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While Daiki Suzuki’s Engineered Garments is more workwear influenced, his shift to Woolrich Woolen Mills for the Spring/Summer 2010 takes more of a coastal approach. There is no doubt that some of Suzuki’s EG styles are infused within the Mills collection. However, his lighter and more casual approach to the label gives a certain balance of recreation and comfort. Outerwear is the focal point of the collection, which is versatile enough for pairing with shorts. The pajama like blazers and suiting are very comfortable alternatives to your modern summer suits. If Engineered Garments enthusiast were to vacation in coastal areas, this would be the collection that would take its place.

Continue reading for more images.

Source: Denimaniac

On Thursday, February 4, 2010, join us to celebrate the publication of Professor Robert Mnookin’s new book Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight. This event is co-sponsored by Harvard Law School, the Program on Negotiation, and Facing History and Ourselves.

The evening will begin with a reception at 5:30 PM in Pound Hall 101 (1st Floor, Pound Hall, Harvard Law School Campus).  Following the reception, Professor Robert Mnookin, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow, Assistant Professor Gabriella Blum, and HLS Lecturer David Hoffman, founding partner, Boston Law Collaborative will discuss Bargaining with the Devil.

Copies of Bargaining with the Devil will be available for purchase.

Co-Sponsored by:

Conversations around blog posts now often happen offsite on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Sadly, a lot of plugins that try to bring these conversation back to the blog end up being somewhat useless, as large numbers of retweets can easily overshadow the more interesting tweets. Twitter search engine BackType just launched a major update to its search engine and a new WordPress plugin that aim to combat this problem. Starting today, BackType will filter out uninteresting tweets from its search results and its widgets.

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Widgets and Plugins

Last April, BackType released its first WordPress plugin. Unlike the original plugin, which features comments from sources like Twitter, Digg, FriendFeed,Reddit and other blogs, the new plugin only focuses on Twitter.

Installing the plugin is straightforward. If you use WordPress, you can find the plugin and instructions for installing it here. If you use another blog engine, the widget can be found here. You don’t need to register with BackType to use this service.

If nobody has tweeted anything interesting about your site yet, BackType will give your readers the option to send a tweet right from the widget. Sadly, BackType didn’t integrate a re-tweet feature into the plugin, which would have made the service even more useful for publishers.

Here is the new BackType widget in action:

BackType is obviously working in a crowded market. As a search engine, it has to compete with successful startups like OneRiot, while its plugin competes with more complete offerings from Disqus and JS-Kit. At the same time, though, the simplicity of the plugin is its greatest strength. If you don’t want to replace your current comment system but would like to bring in more discussions from Twitter to your blog, the new BackType plugin is definitely worth a look.

Discuss

The walls are alive… with sophisticated sensors that can sniff out potential terrorists, according to Popular Science:

Researchers at brain trust Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing andErgonomics (FKIE) in Wachtberg, Germany have developed a network of “chemical noses” that can not only smell chemicals hidden on a person, but also identify the carrier as he or she moves through a crowded space.

This means that someone entering an airport with individual chemical components, that can be used to make an explosive later, can be tracked right from the door itself.

Sensitive sensors located in walls would “sniff” out the chemicals, triggering a discreet security alarm. The sequence of triggered alarms would allow security personnel to determine which direction the chemical-carrying person was moving, and a software program would zoom in on one individual in the crowd. Cameras all over the airport would track the suspect as he moves and security could then apprehend the person well before he/she reaches the crowded security checkpoints.

Here’s how the Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking (HAMLeT for short) system works, according to researcher Wolfgang Koch:

The system involves a network of highly sensitive smell sensors that follow an explosives trail. There are oscillating crystals on the sensor and whenever the electronic noses capture chemical molecules, their oscillation frequency changes. The precise nature of the change is different for different substances.

In an experiment with the German Armed Forces, the system accurately zeroed in on five “terrorists” carrying hidden explosives. The scientists are now working on refining the prototype, so there are no false alarms.

However, there is no mention of the dilemma faced by particularly smelly people. What if your deodorant or aftershave contained some sort of chemical that could also be used to terrorize old ladies and kids on a plane? Our suggestion? Don’t stand too close to the walls.

Related Content:
Discoblog: German Activists Protest Body Scanners By Stripping Down
80beats: 5 Reasons Body Scanners May Not Solve Our Terrorism Problem
80beats: Are Digital Strip Searches Coming Soon To Every Airport Near You?
Discoblog: “What a Wonderful Smell You’ve Discovered!” Device Sniffs Out Dead Bodies
80beats: New Research Points Toward Artificial Nose Based on Human Smell Sensors
DISCOVER: Future Tech discusses the military’s interest in e-noses

Image: iStockphoto

Zipper Interactive has laid out the target trophies for their 256-player online fragfest, MAG. The game’s 38 trophies break down to 20 bronze, 13 silver, four gold, and one platinum. Hit the jump to see what you’ll

A new state law has raised income eligibility, so more people qualify for benefits

The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) Director Charles D. Johnson announced this year’s online application is available starting January 13 for older adults and people with disabilities to apply for Circuit Breaker and Illinois Cares Rx.

A new state law that became effective on Jan. 1 raised the annual income limits, making it possible for more people to qualify for the state benefits.

“We are encouraging individuals to use the online application at cbrx.il.gov because it is the fastest way to get approved for these benefits to help seniors and people with disabilities,” said Director Johnson.

“Starting Jan. 13, apply online for the state’s prescription drug assistance program Illinois Cares Rx, Circuit Breaker property tax grants and a license plate discount.”

As of Jan. 1, a new law makes it easier for some to get into the program.  The new law raised the income eligibility.  By allowing higher incomes, more seniors and persons with disabilities will be eligible to receive the state’s prescription drug assistance, the property tax grant, license plate discount and People with Disabilities Ride Free transit card.

To qualify, your total income in 2009 must be less than:

• $27,610 for a household size of one
• $36,635 for a household size of two
• $45,657 for a household size of three or more

More medications are also available for Illinois Cares Rx enrollees.

In 2009, 255,640 applied online compared to 2008 when 235,000 applied online.

In 2007 there were 190,976 online applications and 75,288 applied online in 2006, which was the first year the Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) had made the IL Cares Rx application available online.

The state’s pharmaceutical assistance program, Illinois Cares Rx, provides wrap-around prescription drug coverage to fill in the gaps created by Medicare Part D and offers drug coverage for people who do not have Medicare.

Individuals eligible for the Illinois Cares Rx program may also be eligible for additional benefits from the state’s Circuit Breaker program.

The Circuit Breaker program provides a property tax relief grant for individuals who pay property tax on their residence or rent or nursing home charges on a residence that is subject to property tax.

In addition, the program provides a discount on the license plate fee for one vehicle.  These benefits, including Illinois Cares Rx, can be accessed by applying on one application.

To assist those who may need extra help to apply, the Department on Aging staff is holding training sessions in coordination with the Illinois Department of Insurance’s (DOI) Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP).

Training is to explain the application to providers in the Aging Network.  SHIP, which provides free individual counseling services at more than 150 local sites throughout Illinois, is dedicated to educating Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers about Medicare insurance options.

Seniors who don’t have access to a computer are encouraged to visit a local senior center, public library, community center, Area Agency on Aging or Senior Health Assistance Program site to access the web based application, or call SHIP at 1-800- 548-9034.

For more information visit cbrx.il.gov, for assistance call Circuit Breaker at 1-800-624-2459 or call the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 (888-206-1327 TTY).

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out saying to overweight equities and underweight bonds. Their Research Investment Committee (RIC) says that long-term investors should buy ‘humiliation’ and sell ‘hubris,’ noting that equities are currently a ‘humiliated’ asset class.

They attribute this classification to the past ten year performance of large cap equities, a period where these assets performed worse than in the 1930s. They write, “on a relative basis they have clearly suffered the greatest ignominy over the past 10 years and despite the rally of the past nine months remain the most unloved and undervalued asset class.” Hedge funds would certainly agree with the notion to get long equities as they’ve had considerable net long exposure for some time now.

Read the whole story at Market Folly — >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Gold ETF Fund Flows Quadrupled In November
• Uh-Oh, Commodity Flows Are Slowing
• 90% Of Fund Flows Missed The Stock Rally

Here at Cagewriter, we like to provide a public service from time to time. Today, we want to remind you that fighting is not easy. Take a look at these UFC fighters for a remind. Aaron Simpson, on the left, won his fight over Tom Lawlor, but that didn’t help him avoid a beat-up face. Gray Maynard’s nose and bruised face came about despite his win over Nate Diaz. As for Diego Sanchez, it’s been over a month since he took the beating of a century from BJ Penn. Yet, the cut over his eye is still pretty awful.

All of these fighters love their jobs and are paid to do them. But it is always worth mentioning that fighting comes with a cost. 

Filed under: CES, Technology

You may not have heard of Hughes Telematics before, but this offshoot of the great Hughes empire provides the tech that, amongst other things, powers Mercedes’ latest mbrace technology, Benz’s response to OnStar. But that’s not all they do; the company is working on its own advanced infotainment system for the car, and also showed off a system informally called “OnStar in a box” – an easy-to-install device that will let you track exactly where your car is at any time, how fast it was going, and even what kind of mileage it was geting at the time. Somewhat more troubling, it also could allow others access to the same information, people like your insurance company. Good stuff, or Big Brother with an OBDII connection? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Hughes Telematics takes us for a ride with Mercedes’ latest mbrace tech, demonstrates ‘OnStar in a box’ [w/video]

Hughes Telematics takes us for a ride with Mercedes’ latest mbrace tech, demonstrates ‘OnStar in a box’ [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of D.I.Y articles on the internet, some more useful than others. I read maybe a dozen or so a day, solely for the sake of expanding my knowledge bank of obscure solutions. Every once in a while, one sprouts up that is just so damned simple, so face-palmingly obvious, that it makes me feel downright stupid for not thinking of it.

This is one of those.

The trick is simple. Armed with nothing but a pint glass, you can make the sound coming out of your iPhone (any smartphone should work, really – the iPhone works especially well because the speaker is on the bottom) about twice as loud. Does it sound beautiful? No. Is it a replacement for even the cheapest of speakers out there? Nope! But if you ever find yourself in a bind — like needing to blast a conference call just a wee bit louder — this little trick just might get you out of it. Check out the video below for an example.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

We’ve mentioned a bunch of times that while we support the concept of net neutrality (and think any ISP that goes away from it is making a big, big mistake) we’re quite worried about the unintended consequences of having it put into law. As a perfect example of why we should be worried, the EFF is putting together a petition to protest the “copyright loophole” that’s already in the proposed FCC rules:

Buried in the FCC’s rules is a deeply problematic loophole. Open Internet principles, the FCC writes, “do not… apply to activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.”

For years, the entertainment industry has used that innocent-sounding phrase — “unlawful distribution of copyrighted works” — to pressure Internet service providers around the world to act as copyright cops — to surveil the Internet for supposed copyright violations, and then censor or punish the accused users.

From the beginning, a central goal of the Net Neutrality movement has been to prevent corporations from interfering with the Internet in this way — so why does the FCC’s version of Net Neutrality specifically allow them to do so?

This is what we worry about. It’s great that the EFF is catching this particular loophole, but as more lobbyists get their hands on net neutrality regulations, they’re going to slip in more and more loopholes like this that will turn what may have great intentions into something else entirely.

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By Emiko Terazono

Published: January 15 2010 02:00 | Last updated: January 15 2010 02:00

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Pundits and analysts have recently celebrated yet another reduction in U.S. consumer debt as a sign that we’re in full-on recovery mode and the worst is behind us. Last week the Federal Reserve released data on consumer credit through November 2009. I checked out the data myself and found that all that consumer deleveraging we’re hearing about is a big fat myth.

The above chart (Click it! It gets bigger!) shows both the total amount and monthly percent
change in both revolving and non-revolving consumer credit from 2000
through 2009, the most recently available datapoint. Let’s look at revolving and non-revolving credit:

–Revolving credit peaked in August 2008. It’s down 10% in the last year, but up a whopping 42% over the last decade.

–Non-revolving credit (student, boat,
and other loans not secured by real estate) peaked in January, 2009,
and has only decreased 1% since. Since January 2000, non-revolving debt increased a whopping 72%. On a
per-capita basis, from the end of 2001 through 2009, outstanding household revolving credit increased
almost 18%, while non-revolving credit outstanding increased almost
42%.

Contrary to the claims of several notable pundits, there was no
“Great Consumer Deleveraging” in 2009, nor was there one in 2008. After peaking in mid-2008, mortgage debt decreased only 1.8%
through the third quarter of this year. With unemployment sticking around 10 percent and benefits ending for many recipients, I see delinquencies and
defaults continuing to rise throughout the year, which I believe is
corroborated by historical FDIC data.

We often hear the statistic that “consumer spending makes up 70% of GDP.” But we don’t often hear the logical follow-up question, “Why is that a good thing?” When growth in consumer spending is funded with debt rather than rising increased incomes, collapse is inevitable.

Harvard University will open a free skating rink in Allston on Friday (Jan. 15). The 40-by-60-foot temporary indoor rink will be open to the public Fridays and weekends through March 28.

The Harvard Allston Skating Rink at 168 Western Ave. is a way to bring community-oriented uses to the University’s Allston properties while it looks for building tenants. The rink is part of the University’s commitment to strengthen the active stewardship of its properties and improve community vitality in Allston.

“As we seek a long-term use for this building, we wanted to open up this space to the community in a creative way,” said Christine Heenan, vice president of Harvard Public Affairs and Communications. “We share the neighborhood’s desire for places that can bring the community together.”

The indoor rink is housed in a former garage. An adjacent, glass-lined showroom has been transformed into the rink’s lounge.

During the week, staff from Harvard Real Estate Services, the Allston Development Group, and Harvard Public Affairs and Communications put the final touches on the space — hanging lights, decorating walls, and arranging furniture.

Starting Saturday (Jan. 16), visitors can go skating, watch skaters from the heated lounge, or get refreshments. Allston residents, along with Harvard and local officials, will celebrate the rink’s opening on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m.

Visitors can bring their own skates or borrow free pairs. Skates are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and their numbers are limited.

In the future, the rink will be open on Fridays from 3 to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be special hours on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 18), from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and during Boston’s school vacation week (Feb. 15-19), from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.