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http://stfmonitor.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-lr-phishing-hyip-program.html

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Full of Jobs, Boeing's Dreamliner Lands in S.C.,
Will It Ever Take Off Again

Significantly larger than a monarch or a moth, Boeing's super-sized aircraft is kicking up a wind that's felt across the country.

South Carolina's legislators and economic development officials were practically giddy when Boeing announced they were touching down in North Charleston. They could hardly be blamed.

In what's being touted as the biggest development deal in the state's history, officials say Boeing has committed to invest $750 million dollars in a facility that will serve as a second manufacturing line for their "green" Dreamliner 787 aircraft, creating thousands of jobs in the three county region that's currently burdened with near 10% unemployment.

"Boeing's decision to expand their presence inour state with an infusion of jobs and capital investment representsnot only enormously good news for our state's economy, but also atelling dividend from our state's continued efforts to better ourbusiness climate," South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford said in a statement.

It's not clear if even the Dreamliner's massive wingspan (197 feet--think 20-story building) can lift Sanford's diminished reputation. But the governor was the legitimate MVP of the deal, says David Ginn, president and CEO of the Charleston Regional Development Association--and not justbecause Sanford signed a sizable incentive package for Boeing. He also led the charge to lure Vought Aircraft Industries to the state six years ago, Ginn says. Now Vought's adjacent North Charleston facility will become a key structure for Boeing's Dreamliner as Boeing acquired the Vought facility in July for approximately $580 million. For South Carolina, Sanford continued in his statement, this new deal "means lowering taxes, easing regulatoryburdens in our state's tort and workers' compensation systems, andkeeping South Carolina a right-to-work state."

But even as South Carolinians rejoice over the promise of the 3,800 jobs Boeing must create over the course of seven years in order to recoup their incentives from the state, the union members in Everett, Washington are crying foul.

Last September, thousands of Boeing's machinists went on a seven week strike that delayed production that delayed production of the aircraft that was already behind schedule due to weak links in the global supply chain.

In a news conference reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this week, Machinists' Union district president Tom Wroblewski said Boeing, "betrayed Washington state's loyalty and used talks over a long-term, no-strike labor contract to leverage a better deal from South Carolina for the second 787 final assembly plant."

Charlie Grieser, a team lead on the 767 line told the Seattle Times that Boeing relied on "threats and intimidation" rather than negotiating a good faith, no-strike agreement with the machinists there. As he and other union members watch their job security vaporize, Grieser believes South Carolina will eventually suffer the same loss of jobs, regardless of being a right-to-work state. He says Boeing has another agenda. "I think they're on their way to China."

In another interview with the Seattle Times, Bobbie Skar, a shop steward on the 787 who has worked for the company 24 years, cautioned, "Boeing is going to suffer, because they don't have the trained work force in South Carolina."

South Carolina executives, officials, and educators who have grown the technical college training network, as well as undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, advanced materials and related curriculum, refute Skar's point, citing BMW's South Carolina-based manufacturing. "When you look at the level of complexity of assembling a 7 Series, it is not all that different from an aircraft," says Dr. Christian Przirembel, vice president for research and economic development for Clemson University. "The skill sets required by the people assembling and testing are there."

Candy Eslinger, a spokesperson for Boeing Charleston, maintains that the company's decision was based on their existing footprint in the area where the new, approximately 584,000-square-foot plant will be constructed, as well as other economic advantages.

On the manufacturing side, because the Dreamliner is made primarily of carbon-fiber composite material, which is trimmed like cloth, manufacturing processes will produce less scrap material and waste. Though much of the state's water supply was in peril during last year's drought which coincided with Google's opening of a data center in the Lowcountry, Ginn says, "Water and infrastructure is not an issue." Przirembel adds, "This is not smokestack manufacturing. Even their suppliers won't be as water dependent as textile manufacturers."

Production of the first Dreamliners are scheduled to start in 2011 and the completed planes are scheduled to take flight the following year.

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In Defense of Laptops, MP3 Players, and Gadgets
in Airline Cockpits

After a single airliner went ever so slightly astray because its flight crew were using laptops in the cockpit, lawmakers are poised to bring regulations crashing down that forbid almost any kind of gadget being used by pilots. That's just dumb.

All this fuss is about Northwest Flight 188 a few weeks ago. During a regular, unsurprising and otherwise uneventful flight to Minneapolis the plane, which was carrying 144 passengers, dropped out of contact with air traffic controllers. As a result it ignored flight direction instructions and repeated calls to respond to radio commands, and kept flying. In fact it was out of touch for 91 minutes, and flew past its destination and on over Wisconsin--only turning around and contacting ground crew when alerted by a flight attendant.

What caused all this to happen--a terrorist attack? A mechanical failure? A mysterious alien abduction or Fringe-like parascientific event? Nope. The two pilots were busy fussing with their own laptops to work out an argument about a new piece of crew scheduling software, and basically forgot what they were supposed to be doing. This isn't, in fact, against any FAA regulations--by using their machines the crew weren't violating any rules, as they weren't in landing approach or below 10,000 feet.

That's about to change, thanks to Sen. Byron Dorgan--chair of the aviation subcommittee--who's tackling the problem with doberman-like fierceness. Within a week he's planning on introducing a new law that would forbid the use of personal laptops or, indeed, any kind of personal gizmo like an MP3 player in the cockpit.

It's daft. It ignores the whole slew of valuable airline pilot Apps for the iPhone, for example. What will our pilots do during those long boring hours while the autopilot is busy flying the aircraft? Without PSPs or iPods and to amuse them, surely they're in danger of falling asleep from boredom--and doesn't that sound more dangerous than a teeny, tiny overshoot? If anything we should demand more gadgets in the cockpit to keep the crew alert, keep them ahead of the technological edge, and keep their fingers nimble and exercised from all that game playing to be ready to push the myriad of little buttons on the flight computers. And possibly to cause more distracted overshoots which would, like Flight 188's case, result in senior-level White House terrorist alerts. After enough of those, perhaps the lawmakers would realize what a stupidly hypersensitive social situation they're inflicting on the world.

[Via Breitbart]

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Who Has Solution For Older Employees

It's not a good time to be an older worker in America. This may be the worst time in the past 60 years to be older and looking for work. Some 6.8% of workers over 55 are currently unemployed. You have to go back to 1949 to find employment stats this bad.

On average, it takes employees over 55 years old seven weeks longer (roughly 33 weeks) to find employment than their younger counterparts.

That's a shame because these individuals carry with them years of expertise and experience. And they are stuck on the sidelines.

"These older workers can't adapt to today's technology and the flexibility in today's workforce?" I hear this all the time. I don't buy it. These folks are as active online as any group these days, and businesses should have systems set up to make it easy for employees to get their jobs done, regardless of age.

Someone (business or industry) is going to come up with a way to hire and employ these individuals and their bottom lines will improve because of the decision. No one wants to hire them so you'll have your pick of the best. We're all living longer today and working longer so if you hire a 55-year-old you may have them for 15 years (the average employee only lasts 4 years with an employee these days). Now, these individuals are often too young for Medicare so benefits will be important to them. However, I think they'd be willing to give up some compensation in exchange for the benefits (they are unemployed after all).

Again, the best kept secret in the job market are older workers. Someone is going to wake up one day and discover them and find a way to tap into this talent pool.

--Ron Ameln, SBM

Read The Full Article:
http://smallbizsuccess.blogspot.com/2009/11/who-has-solution-for-older-employees.
html

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Barnes & Noble's Nook: Beautiful but Plagiarized

A competing firm cries foul over the Nook's color touchscreen. Did Barnes & Noble steal their idea?

The two e-readers above share one glaring similarity: The color touchscreen on the bottom, which allows you to navigate the books and content that you pull up, on the big black-and-white screen above.

And yet one--the Barnes & Noble Nook--has been widely hyped, while the other, the Alex Dual Screen eBook Reader, got lost in the shuffle. As we first suggested, the uncanny similarities hinted that the two companies were on a collision course.

The crash has arrived: Spring Design, the company behind Alex, has filed suit against Barnes & Noble, claiming that they breached a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). And they've added an interesting wrinkle: They claim to have met with Barnes & Noble throughout 2009. In hopes of drumming up work with the company, they showed them early versions of the Alex. B&N executives supposedly praised its advanced features. Barnes & Noble is declining comment.

But the case still isn't as clear cut as Spring would like it to be, at least judging from what we know so far. The Nook, designed by Ammunition, could very well have been in the works all along. Even if B&N met with Spring, they might simply have been playing their cards close--especially since the color touchscreen isn't exactly a super-original idea. (It also seems relevant that Ammunition has had a very long string of design hits; Spring seems to have sprung from relative obscurity, in 2006.)

There's also one telling difference between the two: Both have Internet access, but the Nook's touchscreen doesn't serve as a web browser. The Alex's does.

Spring, meanwhile, has claimed that they filed patents on their idea as early as 2006. Were they written broadly enough to include something like the Nook's touchscreen, which is geared specifically towards sampling and sharing books?

Can Spring's NDA agreement really serve as a bulletproof document, and allow them to sue B&N? After all, we're still talking about a agreement not to share news about features--not a patent infringement. And the Nook was revealed two days after Alex. Sounds like fortuitous planning, on B&N's part.

But the complexities don't end there! One of the big open secrets in consumer-electronics design is that industry experts tend to have a pretty good idea of what everyone else is working on. Partly, that's due to loose lips; the design community is a small one. But more importantly, that's due to the simple fact that all of these devices are made in the same same few places in Taiwan and China. Designs tend to leak. Rarely does any one company really get the jump on another. A suit like this will probably come down to a paper trail--and only rarely does that trail prove theft.

[PC Mag via OhGizmo!]

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Auto Sales Stabilize in October

With the exception of Chrysler, most major automakers saw improved U.S. sales performance in the month of October. Despite analysts expectations of declining sales, Ford (F) and General Motors both surprised to the upside with gains of 3.1 percent and[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.ockhamresearch.com/index.php/2009/11/auto-sales-stabilize-in-october/

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EcoFactor Uses a Broadband Gateway to Push
Weather Data to Thermostats, Saving Energy

Smart meters are a nearly complete solution for home energy management, offering detailed information on power use and potential savings. But until everyone has a smart meter--a goal that will take many years to accomplish--energy-savvy consumers are often forced to rely on third-party products like the TED 5000. Now they have a new option: EcoFactor, a broadband gateway that uses information from a two-way thermostat to keep heating and cooling systems at optimal levels.

The EcoFactor system works with a wireless thermostat rigged up to a DSL or cable box to send EcoFactor temperature information. The EcoFactor system then tweaks the temperature based on set parameters, past thermostat usage, and local weather patterns. For example, instead of leaving an air-conditioner on all day long, EcoFactor might determine that it makes the most sense to turn it on an hour before residents get home. In total, the company claims that these measures can cut heating and cooling costs by 20% to 30%. If EcoFactor's claim proves to be true, that's a big deal--residential heating and air-conditioning systems are responsible for 7.8% of energy use in the U.S.

Don't get too excited just yet. As with smart meters, consumers have to wait for their utilities to sign on before using EcoFactor--at least initially. First up: a deal with Texas-based Oncor to use its demand-response technology to eliminate the need for 3 MW of peak power, or the equivalent of 2,000 average air-conditioning units. EcoFactor hasn't revealed how much (or even if) customers will be charged for its services.

Eventually, EcoFactor might be integrated into service packages provided by companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast. That means your next Internet and cable TV deal might also come with a killer home energy management system.

[EcoFactor]

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The Decoupling of Gold

The Decoupling of Gold

With today’s historic move into new high ground for gold against the dollar, has this market finally decoupled from the other markets?

In this short two minute video, I will share with you what I think the next major technical level is for this market. We will also be looking at an indicator that is close to kicking in that could sharply accelerate gold’s upward move. Gold has an enormous energy field below it that is capable of pushing prices significantly higher in the months ahead.

When a market makes a new high like this one, the pro’s are buying as the line of least resistance is onward and upward.

As always our videos are free to view and require no registration. I would really like to hear your thoughts on this market. Please feel free to leave your comments on the blog.

All the best,
Adam Hewison
President, INO.com
Co-creator, MarketClub

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Designing for Beautility: Where Beauty Meets
Utility

Economics grab all the headlines but beauty is just as important, and even has serious financial ramifications. Beauty does serve a function. Didn't the way that cars used to look--and no longer do--have a big effect on the failure of Detroit? Beauty is more than skin deep. Beauty is powerful. Utility is beautiful and beauty has utility. Let's call it "Beautility" for short.

The Avanti Studebaker, designed by Raymond Loewy (and one of my dad's favorites)

Beauty has different meanings in different cultures and eras--but everybody has some idea of beauty (even the Hell's Angels). Although humans can't agree on specific examples, we do all share a general formula for beauty: It has a very pleasing physical sensual element combined with mental enlightenment. "Aaaahs" and "Ah-has." It's the combination. There is an intellectual component to a beautiful person and an emotional component to a beautiful mathematical proof. The experience of beauty is the result of the convergence of body, mind, and soul. Form and function melt together. Art and science dance.

The Eiffel Tower, an obvious feat of engineering whose only function is to show off

Compared to survival, beauty may not be a critical necessity like air, but beauty is certainly not a luxury either. Beauty drives evolution. In Sleeping Beauty, the evil queen had to ask her mirror what was beautiful (obviously she was not a designer). "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" (Quality is reflected in the visual image). The way things look is important. Is it only skin deep? You can judge a book by looking at the cover!"

These Serengeti sunglasses designed while at Smart Design combine modernergonomics and classic styling with a little refinement

My teacher, and one of founders of the Pratt Institute's industrial design program, Rowena Reed Kostellow, said: "Pure, unadulterated beauty should be the goal of civilization." Like water and health care, Beautility is an essential civic utility that sustains our life form.

Jim Clark's old Lotus Formula 1: Where form and function meet

I have coined this word Beautility because I want people to realize that even in our mercenary world, beauty is not just about flower displays. Beautility is a new way of framing beauty, as something that serves a function, that elevates it to the bottom line. When things have a name and people can point at it, then it will be easier for them to appreciate the value. Designers are key drivers in the beauty business. The design profession's job is to create Beautility!

Read Tucker Viemeister's blog What's Cookin'?Browse blogs by our other Expert Designers

Tucker Viemeister leads the Lab atRockwell Group, an interactive technology design group combiningdigital interaction design, modeling, and prototyping for hotels andrestaurants, casinos, packaging, and products. The LAB seeks to blurthe line between the physical and virtual, exploring and experimentingwith interactive digital technology in objects, environments, andstories. Tucker also co-founded the collaborative Studio Red with DavidRockwell that was dedicated to innovation for Coca-Cola. Since joiningRockwell Group in 2004, Tucker has been instrumental in the design anddevelopment of JetBlue's Marketplace at the JFK International Airport,"Hall of Fragments," an installation that opened the Corderiedell'Arsenale at the 2008 Venice Biennale, a "living wall" for thelobby of the Sheraton Toronto, the traveling Red Lounge for Coca-Cola,and MGM City Centre in Las Vegas.

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New Scorecard Added International Business
Machines (IBM)

Company Name: International Business Machines (IBM) Industry: Internet and Computer Services InvesGuard has just released a Corporate Governance scorecard for IBM. (IBM). Board Effectiveness as defined by the availability of directors is a cause for concern. Its Compensation practices particularly disclosure levels related to perquisites for senior executive management need enhancement. ( Click here to [...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/invesguard/companygrader/~3/LlbU7X67xxY/

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