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Original Batmobile Sells For $4.2 Million At Auction
Sitting Is the Smoking of The IT Generation
What Does Apple Have Against RAM Upgrades?
Engineers Less Empathetic Than Those In Caring-Professions
Solar Juicz Provides Higher Efficiency Solar Power for Apple MacBooks
How to Batch Convert Graphics on Mac with Mac Graphic Converter
Original Batmobile Sells For $4.2 Million At Auction
Your editor is old enough to remember when California-based "King Of The Kustomizers" George Barris created the original Batmobile for the campy Batman ABC television series that aired from 1966 to 1968 starring Adam West in the title role. The show wasn't very good, but the car was cool -- although West has been cited noting that it was a handful to drive, with poor road manners.
George Barris, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barris_(auto_customizer) )now 88, was and is a folk-hero to a generation of car-culture hotrodders and customizers, and kids like me who built car models from AMT plastic kits, for which Barris was a design consultant.
The platform for Barris's quintessential Batmobile was a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car that he bought from Ford Motor Company for the princely sum of one dollar, then spent a still-modest 15,000 1965 dollars converting into Batmobile trim. The car had also appeared, painted red, in the 1959 movie It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford.
Barris retained ownership of the car, displaying it displayed in his own http://www.barris.com/Barris Kustom museum in California, until Arizona automobile collector Rick Champagne was the successful bidder at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction last Saturday in Scottsdale, Arizona, paying $4.2 million.
Wikipedia notes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Futura) that the twin bubble top Lincoln Futura concept car was originally designed by Ford Motor Company lead stylists Bill Schmidt and John Najjar. Unlike many car show concepts then and now, the pearlescent white Futura was a functional automobile - powered by a 368 cubic inch Lincoln V8 engine and powertrain, and built on a Lincoln Mark II chassis and running gear by coachbuilding firm Ghia entirely by hand in Turin, Italy, at a cost of $250,000 - which was serious money in 1955
The virtual giveaway to George Barris after the car made the rounds of the the auto show circuit would presumably have been a tax writeoff for Ford.
Thanks for the memories George!
For more information, visit:
http://www.1966batmobile.com/background2.htm
Sitting Is the Smoking of The IT Generation
Harvard Business Review blogger Nilofer Merchant cites metrics indicating that nowadays we sit more than we do anything else - 9.3 hours a day, compared to 7.7 hours of sleeping - but that health studies conclude tell us people should sit less, and that after just one hour of sitting, the body's production of enzymes that burn fat declines by as much as 90%, while extended sitting slows the body's metabolism affecting things like (good cholesterol) HDL levels in our bodies, and moreover that research shows lack of physical activity is directly related to 6% of the impact for heart diseases, 7% for type 2 diabetes, and 10% for breast cancer, or colon cancer, and the death rate associated with obesity in the US is now 35 million compared to 3.5 million tobacco-related deaths.
Ms. Merchant advocates switching to more standing desks and walking meetings as strategies to mitigate the ravages of our sedentary lifestyles.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://goo.gl/0v8oA
What Does Apple Have Against RAM Upgrades?
Mac Night Owl Gene Steinberg reminds us that you couldn't upgrade the RAM in the first Mac back in 1984, and while Apple relented to complaints and later Macs could be upgraded, that clearly wasn't the vision of Steve Jobs, and that making RAM easy or quick to replace has never been an Apple priority, and example being that you had to pull out the entire electronic assembly to reach the RAM slots in the first iMac.
Steinberg observes that you could clearly get the impression that Apple was hostile to people who wanted to upgrade RAM.
Then with the MacBook Air Apple came full circle with a Mac that can't be RAM upgraded after manufacture since the memory is hard-soldered to the logic board, a motif expanded with the new MacBook Pros with Retina display and the latest 21.5-inch version of the iMac on which RAM upgrades are not officially possible.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://goo.gl/SbCkH
Engineers Less Empathetic Than Those In Caring-Professions
Are engineering students less empathetic than students in the caring professions? Yes, the findings from a study performed at Linkping University indicate that this is the case. The study comprises more than 200 students from six different study programs and was carried out by Chato Rasoal, a researcher in psychology, together with two colleagues.
The researchers measured empathy with a well-established questionnaire that shows, for example, the degree of imagination, the ability to assume the perspective of others, and whether the subject cares about others, along with the subjects own worries and anxiety.
"Empathy can have both a cognitive and an emotional aspect," explains Chato Rasoal. "The capacity to see things from the point of view of others is primarily cognitive, while caring about others is a more emotional component."
Earlier research has shown that engineers have a lower degree of empathy than future doctors and nurses. This may seem perfectly natural, after all, you dont need much empathy to work with machines and calculations, do you? But Chato Rasoal doesn't agree.
"Advanced engineers often take on leading positions in companies, where they have to be able to lead teams involving many co-workers. This requires both good communication skills and social competence. In today's global business world you also need intercultural competence, an ability to communicate and collaborate with people from entirely different cultures."
The students' responses evinced clear differences between caring-profession students and engineers. The latter had considerably lower scores. However, the differences were mitigated when the data was adjusted for gender. Its well known that women are more empathetic than men.
Two groups of engineers participated, students of computer engineering and applied physics. For the latter a marked difference compared with caring students remained even after adjusting for gender differences.
For computer engineering students, the differences were largely eliminated. The researchers have a theory about why: the computer engineering students are taught with PBL, problem-based learning, which is not the case for the applied physics students. Chato Rasoal believes this can influence the degree of empathy.
"In problem-based learning you work in groups a lot. You have to be able to listen to others and accept other peoples thoughts and expressions of emotions. Otherwise it wont work.?"
In a currently ongoing study they want to see if this theory can be confirmed. For five semesters they have followed students of computer engineering to see whether PBL affects their capacity for empathy. The data are now being processed.
The findings from the first study have been presented in an article in European Journal of Engineering Education entitled, "Empathy among students in engineering programmes?" -link:
http://goo.gl/8gcOm
Full bibliographic information:
Chato Rasoal, Henrik Danielsson, Tomas Jungert, Empathy among students in engineering programmes, European Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 37, Iss. 5, 2012, DOI: 10.1080/03043797.2012.708720
Via: http://goo.gl/Rt9BR
Solar Juicz Provides Higher Efficiency Solar Power for Apple MacBooks
QuickerTek, specializing in mobile power and wireless networking for Apple computers, has announced the 62 Watt Solar Juicz solar power charger. This a new, higher performance solar charger with new faster-charging technology packs more power in a smaller size. Apple MacBook Pro, Retina display and MacBook Air users now have the freedom solar power offers and the satisfaction of lowering the carbon footprint.
QuickerTek packs an impressive improvement in efficiency of more than 39% over their previous Solar Juicz model as a direct result of using new technology as well as a philosophy of continual improvement. Faster charge time is provided by higher wattage (62 Watts vs 55 Watts of previous model). Users can charge the laptop battery while using the Solar Juicz at the same time - something not possible using other solar products. If you have sunlight, you have power, whenever you need it.
Solar Juicz users gain 1.5 to 2 times greater power than more common thin-film flexible solar materials, by using new Copper Indium Gallium DiSelenide (CIGS). CIGS yields an amazing 10.5 to 11% average efficiency - ideal for power on the go. QuickerTek claims there is no other CIGS technology solar product available for any Apple device. MacBook users can now spend even more time working away from the wall power outlet. Even if the laptop battery is completely dead, the Solar Juicz charges and powers the MacBook laptop simultaneously.
CIGS technology offers these user benefits:
• Highest efficiency thin-film photo voltaic delivers faster charge times;
• Highest efficiency energy produced under varying light conditions makes solar efficient more often;
• Raw materials availability helps to reduce prices, while remaining environmentally friendly
The 62 Watt Solar Juicz also comes ready to use out of the box with both an Apple Magsafe 1 and an Apple Magsafe 2 power cable. This allows users to power and charge a wide variety of mobile devices from Apple. Solar Juicz also charges QuickerTek's extensive line of Apple Juicz external battery products. QuickerTek also regularly makes custom cables for users who need the convenience of solar power for other devices, such as digital still and video cameras.
The solar panel itself is flexible - allowing for easy transport and use. The higher efficiency technology is only 1534 square inches - 40% more compact than the previous 2478 square inches. The lighter and flexible solar panel also adapts to irregular surfaces better - providing an easy way to use the sun, regardless of the surroundings.
The new 62 Watt Solar Juicz has a new lower Suggested Retail Price of $999 - available from QuickerTek's worldwide dealer network.
Like most QuickerTek products, the new Solar Juicz 62 Watt is backed with a one-year warranty on parts and labor. Additional product information is found at:
http://goo.gl/7u8Dp
QuickerTek offers a range of antennas and RF products for Apple Power Macintosh, Mac Pro, iMac PPC and Intel, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro computers as well as power products for MacBooks. QuickerTek products can be purchased online at:
http://www.quickertek.com
and from authorized dealers at:
http://www.quickertek.com/vendors.php
For more information, visit:
http://www.quickertek.com
Product page:
http://www.quickertek.com/products/solarJuicz.html
How to Batch Convert Graphics on Mac with Mac Graphic Converter
No matter whether you call it a photo, image, picture or graphic, the file size of your photo can sometimes prevent you from uploading, emailing or adding it to a web site. Here is a simple way to reduce the file size using a professional graphic converter application Mac Graphic Converter.
How many photo formats can you reduce? This software can open and view more than 30 image formats. Such as JPG, GIF, BMP, PGM, PSD, PPM, DIB, ICO, ICB, PCX, PCD, PSP, PBM, PSG, WMF, TIF, TIFF, PNG, VST, VDA, EMF, WBMP, RLE, SGI, TGA, and more. At the same time, you can also batch process hundreds of photos, and can save and write more than 10 image formats including GIF, JPG, PNG, DIB, BMP, ICO, TIF, TIFF, WBMP, TGA, WMF, EMF and more. It also supports more than 50 filters like noise, soften, contrast, blur and so on.
Step by step, the easiest and fastest way to resize photos on your Mac:
Step 1: Install Graphic Converter
Download for Mac:
http://www.applemacsoft.com/graphic-converter/index.html
Download for Windows:
http://www.graphic-converter.net/easy-graphic-converter.htm
Step 2: Add the photos you want to reduce.
Step 3: Select the output size.
Step 4: Choose the output folder.
Step 5: Start conversion then it will be finished.
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