Category: News

I am constantly trying to find new and unique project for you and I think I came up with a pretty good one. This project was originally made with cranberries, but I changed a things and came up with this pattern. I’m sure you will enjoy making and having this decoration on your table.

Kathy Zengolewicz

Here is what you will need to get started:

• A 12” styrofoam cone
• Acrylic craft pain, red
• A strand of  Christmas  garland (6 foot – I found a small Christmas ball ornament garland)
• A small ornament for the top
• Small plastic snowflakes
• Floral wire or u-shaped floral pins
• Wire cutters
• A Paintbrush
• Low temperature glue gun.

Paint the styrofoam cone red and let it dry. If you’re using floral wire, cut the wire in 3 or 3 ½ inch lengths and bend them into a u-shape.

Starting at the bottom, glue the garland to the cone and insert floral pins or u-shape floral wire between the balls for an extra hold.  Continue wrapping the garland around the cone until covered. You may need to play with the garland a little to make sure it is sitting right. Arrange it to your liking.

Place the snowflakes between the rows of garland, spacing them as necessary. Put the small ornament on the top of the tree. You may need to put a small slice in the top of the cone to hold the top ornament.

You can make these tree in any color you choose. I have one in red, one in blue and one in green. You can place them on your lamp or coffee table, they make a beautiful decoration and they cost pennies to make.

You can also place the tree in a small styrofoam bowl and use it as a base. Sprinkle some fake snow around the bottom for a nice effect.

If you’re giving them as gifts they fit very nicely in wine bottle bags. Expects your friends to be surprised when the open the gift and find a tree instead of a bottle of wine.

Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Tabletop Christmas Tree

It’s never really a redesign until you redesign it the day before it launches.

Martin sent over an article from a Swedish publication about how some Russian book publishers are dealing with “piracy” (translated via Google from the original). While some do seem upset about the issue, others are actually figuring out ways to deal with it, including offering their own vastly cheaper ebook versions quickly (and with no DRM), or even working out deals with “pirate” sites to share some of the ad revenue. The one publisher that the article focuses on, Sergei Parchomenko, says that they’re not losing money from pirate sites, but the responsibility is on him to come up with a workable business model. It’s nice to see someone realizing that they need to react to the market, rather than freak out about things.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Crossover, Mercedes-Benz

It ain’t pretty, but it’s fast. Actually, with a claimed 211 mph top speed, the Brabus Bi-Turbo V12 GLK is the fastest SUV in the world. Which is kinda like being the winner in a Twinkie-eating competition: It’s an epic feat of embarrassing proportions.

To pull it off, the Brabus crew stuck with its tried and true formula of shoving entirely too much engine into a small package. Underneath the vented hood lies a Mercedes-sourced V12 that’s been stroked from 5.5- to 6.3-liters. From there, the Bottrop boys fit a duo of turbos, two intercoolers, a couple high-flow cats and a stainless steel exhaust. The effect is typical Brabus: A staggering 740 horsepower and 995 pound-feet of torque, which is actually limited to 811 lb-ft (at 2,100 rpm) to avoid the gearbox, diff and rear tires from vaporizing in an oily, metallic haze. And naturally, the absurdity doesn’t stop with the engine.

Twelve-piston front calipers clamp onto 15-inch discs, with six-piston calipers and 14.2-inch rotors in the rear, while a height adjustable coilover suspension with ten settings for bound and rebound join 22-inch wheels wrapped in a choice of Pirelli or Yokohama rubber. The exterior and interior have been restyled to match, and while Merc’s diminutive ‘ute isn’t exactly a beauty queen to begin with, Brabus’ blocky aftermarket brutalization lends itself well to the GLK’s squat proportions.

But aesthetics aside, there’s a bigger problem. Actually, there are 397,000 of ’em. That’s how many euros you’ll need for the GLK V12. For that kind of scratch ($580,000 using a straight conversion), there’s a host of high-power exotica available. And when you consider the GLK’s sprinting stats — 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and 124 mph in 12.8 ticks — the far less expensive BMW X5 M is easily on par and was actually designed from the onset to be an offensively quick grocery-getter. Then again, the M can’t break the double-century mark at Nardo… something to consider during your trip to Costco. Press release below the fold.

Continue reading At 211 mph, the Brabus GLK V12 can’t outrun ugly

At 211 mph, the Brabus GLK V12 can’t outrun ugly originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

heres some helpful hints.

always click on categories  – products under 15 dollars, this changes alot and sometimes you find deals on products you use

look at the clearance section on the front page as well. Always click on view more specials for the weekly specials.

 if you are unsure of a product click on the search bar and type in free sample it will offer products that have free samples and add them into your cart. fyi just recent controlled labs charges 25 cents for a sample which isnt bad at all.

click on the search bar and type in promo , bb.com offers promos that may not show on the front page.

 on the cart page scroll down and type comeback10percent for 10 percent off your whole order.

wheycheap.com is like woot.com is a one supplement one day deal.. powered by bb.com check it out.

hope this helps with holiday shopping..

I just wanted to say thank you to the few that chose me as an inspiration. It really means alot. In this sport there is so much ability out there it amazes me. People really can transform themselves and push themselves to the limit whether it be by themselves or with some help from someone. Im all about spreading the knowledge around, being truth ful and just motivating as much as i can. I like being treated with respect and taking in new opinion/information from people and im happy to offer as well. Bodybuilding.com is a great source to meet people in the sport , get ideas, offer assistance and use as research and motivation. Keep up the great work everyone your doing well, dont let anyone bring you down. thank you.

Filed under: Safety, Videos, Australia

Years ago when we were in drivers ed watching either Blood on the Highway or Red Asphalt — the two gore-filled negative education films from the early 1970s that tried to scare us stright — the cheerleader seated in front of us cold passed out. Just flopped right on the floor. It had to have been the scene where the camera arrives on the scene of a motorcycle wreck and, well, let’s just say the poor rider needed an new knee. But as blood and guts infused as those films were, they can’t even hold an emergency room candle to the carnage taking place on Australian television.

This film is a “best of” from 20 years of Transport Accident Commission films. And man… Notice how we didn’t pass out during drivers ed? We have an iron stomach. That said, this video gets to be a little much. There’s just so much non-stop carnage… The video almost makes us care less about drinking and driving than it does the perils of watching blood-infused video clips. Almost.

Here’s what our Aussie tipster Casey had to say about the video, “Celebrating’ 20 years of TAC TV advertisements, this once-only three-minute clip was shown on all free-to-air TV networks once on December 10 2009. It’s a collage of their work over the 20 years and the graphic scenes put to air. It’s an excellent (and chilling) viewing.” Agreed, you’re going see high production values and even higher casualty rates. Watch the video – if you have the stomach for it – after the jump.

[Source: Colorbus]

Continue reading VIDEO: Australian Transport Accident Commission celebrates 20 years of disturbing commercials

VIDEO: Australian Transport Accident Commission celebrates 20 years of disturbing commercials originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

First Drive: 2010 Hyundai Tucson a green machine with few compromises

The CUV has evolved from a high-riding, dynamically compromised wagon to a serious alternative to fuel-hungry SUVs and bland sedans. If any crossover typifies this recent trend, it’s Hyundai’s all-new 2010 Tucson.

REPORT: Detroit Three call Japan’s cash-for-clunkers program unfair

Japan’s cash-for-clunkers program doesn’t allow car buyers in the Land of the Rising Sun to receive incentives if they purchase a GM, Ford or Chrysler vehicle. That makes the Big Three angry, so they’ve written a letter.

Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta revealed, second from Special Projects program

After writing a massive check and waiting well over a year, the son of the man that invented cable television has received his bespoke dream machine from Maranello: the P540 Superfast Aperta.

Also of interest:

• Kia considering production Kee to compete with Toyobaru coupe
• Mini to debut off-road Moke concept in Detroit
• Nissan rumored to be reviving 240SX, bringing it to the U.S.
• Aston Martin updates the V8 Vantage for 2010
• 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata to get SKY-G power, 50+ mpg?

Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 12.11.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

It really was just a couple months ago that a ton of press coverage came from the ridiculous attempt by British oil company Trafigura to gag the UK press. All that did was turn what had been a minor story not many people were paying attention to into a huge story that everyone knew about. But what if the story is already huge? Tiger Woods (and we’d gotten this far without having to talk about him…) has apparently taken the same path as Trafigura and has gagged the UK press from writing about certain details of his personal life. Woods apparently had lawyers in London take action to get a court injunction against the press reporting certain things about his personal life — though, they’re still free to write about this ridiculous injunction, and they’re certainly wasting little time in doing that.

So what, exactly, is the UK press barred from discussing? Well, none of the UK articles say — obviously. But, since we live in the US, it’s not hard to find reports that say the specific injunction bars the the publication of any nude photos or images of Woods having sex. And, even though the court order states “this Order is not to be taken as an admission that any such photographs exist,” it certainly sounds like a very loud clanging bell announcing exactly that. And, of course, this means the race must now be on for various tabloids/celebrity gossip sites and the like to find exactly those photos and videos.

Given the Trafigura situation, though, would you think that someone in Tiger’s camp — or among his UK lawyers — would recognize how incredibly badly this would backfire? Not only does it continue to make the UK look like a laughingstock when it comes to freedom of the press and free speech, it only calls that much more attention to what, apparently, Woods would like to remain hidden.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Japan, Acura, Honda, Specialty

We knew it was coming and now we’ve got details. According to the latest reports out of Japan, the Honda NSX will live on, but mere mortals will never get a shot behind the wheel.

As previously reported, Honda has been actively petitioning the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) — the organizing entity behind Japan’s Super GT series — to run a new front-engine racer in the touring car championship. A cursory reading of the rule book states that vehicles campaigning in SuperGT must be production vehicles (think GT-R, MR2, SC430). However, Honda’s found a loop-hole.

Just as Toyota has done in recent years with the Supra (it’s out of production), the Super GT rules specify that a vehicle’s specs and design must be submitted to JAF to be approved. That means that a vehicle can be “production ready,” if not actually in production. So for the 2010 SuperGT season, Honda will bring out an all-new race car based on the NSX prototype (seen above), reportedly packing a 3.4-liter V8.

So… Lawyers: 1. NSX’s lovers: 0. But at least we get to see it race…

[Source: Insideline]

REPORT: Honda finds loophole, new NSX to run in SuperGT originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

An under the sea bedroom theme can be a lot of fun to put together. It is perfect for your Little Mermaid fan, but is also ideal for kids who like fish, diving, or the idea of treasure hunting. You can opt for just a few accessories or you can really pile on the fun.

The most important part of your theme is the paint. You’ll want several shades of blue. The ceiling should be the lightest color and the bottom of your walls should be darkest. Water is lighter near the surface and darker as you go further down and less light shines through. For a super easy mural, add decals of colorful tropical fish, a boat wreck or a spooky octopus to the walls.

You can just look for cute bedding like this mermaid set for your child’s bed, but the room will look even more like an under the sea themed space if you get creative and make your own clam shell shaped headboard to use with a bed frame. (It would be fun to build a bed that looks like a boat wreck for a boy’s underwater theme, but that’s beyond my skill set and the beds I did see were not wrecks and insanely expensive!)

Accessories should be in keeping with the theme. Starfish based lamps, a chair fit for a mermaid queen and a mirror surrounded by little shells would go perfectly in a girl’s room. A boy would love the same lamps, but would prefer a darling little pirate ship rocker and a pirate’s chest toy box.

Photo via amazon.com

Post from: Blisstree

Under the Sea Bedroom Theme

I attended a debate recently in New York on the role of the U.S. in Mexico’s drug war — and I was happy to see most of the audience on my side. The U.S. is finally waking up to the destruction our drug war has caused outside of our borders, and we’re moving in the direction of a series of policy shifts that will transform our domestic drug problems and change the way we interact with the countries that supply our insatiable demand for drugs.

The proposition of the debate — part of the Intelligence Squared series that runs on Bloomberg TV and NPR — was: “America is to Blame for Mexico’s Drug War.” Listen to the full debate here. Allow me to explain why I voted yes.

(more…)

That Darn Menopause Does What?

Menopause could be at the heart of your recent rise in cholesterol. A new study has shown that it’s menopause and not aging that causes a sharp rise in cholesterol levels of menopausal women of any ethnicity. The cholesterol rise is a problem since it may contribute to heart disease later in life.

Almost all of the women in the study experienced a rise in cholesterol levels around the two years surrounding the final menstrual period. The study is important because the findings can help women be more aware of risk factors for heart disease which may occur around menopause. The study results will be published this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Dads May Get Postpartum Depression Too

The New York Times recently explored the idea of postpartum depression in fathers. While many doctors haven’t really heard of the disorder, studies have shown that around 4% of fathers experience depression within eight weeks of a child’s birth. Read the whole story, Postpartum Depression Strikes Fathers, Too.

MRI Could Diagnose Dangerous Maternal Condition

Researchers have found that MRI is 90.1% successful in detecting placenta accreta, which may occur when a woman’s placenta attaches too deeply to the uterus during pregnancy. The condition is dangerous when not detected until delivery, and it could result in severe hemorrhaging in the mother or complications for the baby.

While ultrasound can detect placenta accreta, it doesn’t always help with diagnosing subtle cases. Risk factors for the condition include: placenta covers all or part of the cervix, uterine scarring, prior cesarean births and, possibly, maternal age of more than 35 years. The researchers note that not knowing about placenta accreta can be life threatening, but with proper diagnosis, the pregnancy can be monitored more carefully. The study was presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Health Bits: Cholesterol, Dad’s Baby Blues

Mercedes-Benz bring electric cars to the roads

By Mercedes-Benz,
Friday, December 11, 2009

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Electric

After delivering some 900 Tesla Roadsters, over a dozen employees are taking one on a road trip. Tesla will be back at the Detroit Auto Show next month and this time they’re driving there. On Thursday, December 17, 16 Tesla employees will depart from Los Angeles and head across the Southeast toward Texas and then north east to Chicago and Detroit.

While the the 2,700 mile trip could be completed in a few days in conventional car, it will take two and a half weeks for the Roadster. According to Tesla’s announcement, ”
We are out to prove the Roadster is tough and durable, and that range anxiety is for the weak.” While the Roadster may be durable, part of the reason the trip is taking so long is the need to stop and spend several hours recharging every couple of hundred miles. Of course Telsa staff will be using those charging opportunities to show off the car and drum up a few sales.

Speaking of sales, an anonymous source claiming to have knowledge of the situation tells us that Tesla is currently selling about 20-30 Roadsters a month. New Tesla spokeperson Khobi Brooklyn says the company is currently building about 25 cars a week, but declines to comment on the sales figures.

[Source: Tesla]

Tesla employees going on 2,700 mile road trip from LA to Detroit originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

There’s been a lot of talk — mostly negative — about Facebook’s new privacy settings that try to push users (in somewhat confusing ways) towards revealing a lot more info about themselves. There is a reasonable fear that this will have serious unintended consequences — especially since Facebook was originally designed and used mainly for more private communications between people who knew each other. Opening that up — especially if you don’t quite realize all you’re exposing — could be problematic. Kashmir Hill discovered, however, that Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg is eating this new Facebook openness dog food by making most of his profile wide open. This is a massive change from before, when he was extremely private with his Facebook profile. While there was some question of whether or not Zuckerberg did this on purpose, he has clarified it with a statement on his Facebook profile noting:

For those wondering, I set most of my content to be open so people could see it. I set some of my content to be more private, but I didn’t see a need to limit visibility of pics with my friends, family or my teddy bear 🙂

While I have mixed feelings (well, mostly apathy) towards the whole open/closed question for Facebook, at the very least it’s a good thing that the company’s CEO and the person most identified with the company does appear to be embracing where the company believes it needs to go. It certainly would raise a lot more questions if he had gone the other way. What may be most interesting — though not being a “friend” of Zuckerberg, I’ll never know — is if anyone notices if he begins to change the way he uses the site because of this.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

As 2009 draws to a close, we’re inching ever deeper into the corner that Congress painted us into by passing Real ID under the table in 2005. (Recall that Real ID is the failed, Bush-era attempt to turn state drivers licenses into national ID cards by forcing states to collect and store licensee data in databases, and refusing to accept non-compliant IDs for federal purposes, like boarding a plane or entering a federal building.)

The official deadline for states to comply with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final Real ID rule is December 31, 2009, and an estimated 36 states will not be in compliance by then, leading to some ambiguity for many citizens. For example, will residents of Montana be able to board planes in January 2010 with only a driver’s license (a state-supplied, technically non-compliant document) and without a passport (an identity document issued by the federal government)?

Past history strongly suggests that DHS will issue last-minute waivers to states that have not amped up their drivers licenses to adhere to Real ID. Early in 2008, states that actively opposed Real ID received waivers from DHS, nominally marking the states as “compliant” despite strongly-stated opposition to ever implementing Real ID.

But waiting in the wings is PASS ID, a bill that attempts to grease the wheels by offering money to the states to implement ID changes. Despite having the appearances of reform, PASS ID essentially echoes Real ID in threatening citizens’ personal privacy without actually justifying its impact on improving security. For this reason, PASS ID is not popular — privacy advocates refuse to support the bill because it still creates a national ID system. It still mandates the scanning and storage of applicants’ critical identity documents (birth certificates, visas, etc.), which will be stored in databases that will become leaky honeypots of sensitive personal data — prime targets for malicious identity thieves or otherwise accessible by individuals authorized to obtain documents from the database. And on the other side, short-sighted surveillance hawks are unhappy with the bill because they support the privacy violations architected into the provisions of the original Real ID Act.

As such, advocates of PASS ID are publicly wringing their hands over the deadline in order to encourage Congress to approve the PASS ID Act before the end of the year. But the fracas over health reform is suffocating any chance for meaningful debate about the merits of PASS ID before the Dec. 31st deadline.

A pragmatic analysis should show that Real ID is dead. To date, 24 states have enacted resolutions or binding legislation prohibiting participation in Real ID, and the varied, desperate efforts to reanimate it are misguided. Whether the states or the federal government signs the invoice, the cost ultimately falls to taxpayers, who should be troubled that neither Real ID nor PASS ID is likely to fulfill the stated goal of stopping terrorists from obtaining identity documents. (Just this week, noted security expert Bruce Schneier linked to a report about government investigators successfully using fake identity documents to obtain high-tech “e-passports,” which were then used to buy plane tickets, and board flights — the point being that a fancy, “secure” identity document doesn’t stop individuals from exploiting a weak bureaucracy.)

On the other hand, the resulting databases filled with scanned identity documents will create tantalizing targets for identity thieves and headaches for people whose digital documents are pilfered; and a national ID system will invite mission creep from the government as well as private entities like credit reporting agencies and advertisers. It’s high time for reason to replace the reflexive defense of a failed scheme. Congress should repeal Real ID for real and seek more inspired, protective solutions to identity document security.