rudjard

Drowning

2010-07-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Signs of Drowning:
Watch out for these signs the next time you're swimming with your kids or others.
* Head low in the water, mouth at water level
* Head tilted back with open mouth
* Hair over forehead or eyes
* Eyes glassy, empty and unable to focus
* Eyes closed
* Hyperventilating or gasping
* Not using legs
* Body is vertical and upright
* Trying to swim in a certain direction but no making progress
* Trying to roll over on the back

An article by Dr Pia titled "It Doesn't Look Like They're Drowning" featured in the Coast Guard Magazine, Describes the typical drowning responce as follows: "Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech is occurs. Drowning people's mouth alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouth of a drowning person is not above the surface of the water long enough to exhale, inhale, and call for help. When the drowning person's mouth is above the water, she exhales and inhales quickly as her mouth starts to sink below the surface of the water. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water' surface. Pressing down on the surface on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving towards a rescuer, or searching out for a piece of rescue equiptment. From beginning to end of Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remains upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs."
from yahoo

The Secret to a Happy Marriage

2009-09-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

While browing around the web today, I found this few important tips of how to have a happy marriage and decided to blog it here. These nine simple things that a couple should be aware and perhaps should practice more often. Written by Atty. Stacey Phillips.

1. Delineate "yours," "mine," and "ours." If you have finances that should be placed in each of these three categories (for example, you have an inheritance and he has a savings account he accumulated before the marriage, and you also have a checking account to which you both contribute), have an upfront conversation about those assets and what belongs to whom. Moreover, talk about your time away from "together" activities, like he wants to bowl with the guys on Tuesday nights and you want to attend your yoga class on Wednesday. Respect these important delineations. Doing so will make the relationship stronger.

2. Carve out time to be together. Sure, you're busy working and attending meetings, but how important are those things if your relationship falls apart? Make time to do things together that you both enjoy. This could be anything from grocery shopping to taking in a movie. Take regular vacations together -- at least a couple of long weekends and, better yet, a couple of long vacations (more than a weekend jaunt). Commit to a weekly date night and make it as unbreakable as that all-important staff meeting at work.

3. Take care of yourself. Spend time every day on your appearance and your physical well-being. Work out regularly, eat healthy, and stay fit. Not only will your partner like looking at you, but you'll feel better about yourself.

4. Make sure communication goes both ways. Many relationships fail because of misunderstandings. Effective communication skills are necessary if your relationship is going to survive. If there is a hint or vibe that your partner is disconnected or you are unhappy about something, do not ignore those signals or feelings. Approach your mate and suggest an open discussion. You may be frustrated, angry, or hurt and so may he or she, but always stay calm and reasonable. Your goal should be to resolve differences, and the only viable way of doing so is through open and direct communication.

5. Criticize gently. Don't judge too harshly. If you criticize, do so in the same way you would want others to criticize you. Be kind and considerate.

6. Never stop courting one another. Gifts, compliments, and a loving embrace go a long way, especially when they are a surprise. Send unexpected greeting cards, slap a Post-It note where you know your mate will find it, keep those flowers coming in a "just because" way. Treat your partner with the same courtesies you did when you were dating. A terrific mindset is to pretend you are trying to win your partner all over again.
7. Keep the flame burning. Keep your romance alive despite the chaos and craziness life can present from living in the midst of sheer reality. Resolve to offer up romantic suggestions for your partner's pleasure, even if only occasionally, like cooking her favorite meal when you know she's had an impossible day, or entice him into a bubble bath with you just for the fun of it. Little gestures like these from time to time can ensure that the flame you once had burns forever.

8. Spell out your terms of endearment. Call out the expectations for one another in the form of the "terms" of your relationship together. Put them in a contract, if you like. This contract will simply clarify and document those needs and wants that mean a lot to you. For example, though he typically runs late, your agreement might specify those times when he agrees not to be late; she may agree to keep her spending at a certain limit, though she typically has little restraint as she traipses through the mall. Discussing these boundaries, as well as your needs and wants, can prevent either of you from stepping over the line and causing irritation. It is often the disappointments (needs and wants, gone unexpressed) that bring down a relationship.

9. Renegotiate your contract. Your relationship will evolve, and your needs and wants will change right along with it. Once a year, it's a good idea to review, update, or revise your contract with each other -- whether it is verbal or written. Be mindful, however, not to allow such a "contract" to ruin your relationship.
from Yahoo.

Calamare after Quake

2009-07-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Who's in for a calamare feast in the morning? Here's what i've digg. There was an earthquake in San Diego last week and strange things follow not aftershocks but squids rush to shore.

It was an odd start to the morning in La Jolla. First residents were jolted out of bed at 7.34 a.m. by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake that was centered 19 miles out to sea.

“I was having coffee up on the balcony and I felt it shaking,” Kate Lutkemeier said.
She wasn’t the only one.
“I heard my doors and windows rattling, thinking that somebody was trying to get in my front door actually,” La Jolla resident Mary Skeen said.
The quake was felt all over the county, which isn’t uncommon in San Diego -- but what happened just minutes later was a little fishy.
“We just got here about 15 minutes ago and Lilly, what did you see on the beach?” John Feher asked his little daughter. “Squid, squid, squid, squid, squid.” she replied.
Dozens of dazed Humboldt squid which were roughly three-to-four feet long and weighed close to 40 pounds were flapping around on La Jolla Shores beach.
“It’s like their equilibrium is all messed up and they don’t know what they’re doing and they can’t back out there,” Bill Baumann said. “It was like they got -- I don’t know -- all shook up.”
It didn’t take long for the seagulls to swoop in and start feeding on the squid, so beachgoers ran to the rescue and tried frantically to save them by throwing them back in the water. That proved to be a difficult task for several reasons -- they were extremely heavy, very slippery, and when the good Samaritans did manage to get them back them in water, the squid didn’t know where to go and kept washing back up.
“Some people were saying it was the earthquake this morning that caused them to get disoriented but who knows? Feher said.
He wasn’t the only person to mention that theory.
“A state guy was out and said the earthquake caused (it),” Baumann said.
Lifeguard Sgt. David Rains said that is one of several possibilities -- there are a lot of fishing boats in the area so there is a lot of fish activity and those kind of creatures always follow the food supply. He also said there have been a lot of water inversions and the water has turned from warm to cold -- but he doesn’t know for sure.
“Why are they here? Why are the squid here? I can’t honestly tell you,” Sgt. Rains said. “I don’t know if it’s tied or not to the earthquake.”
According to the lifeguard, swimmers should be wary of the creatures and keep their distance.
“The Humboldt squid can be very big and very powerful and they may be dangerous,” Sgt. Rains said. “It’s just something I wouldn’t mess with until you’re sure that it’s dead. They’ve got a lot of suckers and claws and a parrot like beak and they can inflict some damage.”
A spokesman for Scripps Institution of Oceanography said at this point they do not see a connection between the squid and the earthquake, but plan to look into it. Dozens of squid washing up at the same time is unusual but it has happened before, according to Sgt. Rains. But Mary Skeen said it is a first for her.
“I have never seen squid in the 42 years that I’ve lived here on the shores in La Jolla,” she said.

For now there are more questions than answers; did the earthquake cause the squid to wash up or was it simply a coincidence? Just ask the little girl who helped daddy push some alien looking creatures back out to sea.
“Is it a mystery?” Feher asked his little daughter Lilly. “Yeah,” she replied.

from NBCBAVARE.COM

Extreme Schemes

2009-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

We are all for finding creative way to make a buck these days. But would you do what these women did?

MOM ALWAYS SAID , DON'T GIVE IT AWAY: Natalie Dylan, 22, is selling her virginity. The aspiring marriage and family therapist (no kidding) from San Diego, CA, describes her business plan as “being pro-choice with my body.” As of present time, Dylan (a pseudonym) claims the high bid is $3.8 million; the deal will be consummated at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel in Nevada, where prostitution is legal. Dylan says she will submit to an exam to prove her purity. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/12/natalie-dylan-auctions-of_n_157329.html

SICK IDEA: Dannille Vanderpool, a police dispatcher in Napa, CA, faked ovarian caner to score more than $ 50,000 in donation, thanks to fundraisers held by friends. The 35-year-old even shaved her head to get that chemo look, scaring her 8-year-old child. Arrested in April, she was charged with 13 counts of grand theft.

TIES THAT BIND: In an attempt to extort $50,000 form her ex-husband, Alejandra Arriaza, 39, of Miami, had herself kidnapped, along with her 17-year-old son, this past spring. Her plan went south, however, when police raided the apartment where they were being held. Turns out the kidnapper was Mom's boyfriend. The couple, now in custody, could face life in prison.

NEWS OF HER DEATH, GREATLY EXAGGERATED: Kimberly Du, 36, of Des Moines, IA, forged her own obituary back in December 2005, hoping to dodge the $500 in fines she racked up in traffic tickets. But a month later, Du was pulled over for speeding , while very much alive. The judge gave her two years' probation and ordered the lead-footed Lazarous to pay the $500 fine. http://www.kcci.com/news/7541510/detail.html

LOSING THE BABY WIGHT: Belgian Sonia Ringoir, 31, was accused by her estranged husband of selling their twin baby boys for $13,000 to a friend this past winter. Why? To pay for gastric-band surgery. A slimmer Ringoir was charged with “degrading treatment” of children, and faces five years in prison. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1094648/Mother-sold-twins-9-000-pay-liposuction-operation.html

From: marie claire bulletin

Paris Katherine Jackson - Broke the world to tears

2009-07-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today crave another history as the world watch Michael Jackson's Memorial at Staple Center in downtown LA. Interstate and some road were closed just to pave way going to Laker's staduim.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An 11-year-old girl who lost her father made the world cry with her on Tuesday

"Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," said Paris Katherine Jackson, the second of Michael Jackson's three children, as a massive memorial service for her father neared its end in downtown Los Angeles.
"And I just want to say that I love him so much," Paris added, before breaking down in tears and burying herself in the arms of her aunt, Janet Jackson.
Her aunts, uncles and two brothers who were on stage at the Staples Center arena reached over to console Paris. Thousands of mourners in the audience dabbed their eyes with tissues.
It was the first time they had heard from a girl who, along with her two siblings, have often been hidden by veils or blankets when seen with their father. "Everybody just broke down," said Tracie Laymon, a filmmaker from Los Angeles, who was in the audience. "Wow, it was really powerful."
It was the same refrain from other fans as they left the star-studded service or watched the broadcast on their television sets or online.

from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/07/michael.jackson.wrap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

A Fight too short, too hyped - Pacquiao Versus Hatton

2009-05-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Early this year a fight between the Pacman and the Hitman is being stich to sport's history book to be the most anticipated fight of 2009. This could be the years loudest most talked about event, but what made this fight more exciting is not the fighters alone but the spices of both trainers' prefight prediction which I think hype it all.

Since February, I've been saving comments and prefight analysis mostly on Hatton Camp that I find interesting. These are all i have saved and after watching the fight also are my comments.

Starting with Floyd Mayweather Snr: he has a message to Manny Pacquiao

"Tic-Tac-Toe, Manny you better stay down if you want to be around" - ahh lemme see, as I could remember in less than 24 hours it's the other way around.

Lee Beard:

"In this fight Manny will make the same mistake as normal and Ricky will capitalize. If Ricky does get his shots off when these mistakes are made this fight could be a lot easier for Ricky than people think. Ricky is a big Light Welter and Manny is in good shape for the weight but he is naturally smaller, in his fight with Marquez he was hit with a left hook that shook him, now I believe, If Ricky were to land the same shot Manny would be knockedout.

Manny make some massive errors and he is very repetitive in some of his movements and with certain punches and the way he throws them. I think Ricky will stop Manny within 6 rounds. I think the first time Ricky gets hold of him and unloads, Manny won't know what's hit him. If Ricky fought Diaz - he would be way too fast, too big, too strong and stop Diaz in 3 to 5 rounds; and If Ricky was on the ring with Oscar that same fight night in December it would have ended within four. Me and Floyd Snr. have been talking and putting game plan together and we are 100 percent confident Ricky will knock Manny out early." - okey i couldn't catch up where to put all Mr Beard's analysis. He's saying "IF" count how manny Ifs are there, If Manny misses shots, made a mistake, caught off-guarded, a smaller opponent under 140lbs will end up sleeping in less than six rounds...oh i see now, well IT DIDN'T HAPPENED!

where is their 100 percent game plan in 359 seconds?! All I saw was the same old Ricky brawling, trying to find the Pacman and being HIT by a dozen blinding hooks and jabs. Did he think he could still stand the power of Manny after knockedown twice in the first round? hmm adrenaline rush perhaps?

Brad Cooney of 8countnews.com:

"Hatton is a come to you, fighter so if he plans to come to Manny, expect to see a the British version of a human bubble head doll in the ring. If Hatton is to pull off an upset, he will need to hit Manny with something he doesn't see." - Yes, indeed he is a 'come to Manny' fighter and No he was NOT a human head version of a bubble head doll (only Manny has that version during the Giant game and he was giving it away to fans.) instead he was a human punching bag that Manny always welcome to target practice, Ricky wasn't even close to a speedbag.

"There will be blood, and more likely it won't be on Manny Pacquiao's face."- This didn't happened since none of the boxer had blood on their faces.

Evander Holyfield: "It's not so much how hard someone hits, it's more of a matter hit with something that you do not see." - So true as Ricky had not seen where those punches came from plus a perfect punch that goes him good night.

Ricky Hatton:

"It's a shame you can't be inside me and see how confident I'm feeling." - Indeed it was a shame, we don't need to be inside you mate because we don't want to see those twinkle twinkle little star.

"The reason why I think I'm going to win is that I've seen Manny drops to body shots from smaller men a few times. I've seen him shaken up by head punches. Bear in mind, I'm the biggest fighter he will have fought against." - We haven't seen that one in your fight because it was too short. If someone went for a pee and comes back he could have missed the action. The bigger you are the harder you fall and it was true all along.

"If Manny Pacquiao decides to bang at close range, the fight is going to be over in 30 seconds." - Now you got it right this time Rick. You just forgot to mention it will be you and not Manny that will be gone in 30 sec. or was it 12 sec? I could not be sure, I need to review when exactly...

"I've only lost in 46 fights and that was up to Welterweight, I won a world title at Welterweight but it's clear it's not my natural division. I really think I'm the boss over my opponents with my size and strength and with my extra boxing ability now which, from what I've heard from Pacquiao Camp I don't think they've prepared for, they're going to be in for a shock." - Make this one your 2nd loss and from your natural weight this time. What you've heard was probably hearsay from Manny's Camp. You should have watch HBO 24/7 and pay attention to it. Manny gave you a lot of pointers there. It could have been easy for you than hiring Floyd Snr.

"Hatton is the better boxer. Hatton is the better ring General while Pacquiao is more like a ring Buck-Private." - Okey I will agree on the ring General thing for your effort to rush in like a raging Bull while Pacman is like a Hunter not a Buck-Private, waiting for the bull. I will put it that way.

"Three or four fights ago, Manny would have beaten me. I don't think so now. I feel so much relaxed because I'm boxing technically so much better. I'm jabbing and moving a lot better." - Three or four fights ago would still be the same if you have fought Manny since there were no fight difference you've shown us. As what you're fans says there is only one Ricky Hatton... fighting the same style I guess.

Michael Marley:

"I'm putting 75 large on Hatton to win this fight. It's time to pay off the mortgage Oceanfront Cape Cod estate. Maybe I will have the Kennedy clan over for the ceremony in which I take the mortgage papers and incinerate them the way Hatton is going to burn Pacman character." - I would presume Mr Marley got a huge loss this weekend too. Doesn't he know it is not good to buy a house these days? and the Kennedy to do the ceremony? - CANCELED! because Pacman's character is here to stay while the "Hitman" won't.

What really happened during the fight was Ricky's game plan (if there is) went overboard. He admitted later that he ruled his heart over his mind and that he didn't expect such speed and power would finish him too quickly.

I believe during his practise was quite different as we see him being the tougher man, the improved fighter. He got that great confidence in him after beating Paulie convincingly. Yet fighting the Pacman is quite different than fightin Paulie. I do not believe Malignaggi's speed and power is similar to Pacman. Then during the fight Ricky ruled his ferocity over game plan which resulted his early stoppage.

Indeed, Ricky brought us all a shocking performance. An unpresidented brutal knock out, we all didn't expect from him in such an early round. I could remember the early days of Mike Tyson where he always demolish his opponents in less than 3 to 5 rounds.

From what had happend, I still believe that Ricky could come back and prove us all that he belong to the most feared fighter in boxing less Mayweather Sr. as his trainer because he not only talk to much but in the end leave his lad, worse put the blame on his fighter for the defeat. What a sportsman Floyd Sr is. He is indeed a one of a kind coach.

There were manny prefight prediction on Hatton's Camp before this fight actually happened. What I've written is just a piece of the pie; a lot more we can find among boxing sites, from TV to sport webcast sites. Thanks for visiting.

Is your PC Infected?

2009-03-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Computer-virus infections don't cause your machine to crash anymore.
Nowadays, the criminals behind the infections usually want your computer operating in top form so you don't know something's wrong. That way, they can log your keystrokes and steal any passwords or credit-card numbers you enter at Web sites, or they can link your infected computer with others to send out spam.
Here are some signs your computer is infected, tapped to serve as part of "botnet" armies run by criminals:
• You experience new, prolonged slowdowns. This can be a sign that a malicious program is running in the background.
• You continually get pop-up ads that you can't make go away. This is a sure sign you have "adware," and possibly more, on your machine.
• You're being directed to sites you didn't intend to visit, or your search results are coming back funky. This is another sign that hackers have gotten to your machine.
So what do you do?
• Having anti-virus software here is hugely helpful. For one, it can identify known malicious programs and disable them. If the virus that has infected your machine isn't detected, many anti-virus vendors offer a service in which they can remotely take over your computer and delete the malware for a fee.
• Some anti-virus vendors also offer free, online virus-scanning services.
• You may have to reinstall your operating system if your computer is still experiencing problems. It's a good idea even if you believe you've cleaned up the mess because malware can still be hidden on your machine. You will need to back up your files before you do this.
How do I know what information has been taken?
• It's very hard to tell what's been taken. Not every infection steals your data. Some just serve unwanted ads. Others poison your search result or steer you to Web sites you don't want to see. Others log your every keystroke. The anti-virus vendors have extensive databases about what the known infections do and don't do. Comparing the results from your virus scans to those entries will give you a good idea about what criminals may have snatched up.
source:Yahoo

Airline's Rule 240

2009-02-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

Rule 240, a 30- year-old relic of the days when airlines were regulated, at one time bound carriers to put you on the next available flight.

This refers to a “condition of carriage” which specify the circumstances in which you are entitled to an airline compensation. These may be meal vouchers, a hotel room, be booked for a substitute flight or maybe a partial or full refund.

These days, the airlines make their own rules; some have retained the name “Rule 240”. Unfortunately, Delta's policy allows for its “sole discretion”.

Canada introduced Flight Rights Canada in September, and Europe has had a formalized set of passenger rights since 2005. The good news is, you're covered if you're flying out of either place (even on U.S. carriers) or into Canada, though not into Europe. At Canadian airports, for example, airlines must announce schedule changes, give meal vouchers for delays of more than four hours, and hotel accommodations for those of more than eight hours. Passengers now must be given the option to disembark if they've been stuck on the tarmac for more than 90 minutes. The European Commission's rules specify that delays or cancellations that prevent you form completing your trip entitle you to a refund of the unused portion within seven days, even on nonrefundable tickets. Hotel accommodations and meals must be provided for delays of 24 hours or more. In the absence of a U.S. Nationwide Passenger Bill of Rights (the Department of Transportation approved a set of voluntary guidelines in November), some states have taken it on individually, with little luck 2007, New York passed such a bill after delays on the tarmac at JFK Airport stranded JetBlue travelers for more than 10 hours. But the bill was knocked down by a federal appellate court.
Until there are similar measures in place in the State – and there is no sign of that happing soon – here's what you can do now:

CHECK THE AIRLINE'S CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE. Every airline post a contract of carriage on its website. Each is different; Northwest, for example, states that it will put you on another airline's flight if you experience a missed connection and a Northwest flight is unavailable, while Delta has the final say. Familiarizing yourself with – or even printing out – your airline's current rules before you fly may save you angst later. And flying with companies that voluntarily abide by some rules is a good idea. JetBlue has since developed its own customer bill of rights, promising that you will never be stuck on a plane for longer than five hours and you'll be compensated with vouchers for future travel if you experience delays of more than one hour.

KNOW WHAT THE RULES ARE ABROAD. In case you are traveling from Canada or Europe on a U.S. carrier, the distinct possibility exist that airline's staff won't be aware that you have more rights there than you do here. You'll find the European Commission's rules at its Air Transport Portal (apr.europe.eu), and Flight Rights Canada on the Transport Canada website (tc.gc.ca/flights).

DO SOME LOBBYING OF YOUR OWN. You don't have to take your lack of rights sitting down (unless, of course, you're stuck in a tarmac right now). Contact your congressperson, learn more about bills in legistlaion, or join the efforts of the Coalition for an Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights (flyersights.org).

Super Bowl XLIII

2009-02-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

Okay so I'm not familiar with American Football – not even I know a team under NFL.
Why I'm blogging this? It is because I'm curious about today's game, the XLIII Super Bowl.
So what make this game so popular that even a presidential inauguration would be moved because it falls on the Supper Bowl games, now I didn't mean todays game but way back to President Bush Sr. era. My uncle told me.

I've heard how marketing ads sky rocket during the Super Bowl game. Imagine, a 100K per seconds ads and not all advertisers can put their clever multi million 10 seconds or so ads on air. Only a chosen few can brag their ads to the viewers.

Even some telemarketers give us a break during Super Bowl games, they don't have someone to bother to because the whole American nation is stuck to their TV's with chips and beer. Well neither of the two items I have during I watch the game on TV, with me were the remote and my curiosity. How the game is played and scored is still something I don't know as of the moment yet as I write this article. Google is set aside for now but for sure I will look into it sometime soon. So that when somebody ask me “do you like American Football?” I can relate whatever they are saying or asking.

Steelers and Cardinals were playing in today's Super Bowl. It was physical and tight game. Steelers scored first 10-0 after the second half the Cardinals starting to Catch up then the game started to get intense as the crowd cheered every defying moments during the game.

When the score was 20-16 Steelers I thought it's gonna be over but the other team fought back and gave it a 20-23 Cardinals. With 35 seconds left Steel's Santonio Holmes made a historic final minute touchdown and gave it 27-23 to Steelers the Championship Super Bowl ring.

Perhaps next year I could now pick a team to cheer in the NFL Super Bowl.

Our unconscious brain makes the best decisions possible

2008-12-26T07:24:00.000-08:00

Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that the human brain—once thought to be a seriously flawed decision maker—is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given. The findings are published in today's issue of the journal Neuron.
Neuroscientists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky received a 2002 Nobel Prize for their 1979 research that argued humans rarely make rational decisions. Since then, this has become conventional wisdom among cognition researchers
Contrary to Kahnneman and Tversky's research, Alex Pouget, associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, has shown that people do indeed make optimal decisions—but only when their unconscious brain makes the choice.
"A lot of the early work in this field was on conscious decision making, but most of the decisions you make aren't based on conscious reasoning," says Pouget. "You don't consciously decide to stop at a red light or steer around an obstacle in the road. Once we started looking at the decisions our brains make without our knowledge, we found that they almost always reach the right decision, given the information they had to work with."
Pouget says that Kahneman's approach was to tell a subject that there was a certain percent chance that one of two choices in a test was "right." This meant a person had to consciously compute the percentages to get a right answer—something few people could do accurately.
Pouget has been demonstrating for years that certain aspects of human cognition are carried out with surprising accuracy. He has employed what he describes as a very simple unconscious-decision test. A series of dots appears on a computer screen, most of which are moving in random directions. A controlled number of these dots are purposely moving uniformly in the same direction, and the test subject simply has to say whether he believes those dots are moving to the left or right. The longer the subject watches the dots, the more evidence he accumulates and the more sure he becomes of the dots' motion.
Subjects in this test performed exactly as if their brains were subconsciously gathering information before reaching a confidence threshold, which was then reported to the conscious mind as a definite, sure answer. The subjects, however, were never aware of the complex computations going on, instead they simply "realized" suddenly that the dots were moving in one direction or another. The characteristics of the underlying computation fit with Pouget's extensive earlier work that suggested the human brain is wired naturally to perform calculations of this kind.
"We've been developing and strengthening this hypothesis for years—how the brain represents probability distributions," says Pouget. "We knew the results of this kind of test fit perfectly with our ideas, but we had to devise a way to see the neurons in action. We wanted to see if, in fact, humans are really good decision makers after all, just not quite so good at doing it consciously. Kahneman explicitly told his subjects what the chances were, but we let people's unconscious mind work it out. It's weird, but people rarely make optimal decisions when they are told the percentages up front."
Pouget analyzed the data from a test performed in the laboratory of Michael Shadlen, a professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Washington. Shadlen's team watched the activity of a pair of neurons that normally respond to the sight of things moving to the left or right. For instance, when the test consisted of a few dots moving to the right within the jumble of other random dots, the neuron coding for "rightward movement" would occasionally fire. As the test continued, the neuron would fire more and more frequently until it reached a certain threshold, triggering a flurry of activity in the brain and a response from the subject of "rightward."
Pouget says a probabilistic decision-making system like this has several advantages. The most important is that it allows us to reach a reasonable decision in a reasonable amount of time. If we had to wait until we're 99 percent sure before we make a decision, Pouget says, then we would waste time accumulating data unnecessarily. If we only required a 51 percent certainty, then we might reach a decision before enough data has been collected.
Another main advantage is that when we finally reach a decision, we have a sense of how certain we are of it—say, 60 percent or 90 percent—depending on where the triggering threshold has been set. Pouget is now investigating how the brain sets this threshold for each decision, since it does not appear to have the same threshold for each kind of question it encounters.
Source: University of Rochester

Mismatch Indeed!

2008-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

While firmly stapling his place in boxing history Filipino phenom Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao, last night, a big nail into a golden casket, undoubtedly ending one hell of a career for the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. In front of a sold-out crowd of 15,001, what began as a partial De la Hoya crowd inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas watched as a Hall of Fame fighter whose done nothing but great things for the sport get soundly beaten to the point of quitting.
The Olympic Gold medalist and six division former champion entered the bout admittingly towards the tail end of a wonderful career, looking to finish strong by taking on the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport.
To make this “Dream Match” a reality Pacquiao, who started his professional boxing career at the tender age of 16 fighting at 106 pounds, moved up two weight classes from where he last fought, at lightweight, in order to meet the legendary De La Hoya.
A heavy media and considerable sportsbook favorite, De La Hoya, who won his first title before Pacquiao ever stepped inside the ring, entered the bout with the pressure of being expected to win a fight against the much smaller man.

Promoter Bob Arum is making arrangements to be at Manny Pacquiao's birthday on Dec. 17 in General Santos, Philippines. "Manny's win on Saturday night was one of the most exciting and biggest in Top Rank history," Arum said. "I am thrilled. Manny and Freddie (Roach) convinced me they could win it and they came through. I cannot wait to get to the Phillipines and celebrate."

It was an antisipated Saturday night. Most people back in the Philippines were glued to their TV or probably flocked to a nearby Gym or a restaurant to view the “The Dream Match” between the Pacman and the Golden boy.
I was with my family and my sister with her boyfriend that afternoon in Des Moines to celebrated my birthday a day ahead since the fight would be in the evening. So it would be like a double celebration. My DVD recorder is already standing by to capture the mega fight.
Early this week I already received some email from my buddies on board asking me to get a copy since they can't watch it since they are still at high seases and besides If ever they get a copy back home in the Philippines it would be full of annoying TV ads.
As the first under card started around 8pm Central, I thought the main event would be early because most of the under card ended only in less than 2 rounds. Forget the under cards It was boring and not worth watching. They (Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotion) should have put a much interesting bouts especially that Lopez / Medina thing. Medina is no doubt a weekend paycheck fight so as Lares.
A lot of nervous Pacman fans comments just before this fight, It is so annoying to hear their comment that Manny have no chances against Oscar. Even one local government official in the Philippines would want the fight canceled because they value Manny so much that they don't want him to get hurt.
Yeah right, who got hurt now? ehey!
I even heard one prediction that that fight could have been Manny's last fight because he surely be in trouble against Oscar.

It was a mismatch indeed. But not for Oscar's favor but of Manny...

Well done Manny and advance happy Birthday!

Why XP

2008-11-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

Here is the second part regarding Windows Vista. You will see here why XP user should not avail Windows vista instead. Again this is from a magazine I read and want to share here for more information to those who are not so technically-inclined people with regards to computers like myself but willing to experiment new and different things to their personal computer.

10 Reason Not to Deploy Windows Vista
by Alan Sugano

With a weak economy, businesses need to do more with less. When it comes time to consider upgrading a Windows XP environment to Windows Vista, many companies are choosing not to. Ultimately, upgrading has to make business sense, and many companies find the cost to upgrade outweighs any benefits they receive. Here are my top 10 reasons why companies are staying away from Vista.
1.Vista requires new hardware or significant hardware upgrades. To get acceptable performance on Vista, you're probably looking at significant hardware upgrades, if not a new computer. In my work environment, we've found the minimum requirement for a Vista Desktop is 2GB of memory, a dual core processor, 80GB hard disk drive, and a video card with at least 256MB of VRAM. For most users, these specs mean getting a new computer because upgrading an existing system isn't cost effective.
2.The additional cost of additional upgrades. There's a good chance you'll have to upgrade your applications as well. Unless you're running the latest version of your application, you'll probably need to upgrade – or at the very least install a patch – for Vista compatibility. Application upgrades could cost thousands of dollars per desktop, depending on the number and type of applications your company's running. Make sure you check for compatibility and upgrade problems before committing to upgrading your entire company.
3.Compatibility problems with applications. Even with the latest updates, you might still encounter compatibility problems with some applications. You might even be forced to change applications if the vendor doesn't plan to support Vista. VPN clients, accounting applications, faxing applications, and some graphics programs have caused problems in my environment.
4.Training cost. With the upgrade form Windows 2000 to XP, users could pretty much figure things out on their own. With Vista, you might not be so lucky. Many programs and utilities have been moved in Vista, and your users might have a difficult time location them. When I first started using Vista, I wanted to view my installed applications. I launched Control Panel and looked for Add/Remove Programs, but it wasn't there. I eventually found the applet – renamed Programs and Features – but the search added to the frustration of getting up to speed with Vista.
5.Vista requires significant tweaks. Changes to User Account Control (UAC), local user rights, and application settings might be necessary to get your company's applications to run on a Vista computer. Most of these settings can be controlled with Group Policy; however, finding which settings to change can be the real headache.
6.Boot times and the patch installation process. This is one of my pet peeves: Vevn with a fat computer, Vista is slow booting up. Vista SP1 has helped somewhat, but when I”m wainting for Vista to boot, all I can think about is how fast my machine would be if it were running XP. During some patch installations, Vista installs the patch, reboots, runs another process to complete the patch installations, I always seem to get hit with the double-boot patch installation at the beginning of meetings, so everyone has to wait while my machines completes the patch process before I can show my PowerPoint presentation.
7.Laptop performance problems. Properly configured, the current generation of desktop computers generally has acceptable performance running Vista. However, if you have a laptop – especially a sub notebook – you could encounter performance problems. You might need to disable some of the features on Vista, such as Aero, to obtain acceptable performance.
8.Windows XP works well. XP is stable, and it's more compatible with existing applications than Vista. Vista is arguably more secure, but some of the security features, such as UAC, can be so irritation that companies end up disabling them. XP isn't perfect, but it still works acceptably for most users, so many companies are hesitant to purchase an upgrade.
9.Limited payoff in productivity. Most people don't mind going through a learning curve if there's a significant payoff. Vista has some nice features; however, in my organization, we haven't experienced a big productivity payoff after getting up to speed with it. In contrast, there's a significant learning curve with Microsoft Office 2007 because of the changes to the UI. But after getting up to speed with office 2007, I can honestly say that I create documents faster and more easily than before. I haven't experienced any similar benefit with Vista. At the end of the day, upgrading has to make business sense.
10.Windows 7 isn't far away! In may opinion, Microsoft realized it missed the mark with Vista and is now scrambling to get the next release of Windows out. I think many companies are waiting to see the new features in Windows 7,currently scheduled to release in 2010, and might just skip Vista altogether. Vista is looking more and more to me like Windows Me all over again.

Deploy Windows Vista

2008-11-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

A lot of us are skeptical about Vista and not to consider it rather we want the hassle-free XP in our OS. So here it is, I've found an article from a magazine that might pave way some Vista doubts perhaps an eye opener to what Vista could do in whatever business you're into. This is a two-part article. The battle between Vista and XP.

10 Reason to Deploy Windows Vista
by Mark Minasi, Windows IT Pro Magazine

At the tender age of a year and a half, Windows Vista remains the Rodney Dangerfield of Microsoft OSs – it don't get no respect. And that's a shame. Its biggest competitor ( no, not Leopard _ Windows XP SP3) is darned good, but a close look will show that Vista is better in many ways. If you're staying with XP because you're satisfied with it , then great , but don't avoid Vista just because your plumber's cousin's stockbroker heard that it was bad. Here are 10 reasons you should consider making the switch.
1. You won't need as many images. If, like most of us, you deploy your desktops with an image-based system such as Symantec Ghost or Microsoft's free ImageX tool, then you know that XP images tend to be hardware-specific: Create “the sales laptop image” on a Toshiba laptop, for instance, and it often won't work well on an HP or Dell laptop. Vista is much more accommodating; you often need only two images for your entire organization : a 32-bit image and a 64-bit image.
2. Finally, a desktop search that works! For nearly 10 years, Windows and Office have included tools that index the files on your computer to make searching for those files possible. Unfortunately, those tools have had a tendency to be clumsy and slow. In contrast, Vista's search index works unobtrusively and makes for lightning-fast searches.
3. A more complete backup tool. Ever tried to rebuild an XP box from scratch, using only a set of files created by XP's built-in backup routines? Ugh. Vista changes all that with its Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore, an image-based backup system that backs up your whole computer to one big file. My experience show that this system works quickly and allows bare-metal restores to quite dissimilar hardware – just make sure that the target hard disk is the same size or larger than the original.
4. Start great conversations. Next time you're out with your techie friends, tell'em that you're switching to Vista – there will be plenty to talk about after that! Seriously, if you are moving to Vista and people ask you why on Earth you'd do that, remind them that just about every Vista complaint – it's slower than the previous version, there aren't any drivers, it's not backward compatible – is a complaint that people leveled at XP when it was new. Look, XP's a great OS, and if you're happy with it, then by all means stay with it – but don't bypass Vista because of second-hand FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, & Doubt).
5. Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption protects your mobile data. Laptops are great for busy travelers... until they're accidentally left in a bar, on a plane , or in a cab, as reportedly happened to hundreds of thousands of systems last year in the United States. In contrast, absentminded folks who exploit BitLocker's encryption system might still lose their laptops, but no one will get their data. BitLocker is available on Vista Ultimate and Enterprise (although, incomprehensibly, not on Vista Business):
6. Get more out of Group Policy. Vista includes about 700 new Group Policy settings that let you control fleets of computers from one central location. Some new options include controlling power management settings, allowing nonadministrative users to lad approved drivers, and restriction which devices users can install on a Vista box.
7. Get a tougher Windows. Service programs wield great power in Windows, making them irresistible targets for malware writers: seize a Windows service, and you've often seized Windows itself. Vista uses a more secure way of building Windows services so that they have less potential to do damage and are isolated in their own little private universes, which makes a compromised service a much less juicy prize.
8. Confuse the bad guys with ASLR. Another Windows toughener is Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), a feature that rearranges the relative location of Vista's different components in memory. Past creators of Windows worms such as Code Red, Nimda, SQL Slammer, and Blaster relied on the fact that every copy of XP load each of its components in the same location from computer to computer. Shuffling the deck with ASLR makes it much harder for the bad guys to write a worm that targets every copy of Vista.
9. Centralize events with Event Viewer. XP's event logs are useful for keeping track of your computers, but every computer maintains its own logs. Managing dozens of desktops means either wearing out a lot of shoe leather or buying a third-party event log aggregator tool. Vista's Event Viewer , in contrast, lets you centralize any of group of system's events to a single system.
10. And lots more! Resize existing disk partition with Vista's Disk Manager. Put eight gigs of RAM on your system and see and use! - all of it. Easily tell Vista to send you an email message if a particular event occurs . Eliminate LAN Manager hashes, that persistent 1980s security
hole, once and Intel Turbo Memory for a system that comes out of hibernation in just 12 seconds. Give Vista a close look, and you'll find lots of things to like!

Scam Emails

2008-10-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

A sweet-talk from scammers who sends bunch of junk email everyday. It is really annoying to receive such junk in our mailbox each day. You might have read one of these letter from stranger asking you to reply with your Name, Phone number, Bank Account, etc. because you have a cash waiting, not just a cash but millions of dollars or euros even gold bars deposited to some fictitious person. Animation at its best. Here's an example:

Dear Friend,
I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting that fund transferred. Now I want you to contact my secretary and ask him for a cheque worth of USD$900,000,00 which I kept for you as a compensationof your past assistance to me
Note that if you did not send him the complete information,he will not release the cheque to you because he has to be sure that it is you. Note also that I will not be reached by email or phone at thismoment because I am currently in London for investment trip with my share.
Regards,Eze Chinasa

What a jerk! The sender doesn't wish to be contacted because she is in London?! Here's another one.

Dear sir I am Mr JEFFERY M ANTHONY, a personal assistant to Mr Dirk ,who died in a car accident.I have contacted you as the beneficiary to the late Mr Dirk to claim the fund valued at €4.5 million euros and 150Kgs of Gold he deposited before he died.Your immediate/urgent response is needed now and dont hesitate to call me now.Please get in touch with me through the above email or my alternative email :(jefferymanthony@live.fr). My tel+229 976 72 880
Again what a stupid person.”Your immediate response is needed,” but DON'T CALL ME NOW?! And he leaves his number...Yeah great story huh?
A lot of this funny yet annoying stories I'm getting every day from my mailbox. I know that this is far, way far to be true. How I wish I can “unsubscribed”them. If I could but no, they will keep coming.

If you receive an unsolicited e-mail seeking you to receive a large sum of money or be presented as the next of kin of a large fortune from someone you never heard of (especially if that person resides overseas), don't believe it. This is almost certainly a scam where you will be asked to pay some type of fee before you can claim the money or you will be presented with a phony check and asked to return a share. Don't be fooled by official looking documents as scammers make a living forging these things. Also many scammers work in rings and have partners who may pose as lawyers, government officials, bank officials etc. Be aware!

Trick or Treat

2008-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween is just around the corner. Kids and teens alike look forward this day for a trick or treat. So by now kids are busy looking for custome to wear. As parents, We too are excited to see our baby to enjoy her first trick or treat. Well, The Dark Knight movie kick the screen with a bang. Is my baby looks good on this costume? hmmm... guess not.

ahh.. Cow! Holy Cow! -- Melamine scare us much these days so I say, we may just pass on this one. Looks cute on her though. Or maybe one of these devil-looking guys (not the Batman). Jack-o-latern looks good, a bit bulky to carry her though. Again we just have to pass on this items.

Oh what this?! - Very refreshing for cars. Isn't this a famous car freshner eh?! She'd be wrapped tight and might be grumpy with this. I know there are still better for my baby.

Until I saw this one... The Pink Bunny. I think this will be perfect for my li'l one.

We've already prepared chocolates and candies for the kids that might come and visit us. If they don't then I have a whole lotta bags of Kit-kats and Snickers bar for snacks.

Fall and Walnuts

2008-10-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

In our backyard, falling walnuts from its tree were scattering all around. I have a neighbor who likes to gather every Fall just before they leave for Winter. She painstakenly go through the process of peeling off the skin, drying it and breaking the shell just to get the meat, no bigger than a penny. Her nemesis are these smart crawling squirrels who will just wait for her harvest; sneaking a few dozen nuts.

Wherever she puts it outside, the squirrels follows her and wait when she'll get her eyes off her harvest.

Last year during my first Fall after i moved from my home country - The Philippines. I didn't know what a walnut looks like from the tree. Well of course, I've seen and ate this fruit but not while it is still fresh. Walnuts are good for salads, pies, cakes even in chocolates have this, too.

So my neighbor asked me to help her showing me the process how to do it. I have no idea how difficult to get a meat out of this of fruit. The shell after being dried for days gets hard to crack. Men, you need a hammer to pound it! What you'll get is a tiny broken pieces of it. No wonder this is expensive in our local grocery store.

Fall season is the time where creatures like the squirrels go and gather their food to prepare for winter. These tree-dwelling rodents with a bushy tail have their own weather channels so they know when to get some stuff like the expensive walnuts.

The Executioner has done it again

2008-10-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Bernard Hopkins has done another great on boxing last night by dominating the rest of 12-round against the younger champion, Kelly Pavlik. Though it was not a championship fight. Bernard not only showing great hand speed but also skills he always have through 20 years of experience.

There is an old saying in boxing that says every great fighter has one great fight left. Former two-time world champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, at age 43, proved that adage true after he turned in a masterpiece against his 26-year-old opponent, world middleweight champion Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik last night in front of 11,332 fans at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Fighting at a catch-weight of 170 pounds in a non-title bout, Hopkins, 170, of Philadelphia, PA took Pavlik, 169, of Youngstown, OH, to school, winning 33 out of a possible 36 rounds scored by the three judges.

It was indeed a different prospective last nights fight, Bernard was the more agressive, more resilient fighter while Pavlik was the slower one who took on the beating againts the old folk. A very different Kelly Pavlik I've seen.

After the fight, I can't help but wonder what might possibly happened to the much anticipated match againts Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya on December 6, just a day before my 32nd birthday.

The world saw it last night that experience dominated againts a much younger opponent. Again, it would stir another debate to who will prevail; the bigger, heavier and older Oscar or the young, the flash, and the hard hitting Pacman.

Whatever the outcome of this fight there is one thing for me for sure, i would be infront of a TV or pc watching this megafight.

A suitcase worth remembering

2008-10-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

A 2-moth-old baby whos life was extended after being rescued by ship 96 years ago sells treasured momento of what was left of them and her family. In 1912, baby Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean and her family were steerage passengers emigrating to Kansas City, Mo., aboard the Titanic. She is selling the rest of the stuff so she could pay for her nursing home.

Rescued from the bitterly cold Atlantic on that April 1912 night, Dean, her 2-year-old brother and her mother were taken to New York with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Before returning home to England, they were given a small wicker suitcase of donated clothing, a gift from New Yorkers to help them rebuild their lives.
Now, Dean is selling the suitcase and other Titanic mementos to help pay her nursing home fees. They are expected to go for $5,200 at an auction of Titanic memorabilia Saturday in Devizes in western England.

Early this year, another ship from the Philippines with around 900 souls onboard met their fate amids a tropical storm, less than a mile off Romblon island. Only less than a hundred made out of this sea tragedy not one of them are children; who could have tell us something about what had happened like Millvina today. Unlike her, those who survived who tell their tales were men and mostly sailors.

What i bought on my first Google cheque

2008-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

It started last February when i saw an article regarding blog that earns. So with my curiosity sets in, well i said, "heck, why won't i give it a try." Without any background on how to do it; i stumble upon Blogger after a few Google searching and blog readings.

Here it is one day, I was able to set up my not so popular Blogger site (even now) LOL. Days past and it was earning. A few cents per week or a few bucks a month, it all sum up over a hundred, seven months later. I thought It was dormant but one day to my big surprise. A mailed cheque was on my mailbox. Wow, it was from my Google account!

I made a promise to my wife that if ever by chance i can get something out of this curiosity-blog thing, I will give my daughter her first portable DVD player. Last weekend i found this DVD player at Best Buy which is a perfect gift for my daughter. She loved it!

Together with that DVD player i found is a webcam. Our last one which was an A4 tech got broke so i bought a replacement. This Life Cam VX - 3000 has a good review so i took it. Me and my wife were not disappointed when we use it.

What i bought on my first Google cheque? -- A portable DVD player for my daughter and this sleek web cam plus a Big Mac. Laptop your next!

Ten Scariest New Car Features

2008-10-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

10. Rain-Sensing Wipers
Rain-sensing windshield wipers have crept from high-end luxury cars to everyday models like the Toyota Avalon. They generally use infrared sensors to monitor a certain section of the windshield for moisture or dirt, then trigger the wipers to respond according to a threshold the driver sets. They usually work OK — until, invariably, they don't. When one editor's Volkswagen Jetta tester had its rain-sensing wipers suddenly spring to action one cloudless night, it was mildly frightening, to say the least.
9. Soda Can Cool Zone
Various automakers offer air-conditioned compartments to keep sodas and other sundries cool. Problem is, those cool zones get hot in the summer when the car is off; we had a couple sodas explode in a certain Dodge after a 90-degree weekend. A spokeswoman told us the car's so-called Chill Zone is not intended to be used as a refrigerator. All the same, we came away a bit steamed. And sticky.
8. Smart Transmission
The Smart ForTwo deserves its own category. The minicar's automated-manual transmission shifts gears with its own electronic clutch while the driver sees a traditional automatic setup. Drive the thing and you feel like you're on a bucking bronco. Once you're through first gear, the transmission stutters, shudders and very nearly takes a personal day before engaging second. The same thing happens on the way to third, and fourth, and fifth. Sorry, Smart, but this gearbox is anything but.
7. Power-Sliding Doors
Parents, rest assured the power-sliding doors on upscale minivans employ all sorts of electronic cutoffs to ensure they won't eat your Brownie troop. But we'll admit the prospect of power doors that can do their thing by remote 20 or 30 feet away can be a bit, um, dicey. They can also add hundreds of dollars to a car's out-the-door sticker. If you're feeling the pinch, go with manual sliders and open 'em yourself.
6. Multi-Manual Owner's Booklets
The thought of wading through an owner's manual to figure out how something works is daunting enough. Try wading through 10 of them or more; that's the number of pamphlets, manuals and quick-start guides included in some cars' libraries. With online directories only a click away, do you really need a state-by-state list of dealerships? Memo to carmakers: Just because it goes in the glove box doesn't mean it needs to be a box set.

5. Self-Parking Cars
Ian Merritt, Cars.com
Lexus' self-parking feature is optional on the LS sedan. Line up the superimposed square in the backup camera with your intended parking spot, gently let off the brakes and the LS will slowly steer around adjacent cars as it backs into the spot. You have to press the brakes to bring the car to a stop at the end. We didn't know Big Brother had a valet job, either.
4. iDrive
Even among the trio of similar dashboard interfaces from Audi and Mercedes, BMW's iDrive is utter knobsense. Directional inputs send you to various submenus, but in most models there are no shortcut or previous-screen buttons around the knob. In many models, street labels sit on a horizontal plane no matter the direction of the street, and if you need to scroll along the map you have to spin the knob to move east/west, then click it down and spin it again to move north/south. If you get the hang of it, you'll be ready for "Survivor" tryouts.
3. Voice Turn-by-Turn Navigation
Navigation systems have been barking out orders for years. With the exception of Land Rover's charming Brit, most of them employ a female American voice whose intonations range from casually disinterested to downright annoyed. Some systems try gamely to pronounce street names, but the result is usually anything but clear: You're cruising along, and she suddenly directs you to turn left on ... what was that? Ah, Fockner Ave.
2. Heart-Rate Monitor
You read correctly. Volvo's Personal Car Communicator monitors the cabin and pulses a light on your keyfob if your car has an unexpected visitor inside. TV ads show a woman approaching her S80 in a deserted parking garage, seeing the warning and hightailing it away. The thought of having this feature is scary in and of itself — not for fear of being carjacked, but because we wonder what sort of paranoia would drive you to want it.
1. Overly Aggressive Seats
Driver's seats run the gamut, from flat benches to the sort of hip-huggers you'd get in an F-15, and some of the more extravagant ones don't sit so well with us. The BMW 7 Series offers a massaging driver's seat, but its throbbing motions feel downright Frankensteinian compared to a real massage. In some of Mercedes-Benz's pricier models, active side bolsters automatically inflate to hold you in as you take a corner. They're convenient on highway offramps and winding roads, but 90-degree city turns can result in sudden rib pinching as the seats go hog-wild to keep up. Avoid large spicy meals beforehand — or wade through the Benz's onboard computer menus to turn the feature off.

From Yahoo Autos

US Presidential debate

2008-10-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

The last Presidential debate on Tuesday stir some mind-puzzling thoughts. Still undecided, who among these great men, Sen. Obama or the Senator from Arizona, John McCaine will have the right to sit in office this November.

Both have different ideas to shape back America into the 21st century. There is this economic issues that both parties trying to resolve. Deviating to issues the McCaine camp is doing which i think doesn't do any good to prosper his campaign. In fact, he has never been on top to any surveys. With few more days left to go before election. The strong Democratic party, though behind campaigning has the most votes in the survey.

I could only wonder, Does every thing these two candidate says will be true? Can America really recover from this fox whole made by the present administration? I would never know for sure until the day will come. Only these great men know how they will run the nation.

Next week, i'm sure i'll be in front of my tv to listen the two battle there way into the Whitehouse. The way i see it,this debate will be as the same as the last two. The same old attacks and denial thing.

8 Ways to Cross the English Channel (without a boat)

2008-10-01T08:42:00.001-07:00

When people attempt new ways of crossing the channel, they do it at the Strait of Dover, which is the narrowest point of the channel at only 34 kilometers between Dover and Calais. The cachet of crossing the channel is way out of proportion to its distance. There is something symbolic about making the trip, particularly if you do it in a new way.The English Channel (La Manche) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Britain from France. The actual channel is the length of the entire southern coast of England, and contains many inhabited islands. When people attempt new ways of crossing the channel, they do it at the Strait of Dover, which is the narrowest point of the channel at only 34 kilometers (21 miles) between Dover and Calais. The cachet of crossing the channel is way out of proportion to its distance. There is something symbolic about making the trip, particularly if you do it in a new way.

read more | digg story

HARRY POTTER: Half Blood Prince

2008-09-18T19:37:00.001-07:00

Chapter 1: The Other Minister
It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a
long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of
meaning behind. He was waiting for a call from the President of a far distant country, and
between wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress
unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult week, there was
not much space in his head for anything else. The more he attempted to focus on the print
on the page before him, the more clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of
one of his political opponents. This particular opponent had appeared on the news that
very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had happened in the last week
(as though anyone needed reminding) but also to explain why each and every one of them
was the government's fault.

http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1873579_mp3nf/6%20-%20Half%20Blood%20Prince.pdf

Omega released Phelps' photo on 100m Fly

2008-08-24T12:15:00.001-07:00

Official timekeeper Omega released a digital photo sequence of last week’s riveting 100-meter butterfly finish at the Olympics—and it’s still not clear to the naked eye just who won. However, according to Omega timer Silvio Chianese, the results are clear. “In the third set of images, with Phelps on the left, it is clear he is really pushing hard, while Cavic, on the right, is just arriving,” Chianese told The Associated Press on Saturday. He explained that it requires 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of pressure to activate the touchpad. “Any less and waves would set it off,” Chianese said. “You can’t just put your fingertips on the pad, you really have to push it. We explained all this directly after the race to (Cavic) and his coach.” Serbia coach Kapor Mladen filed an appeal but accepted the results after reviewing the photos immediately after the race.

read more | digg story

US TEAM 4x200M FREE RELAY

2008-08-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

INTERVIEW

20/20: Sex in America

2008-07-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Watch this episode from 2o/2o about the way Americans deal their sex life and where the law sits in.

Click July 18, 2008: 9pm
http://www.justin.tv/rudjard/archive

pacman vs diaz final rd - diaz interview

2008-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Soto vs Lorenzo

2008-06-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo won by disqualification then a thorough review by the commission, it was ruled out to no contest and Lorenzo was fined and the proceeds was given to a charity in his country.

Fields vs Barret

2008-06-28T23:24:00.000-07:00

theme park in Iowa

2008-06-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

One amazing yet crazy ride i saw in my first visit in Adventureland here in Altoona, Iowa is this one in the video. This maybe one hell of a ride you wouldn't forget.

Then this one, if you still have some guts left in you to try this spinning ride while being splash with squirting water. But as you can see those people in it doesn't seems to care about falling. They really enjoy it. My sister is in that ride.

The 3,000 Mile Oil Change Myth

2008-06-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

According to a recent study by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than required. This same scenario no doubt repeats itself across the country. Besides wasting money, this translates into unnecessary consumption of $100-a-barrel oil, much of it imported.

Using 2005 data, the Board estimates that Californians alone generate about 153.5 million gallons of waste oil annually, of which only about 60 percent is recycled. Used motor oil poses the greatest environmental risk of all automotive fluids because it is insoluble, persistent, and contains heavy metal and toxic chemicals. One gallon of used oil can foul the taste of one million gallons of water.

It’s been a misconception for years that engine oil should be changed every 3000 miles, even though most auto manufacturers now recommend oil changes at 5,000, 7,000, or even 10,000 mile intervals under normal driving conditions.Greatly improved oils, including synthetic oils, coupled with better engines mean longer spans between oil changes without harming an engine. The 3000 mile interval is a carryover from days when engines used single-grade, non-detergent oils.

For several years, automakers like General Motors, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have installed computerized systems that alert drivers via an instrument panel light when it’s time to change oil. As an example, the General Motor Oil Life System (GMOLS) analyzes the engine temperature, rpms, vehicle speeds, and other driving conditions to calculate the rate of engine oil degradation. Then, software calculates when the oil needs to be changed. Other systems work similarly.

Because of the many external conditions and parameters that have to be taken into account, calculating the precise maximum service interval using mathematical models alone is difficult. Now, Daimler AG has developed a more direct and precise way to monitor oil quality directly on board a vehicle.

Daimler uses a special sensor integrated into the oil circuit to monitor engine oil directly. Oil doesn’t wear out, but rather dirt and impurities cause oil to lose its ability to lubricate properly, dictating the need for a change. Daimler uses the oil’s “permittivity,” that is, the ability to polarize in response to the electric field. If the engine oil is contaminated by water or soot particles, it polarizes to a greater extent and its permittivity increases.

To evaluate the quality of the oil, permittivity is measured by applying an AC potential between the interior and exterior pipes of an oil-filled sensor to determine how well the oil transmits the applied electric field.

Because not all impurities can be measured with sufficient precision via the electric field method, Daimler also measures the oil’s viscosity to detect any fuel that may have seeped into the oil. Daimler researchers measure viscosity while the vehicle is in motion by observing the oil's side-to-side motion in the oil sump. The slower the oil moves, the higher its viscosity. This movement is registered by a sensor and the viscosity is calculated on this basis.

A single sensor, along with the information already monitored by on-board computers, is sufficient to determine the various parameters of the engine oil. Daimler will likely use the technology first on its commercial vehicles. Here, large oil reservoirs mean larger quantities of oil can be saved. Plus, a predicted 25 percent increase between service intervals and reduced downtime will be of interest to fleets, and thus justify the added cost of installation.

Is Manny Pacquiao on the Decline?

2008-06-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

By Don Leopoldo: Boxing Herald .com

The Filipino Star's Dominance Has Been Debated; We Set the Record Straight

There’s been a lot of talk amongst boxing fanatics that Filipino idol Manny Pacquiao is on his way down. Critics usually point out that he peaked in that rubbermatch against Erik “El Terrible” Morales, and that his string of ring performances has dipped since that lackluster knock-out victory over Jorge “Coloradito” Solis. But what is really the score? Is Manny really on the inevitable downward spiral? Well, let’s tackle the issue based on his individual performances from his spectacular third round knockout victory over Erik Morales to his controversial split decision win over Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez.

MANNY PACQUIAO VS ERIK MORALES III “THE GRAND FINALE” (W - KO 3) If Pacman’s career can be summarized in one bout, this is it! He was an absolute wrecking machine in this fight. At the very first round of “The Grand Finale” main event, Morales was already getting hit by explosive shots to the head. It was punctuated by a perfectly placed right hook that landed square on "El Terrible’s" temple. The action just got more intense in round two. In one furious sequence, Morales went on the attack and trapped Pacquiao in the ropes. But Manny countered with a hard left hook that caused Erik to touch the canvas. Although the brave Mexican was able to beat the mandatory count, his impending doom was already sealed. In round three, it was all too clear that the proud warrior from Mexico was living on borrowed time. He kissed the canvas twice in round three. The second time he was decked, he gave his corner a dejected look and never bothered to stand-up to beat the mandatory count. NO MAS.

FIGHT ANALYSIS:This fight gave us the CLASSIC MANNY PACQUIAO -- aggressive, explosive, ferocious and absolutely merciless. It was a total destruction of the great Morales. Pacman’s knockout power, dynamic hand speed and accurate counter-punching were very evident in this fight. If there is one single fight that will qualify the Filipino fighter for the Hall of Fame – remember the main event of “The Grand Finale”.

MANNY PACQUIAO VS JORGE SOLIS “BLAZE OF GLORY” (W – KO 8) Critics usually point to this fight as the start of a downward trend in Pacquiao’s reign-of-terror. To set the record straight, this was a one-sided performance in favor of the Filipino fighter. But he started the fight slow and was seemingly lackluster for long stretches of the match. Unluckily for the Mexican, a Pacquiao cut over the left eye made the Filipino pick up the tempo. The faster pace troubled the Mexican and caused two knockdowns in round eight.

FIGHT ANALYSIS: Was there an obvious decline in Manny’s capabilities in this fight? I would have to say no. It was quite clear that the Filipino boxing hero was merely trying different styles against the Mexican. He was probably using several techniques that he has practiced in the gym, and applied those methods in an actual fight. But a nasty cut had to stop his experimentation and decided to knockout Solis instead. The vaunted power and speed was very much present in this fight.

MANNY PACQUIAO VS MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA “WILL TO WIN” (W – UD) A big percentage of fight fans were expecting a knockout in this duel. Most of them were disappointed that it never came. Not even a knockdown was scored by Pacman.Barrera’s strategy in this fight was to box Manny from a distance. He was particularly defensive minded in this duel. Most of the time, it would seem that he was merely on survival mode. When Pacquiao initiates an attack, he would either backpedal or clinch. Most critics of Pacman often pointed out that there was no sustained offensive barrage from the Filipino fighter. he only time that the Mexican was truly in trouble was in round eleven when he buckled after he was hit by a solid punch.

FIGHT ANALYSIS:Were there signs that Manny’s inherent boxing capabilities declined in this fight? My answer is NO. In fact, he got better and showed different aspects of his game that weren’t there before. In this fight, Manny out-boxed, out-fought and outworked the boxer. He showed to the boxing fanatics that he can win fights on points by landing the cleaner shots. He showed patience and finesse. His defensive capability improved. He displayed his punching accuracy. A lot of new facets in his game surfaced in this match. Manny Pacquiao actually improved in this fight.

MANNY PACQUIAO VS JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ “UNFINISHED BUSINESS” (W – SD) I always felt that Juan Manuel Marquez had the style to make Manny look ordinary. That’s just what the Mexican did in their rematch last March 15, 2008 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. "The Dinamita" caught Manny with a huge left hook towards the end of round two and the latter buckled from that punch. Round three was the most important round of the match and proved to be the difference. In the last few seconds of the round, Manny caught his opponent with a powerful left cross and the Mexican dropped to the canvass.

FIGHT ANALYSIS: Marquez’s orthodox counterpunching style is the perfect antidote to Manny’s in-ring explosiveness. The Mexican proved to the boxing world that lightning hand speed and knockout power can be contained with perfect timing and punching accuracy. Even though he lost that fight, he gained respect with the spirited performance.On the other hand, Pacquiao had great difficulty figuring out the style of his opponent. But he showed maturity by picking his spots and not forcing the issue. In fact, he was able to stun Marquez once again in the tenth round by landing a wild left into the Mexican’s face.So, was there a decline in Pacquiao’s performance in this fight? The truth is – NO. Marquez just happens to be a stylistic nightmare for Pacquiao.

SUMMARY: Manny Pacquiao is definitely still at his peak. He has added several dimensions to his game. He is becoming more of a boxer as of late, which is a big plus to his arsenal.In that rubbermatch against Erik Morales, he displayed his much improved right hand to compliment his main-weapon left hook. Against Jorge Solis, he added patience to his fight game. He didn’t immediately go all-out for the attack and studied his opponent first. In his rematch against Barrera, he finally evinced that he can be an effective boxer -- that he does not have to endanger himself all the time by committing to an all-out attack. This shows his maturity and development as a fighter. The Juan Manuel Marquez rematch showed to the world that the Filipino fighter is capable of adapting his the style to his opponent. He knew that the Mexican was the best counterpuncher in the business, so he changed his style accordingly.A great fighter is the one who can adapt to his changing environment. He must be able to add to his repertoire of skills. If you stick to the same style, your opponents will eventually solve your puzzle and beat you. Manny Pacquiao is changing for the better. He is trying to prolong his career by fighting smart. His style now is about CONTROLLED AGGRESSION and not the reckless aggression that he used to possess.

Uncontacted tribe

2008-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Members of one of the world’s last uncontacted tribes have been spotted and photographed from the air near the Brazil-Peru border. The photos were taken during several flights over one of the remotest parts of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil’s Acre state.
‘We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist,’ said uncontacted tribes expert José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Júnior. Meirelles works for FUNAI, the Brazilian government’s Indian affairs department. ‘This is very important because there are some who doubt their existence.’
Meirelles says that the group’s numbers are increasing. But other uncontacted groups in the region, whose homes have been photographed from the air, are in severe danger from illegal logging in Peru. Logging is driving uncontacted tribes over the border and could lead to conflict with the estimated five hundred uncontacted Indians already living on the Brazilian side.
‘What is happening in this region [of Peru] is a monumental crime against the natural world, the tribes, the fauna and is further testimony to the complete irrationality with which we, the ‘civilised’ ones, treat the world,’ said Meirelles.
There are more than one hundred uncontacted tribes worldwide, with more than half living in either Brazil or Peru. All are in grave danger of being forced off their land, killed and decimated by new diseases. Survival has launched an urgent campaign to get their land protected, and a unique film narrated by actress Julie Christie.
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘These pictures are further evidence that uncontacted tribes really do exist. The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct.’
source: Survival International

Starving may fend off jet lag

2008-05-23T08:58:00.001-07:00

Humans have second internal clocks that take over their circadian clocks when deprived of food.Normally, the body's natural circadian clock in the brain dictates when to wake, eat and sleep, all in response to light. But it seems a second clock takes over when food is scarce, and manipulating this clock might help travelers adjust to new time zones, they said."A period of fasting with no food at all for about 16 hours is enough to engage this new clock," said Dr. Clifford Saper of Harvard Medical School, whose study appears in the journal Science.He said a person from the United States traveling to Japan must adjust to a 11-hour time change.

read more | digg story

Find Sunglasses that Complement Your Face

2008-05-17T08:34:00.001-07:00

Choosing a haircut for your face shape can be a challenge - particularly because you don't quite know what you're buying until you've already bought it - but sunglasses offer a whole different set of shopping parameters. Most importantly, you can see what you're getting before you buy. To help steer you towards the perfect pair, below are some guidelines for finding sunglasses that tend to flatter four common face shapes.

Face Shape: OblongFrames to try: Round or Square.
Frames that are the same length vertically as horizontally will cover a good portion of your face and give the illusion that it's shorter.

Face Shape: SquareFrames to try: Oval
Choosing a frame shape that contrasts with the lines of your face will soften an angular jawline and hairline, creating a more proportioned silhouette.

Face Shape: RoundFrames to try: Rectangular.
The angles will downplay your face's roundness and make it appear longer.

Face Shape: Heart-ShapedFrames to try: Rimless or Aviator.
They'll accent your eyes and play down the angles on the lower half of your face. Colored lenses will draw even more attention towards the eye area.

Find Sunglasses that Complement Your Face

2008-05-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

Marvel to unleash 'Iron Man 2'

2008-05-06T22:23:00.001-07:00

Marvel Studios announced Monday it will release “Iron Man 2” on April 30, 2010, following the success of the first in the comic-book franchise, which pulled in $104.2 million domestically since opening last Thursday and $201 million worldwide.Four other films based on Marvel superheroes also were announced: “Thor,” due out June 4, 2010; “The First Avenger: Captain America,” May 6, 2011; “The Avengers,” July 2011; and “Ant-Man,” which is in development but has no release date.Marvel also has “The Incredible Hulk,” starring Edward Norton, coming out this June 13.Just as Robert Downey Jr.’s character, Tony Stark, makes an appearance in “The Incredible Hulk,” the Hulk could turn up in “Iron Man 2,” said David Maisel , Marvel Studios chairman. And “The Avengers” consists of a rotating roster of Marvel heroes that could see the return of virtually any of the franchise’s characters.

read more digg story

15th-century shipwreck found full of treasures

2008-05-01T20:46:00.001-07:00

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -- The ship was laden with tons of copper ingots, elephant tusks, gold coins -- and cannons to fend off pirates lurking off Africa some five centuries ago.It had nothing to protect it from the fierce weather off a particularly bleak stretch of inhospitable coast. It sank, only to be found last month by men seeking other treasure."If you're mining on the coast, sooner or later you'll find a wreck," archaeologist Dieter Noli, who is researching the ship's origins, said in an interview Thursday, describing De Beers geologists stumbling on the wreck April 1 as they prospected for diamonds off Namibia's southwest coast.Namdeb Diamond Corp., a joint venture of the government of Namibia and De Beers, had cleared and drained a stretch of seabed, building an earthen wall to keep the water out so geologists could work. Noli said one of the geologists first saw a few ingots, but had no idea what they were. Then they found what looked like cannon barrels, but weren't sure.The geologists stopped the brutal earth-moving work of searching for diamonds and sent photos to Noli, who had done research in the Namibian desert since his university days in Cape Town in the mid-1980s and since 1996 has advised De Beers on the archaeological impact of its operations in Namibia.The find "was what I'd been waiting for for 20 years," Noli said. "Understandably, I was pretty excited. I still am."Noli's original specialty was the desert, but because of Namdeb's offshore explorations, he had been preparing for the possibility of a wreck, even learning to dive. He had also studied maritime artifacts with an expert from his university days, Bruno Werz, whom he has brought in to help research the Namdeb wreck.Judging from the notables depicted on the hoard of Spanish and Portuguese coins and the type of cannons and crude navigational equipment, the ship went down in the late 1400s or early 1500s, around the time Vasco de Gama and Columbus were plying the waters of the New World, "a period when Africa was just being opened up, when the whole world was being opened up," Noli said.Noli compared the remnants found -- the ingots, ivory, coins, coffin-sized timber fragments -- to evidence at a crime scene."The surf would have pounded that wreck to smithereens," he said. "It's not like `Pirates of the Caribbean,' with a ship more or less intact."He and Werz are trying to fit the pieces into a story. They divide their time between inventorying the find in Namibia and researching in museums and libraries in Cape Town in neighboring South Africa, from where Noli spoke by phone Thursday. Eventually, they will go to Portugal, whose ships were particularly active in the area 500 years ago, or Spain to search for records of a vessel with similar cargo that went missing."You don't turn a skipper loose with a cargo of that value and have no record of it," Noli said.The wealth aboard is intriguing. Noli said the large amount of copper could mean the ship had been sent by a government looking for material to build cannons. Trade in ivory was usually controlled by royal families, another indication the ship was on official business.On the other hand, why was the captain still holding so many coins? Shouldn't they have been traded for the ivory and copper?"Either he did a very, very good deal. Or he was a pirate," Noli said. "I'm convinced we'll find out what the ship was and who the captain was."What sent her down may remain a mystery. But Noli has theories, noting the stretch of coast where it met its fate was notorious for fierce storms and disorienting fogs. In later years, sailors with sophisticated navigational tools avoided it. The only tools found aboard Noli's wrecks were astrolabes, which can be used to determine only how far north or south you have sailed."Sending a ship toward Africa in that period, that was venture capital in the extreme," Noli said. "These chaps were very much on the edge as far as navigation. It was still very difficult for them to know where they were."Noli has found signs worms were at work on his ship's timber, and sheets of lead used to patch holes, indications the ship was old when it set out on its last voyage.Imagine a leaky, overladen ship caught in a storm. The copper ingots, shaped like sections of a sphere, would have sat snug. But the tusks -- some 50 have been found -- could have shifted, tipping the ship."And down you go," Noli said, "weighed down by your treasure."Spanish gold coins, Portuguese silver coins minted in the late 1400s or early 1500s were found, as well as dividers used for measuring distance on a map during navigation. The reverse of the some of the gold coins depicts Ferdinand and Isabella, two Spanish monarchs of the time.

read more digg story

U.S. surfer dies in shark attack in Mexico

2008-04-29T21:23:00.001-07:00

Just less than a week when we heard of a fatal shark attack in the coast near San Diego, CA. Now Here's another attack this time in Mexico. Could this be the same great white who severed the limb of a thriathlete man?The U.S. Embassy in Mexico could not immediately confirm the man's name, but local authorities identified him as a 24-year-old who was surfing with a fellow American. The other man was not injured.The attack occurred at the Troncones beach, about 45 minutes west by car from the beach resort of Ixtapa.The statement said the victim suffered wounds "that reached from the hip to the knee, exposing the femur."The victim was still alive when he was brought back to the beach. It took so long for the ambulance to reach the relatively isolated, undeveloped beach that a bystander took the victim to a local hospital in his car.The man died from loss of blood a few minutes after reaching the hospital, according to the statement.Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.

read more | digg story

Triathlete Killed By Shark While Swimming Off Solana Beach

2008-04-25T10:34:00.001-07:00

A group of nine swimmers entered the water near Fletcher Cove at about 6:30 a.m. for their daily ocean swim, according to witnesses. They swam northward. While they were swimming, a 66-year-old man was bitten on both thighs, the spokesman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said. Other swimmers looked back and saw the man flailing before he was pulled under the water, the spokesman said.Witnesses said the victim resurfaced screaming. Several other swimmers pulled the man to shore.Lifeguards arrived and a helicopter ambulance was called, but the victim bled to death on the beach.Helicopter video showed lifeguards, firefighters and police gathered at the main lifeguard station in Solana Beach. What appeared to be the victim's body covered by a yellow tarp was visible under a portable shade structure behind the headquarters.The victim's family was notified, but his identity was not immediately released.Lifeguards did not know what kind of shark attacked the man, but they speculated that it was a great white.
read more digg story

Evil is the absence of God

2008-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

A science professor begins his school year with A Lecture to thestudents, "Let me explain the problem science has with Religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before hisclass And Then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?" "Yes sir," the student says. "So you believe in God?" "Absolutely. " "Is God good?" “Sure! God's good." "Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes." "Are you good or evil?" "The Bible says I'm evil." The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He Considers for amoment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick PersonOver here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him?Would You Try?" "Yes sir, I would." "So you're good...!" "I wouldn't say that." "But why not say that? You'd help a sick and Maimed Person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't." The student does not answer, so the professor Continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of Cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus Good?Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"The student remains silent. "No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He Takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time To Relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?" "Er...yes," the student says. "Is Satan good?" The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No." "Then where does Satan come from?" The student falters. "From God" "That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell Me, Son. Is there evil in this world?" "Yes, sir." "Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make Everything, correct?" "Yes." "So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and According to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is Evil."Again, the student has no answer. "Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do They Exist in this world?"The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"So who created them?" The student does not answer again, so the Professor Repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly The lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is Mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you Believe in Jesus Christ, son?"The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, Professor, I do."The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have Five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have You Ever seen Jesus?"
"No sir. I've never seen Him." "Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?" "No, sir, I have not." "Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or Smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, Or God for that matter?" "No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't." "Yet you still believe in him?" "Yes." "According to the rules of empirical, testable, Demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you Say To that, son?""Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my Faith.""Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that Is The problem sciencehas with God. There is no evidence, only faith." The student stands quietly for a moment, before Asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?" "Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat." "And is there such a thing as cold?" "Yes, son, there's cold too." "No sir, there isn't." The professor turns to face the student, Obviously Interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to Explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, Mega-heat, Unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have Anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which Is no Heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."
"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmitsenergy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it." Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom,sounding like a hammer. "What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?" "Yes," the professor replies without hesitation.
"What is night if it isn't darkness?" "You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word." "In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This willbe a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?" "Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed tostart with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed." The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?" "You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as somethingfinite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought." "It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it." "Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your studentsthat they evolved from a monkey?" "If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man,yes, of course I do." "Have you ever observed evolution with your owneyes, sir?" The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizeswhere the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed. "Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?" The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No oneappears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir." "So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, hisface unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guessyou'll have to take them on faith." "Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists withlife," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?" Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It isin the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. Thesemanifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least itdoes not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It isjust like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."
The professor sat down.

Germans to swim without high-tech suits

2008-04-19T20:00:00.001-07:00

BERLIN (AP)-German swimmers are concerned about a disastrous performance at the Beijing Olympics because they will be wearing the wrong swimsuits.The country’s Olympic trials have been overshadowed by the swimmers’ demands to be allowed to compete in the Speedo LZR Racer. Twenty-two world records have been shattered in the high-tech suit since its February introduction.The Germans say their medal chances are bleak at the Aug. 8-24 games unless they can wear Speedo instead of Adidas.“The German swim federation has to seriously consider it, otherwise we will sink completely into mediocrity,” Thomas Rupprath, one of Germany’s top swimmers, said Saturday.Rupprath lost his 50-meter backstroke world record two weeks ago to Liam Tancock, who swam in a Speedo. If you listen to U.S. head coach Mark Schubert, an outspoken supporter, that just shows every record could fall at the Beijing Games because of the suit.But many swimmers, some contractually bound to other sportswear companies, argue that the Speedo is unfair and gives athletes added buoyancy in the pool. World governing swimming body FINA says no scientific evidence supports the claims and has refused to ban the LZR Racer.Whether the German swimmers are disadvantaged against Speedo-clad rivals is real or not, coach Orjan Madsen thinks the belief is now firmly stuck in their heads and won’t be easily dislodged.“I don’t believe the best psychologists in the world can accomplish that,” Madsen said.The swimming federation won’t end a four-year contract with Adidas worth $6.2 million. It runs until 2009, with an option for the sportswear company to extend two more years.“We won’t break the contract. It’s also a question of principles,” federation general secretary Juergen Fornoff said.Massimiliano Rosolino, an Italian who has won 17 medals in Olympics and world championships, is among those calling the suit unfair and a distortion of competition.“It’s not a matter of technology,” said Rosolino, whose team wears Arena. “The matter is one suit has much more flotation. If I were to go out there in a scuba suit it wouldn’t be fair either. There’s something not right about it.”Despite the swimsuit debate, Germany set a pair of European records two days into its Olympic trials. Sarah Poewe swam 1 minute, 7.10 seconds in the 100 breaststroke and Helge Meeuw finished the men’s 100 backstroke in 53.10.Some Germans refuse to believe that the LZR Racer will bust every record and win every medal.“I swim in Adidas and set my world record in the 100-meter freestyle in it two years ago,” Britta Steffen said. “With all this discussion, people shouldn’t forget the suit doesn’t swim alone. Inside is a person that has a good or bad day, and trained well or badly.”

read more | digg story

Toddler Forced To Smoke Pot

2008-04-16T19:12:00.001-07:00

In a video that has recently surfaced, cops say that a pot pipe is being forced on a reluctant toddler. A woman in the room laughs as the little girl coughs. Then a man can be heard saying, "This is some good stuff!"The squirming child being subjected to the ordeal is only 18-months-old, according to cops. Even hardened drug-abuse expert, Dr. Harris Straitner, is horrified at the awful images. "That's got to be one of the sickest things I've seen in a 30-year career," says Straitneruthorities say the man forcing the pipe on the child as a camera rolls is Melvin Blevins, an alleged drug dealer from outside Columbus, Ohio. Incredibly, they say Blevins later sold the camera to a pawn shop, forgetting that the damning video was still in it. The staff played the tape."I wish I hadn’t seen it. You just couldn't believe somebody could do that," said Shannon Sprouse, assistant manager of the pawn shop where the camera was sold. "The next thing we did was contact the local authorities, the Columbus Police Department...they couldn't believe it either," said Sprouse. Police traced the camera to Blevins, who is reportedly the toddler's uncle. He and a female teenager were apparently babysitting the child when the incident occurred. Blevins was charged with providing marijuana to a minor; the young woman was also charged. Dr. Straitner, a New York psychologist, struggled to maintain his professional detachment. "The thugs and creeps who did this should, as far as I'm concerned...I can't even say, I'm just disgusted."As for the baby...police know who the child is, but they've released no information about the toddler's current condition.
video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLdOy2mMWbI

Connect your Computer to your TV and stereo

2008-04-15T17:44:00.001-07:00

Now I know that many of you would like to connect your computer to your TV and stereo system.You may want to watch a movie or video on your TV instead of staying in a chair in front of your PC.
You also may want to play your music with real surround sound speakers instead of tiny PC speakers.It is quite easy to set up and may require only a little expenses. RequirmentsA Computer with an extra output from your video card A TV with some kind of AUX input. A Stereo with some kind of AUX input. Connecting your VideoWe are going to deal with video first because it is much more challenging than audio.The quality depends mostly on your actual television set.It may be difficult to see the icons and text appearing on the TV.
Regardless whether your TV is old or new you still can watch videos and movies on it. Find your connection. First we must figure out what kind of inputs you have on your TV. Certain connections perform better than others. We will make the list starting with the best...

read more digg story

rey boom boom bautista vs camargo (world invasion @ araneta)

2008-04-06T20:39:00.001-07:00

boom boom is back!

read more | digg story

Aj Banal vs caril Herrera ROUND 4 TKO

2008-04-06T20:27:00.001-07:00

php vs the world from uruguay

read more | digg story

Aj Banal vs caril Herrera ROUND 3

2008-04-06T20:17:00.001-07:00

battle between BANAL and HERRERA declaring AJ as a winner by KO. INVASION! Philippines vs the World from Uruguay. held in Araneta Colesium MLA. PHILIPPINES ( APRIL 06 2008 ). It was 4-0 in favor of philippines...great pinoy boxers.

read more | digg story

Aj Banal vs CARIL Herrera ROUND 2

2008-04-06T20:16:00.001-07:00

BAZOOKA winner by ko. boxing tko ko pinoy filipino sports golden boy promotion ala gym manny pacquiao boxer invasion philippines vs. world.uruguay boxer

read more | digg story

AJ Banal vs Caril Herrera

2008-04-06T14:59:00.001-07:00

Spectacular knockout of AJ to Caril Herrera who is never been beaten yet till he Invades Manila. Pls watch it and enjoy!

read more | digg story

Getting rid of spyware and viruses, 2008 guide

2008-04-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here's what to do if you suspect an infection on your Windows PC. (Please note these steps apply to both Windows XP and Vista.)
1) Are you sure it's spyware or a virus? Windows pop-ups and alerts can often seem invasive enough to be viruses, especially with Vista. Try searching the web for the exact text you see on the screen to make sure you aren't dealing with an aggressive Windows message. (Many of these can be turned off, so try whatever instructions you find.) On the other hand, some viruses masquerade as Windows alerts, so tread lightly.
2) Boot in safe mode. If you have a virus, first step is to try booting in safe mode. You can get to safe mode (a simplified version of Windows that disables a lot of extra gunk, possibly including some spyware apps) by restarting your PC and tapping F8 during boot. Soon you'll get a menu of options. Select "Safe Mode" (it's at the top of the menu) and wait for the machine to fully boot. The system will look funny (with a black background and larger icons, probably), but don't worry about it. This is only temporary. (Also note that many spyware applications can disable safe mode, so if you find this doesn't work, just boot normally.)
3) Run your antivirus application. This is of course assuming you have an antivirus application. (Need one? Check here.) You're in safe mode now, so run a full scan of your PC at maximum security levels (include the option to scan within compressed files, for example). This will probably take an hour or more, so be patient. Fix any problems the virus scan turns up. Then reboot into safe mode again using the procedure in step 2.
4) Run one or two anti-spyware applications. I used to recommend running multiple anti-spyware apps, but virtually all antivirus apps now do a pretty good job at getting rid of spyware too, so you don't need an army of additional applications just for spyware. Also, I now recommend starting with AdAware (which is free) and moving on to Spyware Doctor (free as part of the Google Pack) if you feel you need additional help. (Please note that recent versions of Spyware Doctor and Norton Antivirus have some trouble with each other.) You can try other apps too, but the once-recommended SpyBot Search & Destroy is no longer very effective, sadly. (Neither is Microsoft's own Windows Defender.) Of course, fix anything and everything these apps find.
5) Reboot normally. (Not in safe mode.) Now take stock. Still got spyware? It's time to move along to my more advanced techniques for removing the nasties.
6) Run HijackThis. HijackThis is a free software tool that scans your computer to find malware that other apps might miss. Scroll down to "Official downloads" to download the tool. Next, simply open the ZIP file you downloaded, extract the application, and run the tool (you don't need to install it). Click the "Do a system scan and save a logfile" button. You'll receive a large text file as well as a dialog box which gives you a list of active software processes, which you can then choose to delete. Unfortunately, this list includes both helpful and unhelpful software, so don't just start deleting items. Continue in step 7 to figure out how to fix your spyware infection.
7) Post your log file online. Visit this page, which offers a list of forums staffed by volunteers who can help you interpret your HijackThis log. The SWI Forums are especially busy, but most of the forums on the list are equally apt. Go to SWI and visit the "Malware Removal" forum which has over 50,000 topics listed: Those are all people like you who are seeking help getting rid of spyware. Register for an account, read the FAQ, then visit that Malware Removal forum, and post a new topic. Paste the content of the text file you created in step 5 into this topic and (politely) ask for help. You will get a response from a volunteer helper, typically within 3 days. You'll be given specific advice on what entries to remove with the HijackThis tool, and you might be pointed to additional software to run to help remove common spyware infections. Follow all the instructions and keep working with the forum helpers until either you or they give up. (And no, don't send your log file to me or post it here. I am not nearly the spyware removal expert that these guys are.)
7a) Alternately: Paste your log file into an automated tool. Don't have three days? Try simply pasting your HijackThis log file into this form. It does a pretty good job at auto-analyzing what's wrong with your machine, with no waiting. As well, if that doesn't work, you can search for the items you find in the HijackThis log by name to see what they are and how to remove them, if they're spyware. This can be quite time consuming, though.
8) Try System Restore. If that doesn't work, you might try running Windows System Restore to roll back your OS to a time before the infection happened. This isn't foolproof: You might not have System Restore turned on, or the spyware might have shut System Restore off, as well. But it's worth a shot. With either XP or Vista, System Restore can be found under Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.
9) Give up and wipe your hard drive. At this point, you've exhausted all the options I know of. You might try again at steps 6/7 to make sure you've done everything you can to salvage the PC. Forum helpers will often work with you for weeks to help fight a spyware infection, but there are tens of thousands of possible variants out there, with new ones cropping up every day. It's just not possible to clean them all, every time. Sometimes the only thing you can do is call it quits, reformat your hard drive, and reinstall your OS. Again, make sure you have your backups ready and verified. Once you're up and running, reinstall your antivirus and anti-spyware applications, and stay vigilant against infection. Good luck.

New Speedo Suit: LZR Racer

2008-04-03T17:35:00.000-07:00

A space-aged swimsuit is causing a wave of controversy!
Designed with help from NASA scientists, the underwater spacesuit is changing the way Olympic swimmers glide through the water...and with big results. Swimmers wearing the Speedo™ LZR Racer, a super-slick suit made of ultra-thin lycra and spandex, have broken 18 world swimming records!
Now some in the sport are wondering if the super swimsuit, which took four years to design, is giving athletes an unfair advantage, saying it keeps swimmers buoyant in the water and makes them faster.
INSIDE EDITION's Megan Alexander had the opportunity to try the swim suit on and take it for a test lap. After 25 minutes, Alexander was finally able to tug it on because it fits so tight to the body.
The ultra sleek and super tight suit makes our INSIDE EDITION correspondent almost look like a seal slicing through the water.
INSIDE EDITION spoke with Olympic swimmer and SwimNews.com writer Nikki Dryden about the new suit. "I think this suit is definitely going to give people a slight advantage."
Now the International Governing Body (FINA) for the sport of swimming says they're reviewing the suit. "There are buoyancy issues. Any device that makes the body more buoyant is banned."
Speedo says their goal is to make swimmers faster and that the suit meets all competitive swimming guidelines.

The suit costs starting from $200 - 550

SPEEDO LZR RACER WORLD RECORDS
16th Feb 08
200m Backstroke Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) 2.06.39
17th Feb 08 50m Freestyle Eamon Sullivan (AUS) 21.56
17th Feb 08 100m Backstroke Natalie Coughlin (USA) 59.2
17th Mar 08 50m Backstroke Hayley McGregory (USA) 28.00
18th Mar 08 Wm 4 x 100m Freestyle Netherlands 3.33.62
21st Mar 08 100m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.60
22nd Mar 08 400m Ind.Medley Stephanie Rice (AUS) 4.31.46
22nd Mar 08 50m Backstroke Emily Seebohm (AUS) 27.95
22nd Mar 08 100m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 47.50
23rd Mar 08 50m Backstroke Sophie Edington (AUS) 27.67
23rd Mar 08 50m Freestyle Alain Bernard (FRA) 21.5024th Mar 08 50m Freestyle Marleen Veldhuis (NED) 24.09
25th Mar 08 200m Ind.Medley Stephanie Rice (AUS) 2.08.92

source: Inside Edition and Speedo.com
http://www.insideedition.com/news.aspx?storyId=1513
http://www.speedo80.com/lzr-racer/results/13%20World%20Records%20Smashed%20by%20Speedo%20Stars/2008-3-26/

What GPS to buy

2008-04-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

If you often travel to new places, have trouble reading maps, or simply hate to ask for directions, you might want to consider a portable GPS navigation system. Once you give it a destination, the system can plot out a route, deliver spoken directions, and display each turn as you drive, or in some cases, walk. Most units let you choose guidance options that include plotting the shortest, fastest, and even a toll-free route. An internal database also includes common points of interest such as gas stations and ATMs, and the nav system can route you to the nearest one. You can even choose a nearby restaurant by the type of food.

Although not always as easy to use as the in-dash systems available on many new vehicles, portable systems are catching up. Features like internal, rechargeable batteries and pre-loaded North America map databases are now commonly included on budget systems. More premium features such as real-time traffic reporting are becoming available on more affordable units, although those often require additional hardware.

Portables have the distinct advantage of being easy to move from car to car, enabling a family to share a unit or lend it to others. Their low weight and small size are well suited to long-distance business travel and vacations by plane (for use in a rental car when you arrive), or for walking and biking tours (for use as a handheld device).

And with prices from about $200 to $650, portable units are much less expensive than the typical price tag of up to $2,000 for an integrated, in-dash factory system.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE
As sales of portable GPS navigation devices continue to skyrocket, more manufacturers are entering the market, giving shoppers many products from which to choose. With our latest ratings update, we have added new units from Garmin, Hewlett-Packard, LG, Magellan, Mio, Navigon, Pioneer, and TomTom. For our next update, we plan to post ratings on devices from Garmin, Harman-Kardon, Panasonic, Sony, and Uniden.
Units have decreased in size since the first portables came on the market, but that is not always good. If a device is too small, it can be hard to read or operate. We find that the common 3.5-inch screen, measured diagonally, is a good compromise between portability and usability. If you plan to use the device frequently, consider a compact unit with a wide screen, giving a larger map view, easier-to-read information, and bigger touch-screen buttons.
Special features like photo viewing, a video player, hands-free calling, and traffic information are available in an increasing number of units.

HOW TO CHOOSE
None of the navigation systems we've tested is perfect. They don't substitute for local knowledge, and all databases had minor errors. But a portable system will usually get you there, guiding you on the way and providing you with peace of mind when you are traveling to unfamiliar areas. The highest-rated models make it especially easy to enter destinations and they give the most helpful directions.

Navigation is the priority. We recommend focusing first on how well the system works for navigation, using the ratings to prioritize nav features and map database coverage, over entertaining, nonessential extras.

Built-in battery convenience. Look for a unit with good battery life, especially if you want to use it for walking. While all systems include a plug for your car's 12-volt outlet, a built-in battery leaves you the option to use the power port for another device, such as a cell phone, and it eliminates cord clutter. A battery also enables you to preload a route before you enter the vehicle. Some models are also packaged with a traditional AC plug for in-home use and recharging.

Text-to-speech capability. A system that speaks street names rather than says simply "turn left" can help you negotiate an unfamiliar area and is especially useful in urban driving, where streets can be close together. It is a handy feature that reduces the need to take your eyes off the road to scan the on-screen map.

Avoiding traffic. A system with traffic-information capability can be helpful if you travel a lot in cities that have good traffic-monitoring coverage. Between the map and detour functions, the system can help you route around traffic congestion and alert you to accidents and road construction. But as with traditional radio traffic reports, there are some weaknesses in the nav-system-based services, specifically related to available data and the timeliness of the report.

Unless specifically stated that a unit has an internal receiver, many devices need an external receiver or a cell phone to obtain traffic data and most will require a subscription fee for the information. (Typically, only the premium-priced units have a built-in receiver and that is noted on the product pages, accessed through the Ratings chart.)
Modern features. A full-featured model can effectively upgrade an older car with features like Bluetooth hands-free telephone capability, MP3 player, an iPod connection, and an FM transmitter.

Travel gear. If you travel outside the United States, look for a unit that offers maps for navigating overseas. Most will function in the U.S. and Canada, but some models, such as the Garmin 770 and TomTom GO 920t, will also work in Europe and other countries.
Size matters. The more portable the unit, the better-especially if you frequently pack it in a suitcase. Some are no bigger than a wallet and weigh less than 7 ounces, while others are as large as a paperback book and weigh considerably more-two pounds or more.

Mounting. Most models mount to your windshield using a suction cup attached to either a ball-in-socket, rigid, or gooseneck-type arm. We find the rigid arms are better at holding the units in place, especially over bumps. (Note: Windshield mounting is prohibited in California and Minnesota.)

Revise CPR

2008-04-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

With no pulse, no heartbeat and no vital signs, he lay slumped in the front seat of his Saturn, foot wedged against the accelerator with the car stuck between a tree and a stucco wall in Mertz's townhome complex in Glendale, Arizona.
He never saw his life flash before his eyes. In fact, he doesn't remember a thing -- only what people told him later. A UPS driver, Corey Ash, was making deliveries that Wednesday afternoon, when he heard the engine noise.
Sprinting across the street, Ash reached across Mertz's slumped body, turned off the car and pulled the 59-year-old from his vehicle. He hit 911 on his cell phone and started CPR, the way he had learned it in a National Guard training exercise two months earlier.
The American Heart Association says that sudden cardiac arrest kills more than 400,000 people in the United States every year.
This is the worst-case scenario. If a person's heart stops pumping blood through the body, and they aren't in a hospital, they have only about a 2 percent chance of surviving without serious disability. But Arizona cities including Glendale are starting to find that a few simple steps can radically improve the odds.
Less than a minute after his 911 call, Ash could hear the ambulance siren racing from Fire Station 154, barely a mile from the complex. When the truck arrived, a burly medic firefighter named Ruben Florez thumped an urgent rhythm on Mertz's chest, 200 times in the next two minutes, before another medic stepped in and delivered an electric shock from the paddles of a defibrillator. After 600 chest compressions and three electric shocks, a weak pulse returned.

Until three years ago, Arizona's success rate in cases like this was no better than most of the country. This past month, however, physicians in the state reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that a new regimen by paramedics has tripled the success rate, to more than 5 percent. Among patients whose collapse from cardiac arrest was observed, long-term survival went from 4.7 percent to 17.6 percent.
In a bold departure from standard practice, paramedics in most Arizona cities do not follow the guidance of the American Heart Association. Instead, they follow a protocol that was developed at the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center, largely by Dr. Gordon Ewy.
Even after cardiac arrest, Ewy said, there's enough oxygen in the body to feed the brain and keep a person alive for several minutes. But that air helps only if someone compresses the heart to circulate blood. In traditional CPR, rescuers alternate 30 chest compressions with two long "rescue breaths." Paramedics are trained to start by checking the airway, and insert a breathing tube at the start of resuscitation. These extra steps, said Ewy, waste precious time.
In Arizona, paramedics skip the breathing step. They simply alternate two minutes of pumping on the chest -- 200 compressions -- with a single shock from a defibrillator.

Epinephrine, a powerful stimulant that jump-starts the body's vital systems, is given as soon as possible. Ewy said the Arizona study, along with studies on bystander interventions in Japan and his own animal research, show that resuscitation without additional breathing is superior.
"In my mind, the evidence is overwhelming right now," he said.
On Monday, just weeks after the Arizona study was published, the AHA revised its official guidelines to promote breathless resuscitation as the preferred method for bystanders without CPR training -- even as it continues to recommend medical professionals such as EMTs continue to incorporate artificial breaths.
Dr. Vinay Nadkarni, past chairman of the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee, said it is too soon to say whether Arizona's EMT method is better than the AHA guidelines. He noted that while Arizona paramedics don't stop to give breaths, they do insert a device to keep the airway open. He said the AHA agrees that forceful, "minimally interrupted compressions" are the most important factor in resuscitation.
But Nadkarni said the AHA is committed to what works. "If there is a way to save lives, and a system can find a way to save a life, the Heart Association is for it."
Crystal Sorenson, a Glendale firefighter and medic for more than 20 years, experienced a vivid example last summer with the case of 48-year-old Daniel Lane. As she pounded his chest, Lane kept grabbing her wrist, struggling to look up. Each time she paused to deliver a defibrillator shock, "he'd let go and drop down, passing out."
A similar story inspired Ewy, who told CNN about a recording of a 911 call he heard several years ago, on which dispatchers guided a woman through CPR on her husband while she waited for paramedics to arrive.
"After a while, she came back to the phone and said, 'Why is it every time I press on his chest, he opens his eyes, and every time I stop and breathe for him, he goes back to sleep?' " Ewy paused and gave a rueful laugh. "This woman in 10 minutes learned more about cerebral perfusion [getting blood flow to the brain] than we had in 15 or 20 years of CPR research."
All that research, Ewy said, pointed to one thing: "You don't stop pressing on the chest for anything."
In Glendale, paramedics are convinced they have a good thing going. "I hate to say it, but before, you went in [to a cardiac arrest scene], almost expecting that it wouldn't work," paramedic Matt Juscius said. "Now... it's almost commonplace to have these guys come down to the station."

Mike Mertz had a big grin on his face last week, walking in to shake hands with Florez and the rest of the crew at station 154. Outside, he shook his head at what might have been.
"I was completely out. Gone." Now, aside from still-sore ribs and a new implanted defibrillator, he's fine. "If that UPS guy didn't come around the corner, I wouldn't be here today. It was that close."

The worst computer viruses of all time

2008-03-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't experienced a computer virus yet, just wait -- you probably will.
Fortunately, you missed the real heyday of computer viruses when anti-virus software wasn't very widely used, and virus attacks caused millions of dollars in damages overnight. Today's viruses can still be nightmarish, but for the average user, cleanup is considerably easier than it was just a few years ago, when the only solution in many cases was reformatting your hard drive and starting from scratch (and even that didn't do the trick sometimes).
So join me on a trip down memory lane as we revisit some of the worst viruses of all time and count our blessings that our computers are still up and running despite it all. (Though, please note, "worst" is a matter of considerable debate in the security industry, as the number of infected machines and amount of financial loss is always estimated. If you think another virus was worse than these, please post it in the comments to remind us!)

The worst viruses of all time

Brain, 1986
It all started here: Brain was the first "real" virus ever discovered, back in 1986. Brain didn't really hurt your PC, but it launched the malware industry with a bang and gave bad ideas to over 100,000 virus creators for the next 2 decades.

Michelangelo, 1991
The worst MS-DOS virus ever, Michelangelo attacked the boot sector of your hard drive and any floppy drive inserted into the computer, which caused the virus to spread rapidly. After spreading quietly for months, the virus "activated" on March 6, and promptly started destroying data on tens of thousands of computers.

Melissa, 1999
Technically a worm, Melissa (named after a stripper) collapsed entire email systems by causing computers to send mountains of messages to each other. The author of the virus was eventually caught and sentenced to 20 months in prison.

ILOVEYOU, 2000
This was notable for being one of the first viruses to trick users into opening a file, which in this case claimed to be a love letter sent to the recipient. In reality, the file was a VBS script that sent mountains of junk mail and deleted thousands of files. The results were terribly devastating- one estimate holds that 10 percent of all computers were affected, to a cost of $5.5 billion. It remains perhaps the worst worm of all time.

Code Red, 2001
An early "blended threat" attack, Code Red targeted Web servers instead of user machines, defacing websites and later launching denial-of-service attacks on a host of IP addresses, including those of the White House.

Nimda, 2001
Built on Code Red's attack system of finding multiple avenues into machines (email, websites, network connections, and others), Nimda infected both Web servers and user machines. It found paths into computers so effectively that, 22 minutes after it was released, it became the Internet's most widespread virus at the time.

Klez, 2001
An email virus, Klez pioneered spoofing the "From" field in email messages it sent, making it impossible to tell if Bill Gates did or did not really send you that information about getting free money.

Slammer, 2003
Another fast spreader, this worm infected about 75,000 systems in just 10 minutes, slowing the Internet to a crawl (much like Code Red) and shutting down thousands of websites.

MyDoom, 2004
Notable as the fastest-spreading email virus of all time, MyDoom infected computers so they would, in turn, send even more junk mail. In a strange twist, MyDoom was also used to attack the website of SCO Group, a very unpopular company that was suing other companies over its code being used in Linux distributions.

Storm, 2007
The worst recent virus, Storm spread via email spam with a fake attachment and ultimately infected up to 10 million computers, causing them to join its zombie botnet.

Force-Feeding Classical Music Does Not Make A Child Genius

2008-03-27T10:04:00.001-07:00

In 2007, the German research ministry finally commissioned a crack team of neuroscientists, psychologists, educationalists and philosophers to investigate all the research done on the phenomenon.Their conclusion: even if listening to Mozart does boost spatial-temporal reasoning (and not all studies have shown this), the effect lasts no more than 20 minutes.A misreading of science, coupled with soaring expectations, also fuels many doomed attempts to teach foreign languages to infants. Research in the Nineties showing that babies possess a unique ability to learn any tongue sent parents scampering off to buy Berlitz tapes in the hope of turning their newborns into mini-polyglots. It didn't work.Why? Because babies tune into a language only when it is spoken to them regularly by a real person. In more recent experiments, infants exposed only to foreign language DVDs or audiotapes or bilingual toys absorbed nothing at all - not one word or phrase, not one single sound.

read more | digg story

Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster

2008-03-25T21:29:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, the four to eight gigabyte footprint of a DVD on your hard drive was prohibitively large. But since the price of a gigabyte has plummeted, ripping your entire DVD collection to your computer is not just possible, it's prudent, and it's easy. Let's take a look at the best ways to back up and play any DVD rip on your home computer

read more | digg story

U.S.man Claims to be Pregnant

2008-03-25T21:16:00.001-07:00

BEND, Ore. AP -- An Oregon man is five months pregnant, according to a national magazine. Thomas Beatie, who used to be a woman, appeared in the most recent issue of The Advocate, a magazine for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers. Beatie wrote the article and it included a picture of him while he was 22 weeks pregnant. According to the story, he went through a sex change, but decided only to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy. Beatie was able to keep the reproductive organs he was born with. The article said he stopped getting the injections and was able to get pregnant.

read more | digg story

BOXING BE BANNED IN THE PHILIPPINES?

2008-03-24T09:04:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines -- An independent lawmaker has filed a bill banning boxing tournaments and exhibitions in the country "in line with the policy of the State to promote sports for the development of a healthy and alert citizenry."Nueva Ecija Representative Eduardo Nonato Joson, whose other bills include those banning gun ownership among civilians and calling for the holding of a snap presidential elections this May, filed his boxing ban measure days after Filipino world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao won over Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez early this month.If Joson had his way, boxers who participate in a bout for money or any other consideration shall be imprisoned for six months to six years and fined P200 to P6,000. If a boxer dies, the surviving pugilist shall be meted six years to 12 years in prison."Banning boxing contests and/or exhibitions as a form of public entertainment can put an end to needless deaths, injuries and most of all, put a death to the culture of violence prevailing in our society," Joson said in his explanatory note.

read more | digg story

British man auctions entire life on eBay

2008-03-21T09:30:00.001-07:00

Ian Usher loves his life in Perth, Australia. But since his wife, Laura, was part of that life and the couple have split up, he has decided to offer it, lock, stock and barrel to the highest bidder. Mr Usher, 44, originally from Darlington, County Durham, has put his entire life up for grabs on the online auction site eBay...

read more | digg story

Diaz vs Montano rd 9

2008-03-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

diaz vs Montano rd 7

2008-03-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Diaz vs Montano rd 1-6

2008-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Diaz vs Montano final rd

2008-03-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

James Bond: Quantum of Solace

2008-03-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

The 22nd Bond film in the franchise is a direct continuation of the events set in motion by 'Casino Royale,' with 007 out for revenge on a mission that takes him to Austria, Italy and South America.

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' star MATHIEU AMALRIC is the new Bond villain, while sultry OLGA KURYLENKO and GEMMA ARTERTON step in as the new Bond Girls. Oscar winner JUDI DENCH also returns as Bond's boss, M, with JEFFREY WRIGHT and GIANCARLO GIANNINI reprising their roles as Bond's allies Felix Leiter and Mathis from 'Casino Royale.'

Producers behind James Bond's 22nd mission, 'Quantum of Solace,' said on Friday that they've nixed plans to shoot at the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu due to inclement weather, according to Reuters.
Cameras were supposed to have started rolling in Cuzco, a city close to the ruins, earlier this month -- but the film's producers decided to shoot elsewhere upon learning that the locale's rains were as unpredictable as 'Goldfinger''s Odd Job, a source close to the production told the news service.
As we previously reported, 'Quantum' takes place after the events of 'Casino Royale' and finds 007 traveling the globe for some good old-fashioned super-agent revenge.

source: ET
http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/02/58932/index.html

GABI vs MARES rd 3

2008-03-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

GABI vs MARES rd 2

2008-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

GABI vs MARES rd 1

2008-03-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Pacman vs JMM II round 12b

2008-03-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

round 12a

2008-03-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

round 11

2008-03-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

round 10

2008-03-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

round 9

2008-03-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

round 8

2008-03-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

round 7

2008-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

round 6

2008-03-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

round 5

2008-03-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

round 4

2008-03-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

round 3

2008-03-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

round 1

2008-03-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

round 2

2008-03-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

3rd round wins it for Pacquiao

2008-03-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

By Ed PicsonPhilBoxing.comMon, 17 Mar 2008

Manny Pacquiao is world champion again. The last time he wore a crown was in the Super Bantamweight Division (IBF). He is now the WBC Super Featherweight King. He was also WBC Flyweight title-holder in his early years.

With his split decision win yesterday (Saturday in Las Vegas ), the colorful Filipino boxing icon emerges as the first Filipino, nay, the first Asian to hold boxing championships in three different weight classes. He is also the fourth Filipino to annex the 130 lb. crown after the great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Rene Barrientos and his town mate Rolando Navarrete.

Filipinos should be delirious with glee. Alas, there were some grumblings overheard after the decision was announced. In a cursory inquiry, a good number thought that perhaps Juan Manuel Marquez may have done enough to keep his title.

Pacquiao decked Marquez with a vicious left hook in the third round even as the Mexican seemed to have started better in the fight. There was a thunderous roar among Filipino fans who thought that the fight was going to come to an early end as memories of the third Pacquiao-Morales (Erik) encounter came to mind.

However, Marquez again displayed the kind of tenacity, determination and excellent conditioning to get up and engage Pacquiao in another episode of steamy boxing action. In their first face-off in 2004, Marquez rose from three knock downs in the first round to salvage a draw.

While Pacquiao searched in vain for another opportunity to send his foe crashing to the canvass, Marquez, the methodical fighter that he is, stayed out of harm’s way (most of the time) and whenever Manny came in to attack, exploded with some very effective counter-punches.

Both fighters had their moments and the judges score cards are a testament to the fact. Judge Jerry Roth favored Marquez 115-112; Duane Ford saw it for Pacquiao 115-112 while Tom Miller’s 114-113 card tilted the decision in the Filipino’s favor.

Most boxing observers agree that Pacquiao is one of the most exciting boxers ever to lace up boxing gloves. And therein possibly lies the reasons why some Filipino fans were disappointed with Pacquiao’s performance.

While happy for their compatriot, there are those who feel that they did not see the kind of Manny Pacquiao moves that defined his previous conquests. Manny is supposed to annihilate the opposition or get annihilated himself.

There are to be no two ways about it, he has to over-whelm the opposition to live up to the standards that his fans have gotten used to, or go down trying. The reality is, Marquez-Pacquiao II was as close as close can be. And given the realities of boxing and the subjective manner that it is scored, there is bound to be disparity in the appreciation of the efforts of both fighters.

Computer stats reveal that Marquez landed more power punches while Pacquiao had the edge in the jabs department. But one of the power punches the GenSan Bomber threw dropped Marquez in the third, his feet pointed up to the heavens as he landed heavily on the seat of his pants. There were at least a couple more haymakers that saw Marquez’s knees buckle, the last in the early going of the 10th round.

On the other hand Marquez’s bombs, although more accurate and plentiful, did not have the same devastating nor dramatic effect. To be sure, there were several that landed flush on Pacquiao’s face, a couple causing cuts on the bemoustached Filipino. But none were as powerful or destructive as the that which the Pacman unloaded in the third.

That said, the fight was still as tight as could be, and again the score cards will bear this out. They went twelve grueling rounds which also highlighted the fact that both men had gotten into the best shape possible for the encounter.

And in a brawl that close, there would be as many disappointments as there would be approvals. There will be those who see the situation in a different light; and those who saw it from different angles; and those who saw or missed several punches.

But looking at the decision, it seems the defining moment that may have tilted the decision towards Manny was the 3rd round knock down. While Judges Roth’s and Ford’s similar 3-point margins would not be affected if the knock down did not occur, Tom Miller’s 114-113 would have been 114-114.

In which case, it would have been a split draw just like the first time around. But, the knockdown in round 3 did happen.

And Manny Pacquiao is world champion again.

Pacquiao-Marquez round-by-round

2008-03-15T22:10:00.001-07:00

LAS VEGAS—Round-by-round coverage of Manny Pacquiao’s WBC super featherweight championship victory over Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao won on a split decision, with official scores of 115-112 and 114-113 Pacquiao and 115-1

read more | digg story

FHM model, 3 others murdered

2008-03-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

A police officer assigned to the Traffic Management Group (TMG) in Camp Crame in Quezon City will be questioned in connection with the killing of four people, including a model for a male magazine, in Olongapo City Thursday.

Investigators said the identification card of Senior Police Officer 1 Leopoldo Vitug Jr. of the TMG was recovered inside the Toyota Vios car (ZAJ 203) owned by one of the victims, FHM magazine model Scarlet Garcia.

Authorities said they also discovered a police jacket with the TMG patch and insignia, which, they believed, belongs to the suspect. Ten spent shells from .45 pistol and 9mm handguns, lighter, used needle, and butane can were also gathered by forensics investigators inside the victims’ rented apartment at 52-B Acacia St., Barangay Gordon Heights.

Garcia, her partner George Castor Jr., Rachel Estacio and Von Mark Fondejas were found dead inside the apartment by authorities responding to a fire alarm before dawn Thursday. Their bodies bore bullet wounds to the head.

The bodies of Castor and Fondejas were found lying face down on the second floor receiving room while Garcia and Estacio were discovered inside the toilet on the third floor of the apartment building. The assailants also set the apartment on fire.

Residents reported that they saw smoke coming from the apartment around 3 a.m. Witnesses said two unidentified persons were seen rushing out of the apartment minutes after they heard shots.

Investigators said one of the suspects looted Garcia’s vehicle before fleeing on board a dark blue car.Police are looking into love triangle, business rivalry, robbery and vengeance as among the motives in the killing. Olongapo police, meanwhile, created Task Force Scarlet to be headed by Senior Superintendent Abelardo Villacorta, city police chief, to swiftly solve the case.

Garcia was also a member of sexy singing group Viva Hot Babes.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=112184

Woman sits on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years

2008-03-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

I've heard so many stories of people who are stuck in some other odd places.-- Yes people can be stuck on a traffic, on a line; on your car, whatever...I myself experienced being stranded on an airline because I missed my flight but this story is very unlikely among all other incident of being standed or stuck...

Girlfriend was physically stuck to the seat — her skin had grown around it

NESS CITY, Kan. - Deputies said a woman in western Kansas sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years, and they're investigating whether she was mistreated.
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said a man called his office last month to report that something was wrong with his girlfriend.
Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23595533/#storyContinued

Travel Myths

2008-03-14T09:35:00.001-07:00

• If you use your cellphone, the plane will crash.• Cruise ships are all-inclusive. • If you rent a car with a credit card, you don’t need additional insurance. • Taking the train in Europe is cheaper than flying. • Recirculated cabin air on planes will make you sick.• X-ray machines at airport security checkpoints can erase your computer’s hard drive. • Your hotel card key can be used to steal your identity.These are just some of the things many travelers believe to be true. And, in fact, with a couple of qualifications, they are nothing more than the latest batch of travel myths.

read more | digg story

Fastest Internet Connection in the US

2008-03-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

I really thought i had the better internet connection here yet I was blown away when I heard about how fast Internet connection in Fairfield,IA is -- At 100 Mbps that's that's a blazing speed! Here's the story I just found out.

Fairfield leading the U.S. in technology advances

FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- Residents and businesses in Fairfield, Iowa are reaping benefits from the fastest internet connection available in the U.S.
Local communication provider, LISCO, is creating an optical-fiber network across town.
According to LISCO officials, Fairfield is the only city in the U.S. that can provide speeds of 100 megabytes per second for all of its residents.
To put that into perspective, typical high-speed internet runs from one to about ten megabytes, so fiber internet is ten times faster.
Right now, all businesses on the square have the capability to use the technology.
"Optical fiber is the way you carry all of the phone calls and all of the communications from one continent to another over optical fiber cable. We're putting those kinds of cables in right now so each house will have that technology, that same capability," LISCO Vice President of Marketing, Michael Porter, said.
Porter also told KTVO that only places like Japan and Korea have services like the new system in Fairfield.
The high speeds are also attracting new companies. In fact, one high-tech company has already settled in Fairfield because of the lack of this type of technology in any big cities.

source: KTVO
http://www.ktvo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=108004

Leaving it all behind, to bike around the world

2008-03-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

In 2002, at the ages of 62 and 48, Pat and Catherine Patterson decided to leave it all behind. They sold their real-estate business and their cars, gave their furniture to their children, and put their home up for rent. Strapping their remaining possessions to two bicycles, the couple set off to bike around the world.Fifty-seven countries, four continents and almost four years later, the Pattersons look back on their journey as something no less than life-changing.In 1985, Pat Patterson got his first taste of freedom behind the handlebars of a bicycle when he went on a short tour through China. The trip changed his perspective. "I was beginning to see things differently," he says.

read more | digg story

Whale On the Plate

2008-03-12T12:30:00.001-07:00

Japan steps up efforts to end the 19-year moratorium on commercial whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission (IWC), its seafood-loving citizens are less and less enthusiastic about tucking into the catch. As a result, trade inventories of the tough, gamy meat have climbed 1,000 tons since the late 1990s, to around 3,000 tons today--about as much as gets eaten annually. The average Japanese, who clearly prefers watching whales to eating them, ingests barely an ounce of the meat each year, compared with 13 lbs. of beef, 22 lbs. of chicken and 79 lbs. of fish.

read more | digg story

11 Greatest Basketball Commercials Ever Made

2008-03-12T10:39:00.001-07:00

Be like Mike, Larry, Magic, Barkley and Yao (not to mention Mars Blackmon) -- at least just when watching these commercials.

read more | digg story

E-mail inventor: I didn't foresee spam - Times Online

2008-03-12T09:01:00.001-07:00

at around 7pm one autumn evening in 1971, the first message using Mr Tomlinson's fledgling software, known then as the 'Send Message Program', travelled the short distance of a metre from one computer to a neighbouring machine, and electronic mail was born. Since its beginnings in a computer lab at the offices of a firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, e-mail has become one of the most important communications platforms the world has known, and from the various services available – Yahoo!, Hotmail, and the ubiquitous Outlook – Britons send an estimated three billion messages a day.

read more | digg story

2008-03-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

the rock sample video

Recycle or go to Hell, warns Vatican

2008-03-10T21:12:00.001-07:00

Failing to recycle plastic bags could find you spending eternity in Hell, the Vatican said after drawing up a list of seven deadly sins for our times.

Your view: What are the 'deadly sins' of our time?
Vatican sex guide urges Catholics to do 'it' more often
Climate change 'will spark global conflict'

The seven, which include polluting the environment, were announced by Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a close ally of the Pope and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, one The seven, which include polluting the environment, were announced by Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a close ally of the Pope and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, one of the Roman Curia's main court.

The "sins of yesteryear" - sloth, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and pride - have a "rather individualistic dimension", he told the Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper.

The new seven deadly, or mortal, sins are designed to make worshippers realise that their vices have an effect on others as well.

"The sins of today have a social resonance as well as an individual one," said Mgr Girotti. "In effect, it is more important than ever to pay attention to your sins.

"According to Roman Catholic doctrine, mortal sins are a "grave violation of God's law" and bring about "eternal death" if unrepented by the act of confession.

They are far more serious than venial sins, which impede a soul's progress in the exercise of virtue and moral good.

Cardinal becomes star of YouTube
Papal guidance by text for Italian believers
Vatican 'tampered' with body of Padre Pio

Mgr Girotti said genetic modification, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs were all mortal sins.

source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/10/eavatican110.xml

read more digg story

How Doctors Tell Patients They're Dying

2008-03-09T09:44:00.001-07:00

Putting a time stamp on someone's life,...is something that few doctors are willing to do. Instead, they employ much more methodical and caring techniques of breaking the news to terminally ill patients...."Shock or denial is a pretty universal first reaction. Patients say 'it's not me' or 'I'll go to a different doctor.'"

read more | digg story

10 Worst Countries for Women

2008-03-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

Today March 8 is International Women's Day. In spite of real progress around the globe, the bedrock problems that have dogged women for centuries remain.

Putting power in women's hands is the biggest challenge for improving their lives in every country, advocates agree. Whether in the poorest countries of Africa, or the most repressive of the Middle East or Asia, lack of control over their own destinies blights women's lives from early childhood.

Here are 10 of the worst countries in the world to be a woman today:

Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Congo
Iraq
Nepal
Sudan
Other countries in which women's lives are significantly worse than men's include Guatemala, where an impoverished female underclass faces domestic violence, rape and the second-highest rate of HIV/AIDS after sub-Saharan Africa. An epidemic of gruesome unsolved murders has left hundreds of women dead, some of their bodies left with hate messages.

read more digg story

101 Year Old Man Runs 13 Mile Marathon & Stops for a Beer.

2008-03-07T09:24:00.001-08:00

Martin says that in the last weekend, he's completed a 13-mile half marathon that took him a little more than five hours. It would have been faster, he says, but he says he stopped for a beer and a cigarette.

"He smokes, drinks, stays out late, which is probably why he is still alive," said Charlie Mullins, the managing director of the plumbing company where Martin cleans vans.
When not working three days a week for Mullins, Martin can be found in a nearby boxing gym working with a pair of trainers in preparation for April's run. He refuses to be impressed by the fact that he is still running.

read more digg story

Save Money on Transportation

2008-03-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

The average cost of owning and driving a car 15,000 miles a year is $7,830 according to AAA. SUVs are even more costly, at $9,990 per year. That includes all costs of ownership, such as gas, insurance, maintenance, registration, taxes depreciation, financing and more. Yikes.
No doubt getting around can be a huge budget buster. Here are ten tips to help cut your costs:

Buy a Used Car
Because cars lose most of their value in the first few years, buying used allows you to drive a vehicle you probably couldn't afford brand new.
More from Kiplinger's Personal Finance • The Best Cars for 2008 • 10 Best Used Car Deals Under $20,000 • Five Myths on Leasing a Car
Recent used models -- those that are less than five years old -- can be a real value because you get a nearly new car still in fine working order for a fraction of the new-car price. And you'll pay less for collision insurance and taxes, too.

Buy a Sipper, Not a Guzzler
You don't need a hybrid vehicle to save money on gas -- higher purchase prices can cancel out any savings. But a regular car with good gas mileage could save you hundreds of dollars a year on fuel.
Drive 1,200 miles per month in a car that averages 18 miles per gallon, and you'll spend $187 per month (at $2.80 per gallon).
Drive a car that averages 25 miles per gallon, and you'll spend $134 per month -- a savings of $53 per month, or $636 per year.

Re-Shop Your Car Insurance
Using a comparison site like InsWeb.com can help you determine if you've got the best deal. Rates vary widely from insurer to insurer. Your savings could equal hundreds of dollars.
Shopping around is especially important for young adults because their rates could drop as they approach age 25 or older, build a credit rating, start a career and get married. Insurers reward customers who are responsible.

Drop Collision & Comprehensive Coverage
If you drive a beater -- say, one worth less than $2,000 -- you'll probably pay more to insure it than you would ever collect on a claim. Dropping that part of your coverage can reduce your premium by one-third.

Raise Your Deductible
Upping your out-of-pocket outlay from $250 to $1,000 on any car can save you 15% or more on your car insurance.
But make sure you have enough cash in an emergency savings account to cover your deductible so you won't have to rely on costly credit cards to bail you out.

Join Policies
When shopping around for auto insurance, check first with the company that provides your renters or homeowners insurance. You could snag up to 15% off for a multiple-line policy.

Shop Around for Gas
Gas prices can vary as much as 20% within only a few blocks, according to GasBuddy.com, a price-monitoring site. So hop online to find the best deal in your neighborhood or along your commute route.
A 20-cent difference on 60 gallons of gas per month adds up to $12 per month or $144 per year.

Use a Gas Rebate Credit Card
If you frequent the pump, soften the financial sting with a credit card that'll give you cash back for filling up.
For example, the Discover Open Road card gives you 5% cash back on gas and auto maintenance charges. So if you spend $200 a month on gas and maintenance, you get $10 back -- or $120 each year.

Hop on the Bus, Gus
Public transportation can save you a bundle on commuting costs because you won't have to spend money on a parking space, gas and auto maintenance. Plus, you can probably get a lower insurance rate for driving less.
Ask if your employer will pick up part of the tab for your public transportation costs. If not, suggest the company look into the matter -- it could qualify for a tax break.

Car Pool
Two heads are better than one when it comes to commuting. Sharing the ride -- and expense -- with another person heading your way can cut your gas costs in half.
Check out carpooling opportunities at www.erideshare.com and carpoolconnect.com.

source: Yahoo

Pacman's worst nightmare not Marquez but Dick Flaherty

2008-03-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

This cold very well be the nightmarish declaration Buffer reads to the thousands at Mandalay Bay and to the millions of Pinoys watching around the world along about 9 pm March 15.

It may have been completely unintentional but the WBC and the Nevada commision have allowed Flaherty, a former Boston cop, into the deciding what may be the most important boxing watch of 2008. They've thrown a wild card into the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez deck and they may regret it for a long time.

Flarherty, who is in his 70s, is one of the most inconsistent and irratic judges in the world. He is almost as bad as a referee but, in this particular case, he can affect only the fortunes no the health of these two great fighters.

I'm not saying this experienced official is the worst judge in his home state of Massachussettes but he is probably in a tie with four others for that unwated crown. I guess political hacks appoints other hacks to the Commonwealth's commission and then those hacks hire other hacks as judges and referees. Whenever the cause, the officiating in a Bay State is woeful.

Let me add that Flaherty is a nice guy, honest as can be and that my best friend from childhood days is close to him. So there is nothing personal in my diatribe here. In fact, this is a story I would prefer not write but too much is at stake here for Messers. Marquez and Pacquiao.

Want some examples of how Flaherty could easily miscall Pacman-Juan Ma? There is plenty of prior evidence.

Let's start with the controversial boutj between Sam Peter and James Toney. The only person in the free world who tabbed it 9-3 for the Nigerian was, you guessed it, Flaherty. This was a bout which produced a media postfight poll in which 28 of the 29 journalist said Toney won.

For more recent ineptitude, look to the stirring Jaidon Codrington-Sakio Bike "Contender" finale on ESPN. Codrington, who was stopped in the bout, was on the floor when Bika threw a punch at him. No warning, no penalty, no nothing by Flaherty.

Flaherty has been officiating poorly for a long while. Journalist Michael Woods wrote once about seeing a 1996 bout in Massaschusettes in which a local yokel was aggressive but not effectively againts an outsider. Flaherty, of course, had local yokel way in front at the finish.

This is the same Flaherty who, in speaking to fight writer and fellow ex-cop Bob Maldinich, answered critics of his ridiculous Peter-Toney ballot this way: " My record speaks for itself. Fact is I always give 110 percent. My eyes and my mind are totally focused on what is going on in the ring. I have treamendous ability to afficiate fairly and objectively."

Now, if Tom Kaczmareck says that, it's one thing but Dick Flaherty gasses himself?

I save what I think is the worst for last. On August 5, 2006, Kassim Ouma posted a 10-round decision over Sechew Powell in New York. I was at the fight Reliable judge Syteven Weisfeld saw 97-93 and Tony Paolillo called it 96-94. So you had two judge just four points apart in a
10-round bout.

Then came Flaherty's stunner.

In his wisdom, Flaherty called it a 100-90 shutout or 10-0 in round for Ouma. What means is that he and Weisfeld were an astonishing eight points apart after 10 rounds. In other words, Weisfeld tabbed it 6-4 for Ouma while incredibly Flaherty called a shutout.

Oh, I've got another eye opener on Flaherty. This once came during 2000 in New Orleans when Roy Jones turned back Eric Harding by decision. Judge Kenny Saintes favored RJJ by seven points while Barry Oregon had him in front by four points.

Sticking out like a sore thumb-again-weas Flaherty who barely gave it to Jones with a 96-94 tally. How could he and Saintes be five points apart in a 12-rounder? I don't recall any special controversy or disputes on that one which makes it all the more remarkable.

Flaherty seems to be out of sync with his peers quite often.

Manny Pacquiao, accept Dick Flaherty at your peril. If Team Pacquiao accepts this judge, then a robbery by pencil is likely to happen.

Beware the Ides of March, especially when Flaherty is giving official pen and paper.

I'd rather be judged by Pontius Pilate than by Flaherty.

He may be Pacman's worst professional nightmare.

On the other hand, he is capable of screwing it up for Marquez also.

An honest judge, yes. But erratic is as erractic does.

By Macheal Marley
http://www.boxingconfidential.com/articles.php?id=3996

Consumer Reports Releases Top American Auto Picks for 2008

2008-03-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

It’s time again for the annual American Top Picks list. While we don’t consider country of origin as a factor in our Ratings for our primary Top Picks list, the piles of mail (snail and e-mail) we get leave us no doubt that many people factor “buying American” into their decision. So, for those folks, this list looks at what domestic-branded cars are the best choices out there. It would be a relatively simple matter to compile this list if Top Picks were merely the highest-scoring car in each group. But to be a Top Pick, a car has to have performed well in our testing, be relatively trouble-free to own, and safe, too. Here are the other criteria to determining a Top Pick: *We need to have reliability data for the car, and that data must show at least average or better reliability. *Stability control must be readily available. *If crash tested, the results have to be decent.

read more | digg story

Manmade flood roars through Grand Canyon

2008-03-05T10:18:00.001-08:00

Federal officials have started a flood in the Grand Canyon in hopes of restoring its ecosystem.The torrent will flow for three days from the Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah state line. It began Wednesday morning.

read more | digg story

TELEMARKETER SNOB

2008-03-02T20:23:00.002-08:00

Have you been receiving unwanted calls lately? Prank calls. Calls like you really not expecting to rang on your phone every day. Calls that repeatedly keep coming even though you already say "we're not interested" but hey were you able to interrupt the conversation just before it's over? have you got the time to say it?

This so called "Telemarketer" that pops up like a spam on your email every day could sometime break your temper. Why? huh guess what. They really just can't stop bugging you evertime they have a new offer in the market. As if you are the immediate consumer on their list. This story might not be as significant to others but for me it does.

Some time last month; I happened to received another annoiying call but this time it was different. It's from a calling company to the Philippines ( i'll just disclosed the company's name, see how good i am? not to tell everyone who read this. If every someone might find this). I really thought it was a call from my wife who happened to be on call on in the hospital that day. I thought my wife would advice me that she could not come home early for some reason.

So i did answer the phone not knowing it was just another "telemarketer". It was almost midnight central time whe i got this call. Looking for me. The agent (could not even pronounce my name right) asked if i already tried their system to call Philippines. He continued that "he just badly needs to know if i use it or not so he could assist me if i don't". But what the heck, i've been telling this company not to bother me again, If i ever i will use it they will definitely know. Their system would register my call if their is.

They just could not get rid of me in their list. He further continue by asking me to please try calling someone even a fraction of a minute. I also explain to him that "I don't have someone to call at the time" he just could not understand. Perphaps he did but too subborn, he is.

I hang up the phone to end that nowhere to go conversation. The next 30 minutes past, I was half asleep, baby sitting your own child is not a big joke; then i received another call again it was midnight already. I thought it was from my wife. But it ain't, it was again from that calling company. Man can't they just call it a day! They not only interupted my precious sleep but also bothered me in the middle of the night. So they could have a comission if i will make that first call he badly want.

The same old stories asking me to make a fraction of minute call, I explained to him again that "i don't have someone to call with in the Philippine that time".

Ok he bought that story but instead asked me to call someone here at home because he says that I could still use it here. Hmm...he definitely have some persuation skills ehy! He must be crazy at past midnight he want me to call "anybody" i know just to facilitate his querries. He even suggested to call my wife and leave a message or something.

Would you be happy if somebody called you in the middle of the night just to say to them that "hey just wanna bother you because i'm trying this new cheap calls that i recently got" i bet your ears will hear a big slam. I didn't do that to the Agent. it ain't just me.

So to cut the conversation short i pretend to ask their 1-800 number so i can call. He gladly provided me the steps and guide me through it, little did he know that after he will hang up he won't here anything from me. He insisted to follow up the call after 10 minutes which he did but i never answered any fone calls again i just let the voice mail do that for me.

Philippines has a growing number of call centers probably next to India. I have even friends and relatives employed in a call center. They say it pays good income. But i can't help but wonder, Do they have a courtesy guide book on "when they have to call people?" or was this story an isolated incident.

My wife and l are so irritated receiving this unwanted call everyday. Occationally we answered our phone but most of the time we just let people to leave a message before we answer it. That's the best thing to do. Telemarketer usually don't leave message on voice mail right? They know they won't have a call back.

Have you experience any similar incident to my story? If you do well, i guess i'm not alone...
Thank you for having the interest to finish my story.