Men Free Blog

No surprises here — particularly since LG’s Vu has been on sale through a number of AT&T retail outlets since late last month (whoops!). Today, however, the carrier is officially listing LG’s latest for sale, and the Mobile TV-supporting handset is going for a stiff $549.99 sans contract, or $299.99 after giving away your cellular soul for two years and waiting anxiously for a $100 mail-in rebate to arrive. Check out our hands-on gallery to see if you’re really ready to make this kind of commitment.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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It looks like BMW will begin rolling out its in-car internet system to markets outside of Germany sooner than expected, according to Automotive News. ConnectedDrive offers unrestricted access to the Web through the EDGE network, one of the faster mobile connections on the planet, and while backseat passengers can surf while on the go, front seat occupants will have to keep their speed under 5 kph if they want to check their favorite websites. BMW is setting up the system so that unlimited access will cost customers 15 euros each month.

BMW will begin offering the service to German consumers this September, with ConnectedDrive (click link for video) coming to ‘Net-addicted Bimmer owners throughout Europe and the U.S. soon afterwards. AN contacted Mercedes-Benz and Audi to ask if they intended to offer similar systems in the future. Both of automakers responded in the negative, saying that demand isn’t sufficient enough to justify the expense. BMW obviously thinks otherwise, as does Chrysler, which is developing its own system, due out before the end of the year.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Pickuptruck.com, our favorite website about anything with a bed on four wheels that’s been owned and operated by Mike Levine since 1995, was just bought out by automotive mega-site Cars.com in a move that we hope made our good friend a gajillion dollars. Levine now joins Autoblog alumnus Dave Thomas, who runs the Kicking Tires blog under the Cars.com umbrella of sites.

The first change that came down from Levine’s new corporate overlords was to pluralize the name of his website to Pickuptrucks.com because, well, we don’t know why really. We imagine Cars.com already owned the URL, but why it decided to rebrand its new property over one letter rather than just redirecting Pickuptrucks.com visitors to Pickuptruck.com is beyond our feeble minds. Those are corporate overloads for ya. Being owned by AOL, we know all about corporate overlords. Welcome to the club, Mike!

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

As regular listeners to the podcast know, Project MR-S met its untimely demise when a truck driver clipped the rear end of our 2ZZ-powered daily-driver, spinning it into the center divider with my fiancée behind the wheel.

 Fortunately, Melissa made it out okay. Unfortunately, said truck driver sped off and has yet to be found. Karma’s a bitch, so we sleep soundly with the knowledge that what goes around comes around.

But life goes on. So with summer fast approaching, we set out to find a sui

table replacement that would serve double-duty as daily driver and part-time track tool. The criteria was simple: something rear-wheel-drive, with a manual transmission, a small displacement engine and a blogger-friendly price tag. After a few weeks of research, we narrowed the list down to an NA Mazda Miata (MX-5) or something of the BMW variety. Having to install a roll bar (required for some track events) in the Miata quickly knocked it out of the running, so an E30 or E36 Bimmer became the focus of our late night, highly-caffeinated searches through Craigslist. And then, as if guided by the all-knowing entity upstairs, our friends at Modacar found a 1992 BMW 318is at an auction. It met all the criteria and had a price we couldn’t pass up. Two days later, we drove it home and Project Track Slut was born.The goal of our newest entrant into the Project Garage is pretty straightforward (for now): take care of some basic maintenance to ensure that the 1.8-liter four doesn’t go ‘pop’ while hammering through turn 7 at Laguna, and swap out the stock suspension and rollers so we’re not scraping door handles while snaking through Thunderhill.
A few days after our purchase, we did a thorough inspection of anything that could wear — from belts to bushings – and came away content that the 16-year-old Bimmer was up to snuff and for the planned day-long lapping sessions.

Our first order of business was to get rid of the stock pizza-cutter wheels that were wrapped with tire technology developed during the Carter administration. After spending some time scouring a few forums, we came across a set of E38 7-series wheels, sized 16×8 (with a 23mm offset) and wrapped in Falken ZE512 tires, sized 225/45R16 at all four corners. Rubbing isn’t an issue, since the swap is somewhat common on E36s, but a small dent in the right-rear fender (inflicted by the previous owner, ahem) caused some occasional scraping. It wasn’t common, but if we ransacked Safeway or someone over 200 pounds was forced into the back seat, we would cringe every time we hit a bump or expansion joint.
But it was a small price to pay. The new hoops and grippy rubber with stiff sidewalls proved the old edict that tires and wheels make the car. It’s the most cost-effective upgrade, adding ease and confidence to everything from sweeping on-ramps to twisting coastal roads. Naturally, we’re far from done.

 In the next installment, we’ll be swapping out the tired stock suspension with something that balances rigidity with civility, and rolling the rear fenders to make sure that when things get low, our rubbing issue isn’t exacerbated. From there, it’s all about a tune-up, new brakes, pads and lines, and some lightweight wheels wrapped in sticky summer rubber. We might even hit the junkyard to find an LSD. In early July, we’ll be hitting up our first scheduled track event to see how the car and our mods are fairing, providing continuous updates and technical tidbits throughout. Stay tuned. Fast, cheap fun is on the way.
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As regular listeners to the podcast know, Project MR-S met its untimely demise when a truck driver clipped the rear end of our 2ZZ-powered daily-driver, spinning it into the center divider with my fiancée behind the wheel. Fortunately, Melissa made it out okay. Unfortunately, said truck driver sped off and has yet to be found. Karma’s a bitch, so we sleep soundly with the knowledge that what goes around comes around.

But life goes on. So with summer fast approaching, we set out to find a suitable replacement that would serve double-duty as daily driver and part-time track tool. The criteria was simple: something rear-wheel-drive, with a manual transmission, a small displacement engine and a blogger-friendly price tag. After a few weeks of research, we narrowed the list down to an NA Mazda Miata (MX-5) or something of the BMW variety. Having to install a roll bar (required for some track events) in the Miata quickly knocked it out of the running, so an E30 or E36 Bimmer became the focus of our late night, highly-caffeinated searches through Craigslist. And then, as if guided by the all-knowing entity upstairs, our friends at Modacar found a 1992 BMW 318is at an auction. It met all the criteria and had a price we couldn’t pass up. Two days later, we drove it home and Project Track Slut was born.
The goal of our newest entrant into the Project Garage is pretty straightforward (for now): take care of some basic maintenance to ensure that the 1.8-liter four doesn’t go ‘pop’ while hammering through turn 7 at Laguna, and swap out the stock suspension and rollers so we’re not scraping door handles while snaking through Thunderhill.

A few days after our purchase, we did a thorough inspection of anything that could wear — from belts to bushings – and came away content that the 16-year-old Bimmer was up to snuff and for the planned day-long lapping sessions.

Our first order of business was to get rid of the stock pizza-cutter wheels that were wrapped with tire technology developed during the Carter administration. After spending some time scouring a few forums, we came across a set of E38 7-series wheels, sized 16×8 (with a 23mm offset) and wrapped in Falken ZE512 tires, sized 225/45R16 at all four corners. Rubbing isn’t an issue, since the swap is somewhat common on E36s, but a small dent in the right-rear fender (inflicted by the previous owner, ahem) caused some occasional scraping. It wasn’t common, but if we ransacked Safeway or someone over 200 pounds was forced into the back seat, we would cringe every time we hit a bump or expansion joint.

New rubber replaces tread technology from the 40s.

But it was a small price to pay. The new hoops and grippy rubber with stiff sidewalls proved the old edict that tires and wheels make the car. It’s the most cost-effective upgrade, adding ease and confidence to everything from sweeping on-ramps to twisting coastal roads. Naturally, we’re far from done.

 In the next installment, we’ll be swapping out the tired stock suspension with something that balances rigidity with civility, and rolling the rear fenders to make sure that when things get low, our rubbing issue isn’t exacerbated. From there, it’s all about a tune-up, new brakes, pads and lines, and some lightweight wheels wrapped in sticky summer rubber. We might even hit the junkyard to find an LSD. In early July, we’ll be hitting up our first scheduled track event to see how the car and our mods are fairing, providing continuous updates and technical tidbits throughout. Stay tuned. Fast, cheap fun is on the way.

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Yup, another Apple store outage reveals yet another bump in product specs. This time, it’s the iMac getting the treatment just as Geeksugar and our own sources predicted — on a Monday though instead of Apple’s customary Tuesday morning approach. So what’s new? Well, for starters you’re now looking at the latest Core 2 Duo Penryn processors. For the same starting price of $1,199, you now get a 20-inch iMac with 2.4GHz proc, 128MB of ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, 1GB of memory and a 250GB 7200RPM disk. The top of the line 24-inch model now sports a 3.06GHz processor, 512MB of NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics, 2GB of memory, and a 320GB 7200rpm disk for $2,199. Rounding out the specs across the lineup are Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11n WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, built-in iSight cam, and 5x USB 2.0 (which includes the 2x on tethered keyboard) and 1x Firewire 400 and 1x Firewire 800. Same size, same weight and available now… yes, right now.

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By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 15 minutes ago

DETROIT - The outspoken former pastor of Barack Obama told an audience of 10,000 at an NAACP dinner on Sunday that despite what his critics say, he is descriptive, not divisive, when he speaks about racial injustices.

“I describe the conditions in this country,” the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. said during the 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner held by the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“I’m not here for political reasons,” Wright said. “I’m not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I’ve been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I’m not tired yet.”

By speaking at the event, Wright was following in the footsteps of Obama and the senator’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton. It’s a $150-a-plate fundraiser billed as America’s largest sit-down dinner.

“I am not one of the most divisive” black spiritual leaders, he said. “I’m one of the most descriptive.”

Wright received a long, loud standing ovation.

He became an issue in the presidential race in March after the circulation of videos of old sermons in which he accused the U.S. government of racism and accused it of flooding black neighborhoods with drugs.

In a sermon days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Wright said that “America’s chickens are coming home to roost” after it dropped atomic bombs on Japan and that the United States “supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans.”

The videos, circulated widely on television and the Internet, knocked Obama’s presidential campaign off stride. The Illinois senator distanced himself from the comments of Wright, whom he has known for 20 years.

The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP, said at a news conference before the dinner that he was excited to invite the “hottest brother in America right now.”

“It just presented an opportunity for us to be able to set the record straight outside of any political consideration,” Anthony said.

Wright, who is retiring as pastor of the 8,000-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is scheduled to speak Monday to the National Press Club in Washington.

(This version CORRECTS the congregation size of Trinity United to 8,000 instead of 6,000; ADDS quote from Wright.)

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By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago

SIERRA MADRE, Calif. - Firefighters gained ground Sunday against an early season wildfire that slowly chewed its way through dense brush near Los Angeles, forcing more than 1,000 people from homes in the foothills.

About 500 firefighters attacked the 400-acre fire, aided by two helicopters and water-dropping air tankers, said Elisa Weaver, spokeswoman for the city of Sierra Madre. Residents evacuated at least 550 homes Saturday night and Sunday, but none had burned.

“This is pretty serious,” Weaver said. “Some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years.”

Crews had the fire 30 percent contained by Sunday evening, Sierra Madre spokesman James Carlson said. Light winds and rising humidity were aiding firefighters, who hoped to have the blaze fully contained within 4-7 days, Carlson said.

The evacuations would be in place until at least 6 a.m. Monday, Carlson said.

Helicopters dropped water on a steep ridge above Sierra Madre near Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park, about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles and just east of Pasadena. A fixed-wing water tanker also dropped flame retardant.

Aircraft were also helping fire officials assess the movement of the blaze, which was being pushed northwest into Angeles National Forest, said Batallion Chief Tim Davis of the Forest Service.

“It’s very steep, inaccessible terrain, and it’s very heavy brush,” Davis said at a news conference. “Very difficult and arduous labor for these crews. You can’t get bulldozers into the majority of where these fingers of fire run.”

Two firefighters had minor injuries — one was treated for heat exhaustion, another for a strained knee, authorities said.

The blaze also stranded 50 guests from a wedding party at the Chantry Flats ranger’s station on Saturday until they were airlifted out Sunday afternoon, Weaver said. It took five helicopter trips from the ranger’s station to the parking area where the wedding party’s cars were. The party then was escorted out by road.

The couple, Ken and Julie Grady, noticed the smoke not long after they had exchanged vows.

“We started smelling it after the ceremony,” Julie Grady told KABC-TV.

The fire was first reported Saturday afternoon in a wooded area a few miles northeast of Pasadena. It was windy at the time and unseasonably hot, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees.

The flames also brought the evacuation of a Boy Scout camp Saturday and left about 100 hikers stranded in a parking lot. Most of the Scouts had already left the camp by the time the evacuation was ordered, Weaver said, and no injuries were reported.

The mandatory home evacuations came shortly before 11 p.m. Two shelters have been set up for evacuees at a senior center and a church.

Flames outlined steep ridges about a mile above Sierra Madre, a San Gabriel Mountains foothill community of about 11,000 popular with artists. All the city’s schools canceled classes Monday.

To the south in San Diego County, about 100 acres burned in thick brush about 15 miles north of downtown San Diego.

The fire was 90 percent contained Sunday night and full containment was expected early Monday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said.

No injuries or property damage had been reported, a San Diego Fire Department spokeswoman said.

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