Blog

Microsoft Clouding Service Windows Live Mesh 2011

2011-02-24T04:05:00.003-05:00

Microsoft clouding service has been improving. The web-based OFFICE (word, excel, powerpoint, and onenote) programs for hotmail users are representative clouding service provided by Microsoft.

Here is another powerful clouding client generated by Microsoft. The name is Windows Live Mesh.
This is a kind of synchronization program.
Using Windows Live Mesh, we can sync required files or folders between office and home.
The installation and setting process is not difficult so anyone can setup own files or folders to be synced.
Moreover, there is another function in this program. That is remote access system.
With this function, you can access any computer that you want from anywhere.

I had tried to sync some folders between my office and home pc using several programs; but, it is guatanteed that Windows Live Mesh is most powerful, safe, and conveniet.

If you have hotmail account, you can experience the innovative functions of Windows Live Mesh.

New AZERA 4D Commercial

2011-02-18T23:49:00.001-05:00

The new AZERA (Korea Name of Grandeur 5G) will be introduced in the U.S market sooner later.
The exterior of new AZERA has been greatly changed being similar to new SONATA 2011.

Recently, Hyndai new models have temtations for me to have great interests.
The new models that I am considering to buy are SONATA, AZERA, and EQUUS.

Design, interior, and innovative technology applied into the car are enough to people will consider Hyundai car for next vehicle.

Below is new AZERA commercial........

Hyundai New Sonata Wagon, i40 is unveiled

2011-02-18T01:54:00.000-05:00

On Feb. 18th, Hyundai Motors in South Korea revealed Sonata Wagon named 'i40'.

i40 is designed by Europe Design Center for Europe market. The concept of i40 design is dynamic and sport. An Hyundai announced that i40 will be officially introduced on Geneva Motorshow on March or April.

Is Groupon really work?

2011-02-17T19:41:00.001-05:00

First of all, this post is not an advertisement.
The intent of this post is just to inform the Groupon's system.

Probably, many people already know the Groupon.
When I firstly heard about Groupon, in fact, I was little bit doubt for Groupon's system.

With little doubt for Groupon, I tried to purchase one Groupon for my near place.
As a matter of fact, most of deals were not useful for me... but, a few days ago, I saw a great deal for Barns & Noble deal.
That was just $10.00 for $20.00 gift certificate. 50% OFF deal....!!!

OK!!!. Let me check out.
I purchased this Groupon on the early of February...
The confirmation email was arrived to my eamil within 5 minute.

I was not sure how to use this coupon.....
But, I just printout this coupon, and bring to Barns and Noble store, and I gave it to cashier during check out.
Oh.... it was really work...... without any pressure.
Also, the cashier said that any other coupons can be reedeemed with Groupon.
Wow.... it was great deal for me.... I just purchase $32.00 total price paying just $22.00.....

Here is the Groupon that I received via email....

I recommend to check Groupon deal regularly to save the money....

The address is simple... http://www.groupon.com/

The registration (sign-up) is not required to buy Groupon.

Just go to groupon.com, and search your city...

Check out any deal.......

iPad tunning

2011-02-07T18:47:00.001-05:00

With a great expactation of iPad2 releasing, various fuuny iPad tunning movies are uploded on Youtube.
Most of brilliant idea come from Japan.
Okay... Here is one example...on below....

Should not buy Verizon iPhone 4 ???

2011-02-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

I just watch interesting video for Verizon iPhone 4 made by Cnet.
The amazing thing is that the quality of Verizon iPhone will not be met with person's expectation.
It is well known that Verizon network is wider than AT&T, and Verizon will provide unlimited 4G network service.
Even though these advantages, the specilist from Cnet announced that Verizon iPhone has noticeable 5 defaults.
What are those????
The most serious disadvantages of Verizon iPhone 4 is that the multitasking is not available.....

I have linked the Youtube video file.
If you consider to use Verizon iPhone on later, you should not ignore these facts.....

Energy Saving and Environmental Protection Strategy in Boston

2011-02-03T12:29:00.002-05:00

A Cambridge power plant will sharply reduce the harmful discharge of hot water into the Charles River and, in an innovative plan to be revealed today, generate steam instead that will be piped across the river to heat buildings in Boston.

The agreement, negotiated with the Environmental Protection Agency New England office and state regulators, calls for the GenOn Kendall Cogeneration Station to slice by 95 percent the 70 million gallons of heated water that can be pumped into the river every day. Environmentalists say the hot water kills fish and contributes to algal blooms.

By converting the hot water to steam and sending it to Boston — possibly via a pipe under the Longfellow Bridge — a liability becomes a marketable commodity for the power plant. The public would benefit, too.

EPA officials see it as one of the few cases where environmental harm is transformed into an environmental benefit, in this case heat that can help displace the need for additional greenhouse gas emissions.

They hope it will serve as a model for other communities.

“We need more solutions like this,’’ said Curt Spalding, chief of the New England EPA office. “This represents a serious-minded approach to restoring the health of the Charles, thinking about sustainability and how the community can benefit at the same time.’’

The agreement — which ends a six-year battle between the plant’s operators and environmentalists over its state and federal water discharge permits — comes as regulators and conservationists across the country begin to grapple with a long-overlooked problem at many power plants and industrial facilities. Enormous amounts of water, sucked in to cool equipment, can destroy fish eggs and larvae and later alter ecosystems when released back in to the waterway at warmer temperatures.

Under the agreement, the Kendall plant will reduce its intake of water and discharges to a maximum of 3.2 million gallons a day, an amount environmentalists and federal officials say will have a minimal effect on the Charles.

The pipe will be completed at the latest by 2016 — when reconstruction of the Longfellow Bridge is scheduled to be finished — but it may be built far earlier. Veolia Energy North America, the company building the pipe, said it is looking at other options to get the steam across the river earlier, but did not disclose what they were. Without the pipe, the Kendall plant has no other way to reduce its water releases and would have had to consider closing.

Although it sits in the middle of a densely populated urban area near the Longfellow Bridge, the 1949-built Kendall power plant long operated in relative obscurity because it was turned on only during periods of high energy demand. But in 2003, it switched from oil to cleaner-burning natural gas, increased its power, and began operating more regularly, meaning that its practice of sucking in millions of gallons of water to cool equipment and discharging it into the river also ramped up.

Environmentalists complained during a permit review process starting around 2004, saying the water intake was destroying fish eggs, larvae, and other marine life, and the subsequent discharge of up-to-105-degree water was harming fish and was partially to blame for a toxic algal bloom.

Federal and state environmental officials issued a permit in 2006, which power plant officials appealed, saying it was too strict.

The advocacy groups Charles River Watershed Association and Conservation Law Foundation also appealed, saying the permit was too lenient.

But after long talks, power plant engineers came up with a creative solution: send steam to Boston for heat. The idea wasn’t new — the plant was sending some steam through another pipe to Boston to heat Massachusetts General Hospital and other buildings. But if another pipe could be built, they reasoned, they could convert even more steam.

“Kendall is unique because it is close to [where people need heat],’’ said Paige Kane, a spokeswoman for GenOn. She said the company will spend tens of millions of dollars to reconfigure the plant for the expanded steam generation effort. The new plan will result in a 13 to 15 percent overall increase in the plant’s energy efficiency, she said.

Veolia Energy, which provides heat for 14 of the 22 tallest buildings in Boston, much it from the Kendall Station, will build the pipe and purchase additional steam from the power plant.

“This project is part of a long-term vision and plan that we developed and shared with the City and the State,’’ Rowan Sanders, director of marketing and communications for Veolia, said in a statement.

Steam conversion is not always possible as a way to reduce hot-water discharges, because power plants may not have the capability to create steam heat or there may be no customers nearby to use it.

Brayton Point in Somerset, New England’s largest fossil fuel plant, is completing a cooling system with two giant towers to solve a decades-old problem of water intake and hot-water discharges that environmentalists say is largely responsible for a dead zone for winter flounder and other fish in Mt. Hope Bay.

Virtually everyone involved with the Charles River plan, from state environmental officials to GenOn, said the process was a win-win for everyone.

“[This solution] is the type of thing that makes you feel good,’’ said Peter Shelley, senior counsel of the Conservation Law Foundation.

[source from BOSTON.COM "Agreement to cut power plant discharge, send steam heat to Boston"]

How to create MSN Email account ???

2011-01-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

I am currently using a xxxxxxx@msn.com email account. Whenever I give my email address to friends around me, they mostly ask me how to make a MSN email.

I have been using MSN email address around 10 years. So, I did not consider how to make MSN email account. Probably, many friends around me prefer to have MSN email account than HOTMAIL account.

Currently, making a MSN ID is not easy because the (most) MSN account is providing just for MSN service user.
MSN service is based on dial-up protocol, or you need to subscribe payable service to make a MSN ID.
If you sign up windows live email account, you can choose either HOTMAIL.COM or LIVE.COM.
MSN.COM is not showing on signup pages.

Here is how to create MSN email account for free as a tip.

--- Just click below MSN logo, and get new MSN ID that you want....---

I hope you will enjoy new MSN ID.....not a HOTMAIL.

Bale Nusa Dua in Bali (Bale Resort in Bali)

2011-01-27T11:35:00.001-05:00

The Bale Resort (Bale Nusa Dua) was designed by European architect, and it has been regarded as first resort in Bali which has modern atmosphere. Since the Bale Nusa Dua opened in 2001, many traveler from Europe, United States, Japan, and South Korea. I visited in Bale Nusa Dua in 2002, and I was greatly satisfied with the service and comfortness.

The Bale Nusa Dua is popularized as full private villa secuely protected by unique design. If you stay in Bale Nusa Dua, you will be guaranteed to have your private space and time. Also, the children are prohibited to stay in this resort for new couples to have silent environment. Because of these reasons, Bale Nusa Dua is one of the famous place for honeymoon.

When I was staying in there, I had just met with only two couples during 5 days... Most of couples might stay in there villas having there own times.

The main lobby

The main entrance of resort

This is main pool located in front of restaurant

Since every villa has own private pool, there was no persons to swim in the main pool.

The restaurant located near main pool. You can hear the Bali tradition music all the time.

The room-service is basically included the villa features, there is no reason to eat in the restaurant by walk-in.

The lomantic table near the main pool

This is the lounge bar

The view of Single Pavilion

The private pool is directly connected with bathroom. It was really nice and comfortable. In addition, there was an outside shower booth decorating natural design. (Single Pavilion)

Even though it was open space, the outside private pool was secured from outside of villa. Mostly, the daybed located in next to the pool has great quality.

Bedroom (Delux Pavilion)

The pool in Delux Pavilion is bigger than Single Pavilion (5m x 8m)

Day bed and Breakfast table (Delux Pavilion)

The bathroom is equipped with modern fixtures and it is bigger than single pavilion (Delux Pavilion)

The private pool in Double Pavilion (5m x 10m)

There are two king size beds (Double Pavilion)

Lastly, outside spa service is provided for free to the Delux Pavilion residents

LG Chocolate Phone BL40

2010-05-16T22:50:00.004-04:00

With the advent of telecommunication, the connectivity world over has improved. Now a days, the sleeker the phone the more the features the better its popularity with the gen Y. A trendy handset is the in thing and a must have for all. Money is not the criteria only the look and feel of the mobile is all that matters. The market today is flooded with all LG products. But looks like there is little competition from other companies. With an addition to its already vast range of products, here is another edition to its Black Label range. This time it is in the shape of the LG BL40 Chocolate. Full cinematic screen mobile, first of its kind in the world, the new Chocolate brings LG’s opulent feature set yet.

Perceptibly aimed at this present group, there is none like the BL40 Chocolate. Thanks to the Black Label tag, this phone is fashion incarnate, what with its full 21:9 cinematic screen that is beyond doubt one for the hardcore PMP aficionado. The New Chocolate BL40 has a wide screen 16:9 display ratio but it refuses to stop here. It can be attuned additionally to 2.35:1 cinematic wide view for lucid and pragmatic video contents that play anywhere anytime. Due to this wide display ratio it’s a dream come true for the camera’s viewfinders and photo gallery enhances taking photos and image searching very pulsating and pleasurable.

The 4” wide screen of the new Chocolate BL40 also provides an maximum coverage for internet browsing. Its elegant design gives you true value for web surfing. The wide screen that is 345×800 pixel (Real WVGA), proffers simple and suitable setting for browsing that can give you real fun. As it is web friendly, the contents that are browsed and downloaded can easily be copied, pasted onto schedulers or text messages with a feather touch. The other exclusive features are that you can copy and send flight details and meeting schedules by email or once again store it in your scheduler. With the New Chocolate BL40’s Gesture Shortcut, menus can be easily accessed by depicting uncomplicated icons on a touch pad. You can also set up all frequently used menu items any of the twelve gesture icons stored in the handset. The picture is so perfect, true to life images can be seen with the new Chocolate BL40’s 4” HD (High Definition) LCD. The now Chocolate BL40 supports lively performance of metaphors that is possible only by LCD. Its sleek toned glass texture makes you to realize appreciate the high image quality that outshines any regular LCD technology.

Wherever you are, you can acquire photographed images and electrifying video clippings on the new Chocolate BL40’s vast HD LCD screen. HD LCD also augments noticeably bright outdoors and small texts is of no problem. Furthermore, the tempered glass surface is scratch resistant and helps you to maintain the phone’s shinny, sophisticated for as long as ever.

LG Chocolate BL40 Specifications:

•General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, EDGE class 10, HSCSD, GPRS, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps

•Form factor: Candy Touchscreen bar

•Dimensions: 128 x 51 x 10.9 mm ( 5×2x0.4 inch )

•Weight: 4.6 oz.

•Display: Unique 4" TFT 16 million colors capacitive touchscreen with 21:9 aspect ratio and 800 x 345 pixels resolution, Multi-touch input method, scratch resistant glass

•Camera: 5-megapixels auto-focus camera with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, LED flash, geo-tagging, image stabilization, face detection, Smile Shot, Blink detection, Intelligent shot, Beauty and Art shot, VGA video recording at 30 fps

•Connectivity: Wi-Fi (WLAN), Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB v2.0 port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack

•Messaging: SMS, MMS, T9 text function, E-mail, Internet browsing

•Entertainment: FM radio, Java, Audio player ( eAAC, MP3, WAV ), Video player ( DivX, H263, MP4, xVID )

•Platform: Latest S-Class Touch UI

•Other features: UI auto-rotate, Auto turn-off, Gesture controls, 3.5 mm audio jack, DMSE, Games, TV out

•Internal Memory: 1GB internal memory

•External Memory: microSD card slot ( up to 32GB )

•Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh

•Talk time: about 3.2 hours

•Standby time: up to 250 hours

Eco-Bridge Chicago, Illinois

2010-05-11T23:33:00.001-04:00

The Chicago Eco-Bridge would complete the last major recommendation of the 1909 Burnham Plan of Chicago in a thoroughly modern way that celebrates the city’s future as well as its past.

The two-mile bridge, a breakwater in the Monroe harbor, celebrates Chicago’s position as the greenest city in the United States. The bridge creates a grand new civic space, providing recreational opportunities and offering unparalleled views of the skyline from a central observation tower.

A central Eco-Tower, designed to harvest wind and solar power, functions as a public observatory and also include food service or other amenities. A plaza at the tower site can be used as a temporary or permanent performance plaza. At either end of the bridge, interactive exhibit spaces could house a Great Lakes Museum or other cultural facility to complement the nearby Museum Campus.

Vertical-axis wind turbines incorporated located along the bridge add economic value through the production of clean, renewable energy and showcase Chicago’s dedication to sustainability. The turbines double as pieces of sculpture, offering an opportunity for collaboration with visual artists and engineers and the creation of a lively public art walk. The turbines could also be outfitted with LED lights, creating a soft necklace of light surrounding the harbor in the evening.

The park would be easily accessible from Grant Park and the downtown area. Pedestrian walkways and dedicated bicycle paths would encourage healthful and sustainable modes of transit. An electric or solar trolley system could further augment the bridge’s accessibility, providing transport from the neighboring downtown areas.

The project is also intended to enhance Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. The observation tower is a prominent and central place to house the Olympic flame. The breakwater provides ample space for rowing and sailing events in calm water and could offer terrific viewer access for these events.

The Eco-Bridge also showcases the ecology of the Great Lakes and provides a haven for fish and water plants.

Ubiquitous Computing

2010-05-10T21:07:00.001-04:00

WIthin several decades, ubiquitous network system or ubiquitous computing will be popularized in our life.
Most futurists and journalists expect that our life will be tramendously chagnged with advent of ubiquitous techniques concept.

Below is interesting article introduced in frogdesign.

Our Second Brain or "ThingBook"
In the future nearly every visible thing will be cataloged and indexed, ready to be instantly identified and described to us. Want to go shopping? In the future we won't need big retail stores with aisles of objects on display. We'll be able to shop out in the world (see image, above). Do you like that new car you saw drive by? Or those cool shoes on the woman sitting across the room? All you’ll have to do is look at it and your mobile handset or AR-equipped eyeglasses will identify the object and look up the best price and retailer.

Bodynet
Like Google for our bodies, future technologies will allow us to monitor our body's vital conditions and compute the outcome of our actions on-the-fly. So you'll know right away what it's going to take to work off that Burger and Coke.

Whuffie Meter
Curious about the future of social networking? Whuffie is a conceptual social Metric based on what others think of you. In the future this Metric might actually be usable as real money. Why not? Celebrities are used to getting things for free based on their popularity. This is the same idea taken to its democratic extreme. Socializing will take on completely new dimensions when we can see everything public about a person right as we are talking with them. Think dating is difficult today? Imagine the hoops we'll have to jump through when everyone in the bar can see your complete dating history the minute you walk into the room.

The term “whuffie,” by the way, is a word coined by author Cory Doctorow in his book Down And Out In the Magic Kingdom. It refers to the measurement of respect or karma a person gains or looses in their lives. In Doctorow’s future, humans have implants in their brains that visually project their whuffie, which has replaced money as currency.

Enjoy Professional Coffee at Your Home

2010-03-20T03:04:00.000-04:00

This post let you know great deal for coffee maker, if you like holding coffee.
The name of coffee maker is Keurig B30 for individual serve- brewing machine.

The regular price is $89.95 at Amazon.com
Keurig B30 Mini Personal Single-Serve Brewing System, Black (click to see regular price)

But, if you want to buy same product with lower price, go to BBB (Bed Bath Beyond) with 20% coupon ASAP.
Now, the price of this machine is on sale with price of $69.99.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16033901 (click to see discounted price)

You might be familiar with 20% BBB coupon.
If you need it, just enroll at bedbathbeyond.com.
And you will get 20% coupon via email.

After using of coupon, the final price will be $55.99+tax.

Enjoy the great professional taste of single served coffee.

Great Deal in Amazon

2010-03-20T02:47:00.001-04:00

I found great Blu-ray deal in Amazon.

This 3 disc collectors' edition was released on December, 2009.
It provides English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, and Italian subtitles with English audio format.

This product is eligible for free shippping.
You can be directed to Amazon by clicking left image.
This is not an advertising.
I want to just let you know any hot deal from online shopping mall.
I will post HOT-DEAL online shopping regulary.

This movie will be good for your kids, if you have any children.
I am not sure how this hot deal last long.
The discounted price when I post is $16.99 with Free Shipping.

FREE DUNKIN TURBO SAMPLE

2010-03-10T09:32:00.000-05:00

I am posting good promotion from Dunkin Donuts.
This is not an advertisement from third-party.

If you click below image, you will be directed to Dunkin Donuts Main Page.

Enjoy free sample.....

The Biggest Vehicle---Bagger 288

2010-02-20T19:32:00.000-05:00

The Bagger 288 (Excavator 288), built by the German company Krupp for the energy and mining firm Rheinbraun, is a bucket-wheel excavator.

More specifically, it is a mobile strip mining machine. When its construction was completed in 1978, Bagger 288 superseded NASA's Crawler-Transporter, used to carry the Space Shuttle and Apollo missions, as the largest tracked vehicle in the world at 13,500 tons. However, the Bagger is powered from an external source and is more correctly described as a mining machine which can be moved, while the crawler-transporter was built as a self-powered, load-carrying vehicle.

The Bagger 288 was built for the job of removing overburden prior to coal mining in Tagebau Hambach (stripmine Hambach), Germany. It can excavate 240,000 tons of coal or 240,000 cubic metres of overburden daily – the equivalent of a football field dug to 30 m (98 ft) deep. The coal produced in one day fills 2400 coal wagons. The excavator is up to 220 m (721 ft) long and approximately 96 m (315 ft) high. The Bagger's operation requires 16.56 megawatts of externally supplied electricity.[1] It can travel 2 to 10 m (6.6 to 33 ft) per minute (0.1 to 0.6 km/h). The chassis of the main section is 46 m (150 ft) wide and sits on 3 rows of 4 caterpillar track assemblies, each 3.8 m (12 ft) wide. The large surface area of the tracks means the ground pressure of the Bagger 288 is very small (17.1 N/cm2 or 24.8 psi); this allows the excavator to travel over gravel, earth and even grass without leaving a significant track. It has a minimum turning radius of approximately 100 meters, and can climb a maximum gradient of 1:18.

The excavating head itself is 21.6 m in diameter and has 18 buckets each holding 6.6 cubic meters (7.9 yd³) of overburden.

By February 2001, the excavator had completely exposed the coal source at the Tagebau Hambach mine and was no longer needed there. In three weeks it made a 22 kilometer (14 mile) trip to the Garzweiler mine, traveling across Autobahn 61, the river Erft, a railroad line, and several roads. The move cost nearly 15 million German marks and required a team of seventy workers. Rivers were crossed by placing large steel pipes for the water to flow through and providing a smooth surface over the pipes with rocks and gravel. Special grass was seeded to smooth its passage over valuable terrain. Moving Bagger 288 in one piece was more economical than disassembling the excavator and moving it piece by piece.
(From Wikipedia)

(Click to see large picture)

Kopi Luwak (Most expensive coffee)

2010-02-18T21:29:00.001-05:00

It is widely recognized that the Jamaican or Tanzanian coffee is expensive. But, it is wrong.
The most expensive coffee is comes from Indonesia. If you love starbucks or other brands coffee, you heard about Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi as a part of coffee name. These words are the name of Indonesian small island. The weather, humidity, and specified processing make dark (bold) flavored coffee. I also really love Sumatra coffee from starbucks. And the price is little bit expensive rather than regular coffee. But these are not most expensive one......Then what is????

That is Kopi Luwak. You can just check the price at below link...

Kopi Luwak Coffee, Whole Bean, 16-Ounce Bags Amazon.com

The Kopi Luwak actually made from certain animal's excretions. "Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee and "Luwak" is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee 'cherries' as part of its usual diet. This animal eats a mixed diet of insects, small mammals and fruits along with the softer outer part of the coffee cherry but does not digest the inner beans, instead excreting them still covered in some inner layers of the cherry.

These excretions are then gathered....which come through the 'animal stage' fairly intact,...and sell them on to dealers. It is believed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavour through fermentation of some type.

The average price of Kopi Luwak in the U.S is $50.00 per cup, or $75.00 per quater pound.

Here is intersting stroies about Kopi Luwak...

Richard Karno, former owner of The Novel Cafe in Santa Monica, California, got a flyer from Mountanos about Kopi Luwak and "thought it was a joke." But Karno was intrigued, found it it was for real, and ordered a pound for a tasting. Karno sent out releases to the local press inviting them to a cupping. When no one responded, he roasted it and held a cupping for himself and his employees. Karno is very enthusiastic, a convert to Kopi Luwak. "It's the best coffee I've ever tasted. It's really good, heavy with a caramel taste, heavy body. It smells musty and jungle-like green, but it roasts up real nice. The LA Times didn't come to our cupping, but ran a bit in their food section, which hit the AP Wire service." And Karno and the folks at M.P. Mountanos have been inundated with calls ever since.

Mountanos says, "It's the most complex coffee I've ever tasted," attributing the unusual flavors to the natural fermentation the coffee beans undergo in the paradoxurus' digestive system. The stomach acids and enzymes are very different from fermenting beans in water. Mountanos says, "It has a little of everything pleasurable in all coffees: earthy, musty tone, the heaviest bodied I've ever tasted. It's almost syrupy, and the aroma is very unique." While it won't be turning up in every neighborhood cafe any day soon, Mountanos reports that Starbucks bought it for cuppings within the company.

In fact, most of Mountanos' customers have bought it for special cuppings. The Coffee Critic in San Mateo, California, though, occasionally sells Kopi Luwak to the public for $5 a cup. Owner Linda Nederman says she keeps the price low to allow people to experience the coffee. Nederman says that most of her people who try it are longtime customers, and they're "game to try something different and unusual. I've never had anybody complain, they all seem to feel it's worth the price." Nederman drinks it herself every time they brew it. "I've never tasted anything like it. It's an unbelieveable taste in your mouth: richness, body, earthiness, smooth." She also carries Jamaica Blue Mountain, Burundi Superior AA and Brazil FZA "Natural Dry," so her customers are used to fine and exotic coffees. Still, she reports, many are afraid to try Kopi Luwak.

But not everyone is seduced by this exotic coffee's charms. "Kopi Luwak is, in my opinion, indistinguishable from many an average robusta, especially if you cup them next to each other," says Tim Castle, coffee expert and author of The Perfect Cup, referring to the lower grade of commercially available coffees. "Kopi Luwak's processing is unusual and attracts attention. In that sense, it is an interesting coffee."

Intrigued by the hype, I drove out to the Los Angeles warehouse of M.P. Mountanos to cup some Kopi with Andrew Vournas. The green beans, which range from tiny to elephant, have a faint smell that hints of a zoo or stables -- a little funky, not your average coffee aroma. He lightly roasts about 21 grams, enough beans for three cups, in a Jabez Burns two barrel sample roaster, a rare and beautiful machine dating from the '30s. Vournas gives the beans a light roast -- just after the second popping -- to accentuate the specific flavors of this rare coffee; a darker roast would obliterate the subtler flavors and replace them with a more generic taste. Vournas points out that this coffee, like most Indonesian-grown, has lots of moisture and roasts nicely.

Vournas gives the beans a course grind and mixes seven grams of coffee with four ounces of water in each of three cups. The aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It's thick with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. It's definitely one of the most interesting and unusual cups I've ever had.

Japanese Whaling

2010-02-08T01:18:00.000-05:00

Whaling has been regarded as an important part of Japanese society for over 1,000 years. Whaling in Japan dates back to the seventh century during the Yamato-Asuka period in ancient Japan. The oldest Japanese book in existence, called the Kojiki, chronicled that the Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan, ate whale meat.... In addition to the Kojiki whaling is also mentioned in numerous other historical writings in Japan.

It is true that this kind of tradition is still in succession to current Janpanes culture. Historically, Japanese whalers encountered a major obstacle preventing them from continuing their practice. The International Whaling Commission voted on a resolution to ban commercial whaling.... Under the this agreement, Japan only began researching ways to restart commercial whaling under the jurisdiction of the IWC. But, Japanese whaling practices are not following the IWC regulation.

I do not want comment which party has legal right for whaling.....

Whale....... The biggest mammal in the world.......

For centuries, whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, however, industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered, and whaling was ended in all but a few countries including Japan.

The vessel Ady Gil, which is above picture was donated from Hollywod millionaire to protect Whale from Japanese practice. But the hig-tech speedboat was hit by Japanese whale ship on January 2010.

Hunted whale is being driven to Janpanese harbor to make meat and use of industrial purpose. In fact, some countries have a cultural habit to eat whale meat..... And, the whale skin is good raw material for making soap.....(not sure.....)

Because of diffenret culture, I do not want to blame for whale meat eating... But, I am wondering is it necessary for young student of Japan need to school trips on whale salugter? Japanese children as young as ten are watching whales being slaughtered to teach them the "cultural importance" of Japan's controversial commercial whaling industry.

Japan still claims that whaling practice is conducting for only scientific purpose. The young students' trip is also one of the education of science. They responded.......

Samsung Raemian Aircruise

2010-02-03T10:48:00.001-05:00

Towering kite-shaped airships could herald a new era of luxury transport following the introduction of the Aircruise concept. Standing 30 metres taller than One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, packing 330,000 cubic metres of hydrogen gas and capable of lifting 396 tonnes, the Aircruise concept features penthouse apartments, bars and dizzying glass viewing floors. Surprisingly, the concept of Aircruise is generated from Korean big company, Samsung Cons.. The neame of "Raemian" is one of the trade symbol name in Samsung construction company. The meaning of Raemian refers to the "Comfortable in Comming Future".

The main design concept of Aircruise is created by UK-based design and innovation company, Seymourpowell with the premise of 'slow is the new fast'.

The detailed design view of interior and exterior has been revealed by Samsung. The design was made for two purposes; (1) like comfortable with my luxury home, and (2) traveling like silent spaceship.

The aircruise is designed being operated by Solar energy for the purpose of flight in the air.

Do you think the future of our residence concept will be dramatically changed with this type of model?

My answer is YES..... Samsung Construction has great potential possibly made a dream come true. The tallest man-made building, Burj Dubai is also built by Samsung Construction....

Goojje.com ---- fake goole and baidu (???)

2010-01-31T05:43:00.007-05:00

While GOOGLE and China are keeping argue for hacking from China to GOOLE, a imitated GOOGLE search site, GOOJJE was launhed in China.

The pronounciation of GOOLE is very similar to meaning of "sister" in Chinese. The funny thing is the prounounciation of GOOJJE is originated from "brother" of chinese meaning.

This site might be created by Chinese netizens who are arguing with the withdrawl of GOOGLE CHINA.

The logo of GOOJJE looks like the combination of GOOGLE and BAIDU, which is powerful searching site of China.

In addition to resembled logo, the search ability is also powerful as GOOGLE.

For example, certain words are not searchable in BAIDU; but, in GOOJJE, the results are showing same as GOOGLE.

There is not any response from GOOGLE yet, but, this issue needs to be carefully evaluated.

2010 AUDI A1 Concept

2010-01-20T11:40:00.000-05:00

Recent media reports indicate that Audi has decided not to bring the upcoming A1 to the United States because of concerns that the car will be too expensive for the American market. Reportedly, the company will consider bringing the A1 to the States when it is redesigned for its second generation, but that is unlikely to happen before 2015.
Audi will challenge BMW's Mini Cooper and the BMW 1-Series with a premium subcompact of its own.

What We Know About the 2010 Audi A1

The 2010 Audi A1 could take its cue from the Mini Cooper, which has been a solid success in its first five years. Mini is an arm of BMW, and it's only natural that other upscale brands are looking at premium minicars of their own. Among them is Audi, the premium division of Volkswagen, where a recent management shuffle has strengthened the odds for a baby Audi smaller than today's compact-sized Audi A3 hatchback.

The Audi A1 could be on U.S. soil as early as model-year 2010, say industry sources. It'll be somewhat smaller than the A3, but longer, wider, and taller than the popular Mini Cooper. In fact, the A1 is likely to be sized close to the BMW 1-Series.

The 2010 Audi A1's basic design will doubtless borrow heavily from parent VW's European-market Polo, but will likely not be a retrimmed version of that small hatchback. VW/Audi says it's moved beyond sharing complete platforms to devising component "modules" that can be mixed and matched to create unique products for each nameplate. A current example is the VW Eos retractable hardtop convertible, which blends structural elements of the compact Rabbit/Jetta and midsize Passat, but has no Audi counterpart.

Source: http://consumerguideauto.com/

Dolphins' Mud-ring Fishing

2010-01-19T15:38:00.005-05:00

Dolphins are very smart!!!
In Florida Bay, strange ring typed signs are sometimes observed.

These are created by smart dolphins to feed themselves. Apparently, one dolphin swims quickly in a circle (usually counter-clockwise) herding the fish toward the other dolphins that are already lined up next to one another, forming a barrier with their bodies.

Small fish might be feard inside these circle... And they tend to escape out of circle...
Dolphins are just waiting outside circles opened their mouse.....
Dolphins get easily their feed without any swimming and fighting.....
On average, 4 dolphins participate in this feeding behavior.