Artist Neil Richards has created a set of 10 posters, one for each Dharma station on and off (and really off) the Island. They’re an awkward dimension for your desktop, but work GREAT as a smartphone wallpaper. [Flickr via Bestbookmarks] More »
Lost – Wallpaper – Desktop Customization – Arts – Holidays
Like anyone in their 30s, the new GTI is a bit larger and a lot heavier, but does it still have a swing in its step?
The FT-86 was due to arrive next year, but Toyota is reportedly modifying the body and considering a hybrid powertrain to better compete with the Honda CR-Z.
BMW finally releases all the details on the M3 GTS, and if you can manage the $170k entry-fee then your track-day dreams are sure to come true.
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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 5.26.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 May 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Family Guy’s taking on Precious – Sorta….
The envelope-pushing comedy is campaigning for a Primetime Emmy, in typical Family Guy fashion, series writers have selected a tongue-in-cheek image for their 2010 Emmy mailer. This year, Peter Griffin’s does his best Gabby Sidibe by parodying the promo poster from the 2009 Oscar-nominated flick, Precious.
Also included in the mailer are these taglines:
“Family Guy – written by 8 WASPS, 6 Jews, 2 Asian and 1 Gay.
We peaked 3 years ago, so by your logic we should get an Emmy now
You have to vote for us — we did a holocaust episode
Family Guy with Tina Fey… Not really, we just want an Emmy”
It’s not called Hulu mobile, but it probably should be. Fox’s Mobile Group has launched a mobile beta application that provides free access to full-length TV shows on your phone.
The strangely named application is called Bitbop, and quietly became available in beta as recently as today, a spokesperson confirmed. The service was expected to launch this spring, and since it’s being called a beta, things are still likely to change. For now, users can sign-up for a trial on its web site and the application is free and compatible on four BlackBerry phones.
It is practically a Hulu look-alike because it comes loaded with TV shows from 25 content partners, including Hulu’s joint venture partners News Corp (NYSE: NWS). and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). While the catalog is not quite as extensive, other networks involved include: The Food Network, A&E, CBS (NYSE: CBS), TLC, USA and MTV.
Previously, Fox Mobile’s EVP of Global Products Joe Bilman told mocoNews that the application will be free, but in order to access to the whole catalog, a subscription will cost $10 a month. he said the service is expected to work over WiFi and 3G, and to support a variety of handsets, including the iPhone and Android-based smartphones. The web site only lists TV shows for now, but says movies will be coming soon.
The line-up of TV shows is includes some of the best from the TV networks’ current line-up, including episodes from “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Glee,” “24,” but also older stuff, like the first episode of “Arrested Development.”
It’s not entirely fair to say the service should be called Hulu Mobile. The big difference is that Bitbop is being produced by the Fox Mobile team, and not being co-developed by the partners that form Hulu’s independent management team. The other two obvious points is that it is a mobile service, and has a subscription service model from the start. The content owners are probably pleased to be able to try charging, rather than attempting an ad-supported model from the start and trying to charge later.
Related
Should companies have privacy rights? With recent legal rulings suggesting that companies have similar legal rights to individuals, does that include privacy rights? A bunch of groups, including Public Citizen and the EFF, have filed an amicus brief in a case that looks into that question. The lawsuit is between the FCC and AT&T. It seems that the FCC had done an investigation where it determined that AT&T — the same company that has “helped out” the government by explaining how the feds could get around pesky oversight rules by using post-it notes — has been over-billing the government.
That seems like pretty interesting information, and some others thought so — which is why a Freedom of Information Act request was made to the FCC, and the FCC agreed to hand over the documents concerning the investigation. AT&T, in response, sued the FCC, saying that releasing this info would violate the company’s “personal privacy.” Huh? It’s hard to see how a company has “personal privacy.” You can understand not releasing confidential information that involves a trade secret, or other such information. But claiming that details of an investigation of how you may have bilked the government is “private” info seems a bit absurd. If that was the case, then any company could demand that any embarrassing information never be released.
Unfortunately, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with AT&T, suggesting that the exemption in the Freedom of Information Act for “personal privacy” does, in fact, apply to AT&T as well. The new brief urges the Supreme Court review the case:
Unless the Supreme Court takes the case and reverses the Third Circuit decision, records about safety violations at a coal mine, environmental problems at an offshore oil rig, filthy conditions at a food manufacturing plant, financial shenanigans at an investment bank and many other records like these may be the subject of so-called corporate privacy claims that could result in agencies withholding those records from the public under FOIA.
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Michael Ventrella came as the Biggest Loser contestant in history and left as the winner of the show. To weigh half his body and win $250,000 was not that easy. Despite Michael having 526 pounds as his starting weight, his willpower and competitive nature made him stay up to the finale and won after he lost a the highest percentage of bodyweight (50.19 percent) between his competitors Ashley Johnston and Daris George. He said “As an Italian family, we use our food and eating as a social way of staying close. And being able to go there and change my habits and changing my mother’s habits ripples into our family and friends because that’s our way of celebrating.”
The 31-year-old is now down to 262 pounds and states that the biggest lesson he learned was that in order to help other people, he needed to help himself. He said, “I was always putting other people before me, [but] I couldn’t really help anybody if I was sick or I was dead. I learned how to focus on me, what my body needed and what I needed to sustain life and live happily. Look what happened from me focusing on myself and setting an example. … I can’t articulate how amazing it feels to be able to get that return. On top of everything that I’ve done for myself, I’ve been able to help other people.”
Related posts:
The hot, sweltering Tennessee sun baked us under a big white-top tent this morning as Nissan dedicated the future site of their $1.7 billion dollar, state-of-the art Nissan LEAF battery plant in Smyrna. Encompassing 1.3 million square feet (22 American football fields), when the plant comes online in late 2012 it will be one of the largest battery facilities in North America.
Today has emerged a very strong rumor from several British media which claim that Natal will cost $ 149. According to the online edition of the British magazine Edge, a reliable source (which appears to be the same as that uncovered the first details and release date of Gears Of War 3 before the official announcement) reveals that Microsoft announced during E3, price, release date and final name of Project Natal.
According to the source Natal will be included in the Xbox 360 Arcade model for $ 299/243 €, prices outside the United States shall be determined by a number of factors including the actual change of currency so that the peripheral acquisition would be around € 121/ $ 149 (at current exchange rates). The global launch is estimated for October 26 but this could vary by two weeks and come with a big advertising campaign.
It was not immediately known whether these reports are true, and Microsoft has not commented on this, although the rumors about the final name of the new device has already begun.
Related posts:
There’s a lot of complex math equations that describe the interaction between fluids and masses of lipids wrapped in keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans cells and Merkels cells in the presence of gravity. This video doesn’t solve any of them. [Gawker TV] More »
Fluid dynamics – Physics – Fluid Mechanics and Dynamics – Companies – University of Massachusetts Lowell
Sony’s announcement today that it’s developed a thin OLED display flexible enough to roll around a pencil (or any other 4 mm object) got me thinking about screens. The screen is quite literally our window to the web for computers, mobile phones, tablets and whatever other device we may have in our pockets, and anyone who walks outside with a Nexus One will quickly tell you that having a fast phone with neat apps doesn’t help when it’s a sunny day and your OLED touchscreen is subsequently so washed out that you can’t see anything.
Flexible screens are pretty cool, as are those you can see in the daylight. But when considering the use cases for mobile phones, laptops, e-readers or tablets, what screen functionality do we need? When it comes to e-readers in particular, some argue that screens that don’t emit a lot of light make reading more comfortable. But then again, e-Ink devices like the Kindle don’t have color, which most people consider pretty darn essential. Humans, barring an accident, disease or genetic defect, are visual creatures, and so as we take computing on the go and embed both connectivity and electronics into our tasks, the right screen is essential.
As I’ve noted previously, a greater emphasis on screen technology (and size) may change the dynamics in the semiconductor industry, in that beauty (nice screens) could soon cost twice as much as the brains (fast processors). But as Sony offers us an opportunity to add flexibility to our displays, the issue of figuring out what devices need in a display becomes that much more difficult. We may have a one-size-fits- all devices, but will we ever make a one-size-fits-all screen? Readers, is a single screen (or device) really appropriate for our needs? If so, what features should that display have?
Related posts from GigaOM Pro (subscription required):
Yesterday an employee at a corporate Verizon gym found an unreleased Motorola Droid Shadow. The device’s owner eventually returned to pick it up, but a photo and specs were still emailed to us. Hours later the gym employee was fired. More »
Verizon Communications – Droid – Smartphone – Handhelds – Motorola Droid Shadow
With the recent release of a new review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it now seems pretty well established that organic foods aren’t any nutritionally better than regular, conventional foods. But one of the comebacks we often hear from skeptical consumers (mostly parents of small children) goes something like this: “Well, maybe that’s true, but going organic helps American farmers abandon the use of harmful pesticides.” Really? Let’s take a closer look and see if organic myths match up with reality.
First, can Certified Organic farmers use pesticides on their Certified Organic crops? Absolutely. Organic production doesn’t allow synthetic pesticides, but they can use “natural” pesticides. What’s a natural pesticide? Common examples include pyrethrins (an extract from the chrysanthemum flower), rotenone (found in roots and stems of several plants), and Bacillus thuringiensis (a nasty bacterium found in soil). Guatemalan farmers have even used fermented urine. So if you think that organic apple doesn't need to be washed, think again.
And are organic pesticides safer and better for us than synthetic pesticides? Not really: Pyrethrins have been linked to tumors in rats. Rotenone has as well (although evidence is somewhat limited),and it’s also been found to cause damage to cells and DNA.
It’s also worth noting that organic pesticides aren’t as efficient as their more modern counterparts. National Review writer John Miller noted back in 2004:
Organic food products also suffer from more than eight times as many recalls as conventional ones. Some of this problem would go away if organic farmers used synthetic sprays — but this, too, is off limits. Conventional wisdom says that we should avoid food that's been drenched in herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. Half a century ago, there was some truth in this: Sprays were primitive and left behind chemical deposits that often survived all the way to the dinner table. Today's sprays, however, are largely biodegradable. They do their job in the field and quickly break down into harmless molecules.
What’s the end result of using less-efficient “natural”pesticides? There are still going to be pests, so organic farmers have to apply more of these chemicals. “[T]he typical organic farmer has to douse his crops with it as many as seven times to have the same effect as one or two applications of a synthetic compound based on the same ingredients,” wrote Miller.
Should we be worried about exposure to these or other organic pesticides? Or synthetic pesticides, for that matter? Let’s add a little context.
Dr. Bruce Ames, who invented a test bearing his name that screens for potential carcinogens, threw cold water on chemical/cancer scaremongering back in 2000. In a paper co-authored with the director of the Carcinogenic Potency Project at UC-Berkeley, Ames wrote that we take in plenty of chemicals that we don’t realize are even there:
About 99.9 percent of the chemicals humans ingest are natural. The amounts of synthetic pesticide residues in plant food are insignificant compared to the amount of natural pesticides produced by plants themselves. Of all dietary pesticides that humans eat, 99.99 percent are natural: they are chemicals produced by plants to defend themselves against fungi, insects, and other animal predators….
Americans eat about 1,500 mg of natural pesticides per person per day, which is about 10,000 times more than the 0.09 mg they consume of synthetic pesticide residues.
So repeat this three times: “It’s the dose that makes the poison.” Many of these pesticides (both synthetic and organic) are pumped into rats in abnormally large doses to determine their lethality and toxicity—in other words, at levels far, far higher than how consumers usually encounter them.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with buying organic. But since the supposed health benefits don’t measure up, it’s hard to say whether consumers should believe that a warm, fuzzy feeling is worth the extra cost in a $5 tomato.
Filed under: Hybrid, Technology, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Electric
Back in 2006 when the Chevrolet Volt was first conceived, its extended-range electric (ER-EV) powertrain was originally dubbed E-Flex as its configuration was designed to be flexible. The only part of the system that was constant was the electric drive and the presence of a battery. The architecture was designed so any type of powerplant could be used as a range extender, and over the last three years concepts have been shown with flex-fuel three-cylinder turbos, inline-four diesels and hydrogen fuel cells.
Ultimately, powertrain chief engineer Larry Nitz and his team opted for a normally aspirated 1.4-liter inline-four for the first generation Volt because it offered the best combination of cost and efficiency. However, while working on the first generation Volt, work on the second-gen. model has been happening in parallel. Way back in May 2007 we talked to then-VP for R&D Larry Burns about using an HCCI engine for the Volt since it could be optimized to operate at steady state speeds and he agreed that was certainly one possible direction.
Right now the top priority for the second-generation Volt is driving down the cost of the powertrain, including the battery. Although automakers are always reluctant to talk about parts pricing, GM’s project management VP, Jon Laukner, has hinted on more than one occasion that the Volt pack costs somewhere in the $600 per kilowatt-hour range or under $10,000 for the 16 kWh unit. The goal is to get that cost down below $400 per kWh in the next few years and a combination of increased volumes and LG Chem launching cell production in western Michigan will certainly help to achieve that.
Reducing the cost of the range extender will also play a part. GM’s VP of global vehicle engineering, Karl Stracke told Inside Line that smaller range extenders in the 15-18 kilowatt range are part of the strategy and either a two-cylinder piston engine or a single rotor Wankel are possibilities to replace the current inline-four. Volt communications manager Rob Peterson confirmed to Autoblog that a number of different variants are being evaluated, but he wouldn’t say if any particular direction has been selected yet.
Powertrain engineering consultant FEV has recently been showing off an ER-EV Fiat 500 with a Wankel range extender. While Wankels are not known for fuel efficiency (quite the opposite actually), a modern direct injected unit for this type of application could be highly optimized to provide acceptable performance and consumption. A Wankel also has the advantage of being both very compact for its output and vibration-free, making it well suited for this type of application. With the first generation Volt only expected to have about a three-year life-span, a final decision will likely be made very soon.
Gallery: Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Inside Line, General Motors]
Next-gen Volt could use diesel, two-cylinder or rotary range extender originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has released an advertisement on the Web regarding Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s statements about the Vietnam War.
The ad includes clips from Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who has become one of Blumenthal’s biggest critics.
A spokeswoman for Blumenthal, Maura Downes, could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday night.
WNPR’s John Dankosky says that the smiling photograph of Blumenthal that is used in the ad actually came from WNPR, which does not endorse any candidates. He is asking for it to be taken down.
Nothing ensures a night of excitement quite like an endorsement from The Biebs. Here’s the latest promo for the 19th annual MTV Movie Awards, featuring host Aziz Ansari and pop sensation Justin Bieber.
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Shaun White, Vanessa Hudgens, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Russell Brand will present popcorn statues at next month’s ceremony in Universal City. In addition, Christina Aguilera will return to the stage for a performance from her new album Bionic (available June 8) and Katy Perry will perform her hit summer anthem “California Gurls.”
Voting in all categories is open through Saturday, June 5 at MovieAwards.MTV.com.
The 2010 MTV Movie Awards air LIVE on MTV Sunday, June 6 @ 9PM ET/8PM C.
The much-talked-about Dell Streak is finally scheduled for release, albeit exclusively to the UK’s O2 network for the time being. The 5-inch touchscreen device is billed as slotting in “between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets” and features a 1GHz processor, 2GB of internal memory and runs on Google’s Android operating system…
Continue Reading UK release confirmed for Dell’s Streak tablet
Tags: Android,
Dell,
Smartphone,
Snapdragon,
Tablet,
Wireless
Related Articles:
While the Marketplace continues to grow and it gets harder and harder to weed through all the new applications, we aim to make your experience as smooth as possible. And so, we bring to you another week of applications that we use.
This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
A group of new blogs have launched at NYU’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program. In my capacity as Visiting Scholar there, I helped some of the students think through how to work blogs into their training at NYU. Mainly, I urged them to think about how to not be boring. I suggested they set up blogs that they themselves would actually want to write, and that weren’t like a lot of other blogs.
And they did! Kids these days.
So check out the whole blog roll, and offer your deeply insightful and constructive critiques. They’re waiting for you.
by Jonathan Hiskes.
My request for President
Obama is simple, really: Dust off the secret presidential SCUBA suit, invite
the Senate’s biggest oil-industry shills on a “fact-finding mission” to the
Gulf (promise shrimp cocktails if necessary), and use them to plug up BP’s
hole.
Failing that, Obama
could start talking about the connection between the oil gusher, climate change,
our crippling national dependency on fossil fuels, and the need for a wholesale
shift to clean energy.
Fortunately, after a
tepid defense of offshore drilling and a maddening
silence about the big energy picture, he’s
finally starting to do just that, talking about renewable energy and the Gulf
fiasco in the same speeches.
From
a San Francisco fundraiser yesterday:
The reason that folks are now having to go down a mile deep
into the ocean, and then another mile drilling into the ground below, that is
because the easy oil fields and oil wells are gone, or they’re starting to
diminish.
That tells us that we’ve got to have a long-term energy
strategy in this country. And we’ve got to start cultivating solar and wind and
biodiesel. And we’ve got to increase energy efficiency across our economy in
our buildings and our automobiles.
Today at
the Solyndra solar panel plant in Fremont, Calif:
Climate change poses a threat to our way of life—in
fact, we’re already beginning to see its profound and costly impact. And the spill in the Gulf, which is just
heartbreaking, only underscores the necessity of seeking alternative fuel
sources …
Fifteen years ago, the United States produced 40 percent of
the world’s solar panels—40 percent. That was just 15 years ago.
By 2008, our share had fallen to just over 5 percent. I don’t know about
you, but I’m not prepared to cede American leadership in this industry, because
I’m not prepared to cede America’s leadership in the global economy.
So that’s why we’ve placed a big emphasis on clean energy …
But we’ve still got more work to do, and that’s why I’m going to keep fighting
to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation in Washington. We’re
going to try to get it done this year, because what we want to do is create
incentives that will fully unleash the potential for jobs and growth in this
sector.
“We’re going to try to
get it done this year” doesn’t presage a full-court press. But it’s a step in the right direction.
Next up, Obama
is set
to announce new offshore drilling regulations on Thursday—another
opportunity to talk fundamentals. On Friday, he’ll
travel to the Gulf to prove his commitment to stopping the bleeding gash in
the Gulf. It’s his best opportunity yet to influence how the country talks
about the state of its energy system.
Lots of smart thinkers
on the left have been arguing that it’s naïve and ineffectual to demand that
Obama somehow “do more” to get the country on a progressive track; he can’t change
the country—and certainly can’t change the minds of intransigent senators—on his own.
But the BP spill might
be big enough to alter the dynamics. Americans can now see with their own eyes
what’s so wrong with our energy system. A
new CBS
poll found a marked drop in public support for domestic offshore drilling-down
17 percent since two summers ago-meaning that more Americans now oppose offshore
exploration than support it. There’s an opening for fundamental change.
“Honestly, I have not
reacted to anything with this much impotent despair since 9/11,” writes an
Andrew Sullivan reader. “Not even Abu Ghraib and our collective, in effect,
non-reaction to it made me feel more negative about the likely course of our
society in the remaining decades of my lifetime.”
Oof-that sounds like a
citizen ready for a bold plan. Obama, by directing the media’s and the public’s
attention to the need for a massive energy shift, can give the issue more of a
boost than it’s gotten in decades. He
can make the point that climate and clean-energy legislation is desperately
needed, now. If Americans follow his
lead, they could—yes, I’m being hopeful here—put enough pressure on other
elected officials (senators) to get moving on an energy bill and other critical
policy changes. I get all tingly thinking about it.
Related Links:
The federal government needs to take command of the disaster response
How would you stop the Gulf oil leak?
Will Obama admin allow Shell Oil to do to Arctic waters what BP did to the Gulf?
A recent study found that poor folks – households earning under $13,000 per year – spend about 9% of all their income on lottery tickets.
The study neatly illuminates the sad positive feedback loop of lotteries. The games naturally appeal to poor people, which causes them to spend disproportionate amounts of their income on lotteries, which helps keep them poor, which keeps them buying tickets.
I wonder what would happen if on a certain number of the losing scratch-off cards, scratching off the latex ink won you free personal finance and budget management services.
Lotteries [The Frontal Cortex] (Thanks to Jim!)
The impact of narrow decision bracketing on lottery play [Journal of Risk and Uncertainty]
