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An uncle once told me, “I’ve had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me. And the second one didn’t.” In a story from Reuters,both Deutsche Bank and France’s BNP Paribas SA separately sued Bank of America last Wednesday, “claiming that the largest U.S. bank breached its obligations on a total of more than $1.7 billion of mortgage-related transactions.” Both lawsuits relate to Ocala Funding LLC, a funding vehicle used by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker. TBW used Colonial Bank for warehouse lending, which Bank of America sued in August. Deutsche Bank accused BofA of breach of contract for failing to safeguard more than $1.25 billion of cash and mortgage loans from deals in 2007 and 2008. In the other lawsuit, BNP Paribas Mortgage Corp said BofA refused to pay $480.7 million of principal and interest on secured notes when the sum came due in August. A Bank of America spokesman said the bank had fulfilled its contractual obligations and would defend itself against the allegations in court. “BNP and Deutsche Bank’s effort to hold Bank of America responsible, however, is misguided. We fulfilled our contractual obligations in our limited administrative role with respect to the Ocala facility.”

Dubai, home of the palm tree-shaped island, sail-shaped high-rise hotel, and indoor skiing, is not immune to the credit crisis. Apparently they borrowed quite a bit to finance their world-famous expansion, but on Wednesday the city-state said it would restructure its largest corporate entity, Dubai World and announced a six-month standstill on the company’s debt. Of course this news immediately pushed up the price of insuring against a default and reminded everyone of the collapse in its once-booming real-estate sector late last year. Fortunately it appears that our banks, and the mortgage business, have limited exposure to Dubai’s problems. But the question is whether Dubai World is isolated, or a sign of widespread sovereign debt defaults in emerging markets? One investor said, “I always thought that Dubai was way too flashy anyway, and they’re getting what they deserve – it’s fine unless its problems impact me.”

more news – Fannie Mae to tighten, FHA credit scores rise, Charles Schwab mortgage, Caliber Funding, rates and markets, and joke of the day >>> CLICK HERE

2009Nov-1880Jan: (top image) January-November Global Surface Mean Temperature Anomalies 1880 to 2009. (bottom image) January-November Land and Ocean Surface Mean Temperature Anomalies 1880 to 2009 (NCDC/NESDIC/NOAA).

Reference: NCDC/NESDIC/NOAA http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=11&submitted=Get+Report

Image Description: see case description. Image Location: NCDC/NESDIC/NOAA http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=11&submitted=Get+Report Image Permission: This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made during the course of an employee’s official duties.

Guest Blog: Andrew Jay Schwartzman is president and CEO of the Media Access Project. This Op-Ed originally appeared in the online version of US News and World Report on November 24, 2009.

To understand the debate over network neutrality on the Internet, it is useful to start with the adage “To not act is to act.”

If the federal government does nothing—that is, if it does not adopt network neutrality rules—it will be allowing telephone and cable companies to block, degrade, or slow down any content on the Internet for any reason. Without such rules, the Internet will not live up to its full potential for fueling economic growth and serving as a vehicle for artistic, political, and social expression.

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed banning discrimination on the basis of the content, the kind of software being used, or the identity of the content provider. The policies also would require meaningful disclosure to consumers about the speed of service they are receiving and the management techniques used by Internet service providers on their networks. These are important steps to promote economic growth and diverse speech on the Internet.

I suspect the real difference underlying my disagreement with Barbara Esbin about network neutrality lies in our divergent views on whether government should proactively seek to promote competition and diversity through antitrust laws and guarantees of nondiscrimination. I count on government to protect us from abuses, and she regards such governmental involvement as oppressive.

Here is my side: Big broadband providers would like to change the Internet as we now know it. They want to be able to slow down or even block content for whatever reason they choose. They want to be able to keep such practices secret, too. Do we really want AT&T or Comcast selling Domino’s Pizza the right to have its website always load faster than those of local independent pizzerias? What about blocking either pro-choice or pro-life websites or, for that matter, both of them? Right now, service providers are free to do so.

It wasn’t always this way. In fact, if you ever used (or still use), a dial-up modem, you’ve had network neutrality enforced for you. Indeed, telephone companies are forbidden from discriminating against any Internet traffic over ordinary telephone lines. Because of—not in spite of—these policies, the “dial-up Internet” became a vibrant platform for commerce and free speech. Under this system, anyone with a computer and a telephone could set up a business, invent a new website function, and obtain access to a much wider array of goods and customer services than ever before—without worrying that the carrier had a secret deal to favor a competitor’s website.

Network neutrality will ensure that the Internet continues to fuel growth and innovation for the American economy. The dynamism of the Internet has not come from large companies. Rather, it is the openness of the Internet that has enabled small start-ups with better ideas to gain access to everyone on the Internet on the same terms and conditions as every other user. It is no accident that Amazon.com, which revolutionized retailing, was created by a small entrepreneur; no such revolution would have been possible if Internet service providers favored big “incumbent” competitors such as Waldenbooks by selling them “priority access” and slowing down Amazon’s connection. Today, small companies are devising ways to deliver television service over the Internet. Cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox have lucrative businesses selling cable TV service, and they might well want to make sure that these new competitors have a hard time delivering television service at a lower price or even free of charge.

The large carriers assure us that they have no such intentions, but without rules mandating disclosure of special deals, it is very difficult or impossible to detect such misconduct. Two years ago, when Comcast was caught secretly blocking certain kinds of data files, it first denied there was a problem and finally owned up to what it was doing only after the FCC was presented with conclusive evidence to the contrary.

There is no truth to the claim that network neutrality would somehow inhibit broadband deployment. Experience proves this. In 2006, as part of its decision authorizing AT&T to acquire BellSouth, the FCC required the merged company to observe network neutrality principles for two years. During that time, AT&T’s investment actually increased, and it became the leading investor among all Internet service providers.

Network neutrality is not just good for the economy but also essential for democratic self-expression. Musicians and other artists have used the Internet to transform traditional distribution models; record companies no longer have a stranglehold on distribution. Political organizations and social action groups now organize on Facebook and Twitter and have decentralized and democratized fundraising on the Internet. Artistic, social, and political speech is generally afforded the highest degree of protection under the First Amendment, but we now face the prospect of private censorship from Internet service providers. Network neutrality will preclude interference with protected speech and thereby fulfill the Founding Fathers’ intention that there be a vibrant marketplace of ideas so that educated citizens can make wise decisions at the ballot box.

It is important to stress that network neutrality protects only lawful content. Internet service providers will always be able to enforce prohibitions on pirated material and unlawful obscenity. Emergency services for first responders can also be given priority. Network neutrality also gives service providers adequate flexibility for intelligent and reasonable management of their network systems.

In short, network neutrality is about your freedom to use the full potential of the Internet for commercial, political, artistic, and social expression. We need it, and that is why the FCC needs to act on its proposal. Not to do so would be an unfortunate action.

From time to time I’ll get an email from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader that just throws me for a loop. It might be esoteric, simply outside of my core knowledge, or just downright strange. Still other questions are best answered by consensus.

When enough of these spill into my inbox I’ll crowdsource the questions, opening them up to the infinite wisdom of the MDA community. This has resulted in some great discussions in the past (Dear Readers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Well, it’s that time again. Help out a fellow MDAer with a response in the comment board. Thanks, everyone!

_________________________________________________________________________

Question 1

I’ve been reading your blog for some time, but looked at it in a new light after hearing you on The Art of Manliness podcast.

I have to say, the Primal Blueprint is basically a very exact way to spell out how I’ve thought about food for a while – what would a caveman do? I love the anecdotes about Grok, and have been following your eating plan for 2 weeks now.

So, I want to ask you something related to health, but not exactly diet and exercise. I have tried (and failed) to quit smoking too many times to count. Is there any way something like this would fit into the Blueprint? If we assume Grok was addicted to smoking (perhaps he threw tobacco on the fire one night) and knew it was bad, how would he stop doing it?

Aaron

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Question 2

I’ve been following a primal/paleo style of eating for three months now, and have no complaints. I was curious, these days, I notice there’s more and more guys losing their hair at a resonably early age, guys as young as me (I’m 22 btw). Even though I don’t exhibit any signs of hair loss myself, the ideal scenario would be to keep my hair for a very long time. I was wondering maybe if our increasingly poor eating habits may have anything to do with this?  I notice both you and Art DeVany (who’s blog I also follow) both have full heads of hair, and eat similar diets. In your opinion, is there any correlation between diet and hair loss? Thanks in advance.

Brandon

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Question 3

I’m very curious to find out your thoughts on toothpaste. It is obviously made up of many chemicals grok would never have had access to. When I was a child I used to swallow the stuff after brushing much to the horror of my parents. Then I found an article that said that flouride attacks and damages glass and I got to wondering what it was doing to my insides, my toothpaste swallowing days were over. Anyway is toothpaste that great? What did grok use? Is it really that necessary to brush your teeth if you’re consuming a low suger diet? Thanks!

Steve

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Question 4

A trainer at my gym once told me that when doing pull-ups, one shouldn’t go all the way down because that will put unnecessary stain on your rotator cuffs, which would weaken it over time and create problems later. Is there any truth in that?

Jibby

_________________________________________________________________________

Question 5

I did a search around your site and read all the articles concerning barefoot running/living and footwear, however, I found nothing about callus maintenance of the feet. I take care of the calluses on my hands because they tend to tear off during lengthy workouts with deadlifts or pullups, but I seldom read something about maintenance of the feet. Since I have some pain on the outer part of my right foot, which I assumed was callus-related, I began thinking about this. From an evolutionary standpoint, it might be beneficial (extra cushions), but since we aren’t able to wear out the unnecessary parts of cushioning, perhaps we should cut them away?

Bert

Get Free Health Tips, Recipes and Workouts Delivered to Your Inbox

Related posts:

1. Dear Readers
2. Dear Readers
3. Dear Readers

Dormer has expanded its family of solid carbide cutters for aluminium with the launch of five new cutters specifically designed to excel in precision milling applications with state-of-the-art CNC machines.

Building on the popularity of the S140 and S142 slot drills launched in October 2007, the new tools increase the range of applications covered by cutters capable of High Speed Machining in aluminium and its alloys, as well as thermo-plastics and acrylic glass.

The S143, S144, S145 and S540 are designed with a neck and an extra long effective length to prevent the shank from coming into contact with the material. A high axial depth of cut can therefore be achieved with a short cutting length, with the added benefit of high tool rigidity. The S144 (corner radius) and S540 (ball nosed) end mills are particularly suited to machining complex surfaces.

The S149 features a reduction along the full length of the shank in order to maximise performance in deep pocket milling and profiling operations. This allows the user to adjust the length of the tool projecting from the tool holder, minimising the risk of chipping.

All tools have an extremely highly polished surface that reduces friction between the surface of the tool and the workpiece, making for fast, efficient swarf evacuation and reduced machine downtime.

This feature, combined with narrow cylindrical land and flute design optimised for chip space, minimises tool vibration which, in turn, ensures an excellent surface quality on the component.

The product launch is supported by a comprehensive brochure that includes full range details, dimensional data and optimum operating conditions.

Consultancy Services

Tempsens Team Offers full Consultancy Services for opening & running calibration Lab which includes Pre- Inspection of Site, layout Designing, Equipments Installation, Training of Staff, Documentation as per ISO17025/2005, Pre Assesment Audit, Final Assesment NABL Aceredition.

Pre Inspection Of Site

Tempsens team of engineer does the inspection of Site for the avalaibility of resources and other things which are essential for a laboratory.

Layout Designing

Tempsens team of Engineer/Architect provides a no. of Layout & design including furnitures, flooring etc. to Customer for approval and the laboratory is designed as per approves Layout & design.

Equipment Installation

Tempsens team of engineer provides the complete set of equipment.

For almost last 3 decades Tempsens is standing as the most creative solution provider to the most challenging temperature-sensing needs across many industries in many countries.
Tempsens offers wide variety of temperature calibration equipments with high stability at competitive prices to fulfill temperature calibration needs. These equipments are available from -40°C to 1500°C both for contact type sensors (Baths/furnaces) and non contact type sensors (Black Bodies).

In continuation Tempsens has a state-of-the-art metrology lab offering NABL accredited NIST traceable temperature calibration services. Our highly trained calibration specialists utilize precision calibration baths and measurement electronics to ensure the highest standards. Our laboratory personnel are dedicated to excellence in all phases of professional practice by maintaining compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 and NABL and are committed to continual self-analysis and ongoing improvement.

Filed under: Technology, Nissan

When navigation systems started showing up in the center stacks of luxury vehicles, the new (at the time) tech typically would set owners back a couple grand or more (and still does). As we gear up for 2010, mapping tech is everywhere from the most expensive luxury sleds to economical hatchbacks, but there is still one problem. If you want an LCD screen with navigation capability, the option will still set you back from over $1,000 to above and beyond $2,000 in most cases. The only exception is Suzuki, which includes its TRIP nav system as standard equipment on the sub-$20k SX4.

Nissan is looking to change the navi pricing paradigm by offering a $400 navigation system in some of its high volume 2010 MY products. That’s $400, or the same price as Ford’s LCD-less SYNC system. Or less than half the price of most options available in vehicles today. The nav system, which was developed by Nissan and Bosch, gives directions, integrates your tunes with USB and Aux inputs and has integrated Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling. The low cost system also connects with a backup camera and can help you save money by pointing out the route that will cost you the least fuel.

The Detroit News reviewed the nav system in 2010 Nissan Sentra and came away impressed with its overall operation, though the smallish five-inch LCD screen was reportedly a bit hard to read at times. We’re hoping low cost navvies are here to stay, and with the ultra-competitive nature of the auto industry, we’re thinking any automaker that doesn’t follow Nissan’s lead will be at a major competitive disadvantage.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Nav for All: Nissan offering inexpensive nav system on popular cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nothing said bubble like the debt-fueled unnecessary opulence of Dubai.

While some may berate China or America for using cheap money to create too many factories or financial models, Dubai was blowing money in a far more visible and obviously wasteful fashion.

From man-made islands in the shape of Italy, to animatronic dinosaurs, and a billion-dollar pink castle, Dubai represents the extreme froth of the global financial bubble.

There was a dark side as well. The city was built on the back of extreme dictatorship, Asian slave labor, and Western nations turning a blind eye to even torture with cattle prods...

Why Dubai Was The Most Obvious Bubble Ever >>>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Mobius: Even If We're In A Bull Market, Dubai Could Spark A 20% Correction
• JP Morgan: Stop Freaking Out, The UAE Can Easily Save Dubai
• 12 Places To Go If The World Goes To Hell

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2009Nov30: Blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies in November 2009 (NCDC, NESDIS, NOAA).

Reference: NCDC, NESDIS, NOAA http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=11&submitted=Get+Report

Image Description: see case description. Image Location: NCDC, NOAA http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=11&submitted=Get+Report Image Permission: This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made during the course of an employee’s official duties.

In his latest letter, Raymond James strategist says to stop worrying about the decline of the dollar:

Back in the mid-1970s, when I was just a “pup” in this business, I went to one of my mentors and said, “Lucien, it looks to me as if the dollar is going to go down.  Should I be worried about stocks if that happens?”  Lucien Hooper, sitting behind his desk, lowered The Wall Street Journal just enough so that I could see his eyes and said, “Don’t worry about the declining dollar because stocks will go up enough to offset it!”  Sure enough, the 28% decline in the U.S. dollar was offset by a 30% rise in the S&P 500.  And that appears to be what is happening again as the U.S. Dollar Index broke to new reaction “lows” the first part of last week (basis the December Future) and stocks rallied.  Worth mentioning is that despite the media’s “beating of the dollar like a rented mule,” the Dollar Index still resides above the “lows” made back in the spring and summer of 2008.

Nevertheless, the dollar’s weakness has clearly been very positive for our “stuff stocks” (precious/base-metals, agriculture, energy, cement, timber, etc.), as well as stocks in general, and we have been bullish.  Most recently, we have suggested, “that with credit spreads below their pre-Lehman bankruptcy levels there should be no reason why the equity markets can’t ‘fill up’ the downside vacuum created in the charts by said bankruptcy, as can be seen in the following charts.  That gives the S&P 500 an upside target of 1200 – 1250” (we include those charts again this morning).  One admittedly very bright Canada-based strategist, however, took exception to my statement in last week’s Barron’s magazine.  The only problem was, he got my quote wrong. 

As reprised: “Picking up on a pronouncement by a chief investment officer of an investment firm that ‘we’re still at levels that are lower than we were before Lehman Brothers [went belly-up].  We’re vastly better off than we were then.”  After stating a bunch of economic statistics that are worse now than back then he concluded, “If this is ‘vastly better off,’ (I) shudder to think what ‘worst off’ would look like.” Now, I don’t mind ANYONE disagreeing with me.  That’s what makes a market.  But, at least get the quote right!  I said nothing about the economy and certainly didn’t suggest that the environment is “vastly better now than it was then.”  The word “vastly” is particularly disturbing to me because it was never used, which caused one savvy seer to remark, “Why should you be upset by a strategist that completely missed the March lows and has hence been bearish all the way up?!”  Of course, while people that live in “glass houses” (like me) should never “throw stones,” if that strategist wants to debate the economy I offer the following.

As for the current market, Saut is sticking by his argument that with credit-spreads now back to pre-Lehman levels, there’s no reason stocks can’t get there, too.

The call for this week:  Friday’s Dubai-induced selling was exaggerated by the limited audience so that sellers sold into a vacuum.  Consequently, it will be interesting to see what happens the first part of this week when “The Street” returns from its extended holiday.  Still, the shortened session turned out to be a 90% Downside Day.  Such days are typically followed by a three- to seven- session “throwback rally” and then participants can determine if there is more to come on the downside.  Yet as the keen Lowry’s services writes, “Over Lowry’s 76 year history, no major market top has formed without being preceded by at least several months of rising Selling Pressure.  But, currently, Selling Pressure has been recording new lows in a downtrend dating from the Index’s peak in March.  Therefore, absent a sustained rise in Selling Pressure, the probabilities are against the formation of a major top and favor the continuation of the primary trend higher.”  That said, the divergences we have cited for the past month continue to mount.  Most notable has been the lagging performance of the previously market-leading small/mid-cap stocks in favor of the large caps.  This is what typically happens after a “run” like we have seen because portfolio managers don’t want to “bet” their jobs, which they are not when playing the large cap universe.  Over the past few months we have suggested that portfolios be tilted toward large caps for this reason.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Goldman: This Is What A Sub-Par Recovery Looks Like
• Five Reasons A Sell-Off Is Coming
• Albert Edwards: Here Comes A Trade War, A Yuan Revaluation, And A Stunning Chinese Trade Deficit

Filed under: Budget, China, Hatchback, Buick, Misc. Auto Shows

Back in August, when General Motors gave the media a tour of its design studios to show off pieces of its upcoming lineup, one of the cars we saw was a compact four-door Buick sedan. That sedan was essentially a re-grilled and trunked version of the recently introduced Opel Astra, but GM did not say what badging the car would receive in North America. However, the five-door hatchback version has just debuted in China at the Guangzhou Motor Show as the newest baby Buick.

In what is Buick’s largest market, the compact is badged as the Excelle, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see that name come to the U.S. provided there aren’t any issues with the similarly named (and defunct) Hyundai Excel. The car we saw in August was identical to the Excelle shown above from the B-pillars forward. It only differs at the rear where the hatch was originally a traditional trunk.

Unlike the last Saturn Astra (and previous attempts at smaller Buicks), the inside of the new car looks much more upscale and should be more appealing to American consumers. We’ll probably only get the 181-horsepower, 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder in the Excelle in order to set it apart from the 140-hp Chevy Cruze that shares the same platform. If our version gets the 138-hp 1.8-liter at all, it will probably be paired with the automaker’s new, second-generation BAS hybrid system.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading New Buick Excelle debuts in China, sedan coming to America soon

New Buick Excelle debuts in China, sedan coming to America soon originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Copenhagen, November 30, 2009. The European Hydrogen Association, EHA, (www.h2euro.org) in collaboration with Danish Hydrogen supplier H2Logic, HyRaMP, the European 30-member Regions and Municipalities Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, the Joint Undertaking for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (JU FCH) and its Industrial Grouping, NEW IG,  is organising a Hydrogen Vehicle Parade (http://bridge2h.com) that will be crossing the scenic bridge between Malmoe and Copenhagen today. The tour will mark the coming of “commercial age” of hydrogen vehicles and their potential to significantly reduce transport emissions, next to battery electric cars and second generation biofuelled vehicles. The Parade will be concluded in the Danish Parliament where executives of the main fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen infrastructure companies will present their plans for the future moderated by EHA president Lars Sjunnesson. To read more please see below.

Mass incarceration is breaking our democracy. According to the often-cited PEW report, “One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008,” over two million people — or one in every 100 adults — is locked behind bars. In 2007 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years before. Recidivism rates continue to stay the same, with about half of released inmates returning to jail within 3 years. There is growing public demand for criminal justice reform, but change is slow. One impediment to reform is barring people with felony convictions from the polls. Another subtle, yet equally damaging, way that mass incarceration puts its thumb on the scales of democracy is through the U.S. Census.

The U.S. Census counts prisoners where their bodies are located on Census day, not where they come from and where they will return, on average, 34 months later. This remains true even though prisoners cannot vote and they remain legal residents of the places they lived prior to incarceration.

Census counts are used to apportion political power at all levels of government. When states draw districts based on the Census Bureau’s flawed counts, districts with prisons are afforded extra representation simply because the prison industry has a facility there. The practice of crediting thousands of disproportionately urban and minority men to other communities has staggering implications for modern democracy.

(more…)

China’s efforts to cool its banks may be working:

CCTV: China’s big four state-owned commercial banks have reduced new loans in November. This comes after October’s new lending dropped to the lowest level of the year.

The big four represent more than three quarters of the total assets, and 80 percent of the total savings and lendings of China’s entire banking system.

Read the whole thing >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• China Entering Winter With A Severe Natural Gas Shortage (UNG)
• China Begs Banks To Cut Back On Lending
• Chinese iPhones Don’t Say "Assembled In China" On Them (AAPL)

Beneath India’s already impressive third quarter 7.9% year over year GDP growth, is an even sharper rebound.

WSJ: The government didn’t release quarter-on-quarter figures, but according to HSBC calculations, GDP grew at a sizzling 13.9% annualized pace from the previous quarter, likely the fastest since the government started releasing GDP data every three months in 1996.

Officials from the Reserve Bank of India and the Planning Commission, the country’s top policy think tank, said they were likely to revise upward their economic growth forecasts in response to the figures, suggesting the economy’s strong performance caught the authorities off guard.

More…

Times Online: The GDP figures were the strongest since the first quarter of 2008, when the Indian economy grew by 8.6 per cent, and heightened expectations that the central bank will lift interest rates, possibly as early as January.

Hopefully they have the discipline to make the rate hike.

For some perspective, note how India’s economy doubled in size during just the last five years:

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Goldman: India Has Been A Horrible Gold Trader
• India Has Set The New Gold Floor
• India Makes $6.7 BILLION Gold Purchase From IMF

With the holiday shopping spree getting on its way, everyone even marginally involved in retail is going into overtime. This year more than ever, people are going online to avoid the crowds and long lines, but it doesn’t always mean they’ll have less of a hassle. Google is trying to make it worth their while, though, and also maybe getting them to use Google Checkout, the company’s payment system which hasn’t quite gotten as popular as Google would like. And what better way to convince them than through the ever-popular discounts.

“This holiday season, Google Checkout can help you save time and money. You can shop quickly and easily with one secure login for thousands of stores across the web. And through December 17, save with exclusive discounts of $5, $10 or $20 at hundreds of participating stores, including TigerDirect.com, BlueNile.com and Petco.com,” Anita Barci from the Google Checkout Team wrote.

The offer pretty much speaks for itself, Google has partnered with several online retailers to offer discounts on a bunch of products. The discounts aren’t exactly massive, but they can be as much as 20 percent of the listed product price in some cases and they don’t really require any effort from the customer, other than setting up a Checkout account if they don’t have on… (read more)

The new version of Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC comes into force on 29.12.2009. The new rules are relevant primarily for manufacturers of automation equipment, handling systems, integrated manufacturing systems and machine tools. The focus is on vertical moving systems (also known as Z axes) which until now were onlybraked, but not locked.

The new version of Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC comes into force on 29.12.2009.
During normal operation of the axis a pressurised pneumatic unit ensures that the locking system is open. Only upon loss of pressure, for example in case of a machine shutdown, the machinery’s pre-stressed spring takes control and locks the carriage.

GrayWolf introduces a fully revised version of its environmental instrumentation operating software, redesigned from the ground up. WolfSense® 2010, in conjunction with GrayWolf sensors, transforms Windows XP/VISTA/7 notebook PCs and Windows Mobile Pocket PCs into sophisticated air quality measurement instruments.

A greatly improved user interface makes operation of this advanced instrumentation far easier-to-use than much more basic units; and a number of new features have been added, including;

• Real-time display of trend graphs, during data-logging
• Unlimited, appended audio notes (that may later be translated into text for ultra-efficient field documentation)
• Auto-attachment, to data files, of video taken in-situ (with the mobile PC camera)
• On-board video “help” files (for example; showing how to perform a user calibration)
• Color drawing notes
• Auto-start logging that initiates trend logs at a pre-assigned time and date
• A choice of “work-flows” that hand-hold operators through specific IAQ survey strategies, allowing less experienced operators to take advantage of more advanced functions

All of this built upon GrayWolf’s extensive, existing range of features including; on-board sensor tips, application-specific educational information, snap-shot instant logs, text notes and much more

WolfSense 2010 also operates on GrayWolf’s new embedded computer instruments, such as the WolfPack® Modular Area Monitor. Available parameters include Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Carbon Dioxide, Particulates, Differential Pressure, Air Velocity, Ozone, Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide, CO, NO, NO2, SO2, %RH, Temperature and much more.

Once measurements have been trend-logged over time or spot-logged; review, analyze and report on the data and field-collected notes with the included WolfSense PC software. Optional Advanced Report Generator software automates the entire reporting process.