Post Media's Offer to Buy Sun Media Would Make It Dominant in Canadian Newspaper

     Toronto- Postmedia Network says it will buy Quebecor Inc's Sun Media newspaper for $282 million, the deal would give a single publisher control of most of the major English-language dailies in Canada.  If the acquisition goes through it would make Postmedia the owner of competing major local dailies in cities such as Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary.  The deal would bring in approximately 175 newspapers and publications, including the Sun's flagship assets, the Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary Sun newspapers - as well as the London (Ontario) Free Press, into the Postmedia conglomerate.  Postmedia says the deal will position it to better compete with foreign-based offerings.  The Competition Bureau downplayed its role so far as acting as a guardian of the diversity of voices in the media.  "While media ownership concentration can raise other publicised interest concerns, under the Competition Act, the bureau's mandate is  to review mergers exclusively to determine whether they are likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition," the agency said. 
          Postmedia said it plans to operate the major Sun dailies and their websites side-by-side with its existing publications, in markets with multiple brands, as it has in Vancouver for more than 30 years, with the Province and The Vancouver Sun.  Postmedia competes against Torstar Corp., publisher of The Toronto Star.   It also competes against The Globe,  and Mail a national daily, majority-owned by the Thomson family.  See also, www.reuters.com. 

United States Navy to Deploy Robot Boats

     Washington - The U.S. Navy did not give a date for when the system will be deployed to the fleet, but The Office of Naval Research recently released video of a test conducted in August 2014 that showed five unmanned "drone" boats swarming a vessel that posed as a threat to a U.S. Navy ship. See also, www.popularmechanics.com.     

Always in Season

     Manhattan - With each suite having four diagonal balconies and being two stories, guests have eight different views of Manhattan.  Guests may not want to leave their suite after seeing its multi-million dollar views.  However, when they do, a chauffeur is always on call, and when they arrive back home they will have at least one personal butler to watch their every move. 
     The library contained within each suite boasts a 26-foot cathedral ceiling and is decorated with $50,000 worth of gilded bronze vine-and-leaf motif.  Semi-precious stone surfaces and fabrics woven with platinum and 22-carat gold decorate the penthouse.  The penthouse cost $50 million to construct.  According to Fox Business News, designer Peter Marino and architect I.M. Pei came out of retirement for the project and collaborated with hotel owner Ty Warner to build this luxurious suite.  A staggering 800-feet above Manhattan, this 4,300 square-foot Ty Warner penthouse can be yours for $45,000 per night.  On the 52nd floor, this suite is offered by the Four Seasons in New York.  With iPads in all 285 guest rooms, Four Seasons Beverly Hills Intelity ICE technology was first introduced on iPad2s in October 2011.  In February 2013, a second phase of this process was completed.  Four Seasons worked with Intelity to develop a mobile app for guest's use on personal smart phones and tablets in order to reinforce Four Seasons' success with ICE on its in-room iPads.  The completion of this upgrade made Four Season's Hotels the first in its market to feature an integrated mobile solution.  It was of the utmost importance for the Four Seasons to remain ahead by taking advantage the increasing popularity of mobile devices, particulary among younger guests.  Guests can order things and communicate with the hotel, whether on or off the hotel property.  Four Seasons Hotels mobility offers.  See also, www.fourseasons.com.                     

Experience The Millennium Force

Giga-Coaster Millennium Force

     Sandusky - Cedar Point pushed the limits on roller coaster design.  The Millennium Force broke ten world records when it debuted in 2000.  The impressive Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster for which a new term was invented.  This "Giga-coaster" was the first full-circuit (vs. shuttle coasters that stay on the chain or cog after they leave the lift hill) to reach more than 300-feet in altitude.  Millennium Force has an "out-and-back" ( high altitude first drop with plenty of smaller hills that give you feelings of weightlessness - known as airtime -  as you ride back to the starting point) layout that does not have any inversions (points where the coaster is upside down) but includes over-banked turns (during the curve the roller coaster tilts 90 degrees or more left or right). 
     Millennium Forces's lift-hill has an altitude of 310-feet and parallels Lake Erie.  Millennium Force is 6,595-feet long and includes hills of 310-feet, 182-feet, and 169-feet.  Millennium Force has a stomach stealing 300-foot drop, at a near vertical 80 degree angle, two dark tunnels, and three over-banked turns. 
     Since its debut in 2000 Millennium Force has consistently been voted the number one steel roller coaster in the world.  Millennium Force has a ride duration of two minutes and twenty seconds.  Millennium Forces top speed is 93 miles-per-hour, two of Millennium Forces three over-banked turns are 122-degrees and the other is 112-degrees.  Millennium Force is the first roller coaster to use an elevator-cable system to lift the trains up the 310-foot lift-hill.  See also, www.cedarpoint.com.   

Mayors Vote on Climate Change

     Dallas - Mayors are looking for alternatives to traditional infrastructure projects that will be cost-effective and provide residents with amenities.  A bipartisan group of mayors from across the country unanimously approved a resolution, Monday, October 6, 2014 that calls on cities to use natural solutions to fight the effects of climate change.  Attendees of the United States Conference of Mayors voted in Dallas on a resolution that encourages cities to use nature to "protect freshwater supplies, defend the nations coastlines, maintain healthy tree and green spaces, cover air-quality, and protect air-quality," sometimes by partnering with non-profit organizations.
     In a move from partisanship (different parties voting differently against one another) the resolution was backed by mayors from GOP-dominated (Republican Gubernatorial candidates).  Austin Mayor, Annise Parker, and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton.  Science shows human industrial activity (including, not recycling computer and mobile cell phone hardware when possible), is contributing to global warming, some conservatives remain skeptical.  "What's so significant is that there was a unanimous vote on an issue that can be so divisive," said Laura Huffman, director of the Nature Conservancy, in Texas.  See whole story, www.foxnews.com. 

The First Hypercoaster Magnum XL 200

First Hypercoaster Magnum XL 200

     Sandusky - Loaded with airtime, Magnum XL 200 is the roller coaster that started the modern-day
coaster wars.  When Magnum XL 200 debuted in 1989 it exceeded the 200-foot altitude limit for roller coasters.  The limit that was once thought to be impenetrable for roller coasters.   At that time Cedar Point dubbed the giant coaster a 'hyper', a "hypercoaster".  Today roller coasters are known as 'hypercoasters' if they meet or exceed the 200-foot altitude.     
     With no inversions (points where the roller coaster is upside down), Magnum XL 200 was designed for height.  That height translates into speed, acceleration, and a lot of air-time (points where riders are weightless).  Magnum XL 200 has a maximum speed of 72 miles-per-hour, an altitude of 205-feet, a first drop of 195-feet, and a ride duration of two minutes.  Magnum XL 200's location along the banks of Lake Erie adds to the rides value.  The view from the top of the lift-hill, before the first drop, is of Lake Erie's sparkling blue water shimmering 195 feet below.  Magnum XL 200 can be a little rough in some spots as the ride is in its 25th year of operation and compared to some of today's other, super-smooth, steel coasters.  A ride on the steel Magnum XL 200 can sometimes feel like a rode on a wooden roller coaster.  See also, www.cedarpoint.com.          

Hewlett-Packard Separates

     Palo Alto - a recent wave of break-ups and spin-offs at technology companies and in the broader corporate world is fueled by the idea that companies with a narrower focus perform better.  In many cases the concept is well-received by shareholders who feel that getting good at one thing before diversifying, makes sense.  In 2012, under current Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard reorganized itself to combine the PC business with its more profitable printer operation, helping pare the way for the current plan to separate.
     Now, after two years Hewlett-Packard Co. says it plans to separate its personal-computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations, the latest attempt by the technology company to improve itself.  If the separation goes as planned it would give rise to two publicly traded companies.  The company will make the split through a tax-free distribution of shares to stockholders by the end of fiscal 2015, if the deal goes as planned.  The planned break-up is one that Palo Alto, California - based Hewlett-Packard and its investors have long contemplated.  Hewlett-Packard came close to separating off its PC operation in 2011.  See also,      
    www8.hp.com/us/en/home.html.

Buffalo Bill's Desperado

     Primm - Buffalo Bills Resort and Casino in Primm Valley, Nevada (formerly known as State Line) is home to a desperado (someone wanted by the police). 
     Desperado, by some, is considered to be one of the best roller coaster rides in the Southwest.  In 1994 "The Desperado" at Buffalo Bills in Primm, Nevada was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world's tallest, fastest, and steepest roller coaster.  Operating since 1994 "The Desperado" is a steel, sit-down (versus stand up), hypercoaster, "The Desperado" has a length of 5,843 feet, an altitude of 209 feet, a maximum drop of 225 feet, and a maximum speed of 80 miles-per-hour, during its two-minute and forty-three second ride.  "The Desperados" maximum angle is sixty degrees and during the ride you will experience G-Forces of up to 4.0 G's.  Desperado has become an area landmark that, as hypercoasters (roller coasters higher than 200 feet) are, is visible for miles around.  Despite the odd location on Highway 15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and about 50 miles south of the Las Vegas strip, Desperado attracts thousands of passing motorists traveling to and from Las Vegas.  Desperado's highest altitude is 209 feet, however Desperado's maximum drop is 225 feet long, into a dark enclosed tunnel.  After the tunnel the coaster's trains rocket along more than a mile of track reaching speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.  The Desperado is the centerpiece of the Primadonna hotel and casino resorts, in Primm, Nevada, about 45 minutes from the Las Vegas strip.
     Desperado's loading station is inside of Buffalo Bills casino.  The track winds around and into the casino.  Coaster technology has surpassed Desperado's altitude, speed, and steepness (maximum angle of drop), but Desperado is still in the Guiness Book of World Records as having a heart-pounding 225 foot first drop.  That first drop places Desperado firmly in hypercoaster territory.  See also, www.primmvalleyresorts.com.           
               

Buffalo Bill's...Near Las Vegas Roller Coaster

Victoria's Secret Reportedly Wants Kendall Jenner as Next Angel

     New York - Victoria's Secret known for their unique costumes, is now going to sign Kendall Jenner as their newest Victoria's Secret Angel.  "Becoming an Angel significantly increases a model's earning potential due to their visibility around the world," says Richard Habberly at DNA Model Management.  See also, www.eonline.com/showl/kardashians.