Blog

When I was in high school, one of my good friends was an exceptionally good wrestler. He was also extremely good looking and had a wit about him that wasn’t exactly Showtime-at-the-Apollo-quality but still got the job done. Because of his tenaciously competitive spirit and his ability to charm essentially everyone, no one ever ridiculed him for perfecting what is inarguably one of the gayest professional sports outside of a skating rink. Sure, we thought it, especially those of us that went to the games and observed the painted-on singlets and heavy petting firsthand, but we never said anything. While I can’t speak for my friends, I personally chose to keep my biting sarcasm in check because within in a few months of knowing him, I had deduced that he was currently experiencing his “glory days” and after high school, the most he probably had to look forward to was a modestly successful career as a ladies shoe salesman. I figured, why rain on his parade? Life will take care of that soon enough.

Much the same can also be said of the 2011 Saab 9-5.

Although it was officially unveiled months ago at the Frankfurt Auto Show, it’s appearance at the LA Auto Show marks the first time I’ve seen it in the flesh and while I find some aesthetic aspects leave much to be desired, I can’t bring myself to delve further into detail. You may have though Saab’s 20-year dysfunctional marriage to the General was the most damaging to its career but as sad as it may seem, those were just the highlights. Now the entire brand is posed on the edge of extinction while the 9-5 itself faces a fate worse than death with intellectual property rights now under BAIC’s exclusive ownership.

In light of this bleak outlook, it hardly seems fair to ridicule the 2011 9-5 for a confusing design language that looks more bred from Lexus than it does from jets. So rather than criticize it for what it was and what it’s utterly failing to be, lets instead allow the 2011 9-5 a last hurrah before it’s raped of all relevant technology and left to fade into obscurity inside a Beijing office building.

If Dubai World's Nakheel property arm ends up defaulting on its debt, creditors may not much to take possession of.

Turns out that creditors for one $3.5 billion bond may only have a giant piece of barren land, the size of Manhattan, as collateral to their giant loan.

Bloomberg: Investors will be able to seek foreclosure on the property’s mortgages should the Dubai World unit fail to repay the loan, according to the bond’s prospectus. The debt is due on Dec. 14, after which Nakheel has two weeks to remedy a default. The property forms part of the Dubai Waterfront project, where Nakheel plans to build a city twice the size of Hong Kong.

Apparently it's a very valuable piece of land... assuming you have the money to build two Hong Kongs on top of it.

“The project isn’t likely to happen,” said Saud Masud, a Dubai-based real estate analyst at UBS AG. “I’d be very surprised if anything is built in the next five years.”

The land was valued at $4.2 billion by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. three years ago, based on the entire project being ready by 2018, when it would be worth $11.8 billion, the prospectus said.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Times Of London Censored Again In Dubai After Ruling Sheikh Is Called A "Benign Dictator"
• Dubai's Ridiculously Luxurious Real Estate Market
• CHART OF THE DAY: Dubai Shows What A Property Plunge Really Looks Like

Eco Factor: Naturally insulated night shelters generate solar energy.

With over 100,000 homeless people in Delhi, the government sets up night shelters each winter. However, the plans for this winter are different. This year’s shelters will include aesthetically-designed bamboo houses that will not only insulate the occupants but also generate solar energy for nighttime illumination.

(more…)

Eco Factor: Citrus waste recycled into biogas and ethanol.

Researchers in different parts of the world recycle organic waste into alternative fuel that can power our lives in a better way. However, unlike other forms of organic waste, composing citrus waste isn’t possible, as it contains an antibacterial substance which slows its breakdown.

(more…)

Eco Factor: Energy-efficient homes to be built by Velux Group.

Velux Group has unveiled the Model Home 2020 project to develop sustainable housing for people living in European countries. The group is planning to build six full-scale, experimental houses across five European countries.

(more…)

Ever looking for a sweet frozen sweet for your family? Jolly Llama frozen sorbets are made from natural ingredients and come in squeezable containers. This whole fruit sorbets contains no dairy, gluten, or genetically modified corn sweeteners; however I wish they were organic. They do contain “non-GMO soluble corn fiber”, which I am not too sure about.

Because we make our sorbets from sun-ripened whole fruit – never concentrates or juices – each Jolly Llama bursts with the mouth-watering freshness of real fruit and retains the rich store of nutrients that nature intended. Our Acai “superfruit” sorbet is particularly high in antioxidants. All of our sorbets are low in fat and each averages just 75 calories per tube. To make our sorbets even healthier, we fortify them with Vitamins A & C (50% RDI or greater) and naturally healthy fiber (10% RDI or greater).

The reviews in my family of Jolly Llama range from “yum” to “too sweet”. My five-year-old son likes them, but he can’t finish a whole tube, which my daughter does not mind finishing for him. She is the biggest Jolly Llama fan in the family and loves the strawberry flavor. I think the cold sorbet feels good on my sore throat.

Disclosure: I was sent free samples of Jolly Llama’s sorbets in order to taste them for this review. No prior assurances were given as to whether the review would be positive or negative.

BLOG DEFINITIONS
Blog is short for Weblog, a term first used by Jørn Barger in December 1997. Jørn Barger use the term to describe a group Weblog personal website is always updated continuously and contains links to other websites that they find interesting along with the comments of their own.
Broadly speaking, Weblogs may be summarized as a collection of personal websites that allow the manufacturer to display different types of content on the web with ease, such as paper, a collection of Internet links, documents (Word files, PDF, etc.), pictures or multimedia.
Makers blog called Blogger. Through Blognya, Blogger personality becomes easily recognizable based on what topic you like, what a response to the links in the select and the issues therein. Therefore it is very personal blog.
Another development is the Blog Blog includes stories about what a Blogger thinking, feeling, so what he did every day. Blogs and Online Diary also be located on the Internet. The only thing that distinguishes blog from the Diary or journal that we usually have is that the blog created to read others.

HISTORY BLOG
Probably the first blog is the page “What’s New” on the Mosaic browser created by Marc Andersen in 1993. If we still remember, Mosaic was the first browser before the Internet Explorer even before Netscape.
Then in January 1994 Justin Hall started his personal website “Justin’s Home Page” which later changed to “Links from the Underground” which might be called the first blog as we know it today.
Until the year 1998, the number of blog that there was very little. This is because the time required expertise and specialized knowledge of website creation, HTML, and web hosting to create a blog, so that only those who engaged in Internet, System Administrator or Web Designer who later in his spare time creating a blog-blog of their own.
But this time, we do not need to be a programmer to be a Blogger, because we can display the entire contents of the Web with ease via the menu editor that has been provided.
The advantage of the use of Weblogs among others:
Through weblogs, we can expand relationships friends / acquaintances that can form a large community.
Weblog exceed electronic mail (email), because a blog post that you mentioned, can be read by visitors unlimited blogs. Unlike email which can only be read by people who we send. In addition, blog visitors can also quickly respond to blog posts through comments that can be directly written on the blog.
As the development of weblogs from time to time, understanding the weblog will also evolve with ideas – ideas and wishes of the Blogger.

Source: bukukita.com

Eco Factor: New approach to produce more sustainable and cost-competitive biofuel.

The conventional process used to produce biofuel from algae destroys algae to extract their oil. Researchers at DOE’s Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University, in partnership with Catilin, Inc. have developed a new technology that makes use of nanoparticles to absorb free fatty acids from living microalgae.

(more…)

Pearl Harbor Day – December 7

We remember those who fought for our freedoms in World War II, those who gave their lives, those who took several years from their lives, and those at home who carried on when family members were away.  Because of their sacrifices our country remained free.

Do your children, do you know about Pearl Harbor?  You may have seen the movie, but do you know what this actually meant and still means to families?

This is a good time to learn from older relatives in the family and find our your Pearl Harbor heritage.  My uncle served in the Army Air Corps, and we have some of his letters written to my mom.  We also have a picture album of some of his experiences in the States.  However, he never talked too much about his service on the island of Guam, where he was an aircraft mechanic.

Uncle Al was so proud of serving his country that he wanted to be buried in his uniform when he died.  He kept it for those many years, for he died when he was 84.  He also wanted his medals pinned on for the funeral.  An honor guard draped a flag over his casket and presented it to my mom, his surviving sibling.  We fly that flag at our home and remember Uncle Al.

How are you remembering and preserving your World War II heritage and sharing it with your youngsters?

Post from: Blisstree

Do Your Youngsters Know About Pearl Harbor?

Eco Factor: Space-solar plant to be constructed by 2016.

California’s state legislators have finally given a green light to the first-of-its-kind space-based solar project. California’s biggest energy utility PG&E has announced that they would purchase 200MW of solar power that will be beamed from space by 2016.

(more…)

Are you tired of the same old Christmas sugar cookies? This holiday season, expand your baking horizons with unique cookies recipes such as these yummy Berry-Sage Thumbprints. These cookies are easy to make and absolutely delicious.Makes: about 60Prep: 25 minutesBake: 10 minutes per batch

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1-1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup blackberry preserves

Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a medium bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sage, and baking powder. Set aside.2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks, lemon peel, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour mixture.3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball. Fill the centers with about 1/4 teaspoon blackberry preserves. Bake about 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely. Makes about 60 cookies.Nutrition FactsServings Per Recipe about 60, Calories 115, Total Fat (g) 5, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 2, Cholesterol (mg) 24, Sodium (mg) 57, Carbohydrate (g) 16, Total Sugar (g) 8, Protein (g) 1, Vitamin C (DV%) 1, Calcium (DV%) 1, Iron (DV%) 3, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie dietImage and Recipe Courteay of BHG.com’s 100 Days of Holidays. Be sure to visit BHG.com this week to find out the big winner of their America’s Favorite Better Homes and Gardens Cookie contest.

Post from: Blisstree

Berry-Sage Thumbprints

San Francisco, California | Retro-Tech

Two enormous windmills overlook Ocean Beach at the far West end of Golden Gate park. Once mighty water-pumping machines designed to provide water for the fledgling Golden Gate Park at the beginning of the last century, they have fallen into disrepair and been resurrected, and the process is happening once more.

Fresh water was essential to transform the sand dunes of the Sunset district into the lush man-made parkland of Golden Gate Park. Inland, ground water was insufficent, so an idea was hatched to harness the coastal winds to pump deep water closer to the ocean shore.

Their functional life was short lived. Built between 1902 and 1908, both windmills pumped fresh well water from depths of 200 feet until 1913, when they were replaced by electric pumps which pumped more water more quickly. Almost immediately, they began to decline.

The North windmill, known as the Dutch Windmill, was the first, built in 1902 with oversized 102 foot sails. Originally, the water it pumped filled the artificial park ponds of Lloyd Lake, Metson Lake, and Spreckels Lake. Primarily due to efforts over twenty years by Eleanor Rossi Crabtree, daughter of a San Francisco mayor, it was renovated in the 1980’s and the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden was planted around it. The restoration was primarily cosmetic, however, and until more recent renovations the internal machinery had not been functional.

The South windmill, known as the Murphy Windmill, was the largest windmill of its kind in the world, with gigantic 114 foot sails, each cut from a single log. These sails turned clockwise, unlike traditional Dutch windmills which turn counter-clockwise (early, terrifying, film footage shows repair men riding the sails as they make their circuit). It was built to supplement the Dutch windmill between 1905 and 1908, funded by $20,000 from a local banker named Samuel Murphy, and donations of lumber and copper roofing from other local businesses. It is currently in the process o a ground-up restoration, with its inner working being re-fitted in the Netherlands by a centuries old windmill designer.

The Dutch Windmill started working again, on a trial basis, in July 2009. There are plans for further restoration in 2010.

In September 2009 the restored cap of the Murphy Windmill returned from the Netherlands, and the final stages of its restoration is now underway.

Maybe it’s because a Google Appliance is an actual, physical machine, and not just an intangible piece of software. But the question that keeps popping up is, "can you actually keep it running once the 2-year license runs out?"

With many software licenses, it’s tacitly accepted that you’d have to pay maintenance, support, and renewal fees; or that updates and upgrades may or may not be included in your license. Somehow, with appliances, this may strike us as odd: does your toaster stop functioning once the warranty runs out? Well, with the Appliance, it’s something you should consider just as you would with any piece of software (even though it comes with its own hardware).

There’s a bit of confusion here. For example, some competitors have been claiming this as a differentiator (notably, Thunderstone has always maintained that unlike a GSA, their Thunderstone Search Appliance is yours to keep and run past the "best before" date). Some Google resellers have claimed the exact opposite (saying you’re welcome to keep indexing and searching with your machine forever, even past the 2 year license.) In fact, both are right, and wrong, since Google has recently changed its policy.

There is no mystery here, but the truth is a little bit complicated:

• If you buy a new GSA, it will stop running once the license runs out (after either 2 or 3 years, depending on what you’ve bought), until you renew the license.
• But if you already own GSAs with the old license, those machines will keep working past the end date. And more interestingly… if you then buy new (additional) Appliances, these will also keep running indefinitely.

Of course, Google’s Appliances will be on the books as hardware in most cases, and it’s common to write off hardware in two or three years, anyway. Budget accordingly, and in a couple of years, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, you’ll end up with just another nice Dell server. You can always sell the Google cheese faceplate on eBay…

We can definitely feel Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain (http://ps3.qj.net/category/Heavy-Rain/cid/1827) inching closer and closer to its release date. We never doubted the hype surrounding this PS3-exclusive, but it’s exciting, nonetheless, to finally see its official US boxart

It’s the perfect time of year to give Peppermint minded gifts. Following are some ideas…

1. Tulip clusiana Peppermint Stick
2. If you’re giving a Peppermint Amaryllis bulb as a holiday gift it will spread cheer after the holidays as they can take 4-6 weeks to bloom. If you want to give a Peppermint Amaryllis in bloom by the holidays check with a local nursery.
3. Peppermint in 11 x 14 Floating Frame – a Silk Giclée image in a Floating Frame is ready to hang.
4. Peppermint Twist Bouquet – a lovely bouquet of long-stemmed red and white roses – VeriFlora certified.
5. Phlox paniculata Peppermint Twist – shipped for spring planting.
6. Teapot Garden Mint – grow mint right in this little teapot. Cute and perfect for someone who loves minty tea.
7. Peppermint Spray Roses Hatbox Bouquet – pretty white Majolica and red Mikado spray roses in a lovely box.
8. Peppermint Organic, Caffeine-Free Tea
9. Peppermint Pretty bouquet with peppermint carnations and white cushion spray chrysanthemums.

Post from: Blisstree

Peppermint Flower & Garden Gifts

A cut of pork you should buy more, plus really strange-looking black pods (what are they?) and a pretty sauce boat from England.

Read Full Post

So did you try your hand at cracking that Rorshach test teaser that for the “deadspace” Twitter account? If you’re just about ready to tear your hair out, rest your weary souls for the answer has been

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 head (900 g / 2 lb) white cabbage
• 4 sticks celery
• 1 green pepper
• 1 small onion
• A dozen green olives
• 4-6 T vegan mayonnaise
• A few drops of Tabasco sauce
  

METHOD:
Grate the cabbage coarsely. Chop the celery and green pepper. Chop the onion and olives finely.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

The humongous DSi LL continues its streak of domination by gigantic proportions over the Japanese hardware sales charts, and really, the rest of the participants in this console race can only hope to get an inch closer

It had become almost routine that when the Sunday night gold trading began it would immediately pop up. But not this evening — not after Friday’s rout.

It’s recovered somewhat, but still below $1160.

In Japan, meanwhile, the Nikkei is popping higher.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Did Barrick’s De-Hedging Call The Top In Gold? (ABX)
• Now THAT’S A Gold Selloff
• Everyone Is Long Gold