Yearly Archives: 2012

In theory the build and price configurators on automaker web sites are a great idea…. 7

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In theory the build and price configurators on automaker web sites are a great idea. You can go through and configure exactly the car you want and figure out how much it will cost before you ever walk into a dealership. 

The problem is that there are often many different combinations of stand-alone options and packages on different trim levels and if you want to find the most affordable combination with the must-have features you want you have to go all the way through a lengthy and slow flash-based build process multiple times. 

What I want in a build and price site is a list of all the available features so that I can check the ones that I must have and then have the system tell me which models meet my requirements. From there I can pick the trim level I want and complete the build. 

Is that too much to ask for?

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One of my favorite lines from Vidal was "United States of Amnesia" 6

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One of my favorite lines from Vidal was "United States of Amnesia"

Reshared post from +Atheist ®

~Jared

PTSOTL: Gore Vidal on how monotheism has rotted our country to its core
“The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism. From a barbaric Bronze Age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved–Judaism, Christianity, an…

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My wife who happens to be an avid knitter and long-time participant at Ravelry was…

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My wife who happens to be an avid knitter and long-time participant at Ravelry was telling me about this last week.  The whole #olympics  trademark and IP thing has just gotten completely out of hand. 

Reshared post from +Lara Killian

I was just explaining the Knitting Olympics to a friend – this is hilarious that the Olympic Committee would send Ravelry a cease & desist order! Not everyone can be an Olympic athlete but I applaud those who find their own way to participate and enjoy the Games!

Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters
If you mess with the Olympics trademark, a cloud of legal hurt will descend on you faster than Tyson Gay in the Men’s 100 meters. Case in point: The U.S.

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It takes a lot of fresh water both to grow corn and to convert it into ethanol 4

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Given the exceptionally dry weather this year, it's definitely time to rethink the mandates on ethanol production until we get some high-volume cellulosic ethanol production online.  Not only does cellulosic ethanol not rely on edible crops for a feedstock, most of the leading processes only use a fraction of the water required for the current dry-mill corn processes. 

As Drought Spreads, Should the U.S. Put Ethanol on Hold?
In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, agriculture and public policy experts argue that the U.S. should suspend its mandate to create corn ethanol because the summer’s drought is putting so m…

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Casino Royale was probably the best James Bond film since the glory days of Sean… 6

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Casino Royale was probably the best James Bond film since the glory days of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig may well best be the best super-spy of them all. Unfortunately the follow-up Quantum of Solace was a muddled mess that got screwed up by having too many cooks in the writer's room during the screenwriters strike. 

This fall Bond is back and based on this trailer (never a guarantee of anything good) this could be a winner. 
#skyfall  #007 #jamesbond  


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Now in full living color 4

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In album 918 Spyder in Martini Look (5 photos)

Now in full living color

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The latest 918 Spyder test vehicle is now turning laps in the legendary Martini® Racing look of many historic Porsche race cars, particularly from the 1970s. Check out the latest photographs in this gallery.

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+Honda has a lot of interesting projects going on in its R&D labs that don't…

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+Honda has a lot of interesting projects going on in its R&D labs that don't appear to have anything directly related to cars or motorcycles. Among those is the stride assist device which was first shown in prototype form in 2009. I had the opportunity try out that early prototype during a 2009 trip to Japan. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/22/tokyo-2009-autoblog-samples-quirky-honda-u3-x-and-other-assist/

The latest addition which is going into a new test program with seniors that have mobility issues is trimmer and lighter than the one I tried almost three years ago. 

While some might argue that these sorts of projects and the HondaJet are distractions from the core business, I still find it fascinating. 

Honda Worldwide | July 29, 2012 “Stride Management Assist Device to be Featured in Program to Assess Elder Independence Solutions”
Honda Worldwide | July 29, 2012 Stride Management Assist Device to be Featured in Program to Assess Elder Independence Solutions – Honda announced that the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontolo…

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