Author: Serkadis

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, Canada just underway, and hydrogen fuel cell buses delivering passengers between cities, there is already similar planning underway for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

On this past Friday I had talked about the UK Hydrogen Highway system developing in both South Wales and north in Scotland. Now, ITM Power and Revolve Technologies have received a grant to put up hydrogen fueling stations in the London area in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Unlike the Vancouver Olympics, however, the London Olympics will not be feature hydrogen fuel cell transit buses. Instead, in London a fleet of Ford HICE transit vans will haul passengers to and fro.

The hydrogen refueling stations that ITM Power and Revolve will be building will be capable of generating 15kg of hydrogen per day at 5,000 psi. As in the Wales M4 project (of which this may be a part, but this hasn’t been confirmed yet), the hydrogen will be produced using renewable energy.

The 2006 Olympics in Athens, Greece, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada and the 2012 Olympics in London, UK all have featured or will feature hydrogen vehicles. The pairing of the world’s top athletes and the leading edge of the hydrogen economy is way to showcase both in a platform millions will be watching.

You are the common denominator in all your relationship problems. If you keep finding yourself saying, “All the men I date are emotionally unavailable, bad listeners, who suck at communicating and not capable of growing!” well, then, you must ask why you keep picking men who are this way – men whom I’ve labeled “Prince Harmings” in my book PRINCE HARMING SYNDROME.

When I coach some women, they explain how it’s not their fault – ALL the men they meet are that way — to which I say, “You, my dear, are a female chauvinist!”

I remind these women that there are plenty of emotionally available, good-listening, highly communicative, growth-oriented men out there – and then I help them to jackhammer drilldown to understand their pattern of meeting men who are otherwise!

In fact, wherever there’s an all-encompassing “always,” “all” or “never” excuse in your life, it’s a sign that your mischievous subconscious is setting you up for failure by consistently leading you back toward these repeat performances.

In many ways, for many reasons, the subconscious should actually receive bigger and better billing than mere “sub” status. It should be called the “over-and-above-conscious” because it makes so many of your life decisions.

Your subconscious is why your diary can often read like Mad Libs. For instance:

Dear Diary,
I’m___________(mad, resentful, depressed) that ___________(my past paramour, present paramour, future paramour) doesn’t_________(listen to me, respect me, love me more). It reminds me of what happened ______________ (last week, last month, last year, next week, next month, next year) with ____________ (my past paramour, present paramour, future paramour).

So what stops you from seeing that there’s far more love life options out there?

What I call The 3 Cs!

I explain what these are in great deal in my new PSYCHOLOGY TODAY column – and explain more about what FEMALE CHAUVENISM is – and how to make sure it’s not ruining your love life! Click this paragraph here – and join me for the full article!

For more about my book PRINCE HARMING SYNDROME – which also explains FEMALE CHAUVINISM more fully – and how to better find and love warm, evolved, loving, committed men – click this paragraph here!

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Now that we have all seen the demos what do our readers think?  Is Windows Phone 7 competitive, or so out there that it will never find customers?

In short, is is hot or not?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The Chevrolet Malibu is losing its appeal, and it’s not because the model is getting old (well, it could be a part of it), but because it is getting ignored by General Motors.

When the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu went on sale a couple of years ago, it was a breakthrough car for General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. When the model was first introduced, the sedan sold much better than the outgoing model, however, sales are now starting to disappoint.

The Chevrolet Malibu finished 11th among the top-selling vehicles last year, according to data by Autodata. It came in behind the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and the Ford Fusion.

Lutz says that there’s nothing wrong with the Malibu, rather, it’s about the marketing. The Chevrolet Malibu was introduced with a lot of backing, but is now largely ignored in GM’s new marketing plan as it moves to other products.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Drive On

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet

Autoblog tipster Mark has sent in these images of what appears to be some sort of Chevrolet Camaro body restyling kit that turns the Bowtie musclecar a latter-day Pontiac Firebird tribute. As posted on GMInsideNews forums, there is speculation that the mule could actually be a Camaro Z28, what with its big hood bulge and all, but the styling doesn’t seem right to us, nor does the prototype’s camouflage pattern. We suspect it’s more likely an aftermarket affair, something along the lines of the Kevin Morgan Designs ‘Phoenix’ project, the ASC redux, or the Lingenfelter 455 T/A concept.

The prototype was spotted in suburban Detroit area when its car cover partially blew off while parked, giving Mark the opportunity to capture his quarry. Unfortunately, the cover apparently never came all the way off, so we’re left wondering what’s been done to the back end. Judging by what we can see of the cover’s outline, it doesn’t appear to have been left alone, so our curiosity remains piqued. Thanks for the photos, Mark!

[Source: GMInsideNews]

Reader Spy: Are you a new tuner Pontiac Firebird homage, the Chevy Camaro Z28, or something else? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s quest to recreate the world under it own terms is moving ahead as scheduled, it seems. Luckily, we’re not talking about some evil corporate conspiracy but rather about a more benign yet ambitious plan to have most of the world’s cities modeled in 3D and available in Google Earth. The company’s mapping group is putting a lot of effort into th… (read more)

Article Tags: You could not make it up

The IPCC and scientific community urgently need to focus on rebuilding trust and could learn a few tactics from Barack Obama

Over the last few years as climate campaigners such as myself have tried to mount a good rational argument, theirs has mounted a powerful disinformation campaign. In the last few weeks we have witnessed that effective campaign gain momentum and turn into a sort of global asymmetrical warfare, with criticism of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for its claims about the speed with which Himalayan glaciers are melting, personal attacks against its chairman Rajendra Pachauri and a persistent hounding of climate scientists and those reviewing the scientists.

Gold-standard scientific reporting from the IPCC , and indeed the value of scientific inquiry itself, is now under sustained assault from a motley assortment of cranks, ideologues and special interest voices intent on stopping the transition to a clean energy economy.

It was just these sorts of tactics that, with the Swift boat campaign questioning his military service, helped to bring down Senator John Kerry’s presidential candidacy in 2004. The problem was that Kerry thought being right would be enough. His response was to be photographed going wind-surfing. In contrast, when Obama ran in 2008 and he faced a similar smear campaign attack on the basis of inflammatory comments made by his former pastor, the Reverend Wright, he knew being right wouldn’t be enough. What followed was Obama’s race speech in Philadelphia setting the record straight, and the rest is history.

There’s still time for the IPCC to be Obama in 2008 rather than Kerry in 2004, but that’s going to require a much stronger response than it’s issued so far. At the moment there’s a real danger that when the next major IPCC climate assessment report is released, the likes of the BBC will feel the need to spend 30% of their coverage remembering an inconsequential error about Himalayan glaciers in the last report, because the battle here is over trust and perception. On both of these fronts there can be no doubt that the scientists are losing ground. We all need the IPCC to focus urgently on rebuilding trust, and for the scientific community at large to robustly defend science itself.

Click source to read more from Joss Garman the climate campaigner at Greenpeace UK

Source: guardian.co.uk

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Rinspeed always comes to Geneva with a very imaginative concept. This year, however, Rinspeed will unveil its UC? New Mobility Concept Car (that’s UC with a “?” mark) at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, but the biggest surprise is that the concept was designed to be ready for future series production.

The two-seater electric-drive UC?, which stand for Urban Commuter, measures less than 2.60 meters in length and is intended to help avoid gridlock in the inner cities. It also comes with an advanced railcar loading system option that will help cover long distances by train, comfortable, without traffic jams and stress-free.

“The goal is to create a new mobility concept that integrates individual car ownership and public transportation,” Rinspeed said in a statement. “A transverse loading system using custom railcars allows loading and unloading of numerous Rinspeed UC vehicles simultaneously and in a very short time. Train passages are booked and reserved online directly from the vehicle. Harman International provides the permanent 3G internet connection as well as marvelous sound on wheels. VoIP2Car technology provides IP telephone service, video chat, video conferences, e-mail and many more features in the Rinspeed UC?.”

The customer railcars will also feature charging stations where drivers can charge their UC?’s battery to its maximum operating range.

The Rinspeed UC? produces 96 lb-ft of torque, has an operating range of 65 miles and a top speed of 74 mph. According to Rinspeed, that is more than enough for  most traffic in urban areas. It said statistics show that in Europe, 82 percent of all trips cover distances of less than 37 miles.

We think it’s a cool idea but definitely a bit out there.

Hit the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Rinspeed UC? Concept:

– By: Omar rana

Obviously the “global currency” gold doesn’t take off for American holidays.

With European markets generally higher, money is coming out of cash, and going back into the yellow metal. It’s been below and above $1100 all session.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Gold Stopped Being A Hedge In 2009
• Brace Yourself For A Big Gold Shortage
• Gold’s Move Has Been PATHETIC

Former Cicero President Betty Loren-Maltese is expected to arrive back in Chicago Monday.

She’s expected to check in sometime before noon.

Her seven-year sentence on a federal corruption conviction ended on Friday.

She will be staying at a halfway house in Chicago until she can find a job and a new place to stay. She is reported to be broke.

She lost her homes in Cicero and Las Vegas during her time in prison.

She also still must repay the town of Cicero $8 million as part of her sentence.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Taxpayers in Crestwood are being asked to pay $1 million in legal bills to defend village leaders in a lawsuit involving contaminated water.

Village officials are accused of pumping contaminated water to the homes of residents for more than 20 years

The Chicago Tribune reports present and former village leaders have hired some high priced Chicago law firms to do their legal work.

Those village officials claim they did nothing wrong and actually drank the same water village residents did.

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

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A woman is in critical condition after one of her legs was severed while getting out of a car early Monday on Interstate 80 near Joliet, Illinois State Police said.

A silver Lincoln Town Car eastbound on Interstate 80 slid on a patch of ice and struck a guardrail near Center Street in Joliet, a state police spokesman said.

A Mercury Sable then apparently slid on the same patch of ice and struck the Lincoln as a woman passenger was exiting the car.

The woman’s injuries included a severed right leg, fractured right arm and left leg, a lacerated spleen and punctured lung, state police said.

She was taken to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, then transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, state police said.

No information was reported on the condition of the drivers of the either car.

All eastbound lanes were shut down between Larkin Avenue and Chicago Street in Joliet for about 90 minutes while emergency crews responded to the crash.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Article Tags: Carbon Trading

LONDON — Touted by its supporters as the best and cheapest way to fight global warming, carbon trading is losing momentum amid the uncertainty created by the failure of the Copenhagen summit meeting and President Barack Obama’s political troubles in the United States.

Investors are steering clear of energy-saving projects meant to generate carbon credits, and traders in Europe are hunkering down through a period of consolidation that is disappointing to those who had hoped carbon markets would grow quickly into a $2 trillion-a-year business.

While the European Union’s Emission Trading System is ticking along, it is looking increasingly likely to be the only big game in town for years to come. Those who see carbon trading as the best way to cut worldwide emissions quickly are wondering if their vision of a global network of markets, encompassing the United States, Australia, Japan and other countries, will ever be realized.

“That bold vision, clearly, that hit a brick wall at Copenhagen,” said Dieter Helm, a professor of energy policy at the University of Oxford who argues that taxing carbon is a more effective way of ensuring emissions cuts. People will go on trading carbon, he said, “but it’s not where the future lies.”

Click Twitter Trend link http://nyti.ms/b1awHa for more

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Speaking at the National Automobile Dealers Convention, Volkswagen Group of America CEO, Stefan Jacoby, said that the company is making strides in improving its image with U.S. consumers. He said that that’s importance since the German automaker will be opening its first production plant in the U.S. in Chattanooga, Tenn., with plans to sell 800,000 units in the U.S. by 2018.

Volkswagen was ranked 30th out of 36 in overall satisfaction in 2007 when Jacoby took the job; a year later, the company was ranked 15th. Today, Volkswagen is ranked seventh and has also moved up on the J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Survey and four of its models were top safety picks by the IIHS.

Volkswagen also has a lot going on this year with a new Jetta on the way in the summer and a new Touareg with a hybrid and diesel option. A new midsize sedan is also due in 2011, which will be produced at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga factory.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Drive On

PEORIA — It was a sad farewell and a fond hello Thursday as the first of two Pullman railway cars that formerly made up part of Vonachen’s Old Place restaurant made its way from Junction City to the Wheels O’ Time Museum in Far North Peoria.

Peorians in parking lots and on side streets clamored to retrieve cameras and capture in a photograph a piece of history passing by, as the train and its entourage of police cars, with blue and red lights flashing, paraded up Knoxville Avenue.

The procession crept solemnly past, blocking two lanes of traffic and narrowly gliding under traffic signals.

The train cars, purchased more than 50 years ago by Peoria’s iconic restaurateur Pete Vonachen, were retired from the restaurant business last year and donated to the museum, which paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $30,000 to move them, in addition to paying to demolish the small connecting building.

Wheels O’ Time President Gary Bragg said the VOP’s train cars, which are more than 100 years old, will be positioned on the railway tracks directly behind the Rock Island No. 886 engine and cars, which currently sit outside the museum.

The VOP’s cars were used for nearly 50 years as railroad cars and about 50 years at the restaurant.

“Few people in Peoria would remember them as railway cars, but most people knew them as the restaurant. When we’re done, we’ll try to celebrate both eras,” Bragg said.

As the trains left Junction City, perched atop steel beams on a massive semi-trailer, there were some misty-eyed Peorians watching them go.

Steve Shaw, 62, president of Mercedes Restaurants, operated the train restaurant from 1979 until 2008. Shaw then served as its general manager.

“I have many, many good memories of the restaurant, and the trains. It’s a sad day for everybody to see them go,” Shaw said, as he watched the procession turn onto Prospect Road.

Lynne Jones, 68, lives nearby and stopped to watch the car removal.

“This is sad because you kind of identify the corner with those trains. I started going to the restaurant when I first moved here from Chicago in the early 1960s. It was a big deal to eat dinner in a train car,” she said.

The car also had a small crowd waiting when it arrived, about an hour later, at its new home.

Dunlap residents Hazel Fritz, 80, and husband, Lee, 86, live near the museum and were excited to see how the car was moved into its new location.

“I’ve lived near trains all of my life and we really like them, so this is very interesting to us,” Hazel Fritz said.

The couple sat in their pickup truck, watching as the semi pulled into the driveway next to the museum and began its stop-and-go trek across a snow-covered field.

Fred Balagna, co-owner of Balagna House Moving Inc., said timing on moving the car was crucial because the field needed to be frozen but the move completed before the snow turned to mud.

The other train car will be moved along the same route Friday. The wheels and axles also will be moved to the museum tracks and reassembled there.

Bill Rice, a Wheels O’ Time volunteer, said he’s glad to have the cars at the museum.

“My parents had their 60th anniversary in the train/restaurant, so it’s special to me,” he said. “I know it’s in the right place now, and it will be special to everyone who visits the museum.”

Read the original article from Herald & Review.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

There’s a backlash in the tech community against Apple’s iPad. Perhaps because the geeks and tech-heads are disappointed the iPad didn’t meet their every expectation. I wonder though if it isn’t just the result of a lack of imagination.

Techies moan endlessly about the iPad’s lack of a physical keyboard and how “no one can do real work on that.” I have to wonder what they mean when they say “real work?” Are they suggesting, for example, all computer users regularly commit themselves to Jessica Fletcher-esque writing marathons? Do the vast majority of us really write 10,000 word screeds every week? Of course not. Most everyday computing consists of a few minutes of light email and web surfing. If a 10,000 word essay is the goal, the iPad might not be the ideal platform (though I suspect we’ll see plenty of people doing very lengthy prose with the optional keyboard). However – not being ideal out-of-the-box for essay writing doesn’t invalidate the utility of the iPad. There are a great many other complaints about the iPad, and they all end this same way.

To those techies fond of finding fault with the iPad, I say this; the iPad is not for you. Instead, the iPad is designed for everyone else in the world, the colossal majority of non-techy folk who simply don’t care about cameras, physical keyboards or “closed” operating systems.

Imagine this scenario;

Meet Carol, a busy wife and mother. She just saw her eldest two kids off to bed and the baby is (finally!) asleep in her arms. This is a rare moment of blissful peace and quiet. Carol settles on the couch, baby in arms, and watches those episodes of Modern Family that have been sitting on the Tivo for three weeks. She giggles as Manny and Gloria bully Jay, and then suddenly remembers she must e-mail Mom about the kids’ soccer game this weekend.

A geek would put the baby aside, deploy the dedicated laptop table and boot-up their 17” unibody MacBook Pro. Carol is no geek. She has precisely zero passion for, or interest in, computers. And she definitely doesn’t have the free arm for laptop-deployment strategies.

Here, the iPad shines. Carol checks the baby is comfortable (yep, still sleeping!) and then with a single button-press the iPad is ready to go. She composes a new e-mail to Mom, pausing for a moment to chuckle at the TV (Cameron is flaming). While it’s on her mind, she adds a note to the family’s shared calendar.

The commercials are on, and while she’d normally skip through them, she takes advantage of those three minutes to follow the link cousin Linda sent a few days ago. It’s a photo gallery of her summer vacation. The iPad’s form factor makes it the ideal tool for this, it’s like she’s holding each photo in her hand. There’s even a short video, too, which reminds Carol she really should use her own camera more often…

The commercials are finished. Carol is done with her ‘computer’. At this point a geek would continue surfing (probably checking RSS feeds or leaving withering comments at the end of another infuriating diatribe from Liam “Doesn’t know what he’s talking about” Cassidy) …but not Carol. She switches it off, tosses it onto the nearest chair and forgets about it.

Carol, by the way, is exactly like all the other non-techy people in the world who could benefit enormously from the ease and simplicity baked into the iPad. The “computer as an appliance” solution is, for non-geeks everywhere, a welcome respite from the inherent complexities of more conventional computers.

Careless and Lazy

Tech-heads argue, “We do all those things with our laptops and smartphones already, so the iPad has no utility and is stupid, dumb and pointless and bah! to Apple and their overpriced toys!” Well, maybe so, but a smartphone is often too small and fiddly (particularly for those of us who are getting a bit long in the tooth), while a laptop is almost always overkill for common light tasks. (I haven’t forgotten the netbook; it remains, in my opinion, an exercise in compromise and frustration for anyone but the most patient geek or undemanding road-warrior.)

This backlash often accompanies new appliances. Consider the humble Microwave Oven; when it first appeared it was expensive and, for a great many people, seemingly-pointless; “But, we already have a real oven. Can a microwave oven brown? Can it roast? Can it grill? Can it warm plates and roast a turkey and heat my coffee at the same time? It can’t do even half the things my real oven does. It’s overpriced and unnecessary and I don’t need one. And no one else will, either.”

If you ask me, that’s a pretty careless – even lazy – conclusion. Yet, it’s precisely the same argument I’ve seen repeated in comments and articles all over the web.

Of course, the microwave oven isn’t criticized today because its utility has been proven. Indoor plumbing, gas central heating, automobiles and even the personal computer all were criticized for being unnecessary and, as the tired old phrase goes, ‘a solution in search of a problem’. Nor has the microwave oven replaced conventional ovens. In fact, most of us have both appliances in the same room of the house. Having one does not automatically relegate the other into obsolescence. They each have their place, and they each offer their own utility and value in a modern home.

And so it will be with the iPad. Only, you won’t be able to pop corn in it.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad
• How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

Toyota dealers are not happy campers. Besides dealing with millions of recalled cars and a battered brand image, dealers face lack of communication from executives and tanking sales and residuals. At the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orland, Fla. this past weekend, Toyota dealers were ready to give company executives an earful.

According to Automotive News, “that’s not just unusual; that’s unheard of.”

“There’s a goddamned gap in communication,” says Mike Sullivan, a Toyota dealer in Los Angeles.

Dealers said they were caught flatfooted when the company recalled 2.3 million vehicles three weeks ago for sticky gas pedals and suspended the sales of eight models.

“I think it will come out why Toyota did not include the dealer partners in the discussions on how to approach this PR disaster,” said Fritz Hitchcock, owner of three Toyota dealerships in the Los Angeles area.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

It was just over a week ago that Greece wouldn’t admit it was having a problem.

Then last week Euro leaders pledged some kind of bailout.

But as we pointed out, there was no bailout at all. Just a promise of one. And for investors who saw the way TARP went down, this was no good.

Now Greece is freaking out, and its finance minister is begging for hard details:

Here’s the full report from the AP:

—-

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Monday that a detailed bailout plan from other eurozone nations would be the best way to soothe market fears that Greece could default on debt payments.

European leaderes last week made a general statement support for Greece without saying what they would do to help if Greece neared default.

“My guess is that what will stop markets attacking Greece at the moment is a further, more explicit message that makes operational what has been decided last Thursday,” at a meeting of EU leaders, he said.

Market fears have hiked the cost of Greek government borrowing in recent months and caused the euro to slide to a near nine-month low against the dollar.

Eurozone nations pledged last week to aid Greece “if needed to guard financial stability in the euro area” — but did not say how they would help the country.

Papaconstantinou said the 16 countries that use the euro need to go beyond that to “work out a mechanism so that if necessary the mechanism will be there” for any member that cannot pay its debts.

“I think this is the logical way of addressing the issue,” he told an audience of European Union policy makers in Brussels.

Eurozone finance ministers meet for talks later Monday.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• What Bankrupted Greece? It Was The Olympics!
• TARP 2.0: German Parliament Trying To Stop The Greece Bailout
• There’s No Deal Yet: Here Are The Banks, Insurers, And Sovereigns Who Will Get Crushed In A Greece Collapse