2009Dec4: Average pH levels in the world’s oceans have fallen from 8.21 at the start of the Industrial Age to an average 8.1 on the 1-to-14 pH scale, according to the IPCC (CS Monitor). A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A pH greater than 7 is basic.

Reference: Christian Science Monitor http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/12/04/global-warming-increases-acidity-in-alaskan-seas/

Image Description: Boat on the Arctic Sea. August 2006. Photo by Ville Miettinen. Image Location: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boat_on_the_Arctic_Sea_-_August_2006.jpg Image Permission: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED.  The winner has been selected and it’s Katie of Kitchen Stewardship! For those of you who didn’t win, the recipe cards are 25% OFF through December 31!

To celebrate the holidays, Nourished Kitchen will be hosting giveaways all throughout the month of December!  What better way to launch a month of giving than with our new recipe cards by mail?  First unveiled at the Real Food Media booth at the recent Wise Traditions Conference, Nourished Kitchen Recipe Cards feature all the best,wholesome recipes of Nourished Kitchen with menu ideas and kitchen tips.  The full-color cards are sized 4.25″ x 5.6″ and easy to clean in case you spill that beautiful extra virgin olive oil on them.

So if you can’t get enough Nourished Kitchen, are tired of lugging your laptop into the kitchen or want a creative holiday gift to a to a friend or family member, these recipe cards can really help out.  Each month, you’ll receive 10 cards featuring the recipes that make Nourished Kitchen so special – pastured pork, organ meats, sprouted grain, unrefined sweets and probiotic foods.  This is real food done right.  So, this week I’m giving away a 1-year subscription to Nourished Kitchen’s recipe cards.

The Nitty Gritty Details

The Prize

• One participant will receive a 1-year subscription to the Nourished Kitchen’s Recipe Cards. This includes 10 recipe cards mailed each month for 12 months plus a tin to store them in.  Click here to view an sample card online.

January’s Recipes: (Mailed December 15^th)

1. Peppered Gravlax
2. Shirred Eggs with Bacon
3. Mandarin Pudding
4. Sorghum & Molasses Spice Cookies
5. Butternut Squash & Sage Galette with Sprouted Spelt Crust
6. Probiotic Apple & Beetroot Relish
7. Braised Winter Greens with Black-eyed Peas
8. Potted Cheese with Fresh Cream & Herbs
9. Roast Leg of Lamb with Rosemary
10. Maple-glazed Root Vegetables

Eligibility

• Due to shipping considerations, anyone can enter who resides in the United States or Canada. You just have to like real food.
  

7 Ways to Enter

Remember: Leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Do this first: Look around my site and comment letting me know what your favorite recipe is here at Nourished Kitchen
2. Sign up for the Nourished Kitchen newsletter published twice monthly and let me know you did.  Folks: if you love real food, you should be signed up already – recipes, news and of course giveaways!
3. Try any of the recipes posted on my site and blog about your experience – comment here with the link.
4. Email this giveaway to a friend. Be sure to click the email icon for credit. Comment letting me know you did!
5. Follow Nourished Kitchen on Twitter.
6. Tweet about the giveaway and let me know you did by commenting.
7. Tweet your favorite recipe from Nourished Kitchen.

Why Enter?

Because it’s FREE, and who doesn’t like free stuff?  Besides, if you win you’ll be able to enjoy all the best recipes at home in your own kitchen (and unplugged!)

Announcing the Winner

I will draw the winner’s name via Random.org on Friday, December 11^th and will announce the winner on this site on Saturday, December 12^th on this post.

One caveat to today’s jobs report — which overall was excellent — is the fact that Americans continue to leave the work force, and that these people aren’t included in headline rate.

Said the BLS:

About 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in
November, an increase of 376,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not sea-
sonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12
months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched
for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

As you can see, that number remains at a record high, and eventually they’ll be coming back.

---

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Waterbury, Connecticut | Ghost Towns

In the early 1950s John Baptist Greco, a staunch Roman Catholic, had a vision of a roadside theme park devoted to God. By the end of the decade, he had created exactly that: a theme park built to replicate a miniature Bethlehem. By the 1960s, the park was visited by some 50,000 people a year. One could come and see a recreation of the Garden of Eden, biblical-themed dioramas and various tributes to the life and work of Jesus Christ.

The park was perhaps best known for its Hollywood-style sign reading “Holy Land USA” and its 56-foot steel cross that can be seen for miles, especially when lit up at night. It is said that there is a town joke that citizens grow up thinking Jesus was electrocuted on the cross. In 1984, the park was closed for renovation. Greco had hopes of expanding the site to attract more visitors; however, this was never achieved as he died in 1986.

Responsibility for the park passed to a group of nuns. For a while, they tried to keep the park clean and neat looking but never opened to the public. Regardless of their efforts, the park became seedy and vandalised since Greco’s death. To this day, the nuns still own the property, however, it is the local teenagers and foragers who have made their mark. Statues have been beheaded, dioramas destroyed, and tunnels blocked. Occasionally tourists still stop to look, and even explore, but they make sure they are gone before dark.

Weather Alert 12/9/09

All campuses are open. All classes and events are running as scheduled.

View weather-related closing policies and procedures.

 

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Truck, Work, Ford

We’re always up for a good cause, and that’s exactly what this Ford Super Duty Fire Truck represents. According to Ford, it will make an initial $10,000 contribution to the Los Angeles County Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund, plus $10 for each person that visits its stand at the LA Auto Show and another $20 for every person that takes a test drive in a new Ford vehicle throughout the duration of the show – up to a maximum of another $6,000 per day.

Naturally, Ford is looking for a little exposure along the way, and we don’t really have any problem with that. After all, it’s certainly not uncommon to see Super Duty chassis cabs upfitted as fire department vehicles, and that’s exactly what Ford has on display right now in LA. Included in the makeover are a 300-gallon water tank, eight-gallon foam cell, two pumps, an electric rewind reel with 150 feet of hose, three-stage winch with 8,000-pound capacity and 100 feet of wire rope.

Naturally, the top-spec 6.7-liter turbocharged diesel Power Stroke V8 engine is present and accounted for, along with a heavy-duty TorqShift six-speed automatic transmission that features available Live Drive Power Take Off (PTO), which allows the truck’s engine to power axillary equipment whether the truck is stationary or in motion. See more in the press release after the break and check out our photo gallery below.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading LA 2009: Ford Super Duty Fire Truck developed for charity, doing good in LA

LA 2009: Ford Super Duty Fire Truck developed for charity, doing good in LA originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While telco lobbyists (or paid “think tank” commenters) have a long history of pushing the totally bogus concept of an “exaflood” of traffic that will take down the internet, more recently they’ve been pushing this idea of “bandwidth hogs.” That is, they say that even if there isn’t really a big threat to backbone bandwidth (which they had claimed originally) there is still a problem with “bandwidth hogs” at the last mile, using up way too much bandwidth. And, for that reason, they insist that ISPs should be able to cap and meter broadband, to make sure that the “low level users” aren’t subsidizing the “bandwidth hogs.” There are two big problems with this claim. First… in none of the experiments with metered billing have the “low level users” received a discount. Instead, they’ve kept paying the same amount, and it’s just that the ISPs have tried to jack up the rates on higher bandwidth users.

But, an even bigger problem may be that the very idea of “bandwidth hogs” may be a myth (found via Slashdot). Benoit Felten is smashing that myth, in noting that there are certainly some folks who use more bandwidth than others, but contrary to claims from ISPs, he hasn’t seen any evidence that they’re causing any harm or congestion on the network. So he’s presented a challenge to telcos to send over data that he can analyze to prove him wrong.

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We recently completed a branding assignment from Directed Electronics located in Vista, California. Directed Electronics is the largest designer and marketer in North America of consumer-branded vehicle security and remote start systems (sold under Viper®, Clifford®, Python®, Autostart® and other brand names). Directed Electronics commissioned Nexus to design a logo for a new service division, the Professional Installation Network. This proposed nationwide network of over 7000 certified professionals will specialize in installing mobile electronic products after equipment purchase. The logo depicts graphically the collaboration between Directed and the certified network of hand-picked service providers to insure a professional and hassle-free experience for its customers. The mark will be applied to packaging, point-of-purchase, on-site display as well as service employee badges . Directed Electronic’s Allen Phillips, Director, Art & Creative, states, “I’ve collaborated with Nexus on new creative several times. When I need fresh, out-of-the-box approaches for new brand development, I don’t hesitate to call them. Numerous, fast, and thorough concepts support my tight deadlines and the execution of the final artwork is flawless.”

If you’ve got a gaming purchase underway on the other tab, hold that mouse because you might want to take a look at this one first. Best Buy Canada is currently offering a Buy Two, Get One

Filed under: Videos, Chrysler, Celebrities

This is… different. To summarize, a new commercial by Chrysler is agitating for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s (a.k.a. Burma’s) pro-democracy leader and lightning rod who has been under one form of house arrest or another for twenty years. The thirty-second spot was originally created to be part of sister-brand Lancia’s sponsorship of the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Says Oliver Francis, the new President and CEO of Chrysler and Managing Director of Lancia:

“We produced the TV film in honor of all those who put their lives at stake in the hopes of making the world a better place. In particular, those men and women who are still prisoners, like Aung San Suu Kyi. For Chrysler, this is a chance to use our brand image to join with others in the fight for peace and to knock down the walls that divide us. We at Chrysler believe in doing the right thing and making a difference.”

The spot opens with a Chrysler 300 driving next to the some still-standing sections of the Berlin Wall. It then passes by a mural of Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela. We then see three Nobel Laureates getting out of the back of 300s: Muhammed Yunus, founder of the micro-lending Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Polish union leader and president Lech Walesa and former leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev.

As to whether or not a car company should be advocating in favor of peace and democracy, all we’ll say is we’re glad Chrysler is not fighting against ’em. Be sure to check out the video and press release after the jump.

[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading VIDEO: Chrysler ad gets political, advocates for release of Myanmar Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

VIDEO: Chrysler ad gets political, advocates for release of Myanmar Nobel Peace Prize Laureate originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just about every time the monthly jobs numbers comes out, economic research firm TrimTabs comes out and slams the government’s methodology, usually honing in on the Birth/Death model of new businesses entering the market.

This week is no exception.

Frankly, we’re not sure what to make of their arguments. We’ve been hearing about this Birth-Death issue for a long time, but unless you believe they’re changing their methodology from month to month, then that issue only goes so far.

We welcome your thoughts.

————

TrimTabs’ Estimates 255,000 Jobs Lost in November, While BLS Reports a Decline of Only 11,000

BLS Revises September and October Results Down a Whopping 45%

Something’s Not Right in Kansas!

 TrimTabs employment analysis, which uses real-time daily income tax deposits from all U.S. taxpayers to compute employment growth, estimated that the U.S. economy shed 255,000 jobs in November.  This past month’s results were an improvement of only 10.2% from the 284,000 jobs lost in October.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the U.S. economy lost an astonishingly better than expected 11,000 jobs in November.  In addition, the BLS revised their September and October results down a whopping 203,000 jobs, resulting in a 45% improvement over their preliminary results.

Something is not right in Kansas! Either the BLS results are wrong, our results are in error, or the truth lies somewhere in the middle

We believe the BLS is grossly underestimating current job losses due to their flawed survey methodology.  Those flaws include rigid seasonal adjustments, a mysterious birth/death adjustment, and the fact that only 40% to 60% of the BLS survey is complete by the time of the first release and subject to revision.  

Seasonal adjustments are particularly problematic around the holiday season due to the large number of temporary holiday-related jobs added to payrolls in October and November which then disappear in January.  In the past two months, the BLS seasonal adjustments subtracted 2.4 million jobs from the results.  In January, when the seasonal adjustments are the largest of the year, the BLS will add anywhere from 2.0 to 2.3 million jobs.  In our opinion, trying to glean monthly job losses numbering in the tens of thousands or even in the hundreds of thousands are lost in the enormous size of the seasonal adjustments.

In November, the BLS revised their September and October job losses down a surprising 44.5%, or 203,000 jobs. In the twelve months ending in October, the BLS revised their job loss estimates up or down by a staggering 679,000 jobs, or 13.0%. Until this past month, these revisions brought the BLS’ revised estimates to within a couple percent of TrimTabs’ original estimates. 

The large divergence between the two results begs the question of what is causing the difference.  While we don’t have an answer today, we will be poring over the data in an attempt to answer that question.

A comparison of TrimTabs’ employment results versus the BLS’ results from January 2008 through November 2009 is summarized below.

Source: TrimTabs Investment Research – www.trimtabs.com and Bureau of Labor Statistics – www.bls.com

Several other employment related data statistics support the conclusion that the labor market is not as robust as the BLS is reporting:

·        Automatic Data Processing reported on Wednesday that 169,000 jobs were lost in November.

·        The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Survey reported that the majority of companies surveyed were still shedding employees.

·        The ISM Manufacturing Survey reported weaker employment conditions in November.

·        Weekly unemployment claims were 457,000 in the week ended November 27, 2009.  While last week’s results were below the important psychological level 500,000, the weekly claims are still uncomfortably high and point to a contracting labor market.

·        The TrimTabs Online Jobs Index reported lower online job availability in the past three weeks.

·        The Monster Employment Index declined in November.

We will have the opportunity to truth our employment model estimates at the end of January 2010 when the BLS releases its annual benchmark revisions.  The BLS revisions are based on actual payroll data for March 2009.  The BLS revision is then divided by twelve to correct prior month’s data back to April 2008.  We also use the March 2009 revisions to adjust our model inputs and make any necessary corrections. 

For a complete analysis of the current employment situation and economic conditions, refer to TrimTabs Weekly Macro Analysis published this coming Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• BOOM: Unemployment Just 10.0%
• TrimTabs CEO: The Government Is Afraid To Look At Real Economic Data
• TrimTabs CEO Explains How Employment Numbers Get Inflated (VIDEO)

Product DescriptionThis durable vegan belt is built to last! Perfect for the office, or casual everyday wear. It features a high quality synthetic microfiber belt strap and silver square buckle. Measurements: Width: 1 1/4″ Length in exact measurements. Measured from the end of the belt strap (not including the buckle) to first hole and to last hole: S: 32″ – 37″ M: 34″ – 38″ L: 37″ – 42″ XL: 40″ – 45″ Available in Black or Brown. . . . More >>
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The Vegan Collection Unisex Brown Pleather Belt , Large is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

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According to this chart from Citi's Alan Heap today, gold traders are the most net-long they've been this decade, as indicated by the yellow line below. We'll go out on a limb and bet that they are also the most net-long in decades even given the massive run up in gold over the last few years.

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See Also:

• Gold ETF Approaching Record Volume, As Metal Plunges $50 (GLD)
• Gold Plunges Below $1200 After Jobs Data
• Surprise: Now Even China Thinks Gold Is In Bubble Territory

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Buick

Yesterday, we showed you the first official rendering of Buick’s forthcoming small car, a shrunken LaCrosse lookalike that is expected to be based on the European market Opel Astra. The image was flashed on the screen during General Motors’ presentation of the new 2011 Buick Regal at this week’s LA Auto Show, and judging by these latest spy shots from our friends at CarPix, it would appear that the rendering gives us a very good look at the upcoming sedan.

As we saw in an earlier batch of shots, the Delta-II platform-based model (known as the Excelle in China) will retain Buick’s signature waterfall grille, yet unlike the Regal, it will have a set of horizontally-mounted ventiports to add a bit of the marque’s characteristic flash. In the past, the number of ventiport holes indicated the number of cylinders of the engine lurking beneath the sheetmetal, but in this case, we don’t expect for the as-yet-unnamed U.S. sedan to carry more than four cylinders.

With the Regal and this forthcoming small sedan, GM is clearly making a big push to lower the average buyer age of its Buick division by injecting a bit of sport and perhaps a greater measure of affordability. Is this the right strategy for the brand, or is The General at risk of revisiting the same brand perception (and brand overlap) issues it had in the Eighties with smaller cars like the Somerset and Century? Be sure to check out our high-res gallery below and then hop into Comments to let us know what you think.

[Source: CarPix]

Spy Shots: Baby Buick sedan caught in Germany originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The panic over the mutated H1N1 flu strain in the Ukraine has reached epic proportions. Over 450 people have died from the strain and nearly 2 million people have been infected:

FTO: The new statistics and numbers show that 41 659 people got infected since the day before yesterday. That means that almost 100 000 people got infected in two days. Today’s statistics are not there yet but looking at what happened from the 2nd to the 3rd we see that 452 people have now died in the Ukraine because of this plague / H1N1 spreading there.

The total of number of infections grew to 1 978 951. That is almost 2million people now infected in the Ukraine. Read the whole thing >>

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See Also:

• Ignore The Flu And The Russia Problem, And Keep Gambling On The Ukraine
• Ukraine Flu Death Toll Hits 400
• Mutant Ukrainian Black Lung Enters The U.S.

With Tim Quirk’s story about his fictional royalty statements from Warner Music, more people are beginning to talk about these kinds of things. Bob Lefsetz points to another report of a royalty statement of an unrecouped artist (and former major label exec), David Bach, who notes with some surprise that on his last royalty statement from Warner Music, the amount the band owed had gone up. In other words, the royalties that the band had accrued had somehow decreased:

In May of 2007, I wrote a post about the wacky world of record company royalty recoupment.

This week (Nov.-2009) – I received another royalty statement.

Wow!…we’ve gone backwards!

In May 2007, we were unrecouped to Warner Brothers to the tune of $174,073.84

Now…our balance is up to $174,717.56!

Talk about “pushing forward back!”.

How is this possible?

Good question!

Now, to be fair, Bach still says that he was happy with his major record deal, in noting that it was effectively an “unsecured loan” in that he doesn’t lose his house if it never gets recouped. He conveniently leaves out the clear explanation that the label is still making money based on the wholesale price of the album, which is many times over what royalties are due to recoup the advance. He also leaves out the fact that while it was an “unsecured loan,” it also involved him giving up basically all rights to the music created under that deal forever (or, as the industry prefers, forever minus a day). Not sure that’s really that great a deal. With a real loan, you don’t also give up the lender something to keep forever. That’s not a loan, it’s a transaction.

Still, the bigger issue is this idea that the amount that still needs to be recouped has gone backwards over time. It again raises serious questions about how Warner Music accounts for what it owes bands, whether they’re recouped or unrecouped. I recognize that accounting may be a boring topic, but it’s an important one that Warner has contractual obligations to keep accurate. And… plenty of other businesses with similar challenges seem to be able to keep track of what royalties are owed to whom. Why can’t Warner Music keep it straight?

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Gold is down today. Way down.

Currently, it’s at $1168 an ounce, down nearly $50 and way below the mystical $1200 mark, but the big news is that the SPDR Gold Trust

Over 65 million shares have exchanged hands, way up from the average of 17.8 million.

Big thanks to Louis Winthorpe for the heads up.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Gold Plunges Below $1200 After Jobs Data
• Goldman: Gold’s Headed To $1450
• David Rosenberg: Buy The Gold Dips, Because It’s Only Going Higher