Category: News

Indiana National Guard soldiers from the 38th Infantry Division’s Task Force Cyclone
ensure Forward Operating Base Salerno is maintained properly…

The long-awaited Chicago French Market opened its doors yesterday at the Ogilvie Transportation Center. We were there bright and early to check it out.

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Jim Rogers believes commodities prices will rise no matter which way the economy goes.

Which would appear to make commodities completely unrelated to the economy.

ABC News Australia: “If the world economy gets better, commodities will be a very good place to be, if not the best place, because the shortages continue to get worse,” he observed.

“If the world economy does not get better, commodities are still going to be a great place to be because governments have printed so much money and are continuing to print so much money.”

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See Also:

• Jim Rogers Is Amazed Everyone Didn’t Know There Was A Bubble In Dubai
• Jim Rogers: Tim Geithner Has Been Wrong About Everything His Entire Career
• Jim Rogers: How I Made My First Million

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Mini, Humor, Specialty

Mini may be many things, but stuffy they’re not. When your business consists of selling tiny hatchbacks with sports car handling at a near luxury price, you really can’t take yourself too seriously all the time. Mini ad campaigns have capitalized on that cheeky spirit to great effect. While at the LA Auto Show this week, we were treated to a preview of some of the newest commercials that will be getting airtime soon. Rest assured, the attitude is still there in abundance.

A good example of that spirited personality is the car you see here. Playing on the old Mini’s Bulldog alter ego, the automaker has chosen to put this new Cooper S Clubman on a leash…with a spiked collar. Seriously. And they even went step further with some funny warnings painted into the danger hash marks on the floor around it. We can’t think of many other car companies that could pull this off, but on a Mini, that collar actually looks amusingly good. We’ve got more high-res pics in the gallery that can be unleashed by clicking below.

LA 2009: Mini owns its inner Bulldog originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek (left) presents Clay Jones (right) with the Accomplished Alumnus Award.

KNOXVILLE – University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumnus Clay Jones and his wife, Debbie, have donated $1 million to provide funding for the university’s student leadership program.

Jones, Rockwell Collins chairman, president, and chief executive officer, visited campus last week to discuss plans for the gift, which will fund the Jones Director of Leadership Programming in the student affairs division.

“I owe a big part of my success to the leadership roles I experienced while at UT,” Jones said. “I learned how to work with others and direct a team, how to manage my time, how to lead. I hope this program will enhance UT’s student leadership opportunities to give all students the experience I had.”

Funds from the new Jones Director of Leadership Programming Endowment will be allocated annually and will help expand current programming and encourage more students to participate in leadership activities on campus.

Jones received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, now the College of Arts and Sciences, in 1971. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Student Government Association, Air Force ROTC and Student Ambassadors, among other organizations. He also was named a university Torchbearer, the highest honor an undergraduate student can receive. He and his wife also have provided significant support to the Torchbearer Scholarship Endowment.

“Providing programming and instruction for leadership is an essential part of the growth and development of students,” said Tim Rogers, vice chancellor for student affairs. “Clay and Debbie Jones have given the university a tremendous gift that will have a significant and lasting impact on our students and campus for years to come.”

Examples of current UT programming to be expanded with this gift include:

• The Ignite Summit: A three-day leadership retreat for first-year students that shows them the social leadership opportunities across campus, while building a peer network for student success. The Jones’ gift will allow more students to attend the conference.
• Emerging Leaders Program: A class offered to those interested in student life, government and community service. It provides a base foundation of leadership skills, attitudes, theories, applications and an appreciation for diversity. The class includes an exchange trip and community service project. More class offerings will be available for this program because of the endowment.

Upon graduation from UT Knoxville, Jones served as a U.S. Air Force pilot and flew F-15 jets in the late 1970s. After he completed his service, he joined Rockwell International in 1979 and eventually led the successful spinoff of Rockwell Collins, a company specializing in communication and aviation technology. Jones was named president and chief executive officer in 2001. He has served as chairman of the board since 2002.

Jones serves as a director for Unisys Corp. and John Deere Co. He also serves on the boards for several organizations, including the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa, the Aerospace Industry Association and United Way of East Central Iowa. He also is a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

During his visit to Knoxville, Jones was presented with an Accomplished Alumnus Award. The program brings noteworthy alumni back to campus to honor their accomplishments and gives them an opportunity to share their stories, talents and career experiences with students and other alumni. The program is sponsored by the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs.

Jones and his family reside in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The gift is part of the university’s $1 billion fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Tennessee. The most ambitious effort in the university’s history, the campaign places UT among the ranks of the nation’s largest public and private institutions that have sought this level of private support.

The campaign secures private gifts through contributions, pledges and planned giving to advance the university’s strategic goals that include improving student access and success, research and economic development, outreach and globalization. More than 98 percent of all gifts are designated for a specific purpose or program, such as scholarships or endowed professorships, and help provide the vital resources to advance key initiatives.

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C O N T A C T :

Beth Gladden (865-974-9008, [email protected])

A bunch of folks have sent in this column by freelance writer Anne Wollenberg claiming that there is no defense for file sharing and that free riders and freeloaders are simply bad, stop, end sentence. Oddly, looking over Ms. Wollenberg’s own website, we find links to many of her works, including PDF files and jpg image files of writeups done for publications that don’t have those writeups on the web. Some of those appear to be written up in magazines that require a subscription or a newsstand fee to view normally. Now perhaps she has permission to post these (or perhaps not), but even if she does, it certainly seems that she sees the value in having her works shared freely for the promotional value of her ability to write (not particularly well, mind you, but that’s a separate issue). Yet, oddly, her writeup seems to ignore the concept of promotional value of works shared freely online. Update: In the comments, Ms. Wollenberg was kind enough to let us know that she has permission for all of those works on her website. That’s great, even though we made it clear in the post that even if she does (in fact, we assumed she did), it does not change the fact that it negates much of the point she tried to make with her column.

Instead, she tries to lump all who file share into a single camp of people who are pure freeloaders. Of course, she even gets the basics of freeloading wrong, focusing on the sociological issues, but ignoring the economic research on freeloading and the value of commons and sharing. That’s doubly odd considering that our recent Nobel Prize winning economist won that prize for her groundbreaking work showing that the simplistic thinking on “sharing” and “commons” simply isn’t accurate, and that communities will quite frequently create models where sharing is seen as beneficial and other structures make sure that fair compensation occurs.

Now, I’m not one who believes that people should be sharing the files of those who don’t allow it (and I don’t participate in any unauthorized file sharing myself), but to write off the entire community as “freeloaders” without understanding what’s actually happening and without actually understanding the economic research on freeloading seems like a pretty weak argument.

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KNOXVILLE — The College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a strong reputation nationally and internationally, according to the 2009 Eduniversal survey, which ranked the top 1,000 business schools worldwide.

The college received “three palmes,” indicating an excellent business school that is nationally strong and has international links. Palmes substitute for stars, which are typically used in rankings; a multicolored palme is part of Eduniversal’s logo.

“It’s an honor to be ranked as an Excellent Business School among our international peers,” said Jan Williams, dean of the College of Business Administration. “The steps we are making in expanding our curriculum to reflect the worldwide stage are earning us unprecedented international recognition and awareness among business deans worldwide.”

Eduniversal asked the deans from each of the 1,000 selected business schools worldwide to decide which ones they would recommend to students by answering the question, “Which business school(s) would you recommend to anyone wishing to study in this country?”

Their responses were given to a committee of nine independent academic experts, who then ranked each of the 1,000 institutions.

Created by SMBG, the leading company in France in student orientation, http://www.eduniversal.com was launched in October 2007 to serve as a search engine for higher education projects and international recruitment.

The College of Business Administration also has garnered top rankings for its undergraduate business curriculum, full-time MBA program, executive-level MBA programs for working professionals, Physician Executive MBA program, supply chain/logistics curriculum, and undergraduate and master’s accountancy programs in U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Modern Healthcare, Kaplan Publishing, CPA Personnel Report, Journal of Business Logistics, AMR Research, Supply Chain Management Review and Forbes.

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C O N T A C T :

Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, [email protected])

Here’s a little contraption from Andrew, that’s just right if you like working on your laptop while sitting on the floor.

“I wanted something that would hold my laptop while I was sitting on the floor or lying on my bed, without having it lie directly on me (when I was lying down the weight caused some discomfort for my stomach, and while sitting down the position strained my back.)

So I bought the Ikea Magasin dish rack for $5 and modified it into a little table with about 12 bolts and some sawing and drilling. It worked out quite well.”

Here’s how it looks in action

and folded up.

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren range – Click above for high-res image gallery

When the end of one’s life approaches, individuals are prone to reflect and wonder how they’ll be remembered. A car, on the other hand, can’t think for itself, so we’ll have to take up the task in its stead.

A joint effort between Mercedes-Benz and its erstwhile Formula One racing partner McLaren, the SLR spawned five variants: the original coupe and roadster, the 722 coupe and roadster and the Stirling Moss edition… not to mention a racing version or two. Over the course of its five-year production run, more than 2,000 examples were built, making the SLR one of the most prolific supercars in automotive history. As the final examples of the Stirling Moss roll out of the McLaren factory in Woking, its parents are going their separate ways: Mercedes has sold its stake back to McLaren, acquired its own F1 team, and each has produced its own successor: the SLS AMG and the MP4-12C.

So with its production run drawing to a close, we can’t help but wonder how will history remember the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. As the purest embodiment of the Gran Turismo? A fitting tribute to the original 300 SLR that dominated racing in the Fifties? The flawed result of a conflict of interests? Or perhaps as the roadgoing product of one of the most intriguing partnerships in automotive history? Read through the history lesson in the press release after the jump and peruse the gallery of high-resolution images below and you’ll get Daimler’s perspective. We invite you to share yours in the comments section below.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Mercedes and McLaren bid farewell to SLR, each other

Mercedes and McLaren bid farewell to SLR, each other originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greg just wrote to us to share his kitchen remodel, and we were totally and completely smitten. Yes, this remodel of his 83-year-old Los Angeles home took 905 days (give or take), which is a long time to be washing dishes in the bathtub. But when you see these photos we think you’ll agree that it was worth it.

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How do fruit flies get high cholesterol and become obese? The same way as people do — by eating a diet that’s too rich in fats.

More importantly, according to two new studies led by a University of Utah human geneticist, fruit flies use the same molecular mechanisms as humans to help maintain proper balances of cholesterol and a key form of stored fat that contributes to obesity. The findings mean that as researchers try to learn more about the genetic and biological processes through which people regulate cholesterol and fat metabolism, the humble fruit fly, also called Drosophila, can teach humans much about themselves.

“Not a lot is known about these regulatory mechanisms in people,” says Carl S. Thummel, Ph.D., professor of human genetics at the U of U School of Medicine and senior author on the two studies. “But we can learn a lot by studying metabolic control in fruit flies and apply what we learn to humans.” Read more…

Although I haven’t made them since childhood, I recently remembered how enamored of stained glass cookies I once was – the crushing of candies, the careful cutting and filling, and the magical transformation into translucent windows. Do you bake stained glass cookies? Here are some images, recipes, and tips inspiring me to revisit this old favorite.

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A small study of Inovio Biomedical’s Hepatitis C vaccine employing electric pulse technology yields encouraging safety data.

Inovio Biomedical’s hepatitis C vaccine progresses

Philadelphia Business Journal – by John George Staff Writer
Monday, November 30, 2009

Inovio Biomedical Corp. said Monday its drug-development partner Tripep completed a phase-I clinical study of its hepatitis C DNA vaccine.

Tripep of Sweden tested its vaccine, called ChronVac-C and delivered using Inovio’s electroporation technology, in 12 patients with positive results.

Continue reading the entire article:
http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/11/30/daily1.html

The MGT has place of busisness in Milan Italy and his activity has begun in 1973. From 30 years we take care in professional and dynamic way of the problems concerning the air filtration.
The mature experience it allow us to be present on the italian and international market with innovative certificates products, destinated to user who always look for the most effective technical solution.
The demand to offer products with technical characteriristic always more advanced, took us to plan and develop air filters wich characterize for low ambient impact, long service life and high yield.
Innovation, competence and developement are reserved to the cogeneration’s field. The high performances of the MGT’s line barrier filters expects the demanding of the customers of power plants.

The international spirit shown by SAI can be seen by its ever presence at leading power technology exhibitions around the world. The SAI group constantly reviews the changing needs of the hydraulics industry, by studying customer requirements in minute detail thus enabling SAI to provide the Advanced Hydraulic Power Technology that our Customers demand. SAI continues to achieve improving results worldwide, notwithstanding the current economic crisis, thanks to its continuous market dynamism. A prime example of this is demonstrated by the fact that, recently, SAI proudly attended 3 exhibitions concurrently each on different continents: Agritechnica in Hannover (Germany), Expo Pesca in Lima (Perù), and SMM in Mumbai (India). SAI’s approach to overcoming the current recession is to attack the market by constantly developing brand new products and introducing them to an international audience of specialized engineers. The very latest development of SAI hydraulic motors include variable-speed and dual displacement motors, integrated drive units, wheel drives and actuators. The exhibition season is going smoothly and positively, SAI also has great expectations for the next Excon, Eima India and Marintec, which are sure to be as successful as the 3 previously mentioned. All involved are already looking forward to meeting next spring during the Munich Bauma 2010, heralding in the new economic recovery!

The production facilities at Cladtech in the Arab Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah are characterised by spacious premises and a quiet working environment. As in all Arab emirates, there is a lot of sunshine, sand and, above all, plenty of space. The company uses this space, amongst other things, for glass processing using machines from the Bystronic glass group.

On a tour of the company’s premises on the edge of the Arabian Desert, the modern buildings of Cladtech catch the visitor’s eye. On the right-hand side of the hall, they accommodate the glass processing plant, including numerous state-of-the-art machines and installations from the Bystronic glass group. The glass plates are transported directly from the lorry to the automatic glass storage area and loading unit then from there on to the SMFR cutting table, which facilitates both shape cutting and edge deletion. Residual glass plates that are not required are stored temporarily in the residual plate storage. Following the automatic X, Y and Z breaking process, the first’sort sorting system automatically places the cut glass in harp racks.

Individual planning perfectly coordinated
Cladtech International is part of a Saudi Arabian investment group consisting of more than 400 individual companies. “In order to independently supply the group with all the necessary material without any delays or planning risks, it was decided in 2006 to enter into the glass processing business, amongst others”, explains Henrik H. Christiansen, President of Cladtech. Arif Khan, Manager of the Glass Sales Division adds: “As we designed the construction of the new hall in conjunction with the Bystronic glass machine concept, the premises are perfectly tailored to our needs and also offer enough space for a projected second expansion.”

Quality and service are the key factors
Glass edge processing is performed in parallel to the cutting area. The first’arris from Bystronic glass arrises glass plates automatically. This is followed by a hardening furnace, which is indispensable in the Middle East as fitted glass must be hardened due to the heat. After being prepared in this way, the glass plates now are further processed into laminated safety glass on the adjacent compact lamiline or pressed in the integrated climate chamber to form insulating glass units. In the glass processing area with almost 12,000 square metres of floor space, 29 employees produce about … (read more at www.bystronic-glass.com)

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Naturally, safety is a top priority for both automakers and consumers alike. It’s also of paramount concern to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, which is the government body that sets standards for automobile safety here in the States. According to The Detroit News, NHTSA is currently drafting up new legislation that would make side curtain airbags more robust.

NHTSA projects that the modified airbags would save some 402 lives and prevent 302 serious injuries per year, with the bulk of those made up of motorists who are not properly wearing their seat belts. The new rules would mandate curtain airbags that cover up more of the window opening and stay inflated longer, helping to ensure that occupants are not ejected during a rollover accident.

What price safety? Current estimates peg the upgrade at about $54 per vehicle, which equals roughly $920 million annually. Under the proposal, 20 percent of every major manufacturer’s fleet would need to comply by 2014 and all vehicles would need to be so-equipped by 2017.

[Source: The Detroit News]

REPORT: NHTSA proposing new side airbag standards expected to cost $54 per car originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As we all get a bit older it becomes prudent and normal to start giving thought to our health and our diet. Heart issues, weight management, diabetes, and dementia risks begin escalating as we age and it’s no surprise that as these risks begin climbing most people try to address them by taking action and changing their diet, quitting bad habits, or even starting to exercise. Active dieting and exercise works both to drop pounds but also to improve the health and quality of the cardiovascular system. Arterial damage can even be reversed if significant changes are made.

If you are concerned about your heart health and have not had a cholesterol test done to determine what your cholesterol levels are you should do this first so that you have a baseline for comparison. No program of self-betterment is complete without a starting point. Without a baseline cholesterol reading how will you know if you lower LDL cholesterol levels or if they remain unchanged? Similarly HDL cholesterol levels work to decrease circulating LDL cholesterol and thus you want more of it. Your lipid profile will give you your needed baseline cholesterol levels to work from.

Once you know where you stand on your HDL-LDL cholesterol ratio you will need probably to start doing two things. You will have to start a LDL cholesterol diet aimed at decreasing the amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood stream. You will also want to compliment your LDL cholesterol diet with foods that support and raise HDL cholesterol levels and this will help in keeping you moving in the right direction. Read more…

I never before realized how many cool things you can do with styrofoam. Styrofoam is easy to work with and it is fairly inexpensive. I have a project here that calls for an 8 inch cube, but you can use a smaller cube. I wouldn’t suggest using a cube smaller than 6 inches since you will need it to hold a couple of candles.

Kathy Zengolewicz

Here is what you will need to get started:

• 6 or 8 inch styrofoam cube
• Assorted scrapbook paper in black and white print (I used black, silver and white and it came out great)
• If you have wrapping paper around, you can use it instead of scrapbook paper
• A wide putt knife
• Circle punches ¼ inch; 5/8 inch; 1 inch (optional)
• Card stock in black and white (optional)
• A household sponge
• three glass votive holder with candles
• A pencil
• a ruler
• Scissors
• Paper paste (Elmer’s works well)

Cut six 8 inch paper squares from you scrapbook or wrapping paper. If you wish, you can create patterned paper on the solid cardstock by cutting or punching holes out of a contrasting cardstock.

Using the putty knife, spread a thin layer of past on one side of the foam cube and on the back of one of the paper squares. Make sure to spread the paste all the way to the edges. Adhere the paper to the foam smoothing with your fingers until the paper starts to stick.

Repeat this process on all six sides of the cube. You may need to let each side dry a little bit before working on the next side. If the paper is too wet, it may slide while you’re working on another side. After all of the sides dry, wipe the cube with a damp sponge to remove any excess paste.

When the cube is thoroughly dry, place the votive cups and candles on top. Remember, never leave candles burning unattended.  Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Candle Cube