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A bottle of white vinegar is probably sitting somewhere in the back of one of your cabinets. Perhaps forgotten, there has never been a better time to put this inexpensive and non-toxic cleaning product to work.

After your half-marathon training runs or Zumba workouts, are you faced with sweaty, smelly exercise clothing that never seems fresh again, even after several washings?  How about the stubborn odor of your teenage son’s t-shirts or socks?

It pays to keep a big bottle of white vinegar in the laundry room.

Vinegar is terrific for restoring the fresh scent to your clean clothes and linens. Simply add ¼ cup of white vinegar with the detergent in the washing machine and offensive odors will be banished.

For cleaning your house, car or boat interior: Fill a spray bottle ¾ with water, add a drop of liquid dishwashing detergent and top it off with white vinegar.  You may also want to add a few drops essential oil for fragrance, peppermint or grapefruit work well here.

This all-purpose cleaner is great for glass and virtually any surface, even hardwood floors.

If a dirty surface needs a little grit to remove the dirt, sprinkle some baking soda on the area before you spray the vinegar solution and rub to release the dirt.

If you have a sluggish drain, pour about a cup of baking soda into the drain, follow this with a “chaser” of about ½ cup of white vinegar.  Cover the drain with a plug or damp dishcloth to form a seal so the “volcano” can do its work inside the pipes.  After about 20 minutes, remove the plug and pour a kettle of boiling water down the drain.

Sherry Brooks is healthy, happy and trim “Frugalista” living the lean and green life in and around Malibu in sunny southern California.

More from ecomii:

• Learn how you may be polluting your home instead of cleaning it
• Learn more about the potential of nutritional supplements
• Find natural remedies for headaches
• Does aromatherapy actually work?
• What is your carbon footprint?

According to industry sources, it appears that Volkswagen will buy a controlling stake in Italdesign Giugiaro a.k.a. Italy’s largest design and engineering firm. Sources confirmed the fact that Vw will announce the deal early as next week.

Why this move from Vw? The answer is this: in order to follow the plan to be the world’s largest automaker by 2018 with sales of 10 million vehicles a year Volkswagen needs more designers and engineers for its cars. Volskwagen Group will add 60 models, including upgrades, only in 2010. For those who don’t know, Italdesign has currently 975 employees and 800 computer aided design workstations and it is owned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, 71, who serves as chairman, and his son Fabrizio, 45, who heads the design and model division. Both are expected to continue their work after Vw takeover.

[via autonews – sub. required]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

Three pairs on Dancing With The Stars 2010 will make it to the summit of this year’s most anticipated dance reality show’s results night. To make the evening more dramatic and remarkable, teen pop sensation Miley Cyrus will grace the stage with the latest cut in her new album set for release this June.

Tonight marks the 100th elimination round of this season. Which pair will it be?

Team Evan
Team Nicole
Team Chad
Team Erin

First to dance their way into the top three is Evan and Ana. A few moments after, it was revealed that the second safe pair is Nicole and Derek. Steam of nerves and edginess surrounded the stage as the 3rd and last pair was revealed: Erin’s team is the last to join the finals. Now, the fans have to bid farewell to Chad Ochocinco and the other half of the team, Cheryl.

Although this was a dismal outcome of their onscreen tandem, reports have said the two have managed to develop a deeper relationship while dancing together in DWTS.

This season is believed to be the best the show had since its commencement. So, who will emerge as champions in Dancing With The Stars 2010: Evan Lysacek, Nicole Scherzinger, and Erin Andrews? Find out as they battle it out into the big night.

Related posts:

1. Dancing With the Stars Results May 18: Who’s Out?
2. Dancing with the Stars, April 27 elimination
3. Doherty Dances for Dad Sufferring Massive Stroke

Foi anunciado oficialmente pela Toyota que a multa imposta pelo governo norte americano devido ao mega recall que envolveu o Corolla foi paga. O valor, como anunciado anteriormente, foi de $16.4 milhões, sendo a maior multa já aplicada dentro de uma lei.

O porta-voz da Toyota disse em poucas palavras: “Sim, a multa foi paga para o Tesouro-Norte Americano”. A Toyota também diz que, se pagaram a multa, foi porque acharam justa que o fizessem, e “para evitarmos problemas legais e para que possamos nos concentrar em melhorar nossas operações de qualidade”.

A multa foi estipulada pelo governo dos EUA pela demora que a Toyota teve em anunciar o defeito no tapete do Corolla, que segundo documentos analisados em uma investigação pela NHTSA, agência que cuida da segurança do transporte nos EUA, já tinham conhecimento de tal falha e não se pronunciaram.

Via | Inside Line

One of the world’s leading football clubs has teamed up with Oxfam to hold coaching clinics for young people in South Africa.

The Liverpool delegation will be coaching football skills to hundreds of young people from townships near Johannesburg and Pretoria. At the same time Oxfam and its partner ‘Fair Play for Africa’ will be raising awareness of the health issues facing millions of people in Africa every day.

Bill Bygroves of the Liverpool Football Club Community Department said: “Liverpool FC engages in many different community, education and health programmes in and around Merseyside.

“Oxfam and ‘Fair Play for Africa’ invited us to engage with young people around Johannesburg and Pretoria through the medium of football and at the same time assist in their campaign. We are really pleased to be of help.”

Oxfam campaigns to get more children into schools around the world and fight for better access to health care for the world’s poorest people. In Africa, Oxfam works with ‘Fair Play for Africa’ encouraging African governments to keep the promises made on universal health care, HIV and Aids.

Pooven Moodley, Oxfam South African Campaigns manager said: “Oxfam is very excited about this visit, it will reach out to hundreds of young people.”

/Ends

For more information please contact: Serena Tramonti in South Africa on 0027 796384106, [email protected]

Notes to editors:

The Liverpool delegation will be in South Africa between the 19 ^th – 23 ^rd May.

Fair Play for Africa is an alliance of 200 organisations from 10 African countries. For more information visit, www.fairplayforafrica.org

Drew Barrymore has been commissioned to direct the buzzed-about upcoming sequel to the 1939 cinema classic The Wizard of Oz.

The beloved ex-child star made her directorial debut in the 2009 roller derby flick Whip It. Now she’s set to step behind the camera once again for Warner Bros.’ box office-bound fantasy epic Surrender Dorothy, London’s Daily Telegraph dished on Wednesday.

The movie follows the great, great granddaughter of Dorothy who has to learn how to use the power of her ruby red slippers to keep The Wicked Witch of the West from taking control of Earth and Oz. Based on a script by Zach Helm, Drew was originally set to star in the project before it was shelved by studio bosses in 2002. Robert Downey Jr. is among the stars being courted for the Oz update.

The Yellow Brick Road isn’t the only cinema staple being reimagined for the modern-day silver screen. On Tuesday, Deadline.com reported that Disney plopped down a massive seven figures for a new, live-action remake of Cinderella, written by The Devil Wears Prada scriptwriter Aline Brosh McKenna.

Yesterday, the Taliban successfully killed at least 18 U.S. servicemembers and Afghan civilians a suicide car-bomb attack. Today, less successfully, Taliban forces attacked the nearby Bagram Air Field, an extremely secure and massive base. They didn’t make it beyond the outer perimeter — where, it’s worth noting, civilian trucks and taxis packed with Afghan civilians seeking to supply the base are often backed up the length of a football field — but an ISAF press release says “nearly a dozen” insurgents were killed, giving an indication of how big the attack was.

That attack used “rockets, small arms and grenades” and sought to use four operatives as suicide bombers. They were killed before they could detonate.

One U.S. contractor is dead. Nine U.S. servicemembers are wounded. Two of those nine are said to have returned to duty, and the rest ”are currently in stable condition,” according to an ISAF press release. But it’s been a long time since there was an attack this large on Bagram. Coming a day after the Kabul attack, the message the Taliban seek to deliver is that there aren’t any safe areas for the allies of the Afghan government.

It is sad but true. American Idol talents will not have the time of their life even after their weekly stunts on the talent show, reveals Chicago Tribune. It may be a matter of luck or charm but only few hit the notes so to speak. Season 9 top three will have a big break in the recording scene but the industry is unpredictable. There are sure fire winners who have made it big like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, but in the case of American Idol winner Kris Allen and first placer Adam Lambert, tables have turned. And the likes of Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson who were just finalists but then sold millions and an Oscar. There is just no guarantee of a recording deal for the rest of the finalists.

“It’s just a fact that only so many Idols can release music each year on a major label,” admitted Jason Castro who finished fourth in Season 8. Last year’s sixth placer Anoop Desai felt the crunch of it all saying, “You’d think someone who had just been in front of 30 million people for 10-15 weeks in a row has an automatic fan base and all this going for them, but for whatever reason, most of us came up empty.”

American Idol may still have a large audience share, however, it also has its downsides. Unfortunately though for many Idols, they have to work through it by themselves.

Related posts:

1. American Idol: Who’s In for the Top 3?
2. Chris Daughtry is Back on the Idol Stage
3. Say ‘Hallelujah’ to Lee Dewyze

Oh, mobile TV, you really are taking a beating, aren’t you? Despite hopes and promises over the last few years, nothing has really come of it but failures.

And now, Spain has abandoned plans to bring the DVB-H terrestrial mobile TV service to its citizens.

Bernardo Lorenzo, Director General of telecommunications at the Ministry of Industry, has said that if there is not an increase in demand, the government will allocate the frequencies destined for mobile TV to other services, adding that Spain does not want to become “one of the failures that have occurred in Europe”.

The Big B is referencing the fact that there have been several mobile DTV launches across Europe, none of which were successful. Ouch.

[via Broadband TV News]

" Deus pôde fazer o mundo em 6 dias porque não tinha ninguém perguntando quando ia ficar pronto… "

A stiffening of the aging brain’s blood vessels reduces their ability to respond to changes in blood pressure, increasing the risk of falls by as much as 70%, researchers reported Monday…

Dr. Farzaneh A. Sorond, a neurologist at Harvard University’s Institute for Aging Research, and her colleagues studied 420 people over the age of 65. The team used ultrasound to measure the flow of blood in the patients’ brains while they were at rest and when they were breathing rapidly…

Read more here

Filed under: Aftermarket, Budget, Europe, Videos, Hatchback, Dodge

First, it’s worth mentioning that when the Fiat 500 finally hits American shores, chances are it won’t be wearing a Dodge logo on the hood. As far as we know, the sub-compact will arrive sporting the same badges it wears in Europe. However, that hasn’t stopped an enterprising Jeep/Dodge dealership in the Neatherlands Netherlands (Thanks, everyone!) from slathering one very confused Cinquecento in Dodge logos and using it as a loaner. We aren’t quite sure what the package is supposed to do other than provide free advertising for the dealer and disorient onlookers, but we’ve got to admire the dealer’s go get ’em attitude.

Aside from the smattering of vinyl decals, Middlebeek Dodge has also gone so far as to swap the 500’s badges for the infamous Dodge Ram and a mysterious question mark. Feel free to hop the jump for a quick walk around of the car in the flesh. Be warned: we won’t be held responsible for any dizziness or nausea that may occur.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Fiat 500 gets the Dodge treatment a little ahead of schedule

Video: Fiat 500 gets the Dodge treatment a little ahead of schedule originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Salmonella. Escherichia coli. These once feared bacterias have joined the forces of good to sanitize your hands as fancy soaps. More »










Health – Escherichia coli – Biology – Bacteria – Infectious disease

As informações são de que a Fiat já prepara o novo Uno para receber o câmbio Duologic, sistema no qual as trocas de marchas são feitas roboticamente, mantendo o câmbio manual. Uma das vantagens do sistema em relação aos câmbios automáticos é a sua manutenção, pelo fato de sua caixa ser a mesma de 5 velocidades do modelo manual.

De acordo com fontes do site Carro Online, a Magneti Marelli, uma das fornecedoras de peças da Fiat, já vem trabalhando para a chegado do câmbio, que tem a chegada prevista para o ano de 2012. Complementando, as informações são de que o sistema equipará apenas a versão mais cara do novo Fiat Uno, a Way 1.4. Antes disso, apenas o motor de 1.8 litros da Fiat recebeu o sistema Duologic, equipando os modelos Siena, Palio, Idea, Stilo e Linea.

Embora oficialmente a montadora negue o lançamento do sistema no novo Uno, a companhia já tinha apresentando alguns indícios de sua utilização no modelo onde, durante uma conversa de seu diretor comercial, Lélio Ramos, com a CarroOnline, este afirmou que: “Nós não temos nenhum projeto a esse respeito, mas eu acho que o Dualogic tem tudo a ver com o novo Uno”.

Fonte: CarroOnline

Hotmail, the world’s most widely used e-mail service, is getting a major overhaul from Microsoft in a bid to fend off competitors like Google’s Gmail.

Microsoft says the planned update to Windows Live Hotmail is designed to remove clutter and let users interact with other sites and applications while checking their mail.

Read more.

Ryan McBride wrote:

Cytogel Pharma, a Darien, CT-based biopharmaceutical development firm, has raised $2.2 million in equity and rights funding, according to an SEC filing. The company, founded in 2002, says that its strategy is to license promising drugs with the intent of eventually selling them to larger companies, according to its website. Centripetal Capital Partners, based in Stamford, CT, lists Cytogel among its portfolio companies.

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

HP announced a bevy of updated Pavilion and Envy models a few weeks back. Well good news, kiddies. LogicBuy sent us a note, pointing out that the whole line is now shipping including the clonetastic Envy 17 with it’s MacBook Pro-busting starting price of $1,399.

Everyone has a book in them, right? Well Barnes & Noble wants to give you the opportunity to push that book in front of a few million people using their PubIt! service.

The new service allows you to upload a document, convert it to epub, and sell it on their B&N reader system, including on the Nook and iPad. It’s coming this summer and is currently accepting sign-ups.

Interestingly, they’re focusing on independent publishers, which suggests that we won’t see too many scrawled treatises on alien mind control in the Carter cabinet or the how the ghost of Jack Ruby is coming to inappropriately touch an older man in Boca Raton.

There will be a “competitive royalty model” but they’re not announcing specifics right now.

Stuff like this should have old guard publishers making Willa Cather in their pants. If an independent house can get good distribution, albeit electronically, their chance of hitting the “long tail” reader is infinitely higher. Amazon allows for this sort of thing as well – you get an ISBN and sell through their store, often using a print on demand model – and it’s fairly simple to get onto the Kindle store without many hiccups. This doesn’t add much in groundbreaking functionality to B&N but it does put it closer to parity with competitors.

Barnes & Noble Announces PubIt!™,
An Easy-to-Use Digital Publishing and Distribution Platform
for Independent and Self-Publishers

PubIt! Enables Independent Publishers and Self-Published Authors
Access to Sell eBooks and Content to Millions of Readers
on Barnes & Noble’s Online and Digital Platforms

New York, New York – May 19, 2010 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, is extending its deep and longstanding tradition of supporting authors and publishers with PubIt! by Barnes & Noble, an easy and lucrative way for independent publishers and self-publishing writers to distribute their works digitally through BN.com and the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. The easy-to-use publishing and distribution platform offers qualified independent publishers and authors of self-published works expanded distribution, visibility and protection that only Barnes & Noble can offer.

The announcement marks Barnes & Noble’s latest move to continue to build one of the world’s largest digital catalogs, spanning eBooks, journals, periodicals and other types of reading material. PubIt! titles will be distributed through BN.com and Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore, which currently offers more than one million digital titles to millions of dedicated customers in-store and online.

Independent publishers and writers will appreciate PubIt!’s simple and competitive royalty model and compensation process, the details of which will be available in the coming weeks. Content owners’ intellectual property will be well-protected with Barnes & Noble’s best-in-class digital rights management technology and offered in the industry standard ePub format that allows publishers’ works to be enjoyed by millions of Barnes & Noble customers on hundreds of the most popular computing, mobile and eBook reading devices.

“As a company that has achieved much of its success by building mutually beneficial relationships with publishers and authors, Barnes & Noble’s new PubIt! service represents an exciting evolution and significant opportunity in the digital content arena,” said Theresa Horner, Director, Digital Products, Barnes & Noble. “Barnes & Noble is uniquely positioned to support writers and publishers and bring their exciting digital works to the broadest audience of readers anywhere.”

Whether online or on-the-go, Barnes & Noble customers will have access to PubIt! titles with the opportunity to browse, sample, buy and download the digital content in seconds to their devices with free BN reader software. Using Barnes & Noble’s breakthrough Read In Store™ technology, NOOK™ customers can also browse the complete contents of PubIt! titles while in Barnes & Noble stores.

PubIt! is a convenient one-stop-shop, allowing publishers to get their content in front of consumers for purchase and reading on the most widely adopted mobile devices and software platforms. By following simple steps to upload their content in an industry standard format for electronic titles, content creators can reach consumers on hundreds of devices including: NOOK by Barnes & Noble, PC, Mac®, iPad™, iPhone®, BlackBerry® and others. For more information on free BN eReader software and apps, please visit www.bn.com/ebooks/download-reader.asp.

More information on PubIt!, which will be available this summer, and the benefits of joining Barnes & Noble’s expansive and trusted digital content catalog can be found at www.bn.com/pubit.

Facebook and Farmville and Mafia Wars-makers Zynga were bickering over in-game currency and the social network took a stand that hampered the game publisher’s ability to advertise through pseudo-updated on the site, causing the games to lose millions of players.

Kotaku reports all hope for a permanent, irritating games-crippling impasse has been scuttled, because Zynga has backed down and agreed to use Facebook Credits, giving the social network a juicy 30 percent cut of all money players throw away into nothingness for no reason whatsoever.

Enjoy the continued nagging from friends begging you to help them with their crops.

Facebook, Farmville Reach Truce on Virtual Currency [Kotaku]