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Gingersnaps, whether you’re talking about the crisp cookies or the chewy variety, are a classic holiday cookie. Sweet, spicy and oh-so-flavorful, they’re a great addition to a holiday plate and go well with a cup of tea when the weather gets cold. The only thing they’re missing is some chocolate, so there are some chocoholics that pass up the gingersnaps and opt for ordinary chocolate chip cookies even around the holidays. This is an easy fix, though, so I made up some Chocolate Gingersnap Cookies to add to my holiday cookie rotation this year.

The cookies have cocoa powder in the dough and some chopped up chocolate chunks mixed in with the candied ginger that studs these cookies. This means that they really have a well balanced chocolate flavor to them. Fortunately, they are also just spicy enough that the gingersnap spices have no problem shining through in the finished cookie. The candied ginger actually goes a long way here, since every bite is gets a little extra kick of ginger flavor to it.

These have a chewy, moist center and a nice crisp exterior to them. They’re good warm from the oven, when the chocolate is still soft, and they will keep well for about two days. I like to use coarse sugar for rolling because it makes the “crust” just a little bit crunchier, but if you don’t have any regular sugar will work just as well.

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Filed under: LA Auto Show, Hybrid, Sedan, Hyundai, South Korea

Not counting full-size trucks, the meat-and-potatoes of the American car market remains the mid-size family sedan. For the past two decades, the undisputed kings of this particular segment have been the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, especially since the Ford Taurus fell off its pedestal right around 1992. Many have tried to knock the two Japanese heavyweights (now figuratively and literally) off the hill – and almost as many have failed. And while those two titans have remained atop the sales charts, other family sedans have met with considerable success. Perhaps most notably, the Hyundai Sonata, an unassuming car that has found its way into 1.2 million homes.

With beaming grins and news of Hyundai being named the most fuel efficient brand in America, Hyundai’s brass took the wraps off their new-for-2011 Sonota. What strikes you instantly is the Sonata’s curvy, slightly-hefty, almost organic shape. Hyundai calls the design language “Fluidic Sculpture,” and while not quite as in-your-face as Mazda’s signature Nagare styling language, we have a feeling it might prove nearly as polarizing. That’s not to say the new Sonata is bad looking or ugly. But it is highly-stylized in a mid-size market that tends to reward the bland and middle-of-the-road.

But Fluidic Sculpture is what we’ve got – and not just on the Sonata. Hyundai’s North American President and CEO John Krafcik promises that this design language will define the brand moving forward. Not surprisingly, Fluidic Sculpture originated right here in Southern California in Hyundai’s Irvine design center. We really appreciate some of the finely wrought detailing, such as the grille, door handles, headlights and taillights (though those taillights appear to be lifted directly from the BMW 3 Series). We’re just a wee bit uncertain of how the new Sonata will play in Peoria.

As for the non-design aspects of the 2011 Sonata, the big news is under the hood. Gone is the 3.3-liter V6, or for that matter, any V6. Instead Hyundai is offering consumers a choice of three four-cylinder engines. The first is a 2.4-liter Gasoline Direct-Injection (GDI) motor called the Theta II good for 198 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. That much power from a 2.4-liter essentially puts the Sonata at the head of the four-cylinder class. But what about those pesky V6 cars? No problem, as Hyundai will launching a turbocharged version of the GDI Theta II. If direct-injection and turbocharging sounds a little EcoBoosty to you, well, it is. And that’s a very, very good thing.

But what about hybrids? There will be a hybrid version of the Theta II. Hyundai’s calling the technology Blue Drive,and it sounds pretty spiffy. Unlike other hybrids that use nickel hydride (or starting soon, lithium ion) batteries, the Hyundai system will use lithium polymer technology. According to Hyundai, lithium polymer leapfrogs lithium ion battery tech and within five years, the entire industry will switch to LP. Only Hyundai will be putting the tech on sale within the year. Big claims to be sure, but Hyundai’s been defying conventions and expectations for quite a while now. Look for the Alabama-built Sonata to start at less than $20,000 and go on sale this January. Official press release after the jump, Jonny-on-the-spot photos below.

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Jonny Lieberman / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading LA 2009: All-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata to come in regular, turbo and hybrid

LA 2009: All-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata to come in regular, turbo and hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Internet and television personality Alex Albrecht claimed to have insight on the price of Apple’s rumored tablet during the latest episode of Diggnation, which also featured actor John Hodgman from Apple’s “Get a Mac” commercials.

Read more from AppleInsider

If you don’t have a pet stocking, there’s more good reason to start the tradition.

The ASPCA is selling some sweet velvet stockings for dogs or cats. Plus, they’re on sale for only $10.49 right now. I love that you can personalize these stockings with a photo of your pet.

Visit ASPCA’s Large Pet Stocking product page for more details.

If you want to celebrate your pet on your Christmas tree as well, check out the Pawprints ornament from the ASPCA. You can create a print of your pet’s paw without baking or mixing.

Recommended Stocking Stuffers for Pets:

• Pit’r Pat treats (or Yip Yap for dogs)
• ASPCA toy collection at Walmart (leashes and collars also available)
• Hurley Dog Bone or reclaimed cotton Dog Sweater from West Paw Design
• FurBuster De-Shedding Tool for Cats from Bamboo

And, for you, the Dyson DC31 Animal for cleaning pet hair from furniture, stairs or anywhere.

(Image via ASPCA online store)

Post from: Blisstree

Pet Stockings & Treats for Inside

Rising dollar commodity prices, generally from low points in the early stages of this year, are now seen by some commentators as possibly running into bubble territory, as, effectively, a one-way bet against the dollar. Dollar gold bullion, for one, has made fresh all time records within the past 24 hours, at more than US$1,200 an ounce. Commodities enjoy broader support, as reflected in the majority of world stocks exchanges trading at or close to the highest levels this year.

For speculators on the dollar commodity price train, the ceiling is yet to be reached, according to analysts at the Bank Credit Analyst, which reckon that “the dollar is not technically oversold and fundamental factors for a bottom are still not in place”. Seen over the longer term, the dollar index recorded a bull market from 1995 through 2001. It has been in a protracted bear market since, but at current levels, is above multi year lows seen in April 2008, when it measured 70.70 points, the lowest since inception in 1973.

Read the whole story at MineWeb >>

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See Also:

• Andy Xie: When The Dollar Bottoms, China Will Go Bust
• JPMorgan: Forget Dubai, Stay Long Stocks, And Keep Hammering The Dollar
• Strong Canadian Dollar Slams GDP Growth

Engadget have published another hands-on video of the Samsung Omnia 2.  The video is not much better than our last one, but does show the previously unrevealed Samsung widget store, which seem to have a lot of goodies.

See more at Engadget here.

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Minivan/Van, Toyota, Luxury

Toyota finally took the wraps off their new 2011 Sienna minivan and we have to say, it looks pretty good in person. Although Toyota sent out some teaser shots this morning, we just got back from the official unveiling at the LA Auto Show and have a whole batch of live shots and quite a few more media pics for you to browse. We were quite shocked by the size of the crowd at this press conference, perhaps showing that even though the minivan market may be shrinking, it still meets a sizable need.

We were also a bit surprised to run into Ford’s J. Mays and Mark Fields, and they reminded us that you have to stay abreast of the competition lest you die. They would neither confirm nor deny the return of the Aerostar. Besides the top-level Limited model on stage, Toyota also showed off a pre-production SE, which sits a little lower on a stiffened suspension and 19-inch alloys. It also sports a body kit, a revised grille and carbon fiber in place of wood inside.

Also make sure you check out the 2011 Sienna’s trick 16-inch LCD monitor for rear seat passengers and the reclining seats with extendable footrests, two features we’ve never seen in this segment before.

Live photos copyright (C)2009 Frank Fillipponio / Weblogs, Inc.

LA 2009: Third-Gen 2011 Toyota Sienna is a rock star originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fat and Sugar Messing with Your Genes?

Try staying away from extra fat and sugar this holiday season to avoid packing on more pounds. According to new research published in The FASEB Journal, a diet that is high in fat and sugar may switch on genes that cause us to store too much fat. (Note: The studies were performed on mice, and more research is needed on the human side.) So, foods high in fat and sugar might hit you twice as hard. It’s already difficult to convert high-fat and high-sugar foods to energy, but it can be more difficult when those foods encourage your body to store even more fat!

Migraines May Raise Your Stroke Risk

Researchers at Johns Hopkins concluded that migraine headaches are linked with a greater than twofold higher risk of the most common kind of stroke, which occurs during a sudden cut-off of blood supply to the brain due to the buildup of plaque or a blood clot. The risk is highest for women who experience migraines with aura — flashing lights, zigzag lines and blurred side vision. “Based on this data, physicians should consider addressing stroke risk factors in patients with a history or signs of light flashes and blurry vision associated with severe headaches,” said senior study investigator and cardiologist Saman Nazarian, M.D.

Can That Lonely Feeling Spread to Friends?

Being lonely may actually help you lose friends. Loneliness can spread among groups of people, say researchers at the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard. They say that people move to the edge of social networks when they become lonely. When that happens, the lonely person has fewer friends, and may continue to lose friends through the spread of loneliness. Researchers found that next-door neighbors who experienced an increase of one day of loneliness a week helped prompt an increase in loneliness among close friends who were neighbors. As the neighbors spent less time together, the loneliness spread. Their work was published in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

(Image via flickr/Migraine Chick)

Post from: Blisstree

Health Bits: Fat Genes, Auras, Loneliness

Yesterday it was Philly Fed’s Plossner, today it is Richmond Fed’s Jeff Lacker who joins the chorus demanding an end to Bernanke’s insane monetary policy of drowning the market with unprecedented liquidity which is not getting to consumers but merely propping Amazon stock at a bubblelicious 100x P/E.

In a speech before the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Lacker stated: “The perception of inflation risk could be particularly pertinent to the current recovery, given the massive and unprecedented expansion in bank reserves that has occurred, and the widespread market commentary expressing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve is willing and able to promptly reverse that expansion… If we hope to keep inflation in check, we cannot be paralyzed by patches of lingering weakness, which could persist well into the recovery. In assessing when we will need to begin taking monetary stimulus out, I will be looking for the time at which economic growth is strong enough and well-enough established, even if it is not yet especially vigorous. Although it is hard to predict when that will occur, I can confidently predict that monetary policy will remain particularly challenging for some time to come.” Then again, the stock market does not seem to share Mr. Lacker’s concerns.

Read the whole post at Zero Hedge >>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• How Wild Inflation Made Monopoly Prices Ridiculous
• We’re In The Final Month Before Inflation Hits
• TIPS Spread Forecasting Higher Inflation? Not Necessarily…

We had just been noting how Spanish courts seemed to be actually interpreting copyright law in a reasonable way, and slapping down industry attempts to abuse the laws. Of course, that couldn’t last. It appears that Spain is now proposing new copyright laws that would bring its existing laws down the well-lobbied path of draconian punishment, increased third party liability and other mindless ideas that have more to do with propping up an old business model than encouraging the creation of new quality content. A bunch of professional content creators in Spain are organizing to protest these new rules, but do they stand a chance against the usual onslaught of industry lobbyists?

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Filed under: LA Auto Show, Budget, Hatchback, Mazda

2011 Mazda2 – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Ford Fiesta may have been the big B-segment reveal last night, but Mazda has finally decided to bring its own compact runabout to North America, and it’s based on the same architecture as it Blue Oval sibling. Originally launched in Europe, Japan, and Australia a couple of years ago, the Mazda2 was very well-received by media and consumers alike, a warm reception that probably helped make the case for the Japanese automaker to bring it over to the United States. That time has arrived, and the Mazda2 will be available in North America as a 2011 model.

Although Mazda revealed what the North American spec version will look like, it’s still holding back additional information, including engine specifications, interior details, and pricing. We’ll get more details soon, but in the meantime, check the full release after the jump and our live pics from the floor below.

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

Continue reading LA 2009: Mazda unveils North American spec Mazda2 for 2011

LA 2009: Mazda unveils North American spec Mazda2 for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite all of our government’s recovery efforts, it still can’t get a grasp on the dampened job market.

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AP: Unemployment worsened or stayed the same in most metro areas in October, the Labor Department said Wednesday, as jobs remained scarce nationwide.

The report comes a day before the Obama administration is to hold a “jobs summit” at the White House that will gather economists, academics and corporate executives to consider how the government can spur job creation.

The jobless rate rose in 162 of the 372 metro areas tracked by the Labor Department. The rate was unchanged in 42 areas. It dropped in 168 areas.

In September, unemployment had improved in 223 areas and worsened in only 123. The deteriorating trend mirrors the U.S. unemployment rate, which jumped to 10.2 percent in October from 9.8 percent in September.

The metro unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted and is therefore volatile from month-to-month. All 372 areas reported higher unemployment rates in October compared with the previous year.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release the national unemployment report for November on Friday. Wall Street economists expect it will show the jobless rate was unchanged at 10.2 percent while employers shed 130,000 jobs, according to Thomson Reuters. There were 190,000 job cuts in October.

Fifteen areas recorded jobless rates of 15 percent or worse in October, the department said, with nine of those in California and three in Michigan. That’s up from 13 areas with rates above 15 percent the previous month.

Fresno, Calif., for example, saw its jobless rate soar to 15.8 percent from 14 percent in September. And the rate in Hanford-Corcoran, Calif., jumped to 15.5 percent from 13.9 percent.

The areas with the biggest increases were: Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, which soared to 8 percent from 5.6 percent; Ocean City, N.J., to 10.6 percent from 8.5 percent; and Sandusky, Ohio, to 10.9 percent from 9.5 percent.

The largest improvements were in: Lawrence, Kan., where the rate fell to 4.7 percent from 5.4 percent; Ames, Iowa, to 4 percent from 4.5 percent; and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass., to 7.9 percent from 8.8 percent.

El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz. posted the nation’s highest jobless rates of 30 and 23.5 percent, respectively. The two adjacent counties are heavily agricultural and have many seasonal farm workers.

Bismarck, N.D., recorded the nation’s lowest rate, at 2.8 percent, followed by Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., both at 3.5 percent.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Video Games Make Awesome Unemployment Gifts (BBY, ATVI, ERTS)
• Watch The Country Get Fired: Unemployment By County 2007-2009
• 10%+ Unemployment Through 2015, Says Mish

If you’re stressed about getting everything done this holiday season, have you considered skipping the decorations? I’ll admit that you probably can’t get away with that if you have young kids, but think of the extra time you’d have. No crawling into the attic or closet to drag out decorations. No worries over watering live trees or assembling manufactured ones. No carefully unpacking ornaments and putting hooks on them. No extra things to dust around the house.

Am I sounding like a Scrooge?

Even without holiday decorating, you can still enjoy Christmas music. You’ll be able to complete holiday baking. And, of course, you can continue do your Christmas shopping. You can celebrate Christmas, but without the extra stuff you have to put away at the end of December. It’s not like you can’t see a Christmas tree in nearly every shop or office you visit. Decorations are all around us for the entire month of December. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a jolly-free refuge inside your home?

For people with pets, an added bonus of not putting up a Christmas tree or other unusual decor is that you won’t have to worry with pets disturbing or breaking anything. In the past, my cat has gone bonkers with attempting to eat bows on presents, hooks on ornaments or wax in candles. Yeah, maybe he has pica?

Besides saving you time, not decorating with lights also saves energy. Yes, I know not decorating for Christmas is a very radical idea, but try it on in your mind for a few minutes to see how you like it!

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Would You Ever Skip Holiday Decorating?

Ethernet Direct Corporation, a primary provider of industrial networking and communication solutions, delivers Class 1 Division 2 certified industrial Ethernet switches to secure power and utility applications.

In the utilities environment, the presence of industrial wastes and evaporating water, gases or vapor, liquids, combustible dust and other ignitable substances are present. If cautionary measures are not properly taken into consideration, possible accidents in the environment may pose a risk. In the application, eelectronic devices including Industrial Ethernet switches installed in the plant must meet certain requirements and obtain special certifications in order to be used in these environments.

Ethernet Direct now delivers Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) Class I Division 2 certified industrial Ethernet switches suitable for the electric utility operation. Passing strict regulatory approvals mean that customers and end-users can confidently install the industrial devices focusing on environmental security in addition to network security. From unmanaged to managed industrial switches, industrial media converters and industrial power over Ethernet switches, Ethernet Direct offers a variety of new product models with CD options.

Ethernet Direct now has the following product lines that are Class 1 Division 2 certified:
Industrial High Port Density Managed Ethernet Switch
Industrial Full Gigabit Managed Ethernet Switch
Industrial Extended Temperature Managed Ethernet Switch
Industrial Slim Unmanaged Ethernet Switch
Industrial Power over Ethernet Switch
Industrial Media Converter

To learn more about Class 1 Division 2 certified industrial devices, please visit www.ethernetdirect-tw.com or www.ethernetdirect.com

About Ethernet Direct Corporation
Ethernet Direct brings a control system engineering perspective to networking technology. The principals of Ethernet Direct come from process-control and PLC system backgrounds.

The Global Ethernet Direct team covers operations from Product know-how, design implementation, quality assurance, manufacturing, logistics, sales, marketing & technical support. We are well-positioned to fulfill customers’ needs and markets’ demands by providing a great variety of tailor-made products and services. When you work with us, you will experience confidence and dependability. By choosing Ethernet Direct, you have chosen excellence & long-term commitment.

FRITSCH Particle Sizing Instruments offer state-of-the-art laser technology for an unique price performance ratio, for each particular area of application and utilization. An extra plus: the special, patented FRITSCH measuring method by laser diffraction inside the convergent laser beam. Your advantage: a simple continuous adjustment of the measuring area as well as up to now unknown number of measuring channels.

The ANALYSETTE 22 NanoTec offers with the measuring range of 10 nm to 2000 µm true entry into the nano range. This is achieved through the use of a second laser beam that is directed at the sample from behind, allowing for detection of the back-scattering light.

The patented capability to move the measurement cell within the beam path of the optical system during the measurement also results in a very high number of effective detection channels, which can be over 500 for the NanoTec model, which leads to a correspondingly high number of particle size classes and therefore a very high resolution. The special shape of the detector combined with intelligent evaluation software LaPaSS also allows information to be obtained about the particle shape.

The Laser Particle Sizer ANALYSETTE 22 NanoTec is an instrument with universal applications for the determination of particle size distributions and particle shape. It is used in research and development, as well as in quality control and process control. The ANALYSETTE 22 is the only instrument in the world with which particle size distribution and the particle shape can be analysed in a single measurement.

Through combination of corresponding components, you can configure a measurement system that is precisely adapted to your needs, with reliability and efficiency guaranteed by FRITSCH as a specialist in particle measurement technology.

FRITSCH Laser Particle Sizer: Sizing with competence.

Catch up on the state-of-the-art laser technology by FRITSCH!
www.fritsch-laser.com

Capacitec, a global leader in the design and manufacture of non-contact capacitive displacement, gap and parallelism sensing technologies for scientific and industrial customers, has announced the debut of a series of non-contact capacitive gap and parallelism sensor systems for the solar panel market. The systems are designed to measure the precise distance between liquid, anti-reflective and CVD coating head-to-media during solar panel production, helping manufacturers maintain thin-film coating uniformity, while improving yields and efficiencies.
The unique expertise of Capacitec within the solar panel manufacturing market is the culmination of more than 15 years of successful implementation of measurement technology within the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as well as in design of slot die coater gap measurement systems sold to companies, working with customers such as 3M, DuPont and Avery Dennison. Within the liquid coating market, Capacitec has successfully collaborated with leading global manufacturers of labels, tapes and films, as well as slot die suppliers, to develop new systems that more precisely measure coater gaps. These systems have made dramatic improvements over traditional gap measurement methods allowing manufacturers to achieve coater gap uniformity of better than 0.25 microns, with gaps as thin as 110 microns across the full length of the coater die.
In traditional solar panels, a thin-film PV layer is deposited onto the silicon layer using a Chemical Vapor Deposition process. Additional layers are added and the PV module is then encapsulated between a glass panel and reflective backing, forming the Solar Panel Module. Capacitec systems are used during each of these steps. In flexible solar panels, CVD coaters are used in the production of the Transparent Conductive Oxide. In this case, a Capacitec parallelism sensor system is used to measure the distance in-process between the CVD coater head and metal carrier roll, in temperatures up to +600°C. During OPV solar panel fabrication, a Capacitec slot die coater gap measurement system is employed to maintain organic material coatings uniformity during PV production. Capacitec systems are also used to maintain parallelism between the Slot Die Coater and metal roller, as well as the parallelism of metal rollers during the encapsulation stage. For more information about these and other non-contact capacitive sensing systems available from Capacitec, please visit www.capacitec.com.

Mobile and high-performance

The compact infrared thermal camera TV301 from the German measurement and testing equipment manufacturer Testboy offers you a big scope of services. The TV301 has a high aperture 2,5“ colour display and a resolution of 160 x120 pixels (= 19,200 pixels) as well as featuring a field of vision encompassing an area of 18×13°. A wide-angle lens extending the field of vision to 36×26° is supplied as standard. This enables precise determination of temperatures between -20 and +500°C. Recording of sensory data and image frequency take place at a rate of 50Hz. The TV301 also has a speech recording facility of 40 seconds per image, an isothermal analytical function, a movable measuring surface, eight colour palettes and an optical and acoustic temperature alarm. The TV301 features two high-performance lithium ion batteries each providing continuous operation for a period of 3 hours. The TV301 also features a class 2 laser pointer (wavelength: 635nm) which can be switched on as necessary in order to provide better alignment with the object to be measured. Its integrated flash memory enables up to 2,000 pictures to be stored. The measurements can be transferred to computer via USB cable and analysed with the Reporter software included as standard. This software also enables thermal images to be permanently archived on PC.