Jean's Legs, Valerie's Arms

Jean's Legs

Jean says:
One of the most memorable highlights of my life in New York City so far was the honor of having my legs appear on the theater poster designed by Fraver for the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George. For months in 1984, I had the marvelous experience of seeing my gams on posters all over town - on subway platforms, bus stops and billboards -- all thanks to my friend Fraver. The original show starred Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. I even got free tickets to the show! Numerous friends (and strangers) begged me to stand in front of the poster, mimicking my pose, for photographs.



Twenty seven years later, on February 23rd to be exact, history repeated itself. Valerie and I attended the opening of an exhibit and reception at the New York Public Library for the performing Arts celebrating the work of legendary theatrical advertising artist, Frank "Fraver" Verlizzo. The exhibit, DESIGN: FRAVER - Four Decades of Theatre Poster Art at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, highlights some of Broadway's most indelible images. "Fraver" (an amalgam of the first three letters of his first and last names) has created artwork for over 300 shows, including some of theater's most memorable images, for shows like Sweeney Todd, The Lion King, Follies and Ira Levin's Deathtrap. My Sunday in the Park poster graces the cover of the program for the show which runs from February 24 through April 30th. Once again, I was photographed in front of the poster. (I confess I AM such a ham!) (Oh, says Valerie appropos the previous sentence, shades of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham!)


Fraver is one of the first people I met when I moved to New York in November 1974. We sat next to each other at a Blaine Thompson Christmas party at Sardi's, no less, and instantly bonded. Fraver also used to shoot Super 8 silent murder mysteries starring his friends. I was not only lucky enough to star in Beauty Secret, but also won Fraver awards for Best Actress AND Best Costume. I played Spyra Webb, with slicked back jet black hair, chalk white kabuki makeup with a black widow spider glued to my forhead, and a black vintage 1940s film noir wardrobe. How could I miss? Fraver's mom and aunt and their Bronx girlfriends were the official Fraver Awards Committee. Last Wednesday night, Valerie got to meet many of my friends and co-stars from the Fraver films of the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, several of Fraver's starlets like Bryn and Peggy, were imported from out of town (Reading, PA). Peggy (in blue) played Eva Peron in Furor and Bryn played Liz Taylor in another of Fraver's epics. (Valerie says: I'm accustomed to Jean instantly attracting attention when she walks into a room, but that night was beyond the beyond. She knew nearly everyone, and nearly everyone knew her. It was astonishing. AND everybody LOVED her. None of those awful people who approach celebrities and blurt out things like "Oh, you look so much older in person!")



Fraver (second from the left) poses with John Reilly (photographer for the Sunday in the Park poster), illustrator Linda Fennimore and Fraver's nephew Thomas (whom I hadn't seen since he was less than 3 feet tall!). Bryn and Peggy and I reminisced about Fraver's obsession with detail when directing his Super 8 extravaganzas -- to the point of tying one of their friends to a railroad track to achieve the right cinematic effect! We truly would do anything he asked us to do. (Valerie wants to know where those movies are today.)



Here I am with Scott Fless, who has not only starred in Fraver films but also appeared in a number of Broadway and off-Broadway shows. I'll always remember the trip Fraver and I took to D.C. to see Scott perform at the Kennedy Center in Pippin. We sent flowers backstage "to the Diva" and all three of us went out afterwards to celebrate, with me at the wheel of my mother's Buick Electra 225 (the "Deuce and a Quarter"). A true New Yorker, Fraver did not learn to drive until he was in his mid-thirties.



Joe Ligammari and Fraver have been partners for thirty years. Last July, they made their union legal and got married in Connecticut. When I opened their wedding announcement, it tickled me to remember the summer in the early 1980's that Fraver and Joe joined me and my friends in a summer share in Madison, CT in a house on Long Island Sound. Joe is an amazing cook and he dazzled us all on numerous occasions with delectable hors d'oeuvres, hearty meals and truly sinful desserts.



Robert W. Richards, another famous illustrator, escorted one of his stylish friends to the opening reception. Fraver and Joe have hosted some swellegant holiday parties over the years, at which Robert and I never failed to connect.









Paul McDonough (pictured on the left with two of Fraver's pals) is most famous in my experience as the creator of shockingly fabulous hand-made customized greeting cards featuring his surprisingly accommodating great dane Spencer in all types of costumes and wigs. For years, all holidays great and small (Chinese New Year, Easter, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween...) have been the occasion for one of Paul's hilariously entertaining cards. One unforgettable President's day card included shots of Spencer appearing as both George AND Martha Washington -- in full wigs and historically accurate 18th century costumes. When Spencer finally passed away last year, I was heartbroken. But never fear! Gus, another rescue mutt, has stepped into the breach, so to speak, and the tradition continues. Photographer William Wegman and his famous Weimeraners have nothing on Paul and his dogs!



Valerie rallied and wore a fabulous polka dot suit enhanced by a zebra print sling for her cast. She's posing here with John Reilly, Ivan Mair and Linda Fennimore. Ivan had been a frequent collaborator on Fraver films before he moved to the West Coast. After years of bi-coastal living, he has recently returned to Manhattan. Hooray! (Valerie says: I rallied all too briefly. More on that below. Suit is vintage Armani, so it can look good and I don't have to. As for bi-coastals, I don't believe in them. I think they're just fooling themselves.)




When Luke McDonough (Paul's other half) confessed to me that Paul never shows him the exotic canine photo-montages he mails to me, I shared with him the most recent fabulous creation that Paul sent (in a gold envelope) to celebrate my appearance in Time Out New York's Style Icon issue. Appearing with Luke are Ramona and Eric, longtime wild and crazy friends of Fraver, and Joe. The first time I met Ramona over a decade ago, she was a scantily clad Santa's helper at one of the Fraver and Joe's holiday parties. (We really, truly do anything that Fraver asks us to.)



Scott, Valerie and John indulge my request for "just one more" photo!








Ta da! Here is Joe Ligammari's latest and greatest culinary incarnation -- as Cookie Jough! He provided the evening's delicious, home-baked dessert - cookies lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Telltale dustings of powdered sugar made it easy to spot the partiers who chose to indulge in cookies rather than the adult beverages. (Valerie and I confess: Guilty as charged!)




Before they headed back to PA, the "Ladies from Reading" graciously posed for that one last photo!

The DESIGN: FRAVER show runs through April 30th, 2011. Check it out. You'll thank us!

Jean is wearing an Ignatius hat (from the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show), vintage glasses (Revue OATH from Fabulous Fanny's), vintage twisted aluminum wire and glass marble earrings (vintage clothing show), Kyodan jacket, Ronen Chen skirt (from Rosebud in Soho), Lux de Ville quilted black patent handbag with leopard print lining, and giant silver dice charms (from Enz in the East Village), customized black patent Dansko clogs outfitted with 4" platform saw-tooth soles.

Valerie is wearing a vintage B. Altman black curly lamb hat with faux baroque pearl hat pin from the late great dollar flea market in Chelsea; a vintage Giorgio Armani wool suit from a thrift shop; H&M leggings as a sling, H&M black canvas shibori bag, and unseen black Arche ankle boots.

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Valerie's Arms

Valerie says: This is just to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who has expressed sympathy and concern for my broken right wrist. My left arm is fine, if overworked; my right wrist had surgery on February 9, nearly a month after the initial break, setting me back to zero in terms of recovery, and giving me six additional weeks encased in fiberglass. Apparently the fracture was drifting apart again, and I was advised to get a titanium pin. (For those of you with a wicked sense of humor, everyone assures me it will NOT set off airport secrity alarms. Almost everyone assures me I will never feel the pin.) Jean says: Valerie is a trooper. Even after the insertion of the pin, there are times when her wrist continues to ache. She had a new cast put on last Thursday (after removal of some of the stitches) and after a sleepless night, had to have that one replaced on Friday.




The post-surgical body is different from the merely post-fracture body. Four days after my fracture, I foolishly showed up at work, although, not being a professional singer (for example), there wasn't very much I could actually DO with only one hand - and the wrong hand, at that. Post-surgery, on the other - um - hand, far from wanting to show up for a full day of work, I seem to have a very brief daily window of opportunity. They say it takes time for the body to recover from drugs, and energy is diverted to speed recovery, blah, blah, blah. The intellectual side of me understands all this, but the other side (what is that side called?) wants to roll its eyes and ask me what my effing problem is. My foot surgery last year was like Sunday in the Park with George compared to this. This coming Friday I'll get a new cast that frees my right elbow for the first time since the accident. (Kiss your elbows, folks. You have no idea how much they really do for you.) And somewhere around March 21 (omg - isn't that the Ides of March?) I may be free of the whole thing. Till then, I find I'm often tired, and often tired of feeling tired. (This is a web photo of a pinned wrist. I have no idea if mine looks like this.)


Valerie is wearing a black and white Junko Koshino jacket - one of very few that will fit over her cast; a barely visible neclace of gray and white pre-Columbian spindle whorls; a Marilyn Monroe print 'sleeve' over her cast, cut from leggings purchased at Sock Man; her trusty H&M bustier, since she still cannot hook up her bra (but thankfully can pull up a zipper, in a manner worthy of videotaping); unseen black cotton canvas Caravicci pants, the standard washable favorite for one-handed eaters who might spill something; and unseen Arche ankle boots.

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Where We Get Ideas for Outings

Last week we got a comment from Rebecca, who asked how we find out about the places we visit.

Of course, it all depends on what you're looking for, but some favorites we rely on are:

The New York Times, especially the Thursday through Sunday editions. This is where we first found out about our beloved SOFA, opening April 14 at the Park Avenue Armory. Now we get our invitations via e mail, so we never accidentally miss it.




The Wall Street Journal is no longer the dry old codger of our youth. LOTS of great tips on a variety of fun subjects. Really!








Of course, Time Out New York, brilliant enough to publish US, is an excellent source for what's going on around town.











City Arts, which calls itself "New York's review of culture", has taken up where the late lamented SUN had to leave off, and covers a broad spectrum of cultural events, including the avant garde. Hard to find sometimes, but worth looking for. And free.







Gallery Guide, which publishes special editions for several different cities, tells you which artists' works are featured at which galleries. One problem is they don't show pictures of the work at every gallery, so often you have to be willing to go on a kind of blind date with the gallery/galleries you choose. (This can be fun, unless you're holding down a full time job.) You can pick up Gallery Guide for free at most galleries.






We've put American Craft magazine here, which is where we first read about the annual Philadelphia Craft Show, but you could replace that with any specialty magazine - for quilters, painters, train buffs, etc. - to find fairs and other events that focus on your interests. Idiosyncratic Fashionista readers might like Ornament or Selvedge or Hali...




Like museums? Keep track of museum websites. Many cultural institutions have mailing lists - for snail mail and e mail. We get to attend certain limited admissions events because we respond quickly to e mail invitations we receive. Get on the mailing lists of the institutions that interest you most.









WNYC radio is a wonderful source of information, from books and cooks to musical groups and tv shows.











We first found out about the vintage clothing shows in the New York Times, but then we started to get e mail invitations and post cards from vendors we'd patronized. The next Stella Pier Show will start on March 31; the next Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show on April 29. At the show entrances, or at the dealers' booths, you'll often find post cards for other events that might interest you. (photo by sydneysvintageclothing.com)




Your friends can be better than the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York and all the museum websites combined. Sometimes your friend has connections you don't have; you have connections your friend doesn't have. Like they say on TV, PRICELESS! Work your connections! (In a nice way, of course.) You invite your friend as your guest to THIS; s/he invites you as his/her plus one to THAT. (Works best if you're both interested in similar things.)

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We now have 100 followers, as of several days ago! Thanks to all of you for your interest. Older ladies rock! And older ladies of the future rock, too!

(And if we get about a million more readers, we will begin to catch up with Style Rookie!)

Still no readers from Greenland...

Autodesk: The Secret Star Behind Oscar-Winning Visual Effects

INCEPTION 2010

No matter which film walks away with the Oscar for Best Visual Effects on Sunday, one organization that has previously made Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list will be a clear winner: Autodesk. Every single movie nominated this year--from Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Herafter to Inception to Iron Man 2--used its software to craft some portion of their effects.

And while Autodesk is best known for its architecture tools, less well known is its Media & Entertainment line of products, which are used to create effects in films, television, and video games. The tools are so well highly valued within the industry that they have been part of the toolbox used to construct scenes in every single film that has won Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards in the last 15 years.

Autodesk’s MotionBuilder, for example, was central to last year’s Avatar. The tool was able to instantly transform the motion data it was capturing into an image of what the characters and scene would look like in the final film. So while Sam Worthington and Zoe Zaldana romped around the set in black suits and funny-looking headgear (see video, below), director James Cameron could watch a monitor where blue Na’vi characters were performing the scene against the Pandora landscape. That meant he could see the movie--in real-time--essentially as it was going to appear in its final form, and make any adjustments right there and then.

Autodesk’s Maya was used to map Brad Pitt’s performance onto the older version of himself in 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. MudBox, which was originally created by New Zealand’s Skymatter and later acquired by Autodesk, was used to sculpt the ape in 2005’s King Kong. And Maya was used as far back as 1997, in Titanic, to place virtual characters on top of the doomed ship as it sailed out of harbor. That film also used Inferno, a compositing software that allowed the filmmakers, for example, to add smoke to the Titanic’s smokestack and have it track tightly with the ship’s movement.

Much of the core competency Autodesk brings to the table lies in developing complicated mathematical models of how objects look and behave in the real world, then baking that into the software, so that artists and designers can essentially push a button to run an algorithm and have the result applied to the element on screen--a much more sophisticated version of what happens when you apply an effect to an image in photo editing software.

“Our job,” Jos Stam, senior research scientist at Autodesk and inventor of Maya Fluid Effects, tells Fast Company, “is to hide all the math.”

But he’s humble about the tools’ ultimate contribution to what viewers see at the movies.

“We create these tools,” he says, “and I’m always amazed by what the artists can do with them. It’s like creating brushes and then seeing a Rembrandt. You can improve the brushes, but it still takes an artist to really create amazing effects.”

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from Fast Company

Google Invades Microsoft Territory, Integrates Google Docs With Office Products

Although Google has pushed hard to make Google Docs a worthy competitor to Microsoft Office, there's always been a sense that Docs just couldn't stack up. As a web-based program, Google Docs lacked the features, ease-of-use, and stability of Office--it's an online convenience, certainly, but no where close to a replacement for Microsoft's suite of products.

But today, Google took steps to grow its role beyond just an online supplement to Office--and, in doing so, is going right into Microsoft's backyard. 

On Thursday, the search giant unveiled a new tool to sync Microsoft Office with Google Docs, creating a seamless transition from one program to the next. Called Cloud Connect, the plugin installs to the toolbar of any Office application, whether Word, Excel or PowerPoint, and enables users to "share and simultaneously edit" documents. Using the Google plugin, all files and revisions are synced to the cloud and continuously backed up through Google. 

Rather than try to reinvent the wheel, it appears Google is trying to better integrate itself with market leader Microsoft by doing what it does best: cloud computing and real-time collaboration. As an ad for the new plugin says, "You gain all the benefits of the cloud without learning anything new or updating existing software." 

Similar plugins already exist, but none that pose as much a threat to Microsoft as Google. If the product were to ever to become popular, it'd be a huge branding coup for Google: a Google toolbar incorporated prominently into one of Microsoft's most ubiquitous programs.

And we've seen this strategy before from Google. Remember when it first added the Google search toolbar to Internet Explorer? Or when it added Google Desktop on Windows?

Unless Microsoft is careful, Office might be next--regardless of whether ol' Clippy has been able to fend off competitors in the past.  

The 3-D Sound Revolution

Pixar's animated hit, Toy Story 3, goes for a Best Picture Oscar. And it was an innovative new series of sound channels that let Buzz Lightyear be even buzzier.

When the celebrities walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards on Sunday, you might miss the stars of sound who helped 3-D storytelling take a giant leap forward this year: Dolby Laboratories. Last June, Dolby unleashed Surround 7.1 in conjunction with Best Picture nominee Toy Story 3. For the first time, it enabled viewers of 3-D movies to feel like they were inside of the action and inside of the sound.

Pixar came to Dolby as they were preparing the latest installment of the Woody-Buzz franchise, Dolby technical marketing manager Stuart Bowling tells Fast Company. For years, there had been limitations on what sound designers could do, based on how sound was delivered to speakers inside the theater. Pixar wanted to know if Dolby could create a new system, one that would let designers better break up where the sound took place inside the theater, to better recreate sound from real-world environments.

The historical limitations were due to the limited capabilities of physical film, which could only carry so many sound channels. As a result, sound in the back of the theater couldn’t be separated from the sound on the sides--the same channel was delivered to each set of speakers. But digital systems have much more bandwidth, so now Dolby could add more channels, and then send it to different sets of speakers (see image, below), which in turn allowed designers to move sound around the theater--the effect is closer to the way we experience sound in real life. 

"In an initial test, we remixed the sequence from Toy Story 2 where the toys are crossing the road, inside orange cones," Bowling says. "The amount of immersion you get from that is that you really feel the claustrophobia of the toys inside the cones. You literally feel the cars drive over you. You’re hearing the cars come from the screen, running right down the right and left surround, [and then off the back]. We couldn’t do that before." 

The new system, which is now in about 1,300 theaters worldwide, has meant that movie makers, like Pixar, have more choices with what they do on the screen.

"In live action films, whenever you hear someone speak, you predominantly hear them speaking from the center of the screen [where a set of speakers is located]," Bowling says. "But Pixar likes to have their characters move around the room. So now Slinky, the dog, can walk across the screen. He can start talking on the left channel, and then in the center. And then the front of him can disappear off screen [to the right]. You’re hearing him talking on the right wall, while you’re still seeing his legs in front of you."

[Diagram: Dolby Laboratories]
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You'll believe anything you read online, won't you?

In July, 2010, one corner of the blogosphere erupted with the seething, burning rage that online communities seem to have a unique ability to muster.


The spark that lit bloggers' fuse was a decision by SEED Media Group decision-makers to allow a team of writers from PepsiCo Inc. to operate a blog about nutrition and global health on its popular ScienceBlogs.com blogging network. Many of ScienceBlogs' other writers felt this choice had leapt across the ethical line. Some thought the Pepsi-authored blog wasn't labelled clearly to let readers know what they felt it was – advertising in disguise. Some felt that by staying, their reputations, and their credibility, would be diminished.


While SEED did eventually reverse its plan, the damage had been done. The network began haemorrhaging writers, losing nearly a quarter of its roster before the week was out. Blogging as a platform flies on wings of trust, and it seemed that ScienceBlogs - one of the first, and certainly the most prominent science blogging network - had flown too high.

The fiasco – dubbed Pepsigate as the saga unfurled – revolved around two major issues: traditional notions of the advertising-editoral divide that have plagued publishing for ages, but also a new struggle stemming from a lack of understanding of how readers assess the credibility of blogs. Knowing how readers decide to believe a blog post could help make sense of Pepsigate, and whether or not giving a clearer biography of the Pepsi blog's authors would have made any difference.

One recent study by Thomas Chesney and Daniel Su tried to dig in to the factors people use to judge blogs by focusing on pseudonymous* blogging and the impact it might have on perceived credibility.

Chesney and Su gave 269 undergraduate students – 182 in the UK, 87 in Malaysia - a fake story chronicling a blogger's discovery of, and subsequent battle with, nail fungus (ew?). The posts were identical except for the blogger's biographical information running along the top. Here, the researchers had three types of bio: 1) a pseudonym only 2) a pseudonym, age, and sex, or 3) the blogger's “real” name, age, sex, email address and photograph.

The students rated the blogger's perceived credibility, successfulness, trustworthiness, and reputation, along with whether they thought the writer had “an interest in important affairs,” integrity, and had “information of superior quality.” Each of these terms was judged out of seven and combined to give a one-number measure of the bloggers perceived credibility, with one being believable and seven being a skeezy dirtbag.

It turned out, much to the surprise of the researchers, that having a full set of biographical information, or having nothing but a nickname (KrystalKidd, or another similarly creative pseud) made absolutely no difference on how credible the students thought the blogger was.

"I wasn't expecting that at all,” said Chesney, a researcher at the University of Nottingham. "I thought it would make a difference, this idea of having not just a name but also a photograph, but it didn't. There was no difference.”

Pseudonymous bloggers were rated with a 4.40 +/- 0.93, pseud, age and sex earned 4.28 +/- 0.79, and fully identifiable bloggers got 4.26 +/- 0.89. In other words, all three set-ups left the bloggers somewhere in the middle of the seven point scale.

"Whatever the reason," said Chesney, "the implication of [the study] for bloggers is that, should they wish to publish anonymously, they can do so without a loss of credibility."

But in my mind, this is only one possible way of looking at the results. Yes, it could be that people are sympathetic to anonymous bloggers. Or, maybe it's just that the level of trust for blogs isn't up for discussion. So it might not be that bloggers aren't losing credibility by being anonymous, but rather that even by having a photo, an email address and all the rest, bloggers just aren't capable of gaining any points. Chesney said he's sympathetic to the two different interpretations.

"I think that's exactly right. This study doesn't shed any light on which of those it is, but it could be either," he said.

Chesney said there is at least one strong reason why the results may not be perfectly applicable to blogging today, however. He said the research was conducted in around 2006, "before it became known in the mainstream that news organizations were willing to look at blogs, Flickr streams, and microblogs as valid information sources."


He said that at the time, it might have been that, despite their growing prominence, “blogs perhaps were not seen as something worth attention.”

But, Chesney and Su's findings seem to fit within previous research into the perceived credibility of websites in general. The pair wrote that in a study by Eysenbach and Köhler, which looked at how people get health information online, that "few participants were able to name the website where they had eventually found information, and none of them had checked any ‘disclaimer’ or ‘about us’ section of the websites they looked at."


The research, along with a pinch of extrapolation, suggests that for the average browsing reader, the one who will come across a story from Twitter, Facebook, Reddit or any other source, will hardly even notice – let alone care – whose blog they are currently reading. They will read the post, and decide what to make of it based on the content. And then, just like when people learn bad science from movies, they will probably forget where they found the information in the first place.


My point in tying this research to the Pepsigate scandal is to suggest that those who happen to be in charge of giving bloggers an expanded platform (like by being on a blogging network run by a magazine company), need to be particularly ethical in regards to who they hand a keyboard. If the research shows that readers don't look at biographies or check an author's credentials, then the practice of running disguised advertising is a huge breach of their obligations to their audience.


With the default credibility of blogs running so low, and there being little a blogger can do to improve it, they need to be especially protective of any gains they manage to make – a lesson SEED may have learned just a little too late.

*The authors refer to anonymous blogging throughout their study, but technically the research seems to refer to pseudonymous blogging - blogging under a nickname. Anonymous bloggers would be completely unidentified.
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article by Colin Schultz
taken from scientificamerican.com

The V8 Engine

Now a  days we all talk about V8 engines. Every sports car today has it. But what exactly to an engineer a V8 engine means? What does 8 cylinders provide that 6 cylinders engine are not able to provide except power and all that general stuff???? This article will talk about it.

The V8 Engine of Porsche 911 carrera convertible

New Porsche 911 with Direct Fuel Injection and Double-Clutch Gearbox


Stuttgart. Starting on 5 July, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is introducing the next generation of the 911 model series. The four new models – two Coupés and two Cabriolets – with classic rear-wheel drive offer an even higher standard of dynamic performance thanks to their all-new flat-six power units displacing 3.6 and, respectively, 3.8 litres. And the introduction for the first time of direct fuel injection on a Porsche sports car, together with the optional double-clutch gearbox Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK), makes the new 911 even more sporting and dynamic.

At the same time these new technologies enhance the already outstanding efficiency of the 911 to an even higher level than before: Featuring PDK, the Carrera Coupé offers outstanding fuel economy of 9.8 litres/100 kilometres, equal to 28.8 mpg imp. And with all new Carreras remaining significantly below the fuel consumption benchmark of 11 litres/100 kilometres, equal to 25.7 mpg imp, CO2 emissions are down by up to 15 per cent.

Maximum output of the 911 Carrera with its 3.6-litre power unit is up by 20 bhp to 345 bhp (254 kW). Output on the 911 Carrera S with its 3.8-litre power unit is equally impressive, up by 30 bhp to 385 bhp (283 kW). With this extra power, the Carrera S Coupé now offers a top speed of slightly over 300 km/h or 186 mph.



The new generation of the 911 is available for the first time with the new Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK), Porsche’s double-clutch gearbox. Offering no less than seven forward gears, the new gearbox combines the driving comfort of a converter automatic transmission with the dynamic gearshift of a sequential racing gearbox. And since PDK also boasts an automatic gearshift function, it replaces the former Porsche Tiptronic S automatic transmission on both the Carrera and Carrera S. Through its optimised and adaptive gearshift programs, PDK improves the car’s acceleration and reduces fuel consumption to a level even lower than before.

Porsche developed this gearshift principle featuring two clutches to shift gears without the slightest interruption of traction and pulling power and without even the slightest break in between gears no less than 25 years ago for motorsport. Porsche works drivers benefiting from this technology were able to accelerate faster than their competitors and keep both hands on the steering wheel while shifting gears, thus avoiding even the slightest distraction while shifting. The pioneering achievement from back then now gives the new 911 Carrera even better performance: Equipped with seven-speed PDK, the Carrera S Coupé accelerates in 4.5 seconds from 0-100 km/h, another 0.2 seconds faster than with a manual six-speed gearbox. And the customer in search of optimum driving dynamics even has the option to combine PDK with Porsche’s optional Sport Chrono Plus including Launch Control. The result is high-speed acceleration free of slip from a standstill and a racing gearshift, with the car accelerating to 100 km/h in a truly outstanding 4.3 seconds.


The new generation of the 911 stands out clearly at first sight through innovations in design both front and rear as well as new lights with LED technology. LED daytime driving lights and bi-xenon headlights now standard on all new models in the Carrera range give the silhouette of the 911 even more distinctive style and a truly unique look, interacting with new LED rear lights to ensure an unmistakable and striking appearance also at the rear. And as a further safety option, Porsche now also offers Dynamic Bending Lights on all models.


Prices start at Euro 69,600.- for the Carrera (Euro base price). The Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S both retail at Euro 78,000.- (Euro base price), and the Carrera S Cabriolet is entering the market at Euro 88,000.- (Euro base price).
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source distrocar.com

VW Beetle History

The First People cars created by ferdinand porsche.....
History of The Volkswagen Beetle




In 1934, Adolph Hitler announced that a car shouldn't just be a privilege of the wealthy. He summoned Ferdinand Porsche to talk about his plans for a car. Hitler said it should be small, durable and air cooled. Hitler called it Volkswagen, which means the peoples car and stipulated it should be less than 1,000 marks, about $250.


Although, Porsche had the same idea a few years earlier and had built several prototypes, he was sure the low price couldn't be met and dismissed the crazy idea of the dictator. He didn't know that Hitler planned on using the car as a political ploy to attract citizens to his regime.


Soon, Hitler ordered Porsche to make three prototypes. Porsche came to America in 1935, he toured manufacturing plants. He took notes of all of the tools and dies used on assembly lines. By 1936, three prototypes were ready and tested.

The Beetle was officially designated as the Volkswagen Type 1 and was marketed in Europe by the designations Volkswagen 1100, 1200, 1300, 1500, or 1600 – denoting its engine size. The model became widely known in its home country as the Käfer, German for "beetle", and the model ultimately took the same nickname in English.


In the 1950s, the Beetle was more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars,[citation needed] having been designed for sustained high speed on the Autobahn. It remained a top seller in the US, owing much of its success to high build-quality and innovative advertising,[citation needed] ultimately giving rise to variants, including the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and the Volkswagen Type 2 van.



Along with cars including the Morris Minor, Fiat 500, Renault 4CV and Dauphine, and Citroen 2CV, the Beetle pioneered the modern continental economy car – and later served as the benchmark for the initial two generations of North American small cars, the first wave which included compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair and Ford Falcon and the later wave of subcompact cars such as the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto.



The Beetle had marked a significant trend led by Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout had increased from 2.6 percent of continental Western Europe's car production in 1946 to 26.6 percent in 1956.[4] The 1948 Citroen 2CV and other European models marked a later trend to front-wheel drive in the European small car market, a trend that would come to dominate that market. In 1974, Volkswagen's own front-wheel drive Golf model succeeded the Beetle, and in 1998 VW introduced the "New Beetle", built on the Golf platform with styling that recalled the original Beetle.



In a 1999 international poll for the world's most influential car of the 20th century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.

Design overview




Illustration of the Beetle's engine cooling and exhaust systemsThe Beetle featured a rear-located, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four cylinder, boxer engine in a two-door bodywork featuring a flat front windscreen, accommodating four passengers and providing luggage storage under the front bonnet and behind the rear seat – and offering a Cx or coefficient of drag of 0.41. The bodywork attached with eighteen bolts to its nearly flat chassis which featured a central structural tunnel. Front and rear suspension featured torsion bars along with front and rear stabilizer bars – providing independent suspensions at all wheels. Certain initial features were subsequently revised, including mechanical drum brakes, split-window rear windows, mechanical direction-indicators and the non-synchronized gearbox. Other features, including its distinctive overall shape, endured.

Its engine, transmission, and cylinder heads were constructed of light alloy. An engine oil cooler (located in the engine fan's shroud) ensured optimal engine operating temperature and long engine life, optimized by a thermostat that bypassed the oil cooler when the engine was cold. Later models of the carburetor featured an automatic choke. Engine intake air passed through a metallic filter, while heavier particles were captured by an oil bath. After 1960, steering featured a hydraulic damper that absorbed steering irregularities.

Indicative of the car's simple, no-nonsense design, the interior featured painted metal surfaces, a metal dash consolidating instruments in a single, circular binnacle, adjustable front seats, a fold-down rear seat, swing-out rear windows, front windows with pivoting vent windows, heating via air-to-air exchange manifolds operating off the engine's heat and a windshield washer system that eschewed the complexity and cost of an additional electric pump and instead received its pressurization from the car's spare tire (located in the front luggage compartment) which was accordingly overinflated to accommodate the washer function.

While the overall appearance of the Beetle changed little over its life span, it received over 78,000 incremental changes during its production.


"The People's Car"


Porsche Type 12, 1931/32 by Zündapp, NurembergStarting in 1931, Ferdinand Porsche and Zündapp developed the Porsche Type 12, or "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody). Porsche already preferred the flat-4 cylinder engine, and selected a swing axle rear suspension (invented by Edmund Rumpler), while Zündapp used a water-cooled 5-cylinder radial engine. In 1932, three prototypes were running. All of those cars were lost during the war, the last in a bombing raid in Stuttgart in 1945.


The Zündapp prototypes were followed by the Porsche Type 32, designed in 1933 for NSU Motorenwerke AG, another motorcycle company. The Type 32 was similar in design to the Type 12, but had a flat-4 engine. NSU's exit from car manufacturing resulted in the Type 32 being abandoned at the prototype stage.



In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a Volkswagen (literally, "people's car" in German, pronounced [ˈfɔlksvaːɡən]). The epithet Volks- literally, "people's-" was also applied to other Nazi sponsored consumer goods such as the Volksempfänger ("people's radio"). Hitler required a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings scheme, or Sparkarte (savings booklet),[9] at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle (an average income being around 32RM a week).



Erwin Komenda, Porsche's chief designer, was responsible for the design and style of the car. But production only became worthwhile when finance was backed by the Third Reich. War started before large-scale production of the Volkswagen started, and manufacturing shifted to producing military vehicles. Production of civilian VW automobiles did not start until post-war occupation.


VW over the years



1932 Volkswagen Beetle Prototype

 

1956 Volkswagen Beetle

 

1955 Volkswagen Beetle Prototype

Famous Engineers Part - 1

FERDINAND PORSCHE

Ferdinand Porsche(3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first hybrid vehicle (gasoline-electric), the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles. Porsche designed the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, which was the first race car with mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.


He made a number of contributions to advanced German tank designs: Tiger I, Tiger II, and the Elefant. As well as the Super-Heavy class Panzer VIII Maus tank, which was never put into production. In 1937, Porsche was awarded the German National Prize for Art and Science, one of the rarest decorations in Nazi Germany.
In 1996, Porsche was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and in 1999 posthumously won the award of Car Engineer of the Century.


Ferdinand Porsche was born to German-speaking parents in Maffersdorf (Czech: Vratislavice nad Nisou), northern Bohemia, during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today in the Czech Republic.


He showed high aptitude for mechanical work at a very young age. He managed to attend classes at the Imperial Technical School in Reichenberg at night while helping his father in his mechanical shop by day. Thanks to a referral, Porsche landed a job with the Béla Egger Electrical company in Vienna when he turned 18.In Vienna he would sneak into the local university whenever he could after work. Beyond auditing classes there, Porsche had never received any higher engineering education. During his five years with Béla Egger, Porsche first developed the electric hub motor.

In April 1931 Porsche founded his consulting firm, Dr. req. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH, Konstruktionen und Beratungen für Motoren und Fahrzeugbau, in Stuttgart, where he returned. With financial backing from the Austrian advocate Anton Piëch and Adolf Rosenberger, Porsche successfully recruited several old co-workers he befriended at his former places of employment including Karl Rabe, Erwin Komenda, Franz Xaver Reimspiess, and his son, Ferry Porsche.
Their first project was the design of a middle class car for Wanderer. Other commissioned designs followed. As the business grew, Porsche decided to work on his own design as well, which happened to be a reincarnation of the small car concept from his days at Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart. He financed the project with a loan on his life insurance. Later Zündapp decided to help sponsor the project, but lost interest after their success with motorcycles. NSU then took over the sponsorship, but also lost interest due to the high tooling costs.


With car commissions low in the depressed economic climate, Porsche founded a subsidiary company Hochleistungs Motor GmbH (High Efficiency Engines Ltd.) in 1932 to develop a racing car, for which he had no customer. Based on Max Wagner's mid-engined layout 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, or "Teardrop" aerodynamic design; the experimental P-Wagen project racing car (P stood for Porsche), was designed according to the regulations of the 750 kg formula. The main regulation of this formula meant that the weight of the car without driver, fuel, oil, water and tire was not allowed to exceed 750 kg.


In 1932 Auto Union Gmbh was formed, comprising struggling auto manufacturers Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Baron Klaus von Oertzen wanted a show piece project, so at fellow director Adolf Rosenberger's insistence, von Oertzen met with Porsche, who had done work for him before. At the 1933 Berlin Motor Show, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announced two new programs:

• The people's car: Hitler made it his political agenda to motorize the nation, and that every German should own either a car or a tractor in the future.


• A state-sponsored motor racing programme: to develop a "high speed German automotive industry," the foundation of which would be an annual sum of 500,000 Reichmarks to Mercedes-Benz.

In June 1934, Porsche received a contract from Hitler to build three prototypes from designs Porsche already had, such as Porsche's 1931 Type 12 car. The three cars were completed in winter 1936. However, the original car designs follow from the innovative ideas of Hans Ledwinka, which resulted in a lawsuit by Tatra, against Porsche and his collaborators; settled by Volkswagen only several years after WWII. Daimler-Benz was contracted to build an additional 30 prototypes. A new city, "Stadt des KdF-Wagens", near Fallersleben was founded for the factory. The city is named Wolfsburg today and is still the seat of Volkswagen.

Apple unveils new line of Macbook Pros Today

image found on Apple.com Macbook pro info website

Apple in its traditional sense of blowing our minds with new items really set a new bar today. As we all celebrate Steve Jobs birthday today. Apple came out with a whole new line of Macbook Pro laptops for us to choose from. The whole line of MacBook Pros (13, 15 and 17 inch) has been revamped with more power and speed for us to really blow our minds when we use them.

The 13 inch Macbook Pro now comes with a core i5 or i7 processor, which is great news for many people who were disappointed with the previous 2010 release with just options up to a 2.6 dual core processor. This in itself is great news but what is really blowing peoples minds today is the new Thunderbolt connection. When you look on the side profile of the laptop. You will noticed the typical connection ports.

But, not the Mini Diplay port option. That port now has a little Thunder bolt icon next to it. The Thunderbolt high speed connector is the Intel previously named light peak technology. This port can be used for video but also data too. Its designed to be daisy chained together. Plus, its going to offer up to 10 Gbps data transfer rate. This speed alone will drastically reduce backup times.

On top of this the company Lacie today has unveiled its first thunderbolt drive. They are the first company offering this on the market. Its rumored that the drive will offer two 250 GB SSD drives inside to help give the performance speed desired. No date has been given for when these will be available for the public.

Happy 56th Birthday Steve Jobs

On Thursday February 24th, Steve Jobs the co-founder and Chief Executive of Apple will turn 56. I think the whole Apple world will be celebrating with him and his family. I am happy to see Steve turn 56 and I am proud to say "God Bless you and your family Steve". You have given us so many amazing new wonderful things throughout the years and I wish you the best and most amazing year of your life. I believe you are a strong and amazing man that will over come any obstacles in your way.

I can say that my life has never been the same since I tried my first mac many many years ago and I feel blessed that I have been able to use Apple products in my life. Thank you Steve for all you have done and given us.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Steve, Happy Birthday to you

The Cult of Apple Will Outlast Steve Jobs's Reign: Survey

The big news......

The Cult of Apple Will Outlast Steve Jobs's Reign: Survey

 According to a new report, 84% of consumers say a Jobs-less future would not change their Apple-buying habits.

Last month Apple announced that its founder, CEO, and resident ninja Steve Jobs would be taking a medical leave of absence. As soon as the news leaked, the tech world went bonkers over how Apple would fare without its super star chief exec at the helm. Would Apple's image be tarnished? Could it remain as innovative? Would its value and stock share begin to fall?

Well, according to a new report from RBC Capital Markets and ChangeWave, Apple may actually have nothing to worry about, beyond Jobs' personal well-being. In the survey, some 3,091 respondents were asked whether their interest in purchasing Apple products would diminish if Steve Jobs were to depart. An astonishing 84% of those surveyed said his departure would have no effect at all on their future Apple-buying intentions, while another 8% were unsure if it would have an effect. Just 7% of respondents said they'd be less likely to buy Apple products in the future.

Those promising figures have risen over the years, likely boosted by Apple's strengthened market position. In June of 2008, only 68% of respondents said Jobs' absence would have no effect on their decisions to buy Apple products--while 18% said they would be less likely to purchase its products in the future, and another 14% were unsure. Since then, thanks to the resounding success of the iPhone, iPad, and App Store, it appears consumers have become far more comfortable with (or addicted to, as the case may be) Apple, regardless of whether its founder is still running the show.

And it might not simply be the magical aura of Apple that will keep fans around for years to come. As analysts pointed out, Apple has near-unparalleled management in the industry--if Jobs' were to permanently leave, many have confidence that potential successors like Tim Cook would be able to effectively take up the reins. In fact, Apple Insider points out that the last time Jobs went on medical leave, the company's stock managed to jump 144% and revenue increased by 20%. And despite its fearless leader taking leave this last earnings call, Apple still boasted $26 billion dollars in revenue, crushing Wall Street estimates.

Of course, a strong case could be made that both periods of earnings were riding Jobs-ian waves, from the 25 million iPhones shipped during his last medical leave to the 7.3 million iPads sold during this past quarter. The question isn't whether consumers are likely to continue purchasing Apple products without Steve Jobs; rather, the question is what those Apple products will look like without Steve Jobs.

To keep the cult of Apple alive, the company must continue to imagine industry game-changers such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad--and avoid producing anything like a Newton. 

taken from fast company.com

Mom i dont want to drink Milk......

Every body might have used this statement at least once in a life time.
Every one is differently able to digest lactose. The evolution of the ability to 
digest lactose conferred such an advantage it probably spread through populations within a few dozen generations. But 

Just How Big A Deal Is Milk Drinking?

The ability to digest milk as adults, and as infants, actually, is due to the expression of an enzyme called lactase. Individuals who don’t express this enzyme can’t digest that complex sugar a.k.a lactose.

Can we put a number on the evolutionary importance of lactose tolerance? “The selective pressure was quite remarkable. We actually estimated it to be about 10 percent. So you’re more likely to have 10 percent more offspring essentially.” That’s the University of Pennsylvania’s Sarah Tishkoff at the AAAS conference in Washington DC on February 20th, talking about the recent evolution of lactose tolerance in different human populations within the past 9,000 years. 

How strong is that? Look at population genetics to see how fast a trait will spread that develops in one individual in a population and that confers a 10 percent reproductive advantage. A mathematical analysis reveals that in just 100 generations, such a trait can be found in 95 percent of the individuals in the population.

That time period could be less than 2,000 years for humans. “I’m often asked the question, are humans still evolving? I would say the answer is absolutely yes.”

—Steve Mirsky
taken from scientificamerican.com

 

Apple sends out media invites for iPad 2 event

image found on AppleInsider.com

Well folks the wait is over for the new iPad 2. Apple has sent out media invites for a special invitation only show unveiling the new iPad 2 on March 2.

It will be interesting to see what never features will be available on one of the most popular tablets of our time. I have been hearing all sorts of things from a better display to more storage capacity to now 3 different versions coming in the flavors of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi + CDMA and Wi-Fi+GSM.

Personality Psychology

Defining Personality:

Personality is made up the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique. Personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.
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Theories of Personality:

A number of different theories have emerged to explain different aspects of personality. Some theories focus on explaining how personality develops while others are concerned with individual differences in personality. The following are just a few of the major theories of personality proposed by different psychologists:

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Trait Theories

• Gordon Allport's dispositional perspective
• Hans Eysenck's three-trait model
• Myers-Briggs Types
• "Big Five" Personality Dimension

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Psychoanalytic Theories

• Freud's Theory of Psychosexual Development
• Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development
• Horney's Theory of Neurotic Needs

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Behavioral Theories

• Classical Conditioning
  
• Operant Conditioning

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What Are the Big Five Dimensions of Personality?

What Are the Big Five Dimensions of Personality?

There are five broad categories of personality traits. While there is a significant body of literature supporting this five-factor model of personality, researchers don't always agree on the exact labels for each dimension. However, these five categories are usually described as follows:

1. Extraversion: This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
2. Agreeableness: This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
3. Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviors. Those high in conscientiousness tend to be organized and mindful of details.
4. Neuroticism: Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
5. Openness: This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.

These dimensions represent broad areas of personality. Research has demonstrated that these groupings of characteristics tend to occur together in many people. For example, individuals who are sociable tend to be talkative. However, these traits do not always occur together. Personality is a complex and varied and each person may display behaviors across several of these dimensions.