15:15:40

"Pimp My Cart" tries to get teens to Racine library

With no driver's licenses and no cars to work on, about a dozen teens and preteens here redesigned library carts as part of the "Pimp My Cart" program.

Brittney Putzer, 13, said working on the old carts of the Racine Public Library was better than "sitting at home doing nothing."

The effort to get more teens to the library was a spin off of the popular MTV show "Pimp My Ride," where average cars are given new life with new parts and features for a more distinguished look.

The weekend event even got a few complaints that the library would use the word "Pimp" in promotional materials, said Anne Callaghan, the organizer and the children's services librarian.

"I don't think you should use an old dictionary to try to defend a modern meaning of a word," said Callaghan.

19:46:04

Honda to produce green diesel cars: Report

TOKYO: Honda Motor Co plans to become the first Japanese carmaker to produce passenger vehicles with low-pollution, fuel-efficient diesel engines, a report said Wednesday. These vehicles emit 20 percent less carbon dioxide than petrol-powered ones while substantially reducing emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides compared with conventional diesel cars, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without citing sources. Other Japanese carmakers are also bolstering efforts in this area, signalling that diesel may become the new environmentally-friendly alternative in the automobile industry, the business newspaper said. Although conventional diesel vehicles consume less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline-powered cars, they do release harmful substances such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

8:21:20

Suzuki Bandit 1250S And BMW K1200R Sport - Cross Dressing

Trying to find that perfect companion is difficult for many motorcyclists. Quite a few don't want anything to do with the increasingly narrow-focus offerings that are sitting on showroom floors. They're looking for a big-bore, four-cylinder bike that can fill multiple roles with some sportbike influence, without the pretension of racy full fairings-but they don't want their ride to be bare naked, either.

BMW is looking to chop up its four-cylinder K-bike market segment yet again, with the K1200R Sport. Essentially the same as the K1200R naked bike we tested back in Dec. '05 ("Exhibitionist's Delight"), the K12R Sport adds a frame-mounted half-fairing utilizing the headlight assembly from the R1200S. The rest of the bike-from its 1157cc four tilted forward at a radical 55 degrees to its innovative Duolever front/Paralever rear suspension-is basically identical.

13:28:20

Saturn dealers to offer Camry, Accord drives to Aura shoppers

The reinvigorated Saturn is one of the best things GM's got going right now. May 2007 sales were up 68% over the previous year (what a difference appealing product makes), and overall, it's up 30% YTD versus 2006. Now comes word from Bloomberg News that starting tomorrow, June 11, all but 5 of the 430 Saturn dealers in the US will offer prospective Aura shoppers comparison test drives in the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. According to Saturn's Lisa Hutchinson, its participating dealers are buying the imports that'll be used for the program, which runs through July 31. GM's showing a lot of confidence in its new products -- remember, Chevy dealers will have Camrys on the floor to compare to the new Malibu when it arrives, too. This is all good, and it could probably be even better. Follow the jump for a bit of editorializing.[Source: Bloomberg News] .

15:17:36

USA Grand Prix, BMW Sauber F1: Preview

After achieving the best overall result in the short history of the BMW Sauber F1 Team at the Canadian Grand Prix with second for Nick Heidfeld, in just a week's time the next race, the US Grand Prix, will take place.

PLEASE NOTE

All statements in this preview have been made prior to race day in Montreal. Therefore, Robert Kubica's accident has not been taken into account. It will only be on Thursday in Indianapolis that a decision can be taken whether the Pole will be able to drive alongside Nick Heidfeld.

Nick Heidfeld:
"I like it when race tracks have a distinctive character, and that's definitely the case with .

21:44:44

BMW website gives 'best experience'

New research shows that 85% of car buyers visit manufacturers' websites before purchasing, but those in the market for a new Ferrari could be disappointed.

The independent research was carried out by Global Reviews, a firm which specialises in customer experience benchmarking. In its sample of 1100 people, it found out what they looked for in a website to make it useful to them, used this to create a benchmark of the best sites, and then compared UK websites against it.

The best sites are scored out of 100, and Ferrari scored the lowest of the premium brands surveyed, scoring just 44% for user experience of its site. BMW offered the best customer experience with 76%.

Audi scored the highest for having full lists of its cars' features on its website (94%), but Ferrari again scored poorly at 39%.

17:03:49

Ecclestone: US GP no necessity

One day after Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials hoped to sign a long-term agreement to keep the United States Grand Prix at the famed track, Ecclestone wrote a letter reiterating his position that an American race isn't a necessity for the globe-hopping F1 series.

"It is not vital to Formula One to be in the United States," Ecclestone wrote, the series' website reported on Thursday. "There are bigger markets for us to be in other parts of the world. We could be in India soon instead of the United States."

Ecclestone voiced a similar opinion last summer before signing a one-year extension to continue racing at Indy. He was expected to arrive in Indianapolis late on Thursday.

Speedway president Joie Chitwood declined, through a spokesperson, to respond to the letter.

In an interview on Wednesday, before the letter was made public, Chitwood said Ecclestone and speedway boss Tony George were expected to meet this week and that race organisers wanted to have a long-term deal in place by the end of Sunday's US GP.

13:41:18

Pierre Kleinubing Collects His First SCCA Pro Racing Speed Touring ...

Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., collected his first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car pole of the season for Monday's Round Three race at Lime Rock Park. Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., will start outside the front row.

Driving the No. 1 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Acura TSX, the defending series Champion broke the Mazda qualifying streak with a time of 58.153 (94.715 mph) around the 1.53-mile track. The pole is the second for Kleinubing at Lime Rock Park and his record 31st career pole.

"I felt like [the TriPoint Mazdas] were my teammates today, " Kleinubing said of his lap. "You can try to plan something for qualifying, but it never works. But that's what they did for me. Jeff [Altenburg] moved over after the uphill and then it was Randy [Pobst] right ahead of me.

21:02:49

Win Cash and an iPod Shuffle for Playing Free Online Games ...

Members of the free online flash games site, www.ArcadeCow.com, will have the chance to win an iPod Shuffle just for playing free online games, with a contest the site is running from March 13th, 2007 to April 14th, 2007.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 13, 2007 -- Reality Knights and Arcade Cow, a free flash games site with over 2,500 free online games available to members and non-members, will be running a high score contest for Arcade Cow members from March 13th, 2007 to April 14th, 2007. Prizes will include an iPod shuffle and iTunes gift card for the players with the top five highest scores. The top player will receive an additional $30 cash prize.

While Arcade Cow offers a free online gaming experience to both members and non-members, a free membership is required in order for gamers to participate in the high score contest, because membership allows for saved game scores.

21:10:24

Big East Report Card

With only two Big East teams still alive in the post-season, it's time to give each program a final grade for the 2006-2007 season. Grades are based primarily on each team's record/performance during the season, with secondary consideration given to how its performance related to pre-season expectations. The Report Card is divided into two parts, the bottom half of the teams (up today), and the top half (up tomorrow).

Big East Report Card: Bottom Eight

DePaul: The Blue Demons were the third team tied for seventh in the conference with a 9-7 record. However, Coach Jerry Wainwright's squad had the lowest RPI of the trio, significantly lower than Villanova's, which is why the Wildcats received an invitation to the Big Dance and DePaul didn't. The reality is that the Demons were probably the ninth best team in the conference, which happens to be right where I'd placed them in my pre-season predictions.

11:43:36

`Clear' Card Expedites Air Travel

Drivers with electronic passes often stream through toll booths while others fumble for change and idle in long lines.

Now that same technology-driven split among travelers is becoming more evident at airports around the country.

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10:08:21

Thames kids face off over chess board

Robert Green, 11, likes chess for its strategy. Semaj Harris, 10, likes the king because it's the most powerful piece. Ten-year-old Maya Loncar likes the game because she can beat the tar out of unsuspecting opponents.

The game of kings, it seems, has a lot to offer elementary school students.

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HQUANT Launches Lodging Derivative Index

MANHATTAN/ITHACA, N.Y. | HQuant LLC today announced at the Morgan Stanley CMBS New Products Conference in Manhattan, the introduction of the HQuant Lodging Index (HLI), a new sophisticated investment tool for investors who wish to participate in the future performance of the hotel industry without investing in the underlying real estate. The HQuant Lodging Index, the first of its kind, will provide detailed information on seasonally adjusted hotel average daily rates (ADR) based on data collected on more than 3 million U.S. hotel rooms, or approximately 68 percent of the nation's total.

The HQuant Index will enable traders to buy and sell derivative contracts tied to the performance of the U.S. lodging industry. A number of major trading groups have expressed interest in subscribing to the index service.

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Covenant Transport Revenue Up, But Has Net Loss For Quarter

Covenant Transport, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVTI) announced today financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, including a rise in revenue but a net loss.

Additionally, the company announced a proposed name change for the Nevada-based holding company from Covenant Transport, Inc. to Covenant Transportation Group, Inc.

For the quarter, total revenue increased 9.8%, to $166.4 million from $151.5 million in the same quarter of 2006.

Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharges, increased 10.9%, to $143.5 million in the 2007 quarter from $129.4 million in the 2006 quarter. The company measures freight revenue because management believes that fuel surcharges tend to be a volatile source of revenue and the removal of such surcharges affords a more consistent basis for comparing results of operations from period to period.

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A case study on a construction contract (7)

I may apply to Guinness (not the beverage company, I mean the book of records) because my article series is approaching two-digit numbers. This may be the longest legal article series in the world, who knows? I will continue without interruption, otherwise we will never be able to finish.

Yesterday I wrote, 鈥淟et's see if Mr. False Contractor picked up the phone or just ran away" -- thank you for reading my corner again today.

Of course Mr. False Contractor did not run away (well, not yet). First he has to make some money. He picked up the phone and talked to Mr. Investor. He reminded Mr. Investor that the construction period is 18 months as this is clearly stated in the contract, he and also mentioned how much he wants to finish this project and go ahead with other projects along with Mr.

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Fractional Fairytale: The dream of owning a vacation home can come ...

In the last 10 years, buying a second home has become the epitome of the American dream. Homeownership may have marked entry into the promised land, but it was the vacation property that fueled the most ecstatic visions: wineries, beach houses, pieds-à-terre and mountain cabins. These were not places where people lived, worked and paid bills, but where life unfolded according to the seasons, with the ebb and flow of recreation, family reunions and private retreats.

As the real estate boom crested, the second-home market swelled as well, even helping to stem falling prices when the boom busted. In 2005, second-home sales rose more than twice as fast as all new single-family-home sales and nearly four times faster than all resale homes, according to the National Association of Realtors.

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Shoprite's basket fills up

Johannesburg - Shoprite Holdings on Tuesday reported a 26 percent increase in diluted headline earnings per share from 65.7 cents to 82.8 cents for the 26 weeks to the end of December 2006. The group's trading profit for the half-year was up 27.9 percent to R717.3 million, with turnover reflecting a 14.9 percent growth from R16.621 billion to R19.105 billion. Non-South African supermarkets achieved a 28 percent sales growth. The group's South African supermarket operation, which encompasses three chains - Shoprite, Checkers and Usave - grew turnover by 13.9 percent to R15.1 billion. The dividend per share proposed for the interim period reflects a 29.6 percent increase from 27 cents to 35 cents. Chief executive Whitey Basson said: "Management is satisfied with the growth achieved in the first six months of the 2007 financial year, especially as this was achieved despite 12 weeks of industrial action that affected, in particular, the operations of the Shoprite brand.

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Mum and baby found dead in pool

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after a woman and her 21-month-old baby daughter drowned in a private swimming pool in Warwickshire.

Their distraught husband and father, Vinh Nguyen, discovered their lifeless bodies floating face down in the pool.

He desperately tried to resuscitate them and called 999 when they showed no signs of life.

Paramedics and two air ambulances were quickly on the scene but both mother and daughter were pronounced dead on arrival at Warwick Hospital.

Mr Nguyen, aged 37, made the tragic discovery after going to join his wife Annie Tang, aged 33, and young daughter Summer, for a swim at Falconhurst House, in Henley Road, Outhill, Studley.

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Your piggybank is bringing home the bacon

The latest rise in interest rates is not all bad news: mortgage repayments will nudge up again but savers are being offered some of the juiciest deals in years. Paul Farrow picks the best

Savings rates are at their highest for six years following the Bank of England's decision to raise the cost of borrowing to 5.5 per cent.

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The National Common Minimum Program in India

India is a country of largest population of heterogeneous nature. In a population wise it is just after China. Since independence different programmes has been formulated by different government, and every five year, new five year plan being implemented, but particularly after the emergence of coalition politics, the picture changed its nature of development. This article focus on the UPA's Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which passed by the UPA to give more attention on developmental issue to all the sections of the society as well as to all the areas including states and union territories of the Republic of India. It is very difficult to discuss all the programmes, because of its vast nature and area. This article focuses on the few areas of the Common Minimum Programme which is directly or indirectly related to the common people of this country.