Bridgestone Adds All-Season Snow Removal, Grader Tire

Bridgestone Americas released its newest off-road product, the Bridgestone V-Steel Snow Wedge All-Season (VSWAS) radial tire, designed for grader machines used for snow removal and surface leveling.

The tire provides excellent traction in winter conditions, with design innovations that reduce stone holding on gravel surfaces, facilitating year-round use, according to the tiremaker.

“We designed the VSWAS tire to keep our customers moving year-round,” said Michelle Lane, director of off-the-road marketing for Bridgestone Commercial. “Whether they remove snow on roads and highways or level surfaces, customers needed a product for graders that eliminated the need for seasonal change-outs. That is exactly what we deliver with the VSWAS radial tire.”

Bridgestone added that the tire’s features include:
• A tread pattern that provides excellent traction in winter conditions, minimizing the need for chains, and on soft, sandy conditions and gravel.
• Cut-resistant compounds that help to extend service life.
• Deep siping helps provide excellent traction, contributing to better braking and handling.
• Tie bars within the sipes control movement of the tread blocks for long, even wear while combating the retention and throwing of stones.
• Patent-pending grooves in lug walls that enhance snow traction by shearing multiple layers of snow beyond the top.

Bridgestone Potenza S001 OE on New Mazda MX-5 Miata

The Bridgestone Potenza S001 tire has been chosen as original equipment on the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club and Grand Touring models. The models are fitted with Potenza S001 tires in size 205/45R17.

The Potenza S001 tire blends high-speed agility with a comfortable ride and is designed to combine low rolling resistance efficiency with maximum sports performance in dry and wet conditions, according to Bridgestone Americas, which added the tire’s tread pattern delivers enhanced grip and cornering capabilities while maintaining stability at high speeds.

“Bridgestone has a long history of working with Mazda to develop premium tire solutions for its sports cars,” said Mike Martini, president of original equipment for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations’ U.S. and Canada Consumer Tire sales divisions. “The fourth generation of the Mazda MX-5 is a perfect platform to showcase the innovation and performance of the Bridgestone Potenza S001 tire.”

 see more at: http://www.tirereview.com/bridgestone-potenza-s001-oe-on-new-mazda-mx-5-miata/

WINTER IS COMING

While you're enjoying your time out on the beach, playing golf and taking rides with the top down, this is probably not the best time to remind you that winter really isn't that far away. If you live in an area that gets any real accumulation of snow, a set of dedicated winter/snow tires is highly recommended. Many of us will hope for a reasonably mild winter and good road conditions, but one thing to remember is that you can hope for the best, but plan for the worst. The difference a good set of winter tires can make can't be overstated. When looking for tires to handle the toughest winter conditions, take a look at the following options:

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80

Bridgestone has been at the forefront of winter tire technology for years, and the WS80 continues that tradition with exceptional acceleration, braking and cornering grip. Without too much hyperbole, the confidence this tire inspires on poorly or unplowed roads is amazing. In short, if you want the safest option with the best winter traction, the WS80 is for you. 

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80

Michelin X-Ice Xi3

A very close second, the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 provides very good deep snow and ice traction. Although a step behind in overall winter traction, the Xi3 handles more like an all-season tire on dry roads and tends to have a little better longevity than some other tires in the Studless Ice & Snow performance category.

IS THIS THE BEST BURGER IN AMERICA?

The Food Network seems to think so. And if the channel that brought you BAM, endless flows of EVOO and, well, Guy Fieiri, says it, it means something in this culinary world.

On its broadcast ode to the listicle, "Top 5 Restaurants," the network ranked Au Cheval's burger as the greatest since sliced buns, citing a "perfect burger-to-cheese ratio" on the restaurant's double -- which by now, everyone knows actually has three patties. Aside from that, the magical mix of pickles, Dijonnaise, and fried egg powered the beef pile to the top of the heap. Which, if you're a frequent reader of famed website Thrillist.com, you'd have seen a similar description in its "33 Best Burgers in America" article, which does not rank the burgers in the definitive way the Food Network does. But to its credit, Thrillist's article has 28 more burgers in it, which is enough burgers to fill up an entire calendar of February with burgers. Except in Leap Years.

Think about it.

Au Cheval beat out, in order...

5. Mission Bowling Club
4. Sid's Diner
3. Pie 'n Burger
2. Brindle Room

Read more at: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/chicago/food-network-ranks-au-cheval-as-best-burger-in-america

Toyo’s Celsius Plans to One-up All-Season Tires

Toyo Tire USA Corp. is rolling out a new tire that’s not quite an all-season tire, but not quite a winter tire; the Toyo Celsius is what Toyo is calling a “variable-conditions” tire.

Built to perform in ice and snow and have traction in all-season conditions, the Celsius is the unusual hybrid between your typical all-season and winter tire.

With the new tire, Toyo said it is focusing on safety, convenience and no regrets. The tire boasts the safety of a winter tire, convenience of an all-season tire and a 60,000 mile warranty and Toyo Tires No Regrets 45-Day, 500-Mile Trial offer, according to the tiremaker. The tire also bears the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol and has longer tread life than a winter tire.

Toyo is also launching new Web-based training that will include the Celsius and allow dealers to become part of a rewards system.

Two treads, one tire 

Toyo Celsius: With an asymmetrical tread design, the tire has the traction capability on snow and ice of a winter tire as well as the ability to perform on wet and dry roads like an all-season tire.

The inside tread functions much like a winter tire. Higher sipe density provides more biting edges to increase traction on snow and ice, Toyo said. Additionally, the tire features snow claws to improve deep snow traction and slush grooves that provide increased traction on slush and snow.

In turn, the outside tread is built like an all-season tire, according to Toyo. Lower sipe density provides grip and traction for wet and dry roads, while the multi-wave sipe design also helps increase block rigidity, giving the tire better traction on icy, wet and dry road conditions, the tiremaker said. Snow claws are also present on the outside tread.

The Celsius has 22 passenger car sizes ranging 14 to 17 inches and 24 CUV tires ranging 17 to 20 inches. Passenger tires are manufactured at the tiremaker’s Malaysia plant, while CUV tires are produced at its Georgia plant.

more at: http://www.tirereview.com/toyos-celsius-plans-to-one-up-all-season-tires/

12 things you didn't know you could do with Gmail

Gmail is one of the world's most powerful and well-built tech tools, but there are ways to make it even more amazing.

Some features are hidden within Gmail itself -- through the Settings and Labs tab; others have been built by third party developers. (Just remember, third party apps will have access to all of the contents of your emails.)

Here are 12 ways to customize Gmail, or completely transform it.

Schedule messages to send, or read later

1. Preschedule messages. If there's a better time to catch someone with an email but you know you won't be around to push the send button, use a browser extension such as Right Inbox orBoomerang to do it for you. Both services let you send up to 10 pre-scheduled messages per month for free, or an unlimited amount starting at $5 a month.

There are also scripts you can run on your own for free in Google Sheets to accomplish the same tasks.

2. Snooze emails. You can also schedule emails to pop back up to the top of your inbox at a later date and time. Gmail Snooze is a Chrome extension that can help remind you too.

3. Send stock responses. To save even more time, consider creating canned messages through one of Gmail's Labs feature.

4. Find out if your email was read. How many times have you used or heard the "Sorry! Didn't see your email" excuse? Bananatag Email Tracking, Sidekick and Intelliverse Email Tracker are Chrome extensions that can tell you when your email was opened.

They can also show you how many times an email was opened, where the person was when they opened it, and on what device.

All three offer a limited number of emails that can be tracked for free.

5. Blow up your emails. Delicious, a link-sharing platform, also just released Dmail -- a Chrome extension that makes your messages self-destruct. And recently, Google (GOOGL, Tech30) updated Gmail with an "undo send" button that lets you rescind an email.

Be more productive

6. Make a to-do list. Remember The Milk installs a checklist on the right side of your Gmail for Chrome and Firefox browsers. You can turn messages into tasks, and connect your to-do list to Google Calendars and contacts.

Todoist for Gmail organizes your task list in chronological order. It also lets you add emails to your list, assign projects to other people, and get progress updates. There's also a mobile version of the plug-in so you can access the list from anywhere.

7. Schedule appointments. Gmail Labs has a feature that pulls in your Google Calendar next to your inbox for easy scheduling.

8. Get all your mail in one view. Labs also has a handy way for you to check multiple email accounts at the same time.

Manage updates and alerts

9. Work offline. Gmail Offline is a Google app that lets you read and reply to messages without an Internet connection. That means you can work without distractions and delay new updates until you want to reconnect.

10. Get quick notifications. Checker Plus shows you how many emails you have without having to keep a browser open, and switching windows back and forth. You can even reply directly through the pop up notifications.

11. Get Gmail to text you. AwayFind is a paid-service that promises to free you from constantly checking your inbox. Instead, you can tell the app to call or text you only if certain people email you, or if you have a message thread you need to stay on top of.Do it all

12. Your one-stop shop. Inbox is Google's newest solution to nearly all of these common email headaches. There's a task list function, snooze options, and a clean layout complete with contacts' photos and easy to read message previews.

It works on desktop and mobile.

see more at: http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/03/technology/gmail-better/index.html?iid=TL_Popular

The Perfect Weekend Getaway in Miami Beach, Florida

Florida's sun and sand aren’t the only reasons to head south for the weekend. Miami Beach has garden-to-glass cocktails, designer eats, and Art Deco buildings galore.

Why You Should Go: When it comes to summer weather, Miami Beach has gotten a bad rap on the heat-meets-humidity front. Sure, high-80-degree temperatures are the norm. But consider this: In all of 2013, the hottest it ever got in Miami Beach was 93 degrees—and that was in May. In New York City, the thermometer hit 97 degrees in July. You’re going to break a sweat in the summer months, no matter where you try to hide. 

So wouldn’t you rather do it in a place where white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and air-conditioning are aplenty? What's more, summer is the city’s off-season, so you’ll quickly discover that the very same hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs that had absolutely no availability between December and April will bend over backward to make your stay more comfortable in the summer. Let’s not forget all the $99 treatments available at the city’s top spas in July and August for Miami Spa Month or the sub-$40 meals that await during August and September for Miami Spice.