It’s sharing time; gather round! We are curious about your favorite winter holiday recipes and treats. Gingerbread, sugar cookies, fruitcake, holiday ham and Christmas morning cinnamon rolls are part of our own food landscape this time of year. What about you? What are your family’s favorite recipes? A special thumbrint cookie? Hanukkah latkes or doughnuts? Tell us all about your favorite holiday treat!
It’s the weekend, and the holidays are practically upon us. We’re thinking about plain, nourishing food, like a good pot of beans. What about you? Are you baking up a storm, or are you looking for respite from the coming flurry of sweets? Tell us here, and peruse a few links from the past week at The Kitchn.
Did you see the rental kitchen (well, whole apartment, really) in The New York Times that was transformed by its tenants? They received a substantial reduction in rent and a long-term lease in exchange for renovating their Brooklyn apartment. Take a look at this kitchen before the renovation!
“In August, 2009, we released collaborative albums for Picasa Web Albums, making it possible for multiple people to add pictures to the same album. Since the easiest way to upload to Picasa Web Albums is using the Picasa software, we’re happy to announce that in Picasa 3.6 you can upload photos and videos directly to friends’ collaborative albums,” Susanna Leng, software engineer wrote.
The feature was launched a few months ago making it possible for users to collaborate on albums. This was very useful in a lot of cases, allowing users to share photos from an event in one place, for example. However, at the time of launch it was only possible for others than the album’s owner to upload the photos from the web interface, which works for a couple of photos but quickly becomes useless as the number of image… (read more)
Look at this amazing partridge in a pear tree gingerbread creation from Megan of not martha! Also, food snob place cards, cauliflower with rye, and a breakfast quiche that looks so yummy.
Out of all of the different species out there, the anaconda snake is the largest constrictor reptile that inhabits in the Americas. This species of snake is a strong and sleek predator which kills it prey by squeezing them to death.
They can swim but they tend to prefer to live in marshy or stagnant river areas, and during the day, they like to curl up in branches that overhang into the river. At night, they will hide themselves waiting for unsuspecting prey that decides to come out for a drink.
This snake is not poisonous but it uses it teeth to drag prey under the water to drown them and when they are away from the water, they will use their coils to wrap around the prey which suffocates them.
The anaconda will dislocate its own jaw and stretch its neck to allow it to swallow creatures larger than it’s self. If it has had a huge meal, it may not feed again for weeks. So, whilst it is not poisonous, it is certainly dangerous!
WMExperts have published their review of the HTC Imagio, HTC’s TV-focussed device on Verizon.
Overall they seem pretty happy with the device, with their biggest complaint appearing to be the lack of a dedicated power button.
They concluded:
HTC has churned out some outstanding Windows phones lately. Take your pick of the Touch Pro 2 line and you’ll find a great phone. The Pure and Diamond 2 are equally impressive and everyone is waiting with anticipation for the HD2. The Imagio slipped in under the radar, so to speak, and is another very good HTC Windows phone.
It has one glaring omission that is really tough for me to overlook. Had Verizon and HTC placed a power button on the Imagio I would easily label it as a great Windows phone. While you can press/hold the end key to put the phone to sleep, having a dedicated power/sleep button is more convenient and efficient.
Otherwise, it’s hard to find much to complain a lot about with the Imagio. Call quality is very good, the screen looks great, the touch navigation is responsive, and the processor moves things along nicely. Battery life is good and the Imagio feels good in your hand. The large screen compliments Verizon’s V-Cast services (as well as any video playback) really well.
If you can live with the odd power/sleep button issues, a Verizon customer (or potential customer), and looking for a "black slab" styled Windows phone the Imagio is worth considering.
Read their full review here.
Since it is winter time, I have been doing lots of experimenting with different kind of soups. I have had soup almost every night this week before my main meal! It fills you up so you eat less for dinner and is very healthy! The problem is is that I have started to run out of soup ideas! I have done the chicken, asaparagus, broccoli, I even tried a white carrot soup! I didn’t even know white carrots existed till I found them in the farmers market. What will I try next? Corn soup!
I found this corn recipe on an eating healthy blog! JanetGoodRichMethod.
This soup is about a 1-2-3 step soup – makes things easy.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
4 cups fresh corn off the cob
Shred 2 cups corn in the blender or food processor
250gm chicken (optional) crabmeat is also wonderful in this soup
2 eggs
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. fresh ginger chopped fine
pepper to taste
1 – 2 tbs. Cornflour mixed with 2 – 3 tbs. cold water (if you like a thicker texture use the larger amounts)
Chopped spring/green onion tops to garnish
Bring stock to a boil. Add all ingredients except egg and cornflour mix. Reduce heat & simmer for 8 minutes. Add cornflour mix and simmer for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with so0me pepper and you are good to go!
Image: sxc.hu
Post from: Blisstree
| Published: | December 10, 2009 |
| Paper Released: | July 2009 |
| Authors: | Prithwiraj Choudhury and Tarun Khanna |
Is privatization necessary? In India and across emerging markets, state-owned entities (SOEs) continue to make up a large proportion of industrial sales, yet they lag behind private counterparts on performance measures. But SOEs may be able to significantly improve performance even in the absence of property rights, according to HBS doctoral candidate Prithwiraj Choudhury and professor Tarun Khanna. As they document, 42 Indian state-owned laboratories started from a base of negligible U.S. patents, yet in the period 1993-2006 (during which the Indian government launched an ambitious privatization program), the labs were granted more patents than all domestic private firms combined. The labs then licensed several of these patents to multinationals, and licensing revenue increased from 3 percent to 15 percent as a fraction of government budgetary support. Findings are relevant to firms and R&D entities around the world that depend on varying degrees of government budgetary support and government control, especially in emerging markets like India, where SOEs control up to one-third of all industrial activity. Key concepts include:
The literature on state-owned entity (SOE) reform has been focused on privatization. However, privatization has its limits and has mostly resulted in partial privatization with the state retaining control. In this context, we document a dramatically successful reform effort in India where 42 state owned labs, over a fourteen year period (1993-2006) used licensing of intellectual property to reduce dependence on government budgetary support. This follows incentive policy and leadership change at the labs, the latter event being plausibly exogenous given rigid government employment rules. Alternatives and complements to privatization have been documented in the Chinese context. However, unlike the Chinese examples, collaboration between the state and private sectors formed the engine of the reform in the Indian context. Also, the state-owned Indian labs leveraged the US institutional context in effecting their turnaround.
32 pages.
The holidays are almost here and your gearhead loved ones need presents. Badly. But what to get them? Well, we like tools. Gloves to protect us from grease, too. Oh, and we love models of cars. Of course most spouses we know don’t really want tools, gloves or small cars sitting on the coffee table. So what about a nice book?
You’re in luck, as there are lots of books about cars, usually filled with lovely pictures that look totally fabulous when displayed proudly in the living room (says us). Speaking of books, one of our favorite authors, P.J. O’Rourke, reviewed a new book for the New York Times called Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power, Motion, Colour, Everything.
If you don’t know, O’Rourke is one of our favorite authors because he refuses to pull punches. Like this, “Buy this book, but don’t read it.” Why would P.J. recommend purchasing a book but not reading it? Well, as he tells it, the pictures are beautiful but the words aren’t. As O’Rourke says towards the end of his review of Cars, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Still, the pictures look good.
[Source: New York Times]
P.J. O’Rourke reviews a book about cars called, “Cars” originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Middle East construction industry is further delayed by a shortage of sand, yes you read that correctly, this is not an April Fool’s joke. Saudi Arabia has banned the export of sand and gravel because it hasn’t got enough in locations convenient for export according to local press reports!
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New jobless claims are up, but the good news is that they remain below 500,000, which is seen as a crucial level.
So we’ll call a wash.
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AP: The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits likely rose last week, after dropping for five straight weeks.
A Labor Department report is expected to show new unemployment insurance claims rose by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Economists closely monitor initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of companies’ willingness to hire new workers.
A recent, rapid drop in claims has given hope to many analysts that job cuts are slowing and hiring may even improve as soon as January or February. Claims have dropped by 75,000, or 14 percent, since late October.
Last week’s report said 457,000 people filed first-time claims, the lowest total since the week of Sept. 6, 2008. Thursday’s report is due at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Despite the recent improvement, claims likely have to fall to about 425,000 for several weeks to signal the economy is actually adding jobs, according to many analysts.
Last week, the Labor Department said employers shed a net total of 11,000 jobs in November, down from the 111,000 lost in October and a much better figure than analysts expected. The unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent.
The number of people continuing to claim benefits, meanwhile, is expected to drop by about 25,000 to 5.4 million for the week ending Nov. 28. Those figures lag initial claims by a week.
But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people that have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states, and are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.
About 4.5 million people were receiving extended benefits in the week ended Nov. 14, the latest data available. That’s an increase of about 300,000 from the previous week, and reflects an extension of benefits that Congress enacted last month.
The economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace in the July-September quarter and analysts say it is likely growing at a similar pace in the current quarter. But that is much slower than the average 6 percent rate in previous economic recoveries. As a result, most economists expect the unemployment rate to rise in coming months and remain above 9 percent through the end of next year.
Some employers are continuing to lay off workers. Consol Energy said Tuesday that it will lay off nearly 500 workers and idle a mountaintop removal mining operation near Bickmore, W.Va. The Pittsburgh-based company blamed an environmental lawsuit.
The Los Angeles School Board on Tuesday approved a budget plan that would cut 5,000 jobs, including about 1,400 teachers.
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More evidence that trade activity isn’t up to snuff.
Reuters: The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in October as the weak U.S. dollar helped boost exports and demand for imported oil fell to its lowest daily level since January 2000, a Commerce Department report showed on Thursday.
The trade gap shrank 7.6 percent to $32.9 billion, from a downwardly revised estimate of $35.7 billion in September. Analysts surveyed before the report had expected the gap to widen to about $36.8 billion.
Here’s the full report from the Commerce Department
—-
Goods and Services
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department
of Commerce, announced today that total October exports of $136.8 billion and imports
of $169.8 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $32.9 billion, down
from $35.7 billion in September, revised. October exports were $3.5 billion more
than September exports of $133.4 billion. October imports were $0.7 billion more
than September imports of $169.0 billion.
In October, the goods deficit decreased $2.6 billion from September to $44.8 billion,
and the services surplus increased $0.2 billion to $11.9 billion. Exports of goods
increased $3.2 billion to $93.5 billion, and imports of goods increased $0.7 billion
to $138.4 billion. Exports of services increased $0.2 billion to $43.3 billion, and
imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $31.4 billion.
In October, the goods and services deficit decreased $26.5 billion from October 2008.
Exports were down $12.9 billion, or 8.6 percent, and imports were down $39.3 billion,
or 18.8 percent.
Goods (Census basis)
The September to October increase in exports of goods reflected increases in capital
goods ($1.2 billion); consumer goods ($1.0 billion); other goods ($0.6 billion);
industrial supplies and materials ($0.4 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and
engines ($0.4 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.2 billion).
The September to October increase in imports of goods reflected increases in capital
goods ($1.1 billion); consumer goods ($1.0 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and
engines ($0.4 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.2 billion). Decreases
occurred in industrial supplies and materials ($1.8 billion) and other goods ($0.4
billion).
The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in exports of goods reflected decreases in
industrial supplies and materials ($3.9 billion); capital goods ($3.8 billion);
automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($2.1 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages
($0.7 billion). Increases occurred in consumer goods ($0.4 billion) and other goods
($0.1 billion).
The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in imports of goods reflected decreases in
industrial supplies and materials ($25.0 billion); capital goods ($5.2 billion);
consumer goods ($3.7 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($1.2 billion);
foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.7 billion); and other goods ($0.7 billion).
Services
Services exports increased $0.2 billion from September to October. The increase was
more than accounted for by increases in other private services (which includes items
such as business, professional, and technical services, insurance services, and
financial services), other transportation (which includes freight and port services),
and passenger fares. A decrease in transfers under U.S. military sales contracts was
partly offsetting.
Services imports increased $0.1 billion from September to October. The increase was
mostly accounted for by an increase in passenger fares. Changes in the other categories
of services imports were small.
The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in exports of services was $2.6 billion.
The largest decreases were in travel ($1.1 billion), other transportation ($0.8 billion),
and royalties and license fees ($0.6 billion).
The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in imports of services was $2.5 billion.
Decreases occurred in other transportation ($1.6 billion), passenger fares ($0.8
billion), and travel ($0.5 billion).
Goods and Services Moving Average
For the three months ending in October, exports of goods and services averaged $133.3
billion, while imports of goods and services averaged $166.3 billion, resulting in an
average trade deficit of $33.0 billion. For the three months ending in September, the
average trade deficit was $32.5 billion, reflecting average exports of $130.8 billion
and average imports of $163.3 billion.
Selected Not Seasonally Adjusted Goods Details
The October figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with Hong Kong $1.6 ($1.9
for September), Australia $1.3 ($0.9), Singapore $0.9 ($0.3), and Egypt $0.4 ($0.3).
Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China $22.7 ($22.1), OPEC $5.8
($7.9), European Union $4.9 ($5.5), Mexico $4.6 ($4.6), Japan $4.4 ($4.1), Canada $2.0
($1.5), Venezuela $1.7 ($2.0), Nigeria $1.4 ($1.9), Taiwan $0.7 ($0.7), and Korea $0.5
($0.8).
Advanced technology products exports were $23.7 billion in October and imports were
$29.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of $5.6 billion. October exports were $3.2
billion more than the $20.5 billion in September, while October imports were $2.8
billion more than the $26.5 billion in September.
Revisions
Goods exports for September were virtually unrevised. Goods imports for September
were revised down $0.3 billion. Goods carry-over in October was $0.1 billion (0.1
percent) for exports and $0.6 billion (0.4 percent) for imports. For September,
revised export carry-over was virtually zero. For September, revised import carry-over
was $0.2 billion (0.2 percent), revised down from $0.9 billion (0.7 percent).
Services exports and imports for April 2009 through September 2009 reflect the
incorporation of more comprehensive and revised quarterly and monthly data. For
services exports, the largest monthly revisions were in other private services,
transfers under U.S. military sales contracts, and royalties and license fees.
For services imports, the largest monthly revisions were in other private services.
Services exports for September were revised up $1.5 billion to $43.1 billion. The
revision was mostly accounted for by upward revisions in other private services,
transfers under U.S. military sales contracts, and royalties and license fees.
Services imports for September were revised up $0.9 billion to $31.4 billion.
The revision was mostly accounted for by an upward revision in other private services.
NOTICE
Changes to Low Value Estimates For Goods
Beginning with the January 2010 statistics, to be released on March 11, 2010, the U.S.
Census Bureau will change the current import and export low value estimation methodologies
to improve coverage and quality. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates imports and exports
of goods valued below the established filing exemption levels. Data users will see
a change in the low value estimates as a result of the implementation of these
methodologies. Additional information is available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/
aip/lvpaper.html.
State Import Data For Goods
Beginning with the January 2010 statistics, to be released on March 11, 2010, the U.S.
Census Bureau will introduce a state import data series. The state of import will
reflect the U.S. state or territory of ultimate destination of the imported merchandise.
A new exhibit will be added to the FT900: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services
Supplement. In addition, the following data products will be produced: state import
data by 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) and state import data by 4-digit North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS). An example of the data structure for these
products can be found at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/reference/products/layouts/
index.html. With the release of the January 2010 statistics, historical data tables
and products back to January 2008 will also be made available.
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Gift guides — are you tired of ’em yet? We love rounding up the best things for your kitchen, but we promise we’re drawing near to the end of our holiday gifting. Here’s just one more list of things that may be useful now or later: our picks for long-lasting, lifetime gifts. These are the big gifts, the ones that won’t fit in a stocking (or a stocking-stuffer budget). But sometimes it’s just right to give something that will last a long time.
Rosenberg: Looking at the sector breakdown of the report, the charts below highlight the sectors that are seeing an outright inventory re-stocking at this time. In addition, what makes these sectors pop out is that they were also cited as areas of expansion in the latest Fed Beige Book.
The charts focus on everything from construction to defense research. While some sectors have been more turbulent in past months, it’s interesting to see them all rise for the first time in quite awhile.
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Filed under: Aston Martin
We love us a nice Aston Martin here at Autoblog. But if the British purveyor of the grandest of grand touring cars has a counterpart in the watchmaking industry, it’s surely Jaeger-LeCoultre. Good thing the two of them just signed a three-year renewal of their partnership, then.
The collaboration between these two esteemed marques has resulted in some of the most lust-worthy wrist-machines known to man, not the least of which is the AMVOX2 Chronograph. Its innovative design actually incorporates a transponder to open and close the doors on an Aston sports car. Plus it’s just one of the slickest looking timepieces we’ve seen yet.
While JLC has to date only produced wristwatches to compliment Aston’s road cars, the Swiss watchmaker has just come out with the AMVOX2 Chronograph Racing, in tribute to Aston’s considerable motorsport prowess on the streets of Le Mans. The 280-piece, 41-jewel 751E manufacture movement – only 5.65 millimeters thick – is housed in a PVD-coated titanium case and held to the wrist by a perforated and top-stitched calfskin strap.
It is, to our eye, one of the most beautiful machines – of any kind – to carry the Aston Martin name, but while the series has bred numerous editions, only 24 examples of this particular one will be made available exclusively at JLC’s boutique on Place Vendôme in Paris. So we’ll just have to content ourselves with the press release after the jump and images in the gallery below.
[Source: Jaeger-LeCoultre]
Continue reading Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to Aston Martin Racing with exclusive chronograph
Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to Aston Martin Racing with exclusive chronograph originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
An official ROM update for the HTC HD2 is now available in the following countries:
Greek; Russian ; Norway ; Germany ; Spain ; Netherlands; France ; Czech; Poland ; Italy
The update brings the following improvements:
Improved Functions:
1.Flipping back and forth between songs is easier than ever. Whether you are listening to a defined playlist, or letting your phone shuffle your songs for you, your music will play continuously and fluidly.
2.Taking full advantage of the G-Sensor, Opera can switch seamlessly from portrait to landscape mode to allow more flexibility and allow for you to browse your websites however you want.
3.Staying connected to your loved ones is as important to you as it is to us, and we’ve enhanced our voice quality even more in this update. Now updated, we’re delivering crystal clear sound quality, making it even easier to feel close to your loved ones, even when you are on the move.
Before you proceed, please confirm that this software upgrade is a newer version than what is currently installed on your device. If it is the same version and your device is operating normally, there is no need to reinstall the software.
To check what version is installed on your device, click Start > Settings > System tab > Device Information > Version tab, and note the ROM version, CPU, and Radio version.
Read more at HTC here.
As a bunch of countries and lobbyists continue to debate ACTA in secret, it’s interesting to compare that to an ongoing effort by Christian Engstrom, one of two Pirate Party representatives in the European Parliament, to create an Internet Bill of Rights by asking people what they want. Which one sounds more like government for the people, by the people?
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Economic confidence among America’s small business owners plummeted in November, as more owners cited serious concerns about cash flow and saw economic conditions for their own businesses getting worse. The Discover Small Business Watch index fell 12 points in November to 76.5 from 88.5 in October.
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Thought it might be a good place for a thread and dialog to be started.
Sugar substitutes and the potential danger of Splenda
RCL
