Author: Serkadis

PRAB’s wringers efficiently and effectively add value to your scrap while reclaiming 98 percent of valuable cutting fluids using centrifugal force. In addition, dry chips ensure compliance with EPA regulations when transporting chips for recycling. Gravity or air discharge models are available. Process rates of up to 10,000 lb/h can be achieved. Additional chip processing and filtration equipment can be integrated for a full, turnkey processing system.

PRAB
www.prab.com
[email protected]
1-800-968-7722

Picking the Best Mobile Package

If you’re looking for a mobile phone package, then the chances are you won’t know everything about getting the best deal. There are adverts, special deals, sales calls and peer recommendations to such an extent that it’s not easy to find the package that’s right for you. If you’re looking to get a good mobile phone package, then have a read of this article for some useful tips.

Getting the Right Provider
It’s all very well getting a superb deal for nothing, but it wouldn’t be worth very much if you struggle to access your network in the local area. Not all network connections are equal, so it’s a good idea to talk to friends to see if their network works well in the local area.

You should also remember that there are only five network providers; these are: 02, T-Mobile, 3, Vodafone and Orange. The rest are virtual networks that will use a main network’s infrastructure. For example, Vodafone provides the infrastructure for BT Mobile, British Gas, One-Tel and ASDA. Make sure you read the small print of your particular deal so you know which network you will be using.

Working Out Your Usage
The amount you pay per month will depend on a variety of factors, but it’s important to consider them before you search for a calling plan. You should certainly think about the following:

How many calls do you make?
Are they peak or off-peak calls?
What proportion of calls is to other mobiles?
How many texts do you use?

Pay as You Go or Contract?
With pay as you go you use electronic top up or vouchers to maintain your balance, while on a contract you pay a monthly fee.

If you’re a frequent user (over 100 texts and 150 minutes of calls per month) then it’s worth considering a contract. Not only will your phone bill be cheaper, but networks often offer free handsets to entice you. The downside is that if you go over your limit, then you could find yourself with a hefty monthly bill.

You should really weigh up both options though, as on some networks it’s possible to have pay-as-you-go packages with cheap ‘bolt on’ options that can suit you better than a contract. Visit the Vodafone website to check out their latest mobile phones.

© 2007 Freakitude dot Com.

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Rockstar Games continues to impress as they release another gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated western epic shooter, Red Dead Redemption. In the latest offering, the Grand Theft Auto developer’s gives us a sneak peak at the

The NAR reports: Existing-Home Sales Rise

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units in March from 5.01 million in February, and are 16.1 percent above the 4.61 million-unit level in March 2009.

…Total housing inventory at the end of March rose 1.5 percent to 3.58 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 8.5-month supply in February.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows existing home sales, on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis since 1993.

Sales in March 2010 (5.35 million SAAR) were 6.8% higher than last month, and were 16.1% higher than March 2009 (4.61 million SAAR).

Sales surged last November when many first-time homebuyers rushed to beat the initial expiration of the tax credit. There will probably be another increase in May and June this year, although that will be probably be smaller than the November increase. Note: existing home sales are counted at closing, so even though contracts must be signed in April to qualify for the tax credit, buyers have until June 30th to close.

The second graph shows nationwide inventory for existing homes.

According to the NAR, inventory increased to 3.58 million in March from 3.53 million in February. The all time record high was 4.57 million homes for sale in July 2008.

Inventory is not seasonally adjusted and there is a clear seasonal pattern – inventory should increase further in the spring. This was the 20th consecutive month of reported year-over-year decline in inventory, but the decline was only 1.8% from March 2009.

The last graph shows the ‘months of supply’ metric.

Months of supply decreased to 8.0 months in March.

A normal market has under 6 months of supply, so this is high – and probably excludes some substantial shadow inventory.

Earlier the NAR released the existing home sales data for March; here are a couple more graphs …

The first graph shows the year-over-year change in reported existing home inventory and months-of-supply.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

There was a rapid increase in inventory in the 2nd half of 2005 (that helped me call the peak of the bubble). Then the increase in inventory steadily slowed.

The YoY inventory has been decreasing for the last 20 months. However the YoY decline is getting smaller – only 1.8% in March.

This slow decline in the inventory is especially concerning with the large reported inventory and 8.0 months of supply in March – well above normal. Of course months of supply will decline over the next few months because of the increase in sales due to the tax credit, but this will be something to watch this summer and later this year.

The second graph shows NSA monthly existing home sales for 2005 through 2010 (see Red columns for 2010).

Sales (NSA) in March 2010 were 19.6% higher than in March 2009, and also higher than in March 2008.

We will probably see an increase in sales in May and June – perhaps to the levels of 2006 or 2007 – because of the tax credit, however I expect to see existing home sales below last year in the 2nd half of this year.

 

---

This post is reprinted from Calculated Risk, a leading finance and economics blog.

 

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NEWS RELEASE
April 22, 2010                                                             Contact: Frank Murray, 542-4835

Some 70 participants from the state’s community and technical colleges will assemble at Columbia Basin College this weekend for the annual SkillsUSA state conference.

The conference features competitions in both leadership and skills in vocational areas of study. Winners and high placers will advance to the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Missouri in June.

The competition gets underway with a welcome at Gjerde Center at 8 a.m. Following the welcome, students will divide into breakout sessions to discuss various topics. The leadership competition begins at noon.

Competitions will be held in prepared speech, extemporaneous speaking, job interview, customer service, and job demonstration. The Skills competition will be held all day Saturday at CBC in Pasco and Tri-Tech in Kennewick in automotive, machine technology, nursing, and welding.

Depois das primeiras imagens extra-oficiais da provável versão aventureira Way do novo Fiat Uno 2011 serem divulgadas pela internet, a Fiat enfim divulgou oficialmente as primeiras imagens da versão normal do hatch, além de novas informações referentes as versões e motorizações disponiveis para o modelo.

A companhia italiana confirmou a nova gama de motores Fire Evo Flex de 1.0 e 1.4 litros que de acordo com a companhia, vem acompanhados das últimas tecnologias e consequentemente trabalhando de forma mais eficiente, apresentando reduzidos niveis de consumo e de emissão de poluentes.

Além disso, o Uno Vivace 1.0 Flex, Uno Way 1.0 Flex, Uno Attractive 1.4 Flex e Uno Way 1.4 Flex será ofereceido nas versões Uno Vivace 1.0 Flex, Uno Way 1.0 Flex, Uno Attractive 1.4 Flex e Uno Way 1.4 Flex todas com a carroceria de quatro portas. No entanto as informações no momento param por ai e o grande mistério que é seu preço, ainda não foi revelado dessa vez.

Novo Fiat Uno 2011

Fonte: CarPlace

As expected, a number of former Infinity Ward employees who recently resigned in their respected position has now teamed up with their former bosses, Vince Zampella and Jason West, over at the newly formed Respawn Entertainment.
 

What a wild day in day in euro-ville. Greece continues to spiral, and once Europe went to bed, the euro took another huge gap down.

Check out the chart.

From FinViz.com:

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Everyone’s gearing up to go full throttle now as we near this year’s big E3 event. Ubisoft’s setting up the stage for their presentation, and they want you to be there.
 
 
 
 

Fiat sources said yesterday at the company’s 5-year business plan presentation that Fiat Group will assemble two Chrysler brand models in Italy. The two models include the next-generation Sebring sedan. Under the plan, Fiat and Chrysler will produce more vehicles for each other to take advantage of purchasing and other operations for maximum efficiencies of scale.

In 2013, Fiat will build a mid-size sedan in Turin “that will be primarily produced and distributed for Chrysler in the U.S.,” Marchionne said. Sources said that the model will be the next Sebring.

A year before that, Fiat will build a new compact sedan in Italy that will be distributed in North America under the Chrysler brand.

Alfa Romeo is also planning a rear-wheel-drive roadster for 2013 that could be build in Canada or Italy. In the United States, Chrysler will build two Alfa Romeo SUVs – a compact SUV in 2012 and a larger model in 2014.

Chrysler could also export a Fiat-built subcompact in 2013 for both Chrysler and Dodge.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 4.22.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai Motor Co., announced today that its quarterly profits jumped fivefold after a steady economic recovery and new models spurring demand. Hyundai said that net income rose 1.13 trillion won ($1 billion USD) in three months that ended March 31, up from 225 billion won a year earlier.

Hyundai said that the new redesigned Sonata sedan and Tucson SUV brought in buyers, helping raise first-quarter vehicle sales by 26 percent from a year earlier to a total of 825,100 units.

Click here to get prices on the 2011 Hyundai Sonata.

The South Korean automaker also benefited as strong yen that hurt Toyota and Honda in export markets.

“With a better product portfolio and worldwide recovery in auto demand, Hyundai should continue its earnings and market share expansion,” said Heo Pil Seok, CEO at Midas Asset Management Co. “Its brand and quality is steadily improving, narrowing the gap with leaders like Toyota.”

2011 Hyundai Sonata:

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Ok guys, it’s time once again for your weekly dose of PlayStation Store goodness. This week’s lineup includes a new MLB.TV application that allows subscribers to watch regular season baseball games in live HD with tons of

RTM can carry out work on prototypes, pre-production samples and production batches, even when several stages are involved, and acts as a key partner for clients who operate in the most varied manufacturing fields and wish to exploit the possible applications of laser technology where it involves: welding, surface treatments, micromachining.
Our skills, technical abilities, facilities (with several workstations available) and a wide range of sources to choose from allow us to apply laser technology to every type of metallic, non-metallic, ceramic, composite and plastic material, right up to the new generation of materials developed.

A nifty new facility on the FLIR website enables users to evaluate infrared images online. So even without dedicated camera software, visitors can upload an image for analysis. It’s intuitive, easy-to-use and absolutely free.

The FLIR WebViewer also allows measurement tools to be created, moved and deleted. Users can change colour palettes, access details of camera properties and choose the most appropriate temperature measurement scale.

Adjusted images can then be saved to the pc for attachment to an email or incorporation into a report. The online tool provides five image examples with which the user can experiment – a volcano, heating pipes, a power line, a row of parked cars and a building interior.

A direct link to FLIR WebViewer is on the home page at www.flir.com/thg

Get more money for your metal scrap by increasing its bulk density. Efficiently reduce turnings – including difficult-to-handle nested wads – to flowable chips with PRAB’s broad line of metal turnings shredders. Housekeeping maintenance and worker safety is also enhanced with automated handling of turnings. PRAB offers a complete line of turnkey chip and fluid management solutions to further process material for increased value, environmental compliance, fluid recovery and more. Comes with PRAB’s exclusive Performantee™, a true performance guarantee.

PRAB
800-968-7722
[email protected]
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Eriez® introduces the revolutionary ProSort II Airless Metal Recovery System. “The ProSort II includes all of the advanced features of the original ProSort, but with twice as many sensors per paddle. The new inverted paddle design means better detection of both larger and smaller metallics–even some wire!” said Mike Shattuck, Eriez Project Manager—Heavy Industries.

ProSort II Airless Metal Recovery System helps reduce landfill waste, re-use metals and save energy. It is designed for the most efficient and economical processing of shredded automobiles, co-mingled recyclables, electronic scrap, glass cullet, foundry sand as well as many other resource recovery operations.

ProSort II Airless Metal Recovery System uses high sensitivity metal sensors aligned with low energy electromagnetically driven paddles to separate valuable metals from waste material. “With twice as many sensors per paddle than the original ProSort, the detection capability of ProSort II is unsurpassed,” said Shattuck.

ProSort II Airless Metal Recovery System uses a traditional conveyor belt and sensors to detect metals, then, instead of costly air reject systems, cost-effective two-inch “electromagnetic motorized paddles” reject material. These paddles are positioned side-by-side in a bank as wide as the belt, so when the sensors detect metal on the belt, the control circuit energizes the appropriate paddle at the moment the metal passes below/under, diverting from the product stream. This system recovers the majority of nonferrous and stainless steel from the waste stream.

The motorized paddle is adjustable: up and down, forward and backward and angle up and angle down to maximize separation efficiency. The ProSort II comes in a modular design in units up to 90 inches wide. By replacing expensive air compressor plants, valves and airlines with energy-efficient electromagnetic drives, the ProSort II requires less than 25 percent of the electricity needed to operate a comparably sized air-powered sorter.

“The energy-efficient, waste-reducing ProSort II Airless Metal Recovery System is just one of our many innovative ‘green’ products,” says Tim Shuttleworth, President and CEO. “Eriez has become a market leader in the growing recycling industry as we strive to reduce the amount of waste heading to landfills, while providing profit for our customers.”

For more information about ProSort II, contact Eriez.

This new gun will handle the toughest spray jobs in all industrial markets whilst providing the best fit, feel and the comfort operators demand.

He has standard flat tip AND Twist tip cleaner available with a wide range of tips from .007” (0.18mm) to .035” (0.89mm)
He is easy to remove “in-line” needle assembly for quick maintenance
Solid forged gun body for maximum durability and longer life

The spray gun is available with either HVLP or Trans-Tech© air caps operating at lower fluid and air pressures than competitors to achieve an exceptionally fine finish with superior paint savings and lower energy consumption.

This very versatile hand gun is ideal for spraying wooden products, furniture, heavy plant, commercial vehicle chassis, agricultural machinery, aircraft etc. Operator fatigue and the risk of RSi are considerably reduced due to the light weight, light trigger pull and gun styling.

As we announced a few months ago, we will be starting a new feature aimed at reviewing visualization tools. This ongoing feature will hopefully shed light on these tools and if they might fit into your workflow. In the meantime, please feel free to give your opinion on this new reviewing feature in the comments section below. Should we change any of the criteria? Are there any inaccuracies? What did we miss?

We are continuing the three-part series of online visualization tools. We started last week with a review of Swivel, and now we’re moving on to the heavy hitter, IBM backed tool, Many Eyes. Started in 2005 by dataviz pioneers Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viégas, Many Eyes was the synthesis of their independent visualization efforts with the additional element of public participation and sharing.

We chose the evaluation criteria based on user comments from our previous posts. Additionally, Benjamin (who reviewed Swivel), Patrick, and I collaborated on refining the list and adding features we thought were compelling. We also included a list of supported charts at the end of the post.

Many Eyes was an early entrant into the online dataviz arena. Built and run by researchers at IBM’s Visual Communication Lab, this tool appears to be more of a public service than a commercial product. Patrick Keenan of The Movement completed this review.

CRITERIA
Cost	Free for use
Free Version available	Yes
Ease of Use	Easy
Embeddable (into a web page)	Image & Live Visualization
Shareable	Yes
Comments / Discussion	Yes
Private workgroup	No
Plugin Required	Java or Flash depending on type of visualization
Software Required	None
Export Formats	PNG
Data Storage	5MB per chart
Maturity (age of software)	5 years
Customer Service	There is an active community of visualizers and data nuts. Also, in the FAQ the team at Many Eyes seems very receptive to feedback and partnerships. Since this is not a commercial endeavour, there is no dedicated customer service channel.
Data Import Formats:
Oracle	No
SQL Server	No
Sybase	No
DB2	No
PostgreSQL	No
mySQL	No
Excel	Yes
Text	Yes
other	Anything that you can copy and paste. Many Eyes has a neat input box, essentially you paste into it and you are shown a preview. Its worked for HTML tables, Google docs, and Excel.
COMMENTS
Other features	Topic Centres. Much like a site of their own, these centres allow people to gather and talk about anything from a recent election to the financial crisis to climate change. Data sets can be collects as well as visualizations of those sets. Live & Static Embeds. I’m sure that this feature came out of the lagging java reality. Instead of embedding a java applet into your blog, many eyes will generate a nice small PNG for your convenience. Snapshot Commenting. As previously mentioned, Many Eyes generates PNGs, and not just a thumbnail. Their system actually allows individual snapshots of different states of the visualization. This means that if you narrow down to a specific week, add a filter, then highlight a specific point, all this will be included in your full size snapshot image. Bonus: If you comment on a visualization, it will add that state into the comments field. Forget dressing up for a personal photoshoot to develop your very best avatar shot, the data will speak for itself. Your comments are directly associated with the way you have manipulated the visualization. Watch-lists. These are much like Ebay, but eternal. You can stay updated on your favourite visualization, or make sure you get the last word in on a debate about inflation adjustments. Rating System for Data & Visualizations. Ratings go down as well as up. This is an all in one flagging / liking system. This means if you see some data which is inaccurate, or you just plan don’t like someone’s numbers, you can give them a thumbs down. Also, the best rated visualizations and sets are promoted for all to see. You can’t have a community without some social currency, and I’m sure there’s people out there counting their points.
Pros	Responsiveness: When loaded the Java applets provide quick zooming, highlighting, filtering, and comparison. Community Spirit: The team is ready to adapt the platform to how the users are acting. They have adapted some sharing aspects, and its clearly on a Darwinian journey.
Cons	CPU drain: The site crashed my browser several times. The embeddable static PNG format likely arose from the fact Java applets are memory beasts. Data vs Viz: Editing data is a separate screen from the visualization, and its tough to make the visualization fit without re-structuring the format. No iPhone/iPad, No Chrome.
Review	Many Eyes is among the three sites up for review, and likely the older of the bunch. Though it has been around for longer, its most attractive characteristic is its unfinished state. At first glance the site looks like a mashup between a 90s style portal, and a blog with too many widgets, but don not look away just yet! From sharing, to discussions, to visualization types, Many Eyes excels at the one thing it was designed for: a community of observers interested in visual data anomalies. The features that, at times, seems cobbled together, are really a representation of how the Many Eyes team works. That is, see how people are using data to converse, then provide tools for them to do it better. In the interest of full disclosure, I have never liked Java and have always fought against the use of it on the web. I also use Chrome on a Mac, and recently an iPad, so this review has forced me back into Firefox and Safari on my MacBook. Even in a proper browser the Java applets are slow-loading and cpu-eating, though quick to react with a good processor. Clearly the site is not as customer centred as Swivel, there is no pricing plan, everything is free. This can be seen even in the login form. Though a password great than 6 characters is required, the notification is simply “you’ve missed some fields”. Now we have got the bad news out of the way, let’s see why this platform is a fan favourite. Keeping in mind the purpose of Many Eyes is to “allow the entire internet to upload data, visualize it, and talk about their discoveries with other people” we’ll look at the features which allow this type of dialogue. Many Eyes has the one thing that keeps a product fresh: an active user base. Though the appearance is lacking, and its not as sexy as most full fledged data apps, its kind of quaint. I am sure many of the features above grew out of a community need, and it will be interesting to see what new features will be adopted. No Java and no Flash on the iPad/iPhone make me excited about the possibility of a true HTML solution for visualization. The Many Eyes FAQ states they are open to submission of new visualization types, and their general attitude alludes to the possibility their up for much more… As long as you are talking to the data.
For the Purists	Colour scales make sense. Oriented around useful comparison. Clear outlined purpose for each chart: See relationships among data points, Compare a set of values, Track rises and falls over time, See the parts of a whole, Analyze a text, See the world.
For the Aestheticians	Pretty horrid site palette, but the charting colours are much nicer. All in all seems like an experiment in progress, but without a graphic designer at the helm. Much of the functionality seems mashed together, but this would show that its a project in process, and it is born out of listening to a user base, so the features are likely requested. Despite the site design, the charts are often displays Tufte would be proud of (or at least not rip to pieces).
Reviewer(s)	Patrick Keenan
Date reviewed	3/17/2010

Public visualizations at Many Eyes (click to enlarge).

Treemap and live data editing (click to enlarge).

Next week, we will review Tableau Public. Stay tuned and please let us know your interests and ideas in the comments below!

Patrick Keenan is a founding parter at The Movement as design studio focused on amplifying social value work. Visualization is key in understanding the complexities of social change, and something Patrick pursues with deep enthusiasm.

Kim Rees is a partner at Periscopic, a socially-conscious Information Visualization firm specializing in helping nonprofit organizations and like-minded companies convey important messages and elevate public awareness.

Filed under: Car Buying, Jaguar

As gorgeous and capable as the new Jaguar XK, XF and XJ might be, some people in the market for a luxury sedan or GT still have a dated notion of Jaguars as service nightmares. Talk to folks from the Big Three and they’ll tell you in no uncertain terms that fighting persistent jokes and decades-old impressions is, well, difficult. Those old impressions can linger in the mind of buyers well beyond their validity, crimping sales and blocking exposure to some very tasty products. One way to counteract that image problem is to design a better product, build it carefully and correctly, start gaining a reputation for reliability and wait for the hordes to push down your dealership doors. Another way to do it is to offer free maintenance to jump-start the process.

Jaguar North America is using the latter approach, launching a free scheduled maintenance program for all of its 2011 models. According to Automotive News, the new five-year/50,000 mile plan will be called Jaguar Platinum Coverage, and will provide free scheduled maintenance, along with 24/7 roadside assistance. Jaguar has tried a similar approach in the past, but this new plan even goes so far as to comp oil changes, filters, brake pads, brake discs, brake fluids, and wiper blade inserts. The old program was last applied to 2006 models while Ford was still calling the shots. Jag’s new owners, Tata Motors, are anxious to kick off the new XJ launch with a bang, hoping to show shoppers that this isn’t your wealthy uncle’s Jaguar. The program will be in effect when the XJ sedan goes on sale in May and will also apply to the 2011 XF sedan and XK coupe when they reach dealerships in June.

[Source: Automotive News]

Jaguar hoping to assure with free maintenance program on 2011 Models originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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