Mereja

Category: News

  • Charlie Sheen Returns To “Two And A Half Men”

    For those who care, Charlie Sheen, the highest-paid actor on television, has agreed to reprise his role as womanizing writer Charlie Harper on the CBS sitcom Two And A Half Men for an additional two years, after threatening to walk away from the hit show over a salary dispute as his private life spiralled out of control.

    Sheen, who has been nominated for four Emmys for his art-imitating-life role as the sex-crazed bachelor, is currently facing domestic violence charges in Colorado following a Christmas Day argument with his crack-addicted wife, Brooke Mueller. Production on the series was halted when he checked into rehab.

    Sheen has issued a statement confirming he will return to the show just in time for the network’s upfronts, which will take place on Wednesday.

    “To put a fitting end on the two and one-half months of whirlwind speculation, I’m looking forward to returning to my CBS home on Monday nights,” Sheen said in a statement on Monday evening. “I want to thank Les Moonves for his support.”

    Two And A Half Men just wrapped shooting on its seventh season. Sheen’s new contract will take the show through until 2012.


  • Adiabatic Theory predicts slight cooling from Doubled CO2

    Article Tags: Book, GV Chilingar, LF Khilyuk, OG Sorokhtin

    Image AttachmentRussian physicists OG Sorokhtin, GV Chilingar, and LF Khilyuk noted in their book Global warming and global cooling. Evolution of climate on earth. Developments in Earth & Environmental Sciences (Elsevier 2007) that conventional greenhouse theory is not based on sound physical derivation, with most calculations and predictions based on intuitive models using numerous poorly defined parameters and unproven positive feedback forcing from CO2.

    Most conventional interpretations and models, such as those of the IPCC, consider only one component of heat transfer- radiation- to create a flat earth radiation budget of the atmosphere, ocean, and land masses, and do not adequately address the impact of e.g. convection and circulation on a rotating sphere. In contrast, the Sorokhtin et al adiabatic theory considers earth as an open, dissipative system that can be described by non-linear equations of mathematical physics, taking into account the formation of stable thermodynamic structures in each compartment, between compartments, and ruled by strong negative feedbacks (e.g. convection, water cycles, clouds). They devised a model based on well-established relationships among physical fields describing the mass and heat transfer in the atmosphere and subsequently published the paper Cooling of Atmosphere Due to CO2 in Energy Sources

    Click source to read more

    Source: hockeyschtick.blogspot.com

    Read in full with comments »   


  • Bricks made in room temperature using bacteria, sand, calcium chloride and urine

    Bio-Manufactured-Bricks.jpg
    Answering natures call isn’t just throwing out waste anymore. Thanks to an American architecture professor in Abu Dhabi, we can now use urine to create bricks! These types of sustainable bricks are “built” from bacteria, sand, calcium chloride and urine.

    The pee-less method used today to make bricks involve the use of brick kilns, huge ovens that tend to eat up a load of energy. Well, instead of using those energy wasters to make building material, we can now simply use this eco-friendly way, of creating bricks at room temperature. Using microbial-induced calcite precipitation, chemical reactions cause the microbes on sand to join, creating bricks looking like sandstone, strong as clay-fired bricks or even marble! Now using urea in this process might raise a few eyebrows, since these bricks will end up being the walls of our homes in future, but then again, it is indirectly a form of recycling urine that would just end up in sewers anyway!

    [Gizmodo]

  • Zapping Mosquitos

    It appears someone is beginning to take the human war on mosquitoes seriously.  The fact that it was so readily cobbled together is rather good news. It suggests that the next order of magnitude is possible and that works for me. 
    The needs of the modern consumer are simple.  He wants to sit in his back yard in a fairly open place on a summer evening and relax with a beverage in hand.  It takes little to make him happy.
    Lasers can protect a large cube around that consumer as a minimal design plan. 
    Everyone else in the world wants the same protection, but right now a simple fifteen by fifteen by ten cube will satisfy plenty of paying customers who want their patios back for the whole summer.
    Establish that market and the rest will follow naturally as need and funding dictates.
    Using Lasers to Zap Mosquitoes
    February 12, 2010, 9:16 AM
    By JENNIFER 8. LEE
    TED / James Duncan DavidAt the annual TED conference in Long Beach, Calif., Nathan Myhrvold presented a laser, built using common consumer electronic parts, that shoots down mosquitoes.
    Can consumer electronics be used to combat malaria?
    Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s former chief technology officer, thinks so. His company, Intellectual Ventures, has assembled commonly available technology — parts used in printers, digital cameras and projectors — to make rapid lasers to shoot down mosquitoes in mid-flight. If bed nets are the low-tech solution to combat the deadly disease — caused by a parasite transmitted when certain mosquitoes bite people — the laser is a high-tech one.
    He gave the first public demonstration of the laser, which was cobbled together from parts found on eBay, at the annual TED conference in Long Beach, Calif., which features lectures and demonstrations by experts in a wide range of fields, including technology, politics and entertainment.
    After hundreds of mosquitoes (which were kept in the hotel bathroom until showtime) were released into a glass tank, a laser tracked their movements and slowly shot them down, leaving their carcasses scattered on the bottom of the tank. While the demonstration was slowed down for public viewing, Mr. Myhrvold said that normally the lasers could shoot down anywhere between 50 to 100 mosquitoes per second.
    Mr. Myhrvold played a slow-motion recorded video that showed what happened to a representative mosquito. As the insect flew, a sudden light beam struck it, disintegrating parts of its body into a plume of smoke. It fell, even as its wings continued to beat.
    Mr. Myhrvold said the software detects the speed and size of the image before deciding whether to shoot. It would reject a butterfly or a human, for example, and more powerful laser blasts could be used for locusts. In regions afflicted by malaria, the lasers could be used to create protective fences around clinics, homes, or even agricultural fields as a substitute for pesticides.
    The idea was born from a 2008 brainstorming session held on strategies for killing malaria-bearing mosquitoes, a particular interest of Mr. Myhrvold’s friend and former boss, Bill Gates, who has made the illness one of priorities of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (to the point that Mr. Gates released mosquitoes into the audience at last year’s conference).
    The idea of lasers — a miniature “Star Wars” weapons system — was thrown into the mix. “Everyone was like, ‘C’mon, be serious,’” Mr. Myhrvold said in an interview after the demonstration. After doing a little bit of research, he said, his team concluded that “this is feasible. We can actually do it. So we did.”
    The breakthrough relied on understanding how the technology that guides the precision of laser printing could be combined with the image-detecting charge-coupled devices, or C.C.D.’s, used in digital cameras and powerful image processing software. Mr. Myhrvold said he thinks there is particular potential in the Blu-ray laser technology, because blue lasers are more powerful than red ones and there are a lot of them being made cheaply now.
    He estimates that the devices could potentially cost as little $50, depending on the volume of demand. However, his company would not manufacture them. Rather, it built the technology mostly as a proof of concept. (Among other things, his company is also working on cooking technology.) Other companies would have to take the laser technologies to market, so the timeline for seeing the lasers in common use is uncertain.
    The laser detection is so precise that it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted. “The women are bigger. They beat at a lower frequencies,” Mr. Myhrvold said. Since it is only the female mosquitoes who bite humans, for the sake of efficiency, his system would leave the males alone.

  • Automobile Insurance Steps from the best auto insurance companies

    When you buy a car, you have to do automobile insurance on it so that in case of any accident you can get coverage for any type of damage.

    If there is any accident you should know how you will claim for your damage. So know everything in details, how you can claim your automobile insurance. 

    What to do for filing insurance claim 

    To get compensation for the loss incurred in an auto accident, you need to under the following steps: 

    1.Understand your policy before the accident: When you’re doing automobile insurance with a company, you should understand all the terms and conditions and what type of coverages they are offering. You should also know the detailed process of filing a claim, if an accident occurs.
     
    2.Exchange personal information: If you meet with an accident then note down the other driver’s name, address, phone number, insurance information and license number. If he wants, you should also provide him with your personal information. 
     
    3.Identify witness: If there is any witness when the accident occurred, get their names, addresses and phone numbers. This may come useful if their account of the accident is needed during the processing of the claim.
     
    4.Have medical treatment: If there is any injury do not neglect it. You can either go to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment or call 911 if the injury is life threatening.
     
    5.Report the accident: You should immediately file the accident report with the local law enforcement officials and ask them to have the accident report prepared.
     
    6.Notify your insurer: You should immediately notify your insurance company about the accident and the damage incurred. If the accident occurred due to the other driver’s fault, his insurance company will review the accident report and will give you compensation for the repair and replacement of your car. If you get insurance compensation from the other driver’s company, you don’t have to file for claim with your insurer and you don’t have to pay a deductible.
     
    7.Agree to have an evaluation on your damage: You should allow the insurance company to evaluate the damage and estimate the cost towards repairing and replacement. When they are evaluating, you should also be present there so that no damage will get overlooked.
     
    8.Do not release your insurance company in a hurry: Until and unless you are completely satisfied with the settlement for your damage, do not release the insurance company. In case of bodily injury you can demand money for the treatment. In case of damage to your car, the insurance company should pay for the repair and replacement of your car.
     
    If you follow the steps mentioned above in filing your automobile insurance claim, you will get compensation for the damage of your car.  

    Thank you Martha for the guest post!

  • U-Powered USB portable solar charger by Kiwi Choice

    U-Powered-USB-solar-charger-1.jpg
    Here’s yet another device to juice the sun of its energy and power up, instead of connecting to a grid back here on earth. The Sun Drive solar charger by Zyrus and the GreenMobile USB charger have a sun-powered companion. The U-Powered USB portable solar charger by Kiwi Choice helps make your outdoor time a little easier, soaking in the sun and powering up your devices.

    The device unfolds into a tripod with three solar panels, which when exposed to direct sunlight, can also store energy in it for later use. Just incase you don’t rely on the sun too much, or are anticipating a cloudy day out; you can also connect this one to your PC to store some charge in it for later use. You can have one of these for $49.99.

    U-Powered-USB-solar-charger-3.jpg

    U-Powered-USB-solar-charger-2.jpg

    [Engadget]

  • Synchrophasor Boom





    This item gives us a snapshot of the present of power grid upgrades.  It is still not too fast but it is surely moving forward.
    A take home here is that weather related power outages may largely become a thing of the past unless a local line goes down.  We will see system wide outages prevented.
    It is really a small gain but certainly a confidence builder.
    I would like to see more effort spent on EMP protection, or at least have someone explain how it will really be only a short term inconvenience.  Protecting hardware is a serious design problem that needs to be mandated.  I know that the distribution system itself cannot be protected cheaply and by that I mean the cables.  However, those parts can come back up quickly.  It is all the remaining hardware that really needs to be isolated in Faraday cages with failsafes built in.
    The advent of automatic equipment is coming close to the needs of a robust system able to even react properly to an EMP pulse.  Just been able to shut down to prevent damage would be quite effective.  A really strong pulse would directly damage unshielded hardware and that needs to be thought about more.
    Again this is all part of the developing demand for a robust national grid to support an electric Car industry.
    A Synchrophasor Boom
    It’s not just a cool word—synchrophasors are key to optimizing grid automation.
    http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/a-synchrophasor-boom
    http://www.greentechmedia.com/content/images/articles/phasor-unit-measurement.jpg
    Five years ago, Roy Moxley could barely get anyone to listen as he preached about synchrophasors. Today, Moxley, a marketing manager for synchrophasors at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, can barely keep up with installation inquiries.
    Integrating synchrophasor devices, a.k.a. phasor measurement units, is one focal point of updating high voltage substations into dynamic centers of real-time information. The devices, which sit in electrical substations, take real-time measurements off of transmission lines about 30 times a second and timestamp them using GPS. They can coordinate measurements from across the country simultaneously, giving a full picture of what is happening on the wider grid and alerting an operator if measurements in two places are out of sync. Now, utilities can obtain data on the pulse of their networks every few seconds, if they are lucky. With these units, utilities ideally can start to prepare themselves better to avoid brown-outs or to accept sudden surges of power from wind or solar farms.
    Although the recent attention has been on smart meters, many utilities are also zeroing in on substation automation, which includes synchrophasors, distribution feeder automation and communications networks to relay information faster and with more reliability. (Check out more on smart grid infrastructure at The Networked Grid conference, taking place May 18 and 19 in Palm Springs.)
    “The substations are in the heart of the grid and they are the places where we can take the actions necessary to bring in the green power,” said Moxley. “This is the real smart grid.”
    SEL is a major player in substation automation, along with ABB, Macrodyne, Mehta Tech and Siemens. There are also a host of smaller companies entering the market and keeping the old guard on its toes.
    Moxley estimates that SEL is actively talking to around 75 utilities about how to integrate synchrophasors into substations, although he said there are many more just placing orders without asking for advice. Various other utilities are also buying synchrophasors from other manufacturers. China, Brazil and Mexico also have robust synchrophasor markets.
    Currently, China is the clear leader in the industry, with more than 1,000 units already deployed, according to Arun Phadke, an IEEE Smart Grid Technical Expert and a volunteer for the IEEE Power & Energy Society. He expects to see the U.S., which currently has about 250 units in place, reach that level in the coming years.
    “Synchrophasors offer a higher level of intelligence to all [automated substation] functions,” said Phadke. “Automation already exists, but synchrophasors brings it closer to optimal automation.”
    Substation automation is not just about making an individual point smarter, but empowering communications across the grid. “The paradigm shift is that no longer is it simply, ‘if this happens, switch this,’” said Wes Sylvester, the Director of Smart Grid for Siemens Energy. Instead, synchrophasors can prevent power swings before they happen, as was the case in New Orleans during Hurricane Gustav, when synchrophasors allowed Entergy to keep the lights on for an estimated 250,000 customers, saving the utility more than $2 million in projected repair costs.
    Currently, synchrophasor measurements are used to improve situational awareness, rather than provide true automation, says Alison Silverstein, the project manager for the North American SynchroPhasor Initiative. Currently, only Southern California Edison has automated operations using phasor data. But many other utilities are unfurling strategies around them or already integrating them into their grids. Many of these efforts are being supported by Department of Energy grants.
    That is expected to change in coming years as utilities gain more experience using the data and DOE Smart Grid Investment grants with matching private funding bring more than 800 synchrophasors onto the grid.
    “Two years ago, there were probably 10 large utilities [integrating synchrophasors],” said Moxley. “It’s been a huge growth. It enables utilities to do more with less.”

  • Ex-CEO of Intel Invests $1.5m Into Medical Research [Medicine]

    Being a Parkinson’s disease sufferer, and previously having prostate cancer, Andrew Grove knows all to well the ins and outs of hospital life. That’s partly why the ex-CEO and chairman of Intel has pumped money into “translational medicine” research. More »










    Health – Medical research – Conditions and Diseases – Parkinson’s disease – Cancer

  • Demi Lovato Escorts Childhood Pal To Prom

    It was a weekend all about corsages and frilly gowns for teen superstar Demi Lovato. The singer/actress took a brief break from her role as “The Future Mrs. Joe Jonas” and kept her promise to a childhood friend by accompanying him to his prom.

    The singer/actress made a vow to Nolan Narddechia when they were in kindergarten to be his prom date, and even though she has found fame since they both grew up, Lovato kept her word and went with Narddechia to his prom in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night.

    Demi looked stunning in a long red dress, posing proudly with her pal on their way to the prom.

    “A promise made in kindergarten finally coming true… Prom with Nolan! Everything about this weekend was amazing. I love my best friends… Texas, you will be missed,” Demi wrote in a caption beneath a picture posted to her Twitter.com page on Monday.


  • Mitsubishi Electric’s smart grids for homes and commercial facilities

    Mitsubishi_1.jpg
    Mitsubishi have jumped aboard the smart grid brigade and are here with one of their own. Mitsubishi Electric will invest $76 million in a project like this. Two installations will mark Mitsubishi’s entry in smart grids, a residential-size building and a commercial facility. These will boast power generation with photovoltaic panels and energy storing facilities.

    Smart meters and electronics using cutting edge technology will monitor the flow of energy. The residential installation will use a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic array and a home energy-management system with appliances connected in a network. Mitsubishi Electric will also experiment with a four-megawatt solar array mini power station juiced by the sun. Looks like Samsung and Panasonic have yet another peer to keep up with in smart grid technology.

    [CNET]

  • Hidesign To Have Infibeam As eCommerce Partner

    Online Shopping IndiaIndia’s leading leather brand, Hidesign, has partnered with Infibeam.com to revamp its online presence in India. Through the new alliance, Infibeam.com’s technology platform will power http://hidesign.com offering a wide range of merchandise for men & women. As part of the agreement, Infibeam.com will also manage the eCommerce infrastructure, and search engine optimization for the site.

    Speaking on the alliance, Mr. Vikas Kapur, International Director, Hidesign, who oversees Hidesign’s website and e-marketing initiatives said “Hidesign’s online website caters to a clientele that is diverse and distributed across the globe. We are delighted to launch a brand new website in association with our eCommerce partner Infibeam.com. Some of the highlights of the new website include an information rich shopping experience, search engine friendliness, and most important of all easy navigation & checkout.” He added, “The fresh look & feel is true to our identity as a global fashion brand. The new website also includes a unique section presenting the history and timeline of Hidesign through a nice visual sketch.”

    On the launch of the new website, Mr. Ajay Chandra, VP Brand Stores, Infibeam.com, added, “Hidesign is one of the foremost Indian luxury brands renowned internationally. We are proud to announce our partnership with Hidesign to run their online website using Infibeam’s eCommerce technology. The awesome collection of leather products from Hidesign with high resolution images on the site are a treat for the fashion connoisseurs around the world.

    The store selection includes workbags for the office, totes for the new age woman, travel bags and stylish wallets. The leather goods & accessories from Hidesign also come in various shades of colors such as red, bronze and bottle green in addition to the classic black. The online store will help customers choose from a wide range of our bags, wallets and accessories. Through the online store, customers will also be able buy or gift Hidesign gift vouchers which are redeemable at all Hidesign’s offline stores. Currently, the website caters only to Indian customers but will be opened up for international market in the next three months.

    The incomparable quality of Hidesign products with the user friendly shopping experience on the website, makes the store, one of a kind. The online store is bound to augment the choices for leather goods shopping. Check out the Spring Summer 10 Collection on the site.

    About Hidesign.com:
    Hidesign is a leading leather goods manufacturer, founded by Dilip Kapur at Puducherry in 1978. Hidesign had its roots from a two-man workshop and is today, a company of 3,000 spread all over the world. In the past 30 years, it has remained focused on innovation, based on the heritage of craftsmanship. The brand currently operates over 50 stores in India and about 10 stores overseas.

    About Infibeam.com:
    Infibeam.com owns and operates an e-commerce retail portal www.infibeam.com as well as customized products portal www.picsquare.com. The company also provides e-commerce and interactive marketing services to brands, retailers and media companies in India and internationally.

    The company’s technology services include e-commerce engine with a set of configurable features that enables Web store functionality, such as product presentation, merchandising, shopping cart, and checkout. It also offers Web store management tools to manage the Web stores administration, product and catalog content, and reporting; Web infrastructure and managed hosting; order management and processing; and reporting and analytics services.

    In addition, the company provides fulfillment services, customer care services, interactive marketing services, and online advertising and design services. Infibeam.com was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

    Source: Auto News India

  • Bret Michaels at Oprah, The Apprentice and His New VH1 series

    Bret Michaels, who recently recovered from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, tells his story at “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. The Poison front man stated, “It just exploded instantly— ran from my temple down to the back of my skull.” The singer/ reality star spent two weeks in the intensive care unit, yet he said that he insisted on wearing his signature bandanna throughout the suffering, even while he was confined to his hospital bed. “I said, If I’m going out, I want to go out rockin’.”

    Michaels is also one of the top two finalists on “The Celebrity Apprentice”. He has come down near the finish line and is vying for the title and the $250,000 prize money for his charity together with Holly Robinson Peete. He is still in the midst of intense physical rehab. He announced last week that he will return to the stage at Hard Rock in Biloxi, Mississippi on May 28. Michaels also revealed his next TV project VH1 for the series “Life As I Know It”. The reality show debuts on May 31. Jeff Olde, executive vice president of original programming and production at the network said, “We’d like to celebrate Bret’s recovery with this sneak peak special featuring the next chapter in Bret’s story on VH1. It’s a never-before-seen look into Bret’s family life — the real center of his world from which he draws his unsinkable strength.”

    No related posts.

  • Clay Christensen Speaks at Technology Alliance on Disruptive Innovations in Education, Health, VC

    Technology Alliance
    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    A roomful of 850 business leaders and policy makers got some serious food for thought at yesterday’s annual “State of Technology” Luncheon in Seattle, organized by the Technology Alliance. The guest of honor was Clayton Christensen, the Harvard Business School professor who coined the term “disruptive innovation” in a series of bestselling business books starting with The Innovator’s Dilemma. It was fascinating to hear Christensen’s ideas and research lessons applied to everything from the steel industry and mainframe computing to the contemporary concerns of healthcare and education.

    Before diving into Christensen’s talk, I first need to cover a few Seattle-area concerns. Speaking of the steel industry, Seattle-based Modumetal, a nanotech and advanced materials startup, was named “2010 company of the year” by the Alliance of Angels at the lunch. Modumetal has been getting an increasing amount of attention as it wins contracts and forms partnerships to integrate its nanomaterials into more mainstream applications like cars, jet engines, buildings, and bridges. (There is some debate about whether Modumetal fits with Christensen’s “disruptive” model—it might hinge on how the company handles its partnerships with potential competitors.)

    Technology Alliance chair Jeremy Jaech, the CEO of Verdiem (and the co-founder of Aldus and Visio), gave an impassioned talk on the impact of the tech sector on Washington state’s economy and employment stats. For example, there were more than 380,000 tech jobs in the state as of the first half of 2009, which account for 13 percent of all jobs in Washington. What’s more, he said, those tech jobs support a total of 1.2 million jobs in fields like construction, recreation, and service industries—a whopping 42 percent of all employees. Jaech urged state leaders to do more to support education and to “stop treating the technology industry like Mount Rainier”—noticing it on sunny days and taking it for granted the rest of the time.

    Then it was time for the keynote. Christensen’s recent interests have been in how to manage innovation in education and healthcare more effectively, and he went into some depth on these topics. First, he gave an overview of his “disruption” theory, which says, in a nutshell, that across a wide range of industries, successful startups have won not by creating breakthrough innovations, but by going to market with “a product that was simple and affordable,” gaining market share at the low end of cost and performance, and then gradually working their way up-market, while decentralizing access to their products. Conversely, the big, centralized incumbents have trouble dealing with such new entrants, but will usually crush adversaries who come in trying to be better than them and selling to their mainstream customers.

    One example is the familiar historical progression in computing from mainframes to mini-computers to personal computers to laptops and mobile devices, Christensen said. (Mainframes actually still exist, but they have been marginalized.) His discussion of the steel industry since the 1970s—how cheaper, simpler mini-mills gradually displaced billion-dollar integrated mills—was particularly captivating. And some ongoing case studies include low-end automakers Hyundai, Kia, and Chery threatening the long-term future of Toyota and other incumbents.

    Turning his attention to healthcare, Christensen said, “I had thought competition drives cost down. It turns out that’s not true. Sustaining competition among similar business models generally …Next Page »

    Comments | Reprints | Share:  
    Retweet
     Facebook
     Email
     Share

    UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS



























  • Innovation for a sustainable growth of maritime sectors

    European Maritime Day 2010 logo

    At the third edition of the European Maritime Day in Gijón ,Spain, scientists from the JRC’s Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC) will present the latest research developments for improved capabilities in maritime surveillance, with particular emphasis on information derived from satellite-based observations.

    The Vessel Detection System (VDS), developed by the JRC-IPSC, is just one successful example of how satellite-based systems can help monitoring compliance with EU regulations at sea. By integrating vessels positions from different sources and comparing them with vessels detected on the satellite image, the VDS can facilitate the work of coastal guards by better targeting inspection areas. Since 2009, EU legislation foresees the use of VDS in contexts where its cost-effectiveness can be proven. From detecting illegal fishing vessels to oil spills monitoring and enhanced border security, technologies and concepts developed by the JRC-IPSC support the European Commission towards an integrated European maritime policy.

  • See how 180SX built at Nissan Factory in Japan

    See how one of the legendary drift cars 180SX built at Nissan Factory in Japan. The car shared the same chassis with the Nissan 200sx, 240sx which is S13 chassis. Watch as Ken Nomura visits Nissan to watch the build of several 180SX’s one of which will leave the factory with him. It is great to watch brand new 180sx was built and non corroded parts on an S13 Chassis.

    Source: Cars, Fast Cars, Cool Cars, Sports Cars

  • Capps: Piracy made Epic switch focus to consoles

    Epic Games first made a name for itself as a PC developer. Nowadays, though, the developer has shifted its focus onto consoles. According to Epic president Mike Capps, piracy made them do it.

  • John Travolta Dogs Killed In Airport Accident

    Two dogs belonging to stars John Travolta and Kelly Preston were run over and killed on the runway of Bangor International Airport in Maine after the family’s private jet landed there last Thursday.

    A service vehicle at the airport struck and killed The Travoltas’ dogs as the pets were being walked, according to airport officials. The city issued the statement after The Bangor Daily News newspaper confirmed the accident through an e-mail from the city manager to the City Council.

    The airport’s interim manager Bob Farrar and airport director Rebecca Hupp released the following statement concerning the incident.

    “At approximately 1am on Thursday, May 13, 2010 an airplane carrying members of the John Travolta family landed at BIA. While there, two small dogs were taken for a walk by someone who is not a family member. An airport service pickup truck was approaching the airplane to service the airplane and did not see the dogs. Unfortunately, the dogs were struck and killed.”

    How incredibly sad! Especially when you consider that its only been a year since The Travoltas lost their beloved son Jett.


  • What is the best GPS system for cars

    Going to get a GPS system for your car but don’t know what is the best GPS system for cars? Here is the best top 10 GPS system together with the price range. It is no doubt nowadays there are many GPS enabled phones available everywhere from NOKIA to iPhone to Samsung. However, the GPS system for cars is still far from obsolete as the functionality is way better than what GPS enabled phone can provide.

    What is the best GPS system for cars

    GPS system for cars can clearly tell you how to go point B from point A in many ways with many features where this is not available in certain GPS phone. For example, the real-time traffic updates, better land mark information, more points of interest (POI), and also a bigger screen to read if compared to smartphones. See also world best car alarm systems.

    There are many GPS manufacturers and it may make you feel undecided when choosing the best GPS system for your car. The top 10 famous manufacturers for GPS system are TomTom, Mio, Harman Kardon, TeleNav, Magellan, Garmin, Navigon, HP iPaq, Dash, and Motorola. You can start your survey from the brand.

    How to choose the best GPS system for your car?

    So, what is the best GPS system for cars? Choose the GPS system base on your needs. You can compare the function of each GPS system you come across such as:

    The screen size, some are wide-screen and some are standard screen. It depends on how big the screen size you prefer.

    Bluetooth connection. The Bluetooth connection is one of the latest technologies where some GPS system does not have this feature. It allows you to connect with your mobile phone while driving.

    Real-time traffic display. This features is for people who always travel during peak hours, it is very useful especially during working hours.

    Power option. Some GPS work from batteries and some work from the power plug. Go for something rechargeable so that you don’t have to spend more for batteries.

    Price. Yes price does matter.

    Other features. GPS tracking, voice directions, updatable maps, user friendly are all the consideration.

    Best Top 10 GPS system for cars

    Here is the best top 10 GPS system Editor’s picks. The device was ranked base on the price range.

    3 Best GPS system for $250 and below

    #1 Garmin nuvi 205, List Price $189.99 – 3.5-inch display screen, Trip log display, MSN Direct, Photo navigation
    #2 Garmin nuvi 200, List Price $199.99 – 3.5-inch display screen, JPEG picture viewer, World travel clock, Pre-loaded maps for 48 states
    #3 TomTom ONE 130, List Price $149.99 – 3.5-inch display screen, Text-to-speech, Help Me! Safety feature, Map Share, 6.7 pounds

    3 Best GPS system for $250 to $300

    #1 TomTom GO 920T, List Price $349.95 – 4.3-inch display screen, Enhanced Positioning Technology (EPT), Voice commands, FM transmitter, Bluetooth, Map Share
    #2 Mio DigiWalker C520, List Price $299.99 – 4.3-inch display screen, MP3 and WMA player, Bluetooh, Video player
    #3 TomTom GO 930, List Price $399.95 – 4.3-inch display screen, IQ Routes, Speed Limit Warning, Map Share, Map Corrections, Custom Voices

    3 Best GPS system for $500 and above

    #1 Garmin nuvi 880, List Price $799.99 – 4.3-inch display screen, Voice-activated navigation, Dynamic MSN Direct content, Multi-segment routing, MP3 player, Photo navigation, Custom POI, Real-time traffic, Audible audiobook player
    #2 TomTom GO 300, List Price $536.00 – 3.5-inch display screen, Multi-destination routing, Bluetooh, Easy-to-use
    #3 Harman Kardon Guide + Play 810, List Price $500.00 – More than 12 million POI, Bluetooh, JPEG picture viewer, FM transmitter, Wireless remote

    In conclusion, knowing what kind of features you exactly need when you driving will lead you to find out what is the best GPS system for cars.
    what is the best GPS system for cars

    Source: Cars, Fast Cars, Cool Cars, Sports Cars

  • Specter’s Last Stand?

    Pennsylvania Democrats got dire news in the last few days from their own internal polls about Senator Arlen Specter’s re-election hopes.

    Private Democratic polls suggest Specter, who quit the GOP to run as a Democrat, could lose by as much as 8 percentage points in Tuesday’s primary, to two-term Congressman Joe Sestak, who was recruited by party officials to run against Specter, when Specter was still the Republican incumbent.

    Specter is now counting on the state’s Democratic machine to keep his political future alive. Governor Ed Rendell has promised his organization will get out the vote and Democrats in Washington have been shoveling money Specter’s way.

    But statewide turnout is expected to be low, 35 percent at best. Rain is in the forecast.

    Turnout models for Philadelphia and Allegheny county, where Specter must win big, are abysmal. Philadelphia has the Keystone state’s highest concentration of Democrats…but as few as 110 thousand or 15 percent are expected to turn out Tuesday.

    Sestak ran a strong race and raged against his own party for preferring a former Republican to himself, a lifelong Democrat and retired navy admiral. He surged to a tie, then the lead, with an attack ad that included Specter saying on tape that switching parties would enable him to get re-elected.

    Specter is a feisty and resourceful politician, it ain’t over till it’s over, and his organization is superior to Sestak’s. It will make the difference one way or the other.

    This race has always been mostly about Specter. Yes, there is a pronounced anti-incumbent, anti-Washington, anti-establishment undercurrent but Specter makes it different. He has served longer than any other Pennsylvania senator. He infuriated Republicans for years for what he now admits was being a RINO (Republican in name only). He ran for president in 1996 against his own majority leader, Bob Dole.  Specter has been a lightning rod of controversy for years, and now he’s a party switcher.

    Sestak’s ads and rhetoric helped, the anti-incumbent mood contributed, but in the end this race is, and always was about Arlen Specter and whether this was his last stand.

  • Financial Reform Advocates Lobby the Lobbyists

    Showdown on K Street protesters in New York on Sunday (showdowninamerica.org)

    On Monday, with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) promising a final vote on financial regulatory reform in the next few days, rather than weeks, thousands descended on K Street in Washington, D.C., to lobby the lobbyists.

    Image by: Matt Mahurin

    Image by: Matt Mahurin

    The union giants SEIU and AFL-CIO as well as community organizing umbrella group National People’s Action held a “Showdown on K Street,” bringing around two thousand workers and organizers to protest against big Wall Street banks, the lobbyists they have hired to attempt to water down the Senate bill and continued economic strife more generally. Indeed, the event ended up more of an expression of sustained populist anger at the sour economy and banks’ $1.4 million-a-day lobbying effort than a protest against specific practices or provisions in the bill.

    It started on Sunday when more than a hundred activists protested on the front lawns of two executives: Bank of America’s Gregory Baer, the company’s counsel for regulatory policy, and Peter Scher, J.P. Morgan Chase’s executive for government relations. At Baer’s home, NPA noted that Bank of America — after requiring a $45 billion taxpayer bailout — has spent $16 million lobbying against Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) regulatory reform bill.

    Adolfo Abreu, an organizer for NPA who came down for the events from his home in the Bronx, noted that Baer came home while organizers were occupying his front doorstep, with one woman describing how Bank of America continued to attempt to collect payment from her on a phone call 30 minutes after she learned of the death of her son. Abreu said that Baer “started yelling at us, like, ‘Get out of here!’”

    “These banks are way too involved in the economy, and they have been way too involved in protesting this bill,” Abreu said. “We are focusing on people, not people with privilege. We need these rights.”

    At 11 a.m. on Monday morning, dozens held a vocal protest outside of the downtown offices of the Podesta Group, the powerful Democratic lobbying shop headed by Tony Podesta, who worked in the Clinton administration and has earned the left’s ire for lobbying against Democratic priorities. Protesters shouted, “Tony Podesta is hurting America!”

    And at noon, the protest started in full, with approximately 2,000 gathering in McPherson Square. They held bright hand-painted signs and shut down traffic, as they did when protesting on Wall Street itself last week. Joel Hershey, a middle-school science teacher in Syracuse, N.Y., took to the microphone to fire the crowd up. He said he had taught for four years, and three weeks ago heard that he “would not be going back to school” — one victim of municipal layoffs due to budget cutting. He noted that his wife and he are “just two of the 300,000 teachers that could lose their jobs in the next year….devastating news for America’s children.”

    The crowd then marched to and occupied the busy intersection at 14th and K Streets — “lobbyist central,” as one SEIU volunteer put it. The protesters, soaked by pouring rain at that point, had set up a 20-foot-tall paper-and-wood pulling the marionette strings of Congress and passed around whistles and drums.

    Al Marshall of Oakland, Calif., took to the loudspeaker as the protesters engaged in a “sit in.” (The actual sitting part did not happen, with the pavement soaked.) With tears rolling down his cheeks, the construction inspector explained that he had purchased a “fixer-upper” but that he and his wife had struggled to make payments to Wells Fargo after she lost her job. The bank reclaimed the home as a foreclosure after “laughing” at him when he asked for a loan modification. “There shouldn’t be a homeless person anywhere in America,” Marshall said.

    Ed Whalen, a member of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local 100 in Baltimore, affiliated with the AFL-CIO said he was there to protest such “financial anarchy.”

    “The downturn has affected everybody, but it has proportionately affected the construction industry and my line of work because every part of the business relies on financing,” Whalen said. “There’s no getting around it. I’m at a loss for words to described what’s wrong here.”

    Later on, the protest split up with smaller groups visiting the Hill and even interrupting goings-on at local bank branches. SEIU protesters, for instance, flooded a Bank of America branch on Capitol Hill, shouting “Bank of America — Bad for America!”

    Another group of 100 protesters — many part of the Alliance to Develop Power, a Massachusetts group — showed up unannounced at the Russell Senate Office Building offices of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). The protesters complained that Brown had campaigned against the Troubled Asset Relief Program and contended that he now “does big banks’ bidding in the Senate.” The protesters brought a “big tent” into the cramped space (and then asked staffers “Who’s in your big tent!”) and eventually convinced office members to arrange a meeting between the senator and protesters.