Ford builds plug-ins, "wild Focus" at flexible Michigan plant

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co marked on Thursday the production launch of its latest plug-in hybrid at a former SUV factory that now serves as a model for the second-largest U.S. automaker's global manufacturing strategy.

With production of the C-Max Energi, the Michigan Assembly Plant is now the only factory in the world to build gas-powered, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars all on the same production line, according to the company.

"In the future, globally, we'll have plants that produce multiple platforms, multiple powertrain choices and multiple body styles," said Jim Tetreault, head of manufacturing in North America.

Michigan Assembly is the latest illustration of Ford's strategy to retool plants and train workers to build a wider range of models. The move lowers Ford's production costs, while allowing it to adapt more quickly to changes in consumer demand.

The flexibility at Michigan Assembly, which can build five body styles on two platforms, is key as Ford offers electric and hybrid cars whose sales have been unpredictable.

"We didn't want to get trapped in having dedicated lines for electrified vehicles and dedicating all that capital to a single line of vehicles," Tetreault said.

Ford announced in May 2009 that it was spending $550 million to overhaul the 55-year-old plant, which made the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator full-size SUVs. Now, Ford makes the C-Max hybrid and plug-in as well as electric and gas-powered versions of the Ford Focus compact car.

This includes a sport version of the Focus that gets 252 horsepower, which Tetreault calls the "wild Focus."

"SURGICAL PRESENTATION"

More than 80 percent of the tooling at Michigan Assembly's body shop can weld a variety of body styles, while the layout of the trim area has been revamped so workers have more time to install complex high-voltage wires or EV batteries.

At the start of 2010, Ford created a matrix chart dubbed "the plan for every person" that tracked the training needs of every worker. Some workers went through months of training to learn how to repair models with different powertrain systems.

Ford also brought the design and production of key electrified components in house this year. The Van Dyke Transmission Plant started building hybrid transmissions, while the Rawsonville Plant assembles battery packs.

These changes shaved 20 percent from development costs and the costs will likely fall further as the factories become more efficient. In Rawsonville, for example, workers were able to go from nine jobs an hour to 19 jobs over the last two weeks.

This boost partly was partly because workers were given two nail guns, instead of one, to secure the fixtures around the battery pack cover. Each bolt was a different size and a second tool cut down on time needed to adjust the gun for his bolt.

"We want to get to surgical presentation almost," Tetreault said. "A surgeon reaches out and someone slaps an instrument in his hand. That's what you want the operators doing. You don't want the operators moving a single step to get a part."

MOVING GOAL POSTS

Ford's strategy differs from those of General Motors Co and Nissan Motor Co , which created standalone platforms for the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. Lackluster sales prompted GM to halt Volt production earlier this year.

"They over-reached," Tetreault said, of his rivals. "When you're integrated the way we are, it doesn't matter."

Under its "One Manufacturing" strategy, Ford is working to build more flexibility at its plants worldwide. Within three years, Ford expects each of its assembly plants to make an average of 4.5 models by 2015, up from 3.6 currently.

Over time, Ford aims to equip more of its plants to handle multiple vehicle platforms. This is easier to do at plants that build cars, sedans and crossovers, because trucks have different design and build requirements, Tetreault said.

Ford's plant in Oakville, Ontario can handle three body styles on two platforms and in Louisville, Kentucky, Ford can build six styles on three platforms. Ford is working to make other plants capable of building multiple platforms, but changing fuel economy and safety requirements are a challenge.

"The objective to make (platforms) stronger, lighter, is always out there," Tetreault said. "The real challenge is trying to meld all of that together into a cohesive strategy. The goal posts keep moving."

(Reporting By Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ford-builds-plug-ins-wild-focus-flexible-michigan-050903844--finance.html

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Burgers Flipped | Daily Nutmeg

A tall thin woman, wearing a white chef?s hat emblazoned with her nickname, beckons from a big white truck parked on York Street between Chapel and Elm.

She?s offering free samples of her delectable ?Blazin? Burgers with all the fixin?s.? She says she just read in a local magazine how some restaurant or other has won a prize for Best Hamburger. She begs to differ. She?d like the burger judges to sample hers. She?s confident she?s got the best burgers in town.

And they?re not really hamburgers at all. No meat in them whatsoever.

Gwen Robinson?better known to hungry vegans as Ms. G?is making inroads into the New Haven lunchtime scene with her big white handpainted truck. Robinson started Ms. G?s Tastys (?Where Good Food Equals Better Health?) just weeks ago in September, digressing from a long career as a school teacher in Hamden. She?s still registered as a teacher?for ?middle school everything!??and gets called in as a substitute from time to time. But her new calling is a different sort of teaching. As her website has it, Ms. G?s Tastys is ?Where Education About Your Health is the Key to Your Wealth.?

?For years, I cooked for people because they asked me to,? she says. ?It made sense to start my own cooking business. I bought a truck from somebody and I painted it myself.? It was already equipped with a grill and a freezer, as well as a deep-fryer she doesn?t need to use.

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Robinson has been a vegetarian since the age of 19. Now in her 50s, she?s spreading the gospel of meat-free eating. Until she cracks the permit-required lunchwagon hotspots near Yale-New Haven hospital or the Yale Whale, she?s found a ready market for her fare along York Street, where she parks for two hours a day in a regular metered city parking space. ?I have regulars already,? Ms. G gushes, ?and I?ve only been out a couple of weeks.? Some of those stalwarts come from the Yale School of Drama, where acting students are often known for their healthy, low-fat eating habits. The truck?s also had success at College and Wall streets, near Woolsey Hall. Some undergraduate fans arranged for the truck to serve a block party on campus last week. She also does catering, with a more extensive list of foods ranging from pasta dishes to casseroles to fruit baskets.

A lot of the demand is due to the meatlessness of her endeavor. ?Vegetarian and vegan is all I do,? Robinson says. She?s the sole staff of Ms. G?s Tastys, and uses her own recipes.

She?s particularly proud of her vegan burgers, made with an oatmeal base. They?re pre-cooked at a separate location, then grilled on the truck so they?re crispy. Special burgers, distinguished by their toppings, have been named in honor of Ms. G?s family and friends. There?s also a Smiley Burger for kids.

Besides burgers, Ms. G offers such delicacies as her ?Flavorful Flying Disks,? pizza-like meals consisting of homemade whole-grain tortillas with tomato sauce, a vegan white sauce, roasted broccoli, peppers, red onions and sunflower seeds. The white cheese has a soft, creamy taste that blends neatly with the crunchy roasted veggie and the chewy crust.

The menu can change daily, but desserts have included various cobblers (apple, peach, sweet potato or carob), carrot cake and ?Phenomenal Peanut Butter Cookies.??And, though Robinson?s never drunk coffee in her life, she?s created her own non-caffeinated grain drink from ground roasted soy beans.

From her effervescent personality and inviting manner to her one-of-a-kind recipes, Ms. G?s vegan-friendly vehicle is driving a new flavor into the downtown lunch scene. Pull over for the Blazin? Burgers.

Ms. G?s Tastys
Parked near York and Chapel, New Haven (map)
11am-1pm Mon-Fri (approximate)
www.msgtastys.com

Written and photographed by Christopher Arnott.

Tags: burgers, Christopher Arnott, feature, food trucks, Gwen Robinson, Ms. G's Tastys, vegan, vegetarian

Source: http://dailynutmeg.com/2012/11/07/ms-gs-tastys-burgers-flipped/

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Head-to-head trial of two diabetes drugs yields mixed results

ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2012) ? A direct, head-to-head comparison of two of the newer treatments available for type 2 diabetes yielded mixed results.

The 26-week, multicenter DURATION-6 clinical trial found that daily injections of liraglutide (Victoza) were slightly more effective than weekly injections of exenatide (Bydureon) in lowering blood sugar and promoting weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the patients taking exenatide suffered fewer negative side effects such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

"Both of these agents are very exciting diabetes products and really good blood sugar-lowering drugs," said John B. Buse, MD, PhD, first author of the study, division chief of endocrinology and metabolism in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, director of the UNC Diabetes Care Center and a a PI Extender of the UNC NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA).

"The results of this study will be helpful to both doctors and patients in shared decision-making about which of these two drugs is better suited for a particular patient," Buse said. "For example, for some patients the additional weight loss advantage provided by liraglutide might tip the scales in favor of that drug. For other patients, though, the greater convenience of once-weekly injections and the more favorable side effects profile of exenatide would be extremely appealing."

Results of the study were published online ahead of print on Nov. 7, 2012 by The Lancet.

In the study, 912 patients from 105 sites in 19 countries were randomized to receive injections of once-daily liraglutide or once-weekly exenatide for 26 weeks. The primary endpoint of the study was the overall reduction in HbA1c (blood sugar) levels from baseline to 26 weeks.

Both drugs produced a clinically significant decrease in blood sugar levels. By the end of the study, 60 percent of the patients taking liraglutide had achieved HbA1c levels of less than 7 percent, vs. 53 percent of patients on exenatide. Both drugs also produced progressive decreases in bodyweight, but patients taking liraglutide lost about 2 pounds more weight than those on exenatide.

Patients in both groups reported having side effects on occasions over the six month trial. The most common were nausea (21 percent in the liraglutide group vs. 9 percent in the exenatide group), diarrhea (13 percent vs. 6 percent) and vomiting (11 percent vs. 4 percent). The occurrence of side effects lessened in both groups over time. Five percent of patients on liraglutide and 3 percent on exenatide dropped out of the study because of side effects.

The study was funded by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Amylin is the manufacturer of Bydureon, the exenatide preparation that was used in this study.

In addition to Dr. Buse, other authors were Michael Nauck, Thomas Forst, Wayne H-H Sheu, Sylvia K. Shenouda, Cory R. Heilmann, Byron J. Hoogwerf, Aijun Gao, Marilyn K. Boardman, Mark Fineman, Lisa Porter and Guntram Schemthaner.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. John B Buse et al. Exenatide once weekly versus liraglutide once daily in patients with type 2 diabetes (DURATION-6): a randomised, open-label study. The Lancet, 7 November 2012 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61267-7

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Zvj2Yak1GG0/121106201036.htm

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Kirsten Baesler To Lead North Dakota Education Department

In the race to win North Dakota's top education post, Kirsten Baesler was poised to defeat Tracy Potter, with 91 percent of precincts reporting at press time.

Baesler was ahead with 144,260 votes, or 55 percent of the total, compared to Potters' 117,222 votes, or about 45 percent, when 388 of 426 precincts, or 91 percent, had reported. A total of 1,013 write-in votes had been cast.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Wayne Sandstead, who did not seek re-election, has been in the job for 26 years.

Baesler said her campaign was successful because of its "focus on the kids and the issues that were going to impact them and prepare them for success."

After battling her opponent's "strong name recognition" early in the contest, she said, the "combination of thoughts and ideas" she presented resonated with voters.

"As people understood my qualifications and realized I had a long history of experience as an administrator and teacher and parent, they knew I could hit the ground running," she said.

"Education is very important to North Dakotans... They realized I really care about students, to live the life they want to lead and be as happy and successful as possible."

She said she's "humbled" and "very grateful" to North Dakotans for "allowing me to be the next superintendent... We have great work to do and we have a great opportunity in North Dakota."

Baesler, of Mandan, is assistant executive director of the North Dakota School Boards Association. She received endorsement from the North Dakota Education Association.

She has 20 years experience as a teacher, media specialist and administrator. For the past seven years, she has served as president of the Mandan School Board.

Potter, Bismarck, has served as executive director of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation for 19 years.

A former teacher, he headed up North Dakota's tourism department and has served as a state senator from 2006-10. He was the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in 2010.

North Dakota's superintendent of public instruction serves a four-year term and receives an annual salary of $102,868.

Although the office is nonpartisan, North Dakota's political parties offer letters of support to their endorsed candidates. Baesler was endorsed by North Dakota Republicans. Potter, who ran as an independent, did not seek a letter of support from a political party.

Max Laird, who was endorsed by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, did not receive enough votes in the June primary to qualify for the general election.

Call Knudson at (701) 780-1107; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1107; or send e-mail to pknudson@gfherald.com.

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(c)2012 the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

Visit the Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.) at www.grandforksherald.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/newcomer-kirsten-baesler-_n_2087247.html

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Nancy Duarte Shows How to Give a Persuasive Presentation

If you have time to only watch one presentation about giving persuasive presentations, make it Nancy Duarte?s recent TEDx East presentation.

After watching it, read the TED blog interview with Nancy Duarte where she describes the 3 keys to giving a great presentation and how she prepared her presentation.

Seeing is believing

Here are just a few of the highlights to look for while watching Nancy Duarte?s How to Give a Persuasive Presentation:

• Engagement. See how quickly Nancy Duarte engages your interest by disarmingly presenting her core idea?one that relates to everyone, everywhere?in a matter-of-fact voice while standing on an empty stage.
• Relevance. The impact of the initial lofty idea is multiplied by showing the relevance of the idea in a manner than everyone can relate to, i.e., lesser ideas get accepted because better ideas aren?t presented as effectively.
• Visuals. The visual techniques that Nancy Duarte described in her bestselling books, Slide:ology: the Art and Science of Giving Great Presentations and Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is demonstrate by minimalist visuals often consisting of simple short words and phrases against a colored background?but, that, later, communicate more complex ideas.
• Pacing. At no point during the presentation was there a feeling of information overload, yet the presentation summarizes key ideas that have entertained millions and changed the course of history over and over again. Yet, I never felt that I was being ?taught,? I never felt rushed.

It?s hard to reconcile the information density of the presentation with the actual elapsed time of just 18 minutes and 9 seconds.

Nancy Duarte?s How to Give a Persuasive Presentation at TEDx East has important lessons for you, whether you?re an author, coach, consultant, entrepreneur, or self-employed professional. Regardless of how much you already know about storytelling and presentation techniques, you?ll come away from Nancy?s video and interview with a better understanding of how to structure your marketing messages, in person and on SlideShare. Share your favorite parts of the presentation, below.

Source: http://blog.publishedandprofitable.com/2012/11/07/nancy-duarte-shows-how-to-give-a-persuasive-presentation/

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Jack Nicholson on pancakes, being a 'sex legend'

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters file

Jack Nicholson in Los Angeles in 2010.

By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY

At 75, with a successful and celebrated Hollywood career under his belt, there can't be a lot that Jack Nicholson wishes he could change about his life.

But when asked what he wishes he knew when he was 18, the three-time Oscar winner opened up to The Sun newspaper about a couple of?things -- pancakes and sex.

"What I wish I knew at 18? Everything -- from wishing I learned a foreign language to becoming a good chef," Nicholson said before launching into a story about his kitchen credentials.

"I was a short order cook for a while in New Jersey in between acting jobs. One day, a woman came in to ask for pancakes and my pancake came out about 3 inches thick. She said: 'What the hell is this?' I lost my temper, hit the pancake and said, 'Make your own damn pancakes!'

"So you can add wishing I knew how to control my temper to that list."

With the restaurant and temper scenario top of mind, we can't help but show this classic diner scene from the 1970 film "Five Easy Pieces." The man just wanted some toast.

Nicholson also addresses what the article refers to as his reputation as a womanizer.

"I am an extreme person," the actor told The Sun. "If someone says, 'Jack, you are a womanizer,' I don?t deny it. But the life of a gigolo always ends badly. That is one of the reasons I feel uncomfortable about all that 'sex legend' stuff.

"I no longer have the energy to both work and fool around. So the last few movies I?ve done, I have hardly left the hotel at nights."

More Entertainment news:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/11/06/14973566-jack-nicholson-on-making-pancakes-and-being-a-sex-legend?lite

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Poll challenges, phony instructions could mar vote

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Persistent reports of robocalls incorrectly telling voters they can cast ballots over the phone and fears of aggressive challenges by monitors at polling places threaten to mar Election Day in many key states, voting rights advocates said Monday.

The fake phone calls, some of which involve live callers, continued to crop up in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, primarily among African-American voters, said Barbara Arnwine of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The group has mounted a counteroffensive of tens of thousands of calls reminding voters they can't cast ballots over the phone.

"That is really dirty," said Arnwine, who added that the callers' identities remain a mystery. "It's a very sophisticated operation and it's very widespread, and it's very troubling to us."

The last-minute telephone tactics are only the latest in months of legal and political battles over more restrictive voter ID and other laws, mostly fruitless hunts for supposedly ineligible people on voting rolls in many states and sustained claims that African-American and Hispanic voters are being targeted for intimidation and suppression.

Many of these issues could resurface in the courts after Tuesday, particularly if the presidential race is too close to call or heads for a recount in states such as Ohio or Florida.

"Each of these problems can lead to post-election litigation and gum up the election works," said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice.

Voting-rights advocates pointed with particular concern to the tea party-linked True the Vote organization, which has pledged to dispatch thousands of monitors to polling places to guard against potential voter fraud. True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht rejected suggestions that the group would be overly aggressive or issue false challenges.

"Contrary to various interest groups' statements, True the Vote has never been investigated or charged with intimidating voters," she said. "A poll watcher's sole purpose is to monitor the process of our elections. They are trained to never speak with voters, only authorities within the poll."

The Justice Department will have at least 780 observers at key polling places in 23 states to ensure compliance with the 1965 Voting Rights Act and look into any allegations of voter fraud.

In Florida, where Democrats unsuccessfully tried to extend early voting by an extra day, election officials in most of the state's biggest jurisdictions were accepting in-person absentee ballots on Monday. A chaotic scene Sunday in Miami-Dade County, where the election office opened, closed and then opened again, was not repeated Monday. There were still long lines of people but a much more orderly process.

About 200 people were waiting in line at midday Monday at the main Miami-Dade election office. Olga Vila said she only waited about 10 minutes to cast hers.

"I figured the lines were going to be worse tomorrow," said the 47-year-old accountant. "We Latin people wait until the end. That's why I'm here today. I should have mailed it a week ago. I could've mailed it on Saturday, but then I thought if the post office didn't do their thing then my vote wouldn't count."

Provisional ballots were the latest legal skirmish in the critical battleground state of Ohio, where Secretary of State Jon Husted's latest decision on how they can be cast was challenged in federal court. Advocates and lawyers for labor unions contend that Husted's order would lead to some provisional ballots being wrongly rejected because the burden of recording the form of ID used on a provisional ballot is being placed on voters, not poll workers as in the past.

A decision was not expected before Election Day, but the judge overseeing the case planned a ruling before Nov. 17, when provisional ballots can begin to be counted in Ohio. Provisional ballots are used more often in Ohio than most states, with experts predicting between 200,000 and 300,000 will be cast there.

"That could be a huge problem after Election Day for counting ballots," Weiser said. "There's really tens of thousands of voters in Ohio whose votes could be at risk."

Other issues that have surfaced include confusion among voters about what kind of identification is required to cast a ballot, particularly in states such as Pennsylvania where new ID laws were delayed or blocked by protracted legal battles. Arnwine, of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said people must learn the laws affecting voting in their state and not allow themselves to be intimidated by challengers.

"Should an individual come up to you and try to question you, you have to remember you have no obligation to talk to them," she said. "We just want to make sure that people remember to stand your ground, don't be intimidated. Be sure to insist on your right to vote."

___

Associated Press writer Suzette Laboy in Miami contributed to this report.

___

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-11-05-Voting%20Troubles/id-0dbc7e24bb6d4e799c1d72d8081ce83e

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