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Porsche 918 Spyder Concept on Yahoo! Autos – Pictures, News

Who said green cars can’t be mean? Not Porsche. On the eve of the Geneva Auto Show, the Stuttgart-based company took the wraps off the 918 Spyder Concept, a 2-seat mid-engine supercar with hybrid and electric drive technology.

Just how fast is this thing? Well, Porsche says the 918 Spyder Concept hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than 3.2 seconds, and it blasts to a top speed of 198 mph. Not only that, it laps the Nürburgring in less than 7 minutes 30 seconds, which means it’s even faster than the hallowed Carrera GT.

Just how green is it? Porsche says that, when driven accordingly, the plug-in hybrid 918 Spyder Concept gets an outstanding 78 mpg, with an emissions level of just 70 grams of C02 per kilometer.

via Porsche 918 Spyder Concept on Yahoo! Autos – Pictures, News.

Poll: 80 percent of Americans think Washington is broken – Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON — An overwhelming majority of Americans think that their federal government is gridlocked by partisan infighting and turf battles and can’t accomplish anything, according to a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll.

Yet the anger and frustration with Washington aren’t directed solely at either party and don’t automatically add up to a tidal wave against the governing Democrats in this year’s elections for control of Congress , the poll suggested.

In fact, Americans tilt slightly against Republicans as to which party they blame more. They also give a 10-point edge to Democrats when they’re asked which party they’d vote for if the congressional elections were today.

“Overall, the poll suggests a level of disgust with politics as usual,” said Clifford Young , a senior vice president with Ipsos Public Affairs, which conducted the survey. “Americans are basically angry at incumbents and Washington . This isn’t necessarily directed at any one party. I have my doubts about whether the Democrats will be obliterated. Yes, they’ll lose seats, but there is a general backlash against all incumbents.”…………via Poll: 80 percent of Americans think Washington is broken – Yahoo! News.

Somos el Mundo 25 por Haiti en español (Official Video)

We are the World, versión en español

more about "Somos el Mundo 25 por Haiti en españo…", posted with vodpod

Northwest at risk of megaquake like one in Chile – Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES – Just 50 miles off the Pacific Northwest coast is an earthquake hotspot that threatens to unleash on Seattle, Portland and Vancouver the kind of damage that has shattered Chile.

The fault has been dormant for more than 300 years, but when it awakens — tomorrow or decades from now — the consequences could be devastating.

Recent computer simulations of a hypothetical magnitude-9 quake found that shaking could last 2 to 5 minutes — strong enough to potentially cause poorly constructed buildings from British Columbia to Northern California to collapse and severely damage highways and bridges.

Such a quake would also send powerful tsunami waves rushing to shore in minutes. While big cities such as Portland and Seattle would be protected from severe flooding, low-lying seaside communities may not be as lucky.

The Pacific Northwest “has a long geological history of doing exactly what happened in Chile,” said Brian Atwater, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Washington. “It’s not a matter of if but when the next one will happen.”………………..via Northwest at risk of megaquake like one in Chile – Yahoo! News.

apple sues htc for stealing iphone technology: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance

Apple today filed a lawsuit against mobile devices maker HTC. The suit claims infringement of 20 patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture, and hardware.

In the release, Steve Jobs says, “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it…We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Taiwan-based HTC was the first company to manufacture a cell phone based on Google’s Android operating system, which has emerged as a significant competitor to the iPhone, AP reports. It’s also making the Nexus One phone that Google is selling directly to consumers.

It looks like the Nexus One, and other HTC phones, may have hit too close to home for Steve Jobs.

via apple sues htc for stealing iphone technology: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance.

Domino’s profit more than doubles on new recipes – Yahoo! Finance

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Revamped pizza and a frank advertising campaign helped Domino’s Pizza Inc. more than double its fourth-quarter profit as curious customers tried out its new recipe, the delivery chain said Tuesday.

Executives have said that the chain decided to start overhauling its recipes more than 18 months ago after mounting criticism from focus groups and on social media sites. And it boldly admitted in a series of documentary-style spots that under its old receipe, customers complained its crust tasted like cardboard and its sauce was reminscent of ketchup.

The company began promoting its new pie, which has a new sauce and cheese combination and herb- and garlic-flavored crust, in December. That helped the company’s profit climb to $23.6 million, or 41 cents per share, for the three months that ended Jan. 3.

Domino’s earned $11 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.

Removing one-time items, the company’s profit was 30 cents per share — well ahead of forecasts……………via Domino’s profit more than doubles on new recipes – Yahoo! Finance.

China eyeing perks of ice-free Arctic: study – Yahoo! News

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – China has started exploring how to reap economic and strategic benefits from the ice melting at the Arctic with global warming, a Stockholm research institute said Monday.

Chinese officials have so far had been cautious in expressing interest in the region for fear of causing alarm among the five countries bordering the Arctic, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

“The prospect of the Arctic being navigable during summer months, leading to both shorter shipping routes and access to untapped energy resources, has impelled the Chinese government to allocate more resources to Arctic research,” SIPRI researcher Linda Jakobson said.

Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States are already at odds over how to divvy up the Arctic riches, claiming overlapping parts of the region — estimated to hold 90 billion untapped barrels of oil — and wrangling over who should control the still frozen shipping routes………..via China eyeing perks of ice-free Arctic: study – Yahoo! News.

In search of an earthquake-proof building – CNN.com

Many buildings in Chile withstood a stronger earthquake than one in Haiti, which toppled concrete structures.

(CNN) — It’s a sobering fact: Earthquakes alone don’t kill people; collapsed buildings do.

But can people engineer buildings that wouldn’t crumble when subjected to the rumblings of the Earth?

In the wake of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes, such a question has more importance now than any time in recent memory.

The simple answer is yes. The technology exists to make buildings nearly earthquake-proof today. However, installing those safer buildings all over the world isn’t so simple. Neither is figuring out who will pay.

In a handful of interviews, engineers who work on earthquake-resistant buildings said current technologies prevent well-designed buildings from cracking when the ground shakes beneath them.

As the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile show so graphically, the real issue may be that adoption of these building technologies — many of which require only simple changes to building materials or composition — is far from equitable…………..via In search of an earthquake-proof building – CNN.com.

Chile quake may have tipped Earth’s axis

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Darkness Begets Dishonesty, Study Finds – Yahoo! News

Dim lights can make it seem as if no one is watching, triggering moral transgressions in many people, a new study suggests.

Past research has shown that when people are concealed from view by others, say when they are wearing hoods, these individuals will be more likely to commit criminal acts and other bad behaviors.

But what about times when we’re not actually anonymous – people can see us – yet we feel like we’re hidden? The researchers of the new study describe it as the adult version of hide-and-seek: Kids often believe no one can see them when they cover their eyes even though they are hiding in plain sight. Turns out, a dark room can have a similar psychological effect on adults.

The results could play out in real-life office behavior, the researchers say. “Imagine that a person who is alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail. Clearly, whether the room is well lit would not affect the person’s actual level of anonymity,” Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and colleagues write in a recent issue of the journal Psychological Science………….via Darkness Begets Dishonesty, Study Finds – Yahoo! News.

Jay Leno’s Big Return to ‘Tonight Show’ – Yahoo! TV Blog

For Jay Leno, it appears there is no place like home. In his return as the host of “The Tonight Show,” Leno made little attempt to change his humor to win over the fans of his quirkier predecessor, Conan O’Brien.

In the show’s opening sketch, Leno made no effort to joke about the late night wars of the past few weeks — or to joke about a recent event, period. Instead, he opted to reference “The Wizard of Oz,” a 71-year-old movie. Leno ended the sketch by remembering that he had a show to do that evening. It was an oddly similar opening to O’Brien’s first “Tonight Show,” in which O’Brien forgets the show is filmed in L.A

Even with a well-timed cameo by Betty White (who is being rallied by thousands of fans to be a “Saturday Night Live” host), it felt like business as usual at “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Instead of mentioning the late night controversy in his opening monologue, Leno focused his comedic wisecracks on … the Russian Olympic team. This was followed by a mock clip of Leno being punched by an Olympic skier and the introduction of a new segment called “World’s Tightest Pants.” In comparison, the “Wizard of Oz” sketch was quite inspired.

Leno showed a pre-taped segment in which he goes door-to-door in search of his new desk. During this quest, he encounters a woman with an angry small dog who was either rabid or on Team Coco………………via Jay Leno’s Big Return to ‘Tonight Show’ – Yahoo! TV Blog.

Tsunami swept away fleeing bus full of retirees – Yahoo! News

PELLUHUE, Chile – The 40 retirees enjoying summer vacation at a seaside campground nestled under pine trees knew they had to move fast after Chile’s powerful earthquake struck.

They didn’t make it. The tsunami came in three waves, surging 200 meters (yards) into this Pacific Ocean resort town and dragging away the bus they’d piled into, hoping to get to high ground. Most of those inside were tourists, and only five of their bodies had been found by Monday, firefighters and witnesses said.

Pelluhue’s horror underscored the destruction wrought by Saturday’s pre-dawn 8.8-magnitude quake and the tsunami that ravaged communities along Chile’s south-central coast — those closest to the quake’s epicenter. Chile’s death toll reached 723, and most died in the wine-growing Maule region that includes Pelluhue.

Survivors here found about 20 bodies, and an estimated 300 homes were destroyed. Most residents were aware of the tsunami threat; street signs pointed to the nearest tsunami evacuation route. The ruins of homes, television sets, clothes, dishwaters and dead fish cover the town’s black sand beaches……………via Tsunami swept away fleeing bus full of retirees – Yahoo! News.

Chile quake may have tipped Earth’s axis – CNN.com

(CNN) — The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday may have shifted the Earth’s axis and created shorter days, scientists at NASA say.

The change is negligible, but permanent: Each day should be 1.26 microseconds shorter, according to preliminary calculations. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

A large quake shifts massive amounts of rock and alters the distribution of mass on the planet.

When that distribution changes, it changes the rate at which the planet rotates. And the rotation rate determines the length of a day.

“Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth’s rotation,” Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said while explaining the phenomenon in 2005

Scientists use the analogy of a skater. When he pulls in his arms, he spins faster.
That’s because pulling in his arms changes the distribution of the skater’s mass and therefore the speed of his rotation.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used a computer model to determine how the magnitude 8.8 quake that struck Chile on February 27 may have affected the Earth….via Chile quake may have tipped Earth’s axis – CNN.com.

Best Laptops and Desktops of 2010 – Yahoo! Shopping

Whether you’re looking to surf from an ultralight netbook at your favorite coffee shop, tear into opponents on a gaming PC, or edit family videos on a touch-friendly all-in-one desktop, this year’s crop of laptops and desktops offers a bounty of power and flexibility at prices that have never been more reasonable. We’ve compiled some of the most worthy machines on the market today, along with a few of the most promising upcoming hardware, to highlight some of 2010′s best laptops and desktops……….via Best Laptops and Desktops of 2010 – Yahoo! Shopping.