Tres enlaces a entrevistas donde volvemos sobre los temas habituales: la web y lo social, los blogs en esta nueva etapa, los negocios online y hacia donde vamos con tanta tecnología.
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The best mascot the U.S. could come up with for the 1994 World Cup was a generic-looking brown dog with one foot on a soccer ball and his mind on chasing cars, taking naps and, well, anything except playing soccer. Because, you know, we don’t care about soccer here. But at least it wasn’t an ethnic stereotype or offensive representation of the host country, which is more the norm, judging by an illuminating Fast Company slideshow. (There have also been some vaguely creepy characters in the mix.) Take a look at some of the World Cup mascots of yore: an Argentine cowboy with a whip in his hand; British World Cup Willie, the first mascot, from 1966, who’s inexplicably sporting an ’80s rocker hairdo; and Pique, a jalapeno pepper wearing a giant sombrero, baggy clothes and huge ‘stache that Fast Company finds "just a hair behind Speedy Gonzalez" in the gross-cultural-stereotype department. This year’s mascot is kind of a head-scratcher, if you could find his noggin in that big bouffant. Zakumi, a leopard who’ll preside over the tournament starting June 11, represents "the people, geography and spirit of South Africa," according to a FIFA statement. But there’s still no explanation for that hair.
—Posted by T.L. Stanley
Slashdot points us to yet another in a very long line of stories about patents holding back key, potentially life-saving, research. This story involves a biotech firm, StemCells, that is making a legal threat to a hospital doing research on brain diseases in children. Because of the threats, the research has been shut down for three years:
With his research stymied, “all the money has shifted from the lab to the lawyers,” said Schwartz, who said he believes the cells may hold deep secrets to such devastating conditions as autism, brain cancer and neurological disease.
What’s really annoying here is that the doctor doing this research at the hospital had developed the technique himself with some others at the Salk Institute, but they chose not to patent it (perhaps following in the footsteps of Jonas Salk himself, who when asked about patenting the polio vaccine replied: “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”). Of course, StemCells jumped in and patented the technique themselves, and then went after the doctor in the midst of his research.
Apparently, “promoting the progress” doesn’t include saving kids from deadly brain diseases.
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If there’s even been a more sure sign that new iPhones are coming in the immediate future, it’s the fact that Walmart slashed the price of Apple’s iPhone to $97, representing a savings of $100 if you’d purchased it from them last week.
Is this a result of new iPhones around the corner? Does Walmart still have a significant inventory of iPhones to sell off? Looking back a few years ago, Walmart was one of the first third-party distributors outside of Apple and AT&T to offer the coveted iPhone for sale.
With such a huge savings, one can’t help but speculate that a new iPhone is coming in the next few weeks and Walmart plans to have plenty of room to sell it.
The 16GB iPhone 3GS still carries the requirement of activation and a two-year service contract with AT&T. Couple this with AT&T’s recent increase in its early termination fee means that while this phone is a great value, it’s still going to be a while before you can upgrade to whatever Apple announces at WWDC in a couple of weeks.
Still, this could be a good value for some who may not wish to upgrade, who are dissatisfied with AT&T or who may not see any appeal in the rumored fourth generation iPhone. AT&T certainly hasn’t brought tethering to its customers and if the new iPhone does sport a front-facing camera, I get a sneaky vibe that the cost of the unlimited data plan is going to go up.
Walmart’s price for the 32GB iPhone remains unchanged at $297. Historically speaking, larger capacity devices tend to be the best sellers. Undoubtedly, the lower price on the 16GB iPhone 3GS will cannibalize sales of the larger iPhone, so it’s likely that Walmart’s stock of the smaller iPhones is very plentiful, compared to the 32GB version.
Adding to this news are rumors of a new iPhone around the corner is that Apple has slowed or stopped shipments of iPhones to its third-party vendors. Steve has something up his sleeve for week after next and Walmart intends to be ready.
Can you hang on two more weeks to see the new iPhone? Or is it time to upgrade your original phone to an iPhone 3GS for less than $100?
Bret Michaels is set to undergo surgery this fall to repair a hole found in Michaels’ heart earlier this month.
“I don’t have any other options except to think that it’s gonna be great, it’s gonna be a smooth operation and I’m gonna feel awesome,” says Michaels, who was crowned the winner of Celebrity Apprentice over the weekend.
Michaels’ health problems began last month when he was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. He suffered a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage just a week later. During his recovery from the hemorrhage, Michaels, 47, had a mild stroke and doctors found the hole in his heart. Despite battling a litany of medical aliments, Bret flew to New York City to face Holly Robinson-Peete for the hotly-anticipated Apprentice finale.
Just as we Americans are finally really and truly internalizing the real cost of sticking with fossil fuels, due to the Gulf sea floor gusher, a timely NREL study finds wind power makes electricity that’s not just cleaner, but it’s also much cheaper.
If the Western US generated 30% of its electricity with wind power, costs would drop 40%, the NREL reveals in The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study. Under various integration scenarios exhaustively considered in great detail in a “what-if” and “how-to” analysis for the WestConnect group of utilities, there would also be a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 25% and as much as 45%.
The study comes at a welcome time, because this is the year that electric cars are finally poised to appear on the US market, creating a real alternative to the oil-powered commute, since EVs could be charged with clean energy like solar and wind power, and the gulf disaster shows us clearly what the alternative is.
(more…)
Major indices ONLY down 1.1% with an hour to go in trading.
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Thanks to a reader, Ron, who referred me to an abstract showing that vegetarians had lower muscle levels of carnosine, I have updated the VeganHealth page on carnosine and beta-alanine to suggest that vegetarians may very well be able to improve their athletic performance by supplementing with beta-alanine. Link.
Velour’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection is an impressive one with items such as the Reece Long Sleeve Checked Shirt. It comes in an opal green color and is made from organic cotton. It’s a classic fitting shirt that features locker loop detail to the back of the yolk. As pictured above, it’s a perfect base shirt for ties and bowties this summer. Available at Bespoke Boutique.
| Senate Finance Committee | House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee |
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We can’t sit back and let this fake “anti-counterfeiting” agreement become law! If your legislator is listed above as a member of a committee with oversight over the U.S. Trade Representative, tell your lawmaker not to be fooled by this chicanery and demand that ACTA be limited to addressing international counterfeiting.
Filed under: Etc., Celebrities
Ah yes,Top Gear USA. We had nearly given up hope for the American version of the hit British television series until friend-of-Autoblog Adam Carolla let slip details of the series’ subsequent resuscitation on The History Channel during a taping of one of his CarCast episodes. At the time, it was thought that Carolla would be the only one of the original three cast members from the pilot to make the reborn series. As it turns out, that was not the case. What gives?
Apparently, Carolla has a pilot sitcom that he’s currently taping for NBC, and the Peacock wouldn’t let the funny man away long enough to join History’s Top Gear USA. Sad for all, as reports from those who attended the taping of the NBC pilot almost universally praised Carolla’s performance on the show.
Perhaps the most disappointed of all is Carolla himself, who openly dishes on the May 17 edition of his CarCast that he hopes his NBC sitcom is canceled so he can rejoin Top Gear. Click here to listen to the entire episode, but know that there’s some foul language.
[Source: AdamCarolla.com via MotoBullet.com]
Adam Carolla explains why he’s not doing Top Gear USA originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 May 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
BMW EfficientDynamics isn’t a mere categorical name to impress the economy craving consumers and it does manage to attain a very high fuel economy with very low emission numbers as reported by famous UK motoring journo Tom Ford.
Tom drove a 320d on a full tank from UK to Munich and back and he managed to travel a whopping 1013 miles. Calculate those numbers a little better and you get 68.9 mpg and do not miss out on the fact that Tom also reported CO2 emissions of only 109g/km. Tom did drive carefully but he mentioned that he wasn’t conscious of the economy run factor and there were times when he even bagged 75.9mpg. He was thoroughly impressed by the 320d as he mentioned that the dubbing EfficientDynamics isn’t merely efficient by its name, only.
Let me decide
Editor, The Times:
It appears that the King County Council has decided that the public doesn’t know what it wants —only the Council knows [“Sales-tax proposal in jeopardy,” page one, May 22].
Most of the discussion from council members regarding why they would not allow King County residents to vote on a sales-tax increase revolves around the wrong issue. They talk as if they are deciding if we should increase the sales tax and do not talk about whether we should decide if we should increase the sales tax.
It is a subtle but very important distinction.
I am wise enough to know what I think is right. I also know that public safety is important to me. The County Council apparently thinks I do not know what I want or what is important to me.
These same County Council members say the county is spending more than it is making, so that has to change. Who do they think have been in charge of spending decisions over the last few years?
Look in the mirror, County Council, and you will see who is responsible for that dilemma — yet you think for some reason you are going to solve this before we have no more police officers, prosecutors or judges?
My experience living in King County says differently. By my rough calculation, the average tenure of a council member is 10 years.
I suspect council members would make the same decisions they have for the many terms they have served on the council. Why don’t you let me decide this time?
— Steve Tucker, Seattle
Modest sales-tax increase for families
King County Council has made many difficult cuts to our county’s budget during this recession — more than $209 million has been cut already, bringing our county’s general budget down from a high of $837 million in 2008 to $628 million. That is a 25 percent cut, which is serious belt-tightening by most standards.
Yet, we still face further deficits —as much as $140 million over the next two years. Given the reality that more than 75 percent of the county budget supports our law enforcement and justice system, the bulk of any additional cuts would come in those areas.
Unlike a family that often has no choice but to keep reducing discretionary expenses in tough times, our government’s justice system is not a discretionary choice. It is the cornerstone of our sense of fairness and security. We must find the funding to provide it.
The County Council has an option available to prevent these continued deep cuts: It could ask the voters to consider a modest sales-tax increase of $40 per family per year, or just 11 cents a day.
Before we go down the road to possible draconian cuts to the justice system, don’t we owe it to ask the voters first whether or not they want to increase revenues? If they say no, the County Council must act and we would face the consequences of reduced police, prosecutors and a strained court system.
As advocates for access to justice, the County Council should not hide behind the process and should put the question directly to the people.
— James Andrus, King County Bar Association president, Seattle
Tampa Bay, excluding the playoffs the past three seasons, has hired the former star of the Detroit Red Wings Steve Yzerman as Executive Director.
Yzerman served as vice president with the Detroit Red Wings, the only team for whom he played during his illustrious career that has opened the doors of the Hall of Fame. He recently led Canada to the conquest of the Olympic gold medal in his role as Executive Director for the Vancouver Games.
Last month, the new owner of the Lightning, Jeff Vinik, fired coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Brian Lawton after the team had missed the playoffs for a third straight season.
Yzerman had little hope of access to the post of Director General in Detroit in the short term because two of its executives, Ken Holland and Jim Nill, seem to have long term contracts.
“I love my work and my contribution to this organization,” said Yzerman earlier this month after eliminating the Red Wings in the second round of the playoffs.
Yzerman, 45 years old, from Cranbrook, British Columbia, has become one of the best players of the complete history of the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup three times and remains one of the most popular figures in Red Wings, where he has long been the captain.
In the Lightning, Yzerman inherits a team that finished the last season with a record of 34-36-12 and has changed coaches three times in two years.
Since the conquest of the Stanley Cup in 2004, the Lightning has not passed the first round of the playoffs.
Related posts:
Regulations on paying fares need to be enforced
Having driven Metro buses full-time for 25 years, I was glad to see “Scofflaws costing Metro $3.2 million” [NWThursday, May 20].
The problem with “scofflaws” (cheaters) has long been known to drivers. But we are not trained or authorized to be police officers, so we cannot force people to pay or deny rides to those who do not.
Cheaters know this — and that Metro would rarely, if ever, punish them for not paying. The fact that “fare evasion” is a misdemeanor crime would not deter them. Reporting of cheaters to management hardly ever garners any significant response.
I know drivers who have been yelled at, spat on and physically assaulted for just asking for fares.
If Metro really wants to try to collect all its fares, it should adopt a system such as that of the light rail: Riders must buy a ticket or have a pass to use the service or take the chance of receiving a large fine if caught without one. This means transit police must regularly check for tickets and issue citations. Only if enough people see regulations being enforced would they abide by them.
This latest report may spur Metro to change things. But after all my years on the road, I will believe it when I see it.
— Michael Spence, Tukwila
The civil rights dinosaur
In “Inherited clout not a sure thing” [News, May 24], Rand Paul’s statement that businesses have the right to refuse to serve blacks was characterized as “his quibbles with some elements of the Civil Rights Act.”
Quibbles? Paul’s views would undo lunch-counter sit-ins where students sat day after day demanding to be served. His views are racist to the core and to trivialize them as missteps or minor is no service to the reading public. He is a dinosaur and should be put back on the shelf.
— Adrienne Weller, Seattle
A good bad week
The Times showed Rand Paul’s picture with an up arrow in “Good week, bad week” [News, May 23], signaling he had a “good” week.
Apparently, whoever decided he had a good week is knee-deep in the tea-party movement.
Did you miss the part where Paul spoke about the civil-rights amendment and how it should not have required private clubs to be nondiscriminatory? He gave that speech at a golf country club, symbolic to say the least —typically all-white, upper-class.
Later this past week, Paul said he thought Obama was being too hard on BP.
Too hard? BP was caught lying about how much oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico — it is 10 times worse than what BP officials have been claiming. Considering their gross negligence to begin with, the general consensus is that no one appreciates BP these days, except Paul.
— Jim Corbett, Seattle
A heartfelt, but otherwise unconvincing defense
I watched [Republican National Committee Chairman] Michael Steele trying to defend Rand Paul on TV. How could he, of all people, defend the statements made on TV by this tea-party favorite?
Paul exposed himself for the racial bigot that he is. How —in good faith — could any American support this man’s views?
Paul thinks the Massey Coal mining mess and the BP oil mess were just accidents. He said President Obama was blaming BP and Massey unfairly, and was unfairly picking on private enterprise. He said accidents happen. I guess we should just get past it?
— Anne and Bill Dillon, Kent
Last Thursday in San Francisco, Environmental Defense Fund set 24 MBA students loose into the wilds of corporate America. This group of students represents half of our popular summer fellowship program known as EDF Climate Corps. Tasked with cutting carbon emissions and energy costs for some of the largest and most innovative corporations in the world, each MBA fellow will play an instrumental role in the growing energy efficiency movement. Hailing from business schools at top-tier universities such the University of Michigan, Duke and Yale, these fellows gathered for a three-day intensive energy efficiency training hosted by EDF’s Climate Corps staff.
The fellows were shy and humble at first but like old friends by the end – already planning reunions. Over the course of the training, they took tours of downtown San Francisco skyscrapers and spoke with building engineers who explained building components from lighting to elevators, water boilers to chillers and the composition of a one-car-garage-sized absorber.
This year’s class listened to alumni fellows recall the barriers they faced during their Climate Corps fellowships and the solutions they uncovered. One fellow jokingly tugged his collar and whispered “Pressure’s on,” to his neighbor as he learned that every Climate Corps fellow has paid for him or herself a hundred times over in identified savings. The same fellow grinned as Emily Reyna told of the $8 million in energy savings she discovered during her fellowship with Cisco Systems in 2008.
Fortunately the Climate Corps Class of 2010 measures up. They are a well-qualified group, prepared with an in-depth understanding of energy efficiency and a network of relevant contacts, research, white papers and financial tools. So far the program's 33 alumni fellows from the last two years identified almost $90 million in net operating savings. Companies report that they are implementing upgrades representing 84% of the energy savings recommended by the fellows. We are confident that this year's class will continue to recommend investments that cut costs and enhance the bottom line.
One of the questions fellows were continuously encouraged to ask throughout their summer fellowships is “why?”
Joey Barr, an MBA student at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley stated emphatically, “I'm trying to figure out why there are $20 bills laying on the floor and people aren't picking them up. I think there are a lot of understandable but frustrating reasons, and Climate Corps is trying to seek some answers.”
After the training, the group packed their laptops and calculators into their backpacks and dispersed across the country for the next 10 – 12 weeks to become champions of energy efficiency at their respective host companies including JCPenney, Bloomberg, Carnival Cruises and McDonald's, among others.
This week we are hosting the other half of the 2010 Climate Corps class here in EDF's New York City office. Thirty more fellows are attending the training which kicked off at 8:30 this morning in the Big Apple.
“One of the main reasons I wanted an MBA is to impact the world from a higher level,” said Rama Murugan of Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business, before she began the training in New York.” Rama, who will be working at CA, Inc. in Islandia, NY, states “I am passionate about the environment and firmly believe that it needs to be saved for future generations to come. With the Climate Corps fellowship, both of my goals become one, and I have the opportunity to impact the world I live in a way that will help secure its future.”
We look forward to seeing the talent and passion these fellows bring to the table in coming weeks!
For more information on EDF Climate Corps, visit edfclimatecorps.org. You can also sign up to receive email updates from the fellows and host companies.
Staying dormant about environmental issues no longer an option
Given its enormity, the environmental disaster unfolding in the Gulf should be the last one of its kind [“Frustration mounts as oil seeps into Gulf wetlands,” News, May 23].
While official estimates place the oil “leak” at 5,000 barrels a day, more sobering analyses place it at 100,000 barrels a day, making it an oil volcano with no end in sight. What makes this event so tragic is that it was entirely preventable. Even worse, its impact on our country’s wildlife, fisheries, tourism and local economy is completely inestimable at this point.
Whether the oil contamination could spread up the Atlantic coast and whether efforts to contain it would be hampered by the inevitable hurricanes remains to be seen.
This disaster should awaken us to the myriad other man-made environmental catastrophes that are occurring. Annually, 81 tons of mercury enter the atmosphere as a result of coal-fired electrical generators, and farmland greater than the area of Scotland is lost to erosion, plus urban sprawl across the globe.
Every day, more than 100 plant and animal species become extinct and 13 million tons of toxic chemicals are released.
Currently, every square mile of ocean averages 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. In the last 100 years, 90 percent of the large ocean fish have disappeared and in the last 30 years, 50 percent of the world’s forests have been destroyed.
An environmental tipping point has been reached.
A future for humankind and other life-forms is not possible without a transformational change in how each of us treats our environment. We must use the highly visible, expanding “dead zone” of the Gulf as the rallying point for our very survival.
Each of us must become an environmental activist. Not only do we have to live in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way, but we must demand that our government enact strict environmental laws and vigorously enforce them. Failure to act now is no longer an option.
— Marshall Goldberg, Oak Harbor
Drilling response to demand for oil
In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, many are expressing outrage toward BP, Transocean and Halliburton for not taking the precautions necessary to prevent such a disaster.
Without a doubt, this outrage is justified. But we should also ask ourselves why BP was drilling for oil a mile below the ocean surface, offshore from such a biologically rich region.
The answer on the most basic level is because there is a market for oil; those of us who drive gas-powered cars are part of that market. The more we drive, the more BP would drill. Perhaps we should all display pictures of oiled wetlands or idled fishermen on our dashboards.
Being reminded before we turn the key that we are all culprits in this disaster may prompt us to consider taking the bus, walking, riding a bicycle or simply avoiding the trip altogether.
— Jeannette Banobi, Seattle
Tragic accident turned criminal incident
I read “CG commandant: BP using all technical means it can” [Seattletimes.com, May 24]. Frankly, I believe neither BP nor our government.
Is the Gulf of Mexico the geologic equivalent of a hemophiliac? When I get a cut, I could stop the bleeding with pressure or a bandage. We could have had barges taking rock, sand and gravel to cover and plug the well within days of the explosion. Instead, BP decided it would try and siphon the emerging oil into a nearby tanker.
From many reports, it appears there is an epidemic of stooge-like behavior across the industry. With each report, I looked for evidence of Moe, Larry, Curly or Shemp.
Now, the blame game has started, with fingers pointing in every direction. State officials, federal officials and company officials — sounds like a cluster operation.
This country runs on energy, and we need new sources of oil. I support the search for new oil sources. But it is clear that our government cannot legislate faithfulness from the oil industry. Now is the time to assign inspection, arrest and prosecution authority to the Office of the Inspector General.
What happened originally was a tragic accident. What has happened since is criminal.
— Bob Boren, Federal Way
A craving with nasty consequences
As a firm believer in the preservation of the ecology of the Earth, I am disgusted and appalled by the callous decisions made by BP in regard to its oil-drilling policies.
BP officials’ decision to continue to push 24-hour drilling and disregard the safety of their drilling rig has caused the death of innocent workers and put the entire ecology of the Gulf of Mexico in danger of being ruined for years to come. The fragile ecology of the coastlines may never recover and for what —more money.
We need to improve the way we use oil by making more fuel-efficient vehicles and finding ways to use alternative fuel sources to fuel transportation. In essence, we need to become less dependent on oil as our main energy source. I know that I am not only speaking for myself, but for millions of other Americans.
— Marcia Thomas, Spanaway
Zug.com’s Bayan Rabbani is a glutton for punishment. Having spent 24 hours inside a Walmart in the name of comedy journalism, he thought he was ready to spend 24 hours inside a Starbucks. He was wrong.
Largely his story is one of a man who staves off boredom through constant sugar-laden caffeine beverages, tweets, and attempts to interact with fellow customers that are largely in vain. At one point Bayan tries to get a game of espresso pong but the manager
puts the kibosh on it, reminding Bryan that acting weird and that disturbing the carefully crafted casual corporate coffeehouse vibe can get you kicked out.
I’m mainly fascinated by the effect of so much coffee in such a short period of time:
3:06 PM May 14: 15 hours, 11 restroom visits, and 16 drinks in. At this point, it really felt like I was seeing things. The drinks weren’t the worst part, it was mostly the restroom. My bladder began to hurt. Later it would go numb.
3:45 PM May 14: It feels like my body is throwing up from the outside into my insides. Trust me, in my delirious condition it makes perfect sense. For some reason, my skin began to feel really hot. I ran to the restroom thinking I would barf, but I managed to keep everything inside.
12:03 AM May 14th: 24 HOURS, 19 RESTROOM BREAKS, 25 DRINKS! I DID IT!!!!
Venti Me, anyone?
Bayan’s Twitter feed from the experiment [Twitter]
The Starbucks Experiment: 24 Hours Trapped Inside Starbucks [Zug]
PREVIOUSLY: Man Spends 24 Hours In A Walmart, Lives To Tell The Tale
