after a car accident when police discovered cocaine in the vehicle and for having alcohol in her system.
She has entered rehab several times and was sentenced to a day in jail as well as several hours of community service after admitting to using cocaine and to driving with an illegal amount of alcohol in her system. She only served a small amount of the time in jail and has since been given an extended probation as a result of failing to turn up to treatment sessions for her drug usage.
Lohan also became the centre of media attention for her love life in 2008, when she began dating Smantha Ronson. The couple have since split, though Lohan has hinted on her Twitter account that they are still together.
Britney Spears’ breakdown
Britney Spears quickly shot to fame after the release of her first single “Baby One More Time” in 1999. As a child, she worked on “The Mickey Mouse Club” with other celebrities such as Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she became a huge pop icon and achieved much success with albums such as the self-titled “Britney” in 2001 and “In The Zone”.
During this time, her love life was highly publicised, particularly her relationship with Justin Timberlake. Their relationship ended in 2002 and the breakup influenced the lyrics for Timberlake’s popular song “Cry me A River”. During an interview with Diane Sawyer, Spears appeared visibly upset at the breakup and hinted that the hit song “Everytime”, which was released in 2004, was written about her relationship with Timberlake.
After the breakup, Spears’ life quickly changed. In early 2004, she drunkenly married a childhood friend overnight. The marriage lasted only 55 hours. Five months later, Spears became engaged to Kevin Federline, who she had only known for three months. The relationship caused a stir due to Federline’s ex being pregnant at the time of his involvement with Spears. A year later, Spears had her first child with Federline. She quickly became pregnant again and gave birth to her second child in mid 2006. A few months later, she filed for divorce from Federline.
After this, Spears’ mental state was questioned when she famously shaved her head in early 2007. Throughout that year, her behaviour was highly publicised. She attacked the paparazzi and was charged for driving without a license and for crashing into a car and then driving off. She made an appearance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, where she performed her single “Gimme More”. The appearance was heavily criticised and it appeared obvious that Spears was clearly not in a state to be able to perform at such a big event. She was criticised for her lip synching, dance routines and her outfit, which some felt was inappropriate due to her weight gain. Despite the criticism, she achieved much success with “Gimme More”.
In early 2008, Spears hit out at the paparazzi with her single “Piece of Me”, which was also successful. However, things came to a head when Spears, who had previously been photographed sitting on a pavement crying, ended up being hospitalised after police came to her home when she refused to hand over her children to Federline, who had gained full custody of the children in October 2008. She then received several psychiatric evaluations.
After this, things began to pick up for Spears and she achieved success with her single “Womanizer”, which was taken from her album “Circus”. She also won awards for her 2007 album “Blackout” and for her hit single “Piece of Me.”
Heath Ledger’s death
Up until his shocking death, Heath Ledger had been a popular actor who achieved much success from a young age, with roles in films such as “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot”. He also became notable for his roles in “Brokeback Mountain” and as The Joker in “The Dark Knight”. He sadly died before the release of “The Dark Knight”, but his role received
praise from critics and the public.
Before his death, Ledger had been experiencing sleeping problems during the filming of “The Dark Knight” and had complained of feeling unwell on the set of “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”, which was his final film. He was reported to be taking sleeping tablets as treatment for insomnia.
In January 2008, he was found unconscious in his apartment and pronounced dead after several unsuccessful attempts to revive him. Fans and many celebrities paid tribute to him and his funeral received much attention from the media.
His death quickly became controversial after an investigation took place. It was believed that ledger died as a result of accidental abuse of prescriptive medication. There was also speculation that Ledger’s friend, actress Mary Kate Olsen, was involved in his accidental death after she refused to comment on the drugs that Ledger had been prescribed. Her involvement was later denied by her attorney.
Rihanna and Chris Brown
In early 2009, a photograph of Rihanna with injuries to her face was leaked. The photo shocked many and attracted much media attention. Rihanna’s boyfriend, Chris Brown, was believed to have assaulted her. He was arrested and later pleaded guilty. He received five years probation and was ordered to stay away from Rihanna.
Since the assault, Brown has made several public apologies, including a release of a video on Youtube. In the video, he apologised to his fans and Rihanna for the assault. Brown later gave an interview in which he mentioned how he had witnessed domestic violence as a child and how he was shocked at his own actions.
Rihanna and Brown have since been spotted on holiday together, indicating that Rihanna has forgiven Brown for the assault.
Engineering students at Northeastern University took first place in the Chem-E-Car Competition that took place in Nashville, Tennessee. The vehicle that they called the Aluminator used a combination of water, aluminum foil and sodium hydroxide to produce hydrogen.
The hydrogen was then pushed through a fuel cell along with ambient air, which powered the wheels of the vehicle. From the start line, the Aluminator traveled 76 feet, 5 inches to a finish line that was 77 feet from the start. The closest car to the finish line, the Aluminator won the competition.
Now, I’ve talked about using water, aluminum and some other chemical compound to create hydrogen many times over the past couple of years. I think this is a viable idea that needs more research and development.
When I read the article in Boston.com, however, I was taken aback. According to this source, “A group of Northeastern University students showed the judges at a competition last week in Nashville how autos can make hydrogen under their hoods – thus eliminating the need to create a new nationwide network of hydrogen filling stations.”
The eliminating the hydrogen filling stations part caught my eye. Perhaps this new hydrogen-aluminum fuel could be sold at traditional filling stations and perhaps not. Or perhaps it will be sold at Wal-Mart, Costco, 7-Elevens, bought off eBay or any number of places.
But, the point is that some kind of national fueling infrastructure will need to be in place for the production and dispensing of this hydrogen-aluminum compound and the disposal and recycling of the compound. The infrastructure may not be as expensive as building a nationwide network of thousands of hydrogen fueling stations at $2 million a pop, but there will be a need for some sort of well thought out infrastructure nonetheless.
Perhaps even this hydrogen-aluminum fuel can be used right at the pump to create hydrogen on demand for cars that use compressed H2 gas. Or perhaps this hydrogen-rich chemical compound would be used inside the vehicle and the spent materials disposed of and recycled to be used once again.
The aluminum and water idea is not a new one but it takes us down a whole new path than the compressed or liquid hydrogen scenario. More research is needed not only of the viability of this chemical compound, but how the infrastructure will work needs to be well thought out and mapped out as well.
Microsoft did it, Yahoo did it and now Google did it as well, though with a slight twist. Bing gave us the top searches of 2009, Yahoo came out with a similar top, but Google is now releasing the top fastest rising searches of the year which doesn’t necessarily mean they were the most popular terms by volume. And if Yahoo’s top was significantly different from Bing’s, Google is a bit closer to Microsoft’s with several similar entries.
Hardly unexpected, Michael Jackson rules this top as well, but the queries following are, surprisingly or not, some of the hot social media services of the year, Facebook and Twitter which came in at number two and number four respectively in the global searches top. Twilight couldn’t be missing, of course, and ‘new moon’ lands at number six.
[tablec][row][col]The fastest rising searches on Google globally
1. michael jackson 2. facebook 3. tuenti 4. twitter 5. sanalika 6. new moon 7. lady gaga 8. windows 7 9. dantri.com.vn 10. torpedo gratis [/col][col] – [/col][col]The fastest rising searches on Google.com
1. twitter 2. michael jackson 3. facebook 4. hulu 5. hi5 6. glee 7. paranormal activity 8. natasha richardson 9. farrah fawcett 10. lady gaga[/col][/r… (read more)
A few folks have sent in the news that Australian mobile operator Optus appears to be completely blocking access to paid apps for owners of Android phones. Apparently people have been complaining about this for a while, and Optus has been mostly silent on the matter, only stating:
“Optus is currently working with Google to provide an Android application store to our customers, and we are optimistic it will be available soon.”
Except, of course, it shouldn’t require any permission from Optus at all — which is leading to reasoned speculation that Optus is blocking access to paid apps in the Android app store because Optus wants a cut of the revenue. This is typical of mobile carriers who keep wanting to believe that they’re the tollbooth everyone needs to pay. Instead, the more likely result is just to drive mobile phone users to other carriers.
I usually try to keep my opinions out the daily commentary. But I am really becoming irked by the press. One day they complain about our industry having foreclosure problems and the credit crisis here in the US and in the world. And then the next day they complain about the declining rate of mortgage approvals and fewer people qualifying for home loans in the US. And then on the third day they will have some story about how it makes sense for a borrower to walk away from their home loan obligation. Geez! (I’d read on the web that one guy, who was forcefully complaining about his parking ticket in front of his dad, got this response from the father: ” Just pay the parking ticket. Don’t be so outraged. You’re not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked.”)
Besides worrying about capital reserves and RESPA, the FHA has not been idle. The FHA imposed $512,000 in penalties on Lend America for allegedly violating FHA requirements, including failing to document borrowers’ income and creditworthiness, and for submitting false certifications. The move prohibits the company, owned by Ideal Mortgage Bankers, from making new mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration or issuing mortgage-backed securities insured by Ginnie Mae. No word yet on a counter action by Lend America, based in Long Island.
The parent company of AmTrust Bank (AmTrust Financial – Cleveland) has filed for bankruptcy,
Pending home sales in October rose for the 9th consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) calculations. The index soared the most ever, undoubtedly due to both the depths it came from and the first homebuyer tax credit.
Just remember to take anything from the NAR with a few grains of salt.
Is it just us or are they passive-aggressively asking for more housing support?
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[emphasis added]
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in October, increased 3.7 percent to 114.1 from 110.0 in September, and is 31.8 percent above October 2008 when it was 86.6. The rise from a year ago is the biggest annual increase ever recorded for the index, which is at the highest level since March 2006 when it was 115.2.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales are experiencing a pendulum swing. “Keep in mind that housing had been underperforming over most of the past year. Based on the demographics of our growing population, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.5 million to 6.0 million annually, but we were well below the 5-million mark before the home buyer tax credit stimulus,” he said. “This means the tax credit is helping unleash a pent-up demand from a large pool of financially qualified renters, much more than borrowing sales from the future.
The PHSI in the Northeast surged 19.9 percent to 100.2 in October and is 44.2 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 11.6 percent to 109.6 and is 36.6 percent higher than October 2008. Pending home sales in the South increased 5.4 percent to an index of 115.4, which is 31.6 percent above a year ago. In the West the index fell 11.2 percent to 127.7 but is 21.9 percent above October 2008. Yun cautioned that home sales could dip in the months ahead. “The expanded tax credit has only been available for the past three weeks, but the time between when buyers start looking at homes until they close on a sale can take anywhere from three to five months. Given the lag time, we could see a temporary decline in closed existing-home sales from December until early spring when we get another surge, but the weak job market remains a major concern and could slow the recovery process.
“Still, as inventories continue to decline and balance is gradually restored between buyers and sellers, we should reach self-sustaining housing conditions and firming home prices in most areas around the middle of 2010. That would mean broad wealth stabilization for the vast number of middle-class families,” Yun said.
For many auto enthusiasts, the 2009 North American International Auto Show was the official beginning of the US economic downturn. Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and Porsche didn’t even bother to show up for the once-prestigious event and Honda chose not to unveil any new product. A couple months back, the NAIAS organizers gave us some hope for the 2010 extravaganza when they said that the show would be better attended this time around. Well it appears that the show will at least be marginally better.
NAIAS co-chair Doug Fox has reportedly told the Detroit Free Press that at least 54 automakers will take part in the show this year, up four from 2009. Fox also estimates that a couple more automakers may decide to join in on the fun, but nothing is official at this time. Also exciting is news that both Porsche and Nissan will participate in this year’s show, though the extent of their presence isn’t very clear. We do know that Nissan will, at the very least, participate in the Detroit show’s 37,000-square-foot Electric Avenue exhibit, which features electric vehicles from 26 automakers. So far Porsche will only participate in a special event called “The Gallery,” which will be held for holders of the American Express Centurion card. The invitation-only event will be held at the MGM Grand on January 10.
While it’s nice to see that Porsche and Nissan are going to be active at NAIAS 2010, we’re a bit disappointed at the level of participation. At least the show will top the down year that was NAIAS 2009, but it looks like we may still be a ways away from the grandeur of shows gone by.
What’s better than a picture? Some video of course, and here we have a brief hands-on of the Samsung Omnia 2, seemingly taken inside a Verizon store, showing the device in action.
Besides the slow-loading widgets (must have been written in HTML) the user interface looks quite responsive, with applications popping into view without much delay.
The Omnia 2 is set to arrive any day now on Verizon, and should be for short while one of the best specified smartphones in US.
Are you planning to get one? Let us know in the comments below.
Citi’s Tobias Levkovich shows how the market has sunk back to Panic levels, based on the firm’s proprietary Panic/Euphoria model.
For what it’s worth, the model is based on a collection of sentiment indicators including “NYSE short interest ratio, margin debt, Nasdaq daily volume as % of NYSE volume, a composite average of Investors Intelligence and the American Association of Individual Investors bullishness data, retail money funds, the put/call ratio, CRB futures index, gasoline prices and the ratio of price premiums in puts versus calls.”
As we’ve highlighted in the past, these black box models are best used by comparing them to themselves. Thus while the recent model reading shows a panic level based on Citi’s indicators, we can see that on a relative basis Citi’s indicator is well above where it was in March, and equal to a level of sentiment seen during 2005. So perhaps Citi’s Panic line needs to be adjusted downward slightly.
(Via Citi Investment Research, “The PULSE Monitor”, Tobias Levkovich, 30 November 2009)
At a recent event in Buenos Aires, investment guru John Mauldin delivered an excellent presentation titled “Thoughts on the Continuing Crisis.”
Through a series of charts, he lays out his case that we are indeed entering a long, Japan-like period of deflation. Everywhere you look, you see undercapacity and lower monetary velocity, and more debt.
You can read recipes and watch Food Network until you’re blue in the face, but improving your actual cooking skills and quality of your food is something that is best done one one step at a time, little bit-by little bit. Here to help is David Lebovitz who has made a top 10 list of things you can do to up your game in the kitchen.
Engineering students at Northeastern University took first place in the Chem-E-Car Competition that took place in Nashville, Tennessee. The 
Microsoft did it, Yahoo did it and now Google did it as well, though with a slight twist. Bing gave us the top searches of 2009, Yahoo came out with a similar top, but Google is now releasing the top fastest rising searches of the year which doesn’t necessarily mean they were the most popular terms by volume. And if Yahoo’s top was significantly different from Bing’s, Google is a bit closer to Microsoft’s with several similar entries. 
