A cool summer along the West Coast has made for a hurried harvest in the nation’s top winemaking regions as growers rush to beat the first frost. Vintners, however, are hopeful the late grapes will make great wine. Video Essay by Eric Risburg. (Oct. 11)
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A hearing-impaired North Carolina girl with a prosthetic leg vanished over the weekend, and her father said Monday it was possible that his wife was involved in the disappearance. (Oct. 11
Continue reading …Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all
October 11, 2010 No Comment
Interesting news from General Motors today that’s resulted in some puzzled expressions at Engadget HQ. We’ve learned that the Volt , which Chevrolet has been making quite a fuss about calling an “extended range electric vehicle,” is actually just a traditional hybrid with some… potentially misleading marketing behind it. Since the concept stage the company has been saying how the onboard internal combustion engine was just to charge the batteries, that only the electric motors (there are two) are actually connected to the drivetrain. Indeed that’s what we were told in person when we test drove the thing back in March. We’re now learning that is not the case, that the Volt’s gasoline engine can directly provide power to the wheels in concert with the electric motors. Is that a problem? In terms of efficiency the answer is “apparently not,” as we’re guessing the car would not have been designed this way if it weren’t the most frugal way to go. So, why all the deception? Why insist this isn’t just a hybrid when it apparently is? When the company went looking for a government bailout it was in part awarded one because of the innovation shown in the Volt. Now that we’re learning the Volt is basically just a plug-in hybrid with a bigger than average battery pack ( Popular Mechanics is finding 30-odd miles of purely electric range), we’re left wondering: where’s the innovation? Update : We’ve added some further details and analysis below. Continue reading Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all Shocker: Chevy says Volt’s gas engine can power the wheels, it’s just a hybrid after all originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Waste Ventures is working to create a sustainable economy for trash collectors in India. The Beat Waste Startup Challenge , sponsored by the Adventure Ecology and Sculpt the Future… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Banksy Directs The Simpson’s Intro – Image via: Screen capture of YouTube video Banksy, the mysterious and world-renowned street artist, directed the intro segment of The Simpsons , illustrating a dark statement on consumer culture. Video after the jump…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Fore ! A home invasion robbery suspect in Koreatown had the tables turned on him when the homeowners fought back, attacking him with a golf club. The incident was reported around 2 a.m. at an apartment building in the 700 block of Kingsley Dr., near 7th Street. Police say the suspect approached a woman in the hallway and forced her into her home at gunpoint. She gave him some money but he apparently wanted more. She began screaming, which woke up her boyfriend who then began attacking the intruder, police said. The woman then grabbed a golf club and struck the suspect several times in the head. Police say the woman struck the man so hard that the golf club broke in half. I think that’s a two stroke penalty. That homeowner might want to consider getting a .357 shooting iron instead of a nine-iron.
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We just got a look at U-verse Mobile running live on Windows Phone 7. It looks just like every other Windows Phone 7 app, of course, but it looks like AT&T isn’t cutting this thing off at the knees content-wise. From the phone you’ll have access to your entire DVR for scheduling and checking the program guide, and you’ll also be able to see any episodes you have recorded on your box. Within that view you can find a subset of shows that have been flagged by the content providers to allow streaming (free-for-all Sling this is not). Additionally, the phone can access a mobile version of U-verse’s on demand deals over 3G, which should hopefully be comparable to Zune or iTunes offerings — though we’ll have to see the specifics to find out for sure. The show we were shown buffered quickly over WiFi and was able to skip around within the episode even faster. Check out the video walkthrough after the break. Continue reading AT&T U-verse Mobile preview AT&T U-verse Mobile preview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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President Barack Obama is pushing a $50 billion plan to upgrade the nation’s transportation networks and create jobs, bringing governors and mayors to the White House to help him make the case. (Oct. 11)
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