Author: Serkadis

High Moon Studios has released a new gameplay trailer for Transformers: War for Cybertron and it is looking suitably awesome. Check out some epic-looking boss fights and badass run/drive-and-gun action in the trailer after the jump.

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Infiniti, First Drive, Luxury

What is an Infiniti? That’s a pretty harsh question to be asking 20 years after the brand’s debut, but sadly, it’s pertinent. To be fair, the possible answers to this question got much narrower in 2003 when Infiniti introduced a legitimate BMW 3 Series competitor, the G35 (now G37). The situation further clarified that same year when the “Bionic Cheetah,” known to the rest of us as the FX showed its (then) quite handsome face. But it was the 2005 introduction of the second generation M sedan that announced most loudly Infiniti’s luxury-performance aspirations: to kick BMW in the back of the pants.

When it debuted, the M (specifically M45S) was a better sporting sedan than the BMW 545i. It had more power, it arguably handled better, and the heavily larded-on high-tech gizmos were worlds more user-friendly than BMW’s first-generation iDrive (two minutes to tune in a radio station sucks). Only problem was father time, who simply wasn’t kind to the ultimately frumpy looking M. While the rest of the world’s sporting, mid-size sedans evolved into better, sharper, faster machines (see the astonishingly good Mercedes-Benz E-Class), the Infiniti M languished on the vine. A good car? Yes, for sure, but by its less-than-notable refresh in 2008, the M had became an also-ran. All it really had going for it was a lower price than the competition, which isn’t exactly a strong selling point in such a cachet-conscious segment.

Recently, Infiniti invited the U.S. motoring press down to mostly-sunny San Diego to meet and drive its new 2011 M cars. Lo and behold, we think we may now know what an Infiniti is.

Photos by Jonny Lieberman / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Infiniti M37S and M56S answer many questions

First Drive: 2011 Infiniti M37S and M56S answer many questions originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s not a particularly great time to be in the music business. Actually, it’s not a particularly safe time to be in the music business. Music labels are in terrible shape and online services centered around music have a hard time surviving, let alone becoming profitable. It’s easy to see why the old media is afraid of change and why it sometimes makes some rathe… (read more)

In his latest Breakfast With Dave letter, David Rosenberg does some back-of-the-napkin math to show why a mere re-acceleration of the economy won’t be enough to save us from a deficit calamity:

I get asked all the time why anyone should get nervous over the fiscal backdrop
since so much of the deficit is due to faltering government revenues.  Well, here is
the answer.  If revenues had not declined as a share of GDP, as it usually does in a
recession as lower employment, wages and sales drag down tax receipts, then the
deficit would be $1.1 trillion today, not $1.5 trillion.  Hopefully that makes you feel
better, but it shouldn’t because what this means is that even if the economy
comes back to the point where revenues re-accelerate, we would still be left with a
deficit of 7-8% of GDP.  We need a budget gap of half that size at most to prevent
the U.S. public debt-to-GDP ratio from maintaining its upward trajectory.  

The fiscal challenge is one of dramatic overspending by the federal government
— not just spending, which is normal to combat a recession, but the degree and
the lack of effectiveness since cash-for-clunkers, Social Security bump-ups,
bailouts and housing goodies provide a short-term sugar-high but do not have
very powerful multiplier impacts and do little to encourage investment and
productivity growth.  So, when we do the math a little differently and assume
that the government had held its spending-to-GDP ratio constant during this
recession, then the deficit would be $650 billion today (due to the recession
effect on the revenue base and the effects from whatever tax relief has come
our way over the last two years).  

Federal government spending now represents over 24% of GDP.  Let’s put that
into some context.  Scouring eight decades of data, outside of World War II,
government spending has never been so high in relation to the size of the
economy.  During the roll-out of the LBJ ‘Great Society’ experiment, this share
approached but never exceeded 20%.  During the peak of military spending
during the Vietnam and Korean wars, this ratio rarely touched the 20% mark.  In
fact, go back to the Great Depression and the seven years of massive New Deal
stimulus and incursion by FDR, and the spending to GDP ratio peaked at just
over 10% — less than half of where it is today.  (Ditto for the deficit-to-GDP ratio,
which never exceeded 6% as a share of GDP back in the 1930s; FDR was a
downright conservative next to what we have on our hands today)! 

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Niall Ferguson’s Deficit Warnings For The US Are Nothing But Excessive Hysteria
• The ‘Budget Deficit Crisis’ Is A Myth, And It’s Getting In The Way Of Obvious Reform
• Stop Freaking Out About The Deficit — It’s Just More Republican Scaremongering

Tomorrow at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Audi will hold the world debut of the 2011 Audi RS5. We now have a bunch of new images from Audi of the new RS5 for you to drool over.

Sales of the Audi RS5 will begin this spring in Europe with prices starting at approximately 77,700 euros ($104,633 USD). No info has been provided regarding U.S. availability.

Click here for pricing on the 2010 Audi A5.

Hit the jump for the updated high-res image gallery.

Refresher: Power for the 2011 Audi RS5 comes from a 4.2L naturally aspirated V8 making 450-hp and a maximum torque of 317 lb-ft. Mated to a standard 7-speed S tronic, the 2011 RS5 goes from 0-62 mph in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph (electronically governed).

2011 Audi RS5:

– By: Omar Rana

By John F. Terzano

Concerns about the validity of forensic evidence have come to the fore in recent years following a series of wrongful convictions and other scandals across the country. The National Academies of Science (NAS) identified a number of systemic flaws that demand attention in their 2009 report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. Yet today, hardly any states have laws providing meaningful oversight of the forensic laboratories that analyze crucial evidence upon which many criminal cases depend.

In California, this lack of lab oversight was highlighted when San Diego County sheriff’s deputies began questioning test results. The errors they found eventually led to a review of hundreds of toxicology tests done by a private lab. A total of eleven people were released from jail, and at least seven of them saw their criminal cases dismissed. Mistakes such as these threaten to seriously undermine confidence in the criminal justice system.

A report released in late 2009 by the California Crime Lab Review Task Force, An Examination of Forensic Science in California, made some recommendations for improvements. For example, The Task Force highlighted the importance of requiring accreditation of forensic labs, as well as the need for forensic analysts to be certified by relevant professional organizations. The perennial need for additional funding was also emphasized. By mandating both employee certification and lab accreditation and by increasing funding, the state will improve forensic practice in the state. But the integrity of forensic evidence is too important to outsource oversight and quality standards entirely to professional trade organizations. Accreditation and professional certification are important first steps, but the responsibility for setting and ensuring quality standards, objectivity and independence ultimately resides with the state itself. A full solution will need to include more structural reform.

One of these crucial steps is the creation of an independent oversight commission, staffed and funded to more closely supervise the work of forensic labs. This type of commission could set statewide quality standards that could build on the baseline afforded by professional associations, and could provide more rigorous, ongoing oversight to ensure that labs actually operate in a way that is consistent with the standards that exist on paper. Shifting forensic labs out from under the control of law enforcement agencies would address the subtle biases that can emerge when forensic workers see themselves on the law enforcement “team” instead of dispassionate and objective scientists. These safeguards and others are outlined in The Justice Project’s policy review Improving the Practices and Use of Forensic Science, and will help to ensure the objectivity and reliability of forensic testing and analysis.

Reliable forensic science is vital, and by making sure that the evidence is objective and valid, we will have a more efficient criminal justice system. Fixing these problems on the front end will reduce the chances that the state will have to spend more money and resources to correct the mistakes and injustices caused by forensic errors. At a time when California, along with the rest of the nation, is dealing with financial restraints, it is all the more imperative that legislators in all states make these improvements a priority. Forensic science can be a powerful tool, and meaningful structural reform is the only way to ensure that the best science is used in our courts.

DeviceWire has announced the impeding availability of the HTC HD mini.  This Windows Mobile 6.5.3 smartphone features a 3.2 inch HVGA capacitive screen and version 2.5 of HTC Sense.

First shown off at Mobile World Congress, the handset will cost £280.81 without VAT and £329.95 with. This is one of the lowest prices HTC ever charged for a handset on introduction.

The smartphone is expected to become available on April 12th and can be pre-ordered at DeviceWire.com here.

See our video hands-on from Mobile World Congress here.

Via Coolsmartphone.com

Filed under: Geneva Motor Show, Technology, Ford

Ford is expanding its EcoBoost engine strategy to Europe this summer with the introduction of 2.0-liter and 1.6-liter inline-four cylinder engines. The EcoBoost range of turbocharged and direct injected gasoline engines debuted last summer here in North America with the launch of the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 in the Ford Taurus SHO, Flex and Lincoln MKS and MKT.

Ford will debut refreshed versions of its S-Max and Galaxy minivans this summer, both of which will use the 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine that will also be available in the updated Edge later this year. In the European van applications, the 2.0-liter will be rated at 200 horsepower, which is on the low end for an engine of this type and displacement. Power numbers for the four-cylinder turbo in U.S. applications haven’t yet been announced but will likely be in the 230-240 hp range to match the current 3.0-liter V6 used in the Fusion and Escape.

The smaller C-Max and Grand C-Max will be the first vehicles to use a 1.6-liter EcoBoost when they go on sale in the fall. The 1.6-liter will be offered in two power levels, 148 hp and 177 hp. For now Ford is only committing to installing the 1.6-liter in the two MPV variants. However, when we got our first preview of the Focus models that debuted in Detroit, Ford officials acknowledged that an EcoBoost-powered Focus would eventually join the 2.0-liter normally aspirated engine in North America.

American enthusiasts hoping for a chance to buy Ford’s raucous 300-hp Focus RS that launched in Europe last year won’t be getting that particular car. However, Ford is confirming this week at the Geneva Motor Show that a global performance car based on the new Focus is definitely coming with EcoBoost power. When the Explorer America Concept was unveiled in Detroit two years ago, Ford also talked about a 275-hp 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, which would certainly be plenty in the Focus, especially if it stays front-wheel drive.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Euro-Fords first to get four-cylinder EcoBoost this summer

Euro-Fords first to get four-cylinder EcoBoost this summer originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Wagon, Geneva Motor Show, Ford

With the debut of the 2012 Focus Wagon at the Geneva Motor Show, Ford has reached the halfway point in the roll-out of its new C-segment platform. When Ford first announced the new C-Max and Grand C-Max at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall, it said the C platform would eventually spawn at least 10 different variants. The two MPVs were joined by the four- and five-door Focus at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The new station wagon is number five and we expect it to be joined by a three-door hatch and coupe-convertible in the coming months. Ford also revealed that a small SUV will join the C-segment lineup soon.

While the new wagon will likely be a popular configuration on the continent, there are currently no plans to make the estate available in North America. Frank Davis, executive director of North American product programs at Ford, told Autoblog that when a wagon was last offered as part of the U.S. Focus lineup, the market share never got over 14 percent and only hit four percent in the final year of availability.

Davis wouldn’t rule out offering a wagon in the U.S. at some point if it were justified by market demand. Since Ford will be using common manufacturing processes for the new Focus globally and the lines are flexible, it would not be difficult to add production at the Michigan Assembly Plant where the North American Focus will be built. Davis emphasized that over 80 percent of the parts on the new Focus are common globally, considerably more than the 60 percent commonality on the new Fiesta.

Design-wise the new Focus wagon differs little from the sedan and five-door hatch. It is identical back to the B-pillars with only the extended roof-line and cargo area setting it apart. Ford has integrated the cargo rails into the roof in order to maintain the sleek looks of the latest iteration of its Kinetic design.

Inside the wagon gets the same up-scale interior shown in the sedan and hatch including the first European availability of the new MyFord Touch system as part of the latest generation of Sync technology. Unlike here in the U.S. where we will initially get only one 2.0-liter engine, Europeans will get a range of updated gas and diesel engines to choose from. Production of the Focus starts simultaneously late this year in Europe and the U.S.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading 2012 Ford Focus Wagon to be shown in Geneva

2012 Ford Focus Wagon to be shown in Geneva originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ketika seseorang mendapatkan obat dari apotik berdasarkan resep dokter, seakan-akan menggunakannya nampak mudah. Namun bukan tidak mungkin penderita menjadi kebingungan sesampainya di rumah. Terlebih jika yang mengambil obat bukan penderita, sehingga informasi yang diberikan oleh petugas apotik kepada pengambil obat (keluarga atau orang lain) tidak diterima secara utuh oleh penderita.  Hal yang sama dapat terjadi juga pada penderita anak-anak manakala yang mengambil obat bukan orang tuanya sendiri. Boleh jadi informasi yang diterima orang tua si anak tidak lengkap sebagaimana penjelasan dari petugas apotik.

Apapun bentuk obat yang diberikan dokter, seyogyanya para pasien (keluarganya) memperhatikan dan memahami tata cara penggunaan obat sebelum menggunakannya. Untuk itu, tak ada salahnya kita simak garis-garis besar Tips Menggunakan Obat sebagai berikut:

• Pastikan obat yang akan digunakan sudah tepat. Cek ulang aturan pakai pada etiket, diantaranya: (a) berapa kali sehari, (b) pada obat minum, diminum sebelum atau sesudah makan, (c) fungsi obat, (d) pada obat tetes, berapa tetes sekali pakai dan berapa kali sehari, dll. Selanjutnya, ikuti penggunaan obat sesuai anjuran.
• Hindari merubah cara minum obat tanpa persetujuan dokter. Seandainya dianjurkan minum sekali sehari, jangan diminum 2 kali dengan dosis terbagi.  Demikian pula jika seandainya pada etiket tertulis 4 kali sehari, jangan diminum 2 kali 2 sehari. Hal ini dikarenakan efek farmakokinetiknya akan berbeda.
• Jangan menambah dosis obat maupun frekuensi minum obat dengan harapan agar cepat sembuh.
• Jika merasa ragu-ragu dalam memahami cara penggunaan obat, hendaknya bertanya kepada dokter atau apoteker.
• Jangan memberikan resep obat kepada orang lain walaupun memiliki keluhan yang sama. Hal ini dikarenakan pertimbangan dokter dalam pemilihan jenis obat, dosis, frekuensi, lamanya penggunaan dan kombinasi obat bersifat individual. Selain itu, perlu dipahami bahwa setiap orang memiliki reaksi yang berbeda terhadap obat.
• Hindari minum minuman beralkohol selama minum obat agar tidak terjadi efek yang tidak diinginkan.
• Pastikan anda memberitahu dokter jika sedang hamil (atau sedang menyusui) agar diberikan obat yang aman.
• Dalam hal minum antibiotika, hendaknya dihabiskan meski merasa sudah sembuh. Ini dimaksudkan agar kuman benar-benar terbasmi dan tidak menimbulkan infeksi ulang.
• Katakan kepada dokter andaikata anda sedang minum obat lain, agar terhindar dari efek interaksi yang tidak diinginkan.
• Tanyakan kepada dokter apakah ada obat yang menimbulkan efek mengantuk, terutama jika dalam aktifitas keseharian memerlukan konsentrasi tinggi seperti mengemudi atau mengajar. Hal ini penting agar penggunaan obat sedapat mungkin tidak mengganggu aktifitas sehari-hari.
• Pastikan mengembalikan obat ke dalam klip plastik setelah menggunakan obat agar tidak keliru dosis dan cara penggunaannya. Untuk obat berbentuk sirup, kocok dahulu sebelum digunakan (terutama sirup berbentuk suspensi yang kental agar merata), segera tutup kembali agar tidak tercemar dan obat tetap stabil.
• Hendaknya menyimpan obat pada suhu kamar, bukan di kulkas, kecuali untuk obat berbentuk supposutoria.
• Pastikan obat tersimpan aman dari jangkauan anak-anak dan binatang peliharaan.
• Jangan gunakan obat yang sudah kadaluwarsa.
• Jika memiliki riwayat alergi obat, sampaikan kepada dokter sebelum dokter meresepkan obat.
• Segera hubungi dokter jika merasakan keluhan semakin berat setelah menggunakan obat. Begitu juga jika timbul keluhan lambung setelah menggunakan obat minum.
• Jika mengalami alergi setelah menggunakan obat, misalnya: gatal-gatal, timbul ruam kulit, pembengkakan bibir, sesak nafas, hendaknya kembali ke dokter yang sama sambil menunjukkan obat dan reaksi alergi yang ditimbulkannya. Jangan lupa untuk meminta catatan alergi obat kepada dokter. Catatan tersebut hendaknya ditunjukkan ke dokter manapun ketika suatu saat berobat agar tidak diberi obat dengan kandungan yang sama.

Akhirnya, penggunaan obat hendaknya selalu mengikuti anjuran dokter dan penjelasan apoteker agar tercapai pengobatan yang optimal dan bermanfaat untuk perawatan penyakit.

Semoga bermanfaat.

:: :: :: posting menggunakan WLW :: :: ::

Filed under: Artikel, Gaya Hidup, Health, Informasi, Kedokteran, Kesehatan, Tips Tagged: Apotik, Dokter, Obat, Tips

“We are confronting an emergency without parallel in Chile’s history,” Bachelet declared Sunday, a day after the magnitude-8.8 quake — one of the biggest in centuries — killed at least 708 people and destroyed or badly damaged 500,000 homes. Bachelet said “a growing number” of people were recorded as missing.

The governor of the Concepcion region, Jaime Toha, said troops and police arrested 55 people overnight for violating a curfew imposed to halt looting.

Some coastal towns just to the north of Concepcion were almost obliterated, first shaken by the quake, then slammed by a tsunami that lifted whole houses and carried them inland and that reduced others to piles of sticks.

In Concepcion itself, firefighters were seeking survivors in a toppled apartment building, a day after they had to pause because of tear gas fired at looters who wheeled away everything from microwave ovens to canned milk at a damaged supermarket across the street.

Ingenious looters used long tubes of bamboo and plastic to siphon gasoline from underground tanks at a closed gasoline station.

Eduardo Aundez, a Spanish professor, watched with disgust as a soldier patiently waited for looters to rummage through a downtown store, then lobbed two tear gas canisters into the rubble to get them out.

“I feel abandoned” by authorities, he said. “We believe the government didn’t take the necessary measures in time, and now supplies of food and water are going to be much more complicated.”

Looters even carted off pieces of a copper statue of South American independence fighter Bernardo O’Higgins next to a justice building.

Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that turned more buildings into rubble — and forced thousands to set up tents in parks and grassy highway medians.

“If you’re inside your house, the furniture moves,” said Monica Aviles, pulling a shawl around her shoulders to ward off the cold as she sat next to a fire across the street from her apartment building.

As if to punctuate her fear, an aftershock set off shuddering and groaning sounds for blocks around.

“That’s why we’re here,” she said.

In another part of the city, eight Peruvian families shared a four-story building — the bravest living inside the cracked building, the others in tents out front.

“We’ve received help from the neighbors, from passing taxis and from other people who have offered us a coat or something to eat,” said Samantha Fernandez, who offered space to boyfriend Jose Luis Jacinto after he fled his room during after the quake.

Bachelet signed a decree giving the military control over security in the provinces of Concepcion and Maule and announced a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for all non-emergency workers.

She ordered troops to help deliver food, water and blankets and clear rubble from roads, and she urged power companies to restore service first to hospitals, health clinics and shelters. Field hospitals were planned for hard-hit Concepcion, Talca and Curico.

Bachelet also ordered authorities to quickly identify the dead and return them to their families to ensure “the dignified burials that they deserve.”

Bachelet, who leaves office March 11, said Chile needs field hospitals and temporary bridges, water purification plants and damage assessment experts — as well as rescuers to help relieve exhausted workers.

Defense Minister Francisco Vidal acknowledged the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning after the quake hit before dawn Saturday. Port captains in several coastal towns did, saving what Vidal called hundreds of lives. Thirty minutes passed between the quake and a wave that inundated coastal towns.

The quake damaged houses, bridges and highways in Santiago, the capital, though a few flights managed to land at the airport and subway service resumed. Concepcion’s airport remained closed to commercial traffic.

Rescuers searched for an estimated 60 people trapped inside a new, 15-story apartment building that toppled onto its side in Concepcion. Firefighters were lowering a rescuer deep into the rubble when tear gas fired at looters across the street forced them to pause their efforts.

Police officer Jorge Guerra took names of the missing from tearful relatives and friends.

“There are people alive. There are several people who are going to be rescued,” he said — though the next people pulled from the wreckage were dead.

The sound of chain saws, power drills and sledgehammers mixed with the whoosh of a water cannon fired at looters and the shouts of crowds that found new ways into a four-story supermarket each time police retreated. Some looters threw rocks at armored police vehicles outside the Lider market, which is majority-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Across the Bio Bio River in the city of San Pedro, looters cleared out a shopping mall. A video store was set ablaze, two automatic teller machines were broken open, a bank was robbed and a supermarket emptied, its floor littered with mashed plums, scattered dog food and smashed liquor bottles.

“They looted everything,” said police Sgt. Rene Gutierrez, 46. “Now we’re only here to protect the building — what’s left of the building.”

The quake generated waves that lashed coastal settlements, leaving behind sticks, scraps of metal and masonry houses ripped in two. A beachside carnival in the village of Lloca was swamped in the tsunami. A carousel was twisted on its side and a Ferris wheel rose above the muddy wreckage. Adobe buildings in Talca’s town center were flattened.

State television showed scenes of devastation in coastal towns and on Robinson Crusoe Island, where it said the tsunami drove almost 2 miles (3 kilometers) into the town of San Juan Bautista. Officials said at least five people were killed there and more were missing.

Bus terminals overflowed with vacationers in Chile’s provinces trying to check on their homes. Chile’s summer vacation period ends Monday.

In Washington, the State Department urged Americans to avoid tourist and other nonessential travel to Chile. U.S. citizens in Chile were asked to contact family and friends in the United States, whether by telephone, Internet or cell-phone text messaging.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton planned to briefly visit Santiago on Tuesday as part of a five-nation Latin America trip.

___

Read the original article from Journal Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A Sauk Village teen who police call a “career thief” was ordered held without bail on felony burglary charges filed after DNA testing link him to blood found on a broken window at a 2009 burglary.

Henry Johnson, 18, was charged Friday with felony residential burglary, Chicago police said.

Johnson is alleged to have broken into a residence in the 6500 block of South Hoyne in the Englewood neighborhood on March 30, 2009, police said.

The homeowner later found $7,000 worth of electronics and jewelry missing, police said. Evidence technicians gathered blood found on a broken rear window, which indicated a positive DNA match for Johnson, police said.

Johnson has a history of arrests for burglary and theft, police said. He is serving a sentence for a separate residential burglary in the 1400 block of West 63rd Street on April 2, 2009.

Read the original article from SouthTown Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Last week I talked about the price of converting fossil fueled vehicles into H2ICE cars. So, this week I thought I would follow up and talk about the price at the pump of hydrogen fuel to consumers.

Right now, consumers can convert their own cars, trucks and other vehicles to run on hydrogen. Or they can become a part of Project Driveway and test drive a vehicle for free for several months or they can become part of the Honda FCX Clarity program and lease a hydrogen fuel cell car for around $600 per month.

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself driving a hydrogen car, the first question you may ask is about where you would go to find a hydrogen fueling station. This hydrogen fuel locator page lists several resources that will aid in this endeavor.

Another question frequently asked is how much does a person pay at the pump for compressed hydrogen fuel? Now, this has nothing to do with the costs to produce hydrogen as this is a whole different discussion, too lengthy to take on here.

But, since I was curious about the price at the pump charged for compressed hydrogen gas I made a few phone calls, sent a few emails and even Tweeted in order to take a survey.

According to the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) listed in Twitter, “In CA, you can’t sell hydrogen as a retail fuel. The regulations 2 allow retail sales are expected to be complete within the next 18 months.”

So I asked about the hydrogen fueling station in Irvine, California (which at least a couple of years ago when I was there) had a posted price of $4.99 per kilogram (equivalent to a gallon), and CaFCP replied, “The price is there as an educational tool to show what the cost of h2 can be and to give the station a realistic feel.”

So, I decided to call the West Los Angeles Shell Station, which is a regular gas station in Santa Monica, California that also has a hydrogen pump. I asked Nely Lopez, who works at the station what the price is at the pump and he told me that for now hydrogen is free, but he doesn’t know how long it will stay this way.

Since Shell has U. S. hydrogen fueling stations in California, New York and Washington, DC I decided to call their national headquarters in Houston, Texas to see if hydrogen fuel was free at all Shell stations nationwide.

I talked to Jerry Wilt who said he was in charge of the Shell Hydrogen program. He told me that hydrogen fuel was indeed free right now at all of the Shell hydrogen fueling stations and pumps while they were in the demo phase. He didn’t know how long this phase would last, however.

But, though I did find out that hydrogen fuel was free at these stations, I also found out that free hydrogen was not true for all stations in the U. S. When I contacted Tony Lindsay, R&D Manager, Hydrogen and Advanced Technology, he told me a different story for his hydrogen pump.

Mr. Lindsay told me about his hydrogen station in Des Plaines, Illinois just outside of Chicago, “We have set the price at $3.49 per kg because this was our calculated goal of production from our on-site small scale steam methane reformer (based on $0.60 per therm natural gas).”

Because hydrogen fuel cell cars and refueling stations are considered emerging technologies right now, there is no across the board standardization in the U. S. marketplace. Whereas hydrogen fuel prices at the pump in one location may be free, another one may charge. This will work itself in the months and years to come as hydrogen used as fuel becomes more standardized and more of a norm and less of a demonstration as it is right now.

Apple has been criticized in the past for not doing enough to ensure that labor conditions in its supplier factories were up to international humanitarian standards. Today, it released its 2010 Supplier Responsibility report (PDF), in which it provides the details of audits it conducts at those supplier facilities, in order to gauge the degree to which violations are or aren’t taking place.

This time around, the report details no less than 17 violations at its supplier facilities, and more than a few of them are fairly serious indeed. Underage worker serious, in fact. Apple’s inspectors found that 11 employees were employed prior to being of legal working age in the countries in question.

According to the report, the age issue was moot at the time the audit was conducted, since the employees in question had either reached legal age by then, or were no longer employed at the supplier. Kind of convenient if you ask me that all of these violations just happened to be past offenses and required no action. Plus, I can’t imagine Apple’s audits come as a surprise to suppliers, so who knows the extent to which the violations might truly go.

Besides the age violations, inspectors from Apple also found that more than 50 of its supplier’s factories forced employers to work more than 60 hours in a given week, a maximum cap set by Apple themselves. Many of the facilities were also found to be not paying staff correctly. 48 facilities were using improper calculations to determine overtime pay, and at 24 workers were receiving less than the minimum wage for regular working hours. In those cases, the reason given was largely that employees needed to meet strict attendance requirements before becoming eligible for the minimum wage rate.

Other violations included depriving staff of benefits like sick leave, and the falsification of records. Many of the falsification violations occurred in conjunction with other types of offenses, which makes you wonder how many times falsifications were “successful” and went unnoticed. At least one facility was found to have definitely covered up hiring underage employees in the past, and another was found to have hidden records of overworking and underpaying employees.

Apple’s audit this year was the largest on record improving on the 83 facilities covered in the report covering the 2008 period:

In 2009, Apple conducted audits at 102 facilities, including annual audits of all final assembly manufacturers, first-time audits of component and nonproduction suppliers, and 15 repeat audits of facilities where a core violation had been discovered. During most of our audits, suppliers stated that Apple was the only company that had ever audited their facility for supplier responsibility.

It’s excellent to find that in some cases Apple is basically acting as a regulatory body where none would otherwise exist, but what are the consequences if facilities are found to have actually perpetrated violations? Especially in the case of child labor violations, one might expect to see Apple ending professional relationships, particularly when repeat violations become apparent. Not necessarily so, though. The section detailing the “corrective action process” informs as to what the actual consequences are for these suppliers:

When a violation is found, Apple requires the facility to implement a corrective action plan that addresses not only the specific violation, but also the underlying management system needed to prevent its recurrence. We track completion of each corrective action to closure, with an expectation that all violations will be corrected as quickly as possible, but not later than 90 days after the audit.

If, after a follow-up audit to determine that corrective action has been taken, the company is still found to be in violation, Apple works further with them to ensure that the fix really is put in place. Finally, as a course of last resort, “Apple may have no choice but to terminate the business relationship.”

I respect Apple’s efforts regarding this responsibility report. No one is forcing them to do this, and it does seem like Cupertino is attempting to bring its considerable pressure to bear in improving the working conditions of some of its most vulnerable employees. But without actual consequences implemented in a swift and consistent manner, it just seems like a public relations exercise instead of a measure genuinely concerned with the welfare of human beings.

Filed under: Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Fisker, Electric, Luxury

Fisker Automotive has finally taken the digital wraps off the advanced aluminum space frame around which the Karma plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will be built. In lieu of enjoying a new concept vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show this week, Fisker fans will have to make due with this peek at the bones of the Karma, the part that gives the luxury car its “new levels of rigidity and strength that will give the world’s first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle world-class ride and handling characteristics.”

The frame is made with 5,000- and 6,000-series aluminum alloys. The all-knowing Wiki says the 5,000-series are “suitable for cryogenic applications and low temperature work” but are susceptible to corrosion above 60°C. The 6,000-series are made with magnesium and silicon alloys and “are easy to machine, and can be precipitation hardened, but not to the high strengths that 2000, and 7000 can reach. Now you know.

You can read the original press release announcing the aluminum space frame here.

[Source: Fisker]

Fisker Karma’s aluminum space frame digitally revealed originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

A 56-year-old Chicago police officer who did not report to work was found dead in her Mount Greenwood home Sunday morning, apparently of natural causes.

The Morgan Park District police officer did not report to work Sunday morning, and officers conducting a well-being check found her dead in her West 115th Street home about 8:20 a.m., police said.

Police said the officer was a 21-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.

Police are not commenting on the cause of death, but said it is not suspicious. No autopsy will be performed.

Read the original article from SouthTown Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO (WBBM) – The city of Chicago’s cameras caught a suspected hit and run driver on tape.  Now, The man is due in bond court today on a reckless homicide charge.

It was around 5:30 a.m. last Tuesday when 59-year-old Helen Triplett of 71st and Union was crossing the street at 69th and Halsted.  A passing car hit her and the driver kept going. 

Triplett had died of her injuries by the time she reached St. Bernard Hospital.  

Now, police say with the help of their POD–or police observation device cameras–they were able to track down a suspect.

34-year-old Clifton Lawrence of 61st and Wabash is charged with felony reckless homicide and failure to report an accident.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO (WBBM) – It’s tough enough in this economy to find a job, but, if you bring your parents to the interview, you’re not likely to be hired.  That’s just one of the gaffes by applicants, reported in a new survey of more than 2,700 hiring managers.

The survey done by CareerBuilder.com, finds that some applicants make disastrous mistakes when they show up for an interview. 
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that at Hoffman Estates-based Sears, one woman arrived with her two young children. While she was interviewing, other staffers had to play babysitter.

Two other prospective employees, looking for their first jobs out of college, came with their parents. 

The hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder also reported a job applicant who began bashing the firm in a conversation with people he assumed were fellow candidates. Unfortunately for him they turned out to be the company’s hiring staff. 

Other mistakes:  wearing flip flops with a business suit, filing fingernails during the session and asking the interviewer out for a drink afterwards.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

When we talk about why content creators need to connect with fans, we always have naysayers pop up to say that this is a waste of their time, and content creators should just focus on making content — and that if they have to use Facebook or Twitter, it’s a huge time waster. Back in December, we discussed how this was misleading, quoting some artists who were saying that (1) it’s not that hard and (2) not doing so is “selling yourself short,” because you’re not building up your audience.

It looks like record labels are beginning to recognize this, as apparently some labels have started turning down musicians who say they’re not interested in using social media to help build their audience. While you can understand why some artists might not like using the tools, what they’re basically telling the label is that they’re going to be a deadweight on the marketing side, and won’t help out at all. That makes the job of the record labels much more difficult, and makes that musician much more of a liability.

Of course, some of the problem is that some musicians seem to think that using social media means they have to “reveal everything” or “put themselves out there.” Nothing is further from the truth. Certainly, some musicians do that — but plenty have found a much more reserved way to use the tools. They don’t have to tweet every day or share intimate details. They can still be authentic, without going overboard. I follow a band on Twitter that probably only tweets one message every other week or so, and that’s plenty for that particular band. But it does keep me connected to them, and what they’re up to generally.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story