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Foi anunciado pela Volkswagen na última segunda-feira, dia 19, algumas imagens e detalhes da nova edição especial chamada Gol Seleção. O modelo já havia sido apresentado anteriormente na Gol Fest que aconteceu há alguns dias atrás.

A nova edição do Gol terão 3.000 unidades fabricadas e vai custar R$ 33.790. Seus destaques estão no motor 1.0 e direção hidráulica, além das rodas de liga leve de 14 polegadas com desenho exclusivo da versão. Também possui faróis de neblina, sistema de som com MP3/Cd e rádio com bluetooth.

Internamente o Gol Seleção se parece com a versão Power 1.6, com um painel em dois tons e o escudo da seleção brasileira bordado nos bancos. Na parte externa do carro, existem adesivos especiais da versão, e detalhes cromados nos para-choques.

Imagens da edição especial do Gol

Via | Carplace

Desde luego este no es el clásico taxi que solemos encontrar en nuestras calles. Aunque para ser honestos con las zonas turísticas como Canarias, en donde tengo la suerte de vivir, si nos dirigimos al sur de la isla no habrá ningún taxi que no sea un Mercedes de 40.000 €, pero ésa no es la media de España ni mucho menos.

Y desde luego no es este nuevo Taxi que está corriendo por Sttutgart. Nada menos que un Porsche Panamera Turbo convertido en taxi para darle vueltas a los turistas y ciudadanos alemanes por la ciudad con 500 cv de potencia y un coste realmente elevado para cualquier taxista. El secreto económico, quién sabe, porque desde luego muy rentable no puede ser.

Si quieres ir a la oficina y no tienes ganar de buscar aparcamiento quizá desees ir en un V8 capaz de acelerar de 0 a 100 kilómetros hora en 4,2 segundos. No sabemos si cobra una tarifa extra por ir a velocidades elevadas o por consumir una barbaridad de litros de gasolina mientras busca clientes pero a buen seguro algunos consumidores estarían dispuestos a pagarla.

Una lástima que no podamos gozar en España de él. Es posible que sea una campaña de Porsche para anunciar su berlina o que realmente sea un taxista con dinero que se dedica a disfrutar de la conducción incluso a costa de perder dinero. El siguiente vídeo está en alemán, pero lo que hay que ver lo podemos ver todos.

Vía | Diariomotor

The World Bank, which tracks everything from mortality rates and education levels to CO2 emissions and livestock production in hundreds of countries around the globe, is opening up its data, including removing all of the pay walls around information that used to require a subscription fee. The agency has also launched a new web site where it’s making all of the information from dozens of its global databases and surveys available for browsing or download. The Bank said that it’s “challenging the global community to use the data to create new applications and solutions to help poor people in the developing world.”

The data at the World Bank site includes more than 2,000 indicators related to economic well-being and global development, including some that the agency has been accumulating for 50 years. The data is available in Arabic, French and Spanish as well as English. The agency said that it plans to launch an Apps for Development competition in the next few months, which it hopes will lead to tools, applications and mashups that use World Bank data to help global development.

“I believe it’s important to make the data and knowledge of the World Bank available to everyone,” World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick said in a statement. “Statistics tell the story of people in developing and emerging countries and can play an important part in helping to overcome poverty. They are now easily accessible on the Web for all users, and can be used to create new apps for development.”

The Bank’s new open data initiative includes information from the annual World Development Indicators report, which tracks close to 1,000 stats related to global development, as well as the results of other surveys done by the agency, including the Global Development Finance report, Africa Development Indicators, Global Economic Monitor and indicators from the Doing Business Report. The Bank said that it will be adding further databases in the future.

Here’s a video of World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick talking about the agency’s new project:

If you’re a BlackBerry fan, there is probably not a single thing you have been looking forward to more than what we have right here – screenshots and full details of RIM’s upcoming operating system, OS 6.0. More »

Harper Hospital

Upstairs in Harper College’s Avanté Center, a series of rooms has been transformed into a hospital wing – complete with stocked patient rooms, a nurse’s station, a call light system, a birthing room and nursery, and a supply room where students can pull their own meds for ailing patients. It’s real-life experience with a college-campus twist: the patients are talking mannequins that can be posed and programmed to simulate a variety of ailments, and students’ medical techniques can be watched by professors and videotaped through one-way mirrors for critique later. The new simulation hospital – one of the first of its kind in the state – offers hands-on, team practice for students in Harper’s healthcare programs by mirroring the workings of a real healthcare facility. Nursing students will be able to consult with cardiac technology students regarding particular patients, refer a “patient” to ultrasound students or work with peers in the dietary technician program. “Students are going to walk into a space that looks exactly like a hospital, and they’ll do things exactly as they would have to do in a real hospital, because we want them to make real decisions and we want them to have to solve real problems,” Simulation Coordinator Barbara Gawron says. “We’ve recreated a healthcare reality in a controlled, safe environment. They can practice and they can make mistakes, and they can learn in an atmosphere that teaches them so much more than traditional formats.” Harper’s simulation hospital will be formally unveiled at an event on Wednesday, May 5. The revamped area will include a computerized system for charting medical records, iPod Touches that will be used as clinical reference tools, and a computerized medical administration system. The area also will allow faculty to set up simulations that mimic national and world healthcare issues; the simulation hospital could, for instance, become a mock triage wing for H1N1 cases. Harper nursing students already have been using mannequins and other simulation technology, but Gawron says the fully-stocked simulation hospital will step the experience up a notch. Students will be exposed immediately to a hospital format and be able to practice the skills they’re learning day to day in an environment that replicates reality.

Media note: Students will use the virtual hospital for a simulation exercise from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday, May 6. Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend. Healthcare students and faculty also are available for interviews. For details of the simulation, or to book an interview, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Unemployed Volunteer Program

Good things happen when people volunteer. They gain confidence. They gain skills. They feel needed, and they realize their potential for doing good work. All of that can spill over into job interviews, giving volunteers a clear job-hunting advantage in a competitive market. That’s the reasoning behind Catch 22, a new Harper College program that places unemployed Northwest suburban residents in volunteer positions – allowing them to build their resume, boost their confidence and get a foot in the door of a potentially new career. “When you’re unemployed, a lot of people don’t want to hire you,” says Nancy Wajler, Adult Learning Special Assistant. “This new program is helping those who are out of work gain valuable experience, explore new passions and strengths, and show potential employers they can be valuable in the workplace. It can really increase their marketability.” The program kicks off this month on a pilot basis, with volunteers working in various departments on Harper’s campus. “Harper is a city within a city, with numerous opportunities for volunteers to expand their skills in various areas,” Wajler says. The goal is to eventually take the program on the road, placing volunteers in businesses across the suburbs. The potential volunteer pool already comprises about 400 local residents with a variety of skills and employment histories. All are members of Harper’s Career Stimulus program, launched last year to provide post-layoff help to local workers. The process used to link Catch 22 volunteers with internships will mirror the process of hiring a full-time employee. Applicants will meet with a Harper career coach to review their resume, undergo a background check, and be interviewed by their potential supervisor before a decision is made. Volunteers will work for 30- or 60-day periods, or be assigned to complete a specific project. “It’s really a great situation for everyone involved,” Wajler says. “This will provide invaluable experience for the volunteer, but it also will provide supervisors with additional help, at no extra cost.” Catch 22 participants must be Career Stimulus members – annual memberships can be purchased for $85 – and have completed Harper’s NetWorthing seminars on making networking worthwhile. The next Career Stimulus meeting is from 9:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Friday, April 30 at the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road. Each monthly meeting includes networking opportunities and breakout sessions on things like acing interviews and building resumes. For more on Catch 22, contact Mahreen Mehdi at 847.925.6000, ext. 2388, or [email protected]. For more on Career Stimulus, visit www.harpercollege.edu.

Media Note: Catch 22 participants are available for interviews about the program. To arrange interviews with them or with Harper officials regarding the Catch 22 program, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Career Programs, Up Close

With an eye on training students for the jobs of the future, Harper College in 2008 renovated space in its Avanté Center and created a Nanotechnology degree program – the first of its kind offered by an Illinois two-year college. This fall, Harper will launch an Alternative Energy Certificate, giving students in the Electronics Engineering Technology program an environmentally focused option that can lead to new careers in a go-green world. Faculty and students involved with both programs will showcase their facilities and their technology at an Open Labs night scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 13 in Rooms Y105 (Electronics Engineering Technology) and Y124 (Nanotechnology), Building Y in the Avanté Center. The event is open to the public, and will allow prospective students and others to talk with Harper’s nanotechnology and electronics engineering technology faculty and get an up-close look at the equipment – like a wind turbine used for the Alternative Energy Certificate program – that’s involved. Current electronics students also will be presenting their year-end mechatronics projects, and students in both programs will demo classroom technology. “These are two examples of career programs that are solidly future-focused,” says Sally Griffith, Assistant Vice President for Career Programs. “They stress the skills students will need in tomorrow’s world.” Illinois is one of the leading research and development areas in nanotechnology, and local companies already have approached Harper students looking for interns and employees. Jobs in green industries, like alternative energy, also are on the rise. As part of the Open Labs event, Harper’s growing Graphic Arts program also will be showcased. Classrooms, digital and traditional presses, and other technology will be on display. For more on Graphic Arts, Nanotechnology or Electronics Engineering Technology, visit www.harpercollege.edu.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Music Center Open House

Harper College’s Community Music Center will open its doors for a free open house this month, giving the public an opportunity to hear student performances, win free music lessons and interact with the Center’s teachers – all of whom are professional Chicago-area musicians. The event runs from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 25 in the Performing Arts Center on the main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. Harper’s Community Music Center offers non-credit courses in theory, performance skills and sound recording, as well as group and private lessons for a variety of instruments, voices, ages and abilities. The open house will showcase the instruction through student performances, and the teachers will mingle with guests in the lobby. Drawings will be held for free trial lessons with Community Music Center instructors, and light refreshments will be served. For more information, call 847.925.6659.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Faculty Recital

Harper College Adjunct Professor Hideko Amano will perform a solo flute recital at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24 in the College’s Performing Arts Center. The event will feature works by a variety of composers, and put Amano – a suburban native who studied in Boston and in Paris before returning to teach in the Chicago area – back in the spotlight. Amano grew up in Schaumburg, and graduated from Conant High School in 1990. She taught at DePaul University for four years and has spent the last three years at Harper. The College regularly showcases its full-time and adjunct faculty through Faculty Recitals. All are open to the public. Tickets are $10 for general admission, with discounts for students and seniors. Children 12 and under will be admitted for free. For details on studying music at Harper, visit www.harpercollege.edu.

Press Contact:  Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Disney-Style Success

Disney’s secret to success isn’t magic. It’s a thoughtful approach to customer service, honed over a half-century of experience in the face of fierce competition and the public’s ever-changing tastes and attitudes. Harper College will share tips and tricks from one of the world’s entertainment empires at a special daylong Disney Institute aimed at arming local businesses for success as the economy begins its economic rebound. “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service,” hosted by Disney Institute facilitators, is geared to all types of businesses – from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies – and will help owners and others anticipate customer demands, exceed client expectations, understand the need for consistency and create a service plan that promotes Disney-level quality. “We’re offering a rare chance to get Disney’s success secrets straight from Disney,” says Mark Mrozinski, Continuing Education Dean at Harper. “This program will challenge you to see your organization in a new light, and help you inspire your business leaders, energize your workforce and boost your bottom line.” The session, offered through Harper’s Continuing Education Department, is appropriate for all business sectors – from retail outlets and restaurants to healthcare providers, developers and government organizations. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29 at the Wojcik Conference Center on the College’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $349. To register or for more information, call 847.925.6300 or visit www.harpercollege.edu/ce.

Media Note: Disney Institute leaders are available in advance of the program for interviews. They are able to offer tips for finding success amid a down – but rebounding – economy, and offer suggestions for preparing a business to thrive once the recession is over. Contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

College Savings Aid

Statistics show the cost of college tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions rose by 30 percent from 1998 to 2008 – and it’s still growing. This spring, Harper College will host a free seminar aimed at showing parents, grandparents and others how to financially prepare for higher education. The “Saving for College” session is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 21 in the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. The event will offer tips from college experts and professional advisors, who will cover the basics of saving for higher education and provide tools to help attendees navigate the college savings process. “Whether the young person in your life is 4 or 14, it’s not too early – or too late – to start investing in their education,” says Katherine Sawyer, Associate Executive Director of the Harper College Educational Foundation. “Saving that money, though, can be daunting, particularly amid rising tuition and a gloomy economy. This seminar will give attendees the confidence and know-how they need to start saving the right way.” The event, hosted by the Harper Heritage Society’s Professional Advisor group – an offshoot of the College’s Educational Foundation – also will include Harper financial aid experts. To register, visit www.harpercollege.edu/foundation and select the Professional Advisor Seminar Series, or call 847.925.6490 for more details.

Media Note: Reporters are welcome to attend the event and talk with participants about the task of saving for college amid shrinking financial aid resources and rising tuition costs.

Press Contact: Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Entrepreneur Help

Making a small business flourish can be a daunting task, particularly in a difficult economy. But it’s not impossible. With an eye on helping small business owners compete and excel in a continued rough-and-tumble climate, Harper College is hosting Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010, a daylong seminar filled with expert tips on marketing, sales, branding, business strategies and the latest technology. Social media trends – including details on promoting businesses, boosting sales and improving customer service via networks like Facebook and Twitter – will be among the topics. This year’s edition also will include a panel discussion offering strategies and wisdom from successful, seasoned entrepreneurs. “Staying in business can be difficult struggle for any small business owner anytime, but especially in a time when America is still battling the effects of a devastating recession,” Small Business Development Manager Bonnie Richter says. “This workshop will offer strategies for surviving and thriving despite economic challenges, and competing in the nation’s new business landscape.” If small businesses go out of business, many jobs go, too: more than 70 percent of jobs are created by small business clients like the ones Harper is targeting at the Quest event. Sam Glenn, an author, comedic speaker and founder of the motivational resource company EverythingAttitude.com, will serve as the keynote speaker. Glenn’s new book, “A Kick in the Attitude,” offers tips for using positivity to achieve success. The event also will feature Mike Muldoon, a marketing and management professor and president of a consulting and business coaching practice. Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010 runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the Wojcik Conference Center on Harper’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. The cost is $75 afterward. That includes lunch. To register or for more details, visit www.harpercollege.biz, call 847.925.6520 or email [email protected]. The event is sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at Harper College, which provides free resources and one-on-one counseling and advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs. For appointments, call 847.925.6520.

Media Note: The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Harper College has had many success stories, despite the poor economy. To interview successful entrepreneurs for this story or others, or for comments on small business start-up tips, contact Erin Brooks, Media Relations Specialist, 847.925.6159, [email protected].

Photo Opportunities

Event: Entrepreneur’s Quest 2010 for small businesses

Time: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 24

Location: Wojcik Conference Center

Event: Community Music Center Open House, featuring student performances

Time: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 25

Location: Performing Arts Center

Event: Student Fashion Show Jury Session. Harper’s fashion design students will present their work to a jury of 17 professionals, who will choose the garments for the 2010 Fashion Show.

Time: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 27

Location: Wojcik Conference Center

Event: Rock Critics Greg Kot and Jim Derogatis of NPR’s “Sound Opinions”

Time: Noon on Tuesday, April 27

Location: Room P205, Building P

Event: Free Community Zumba Class

Time: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 4

Location: Harper Gymnasium, Building M

Media Note: The class is open to all. To reserve a seat, email [email protected].

Event: Simulation Hospital Open House

Time: 3:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 5

Location: Avanté Center (Call to confirm specific rooms and best photo times)

Event: High School Graphic Arts Competition. A panel of professionals and Harper faculty will judge submissions from local high school students. Students will be able to tour Harper facilities.

Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 13

Location: Room Y128, Building Y, Avanté Center

Event: Open Labs event showcasing Nanotechnology, Electronics Engineering Technology and Graphic Arts facilities.

Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 13

Location: Avanté Center (Call to confirm specific rooms and best photo times)

By Tim Shoemaker

In the latest example of the nanny state gone wild, the FDA in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wants to regulate the levels of sodium in processed food in an effort to prevent “thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease.” 

From The Washington Post:

The government intends to work with the food industry and health experts to reduce sodium gradually over a period of years to adjust the American palate to a less salty diet, according to FDA sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the initiative had not been formally announced.

Officials have not determined the salt limits. In a complicated undertaking, the FDA would analyze the salt in spaghetti sauces, breads and thousands of other products that make up the $600 billion food and beverage market, sources said. Working with food manufacturers, the government would set limits for salt in these categories, designed to gradually ratchet down sodium consumption. The changes would be calibrated so that consumers barely notice the modification.

The legal limits would be open to public comment, but administration officials do not think they need additional authority from Congress.[emphasis added]

Not everyone agrees with the FDA that salt intake leads to health problems…

Morton Satin, director for technical and regulatory affairs at the Salt Institute, which represents salt producers, said regulation “would be a disaster for the public.” He said that the science regarding sodium is unclear and that consumption does not necessarily lead to health problems.

“If you consume a lot of salt, you also get rid of a lot of salt — it doesn’t mean it’s an excess,” he said. “I want to make sure they’re basing this on everything that is in the scientific literature, so we don’t end up being guinea pigs because someone thinks they’re doing something good.”

Read the rest.

Now personally, I quit using additional salt on my food in college because I realized that most food had enough already and I wanted to enjoy the flavor of food (that wasn’t pre-salted) for what it inherently has.  Nevertheless, humans have an innate taste for salt and it actually is a necessary intake for your body to operate.

To find out how government has already been tinkering with the salt you ingest, check out this article by Rick Fisk on Lew Rockwell.

Mozilla has taken a bold step in dealing with security vulnerabilities in third-party plugins, which have been the bane of any browser maker for quite some time. The open-source foundation has decided to disable older versions of a Java plugin, specifically the Java Deployment Toolkit, which are known to be vulnerable to attacks. The … (read more)

We’ve already circled January – March next year in our pink filofaxes as the Big Launch Period for the 3DS, but according to CVG it’ll actually be going on sale this October—around the same time as Project Natal. More »

The Hill reports on the battle brewing between liberal and conservative Democrats over whether to move forward with a clean energy bill that does not address carbon emissions or to roll some of that bill’s provisions into a larger energy and climate bill. Ultimately, that question could be answered by a very different debate: the one over financial regulatory reform.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said that if Republicans take a unified partisan stance against Wall Street reform, which Democrats had thought would be a slam dunk, it may not make sense to spend weeks trying to muster 60 votes for a controversial climate change proposal.

“If Republicans continue to play pure politics with financial reform, they would probably come close to shutting it down,” McCaskill said of the impact of Republican opposition on bipartisan talks on climate change.

“That’s a bad sign of how productive we’ll be,” she said.

Regardless of the outcome of financial reform, a climate bill could be a tough political proposition in advance of November’s midterm elections. If financial reform succeeds and wins popular support, Democrats would likely prefer to ride that wave into the midterms than to tackle divisive climate legislation. And if a Wall Street bill falls prey to nasty partisan bickering, then as McCaskill says, it’ll be tougher to get the necessary Republican support to beat back a climate bill filibuster.

But if all that’s the climate bill’s Scylla, its Charybdis is the inevitability that the Democratic majorities in Congress will be much smaller come January than they are currently, so for comprehensive climate legislation, it’s likely now or never.

Article Tags: Opinion

When you listen to those who say that human-caused global-warming is a fact, you will hear statements like “The science is settled,” and “We should defer to what the scientists say.”

So, the question is, is it science, or cult science?

First, let me explain why a writer whose column is titled “Populist Economics” is musing about climate science.

The reason is The-Mother-of-All-Environmental-Laws — climate-change legislation — is coming.

Every time an environmental law is passed, politicians affect the choices of your life and opportunities you have to get a job, make money to support yourself and your family. Frankly, to this observer, the most of the environmental laws passed are detrimental to those ends, and ironically, do little to protect the environment or people, and, in fact, may actually harm them.

One recent example was the forced introduction of MTBE additive to gasoline by Angus King during his governorship. He eventually made the correct decision to withdraw the order, but not before wells and aquifers were poisoned. The same may be true of wind-powered electricity today. King may realize that before Maine’s mountains, coastlines and economy are gutted. But don’t count on it. He stands to make too much money. Let’s go back to the premise behind climate-change legislation and wind-powered electricity: global-warming.

Is it science?

Click source to read FULL report by J. Dwight

Source: sunjournal.com

Read in full with comments »   

Last night, American Idol judge/songwriter Kara DioGuardi joined musician Jason Reeves for a duet of “Terrified” on TBS’ Lopez Tonight. It’s a ballad the pair wrote for former Idol finalist Katharine McPhee.

It’s not everyday we get to pass judgement on a judge. Kara has a lovely voice, we must say! What did you think of the vocals?

Ah, springtime – that glorious season when the sun coaxes perennials into bloom, birds trill lightly in the trees, and Martha Stewart Omnimedia’s (MSO) proxy unfurls with yet another raise for Martha.

As longtime readers know, Martha Stewart’s company is one of our “frequent flyers” – and that’s not a good thing. Last year, the post about Martha’s new employment contract and its $3 million retention bonus was a contender for the Worst Footnote of 2009. Other juicy past disclosures include a post about Martha taking her “guaranteed minimum bonus” (even after several rounds of employee layoffs), and the 2008 disclosure that Martha gets another $2 million annually for allowing MSO to film tv shows at her various properties.

But now it’s 2010. While the stock has doubled over the past year, it’s still nearly 66 percent lower from its April, 2005 trading price. How did Martha do this year?

As it turns out, pretty well.  According to the 2010 proxy, which the company filed last Friday at 5:15 p.m., Martha became the company’s “Chief Editorial, Media and Content Officer” on March 1, 2010.  And her 2008 base salary of $900,000 soared to $1.7 million in 2009.

Martha got a $3,114,231 bonus, which consisted of the above-referenced $3 million “make-whole/retention payment” that the company agreed to pay when she signed her new employment agreement, as well as $114,231 more for the “first quarter guaranteed bonus.”  The board also gave her another bonus of $666,667 – this time labeled “non-equity incentive plan compensation” – which was higher and a little sweeter than what the other NEOs received. The filing explains:

“The bonus payments to the NEOs were paid 50% in cash and 50% in fully vested Company stock in lieu of cash, except in the case of Ms. Stewart, who received all cash.”

Talk about a vote of confidence by taking the cash over the stock! She also received more than $3.5 million in “Other Compensation” (which is actually down from last year). Nearly $2.6 million of that was for the fees and expenses the company pays Martha under its “Intangible Asset License Agreement” which includes the lease and upkeep of her homes. More than $311,000 paid for insurance premiums, another $178,352 bought security services, $105,452 was “for the portion of personnel costs for individuals performing work for Ms. Stewart for which we were not reimbursed,” and $100,000 was for Martha’s “non-accountable expense allowance.” Nearly $50,000 paid for a weekend driver, and the company also spent an unspecified amount of money for “expenses for personal fitness provided in her capacity as on-air talent and telecommunications services.”

Not to be overlooked, in an additional proxy-related document the company filed the same day, Martha Stewart and Executive Chairman/Principal Executive Officer Charles Koppelman wrote letters to their shareholders, just as they did last year. At the end of Koppelman’s 2010 letter, he said:

“We have taken significant actions to streamline our cost structure, which is geared to support improved profitability. In addition, we have maintained a healthy balance sheet that should give us financial and strategic flexibility to execute on our growth strategy. This is the foundation of our business.”

Forgive us for feeling slightly cynical, but we’ve come to believe that the “foundation” of Martha Stewart Omnimedia just might be to redirect as much of the company’s money as possible to Martha Stewart.

A common sentiment I hear from iPad owners is that it is easier to type on the virtual (on-screen) keyboard than people thought it would be. I am firmly in that camp as I have written a lot of things on the iPad, far more than I thought I would be able to do comfortably on the on-screen keyboard. Typing on the iPad is like anything else, a little practice can go a long way to improving the skill. That’s where TapTyping from Flairify comes in handy.

This cheap ($5.99) app for the iPad presents a series of typing lessons that is aimed at improving both typing speed and accuracy. It starts out with presenting a series of letters for typing, and progresses to more extensive lessons that has the user entering famous works like the Alice in Wonderland. To keep things fresh you can enter your Twitter credentials and TapTyping will have you practice by typing in the tweets from your friends. The program shows your time and accuracy at the end of each lesson.

I have only spent a short time with TapTyping but find my skill is already improving. I intend to go through the whole program and see how fast I can get using the on-screen keys. TapTyping works in both portrait and landscape orientation, but it’s primarily designed to improved two-handed typing so landscape works better.

Related content on GigaOM Pro (subscription required):

Hot Topic: Apple’s iPad

Sure, you might spend most of your playtime with UFC Undisputed 2010 bashing the other player’s skull in or yanking bones out of their sockets, but let’s not forget about the career mode that you can busy

The Hoff is headed back to Genoa City. Controversial star David Hasselhoff will reprise his role as Dr. William “Snapper” Foster, Jr. on CBS’s No. 1-ranked daytime drama The Young And The Restless later this year, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed.

Hasselhoff thirilled housewives on the daytime soap for six years before leaving the fictional city in Wisconsin in 1982 to front another ’80s small screen hit, Knight Rider. Next month, David will tape a small guest arc for Y&R that will air in mid-June. The Hoff couldn’t be more elated about returning to his sudster roots.

“In 1976, Bill Bell, creator of America’s No. 1 soap opera, took a chance on a young and very green actor,” Hasselhoff told EW Monday. “Playing Snapper in 850 shows during the six years I appeared molded my craft, my attitude and my work ethic. Being asked to come back to appear in several episodes gives me a chance to say thanks, as I have an amazing amount of respect and heartfelt emotion for Bill, his family and my time on ‘Young and the Restless.’ I just hope I can remember all those lines.”

by Tom Laskawy

Now that guys like these are demanding significantly more funding for school lunches, will Congress and the President listen? School lunch advocates have found a new—and certainly unexpected—ally in the battle for school lunch reform: retired military officers. A group called Mission: Readiness is holding an event today in Washington, DC along with USDA Chief Tom Vilsack to showcase its new report Too Fat to Fight [PDF]:

As retired Generals, Admirals, and other senior leaders of the United States Armed Forces, we know firsthand that national security must be America’s top priority.

…Being overweight or obese turns out to be the leading medical reason why applicants fail to qualify for military service. Today, otherwise excellent recruit prospects, some of them with generations of sterling military service in their family history, are being turned away because they are just too overweight.

We are calling on Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation that would (a) get the junk food out of our schools; (b) support increased funding to improve nutritional standards and the quality of meals served in schools; and (c) provide more children access to effective programs that cut obesity [emphasis added].

I first heard the news about obesity’s effect on the military back in November via Wired. But this linkage to the issue of school lunch reform is brand new. What an interesting wrinkle to have these officers shoring up reform’s right flank. How can anyone oppose school lunch reform now?

I also appreciated the historical perspective the group provides [PDF]:

This is not the first time the military has spoken out about the health of America’s children. In 1945, military leaders expressed concern about the poor health and nutrition experienced by many potential recruits, and Congress responded by creating the national school lunch program as a matter of national security.

I don’t know enough about the history of school lunch to evaluate this claim. But it’s certainly plausible.

Putting aside whether you think the goal of a healthy school lunch is to prepare our children for lives in the military, it’s still worth wondering if the battle for school lunch reform has perhaps turned the corner.

Related Links:

The sweetener lobby: still a powerhouse in the school lunch debate

USDA Inspector General: meat supply routinely tainted with harmful residues

Scenes from a school cafeteria [slideshow]

This week, Case Western Reserve University will officially launch its FY 2009-10 faculty and staff campaign. The effort is facilitated through the university’s Annual Fund with the leadership of Provost W.A. “Bud” Baeslack and Senior Vice President for Administration John D. Wheeler.

“Our faculty and staff show their dedication to this institution every day, and we are tremendously grateful,” says Wheeler. “We also hope they will see a gift to the Annual Fund as an extension of this commitment to help Case Western Reserve remain a vibrant and strong institution.”

Gifts support the university’s general operations, enhancing the lives of students and supporting faculty research and facilities maintenance and improvement.

“These contributions will have an immediate impact on schools, scholarships, the library, athletics, or any other area donors choose to support,” says Baeslack. “Contributions from our faculty and staff also send a message to our alumni, friends, students and community partners that we are a community united in our commitment to Case Western Reserve.”

Gifts of any size are encouraged and appreciated. Faculty and staff can choose to designate their gift to the school of their choice or to any number of university funds that support diverse areas of interest, including the Staff Educational Enhancement Fund.

Gifts can be made through automatic payroll deductions, online, by cash or check, or by contacting the Office of Annual Giving at 368-5288 or by e-mail at [email protected]. In addition, there are other ways to make contributions. Learn more.

Additional information about the Annual Fund is forthcoming through interoffice mail and e-mails.

Fiat SpA has just announced that Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has announced his intention to resign as Chairman of Fiat. A press conference will be held this afternoon where Montezemolo will be joined by Vice Chairman of Fiat, John Elkann, and CEO Sergio Marchionne.

“Luca Cordero di Montezemolo explained that the reason for his resignation, on the eve of the presentation of the Group’s 2010-2014 Business Plan, was that he had completed the assignment given to him by the core shareholder in May 2004,” Fiat said in a statement.

Fiat said that Montezemolo will remain a member of the Fiat Board of Directors and Chairman of Ferrari.

Montezemolo, 62, became Fiat group Chairman in 2004. Elkann is expected to replace him as Chairman of Fiat.

– By: Omar Rana