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As a part of an SEC filing, AOL (AOL) published this sample stock certificate. (We hear the real thing is cheap.)

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See Also:

• AOL, Yahoo, And Microsoft Battle For Local Supremacy
• Casting "AOL: The Movie" (AOL)
• AOL’s Throws Its Old Logo In The Dumpster (AOL)

In the ViewModel, aka the MVVM pattern, a view such as a UserControl is bound to its associated view model. The view model manages state exposed as observable properties, operations exposed as methods and raises notifications via events. An interesting question is how a View should specify its view model, and how a view model instance should be created. Like everything else in the ViewModel pattern, this topic is no different. There are different strategies, with pros and cons, and different people have different opinions.

In this post, I’ll describe a couple of options, and hope to collect some feedback as well as ideas on alternatives. Part of my goal here is to improve what is supported in Silverlight.FX out-of-the-box. The other goal is to find what resonates, and see if I can collect input on suggestions I’d like to make for future ViewModel support in Blend/Cider – so any thoughts you share will certainly help. Looking forward to hearing them…

My general criteria for evaluating each approach is the following:

1. It should be possible to create the view model through an IoC container, so its dependencies (properties, or constructor arguments) should be satisfiable. In other words, its likely a view model can’t be instantiated directly in XAML… at least not in the subset of XAML supported by Silverlight today.
2. The mechanism should not interfere with designability either in Blend.
3. Furthermore, the mechanism should even lend itself to designability. For example, the data-binding picker should allow binding to properties on the view model.

[Full post continued here…]

Arrondissement de Lyon, France | Architectural Oddities

Between courtyards and through buildings, secret alleyways and staircases once provided safe and efficient passage for silk workers to get their wares to and from market unmarred. Now partially open to the public, many of the traboules worm through several buildings forming a secret continuous covered passageway.

The word ‘traboules’ is a corruption of the Latin ‘trans-ambulare’, or ‘to pass through’, and the earliest date from the 4th century, built to allow more direct access to the town’s fresh water source than the winding streets provided. There may be as many as 400 traboules in town – unfortunately only a small percentage of them are open to the public, mostly located primarily in the historic Vieux-Lyon and Croix-Rousse areas.

The Croix-Rousse district of Lyon was the heart of the 19th century silk trade, and the courtyards and traboules that pass through it were the meeting places for the local ‘Canut’
silk weavers. In the 1830s there were as many as 25,000 silk looms in Lyon, and as more silk workshops opened, merchants began to take advantage of the artisan class weavers with reduced wages and benefits. Struggling with the combination of increased competition, new technology, uncertain economic forces and the extortionate merchants, the workers rose up rose up twice in dramatic rebellions. The workers banded together, closed workshops and marched on the town, picking up weapons at the armory as they went, seeking to hold the industry hostage until a set wage was agreed to. However, the revolts were bloodily suppressed. 10,000 Canuts reportedly were tried in Paris and faced criminal deportation, but their motto of “live free working or die fighting” inspired other workers uprisings in future years.

The publicly accessible traboules are clearly marked with a small identifying seal. Private passages are behind locked doors or gates. In the 1990s the Lyon Department of Urban Planning started a program of restoration and maintenance to encourage public access to the historic passages.

The longest traboule in Lyon runs between 54 Rue Saint-Jean and 27 Rue du Bœuf, and a famously picturesque traboule begins at 9 Place Colbert/14 bis montee Saint Sebastion, and features a historic six story external staircase.

Someday my last child will be out of the house. I will be approximately 62 and by that time I hope to be completely immune to a unique virus.  This malady is spoken of only in hushed tones and nervous whispers by those who have experienced the backlash of its displeasure. It makes parents who breezed through the terrible twos tremble with fear. Yes folks, it is TEEN DRAMA.

And if you think that teenage girl drama is the ultimate expression of dramatic angst you have never been around a teenage boy. It is teen drama week here at Chez Audet and emotions are running high. Well, and with good reason. Dragging kids through an unexpected divorce just stinks for all involved. Add the stress of a 17 year old going through college midterms (sophomore year) and trying to juggle his first job, increased responsibility at home, and general hormones…well you get the idea.

The thing to remember when your teen is having a meltdown is that they are dealing with real pain. Maybe you don’ t get it, maybe it seems silly to your intellect but it is massive to them. Here are some things I do to try to get through it unscathed:

• Don’t take it personally
• Allow them to verbalize
• Don’t try to fix it
• Reassure them of your love, acceptance, and pride
• Listen more than you talk
• Don’t assume it is a major psychological or spiritual problem but be willing to get help if it is
• Be willing to step up to the plate and bat for them if they need it. Maybe a few days off from school, chores, or other responsibilities will help them have perspective.

Luckily my kids tend to be thoughtful and drama happens one child at a time. I think they draw straws but I can’t prove it…

image:SXC

Post from: Blisstree

There Ain’t No Drama Like Teen Drama

Maui, Hawaii | Subterranean Sites

At the end of the Highway to Hana, a famous scenic drive on Maui, is the Hana Lava Tube, KA`ELEKU CAVERNS. Unlike caves which can take millenia to form, lava tubes can form very quickly, over a few weeks. As massive rivers of lava flows from a volcano the lava on the outside of the thick river of lava will cool occasionally hardening to form a tunnel. When the lava stops flowing you are left with a circular lava tube running for up to 30 miles!

Like many tubes left behind after lava flows, the Lava tube on the Hana road of Maui shows all the geologic elements of lava flows that crust over. Among the many interesting things found in a lava tube are tube slime, extreme bacteria that live on the nitrogen, lava balls, which form much like a snowball rolling down a snowy hill, and lava falls, where a flow of lava has been frozen mid fall.

One enters the tube through a hole in the tubes ceiling created by gas punching through the ceiling of the lava tube. Hana Lava Tube has self guided tour on an unlit path. Don’t wander off though, the tunnels often have maze like “braided” smaller tunnels in which it is easy to get lost.

Paul Kedrosky reminds us in an interesting post that far more people are ‘contrarian’ these days than most contrarians might imagine. Everyone wants to be smarter than the government, smarter than corporations, smarter than science, smarter than the market, smarter than whomever.

Thus it’s important to differentiate between true contrarianism which questions the commonly held beliefs of the public, and naive contrarianism, which is more of just a knee-jerk reaction.

When it comes to markets in particular, another point to consider is that contrarianism can take on any market view — at the right time. Thus while bears may be contrarian during one period, they could suddenly become consensus during the next. And vice-versa.

Infectious Greed: Why is contrarianism so appealing? It is appealing – and growing immensely in popularity – because it has so much smart-guy frisson. This naive contrarianism lets you pose outside the system, meanwhile keeping good company like Warren Buffett, John Paulson, the Freakonomics fellows, and oodles of self-declared fellow travelers, most of whom almost certainly aren’t doing what they say they are.

Contrarianism also appeals to our increasingly cynical nature. It is the superficial idea that most people are wrong about everything, especially if they are in government, on TV, among the putative intelligentsia, etc. They think that? Ha, I’ll take the other side, etc.

…

I was reminded of all of this earlier today in reading a piece in NY Magazine about the past decade’s burgeoning business of writing contrarian books & articles. 

…

Easy and naive contrarianism about everything has become the new consensus – and that is a kind of bigoted and dumb consensus around which I’m happy to go the other way.

Read the full article here.

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See Also:

• Extreme Efficiency: A Contrarian’s View
• Consumer Sentiment Hits 28 Year Lows…Contrarian Buy Signal?
• Bankrate (RATE) Citi’s Mahaney’s Great Contrarian Call

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

Click above to watch the video after the jump

We love racing. There are tons of different variations of fast vehicles in motion, and all provide a vast array of stimulation to our eyes and ears. Formula One, touring car, WRC, ALMS, bikes… all compelling in their own way and all are pretty damned fast. But as we’ve come to realize over the years, that which is fast also tends to look pretty cool when slowed to a crawl.

We’ve come to enjoy YouTube maven Mattzel for his slow-motion manipulation of all manners of racing footage, and we’re happy to say that the high-resolution mix master has come strong with another compilation. This time there is more F1, more rally, more bikes, more crashes and more slow. Hit the jump to watch the video. We’re thinking it’s well worth three minutes of your time.

[Source: YouTube via Axis of Oversteer]

Continue reading VIDEO: More super-slow-mo from the world of motorsport

VIDEO: More super-slow-mo from the world of motorsport originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wait, what? Didn’t that come with 3.15? Apparently not. The firmware update doesn’t hand it all to you in one big swoop you’ll have to wait for the December 17 PlayStation Store update to get them

When it comes to hydrogen fueling and H2 transportation, the typical scenario is that one company will build the hydrogen car while another company such as an oil or specialty gas company will put up the hydrogen fueling station. Hydrogenics is one of the rare exceptions that does both.

Hydrogenics has just delivered another fuel-cell powered Midibus to a hospital in Hamburg, Germany. The owner of the hydrogen Midibus, Klinik Logistic Eppendorf GmbH, now owns 11 such vehicles.

According to Hydrogenics President and CEO, Daryl Wilson, “The Hydrogenics Midibus continues to gain traction across the continent as local governments come to view it as an appropriate solution for urban, emission-sensitive environments. With eleven such buses now delivered and in use, Hydrogenics has validated its unique fuel cell applications and energy-efficient mobility design with a high degree of reliability, paving the way for future awards. Europe clearly plays a large role in clean transportation solutions, and we are well positioned for further growth there.”

So, while Hydrogenics is aiding Germany in its ambitions of serial production of hydrogen cars and a supporting hydrogen highway system by 2015, by building Midibuses for that country, it is also setting up hydrogen fueling stations in California.

In fact, Los Angeles, in the near future will receive one of Hydrogenics HySTAT-30 electrolyzers for refueling hydrogen cars in that region. Hydrogenics supplied the electrolyzer for the Shell hydrogen fueling pump that opened about 1 ½ years ago on Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles.

There is no word yet as to the location for this additional Hydrogenics hydrogen fueling pump in the Los Angeles area. Unlike some of the hydrogen fueling stations that have been build, Shell oil decided to incorporate a Hydrogenics pump into a busy existing station, both normalizing the presence of hydrogen pumps and cutting down costs of building an whole new structure devoted solely to hydrogen.

By Mercy Jiménez

American Banker today (Dec. 11) published a “Viewpoint” commentary I wrote on Congressman Scott Garrett’s (R-NJ) groundbreaking proposal for covered bond legislation in the U.S.  

This legislation could open up the way for diversified sources of funding for banks as well as a partial solution for the Fed’s exit strategy on its $1 trillion MBS holdings. We are at a crossroads in the U.S., where we must make a proactive decision to attract private capital back into the mortgage markets— or else remain in limbo dependency on government subsidies for the foreseeable future.

A hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday at 10 AM in which the merits of Congressman Garrett’s proposal will be discussed. If enacted, the proposed legislation would include game changers we have so desperately needed in this space to attract issuers and investors alike — i.e., legal structures for bondholder protections, standards for cover pools, and the role of Treasury as regulator.

Of particular interest are the proposed asset classes beyond real estate loans, because the amendment would open the way for covered bonds secured by student loans, auto loans, credit card receivables and small business loans.

All of us, of any political persuasion, should take interest in this supplemental funding source, which has proved resilient over the past 200 years — and even more so during the current financial crisis.

The link to my American Banker commentary is below. (If you are not a subscriber, it is easy to get a free two-week online subscription that will allow you to view the full text.)

http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/174_237/covered-bond-proposal-1005024-1.html

Filed under: Crossover, Hyundai, First Drive

Little more than ten years ago, the meat and potatoes of the automotive universe were C and D segment sedans. Think Corolla and Camry; Focus, Fusion and (old) Taurus; Civic and Accord. But then, for better or for worse, something significant shifted in that old sales paradigm. Specifically, crossovers. Also known as CUVs, the overgrown wagons still ride around on C and D platforms, only a foot higher off the ground. Why? Blame the SUV craze and/or what automakers refer to as the “command seating position,” an odd euphemism for sitting up high.

A momentary flirtation with $4 per gallon gasoline has – for the most part – shut down the large SUV game. But for whatever reason, consumers still want and demand command seating, so much so that Hyundai believes the compact CUV segment will experience more growth than any other niche in the market. Hyundai knows this specialized segment well, as the outgoing Tucson – the Korean brand’s previous generation small CUV – has sold more than one million copies. However, the Tucson has been around since 2005, and to put it nicely, the old Tucson wasn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. And this is a gun fight. Knowing that, Hyundai has just rolled out its newest car, the 2010 Tucson. But is it a killer?

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2010 Hyundai Tucson a green machine with few compromises

First Drive: 2010 Hyundai Tucson a green machine with few compromises originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Among women of all age groups, female hair loss can be very devastating and socially demoralizing. Our modern society tend to glorify and admire beautiful, long, full, thick hair, this usually make hair loss victims cower under hats and wigs, feeling alone and depressed, and experiencing great discomfort during intimate times with their husbands or significant others.

Visit Our Provillus Site For More Information

This feeling of vulnerability can also extend out of the home to the workplace. If your hair is falling out in clumps, there is always that feeling that colleagues and co-workers in the office are whispering their nasty things about you among themselves or giving you veiled looks of sympathy, even if this is not the case. A woman in this frame of mind will even be suspicious of her own shadow. No one can fully realise how it feels unless they experience these range of emotions themselves.

Hair loss treatments vary widely, depending on age, the actual cause of hair loss and general physical condition of the sufferer. The first step towards hair restoration is to see a physician for advice. Hair loss can easily be an early warning sign of some diseases like diabetes, and this needs to be diagnosed or ruled out. Also if your scalp is itchy, flaky or scaly, it is possible that a bacterial or fungal infection is in the process of damaging your hair. Fortunately, these situations can easily be dealt with and the damage prevented.

Women who experience hair loss during or immediately after childbirth or after surgery should not be alarmed. Chances are, these are temporary conditions and will correct itself soon after. Other things that could put you at risk of losing your hair includes poor diet and lack of exercise. The first important step in determining the source of hair loss is to rule out any temporary causes. The more permanent type of hair loss is often a result of heredity or hormones and it is there to stay unless treated successfully.

Visit Our Provillus Site For More Information

Hair loss treatments are many and varied. There are separate treatments for the reduction in the rate of hair loss and others for potential hair regrowth. To slow down the rate of hairloss or prevent hair loss, you need to follow these widely known advice:

1. Stop the use of harsh alopecia shampoo – shampoos with lathering ingredients are tough on hair and can cause early death of hair strands.

2. Stop using dry heat methods of drying and styling hair – Cultivate the habit of using hair styles that does not require so much blow-drying or, worse, curling irons. One of the things that quickly destroy hair follicles is excessive heat.

3. Stop excessive coloring and dressing – These hair dressing and coloring processes damage hair on the long run, and as hair is brushed, combed or groomed to death, bigger and bigger loss will be the ultimate result.

4. Watch your diet – well-balanced diet, especially eating meals high in protein and natural oils can help keep your hair healthy and prevent hair loss.

5. Exercise more – Exercise does wonders for the human body. You hair can also benefit from a well planned exercise regime by increasing the blood flow to your scalp which will keep your hair glowing with health.

6. Learn to deal with stress and anxiety – People react to stress and anxiety in separate ways. Stress in itself can make your hair start falling out once it gets out of control. If you have things that are stressing you up, just like the rest of us, you will need to learn how to cope and find time to relax and enjoy some peaceful moments in your life. Getting involved with Yoga and other forms of meditation can help to reduce your stress and anxiety.

7. Give natural hair loss remedies a try – Useful remedies include essential oils and herbs which, in various
mixtures, can be spread on the scalp to help hair follicles to remain open and healthy. Natural hair loss treatment like this is very good for your peace of mind as it comes with no adverse side effects.

Visit Our Provillus Site For More Information

There are a variety of medical options for reduction in rate of alopecia and promotion of effective hair regrowth. These are advertised throughout the media, and most include research results which show the various levels of effectiveness of each method. Most of the medical hair regrowth treatment contain both man-made chemicals and natural ingredients. You will need to carry out your own investigation and experiments in order to determine the one treatment that works best for you. This can be a lengthy process, because you may have to wait 3-6 months before determining with any certainty the effectiveness of any one of the solutions.

Hair loss prevention and hair regrowth products like Provillus are also available to help stop hair loss in females – but be quite certain you use the ones made for women only. Provillus promotes hair growth in men and women naturally. It uses a blend of natural ingredients designed for men’s and women’s unique needs to safely promote hair growth by nourishing your hair from the inside out, without side effects. Natural looking wigs and hair extensions can also provide relief and help massage your vanity and restore confidence, some women even tend accept these as their permanent solutions.

Hair surgery or hair transplant can be quite expensive, but many women have been known to opt for this same option. Female pattern baldness tend to respond best to this method because hair is usually relatively thick at the back of the head and some of this can be transplanted to front and crown areas. Hair grafts are also an option when there is an overall balding concern.

Visit Our Provillus Site For More Information

Fortunately, a great deal of money is being poured into researching this problem world-wide. Research labs across the globe are working tirelessly round-the-clock to develop medical preventions and cures for hair loss. Although progress is slow, some advances are being made, and the quick-witted sufferer of hair loss will keep her fingers firmly pressed on the pulse of this progressing research so as to be instantly aware of, and benefit immediately from, any new break-through in hair loss treatment.

For more information and to order Provillus visit: PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW

National Guard leaders celebrated the Guard’s 373rd birthday on Capitol Hill today
along with other DoD dignitaries and members of Congress…

From the air, the basic outline of Camp Bucca appears as most military forward
operating bases in Iraq, except for nine fluttering white flags affixed to poles
jutting from the ground…

Defense and military officials gathered at the Pentagon to discuss the top issues
facing the Yellow Ribbon Program for reserve-component servicemembers and their
families during a two-day summit that concluded today…

The U.S. military role remains critical to preserving gains made in Iraq and helping
to prevent sectarian violence in the roll-up to Iraq’s national elections, Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates told about 300 soldiers and airmen at a town hall session
today at Forward Operating Base Warrior…

After an initial delay caused by software and manpower issues, the first retroactive
payments will be disbursed next week to soldiers who were retained on active duty
involuntarily under the so-called “Stop Loss” program…

Legendary director Akira Kurosawa reportedly went to great lengths to make his films seem authentic.

His perfectionism also showed in his approach to costumes: he felt that giving an actor a brand new costume made the character look less than authentic. To resolve this, he often gave his cast their costumes weeks before shooting was to begin and required them to wear them on a daily basis and “bond with them.” In some cases, such as with Seven Samurai, where most of the cast portrayed poor farmers, the actors were told to make sure the costumes were worn down and tattered by the time shooting started.

Reminds me of how Sacha Baron Cohen never washes Borat’s suit.

A stickler for authenticity, during filming he never washed his gray Borat suit and never wore deodorant.

“The smell is an added thing for people to believe that I’m from a country where hygiene wasn’t a necessity,” he explains.

Sometimes it’s the little things.