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  • Recommended Healthy Portion Sizes for Vegans and Vegetarians


    It seems that many people today, with the various diets and lifestyles, lack the essential understanding and awareness of recommended serving sizes. Often we we will look at that handy and insightful nutrition information label, but we’ll overlook the little part that tells us exactly how much of the product the nutrition facts actually apply to. In general and contrary to the common assumption among many people, the ‘Nutrition Facts Label Serving Size’ is not related to the ‘Food Pyramid’ recommended servings.
    It appears that today the serving sizes that are being printed on products in the US “are more uniform and reflect the amounts people actually eat” (according to the FDA website). A level of concern about this may not be unfounded, especially considering rumors you may have seen on several websites (I have been unable to prove or disprove them) stating such unbelievable statistics as 40 percent of the average diet in America being comprised of dairy and only 8 percent being fresh fruit!
    However, glancing at a few products, the serving sizes do seem reasonable so far, for instance 5 crackers amount to one serving. Therefore it would seem they may be studying the healthier half of the American population to derive these portions. There’s no justifiable cause for over reaction to the aforementioned FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) statement at the current time. Thank goodness.
    Still, I would like to provide for you a basic outline of suggested daily servings and portion examples for a balanced plant-based diet (source cited below):
    Breads/Grains – 6 to 11 servings daily – 1 oz ready-to-eat cereal – 5 or 6 small crackers – 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice, pasta, noodles – 1 slice of bread – 1/2 hamburger bun, English muffin ~ 1 small roll, muffin, biscuit
    Vegetables – 3 to 5 servings daily 1/2 cup cooked beans, peas, legumes – 1 cup raw leafy vegetables – 1/2 cup cooked or raw vegetables – 3/4 cup vegetable juice
    Fruits – 2 to 4 servings daily 1/4 cup dried fruit – 1/2 cup chopped fruit – 1 melon wedge – 3/4 cup fruit juice – 1/2 grapefruit – 1 medium apple, banana, orange
    “Protein or Meat Group” Substitution – 2 to 3 servings daily 2 tablespoons peanut butter – 2 tablespoons nuts or seeds – 1/4 cup tofu or tempeh – 1 cup soy milk – 1 egg or 2 egg whites – 1/2 cup cooked dry beans or peas.
    Milk/Yoghurt/Cheese – 2 to 3 servings daily 1 cup milk – 1. 5 oz natural cheese – 2 oz processed cheese – 1 cup or 8 oz yoghurt
    (To maintain a vegan diet you can substitute these animal products with nuts and seeds, tofu, kale, edible seaweeds, watercress, parsley, dried figs, or calcium fortified soy milk for example)
    Fats, Oils, Sweets which are low in hydrogenated, saturated, and trans fats, to be used sparingly of course!
    Credit to source: “Vegetarian Diet Information” (copyright 2003-2008)

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    Recommended Healthy Portion Sizes for Vegans and Vegetarians is a post from the Vegetarian Vitamins Guide blog where you can find suggestions and advice from vegetarians and vegans on vegetarian diets, supplements, vitamins and overall nutrition.

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  • Earth Aid: A great approach to energy efficiency

    Earth Aid CEO, Ben Bixby

    Earth Aid CEO, Ben Bixby

    My great friend Ben Bixby is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Earth Aid, a start-up working to save energy costs for consumers and promote a greener approach. Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer has an outstanding article on Earth Aid. Diane Mastrull writes:

    You manuever the controls on your thermostat, hoping for a few more degrees of warmth.

    But wait! What if there were a reward for leaving the setting right where it is – or, better yet, for lowering it?

    What if putting up with a little chill got you a price break on a butter pound cake split three ways and filled with lemon curd and blackberry and raspberry puree – the hopelessly tantalizing spring torte from Bredenbeck’s Bakery in Chestnut Hill?

    Or maybe a $10 coupon for native plants or artisanal goat-milk cheeses at Yellow Springs Farm in Chester Springs? Or a bed-and-breakfast package at the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City?

    Perks like those are part of a growing list from local businesses hoping to improve their bottom lines by promoting a greener lifestyle.

    Rewards for households that recycle are well-known through RecycleBank, which got its start here in 2005.

    Now comes what is believed to be a first: a rewards program for saving energy.

    Earth Aid, a Washington start-up, enables U.S. residents to track their electric, gas, and water usage online and, by cutting back on it, earn points that can be redeemed at local businesses.

    Launched in September, Earth Aid will not dislose how many members it has or the company’s financials. Ben Bixby, its cofounder and chief executive officer, said membership was “in the thousands and our rate of growth is doubling monthly.”

    Though the program has not yet had a formal introduction here, Philadelphia is home to some of its largest reward partners, Bixby said: Of the more than 100 businesses that have signed on, 25 are from Philadelphia or its suburbs, “with many more on the way.”

    That could be a barometer of not only the growing influence of the sustainability movement, but of just how eager recession-impaired businesses are for a chance to boost sales, said Maria Cain, sales manager at Bredenbeck’s, where a few more sweet tooths would be welcome.

    Linking with Earth Aid, Cain said, “really puts our name out there to the entire Philadelphia region.”

    Said Stephen Falvo at Manayunk’s Art+Science Salon & Spa, where Earth Aid participants can redeem 300 points for a 60-minute massage: “I think people need to realize that just by supporting local business, they are helping to reduce their carbon footprint and, in turn, keeping the supply chain local.”

    Earth Aid has developed proprietary software that makes it possible, with consumer permission, to retrieve household utility data everywhere in the country, Bixby said. Once people sign up, their energy use is reviewed and a baseline established. Then the company provides customized advice on how to become more energy-efficient and which rebates and tax credits are available to make the changes.

    Participants receive monthly statements from Earth Aid showing how much energy they used and how that compared with the same month in the previous year. Reward points are based on reductions achieved.

    “We just want to make it easier for people to save energy, and information does that,” said David Burd, Earth Aid’s vice president of business development.

    Sign-up for households is free “and will forever be,” Bixby said. There is also no charge “at this time” for small and regional businesses to offer one reward, he said. Larger rewards-program participants must pay a promotional fee, depending on their size.

    Earth Aid also makes money from sales it helps arrange between members and providers of energy-conservation services and products, such as oxygenating showerheads and programmable thermostats.

    RecycleBank, the incentive-based recycling initiative now providing services to more than one million members in 20 states and the United Kingdom, was an inspiration for Earth Aid, Bixby said.

    One of RecycleBank’s founders, Ron Gonen, a Germantown Academy graduate and now a resident of New York, said he was flattered.

    Though calling Earth Aid’s energy-use tracking program a good idea, Gonen said he was not convinced the business discounts would be as effective a recruiting tool as they have been for RecycleBank. Last year, RecycleBank members redeemed and used more than $1 million in reward points, he said.

    Without incentives, people who recycle were getting no benefit from the act other than “feeling you were doing something good” for the environment, he said. Energy savers, on the other hand, can see the benefits of that in cheaper energy bills.

    “I’m not sure that you need additional incentives beyond reducing your monthly energy bill,” Gonen said.

    At Yellow Springs Farm, co-owner Catherine Renzi lauded the idea of rewards – such as the $10 coupon she is offering toward the purchase of at least $50 in goods.

    “It’s much easier to make [conservation] attractive for people,” she said, “when you have a carrot.”

    Or a free overnight stay at one of Philadelphia’s premier hotels.

    The Four Seasons, considered a sustainability leader in part because it composts, recycles, and has microturbines on its roof, is offering one bed-and-breakfast package for two, including breakfast in its acclaimed Fountain Restaurant.

    To win it, you must assemble the group of friends or family on Earth Aid that collectively saves the most energy between today and April 30.

    Excellent! I would encourage everyone to check visit the Earth Aid website. You can also follow Earth Aid on Twitter–  @earthaid and check out the Earth Aid photostream on Flickr.

    And be sure to check out these videos with Ben Bixby-

  • UAE declares support for Irena’s renewable energy measures – Gulf News

    Helen Pelosse, Interim Director-General of Irena, has praised the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology’s decision to offer 20 scholarships to Irena to support and establish its technical and administrative cadres. Image Credit: WAM Abu Dhabi …


  • Masdar Abu Dhabi in forefront of renewable energy initiative – Gulf News

    Abu Dhabi: The national capital is positioning itself as a platform for addressing global warming and climate change issues, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) said here on Sunday. “The emirate of Abu …


  • Beers with Brad in Boulder

    I’ve done a few “Beers With Brad” in other cities such as Seattle and Vancouver.  On February 18th from 6 to 8pm, I’m going to be doing Beers with Brad in Boulder at The Twisted Pine Brewery.  It’s a fundraiser for KGNU (88.5 FM and 1390 AM in Denver) – tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.  There will be free munchies, music, and plenty of beer.  Come join us for a fun evening where I’ll talk about whatever comes to my mind about entrepreneurship and innovation – especially ideas fueled by a few beers.

    There’s a bunch of other great entrepreneurial stuff going on in Boulder in February.  Don’t miss the Winter in the Bunker series – new things are being added regularly. 

    And – if you are a startup that wants to work with some CU students as interns (or recruit them for full time work), don’t miss University of Colorado Startup2Students 2010 on March 11th from 6:30 – 8:00pm.

    I love this town.


  • MONTEVIDEO | EDIFICIO TAMARINDO | 4p | pro

    Edificio Tamarindo

    Experimente la serenidad del mar.

    Edificio Tamarindo le ofrece una vida repleta de sencillez, tranquilidad y naturalidad expresiva.

    Edificio Tamarindo ofrece 4 pisos de apartamentos de 2 y 3 dormitorios. Esta torre de alta gama se encuentra ubicada a 10 metros sobre el nivel de circulación; y por ello, ofrece vistas panorámicas del mar y de la ciudad.

    ENTORNO Y LOCALIZACIÓN:

    El barrio Punta Gorda es una zona residencial de la ciudad de Montevideo, situada sobre la costa del Río de la Plata, entre las zonas de Malvín y Carrasco, a 10 Kilómetros del casco histórico de la ciudad.

    Punta Gorda es una zona caracterizada urbanísticamente como Barrio Jardín, que rodeada de entornos verdes con residencias unifamiliares hacen de Tamarido un lugar único para vivir todo el año.

    El edificio está situado sobre la rambla, en un desnivel que brinda increíbles vistas y privacidad sobre el entorno.

    # Accesos:

    Los accesos vehiculares al edificio, por calle Ismael, otorgan una comodidad exclusiva, donde se descubre una elegante entrada que se abre a un exuberante jardín privado.

    Distancias a puntos de interés:
    # A 15 minutos de Ciudad Vieja.

    # A 10 minutos del Mall Punta Carretas.

    # A minutos de Word Trade Center.

    # A 3 minutos del Hotel Casino Carrasco

    # A minutos del aeropuerto

    FICHA TÉCNICA DE EDIFICIO TAMARINDO:
    El edificio de categoría Tamarindo propone 4 pisos con apartamentos de alta gama en Montevideo. El excelente diseño funcional plantea 2 apartamentos por piso, con unidades de 3 dormitorios en las plantas 1, 2 y 3 y con apartamentos de 2 dormitorios en el cuarto piso.

    Características específicas:
    # Cocina:

    Las cocinas están definidas con ingeniería gastronómica y un diseño meticuloso que optimiza espacio de trabajo y comodidad. La cocina está orientada hacia el norte del edificio: el espacio está bañado de luz natural por la mañana, donde uno puede disfrutar las primeras horas del día en el balcón de la cocina que se abre con vistas al jardín privado.

    # Baños:

    Serán revestidos en porcelanatos de colores claros, naturales para resaltar luces y espacios, con griferías modernas, acordes a un edificio vanguardista.

    # Habitaciones:

    Las habitaciones del Máster Suite ofrecen un espacio luminoso con pisos de madera. Las ventanas de piso a techo otorgan una vista maravillosa al Río de la Plata, desde la península de Punta Gorda hasta el Puerto de Montevideo.

    Los dormitorios secundarios dan a un jardín privado. Celosías de madera dura, movibles, le otorgan privacidad, y calidez natural.

    http://www.elinmobiliario.com/desarr…395.html#ameni

  • Teresina (PI)|Jóquei|Spazio Dell’Acqua|Patrimônio Incorporadora

    Como diz o cocô society daqui de Teresina: Mais um lançamento badalado para quem é übervip! (reinventaram a trema aqui:lol:)

    Este vai ficar no Jóquei, endereço bastante valorizado, próximo ao Colégio Notre Dame, na Zona Leste. Segundo os corretores do stand de vendas, logo atrás deve haver uma mega área de lazer completa, seguindo a moda dos novos lançamentos. São 2 torres com cobertura (as plantas baixas das cobrturas não estão aqui)

  • Toyota GRMN Sport Hybrid Concept: el Toyota MR2 híbrido

    Toyota GRMN Sport Hybrid Concept

    Toyota presentó en el Tokio Auto Salon nada menos que 22 modelos de preparador, con su nuevo socio Gizmoo. De la idea de Gizmoo fue el FT-86 G Sports Concept y ahora llega otra variante sobre un Toyota, el GRMN (Gazoo Racing Master of Nurburgring) Sport Hybrid Concept, un Toyota MR2 convertido a híbrido.

    Sin embargo, por más que este concepto parezca un poco inofensivo, no lo es en absoluto. Usando el motor V6 3.3 acoplado al sistema híbrido de siempre de la marca, el mismo que lleva el Toyota Prius, este MR2 sobrepasa los 400 caballos.

    Como cualquier híbrido este MR2 circula a bajas velocidades con el motor eléctrico, mientras que si ya queremos un poco más de diversión, entra en acción el V6. Evidentemente, la salida del Honda CR-Z apresuró un poco las cosas en cuanto a este concepto, sobre el cual se basará un próximo modelo a la venta para el 2011.

    Vía | Autocar



  • I Am… Sasha Fierce in the UK charts

    ukchart19

    Still going strong in its 61th week!

  • I can’t cook any more!! My cooking machine is broken!

    It is coming up on the first 3 months since diagnoses and I am still getting failing grades on cooking meat.

    All my life I have flowered and fried EVERYTHING. That or dump it in the crock pot – after browning it with flour.

    We hate pork chops unless they are fried. We don’t like chicken anymore. The steak I cooked the other night had to be put in the pressure cooker for 20 min before we could bite it and then it was all stringy.

    I need serious help. I have another steak (2 for one sale), is there something I can soak it in to soften it up? If not, I may just have to put it through the grinder and make hamburger out of it. 🙁

    I have a stainless steel Wok that I have never used. Do you think it may be time to start learning how to use it? I saw it at a flea market for $5 and had to have it, since I knew those kind were expensive. Can’t pass up a bargain.

    Snacks are easy, how hard is it to open an avocado and hand a man a spoon? 😀 Breakfast, scrambled eggs, no problem.
    Get closer to dinner time and I start sweating, what kind of meat shall I ruin tonight? My poor husband, I feel so sorry for him. First he gets this disease/condition that requires him to give up most all the foods he loved, and now his wife, who he always bragged on her cooking, can’t cook any more. We have dinner and I promise him a tasty snack in 2 hours. That is just pathetic.

    Any advice?

    Janice & her poor, pathetic, starving Husband

  • Centro Cultural de España.

    [B][I]He encontrado este edificio y creo el hilo para ir agregando informacion sobre él e imagenes.

    Web oficial http://www.cce.org.uy

    (salvo la primera el resto son de internet)

    El edificio que actualmente ocupa el Centro Cultural de España, construido a principios del siglo XX, fue anteriormente la sede del establecimiento comercial Casa Mojana –que funcionó como ferretería, vidriería, pinturería, cerrajería, papelería y bazar.

    “La Casa Mojana es un ejemplo de lo que fueran los grandes comercios de principios del siglo XX. Por un lado, por unir bajo un mismo techo una gran variedad de mercaderías que serían exhibidas y vendidas a un público cada vez más amplio. Por otro, por su mismo rubro que ponía en evidencia los cambios tecnológicos que se aceleraban llevando al consumidor las nuevas herramientas y materiales –sobre todo los metálicos– que ya se producían en serie.

    En cuanto a lo primero, se verá al terminarse el siglo XIX una inclinación a formar “grandes tiendas” en las que se multiplican los productos y los servicios y se reúne una variedad de artículos que poco antes habían sido fabricados en las casas o en pequeños talleres locales. Esto genera edificios de varios pisos que se combinan con espacios de conexión entre ellos, dando lugar a balcones internos, dobles alturas y claraboyas, que se convertirán en elementos clásicos de este nuevo tipo de comercio. Justamente en la Ciudad Vieja se asentaron grandes tiendas que tuvieron una vida paralela a la de la Casa Mojana, aunque fueran de otro tipo de especialidades.

    Las ferreterías, por su parte, tenían por entonces una renovación constante de mercaderías que industrializaban y ponían normas a clavos, tornillos, herramientas y máquinas que, en el caso de un país como Uruguay, estaba expandiéndose en el sector de la construcción pública y privada. (…) Así, la idea de barraca de almacén y venta se transformaría en este espacio asimilable al de las grandes tiendas, que se construyeron con un destino que mantuvieron por varias décadas.

    Pero las rápidas transformaciones de las actividades a las que la ferretería surtía, y posiblemente la lentitud en los cambios internos del negocio, llevaron a que después de una época de esplendor, la firma cerrara sus puertas. Así, quedó entonces vacío este importante edificio ubicado en el centro histórico de la ciudad, a unos pasos de la plaza de la Matriz y del Cabildo.”

    En la década de los 80 el edificio pasó a manos del gobierno uruguayo. En 1996 fue declarado Monumento Histórico Nacional por la comisión del Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación. Ese mismo año fue otorgado en régimen de Comodato a la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional por un periodo de treinta años tácitamente renovable. El Estado uruguayo ofrece a la AECI una sede adecuada para la instalación del Centro Cultural de España y la AECI se compromete a llevar a cabo la restauración integral del espacio y a dotarlo del equipamiento necesario para abrir un centro perteneciente a la Red de Centros Culturales de España en Iberoamérica.

    Las obras se desarrollaron entre mayo de 2001 y marzo de 2003. Estuvieron a cargo del Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas (Dirección Nacional de Arquitectura – Sección Obras VI), teniendo como representante al Arq. Gustavo Prenol; el proyecto y dirección fueron del Arq. Rafael Lorente Mourelle.

    Actualmente, el edificio consta de un subsuelo, planta baja y tres niveles elevados, totalizando aproximadamente tres mil metros cuadrados construidos. Esto incluye: en el subsuelo, una sala de exposiciones y un auditorio para alrededor de 150 personas; en la planta baja, una sala de exposiciones de 230 metros cuadrados y un espacio cerrado para exhibición de videos; en el primer piso, un aula, una cafetería y la mediateca, con espacios diferenciados para la lectura de libros y revistas, el visionado de películas y la escucha de discos; en el segundo piso, otra sala de exposiciones –habilitada en 2005–, dos aulas y algunas de las oficinas; en la tercera planta el resto de las oficinas y espacios de trabajo, y finalmente, en el cuarto piso –además de la azotea– un espacio multiuso que puede ser utilizado como depósito y taller.

    “La estructura clara ayudó y dio lección constructiva, con sus espacios adaptados al lote muy alargado y con el diseño de la claraboya central y sus balcones internos. La posibilidad de recuperar lo oculto al proponerse el desmontaje de cielorrasos y otros elementos que tapaban la estructura, fue un paso convincente para rescatar y dejar a la vista lo que fueran aquellas técnicas novedosas, como las de la estructura de hierro y las bovedillas prefabricadas de hormigón.

    Todo esto facilitó la aportación contemporánea que era imprescindible para las nuevas funciones, sobre todo para las instalaciones que un centro cultural necesitaba en ese momento. Aunque también se dejaron las puertas abiertas para futuras exigencias, casi repitiendo lo que había realizado el edificio original: continuar poniéndose al día periódicamente.”

    “Con este emprendimiento, el tema cultural se ha visto fortalecido en la zona. Ya con las galerías de arte, las librerías y museos –como el de Torres García– se había dado un paso importante para ello. Se ayudaba así a la oferta tradicional de las Casas de Oribe y de Rivera, a la iglesia Matriz y al Museo del Cabildo. Igualmente, la apertura de la feria de la Matriz y la peatonalización de algunas calles ha hecho multiplicar los atractivos agilizando esa parte de la ciudad.”

    Los fragmentos entrecomillados han sido extraídos del artículo de la arquitecta Graciela María Viñuales (CONICET: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de la Argentina), que es parte de la publicación “El Centro Cultural de España en Montevideo / Recuperando la Memoria” (coord. Arq. Ramón Gutiérrez, CONICET), editado por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación – Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional – Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales y Científicas. De esa misma publicación fueron tomadas algunas de las fotografías de esta página web.
    Dicha publicación está disponible en la Mediateca

  • Weird copy and paste from Rev Dictionary

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  • McCartney Followed Beyonce’s X Factor Footsteps

    Sir Paul McCartney’s friends warned him not to appear on Simon Cowell’s The X Factor – but he decided to go ahead after superstar Beyonce performed on the U.K. talent show. The Beatles legend played two tracks on the live reality competition last month  but admits he had to carefully consider Cowell’s offer after his pals urged him to turn it down.

    MCCartney insists it was the Crazy In Love singer, as well as former X Factor winner Leona Lewis, who inspired him to perform on the show. He explains, ‘Actually, when the offer came through it polarised a lot of people. Lots of my friends told me not to do it. It’s a pop show. But what turned me around – apart from the huge audience – was the fact that it’s a family show, and so many kids are obsessed by it. Also, Beyonce was on it, and if it’s good enough for her then it should be good enough for me. Plus, it threw up Leona Lewis, and she’s no slouch. Know what I mean?’

  • Classified Ad Find of the Day: Former A.J. Foyt ‘84 Ferrari 512 BBi

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    1984 Ferrari 512 BBi

    1984 Ferrari 512 BBi formerly owned by A.J. Foyt – Click above for image gallery

    For many, it’s a dream to own a Ferrari. For some, that alone is not enough. They need to own a specific Ferrari. We understand. We all have our favorites. Our man Jonny, for example, would probably agree to several waterboarding sessions and a you-can-only-listen-to-boy-bands-forever music restriction in exchange for a 288 GTO. (Jonny would agree to the latter because the GTO’s engine noise would obviate the need for music ever again.)

    Others among us (cough) would likely dip a toe into the kidney black market for one of the Berlinetta Boxers, whether it be a 365 or a 512. From a practical perspective, choosing between the two varieties is somewhat akin to waking up in 1986 and being asked who you’d rather date: Kathy Ireland or Paulina Porizkova. It’s pretty much a no-lose situation. As such, we enjoy perusing the classifieds, anticipating a mythical future in which we have bottomless pockets and are on a first-name, Christmas-card-list basis with every Ferrari mechanic on the eastern seaboard. Yeah, yeah – we know. Don’t blow the fantasy, okay?

    Anyhow, we think we may have found a winner this week after scanning the “for sale” listings at Octane magazine’s website. Offered through Tillack & Co., the ‘84 512 BBi you see above shows 27,000 miles on the clock, and at $135,000, it’s cheaper than your garden-variety F430 (and everyone has those, right?). Plus, it has that classic Pininfarina wedge shape, big NACA ducts, those eternally-cool knock-off hubs, is sufficiently rare (just 1,007 BBi’s produced in total), and lets everyone know you laugh at their child-friendly paddles as you work the old-school gated shifter. But these are aspects you’ll get with any old BB. What puts this one over the top is its provenance: it was once owned by the legendary A.J. Foyt (with a signed dash and owner’s manual to prove it).

    Not only does this critical element let you say stuff like, “I have A.J. Foyt’s Ferrari” in conversations, breaking any and all ties regarding whose machine at the valet station reigns supreme, it also elevates your Man Status to a point where you can (possibly) impregnate women simply by making eye contact. So if you decide to visit the folks at Tillack and spring for this particular ride, drive it well. And be careful where you look…

    [Source: Tillack & Co. via Octane]

    Classified Ad Find of the Day: Former A.J. Foyt ‘84 Ferrari 512 BBi originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Polk announces 2009 Loyalty Award winners, Toyota bumps GM

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    Key to the survival of any business are repeat customers, and automobiles are no different. The data miners at R.L. Polk & Company have announced the winners of their 2009 Automotive Loyalty Award after wading into facts and figures tracking customer loyalty to automotive nameplates. This is the 14th year Polk has presented the awards, and three new categories noting loyalty among specific ethnic groups were added this year.

    Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer went to Toyota, unseating General Motors from its nine-year run. Toyota cleaned up two more categories – Mid/Full-Size Car for the Toyota Prius and Mid/Full-Size SUV for the Lexus RX – and also secured one of the new ethnic category awards, taking home the honors for Asian-American brand loyalty.

    Honda took awards for Overall Loyalty to Make as well as picking up the new African-American and Hispanic loyalty awards. Most Improved Loyalty went to Audi for its 4.9 percent bump in customer retention. Ford’s F-Series pickup and Mustang ponycar won their respective categories, while the Subaru Forester, Range Rover, and Chrysler Town & Country repeated wins in their segments. The BMW 3 Series, Mini Cooper, and Porsche 911 also took home hardware. More details are given in the press release posted after the jump.

    [Source: R.L. Polk & Co.]

    Continue reading Polk announces 2009 Loyalty Award winners, Toyota bumps GM

    Polk announces 2009 Loyalty Award winners, Toyota bumps GM originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Iran plans new renewable energy plants -minister – The Guardian

    ABU DHABI, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Opec member Iran plans to develop new renewable energy power plants over the next five years with capacity totalling 2,000 megawatts (MW) to meet energy demand, its deputy minister for electricity said on Sunday. Abbas …


  • Is there a club for people who hate OS X permissions?

    I’m looking for a club made up of people who hate Apple’s brain-dead OS X permissions/security scheme.
    In the latest installment of OS X misery consider a file on a shared 10.5 drive. Whenever I edit the file from a 10.6 machine it’s saved in such a way that my wife loses edit permissions — even though both she and I have read/write permissions on the parent folder.
    OS X needs to abandon its broken unix-style permissions and imitate Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000/NT. (The admin/user issues with Vista to NT weren’t related to the permissions model – but that’s another post.)
    Grrrr. I wish the OS X customer base were way more demanding. Insufficiently demanding customers are one of the three banes of modern commerce (Two others: lock-in and fraud/deception).
    See also:
    Update 1/18/10: No sooner do I write this rant that I have to figure out how to fix a novel permissions hassle related to moving a VMWare Package between users. This stuff is seriously evil.
    Update 1/19/09: See comments. Inspired by Andrew W, I dredged up a memory of John Sicracus’s famous 10.4 review telling us that Apple was going to fix their broken permissions model years ago! Today in their OS X server marketing you can read (emphases mine) …

    Mac OS X Server supports both traditional UNIX file permissions and access control lists, giving administrators an unprecedented level of control over file and folder permissions. With access control lists, any file object can be assigned multiple users and groups, including groups within groups. Each file object can also be assigned to allow and deny permissions, as well as assign a granular set of permissions for administrative control, read, write, and delete operations. Mac OS X Server supports a file permission inheritance model, ensuring that user permissions are inherited when files are moved to the server and rewritten when files are copied to the server.

    ACLs have been used in the Windows world since NT inherited them from OpenVMS. This is one of several areas in which Windows has been far ahead of OS X.
    The problem, of course, is that Apple has not provided an equivalent of Tiger’s Workgroup Manager GUI in 10.6 standard to work with ACls, and they presumably break a lot of current software. Apple gave up on the 10.6 migration to ACLs, perhaps because of the Intel migration and the introduction of the iPhone OS.
    Sandbox provided an ACL control GUI for 10.4 10.5 users, but it’s not been updated for 10.6. Apple does allow us to download their Server Admin Tools which can reputedly edit ACLs on non-servers. (It only installs on OS X server.)
    See also:
    I’ll have to continue this one in my tech blog. (BTW, Bing did better than Google at finding these references.)

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  • Netfront 4.0 vs Opera Mobile 9.7 on the HTC HD2

    In the above video we take another look at Access’ Netfront 4.0 browser, comparing its performance to the built-in Opera Mobile 9.7 browser on the HTC HD2.

    Unlike your earlier impressions on a less powerful device, the Netfront browser performs pretty well in loading up an intensive site like ours for example, but is certainly not stable yet and seems to run much more often into memory errors.

    Additionally when we try the industry standard Acid 3 test Netfront 4.0 does not even get past 2/100, while Opera Mobile 9.7 gets the full 100 easily and smoothly.

    The biggest issue is however the user interface, which is pretty dismal for 2010 and has been an issue which has always dogged the browser.

    If you still wish to give it a try, Netfront 4.0 is a free download from Access here.

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  • ASUS DR-570 e-reader to sport 6-inch OLED color screen, 122 hours of battery life

    Well, isn’t this a doozy. ASUS was a bit of a no-show in the e-reader arena at CES, but has dropped some knowledge on the Times Online’s InGear: it’s building a 6-inch color OLED e-reader. The device, currently dubbed the DR-570 and pictured to the left, will play back Flash video, includes WiFi and 3G, and supposedly can last for 122 hours on one charge under “real world conditions.” It’s supposed to be released by the end of the year, and while from anybody else we’d assume this would cost an arm and a leg, the ASUS brand gives us some hope that we might actually be able to afford one when it hits.

    [Thanks, Ian S.]

    ASUS DR-570 e-reader to sport 6-inch OLED color screen, 122 hours of battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Dell Froot Concept Design Does Away with Keyboard, Monitor [Concepts]

    With the environment and sustainability firmly in mind the Dell Froot concept saves the planet courtesy two projectors: One for the virtual keyboard, and another for the monitor.

    Designed by Pauline Carlos as part of a sustainability contest sponsored by Dell, the Froot also uses a colorful case that’s constructed out of a biodegradable starch-based polymer. As it’s a futuristic concept, the lack of a mouse is understabdable—we’ll no doubt be using our brains by then.

    More seriously, Pico projectors are *almost* there, but not quite, otherwise I’d be asking why this is still just a concept. [Behance Network via technabob via OhGizmo]