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Mel B and Kim Kardashian teamed up at a Hollywood party hosted by Sugar Factory Lollipops which sells couture treats for a staggering $25. Mel is the brains behind a new range of the fancy lollis created to help women lose weight. The former Spice Girl joined the reality starlet on the red carpet at Hollywood hotspot Guys & Dolls last night to launch the new sweets. The Sweet Factory “Couture Pops” are available in “Silver Rainbow” and “Champagne” flavors and feature a glitzy colored stick.

Team Falken will start its third year with Porsche Works Driver Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers as their appointed drivers for the 2010 race program. The two will get behind the wheel of a 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the full nine-event American Le Mans Series GT2 class.

"We’re using the ALMS to compete against our competitors as well as utilize the highly organized race program as a formal testing ground for continued tire development," said Mark Richter, Falken Senior Manager of … (read more)

Online privacy is becoming a big issue as more and more information we’d rather keep to ourselves is entrusted to online services. You could argue that if you aren’t up to no good, you shouldn’t have anything to hide, as Google’s Eric Schmidt would have you believe, but you don’t have to do anything illegal to want to keep what you do o… (read more)

According to FoMoCo’s group vice president of global marketing Jim Farley, the Dearborn automaker is looking to sell more passenger cars into commercial fleets during the first quarter compared to last year as large companies restock inventory. Usually, Ford’s biggest sellers into commercial fleets are vans and pickups.

While one reason for the boost is the improving economy, Farley says that the residual values on the Fusion sedan are making it attractive to large corporations.

“We’re seeing a whole new group of clients come to us saying we want to buy Fusions,” Farley says. “We’ve never had that before, at least in the recent past, and that has really grown our commercial fleet business.”

FoMoCo’s fleet sales grew 74 percent or 27,000 units in Dec. 2009 as compared to Dec. 2008. Ford expects to see a similar boost in the first quarter of 2010.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Blackeyed pea curry

Over the weekend I had a meal from the tired Indian buffet at Bay Leaves restaurant on Lawrenceville Highway in Decatur. It was…depressing. I chewed on my rubbery tandoori chicken wings, pulled limp cucumbers from the salad and ate what I needed to fill my stomach. Some rice, chickpeas, chicken tikka masala, pappadums and chutney…enough.

There’s something about sad Indian food that is the saddest food of all. It is the food equivalent of a bad recording of an old Leadbelly ballad played on a scratchy 1970’s school phonograph for a roomful of children who aren’t listening. It sings a fiery song that has been tamed through apathy and neglect.

And so I needed good Indian food to take the flavor out of my mind. The other day I was picking up my car from the shop in Decatur’s Indian restaurant row when I drove by Kusum Foods and remembered enjoying it soon after it opened in October. I ordered a quick meal to go and was really happy with the Styrofoam …

Here they are once again, chock full of awesomeness – the manliest links on the web:

The NFL’s Hottest Cheerleaders (see above) [MadeMan]

The Women of No Pants Subway Ride Day [Cool Material]

America’s Hottest College Girl [College Humor]

The James Bond Shower: A Shot of Cold Water for Health and Vitality [Art of Manliness]

Adventures In Public Bathroom Notes [YepYep]

Five Winter Outerwear Essentials for Men [Primer]

Eirini Karra is the International Babe of the Day [Double Viking]

Don’t Forget Lube: The FIVE Essentials Every Guy Should Carry [TSB Magazine]

Three New Year’s Resolutions That Will Change Your Life [COED Magazine]

Six Pornstars You Wish You Could Take Home [Gunaxin]

Hottest Celebrity Tattoos Part 3 [EgoTV]

How to tell if your suit fits correctly [StyleCrave]

Johnny Greaves record Truck Jump [All Left Turns]

Life’s A Bitch, Then You Get a DUI [Tasty Booze]

Related posts:

1. Your Mantelligence Briefing for January 14th
2. Your Mantelligence Briefing for January 28th
3. Your Mantelligence Briefing for January 7th

BBC Radio 4 has a fantastic documentary on one of then 20th century’s great poets, Anne Sexton, who struggled with mental illness throughout her adult life and eventually committed suicide at the age of 46.

Uniquely, tapes of Sexton’s psychotherapy sessions with psychiatrist Martin Orne were found after her death giving an alternative insight into her mental life.

The programme dramatises excerpts from the tapes and talks to members of her family about her life, writing and frequent hospitalisations.

Sexton is typically classified as one of the ‘confessional’ poets, although, regardless of the label, her work is certainly very personal and reveals an articulate if not fragile look at many key relationships in her life.

Because of the BBC’s archive of doom, you only have three days to listen to it before it disappears for good into the abyss, although it is well worth catching if you get the chance.

Link to BBC Radio 4 documentary ‘Consorting with Angels’.

Do you remember hearing about the FDA granting approval to Alli, the weight loss drug? I remember seeing tons and tons of commercials and so many people were excited because there was finally a weight loss drug that had federal approval.

But earlier this week the FDA warned people that a counterfeit version of Alli was out there and that it could be really dangerous.

There are a couple key differences that you can look for in the products to spot if you may have a fake:
If your expiration date has a month, day and year, it’s fake. Real Alli only uses month and year.
If your bottle has a plain foil safety seal it’s a fake. Real Alli has the words "SEALED for YOUR PROTECTION" printed on it.

The fake bottle is also taller and wider than the authentic one.

So far it looks like the fake Alli has only been sold online, not in retail stores, but if you use Alli, you want to make sure to check your bottle closely.

Have you ever used weight loss products to help you slim down? Were they ever recalled?

While the iPhone is clearly the media darling of mobile devices in the US, there’s no denying that Nokia’s handsets have saturated the global market. As part of that global strategy, the company just announced free walk and drive navigation for 74 countries in 46 languages. Today’s release of the third iteration of Ovi Maps is similar to Google’s maps for Android in that the service offers free turn-by-turn voice guidance. Nevertheless, there’s one important catch – maps are cached offline for future use. ReadWriteWeb caught up with Nokia’s VP of Product and Location, Christof Hellmis, for a look at how the company is saving device owners precious battery life.

Sponsor

Since 2008 Nokia has acquired at least 12 companies including location-based services like Plazes, Dopplr and Navteq. Hellmis explains that the Navteq acquisition allows Nokia to utilize hybrid vector map technology rather than the more data intensive bitmaps used by other providers.

Says Hellmis, “That’s one of the advantages of developing from a mobile device background. We’re aware of the consumer’s resources. You don’t wait to download your maps on a wireless connection and you don’t need a sim card. You’ve got the entire world in your pocket rather than on a server.”This sort of functionality is particularly useful for those who travel frequently and are used to suffering from high data connection costs and unstable network coverage. The service also includes information on safety cameras, speed warnings and pedestrian shortcuts, in addition to 6000 3D landmarks.

Ovi Maps’ voice navigation is immediately available for download on 10 handsets including the Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72 at nokia.com/maps. Additional phones will be added in the coming months. The fact that Nokia’s handsets account for 51% (83 million) of the total number of GPS-enabled devices shipped last year, means that the company may quickly be the world’s largest navigation services provider.

Discuss

DDS is currently running a New Year Special on our CAL2k Full System Combustion Calorimeter, for our International customers. This special will run until Friday, 12 February 2010 OR while stocks last.

Receive a 14% discount on the current price for the CAL2k Full System!

This is a PERFECT opportunity to purchase additional Vessels with the Full System. As you know, it is ideal to have a minimum of two Vessels, and the full system only includes one Vessel.

Advantages of having an Addtional Vessel:
1. You can run more CVs within a required time
2. You will have a spare Vessel when you need to recondition the other Vessel
3. You will have another Vessel to run a “check” should one Vessel not produce the expected results

Take advantage of this special and include an additional Vessel to the total amount. The Full System discounted price, plus the normal price of the Vessel will still amount to a total which is LESS than the current Full System price!

This is a once off special and should not to be missed!

We look forward to receiving your order!

Best Regards
The DDS Scientific Team

The new range of Premium machines offers the very best in high technology, precision accuracy and long term durability and reduces the need for options. Standard premium features include the 3 sided vertical drop tank, high speed LQ33W generator and Super Pika W fine finishing circuit.

The result – a versatile, high performance machine capable of a wide variety of applications. The Premium package is available for the AQ327L, AQ537L and AQ750L range of machines.

All Sodick Premium machines feature the new 3 sided vertical drop tank; a revolutionary design whereby the work tank retracts fully into the body of the unit, allowing easy machining of even larger work pieces.

Sodick’s new technology allows the best possible access to the machine and therefore immediate compatibility for automated production.

The LQ33W high speed generator is now a standard feature of all Premium machines, working in conjunction with K-SMC, the very latest Sodick Motion Control technology, to control axis motion and continually monitor and correct the spark gap 500 times per second. Premium machines are capable of achieving a burn rate of up to 380mm2/min.

In addition, both the AQ327L and AQ537L Premium packages also incorporate Sodick’s Super Pika fine finishing circuit, to produce surface finish down to Ra 0.1µm, which for many applications eliminates the need for subsequent polishing.

Ultra-rigid performance is now available to the majority of general threading applications, thanks to the introduction of a new insert size for CoroThread 266®.

The new size 16 insert complements the existing size 22 and 27 inserts and benefits from the unique iLock™ interface. Here, slots on the insert connect to the guide rail on the shim in the tool holder to provide secure insert clamping and combat cutting forces, improving thread precision and tool life.

This stability is unique to CoroThread 266 and enables a wide range of thread forms to be completed in fewer passes, and with greater accuracy. Tool handling is made considerably easier and correct insert mounting is achieved repeatedly, reducing time spent changing tools.

At the same time, dedicated new threading grade GC1125 is introduced for CoroThread 266. With its unique composition for threading performance, including better heat and wear resistant properties, GC1125 achieves greater threading precision over longer times in cut.

Tests have also shown that the new grade produces the required thread tolerance in fewer passes.CoroThread 266 can be used in all industries and materials to create all types of thread with greater precision and a more symmetrical form. The full insert range includes full profile, V-profile and multi-point variety.

Jigsaw360: Leica Geosystems’ state-of-the-art integrated monitoring and guidance solution unearths site productivity with a revolutionary product range for draglines, blast-hole drills, electric shovels, dozers, excavators, haul trucks, loaders and auxiliary assets.

Jigsaw360 utilises highly-advanced technologies to automatically provide optimised truck and shovel assignments; increase productivity; monitor and report key performance indicators (KPIs), and minimise operating costs. Operators, maintenance personnel, engineers, managers and supervisors will all benefit from the unparalleled capabilities of a Jigsaw360 Mine Management Solution.

Real mining information, in real-time
Knowledge puts the power and control of your mine site back in your hands. Arranging all the pieces of your site’s puzzle and making sense of the masses of information gathered from all your Jigsaw360 systems is Leica Geosystems’ office software, Leica MineOps JS.

Every machine on your mine site can be fitted with a Jigsaw360 system. Information is collected and stored in the onboard computer fitted to each machine, and communicated to the office via real-time database replication. Information is also replicated from the office to each machine, automatically synchronising all mine site data on every Jigsaw360 system with office data.

Now industrial fiberscope sets include FREE 24W Metal Halide light source and light guide!

Medit Inc.’s Robust Flexible Fiberscopes offer highresolution
Glass optics, coupled with a rugged Stainless steel
insertion tube. These Fiberscopes are designed with an
ergonomic hand piece, a tough flexible insertion tube, and a
detachable light cable, allowing them to be used portably, with
our LED light handle, or locally with our brighter Metal Halide
light sources.
Features include either 12,000 or 20,000 glass fiber optic
pixels, a resin coated stainless steel braided insertion
o tube,which is water and oil proof, a 70 field of view, 2 or 4 way
o tip articulation, with a minimum of 90 ‘s in each direction, and
a focusable eyepiece. All of our Fiberscopes are supplied with
a removable portable LED light handle, and a carrying case
for safe transportation and storage of the scope.
Applications include Aviation and Automotive
Maintenance, Industrial Machining, Building Inspections,
Search and Rescue Operations, Customs and Police
Inspections, and the Oil and Gas Industry. These scopes
provide a clear, detailed image of areas which are normally
impossible to inspect, and negate the need to disassemble
everything. This localizes repairs to damaged areas, lowering
costs and lost time.
As with all of our Borescopes, if video or still images of
inspections are required, we offer CCTV/USB camera units,
and digital imaging devices to record inspections for future
reference or documentation purposes.

The zinc-coated cobracut® type A electrode was developed in close collaboration with AGIE® and has provided outstanding results on AGIE® machines for years. It’s proven performance is due to its good cutting performance and high accuracy.

In scientific studies it has been shown that the thermophysical properties of zinc (low vaporization temperature means less gap contamination, a high affinity for oxygen and good environmental compatibility) in particular have an advantageous effect on efficient wire cutting. Zinc makes a constant discharge rate possible. Discharge peaks are avoided.

The use of cobracut® type A is especially recommended for cutting carbides and PCDs in order to minimize microcracks and produce the finest finishes.

Coated is not the same as galvanized
All wires are not created equal. There are several ways to coat or
plate EDM wire. bedra’s choice is electro-galvanizing.

This of course is not the least expensive method but the ability to precisely manage electro-plating provides better control over the purity, evenness and cleanliness of the layers.

For years our process has been proven very successful in the manufacture of precision wire electrodes.

Great straightness and accuracy
Due to its great straightness qualities, cobracut® type A is especially suited for machines with automatic wire threaders. In addition, with the diameter accuracy of the wire electrode of ± 1ìm per spool and 1.5ìm from spool to spool, makes it possible to achieve uniform part accuracy and repeatability.

PG planetary gear units are divided into 21 basic groups depending on the different torques that are to be transmitted to the output shaft, which can vary from 0.05 to 65 kNm.

In fact, the product modular construction permits the coupling of bevel gears, worm gears, hydraulic brakes and a variety of input shafts to the planetary units, as well as providing for a wide choise of coupling flanges for hydraulic or electric motors.

The crusher buckets will be used to build the Hyderabad-Bangalore motorway
The first motorway connecting the cities of Hyderabad-Bangalore will be built using MB crusher buckets, equipment that stands out due to its unique and unmistakable characteristics. The motorway will be approximately 600 km long, with 3 lanes in both directions, and will represent an important change in India as the country will benefit from a fast and greater flow of communication, transportation and commerce networks, which up until today have been carried out mainly by sea. MB S.p.A., the undisputed world leader in the production and sale of crusher buckets, views this new project as a positive turning point for India, which will progress from both a commercial and economic standpoint, all in full respect for the environment, an issue that has top priority in the philosophy of the Breganze-based company (currently in the process of obtaining the ISO 14001 certification). It is no accident that its buckets work using the hydraulic system of the excavator they are fitted up, and, unlike traditional crushers, offer significantly reduced transportation and waste disposal costs, thus allowing inert materials to be recycled. In order to build the motorway, it was decided on the BF120.4 bucket, which will be used to produce the stabilized pavements every 50 km. The peculiar feature of the BF120.4 is that it is the only piece of equipment capable of reducing the size of crushed granite from 20 to 4 cm, thus making the job easier and more versatile. India will thus become familiar with the high quality of MB products, and will have the opportunity to see them in action, evaluate them and be completely satisfied by their performance, and this because it relies on a prestigious company, in constant growth and with highly qualified expertise, a company that handles the needs of its customers with a high level of commitment. “We are extremely optimistic on the successful outcome of the motorway that will connect the cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore, both extremely excited to try out our highly technological, Italian-made buckets and to obtain a new communication line that we are sure will be appreciated by the Indian country”, stated Guido Azzolin, Managing Director of MB S.p.A..MB S.p.A.: a name, a philosophy, a company that has managed to assertively position itself on the market, demonstrating that its products are high-quality, safe, versatile, innovative and 100% Made in Italy.