Category: News

The Le Web conference is now underway in Paris and hot Internet companies as well as startups are vying for the media’s attention. Twitter though doesn’t really need to try to hard to get headlines but it still had several big announcements to make geared especially towards developers who use the platform. With Twitter owing much of its success to third-party developers it’s no surprise that the service wants to make sure they’re being catered to, though this may be getting harder now that 50,000 apps have been built around the platform, as Twitter revealed.

Despite the obvious success of the API platform Twitter stresses the importance of further development of the features to ensure growth. Twitter says it will soon launch a new developers site and also extend the capabilities of the APIs already available. Ryan Sarver, Twitter’s Director of Platform, shared with the audience some of the stats concerning the product.

In just two years developers have created 50,000 apps using the APIs, a number which Sarvers says is testament to the power of the platform. He also said that about 50 percent of Twitter’s traffic comes from these apps, a number which has been estimated before. It’s rare that a service would be so dependent and opened to third-party developers and Twitter now says it will open up even more.

In early 2010 every developer will get a… (read more)

Nintendo hard? Try Atlus hard. Japanese gaming mag Famitsu has revealed another entry in Atlus’ Etrian Odyssey hardcore dungeon crawling series. The new DS game, Sekaiju no Meikyuu III: Hoshimi no Raihousha (Etrian Odyssey III: Caller of the Starry

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler, Ford, GM

The first quarter of 2009 could best be described as the worst of times in the auto industry. With the full weight of the global financial collapse weighing down on the industry, sales dropped like a stone and production screeched to a halt. General Motors and Ford produced only 371,000 and 349,000 vehicles respectively during Q1 2009, a mere fraction of the industry giants’ overall capacity. One year later, the auto industry here in the U.S. is still far from healthy, but many industry experts feel the market has stabilized.

Evidence of that fact presents itself when looking at production data for the fourth quarter of 2009 versus the first quarter of 2010. Automotive News is reporting that Ford plans to build 550,000 cars and trucks in the first quarter while GM plans 650,000 units. While that’s a bump of 58 percent and 75 percent versus Q1 2009, respectively, the numbers are within a few thousand units of Q4 production. But even compared to Q4, production is up around four percent for both Ford and GM – a hopeful sign for the industry.

But while GM and Ford appear to have good production news, AN is reporting that the forecast is a bit cloudier for Chrysler. The Pentastar’s recent announcement that it would prolong shutdown over the holidays throws some doubt on the Auburn Hills, MI-based automaker’s reported plan to increase Q1 2010 production by 56% versus Q1 2009. While Chrysler was supposed to up production to 376,000 units, the shutdown could drop production by up to 30,000 units.

[Source: Automotive News – subs req’d | Image: Scott Olson/Getty]

REPORT: GM, Ford to dramatically increase Q1 production versus year ago numbers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you are a good programmer and have lots of time on your hand, Envato has just released a brand new e-commerce tool to help coders around the world make more money during their spare time. The latest release to its marketplace family, CodeCanyon is a website where subscribed users have the chance to submit plugins or snippets of code and have them promoted and sold on one of the world’s biggest web-related marketplaces.

Currently, the CodeCanyon website is helping developers of JavaScript, PHP, Java and ASP.NET in selling scripts to a wide base of users. This project was originally spun-off by the ThemeForest website, a place where web designers were able to sell web templates for various platforms.

As time passed by, more and more members started submitting simple jQuery plugins, PHP scripts and CSS tools. While their numbers grew, Envato management thought it would be a good idea in expanding its current services to a wider base of users. After releasing 3DOcean into beta, a couple of days ago, the team announced the official coming out of beta for the 3D graphics-inclined marketplace.

As a surprise, and also well kept secret, the team also released the CodeCanyon website, moving all content from the ThemeForest JavaScript and PHP Scripts categories into the new website. While the Java and ASP.NET cate… (read more)

I am wondering what would be the perfect gift to get my cousin who is in her second to last year in Vet School. She hasn’t decided small or large animal yet, but last I heard she was leaning towards large. Seeing as you are a Vet, what would you have liked to receive as a present when you were in Vet School? Thanks JR, Massachusetts

Dear JR,

What a fun question! I spoke with my husband about this, since he’s also a veterinarian, and here’s the list we came up with together:

1. Money—I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but most vet students are coming out of school with more than $100,000 in debt and spend their entire careers working just to pay this off. Maybe a Visa gift card?

2. Food—We ate a lot of Ramen noodles in vet school, so your cousin would probably appreciate a gift card to the local grocery store. Better yet, purchase or make a gift basket full of goodies such as cheese, chocolate, crackers, chocolate, pasta, chocolate . . . you get my drift.

3. Gas—Another boring suggestion, but next year she’ll be involved in externships at other schools or private practices and will need to get around.

Okay, now for some more specific suggestions:

4. Books—veterinary textbooks are expensive, so I’m sure she would appreciate help purchasing reference materials that she can use now and once she graduates. I love my collection of Veterinary Clinics of North America published by Elsevier. They come in equine, small animal, exotic and food animal. A one-year subscription (you get three small hardback books) is $111 if she lets you use her student discount. Otherwise is $222

5. Clothing—Who says you can’t be fashionable while attending vet school? www.veterinaryapparel.com has the latest in scrubs, jackets and even footwear for the most discerning doctor-to-be.

6. Pet gifts—Finally, every vet student I know has a menagerie of dogs, cats, pocket pets (or in my case, horses). Why not ease the financial burden of caring for these creatures by giving her a gift certificate to her favorite pet store? Might I suggest SmartPak?

Have fun with these ideas and Happy Holidays!

Natural gas has rallied lately, even while many other commodities were falling, partly due to expectations of a cold winter in the U.S..

Still, for investors in Unites States Natural Gas (UNG) and other gas-related investments, here are four threats to watch out for, courtesy of ETFdb:

1. A massive South China Sea discovery.

“Calgary-based Husky Energy announced this week that it made its second major natural gas discovery in the South China Sea, a field that could ultimately yield more than 140 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The new well was just 23 kilometers from the Liwan gas reservoir that the company discovered in 2006. Husky is planning to drill an appraisal well early next year in order to gauge the new well’s potential.

Production at the well likely wouldn’t begin until 2013 at the earliest, but expectations for a major increase in global supplies could weigh on natural gas prices long before then. The world’s proven natural gas reserves are believed to be in excess of 175 trillion cubic feet, so the additional South China Sea supply isn’t exactly a drop in the bucket….” Read more here at ETFdb.

2. Exxon’s LNG projects.

“Last month Murwab, a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, carried enough gas to the U.S. to heat nine million homes for a day, adding to inventories that are already at record levels. Tony Regan, a former executive for Royal Dutch Shell’s LNG business recently described the U.S. as “the sink for cargoes that can’t go anywhere else,” suggesting that increased LNG activity could translate into even bigger supplies to U.S.-based users of natural gas.

Exxon Mobil announced on Tuesday that it will move forward with a $15 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea. The project’s approval now hinges on securing sales agreements in Asia, which is expected to be completed sometime next year according to Exxon….” Read more here at ETFdb.

3. Low rig counts.

“As of late November, the domestic oil and gas rig count was down about 44% from its peak in September 2008 but 30% above the bottom experienced in June 2009. Looking only at U.S. natural gas rigs, the count stood at 748, up only about 10% from the June lows… ” Read more here at ETFdb.

4. Rising natural gas inventories in the U.S..

“The Energy Information Administration’s report for the week ended November 27 showed that inventories actually increased by 2 billion cubic feet over the previous week, the first time in several years that inventories have increased this late in the calendar year….” Read more here at ETFdb.

Also, check out why Exxon sees a mega-trend for natural gas ahead.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Exxon: The Natural Gas Mega-Trend Starts Today (XOM, UNG)
• Gazprom: Shale Is A Joke, And It Can’t Possibly Compete With Gas
• Cnooc Doubles Down On Oil And Gas Production Off South China Sea

Analyst Timothy Ash today explains how despite the languishing problems associated with Greece and Dubai, the global recovery is finally beginning to take shape, due in part to the amount of cheap money being tossed around:

RBS: As the global real economy has begun to respond to easy money, and fiscal  stimuli globally the focus on cleaning up after the crisis has begun, with Dubai  and Greece in this latter camp, as both are arguably unfinished business.

In the heat of the crisis, almost everyone was too big to fail, and the sovereign support  umbrella was wide, now as recovery suggests that systemic risks are more manageable, there is an incentive to address moral hazard plays more aggressively, and closing the umbrella of sovereign support is part of this  process.

Indeed, this is part of the medicine for countries like Greece, which  need to be weaned off the belief that they can always rely on support from the centre in the EU. 

Ultimately we doubt that Greece will default, but allowing that greater degree of  uncertainty as to whether the EU/EC/ECB and big wealthy EU member states will  step in to help Greece is part of the solution.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• US Futures Keep Head Above Water Despite Overnight Selloff And Fears About Greece
• Dubai World To Sell Overseas Assets, Retain Private Equity Arm
• Bill Gross: Systemic Collapse Would Be A "Gray Swan" Event (DUK, T)

We have all felt the pangs of a grumbling stomach, but how many of us know what it’s like to be truly hungry, to not be able to afford enough food or nutritious food? More than you may think. According to the USDA’s annual Household Food Security report, a staggering number of Americans – over 49 million – are food insecure. The new Feed A Neighbor program suggests several ways to help…

Read Full Post

The UK daily The Guardian, an IPS columnist client that over the last years also linked to some of our Africa stories, has now started to publish IPS stories on its environment website. IPS has become a partner in the Guardian Environment network. For a trial period of three months, the Guardian can publish up to two IPS environment stories a week. If the cooperation is successful, the agreement can be continued.

Among other issues, the Guardian is interested in IPS coverage of climate change and the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen. The first story that appeared on the Guardian site was written by Claudia Ciobanu from the Danish capital “Brazil defends biofuels at Copenhagen summit – As the world’s largest producer and exporter of ethanol, it’s no surprise the Brazilian government advocates biofuels as the only real alternative to fossil fuels”.

From IPS, part of the Guardian Environment Network.

My daughter wants to know why most dogs’ eyes are brown. TH, Michigan

Dear TH,

For help with this question I turned to my ophthalmology instructor in vet school, Ralph Hamor, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVO, Clinical Associate Professor of the Comparative Ophthalmology Service of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Here’s his reply:

Eye color in dogs is related to their coat color. As most dogs have darker coat colors, their eyes are often some shade of brown. The eye color is related to the amount of pigmentation within the eye. Blue-eyed dogs have pigment just in the deepest layers of the iris so their eyes appear blue. Dogs with brown irises have more pigment scattered throughout their iris which makes it appear more brown with more and more iridial pigmentation. Multi-colored (merle) dogs can have multi-colored eyes . . . again all related to their coat color.

For more information on multi-colored dogs and their multi-colored eyes, visit www.ashgi.org/color/aussie_eye_color.htm. Did you know Australian Shepherd eyes can be golden, lemon yellow, amber, light brown, dark brown, green, orange or blue? I also learned from their website that research shows livestock are quicker to retreat from the predatory threat of a dark color dog with light eyes that to dogs with eyes that don’t stand out from their coat as much. Interesting!

Last summer, the summer of the New York Times Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, was the first time we read (or at least remembered reading) about adding sea salt to the tops of baked goods. Now we’re old pros. Most recently, we’ve been sprinkling it on our toffee.

Read Full Post

Over the weekend my dad and I visited St. Lawrence market, the local market here in Toronto. We wanted to pick up something nice for dinner and after a lot of umming and awing at all the different selections of meats, we came to a decision. Pork tenderloin it was. My Dad makes a mean pork tenderloin and we both realized we hadn’t had it in a long time so that made our decision easy.

This recipe isn’t hard at all, you just have to be patient and cook with care! You also shouldn’t be counting calories with this meal beacuse it is not one of the healthier pork tenderloin recipes. Pretty much all you need is butter, white wine, creme and mushrooms.

The trick to this tenderloin is to cook it slowly. Once you get a large pot out, you have to melt a whole lot of butter on low (you be the judge at how much you would like). Once the butter is bubbling a little bit you can put in the pork and close the lid. This process can cook the tenderloin a lot faster than you think so make sure you keep an eye on it. Once the pork is a nice golden brown, you can pour in a generous amount of white wine. Dry wine works the best however any white will do. Your pork will now be cooking in almost a stew like but most of it will be evaporated by the end. Let your pork sit there for about 20 – 25 minutes. When you think there is about 5 – 10 minutes left, add in the creme and mushrooms. Salt and Pepper to your liking throughout the entire process.

This is really a flavorful pork tenderloin and works nicely if you are looking to make something with an already added sauce. Works nicely to serve with mash potatoes and some sort of greens (either green beans or asparagus).

Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Dad’s Pork Tenderloin

November 2009 (Alkmaar, the Netherlands) – The self-cleaning central filter units of Euromate have been developed to meet the demand for plug & play filter units to support small and medium-sized extraction hoods and multiple arm systems with up to 7 extraction arms.

High-quality filtration is extremely important to ensure a healthier working environment. As a specialist in welding fumes, Euromate offers a variety of filter units for any air volume. The latest filter unit, SCF-F, has an integrated extraction fan making the unit very compact; developed in accordance with the latest international electrical standards.

The main feature of the SCF-F is the outstanding cleaning technology of the filter cartridges. The pressure loss of the filters is measured continuously. Cleaning starts automatically, which makes the unit very user-friendly. The self-cleaning mechanism ensures that the filter stays efficient and has a longer lifespan.

Besides that the SCF-F 4 features a programmable intelligent control with a frequency inverter as standard. The unit will adapt to specific needs and controls the air volume automatically. Reliable and constant filter performance is one of the main benefits. On top of that the frequency inverter has a very positive effect on the lifespan of the filter cartridges. In addition substantial energy savings up to 40% can be achieved; keeping the overall operating costs extremely low.

For more than 30 years, Euromate has been specialising in indoor air cleaning. We know about the work, the discomforts and risks that welders face on a daily basis. As a result, we have devised solutions that meet all international guidelines. Innovative technology, practical knowledge and years of experience have resulted in a wide range of high-quality extraction and filtration products. For more information, please visit our website www.euromate.com.

Control Design recently surveyed its readers to learn about the power supplies and circuit protections now delivering the juice to their applications and production processes. We asked about their power protection policies, as well as use of surge protection devices, uninterruptible power supplies or UPSs, overload or short-circuit protection, and circuit breakers. Jack Chopper, chief electrical engineer at Filamatic, join us to interpret those answers from a machine-builder perspective.

Watlow introduces the EZ-ZONE® RM – a configurable multi-loop temperature/process controller. The EZ-ZONE RM is the first industrial controller to integrate an entire assembly of control loop functionality in one space-saving, DIN-rail mounted package.
EZ-ZONE RM can be used as a PID temperature/process controller, an over/under limit controller or these functions can be combined into an integrated controller. Other control functions can be integrated as well, such as high amperage power controller output, creating a complete and integrated thermal loop controller all in one package.
EZ-ZONE RM can be configured with between 1 to 16 modules controlling from 1 to 64 loops. Because the controller is single-loop scalable, customers pay only for what they need – exact loop count.
Utilizing an integrated controller solution reduces wiring time and termination complexity, improves overall system reliability, reduces termination and installation costs and eliminates compatibility issues encountered when using many different componentsand brands. In addition, integrated controllers reduce troubleshooting time and downtime costs since the system can specifically identify to the operator if there are any problems with a sensor, controller, solid state relay (SSR) power output or heater load.

EZ-ZONE RM allows for many optional integrated controller functions to be combined together or ordered in different quantities, including:
• PID temperature/process controller
• Over/under temperature limit control loops
• 10 or 15 ampere power output/heater driver options
• On-board data logging
• Current measurement input
• Sequencer start up and control function
• Programmable timer and counter functions
• Programmable math and logic options
• Multiple communication protocol options;
• Mobile configuration with removable secure digital flash card
• SPLIT-RAIL™ configuration to isolate low voltage input modules from high voltage output modules.

EZ-ZONE RM offers current monitoring for the entire system, on-board data logging, sensor back-up capability and TRU-TUNE®+ adaptive control, which provides tighter control for demanding applications. Its communications capabilities feature a range of protocol choices including USB (Universal Serial Bus) device port, EtherNet/IP™, Modbus® RTU, Modbus® TCP, DeviceNet™ and Profi®Bus making integration to a larger PLC based system architecture seamless.