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Samsung has been teasing the gadget-loving world ever since the announcement of the Galaxy S back at CTIA. “It’s Android-powered!” they’d say. “4.0-inch Super AMOLED screen!” they’d say. “Oh, you want to know what carrier its going to? Oh. Well, that’s a bummer.” they’d say.

Unless we’re looking too hard into these freshly released Bluetooth Certification papers, it looks like one of the carriers getting the Galaxy S — or at least a very Galaxy S-esque phone — will be AT&T.

Check out the Bluetooth Certification sheet for the Galaxy S, and now check out this one for the Samsung SGH-I987. Notice any similarities?

Both are running TouchWiz 3.0 on top of Android, and both have the same 4.0″ AMOLED display. The only difference we can see at this point (outside of a few missing Bluetooth profiles) is the model number: the Samsung Galaxy S is the GT-I9000, while this new mystery phone is the SGH-I897.

And as for why we’re assuming this one’s heading for AT&T: it’s all in the model number. As far back as we can remember, Samsung models beginning with SGH and ending with 7 (like the Propel [SGH-A767], Propel Pro [SGH-i627], Mythic [SGH-a897], Impression [SGH-A877], Eternity [SGH-A867]) have all gone to AT&T. Couple that in with the fact that it’s a GSM handset with EDGE bands (3G radio wasn’t specified) that play friendly with AT&T, and it’s all just coming together too perfectly.

Who knows: maybe it’s the Galaxy S Pro?

[Via Phonescoop]

»  How Palm’s marketing dropped the ball and how it plans to recover. [AdAge]

»  The OC Register launches app on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows smartphones, with plans to launch on Palm (NSDQ: PALM) later this month. [Release]

»  Though Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is still a bigger company than Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), there remains the issue of frumpy vs. fresh. [MSNBC]

»  HTC says its growth in the U.S. is outpacing other smartphone makers this year. [WSJ]

It’s out with the old and in with the new at the Jersey Shore! Do you have what it takes to be the next Pauly D or Snookster?

MTV producers are currenty casting a fresh new new crop of “tanned and toned fist pumper(s)” (Their words, not mine….) who can prove they “dominate the gym, tear up the dance floor and rule the bedroom” (I don’t make this stuff up….) to star on future seasons of the network’s breakout reality smash.

On Monday, Doron Ofir Casting launched JerseyShoreCasting.com, the official casting site where aspiring reality stars can apply for Jersey Shore 2010, not to be confused with the original Jersey Shore, which is currently shooting in Miami with the cast that fans have grew to love to loathe.

“I am searching for the proudest, loudest, and wildest to carry on the legacy and No haters allowed,” Doron Ofir, Executive Casting Director for the new Jersey Shore, said in a statement Monday.

The casting call is searching for potential cast members nationwide, and filming on Jersey Shore 3 could possibly begin this summer with a season premiere coming as early as October.

The news of future installments of the Jersey Shore franchise — featuring new stars no less — follows reports that the original Shore guidos and guidettes (which includes twentysomethings Vinny, Ronnie, Pauly D, Snooki, Mike “The Situation,” JWoww, and Sammi Sweetheart) have been outlawed from a number of popular establishments around Miami. In addition, word is original cast member Angelina Pivarnick, who quit the hit MTV series after only a few episodes appears last fall will be making a return when the second season of the controversial trashfest hits the airwaves this summer.

Interested future Fist Pumpers must be over 21 and “appear to be younger than 30.” For more information, log onto www.jerseyshorecasting.com.

IT WAS about one year ago that the phrase “green shoots” began being batted around, as economic trends which had been deteriorating at an increasing pace started deteriorating at a declining pace. Such were the small victories celebrated early last spring. By late summer, a number of important economic indicators—including GDP—had moved all the way back to expansion, and many economists felt comfortable asserting that the recession was officially over. But for the next nine months, there was little sign that the recovery was feeding back through to the labour market, or that it would prove particularly durable in the absence of government supports.

As of the first full week of the second quarter of 2010, it seems possible that yet another economic hurdle has been leapt, and a self-sustaining recovery appears within reach. The latest data releases from the Institute of Supply Management show that the manufacturing sector grew in March for an eighth consecutive month, and at the fastest pace since 2004. Service sector activity expanded in March for a fourth consecutive month, and at the fastest pace since 2006. Meanwhile, equities, commodities, and interest rates have all ticked upward in recent weeks, a fairly good indicator that markets are increasingly confident about the state of recovery.

But while growth in commodities prices is a positive sign, it’s also a potential threat:

That’s the price of a barrel of oil over the past year. As the global economy has continued to move away from the abyss, the price of crude has climbed back to near $90 a barrel. Increases much beyond that will begin to squeeze household budgets in places heavily dependent on oil. If those increases happen slowly, then they won’t be that damaging; households will have time to adjust commutes, buy more efficient vehicles, and find other ways to substitute away from petrol. If they happen rapidly, then the result will be enough damage to consumer spending to tip the American economy back toward, and perhaps into, recession.

There’s really not much that can be done about this in the short term. Officials simply need to hope that households have continued to reduce their exposure to petroleum prices in the wake of the 2007-2008 spike in the cost of crude.

When preparing a Disaster Recovery Center, one of the most important decisions is the location of the location of the Disaster Recovery Center. Up until the 9/11, a lot of companies held their DR centers in the adjacent building, and right after 9/11, everyone wanted to go as far from the primary data center as possible.

One of the common misconceptions of Disaster Recovery planning is that longer distance ensures better disaster protection. Of course, increasing the distance between data centers reduces the likelihood that the two centers are affected by the same disaster. But just putting distance between locations may not be sufficient protection. In reality, the best distance for a DR location is dictated by a multitude of factors:

• Minimal parameters dictated by regulators – certain businesses, especially telco and finance must maintain regulatory compliance. It is not unusual for regulators to mandate minimal distance between the primary and the Disaster Recovery location. You must comply to these parameters
• Corporate RTO parameters – the company has decided that the Disaster Recovery Center must be up and running within the time defined as RTO – Recovery Time Objective. This time will include the travel time to Disaster Recovery center and the system activation times. So it is always important to take this parameter into account when choosing a Disaster Recovery site
• Telecommunications services – larger distance between the primary and DR site means higher telecommunication costs and limits the choice of appropriate remote copy technology. For instance, synchronous replication is still very difficult to achieve past the 40km mark. Choose a location that is sufficiently distant but still manages to deliver the required bandwidth for the chosen replication/remote copy technology
• Geophysical conditions -In order to avoid a natural disaster, it is not always sufficient to move your Disaster Recovery center to a specific distance from the primary center. Most natural disasters deliver high impact in areas which support their spread by terrain configuration or other geophysical conditions. For instance, a safe hurricane impact distance was considered 150 km. However hurricane Katrina lost strength after over 240 km inland since there was no terrain feature to stop it. Best location should be in a separate flood basin, off a seismic fault line (or at least on a different one) and with a large mountain between the primary and the DR site
• Means of Transportation – increased distance between primary and DR site may make it difficult for employees to travel to the recovery site. This is especially true in situations of crisis, when roads may be damaged or blocked, or public transport is stopped by strikes. Choose a site that has multiple travel options – railroad, motorway, even river boat
• Vicinity of Strategic objects – It is never smart to place your Disaster Recovery center in the vicinity of objects of strategic importance to the country. Such locations are prone to terrorist attacks, and attack by opposing forces in a military conflict. Also, even in situations of natural disasters, strategic locations will have strong military presence that may limit access to your Disaster Recovery center. Strategic objects are military bases, airports, refineries and oil depots etc. Choose a safe distance from such locations

There is no such thing as an ideal Disaster Recovery location. The optimal location is the one that minimizes the risks at an acceptable cost and meets the required SLAs and authorities’ regulations.

Talkback and comments are most welcome

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Six tips to make it enjoyable.

Remember that old proverb, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure”? Spend too much for a car at auction, and those words will weigh heavier than your aching head the next day. And there’s the added bonus that your inanity may be memorialized on the Speed Channel. Auctions are the fastest of fast tracks—you are betting you know what you want, that you can recognize a car’s strengths and faults, that you know what it’s worth, and that you have the cool head to stop bidding at that point. The attraction of auctions is that there are rare cars to be had that are not found anywhere else. Auctions also let you avoid dealer markups or overly ambitious owners. Here are some tips to make the experience enjoyable. It’s work, but it can be fun, too.

Keep Reading: How To: Buy a Car at Auction – Feature

Related posts:

1. Ferrari to Auction One-Off 599GTB Fiorano China Limited Edition
2. AMG-engined 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing: Eight Were Built, One’s Up for Auction

Another doubly cynical cartoon, courtesy of Matson for Roll Call:

Related Post:

• Cartoon roundup on drilling announcement

Apple’s iPad embodies Dieter Rams’ famous Ten Principles for Good Design, the ten commandments that every company should follow before manufacturing any product. It feels like the future in your hands. But it could be better. More »

Last Friday, we learned that the U.S. labor market added 162,000 jobs in March. This is the most authentic job growth seen since the recession began in 2007. The poor labor market is mostly responsible for the weakness in consumer confidence. Could the fact that it’s moving in the right direction be enough to restore sentiment on Main Street?

On one hand, you might not think so. Even though employment began to grow, we’re off to a small start. 162,000 jobs isn’t much, considering there are still 15 million unemployed, and far more underemployed. That 16.9% of underemployed Americans aren’t going to feel good about spending at higher levels yet.

On the other hand, though significant, 16.9% is still a small minority of Americans. What about the other 83.1% who are fully employed? Their spending has been curbed too in recent months due to perceived weakness in the U.S. economy. Might some authentic jobs growth be enough to get them spending again?

A new poll from Rasmussen suggests that it could be:

Following release of Friday’s official report on job creation, consumer and investor confidence jumped significantly and is now back to the levels that existed just before Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008.

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, is up seven points since Friday morning to 85.3. Thirty-five percent (35%) of adults nationwide now believe the economy is improving. That’s up six points since the government reported that 162,000 new jobs were created last month. Still, a plurality of adults (45%) continue to believe the economy is getting worse.

Clearly, consumer confidence has a ways to go. But this is a pretty good start. That seven-point-jump works out to a 9% rise in the index. Imagine how much that might improve when the unemployment rate actually declines a few percentage points.

Of course, it will still be quite some time before we sees a significant drop in the unemployment rate. But the rise in sentiment is encouraging: the U.S. economy needs the American consumer to start spending again for a strong recovery. But incomes will also need to begin improving to ensure that the recovery can last, instead of just creating another credit bubble. Unfortunately, the unemployment report didn’t provide any good news on that front — average earnings actually fell by 0.1%.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced today that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking the maximum civil penalty of $16.375 million against the world’s largest car maker “for failing to notify the auto safety agency of the dangerous “sticky pedal” defect for at least four months, despite knowing of the potential risk to consumers.”

The penalty is the largest one ever assessed by NHTSA against a single manufacturer.

Through its investigation, NHTSA learned that Toyota knew of the “sticky pedal defect” as early as September 29, 2009. But didn’t issue a recall for the millions of related vehicles until January. By law, manufacturers are to report known defects to NHTSA within five days of learning about them.

Said LaHood:

We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations. Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families. For those reasons, we are seeking the maximum penalty possible under current laws.

Secretary LaHood Announces DOT is Seeking Maximum Civil Penalty from Toyota [DOT]

Hamid Karzai’s statement that he may switch sides and back the Taliban in the war in Afghanistan has rattled the nerves of the U.S. foreign policy makes from Washington D.C. to Kabul. And while the cost of war has been high thus far, some consider the U.S. position in Afghanistan vital to America’s China strategy.

In order to fence in China’s influence, Afghanistan could be seen as a vital bulwark between a China-Iranian pipeline alliance.

From Heartland: Eurasian Review of Geopolitics

Now check out how we blew through $33 billion in Afghanistan >

Join the conversation about this story »

Article Tags: Letter

Let’s hope that your editorial, “Arnold’s global warming ardor cooling” [March 30], marks the beginning of new sanity emerging from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the massive economic destruction that AB 32 will bring to California if we implement its onerous and, from a global-impact perspective, totally meaningless provisions. There is no more iconic symbol of the colossal failure of the global-warming alarmists’ climate-fear predictions than the claim that the Arctic sea ice will disappear in a few years. All 2007 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report Arctic sea ice model predictions show that there will be no recovery of this ice from its recent historical low point in the summer of 2007. Yet a huge recovery of that sea ice is exactly what has happened again, showing how political activist scientists twisted their models and data to get the “right” answer.

A number of studies published in the Geophysical Research Letters by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory starting in late 2007 used satellite data to show that unusual Arctic winds conditions, and not global warming, drove the recent 2007 reductions in sea ice. Yet these studies were simply ignored by the climate alarmists. Later studies have shown that these wind conditions have abated, which is leading to increased sea ice growth.

According to surface temperature data from the Climate Research Unit, Arctic temperatures have declined since 2004 and continue that trend. Thus the 2007 Arctic sea ice decline was not driven by changes in temperatures, which further supports the conclusions of the JPL studies.

Source: ocregister.com

Read in full with comments »   

If want to go out for a jog outside but don’t want to get your sneakers dirty, here’s a unique solution for you. Now you can work out to your heart’s content on the new treadmill bike, a treadmill that has been rigged up to a bike–to offer a workout that can only be described as unnecessarily complicated.

Describing the contraption, The Red Ferret Journal writes:

Built with rugged design and all-terrain tires, this 2-wheeled wonder will take you anywhere a standard bicycle will, and give you a great cardiovascular workout with the burn of that walking treadmill you’ve got a love-hate relationship with in the gym.

Gizmag reports that by taking the workout outside, the machine makes sure you are buff and not bored:

The Treadmill Bike is for people who love the feel of a treadmill beneath their feet but don’t want to be stuck inside pounding away when it’s a beautiful day outside. Bicycle Forest [which sells the machine] says the creation has the same fat-burning benefits of a conventional treadmill without the gym membership fees (although you do have to buy the bike).

Treehugger adds the bike is good for people who don’t actually like being outdoors.

“The Treadmill Bike’s hard wearing belt offers a sure grip while protecting your feet from dirt and other contaminants commonly found on the earth’s surface.”

And by “contaminants on the earth’s surface,” they mean dirt and dust and in some cases, depending on where you’re running, horrifying crushed bugs. Treehugger writes the machine sells for $2,500 Canadian, which seems like a lot of money just to fight boredom and to keep your sneakers clean.

Here’s a video of the treadmill bike in action.

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Image: The Red Ferret Journal

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." ~ Emily Dickinson

Today I have Laura Neff here, from More in You Life Leadership Coaching.  Laura is a caring and compassionate friend, and the more I get to know her, the more this just shines through so brightly!  She is an amazing woman, and someone who truly shines at living life openly and authentically. 

Join me, as I sit down with Laura and we touch upon how life has brought her to where she is today.  

1.  Tell us a little bit about who "you" are (family, career, any special life experiences you’d like to share, etc.)
Lance, I think you started out with the toughest question of all! But I’ll give it my best shot. First, I am a wife to my love, Robert. We met nine years ago here in North Carolina through a local whitewater kayaking club, and three short weeks after the first “hi,” before we’d even kissed, hugged, or held hands, we had “the” conversation…the one that goes, “Well, I…I’m terrified to say this because I don’t know if you’ll go screaming the other way…but, I…I think you’re the one!” “I feel the same way!” “What now?” “I have no idea, but can I kiss you?” “Yes!”) Nine years later, we work hard on keeping our relationship healthy and strong, and we stumble sometimes, but we help one another back up, and we make sure we always have a good support system in place. Two years ago, we gathered with many dear friends and family members and got married under a huge Oak tree in our back yard. We live on just over two acres of land and on our “farmette” have a dog, three cats, and two chickens who make us laugh and give us two eggs a day!

I’m a corporate escapee who’s played and dabbled in lots of vocational arenas since (like corporate communications consulting, writing/editing, teaching English, organic farming, working in a riverside coffee shop/café in Colorado, managing a retail bead shop/teaching people how to get in touch with their creativity/making & selling my own jewelry, etc.). All those forays were adding puzzle pieces to the larger picture, which became clear about four years ago, when I dove into life coach training & certification. Now, I’m a Life Leadership coach with a home office and thriving practice, and I can’t imagine doing anything else! (Except for my newest venture, which is to found and launch the International Alliance of Midlife Women [IAMWomen]. Stay tuned for more on that. )

I’m the youngest of seven in a family that resembles the Brady Bunch, except when Mike (aka my dad, Bob) and Carol (aka my mom, Ellen) married, they had one more…me!

And I’m so blessed to have many, many incredible dear, wise, funny, strong friends in my life. Seriously, life is good!

Lance's Commentary:  See, Laura…it's all part of my plan to get the hardest questions done first!! 

One of my favorite family vacations was a week-long whitewater rafting trip in Idaho.  So, I would LOVE to hear some of the stories you have from kayaking!  And to you and Robert…sometimes you just "know"….chickens and all.  What I also read in here is that life has truly been a journey for you…and one that has led to where you are today.  I suppose for all of us, this is true.  Still, there is something very connecting about reading the directions you have went in life, and to where that all puts you today.  Laura, I love it!!  

And I just can really feel that "life is good" whenever we talk!  You embody those words so wonderfully!!

2.  What led you to start your Life Leadership coaching practice?
In the years before realizing that coaching was what all those puzzle pieces added up to, I could literally feel the angst, tension, nagging, and sometimes real pain of living a life on the outside that did not match who I was on the inside. (This was especially true for me in Corporate America, but also in the years after that, though to a lesser degree.) And, thankfully, I realized early in my adult life that no one else was going to correct that angst/tension/nagging/pain for me. And so the circuitous route I forged was one that held all the key elements of Life Leadership: being fully at choice and taking full responsibility for my life, gaining more and more clarity on who I wanted/needed to be and what was next for me, becoming conscious for the choices I was making and their impact, becoming closely acquainted with my courage, and along the whole way, learning how to recognize and work with my fear. Since then, I’ve worked, played, learned from, tripped over, lost & found, and experimented with all of these elements myself and with anyone and everyone around me who was willing.

In short, this work is who I am. It’s the talk I’ve gotta walk. As a dear friend says of vocation, coaching, for me, is “that which I can’t not do.”

Lance's Commentary:  Just from our conversations, I get a couple of very strong feelings.  One is that you care.  That's such a wonderful quality, and one that I really believe is you, at your core.  The other strong feeling I get is that you are very much vested in "walking the talk"…that what you say is what you do.  There is a comfort level in all of this – one that makes talking with you so easy.

3.  What’s one thing that has happened from going down this path that has been a real surprise, and what has it meant to you?
Definitely the challenge and realization of what it is to come into my own as a business owner.

I’m an entrepreneurial girl at heart, but I’m also someone who, when I’m not awake at my own wheel, can dive into a new venture without really thinking through what it will entail or look like. Being committed to my coaching practice as a lifelong and ongoing expression of who I am but also as a well-functioning business has meant slowly unfolding into my fullness as a business owner and all that responsibly entails. Often it feels as if my “business owner shoes” are still too big, and I’m playing grown up, toddling around trying to keep them from falling off. But I can tell my feet are growing, slowly but surely!

What this has meant to me is a new layer of my understanding of responsibility, and also it’s helped in my lifelong journey to grow out of my self-perception of “little sister” and into a new identity of “grown, capable woman.” (You youngest siblings out there know what I mean!)

Lance's Commentary:  Laura, everything I see points to you most definitely as a "grown, capable woman"!  You know…just so you know…

4.  Life has an interesting way of presenting us with some unique opportunities.  Tell us some way life has brought you to where you are today.
I love this one! When I was 25, I very unexpectedly spent five months in a hospital and on bed rest due to a mysterious internal spinal fluid leak, and that time has made all the difference.

Throughout those months, if I stood up or sat up, I’d be instantly gripped with such a blinding, nauseating headache that all I could do was get horizontal again as quickly as possible and wait for the pain to subside. Consequently, I spent much of that time staring at ceilings or out windows, increasingly frustrated about missing my life.

Over time and with much thought, I started becoming conscious of the fact that I’m given the gifts of time and energy every single day and that I’d been taking them completely for granted. I examined my life…the work I was doing, the people I surrounded myself with, the way I had been spending that time and energy, the flippant choices I was making. And I started to wake up to the fact that if I let my life continue on the trajectory it was on (one that had largely been defined by other people), I would get to retirement age, look back, and not be able to see a single speck of tangible, real difference because of how I was choosing to spend my time and energy. I would have unalterable regrets.

So that was the beginning of what, to me, felt like a real awakening. It led to the realization that no one was going to shift that trajectory for me, and it started my journey of understanding who I was, what made me tick, and what resonated deeply within me, and from that place of resonance, what I have to offer the world that can truly make a difference. It took four more years before I was ready to make a leap, but the beginning of the journey was undeniable, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Lance's Commentary:  Laura, what a great story of how something that seems "bad" can really end up being so, so good!  And that's reminder to me, in any moment that I might feel like "woe is me", that really there can be so much good that might come from this….if I just open my eyes (and my heart) to what can be.  

5.  You have recently started a new program in your coaching – the Circles of Six.  Would you share what this is, and who it’s geared toward.
Yes! I’m so psyched about this!

Circles of Six are small group coaching at its best. Basically, six individuals come together to form a Circle that works together via conference calls and in an online forum for a minimum of six months. The Circles are led and facilitated by me, and everyone has at least one thing in common: they’re committed to their own growth, and they want to experience that growth in a supportive, community-oriented way.

There are three kinds of Circles coming together right now:

• One for women in midlife who need a structure in which they can pause, take stock of their lives to date, and plan for the second half,
• One for folks who need to get searingly clear on their goals and then be held accountable in a very strong way as they move forward, and
• One that has each member digging deeply into the five key elements of Life Leadership (Choice, Clarity, Consciousness, Courage & Fear), using them to move forward in a meaningful way in their lives.

Regardless of which Circle someone’s in, each person gets clear on what their goals are for our time together, they learn from me and one another along the way, they get coached, and they provide steady and loving support to their Circlemates. And, a side benefit to small group (or any sized group) coaching is that it’s often less expensive than one-on-one coaching. I’m so glad to add this offering to my list of services because it expands the range of options, making Life Leadership available to lots more people.

I have a web page with lots of details on the Circles of Six program offerings.

Lance's Commentary:  You know what?  I am so psyched about this too!!  I think the whole concept behind group coaching sessions can be so positive.  I have participated in one other group coaching session, and found it to be so beneficial in moving me forward and beyond some of the fears that were holding me back at the time.  And…as I continue to move forward in life…it's time, once again, to get beyond some of the barriers that are holding me back from fully living.  So, I'm excited to be a part of this program, too!

6.  Deep down, Laura, what makes you, “you”?
Big smile here, Lance! There’s a core of me, deep inside, that is unique but that is also connected to every other living thing on this planet. What makes me “me” is that core, and the fact of my slowly-increasing awareness of its nature, what it wants, how it moves, what makes it tick, what brings it joy and pain, what it’s here for. And what makes me “me” is also everything and everyone around me, and how my core is in relation to everything else. It’s a dance that happens all day, every day…the dance of my core and the Universe, the finite and the infinite and vice versa. Oh, and beautiful people like you who create thought-and-heart-provoking questions like these to help me remember who I am and what makes me “me.”   Thank you for all that YOU are, Lance! You are such a gift to all of us!

Lance's Commentary:  Understanding how we "tick"…I love that thought, Laura!  When we can strip away the outer influences in our life, and see clearly into what is at our core…what an amazing place to reach!   I sense this very much from our conversations…that this is a place you have visited often, and one that brings much direction and focus into your life.  Keep dancing, my friend!!!

Closing Thoughts:  Laura, thank you so much for being here today, and for sharing more about who "you" are!  I think we have known each other for about a year, and in that time I have really come to appreciate all that you share.  You are a shining example of what is right and good in this world, and it's an honor to work with you, and to call you "friend" as well. 

As I think about the Emily Dickinson quote above…Laura, know that my life is sweeter because our paths have crossed.  You have an energy about you that is both deeply connecting and filled with life.  And in that, you bring out life, as you shine yours so beautifully out into the world!

The more American middle class families understand personal finances, the less financially strapped they feel, a new survey shows.

First Command Financial Services Inc., an investment adviser firm, administered a financial literacy test in March to people with household incomes of $50,000 or more to gauge the financial knowledge of the middle class.

Of those who answered all of the questions correct, 63% said they didn’t feel financially strapped versus 48% who said the same but had answered one or more questions incorrectly.

Some 42% of people who got a perfect score on the test also said they were comfortable with their debt levels. Meanwhile, of those who answered questions wrong, 32% said they were comfortable with their debt.

Overall, the survey respondents scored pretty well on the tests: They answered 7.5 out of nine questions correctly, on average. And three out of 10 respondents earned a perfect score.

Despite higher levels of confidence among the most financially literate, even they didn’t feel comfortable with their savings or their ability to retire. Less than a quarter of those who answered all the questions correctly said they felt comfortable with their savings. A slightly higher 36% said they were very confident in their ability to retire comfortably.

Among those who answered at least one question incorrectly, just 15% felt good about their savings and 29% said they were sure they would be able to retire comfortably.

The test surveyed 659 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Top executives from Latin America’s most influential transit agencies will gather next month to launch the Latin American Association for Bus Rapid Transit and Integrated Transport Systems–a member-driven organization that seeks to advance urban public transport and improve quality of life in the region’s biggest cities.

EMBARQ – The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, which launched the initiative, will serve as the association’s Technical Secretariat, under the leadership of EMBARQ’s Director for Latin America Luis Gutierrez.

Guitierrez said, “Despite the progress of urban mass transit in Latin America, the managers of transit agencies and other transport projects do not currently have the tools to deal with some of the problems that exist in the industry. This new association will help transport officials identify common challenges, share their experiences and knowledge, and ultimately, improve their services.”

Association members will pay an annual fee to participate in meetings and workshops that will take place throughout the year. EMBARQ Network experts will work with members to measure the performance, impact and management of their city’s existing transit systems, as well as to plan and implement future transport projects.

Specific technical and managerial support will come from the EMBARQ Network’s three Latin American centers: the Center for Sustainable Transport in Brazil (CTS-Brasil), the Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México), and the Center for Sustainable Transport and Health in the Andean Region (CTSS-Andino.)

“Latin America has some of the highest rates of urbanization and motorization in the world, leading to problems, such as congestion, pollution, traffic-related injuries and deaths, and the loss of public space,” said CTS-Brasil Director Toni Lindau, who helped convene the association. “By sharing best practices, members of ALABRT will be able to improve the quality of their service, foster an efficient and competitive transport industry, and demonstrate how bus rapid transit, metro, rail and other integrated transport systems can help improve health, safety, quality of life and economic competitiveness in a city.”

“The association is set up to be an institutional vehicle for direct communication and collaboration among Latin America’s premiere transit agencies,” Gutierrez said. “We hope to grow the association to include other members, including multilateral development banks, nonprofits, businesses, transport planners and other experts.”

The first official meeting and opening ceremony for the Latin American Association for Bus Rapid Transit and Integrated Transport Systems or Asociación Latinoaméricana de Sistemas BRT y Sistemas Integrados de Transporte (ALABRT) will take place on April 14-16 in Curitiba, Brazil.
Participants include the presidents and senior staff of 17 transit agencies from cities in Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Chile. Officials from Bogota’s Transmilenio in Columbia and Curitiba’s RIT in Brazil, two of the region’s most successful BRT systems, will also be present.

The event will be hosted by Brazil’s Mayor of Curitiba Carlos Alberto Richa and sponsored by the Andean Development Corporation. Former mayor of Curitiba, Jaime Lerner, who helped transform his city through sustainable transport and urban planning, will be named Honorary President.

I’m going to posting links M-F which I don’t manage to blog (probably focus less on science in these links as well). I’m calling it the “Daily Data Dump.”

The Cloudy Revolution. 10 years after the initial hype the “cloud” is here. Somewhere Larry Ellison is crying.

You Don’t Need an iPad, but Farhad Manjoo really, really, loves it. It sounds like the reviews of the Kindle on steroids. I don’t have a TV because the device is all about consumption, and I think I’ll avoid the iPad for the same reason. But just as television and the net are merging through online streaming, I assume that the iPad is a foretaste of what’s to come in computing devices. At least outside of the office (I think a little artificial constraint and discomfort probably is necessary in a work environment).

You’re Born a Copy but Die an Original. The values of elderly individuals diverge in relation to their age cohort between 70 and 90.

Cassini Doubleheader: Flying By Titan and Dione. Spaceflight is so banal today that it isn’t necessarily newsworthy. Who remembers Dione?

Michael Steele calls his critics racist. That’s really weak dawg.

Exit Strategy: The GT3 and a curious neighbor call up an unforgettable memory of getting out of Vietnam: The idea was to do it fast.

The note on the windshield was damp with dew. It read: “Pure temptation!!”—Your anonymous neighbor

Such notes appear from time to time on my Porsche test cars. Everyone puts their own spin on the American dream. For Can, my not-so-anonymous Vietnamese neighbor, a red 911 has a starring role. Can was 16 when he first saw a red Porsche, from behind the concertina wire of a refugee-relocation camp in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

Keep Reading: 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 – Road Test

Related posts:

1. 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 – Second Drive
2. 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS – Car News
3. 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup – Auto Shows