Maine seeks to revive sea urchin fishery

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine lawmakers are examining ways to hasten the recovery of Maine's long-struggling sea urchin fishery.

Members of Maine's Marine Resources Committee are reviewing a bill carried over from last session that some say could help the fishery rebound.

The fishery peaked in 1993 with a harvest of more than 41 million pounds. Last year, fewer than 2 million pounds of urchins were harvested in Maine. But even that small harvest brought about $5 million for the state's 400 sea urchin harvesters.

Maine's two-zone concept for sea urchins may be hindering the fishery's recovery, said Democratic Rep. Michael Devin of Newcastle, Maine Public Broadcasting Network (http://bit.ly/18pYVn3) reports. He's introduced a bill that would create small-scale sea urchins zones.

"Those two zones are much too large because the sea urchin population dynamics are very on a much smaller scale than our present zones," he said. "And so the thought is that if we can go ahead and establish small-scale sea urchin zones that take into account the population dynamics of what's happening in that specific area, the fishery may be able to manage a little bit better."

The committee will continue to work on the bill when lawmakers return next month.

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Information from: WMEA-FM, http://www.mpbn.net/index.html

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Getting to know all about you

Expect to hear more about the "quantified self" movement — the name for a growing mass of devices, apps and technologies that sense, save and synthesize everything about you. And we do mean everything.

We've all heard about wristbands that track your heart rate and fitness. But what about a device that maps every place you've ever been, everything you've ever said and everyone you've ever met? It could happen sooner than you think.

"2014 is going to be the year where consumers are literally going to wake up to how much information they create and wonder where it's all going," Chris Dancy, 45, of Denver, a quantified-self trailblazer who has made headlines for the reams of data he collects on himself.

Evidence that we are on the cusp of a personal data revolution exists in the devices we already own: Smartphones are increasingly logging personal data, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 automatically charting the temperature, humidity and air pressure of the user's environment. The Moto X phones are constantly listening to surrounding audio. The new iPhone 5s tracks motion, and an increasing number of apps track our digital movements. Favorites, an app for iOS and Android, monitors communication with loved ones and notifies you when it's been too long since you've called grandma.

Another product aimed at self-insight is the upcoming audio-recording wristband Kapture, which constantly records audio in 60-second increments. If something has happened that you want to remember, you simply press a button and the previous 60 seconds are saved. The Kapture is a precursor to something that will be truly revolutionary: a continuous audio archive stream. No longer will you and your mate quarrel over who said what and when. You'll settle the matter with what amounts to a self-Google search. The possibilities are endless — not all of them good, or under current wiretap laws, even legal.

Eventually, more comprehensive devices will emerge, pulling together these disparate metrics. The same wristband or smartphone that records your audio will also chart your movements, speed and heart rate, along with the air quality, the weather and more. You'll be able to tell where you were in any moment in time — where and at what precise second your child said his or her first word, for example.

Dancy is already collecting hundreds of data points about his personal health and whereabouts via the many devices he uses on and around him. It may seem incredibly eccentric, but in an age where advertisers and big companies are collecting tons of information about us, why not get ahead of your own personal data and use it to get to know yourself better, and eventually, to improve your life?

Dancy predicts that the health sector will see the first big wave of these devices, with a snowball effect that will eventually result in consumer adoption.

"Within 24 months there won't be an occupation not affected by wearable computing and personal data," Dancy said.

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State mulls path on new tech

State regulators are hoping to get out in front of the next wave of telecommunications infrastructure changes, and are looking to industry insiders for guidance.

"This is a transformation that's happening for all of us and we as a state want to support that transformation, we want to support growth," state Telecommunications and Cable Commissioner Geoffrey Why said at the Department of Telecommunications and Cable's IP Transition Conference last week.

The so-called "IP transition" — the movement from traditional circuit switches to Internet protocol-based technologies such as fiber optic wire — will shape the telecom industry, officials have said.

"The impacts on networks have already begun and will be profound," said Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler in a blog post last month.

Technologies including VoIP — Voice Over Internet Protocol — which allows phone calls over the Internet, are dramatically changing how communications are carried.

"Communication — voice, data, video — is all transforming today. They are converting into one pipe and this is a way we are interacting with the world," Why said.

He said the DTC is trying to determine the best way to handle the change from a state perspective. Some say the way forward will be tricky given the established telecom companies and infrastructure.

"It's crucial that they be thinking about all the different kinds of customers there are and encouraging the growth and the innovation to continue," said Angela Kronenberg, chief advocate for COMPTEL and a former FCC adviser.

Others say the best option is for the state to sit back and let innovation happen.

"We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive innovation by minimizing regulatory overhead," said Sean Dandley, CEO and president of DSCI.

"We are really hearing a range of opinions about how to do this thoughtfully," Why said.

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PowerShell a treat for iPhone users — but not many others

Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery ($99.95, Apple Store)

Expected to be the first of many devices that turn your iOS 7 Apple device into a gamepad, the PowerShell is reminiscent of the iconic Nintendo controller from the 1980s. This device also charges your 5th-generation iPod touch or iPhone.

The good: It's a cinch to pop your iPhone into this no-fuss controller and enjoy a growing number of games that are compatible.

The bad: It seems disjointed to have a controller attached to your smartphone that can only control that smartphone within a game. The buttons on the controller are useless when it comes to opening your email or answering a call.

The bottom line: Destined to be seriously considered as a stocking-stuffer by many, the PowerShell is only for a select few game-
obsessed consumers. If it were half the price, it could be an 
option. But for the current cost, wait until a better iOS gamepad comes to market.

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Camry keeps on humming along — and not in a good way

My wife's Camry is making a humming noise when in motion, not impacted by wheel turns or by brake application. It gets louder as you go faster. I have a feeling that I know what it is, but would appreciate another opinion.

Is this a setup? If you think you know, why not share it? So, to make sure I'm unlikely to miss, I'd suspect — in this order — tire noise, wheel bearing howl, air leak buzz around windshield or doors, serpentine belt/idler pulley/alternator or power steering pump whine, torque converter drone, transaxle/differential bearing howl, RF static from the audio system and last but not least, happy in-laws humming Christmas carols in the back seat!

We found a 2009 Honda Odyssey that had 14,000 miles on it. The previous owner had four cars and the van wasn't used much so he decided to sell it. The Carfax was clean and it's in excellent shape. We will probably put about 15K to 20K miles a year on it, meaning it will be driven more in the next 12 months than it was in its first four years. Would this van be a candidate for synthetic motor oil? The Honda onboard oil life monitoring system seems to be recommending changes at about 7,500 miles or so.

Yes, absolutely. In my opinion, virtually every automotive engine is a candidate for synthetic oil. Synthetics offer better performance over a wider range of operating temperatures and better viscosity stability over its service life. These benefits are small and the higher cost of synthetics is a very, very small increment of the overall cost of ownership, operation, maintenance and repair over the life of the vehicle. To me, that makes the decision to use synthetic lubricants an easy one.

But I'd be hard-pressed to go more than roughly 5,000 miles between oil changes. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm just not comfortable with longer intervals for my personal vehicles.

I drive a 2002 Honda CRV with 97,000 miles on it. A "Check engine" light diagnostic indicated an oxygen sensor heater was working intermittently and the recommendation was to replace the "b1s1o2." Neither an independent auto shop nor a Honda dealer could really explain why I should spend $500 ($350 parts, $150 labor) if the only issue is slightly decreased gas mileage. I drive less than 4,000 miles a year and 99 percent is city driving so my mileage hasn't been great. What is the worst downside of doing nothing and what would you recommend?

Honda recommends inspecting/cleaning/repairing any faults in the connectors, harness or circuit from the ECM to the "bank 1, sensor 1, oxygen" — the front oxygen sensor. Then have the DTC fault code cleared. If it comes back, I'd replace the O2 sensor. My Alldata database confirmed the cost for the OE sensor at over $350, but a quick Internet search found reputable brand name replacement sensors for your vehicle in the $50-$150 range. These units require harness splicing, but are significantly less expensive. Installation should take about 30 minutes.

The function of the electrical heater is to stabilize the sensor's operating temperature, allowing the engine management system to read and adjust the air/fuel ratio more accurately. This reduces the burden on the catalytic converter — an even more expensive component — and optimizes engine performance and economy.

Your question is valid. Since the sensor is heated by the exhaust it still may be supplying A/F ratio data, but because it triggered a fault code the data may not be accurate or the ECM may be substituting a default value, meaning less efficient operation and potentially more unburned fuel for the converter to catalyze.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com.

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SpaghettiOs apologizes for Pearl Harbor tweet

Campbell Soup apologized Saturday for a tweet by its SpaghettiOs brand that marked the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks with a picture of its smiling mascot jauntily holding an American flag.

The Twitter account for the canned pasta brand had sent the message Friday night asking its followers to "Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us." The cartoon mascot, drawn to look like an O-shaped noodle, sported orange sneakers and was licking his lip, with one hand on his hip.

The tweet spread rapidly, with thousands retweeting it and noting its jarring tone, given the gravity of the occasion. More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the Pearl Harbor attacks that prompted America's entry into World War II.

A representative for Campbell Soup Co., which owns SpaghettiOs, said Saturday that the message had been deleted. SpaghettiOs, which has more than 11,000 followers, sent out a follow-up tweet stating, "We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend."

Campbell said the Twitter account is managed internally, rather than by an agency.

The company, based in Camden, N.J., also owns Prego sauce, Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 juices.

Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi .

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Dash-ER will deliver your christmas tree

In years past, Hadley Stephens had always gone Christmas tree shopping with her parents or bought a tree of her own that was small enough to carry. But this is her first year being married, so it was time for a change.

"My husband and I talked about going out to one of those farms to cut our own tree, but we didn't have time," said Stephens, 31. "We were also nervous about attaching it to our car. You never know what might happen."

So, in search of a convenient way to get a tree, her husband stumbled upon one on Foodler.com, the home of Dashed, a Boston-based food-delivery service they'd used a handful of times.

Less than one hour and $90 later, a 9-foot Balsam Fir was delivered to their door and erected in their South Boston loft.

"We definitely were not expecting to find that they deliver trees," Stephens said. "We were pleasantly surprised."

If all of this sounds almost Grinch-like to those of you who consider shopping for a tree a tradition not to be tampered with — even if it does leave a trail of scratches on the roof of your car — your numbers may be dwindling.

This is the second year Dashed has offered the service, which runs through Christmas Eve and costs a flat rate of $19.99, not including the cost of the tree.

"We saw such demand last year that we decided to offer it again," said Phil Dumontet, who started Dashed in 2009 by delivering meals from Maurizio's in the North End on his Trek mountain bike.

That first year Dumontet made $150,570. By last year, he had hired nearly 100 employees in five cities, and the company's revenue had grown to $4.6 million.

"We started to look at what else we could deliver," Dumontet said.

So the company began offering a menu of trees: a Balsam Fir and a Fraser Fir, both of which come in various sizes, and a potted, 2-foot Alberta.

This year, Dashed wasn't the only company to branch out into Christmas trees.

The ride-sharing app Uber did a one-day trial run last Thursday, delivering a
7- to 8-foot Fraser Fir for $135, including tree, stand and scarf.

"We were excited to roll it out and see how it did," said Meghan Verena Joyce, general manager of Uber Boston, declining to reveal how many trees were delivered. "Our bread and butter is giving people access to reliable transportation around the city. So this was an exciting experiment for us."

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Hackers get crack at DOT traffic data

Members of the tech community will come together next weekend to sift through a trove of data from the state Department of Transportation, and brainstorm ideas focusing on how people get to their destinations.

"We recognize the immense potential the tech community in the commonwealth could bring to us," said Rachel Bain, project manager for big data in transportation for MassDOT.

The two-day hackathon, starting Friday and hosted by MassDOT at Cambridge tech event space Hack/Reduce, will give the 100-plus coders and developers expected to sign up a chance to turn raw transportation data into a usable visualization — an image, or interactive application, for example. The focus is on travel behavior, road and rail comparisons, and the energy, environmental, and social impacts of the method of transportation people choose, according to organizers who include Massachusetts Big Data and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Participants will have access to some of the data DOT has collected, including real-time traffic information, fare and ridership information for the commuter rail and accident data.

"We hope the visualizations that people are able to produce will help inform us better about what is going on in our transportation system, about traffic in general and the way people move around the state," Bain said.

Marcela Rodriguez, an independent web developer, says she plans to participate in the hackathon because of the possibility of producing something that could have an impact on how people live their lives.

"There's a lot of opportunities to contribute and make a difference," she said. "Transportation and travel are just very interesting fields."

Rodriguez said she has a couple ideas for what she will produce, likely related to train routes.

Three prizes of $2,000 — provided by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative — will be awarded, one each to the project that best uses the DOT data, the project that is the most visually compelling and the crowd favorite.

Adriane Cochrane, executive director of Hack/Reduce, said hackathons that have a beneficial theme are more popular.

"Anything that is civic in nature definitely excites people," she said.

More than a week before the hackathon, spots were more than half full, she said.

"People aren't coming out for the prizes, it's about learning and collaborating and finding peers with the same interests," Cochrane said.

The state hopes to come away from the hackathon with new information about transportation trends, Bain said. "The hacker community could have a really positive impact in transportation planning," she said.

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Sturdy Swede quite sporty

Always on the fringe of the sports sedan market, Volvo hurtles into the mix with the impressively reworked 2014 S60 T6 R-Design.

When mentioning the class led by luminaries BMW, Audi and Mercedes -Benz, the sturdy Swede rarely gets a nod. But the S60 R needs to be considered when test-driving the field.

Sporting a 3-liter inline six cylinder twin-scroll turbo producing 325 horsepower and all-wheel-drive geared through a six-speed automatic transmission, the Volvo is a quick and powerful machine. Spinning on blacked-out 19-inch Platinum Edition Ixion spoked wheels, the low-profile tires confidently cut into the road, gaining traction from the race-inspired front MacPherson struts and multilink rear suspension. The firm driver feedback through the rack-and-pinion steering not only gives the driver a confident ride but also makes handling the car a breeze.

The turbo purrs to life and needs little prompting to get you scooting comfortably and quickly down the road. The upgraded blue digital display lets you know when the turbo is demanding more, although the seat of your pants is a better indicator. Premium gas mileage for this sporty Scandinavian is 18 miles per gallon around town and 25 on the highway.

Aside from the mechanicals, what helps separate this car from wannabe sports sedans is the interior refinements highlighted by elegant piped leather seats — perhaps some of the more comfortable I've sat in — clean intuitive controls, brushed aluminum trim, and a robust 160-watt 8-speaker sound system. A 7-inch LCD monitor with back up camera, blind spot monitoring, Xenon active bending headlights and a sunroof round out some of the details of the car.

Sweeping body lines flow from the rakishly lowered front end with a small grille into a well-tied-together revamped rear end accented with a small spoiler, giving the sedan a striking presence on the road. The rear seats suffer some though and passengers will be a touch cramped. The trunk space is limited but both rear seats can fold down to make for extra room. There's also a ski slot through the armrest.

The base MSRP of $42,700 for the R-Design quickly gets to $49,315 with the Platinum Package, blind-spot monitoring and heated seats added in, and this is the one spot I'll pick on. Oddly, a car that has always led the industry in safety innovation and includes "City Safe" stopping does not include blind-spot monitoring or back-up warnings as part of its base cost. And extra for heated seats? In a car from the north country? After all, these are quite common features in even lower-priced cars.

The R-Design is the top of three trim levels although you can get a nice driver in a base S60 for about $33,000. I really enjoyed driving this car and, despite some expensive options, this is a good value if you're considering a sports sedan.

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Hiring splurges, but consumers stay frugal

The economy still has some trouble spots, but analysts are seeing signs of a gathering rebound that could lift off if consumers decide to open their wallets and jump in with both feet.

"The economy is improving and corporate profits are strong. They grew a little more than 8 percent in the third quarter," said Paul Edelstein of Lexington-based IHS Global Insight.

The job market also is showing signs of gains, with the Labor Department reporting yesterday that employers added 203,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to
7 percent, a five-year low. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 198 points.

Boston University School of Management executive-in-residence Mark T. Williams, a former Federal Reserve Bank examiner, said stock market prices are indicators of future expectations in the economy.

"The stock markets across the board are hitting new highs, suggesting blue skies ahead," Williams said.

A key factor, though, is how willing consumers are to spend. Consumer confidence in December hit its highest level in five months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary report released yesterday. But retail numbers show shoppers spent less over the Thanksgiving weekend than the year before.

"In general, consumers can express frustration, but keep on spending as if nothing is wrong," said Edelstein. We've seen that many times."

Edelstein said the improving job numbers can hide some dark clouds, as well.

"The unemployment rate is one number and it is falling more than expected, but it's falling because people are leaving the job market," Edelstein said. "It's schizophrenic, but overall the labor market is improving."

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