Curb Zone

Share your latest Purchase Part II

Car Diva — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:40:49 GMT

We are such consumers...!

We must have totaled enough to feed a small nation in the last thread, yes I admit I contributed a lot :)

So here we go again

Ok, I went girly-cosmetic-shopping (thank you Sephora, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus ladies) check it out!

Notice the falsies, never tried them, but if I'm going to emulate my muse Audrey Hepburn, I have to try them for grand parties :D

General Photo Comp #91 -Voting-

Bruce — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:37:55 GMT

Good luck! :usa7uh:

ADGVast

Va Va Voom

Car Diva

Bruce

El Zorro

PHYBENZ

NevadaJack

Polar Bear Gets Endangered Listing

bolidismo — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:41:49 GMT

Polar Bear Gets Endangered Listing, But Win Limited for Green Groups
Ashby Jones (The Wall Street Journal)

Its not exactly in our jurisdiction, but we did blog last week on a federal-court ruling that allowed the Interior Department some extra time to decide whether the polar bear should be placed on the endangered species list, so we feel duty-bound to come back with the news of the departments decision.

The news: the polar bear will be placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, a decision announced yesterday by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

Environmental groups had hoped to use the listing as a tool to make further greenhouse-gas reducing changes. But Kempthorne ruled that out yesterday, ensuring only a partial win for organizations like Greenpeace and the National Resources Defense Council. Explains the NYT: the Bush administration had long argued that a listing wouldnt require it to mitigate the cause of the species decline. Kempthorne agreed with this position, stating yesterday, according to the Times, that when the Endangered Species Act was adopted in 1973, I dont think terms like climate change were part of our vernacular.

The editorial board at the Journal applauded Kempthornes restraint. Mr. Kempthorne was careful to sever the environmentalists preposterous chain of assumptions: That ice is melting is not proof that global warming is to blame, it wrote. If Congress wants to enact global-warming legislation, then so be it but the costs and benefits should be argued in the open. This fly-by-night policy making is not only unscientific. Its undemocratic.

The Wall Street Journal

Shoe Prices.. what a pain

Car Diva — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:33:06 GMT

This is a tragedy for all shoe addicts...:tantrum:

From WSJ May 13 2008:

Pain at the Other Pump: Shoe Prices Rise .The hottest trend in footwear this season? Inflation.

"After a decade of declining prices, footwear makers at all levels are raising prices. The mass-market Payless, a unit of Collective Brands Inc., recently increased prices on shoes in stores, though it won't say by how much. Brown Shoe Co., which makes Via Spiga and Buster Brown footwear and hasn't altered prices in years, plans an increase of 5% to 12% for fall. And the Nine West shoe label plans to boost prices on some styles by 15% next year.

Brown Shoe Co.
Footwear makers at all levels are raising shoe prices.
The moves reflect higher costs in China, which makes about 85% of shoes sold in the U.S., as well as higher fuel costs and the weak U.S. dollar. And they could presage price increases of other goods soon: Handbags, belts and other leather accessories are made in the same region in China.

The shoe price increases follow 10 years in which U.S. footwear prices fell 4.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A key reason for the decline was that makers moved production to low-cost locales such as China and passed along some of the savings to consumers.

For retailers already struggling with a downturn in consumer spending, the higher costs couldn't come at a worse time. They fear the price increases will further damp shopping, forcing them to eventually slash prices to move merchandise and hurting their profit margins in the process. Nannette Kiefer, a 45-year-old homemaker in West Palm Beach, Fla., says she will take more time to find bargains if stores suddenly begin charging $120 for two pairs of shoes that she used to get for $100."

2008 Ice Hockey World Championship

Mikael — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:53:05 GMT

Anybody watching?

Semi-finals

May 16, 2008

Russia vs. Finland

Canada vs. Sweden

Closing the Door to Microsoft Vista

Mikael — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:10:31 GMT

Closing the Door to Microsoft Vista

A number of companies are opting not to embrace Redmond's latest operating system and, like GM, are waiting for Windows 7 instead

May 13, 2008, 12:01AM EST
by Aaron Ricadela

General Motors (GM) may take a detour around Vista, the latest computer operating system from Microsoft (MSFT). The automaker has encountered so many speed bumps getting Vista to work on its machines that it may just wait for the next version of Windows, due in 2010 or 2011. "We're considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7," says GM's Chief Systems & Technology Officer Fred Killeen.

Vista taxes all but the most modern PCs with hefty processing and memory requirements. Many of GM's PCs can't even run the system. "By the time we'd replace them, Windows 7 might be ready anyway," Killeen says. Then there are compatibility problems with all the software that needs to run on Windows. GM's software vendors still haven't ensured all their programs will run on Vista trouble-free. So the company is sticking with Windows XP for now. Killeen figures GM could install Windows 7 in three or four years.

Equal Parts Rejection and Acceptance

Many of Killeen's counterparts across Corporate America are finding themselves similarly vexed by Vista. The resulting delay or rejection of Microsoft's flagship product is stepping up pressure on the company to expand other areas of its business, including online software. Vista was first released in late 2006, but the dismay with it has come into sharper focus as slower-than-expected uptake affects Microsoft's bottom line, Google (GOOG) spiffs up its own free versions of competing software, and corporate tech managers move to put more Apple Macs on employee desks (BusinessWeek, 5/1/08).

Microsoft says it has sold 140 million copies of Vista as of Mar. 31, about the same percentage of all PCs as ran Windows XP at this point in its lifetime. The 140 million includes consumers who have to take the latest version when they buy a new PC as well as businesses that are entitled to Vista rights under licensing agreements, regardless of whether they end up using the system widely.

Among corporate users, it's nothing new for companies like GM to skip releases of Windows, says Mike Nash, a corporate vice-president at Microsoft. He points to customers including Continental Airlines (CAL), Bank of America (BAC), Cerner (CERN), and Royal Dutch Shell, which are installing Vista on thousands of machines, as evidence of the system's acceptance. For their part, consumers are warming to the improved performance and availability of popular software such as Apple's (AAPL) iTunes and Intuit's (INTU) QuickBooks on Vista PCs. "We're seeing tremendous transition to Vista, particularly in the consumer space," Nash says.

Vista vs. Web-Delivered Software

Even as Vista catches on with some users, Microsoft recognizes the need to streamline Windows development as computer users increasingly turn to Web-delivered software, instead of regularly upgrading PCs to run the latest power-hungry programs. "The rush to get into a new product doesn't really exist like it used to," says Al Gillen, an analyst at market researcher IDC. "Killer applications that pull you forward are becoming fewer and further between."

Alaska Airlines (ALK) is among companies that see diminishing value in running the latest Microsoft desktop technology when so many applications are available via a Web browser. "There's no business value in us continuing to chase that upgrade cycle," says Senior Vice-President and CIO Bob Reeder. So as PCs need replacement, the airline buys Vista-equipped machines for its roughly 2,000 office workers from Dell (DELL), then exercises its right to downgrade the machines to XP. About 8,000 PCs used mostly by gate agents and airport crews run a variety of older Windows versions. Reeder says the company plans to skip Vista.

Waiting to Upgrade

Vista delivers security improvements over XP, but doesn't offer compelling features that users clamor for, analysts say. So as IT budgets stagnate or decline, the new operating system isn't winning the war for resources. "Vista doesn't look like a good expenditure of money," says an executive in charge of IT buying at a large engineering and construction firm, who wasn't authorized to speak about his company's purchasing. The IT department is concerned about the cost of new hardware that can run Vista, and the time it will take to move software.

Corporate technology managers and Vista users have pilloried the system for a host of other annoyances and incompatibilities (BusinessWeek, 1/23/08), and many are opting to put off Vista deployments—or forgo the software altogether. Just 7% to 8% of business PCs at clients of Gartner (IT) run the system, and many CIOs are asking for advice about how to skip it, according to the consulting company.

Transco Railway Products, a Chicago maker of railcar parts, may leapfrog Vista because it bought new computers just before the system's release, and probably won't replace them for another year and a half. "We'll probably wait for the next operating system," says Chris Kuersten, Transco's IT manager.

Vista and the Bottom Line

The lack of urgency for upgrading to Vista is starting to hurt Microsoft financially. After two quarters of strong growth, sales in the desktop Windows group, the company's most profitable, fell 2%, to $4.03 billion, during the fiscal third quarter, which ended Mar. 31, leading to an 11% drop in profits for the quarter (BusinessWeek.com, 4/25/08). Microsoft can't afford too many slips like that, since it uses Windows and Office profits to subsidize money-losing efforts including Internet advertising, where it lags Google. Microsoft will likely pour even more money into search engines, Web software, and online ad tools in the wake of its failed bid for Yahoo.

Brent Thill, software research director at Citigroup (C), says sales of Windows desktop products should increase 11%, to $4.2 billion, in the quarter that ends in June. But Vista adoption is still short of where Microsoft would like it to be—just 65% of Windows copies sold in the third quarter were Vista and about 35% were Windows XP. Microsoft wanted the number at 80%, according to Thill. "It's just not taking off," he says. Microsoft attributed the sales shortfall to a comparison with Vista's first quarter on the market, software piracy in China, and unsold PC inventory, but investors are looking for signs of deeper trouble. "Everyone's still scratching their heads, asking, 'Is there something else going on?'" he says.

A More-Modular Windows?

There's plenty afoot at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., where developers are hard at work on the next version of Windows. Executives aren't saying much about Windows 7, lest they risk being accused of overpromising and underdelivering again. However, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Chairman Bill Gates and others have hinted that Windows will become more modular (BusinessWeek.com, 1/30/07), letting Microsoft release portions of the product, including its Web browser, on a faster pace. And analysts say Microsoft will likely use virtual machine technology to run older programs, freeing Windows from the burden of having to support a slew of outmoded code, which could step up release dates.

There are other signs of change in Microsoft's approach to Windows. The company on Apr. 22 took its boldest step yet toward unifying its PC desktop franchise with the Web, announcing an online service called Live Mesh that lets users share files among their various PCs, and eventually mobile phones and Macs, within an online version of their desktop. The product, in test mode for now, illustrates Microsoft's strength at encouraging maverick groups—something it will need more of to take on Google and rewire Windows for the Web, says analyst Rob Enderle, principal of the Enderle Group has sworn the company would never again have a five-year gap between releases, like it did between XP and the oft-delayed Vista. consultancy. "Live Mesh represents the company Microsoft is trying to become," Enderle says. "My hope is with Windows we'll see a lot more of the company they want to become."

Closing the Door to Microsoft Vista

The Danny Gallivan of Finland

Mikael — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:19:42 GMT

I thought this was pretty funny :D:

May 11, 2008, 6:41 pm
By Jeff Z. Klein

Finland scored three unanswered third-period goals to beat the USA by 3-2 in Halifax today, a stunning victory (highlights here) that among other things will add another beloved hockey memory to the Finnish national consciousness. That memory, like so many of the others, will be narrated by the fantastic hockey play-by-play man Antero Mertaranta.

Mertaranta, 51, has done the call at World Championship games for Finnish television since 1994. And even if you cant make out a word of what hes saying few non-Finns can, since Finnish is related to no widely spoken language besides Estonian and Hungarian you can understand why hes so popular. The sense in his play-by-play of drama, excitement and exclusive focus on the action emphatically transcend the language barrier. Its the same sense Canadians and Americans remember so fondly in the work of Danny Gallivan and Dan Kelly (qualities, incidentally, now absent in hockey announcing here, which is instead marked by pointless side conversations, lame banter, and long-winded statements of the obvious that are passed off as insights).

Heres an example of vintage Mertaranta his call of a group-stage game at the 1999 World Championship in Oslo, with Finland trying to tie Russia in the last minute:

Heres Mertarantas narration of an overtime goal that beat Sweden later in that same tournament:

At last years tournament in Mystischi outside Moscow he made this call of Jukka Hentusens goal against Russia:

And this is what Mertaranta actually looks like as he describes the action:

Having Mertaranta and Buffalos Rick Jeanneret in the booth for the same game would be an interesting linguistic experiment, maybe even a dangerous one. In any case, you can see why this YouTube video calls Mertaranta the quintessence of Finnish ice hockey, a point agreed to by the 65 people who have posted comments to the video since last December at least as far as we can tell, given that no one can understand Finnish.

Unless Mertaranta is speaking it, of course.

The New York Times

Sun and Moon on the North Pole

Car Diva — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:02:07 GMT

Not sure if this is real or if Photoshop is part of this deal or what, but considering my interest in observing the heavens, I found the image incredibly beautiful.

General Photo Comp #91

Bruce — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:57:37 GMT

Congratulations to myself for winning last week. Thanks for the votes. :)

Rules:
1. The entered picture must be taken by YOU and not just found on the net.
2. Only one photograph per person and per weekly contest allowed
3. You may NOT change your photograph once it has been entered.
4. There are 5 days to submit your photograph, a poll will be created after five days for people to vote on. (Voting from Saturday-Sunday then new thread on Monday with results)
5. Your image must be a resolution of 1024*768 or lower. If it is not, your picture will not be in the voting thread.
6. Each photographer cannot vote for their own photo, they must vote for others
7. The picture should get submitted with: A Title, the date, and the type of camera.
8. Levels, Curves, Colour Balance, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, cropping, or anything else capable in the development process or with filters and common special lenses are allowed to use in Photoshop or other image editing softwares. Other adjustments and effects are not allowed to use in your picture.

Incest couple slams dungon dad

monster — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:39:09 GMT

Quote:

A South Australian woman who had two children in a sexual relationship with her father has condemned Austrian "monster" Josef Fritzl for his incestuous crimes.

Jenny Deaves told ninemsn she was "absolutely disgusted" at the news of Fritzl and his dungeon family, and said she would turn away the "sick" man if he came to her for help.

Ms Deaves , whose relationship with her father John created a storm of criticism when it was exposed last month, said she believed Fritzl should be locked up for life.

"It's unbelievable — an outright crime … John and I are absolutely disgusted, and appalled.

"It makes me sick to the stomach thinking of what (Elisabeth) and her children have gone through.

"It's horrific, it really is horrific … he should be locked up for life.

"This is the reason incest laws are there and the reason they need to stay there."

Ms Deaves told ninemsn her relationship with John was completely different from the Fritzl's.

"We were consenting adults … in our situation there was no grooming, no lead up and no victim," she said.

Ms Deaves said the seven Fritzl children, three of whom were caged in an underground bunker, would need psychological help but ruled out seeking counselling for her daughter.

"There are a lot more issues in life than having your father who is also your grandfather … for my daughter, the situation will seem nothing compared to Fritzl's … (theirs) is far worse," she said.

The Deaves claimed they went public about their relationship "to bring awareness within society of genetic sexual attraction".

Ms Deaves told ninemsn her relationship with John wasn't a crime because she never saw John as her father.

Last month, the couple told 60 Minutes they were victims of hate crimes since they disclosed their relationship.

But the 39-year-old said today life had returned to normal and that everybody was now leaving them alone.

"The media hype came as quick as it went," she said.

"We couldn’t understand why anyone would be interested in our little family."

Fritzl should be jailed for life: Deaves

This is so so wrong in so many ways, 1st of all we have an incest couple going public on national TV then said they ''couldn't understand why anyone would be interested in our little family" :t-crazy2: And now just when people are leaving them alone, they are back on the news again and commented on this horrible crime in Austria. Yes the actions of Josef Fritzl should be condemned to the fullest but we don't need to hear it from an incest couple...........The world has gone completely mad, if it hasn't already happened.

Interesting roads

Bartek Sikorski — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:09:31 GMT

Shocking pictures of Hiroshima victims

shonguiz — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:02:38 GMT

General Photo Comp #90 Voting

Bruce — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:45:38 GMT

Good luck! :usa7uh:

Bruce

MikeJ

Car Diva

far2000

ADGvast

vanq

Va Va Voom

NevadaJack

PHYBENZ

Shift507

Raped, what would you do?

Gullwing — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:23:28 GMT

I am not one of the people involved in this.
Say you have a friend that went to an apartment of acquaintance from work for a birthday party for a few minutes to say hi. Several hour later she come home soaking wet. She tells you had her cell phone broken so she couldnt call the police and she was locked in the bathroom. A guy she worked with (dish washer from Moldova) beat her, raped her and then threw her in the show to wash away evidence before forcing her outside and throwing her keys into the middle of the street.
You take her to the hospital for a rape kit, which collects plenty of evidence including DNA. The police come and take a statement.
The police then take to the rapist and he tells them he knows nothing. The several witnesses say the girl was drunk (she wasnt) and they did not see what happened. While taking the statement the police find a warrant out for the girl from three and a half years ago. (Police sent notice to wrong address and had it listed under incorrect name, people involved reconciled and moved on, but police will not drop it). Four months later nothing has been done, police say it is a he said she said and could just be rough sex. Several days from now the rapist will be getting on a plane to fly back to Moldova forever.
Over the past four months the rapist still works at the same place as the victim, he will harass her all the time. Management will not reschedule either person so they do not have the same shift. He meets her after work at her car and rubs in the fact that he raped her and nothing will happen to him.
A friend was raped and the police refuse to do anything and the guy will be gone in a few days. What would you do???

Myanmar / Burma

bolidismo — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:13:56 GMT

Myanmar continues to stall aid efforts

Myanmar continues to stall aid efforts

With up to 100,000 dead and one million homeless, Myanmar's paranoid military regime continued Thursday to stall worldwide efforts to come to the aid of the victims of cyclone Nargis.

One United Nations aid flight arrived from Italy in Yangon, formerly Rangoon, and two others were expected, all carrying food, water, tents and medical supplies for a population that has gone a full week without shelter, fresh water and electricity.

But the supplies arrived without the experienced workers trained to assess the situation and distribute the aid. International disaster relief experts are still cooling their heels, mostly in Bangkok, waiting for visas to enter the country.

So, instead of a systematic distribution plan, Myanmar state TV showed smiling members of the military junta that has ruled the former Burma for nearly half a century handing out boxes of supplies to waiting citizens. It quoted one general telling them the situation in the country was "returning to normal."

For a brief period Thursday, the aid community expected a breakthrough in the situation when word came through that the U.S. military would be allowed to begin aid flights into Myanmar.

Thai military officials intervened on their behalf and it appeared the way was clear for a humanitarian airlift to begin. But, the flurry of optimism was short-lived.

Late in the day, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric John told reporters: "This morning, we and our Thai allies thought we had a decision from the Burmese leadership to let the C-130 (transport planes) in. As of now, we don't have that decision. I don't know whether they rescinded the decision, or if there was a miscommunication."

There is increasing concern that the Myanmar generals intend to keep foreigners out of the country at least until after this weekend's referendum on a new constitution. They contend the vote is a step toward democracy, but it has been widely condemned as a sham and there is intense criticism that it is even going ahead in many parts of the country, despite the cyclone disaster.

According to eyewitness reports from the few journalists who have managed to get into Myanmar, the relief supplies that are trickling into the country are not getting to the people most in need. They say that in the worst hit Irrawaddy Delta area, where the cyclone touched down directly, people still have not received any help.

According to the BBC, there is widespread flooding and bloated bodies - both humans and animals - are floating in the salt water.
These kind of conditions make Myanmar ripe for the spread of disease and further delays in aid supplies will only aggravate the situation.

Cholera is now a major concern, as is Malaria.
Even before the cyclone, the World Health Organization warned that "malaria is a re-emerging public health problem" in the country and it is now exacerbated by widespread flooding, the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Some officials are warning privately that disease may end up killing as many as the cyclone if help doesn't arrive soon.
But, no progress is being reported on that front despite private and public appeals to the regime in Myanmar from the highest levels of governments around the world. Only "friendly" governments such as China, India and Thailand have been allowed to help so far, and even they have been limited to delivering supplies and leaving.