Author: Serkadis

Congratulations to Karen R (comment #200), winner of the new deLuxe FURminator! May your two kitties enjoy this fabulous tool!

The 2010 season of women’s track and field competition got underway with the Chicagoland Indoor Track and Field Championships, where Harper placed 17th of 20 teams.

The results for Harper include:

200m   De’larissa Morris       30.96
           Robin Bingham          31.14
           Karoline Banasik        31.17

1 mile  Janet Franco               6:28.56
           Elisse Rene Lorenc     6:35.56
           Emma  Maslanka        6:42.93

4x200m Relay     Banasik, Bingham, Morris, Weinberg  6^th    2:02.25

Distance Medley    Franco, McPherson, Maslanka, Lorenc          15:01.76

High J  De’larissa Morris        1.30   4’ 3 ½

Pole V  Karoline Banasik        2.74m  NQ      8’11 ¼  
           Linsdey Weinberg      2.47m  NQ       8’11 ¼

Shot P De’Larissa Morris       8.90m      29’ 2 ½ 
          Anne Craigen             9.80m      32’2

Wt th Anne Craigen             9.58m       31’ 5 ½

Long j  De’Larissa Morris       4.74m        15’6 ½

Despite a gruff exterior, former Cook County Commissioner Carl R. Hansen was a sentimental man who faithfully served his suburban constituents, friends say.

Former campaign manager Victor Santana recalled Hansen’s attachment to his late-model Cadillac.

Hansen would have Santana comb the country finding a replacement car for his wrecked “battleship.”

Hansen grew attached to the make and model because its hearty construction protected him upon impact and saved his life during a car accident. Aerodynamics and new features didn’t mean much to Hansen.

“It didn’t matter if it was going to be 2050, he was going to have the model,” Santana said Saturday during Hansen’s funeral in Mount Prospect.

The 83-year-old son of Danish immigrants died Feb. 2 at a Skokie Hospice facility. The Mount Prospect man spent 32 years as one of the only Republican representatives on the Democrat-dominated Cook County Board, serving the 15th District from 1974 to 2006.

Family, friends and dignitaries gathered Saturday morning at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect for funeral services. Among attendees were state Rep. Paul Froehlich and Cook County Commissioner Timothy Schneider, who defeated Hansen in the 2006 Republican primary, ending Hansen’s tenure.

Former state Sen. Cheryl Axley cited the man with the booming voice as a mentor. She spoke about how Hansen came to terms with the loss faster than his friends and colleagues.

“We were so distressed, but he took it in stride, he said ‘that was yesterday,’” Axley said. “He comforted us and then he said, ‘Go out and keep that seat Republican,’ and we did.”

Axley also spoke about Hansen’s love for his wife, Christl, who died in 2007. They met while he served in the U.S. Army while stationed in Germany. Hansen said after her death he never had to worry about talking politics at home, as his wife – an artist – disliked the topic.

While he often cast the lone dissenting vote while serving as the only Republican on the board, Hansen was not partisan, Axley said. She recalled a story from about a decade ago when Hansen told her about working together with the late Board President John Stroger, a staunch Democrat. Axley was surprised the two were acting friendly.

“As an elected official, I do not have the luxury nor do I want to be in office to represent the Republican Party,” Hansen told Axley. “I am a Republican who represents all of the people both Republican and Democrats, and everything in between. Being in the minority, to be effective you have to respect and get to know others you work with and find common ground… otherwise you end up as some ineffective party lackey…”

Santana also mentioned Hansen’s friendship with former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

County board President Todd Stroger also attended the funeral, though he arrived 45 minutes late, after Santana, a pallbearer, delivered the final remembrance speech.

“Commissioner I want to say, this meeting is now adjourned, please try not to give God that much trouble,” Santana said.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Sony has really started some buzz in the camera world at the PMA 2010 conference with the introduction of an interesting concept camera. It’s an ultra-compact interchangeable lens digital camera system that Sony says “packs the quality of a DSLR camera in an extraordinarily small body.” The concept primarily revolves around the introduction of a new Exmor APS HD MOS sensor, which is a general APS-C sized sensor (24mm x 16mm) that is larger than the usual Micro Four Thirds system. It also will have the ability to take 1080P AVCHD video and should come with three types of new compact lenses to match the small form factor of the new system. So when is this beauty arriving? Sony stated at PMA that it will come this year.

Many were wondering if Sony would respond to Samsung’s NX10, which is very similar in specifications but still had the same formfactor as a DSLR. The concept Sony showing off is nearly all metal and has Sony’s rich design characteristics and “alpha” branding. Red, blue and silver colors indicate Sony has no reservations offering a model in the future with such options. As you can see, Sony’s design concept is far smaller, stylish, and will really make an impact on how these types of products are designed in the future. Here is a photo and more information on the concept camera at PMA by Digital Camera Review.

Here’s another shot of one of the interchangeable lenses for the concept camera and further information courtesy of DPreview:

Harper’s women’s basketball team closed out the regular season with 61-46 win over Triton College. The win fins the Lady Hawks at 18-10 overall and 9-5 in conference play heading into this weekend’s regional action.

Anna Kirchoff had a monster game to lead with 19 point, 15 rebounds and 2 steals, Peggie Parhas turned in another fine performance with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, Norreen Davis added 17 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Nina Montero tossed in 4 points, grabbed 5 rebounds to accompany 1 assist and 1 steal, Siobhan Cerney contributed 3 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

For more details on the Regional games, please visit the Harper Web site later in the week.

Rumors, rumors, rumors. The mill worked overtime this week. There were ones about games Killzone 3 and a God of War III demo, specifically and there was something about the PS3’s OtherOS feature as well as a possible

Filed under: Etc., UK

Pictured above is one tiny corner of the formerly mammoth Longbridge factory complex that last made MGs. Now owned by SAIC, the site is meant to be undergo extensive repurposing. To help keep it British – and perhaps pick up a little more interest in MG – SAIC has called for help in naming five access roads that will grace the new site.

The only requirement looks to be that the names “reflect the heritage of the MG brand.” You have until Friday, February 26 to get your submissions in. A friendly tip, though: you can probably skip names like “Leyland,” “Phoenix,” and “Do They Still Make Those?”

[Source: Motobullet | Image: Sludgegulper – CC2.0]

SAIC wants you to help rename streets at Longbridge originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Se acaba de confirmar la noticia de que el piloto japonés Kazuki Nakajima ha firmado un contrato con la nueva escudería Stefan GP. Sin duda, la vuelta a la Fórmula 1 del piloto nipón ha sido gracias en parte a la desaparecida Toyota.

Por el momento, Stefan GP ya tiene un piloto confirmado y sólo le queda esperar el visto bueno de la FIA y el compromiso de Bridgestone para proporcionarles neumáticos y asi poder estar presentes en los nuevos tests que tendrán lugar el próximo 25 de Febrero.

Related posts:

1. Vitaly Petrov nuevo piloto de Renault F1
2. Vitantonio Liuzzi nuevo piloto de la escudería Force India
3. USF1 confirma a Jose María López como su nuevo piloto

Acaba de ser filtrada la primera imagen del nuevo Audi A7, la nueva berlina de la marca que verá la luz a finales del próximo mes de noviembre. Tras esta filtración, lo más probable es que Audi publique una galería oficial y diferentes datos próximamente.

Tal y como podemos ver en la imagen de arriba, la estética será muy cuidada para aparentar una aerodinámica lo más suave y simple posible. Estará disponible con motores de seis y ocho cilindros respectivamente.

En la motorización de gasolina podremos elegir un 2.8 FSI Tiptronic de 204 CV, un 3.0 TFSI de 300 CV y un 4.0 TFSI S-Tronic de 394 CV. Por otra parte, en diésel podremos escoger entre un 2.7 TDI de 190 CV y un  3.0 TDI quattro S-tronic de 240 CV.

Related posts:

1. Imagen filtrada del Audi A5 Sportback
2. Imagen filtrada del Audi A3 2011
3. Imagen oficial del Audi A5 Sportback

A 21-year-old woman was robbed at the Pinegree Road Metra train station early Saturday evening, Crystal Lake police said.

Officers responded to an emergency call from the station at 570 Congress Parkway at about 7:30 p.m. for a reported robbery, said Cmdr. Dan Dziewor.

The woman was at the station with her 1-year-old son when a man approached her from behind and demanded money, police said.

The suspect is described as a male, about 6 feet tall, medium build, wearing a black hooded jacket, black sweatpants and a black ski mask.

Dziewor said the robber did not display a weapon.

The woman handed over a “modest” amount of cash to the robber, who then ran from the scene in an unknown direction.

After the robbery, the woman called her parents who then called the Crystal Lake police, Dziewor said. Neither the victim nor her son were injured but were checked out by Crystal Lake paramedics.

The incident is under investigation. Anyone with information should call the Crystal Lake Police at (815) 356-3620 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 762-7867. Crime stoppers pays cash awards for information leading to an arrest. You can remain anonymous, officials said.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO (WBBM)  — The long awaited decision on which Republican state senator will be the Illinois GOP candidate is near.

WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports on what the top two vote getters are saying.

State Senator Kirk Dillard is still not conceding the GOP primary race for governor, to rival Senator Bill Brady. Dillard says the difference between them is only a couple hundred votes, with the final tally including absentee and provisional ballots some time away.

Senator Brady, who remains ahead in the unofficial count, says there are no hard feelings, even if his campaign has not been able to go full speed.

In fact, Dillard says he could announce his decision this week.

Both men say a recount would be very expensive and time consuming when they ought to be focusing on ousting Pat Quinn.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO (WBBM)  — An owner of one of the businesses damaged in a Bronzeville fire last month is preparing to rise from the ashes.

The Steelelife Gallery was more than a place to display the works of African-American artists, according to owner Bryant Johnson.

He says during its nearly eight years at 47th Street Market Place, it played host to events such as weddings, showers and parties.

It was also where he stored his personal photography collection.

With the majority of it destroyed in the January 28 fire, Johnson is working to rebuild.

He found a flash drive with some of his work on it and is using that as a starting point for a new exhibit at a gallery later this month.

Johnson says he’s not sure when Steelelife will be rebuilt but he’s inspired by the outpouring of support he’s received from the neighbors, patrons, art collectors and others.

A fundraiser is slated for Sunday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Red Kiva, 1108 W Randolph.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

CHICAGO (WBBM)  — Mayor Daley insisted Saturday that the man in charge of overseeing city hiring, to comply with federal court decrees, was not suspended in a City Hall power grab.

Instead, Daley said, it was because of the way Office of Compliance Director Anthony Boswell bumbled a sexual harassment complaint at the city’s 911 call center.

Boswell was suspended for 30 days, without pay, on Feb. 12. His attorney, Jamie Wareham, said Thursday that when mayor’s staff find someone in the way of their plans, they “continue to beat them like a drum until they leave town with their tail between their legs and their reputations destroyed.”

Despite the harsh rhetoric, and Daley’s ongoing attempts to strip Boswell’s office of hiring oversight, the mayor insisted that he has no hard feelings toward Boswell.

“Today, everybody sues everybody,” Daley said. “Like anything else, you have that. Remember, (Boswell) came from Texas, he was found by an independent group who really recommended him — great credentials, good family man, very committed public servant.”

Asked if Boswell will have a place in his administration at the end of the 30-day suspension, Daley said, “Yeah, definitely.”

Boswell filed suit against Mayor Daley and others Thursday, claiming he was targeted for retribution because he exposed efforts to circumvent the court-ordered hiring rules.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Jason Fried interviewed on The Pipeline

Dan Benjamin interviews Jason Fried. Topics include big vs. small, fear of success, turning points, solving universal problems, if investment and success has affected the company and how it’s evolved over 10 years, the “37signals culture” and mindset (like spending only one day a week in the office), and finding design inspiration in nature.

The audio interview is 36 minutes. A text transcript is also available.

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Celebrities

Few people have had as great an impact on motorsports as Dan Gurney. He’s been a driver, team owner, and manufacturer, and has won races doing all at the same time. Gurney has competed successfully at Daytona, Sebring, the Nürburgring, Indianapolis and Le Mans.

In August, Gurney’s race exploits will be honored when he’s featured as the first guest at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, known until last year as the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Gurney’s history with Laguna Seca dates back to the first professional race held at the track, and won there in 1962. The Reunion will host a display of Gurney-related vehicles from Formula 1, Indy, IMSA GTP, Can-Am and Trans-Am, and the man himself will be on hand for a public interview and an autograph session. Hit the jump for more details on Gurney and the event.

[Source: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca]

Continue reading Dan Gurney to be honored at Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Dan Gurney to be honored at Monterey Motorsports Reunion originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gemeindebezirk Innere Stadt, Austria | Architectural Oddities

A Gasometer or a Gas holder is a large container in which natural gas is stored at atmospheric pressure.

In the 19th and early 20th century gasometers were used extensively to temporarily store natural gas near the towns and city districts, where it could be used by industry and households. The purpose of these installations was to lower the gas pressure from high levels present in pipelines to atmospheric values suitable for to end users. They were also used to regulate the supply between periods of high and low demand during the day.

An average gasometer is a gigantic structure, capable of storing tens of thousands of cubic meters of gas, with diameters that could reach up to 60m. As technology progressed, after the middle of 20th century, gasometers have been largely replaced by other methods of gas storage, such as giant underground facilities and high pressure pipes.

By the end of the century many towns and cities in US and Europe ended up with numerous disused gasometers scattered around their suburbs. While some of these giant objects have been demolished to make way for new urban development projects, some of them have been reclaimed and converted for a new purpose.

An excellent example of these are the former Gaswerk Simmering gasometers in Vienna. This complex of four gasometers has been built in period of three years between 1896 and 1899, in order to supply town gas for Vienna’s street lamps. Each of these gargantuan tanks could hold up to 90 000 cubic meters of gas. They remained in use for almost a century, until 1984.

However after they were finally retired from gas storage, these ornate red brick structures were deemed too beautiful to be destroyed. Instead they were converted into apartment blocks and commercial space.

Only outside brick facades and metallic roofs, remain of the original construction. The new interior of each gasometer was designed by a different architect, Jean Nouvel (Gasometer A), Coop Himmelblau (Gasometer B), Manfred Wehdorn (Gasometer C) and Wilhelm Holzbauer (Gasometer D). The reconstruction was started in 1995 and completed in 2001.

The lower floors of gasometers are occupied by shopping malls, mid levels are converted in the office spaces and apartments are situated on the top of the structures.

In years between decommission and reconstruction, the four gasometers had a brief stint in film industry as a setting of one James Bond film and as a venue for rave music events. These large round structures provided an unusual echo effect popular with ravers of the day.

At the Blue Fes Spring Raid event in Japan, Arc System Works announced a Japanese release date for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Details past the jump.

Welcome to Notsalmon.com, my Notsalmonite friend! If you’re reading this, then chances are you are a smart, busy, cool person – in search of the whole happiness enchillada: love, friendship, balance, success, moola, laughter, growth!

My goal for creating this daily  blog – and all the books I write – is to help empower smart, busy, cool people – who might not have the time or inclination to read the typical corny self help stuff — by giving you the most fun, feisty, up to date, concise research on how to live your happiest life – no matter what your present challenges!

Yesterday I posted a blog about the benefits of surrounding yourself with a HIVE of sweet supportive people – who not only “get” you – but what to make sure you “get it all” – love, friendship, balance, success, moola, laughter, growth – you know, that aforementioned whole happiness enchillada!

Being part of a sweet supportive HIVE is a powerful motivational aid in achieving your goals – because there’s strength in numbers!

With this in mind, I want to encourage you to join my new FAN PAGE at FACEBOOK – which you can find by either typing in “Karen Salmansohn, best selling author.“ Or…by clicking this line, right here, RIGHT NOW and being whisked to my new FAN PAGE!

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