Men Free Blog

This very blogger wrote a post yesterday about the Saleen S5S Raptor. I didn’t mention the cars I thought the Raptor looked like, but a fair number of commenters did. This is what you should know: in person, the car looks like nothing else but the S5S Raptor, and it looks better than any car you think it might look like. It is, to put it plainly, all kinds of hot. Even in yellow, which is this blogger’s least favorite car color, I’d still pay for it. Saleen CEO Paul Wilbur said the Raptor is a concept, and he wanted the media’s feedback on building it. Mr. Wilbur: yes. Today. Like, now. Check out the hi-res pics and let Mr. Wilbur know what you think.

source:autoblog

Just like any good political campaign, Mercedes came to the New York Auto Show touting nothing much as a whole lot. Actually, the faux political rally might have been less than compelling with its old news, but the new M Class sporting 50-state legal BlueTec diesel power is exciting. Almost as exciting as the very original 1965 190 D Mercedes had borrowed to illustrate its long-running experience with Rudy’s coal dust motor. The senescent sedan will be helping MBZ recreate Bill Carroll’s cross-country diesel-fueled journey to celebrate the U.S.-wide availability of what it’s touting as the cleanest diesel ever. BlueTec allows the M-, GL- and R-class oil burners to earn ULEV and TierII/Bin 5 classification.

Mercedes says its new diesels are now as clean as gasoline powerplants, and once they drop BlueTec hybrids on us, emissions and economy will improve yet again. JD Power projects that fully 40 percent of vehicles will be diesel powered by 2017, and Mercedes wants to increase diesel sales beyond the current level of 22 percent. The newly tweaked M-Class should help move the powertrain off dealer lots. Sporting plenty of safety upgrades, new headlights, a Hannibal-Lechter inspired grille and some interior tweaks, the M-Class has returned from the gym freshly chiseled. It was not all utes and politely obscured minivans (*ahem* R-Class). Just before Mercedes wrapped the presser, they said, we’re paraphrasing here, “Oh yeah, we also brought the SL, w00t.”

source:autoblog

This past Wedneday evening, the Audi Forum in New York City hosted a gala party attended by celebrities and the weary automotive press in town to cover the New York Auto Show. The beautiful people on hand included Tom Brady (celebrity status: A), Tyson Beckford (celebrity status: B), Will Arnett (celebrity status: A-), Denise Rich (celebrity status: ?) and members of the Gossip Girl cast (according to my fiance, celebrity status: better than Tom Brady). Though Autoblog was not in attendance (thus reducing the list of A list celebrities), Audi was kind enough to send us pics of the special A5 it revealed that night (and Tom Brady sitting in the R8 TDI Le Mans concept from the Geneva Motor Show). Custom-painted by New York artist Hunt Slomen, the coupe features a swath of art that flows from the car’s hood and down across the driver-side door. The artwork is abstract, but we can make out white birds, which our single semester of Art History 101 tells us represents doves, which in turn represents peace. Or it could represent the jobless rate of carrier pigeons in this age of digital e-mail. The custom-painted A5 will be donated to Denise Rich’s G&P Foundation for Cancer Research and auctioned after it tours the country for a bit.
source:autoblog

When did the practice of lawmaking require an accompanying press release issued by a professional PR firm? An embedded photo of the sponsoring state official, too? Shameless. Nevertheless, it did bring our attention to a new law in the state of Washington which prohibits “malicious” RFID spying. When the new law (said to be a first of its kind in the US) goes into effect in July, anyone caught scanning a person remotely “without his or her knowledge and consent, for the purpose of fraud, identity theft, or some other illegal purpose” will be charged with a Class C felony. Great, so that covers the obvious criminal abuse of the technology. However, the original bill also included an opt-in measure that would require your approval before retailers and others could track your activity via that handy, store-issued discount card you carry, the implant you received during that stint in the joint, new credit card, or personal ID card you’re required to carry. Unfortunately, the opt-in requirement was stricken from the bill (and therefore not in the final law) after succumbing to heavy corporate lobbying. You thinking what we’re thinking? Contact information posted in the read link below.
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source:engadget

Volvo holds high hopes for the new XC60, which boasts the maker’s largest ever badge, a fresh new look and innovative crash avoidance technology.
2008 Volvo XC60
 Volvo’s XC60 was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva motor show, adding a third vehicle to Volvo’s successful XC range of light-duty off-roaders.

The XC60 represents the company’s first foray into the fast growing compact luxury off-road market.

Designed to compete with the BMW X3, Land Rover Freelander and upcoming Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLK (the latter of which is not due in Australia as it will only be built as a left-hand drive) the Volvo XC60 ushers in a bolder look for the Swedish brand.

The revised Volvo badge is bigger than ever, making a bold statement at the nose of the vehicle.

“Why should a Volvo customer hide the fact they’re driving a Volvo,” says Steve Mattin, Volvo senior vice president and design director. “By putting the biggest badge we’ve ever put on a Volvo … it gives the car a premium look and a bit more confidence.”

Mattin, a former Mercedes-Benz designer, admits senior management “took some convincing” to put the larger badge on the production vehicle.

“We’re elevating our design DNA to an entirely new level by literally turning up the visual volume,” says Mattin.

The XC60 follows a familiar theme for Volvo off-roaders but adds more design maturity and bolder features.

Volvo has also worked hard on the details of the XC60, which include daytime running lights (inboard of the main headlights), a broad shoulder down each side of the vehicle and long tail lights that flow with the shoulder and feature innovative lighting technology to give the car a more upmarket look.

Inside, the theme is one of Swedish simplicity with a stylish design and functional layout.

Volvo has tilted the centre console towards the driver in a move to focus the main controls on the driver and reinforce the driver’s car nature of the XC60.

In keeping with Volvo’s focus on safety, the Volvo XC60 incorporates new crash avoidance technology designed to reduce low-speed crashes in a city environment.
 “Our research shows that 75 per cent of crashes occur under 30km/h,” says Volvo Australia public affairs manager Laurissa Mirabelli.

The City Safety system can automatically apply the brakes and bring the car to a standstill in the event the driver doesn’t react to a stopped vehicle or other obstacle.

City Safety uses sensors at the top of the windscreen to view the road ahead and apply brakes as necessary. It operates at up to 30km/h if the speed differential between the XC60 and another vehicle or object is less than 15km/h.
source:smh

Audi has taken the diesel game to the next level with a new twin-turbo V12 revealed at the 2008 Geneva motor show, reports TOBY HAGON from Geneva.
Audi Q7 V12 TDI
 Audi used the 2008 Geneva motor show to show off its new 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 that will soon be available in the Q7 large off-roader and the R8 sports car.

With a whopping 368kW of power and even more impressive 1000Nm of torque, the new engine can propel the two-tonne-plus, seven-seat 4WD to 100km/h in just 5.5 seconds.

That makes it quicker than most 4WDs on the market, with the exception of purebred performance offerings such as the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, with its twin-turbo V8 petrol engine.

Audi claims the Q7 V12 TDI uses 11.9L/100km in the process. By way of comparison, the Cayenne Turbo (with the same power and less torque than the Audi diesel) uses 14.9L/100km but achieves the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint faster, in 5.1 seconds.

Audi also fitted the new V12 to another concept of the R8 sports car, this time called the R8 V12 TDI Le Mans.

The new name masks essentially the same car shown at the Detroit motor show earlier this year but with a new colour. The R8 diesel sprints to 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds.

While Audi hasn’t yet committed to building the R8 V12 TDI for sale – the car is still officially a concept car – the fact it’s again been displayed at a major motor show suggests a showroom-ready version won’t be too far away.

The emergence of the V12 diesel engine in the Q7 4WD also adds weight to the production potential of a similarly powered R8 diesel.

Audi says the new V12 diesel is “closely related” to the 5.5-litre V12 twin-turbo used in its Le Mans-winning race cars.
source:smh    

While it hardly comes as much of a surprise, Ericsson Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bergendahl is now predicting nothing short of the demise of WiFi hotspots, and he’s saying that they’ll be replaced by — you guessed it — mobile broadband. Speaking at a conference in Stockholm, Bergendahl said that “hot spots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era,” and that “in a few years, [HSPA] will be as common as Wi-Fi is today.” Leading to that widespread use, he says, is ever-decreasing prices for mobile broadband subscriptions, and the fact that HSPA is being built into more and more laptops. Of course, if other companies have their way, WiFi hotspots could become a thing of the past simply because entire cities would effectively be one huge hotspot, although we’d gladly take both options.

source:engadget

Hitachi’s in-plane switching technology’s been making the rounds of late, and LG Taiwan’s the latest to pick it up for use in future LCD HDTVs. Doubling frame-rate, providing a wider field of view, and supposedly upping durability (among other things), apparently we can start to see some IPS-enabled TVs from Korea’s #2 in the not too distant future.

source:engadget

The MAIA BCI not only converts signals emitted by the brain into actions — such moving a wheelchair forward — it also thinks for itself when needed in order to assist the user in getting where he / she wants to go. Essentially, the individual need only think about going left or forward (for example), and the machine itself will automatically detect obstacles and potential barriers in order to move more efficiently. As it stands, there’s still quite a bit of testing to be done before MAIA-based wheelchairs would be available to the public, but researchers are already hoping to integrate said technology into artificial limbs and the like.

source:engadget

Losar festival is celebrated to commemorate the advent of new year. It is the Ladakhi or Tibetan new year. The festival is celebrated for 2 weeks during the month of December and january as per the lunar calendar. The festival is marked with ancient rituals,the stage fights between good & evil, chanting and passing through the crowds with fire torches. The dance of the Ibex deer and the dramatic battles between the King & his ministers add to the joyous atmosphere. This festival is full of music, dancing and merry-making.

Origin, Significance and Legends

Kings hate to miss new year parties, too. Singme Namgyar, king of Sikkim, brought the Buddhist New Year celebrations forward by a month because he was going to be out at war on New Year’s day!

Even today, Sonam Losar, the Buddhist New Year festival in Sikkim, begins a month before the Buddhist New Year. Tibetans and other Buddhists in India kick off Losar festivities a month later - a week before new year’s day, in fact.

For all Buddhists, Losar is a sacred time and a time for feasting and celebration. It is a time to be with the family, and a time to ensure that bad omens are not carried into the new year.

Rituals

Homes are painted, new clothes are stitched, debts and quarrels are resolved, good food is cooked, and intoxicants are drunk in the run-up to New Year’s day. Homes are decorated with flour paintings of the sun and moon, and small lamps illuminate the house at night.

The first few days of festivities are exclusively family affairs, as are the first days of the new year. Later, the festivities roll out onto the streets. Tab-zan, a special bread, features in the family meals.

In Sikkim, on the fifth day of Losar, a special broth of boiled barley grains, peas and the stomach of a sheep, is prepared. Dib rug, a dish made by stuffing sheep intestines with barley dough kneaded in sheep blood, is another speciality during Losar.

In the night, the swishing sound of burning torches can be heard around a Buddhist home, as menfolk whirl flaming torches over their heads in an effort to ward off evil spirits, sickness, dog bites and other misfortunes from striking their family in the new year.

Since the new year is on the cards, Buddhist families take special care to ensure that positive things happen all the time. So, the ceremonies are umpteen.

In Sikkim, a male and female goat are sacrificed after a purification ceremony in which the animals are washed, their ears are stitched with ribbon, their bodies are smeared red, and they are made to drink the local brew, chang.

In another ceremony named Mesol, the family visit the resting places of their ancestors, light a lamp, and offer food and drinks. The family then eat the food, which is considered blessed. In some homes, the men race through the house firing guns or crackers. Costume dramas are performed. Archery contests and horse races are held. And everywhere, chang flows.

On the morning of the new year, families rise before dawn, bathe, put on new clothes and fine jewellery. Offerings of barley flour mixed with butter and sugar and yogurt are then made at the family shrine. This represents the hope for a good grain harvest. After a visit to local monasteries, the family settles down to feasting and drinking.

Celebrated In

Losar is celebrated as Sonam Losar in Sikkim, and also elsewhere in India by Buddhists.