Friday, April 30, 2010

Love


Love is any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection[1] and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my wife"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

As an abstract concept, love usually refers to a deep, ineffable feeling of tenderly caring for another person. Even this limited conception of love, however, encompasses a wealth of different feelings, from the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love to the nonsexual emotional closeness of familial and platonic love[2] to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love.[3] Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.



Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Lithium


Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive, corroding quickly in moist air to form a black tarnish. For this reason, lithium metal is typically stored under the cover of petroleum. When cut open, lithium exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with oxygen quickly turns it back to a dull silvery gray color. Lithium in its elemental state is highly flammable.

The nuclei of lithium are relatively fragile: the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have lower binding energies per nucleon than any other stable compound nuclides, save deuterium, and helium-3 (3He).[1] Though very light in atomic weight, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements.[2]

Because of its high reactivity, lithium only appears naturally in the form of compounds. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but is also commonly obtained from brines and clays. On a commercial scale, lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.

Trace amounts of lithium are present in the oceans and in some organisms, though the element serves no apparent vital biological function in humans. The lithium ion Li+ administered as any of several lithium salts has proved to be useful as a mood stabilizing drug due to neurological effects of the ion in the human body. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, high strength-to-weight alloys used in aircraft, and lithium batteries. Lithium also has important links to nuclear physics. The transmutation of lithium atoms to tritium was the first man-made form of a nuclear fusion reaction, and lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

Friday, April 23, 2010

Bengt Edlén


Bengt Edlén (November 2, 1906 – February 10, 1993) was a Swedish professor of physics and astronomer who specialized in spectroscopy. He participated in solving the Corona Mystery: unidentified spectral lines in the sun's spectrum were speculatively believed to originate from a hitherto unidentified chemical element termed coronium. Edlén later showed that those lines are from multiply-ionized iron (Fe-XIV). His discovery was not immediately accepted, since the alleged ionization required a temperature of millions of degrees. Later such solar corona temperatures were verified.

He also made an important contribution in analyzing spectra of Wolf-Rayet stars.[1][2]

Edlén was professor at Lund University 1944–1973. He was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1947.

Bengt Edlén received The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society 1945 for the solution of the Corona Mystery, the Howard N. Potts Medal in 1946 for researches in the extreme ultraviolet,[3] and the Henry Draper Medal in 1968.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengt_Edl%C3%A9n

William Wallace


Sir William Wallace (Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Uallas; 1272 – 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence and is today remembered in Scotland as a patriot and national hero.[1]

Along with Andrew Moray, he defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, and became Guardian of Scotland, serving until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. A few years later Wallace was captured in Robroyston near Glasgow and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him executed for treason.

Wallace was the inspiration for the poem The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace, Knight of Elderslie, by the 15th-century minstrel, Blind Harry and this poem was to some extent the basis of Randall Wallace's screenplay for the 1995 film Braveheart.



Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wallace

Health Care Costs Going Up


WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is getting a mixed verdict in the first comprehensive look by neutral experts: More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up.

Reference: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100423/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_law_costs

JUSTICE


–noun
1.
the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2.
rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3.
the moral principle determining just conduct.
4.
conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.
5.
the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
6.
the maintenance or administration of what is just by law, as by judicial or other proceedings: a court of justice.
7.
judgment of persons or causes by judicial process: to administer justice in a community.
8.
a judicial officer; a judge or magistrate.
9.
(initial capital letter) Also called Justice Department. the Department of Justice.
10.
bring to justice, to cause to come before a court for trial or to receive punishment for one's misdeeds: The murderer was brought to justice.
11.
do justice,
a.
to act or treat justly or fairly.
b.
to appreciate properly: We must see this play again to do it justice.
c.
to acquit in accordance with one's abilities or potentialities: He finally got a role in which he could do himself justice as an actor.

Reference: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/justice

Thursday, April 22, 2010

La Nuit des Musées


Where: all over France
When: mid May
Website: www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr
For one night, museums open their doors late for special events and entertainment.

Reference: http://www.timeout.com/paris/features/161/festivals-events-in-paris

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

How many inches are in a mile?


There are 5280 feet in a mile. There are 12 inches in a foot. 5280 x 12 = 63360 inches!

Reference: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_inches_are_in_a_mile

Monday, April 19, 2010

Strictly Fiction


I will only be doing fiction when I finish my story so to that end. (http://rickpricemba.blogspot.com/)

Fiction writers learn to write by writing. Although writing is an art, there are skills, tools, and techniques that can be learned in order to develop talent. And constructive criticism and feedback can help this process.

To be a good writer you need to read a lot, listen and observe everything about you carefully, and write a lot. Writing a lot takes discipline, because writing can actually be hard work- but very satisfying. Setting up a routine for writing is important; it is very easy to find something else to do besides writing. A compulsion to write is very useful.

Fiction writers should have a good grasp of the language, but most of all they must be storytellers. A really good story can compensate for less-than-brilliant writing, but brilliant writing will not save a bad story.

Readers of fiction want very much to find the writer's work to be believable. It is the task of the writer to produce a story that does not jolt the reader into recognizing that the narrative is just the writer talking, just fiction. The writer should write about what he or she already knows through experience or can learn about through research. The narrative should read as if the writer really knows what he or she is writing about.

Reference: http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/writing/tips.htm

Peter Kreis


Peter Kreis (19 January 1900 Knoxville, Tennessee – 25 May 1934 Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American racecar driver. He and riding mechanic Robert Hahn were killed in a turn one accident while practicing for the 1934 Indianapolis 500. As he was entering the turn, a car in front of him spun, followed by Kreis' car spining, possibly due to trying to avoid a collision. The car went over the outside wall backwards, tumbled, and hit a tree. Both men were dead when the ambulance arrived. Kreis was a wealthy contractor who would take a month off each year to drive in the 500.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kreis

Bees


Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila. There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families, though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee

Child Abuse


  • A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
  • Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
  • It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
  • 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
  • Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
  • 31% percent of women in prison in the United States were abused as children.
  • Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers report being abused or neglected as a child.
  • About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
  • About 80% of 21 year old that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
  • The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2007 is $104 billion.
  • Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy.
  • Abused teens are 3 times less likely to practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk for STDs.

Reference: http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Wal-Mart Stores


Fortune 500 rank: 1
2009 profit: $14.3 billion

Wal-Mart lowered prices on everything from TVs to shampoo to woo customers in the downturn. Because of its price cuts, the retailer managed to turn a profit amid the recession and gain more loyal shoppers.

In the company's 2009 annual report, CEO Michael Duke writes, "We have so much to be proud of at Wal-Mart when it comes to last year's financial results."

Reference: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/fortune/1004/gallery.fortune500_mostprofitable.fortune/3.html

Viktor Platonovich Nekrasov


Viktor Platonovich Nekrasov (Russian: Виктор Платонович Некрасов, Viktor Platonovič Nekrasov) (June 17, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was a Russian writer, journalist and editor.

Nekrasov was born in Kiev and graduated with a degree in architecture in 1936. Between 1937 and 1941, he was an actor and set designer with the Kiev Russian Drama Theater. During World War II, he served in the Red Army (1941-1944) and fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. After the war he became a journalist and based his first book Front-line Stalingrad (V okopakh Stalingrada, literal translation In the trenches of Stalingrad, 1946) on his experiences there. The novel was awarded the Stalin Prize for literature in 1947.

After Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, Nekrasov took advantage of the first wave of destalinization to publish In the home town (1954), a novel which marked a departure from the Stalin-era socialist realism in Soviet literature. His later works, especially his novel Kira Georgievna (1961), are markedly anti-Stalinist. In 1959 he was the first Soviet writer to openly call for a monument to be built at Baby Yar. A travelogue of his experiences in Italy in 1957 and the United States in 1960, Both sides of the ocean, which was unusually open for its time, was published in 1962 and denounced by Nikita Khruschev in 1963.

After Khruschev's ouster in October 1964, Nekrasov joined other Soviet intellectuals in protesting what he saw as the new government's gradual restoration of Stalinism. He signed numerous open letters protesting government policies in 1966-1973 and was expelled from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1973. In 1974 he emigrated to France, where he became an associate editor of the emigre magazine Kontinent. While in exile, he wrote an autobiography, Newspaper of a peculiar one (1976), and a novel, Those of the front (1978). He died in Paris.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Nekrasov

Hot Tub


A hot tub is a large home-made or manufactured tub or small pool full of heated water and used for soaking, relaxation, massage, or hydrotherapy. In most cases, they have jets for massage purposes. Hot tubs are usually located outdoors, and are often sheltered for protection from the elements, as well as for privacy. Other variants in naming include "SPA", and the trade name "Jacuzzi". These variants can be used to mean an indoor fixture, but a "Hot Tub" is almost always outdoors.

There are essentially two different styles of hot tubs:

* Simple wooden-staved soaking tubs
* One piece plastic tubs (usually referred to as spas)

Hot tubs are usually heated using an electric or natural gas heater, though there are also submersible wood-fired heaters, as well as solar hot water systems. Hot tubs are also found at natural hot springs; in this case, the water may be dangerously hot and must be combined with cool water for a safe soaking temperature.

Water sanitization is very important in hot tubs, as many organisms thrive in a warm, wet environment. Maintaining the hot tub water chemistry is also necessary for proper sanitization and to prevent damage to the hot tub.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_tub

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Dave Ramsey


Baby Steps: Don’t start investing prior to completing Baby Step 3.

1. $1,000 to start an emergency fund.
2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball.
3. 3-6 months of expenses in savings.
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement.
5. College funding for children.
6. Pay off home early.
7. Build wealth and give! Continue to invest in mutual funds and real estate.

Reference: http://www.daveramsey.com/articles/article/articleID/daves-investing-philosophy/category/lifeandmoney_investing/

German Shepherd Dog


The German Shepherd Dog is hailed as the world’s leading police, guard and military dog, however, this dependable breed is more than its 9-to-5 job. Consistently one of the United States’ most popular breeds according to AKC® Registration Statistics, the German Shepherd Dog is also a loving family companion, herder and show competitor. The breed is approachable, direct and fearless, with a strong, muscular body. The GSD may be most colors, but most commonly is black and tan.

A Look Back

The German Shepherd Dog originated in 1899 at Karlsruhe, Germany due to the efforts of Captain Max von Stephanitz and others. Derived from the old breeds of herding and farm dogs, the first German Shepherd Dog exhibited in America was in 1907. The fame associated with Rin-Tin-Tin and Strongheart, two members of the breed whose movies played on variations of the boy and his dog theme, shot the popularity of the breed sky-high.

Right Breed for Your Lifestyle

Energetic and fun-loving, the breed is very fond of children once a relationship is established. He is a loyal family pet and a good guard dog, the ideal choice for many families. He requires regular exercise and grooming.

Reference: http://www.akc.org/breeds/german_shepherd_dog/index.cfm

Converse


The Beginning

Sometime in 1908, Marquis Mills Converse decided to start a rubber shoe company, bypassing a rubber trust that prevented most companies from doing business directly with their retailers. Early catalogs bragged about how many trucks left the Converse factory in Malden, Massachusetts, delivering product directly to stores in Boston. Mr. Converse’s idea worked. But more importantly, it survived.

1908-1918

In 1913, Converse produced a catalog with the following words: “Our company was organized in 1908 fully believing that there was an earnest demand from the retail shoe dealer for a rubber shoe company that would be independent enough not to follow every other company in every thing they do.” Those words would prove prophetic. Always a brand for those independent enough not to follow, the young company would take up with a young sport: Basketball. Also, Converse made tires. But the basketball shoes gained more traction.

1918-1928

Chuck Taylor joins the Converse Rubber Company. How it happened remains lost to history, but the reason isn’t: Chuck Taylor loved basketball and desired nothing so much as to spread of the word of the new game and sell the sneakers it required.

1928-1938

By the time he lent his name to his signature badminton shoe in 1935, Jack Purcell had won five consecutive Canadian championships and been declared the world badminton champion. The Jack Purcell sneaker retains the legacy of its namesake and the feel of his sport.

1938-1948

World War II provided Converse with a singular opportunity. Many products destined for servicemen overseas now became a focus of Converse manufacturing. The product range included footwear, apparel, boots for pilots and army servicemen, parkas, and rubber protective suits and ponchos.

1948-1958

The invention of Rock & Roll. It was loud, lewd, filthy and everything everyone who feared it said it was. It was also a movement in search of a uniform: It found the leather jacket, the blue jean and the high-top sneaker. Interestingly enough, right about this time, the high-top sneaker was around for the birth of something else: The National Basketball Association.

1958-1968

A decade of change — for everybody. Rock & Roll and pro basketball grew up (in Chucks), and All Stars finally came in colors. In tumultuous times, legends are born — and from a green and white basketball team to a British invasion, from rooftops to alfalfa fields, Converse was along for the ride.

1968-1978

Somewhere right around 1974, the All Star sneaker got a little bit of a makeover. Remade in colorful suede with a big, bold star on the side, it was built for basketball—but there was something about its brashness and brightness that would make it irresistible to a generation of rockers, skaters and rebellious souls. Then around ’76 came the Pro Leather, an instant favorite in a time when the game needed a vibe.

1978-1988

An immediate on-court favorite, the Weapon sneaker became almost universally favored by professional, college and high school teams throughout the 1980s and ’90s. In 1986, Converse launched the “Choose Your Weapon” ad campaign, featuring two of the game’s biggest rivals wearing one of the game’s biggest shoes. Over 20 years later, the legacy of Weapon — and its place in sport and culture — continues to challenge the competition.

1988-1998

First came Grandmama. That was a big deal. Then, in 1996, Converse had a hit on its hands with a basketball shoe called the All Star 2000. It was the first attempt at replicating the Chuck Taylor All Star sneaker for contemporary competition, and there was something about its ankle patch, red midsole stripe and no-nonsense approach to the game that at least 1 million people couldn’t resist.

1998-2008

The brand enters its second century by honoring its heritage of seeing things a little differently, loving people who want to change the world for the better, and basically celebrating the spirit of rebellion and originality in basketball, Rock & Roll and anywhere else you find it.

And there you have it — for now… The best stories are the ones that don’t end — the ones you just keep adding to and adding to — all the while marveling at the creative, disruptive, optimistic, courageous ways things evolve from being what they were, to what they are, to what they will become.

Reference: http://www.converse.com/About/

Friday, April 16, 2010

So you want to dive with the big guys!


The trip and experience of a lifetime awaits you. Greatwhite.org has teamed up with what we consider to be the top 2 companies to achieve this with. Firstly South Africa and the "Flying Great White Sharks" of False Bay. Click on the Apex Expeditions logo to learn more!

California and the great city of San Francisco. Here you can travel from the bay out to the Farrallons, a marine mammal sanctuary and also home to the annual migration of some of the largest Great Whites you will see! Incredible Adventures and Cage Diver are your hosts. Please click on the Cage Diver logo to learn more!

Reference: http://greatwhite.org/frame_diving.htm

The Great Wall of China


The Great Wall of China (simplified Chinese: 长城; traditional Chinese: 長城; pinyin: Chángchéng; literally "long fortress" or simplified Chinese: 万里长城; traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng; literally "The long wall of 10,000 Li (里)"[1]) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu from the north and rebuilt and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). This is made up of 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) of sections of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Pulitzer Prize Winner Thwarts SJ Robbery


A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and San Jose State University professor helped thwart a bank robbery, with a bear hug. Robert Lyles reports.

Reference: http://news.yahoo.com/video/sanfranciscocbs5-15751300/pulitzer-prize-winner-thwarts-sj-robbery-19159595

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Y symposium: human rights are a society's foundation


By Sara Israelsen-Hartley - Deseret News

PROVO — For much of the Western world, government-protected human rights are a given. But Martin Palous, Czech ambassador to the United Nations, explained recently at BYU/UVU co-sponsored symposium on God and Human Rights, that in Czechoslovakia in 1976, people weren't so lucky.

It took a bold declaration from a group of committed citizens to peacefully demand that the government protect people's rights.

"Responsibility for the observance of civil rights in the country naturally falls, in the first place, on the political and state power. But not on it alone," according to the English version of Charter 77, the bold declaration Palous himself signed. "Each and every one of us has a share of responsibility for the general situation and thus, too, for the observance of the pacts which have been enacted and are binding not only for the government but for all citizens."

Palous shared how Charter 77 helped usher in a democratic government now active in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"Respect for human rights is the moral foundation of all human societies and no society can function without such a foundation," Palous said, quoting heavily from the work of Czech philosopher Jan Patocka, one of the three spokesmen named in Charter 77.

In fact, respecting human rights and freedom creates the strongest societies, explained symposium speaker David Walsh, a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America.

History has shown, Walsh explained, that free states are stronger than those that must rely on forced power to keep their citizens in check.

But if liberty, especially personal liberty, is so important, why is it often an afterthought in politics, Walsh questioned, pointing out that even the United States' Bill of Rights was an amendment to the Constitution.

It boils down to semantics, he said, and our inability to fully transfer our inner thoughts into a publically accessible language.

"Language deals with general concepts," he said, "whereas persons are each unique irreplaceable and whole worlds unto themselves."

Even our names fall short of truly defining us, they simply move us beyond common nouns, he said.

"Somehow the very things that we're most concerned about, most intent on preserving and protecting seem to escape our identification," he said.

Yet we continue to talk with each other, as that helps us solidify more and more of what we think, he said, and helps us realize the intrinsic value of each person as an individual.

"There's no point at which the social good outweighs the individual good of each one of us," he said. "There are many social problems we could address if we were prepared to sacrifice individuals along the way and social goods that could be achieved if we regarded individuals as expendable. But we consider those social goods are not worth having, being bought at the price of making individuals merely disposable, superfluous entities within the process."

Reference: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700024494/Y-symposium-human-rights-are-a-societys-foundation.html

What's this fuss about true randomness?


Perhaps you have wondered how predictable machines like computers can generate randomness. In reality, most random numbers used in computer programs are pseudo-random, which means they are a generated in a predictable fashion using a mathematical formula. This is fine for many purposes, but it may not be random in the way you expect if you're used to dice rolls and lottery drawings.

RANDOM.ORG offers true random numbers to anyone on the Internet. The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs. People use RANDOM.ORG for holding drawings, lotteries and sweepstakes, to drive games and gambling sites, for scientific applications and for art and music. The service has existed since 1998 and was built and is being operated by Mads Haahr of the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland.

Reference: http://www.random.org/

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Are you Monk?


Have you been bothered by unpleasant thoughts or images that repeatedly enter your mind, such as...

1. concerns with contamination (dirt, germs, chemicals, radiation) or acquiring a serious illness such as AIDS?
No
Yes

2. overconcern with keeping objects (clothing, groceries, tools) in perfect order or arranged exactly?
No
Yes

3. images of death or other horrible events?
No
Yes

4. personally unacceptable religious or sexual thoughts?
No
Yes

Have you worried a lot about terrible things happening, such as...

5. fire, burglary, or flooding the house?
No
Yes

6. accidentally hitting a pedestrian with your car or letting it roll down the hill?
No
Yes

7. spreading an illness (giving someone AIDS)?
No
Yes

8. losing something valuable?
No
Yes

9. harm coming to a loved one because you weren't careful enough?
No
Yes

10. Have you worried about acting on an unwanted and senseless urge or impulse, such as physically harming a loved one, pushing a stranger in front of a bus, steering your car into oncoming traffic; inappropriate sexual contact; or poisoning dinner guests?
No
Yes

Have you felt driven to perform certain acts over and over again, such as...

11. excessive or ritualized washing, cleaning, or grooming?
No
Yes

12. checking light switches, water faucets, the stove, door locks, or emergency brake?
No
Yes

13. counting; arranging; evening-up behaviors (making sure socks are at same height)?
No
Yes

14. collecting useless objects or inspecting the garbage before it is thrown out?
No
Yes

15. repeating routine actions (in/out of chair, going through doorway, re-lighting cigarette) a certain number of times or until it feels just right?
No
Yes

16. need to touch objects or people?
No
Yes

17. unnecessary re-reading or re-writing; re-opening envelopes before they are mailed?
No
Yes

18. examining your body for signs of illness?
No
Yes

19. avoiding colors ("red" means blood), numbers ("l 3" is unlucky), or names (those that start with "D" signify death) that are associated with dreaded events or unpleasant thoughts?
No
Yes

20. needing to "confess" or repeatedly asking for reassurance that you said or did something correctly?
No
Yes

Reference: http://psychcentral.com/ocdquiz.htm

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Brave Man


"If there is one thing upon this earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man, — it is the man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil."

- James A. Garfield

The Best and the Worst Ab Exercises


Best to Worst Exercises for Strengthening the Rectus Abdominis:

1. Bicycle Crunch Exercise
2. Captain's Chair Exercise
3. Ab Crunch on an Exercise Ball
4. Vertical Leg Crunch
5. Torso Track
6. Long Arm Crunch
7. Reverse Crunch
8. Crunch with Heel Push
9. Ab Roller
10. Plank (Hover) Exercise.
11. Traditional (Basic) Abdominal Crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

Best to Worst Exercises for Strengthening the Obliques:

1. Captain's Chair Exercise
2. Bicycle Crunch Exercise
3. Reverse Crunch
4. Plank (Hover) Exercise
5. Vertical Leg Crunch
6. Ab Crunch on Exercise Ball
7. Torso Track
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Long Arm Crunch
10. Ab Roller
11. Traditional (Basic) Abdominal Crunch
12. Exercise tubing Pull
13. Ab Rocker

Reference: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/abdominalcorestrength1/a/Best_Ab_Ex.htm

Metabolism


Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact) so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise. This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.

Reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Increase-Your-Metabolism

Murderer's Row


On April 12, 1927, at Yankee Stadium the Yankees would open their 1927 season against the Philadelphia Athletics, and would start a record setting season. Earle Combs would lead off for the ’27 Yankees followed by Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel, Tony Lazzeri, Joe Dugan, John Grabowski, and the pitcher Waite Hoyt would bottom out the lineup. These Yankees could pitch with the best as seen earlier, but they could also hit and run better than anyone. In ’27 Murderer’s Row would account for 975 runs on 400 plus hits, which was 70 more than Detroit who was second in runs scored in the AL. The Row wouldn’t score these runs playing small ball – bunting to get on base and then hitting behind the runner to score a run – they would hit doubles, triples, and home runs on command. The Yankees didn’t hit the most doubles in the AL with 291, but why would they stop at second base when they could get to third? Murderer’s Row would hit 103 triples, and 158 home runs. No team in the AL would get close to these numbers, and opposing team’s pitching staffs had to have lost sleep at night knowing they had to pitch to the Yankees the next day. The Row also had the highest team batting average at .307, the highest slugging percentage at .489, and the most stolen bases at 90 in the American League in 1927. These 1927 Yankees would be of extreme significance to Major League Baseball history by becoming the first team to be in first place all year, have the most wins (an AL record, 110), highest winning margin (an AL record), first team in American league to finish higher than .700 winning percentage (.714), and the first AL team to sweep the World Series. The 1927 Yankees would win the AL pennant by 19 games (an AL record), and finish the season as World Series Champions beating the Pittsburgh Pirates with a final record of 110-44. Did I mention that they did all of this playing the in biggest park in MLB history? The dimensions of the field were 281 feet to the left field foul pole, 415 feet to leftfield, 490 feet to left-center, 487 feet to centerfield, 429 feet to right-center, 344 feet to right field, and 295 feet to the right field foul pole.

Reference: http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/hpolscrv/aragon.html

Mitt Romney


Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman, Republican Party politician, and the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He is the son of American Motors chairman, three-term Michigan Governor, 1968 presidential candidate, and U.S. Cabinet Secretary George W. Romney, and 1970 Michigan U.S. Senatorial candidate Lenore Romney.

Romney was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and served as a Mormon missionary in France. He attended Stanford University and Brigham Young University as an undergraduate, then earned a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He entered the management consulting business and became CEO of Bain & Company and co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts but lost to incumbent Edward M. Kennedy. Romney successfully organized and steered the 2002 Winter Olympics as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.

Romney won the election for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. In his one term, he presided over a series of spending cuts and increases in fees while the state's finances improved. He signed into law the landmark Massachusetts health care reform legislation, which expanded health insurance access via subsidies and mandates. Romney was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election, winning several caucuses and primaries but ultimately losing to John McCain. Since then has published a book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, and given speeches and raised campaign funds on behalf of fellow Republicans. He is widely seen as a front-runner for the Republican nomination in the 2012 presidential election.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Shaman


There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world; and several common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Common beliefs identified by Eliade (1964) are the following:

* Spirits exist and they play important roles both in individual lives and in human society.
* The shaman can communicate with the spirit world.
* Spirits can be good or evil.
* The shaman can treat sickness caused by evil spirits.
* The shaman can employ trance inducing techniques to incite visionary ecstasy and go on "vision quests."
* The shaman's spirit can leave the body to enter the supernatural world to search for answers.
* The shaman evokes animal images as spirit guides, omens, and message-bearers.
* The shaman can tell the future, scry, throw bones/runes, and perform other varied forms of divination

Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of the living.[41] Shamans require individualized knowledge and special abilities. Many shamans operate alone, although some take on an apprentice. Shamans can gather into associations, as Indian tantric practitioners have done.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism

Found by Mom


As a being of power, intelligence, and the master of his own thoughts, a man holds the key to every situation, to make his life what he chooses it to be. When he discovers the divine power within his soul, he can lead his life to a God-like nature, If one dreams lofty dreams, so shall be become. There is magic in the way one thinks. If we expect the worst, we will get the worst. If we expect the best, we will receive the best. If we train our minds to have faith in God and ourselves, we are using one of the great laws of life. If we think and live righteously, happiness will find its place in our lives.

It is amazing when we expect the best how forces are set in motion which cause the best to materialize. Our thoughts more than circumstances determine the course of our lives. Outward circumstances do not determine the course of our lives as much as the thoughts that habitually occupy our minds. These thoughts carve their impression on our faces, in our hearts and on the tablet or our eternal souls.

Howard W. Hunter – Teachings of Howard W. Hunter pg 74

5 Stereotypes About Aging (That Just Aren't True)


When Americans think about old age, we tend to predict a slowdown, picturing ourselves in rocking chairs or perhaps in front of the television. Members of the Tarahumara indigenous society in Mexico, on the other hand, believe that they gain strength as they age -- and in their 60s remain able to run hundreds of miles while playing a long-distance version of a kickball game [source: Martinez]. The lesson? The way we view the aging process may very well influence how we ourselves age.

The Roman philosopher Seneca considered aging to be a disease, while writers of the era such as Virgil and Juvenal outright ridiculed old age. That may have made aging an even more bitter pill to swallow for the average aging Roman, since researchers have linked negative perceptions of the elderly -- among the elderly -- in contemporary times with watching television, which often depicts old people in a bad or ridiculous light. Too bad, since another study showed that people over 50 who had negative views of aging lived seven years fewer than people with positive views of aging [source: Peri].

Some of the effects we associate with old age, such as congitive decline, aren't even necessarily true. For example, tests show that the more physical activity and mental stimulation we seek out and receive, no matter what our age, the better off our brains are -- and that holds true for another species as well: dogs. Older canines responded in the same fashion as humans, testing higher on cognitive tests when they received regular mental stimulation and social interaction with other dogs [source: National Institute on Aging].

Keep reading to see what other stereotypes should go to the dogs.


5: All Old People Are the Same

One stereotype held by people of many cultures -- even subconsciously -- is that all old people are basically the same. Aging is often viewed as a distinct life change, in which we are all one way (young, at least), and then at some point we "switch over" and become a large, homogeneous group: the elderly.

Most people stay relatively the same throughout their lives, however. Beliefs may shift and change, but personality generally remains constant. While it's easy to lump all older adults into one large category, when we look around at our own lives and our peers, we see many differences -- both large and small -- between ourselves and others. The odds aren't great that when all these different people turn 65 (or 70 or 80), they'll suddenly begin sharing interests and personality traits.

Going hand in hand with the presumption that all older people are all alike is the thought that all old people are basically helpless children. Sure, physical mobility decreases as we age -- so does earning capacity and the ability to remain fully independent. But if you don't like spending your days at a folding table working on simple, oversized puzzles, you're probably still not going to like it when you're older. You'll also very likely maintain your distaste of being spoken to as if you're a small child.


4: Only the Young Believe Stereotypes About the Old

It doesn't take much time in front of the television to learn plenty about the aging: All of them are feeble, forgetful, cranky and confused. This isn't true, of course, but it's the message presented in much of the media.

This negative stereotyping doesn't only give young people a poor image of the aging -- it affects the aging, too. Studies have shown there's a link between the amount of television watched by the aging and their own views on aging: The more TV older adults watch, the worse they view their own peer group [source: Donlon].

The stereotype of the forgetful senior is taken to heart more by seniors than by younger age groups, in fact -- the less a senior buys into that stereotype, the better he or she is at memory recall. You'd think that seniors who have good memories do best at memory games, but that's actually not true. It turns out that when we think of memory as a skill that can be developed, rather than an innate talent, we put more effort into trying to remember something, perhaps by using a mnemonic technique such as image association or rhyming. But if we believe memory is a fixed trait that can't be improved upon, we don't try as hard to remember in the first place, and score lower on memory tests as a result.


3: Less-industrialized Societies Treat the Elderly Better

One common belief held by industrialized societies is that cultures found in less developed parts of the world treat their elderly with reverence and respect. But cultures with harsh climates or living conditions actually provide less care for older adults who are disabled or have dementia [source: Holmes]. The usefulness of the elderly individual plays an integral role in this, as does the status of the civilization as nomadic and hunter/gatherer (more likely to withhold care, or even to expedite death of the infirm) or agricultural and sedentary (more likely to extend care).

While contemporary Americans agonize over the decision of whether to move an older relation into a retirement home, this isn't a new phenomenon. Borrowing from British culture, the United States in the 19th century had an extensive system of poorhouses that housed the indigent as well as the infirm, orphans and the mentally ill. These were eventually replaced by more specialized institutions (homeless shelters, retirement homes and orphanages).

Studies have shown that older Americans in the 18th century weren't held in higher esteem than they are now [source: Thorson]. The high value Americans generally place on youth may have its origins in that century, for two reasons: The children of immigrants advanced more by adopting new customs and placing value on adaptability over tradition, and rising industrialization forced older workers out of the workplace earlier as they were replaced by machines and an increasingly younger workforce.


2: The Aging Should Leave the Planning to Others

You've probably heard old people being compared to infants. In cases of extreme decline, such as with dementia or Alzheimer's, this comparison can hold some truth. But with most of the over-60 crowd, the comparison is insulting.

In the minds of many people, as soon as someone turns 60 or so, he or she can't be trusted with making even basic decisions. In fact, perhaps he or she would be happier if the kids took care of everything! But while there are no doubt a number of people who have simply bided their time until the day they could use old age as an excuse to cajole others into doing their bidding, most aging adults prefer autonomy.

Studies have shown that when the aging are removed from decisions regarding their own health care or services, they are less likely to benefit from -- or even take advantage of -- these services [source: Medical News Today]. This shouldn't come as a surprise: Any group that gets cut out of decision-making processes that affect that group is likely to feel alienated and disrespected, and the aging are no different.

It would seem more natural to assume that as people gets older, they become more knowledgeable and capable, but our perceptions often veer in the other direction. What remains to be seen is whether or not those who currently make decisions affecting the well-being of the aging will readily surrender the decision-making role once they themselves join the ranks of the aging.


1: Suicide Among the Elderly is Always Frowned Upon (Well I did not write the article and I am not going to tell you how to feel, but I am against suicide. Let me just say a one hour visit per week in most cases would solve this problem.)

Western culture, among others, seems to value the pursuit of life extension, even when doing so doesn't hold hope for a dying person's recovery (for instance, resuscitating a 90-year-old with severe heart disease). While suicide may be viewed strongly as a bad thing, a person nearing the end of life who faces solitude, sickness and poverty for whatever weeks or months may remain could feel quite differently about the subject. Nearly one in eight Americans is over the age of 65, but this same population is responsible for nearly one out of every five suicides [source: Ochshorn].

Suicide rates and cultural beliefs about the practice vary around the world. Hungary and Finland have high rates of suicide, while Mexico and the Netherlands have comparatively low rates (the U.S. is somewhere in the middle). The Japanese have historically been somewhat nonjudgmental about the act, especially when it's performed in the face of dishonor or disgrace. The Inuit culture, spread throughout Alaska, Canada and Greenland, is more conciliatory toward elder suicide, and Inuit suicide rates are up to four times higher than other cultures within the same regions [source: Leenaars].

This isn't a new thing -- a 12th-century French Christian sect known as the Cathars was known for its practice of ritual suicide among the elderly, who would cease eating and drinking, expose themselves to extreme cold and will themselves to die.

Interested in more facts about old age? There are links to more HSW articles on the next page.

by Tom Scheve

http://health.howstuffworks.com/life-stages/aging/5-stereotypes-about-aging.htm

Friday, April 9, 2010

Fonix Corporation


Fonix Corporation was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Fonix Corporation owns Fonix Speech, Inc., an innovative speech recognition and text-to-speech technology company that provides speech interfaces for devices and systems. Fonix Speech licenses its technology to major electronic manufacturers and software developers in the United States, Asia and Europe.

Reference: http://www.fonix.com/

The Terminator Comes Through


Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined California State Parks and Recreation Director Ruth Coleman at the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento today to return three paintings, confiscated by the Nazis during the time of the Holocaust, to the heirs of Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer. The three paintings were the subject of a “judenauktionen,” a coerced sale of Jewish assets by the Nazis in 1935. The paintings have been part of the Hearst Castle collection for decades - their history unknown.

“On behalf of the people of California, it is my great honor to return these historic paintings to their rightful owners with respect for the pain and hardships endured by this family,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “The Holocaust will long be regarded as one of the darkest crimes against humanity of the modern era, and I am humbled to play a role in undoing this terrible wrong for the heirs of Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer.”

The paintings were deeded to the state in 1972 with the transfer of Hearst Castle to California State Parks. All three are shown in the Handbook of the Paintings in Hearst San Simeon State Historic Monument, published in 1976, and all three are identified in the publication as having been sold as part of the Galerie van Diemen sale in 1935 that was owned by the Oppenheimers. William Randolph Hearst did not buy them directly from the Galerie van Diemen. There are indications that Hearst, or a broker acting on his behalf, acquired them from another gallery which got them from Galerie van Dieman and that Hearst was unaware of the circumstances surrounding their ownership.

The return of the paintings was prompted by a claim from the attorney for the Oppenheimer estate, Eva Sterzing, on behalf of the heirs on March 1, 2007. What followed was an investigation by Supervising Deputy Attorney General Dan Siegel and California State Parks Chief Counsel Bradly Torgan, who researched the paintings and concluded that the family members had a viable claim. With the full concurrence of the Hearst Corporation, which has a reversionary interest clause as part of the 1972 deed transfer, it was decided the paintings would be returned to the heirs of Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer. The paintings are being returned to two of their grandchildren, Peter Bloch of Boynton Beach, Florida and Inge Blackshear of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In the return agreement, the family agreed to allow California State Parks to retain ownership of one of the paintings and to create reproductions of the other two. All three will remain on display at Hearst Castle. This agreement was made so that guides at Hearst Castle can tell the story of the paintings, the seizure of Holocaust era assets and the efforts to locate and return the assets to the rightful owners.

“More than one million people from all around the world visit Hearst Castle every year,” said Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks. “We are proud to honor the memory of Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer and share this story that touches countless families affected by the Holocaust.”

After the Nazis seized power in Germany, the Oppenheimers were subjected to racial and ethnic persecution, ultimately being forced to give up control of their art business and flee to Vichy, France. The Nazis sold the artwork at auction in April 1935, but neither the Oppenheimers nor their heirs benefited from the revenue of the sale. The proceeds went to pay the Reichfluchtsteuer (Reich flight tax) and other related punitive and confiscatory taxes designed to strip Jews of assets. Jakob Oppenheimer died in France in 1941. Rosa was arrested in France by its German occupiers and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she became a victim of the Holocaust on November 3, 1943.

The paintings that are subject to the claim are as follows:

* Anonymous Venetian artist, first half of the sixteenth century, half-length portrait of a man with a book and necklace of shells around his shoulders,attributed to Giovanni Cariani (oil on canvas) (Tour #2, Doge Suite, north bedroom, a reproduction of the repatriated artwork);
* Paris Bordon (school of) Venetian, 1500-1571, Venus and Cupid (oil on canvas)(Tour #3, New Wing, 2nd floor, room #4,painting retained); and
* Jacopo Tintoretto (school of), Venetian, 1518-1594, Portrait of Alvise Vendramin (oil on canvas) (Tour #2, Doge Suite sitting room, a reproduction of the repatriated artwork).

Reference: http://www.schwarzenegger.com/news.asp?id=2395

An Egg Ad


Want to be incredible? Eat incredible!

Did you have eggs for breakfast this morning? There are endless recipes for great tasting dishes with eggs, so there's no reason you can't enjoy them for breakfast every day.

Eggs are all-natural and packed with a number of nutrients. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein, unsaturated fats and antioxidants, all for 70 calories.


Eggs' nutrients can help you with weight management, muscle strength, eye health, brain function and having a healthy pregnancy. Particularly important for aiding healthy brain function and pregnancy is choline (pronounced KOH-leen), which is amply present in eggs.

Eggs are the perfect choice for breakfast. The protein in eggs provides steady and sustained energy that starts your day off right. Now, what's for breakfast tomorrow?

Reference: http://www.incredibleegg.org/?utm_campaign=-&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_content=&utm_term=eggs&gclid=CJC31rub-6ACFQEEiQodbWYQ0w

Fast and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers


Are you a better sprinter or distance runner? Many people believe that having more fast and slow twitch muscle fibers may determine what sports athletes excel at and how they respond to training.

Skeletal muscle is made up of bundles of individual muscle fibers called myocytes. Each myocyte contains many myofibrils, which are strands of proteins (actin and myosin) that can grab on to each other and pull. This shortens the muscle and causes muscle contraction.

It is generally accepted that muscle fiber types can be broken down into two main types: slow twitch (Type I) muscle fibers and fast twitch (Type II) muscle fibers. Fast twitch fibers can be further categorized into Type IIa and Type IIb fibers.

These distinctions seem to influence how muscles respond to training and physical activity, and each fiber type is unique in its ability to contract in a certain way. Human muscles contain a genetically determined mixture of both slow and fast fiber types. On average, we have about 50 percent slow twitch and 50 percent fast twitch fibers in most of the muscles used for movement.

Slow Twitch (Type I)
The slow muscles are more efficient at using oxygen to generate more fuel (known as ATP) for continuous, extended muscle contractions over a long time. They fire more slowly than fast twitch fibers and can go for a long time before they fatigue. Therefore, slow twitch fibers are great at helping athletes run marathons and bicycle for hours.

What Causes Muscle Fatigue?

Fast Twitch (Type II)
Because fast twitch fibers use anaerobic metabolism to create fuel, they are much better at generating short bursts of strength or speed than slow muscles. However, they fatigue more quickly. Fast twitch fibers generally produce the same amount of force per contraction as slow muscles, but they get their name because they are able to fire more rapidly. Having more fast twitch fibers can be an asset to a sprinter since she needs to quickly generate a lot of force.

Type IIa Fibers
These fast twitch muscle fibers are also known as intermediate fast-twitch fibers. They can use both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism almost equally to create energy. In this way, they are a combination of Type I and Type II muscle fibers.

Type IIb Fibers
These fast twitch fibers use anaerobic metabolism to create energy and are the "classic" fast twitch muscle fibers that excel at producing quick, powerful bursts of speed. This muscle fiber has the highest rate of contraction (rapid firing) of all the muscle fiber types, but it also has a much faster rate of fatigue and can't last as long before it needs rest.

Fiber Type and Performance
Our muscle fiber type may influence what sports we are naturally good at or whether we are fast or strong. Olympic athletes tend to fall into sports that match their genetic makeup. Olympic sprinters have been shown to possess about 80 percent fast twitch fibers, while those who excel in marathons tend to have 80 percent slow twitch fibers.

Are Athletes Born or Built?

Can Training Change Fiber Type?
This is not entirely understood, and research is still looking at that question. There is some evidence showing that human skeletal muscle may switch fiber types from "fast" to "slow" due to training.

Reference: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm

Martin Luther King Jr. The Nobel Peace Prize 1964


Martin Luther King, Jr.
, (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Reference: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

Top 10 historical moments I would have liked to have seen


Notice what is number 9.


I got this idea from a conversation going on in my E-verse newsletter, so here goes: If I did this tomorrow, I might come up with 10 different ones, but today? Here is what I think:

1. The gathering of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787
2. Genghis Khan and his hordes galloping across the desert on their way to pillage some Central Asian city (of course, they would have slaughtered me ... but still. It's a sight I would like to have seen.)
3. The landing of Lindbergh's cross-Atlantic flight in France
4. The building of one of the Pyramids
5. I would have like to have sat in on the trial of Gallileo Galilei
6. The Boston tea party
7. Times Square, when the end of World War I was announced
8. I would like to be a witness to how the hell Stone Henge was built
9. Jesus' crucifixion
10. Washington's inauguration

(There are a ton of other things I would have liked to have seen ... mainly theatrical events ... but I thought those should go in a separate list.)

Posted by sheila

Reference: http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/004506.html

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Whole Foods 'giveaway' on Facebook is a scam


Whole Foods Market and Facebook are warning users that a fan page claiming to offer $500 in free groceries at the health food chain is a scam.

Austin, Texas-based Whole foods said on its official Facebook page that the scam first cropped up on Thursday, and is an effort to steal people’s personal data.

The page offers fans a sign-up sheet for the supposed giveaway, which both installs malware on the user’s computer and fishes for credit and other financial information.

“Dear Fans, Please be wary of Facebook Pages offering you $500 Whole Foods Gift Cards. We only run giveaways and promotions on this Facebook Page and our stores' Pages,” read the post, dated April 2. “We have reported these to Facebook, and you can report these fraudulent Pages by clicking the "Report Page" link on the bottom of the left column on the left column of the Wall view.”

A page that was used in the Whole Foods scam appeared to be gone Tuesday morning. A search for “Whole Foods” and “$500” only revealed a small group warning people about the scam.

But Whole Foods said the pages were first noticed on Thursday and that new ones have been popping up as soon as old pages were taken down.

A spokesperson for Facebook said the social-networking site takes such scams seriously.

“Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and scams is a top priority for us,” the spokesperson said Tuesday in a written statement. “Groups and Pages that attempt to trick people into taking a certain action or spamming their friends with invites violate our policies, and we have a large team of professional investigators who quickly remove these when we detect them or they're reported to us by our users.

By becoming a fan of Facebook’s security page, which has nearly 1.7 million fans, users can get updates on the threats that inevitably will pop up from time to time on a site with more than 400 million users.

Reference: http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/06/whole-foods-giveaway-on-facebook-is-a-scam/

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

17 Facts and Statistics About Suicide


Sorry to post this one, but it is one of the main reasons why I have been working so hard on my book.

Fact number one: Many articles discuss the link between suicide and winter months. Studies have shown that most suicides actually occur during the spring. There are actually fewer suicides committed in the winter months.

Fact number two: In the United States, there are more instances of suicide in the western states than in eastern states.

Fact number three: Suicide is ranked number 8 in the leading cause of death of American males.

Fact number four:When a male attempts suicide, they are at least four times as likely to succeed as females.

Fact number five: The highest number of suicides committed are by whites, followed closely by American Indian and Native Alaskan men.

Fact number six: Around 60% of men who commit suicide use a firearm.

Fact number seven: Women attempt suicide as much as three times more often than men.

Fact number eight: Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents ages 15 through 24.

Fact number nine: From six to ten thousand elderly people commit suicide each year. Most use a firearm.

Fact Number ten: Nearly six people out of every 100,000 will attempt suicide with a firearm.

Fact number eleven: Florida has the highest number of suicide death over all, followed closely by Texas.

Fact number twelve: Rhode Island and North Dakota have the lowest number of suicide deaths.

Fact number thirteen: Hanging accounts for about 1/5 of all suicides.

Fact number fourteen: Suicide is ranked number 11 in the leading cause of death of Americans.

Fact number fifteen: There are nearly one million suicide attempts in the United States each year.

Fact number sixteen: A suicide occurs approximately every 17 minutes in the United States.

Fact number seventeen: Black females have the lowest suicide rate among any other group.

Reference: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/228467/17_facts_and_statistics_about_suicide.html?cat=5

Socialism


1.
a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2.
procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3.
(in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.


Reference: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/socialism

J.D. Salinger Didn't Have An FBI File?


Upon their deaths, dozens of famous American writers were revealed to have attracted the interest of the FBI. In their files, the bureau considered Ernest Hemingway an unreliable drunk, Thornton Wilder a Nazi spy, Carl Sandburg a communist sympathizer, Theodore Dreiser a promoter of illicit sex, and Allen Ginsberg a threat to the president.

But apparently, one of the biggest authors of the last half of the 20th century -- J.D. Salinger -- didn't pique the curiosity of the FBI or even its bibliophile agents. The Huffington Post recently received a disappointing reply to a FOIA request for any files or records on Salinger, who died at the end of January. According to the FBI, the bureau was unable to identify "responsive main file records" under the name Jerome David Salinger. (Salinger's name may still pop up in other files kept by the bureau and a request for cross-references is still pending.)

The apparent omission is curious, considering the scandalous nature of his best-known work, "Catcher in the Rye," which at times has been blamed for corrupting America's fragile adolescents, Salinger's reclusiveness, his counter-intelligence work during World War II as well as his Denazification duty in Germany after the war, his legal battles with various authors and his notorious relationship with Joyce Maynard.

Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/jd-salinger-didnt-have-an_n_525544.html

The Declaration of Independence


I
N CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Fat Burning Foods


Fat burning foods
are foods that burn more calories than the calorie content of the food itself, thereby fighting stored fat. The secret to losing weight is to eat and drink the right kinds of foods until you are full and satisfied. If you skip meals and food, it will slow your metabolism and your health will deteriorate. There are certain foods which actually burn more fat than the calorie content of the food itself. These fat burning foods are natural plant foods. If you eat these fat burning foods and do some exercise, it will boost your metabolism and burn more calories (fat) at a faster rate for several hours even after exercise. Full list of the fat burning foods is available.

List of Foods that burn fat: Fat Fighers

  1. Fruits rich in vitamin C - Citrus Fruits: like limes, lemons, oranges, guava, grapefruit, papaya, sweet lime, tangerines and tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C and fibre and have fat burning properties so they may be called as FAT BURNING FOODS or FAT BURNERS or FIGHTERS.
    Vitamin C helps the body process fat faster and also stimulates the carnitine amino acid which speeds up the body’s fat-burning capacity.
    Vitamin C dilutes the fat and makes it less effective and helps in releasing the fat from the body.
  2. Apples: Pectin in apple restricts the cells to absorb the fat; and also encourages water absorption from the food which helps in releasing the fat deposits from the body. The antioxidants in apples may help prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by excess belly fat or an apple body shape.
  3. Calcium Rich Dairy Products

    Calcium in dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt act as fat burner that can boost weight loss by increasing fat breakdown in fat cells. According to Professor Michael Zemel at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, (Obesity Research, April 2004; vol 12; pp 582-590.) a dairy-rich diet with same calorie restriction can nearly double the rate of weight and fat loss. His research has shown that eating 3-4 servings of dairy products a day is more effective at enhancing weight loss efforts than calcium supplementation alone. Dairy products may therefore be termed as fat burning foods or fat burners.
    The researchers found:
    Overweight people who consumed 3 servings a day of calcium-rich dairy lost more belly fat than those who followed a similar diet minus two or more of the dairy servings. The calcium supplements didn't work as well as milk.
  4. Nuts help feel full while also increasing the body's ability to burn fat, says author Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain.
  5. Chilies: Foods containing chillies or cayanne pepper are considered to be as foods that burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin that helps in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a thermogenic food, so it causes the body to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chilies.
  6. Proteins: Protein rich foods and high fiber foods are the best as foods burning belly fat. Protein needs more energy to digest than fat as so eat low calorie dairy products, beans, whole grains, oatmeal, eggs, etc. as much as possible.
    Lentils are high in protein and soluble fiber, two nutrients that stabilize blood sugar levels, therefore lentils are a great tummy flattener," according to Tanya Zuckerbrot, R.D., author of The F-Factor Diet.
  7. Some of the other foods that may be included in the list of fat burning foods are asparagus, beet root, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, chillies, beans, soybeans, sweet potatoes, blueberries and watermelon.

Note that in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume. This can be done by eating fat fighting foods and doing some physical activity. This will help your body burning up the excessive stored fat.

Reference: http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/weightloss/fat-burning-foods.html