Crashing your BMW convertible is going to be devastating no matter what, but it helps to have a shoulder to lean on. This guy couldn’t find a shoulder to lean on, so he made one…out of his crashed BMW convertible. More »
BMW – Makes and Models – Recreation – Autos – 3Series
La compañía nipona ha detenido la producción de sus cuatro plantas en China debido a que 1850 de sus trabajadores en el área de autopartes se declararon en huelga; según un portavoz del fabricante japonés en China, Zhu Linjie, los obreros iniciaron el paro el 17 de Mayo.
El fabricante tenía la intención de resolver estos problemas rápidamente, sin embargo los trabajadores no cedieron durante los primeros acercamientos; así que Honda tuvo que anunciar el cese de actividades en las fábricas de la provincia de Guangdong el 24 de Mayo y luego en las instalaciones de la provincia de Hubei el 26 de Mayo.
Los trabajadores exigen que la compañía incremente su salario de 178 euros a 290 euros, una suma que iguala el sueldo de los obreros empleados en las fábricas de ensamblaje de Honda en ese país.
Según la información de algunos analistas China está experimentando una escasez de mano de obra en ciertos sectores, así que la actual coyuntura ha otorgado a los trabajadores un interesante poder de negociación que podrían aprovechar para mejorar sus condiciones de vida.
Yasuko Matsuura, portavoz de la compañía nipona en Tokio informó que es la primera vez que una huelga afecta la producción de la compañía en China; además indicó que Honda, así como representantes de los trabajadores y funcionarios del gobierno local proseguirán las conversaciones para poner fin a la paralización.
Se espera que el sábado 29 de Mayo las operaciones vuelvan a la normalidad.
Vía | Auto News
PIC reader Tolga M. wrote in with this eyewitness report of a Palm marketing effort currently underway this weekend in Times Square, New York City.
Hi there guys, was taking some out-of-town friends around NYC today for some sight-seeing and ran into a large group of people wearing snazzy Palm ‘uniforms’ in the middle of Times Square. They were giving out Palm branded lip-balm, bags, and other goodies, and demo-ing the Pre Plus to passers by, and had acquired a good-sized crowd. Interestingly they also had 4-5 ‘Smart’ Cars all decked out in Palm wrap-arounds. We were on our way somewhere and I forgot I had my camera so I don’t have any shots, but I briefly talked with one of the Palm reps and they seemed very knowledgeable and friendly and said they’d be there for a few days (probably taking advantage of the Memorial Day tourist crowd).They are giving away 8 Pré’s per day via an electronic raffle that they can enter you for (you give them your email). So if you’re in NYC this weekend check it out. I think they have a billboard in Times Square too. All in all it seemed like they had someone with half a brain planning the event. Okay, have a great weekend!
Article Tags: Robert W. Felix
Temperatures have been warmer than today for almost all of the past 10,000 years
The revamped cap-and-trade (control-and-tax) bill that Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) are trying to foist on the American public is predicated on a flat-out lie.
The control-and-tax proponents would have you believe that our planet has been enduring unprecedented global warming (now coyly referred to as “climate change”), but the facts do not bear that out. Facts. Oh, those damnable facts.
Created by Cuffy and Clow in 1997, and based on Greenland ice core records, this chart shows global temperatures for the past 15,000 years.
Source: iceagenow.com
The American recording artist, Alicia Keys, is now engaged with Swizz Beatz as they confirmed it to People’s magazine. It is a great revelation for the couple since they are also expecting a baby!
After a long time of dating and rumors, atlast! The couple has confirmed that they were really into each other. The two have been partners in the music industry and it seemed that their relationship moved to the next stage.
This will be the first marriage for Keys and second time for Swizz. Swizz was formerly married to Mashonda Dean and had a son, Kasseem Jr. He also has another son, Prince, from his previous relationship. For Keys, this will be her first child.
Alicia Keys has kept her relationship with her boyfriend for a long time and now they decided to go on public. However, it seemed that the ex wife of Swizz, Mashonda, is not in a good term with Keys. Rumors stated that Keys was behind the breakup. Mashonda stated on her Twitter account last year, “If you are reading this Alicia, let me start by saying, you know what you did. You know the role you played and you know how you contributed to the ending of my marriage. You know that I asked you to step back and let me handle my family issues. Issues that you helped to create… This is not a publicity stunt, I dont have a record coming out. I just need to close this chapter in my life and that means confronting our issues. There is a small child involved. His dad loves him to death and he wants to spend more time with him but he’s afraid because he knows we don’t have a relationship. This is my main concern. My son NEEDS his dad and I NEED to be comfortable with you. For him!” Only this year, Mashonda took legal action against her ex-husband claiming he owes her $344,000 in back payments. However, Swizz denied this and said that he even gave her more than what she wanted.
We’ll just hope that Mashonda, Alicia and Swizz will settle things out so that they will be in good terms since they are in the music industry. We can’t take any sides since both parties have their own sides of the story.
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Homebrew coder WolfSpider has released a new version of DSOperators, a feature pack homebrew organizer with a wide-range of applications. The latest update of the homebrew has added some new features and various other improvements.
Download:
A team of scientists from Columbia University has found evidence that emissions of nitrous oxide from wastewater treatment plants may be significantly higher than previous estimates. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that is almost 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide. As for the good news, the team also found indications that much of the problem could be resolved by tweaking operations at existing plants and introducing more efficient design standards in new plants, rather than developing expensive new technology.
The Columbia study provides some insight into the potential for making significant but relatively inexpensive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by working within existing infrastructure and technology. It also illustrates the key role that accurate measurement plays in targeting resources to achieve the biggest bang for the greenhouse gas reduction buck. In doing so, the study supports the logic behind the U.S. EPA’s recent proposal to expand its new greenhouse gas reporting rules.
It’s a brave new world with the addition of video chat on the Sprint HTC Evo 4G. And what better way to break in Fring’s new free video calling service than with one of our deepest darkest competitors dear friends in this Android world. In the video above, we chat it up with Taylor from Android and Me — both of us on the Evo 4G. It wasn’t the smoothest connection in the world — though I was on WiFi and Taylor’s in a 4G town — but it’s video calling, and we’re glad to see it.
This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
The SMH reports that the increased mandatory renewable energy target being proposed for Australia is likely to have minimal cost to consumers and win multi-partisan support in Parliament – Power bills will not bear cost of clean power boom.
A RENEWABLE energy scheme before the Federal Parliament will drive $14 billion of clean power investment by 2020 according to new modelling, but the head of the Climate Change Department has warned that Australia still cannot meet its promised emission reduction targets without a broad price on carbon.
Modelling released by the government yesterday shows the new renewable energy target – which requires 20 per cent of energy to be sourced from renewables by 2020 – will increase the average household power bill by $41 a year. The scheme amendments before the Parliament will be responsible for just $2 of that.
The modest price rises mean it is likely the changes will pass with bipartisan support, as the original renewable energy target legislation did, allowing billions of dollars of renewables investment to begin.
Google TV has the potential to be a game-changer in the pay-TV business, by bringing web-like search navigation to traditional channel surfing, according to a new report I wrote for GigaOM Pro entitled Google TV: Overview and Strategic Analysis (subscription required). I also foresee an eventual clash between Apple’s App Store and Google’s search-based platform for supremacy on connected consumer electronics devices.
I expect a slow initial ramp-up for the Android-powered Google TV devices, due to the high cost of implementation and uncertain consumer demand. The Intel Atom-based system-on-a-chip and software licensing costs are expected to add a significant premium to first-generation Google TV-enabled devices, including the Logitech set-top box and Sony HDTVs and Blu-ray players announced at the Google I/O conference. Consumer interest in surfing the web on a big-screen TV is also yet to be proved. If Google TV does prove popular with consumers, however, it could pose a highly disruptive challenge to traditional video service providers, set makers and competing TV app stores, according to the report.
“Google TV’s integrated search, combining results from the web and from traditional sources in a single user interface, encourages the user to separate the content from its source, or at least to treat the source as irrelevant,” I note in the report. As more content becomes available on the web, that dynamic will increasingly pose a challenge to traditional video service providers, whose business model is based on bundling content into high-margin subscription packages. “Search, by its nature, is the enemy of bundling,” it concludes.
Google TV could be a boon to TV set-makers by providing the software-driven functionality that spurs sales of Internet-enabled devices, the report states. On the other hand, adopting Google’s non-proprietary platform could rob manufacturers of a key point of differentiation for their products.
The Google TV announcement also comes just as fledgling TV app stores are starting to find their footing in connected devices, including the Yahoo Widget Channel, Vudu, DivX and the Roku Channel Store. While those providers obviously will be challenged by the arrival of Google TV, the report suggests a potential for market segmentation, with app stores dominating low- and mid-range connected TVs and Google TV reserved for premium models, particularly early on, given the higher costs associated with implementing the Google platform.
One app platform unlikely to concede the high end of the market to Google, however, is Apple’s iTunes App Store. Although Apple has not disclosed its plans for the digital living room, the report calls an eventual assault on the $53 billion pay-TV business “inevitable.” When it comes, it’s likely to involve extending the iTunes App Store platform to the TV, either directly, through an Apple-branded HDTV set, or through a set-top box.
In the report, I also envision a seamless, cloud-based version of the iTunes platform that will enable access to video and other content from Apple TVs, iPads and iPhones. At that point, the battle between Apple’s app-based and Google’s search-driven models for content acquisition and distribution will be fully joined.
Check out the full report, Google TV: Overview and Strategic Analysis, on GigaOM Pro (subscription required).
Which event do you think will happen first? Polar meltdown? Discovery of extra dimensions? Looks like synthetic life is the favorite so far, but I think that depends on what your definition of “life” is.
Filed under: Advice, Happiness, Health, Fitness, Fit Family Guy
If you’re trying to lose weight, you’re going to have to start paying attention to your calorie intake. Large quantities of them can be hiding in places you don’t expect and you probably aren’t burning as many of them as you think you are.
Reality … Read more
Two of the debutantes on the final frontier – SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and the Planetary Society’s Lightsail 1 solar sail – will be making their debut a bit later than planned.
For the past week, I’ve been having one of those “you should have, no you shouldn’t have” arguments with myself. Since both sides of my brain seem equally divided, I thought I’d ask you what you would have done if you’d been in my place.
Here’s what happened. A week ago Sunday, my wife and I attended a concert at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Amelia Island, Fla. If you live anywhere near there let me encourage you to check out the other concerts for this year’s Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival (www.aicmf.com). If you can’t attend any this season, then consider vacationing on that lovely island next May. It will definitely be worth it.
The Sunday night concert began with Christopher Rex, principle cello of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, performing Chopin’s Sonata for Cello and Violin. That was followed by William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, doing an extraordinary job on the thousand-notes-a-minute (or so it seemed) of Camille Saint-Saens’ Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano. Elizabeth Pridgen did an excellent job as the accompanist on both.
After a brief intermission, though, came the real piece de resistance. Valentina Lisitsa, a truly amazing pianist, performed Beethoven’s magnificent Opus 106, the “Hammerklavier” (Piano Sonata No. 29) with all of the passion, skill and artistry that the Maestro himself could have wished. When she finished the audience sat spellbound for a moment or two before bursting into thunderous applause. They had heard magic that night and they knew it.
So what was my problem? It sounds like a truly wonderful evening doesn’t it?
I won’t say the concert was spoiled for me by what I saw two rows in front of me. That wasn’t possible. But the sight did put a blemish on the evening. As you can tell, I’m still bothered by it.
A gentleman two rows away was wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt. I’m sure you’ve seen the iconic image—a saintly looking Guevara staring off into space. The outline of his face and beret are in solid black, while the shirt itself is a deep, dark red—sort of like the blood of all the innocents Che helped murder.
The person wearing the T-shirt was no teeny-bopper rock-‘n’-roller, by the way. He was a rather handsome gentleman in his 50s or 60s, wearing a grey sports coat. He seemed very pleasant as he chatted with other guests near him. But every time I saw his shirt all I could think of was asking him, “Why are you wearing a shirt that honors a Communist murderer? And to a church, for crying out loud!”
If I could, I would have added, “Your hero was more likely to herd Christians into a church and burn them alive than to participate in a program here.” I imagined an entire conversation with the man—what he might say, what I’d reply and what other attendees might say if our own conversation got somewhat heated.
But as you know from this long preamble, I didn’t say anything. As my wife and I exited our pew I let him walk a few steps ahead of me. There was plenty of time to catch up with him in the foyer or even outside, but I let the moment pass.
My question for you is; did I do the right thing? Should I have said nothing? Miss Manners would probably say that silence was the socially correct response. Don’t rock the boat; don’t embarrass a stranger. And whatever you do, don’t pick a fight—or at least an argument—in public, especially not in church. Heck, even Garrison Keillor probably couldn’t imagine such a thing happening in Lake Woebegone.
There’s a still small voice inside my head that says, “Don’t worry about, it, Chip. You did the right thing.”
But there’s an even louder voice that keeps repeating, “No, you didn’t. You should have said something. You didn’t have to insult him or try to pick a fight. You could have gently and politely told him why you were offended by his T-shirt. He’d probably tell you he had no idea what his shirt might mean to others. Heck, he’d probably thank you for saying something.”
I’ll be the first to admit that the whole “Che Guevara As Hero” thing among many young people really frosts my cookies. It may be because my family was in Cuba when Fidel Castro seized power there and he and his Communist buddies (with Che as one of his most important lieutenants) began jailing, torturing and murdering their opponents.
But you didn’t have to know any of his victims personally to know that Guevara was a truly nasty piece of work. He was petty, mean and vindictive… a murderer without conscience or remorse. I’m frankly delighted that he met his end from a soldier’s bullet while trying to lead yet another revolution in Bolivia. The world became a better place with his death.
But enough about why I despise the man—and the fools in this country who honor him. Let me climb down from my soapbox and turn the microphone over to you.
If you had been in my shoes (or, more accurately, my pew), what would you have done? Would you have said something? And if so, what? Remember, you would have only a few seconds as you both made your way out of the church.
And what if he didn’t respond kindly to your remarks? What if he got angry or belligerent? What would you do then?
In my imagination I’ve thought of numerous possible outcomes. And I have to admit I don’t like any of them. So if you can come up with a better solution, please click on the “comments” bar at the end of this column and tell me what it is. I’d really like to know what you think I should have done.
Honor Our Defenders This Memorial Day
For too many of us, Memorial Day has become just a weekend to picnic and party. We forget the original purpose of this national day of remembrance. It should be a time to honor the men and women of the armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for us and our country.
I hope you will pause for a few moments this Memorial Day weekend to give thanks to those who laid down their lives to defend and protect us. Make it a time of reflection and appreciation. And yes, if you have one, please proudly fly our country’s flag.
To any members of the armed forces reading this, thank you. Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifices. And yes, thank you for your willingness to lay your life on the line for us.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
—Chip Wood
*3 down, 532 to go. It looks like it’s going to be a tough year for incumbents. And it’s about time. Conservatives in Utah said “no thanks” to Bob Bennett’s attempt to turn the Senate seat there into a lifetime sinecure. Democrats in Pennsylvania told Arlen Specter to return to private life, despite Barack Obama’s less-than-all-out endorsement. In Kentucky, Rand Paul overwhelmingly defeated the Republican establishment’s hand-picked nominee. So much for the media argument that the Tea Party movement is just a tiny, ineffective fringe. Go get ‘em, guys.
*Which words do you see more often? CNN contributor and Redstate.com blogger Erick Erickson says that the words “Islam” and “terrorism” are seldom used in the same news stories. On the other hand, he reports, “you’re more likely to see the words ‘racist’ and ‘Republican’ together in the newspapers these days.” And on TV, too, Mr. Erickson—including that most unbalanced network you work for, CNN.
*Some strange things up north. I’m just back from five days in Montreal where I was the emcee for an investment conference. It’s a gorgeous city, filled with history. But they sure do things differently up there. These stories appeared in one section of a newspaper on one day: When a woman was arrested for shooting her husband she said she was innocent of any wrongdoing… because she had mistaken him for a bear. Another woman is suing her cell phone company because her monthly bill (which her husband saw) listed all of her calls to her lover. And finally, officials in Ontario are asking for help in collecting unpaid parking tickets. Seems the municipality has more than $1 billion worth of outstanding tickets. Sure glad those kinds of things could never happen in this country, aren’t you?
—Chip Wood
Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the top ranking Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, says he will file an ethics complaint against Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) if he doesn’t provide details about an alleged illegal job offer from the White House.
Sestak, who recently defeated Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the Democratic primary, said in February that the Obama administration offered him a high-ranking cabinet position if he dropped out of the race.
During an interview May 23 on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sestak reiterated his claim, but refused to provide specifics regarding the allegation.
"I was offered the job," he said. "Anything that goes beyond that is for others to talk about."
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during a separate interview on Meet the Press that the administration’s lawyers had looked into the claim, and found that "nothing inappropriate" happened.
"It is unacceptable for an administration that touts itself as the ‘most transparent’ in history to continue to stonewall a significant and potentially devastating accusation of political corruption," responded Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
Issa said that he will file a formal complaint with the House Ethics Committee if an investigation into Sestak’s allegation is not launched, Politico.com reports.
"Either he’s lying, or covering up felonies for political purposes," said Issa.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave his approval on the vote to overturn the "don’t ask, don’t tell policy" earlier this week. However, many media outlets stressed the apparent "lukewarm" nature of the endorsement, which may be unsurprising given the significant opposition to the measure, especially in conservative quarters.
The Family Research Council (FRC) has been at the forefront of trying to prevent the overhaul of the agreement that bans openly gay individuals from serving in the military. The organization’s lobbying arm called FRC Action recently launched an ad campaign accusing Democrats of attempting to use the military to "advance their radical social agenda."
"We call on Congress to protect the military, listen to our troops and the American people by rejecting this outrageous deal that politicizes the military at the expense of our national security," said FRC president Tony Perkins.
The FRC was seconded by the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization, The American Legion, which affirmed its opposition to repealing the law on the grounds that it served the military well for 17 years and that it would not be wise to make a major cultural change in the middle of two wars.
The legion’s National Commander Clarence E. Hill also pointed out that the Department of Defense has ordered a study on the policy, and the vote should not take place before the commission releases its findings.
Faced with a growing challenge from a right-wing rival for the Arizona Republican nomination, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) is taking an increasingly intransigent stance on the Democrats’ efforts to repeal the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy.
McCain, who at one point declared himself ready to see the policy repealed, has now indicated he will vote against the measure.
The former presidential candidate, who is also the top Republican on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, told Arizona’s KBLU radio that the Democrats "[are] going to try to jam [the overhaul] through without even trying to figure out what the impact on battle effectiveness would be," quoted by TheHill.com.
McCain was also interviewed by Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins on Washington Watch Weekly, the organization’s syndicated half-hour radio show, where he said "that this issue has significant long-term implication for our ability to defend this nation."
He also said he was afraid that the repeal was a done deal "because of no other reason than President Obama’s campaign promise."
The Republican primary in Arizona is scheduled for Aug. 24, and McCain appears to be losing ground to a more conservative opponent. 
Individuals who are looking to lower their blood pressure without taking medication may be able to do so by moderately reducing their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a new study.
For the 18-month study, a research team from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center recruited 810 adults with early stage hypertension who drank an average of 11 ounces of sugary beverages each day, well below the American average of 23 daily ounces.
At the end of the study, participants who reduced their soft drink intake by at least half lowered their systolic blood pressure by an average of 1.8 points and their diastolic blood pressure by 1.1 points.
"We found a direct dose-response relationship," said study leader Liwei Chen."Individually, it was not a big reduction. But population-wise, reducing total consumption could have a huge impact."
According to background information included in the report, a three-point reduction in blood pressure can lower heart disease mortality risk by as much as five percent.
The correlation between lower blood pressure and reduced soft drink intake remained after accounting for weight loss and other risk factors. 
The problem with most water guns is that once your tank runs dry, you’re helpless until you can make it to a faucet. No so with the Saturator AK47! It uses clips of water to ensure you’re always full. Brilliant. More »
Water – Business – Environment – Water Resources – Drinking water
