car uk new: September 2011

Dead Island

I've been playing this game with my friend Dillon on the p.c. and it's pretty sweet. Check out the trailer below...it's really sad and just might make you cry (not kidding). Have a great weekend.

Subaru Hybrid For 2014 To Echo Honda, GM Mild-Hybrid Approach

Beyond the obvious Toyota, if any other make were to build hybrid cars, you might expect it to be Subaru.

The small Japanese company's cars are revered for durability and standard all-wheel drive, and their drivers are often assumed to be on the liberal side of center.

Subaru owners tend to cluster in mountainous enclaves of progressive politics, and data show their owners skew more Democratic than almost any other brand.

Now, at last, Subaru's hybrid plans are coming clear.

First hybrid in 2013
The company will launch its first hybrid vehicle in Japan within two years. That car will be a model of the Subaru Legacy mid-size sedan, most likely for the 2014 model year.

But according to a Subaru of America executive who briefed GreenCarReports on condition of anonymity, while development of the hybrid-electric drive technology is largely done, the company is still debating which vehicle will debut the hybrid system for the U.S. market.

Candidates include the popular Forester compact crossover utility vehicle, the equally popular Outback mid-size crossover, and perhaps the Legacy sedan as well.

Subaru could choose to put the system in its lowest-mileage vehicles (the larger Legacy and Outback), or increase the mileage of a more fuel efficient vehicle (the Impreza sedan or hatchback) to give the company a gas-mileage champion halo car.

Already the new 2012 Subaru Impreza will get 36 mpg on the highway, a substantial improvement over the 2011 model that gives it the highest gas mileage of any all-wheel drive car.

Mild hybrid a la Honda
The Subaru hybrid system, previewed in the Subaru B5 TPH Concept of 2005 and, at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, in the Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept, is a mild hybrid system very similar to Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) setup.

The General Motors eAssist system is conceptually similar, although the electric motor replaces the alternator rather than sitting between engine and transmission.

In the latest Subaru concept, a 10-kilowatt (13-horsepower) electric motor is sandwiched between a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four engine and the company's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT).

A lithium-ion battery pack, derived from the one used in the now-discontinued Japanese-market Stella EV electric minicar, provides power to the motor, which also recharges the battery during regenerative braking.

But unlike full hybrid systems like those used by Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, and others, the hybrid system is not powerful enough to propel the car on electricity alone.

Instead, it restarts the engine when the car begins to move away from a stop, and it contributes torque to supplement engine power, reducing the load on the engine and hence the fuel it consumes.

Toyota tech? Not so much
Since 2005, when Toyota purchased the share of Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru's parent company) previously owned by General Motors, industry analysts had assumed that the small company would adopt Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system--as Nissan did for its 2008-2011 Altima Hybrid, and Mazda plans to do.

But Subaru is a stubbornly independent company with a strong engineering culture. Aside from Porsche, it's the sole company offering horizontally opposed engines, which are smaller and give vehicles a lower center of gravity than inline engines.

Fitting Toyota's hybrid to a pancake engine might have posed its own challenges, but Subaru's engineers developed their hybrid system internally, along with the lithium-ion battery pack. And so the Subaru hybrid that will launch as a 2014 model will be a mild hybrid--a technology that Toyota doesn't offer.

The two companies are presently cooperating on a two-door sports coupe known as the FT-86. It will be sold as a Scion in the U.S., and the Subaru version--the brand's first rear-wheel drive car for the U.S. in almost 20 years--will be called the BRZ.

Source;
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1066695_subaru-hybrid-for-2014-to-echo-honda-gm-mild-hybrid-approach

Honda Jazz EV Concept electric car debuts

There was talk about this vehicle coming to north america instead of getting the Honda FIT hybrid, not sure whether or not that's still the plan....

While most other manufacturers participating in the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show, were busy trying to steal the show with their new models sporting glitzy designs and displaying promising concepts, Japanese auto giant Honda seemed to focus on the greener side of things by exhibiting various plug-in hybrid and electric-vehicle concepts, including the yet-to-be-named Jazz-based Honda EV concept.

The EV Concept will be powered by a lithium-ion battery and a high-density coaxial motor which is claimed to hit a top speed of 145 kph while helping to achieve an estimated driving range of 160 kilometres per charge. Aiding efficiency would be a 3-mode electric drive system lifted straight from the Honda CR-Z hybrid, which allows the driver to select between Econ, Normal and Sport modes thereby optimising the vehicle dynamics for optimal efficiency or best performance.

Another highlight of the EV concept is a connectivity system which allows the driver to monitor the vehicle’s state of charge, initiate charging and even turn on the air conditioning system using a personal computer, mobile phone or an interactive remote from Honda. Recharging the battery takes less than 6 hours when using a 240-volt outlet. Other features include a Honda Satellite-linked Navigation System with capability to locate public charging stations, LED headlamps and tail lamps, aerodynamic bumpers and eco-friendly bio-fabric on-seating surfaces.

In a land where even simple hybrids have turned out to be epic failures, a sophisticated EV stands no chance. But we do know that the EV concept will be a Jazz on batteries when it finally reaches production stage in no more than a year.

Source;
http://www.drivearabia.com/news/2011/09/29/honda-ev-concept-honda-jazz-electric-debuts/

2012 Honda CR-V ready to drive in November

By Hawke Fracassa of Torque News

Honda has invited the auto press in Detroit to road test the all-new 2012 Honda CR-V sport-utility vehicle on Nov. 10 at the Baronette Renaissance Novi Hotel. Reporters from TorqueNews.com and others will be given an exclusive briefing and an opportunity to drive the 2012 model.

The Honda CR-V has consistently been the top-selling SUV in America. More than 140,000 CR-Vs have been sold in 2011.

Now completely transformed and heading into its fourth generation, the 2012 Honda CR-V is moving toward a more sophisticated direction with refreshed styling, improved fuel economy, innovative technology and even greater value for the money, Honda believes.

Honda wants auto critics to see for themselves "how Honda has made the benchmark for packaging and user-friendly design in the small SUV segment even better."

Members of the 2012 CR-V R&D team and American Honda product planning executives will be at the briefing in the northwest Detroit suburb to explain the CR-V development story and provide insight into Honda's sales and marketing plans.

Driving begins for the first group of reporter drivers at 10 a.m. and the second wave will be on the streets of Novi near the hotel in Oakland County at 2:30 p.m. Reporters who go to the event will not be able to share their impressions with readers until Nov. 16 because of an embargo asked for by Honda.

The all-new 2012 CR-V will have a new look inside and out, a more fuel-efficient engine and will be lighter.

Honda's big sell is the CR'V's solid track record. From 2007-10 the CR-V was the best-selling SUV in America.

The current CR-V continues to sell at a record pace and quality of one of the reasons. The 2011 CR-V was among the highest-ranked vehicles in its segment for initial quality in J.D. Power & Associates' 2011 Initial Quality Study and has been sold globally in more than 160 countries in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

It is assembled in Ohio at the East Liberty Auto Plant of Honda of America Manufacturing Inc. The plant earned a Silver Award for outstanding quality in the quality study.

The 2012 model will be in showrooms by Christmas after making its official debut in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A concept model (pictured) made its world debut at the Orange County Internarional Auto Show in California.

Source;
http://www.torquenews.com/1063/restyled-2012-honda-cr-v-ready-drive-november

Young Authors And Your Hair

I brought this up with Ciara Knight who runs an amazing blog, and yes, I am an odd duck that thinks of these things. Oh and I may have been influenced from having just watched Tangled as well (and the subliminal messages pushed by Disney).

Basically, I just want to know what's up? Why is long hair draping the heads of all of your books? Why do all of your female protagonists have long hair?

Exhibit A--Please turn your eyes to the anecdotal evidence I have gathered to support my hypothesis:

Now, I just want to dismiss the idea that I'm making a blanket generalization. I know that the percentage of young adult books that feature girls with long hair is not 100%. Ciara Knight has already told me in a comment that her protagonist has short hair. But the percentage is high. I'm going to say maybe 95%.

So what's up with hair? Why? One of my best friends is Meg. I asked her if I could post a picture of her and she agreed for this post that it would be okay. So here she is at left.

Notice how short her hair is. I think that Meg is a beautiful woman. So I guess my question is this. What kind of message are all of you young adult authors out there peddling in your book? Is it that young ladies need to have long hair? If so...why?

Is it beauty? Does having short hair make you less attractive to men? I for one have plenty of guy friends and they never point out a girl's hair as the thing they are attracted to. It's always the "rack" or "butt" or body type. So, am I just not getting something here?

Amanda Hocking goes really far with hair. Her book Switched has pages devoted to hair care products, she refers to her character's hair all the time, calls it an unmanageable frizz and a tangled mess and whatnot. She even says that her hair makes her ugly. Like WTF?! Really?

And then there's the young adult movie Tangled by Walt Disney. Rapunzel loses all of her magical power and becomes normal when her hair is cut. It also goes from sunny gold to dark brown. However, I still find the new Rapunzel attractive for a cartoon. But having her hair cut also freed her from the evil witch that dominated her life. So is this a message? If you cut your hair you lose your power but you also set yourself free.

So discuss please. Let me know your opinions on hair. I'm interested and want to know. And please tell me if you are writing a young adult novel with a protagonist that has short hair. I would like to know why you made that choice seeing as the market is awash with long-haired ladies.

Bugatti Veyron Pictures

Bugatti Veyron Wallpaper

Engine Bugatti Veyron

Bugatti Veyron Photo

Audi R8 Test Drive at the Sepang Circuit

Audi R8 test drive at the Sepang Circuit. Sports cars and circuits are the two lovebirds are very identical to each other. When the two met, then the romance was on fire with adrenaline-pumping speed. That's what happens when the Audi R8 sports car kind of 'dating' with the Sepang circuit, Malaysia.

The struggle between them took place in the heat. Armed with a very sporty body with extra large spoiler, Audi R8 as if to pounce.

There is no elegant aroma as it is commonly displayed by Audi in most models they produce.

Instead, aggressive body which awarded this car combined with a ferocious 10-cylinder engine with dry-sump lubrication, direct injection, DOHC cylinder heads drive this car fast track. On this occasion, detikOto test at the Sepang Circuit, Malaysia.

No need to linger, detikOto immediately entered the car cabin. In the interior of this car, the impression of a simple but effective and efficient display. Without the need for excessive accent, Audi R8 already feels impressive. Fine Nappa leather seats are occupied even feels right and comfortable.

But for those of you who think that a sports car like this would be minimal entertainment, would not be surprised if this car is equipped with entertainment devices such as MMI Navigation Plus with DVD player and 6 CD changer (MP3 and WMA compatible) + 2 SD card reader that his tone out of the 10-channel amplifier and 12 loudspeakers from Bang & Olufsen sound system with 465 watts total output.

In the middle there is the dashboard Driver Information System which provides a wealth of information for riders such as mileage for every liter of petrol in the tank, the fuel consumption on average, average speed, travel time to the service interval display.

Barking machine, and the roar of a V10 engine was stomping. For those who liked it very melodic. And of course, detikOto very pleased to hear the roar that greeted affectionately R8 Sepang's asphalt.

Audi says that the car carrying the engine with a capacity of 5204 cc with 12.5 compression has a strength of up to 525 bhp which can be captured in the round of 8,000 rpm with a torque that drives the car up to 530 Nm at 6500 rpm.

"The strength of this magnitude is more than enough to 'have fun'," said Rolf Volland, the instructor of the Audi just before this adventure begins.

Stepped on the gas pedal, and this German sports car speeding without hesitation. When the early morning, the weather was still drizzling Sepang after rain hit pretty hard. As a result, even a wet track conditions.

But it turns out the Audi R8 proved to be quite well established to make the riders confident that no doubt kept stepping on the gas pedal. Armed with the body dimension 4.434x1.930x1.252 mm with a wheelbase of 2650 mm, the Audi R8 was very lively dancing in Sepang.

And when the oversteer due to the speed and trajectory of the winding, Audi R8 by direct swiftly take control. Features Electronic stabilization program (ESP) is applied in this car was very helpful and reduce the risk of accidents with highly significant.

Besides ESP, safety features in cars include four airbags (two front and two on the side), Traction control (ASR), Electronic differential lock (EDL), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) to Brake Assist (BA).

As it got daylight and the circuit was dry asphalt. New real adventure began. Sports mode was chosen together with the activation of the Audi Magnetic Ride feature that can make the car's suspension to adjust the level of violence according to the terrain traversed.

And sure enough. The rate of vehicle the participants Audi Driving Experience 2011 was more rapidly with a dry track conditions and adaptation process which began to show results.

Each curve is able dilibas this car. Each wheel of the car feels very strong gripping the asphalt-hot Sepang. In fact, such sharp turns corners 2 and 9 can pass though the speedometer needle is still pointing to the 60-80 km / hour.

After the bend to the 14th, a long straight road which also lie. Stepped on the gas pedal to make the cars drive detikOto traveling at 190 km / hour. But many other participants said the figure could reach over 200 km / h in the same location.

While for those of you who have more guts, do not immediately disappointed. For the Audi R8 is still able to provide speed. Audi claims the car is capable of running with a top speed of 316 km / h and accelerates from rest to 100 km / h in just 3.6 seconds.

With ability like that, then do not be surprised if Audi apply brakes big enough to slow a vehicle that already apply permanent quattro drive system all-wheel drive and transmission 6-speed R-tronic with launch control.

And finally, the Audi R8 feels like a wild side embodiment of this German manufacturer. Pinned usual elegant impression in the Audi lost with the beat and the roar of voices and the ability diusungnya V10 engine.

These factors proved capable of pumping adrenaline rider up to the highest limit and make the R8 is not just 'naughty boy' in the Audi family car but also qualified delinquent who has the ability to fight rivals. Via: oto.detik.

S. Korean Electronics Giant LG to Invest $7 Billion in

Interesting....

SustainableBusiness.com News

South Korea's electronics giant LG announced it will invest $6.83 billion in green business sectors by 2015.

The conglomerate says the investments - in electric vehicle batteries, LED lighting, solar PV and water treatment technologies - will generate $8.4 billion in revenue, while creating 10,000 green jobs around the world. It will also boost business for about 660 small and midsized enterprises in its supply chain.

About a third of the investment will be in lithium batteries for electric vehicles (by 2013). It's also planning to get into the solar polysilicon business by 2014.

Its LG Chem division says its goal is to be the world's top lithium battery manufacturer, taking a 25% share by 2015. It currently supplies Li batteries for GM's Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera. And it's working with GM on electric vehicle development.

LG Innotek, which makes LEDs, is looking for a 10% global market share. Its vertical manufacturing process makes all the components including chips, modules and packaging. Its flagship company, LG Electronics, will expand solar manufacturing from its current level of 300 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 megawatts by 2014. There too, they expect to be the global leader by 2015. They entered the US solar market in 2010.

In water treatment, LG recently acquired specialist Daewoo ENTEC, allowing it to offer a "total water treatment solution." Through the LG-Hitachi joint venture, the two compaies will collaborate on developing new technologies and services for the huge water treatment market, valued at over $430 billion a year.

"With the market expected to grow at an annual rate of five per cent due to increased pollution and the effects of climate change, we see the water treatment business as a crucial component of LG's future success," says Young-ha, Lee, CEO of LG Electronics Home Appliance Company.

Last year, LG announced it would invest $17.8 billion in green product development to lower greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 2009 levels by 2020.Its competitor, Samsung, is also invest heavily in green with $5 billion in investments by 2013.

South Korea has set an emissions reduction target of 30% by 2020. At the beginning of the worldwide recession, the country was widely praised for allocating about 80% of its stimulus spending toward green-oriented projects.

Source;
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/22947

OnStar Reverses Position, Won't Track You if You Cancel Service

By Matt Peckham

OnStar's crying uncle after the media (and presumably customer) hoopla over its plans to track former subscribers. That's terrific news—I called the plan creepy, because it was.

OnStar just announced that it was changing course, stating it was "reversing its proposed Terms and Conditions policy changes," and that it would "not keep a data connection to customers' vehicles after the OnStar service is canceled."

MORE: Creepy: OnStar Will Track You Whether You're Subscribed or Not

The satellite based tracking service had planned, beginning this December, to collect speed, location and related customer data from users whether they discontinued service or not—unless, that is, customers specifically contacted OnStar to sever the latent, secondary connection.

OnStar recently emailed its customers to let them know of their plans to begin collecting the data, ostensibly to mine and sell to third parties, but it seems that between the media's negative reaction and the presumed customer backlash, OnStar changed its mind.

“We realize that our proposed amendments did not satisfy our subscribers," said OnStar president Linda Marshall in a statement. "This is why we are leaving the decision in our customers' hands. We listened, we responded and we hope to maintain the trust of our more than 6 million customers."

Marshall says that if OnStar decides to pursue post-cancellation data collection in the future, it would be opt-in only, and even then, OnStar says it would work with customers to determine how the data was used. Marshall lists two ways the data might benefit former customers, including providing updates about natural disasters or recalls that impact their vehicles (though she doesn't mention any of the less desirable things OnStar might use the data for, including monitoring driving behavior or general location-based activity).

If you're a current OnStar subscriber, however, your data's still being mined, like it or not.
According to the company's terms of service, subsection 33 (titled "YOUR PRIVACY"):

The information we may get from your Car includes things such as: data about its operation; data about your use of the OnStar Services; the location of your Car; data about accidents involving your Car, including safety belt usage; and information about your use of the Car and its features. We may also approximate the speed of your Car based on GPS data to support a limited number of OnStarServices, such as Stolen Vehicle Assistance services, as further described in our Privacy Statement. We may collect information from your Car on a periodic or regular basis.

In any event, OnStar's quick reaction and unambiguous reversal for customers who want to snap their subscription link clean and free gets my thumbs up. The only thing that'd top this would be more detailed disclosure of what else, beyond providing basic services and legal compliance, the company's actually doing with the data its mining from current subscribers.

Source;
http://techland.time.com/2011/09/28/onstar-reverses-position-wont-track-you-if-you-cancel-service/

Error in your query? Don't sweat it. Agent and Big Six contract incoming

Recently, Suzie Townsend got very excited over a query sent to her by author Mindee Arnett. You can read it here. By very excited, I mean she took time away from a conference and from planning a trip to New Zealand to drop everything for it. That's pretty major, right? I want you to notice this line in particular from that query:

"Dusty learns that together she and Eli posses the rare ability to predict..."

pos·sessVerb/pəˈzes/

1. Have as belonging to one; own: "I do not possess a television set".

2. Have possession of as distinct from ownership.

And in Suzie's pitch that she sent to editors at the Big Six that she sold in 16-days to Tor Teen, she also had an error. You can read it here and I point out the error for you below:

"Now the Dusty has to follow the clues..."

Extra "the" there in case you don't see it.

Scratches head in puzzlement.

I'm not trying to throw eggs on Mindee's accomplishment. On the contrary, I congratulate her for being successful. And the same goes for super agent Suzie Townsend...congrats on her being so successful too.

No, what I'm ~~bitching~~ ~~about~~ discussing today is the lack of actual standards for this industry. It's all subjective. It depends on mood, lighting, whatever a person ate for breakfast, timing, what they had to drink, did they sleep well the night before, etc.

I think that for the unpublished, unknown author, the single greatest factor in publishing success is LUCK. Maybe as high as 50%. Think about that...your chance of publishing is at least 50% luck.

This should read "Avoid publishing unlucky authors. Throw half of the slush pile
in the automatic rejection bin without reading them. What's left are the lucky ones.
Thank God for the form rejection. Otherwise you might actually owe
some of those people an actual response."

I just think that the advice given to authors about writing query letters should be more...I dunno... truthful. For one, spelling errors don't necessarily matter. If your query letter can get the point across and the agent reading it likes what you've written, then you'll be successful. Anyone that's written a query knows what a pain they are to write. A ton of work goes into them. Maybe if agents said, "Hey...you can follow the guidelines but really...to get our attention...you need to be lucky. Sorry...but the truth hurts."

Here's what I would have on my agency website if I were a literary agent. I'd have the usual stuff, query formats and whatnot withstanding, but right after the part that says, "Send us only your most polished query letter" would be the part that says, "And if you're LUCKY, you'll get my attention, and I'll get back to you." That would be honesty.

Random but related thought ==> If Suzie did care about spelling...maybe she actually thinks that "possess" is spelled "posses" and never called into question the quality of the book. I mean, I hear all the time from agents that "an error in your query gives us an impression of how your book is. One error there makes me wonder how chock full of them your manuscript may be. It's an instant form rejection!" So just imagine if the person reading your query thinks a word is spelled one way when in fact it is spelled another and they reject it thinking you didn't spell check. Wouldn't THAT be interesting?

And just for the record...I don't see content-wise why this offering from Mindee caught Suzie's eye. That's why I say she got lucky. It seems like a cross between Harry Potter with a wizard "school" via Chamber of Secrets (kids being killed) with that of other tropes like Being Human's ghost main character that watched her former boyfriend sleep and Piers Anthony's "Nightmare" (part of the Xanth series). I mean...I've read lots of "these types of queries" on my journeys through the blogosphere from people getting ready to send to agents that want help on their query letters.

I'm not saying it doesn't deserve to get published. It absolutely does. And absolutely deserves representation. But so do a dozen others that I can name off the top of my head that have queries very similar to this only without any errors, and these authors got nothing but rejections.

And you know what advice people out there give to these writers that are getting rejected. It's this: "Oh, your query must not be working. It must be bad. Revise and resend." Basically, they are told to go back to the drawing board, to re-edit, and revise, and send to new agents when they are ready. However, there is no scientific rock-solid proof that this is the case. I'm an atheist...I need proof to believe in things. There is no proof. It's simply conjecture...guessing. You know what I say? I say you got rejected because you just WEREN'T LUCKY. You got that? You have BAD frickin' luck? How do you like them apples? I don't suggest you go and buy a lotto ticket anytime soon. You'll probably lose at that too.

With regard to the query example...I don't see what caused the "OMG...I MUST DROP EVERYTHING NOW BECAUSE THIS IS AMAZING" moment. Especially given the spelling error. "Posses" is plural for "posse" which means a group of individuals. It's all...just...interesting.

That's my two cents for today. Invest in some four leaf clovers and some giraffe earrings of amazing juju. They shall serve you better than a spell check.

What could the next Acura CSX look like?

Theophilus Chin has a good rendition....

Source;
http://www.theophiluschin.com/?p=3587

Daydream believers

Honda's Dream Factory has put together a list of 'cultural engineers' - people who embody the Honda philosophy of pushing forward and venturing into the unknown. Photograph: Katelyn Downs Photography/Getty Images/Flickr RF

Set up in honour of the philosophies of the Honda founder, Soichiro Honda, the Dream Factory is all about inspiration.

"Mr Honda's beliefs run right through the company that he created," explains Steve Kirk, Honda's communications manager, and part of the team behind the Dream Factory. "For example, Mr Honda believed that success is 99% failure; in other words, he wanted the people who worked for him to keep trying, not to fear getting something wrong because they would get in trouble with the management, but to feel free to dream dreams and try the impossible. He said: 'We only have one future, and it will be made of dreams if we have the courage to challenge convention.'"

The Dream Factory is a logical extension of that philosophy, searching out "cultural engineers" who embody the Honda philosophy of pushing forward and venturing into the unknown. "We wanted people who were leaders, who were inspirational to others, who also celebrate the power of dreams," says Kirk.

Honda put together a panel to search out possible candidates for the Dream Factory, and then brought them all together last spring.

"That was when the fireworks went off. It was really extraordinary to see all these innovators come together and immediately start connecting, start thinking of ways in which their work might intersect." For Kirk and his team, the real power of the Dream Factory began with that moment.

The Cultural Engineers
Dr Kevin Fong has been taking science by the scruff of the neck since setting up the Space Medicine module at University College London, aged just 28. Now working as an anaesthetist, Fong brings the wonders of modern technology to a wider audience through TV and radio, recently presenting programmes about NASA, the frontiers of heart surgery and life in the universe.

Benedict Radcliffe loves to turn familiar objects such as cars or trainers inside out so that viewers are not quite sure what they are looking at. Working in collaboration with artists and designers including Ron Arad and Patrick Cox, he recently created a series of bikes that quite literally reinvented the wheel. Agents of Change is a global collective of artists with a graffiti background who produce work based as much on materials and situation as on some artistic masterplan. Innovative techniques and cutting-edge ideas mean their work stays true to its roots.

Mark Stevenson wanted to know "what next?" In search of an answer, he travelled the world and spoke to transhumanists (who plan to live forever), toured a space plane, discovered nanotechnology and had a few thoughts on climate change, overpopulation and resource crisis along the way. The result is his book An Optimist's Tour of the Future.

Chris Wheeler loves making a loud noise – and as artistic director of the Heritage Orchestra (HO), working with conductor Jules Buckley, he's spent the past seven years doing just that. Half band, half orchestra, the HO plays cutting-edge, experimental gigs, but always with a focus on entertainment.

David Hieatt founder of ethical clothing company Howies, wants to put people's ideas together, so he has started by putting people together. The Do Lectures started in 2008, and since then have brought a cocktail of chefs, designers, fishermen, inventors, ecologists, osteopaths, builders and more to Cardigan in Wales for four days of talking, eating and listening. It's an annual event in the US now too; people seem to want to talk.

Kevin Harman likes to create art out of what some might call chaos. He rearranges skips, breaks windows, steals doormats and is often right on the edge of what is acceptable. For him, that's the whole point: how else do you force people to think and look at their own actions without pushing them outside their comfort zone?

Katy Dawe & Oliver Hemsley had been friends for many years, but when Oliver was confined to a wheelchair after an unprovoked and vicious stabbing, they began to work together on Art Against Knives. It's morphed from a one-off show – with work donated by Tracey Emin, Cordelia Parker and many others – to a much longer-term project aiming to engage with young people in troubled areas.

Fabien Riggall aims to bring independent cinema to as many people as possible. He created Future Shorts, a worldwide network for short films which showcases wonderful, brain-addling stuff from countries as far afield as Finland, Romania and Paraguay. His latest project, the Next Generation, is a unique multi-country film festival; viewers will be watching in Austria and Australia, Iceland and Indonesia, Poland and the Philippines, the UK and the USA.

Simon Berry had an extraordinary idea. He knew that Coca-Cola can be bought almost anywhere in the world, and he also knew that in some countries in Africa 20% of children die before reaching the age of five. So why not tap into Coca-Cola's distribution network to deliver vital medicines? Years of work have nearly brought this plan to fruition; Berry continues to push.

VOTE FOR ANOTHER CULTURAL ENGINEER
Honda is on the lookout for another cultural engineer to join its Dream Factory and we are giving you the opportunity to vote for that person from a shortlist of five. Once chosen, all of the engineers will be invited to two Guardian hack days on 19 and 20 November to exchange ideas with the Guardian team. Vote and you could win £250 in Amazon vouchers, plus tickets to the event to see these innovators in action.

Source;
http://www.guardian.co.uk/honda-dream-factory/honda-cultural-engineers-changing-the-world?newsfeed=true

2012 Honda City (not for North America)

Honda is ready to bring out their new Honda City into India just in time for the festive season. The car with some additional features and marked changes to its interior and exterior is bound to rake up some enthusiasm among car enthusiasts. According to the latest video released, one can surmise that Honda City will have a lot of changes to talk about.

On the exterior one would notice a shining chrome grill as against the dull grey available in older models. Headlights are the same but tail lights are brand new. New alloy wheels are also added to the new Honda City.

2012 Honda City interior is well designed and as per details revealed in the video we could make out a blue white backlit unit with an ECO meter. Its higher end model would sport a sunroof while the C Class would have a CD player. Prices are not yet revealed but there should not be any major price hikes at least for the lower end models. Since the top end variant has some exciting features it would only be fair to expect some price revisions in that category.

Source;
http://www.rushlane.com/2012-honda-city-photos-and-video-1221068.html

Terra Nova Was AWESOME

I watched the two-hour season premiere of Terra Nova and found it thoroughly satisfying. In my opinion, it really upped the bar for science-fiction television. Things that I liked:

The explanation that the colonists in the past are actually living in an alternate time stream to that of the future. That was kind of cool.
The dinosaurs looked as good as the ones in Jurassic Park.
Each character has their own stakes. The dad has his family at stake, Josh left his true love in the future and is feeling reckless, the doctor has a whole colony to take care of, and the kids are just trying to be kids in a world that wants to eat them. Kudos for the shot of the dinosaur gnawing on a kid's leg. That was awesome.
The natural world is filled with tremendous beauty and I bet they showcase that all season.
The world they left was the epitome of dystopian. People have to wear breath masks, there is no moon or stars...only pollution and overcrowding. The government forces families to have only two kids...overpopulation means extinction.
The whole blend of high-tech weapons vs. dinosaurs is cool because the colony is so small. And just to add flavor, they threw in additional conflict with a rogue colony that broke off from the main one and is in control of the mineral mine.
LOST style J.J. Abrams mystery with drawings on the rocks near the waterfalls left by the colony leader's son who is missing but some kind of mathematical genius that knows something about the future.
They've kept religion out of it. It's a new society and thus far, I didn't see a church anywhere. I can't say that there isn't going to be one...but that was one of the things I hated about Battlestar Galactica. I just thought the religion aspect got way too heavy so that it dominated storylines. And they're headed that way in Falling Skies too.

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Great acting on the part of the colony leader played by the villain from the movie Avatar.

I think the funnest part of this show is just letting my imagination run wild with the characters. I mean...what would it be like to not have to work some 40-hour a week job for mediocre pay but instead be 85-million years in the past with other humans trying to build a future and forge a society? Imagine the primeval world that existed back then and how danger and adventure would be around every corner. Awesome cannot begin to describe how that would feel...and they capture it perfectly in this show.

I can't wait for next week. If you aren't watching Terra Nova and you love sci-fi...you really should do yourself a favor and watch. Seriously.

Seeking feedback from the obligated reader

In my opinion, reading is a natural thing. It is a natural process. A person who is not concerned with the politics of the actual publishing industry who simply wants a book to enjoy goes on an exploration. They make a selection based off of many factors...cover art, reviews, and word-of-mouth recommendations. Notice that I left out the word "obligation". I did this intentionally because I think an obligated reader makes the act of reading a chore. However, that is exactly the kind of feedback many authors seek out when working on a manuscript.

I think that an obligated reader is the worst kind of reader. An obligated reader is irate...similar to the irateness one feels when obligated to attend an event that they don't want to go to. They need to fulfill an obligation because it has been assigned to them. They are an editor, an agent, or the friend of an author who coerces them into reading their manuscript. Or, they are a fellow author who reads the work in the hope that the other person will take an interest in their writing. I also think that "give-a-way" critiques make for an obligation as well. There's a reason they are offering that service--it simply isn't out of the goodness of their own heart. But it could be as simple as more traffic and positive word-of-mouth. Still...an obligation it is and they really, truthfully, don't want to read your stuff but hide behind a smile and the thought (I'm going to get through this as quickly as possible).

So, if your only choice for feedback is twisting the arm of someone who ordinarily wouldn't do so, how then is this going to affect your manuscript? Quite a bit actually.

The irate reader is going to insist on being hooked right off the bat (depending of course on the level of obligation). "You'd better hook me in the first sentence, the first paragraph, or the first page or we are done!"

They will be brimming with all the tools from their MFA classes, red pen handy. They will slash at your adverbs (ignoring the fact that authors like J.K. Rowling are awash with them and make millions if not billions of dollars). They will pound things like show don't tell, they will grab their soapbox and nitpick your story to DEATH.

The irate reader is the WORST reader on the planet. And really...I think any feedback you get from an irate reader is almost worthless. You'd be better off just hiring an editor to help you get your manuscript in shape for whatever it is that you intend to do with it. At least then, the person isn't irate with you and out for vengeance for making them do "work".

Do you seek feedback from people that are obligated to read your writing?
If so...have you been happy with the result?
Have you been an obligated reader for someone else?
If so...how did that turn out?

With my own writing, I have an editor and that's it. I decided never to seek feedback from anyone that I had to obligate to read my work. The only "obligated" readers I've had were agents that requested pages and those were all rejections. As a parting "monday" thought, I find it interesting that the gateway to publishing must go through readers who are irritated because they are FORCED to read in order to buy the latest spring fashions and pay for spa appointments. I guess that's why it's called "work".