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This is one huge file size! Then again, if you’re really bent on getting yourself a copy of Record of Agarest Wars on your PS3, 10GB should mean nothing to you.
 
 
 
 

Not even James Bond would scoff at the beautiful Hyper-Sub. After all, how could he not want to step foot onto a $3.5 million submersible powerboat? More »

In one of the most controversial technology stories of the past few months, the gadget blog Gizmodo got hold of (and dissected and displayed with great relish) a prototype of a next-generation iPhone, after an Apple engineer apparently left the device in a Silicon Valley bar. According to the blog’s description of events, someone picked up the phone after the engineer left it behind, and then sold it to a Gizmodo editor for $5,000. The initial story ultimately turned into a series of stories, and sparked a firestorm of criticism over the blog’s behavior in buying the phone rather than returning it to Apple, which some said was inappropriate and possibly illegal.

Criticism from bloggers and tech industry types aren’t Gizmodo’s only problems, however: on Friday, a police task force raided the home of editor Jason Chen and seized several computers and other belongings, carrying a warrant that they said authorized them to investigate a crime involving the sale of the iPhone prototype. In response, some — including Gawker Media COO Gaby Darbyshire, who is a lawyer, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation — have argued that the police breached the so-called “journalist shield law” in California, which protects media outlets from search and seizure. On Monday evening, the district attorney’s office said that it was reviewing the case.

By buying the phone, some have argued that Gizmodo was simply practicing modern journalism, which for some tabloid outlets such as TMZ can involve paying sources for their stories. Gawker Media founder Nick Denton has said that he is happy to practice “checkbook journalism” in return for a good story, and that he is a “gossip merchant” who only accidentally engages in journalism. Others, including John Gruber of Daring Fireball, have maintained that Gizmodo was guilty of theft by buying a phone that the blog knew was not the lawful property of the person they bought it from.

What do you think? Was Gizmodo justified in paying someone for an iPhone prototype that they knew (or should have known) didn’t belong to the person they were buying it from? Or should they be subject to legal repercussions as a result of doing so?

Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr user SD Kirk

Feeling stressed? Try rhodiola—an herb that is classified as an “adaptogen.” This means it can help normalize your body’s response to stress. After taking rhodiola for 10 weeks, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) study patients experienced a 50 percent reduction in symptoms such as worry, tension, fatigue and headaches. Other herbs in this mood-boosting group include ginseng and licorice.

How To Position Your Body During Sleep for Less Pain

We all know why sleep is good for you. It relaxes the body, calms the nervous system, regulates breathing and induces the relaxation response. It allows the body some down time to repair itself.

The power of restorative rest and sleep is strong and wide reaching. In fact, symptoms of diseases like fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue and the flu are decreased while we sleep. But did you know that improper sleep can be a cause of pain and suffering? Poor sleeping posture is the reason for this.

While there are many ways to sleep and many products that allow us to sleep in those ways, there are actually only two healthy positions for engaging in sound slumber. Before we look at those let’s review some of the more common sleeping positions and why they are harmful to the body.

Stomach Sleeping
Stomach sleepers, well… sleep on their stomachs. Usually they have one or both arms extended over their heads, their face turned either to the left or right side, and one leg is generally bent.

There are so many problems with this posture. First, sleeping with the arms extended over the head raises the shoulders into the neck, causing cramping, poor circulation and pain. It also skews the trapezius muscles and skeletal system, compressing the thoracic outlet where the brachial plexus of nerves from the neck travel down the arms to the hands.

Secondly, when the arms are raised the nerves are irritated and nerve function is either inhibited or excited. It’s a neurological and vascular response that affects the brachial plexus of nerves that travels from the neck and down the arms. The effect is tingling and/or numbness in the arms or hands. Ever make up with pins and needles in the hands or a “dead” arm? This may be why.

Third, sleeping with the neck turned to one side creates unbalanced muscles, wherein one side is hypertonic (contracted) and the other is hypotonic (extended). This leads to neck strain, cramping, pain and often headaches.

Fourth, the bent leg stretches one leg and hip all night, while the other remains prone. Again, we have imbalance that can lead to hip pain and leg pain.

And last, but certainly not least, stomach sleeping offers too little support for the abdomen, allowing the stomach to fall forward and the lumbar region of the back to sag. This can make your gut seem bigger than it is, simply because of poor sleeping posture. It also created spinal compression and lower back pain.

Comfortable or not; this position has got to go.

Back Sleeping
Back sleepers are onto something. The back is one of the two best ways to sleep because it can offer solid support for your entire musculoskeletal system.

Problems arise for back sleepers, however, when they do not place pillows under their knees. If you are lying on your back and your legs are straight, there is insufficient support for the lower back allowing it to arch too high.

If you sleep on your back with one leg bent, you probably experience the same hip, lower back and/or knee strain and pain as do the stomach sleepers who sleep in this way.

You should always place two pillows under your knees for support and one pillow under your head. Keep in mind, too, that pillows are for sleeping support, and not just for comfort. Your head should be placed squarely on your pillow, and the pillow should be pulled down enough so that it touches your shoulders. If your pillow is not touching your shoulders you run the risk of not supporting the cervical vertebrae and neck muscles and pain can result from spasm or nerve impingement.

Side Sleeping
Side sleeping gets my vote for best sleeping position… if done correctly. To begin, side posture should mimic the fetal position. That is, both knees bent and with hands held close to the body. This is a normal and inherent sleeping posture.

Errors in side sleeping occur when one leg overlaps the other. This causes an imbalance in the hips that can lead to tightness and pain in the hip flexors, IT band, low back and knees.

Another common error is sleeping with hands under or over the head and scrunching the pillow so your head is elevated. Symptoms from this can include neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, headaches, tingly or numbness in the arms or hands.

Side sleeping is the best because it allows the body to maintain a proper and corrective posture for several hours. What you should do is place a pillow between your knees to create proper distance between them, thus keeping the hips in proper balance. The legs must be parallel, so the hips remain square and there is no strain on the low back. A pillow should be placed under the head and pulled to the shoulder for optimal neck support. The hands should be parallel and below the eyes.

Who knew there was so much to sleeping posture? I’ll bet if you give these corrections a try then after a while your daily neck strain, shoulder pain, headaches, hip and low back pain and arm tingling may just start to correct itself.

Sweet dreams!

— Dr. Mark Wiley

The Democratic National Committee this morning released this clip of the president rallying the troops, if rather coolly, for 2010. Obama’s express goal: “reconnecting” with the voters who voted for the first time in 2008, but who may not plan to vote in the lower-profile Congressional elections this year.

Obama speaks with unusual demographic frankness about his coalition in his appeal to “young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and women who powered our victory in 2008 [to] stand together once again.”

We have crossed the threshold where our presidents don the head garb of tribal warlords, and don’t even bother extending the courtesy of lying to us anymore about their allegiances.

PS If it’s a tribal war they want, it’s a tribal war they’ll get.

PPS Libertarians are stoopid.

PPPS Build a wall. And shoot the fuckers trying to climb over it.

Filed under: Goodbye America

The Clinton County Historical Glass Negatives Portrait Project has been “diligently identifying, sorting, re-sleeving and generally rediscovering a collection of over 15,000 glass negatives dating back to 1897.” They have made a selection of these photos available for purchase as reprints, but they have also put all of the photos behind a copyright gate that requires anyone viewing the photos agree to a ridiculously large block of legalese:

All photographs in this gallery are the property of the Clinton County Historical Association and are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) and by the Berne Convention. Reproduction, storage or transmittal by any means, of any image on this web site, whole or in part, is prohibited without express prior written permission. Prints purchased from this gallery may not be reproduced or scanned for any reason and may only be used for personal display. If you wish to publish or reproduce the materials in any physical or digital form or use them for any commercial purpose, including display or Web page use, you must obtain prior written permission from the Clinton County Historical Association.

Reader Luke T. Bush, who submitted the story, astutely asks: “I understand charging for the work of scanning and printing negs but can they claim copyright to prevent copying of the prints?” As ruled in Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp. 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), exact photographic copies of works in the public domain cannot be copyrighted. So, the question then extends to whether or not those photos are in the public domain yet. The copyright is owned by the photographer and lasts for life plus 70 years. Since the photos in question were taken from 1901-1905, it is likely that many have already passed into the public domain.

Even if CCHA actually did own the copyright to the photos, they are unnecessarily hamstringing themselves by adding this needless “protection.” Not only are the low-resolution scans on their site marred with a digital watermark, but hiding them behind their own particularly restrictive copyright gate also prevents the images from ever being included in a search engine. So, while CCHA has taken the admirable step to saving these photos from obscurity by scanning them, putting them behind this copyright gate effectively re-hides them.

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On my drive home, I’ll send an SMS to my stove and tell it to start baking the cookies I left waiting. Of course, it won’t really get or understand the message since this futuristic kitchen is only a concept. More »

WES 2010 hasn’t brought too many surprises, until co-CEO Mike Lazaridis started talking about OS 6.0, which will be called BlackBerry 6. Apparently RIM’s next generation operating system, BlackBerry 6 will be available in the next calender quarter, and is set to be released along side with the much rumored Webkit Browser. Speaking of the browser, it was interesting to hear that it will NOT be a stand alone application, and will be integrated into OS 6. BlackBerry 6 obviously will have support for both touch and non-touch screen devices, and will work on a variety of BlackBerry devices. One thing the co-CEO would not say is which devices it will and won’t run on.

What do you think? Will BlackBerry 6 interest you?

[via Engadget]

You’re reading a story which originated at BlackBerrySync.com, Where you find BlackBerry News You Can Sync With…

This story is sponsored by the new BlackBerry Sync Mobile App Store. Grab your free copy today at www.GetAppStore.com from your BlackBerry.

RIM co-CEO says BlackBerry 6 (OS 6.0) coming Q3, 2010

Related posts:

1. BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Pearl 3G 9100 Leaked.. Ahead of WES 2010 RIM’s annual Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) is almost ready…
2. First look at BlackBerry Application Center Wow what a crazy weekend this has been for…
3. Engadget App for BlackBerry Now Available! Engadget is one of my favorite electronic blogs out…

Engineering Student and Faculty Board (ESFB) officials receive distinguished service awards at the annual Honors Convocation. The 2010 Honors Convocation was more than an awards ceremony this year. There were tears and touching moments, cheers and excitement as students and professors were acknowledged for their excellence. Wayne State med student LaMyra Dorsey fought tears as she approached the stage at the award ceremony held April 16 at General Lectures to accept the Humanitarian Award established only this year by the college specifically to acknowledge Dorsey’s actions taken on the morning of Dec. 7, 2009. Gerald Thompkins, associate dean of students, described what happened that morning to students, faculty, staff, family and friends in the audience. Dorsey was driving south on the John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10) on her way to Wayne State when she noticed the car in front of her slow down, veer into the median and continue to hit against it before coming to a stop. Despite risk to herself and her unborn child — she was eight months pregnant — Dorsey, a former military emergency medical technician, pulled over to help the stranger. The man turned out to be Ralph H. Kummler, the former dean of the college, who had suffered a fatal heart-attack. Vanda Ametlli, Engineering Student Faculty Board (ESFB) president, presided over the event.  Ametlli herself took home the EAA Outstanding Senior Award and was one of four students recognized for the Robert G. Wingerter Award, both sponsored by the Engineering Alumni Association for academic achievement and service. The other Wingerter award recipients were Lovepreet Kaur (electrical and computer engineering), Bradley Martens (electrical engineering) and Jonathan Szokola (mechanical engineering). Devin Partrich (civil and environmental engineering) came away like a “rookie of the year.” After cleaning up four awards (the EAA Freshman Award, Tau Beta Pi’s Outstanding Freshman Scholarship, the ESFB Community Service Award and the Marvin I. Danto Annual Scholarship) — not to mention making the Dean’s Honors List 2009 — the freshman felt so overwhelmed that it brought tears to her eyes. “It’s a feeling of satisfaction to know that that many people recognize what I do,” says Partrich. “I do it for myself to push myself. Because my whole goal my entire life was to get an education…To know that this many people have faith and hope in me, I know I have so many people counting on me. And I don’t want to let them down or let myself down.” Of the major undergraduate engineering fields (chemical, industrial, civil, mechanical, electrical and computer), five juniors and five seniors were recognized for Highest Scholastic Averages. Nicholas Triglia, a third-year mechanical engineering student, held a straight 4.0 GPA. Assistant Professor Caisheng Wang received the Engineering Technology Excellence in Teaching Award, as did part-time faculty member Tommy White (industrial engineering). Kristian Brown (biomedical engineering) received the Ralph H. Kummler Award for Distinguished Achievement in Graduate Student Research. The award  was established this year to honor Kummler. The Outstanding Faculty Service Award winners were: Weiping Ren (biomedical engineering), Robert Erlandson (electrical engineering), Gina Shreve (chemical engineering), Alper Murat (industrial engineering), Thomas Heidtke (civil engineering) and Sean Wu (mechanical engineering). Biomedical engineering graduate research assistants Aditya Belwadi and Rachel Kast were selected to receive Albert I. King Endowed Scholarships. Finally, the students bestowed Thompkins with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award. Paul Sgriccia, MSCEE’97, set the tone for the ceremony as the “dean for a day” when he delivered the keynote speech. “It’s a great time to be an engineer,” Sgriccia  said. He noted that different engineering disciplines will lead the future because many industries, including manufacturing and automotive, will need the skills and technologies provided by engineers. Sgriccia shared 10 “pearls” of advice. He asked students to continue to learn, have a 5 or 10-year plan and be prepared for change, among his suggested rules to live by. For a full list of award recipients, click here.

Rihana, Miley Cyrus, The Black Eyed Peas, and Lady Antebellum are among the artists who will invade New York City’s Rumsey Playfield (Central Park) when ABC’s Good Morning America sets the stage for its annual Friday summer concert series on May 21.

The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato will perform ahead of the premiere of their Disney flick Camp Rock and pop-rock icons The Go-Gos are scheduled to perform during what’s being billed as their “final television appearance” on July 16.

The concerts, which are held each Friday between mid-May and mid-August are free and open to the public. GMA encourages fans interested snagging a front row seat for the fun to arrive when the park opens at 6 AM.

May:

May 21 – Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, Camp Rock 2
May 28 — Sugarland

June:

June 4 — Diddy
June 11 — Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan
June 18 — Miley Cyrus
June 25 — Alicia Keys

July:

July 2 — Mary J. Blige
July 9 – To Be Announced
July 16 – The GO-GO’S
July 23 — Sheryl Crow
July 30 — Black Eyed Peas

August:

Aug. 6 – To Be Announced
Aug. 13 — Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, Camp Rock 2
Aug. 20 — Rihanna
August 27 — Lady Antebellum

(This guest post comes courtesy of the author’s blog)

SocGen’s Albert Edwards was out with a note today which is in line with my calls for a marked slowing of the economy toward the end of this year. He indicates that the rate of change in leading indicators in the real economy and in markets are rolling over right now. Edwards writes that this suggests softness in six-to-nine months (hat tip Scott).

I like his analysis because it depends on first derivatives or the rate of change rather than absolute levels which are misleading at turning points (see Has the increase in U.S. jobless claims peaked? from March 2009 for an example of first derivatives presaging the end of recession).  Remember, a recession begins from a cyclical peak in economic activity. So, the economy is rising until that point. Analysts looking at absolute levels only will miss the slowing in the rate of change.

Edwards writes:

I have had a few e-mails recently about some of the key leading indicators reaching new cyclical highs last week, and what this means for our view. To be sure, the latest weekly reading for the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) key lead indicator reached a 99 week high. That, at first sight, looks very bullish for the continuation of this cyclical upturn. However, as with all of these lead indicators, it is the rate of change that is important. The ECRI also report a smoothed annual change in their index. Last week that slipped to +12.5% yoy, which is a 37-week low (see chart below). Now one doesn’t want to be too armageddonish at this stage, but this is clear evidence that in 6-9 months time there will be a discernible slowdown in the economic recovery from its recent moderate pace.

The same dynamic is true for the OECD and Confernece Board leading indicators as well – as it is for the change in analysts’ global EPS optimism, which is rolling over and leading the OECD indicator down.

Join the conversation about this story »

Nesse começo de semana foi divulgadas imagens de uma nova projeção da Chevrolet picape Montana, com a dianteira do Agile.

O nome ainda continua sendo Montana, pois ninguém acredita que até o ano que vem a Chevrolet crie outra família de picapes e compactos.

O que chama mais a atenção na projeção, é a uma curva que se encontra no teto da picape, além disso, o modelo deverá ter algumas diferenças do atual Agile.

A marca não se pronunciou sobre a projeção, e não confirmou se a picape Montana vai receber uma renovação esse ano ou ano que vem.

Fonte: Blog Auto

The University of Florida—funded by DARPA—has found a film-thin material that will add inexpensive, lightweight night vision to everything, from gadgets to cameras to car windshields. The key was in the same technology that powers OLED displays. More »

WASHINGTON–White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel–whose ambition is to one day be Chicago mayor–will be in Chicago Tuesday to appear on a panel for the Richard J. Daley Global Cities Forum, named for the late Chicago mayor who is the father of the current Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley.

Setting the record straight: Emanuel’s Chicago homecoming–taking place a week after his first public admission of interest in a mayoral bid–is a coincidence. Emanuel was booked for the panel months ago, I’m told by his spokesman–long before Emanuel said, on the record last week to Charlie Rose that one day he wanted to run City Hall.

The global cities forum is co-sponsored by Chicago Sister Cities International and the University of Illinois at Chicago in conjunction with the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments.

Others at the forum:

Motorola co-CEO and CEO of Motorola Solutions Greg Brown
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. President and Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees Christopher Kennedy
Amman Mayor Omar Maani
Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
Washington Post Writer’s Group Columnist Neal Peirce
The Boeing Company Vice President of Global Corporate Citizenship Anne Eleanor Roosevelt
World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Katherine Sierra
Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas
PBS NewsHour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or two, you probably already know what a DVR can do.  And you very likely have seen and possibly even used a TiVo – a powerful and easy-to-use DVR.  But have you ever considered making your own DVR – one that runs from your home computer?  Many who read GeekTonic have done just that. 

But countless others have either considered it too much work, too difficult, too expensive, too geeky or some other excuse.  If you’re one of those who hasn’t tried transforming their computer into a DVR or one who has tried unsuccessfully, this primer is for you.  And if you are already the proud owner of your very own HTPC, you’ll still learn from this series.  This is the first of a article series with the goal of helping you understand the pros and cons of Home Theater PCs (HTPCs), how to build an HTPC, which software and hardware to use in your HTPC and the amazing things you can do with your HTPC.

What is a HTPC?

A Home Theater PC or HTPC for short is a “appliance” that takes a computer, adds software all with video & music playback and usually video recording capabilities to make a device many call a “Media Center.”  Think of it as a home theater super-set-to-box that combines everything media-related into your computer to power your TV and audio system.  The HTPC can be controlled with a keyboard and/or mouse, but typically a remote control is added to give the user that “10-foot user interface” so you can control everything on your TV and audio system from the comfort of your couch.  In it’s full-implementation, the HTPC acts as the DVR, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, Movie-on-demand, Online Video display, music jukebox, TV Guide, internet radio player, and home automation controller all in one device.

In more complex setups, one HTPC “server” can power multiple TVs throughout a home all with once point of recording & storage, but controlled from the remote control at each TV set.

Why HTPCs?

I remember when I first began piecing together my first HTPC.  My family and friends didn’t understand why.  Those who haven’t witnessed a well implemented HTPC setup often ask these questions:  Why would anyone put a computer in the living room?  Why would you go to so much trouble to set that techno-monstrosity up and maintain it?  Why do you need a computer to do what your $10 per month cable company DVR box can do?

I asked HTPC users this same question on twitter and one of the best answers was this from Jason:

I use an HTPC “to get what I want, where I want, when I want it. Lower recurring costs, media aggregator, commercial skip, whole home dvr”

The answers to those questions depend on the person asking of course.  But here are a few of the many reasons you might consider an HTPC for your setup:

• HTPCs give you more control over your media
• Record as many channels as you want.  I have six tuners in my setup although I’ve seen many more in other HTPCs.
• Store as much TV content as you can afford to store with hard drives.  2 Terabytes or more of TV recording storage isn’t uncommon with HTPC users
• You can convert and move media content to other devices.  Converting recorded TVs and movies to other formats is easy with HTPCs as the content is usually not locked down inside that “black box.”  Moving or copying content onto your mobile devices is typically not a problem and definitely much easier than with a DVR or other non-HTPC device.
• Whole home DVR, music & movie server – watch a show in one room, move to another room and resume that same show where you left off!
• Rip your DVD, Blu-Ray, and music collections for easy access from your remote in any room of the house
• Cheap or better yet, free DVR
• Instant Commercial Skipping with the press of a button – not just 30 second skip, but real commercial detection so you can click a button on the remote to skip to the end of the commercial.
• Easy Access to Online video content on your TV.  Get your TV and movie content streamed from online sites to your TV.  And I”m not talking about that cheesy, “online” functionality built into those new TVs & Blu-Ray players either.  Real, online media browsing and viewing all inside the same user interface controlled with the same TV remote control you use to watch TV.

• No monthly fee for the Tivo service or DVR rental.  Obviously you can take this as far as you want to – some go without cable or satellite service completely and get their content over the air and from online sources so these folks have no monthly fees.  Others like me subscribe to cable, but not to DVR rentals so we’re reducing our monthly fees.
• A PC connected to the TV can bring you additional functionality.  Gaming – even old school games using MAME, online video, web browsing etc.

There are countless other reasons to build and use a home theater PC.  Let me know in the comments if I missed any big ones.

 

Challenges for HTPCs

Now that we’ve covered some of the reasons you might want to implement a HTPC for your home media setup, it’s a good time to discuss the other side of the coin.  There are many challenges to building, setting up and maintaining your own HTPC including:

 

• Trying to do too much.  The more you multi-task with your HTPC, the more likely you are to have issues.  Treat it like an appliance and you’ll be happier with it long-term
• Computers have many possible points of failure.  The operating system annoyances & crashes, hard drives crashes, video card difficulties, overheating etc etc.
• Getting things set up can be difficult and time consuming.  Depending on your experience with computers the setup process can be difficult and overwhelming at times.  There is simply a lot to learn when you build your first (or even second) HTPC.  We’re not talking plug-it-in and play here.
• Recording cable & satellite content is getting more difficult, not less.  Cable companies are beginning to move channels away from the open, analog and towards the more closed digital.  And satellite company boxes are even more difficult to record from.  There are solutions for HTPCs here, but you need to do your homework so you know what you’ll be dealing with.  This topic will take at least an entire article to cover it properly.  Just know you can’t always plug your CATV cable into any PC TV tuner and always expect it to begin recording.  Sometimes it IS that easy, but better to know what your situation is first.
• Have you ever jumped into the world of codecs and videocard drivers?  It can get messy very, very quick if you’re not careful.  It is NOT rocket science, but it can seem that way if you aren’t careful.  I’ll go into the basics in this area in a later article also
• That TiVo or DVR or Fios or whatever is pretty darn easy – and sometimes it does enough for your situation.  Even if it’s not quite as powerful as an HTPC, sometimes its good enough for you.

There are definitely more challenges – let me know if I missed any of the big ones.

Up to the Challenge?  How Do I Get Started Setting Up My Own HTPC?

You now know the main pros and cons of HTPCs.  If you’re still curious and think you might want to get started with HTPCs stay tuned.  Here’s a taste of what will be covered in the next few HTPC Basics articles on GeekTonic:

• Which Operating System for HTPCs?
• What HTPC software?  How do I choose?
• Recording it All – How do you record from OTA, Cable, Satellite etc?  Which Tuner?
• Getting it to the TV – Extenders, Game Systems, HTPC computers oh my!
• Building the perfect HTPC/Server HTPC/Extender etc
• Control via Remote Control – Which Remote Control
• Where to go for help

My goal here is to provide the framework to help those who decide they wish to power their media throughout the home with the HTPC.  After completing this series, you should have the basics to set up and run your own HTPC and how to make it work perfectly for you.

More Coming Soon…

Stay tuned to GeekTonic.  This series will walk you through everything you need to consider and do to make the perfect HTPC for your home.

Dear Energy Professional, Dear Colleagues,

There were important issues related to thermal power plants, so on this Sunday morning, I would like to share with you here-in this blog page.

I worked all my professional life in thermal power plant construction, design, marketing, sales, project management, and in proper operation since my graduation as a mechanical engineer in year 1973.

Like myself and many other ME graduates in the energy sector, we received training in mechanical engineering for years, it should not be expected us to be against to thermal power plant operations for electricity generation and creation of more power for the society.

We construct power plants, make basic and detail designs, try to build properly, without damaging the nearby environment, operate smoothly and friendly with the environment. Our nation paid us to get trained for this purpose, allocated limited resources to educate us to work as engineers to contribute to our society, and we do our best for our nation to create more energy, more power, and better environmental conditions.

It is my sincere feeling that it is funny to be against thermal power plants, or meaningless, even it is an absurd situation. For those who do not understand the energy business, say hoteliers, environmentalists, or medical doctors, you still need electricity, since hoteliers will need for your hotel air conditioners, to run the filter circulation in your pool, if you are a doctor / or surgeon, you would need electricity for the operation table devices, for the lamps to illuminate, for the sterilization of the equipment, at least for the lamp, for heating, for your computer to work.

We must design better thermal power plants, with least harm to the environment, at the most appropriate place; make all the filters big enough to collect almost all outgoing dust and sulphur, NOx etc. in the works. Solar power plants do not operate at night, wind power plants do not operate if there is no wind. Solar and wind power plants do not work, without engaged in the equivalent capacity of thermal power plants which would be kept warm stand-by.

“The wind and the sun are enough for us” is a ridiculous expression, and it is pronounced by those who do not know the energy technology. Not only the solar and the wind, we need thermal, hydraulic, nuclear plants each with appropriate proportion, with the best available design, in environmentally least damaging, and with the local engineering staff to construct and operate.

A society can not develop without energy generation, without electricity production, and we can not raise the level of prosperity. It is necessary for our own household comfort and cultural activities, we can not watch opera, cinema, TV, nor access to PC without electricity, we can not drive on the freeway without traffic lights, we can not live in warm, properly illuminated and comfortable environment in our home at night.

Energy production is essential, it is mandatory to increase electricity generation for everyone. Everybody wants more electricity, but no one wants power plants in his/her backyard, even wind power plants since they create a lot of noise. How do we solve this dilemma?

It will be solved for sure. Investors will install the power plants in the proper place, with the best friendly design with the environment, give confidence to the nearby local people, with big filters to work properly, with appropriate deep sea discharge, and control air pollution, and they will not deceive people,

“I’ve written the EIA report, it is here in my office, if you wish to read and review, come over here” – is funny statement as advised by our local investors. You create an internet web page, you put your EIA reports there in pdf format, we all read, and write our objections if any.

From economically bankrupt country (Greece), a relatively small contracting firm (Metka) comes to Turkey, and investor RWE from Germany places the contract to construct a turn-key 770 MWe combined cycle power plant in Denizli province Honaz county Kaklık village, at an inappropriate location on the airport landing corridor.

Yet the same company gets another turn key contract in Samsun province Terme county Kozluk village, from an Austrian investor OMV to construct new 870 MWe capacity combined cycle power plan.

These are absurd cases. Risk assessment of the investors is not correct. It is not so easy to finalize these contracts without local reaction, without heavy headache, and loss.

Our companies have engineering capability to construct natural gas fired combined cycle power plants turnkey basis, complete with basic and detail engineering design, equipment sourcing, mechanical fabrication, site construction, start up, commissioning, and full operation. It is our natural right to defend our local employment rights at any legal platform, and protect our engineering jobs.

We have another absurd case in Amasra. There is only a simple, immature, somewhat funny EIA report. Some MPs say “Whatever’s necessary for Bartin will be done”. It is an incomprehensible expression for hiding behind. My former auto mechanic was saying the same when I asked more details of the car repair, and I quickly found another mechanic to explain me better.

In internet environment, a local group created a new web page named BartınPlatformu.org as emerged to voice the local reaction. We would like to congratulate them. Investor does not have a web site, but people of Amasra BARTIN have. It is very nice web page currently in initial stages but later in the day, we are sure it would be better. There are certain things getting incorrect, so we have to fix them in advance not to leave them to next future generations to solve.

For Yalova 100 MWe imported coal firing thermal power plant investment, both the investor and the local people have web pages. Investors are to convince the local highly educated retiree population that they will construct the power plant with least harm to the nearby environment; they should restore confidence not to repeat the old ignorant rouge practice of the past, install big filters in the best and non-stop operation to run, with proper deep sea discharge, all with maximized local engineering.

We are the engineers of this country, we are the people of this country to serve our society to upgrade the well being of our nation, not to match with foreign companies, we do not finish our job and escape, and we are here to serve all our lives.

In Gerze county YAYKIL village for 1200 MWe capacity imported coal firing thermal power plant investment project, the investment advisor said, “We shall construct the best thermal power plant, if we do not- then, if the State will make the necessary controls and the plant will be closed,” This is an incorrect expression. This statement is the inauspicious expression of academic isolation in the ivory tower.

The Public authority can not close a power plant, even it is deemed necessary, due to ever growing energy demand in the local market. The Authority issues a small fine and that pollutant plant goes on running with huge pollution to nearby environment, as it is the case in Afsin-Elbistan-A plant, in TunçBilek Plant, in Yatağan Plant.

The environment is an important issue not to be left alone to the respective ministry only. We are all responsible. Local civil societies, local NGOs as well as Chambers of Engineers, are all responsible for proper design, proper site selection, proper construction and operation of the thermal power plant, in regulatory, supervisory and corrective actions.

Afsin Elbistan-A unit is operated almost without proper dust collectors for many years. It is beyond the limits of comprehension. In order to describe the existing situation, one can not find the words to say. MENR, EMRA, Ministry of Environment, SPO, the Treasury were unable to stop that men-made disaster for many years. The latest WB credit of 280 million Euros with extraordinary repayment conditions were returned to the creditor since the authority could not make the proper tendering to WB norms. In Afsin-Elbistan B power plant, the ash dam is still missing, the ashes are kept in next to the plant in open area, when the wind blew the whole mess is all around. This investment is not completed for many years, it is a great mistake. People lost their faith to thermal power plants as well as to public initiatives to similar investments.

Rehabilitation plans of the old aging plants are still pending. The “OEM expert company award procedure” is unfair and very expensive. It is award without competition. If there is no competition in public tendering then corruption is unavoidable. The foreign OEM companies repeat their old mistakes over and over. The most of the thermal power plant rehab programs are almost 10 years old, and not completed yet, and the plants are almost idle. This work should be finalized quickly and properly, or privatized and to be given to new private owners to handle the rehabilitation job soon.

To be against the thermal power plants is a sort of advising people “not to make babies” in order to avoid “child diseases”. It is similarly absurd to suggest both cases.

Economic development of the society is directly related with more generation of energy and electricity. So that is not only the work of engineers, and cultural and social well being of our nation is work and responsibility of all citizens.

With my deepest respect

Haluk Direskeneli

With a 57-41 vote, Senate Republicans blocked debate over the White House-supported financial reform bill. The Democrats needed a 60-vote “supermajority” to avoid a Republican filibuster threat. Democrats plan to reintroduce the bill as early as tomorrow.

Senate Democrats believe that anger over financial scandals can turn the tide in their favor, while Republicans see opportunities to force changes to the bill. As put by The New York Times:

Republicans said they were intent on winning substantive changes to the bill and accused the Democrats of rushing the most far-reaching overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. Both sides say they expect the overhaul eventually will be approved.

Democrats charged that Republicans were leaving the country at risk of another financial calamity and siding with wealthy corporate interests. The chief executive of one such firm, Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street powerhouse accused of fraud by federal regulators, is to testify Tuesday before a Senate committee.

Sensing political momentum at a time of deep public anger at Wall Street, Democratic leaders said they would keep the regulatory bill on the floor — and delay the rest of their busy legislative agenda — to ratchet up the pressure on the Republicans.

Republicans argued that the bill leaves open the possibility of new multi-billion-dollar bailouts, and overregulates the financial sector. “We shouldn’t put in place a regulatory regime that overly reacts and, as a result, significantly dampens our capacity to have the most vibrant capital and credit markets in the world,” said Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.

Democrats, however, warned that the nation remains vulnerable to another financial collapse. “We are as vulnerable as we are today in the waning days of April 2010 as we were in the fall of 2008,” said Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut. “Nothing has changed, except, of course, jobs have been lost, homes have gone into foreclosure, retirement incomes have evaporated, housing values have declined.”

Republican Senators Block Finance Reform Bill [NYTimes.com]

MIAMI- Will he or won’t he?  Politicos across Florida, and the country are eagerly awaiting for Republican Senatorial candidate Gov. Charlie Crist to decide whether he will stay in the GOP primary, or jump into the Florida Senate race as an independent. Today, during a ground-breaking for  a new highway project, built partially with Federal stimulus money, Crist said that he has yet to “make up his mind” on the crucial decision that could change the dynamics of  the hotly-contested 2010 seat.

” I haven’t made that decision yet ” Crist bluntly told reporters today in Miami, when asked if voters wanted him to run as an independent. “I’m not sure, and there is only one way to find out, and that’s if we decide to do it.”

Crist said he is continuing to listen to Florida voters, as Friday’s deadline to officially file as a Republican, or  enter the race without a party affiliation, nears.

“That is the most important thing I have tried to do, is listen to them, and I continue to do so. It is too important of a decision and I want to be thoughtful and deliberate about it,” Crist  added.

Crist trails front-runner Marco Rubio by roughly 20 points in recent polls among GOP voters, but in a 3-way race, with Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek, and Crist as an independent candidate,  the general election numbers show a statistical dead-heat.

In an interview today with  Fox News, Rubio said he was not spending much time thinking about Crist’s upcoming decision.

” I can only tell you that I am running for the U. S. Senate because I feel that the other candidates in this race either support or aren’t doing enough against many of the key elements of the Obama agenda,” Rubio told FOX as he walked through Miami’s Little Havana Neighborhood, shaking hands, and drinking coffee with the locals at Versailles restaurant.” No matter how he runs or what label he has,  that’s not going to change.”

” I am not overly concerned about what the governor does, ”  Meek, the likely Democratic nominee in the general election, said during an interview this afternoon.” The governor’s decision, I think, is his own personal decision …. it has very little do with how we operate our campaign.”

Crist will most likely be the last of the three to officially file. All three candidates declared their candidacies last year, but the 2010 Senate candidates can only formally qualify  as candidates with their respective political party or designation during the last two weeks of April.

Meek filed by petition earlier this month, and Rubio will make his official filing announcement tomorrow in his West Miami neighborhood, surrounded by family members that will include his ailing father who is suffering from cancer.