Category: News

Despite our seemingly endless coverage of the Verizon Droid Incredible, you guys and gals have had plenty of questions. And most of them were pretty good. After the break, we answer a smattering of them.

read more

by Darby Minow Smith

Photo courtesy nestor galina via FlickrAnti-whaling advocates can take a giant load off their shoulders. An article
on Treehugger shares yet another reason not to whale on whales: They crap ecosystem
gold.

Ocean acidification, caused by seawater absorbing too much carbon dioxide, is a
major problem facing marine ecosystems. As water’s pH drops, so does aquatic organisms’
ability to photosynthesize and absorb nutrients.

One geoengineering quick fix is to plunk iron into the ocean, fertilizing the entire
food chain and encouraging marine plant growth. But holy crap—researchers recently discovered
that when whales eat iron-rich krill, they naturally fertilizer the water themselves. 

Let’s hope the anti-whaling movement finds new fuel in this. Because why
drop iron into the ocean when whales can naturally dump it for you?

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Like what you see? Sign up to receive The Grist List, our email roundup of pun-usual green news just like this, sent out every Friday.

Related Links:

Fast food salads worse for you than KFC’s meaty Double Down

Building a better volcano

Coked-out Coca-Colla [sic]

An Ohio research project is investigating just how students would prefer to get the text for their courses–whether in hard copy form, in versions suitable for mobile devices, or in some other digital format.

[Source: Campus Technology]

BMW Concept Gran Coupe

Just this morning, BMW took the wraps off of its Concept Gran Coupe, a model that the company says hints at ”a 4-door vehicle which combines the exclusivity of a Gran Turismo with the fascination of a high-performance sports car.”

According to BMW sources, the car is headed for production in 2012 and will be built on the same platform that underpins the 5-Series, 7-Series and the 5-Series Gran Turismo. The production model will be offered with the same mix of 6- and 8-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines as those models.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 BMW 550i Gran Turismo.

“It’s true that the Gran Coupe points to a specific model, a saloon with the presence and elegance of a 7-series but a more dynamic, sporty character: much more of a driver’s car,” BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk said. “We’re convinced that we should make a car like this.”

The BMW Gran Coupe picks up where the Concept CS study left off in 2007. van Hooydonk said that BMW was always interested in a more dynamic flagship four-door back then but put things on hold until it worked on Project i’s Megacity electric-car. “Now we’ve had the opportunity to revisit the CS and update it, and I think everyone inside of BMW is pleased with the results,” he said.

As for BMW bringing back the 8-series badge, van Hooydonk said that it’s not his decision.

“I don’t think of this car as an 8-series, but our marketing department may think differently. Either way, their work is just beginning, and I know that often it can take longer than our design work!”

Click here to see our original post on the BMW Concept Gran Coupe.

BMW Concept Gran Coupe:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoCar

Facebook’s long had some privacy issues, and now that they’re broadening their reach on the web, who knows what’ll happen next? Oh, right. We do: More »

The Charlie Rose discussion show has an ongoing series on the brain and all of the episodes are available online where some of world’s leading neuroscientists extensively tackle the big questions of the field.

I’m just watching the programmes at the moment and while they can seem a little stiff at times, it lovely to see neuroscience being discussed without being dumbed down but while key concepts are explained and explored.

The discussions are co-hosted by Charlie Rose and Nobel prize winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel and the seven shows so far have tackled The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain, The Perceiving Brain, The Acting Brain, The Social Brain, The Developing Brain, The Ageing Brain and The Emotional Brain.

Future shows include The Anxious Brain, The Mentally Ill Brain, The Disordered Brain, The Deciding Brain, The Artistic Brain and The New Science of the Mind, all of which will appear online just after they are broadcast on US TV.

A great introductory guide to contemporary cognitive neuroscience.

Link to Charlie Rose Brain Series.

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet

Earlier this week we told you about Camaro5fest, the largest gathering of current generation Camaros and their owners. While GM’s big news from the event was a three mile long parade of Camaros, others, like Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, were all about the drag racing at the South Georgia Motorsports Park.

The Decatur, IN maker of go-fast Chevys brought out their new LS9-powered 2010 Camaro packing 855 horsepower. The supercharged V8 has been fortified with various LPE performance parts like a more aggressive camshaft, CNC ported heads, JE forged aluminum pistons and a smaller supercharger pulley. Despite being equipped with a six-speed manual, the Lingenfelter Camaro posted a best run of 10.36 seconds at 139.5 mph. Thankfully the camcorders were rolling, and we have visual evidence of the car’s capabilities. You can see a similar run (10.41 at 139.9 mph) in the video posted after the jump.

[Source: Lingenfelter]

Continue reading Video: 855 horsepower Lingenfelter Camaro runs 10.4 @ 139.9 mph

Video: 855 horsepower Lingenfelter Camaro runs 10.4 @ 139.9 mph originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

What is the impact of strict population control? Unintended consequences. Note the convergence in fertility between South Korea and the People’s Republic of China. Coercion or no, some things are inevitable.

Beating Obesity. Marc Ambinder went from 235 to 150 in a year after surgery.

For ancient hominids, thumbs up on precision grip. Many things which we perceive to be derived may be more ancestral than we’d thought.

New Genetic Framework Could Help Explain Drug Side Effects. Medicine is a crap shoot, so you want to load the die in your favor as much as you can.

Chimpanzees Prefer Fair Play To Reaping An Unjust Reward. Not too surprising, but there’s a lot of “complex behavior” whose building blocks are probably pretty ancient. The fact that humans can “socialize” with dogs and cats are somewhat suggestive to me of common mammalian cognitive furniture.

This metropolitan luxury-car concept is absurd and awesome all at once.

Citroën Metropolis? If we had to guess, we’d say that sounds like a tiny, cute, ridiculously eco-friendly French city car, perhaps a modern-day 2CV.

To the contrary, the Metropolis concept, which Citroën debuted at the Beijing auto show, is a full-fledged luxury car; it’s longer, wider, and lower than an Audi A8L. Created by a design team based in Shanghai, it’s original and handsome.

Keep Reading: Citroën Metropolis Concept – Auto Shows

Related posts:

1. Citroën Hypnos Concept – Auto Shows
2. The Citroën DS Returns! (As a Funky Sub-Brand) – Auto Shows
3. Ford Start Concept – Auto Shows

Brian Lockhart of the Stamford Advocate has the story of Linda McMahon’s plan to pay students $5 for every registered Republican they bring in during a voter registration drive at UConn next week.

You might have seen me speaking highly of SteelSeries’ line of Siberia headsets before (I personally sport the V2,) but if you haven’t been able to afford a nice pair of headphones, you’re in luck; Sellout.Woot has the original Siberia model (not quite as swanky as the V2, but pretty awesome nonetheless) for the mind-bogglingly low price of $14.99 for today only. The normal price for these is around $90 at retail. It’s not every day you find a deal like this, so if you know what’s good for you, head on over to Sellout.Woot (though Deals.Woot) and get you some. You can hear the angels singing.

Tags:
accessories,
deals,
gaming headphones,
headphones,
sellout woot,
siberia headset,
steelseries,
steelseries siberia,
woot,
woot deals,

Well it seems I am the last person on WMPoweruser to receive an HD2, but at least I have it now. The device came in the mail courtesy of Ebay and their no taxes Yesterday. I bought the device for $480, and did not receive the 16GB memory card, which means no Megan Fox, and that’s just cold. If anyone wants to send me the files on their SD card that T-mobile included, like just copy, paste and RAR the files in tacked and ill add it to my memory card and begin watching Mrs., Fox. That would ROCK.

Back to my first impression. When I took it out the box, the device put a huge smile on my face. I mean DANM, the huge screen just made my day bright. The Thinness was incredible, and the metal back felts great in hand.

The software was not as awesome as I hopped, but how would I know, the second restart the phone received was the one of the ROM I installed (remember,I am a  flashaholic.) I have LMT installed, and already begun showing off the device to some people, and they are all hating.

After a day of excitement, I have to say, I am a little disappointed. I heard so much good things, that my expectations for the device was out of this world, but I guess that’s why you shouldn’t expect too much than it is possible. I do not think it’s the devices fault, I am have used too many smart phones that everything is just about the same to me now. The camera reminds me of the Droid, and so does the thinness. The speed reminds me of the Pixi, because nothing slows it down. The screen sensitivity is also in the Droid category. But one thing that no other device I have used has is… The 4 inch screen, it is just the best, and with swype keyboard, it rocks. LMT also works perfect on this device and is super fast to text. I can text 2X as fast as I did with my Touch Pro2’s keyboard. I also love how smooth it is and sensitive.

Well that’s what I got from my first day of the HD2. I can say it’s a great device. I cannot say it will be my personal device for the next 6 months, but it will last at least 4 months, I am currently eying the Toshiba K01, and should be getting the Incredible and Evo4G soon. Hopefully everyone that owns their HD2 loves it, because I sure do, and think HTC is plainly the very best when we are talking Windows Phones (Until the K01 comes thought).

If you have any questions for me(even though this device has been out for about 6 months now,) please ask, and ill be happy(to an extent) to answer.

If you are kind enough to RAR your T-mobile HD2 files like apps, and whatever else your 16GB card has in it…. please Email me at [email protected], and that should be all.

No track packs for Rock Band this week just three singles from three different bands. There’s one from Flyleaf, one from Busted, and one from Silverchair.

Filed under: Sedan, Audi, Beijing Motor Show, Luxury

Measuring approximately 17.5 feet long, the 2011 Audi A8 L W12 is certainly quite grandioso. And while the 500-horsepower 12-cylinder engine and new eight-speed automatic transmission are certainly nothing to sneeze at, what’s most impressive about the long-wheelbase A8 is the rear seat accommodations. Holy mackerel.

You want gobs of leather, a full-length center console, heated and cooled seats that massage you as well as a folding ottoman for premium comfort? You got it. The A8 L’s 122.9-inch wheelbase means there’s tons of legroom (duh), and we’re seriously eager to get some R&R time in the back of this luxury barge. See for yourself in the galleries below.

Live photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Beijing 2010: 2011 Audi A8 L W12 stretches onto the stage originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Reader response to the introduction of Quicken Essentials for Mac here on TheAppleBlog ranged from resigned acceptance of the reduction in features to outright anger and dismay at the new version that dropped so many of the capabilities of Quicken 2007 for Mac. In response to these criticisms, Intuit has publicly announced plans to enhance Quicken Essentials for Mac during the course of the year and has also lowered the price, offering a rebate to existing customers.

“Quicken Essentials is our first Mac-native Quicken product, and demonstrates our new commitment to the Mac platform,” said Aaron Patzer, vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Personal Finance Group. “We’re glad customers took it seriously when we asked for their feedback. These are the first in a series of changes we’re planning to ensure Quicken Essentials users have the tools they need to manage their money easily and affordably.”

New Features

The first set of enhancements to Quicken Essentials for Mac will be available by the end of the month and will let customers:

• Protect files with passwords.
• Export transaction data to spreadsheets for further analysis.
• Additional enhancements are expected throughout the year, enabling customers to:
• Obtain a complete picture of current net worth by entering investment holdings from brokerages that do not download to Quicken.
• Compare spending between time periods to better understand expenses.
• Export tax-deductible expenses to tax filing programs, such as TurboTax.
• Track budgets across several months

Existing Quicken Essentials for Mac users will get these updates automatically as they become available.

Lower Price: Customer Refund Available

In addition, Quicken lowered the retail price for Essentials from $69.99 to $49.99. Customers who purchased the product before April 19, 2010 can obtain a $20 refund.  The offer is good through May 31, and further details are available at www.quicken.com/macrefund.

Intuit Should Have Done More From the Beginning

These measures will be welcome news to many users. The features slated for free updates are a good start, although some will be upset that their favorite feature is still missing (check printing, investment analysis, etc.). I think it is a good move for Intuit to go public with its plan to release these new features as free updates this year. It is tough for software publishers to pre-announce new features, but Intuit is in a bind here and needs to communicate to users that they will not be stuck with an inferior product.

The rebate is also a good idea, but perhaps too little too late. In my original review, one of my first reactions was that the price was too high to begin with for such an anemic first release. Quicken Essentials should have launched at $29. Then the v2 release could be $49 with a $20 upgrade for v1.0 customers.

What Do You Think?

Is this enough to assuage your anger or lessen your disappointment in buying Quicken Essentials for Mac? Will the lower price and promised features convince you to go out and get it now if you haven’t already?

Solar company Sungevity is offering President Obama a free rooftop solar power system for the White House, and to get his attention they’ve launched the Globama campaign.

Sungevity is offering the 102-panel, 17.85 kW solar system, installation and warranty as a free donation, at no cost to the Obamas, the government or tax payers.  The only costs associated with the panels would be the upkeep and maintenance.  In case the president isn’t comfortable with the $107,900 donation, they’re also offering a 10-year lease of the equipment at $537/month with maintenance and monitoring included.

To sell the idea and to get us all onboard, Sungevity created a website, SolarOnTheWhiteHouse.com, where the company has laid out a full quote, detailing the financial aspects, utility savings, technical information and environmental benefits of the installation.  Also at the website, you can sign a petition asking the president to accept Sungevity’s offer.

According to Sungevity, the solar array would reduce the White House electricity bill by 81 percent, or $1,610/month.

via SolarOnTheWhiteHouse.com

Who’s excited about FOOTBALL!!! tomorrow?

*raises hand, jumps up and down, pees a little.

Stay Buckeye, my friends

Jeff’s got a new article over on the “other-ship” that builds on Eric’s thoughts about the Spring Draft: Most Interesting Matchups.

One that he and I have talked about some is the Torrence/Posey faceoff. If DTorr (nickname patent pending) is going to be the man this year, he’ll need to prove his ability to cover elite WRs. Posey is one of those.

Plus, there’s been some chippy-ness this spring between the two; the stuff that happens when athletes compete against each other at the highest level. Or, when one wore the same outfit as the other. That kind of thing.

Heyward versus Shugarts should be an intriguing “clash of the Titans”, as should Simon against Boren/Brewster.

Other things to watch for- Will the Borens (Grey) beat the Homans (Scarlet)? How much time will TP get? Why was Guiton chosen second overall?

As a reminder, the Buckeyes will be wearing shades of pink to honor Stefanie Spielman- the jerseys will be auctioned off after the game. Even if you can’t make it to Columbus, there’s a way to get involved with this important issue.

While it’s good to keep the “it’s only Spring” aspect in perspective (unlike some people), it’s finally football.

Thanks be to God.

Article Tags: Headline Story, Kirk Myers

Bombarded by the incessant fear-mongering of the global warming industry, many people now see carbon dioxide (CO2) as evil incarnate – the bane of civilization and source of an ever-growing list of planetary problems – from erupting volcanoes and tectonic earthquakes to shrinking sheep and reduced circumcision rates.

The climate experts, joined by their lazy and interminably gullible allies in the mainstream media, have managed through guile and deception to orchestrate a successful fear campaign against a trace atmospheric gas that is essential to all life on earth.

Around the clock, these self-anointed saviors of Mother Earth hector mankind, admonishing the thoughtless masses for increasing CO2 to “climate tipping” levels that will eventually bake our planet unless we cork our gaseous emissions, shut down industry and hand over more of our paychecks to the Gods of Cap and Trade.

Hypnotized by their “science is settled” theory, the self-professed climate experts have abandon the practice of science and morphed into political-scientist advocates, manipulating and fine-tuning their research so it matches their pre-ordained conclusions. (A brief look at the Climategate e-mails, made public last November, illustrates the abysmal level to which climate science has descended.)

Source: examiner.com

Read in full with comments »