Alchemy Mysteries: Prague Legends is now available on iPad!

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Source: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=198669&goto=newpost

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Greek Gods and Dead Presidents: Why Ford Doesn?t Care About Making ?Real? Lincolns

Please welcome TTAC reader John Mohr (username J.Emerson) and his guest contribution to our site

In 2004, my family decided to replace our soon-to-be-off-lease Ford Focus Wagon with another Ford product, having been quite satisfied with our little five-door. This being the height of the Bush-era full-size SUV binge, we were barraged with row upon row of new Explorers, Expeditions, and Excursions when my parents suggested that we wanted a ?sensible 4-door family car.? My mother couldn?t have cared less about such monstrosities, but she didn?t like the recently-redesigned Taurus either, and she wanted something larger than her old Focus. Eventually, they got a deal on a new Crown Victoria LX, a car that served us well for many years. The salesmen couldn?t wait to get rid of it; it was an ?03, and as I said before, nobody wanted bargain-brand full-size sedans in the middle of the Bush years. Most importantly, this particular car shopping experience was my wake-up call to the artificiality of Ford?s luxury branding attempts. And thinking about it now helps me to understand why Ford is content to let the Lincoln line become nothing but a set of badge-engineered clones.

This being a full-service Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership, I could see line after line of Panther cars lingering in front of each division?s showroom. Not counting the police specials in the back of the lot, the Ford dealer had the fewest; but the Mercury side had dozens of Grand Marquis, and Lincoln had no shortage of Town Cars. With my parents ensconced in the finance office, I went over to inspect why we had gone with a Ford and not (to my 15 year old mind) one of the more prestigious makes in the Ford stable. It didn?t take me long to realize that the car we wound up with was more luxurious inside than most the Grand Marquis and on par with many of the Town Cars. We had leather seats and a trunk-mounted CD changer (high tech in ?04), while many of the Mercury customers made do with cloth seats and tape decks. The equivalent Grand Marquis always seemed to sticker higher than ours, a fact that my innocent mind found completely puzzling. Lincolns were better optioned and they had unique sheet metal, as well as some other toys that couldn?t be found in their more pedestrian siblings, so a bump in MSRP seemed fair. Even so, I wasn?t fooled into thinking that a Town Car was worth nearly $20,000 more than the Crown Vic.

At the time, I didn?t know who Alfred P. Sloan Jr. was. I didn?t know that he had catapulted the entire US auto industry down a path that eventually devolved into a wholly cynical game played on an increasingly disillusioned public. But I did know that you were a fool if you paid more for an obviously equivalent product, especially one that was parked on the other side of the dealers? lot. I still see the merit in luxury cars, but only ones that offer you something more for your money. The Crown Vic, the Grand Marquis, and the Town Car were all decent automobiles in their own right, but only one of them was a value. The other two were mostly cynical marketing exercises that were rapidly losing ground as the Germans tried to scrub the last vestiges of Sloanism from the American market. Even so, Ford hasn?t given up on badge-engineering strategy, and good business sense suggests that they probably shouldn?t if they want to continue to compete in the luxury market.

Fast forward to 2013, and Mercury is dead and buried, and Lincoln is almost there too. The new MKZ, a car that many have projected to be the barometer of whether Lincoln lives or dies, failed to impress Derek. Although it?s an undeniably pretty car, it can?t seem to escape its family-car roots in a way that many of the B&B think a ?real? Lincoln should. And therein lies the truth: Ford has no intention of turning Lincoln into a serious contender for Mercedes, BMW, or even Cadillac. Instead, Ford realizes that it has a much better chance of cracking open the Audi-Acura-Buick market with its limited resources. Essentially, Ford wants to take Lincoln and make it into what Mercury was supposed to become, before the Carpocalypse killed off any hope that diluted and under-marketed brands such as Saturn, Saab, and Suzuki could (or should) be rescued.

Alan Mulally simply isn?t willing to risk plowing under the kind of cash needed to make a serious go at the world luxury market. He doesn?t have the resources of a VW, GM, or Toyota, despite Ford?s recent dynamic performance in the marketplace. Building a series of attractive but ultimately mundane cars off existing Ford platforms makes the most sense from a financial standpoint, much more so than a moonshot attempt to develop something like a new RWD sedan platform that could potentially require billions of dollars. At the core of all of this is the fact that Lincoln has exactly zero global presence. GM has poured some serious blood, sweat, and tears into remaking Cadillac as a global brand, and thus far has little to show for it other than some XTS commercials with Brad Pitt and a small (but growing) share of the Chinese market. GM can afford to take such risks; indeed, they must, if their business plan for massive growth in Asia is to work. Ford has thus far punted on the Asian market and can?t commit the same kind of resources to it that GM can. Mulally is right to cautiously introduce Lincoln as a sort of novelty brand in China, and to move on from there.

As far as the American market goes, I believe that Lincoln?s strategy can succeed. But this will happen if, and only if, Ford concentrates on going after the mid-tier luxury market. It shouldn?t pretend that Lincolns are serious competitors to the flagship makers. Like Hyundai?s top tier, most of Lexus, and the revitalized Buick, the sweet spot for Lincoln is amongst the ?quietly affluent? segment that Derek previously identified in his review of the Equus. Show the moderately wealthy that there are even better versions of already class-leading Ford products just across the showroom floor. It?s not as if Ford has bad material to work with in its current crop of cars (an assertion that will no doubt cause considerable consternation amongst, and the posting of multiple long essays from, the Ford Hater Brigade). Forget delusions of grandeur that a new Continental will emerge from the shadows to bring Lincoln to the top of the world. Focus on building competent, honest products, made by well-paid workers and suppliers with a careful eye for quality. That will do more for the brand than any moonshot project ever could. Mulally probably understands this better than anybody, but it remains to be seen if he can pull it off. The early reviews of the MKZ are certainly disheartening, but the public has yet to register a final verdict.

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/07/greek-gods-and-dead-presidents-why-ford-doesnt-care-about-making-real-lincolns/

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Invasive aliens from Japan pose threat

Vancouver, July 31 (IANS) Invasive alien species are the biggest potential threat to areas receiving the debris from the Japan earthquake and tsunami that happened two years ago, Environment Canada said.

?So far, the vast majority of the species are what we have expected to see on the beach, along with the debris,? Xinhua quoted Paul Kluckner of Environment Canada as saying.

?But we are quite concerned about two or three items, and are still looking at them for further details,? he said at a briefing at the Japanese consulate in Vancouver.

He identified them as mostly barnacles and shellfish that had been washed ashore on the British Columbia coastline by attaching to fishing boats, part of a dock, a cement tank and lumber among others.

?If a species from an ecosystem from somewhere in the world gets established in a new ecosystem, it may disrupt the old ecological balance and bring problems. We believe this poses the biggest environmental risk to us (Canada) as well as the US,? said Kluckner.

In the aftermath of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan and killed nearly 20,000 people in March 2011, an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of debris were washed into the Pacific Ocean.

Since June 2011, the first tsunami debris was found washed ashore in British Columbia, along with Alaska to the north and Washington State, Oregon and California to the south.

All of this had received a consistent amount of flotsam and jetsam.

Kluckner said it was difficult to identify what came from Japan as the tsunami debris accounted for an estimated one sixth of the regular amount of marine garbage washed ashore.

He added that as of the items analyzed so far, none had been tested positive for radiation as they had been washed out to sea prior to the meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

IANS 2013-07-31 20:12:13

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Source: http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/invasive-aliens-from-japan-pose-threat/598872/

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Cook Like A Pro In No Time | Cooking Tips and Tricks

A lot of people are lousy cooks, and even good cooks don?t know everything. Everyone has room to grow in the field of cooking. This article will provide some great ways to improve the ways your dishes come out. This article can improve your approach to cooking.

Don?t add the dressing until right before serving. You?ll be glad you have your prep work done when it?s time to cook. Cooking with a deadline to meet can become stressful. You can spare yourself a great deal of hassle by doing prep work in advance.

TIP! You should know a few things before you cook anything on a skewer. When using metal skewers, square or twisted skewers hold food better than the round skewers.

bake tart or pie crusts longer that you think they should be baked. The crust should turn a golden color, not simple blonde. This indicates the sugar has turned to caramel. Your crust will have a sweeter and crispier flavor.

This trick can save you a ton of work and it can be used immediately. In a small bowl, combine two tablespoons of cornstarch and one tablespoon of water. Add this mixture to the sauce while it simmers in order to thicken it up. The mixture needs to be added slowly so that it does not make the sauce too thick.

Quickly cooking vegetables allows them to retain much of their nutritional value. With slower cook times, the overall value of the vegetables is decreased, mainly taste and nutrition. These cooking techniques will yield vegetables that are healthier and taste great as well. It is worth it to take the time to use cooking methods that preserve the most nutrients.

TIP! They behave like sponges and absorb the water. Wipe the mushrooms off by hand with a cloth that is damp.

Guessing how long food will take on the grill is nearly impossible. Using a meat thermometer, especially one with a precise digital readout, is a good idea for checking whether the meat is cooked or not. If you are cooking meat thicker than 1.5 inches, close the lid of the grill to help it cook more quickly.

If you choose the wooden versions of cooking skewers, it is a good idea to immerse them in water, and leave them there for about half an hour before using them. That way, you won?t be able to burn them as easily. To prevent food from falling from the skewers, use two parallel skewers rather than just one.

Beans and tofu contain a lot of proteins. These can be found at most grocery stores these days. A delicious alternative to meat is tofu pan fried with your favorite seasonings. Boil the beans with herbs to make a tasty protein-filled dish.

TIP! Ice cube trays are fabulous for freezing and storing leftover sauce. When you?d like to make a quick and easy meal later on, you just have to pop out a few cubes of sauce and reheat them in a pan.

You must read the food labels when you?re purchasing ingredients for any given recipe. Cooking staples can be full of not-so-nice things that can spoil your health. Check the levels of sodium and sugar, because severe health problems can arise when too much of these are consumed.

In recipes that call for milk or water, try substituting more flavorful liquids. Broth is a great substitute for water, and milk adds delicious flavor and extra nutrition to soups and stews. If your favorite recipes call for milk, try substituting with buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. A good method for increasing your nutritional intake is by increasing the amount of liquids you drink throughout the day.

If preparing dinner becomes overwhelming, try to get some of the prep work done the night before. You can cut up ingredients, measure spices, marinate meat and prepare sauces 24 hours in advance to avoid the stress of preparing a more complex meal. You will be much less stressed and more ready to cook the next day.

All good cooks organize their cooking supplies well for the most efficient experience in the kitchen. If they?re not organized, you?ll waste time looking for needed items. Place the cooking supplies that are similar in one place. For instance, place parsley and basil in one cabinet, since both are spices.

Many vegetable and herbs give off a smell that tends to remain in your chopping board, even though you scrub it over and over again. Mark your chopping board using indelible ink in order to keep track of which side you used.

TIP! When purchasing your ingredients for preparing a recipe, you should read all of the labels. There are many hidden, unhealthy ingredients put into common cooking preparations.

Always make sure that the cooking utensils you are about to use are clean before starting any cooking. This is a basic but very important rule for any cook. Leftover food could really screw up your next dish. This can also cause bacteria to spread.

Before preparing ground meat, blot it. Blotting removes excess moisture from your meats. If the meat has moisture when cooked, the heat will release it as steam. This moisture will just sizzle off. The meat will then be more likely to steam, instead of the intended searing.

Learning to cook new foods is fun! It can feel even more exciting than eating the finished meal! Hopefully, you have learned some useful tips that you will help you take your cooking to a whole new level. Even professional chefs can learn new recipes and cooking techniques.

Source: http://cooking-tips-and-tricks.bwsgroup2.com/cooking-2/cook-like-a-pro-in-no-time-2/

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Rick Perry Calls Special Session of Texas Legislature to Deal with?Business Ignored in Abortion Furor

Sorry, Texas lawmakers. Rick Perry says you have to stay to get all that work done that was neglected because of abortion.

Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

Gov. Rick Perry will not be letting legislators spend the rest of their hot Texas summer at home now that the major conquest of Texas vaginas has been completed. Why not? It turns out that in all the chaos over trying to pass a bill to shut down most of the abortion clinics in the state, the legislature never bothered to get around to the highway funding bill that was the ostensible reason for the first?special session. Because dealing with things like infrastructure is actually their jobs, now the legislators will have to return for a third special session to get that done, having spent the past two embroiled in a fight over an anti-abortion measure that 80 percent of Texans felt no special sessions should be used to pass.?

State legislators in Texas are paid only $7,200 a year, a number to keep in mind as you read the Texas Tribune's coverage of how they were told about the third special session that had to be called because of the Republican obsession with bringing sex-having ladies in line:?

Standing before mostly empty chairs in the 150-member Texas House, House Speaker Joe Straus adjourned the second special session and announced that Perry would be calling them all back for a third special session later in the day.

After gaveling in the House at 2:36 p.m., Straus briefly thanked members for their time and hard work during the second special session before acknowledging Perry would probably call a third special session 30 minutes after both chambers had officially adjourned the second special session.

"See you in 30 minutes," he quipped, telling the few dozen House members in the Capitol to stick around for the opening of the third session.

Sometimes you get the feeling Texas Republicans want you to think of them like every boss you've ever hated.?

The hope in Texas is that this time the Republicans will actually do what they said they're going to do with these special sessions and pass a bunch of bills that are necessary to running the state, rather than trying to find new, innovative ways to make life harder for women experiencing unwanted pregnancies. It would be nice if they could just get around to filling potholes without suddenly, say, putting a bill to have every vagina in the state registered for monitoring first. There's only so many times Sen. Wendy Davis can whip out those pink sneakers, after all.?

Source: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/07/31/rick_perry_calls_a_third_special_session_to_pass_a_highway_funding_bill.html

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Rowling accepts donation for identity revelation

LONDON (AP) ? Author J.K. Rowling accepted an apology and a charitable donation Wednesday from a law firm which revealed she wrote a crime novel under a pseudonym.

The "Harry Potter" author was exposed by a newspaper on July 14 as the author of "The Cuckoo's Calling," a thriller ostensibly written by former soldier and first-time novelist Robert Galbraith.

The book was published in April to good reviews but modest sales, and there was speculation that Rowling or her publisher had leaked the news to raise the book's profile.

But the law firm Russells, which has done work for Rowling, acknowledged that one of its partners had let the information slip to his wife's best friend, who tweeted it to a Sunday Times columnist.

Rowling sued the lawyer and the friend. Her attorney, Jenny Afia, told Britain's High Court on Wednesday that Rowling had been left "angry and distressed that her confidences had been betrayed."

"As a reflection of their regret for breach of the claimant's confidence, including frustrating the claimant's ability to continue to write anonymously under the name Robert Galbraith, the defendants are here today to apologize publicly to the claimant," Afia said.

?Russells agreed to reimburse Rowling's legal costs and to make a "substantial" donation to The Soldiers' Charity, which helps former military personnel and their families.

Rowling also said she was donating all royalties from the book for the next three years to the charity.

The hero of her novel, Cormoran Strike, is a veteran who lost a leg in Afghanistan, and Rowling has said she drew on conversations with serving soldiers and veterans to create the character.

"This donation is being made to The Soldiers' Charity partly as a thank you to the army people who helped me with research, but also because writing a hero who is a veteran has given me an even greater appreciation and understanding of exactly how much this charity does for ex-servicemen and their families, and how much that support is needed," Rowling said in a statement.

The writer said she had always intended to give part of Galbraith's royalties to the organization, "but I had not anticipated him making the best-seller list a mere three months after publication ? indeed, I had not counted on him ever being there!"

Since Rowling was outed as the author, "The Cuckoo's Calling" has topped best-seller lists in Britain and the United States.

A second Cormoran Strike novel is due for publication next year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rowling-accepts-donation-identity-revelation-113249216.html

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Tony Stewart was not injured in a scary accident in Canada in which his sprint c...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/TheRepublicNews/posts/10151514653245759

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Weiner's spokeswoman trashes former intern in profanity-laced rant

NEW YORK?In what will surely be another public relations nightmare for Anthony Weiner?s mayoral campaign, his spokeswoman went off on an epic, obscenity-laced rant against a former intern who wrote an unflattering article about her time working for the ex-congressman.

Olivia Nuzzi, who briefly worked for Weiner?s mayoral campaign, wrote a tell-all piece for the New York Daily News describing Weiner?s staff as inexperienced and criticizing the candidate for, among other things, referring to female interns as ?Monica.?

The article enraged Barbara Morgan, Weiner?s communications director, who went off on Nuzzi during an interview with Talking Points Memo. Her profanity-laced tirade, which TPM reports was unprompted, immediately caused a sensation on Twitter, where it was compared to the infamous meltdown of a University of Maryland student who went postal on her sorority sisters for not being social enough.

In a statement, Morgan offered her apologies to Nuzzi and said she had thought her comments to TPM were off the record.

"In a moment of frustration, I used inappropriate language in what I thought was an off the record conversation,? Morgan said. ?It was wrong and I am very sorry, which is what I said tonight when I called and emailed Olivia to apologize."

But TPM editor Josh Marshall disputed Morgan?s account, saying in a message on Twitter the interview was clearly on the record.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weiner-s-spokeswoman-trashes-former-intern-in-profanity-laced-rant-025707078.html

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