Category: News

We all knew this day would come eventually, and that day was yesterday: a robot called “I-Fairy” conducted a wedding, an official one. Needless to say that the wedding took place in Tokyo and that the robotic wedding conductor is the brain child of a Japanese company, Kokoro.

The Tokyo-based firm says the wedding, which took place in Tokyo’s Hibiya Park in front of 50 guests, was the first of its kind. It’s weird, but this all makes a bit more sense when taking into account that bride Satoko Inoue (36) actually is a Kokoro employee and that husband Tomohiro Shibato (42) is a professor of robotics at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in central Japan.

I-Fairy stands 1.5m tall, actually gave instructions like “You can lift the bride’s veil now” and theatrically moved its arms during the ceremony (it has 18 joints in its arms alone), all remote-controlled by a human being (a friend of the newlyweds) in the background.

Kokoro actually sells the robot to anyone who is willing to pay $68,000 for it (there’s even an English-language sales brochure [PDF] for the I-Fairy). The company is well-known for making super-realistic humanoids.

Here’s a video shot by the Associated Press:

Here’s another video from Japanese robot news site Robonable:

Picture credit: Reuters

Luke Timmerman wrote:

Six months after Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) wrote a big check to Bothell, WA-based Alder Biopharmaceuticals, we can see what some of the fuss is about.

The first public glimpse of data from a mid-stage clinical trial of Bristol and Alder’s experimental antibody drug for rheumatoid arthritis appeared online last week. These are the results from a 124-patient clinical trial coming up next month at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) conference in Barcelona. The drug’s ability to relieve signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are “outstanding” and “certainly as good” as its competitors, according to lead investigator Philip Mease of Swedish Medical Center and the University of Washington.

Before delving into the nitty gritty of the study, here’s a little background. Back in November, Bristol agreed to pay Alder as much as $1 billion over time for the right to co-develop a new antibody drug for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, called ALD518. Alder CEO Randy Schatzman said at the time that he had data from a rigorous clinical trial that said his drug was good enough to give the category-leading biotech treatment, Amgen’s etanercept (Enbrel), a “run for their money.”

The Alder drug is designed to work differently than the Amgen product. Alder is seeking to block an inflammatory protein called IL-6 that hammers the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients, causing swelling, fatigue, and pain. The Amgen product and others like it—which make up a market worth more than $10 billion a year—work toward the same goal by hitting a different inflammatory protein called TNF. Rheumatoid arthritis is estimated to affect at least 2 million people in the U.S. in at least a mild to moderate degree. About one-third or more of patients don’t benefit at all from the TNF-blockers, and scientists don’t really know why, so there’s impetus for therapies with different ways of working. Plus, Alder’s drug can be made in a faster, cheaper, yeast-based production system that could allow it to undercut rivals on price while maintaining fat profit margins. (The Alder drug is thought to have potential for cancer as well, but that’s another story).

So this definitely matters from a business perspective, but what did scientists learn from this study? Patients with rheumatoid arthritis took methotrexate, and were randomly assigned to get either a placebo or a low, medium, or high dose of ALD518 given intravenously every eight weeks. Patients were followed for 16 weeks. Over that relatively short period of time for people with a chronic disease, the drug was considered safe. No patients suffered infections, and none had adverse immune reactions against the drug as a foreign invader. About 17 percent of ALD518 patients had increased amounts of liver enzymes showing up in their blood, which can be a sign of liver damage that the FDA keeps a close eye on.

What’s really interesting, though, is the data on effectiveness. It’s easiest to put this in a table below, but it warrants a little explanation for those unfamiliar with rheumatoid arthritis. Doctors who specialize in this condition generally want to see how many patients on a drug can see at least a 50 percent improvement in the signs and symptoms of their disease. That’s called an ACR50 score, for a standard composite measurement used by the American College of Rheumatology. There’s another measurement, called ACR70, which is for the number of patients who had at least a 70 percent improvement in the signs of symptoms of their disease.

If you look closely at the chart below, you’ll see patterns that scientists (and drug makers) really like to see. The higher the dose that patients got, the greater the chances were that they’d improve—what’s known as a dose-response relationship. And the longer patients stayed on the drug, the better they performed. The Alder drug clearly beat the placebo in every category, and the difference was statistically significant, meaning it wasn’t likely to be a fluke. At the highest dose of the Alder drug, you can see that half of all patients saw a 50 percent or greater improvement in their condition after 16 weeks.

Week 4	80 mg	160 mg	320 mg	Placebo
ACR50	9 percent	15 percent	29 percent	3 percent
ACR70	6 percent	0	11 percent	0
Week 16	80 mg	160 mg	320 mg	Placebo
ACR50	41 percent	41 percent	50 percent	15 percent
ACR70	22 percent	18 percent	43 percent	6 percent

Alder is limited in what it can say in advance of the meeting, but Schatzman said, “It’s a good start. We’re pretty enthusiastic.”

OK, but how does this compare with the gold standard biotech drug from Amgen? I must say this isn’t a totally valid comparison, because this wasn’t a head-to-head study …Next Page »

General Motors has formed a partnership with Hawaiian power firm the Gas Company to test the state’s hydrogen infrastructure.

TGC is the major power provider for the Hawaiian islands. It produces and delivers hydrogen along with natural gas. TGC plans to separate the hydrogen from its pipeline and send it to filling stations for fuel-cell vehicles.

Hawaii is uniquely qualified for this project, announced last week, because it depends on imported fuel for 90 percent of its energy, and the state is committed to reducing its petroleum use by 70 percent in the coming years.

GM has invested $1.5 billion in fuel-cell transportation over the past 15 years and said it hopes to have a fuel-cell vehicle ready for market by 2015.

GM’s current fuel-cell program, Project Driveway, is the largest demonstration of fuel-cell vehicles in the nation. Selected participants and cities have been chosen to test hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinoxes for three months at a time. Since 2007, more than 1.4 million miles have been driven on pure hydrogen as part of the program.

For more

Source: Car news, reviews and auto show stories

What is rent to own cars? It is an idea to rent your own car and it will be yours when last payment cleared. Here we tell you the advantages and disadvantages of having these kind of cars. The rent-to-own program has become common in many states like Louisiana, San Diego, Florida, Houston, California, and among others. It usually brings benefits for people with very little budget but wish to own a car, people with bad credit car loans, bad financial record, as well as some people that need a car but would like to try it out before buying it.

Advantages of rent to own cars

It is basically an idea of walking into some car dealer with the “rent to own” program, choose your desire car, put a down payment and start pay the monthly rental to the car every month in the future. The car will be fully own by you when the last payment was made. Isn’t this a great idea?

It helps people with bad credit history. Some “rent to own” dealer provides no-credit-check where anyone with bad credit or bankruptcy can stand a chance to own a car by paying monthly car rental. What you need to provide is the proof of your ID, proof of residence, proof of income, and some down payment.

Other than that, it is good for first time buyers especially teenager who just passed 18 years old and wanted to buy their first car. Rent to own cars is a good choice for first time buyer as there is no credit history require, repossessions, or even a credit card is not needed.

In addition, the programs will save you some personal property taxes at the same time you stand a chance to own some real nice car with minimum down payment and less monthly payment.

Disadvantages of rent to own cars

The beautiful Idioms say “No rose without a thorn”. Rent-to-own is no doubt a good idea for consumers especially who may rent a car to fill a temporary need or try out the car before buying it. However, there are still some disadvantages and problems with this program.

One of the major issues is consumer protection issues. The biggest concern has included the car price charged by a dealer. Sometimes the car price can be sky high. Try to research the market price for a car you want to buy and compare with the price offer by rent-to-own program from any car dealer in your town.

Besides, the treatment of customers to the car during the collection of overdue rental payments is also a concern whether it affect the car condition. Other than that, look carefully when you sign the agreement. It is often that the adequacy of information provided about the terms and conditions of the rental agreement and purchase option is a concern.

In conclusion, rent-to-own car are not the lowest cost method of buying a car. Consumer with enough cash or willingness to wait until the cash purchase can be saved will likely be able to get any cars elsewhere at lower cost rather than rent to own cars.

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

Topcar has create the new Advantage and Vantage GTR renovated series for the Porsche Cayenne. Having gained the positive response all over the world for the Porsche Panamera aerodynamic body kit TOPCAR is on its way to develop a fresh package for the new Porsche Cayenne in three various manners: Porsche Cayenne Advantage 2, Porsche Cayenne Vantage GTR 2, and Porsche Cayenne Vantage 2.

The Porsche Cayenne Advantage 2 project is designed to have your Cayenne stylized into dashing off-road coupe. The fresh aerodynamic package includes front and rear spoiler bumpers, extended fenders, side skirts, wide door caps and a new bonnet. Rear door handles will be covered by the wide door caps which obtained two in-build side air intakes. The new rear spoiler bumper has a wide diffuser and air outlets. The newly designed front spoiler bumper and the new-made bonnet with the menacing arrowy lines as well as the extended front fenders will bear all character treats of a supercar. As a result the new wide body Porsche Cayenne tuning package will supply the car with the genuine dashing and wild supercar spirit.

The further special decision is the Porsche Cayenne Vantage GTR 2 project. The car also will be elaborated in the vein of the off-road coupe using Porsche Cayenne 2 base. We designedly left the original headlights unaffected in order to reveal and highlight the accipitral appearance of the car as distinct from the Advantage 2. The whole fresh body shape forms with the front spoiler bumper with wide air intakes perfectly accompanied by the new bonnet, wide fenders and a rear spoiler bumper with a diffuser. The masterly implemented idea makes the car provide an impression of the infuriated beast of prey.

The Vantage 2 body kit assembly doesn’t require any complementary car base work as the Advantage 2 ? Vantage GTR 2 packages. The whole package includes front and rare spoiler bumpers, front and rare fender extenders, a bonnet and side skirts. The Vantage 2 appearance has its own distinctive face containing the wide character strings inherited from the Vantage GTR 2.

To every of these three projects TOPCAR offers new wing mirrors with LED side repeaters. In order to achieve better performance the new Porsche Cayenne engine will be juiced up and get an output from 550 to 750 hp. The new forged wheels (R21 and R23) have been especially designed for the new Porsche Cayenne by TOPCAR.

Source: Lincah.Com – New Car and Used Car Pictures

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net May 10, 2010.

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Owens & Minor, Inc. (OMI). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Owens & Minor Inc. is a leading domestic distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute care market, a health care supply chain management company, and a direct-to-consumer (DTC) supplier of testing and monitoring supplies for diabetes.

Fair Value: I consider four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. Avg. High Yield Price
2. 20-Year DCF Price
3. Avg. P/E Price
4. Graham Number

OMI is trading at a discount to 1.) and 3.) above. The stock is trading at a 13.9% discount to its calculated fair value of $33.91. OMI earned a Star in this section since it is trading at a fair value.

Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. Free Cash Flow Payout
2. Debt To Total Capital
3. Key Metrics
4. Dividend Growth Rate
5. Years of Div. Growth
6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%

OMI earned two Stars in this section for 2.) and 3.) above. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. OMI earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1926 and has increased its dividend payments for 12 consecutive years.

Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA)? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. NPV MMA Diff.
2. Years to > MMA

OMI earned a Star in this section for its NPV MMA Diff. of the $3,857. This amount is in excess of the $2,300 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as OMI has. If OMI grows its dividend at 15.1% per year, it will take 4 years to equal a MMA yielding an estimated 20-year average rate of 4.02%. OMI earned a check for the Key Metric ‘Years to >MMA’ since its 4 years is less than the 5 year target.

Other: OMI is a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers™ Index.

Conclusion: OMI earned one Star in the Fair Value section, earned two Stars in the Dividend Analytical Data section and earned one Star in the Dividend Income vs. MMA section for a total of four Stars. This quantitatively ranks OMI as a 4 Star-Buy.

Using my D4L-PreScreen.xls model, I determined the share price would need to increase to $35.33 before OMI’s NPV MMA Differential decreased to the $2,300 minimum that I look for in a stock with 12 years of consecutive dividend increases. At that price the stock would yield 2.00%.

Resetting the D4L-PreScreen.xls model and solving for the dividend growth rate needed to generate the target $2,300 NPV MMA Differential, the calculated rate is 13.4%. This dividend growth rate is less than the 15.1% used in this analysis, thus providing a margin of safety. OMI has a risk rating of 1.75 which classifies it as a medium risk stock.

OMI should see increasing demand for its medical/surgical supplies based on our aging society. The company has been focused on developing new services and cost control. OMI expects its new third-party logistics business to achieve break-even by year-end 2010 and its ambulatory surgery center initiative should start contributing to operating earnings in 2011. Long-term health care reform should eventually lead to higher utilization of hospitals. Although OMI is trading below my buy price of $33.91, its erratic cash flows, including negative free cash flow in 3 of the last 10 years, will keep me on the sideline. For additional information, including the stock’s dividend history, please refer to its data page.

Disclaimer: Material presented here is for informational purposes only. The above quantitative stock analysis, including the Star rating, is mechanically calculated and is based on historical information. The analysis assumes the stock will perform in the future as it has in the past. This is generally never true. Before buying or selling any stock you should do your own research and reach your own conclusion. See my Disclaimer for more information.

Full Disclosure: At the time of this writing, I held no position in OMI (0.0% of my Income Portfolio). See a list of all my income holdings here.

Related Posts:

• 20 Dividend Stocks With A 20% Yield In 20 Years
• 20 Dividend Stocks Riding The Tsunami Of Dividend Increases

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by Umbra Fisk

Send your question to Umbra!

Q. Dear Umbra,
I am a fairly active, athletic person; that being said, I love my pasta. When I
boil the water for my pasta, I run the tap water for about 5–10 seconds until
the water becomes very hot, then fill up my pot, and set it on my glass-top
stove to boil. The water seems to boil almost instantaneously when I fill it up
with hot water, and when I fill it up from the tap right away with cooler
water, it takes longer. So, my question is: Is it more wasteful to let the
precious water run to get hot for 5–10 seconds, reducing the boiling time? Or
is it more wasteful to fill it up with cooler water, not wasting any water, but
using more electricity to boil the water? One other consideration is that I
live at high altitude, and water takes longer to boil here. Thanks so
much!

Nate W.
Redmond, Ore.

A. Dearest Nate,

Photo: lucadea via FlickrYou know, I actually dropped a few pounds on a pasta diet
once. I just had to walk pasta the refrigerator, pasta the bakery, and pasta
the ice cream shop. A 3-year-old told me that joke.

But you know what’s really nothing to laugh at (besides my
pasta joke)? Wasting our precious resources. Cooking noodles is one of those
small things I’m always telling you not to sweat; but conserving water and
energy is a big honking thing to sweat, so I’m happy to fill you in. Plus, it
gives me a chance to play around in the Grist test kitchen.

Since I have some better solutions to come, let’s go ahead
and take the letting-water-run-until-it’s-hot option off the table right now.
After space heat—that is, heating your entire home—water heaters are the
largest household energy consumers. And there are more efficient means of
heating such a small amount of water that also don’t let natural resources just
run down the drain (I don’t suppose you had a bucket there each time to catch
excess water?).

So does that just leave us waiting for the recommended six quarts of cooler tap water to
boil on the stovetop before adding our pasta? Not necessarily. First off, you
do not—I repeat, do not—need six
quarts of water to make a bowl of pasta. Yes, I know that’s what it says on the
box. Grist’s own food guru, Tom Philpott, and
food-science writer Harold McGee both concur that six quarts are overkill. About a quart and a half should do
the trick (I actually used even less for mine).

Secondly, here’s the real coup: You can put the pasta right
into the cold water! That’s right. You don’t need to boil the water first. Pop
your pasta in, put a lid on the pot (contains the heat), and stir as needed to
prevent sticking. This method produced the same delectable rotini for me as the
boil-first method, saving water (ta-ta, six quarts) and energy, and it was
really no extra effort.

I wasn’t satisfied to stop there, though, as I wanted to
give you options, plural. I’m not
sure how the cold water method works at high altitude, or if there’s any
difference at all, but let’s say you decide to stick with the boil-first
method. We know from my previous column
on boiling water for tea that the electric kettle is No. 1 in water-heating
efficiency. Thusly, how about getting your pasta water started in an electric
kettle? Once it’s boiling (or nearly boiling) pour it over your pasta in a pot,
and then pop the lid on. Turn the burner on to keep the water’s momentum going,
and voila. Cooked pasta in 10 minutes (or however long your particular type of
pasta takes)—which reminds me of yet another energy-saving tip: You don’t have
to leave the stove on for the duration of the cooking time. Turn off the burner
a few minutes before the pasta is finished, leaving the lid on. The pasta will
continue to cook in the pot.

And don’t just toss that water post-cooking. Pasta water in
restaurants is liquid gold—used as a sauce thickener. While you may not be able
to replicate the starchy water made from boiling order after order of
spaghetti, you can still try mixing some pasta water in with your next batch of
homemade tomato sauce. Or you can just let the water cool to room temperature
and use it to give your houseplants a little hydration.

Saucily,
Umbra

Other helpful links:

Ask Umbra on
water conservation
Ask Umbra on
boiling water for tea
Ask
Umbra on water heaters
Ask Umbra on
waiting for warm water

Q. Dear Umbra,
My granddaughter uses Clorox Disinfecting Wipes constantly on everything. She
has a 2-year-old son, who is asthmatic and seems to have a somewhat compromised
immune system. The least little trigger can set him off into an asthma
attack, which on occasion has developed into pneumonia and resulted in hospital
stays. She is obsessed with certain hygiene, and I tend to think she overdoes
it. Plus, she tends not to wipe off the kitchen counters with a dishrag before
she uses the wipes, which leaves scum on the counters. Please help me with
recommendations I can pass on to her. Thanks!

Carol J.
Scottsdale, Ariz.

A. Dearest Carol,

Advising loved ones on child-rearing or cleaning techniques is
a slippery slope indeed, as is giving this question a definitive answer.

Let’s first start by breaking down what exactly is in these
wipes. A couple of the key ingredients are alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl
ammonium chloride (whew, glad I didn’t get those words in my fourth grade
spelling bee). The production of these compounds results in harmful dioxins,
which can cause cancer, immune system problems, and reproductive issues.
Additionally, the ingredients themselves can cause skin irritation, headaches,
and respiratory issues. In short, these chems are not a good thing to have around a child who’s
already having his share of breathing problems, methinks.

Plus, these wipes are utterly disposable, equaling a lot of unnecessary
waste. One swipe, and then into the trash bin—sad. Not to mention the fact that
they are packaged in a plastic bottle, which is a big petroleum-sucking no-no
in my book.

I’m not a doctor and don’t even pretend to play one in this column
(though I do look mighty authoritative wearing a stethoscope), so I’m not going
to try to diagnose whether your great-grandson’s condition warrants the kind of
disinfection these wipes offer, harsh though their ingredients may be. Try
referring his mom to my April
12 column on sanitizing counters with white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide
(in two separate bottles). The combo kills almost all Salmonella, Shigella, and
E. coli bacteria. However, if whiter,
grime-free surfaces are all your granddaughter is after, then our friends vinegar,
baking soda, and castile soap along with a reusable dishcloth and a little
elbow grease should do the trick.

Spotlessly,
Umbra

Other helpful links:

Ask Umbra
on bleach
Ask
Umbra on green cleaning
Ask Umbra
on having kids
Ask
Umbra on mini-dilemmas

In my April
5 column, I responded to 9-year-old Ian’s question about eco-friendly
packaging for his newly designed card game. In return, I received a package
this week with a handmade thank-you card from Ian, a lovely letter from his
mom, and pictures of Ian and his completed product, which I wanted to share
with you guys.

Ian, rocking a rad fedora and showing off his upcycled game packaging.Hello! I wanted to say thanks, because your ideas really
helped! My updated format looks great, and it’s eco-friendly, not to mention
cheap. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Ian

Dear Umbra,

Several weeks ago, you answered my 9-year-old son’s question
about creating eco-friendly packaging for a game he’s invented. Your reply
thrilled him—he was surprised that he got a reply. It made his day. He ended up
rethinking his packaging and created drawstring bags out of a variety of
leftover fabrics. It significantly lowered his costs, taught him sewing skills,
and added an element of personalization to each game. And eco-friendly to boot!

Many thanks from a grateful mom,
Gwyn R.

Related Links:

Recycling exhibit helps New Yorkers let go, get smashed

Ask Umbra’s DIY shampoo and conditioner video

Ask Umbra on the word “green,” DIY laundry detergent, and computer batteries

Booyah, which makes the location-based mobile gaming app MyTown, has raised $20 million in a round led by Accel Partners and including previous investors Kleiner Perkins and DAG Ventures. The company also added Accel’s Jim Breyer, well-known for being a Facebook and Wal-Mart board member, to its own board. The Booyah funding comes in the context of a series of progressively richer funding deals and hypothetical deals for other location-based startups such as Loopt, Gowalla and Foursquare.

MyTown, which is to date only available on the iPhone and iPod Touch in the U.S., has 2.1 million users. The Monopoly-like game has gained acclaim for its quick growth as compared to Foursquare and Gowalla. While $29.5 million in total funding might sound crazy for an iPhone app, Booyah carries a lot of cred because of its management’s background designing games for Blizzard Entertainment. The company brags that MyTown users already spend 70 minutes per day with the app.

Booyah CEO Keith Lee said his strategy is to go “beyond the check-in” — meaning the now-standardized activity of users actively registering their current location at a venue by using the GPS on their phone. “I think people are fighting in this red ocean for check-ins,” he said. “You have Facebook coming in — that’s gg right there.” (gg is gamer speak for “good game,” aka game over.)

At first the MyTown app wasn’t particularly strict about location fidelity, allowing users to check in at venues they were nowhere near (which might be fun and addictive, but doesn’t carry the same weight as users telling their friends they are actually at a certain bar by checking in on competing services). Booyah has since ratcheted down check-in fidelity and Lee said his team will soon try to nail down the relationship between a customer and a business even further. Lee said he expects to use indicators like UPC and QR codes, RFID tags, and the Open Graph from Facebook to authenticate that a user is actually in a location and/or has performed a certain activity.

Generally speaking, the problem with making a social web product more strict and tied to real life is that it’s hard for new users to get engaged when they don’t know anybody on the service. Lee said that his team’s special sauce, coming out of working on World of Warcraft, is creating worthwhile experiences for those new users and for ones who only want to play for a few minutes.

Lee said that he expects MyTown to be Booyah’s flagship franchise indefinitely, but to expect other future projects as well as the release of a platform to build location apps upon. (MyTown wasn’t actually the company’s first app; its previous major app, Booyah Society, had much less success.)

MyTown monetizes through virtual goods, location-based advertising, and brand partnerships, though Booyah only recently hired its first salesperson to handle inbound inquiries for the app. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company has just 24 employees now, and Lee said one of the main ways he’d be spending the new funding is to hire great talent.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

The Enormous Promise of Location

Here are some stories from last week on CrunchGear:

Portal corporate training program a huge success
Old Man Laser: Officially over the hill
PlayStation Move Controller will cost $60, expected Sept. 1st
CubeSat XI-V: Japan gets tweeting satellite
DIY: The Microsoft Office car alarm prank

While the improving economy may have helped a few automakers around the globe to re-strengthen their workforce, it is Modena based Ferrari which is thinking about job-cuts albeit for a different reason. As per Ferrari, the reduction in engine orders from sister brand Maserati is what has forced Ferrari to take a step such as this. Where the total number of engines ordered by Maserati in 2008 was 9,000, the demand fell to about 4,500 last year and matters are expected to worsen from here. Ferrari employees are being offered bonuses in exchange of job cuts and around 120 office positions will be eliminated while 150 factory jobs will also be axed.

Evan Rachel Wood — who’s Hollywood portfolio includes box office dramas like Thirteen and The Wrestler — is teaming up with controversial shock rocker Marilyn Manson (who just happens to be her fiance) to star in a big screen retro-slasher romp.

Wood and Manson will appear side-by-side in Splatter Sisters, a bloody ode to the horror classics of the ’80s, according to Variety. In fact, the film is the first in a planned franchise of “sexploitation-serial-killer-slasher” B-movies inspired by the campy slasher hits from the decade of shoulder pads and big bad hair.

“This is a role Marilyn Manson was born to play, and with Evan Rachel Wood bringing dramatic gravity to the ensemble, I have no doubt this will take the horror genre to a new level,” says David Gordon Green, who will be producing the Adam Bhala Lough-directed feature. “Adam has written a script that is terrifying and has a wicked since of humor. It finds inspiration in the horror classics of the ’80s but at the same time feels like it’s raising the bar and bringing an outrageously fresh spin to what’s out there,” Green adds.

“Dark humor will be doled out in spades,” Lough chimes in. “Indeed our intention is to take the audience on an emotional roller-coaster ride, from laughter to flat-out fear to sexual arousal. The film may one day be described as ‘Skinemax Cinema,’ a new subgenre inspired by the late night direct-to-cable movies of my childhood.”

Don’t just start jumping with joy, for the Audi R8 based Spyder rendering isn’t an official one but an exemplary creation from designer Jon Sibal. Audi hasn’t let a word out regarding the possibility of an R8 GT based Spyder but this creation makes us think that Audi should probably give it a shot. Automakers do not really like the idea of producing a convertible version of their most extreme sports cars and this is why we assume that the aspired Spyder my never just arrive. Even if Audi decides to give the Spyder production a nod-ahead, it will have to be a limited production model which will obviously bear a heft price-tag.

[via jonsibal]

Immerse your feet in plush, cozy comfort. Infused with 100 percent organic filling and a special stress-relieving, aroma-therapeutic blend of herbal essences, these super-soft booties are as good for your soles as they are for your soul.

View Anti-Stress Microwaveable Comfort Booties details

Eco Factor: Ski lift powered entirely by photovoltaic panels

Tenna, a small town in Switzerland with a population of just 110 inhabitants, is about to get the world’s second ski lift that will be powered entirely by photovoltaic panels. The ski lift’s solar panels will have an energy generation capacity of 90,000KWh, which gives three lifts to move on renewable energy, each consuming about 22,000KWh.

All excess electricity will be sold to the grid. The lift features solar panels that are incorporated on the same lift, without having to build additional buildings. The panels are adjustable and can be removed to clear accumulated snow. The panels are anchored to the lift’s cables and bear the entire weight of the panels.

The panels are attached in a fashion that allows maximum sun exposure for maximum electricity generation. The opening of the solar lift is planned for December 2010.

Via: Neva Sport

Article Tags: Don Easterbrook, Headline Story

‘Expect global cooling for the next 2-3 decades that will be far more damaging than global warming would have been’

CHICAGO — A prominent U.S. geologist is urging the world to forget about global warming because global cooling has already begun.

Geologist Dr. Don Easterbrook’s warning came in the form of a new scientific paper he presented to the 4th International Conference on Climate Change in Chicago on May 16, 2010. Dr. Easterbrook is an Emeritus Professor at Western Washington University who has authored eight books and 150 journal publications. Easterbrook’s full resume is here.

Dr. Easterbrook joins many other scientists, peer-reviewed research and scientific societies warning of a coming global cooling. Easterbrook is presenting his findings alongside other man-made global warming skeptics at the three day conference in Chicago.

Source: climatedepot.com

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We’ve seen spy images of the 2011 Ford Explorer but this is the first time we get to witness the official teaser image of the SUV.

The first images also sports chief engineer Jim Holland and that pretty much explains the reason why the upcoming model draws inspiration from the Land Rovers.

As per Holland, the 2011 model is a modern interpretation of the Explorer but the spy images rendered a different story. What is a novelty (hailing again from the Rover domain) though is a terrain management system with a total of five settings. We expect to see the 2011 explorer possibly at the LA auto show in November.

Getting into exclusive nightclubs is no problem when you’re Lady Gaga (or even teen sensation Justin Bieber), but famewhoring Z-listers like Michael Lohan have a tough time getting on the other side of the velvet rope.

Despite sporting a tight shirt to accentuate his “bulging muscles” (Brain Bleach!), Lindsay Lohan’s headline-lovin’ pop — an alleged Born-Again Christian — couldn’t even crack the door at one of the newest lounges in Los Angeles, tabloid tipsters claim.

“Michael Lohan showed up to Industry in LA by himself on May 3 and was denied entrance,” an eyewitness cracked to Life & Style’s Scene Queens. “The doorman didn’t even know who he was!”

Is clubbing the most appropriate pastime for an almost 50-year-old man who’s made a career out of complaining about his famous daughter keeping late hours?

Eco Factor: Low-emission vehicle powered by a hybrid engine.

Suzuki will soon introduce a plug-in variant of its popular Swift compact car. The new vehicle will be powered by a hybrid engine that makes use of lithium-ion battery supplied by Sanyo. The hybrid variant will be able to drive up to 15km on a single charge after which the onboard 660cc engine revs up to generate electricity.

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