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This morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the United States’ gross domestic product, the largest measure of how much the economy is growing, gained at an annual rate of 3 percent in the first quarter. The number is decent, but the government had estimated the rate at 3.2 percent last month and economists had expected higher — around 3.5 percent. From the report:

The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from state and local government spending and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

The deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected decelerations in private inventory investment and in exports, a downturn in residential fixed investment, a larger decrease in state and local government spending, and a deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by an acceleration in PCE and a deceleration in imports.

Spending by regular consumers, rather than businesses, continues to pick back up. That’s good, as consumer spending accounts for some 70 percent of the economy and will help encourage businesses to hire more workers. The report showed that consumers increased spending about 3.5 percent in the first quarter, up from a 1.6 percent increase in the fourth quarter. And business’ post-tax earnings jumped too, up 9.7 percent, after rising 8.2 percent during the last quarter of 2009. Post-tax earnings are 42.7 percent higher year-on-year.

***NEW VERSION 1.2.0*** – Improved Guitar Tuner – Improved Chord Quiz feature – Learn every single aspect of guitar play for a bargain price Using Guitarist’s Reference Pro you will learn everything about guitar chords, scales, arpeggios, triads, standard tuning, alternate tunings and brand new chord name finder tool. – Now supports Sound/Audio reference for all chords, scales, triads and arpeggios. – App comes with Guitar Tuner – Comprehensive database with over 3,000 chord voicings – Over 500 scales – Over 550 arpeggios – Triads in any inversion – Chord/Scale relationships: you select a chord, program will show recommended scales – Scales to Chords: you pick a scale, program will show all chords that work with your scale. – Chord Name Finder: You enter your notes on the fretboard, program will tell you the chord name. – Easy to look up any note on the fretboard – Tones are actually played with every chord, scale, arpeggio, triad. – A Chord Quiz feature allows the user to test their learning on an ongoing basis – Support 38 alternate guitar tunings or you can custom your tuning – Support Left and Right handed – Superb graphics and friendly user interface

The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York, has marked the thirtieth anniversary of famed modern artist Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario with a new exhibition. The public garden, commissioned by developer and philanthropist Henry T. Segerstrom, is located in Costa Mesa, California. The exhibition explores the design of garden through photographs, models, and video.

In 1979, Segerstrom asked Noguchi to design a public garden to enhance two office towers built on family land once used as a lima bean farm. While Segerstrom initially wanted a lush retreat, Noguchi instead created a simple stone plaza with a few green spaces. The Noguchi Museum writes that the artist first conceived the project as an “abstract metaphor for the state of California, from the Sierras, to the desert, to the woods. In addition to including redwoods and cacti, among other native plants, it encompasses a number of individual elements designed by the artist to evoke some of California’s salient characteristics.”

The garden features a crack filled with water and stones, which functions as a stream beginning at the thirty-foot-high sandstone triangle named “Water Source” and ending at “Water Use,” a granite wedge. ”Forest Walk” takes visitors past a patch of California redwoods and “Desert Land” features a “symmetrical mound planted with a variety of cacti, agave, and other desert plants.” The sculpture “Spirit of the Lima Bean,” twelve-feet-high carved granite boulders, educates visitors about the earlier use of the site.

Segerstrom and Noguchi worked on the project for two years. Today, it’s a well-visited (and well-maintained) site open to all. In fact, Segerstrom “personally ensured” California Scenario was well-preserved over the long-term. 

The exhibition is open through October 24, 2010. Learn more about the garden and artist Noguchi’s stone and light sculpture, and furniture work.

Image credit:  (1) Aerial view of California Scenario. Courtesy Michio Noguchi ca. 1995 / The Noguchi Museum, New York, (2) California Scenario featuring Water Use (foreground), the Desert Land, and Water Source and Energy Fountain (far-ground), 1982. Courtesy Gary McKinnis / The Noguchi Museum, New York

The Harvard University Asia Center was established in 1997 to reflect Harvard’s deep commitment to Asia and the growing connections between Asian nations. An important aspect of the center’s mission is the support of undergraduate and graduate summer projects abroad. This summer, the Asia Center will support 66 students traveling to East, South, and Southeast Asia to conduct research, participate in internships, and pursue intensive language study.

Harvard’s study of Asia is spread across the University’s departments and Schools, and a wide array of disciplines come together under the auspices of the Asia Center. Through such a convergence, the center brings a layered, multifaceted approach to the scholarly description of events to probe questions of history and culture, of economics, politics, diplomacy, and security, and the relationships among them.

The center, which is an active organization with varied programs focusing on international relations in Asia and comparative studies of Asian countries and regions, fosters links between programs concerned with Asia in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and across Harvard, and facilitates cross-regional research and cooperative efforts between the University’s libraries and museums, as well as regional centers and institutes.

For a complete list of grant recipients, visit the Asia Center Web site.

The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies supports and promotes advanced research and training in all fields of Chinese studies. The Fairbank Center collaborates with the Harvard University Asia Center to offer undergraduate and graduate student grants for Chinese language study and research travel.

In 2009-10 the Fairbank Center also assisted the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in providing financial aid to 10 doctoral students pursuing research on China in various disciplines. To support the training of new scholars, the Fairbank Center provides grants for graduate student conference travel and dissertation research. The generosity and foresight of many donors have made the student grants possible by establishing funds such as the Desmond and Whitney Shum Graduate Fellowship; the Elise Fay Hawtin Travel and Research Fund; the Fairbank Center Challenge Grant; the Harvard Club of the Republic of China Fellowship Fund; the John K. Fairbank Center Endowment; the John King and Wilma Cannon Fairbank Undergraduate Summer Travel Grants; and the Liang Qichao Travel Fund. Student grants in Chinese studies are also supported by contributions from Fairbank Center affiliates.

For a list of student grant recipients, visit the Fairbank Center Web site.

Founded in 1973, the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RI) promotes research on Japan and brings together Harvard faculty, students, leading scholars from other institutions, and visitors to create one of the world’s leading communities for the study of Japan.

For the 2009-10 academic school year and summer of 2010, RI has funded or facilitated the travel to Japan of 112 Harvard students, undergraduate and graduate, and has funded others for language study and research related to Japan, but conducted in other locations, from Cambridge to Moscow. For graduate students with a Japan interest, RI provides dissertation completion grants and other travel and research awards. In the case of undergrads, it seeks to expand their opportunities to have a significant international experience in Japan. In cooperation with the Harvard Club of Japan, the Rotary Club of Okayama, the Japanese Language Program, the Office of Career Services, the Office of International Programs, and Harvard science departments, RI supports undergraduates going to Japan for research; Japanese language study; internships with a wide variety of organizations, from baseball teams to banks; Harvard Summer School programs in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Yokohama; and other activities across Japan.

To see the full list of students supported by the Reischauer Institute during the 2009-10 academic school year and summer 2010, visit Reischauer Institute Web site.

Established in 2006 under the Office of the Provost, the Harvard China Fund (HCF) is a University-wide “academic venture fund” with three core objectives: partnerships, students, and presence.

Partnerships: To promote teaching and research about and in China, in collaboration with institutions across Greater China.

Students: To prepare Harvard students for their lifelong engagement with China, and to bring Chinese students to Harvard for graduate and professional education.

Presence: To strengthen Harvard’s capacity to address challenges facing China through the new Harvard Center Shanghai. As part of HCF’s mission to prepare Harvard students for a lifelong engagement with China, the fund runs two student programs in China.

The Harvard China Winter Service Program supports students across the University in performing public service in China during the new “January Term.” Students from Harvard Business School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, and Harvard College participated in the inaugural program in 2010, pairing with students from Peking University and Inner Mongolia University.

The Harvard China Student Internship Program is a collaborative effort involving Harvard’s Office of Career Services and Office of International Programs, together with Chinese corporations and U.S. companies in China. Students experience modern China through their internship placements, as well as gain an introduction to Chinese history and culture, while learning how Harvard alumni live and work in the region. The structure of the program includes a 10-week internship, a weeklong field trip to rural areas of China, and numerous cultural events.

For more about HCF, visit Harvard China Fund.

There’s a new gaming mouse in town, amigos. It’s the Mionix NAOS 3200, and it’s made of “carefully selected high-end components.” What kind of components? I’m guessing dark matter.

It’s a gaming mouse, so you pretty much know what you’re getting. High DPI (up to 3,200), built-in memory to save various setting and bring them from computer to computer, flashy LEDs for no real reason other than aesthetic grandeur, adjustable polling rate up to 1000MHz, and enough buttons (seven) to effectively play First-Person Shooter till sunrise.

Mionix wants €55, which currently translates to $67. I say currently because the eurozone isn’t in the best of shape these days. Next week that price may work out to $65!

It looks damn svelte, that’s for sure.

These little “Leaf-It” bookmark Post-Its could technically work with any book, but I’m going to start with The Giving Tree. From Apree designer Sangwoo Nam, they’ve made the jump from concept to product. And they come on branches: More »










Bookmark – Bookmark Managers – Clients – Add-on – WWW

And now we know that the Deepwater Horizon oil leak is the work of the devil.

New estimates From the US Geological Survey suggest that as many as 28 million gallons of oil may have been spewed, according to LA Times. That’s way higher than the 11 million that were spilled in the Exxon Valdez.

So how many barrels of oil is that? There are 42 gallons per barrel, meaning that the number of barrels is… 666,666.6666666.

Yes, we’re talking about the devil here.

Meanwhile, the head of the MMS has been fired, the first big administration casualty.

See Also: Nausea-Inducing Photos Of Oil Entering The Marshes

Join the conversation about this story »

Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.A. – May 24, 2010 – Despatch Industries, a leading technology and equipment provider for the solar industry, received a very positive response to the UltraFlex(TM) next generation firing furnace on display at the SNEC PV Power Exhibition in Shanghai, China. Attendees were particularly interested in the innovative UltraFlex(TM) Microzone(TM) technology which provides users with infinite profile flexibility and precise control to adapt to industry changes in cell architectures, new pastes and selective emitters.

Solar manufacturers visiting the stand were very receptive to the new, next-generation technologies Despatch incorporated into the UltraFlex(TM). The new tool offers customers superior performance and flexibility with better operational control, to ultimately achieve higher levels of efficiency. Visitors also appreciated the efficient design features and smaller footprint of the UltraFlex(TM).

“We have seen unprecedented industry adoption of the UltraFlex(TM) platform, and currently have a backlog of orders in excess of $10 million,” states John Farrell, Managing Director of the Solar Business Group. “With the technology performing above expectations, our focus is now on accelerating production of the UltraFlex(TM) and increasing our manufacturing capacity to meet the demand from our customers.”

Despatch continues to see orders and steady demand for its industry-leading CF Series firing furnace. The CF Series remains the top-selling metallization firing furnace in the industry, with over 15GW of production capacity sold, and over 350 units placed into China alone. Despatch has sold over 40 UltraFlex(TM) units throughout Europe and Asia.

Despatch Industries designs and engineers market-leading tools and technology for the solar cell manufacturing industry. The company’s regional offices and complete global service network allow Despatch to provide local sales and product support to all customers worldwide. Despatch equipment is consistently recognized for exceptional performance and process quality, optimal cell efficiency, maximum uptime and reduced operating costs. For more information on Despatch visit our website: www.despatch.com

During the space shuttle Discovery flight that returned to earth in April, two experiments were conducted that were part of an overall series of studies designed to determine how cells become infected and are able to regenerate in microgravity. A better understanding of exactly how spaceflight affects cell growth and how cells fight off infections is essential for future astronauts on long-term missions, who will need to understand how wounds heal and cells become infected in space.

The Space Tissue Loss (STL) experiments on STS-131 included a study of how mouse stem cells develop into specialized tissue types, or “differentiate” in space. A second STS-131 biology experiment investigated in-flight infection of human cells using pathogenic bacteria, and will characterize the effect of microgravity on cellular responses to the Salmonella infection. BINDER Inc., the North American subsidiary of BINDER GmbH, loaned two CB 150 CO2 incubators to the team conducting the studies. The incubators were used for the pre-warming, degassing, and maintenance of the flight and ground control fluid bags that were filled with tissue culture medium and fixatives. This storage was critical to the success of the mission, as pH maintenance was required for the medium that would be used for flight. Pre-warmed medium was needed because the medium would be immediately flowed over the cells in the bioreactors, and degassing was needed to eliminate air bubbles that could block fluid movement in the lines. “The incubators performed flawlessly,” said Kevin Sato, STL Project Scientist of Lockheed Martin at NASA’s Ames Research Center who worked with the scientific investigators on this payload. “We easily set up the BINDER incubators and saved time using the automated, internal heat sterilization process instead of performing manual cleaning and sterilization. A microbial test after the sterilization process detected no bacterial or fungal growth in the incubators.” The characteristics that made BINDER CB 150 incubators perform so well make them ideal for use in a variety of cell culture applications. These features, including hot air sterilization at 180 °C, stable pH thanks to a drift-free infrared CO2 measurement system, superior temperature precision with excellent dynamics, and an interior that is condensation-free even at high humidity levels, ensure the best possible cell growth. “The space program has made great technological advances and has drawn both ourselves and our children to the exciting world of science,” said Uwe Ross, president of BINDER Inc. “We are thrilled to have our incubators at the Kennedy Space Center, and are very proud of their performance in experiments that are so important to the future of space travel.

Manipulation impossible.

The non-contact safety gate systems PSENslock are a safe alternative to existing mechanical technology. With an electromagnetic holding force of up to 1000 N, PSENslock units prevent swing gates and sliding gates from being opened unintentionally. The actuator is manipulation-proof, providing added safety.

The non-contact safety gate systems PSENslock combine safety gate monitoring with a non-contact magnetic interlock. This combination of safe position monitoring and process guard locking means that PSENslock are suitable for universal use. Movable guards such as swing gates and sliding gates in particular can enjoy optimum protection.

Safety gate systems PSENslock are type PDF-M proximity switches with transponder technology (RFID) and as such offer the highest level of protection against manipulation. They are BG-tested for applications up to PL e of EN ISO 13849-1, SIL 3 of EN/IEC 62061 and Category 4 of EN 954-1.

PSENslock are non-wearing and can be connected in series with non-contact, coded safety switches PSENcode and other safety gate systems PSENslock.

Pilz safety gate systems combine safety, standard and diagnostic functions in one unit. With IP67 protection, they are also suitable for rugged environments. With an open design, they can be connected to Pilz control technology as well as any other standard evaluation devices. As a result, Pilz components can also be retrofitted to plant and machinery.

Linde Material Handling incorporates fuel cell trucks into its product range
With the delivery of two fuel-cell trucks to the Linde Gases Division, part of technology company The Linde Group, Linde Material Handling has taken another important step on the road to more intensive use of innovative drive technology. As the first industrial truck manufacturer in Europe, Linde MH has incorporated fuel cell trucks into its product range. The trucks are now offered as standard and with immediate effect, as a “Customised Option”.

Both fuel-cell trucks are based on the 3-tonne electric counterbalanced truck, the Linde E30. In addition, the enhanced beverage industry version offers an optimised view over the load. In place of the usual 80-volt battery, the trucks have a fuel cell and a tank, which stores 1.6 kilograms of hydrogen gas at 350 bar. The electricity generated from the hydrogen supplies the electric motors that drive the truck. Alongside this are so-called supercaps, large condensers, which act as a buffer and cover performance peaks, such as pulling away or lifting, for example. The trucks bear the CE mark and are permitted for use on public roads. When it comes to performance data, the trucks are not different to the equivalent battery-powered model in the range and they are tailored spe-cially to Linde Gas’ customer requirements.

The fuel-cell trucks were developed over the last two years with long-term partner, Hydrogenics, the Canadian fuel cell manufacturer. Linde’s contractual partner, Gruma Nutzfahrzeuge, based in Garching, near Munich, has been involved with the project from the beginning and is responsible for all issues re-lated to servicing and maintaining the trucks. One of the trucks is used by Linde Gas for transporting Gas bottles between production halls and the truck embark point, which involves crossing a public road. The second fuel-cell truck operates in the field of gas bottle filling. Both trucks replace diesel trucks with a 3.5-tonne load capacity, which were previously used for this purpose. Filling up the fuel-cell trucks is quick and safe at the Linde hydrogen centre filling pump and is therefore comparable to filling a conventional truck.

A&D is pleased to announce the launch of the SW Series of Super Washdown Scales, which are our first IP69K-rated platform scales for the food-processing industry.

Conventional platform scales tend to break down rather quickly in processing factories for foods such as meat and fish. This occurs because the work environments can be highly damp, or the scales are often exposed to extreme shifts in temperature, which condense the air inside the enclosures. Furthermore, equipment used during food processing typically has to undergo heavy-duty cleaning with high-pressure and high-temperature water every day after work for sanitary reasons. No ordinary devices can withstand such hostile conditions.

The SW Series is IP69K rated. That is, the scales are protected against heavy-duty washdown with water temperatures up to 85 ¢ªC and pressures up to 10,000 kPa. The SW Series also resists the effects of condensation and prevents the risk of moisture invasion thanks to A&D¡¯s unique know-how, making the scales ideal for long-term use in the harsh environments of food-processing factories.

Financial savings combined with ensured consistent and accurate labelling were the chief drivers for the Türk Tuborg* filling operation in Izmir, Turkey installing new can and bottle drying systems. The drying systems were installed as retrofit units to replace compressed air jets and heated tunnels, and are reported to be achieving significant savings whilst also helping to avoid the problem of label slippage resulting from inefficiently dried bottles.

The can and bottle drying machines are from Air Control Industries (ACI) and were supplied by the company’s Turkish distributor, Yük. Müh. Nihat Kagnici, Sanayi Müsavirligi ve Mümessilligi. The principal reason for the substantial cost savings is the fact the ACI units are all blower powered, a more cost-effective and cleaner way of delivering air for drying bottles and cans.

Prior to opting for the ACI systems, Packaging Engineers Arda Sengöz and Mehmet Kaynak at the Türk Tuborg plant investigated a number of different suppliers. However, a combination of good references from existing customers, competitive pricing and the easy self-installation/running maintenance persuaded them that ACI offered the best solution for the company’s needs. Also, with a local distributor they were confident of professional back-up if required.

Five ACI drying systems are installed, three of which are fully enclosed. Two of the fully enclosed units are installed on canning lines and incorporate ACI’s purpose-engineered ‘CanTunnels’ with Airknives, whilst the third is employed for bottle drying and is equipped with ACI’s ‘JetPlate’ system plus a pair of Airknives. The open units are EL (blower at Eye Level) packages and are CanTunnel systems.

The CanTunnel systems are installed in pairs with dryers located before and after can ‘twisters’ which invert cans so that both top and bottom are dried. Throughput for each of the two parallel lines is 40,000 cans/hr (either 33 or 50cl).

The bottle drying line has a capacity of 60,000 bottles/hr and the ACI dryer must cope with up to 14 different shapes/sizes of bottle, drying neck, cap and bottle in one pass.

“The ACI drying systems are working very well and the support has been excellent, both from ACI and Nihat Kagnici,” said Arda Sengöz, Packaging Engineer. “What’s more, we are saving money. The compressed air systems and heating tunnel were much more expensive to run and maintain so we expect a rapid payback on our investment.”

A. Vacuum tubes: ¡°3-hi¡± tubes (high-temperature and high-cold resistance, high efficiency) are coated with the patented interferential coating technology, achieving the higher absorptance of 96% and lower emissivity of 4%. The vacuum degree is 5¡Á10-4, 100 times lower that the common tubes, thus its insulation will be better.

B. Insulation in tanks: insulation is produced by one-off foaming at constant temperature under high pressure; the tank, when processed with high-temperature ripening, will get more even foaming, better insulation efficiency and stability, and less heat loss. The inner tank is made of SUS304, the contents of Chromium and Nickel in which are very high to resist corrosion effectively. Besides, the auto. argon arch welding will extend the lifespan of the tank.

C. Supports: Made of galvanized sheet, the supports are processed with 14 steps, such as degreasing, phosphorescing, electrostatic spraying, high-temperature ripening, etc, to ensure the stability and anti-corrosion of them.

D. The entire ¡°SED¡± auxiliary heating system has passed the China Compulsory Certificate. It adopts protection of electric leakage, and other two steps to protect from overheating (stop by temperature controller at 70¡ãC, and by breaker at 110¡ãC). The electric booster, made of Incoloy 800, is excellent in anti-corrosion and dry burning.

E. Impulse sensor: The pole type pulse sensor (patent number: 200420084034.5 ), made of SUS316L totally, adopts the principle of pulse scanning of the water level to sense the temperature and water level accurately, solving the problem of scaling and water leakage caused by traditional rubber sensors.

ESAB, the world-leading manufacturer of welding and cutting equipment, has introduced a newly designed flip-up welding helmet, the Globe-Arc.

Following the ESAB family design, the new hybrid shell is made from strong Zytel material and offers a full head a face protection and is very lightweight. The compact design allows for welding in very tight places, whilst reducing the visible light entering the back of the helmet caused by other welding light.

The new flip visor has an upper retention stop, which eliminates visor drop-down when welding or grinding together with shake proof quarter turn retainers to allow for quick removal and replacement.

The Globe-Arc is suitable for all welding applications as the visor provides effective protection from UV and IR radiation when the visor is open and closed, and is available in different shade levels.

The helmet has a wide field of vision through both the large main and flip-up visors which provides increased work safety. The visor has a flat top brow for easy put downs and to prevent scratching.

ESAB’s new comfort headgear, which is constructed from quality nylon with a large adjustment ratchet and comfort sweat band, is fitted to the helmet.

Surface Technology Coatings (STC) is a part of Sutton Tools, was established in 1988 to provide a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coating service to local industry.

Since that time, the Melbourne –based Surface Technology Center has grown to be at the forefront of heat treatment and surface engineering technology.

Surface Technology is the only commercial facility in Australia offering high pressure quench vacuum heat treatment, plasma nitriding, PVD coating and the latest testing and analytical equipment.

STC coats a range of materials including carbide, high speed steel, hot working die steels, cold work die steels, carbide and cermets, certain copper alloy, stainless steels, titanium and nitriding steels.

PVD coatings available are: Alcrona, Futura Nano, CrN, TiCN, TiN and newly developed coatings are on the horizon.

With STC’s latest acquisition, the Innova PVD coating unit, the company can develop new high-quality coatings for the future.
The facility also offers a regrinding service which includes the regrinding of carbide and HSS standard products as well as specials, plus the refurbishment of diamond tools and the manufacture of solid carbide threaded products.

The Advanced Surface Solutions Facility, which was launched in August 2009 by the Victorian Minister for Industry and Trade, the Hon. Martin Pakula, is well position to place strong focus on developing the latest advances in surface coatings technology and performance testing of cutting tools for the Australian defence industry.

Using world leading technology, Surface Technology Coatings offers coatings to solve a wide range of problems relating to friction and wear, thereby improving tool performance and increasing tool life.