Switzerland Takes Top Honors

I just read an interesting article the other day. According to www.marketresearch.com, Switzerland is one of the most frequently traveled countries in all of Europe. That stat to me was a bit surprising to me, as I would have expected the big countries of Great Britian, France and Germany would take top honors, especially with their iconic buildings and historical sites.

However, it's quite hard to argue with the natural beauty of Switzerland, something that in my opinion is unrivaled in all of Europe. The Swiss Alps are one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, and are frequented by the outdoorsy type from all over the world. Switzerland is also a relatively inexpensive country to travel across as well. Many hostels like this hostel in Interlaken Switzerland are on the affordable side for travelers looking to get the most value out of their traveling experience. The Swiss franc has also gained 24% against the euro since 2009, giving Switzerland a nice economic boost relative to their European neighbors.

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Death Calculator! Woopieee!!

Life expectancy varies greatly from country to country. It is lowest in Africa and higher in Japan, Australia and Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By this point in time, I believe everyone who reads my blog knows just how much I love gadgets, tools, calculators, and little interactive sites that give you instant feedback. Why I love them, I do not know, but I do, so that’s that. Today I found an extremely “different” type of interactive tool, different and a bit morbid.

Today’s tool, is a “Death Calculator” in which you go down the list, and add or subtract years based on certain criteria ranging from diabetes in your family, to how much you exercise, to your living environment. 

The tool starts with the average life expectancy, which is about 79.

Anyhow, go through, honestly answer all of the questions and see how you come out. Remember, the further below 79 you get, the more of a wakeup call it should be that changes need to take place. Changes with healthcare, our way of live, and the environment that surrounds us. Make those changes today, start exercising, daily. You can’t go wrong.

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Mercedes Benze E320 Makes a Big Splash

Mercedes CLK 350 Cabriolet 2005 C209 (Photo credit: zrozir29)

The 2013 Mercedes-Benz E320 is one of the newest models of Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The current line-Benz E-Class includes three versions: the E320, E350 and E63 AMG. All this makes the use of different engines, the 2013 E320 is powered V6 produces 382 horsepower, the E350 that has a V8 engine, while the E63 AMG has a 6.3-liter V8 engine produces a whooping 518-hp.

A coupe version is complete on all the bells and whistles available, but E320 AMG headquarters and both sedan and station wagon models. In all the classic rear-wheel drive off, while all-wheel drive optional on the E550 sedan and E320. All versions use the seven-speed automatic transmission.

The E320 comes with all the luxury of a new powerful sound system, seats, electric front seats, electric front, dual-zone climate control, sunroof, and a. There are four zones of climate control and adaptive air suspension. AMG models have special exterior and interior design, adaptive sports suspension, upgraded brakes, sport seats, even though they have a higher price. What's quite amazing too, is that Mercedes recently improved their AS/RS systems, allowing them to produce their cars more efficiently. They decided however to not lower their prices, but to make their cars even better. Now there's a company that doesn't sell out.

According to opinion on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz E320, its performance is very gratifying, therefore, was widely acclaimed by our customers as well. This luxury sedan to 60 miles per hour reached in less than seven seconds. The handling unit and convince customers balance the suspension of the nucleus of the AMG.

Overall, the E320 popularity in all aspects is a luxury, prestige, security and performance with the arrival of the 2013 Mercedes Benz E320 is growing in the automotive industry.

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Environmental Friendly Businesses

Traditional Agriculture Supply Chain Model in India (Photo credit: Analectic.org)

While working in the environmental consulting industry for quite some time, I started developing a keen interest in companies that do what they can to be eco-friendly. These companies lead the way with developing greener technologies that reduce our environmental footprint as well as saving us consumers some serious cash. Thanks to several sources, I put together a list of some of the greenest companies we can give thanks to:

1. Dell - They do a lot to try and reduce their total waste, and they can back up what they promise.
2. Hewlett Packard - HP began reporting greenhouse gases associated with its supply chain long before any other major tech companies were doing so.
3. Johnson & Johnson - In their broad industry representation, they stand out from their competitors for taking substantial efforts to reduce waste and energy.
4. Adobe - The buildings Adobe uses certainly are not cheap, but they are extremely energy efficient.
5. Nike - Having strong green roots from their very start, the sports giant has not lost sight of its core environmental foundation and continues to raise awareness for many environmental issues.

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Steel Bridge Clubs

Steel Bridge (Photo credit: GrigorPDX)

A world without engineers is quite unimaginable. There would be no roads, bridges, electricity, computers; basically there would be no society. One of the great organized activities that trains and tests the minds of future engineers are steel bridge clubs. Run through colleges and universities across the world, and sponsored by the ASCE/AISC, steel bridge clubs and concrete canoe clubs compete on a yearly basis to see who can build the best steel bridge or concrete canoe. Using materials like cold drawn steel materials supplied from Capital Steel and Wire and basic concrete, students must work together to build a lightweight and sturdy canoe or bridge that could work well large scale. What's more difficult is that the students have a limited time window to complete the tasks.

Although it is a competition, it is a great opportunity for students to meet similar students from across the world and to network with potential employers that help sponsor and put on the event. This year the event will be held at Clemson University in just a few weeks. If you're looking for other steel bridge clubs to get in touch with, take a look at this steel bridge club directory, which also has a custom Google search bar to search for activities that other related clubs are involved in.

Butterfly - The best insect

beautiful butterfly (Photo credit: Amy Berry)

Sometimes I forget that Butterflies are insects. Their bright and beautiful colors fluttering around the  sky is a classic depiction of a bright summer day. The Egyptians admired butterflies and included them in their hieroglyphs over 3,500 years ago, and the Aztecs associated butterflies with fire and war. Today they're more than just a bug, they're considered one of the most fragile and delicate creatures on our planet, and they describe a state of nervousness when you have "butterflies in your stomach". 

Many businesses and products are named after butterflies, including Butterfly, a restaurant in San Francisco, and the Valtorc butterfly valve that looks quite similar to a butterfly, but has absolutely no connection to the insect. What do you think about butterflies? Can you think of a better insect? Post your opinions in the comments section!

Fastest Growing Countries

Now that 2011 is all wrapped up and we are full swing into 2012, we can accurately look at things that happened in 2011 and event start to compare them to 2012. That got me wondering what the fastest growing economies in the world currently are. I did some research and found an article by Business Insider. What really surprised me was how not a single North American country was on the list. Here are the countries broken down in order:

1. Zambia
2. Qatar
3. Lebanon
4. Jordan
5. China
6. Argentina
7. Estonia
8. Turkey
9. Sri Lanka
10. India
11. Nigeria
12. Egypt
13. Kazakhstan
14. Indonesia
15. Lithuania

Quite a large part of their expansion is due to improvements in transportation systems, healthcare improvements, and a larger percentage of educated individuals staying in their home countries. With all this growth requires a huge amount of construction, and these countries demand more tractors, trench shoring equipment and scaffolding systems to keep up with their growth. All of the growth is quite amazing, and it's all taking place out of view!