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Filed under: Coupe, Videos, Dodge, Specialty

If you squint your eyes a bit, and possibly drink a very large amount of tequila, your eyes might find a slight (read: extremely remote) resemblance to the DMC DeLorean in the old 1980s-vintage Dodge Daytona — minus, of course, the Delorean’s trademark gullwing doors. Plus, it seems as if every other ’80s Daytona is finished in a shade of light silver that could be mistaken at first glance for an unfinished stainless steel skin. Sort of.

It makes sense, then (okay, not really) that at least one enterprising person with a suitably-warped sense of vision saw fit to build his very own Mr. Fusion-powered Dodge Daytona Time Machine, and we give him solid marks for effort. Except. perhaps, for not wiping the dust off his camera lens (see what we mean around the 1:00 minute mark) before shooting the video.

If you’re like us, you’re probably wondering why someone would go to the trouble of recreating a BTTF Time Machine using a Dodge Daytona? We’ll let the builder explain:

Being an adult, I have realized that without winning the lottery or inventing the latest, greatest thing, I am never gonna have the money to buy a Delorean. Well, I could probally get the money together, but I am pretty sure my wife will not let me spend it on a 28 year old car… but I sure as hell can afford an old 1980’s Dodge Daytona!

Makes sense, no? Click past the break to watch the video in all its child-of-the-eighties glory. Thanks for the tip, Luke!

[Source: YouTube via BTTF4.com]

Continue reading VIDEO: 1986 Dodge Daytona gets the Back to the Future treatment

VIDEO: 1986 Dodge Daytona gets the Back to the Future treatment originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from climatenoborders, 11 December 2009: “As part of the range of actions during the UN COP15 Climate Summit in Copenhagen, activists have designated December 14th the ‘No Borders! No Climate Refugees!” Day of Action. As such, the international network, No Borders, is organizing an action targeting the Danish Ministry of Defence as a symbol of the military role in creating refugees and enforcing repressive border regimes…” more

Amsterdam, Holland | Musical Wonders

In a city chockablock with museums, one of the smallest and most unusual is home to about 50 mechanical player pianos and almost 20,000 punched rolls of music.

The player piano was an American invention of the late 1800s that very quickly became popular. The latest evolution of musical automata, self-playing pianos began to emerge along with mechanical adaptations for standard pianos in the 1870s. Most of them required a human user to use the foot pedal bellows to run machinery which pulled scrolls of pre-programmed music past the mechanical parts, which then activated the keys of the piano.

The popularity of the player pianos was launched with their performance in the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition and lasted until the stock market decline of the 1930’s. Combined with the accessibility of record players and the advent of radio, the market for these expensive music machines evaporated.

The name Pianola was a trademark of the The Aeolian Corporation of New York in the 1890s, but the name was broadly applied to all player pianos. Export to Europe began in 1899 where they quickly gained popularity in homes and music halls. Queen Victoria owned one for the last two years of her life.

The program scrolls were made of normal paper, punched with holes or slits to correspond to notes, much like early computer punch cards. Some composers took advantage of the new technology to design songs that could not be played with a mere ten fingers, creating unique pieces exclusive to the machines inexhaustible supply of virtual fingers.

The museum is housed in a small but atmospheric building in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam.

I was browsing through T.J. Maxx the other day and happened across the coolest thing in the clearance aisle. (Disclaimer: I am not much of a baker. If you are, this may not be either cool or new to you, but I was very excited.) Natural Elements has a ceramic muffin pan that is both microwave and oven safe. So, if you want to whip up…Oh, brownie muffins, for instance, without turning on your oven, you can. This means muffins in the summer without heating up the kitchen.

We used our pan last night to make strawberry cheesecake muffins in the oven. They turned out perfectly. I still need to make some microwave cupcakes to test the pan out, but it was very easy to wash and nicely non-stick on the areas where the batter dripped out of the cupcake liners and onto the pan. I really like that the pan is not Teflon and still is very easy to clean. I have been so not a Teflon fan ever since I found out that just cooking with your Teflon coated pan and overheating it could kill your little birdies. Anything that takes out a canary cannot exactly be good for my kids to be breathing, either.

Do you use ceramic cookware?

Photo: K. Thomas

Post from: Blisstree

Natural Elements Ceramic Muffin Pan

Obama just loves all Electric and stays Cool himself, could we also stop to be cynical and truly endorse the “Feel Good Investment Play” for real?

Fisker Karma

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Tesla Roadster

Docking XD

Audi e-Tron

Blue Maruti EV

BMW Hybrid

BMW Hybrid

BMW Hybrid X6

BMW EV

BMW Mini EV

Cadillac Converj

Citroen Revolte

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Detroit Electric

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Subaru EV

FIAT e500 Beach Buggy

FIAT EV

FIAT e500 EV

FIAT Palio Weekend Electrico

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GM Volt

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Jaguar Hybrid

KIA Hybrid

Maya 300 Electrovaya

Mercedes Blue Zero

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Nissan Land Glider

Nissan Cube EV

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Opel Aptera

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Peugeot BB1

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Pinifarina Bollore Blue Car

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Roewe 750 Hybrid

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Ssangiong

Subaru Hybrid

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Th!nk.

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Volvo C30 BEV

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Instead of fulfilling your New Year’s weight goal with a low-carb diet that’s high in fat, a better choice for your heart might be a low-fat, high-carb diet with exercise. According to a new study, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets won’t help you lose weight faster, and they could be putting you at risk for heart disease.

New research lead by Dr. Steven Hunter from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast reveals that the risks of high-fat, low-carb diets far outweigh any potential benefits of weight loss reaped by overweight and obese people.

The study participants included a group of obese pre-diabetic adults. Researchers compared the results of a low-fat, high-carb diet of 20% fat and 60% carbs with a high-fat, low-carb diet of 60% fat and 20% carbs. Findings showed the diets have equal health benefits, except that the the high-fat, low-carb diet held risks for cardiovascular disease. With both diets, the same amount of weight was lost. Plus, the low-carb diet wasn’t shown to be a faster route for weight loss.

Dr. Hunter said:

“High-fat diets have become popular because they seemingly promote more rapid weight loss and because of their palatability. However, we now have proof that they do not help people lose weight any faster than more conventional diets, and the potential negatives of increased cardiovascular risks far outweigh the potential positives of more easily sustained dieting/weight loss, especially when there is a proven and safe alternative in low-fat high-carbohydrate weight loss diets.”

The study showed a “significant difference in overall systemic arterial stiffness,” which pointed to increased cardiovascular risk factors from high-fat, low-carb diets. Dr. Hunter warns that doctors who advocate for the high-fat, low-carb diet to defend against obesity and diabetes may actually be contributing to a rise in cardiovascular disease.

How do you feel about the safety of low-carb, high-fat diets?

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

High Fat, Low Carb May Put Heart at Risk

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Convertible, Performance, BMW

When BMW launched the new Z4 early this year, they made it clear that, unlike the last Z4 and the Z3 before it, there were no plans to create an M version this time around. Of course, forgoing the M nomenclature doesn’t mean that BMW won’t create a faster Z4 than what’s currently in showrooms.

In fact, the first of those faster roadsters will debut next month at the Detroit Auto Show. The Z4 sDrive35is is based on the existing 35i, with its delicious twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six. Compared to the existing turbo Z4, the new model gets a higher-flow intake and the turbos are allowed to spin up to higher boost pressures, resulting in an 11 percent bump in both power and torque output. The ’35is now makes 335 hp and 332 pound-feet. In fact, for brief bursts, the 35is can crank up the boost even higher resulting in short periods of up to 369 pound-feet of torque.

BMW claims the Z4 sDrive35is will get to 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds. Other features of the 35is include revised electric electric power steering programming, a standard dual-clutch gearbox, and brake energy regeneration. Visually, the 35is wears some M Sport aero and suspension bits and sees its ride height dropped 0.4 inches lower than the standard 35i. They may not be calling this a full M Roadster, but in most respects, that’s exactly what this new model is.

[Source: BMW]

Continue reading Detroit Preview: BMW to unveil faster Z4 sDrive35is, almost an M

Detroit Preview: BMW to unveil faster Z4 sDrive35is, almost an M originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from occupied london, 11 December 2009: ““Resalto” is the anarchist space in Western Athens that was raided by police on the evening of December 5th. The 22 comrades arrested during the brutal break-in of the space were released by the Piraeus Court at the dawn of Tuesday, December, 8th. However, the court imposed strict bail conditions on them all, which included very high amounts of bail money: The total amount of this bail money equals 51,000 euros. More specifically, for one of those arrested bail was set at 15.000 euros, for three of them at 5,000 euros each and for the remaining seven, bail was 3,000 euros…” more

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Technology, Vauxhall, UK

Parallel parking isn’t difficult, but we have generally found ways to make it so. Between cars that almost kinda park for you to those with video game displays that turn parking into a Microsoft Flight Simulator landing attempt to the automated cars that park themselves (a frickin’ robot! To park!), getting a car into a space couldn’t be more complex.

It is a university scientist and engineers at Vauxhall, though, that have proposed the most difficult parking solution we’ve encountered so far: a not-exactly-short equation. To make it work you’ll need to know your car’s turning radius, wheelbase, the distance from the center of your car’s front wheel to the car’s front bumper, and the width of the parked car you’re trying to fit behind or in front of.

Drop those numbers into their proper places, let the slide rule dance, use the result to take a few pulls at the wheel, and voila! All you need to do now is leave your insurance information on the cars you just plowed into. If anyone can get this to work, successfully, please let us know. But we though everybody knew the answer to parking is “42.” It’s the question that’s the hard part… Cap tip to Eralp

[Source: Daily Telegraph | Image credit: AtomicNebula via CC2.0]

REPORT: Vauxhall team creates mathematical formula for perfect parking originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eric Schmidt said in a CNBC special recently that “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place!”

And yet the reaction to this flagrant ignorance of basic privacy is met with mixed reactions. Some are criticizing, others are agreeing. Garett Rogers at ZDnet is even brown-nosing at Google’s CEO for some reason with a statement I couldn’t agree with him more!

It would have been easy to just start ranting about the generic ignorance of Eric Schmidt for anything private. But i wanted to see what will the google engine do with something that I don’t want anyone to know, and yet i could’t prevent it from happening – ILLNESS

I created a series of e-mails which i exchanged between two gmail accounts. It took 3 e-mails for gmail to suddenly start offering me anti-allergy bracelets, and refer me to doctors in their adsense. Now, google engines know that I have an allergy. Here are the transcripts – word for word of those e-mails

I appologize for not being on time, but i had to visit a doctor
Apparently, i have developed some form of allergy. I will need to be treated with anti-allergy drugs for some time.

They are still investigating which medicine is the best

See you around
—————————————————————
Bozidar
I am very sorry about your situation. I have had some rash issues myself some time ago, and I got prescribed Singulair and Alavert. Maybe you should mention those to your doctor as possibilities

Be safe
—————————————————————
Alavert is for allergies. So i’ll be mentioning it to my doctor

Thanks

All it takes is 3 very short texts for google engines know that you are ill. And those may be e-mails you exchanged with your physician. It is quite obvious that the automated engines use this information – i got relevant commercials.

So I would ask Mr Schmidt:

• Nobody chooses to be ill, and information about health is exchanged via e-mail, so now Google knows it. So, please answer – what Google won’t do with this information?

And I will ask Mr Brin and Mr Page:

• Do you support that the CEO of your company stated that it’s our fault that Google knows something that is very private and confidential?

Talkback and comments are most welcome

Related posts
No Privacy – Saw You Cheating on Image Search
Google Voice – No Privacy Remains?

The bigger they are, the harder their arteries, or something along those lines

Confronted with the unhealthy and sometimes crippling number of concussions that high school, college and pro football players routinely suffer on the field, the institution of organized football is already on the defensive. Now it may be about to be blindsided by another less dramatic but potentially just as troublesome bit of negative PR.

To wit: football linemen have an alarming tendency to be not just big and bulky but clinically, even dangerously, obese. This is based primarily on one study, of the Ohio State football team, but the Buckeyes approach the game about the same way all teams do, and that includes recruiting linemen they hope will be too big for opposing players to impede or push aside.

Over the years this has become a kind of caloric arms race, with pro linemen now commonly topping 300 pounds, a weight that is nearly impossible to achieve without being obese.

Measuring up at Ohio State

At Ohio State, researchers rejected using BMI as a measurement, since it fails to consider muscle weight, and instead measured body fat and other health metrics, with a reading of more than 25 percent body fat qualifying as obese. Their findings:

• Out of 90 football players, only 19 were obese, and they were all linemen. In fact, two-thirds of the linemen — 19 out of 29 total — were obese.
• Of the obese 19, 13 had developed an insulin resistance that made them vulnerable to type 2 diabetes, and eight had metabolic syndrome, a set of high-risk numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and so forth.

It’s always possible that the Ohio State results do not accurately reflect the dietary situation in college football in general, but given another recent study that found retired NFL linemen also exhibit metabolic syndrome and die from heart ailments more often than other ex-players, it’s more likely that the Buckeyes are just the tip of the NCAA obesity iceberg.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this story is that college and pro coaching and fitness staffs were already wise to the problem, and team meals have swung heavily away from fatty meats and fried foods and toward lean grilled meats, chicken and fish.

Judging by the OSU and NFL studies, that has not solved the problem of unhealthy player obesity.

(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

NFL and college football behemoths playing a dangerous game

London, U.K. | Museums and Collections

This new art venue, opened in October 2009, contains the biggest collection of outsider art in London, and maybe the world.

“Outsider Art” is a term used to describe art made outside of the mainstream art world, by individuals who did not receive traditional artistic training. In reality, this often means art made by the clinically insane, hermits, criminals, or obsessive-compulsive individuals.

The Museum of Everything has a fascinating collection and is a peek into the mind of madmen, and next to each artist’s works is a commentary by a well-known contemporary artist.

The museum is located in the Primrose Hill area of London, a short walk from the Camden Town markets and Regent’s Park