Fred Anderson is providing an inside look at COP-15 in Copenhagen to The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) World Climate Change Report.
Today, Anderson’s Notebook (12/16/09), titled Copenhagen Stormed by the States, Provinces, Cities, and Regions, discusses how state, provincial, municipal, county, and regional governments are taking the lead to meet climate challenges.
To read the full entry, please click here.
It’s Dungeness crab season in California! I’ve been buying these yummy critters for $2.99 per pound at Sun Fat Seafood. Great prices on cheap crab are being found all over San Francisco at places like Manila Oriental Market, Chinatown, and Clement Street. If you’ve felt intimidated about cooking and cleaning your own Dungeness, don’t. I’ll talk you through it here.
Jeff Rubin, the former chief economist for CIBC World Markets, has an insightful piece on why the U.S. can’t rely on OPEC: Its member states that are guzzling down their own oil.
TheGlobeAndMail.com: OPEC, together with two non-cartel oil producers, Russia and Mexico, consumes 14.5 million barrels of oil per day. That’s nearly twice as much as China, in case anybody is keeping track. Oil demand among OPEC members has been growing at well over double the world average. And the more these countries consume their own oil, the less they have to export to you.
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You know how Michael Jackson won so many awards in his lifetime that they had to start inventing new ones to justify dragging him onstage? Entertainer of the Universe and Best Selling Artist in the New Galactic Empire spring to mind. Hey, that’s the price of über-success.
Apple’s getting a taste of that very same medicine now, as it is named recipient of a boatload of “Best…” titles in AdweekMedia’s “Best of the 2000s” Awards. Described by AdweekMedia as “Our picks, and yours, for the decade’s best in the marketing, media and agency world” the awards include yawn-inducing categories such as “Agency executives of the Decade” and “Small Agency of the Decade” but thankfully all the best stuff is hugely more accessible — and interesting — to non-marketing-types (which, thankfully, describes most of us).
Here’s the opening paragraph from AdweekMedia’s dedicated awards website:
Steve Jobs and the iPod reinvented the music business. Sergey Brin and Larry Page tamed the Web. Ad shop Goodby, Silverstein & Partners rewrote the creativity book. And this thing called social media put amateurs in charge of just about everything else.
They definitely start as they mean to go on, since Apple, its products, campaigns and personalities bag a good number of the awards. AdweekMedia say they spent a month working out a list of “…the best and brightest in the branding, marketing, media and agency world in 33 categories over the past 10 years.” I’m glad to see they’re mindful of the criticisms leveled at industry awards that never seek the opinions of the actual, product-buying public; “As a reality check, we sought your input here on this site over the past month.” They add, “Those results are presented here, next to our selections. Much of the time, we agree. Other times it’s not even close.”
Here’s the breakdown of the awards (images from the AdweekMedia awards website).
Good old Steve. Last month Fortune named him CEO of the Decade, and he’s a finalist for TIME’s Person of the Year 2009. Another award can’t hurt, right? Here’s a brief excerpt from AdWeekMedia’s positively glowing review of El Jobso:
Visionary, iconoclastic and fearless, Steve Jobs the marketer is inseparable from Steve Jobs the personality. His inimitable blend of competitive skill and design savvy hasn’t just saved a fading brand, it’s recast two businesses that used to have nothing to do with computers: music and mobile phones. Over the past decade, Apple’s iPod and iPhone have redefined popular culture, and returned the company to its roots in innovation and just-plain coolness.
The genius is in the casting. For Apple, the campaign managed the neat trick of making the brand look laid back and cool while it mercilessly skewered its rival.
You’d have thought Andy Warhol did them—and why not? In the end, the work was nearly as iconic. The treatment […] achieved what in branding is the nearly impossible: defining a product without showing what it even looked like up close.
Though the brand almost petered out in the ’90s, last year consumers told Interbrand that Apple was the thing they couldn’t live without and the one they found most inspiring.
There wasn’t always consensus between AdweekMedia’s nominations and the opinions of their readers. The Marketing Innovation of the Decade award was won by “Viral Videos” while their Reader’s Choice had it go to Apple for “iPhone Apps.” The Reader’s Choice award for Digital Device/Platform of the Decade was the iPhone, while AdweekMedia preferred to give it to Facebook, instead.
In a nice twist where, again, readers didn’t agree with AdWeekMedia’s choice, at least they were in disagreement over which Apple product to laud; both the iPod and the iPhone won Product of the Decade, depending on your point of view. And while the readers voted Steve Jobs Media Executive of the Decade, it went instead to Rupert “Google is Stealing My Stuff” Murdoch. Other big names receiving awards include Google, television show The Sopranos, the Disney Channel and WIRED magazine.
Despite the disagreements (there are many more instances in which Apple and Apple products feature prominently in the reader’s votes, check out the awards website to view the numbers) it’s still inspiring to see Apple take so many of the top awards. Of particular note is the Brand of the Decade award; coming from a company of professional advertisers and marketers, it’s obvious how much respect and admiration the world of marketing has for Mr Jobs’ company. Remarkable, too, given how much trouble that company was in last decade.
I recommend taking the time to view the awards website and read the full descriptions for each winner; you’ll get an insight into a world we otherwise try very hard to avoid (after all, who likes Marketing?) but be warned — it’s often a polarizing experience! And when you’re done, come back and tell us whether you agree with the choice in winners.
When news of Tiger Woods’ accident first broke what seems like eons ago, every automotive blog desperate to cash in on what was destined to remain in Google Trends for weeks to come threw up a post about Tiger’s ill-fated Escalade. RideLust, of course, refrained.
Today, however, we’ve opted to take the road more heavily traveled thanks to a game forwarded to us by a certain staff member’s father. Introduced by Break.com, “Tiger Hunting” is a relatively simple game whose primary focus is successfully avoiding various obstacles while fleeing an enraged Elin Nordegren.
It sounds almost too basic to be enjoyable, but it’s addicting. Of course, at the risk of sounding like Lavar Burton à la Reading Rainbow, don’t take our word for it – hit the link to do a little “Tiger Hunting” of your own.
Source: a dad with way too much time on his hands via Break.com
If you already know "my retinopathy story" you can skip this paragraph:
I’ve had proliferative retinopathy for a number of years but it was stable prior to the pregnancy – the pregnancy kicked it into high gear again in one eye and the pregnancy-related hypertension contributed to the hemorrhage. I had great bloodsugars during the pregnancy, so it was just "one of those things". It’s not bad enough for a vitrectomy (ophtho isn’t concerned about permanent damage at this point and I can still see reasonably well b/c most of the blood is in the periphery and only one eye), and I had a bunch of laser treatments shortly before the bleed (ophtho doesn’t feel it is necessary to do more at this point, nor can he see well to do more b/c of the blood in the vitreous), so it’s kind of a really ****ty waiting game.
So, big bleed in May. Started clearing up FINALLY in late summer. Then another small bleed. It was still messy in there, but slowly….SLOOOOOWLY…..clearing up, and then yesterday I started to have more bleeding again! UGH! This time it was in the periphery at the bottom of my eye, so again it’s not really impeding much of my vision, but it’s SO discouraging! I really expected to have most of it gone by Christmas, but now there’s no way that’ll be the case. I’ll be lucky if it’s all cleared by my daughter’s birthday in May! Heck, I’ll be lucky if it stops BLEEDING by then!
My bloodsugars are good, my blood pressure is GREAT…I’m doing the right things, but it’s still dribbling like a leaky faucet. I’m SICK OF IT!
This whole eye-thing is going to be the deciding factor in the question of whether or not we have another baby (in a couple of years). We really want another one, but the more this continues, the more scary the thought of that becomes. My daughter is definitely worth this – 1000 times over – but deciding to do it again could be another story. I just don’t know….
Sorry to be so negative. I’m not looking for advice or second opionions to that of my ophtho. Given all the information in the picture (not all of which is in this post), I’m very comfortable with the decisions my ophtho and I have made for the time being. I just needed to unload in a place where I know there are others who have been there.
You have to be able to count on your systems 100%! Under no circumstances is a connector allowed to be responsible for a system’s malfunction. And this is why you should make no compromises here when it comes to the functionality, quality and contact stability.
Various contact technologies are available on the market, such as hyperbolic, lamella, coil spring, etc. All of these systems can transfer current and voltage, but the springwire contact technology from ODU in Mühldorf, Germany offers the greatest contact stability. A multitude of individually cushioning contact springs ensure constant power transmission, even under difficult conditions such as vibrations. Even at a contact diameter of 0.76 mm, 16 individual contact springs are built in, meaning 16 contact points for the power transmission.
The most important data at a glance
– Proven technology, with more than 60 years of experience
– Far more than 100,000 mating cycles, long product service life
– High current-carrying capacity up to 2,000 A
– Lowest contact resistances
– Large number of independently cushioning contact springs,
e.g., 40 pieces with Ø 5
– Low insertion and withdrawal forces
– Extremely certain contacting
– Constant power transmission, even under difficult
conditions such as vibrations or temperature fluctuations
– Simple fabrication– screw or crimp connection
– Both round and flat versions are available as “single contacts”
Contact stability is important no matter what the branch, and so ODU’s springwire contacts are used in all markets of the future, such as medical technology, renewable energies, industrial electronics, automation, etc.
A lot of rumored info (qjnet/wii/mega-man-10-rumors-third-character-two-player-gameplay-ps3-xbox-360-release.html) on Mega Man 10 hit the interwebs last week, one of them being the likelihood of the game to hit the PS3 and Xbox 360, apart from
Scott Billeadeau, Managing Director, Fifth Third Asset Management
Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei
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Wow!
Howard Dean, who knows a thing or two about medicine, and has long been an advocate for reform, just said on CNBC that “you may want to buy health insurance stocks if this thing passes.”
Basically, “reform” has turned into a big ol’ gravy train for private industry (not surprisingly, but surprising for a politician, even an ex-politician, to be so blunt).
Video when we get it.
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Electric
When we get to Geneva next March, eccentric Swiss design house Rinspeed will be showing off a design for a new electric commuter vehicle called the “UC?” The design of the car itself doesn’t appear to be particularly novel with styling that looks like a cross between the Smart ForTwo and Fiat 500 (not to mention the Aston Martin Cygnet from earlier today).
However, Rinspeed is proposing an interesting approach to extending the range of the EV. Because the UC? is only 2.5 meters long, it could theoretically take advantage of the same kind of perpendicular parking that many Smart drivers use. With that in mind, Rinspeed is proposing that railroads build special train cars that would allow the UC? to be driven straight on and off for travel between cities where the 75 mile nominal plug range would make travel impractical. Since most European trains are electric, it’s even conceivable that drivers could plug in their UC? models during the train trip. Rinspeed hopes to offer up the UC? to outside manufacturers who may want to build it.
Gallery: Rinspeed UC?
[Source: Rinspeed]
Continue reading Geneva Preview: Rinspeed to unveil the UC? electric city car
Geneva Preview: Rinspeed to unveil the UC? electric city car originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
A lot of companies seek to control employees. They have handbooks and policies. They monitor emails. They make rules about what’s allowed and what’s forbidden.
But “control” is a tricky thing. The tighter the reins, the more you create an environment of distrust. An us vs. them mentality takes hold. And that’s when people start trying to game the system.
That’s why workplace managers who seek “control” might want to consider the advice Shunryu Suzuki gives in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind:
The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in its wider sense. To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him. So it is with people: first let them do what they want, and watch them. This is the best policy. To ignore them is not good; that is the worst policy. The second worst is trying to control them. The best one is to watch them, just to watch them, without trying to control them.
Imagine an employee handbook that just said: “We trust you. Be mischievous.”
Found under: Windows Mobile, Software,
Read more in mobile format
For example, start typing “google chrome” and the feature suggests things like “google chrome os” or “google chrome mac,” to be expected considering the upcoming operating system and the recent mac beta launch of the browser. Go back and add a “b” in front of chrome and the suggestions immediately change to things like “google bookmarks chrome” or “google beta chrome.”
It doesn’t matter if the letter is right next to another word, Google detects the change and starts to match queries to the one being typed. The position of the new word is also irrelevant, it works wherever it’s placed.
In itself it may not look like much of a new feature, but it’s a big step forward for the tool and for the overall search experience. Refining a search is something we do very, very often, especially since we get to see in the suggestion box if our query is likely to wield the wanted results, w… (read more)
Continuing the Kitchn’s recent series of sushi posts, we spent some time in the kitchen with Rham Fenton, a very skilled, albeit unconventional sushi expert who gave us some techniques and inspiration for at-home sushi making.
however, I can’t find her either.
hopefully she is okay.
Despite Apple and Psystar having discussed a potential settlement in their drawn-out battle, the agreement was dependent upon the outcome of Apple’s motion for a permanent injunction. Yesterday, the California U.S. District Court responsible for ruling in the matter issued its decision, and the outcome is not favorable for the Mac clone maker.
Apple, however, will be very pleased with the ruling. The court granted Apple’s request for a permanent injunction, barring future sales of any machines with OS X pre-installed. It also prohibits Psystar from trying to get around Apple’s technological countermeasures put in place to prevent illegal copying and use of OS X, and from helping others try to do so.
While it sounds like this injunction might extend to the Rebel EFI software that Psystar has been selling to help users put OS X on machines themselves, it isn’t expressly forbidden. Judge William Alsup warns, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean Psystar is in the clear. Instead, he emphasizes the risks inherent in continuing to sell Rebel EFI, as reported by All Things Digital:
Rebel EFI will not be expressly excluded from the terms of the injunction. It should be clear, however, that this ruling is without prejudice to Psystar bringing a new motion before the undersigned that includes real details about Rebel EFI, and opening itself up to formal discovery thereon. This would serve the purpose — akin to a post-injunction motion vetting a “design-around” in a patent action — of potentially vetting (or not vetting) a product like Rebel EFI under this order’s decree. Moreover, Psystar may raise in such a motion any defenses it believes should apply to the factual circumstances of its new product, such as the 17 U.S.C. 117 defense raised in its opposition and at oral argument. Whether such a defense would be successful on the merits, or face preclusion or other hurdles, this order cannot predict. What is certain, however, is that until such a motion is brought, Psystar will be selling Rebel EFI at its peril, and risks finding itself held in contempt if its new venture falls within the scope of the injunction.
The injunction takes effect immediately, but Psystar has been given until Dec. 31 at the latest to cease all of its sales operations. That’s an outside limit, though, and the judge told the company to stop within the hour if at all possible.
I’m glad this thing is basically over. While I’m not sure I agree with the degree to which OS X is a closed system, all Psystar really proved was that once you take quality control and attention to detail out of the hands of Apple, things rapidly start to go downhill. Despite recent problems, it’d be a shame to see what tends to be the much more reliable Mac experience go the way of the PC, with its HPs, Compaqs, and low-end Acers.
Toast some slices of baguette in the oven, slap on a spread, and call it a night. We love any appetizer we can serve on toast rounds (crostini, if we’re getting fancy). They’re easy for guests to pick up and eat in one or two bites, and you can really make them out of anything—tapenade, thin slices of meat, cheese and a drizzle of honey, you name it. Here are 10 options that would be great for a holiday party.
I have always felt Samsung has taken the smartphone battle a bit more seriously than even Microsoft, as can been in their serious commitment to developers, their various music and video stores, and of course their App store.
Samsung has now created a desktop client for their mobile phones that aims to take over where Windows Mobile Device Centre left off, providing photo, music and video synching, and also calendar and contacts. Best of all however is their desktop application store, which seems much fuller than the Windows Mobile Marketplace at the moment and provides a great user experience.
The video above from 1800pocketpc.com shows the application in action. The software only works with Samsung devices unfortunately, and the application store is only available in select markets, but if Samsung continues down this route they can guarantee keeping their Windows Mobile handsets competitive in this very crowded market, at least until Microsoft gets their thing together.
The download is available at Samsungapps.com here
Read more at 1800pocketpc here.
Love ’em or hate ’em, the gun-toting criminal duo of Kane and Lynch are back. Square Enix Europe has released a full-blown debut trailer for the upcoming action game, giving gamers a glimpse of the events prior
