Google Reader adds Drag & Drop and Recommendations Features

Yesterday, Google rolled out two new features to Google Reader, which you may find useful for reading various blogs and newspapers. It added Drag & Drop feature to better manage all your feeds and the second one Google Reader recommends new blogs and news sites based on your reading patterns and subscriptions.

The first part of the video shows the first feature, Recommendations, it shows as “Discover” in your Google Reader. And the second part of the video shows the drag and drop feature. You can see how easy it is.

Recommendations Feature

Drag & Drop Feature

The new features really help you organize all your feeds subscriptions.

If you are not using Google Reader, please do so it has so many new features, you can read 1000s of blogs at one place and keep up to date with the latest trends.

Dog addicted to eating underwear

An 18-month-old dog has a strong addiction for underwear, socks and shoes. His addiction went too far -- it had to undergo emergency surgery to remove this undergarment meal from his stomach.

Taffy is an 18-month-old springer spaniel who lives with owners Eubie and Sharon Saayman in Staffordshire, northern England. He has a strange affinity for eating underwear, socks, shoes and keychain. But after he ate a pair of underwear, it seemed to be in intense pain and needed an emergency surgery.

Lucky for Taffy, his owner Saayman is a vet. He performed the operation to remove a pair of underwear belonging to his 3-year-old son from the dog’s stomach.

Saayman spoke to The Sun newspaper: “Nine times out of ten nature takes its course, but this time he was in discomfort.”

The dog recovered well after the surgery.

According to Saayman, the dog has so far eaten 40 pairs of underwear, 300 socks, 15 pairs of shoes and a key ring.

That is too much to ignore; the Saaymans should take the dog to a dog therapist like Cesar Milan. I watch his shows. Usually when the dogs are nervous and afraid they tend to do things like this. I hope for the dog’s sake they find out what is causing this problem.

Classes on cellphone in Japan

Cyber University is the only university in Japan that offers all of its courses online. Beginning Dec. 5, it will be the only university to offer courses for mobile phones. The courses are available free to the public.

Most Japanese people use mobile phones with Smartphone-like features -- they are able to shop, read ebooks, watch and record videos, send email, browse the Web and many more functions. So this cyber offering of school courses will be a natural extension for the Japanese.

For online courses in Cyber University, the content is downloaded into the computer and is played on a window screen, with images and text in the middle of the screen. A smaller video of the lecturer shows in the corner with sounds. This will form a virtual classroom.

In the cellphone version, the lectures are seen as a video stream on the mobile screen and plays only PowerPoint images.

The university will have one lecture at the beginning and later add more courses. They will add a course on pyramids first. In a demo, the university showed an image of the pyramids on the screen and then changed to a text image when the professor’s voice played from the mobile phone’s speakers.

Cyber University which started early this year in April has more than 1,850 students. The university is majority owned (71%) by Softbank, a Japanese mobile company. The university has government approval and provides various graduate degrees. It offers more than hundred courses including ancient Chinese culture, online journalism and English Literature.

The courses for mobile phones are open to public, but are limited to Softbank phones. Cyber University said it will extend this service to more phone carriers. There are no charges from the university but the phone carrier may charge data transfer fees

[Sakuji Yoshimura, who heads Cyber University and teaches the pyramids course, said the university gives educational opportunities for people who find it hard to attend real-life universities. Such people include workers, the disabled and the sick. “Our duty as educators is to respond to the needs of people who want to learn,” he said.

Yoshimura said internet courses are as good as regular courses. Hhe said the attendance is very high for its online courses at 86 per cent. And also, it digitally monitors whether the student watches the whole lecture downloads.

Mobile courses may become good in the future with bigger screens and faster broadband connections on the way, but with existing phones this will not replace neither live or virtual classrooms.

What is your opinion? Will virtual classrooms become the school of the future?

More than a billion trees planted in 2007: UN

UNEP Logo. Photo courtesy Cbdcprogram.org

A UN report says, in 2007, more than one billion trees were planted around the world in countries like Ethiopia and Mexico. The UN hopes the mass tree planting will help mitigate the effects of pollution and environmental deterioration.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) located in Nairobi has started the mass tree planting initiative inspired by Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Laureate. Maathai, won the prize for her campaign to plant tens of millions of trees to counter losses and desertification in Africa.

On Wednesday, the UNEP said the initiative was a success and that they planted more than a billion trees around the world.

UNEP chief Achim Steiner said in a statement to the Associated Press:

"An initiative to catalyze the pledging and the planting of one billion trees has achieved and indeed surpassed its mark. It is a further sign of the breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation -- climate change,"

He said many want an end to environmental pollution, and thanks to their efforts, they have helped the UNEP achieve its goal.

The trees help collect carbon, which accumulates heat, and traps gases blamed for global warming.

So far the number of trees planted in individual countries via the UNEP initiative are as follows: 700 million trees planted in Ethiopia, 217 million in Mexico, 150 million in Turkey, 100 million in Kenya, 96.5 million in Cuba, 50 million in Rwanda, 43 million in South Korea, 21 million in Tunisia, 20 million in Morocco, 20 million in Myanmar and 16 million in Brazil.

Maathai was also involved in UNEP, and her Green Belt Movement was able to plant more than 4.7 million trees -- double the number of trees it had originally planned.

As AFP reports:

Although the figure could not be verified, it sends a powerful message ahead of the December 3-14 meeting in Bali of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a panel charting the path for negotiating pollution cuts to be implemented after 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol pledges run out.

Maathai was extremely happy with the success and called others to join in on planting trees. She wants this program to continue for a long time.

I say: A job well done by the UN and Maathai. If the whole world participates in this program, it will be a sweet success for Earth.

Police: Woman dumped mom's body by road

A Florida woman wrapped her mother’s dead body in garbage bags and dumped it at the side of aroad. According to police, she did this to collect her mother’s monthly retirement checks.

Debra Loreth’s mother Jeanna Vasa, 83, died Sept. 4, but she didn’t bury or cremate her. Debra claimed to the police that she tried to make a cremation arrangement with the help of her friend, but was evicted from her house and didn’t have sufficient time to complete the arrangement.

She wrapped her mother’s body in garbage bags and put the body in a U-Haul truck, then dumped her body on the side of the road and left the scene.

According to the police, Loreth did this so as to keep collecting her mother’s monthly retirement checks.

A couple found the suspicious bags on Sept. 30 and reported it to the police. The police, after further investigation, connected it to Debra Loreth, 53.

She was arrested Tuesday and charged with a misdemeanor crime for failing to report a death. The police will also add charges for using her mother’s retirement checks after her mother’s death.

The police did an autopsy on Jeanna Vasa, but couldn’t determine the cause of her death.

Loreth is being held at the Marion County jail on $500 bond and has no attorney to represent her.

There was another story about an Italian man had kept his mother's dead body in a cupboard for three years and collected her pension checks.

I hope the police could provide a decent burial or cremation for Jeanna Vasa than what her desperate daughter did for her.

Watchdog investigates Canadian chocolate 'cartel'

Canadian regulators have issued search warrants against major chocolate makers in Canada for an alleged price-fixing scheme. They said this scheme affects a chocolate market worth more than $2 billion.

Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched an investigation against major chocolate manufacturers in Canada (names not revealed yet) for price fixing scheme in the multi billion dollar chocolate bar business, according to the Globe & Mail report.

The Bureau has served search warrants requiring them to provide all documents related to their pricing arrangements.

John Pecman, the bureau’s assistant deputy commissioner in the criminal matters branch, has said they have enough evidence against these companies who are acting as a cartel, contrary to the Competition Act.

He said this price fixing scheme is affecting commerce worth billions of dollars per year. It is still in the investigative stage and a long way to go before they release the findings. He did not identify the parties involved.

Pecman said the bureau is currently focusing on the chocolate industry but may extend to other types of candy, as well.

According to the Globe, the Canadian divisions of Nestlé, Cadbury, Hershey and Mars are cooperating with this investigation.

Cadbury Spokesman Simon Taylor told the Associated Press:

We are aware of it, but all we can say is that we can't comment on any ongoing investigation, but we are co-operating with any inquiries,"

Other companies have not responded so far about this investigation.

Canadians buy about $2.3 billion worth of chocolate and candy every year, according to the Confectionery Manufacturers Association of Canada.

I hope the Bureau catches them before they shred the documents. If there is price- fixing in Canada, these companies can do the same around the world. I wonder whether the U.S. government will do an investigation along with the Canada’s Competition Bureau.

U.S. online shoppers set record on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday Ad from Buy.com. Photo courtesy Buy.com.

Cyber Monday online shopping day this week broke records, shoppers spent more than $733 million dollars in a single day. It rose more than 21 percent compared to last year’s Cyber Monday according to ComScore statistics.

Cyber Monday shopping will become a tradition like Black Friday shopping day after this record breaking sales this Monday. Cyber Monday is the first Monday following the Thanksgiving day holiday and is considered the start of the online holiday shopping season.

Though shoppers buy online from Friday onwards, most of the online shops give deep discounts like the retailers on Black Friday.

ComScore agency estimates that consumers spent nearly $733 million online, 21 percent more than last year.

The number of online buyers rose 38 percent more than last year. Before shoppers used to be wary shopping online before but now more consumers are buying products from the web.

Though these figures increased the average dollar spent by the buyer decreased by 12 percent. It may be due to high gasoline prices and rising prices in the market. ComScore also attributed that decline to a tendency among new Cyber Monday shoppers to spend less than veteran buyers.

As expected more shoppers purchased from workplace, 60 percent of the total shoppers. And as many as 44 percent of the total Internet users shopped online during Cyber Monday.

According to ComScore, the most visited sites during Cyber Monday were Amazon, Wal-Mart Online, Target, Dell and Best Buy Online stores.

These figures are impressive, for a long time the online sales relative to retail sales was far less, now the gap between them is shrinking. They maybe due to social networks, ease of online payment methods like Google Checkout, Paypal and prolific ads in the web.

Online library offers 1.5 million works and counting

Universal Digital Library Logo. Photo courtesy UDL


The Universal Digital Library, a project backed by major libraries around the world, offers more than 1.5 million digital books free to the public. It offers full text downloads in HTML, TIFF, and DjVu formats.

There are plenty of websites that offer free books in the public domain and perhaps most well-known among them is Project Gutenberg and Google Books.

The Universal Digital Library (UDL) project is now doing the same thing, but without the controversy of copyright problems, as all the books in its list are available in the public domain with the authors’ consent.

The copyrighted books are also digitized, but only abstracts are provided for those titles. They will be released to the public once their copyrights expire.

The UDL is partially funded by National Science Foundation, and it includes books from major institutions like Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, Carnegie Mellon University, Zhejiang University in China, the Indian Institute of Science, seven Chinese universities, and eight Indian universities.

Personally, I find it surprising Google is not on this list, as they could have helped quite a bit. The website is currently slow because this news has driven traffic to the site, which is why I believe Google could have helped them with servers to handle traffic. But UDL decided to go alone.

Michael Shamos, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and director of intellectual property for the Universal Digital Library (UDL), said:

"You're not going to find over 900,000 works in Chinese on Google."

According to Shamos, they are not interested in gaining more customers, but instead developing a site where anyone can get free books from anywhere. UDL offers books in three formats: PDF, TIFF and DjVu (pronounced déjà vu, as it is an alternative format to PDF). Google projects contain both free and paid versions of books in PDF format only.

UDL makes it easy for users to download books and organization offers a comprehensive list of rare books that are not usually available, along with classic books.

Shamos uses an example “ancient archery” which you may not usually find, whereas UDL carries a range of books on that topic.

Microsoft is working on a similar project, but with limited selection of books.

UDL is also undertaking this project for preservation reasons; we have all seen examples of fires or over-use that can damage books (like the original Alexandria library that was burned down by a fire and precious books were lost). UDL will store books in multiple places, so once digitized, they will be forever preserved. The protective method is used so it will be impossible for any person or government to destroy precious works.

The UDL project was started five years ago by a team led by Raj Reddy, a Carnegie Mellon Computer Science and Robotics professor. Reddy has been awarded the ACM Turing Award and French Legion of Honor.

I think this is a great start; with various universities working together, you will not only see English books but also other languages and books from different countries. It will make one giant world library.

Google Plans to Produce a Gigawatt of Clean Energy, Cheaper Than Coal

Google announced plans to produce a gigawatt of renewable energy within the next few years and the company wants to produce it at a cost cheaper than coal. This energy will power its data centers and excess energy will be given to the public.

Google calls this initiative “RE less than Coal” or “Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal”. Google’s data centers consume so much power (mostly from coal based power plants) that the company wants to provide clean energy to supply their own needs and those of others.

Google’s Co-Founder, Larry Page, said the initiative would cost tens of millions of dollars for research and development, and hundreds of million dollars for renewable energy projects and start-ups.

The company will also try to produce solar power, wind power and geothermal systems then develop cost-effective technologies based on them.

In addition to these initiatives, Google also plans to license the developed technology to other customers. It will also have a dedicated energy division within the company, likely hiring 20 to 30 engineers and experts.

Bill Weihl, Google’s green energy czar, said they plan not only to produce a clean renewable energy from various sources, but also provide the energy cheaper than energy created by coal power. Google’s initiative will cost about one to three cents per kilowatt hour whereas coal costs about four cents per kilowatt hour.

Google is already working with two renewable energy companies -- eSolar (a solar thermal company) and Makani Power (a wind power company) -- so some suggest Google may have investments in both companies.

If Google can actually successfully develop clean energy sources that are cheaper than coal and create a business around licensing that power it would be nothing short of a revolution in the energy industry.


Googleplex with Solar Installations. - Photo courtesy Google

Google has already invested in solar power at the company's headquarters called "Googleplex." The 1.6MW solar power generating plant is the largest commercial solar installation in the U.S. Googleplex's solar plant provides up to 30 per cent of Google’s peak needs.

I would guess Google will be successful with this project and help others with energy designs that are both green and inexpensive.

Japanese robot with soft hands chats and serves meal

Twendy-One is a robot that speaks and helps out around the house. - Photo courtesy twendyone.com

Japanese University researchers have come up with another novel robot that helps a man get out of bed, chats with him and helps prepare breakfast. The robot can be used to assist the elderly.

Shigeki Sugano, a professor of mechanical engineering at Waseda University, leads the Twendy-One Robot Project. The robot is named Twendy-One for the 21st century edition of a previous robot model, Wendy, which had soft hands and fingers that mimicked human flesh and touch.

The video is not embeddable but you can see it at this site, where it shows how Twendy-One helps to wake a man up from sleep, including lifting him from bed. The robot also chats with him and helps him cook a meal. It toasts the bread and takes the bread from the toaster without breaking it. It is able to take ketchup from the fridge, assemble the meal, and serve it to the table. The robot shows it has an excellent visual and touch system that helps it do these tasks with ease.

Sugano demonstrated this robot to the media and said:

It's the first robot in the world with this much system integration…It's difficult to balance strength with flexibility."

The robot is 1.5 m (5 feet) tall and weights 111kg. The robot took the team seven years and several million dollars to create. It is able to speak much better than any other robots built to date. This robot also has 241 pressure sensors in each silicon-wrapped hand, making it very flexible.

Sugano, however, cautioned that it would take some more time before they become commercially available. Right now they are tethered with cables and only have 15 minutes of battery life. To be used commercially, they will need a longer life. The computer system that Twendy-One currently uses also overheats after every demo or application, so that has to be corrected as well.

I imagine the price point will come way down when these robots are mass produced, as the current price tag runs at about $200,000 USD.

I think the robots could be useful in hospitals and to help the elderly. Japan has the highest elderly population in the world.

Cut Scenes from Sicko You Won't Believe

In his movie, Michael Moore compared the healthcare systems of different countries including Canada, UK, France and the U.S. But he left out one country that was better than any other because he thought no one would believe it.

While shooting his movie 'Sicko', Michael Moore had a chance to visit Norway and couldn’t believe what he saw: The video above shows it in portions to highlight Norway's health care system. It shows how a social medical care system works successfully, even though citizens are taxed much more than Americans.

Norway has the highest standard of living in the world. They are ranked No.1 in literacy, health care and per capita income by the UN. They are also ranked No. 2 in having most women in the government (Sweden is No. 1 and US is ranked No. 66.)

A pregnant woman in Norway is given a paid year vacation. In the UK and France, a woman is given six months paid maternity leave. In the U.S., it varies from company to company, but most women do not get paid maternity leave.

If a citizen in Norway is physically challenged and unable to ride in public transit system, they are provided with a free car. If one is sick and are required to have a change of venue, they are provided with a free vacation.

In the video above, Sylvia Brustad, Minister of Health for Norway, said:

"The most important thing everyone has equal rights in Norway, whether you are rich or poor, man or woman, get the same treatment.”

The police seldom carry weapons and the citizens don’t have to worry about being Tasered.

Moore talks about the ways in which Norway invests in renewable energy, and all their oil industries are owned by the government to control the economy.

The prison system in Norway is much different, as well. The prison system in the country is designed to educate and reform prisoners. Even though it looks like paradise, prisoners have to earn their living. They have many opportunities to escape, but they don’t. And Norway is successful in maintaining a low crime rate and the lowest murder rate in the world.

I completely understand why Michael Moore said people wouldn't have believed him but hopefully we get more reports on the country's system or people travel there to see for themselves.

Debitel provides 600 Euro rebate in Germany for unlocked iPhones

Apple iPhone

T-Mobile and Apple made it impossible for German buyers without a contract by making the iPhone’s price at 999 Euros, but Debitel wants to change that and offers 600 Euro iPhone rebate if the customers use their mobile services.

T-Mobile and Apple initially had a contract to sell iPhones exclusively, but after the court order, T-Mobile decided to offer unlocked iPhones but at a ridiculous price of 999 Euros.

German’s Debitel phone company wants to change all that. It wants to help customers of other networks to own iPhones without a T-Mobile contract. It says it will pay the difference in price between an unlocked iPhone and locked iPhone. Debitel resells airtime it buys from T-Mobile and other phone companies such as Vodafone, O2 and E-Plus in Germany.

Debitel will offer a 600 euro ($891) rebate to new or existing customers who are willing to buy an iPhone and will provide contracts starting at 40 Euros per month. With that price, the iPhone will be cheaper than T-Mobile’s 49 Euro minimum contract price. With Debitel’s phone plan, customer can have 200 calling minutes and 200 SMS text messages.

Debitel customers will have no problems in connecting Vodafone, O2 and E-Plus phone networks including using visual voicemail from Apple.

Oliver Steil, Debitel’s marketing chief said in a statement to Reuters:

We are happy to offer iPhone buyers the freedom of choice that customers are entitled to expect from a service provider,"

Debitel gives a strong statement with this 600 Euro Rebate to T-Mobile and Apple, hope both of them learn from this episode. It is great news from German customers, they don’t have to rely on T-Mobile alone to get iPhone.

Cnet: Vista one of top ten terrible tech products

Cnet, UK division has rated the top ten terrible technology products for the year 2007 and says Windows Vista is one among them. Also in the list is Apple’s puck mouse, Sinclair electric car, Sony rootkit CDs and others.

Cnet cites various reasons for naming Windows Vista as a terrible tech product. They say that any operating system that allows the previous operating system to be reintroduced again should be considered a terrible product.

Many customers of Dell Computers requested them to not to stop selling the XP Operating system, as a result XP is still selling at Dell site. Initially Microsoft had demanded the retailers to sell only Vista based computers to the market, but now it has allowed them to sell until January 2008. There is a high chance it might extend that also.

Cnet said when the new product provides an option to downgrade to a previous one should be considered as a terrible product. In this case, some of the computers with Vista OS had options to downgrade the computer to XP.

The retailers provided free XP Pro disks along with Vista based computers for some of them to downgrade from Vista if they preferred. This option is available only with Vista Business and Vista Ultimate OS editions, both of these require a high graphic and memory needs, so some wanted to switch back to XP. According to the article many retailers are lobbying with Microsoft and want to provide this XP OS option for a longer period than until January, 2008.

Cnet said in the article:

Any operating system that takes six years of development but is instantly hated by hordes of PC professionals and enthusiasts deserves to be classed as terrible technology.

Cnet said another reason for naming Vista a terrible tech product is because of the many of the existing software programs were incompatible with Vista, so many users were forced to upgrade all of their software to work with Vista.

When Vista was introduced late last year, Microsoft also released Zune, but when Zune owners tried to connect them to Vista based computers, the DRM technology in Zune and Vista were incompatible, so they were unable to use Zune with Vista.

I just use XP, so I can’t say for sure whether it is terrible or not. I saw in my friend’s computer, it took him a whole day to install Vista and also saw another friend install Apple’s Leopard OS in his laptop, he was able to install it pretty fast and didn’t have any of the problems mentioned in Cnet article.

They have also criticized other gadgets including Apple’s Puck mouse.

What is your opinion, is Cnet’s assessment true or they are harsh?

Brilliance Scanner from Philips provides incredible body details

Philips unveiled a new scanner that produces 3-D images of the body with high resolution details like no other machine in the market. The Brilliance CT machine can capture the body’s skeletons, organs and blood vessels with great depth and detail.



Human organs, bones and blood vessels in living patients are unveiled with in depth details by a new type of X-ray Scanner. The Brilliance Computerized Tomography (CT) machine provides three dimensional images of the inner parts of the body. The images shown here comes from this Brilliance CT scanning machine.

One can see the entire organs with incredible details, the skeletons look very real and alive. Not only they can be watched in two dimensional view, the image can also be rotated to see how the background looks like with this scanner.


Skull and Chest Scans

The scanner made by Philips takes about 256 X-ray pictures or slices through the part of the body being scanned then combined together to form the final image.

Compared to the conventional X-ray machine, the radiation dose to patients is reduced by 80 percent.


Heart and Pelvic Scans.

It was launched at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

Steve Rusckowski, the chief executive of Philips Medical Systems, said to Daily Mail, they want to help the radiologists so they can help them to focus more on their patients.

This scanner allows radiologists to produce high-quality images and is also designed to reduce patients' exposure to X-rays. It is so powerful it can capture an image of the entire heart in just two beats."

The machine costs $2 million dollars and one of this scanner is available at the Metro Health Medical center in Cleveland, Ohio.

The machine will be very useful in identifying major diseases and see how the disease responds to treatment. Instead of physically operating the patient to find the cause or exposing them to more radiation, the scanning will provide more information quickly and with less exposure.

Evidence for a parallel universe

Data from NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) showed evidence of a huge void in the universe spanning a billion light years. Scientists say this void may be the evidence of another universe beyond our own.

NASA’s WMAP satellite is gathering important data to know more about the origins of the universe. It measures the temperature of the radiant heat after the big bang and see the events that occurred in the first trillionth of a second in the universe.

Astronomers collected this WMAP data and analyzed it and announced that they found a huge void in the universe in the Constellation of Eridanus, a billion light years across. The size of the hole is equivalent to 10,000 times the size of our galaxy or 400 times the distance to Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to Milky Way galaxy. This void has much less materials such as stars, nebulae, dust and other material compared to other parts in the Universe.

The dimension of the hole is so big , the astronomers say there are no current cosmological theories to explain this strange phenomenon in the universe. Some scientists are speculating with theoretical models that might predict the existence of “giant knots” in space known as topological defects.

Another scientist however gave a bold claim and said the void signifies that there is a parallel universe beyond ours with galaxies and solar systems. Laura Mersini-Houghton, Physics Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said to the media that it is “… the unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own“.

The idea of alternative, or parallel universes has been around in Sci-Fi literature and movies but there has been no proof of evidence of a parallel universe so far. If Mersini-Houghton’s claim is right then the Erdanus’ giant hole would be the first experimental evidence for the presence of another universe.

The implications of this possibility are obviously of huge importance for everybody, but it also has further relevance for the astrophysics community as it would bring support for the hotly debated string theory and other central debates.

As more data is being gathered from WMAP, the astronomers can see whether Mersini-Houghton and colleagues’ theory of entangled universes is real or not. Her model also predicts the existences of two voids, one in northern hemisphere that was found by WMAP and claims there must be another void in the southern hemisphere as well.

If Mersini-Houghton’s theory is correct then there maybe more than one universe. I hope this announcement will make the world science body to join forces on such projects and find more, they can then have enough funding and human knowledge to do more than currently possible.

Tasers a form of torture, says UN

The UN’s Committee against Torture said that the use of Taser stun guns are a form a torture that can kill. After the recent deaths in the U.S. and in Canada, the committee said countries should give up using Tasers.

After a Polish man died in Vancouver due to Taser shocks by Canadian police, there have been at least three deaths of men in their early 20s by Taser guns. A UN Committee against Torture said these stun guns are a form of torture that can kill.

The committee said in a report:

"The use of these weapons causes acute pain, constituting a form of torture…In certain cases, they can even cause death, as has been shown by reliable studies and recent real-life events”.

The committee said during the past five weeks in Canada, when the Polish man Robert Dzikenaski died, two more men died in Canada after being subdued by Tasers.

Tom Smith, founder and chairman of Arizona-based TASER International Inc, however said in a recent article that the Taser is not the reason the Canadian died at the airport and is attributed to other medical factors such as delirium. He said the video demonstrated he died of excited delirium and not because of cardiac arrest due to being Tasered.

The UN committee made these comments in recommendations to Portugal, which has bought the newest Taser X26 gun for use by police. They said Portugal should give up the use of Taser, as its use can have a grave physical and mental impact on those who are hit by the Taser. The committee concludes that this violates the UN’s Convention against Torture.

The U.S. government should do a thorough review and make sure the Taser use is safe or not. But there has been no new reports from them in this regard. If Tom Smith says his TASERs are safe, then he should provide more proof to the public, but I doubt he will do so. It can’t be a coincidence to see so many deaths in such a short period.

Download SnagIt screen capture software for Free - Full Version

TechSmith gave away a free software Camtasia Studio yesterday, today, they are giving another great software SnagIt screen capture software for free. Or you upgrade this free version at 50% off.

TechSmith offered Camtasia Studio version free yesterday, today they are giving away SnagIt screen capture software.

SnagIt is another great software you will need if you are blogging or if you have a web site. SnagIt can capture the screen image and contents with a touch of button. It can do the following:

• Capture image or content from a defined region
• Capture the window (browser or application)
• Capture the Full screen image
• Capture a web page with scrolling window (when the image or the content is large, scrolling enables to capture the whole image)
• Capture web page with links even.

And many more features. I used another screen capture software before called WinSnap, which is a great tool but is not as versatile as this SnagIt. If you find SnagIt overwhelming then you can try WinSnap, which is a simple tool to capture images on screen.



How to get this free download?

1.) Download the demo version of SnagIt 7.2.5 from TechSmith’s FTP servers:

ftp://ftp.techsmith.com/pub/products/snagit/725/SnagIt.exe [English]
ftp://ftp.techsmith.com/pub/products/snagit/725/snagitde.exe [German]
ftp://ftp.techsmith.com/pub/products/snagit/725/snagitfr.exe [French]

2.) Go to TechSmith website here and get the software key (Registration key) to unlock the software downloaded in the previous step. They just need a name and an e-mail address.

3.) If you want to upgrade to the latest version, then you can get SnagIt 8.2 at half the price.

Great software, you can download this one for free for a limited time.

Syria bans Facebook

Map of Syria. Image: Merriam-webster.com

Syrian Government has banned Facebook access in its country as part of a crackdown on political activism in the internet. The government didn’t give any specific reason for the banning or how long it will remain in effect.

Many Facebook users have complained that they are unable to access it in Syria. The government have blocked the access and wants to stop the political activism by bloggers, virtual opinion forums and independent media sites in recent months.

Syria's current President is Bashar al-Assad is the son of Hafez al-Assad, who held office from 1970 until his death in 2000. Many thought the younger Bashar al-Assad will be more democratic and flexible but he is bringing various rules such as these that makes it difficult for the Syrians to have free access and opinion.

Dania al-Sharif, women’s rights advocate said to the media:

Facebook helped further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. This is why it has been banned,"

Since Syria is not a democratic country, they don’t want more dissidents against their government by raising political objections over at Facebook and other blogging sites and forums.

Mais al-Sharbaji who has a Facebook group for amateur Syrian photographers said they are used to this type behavior from the government. Maybe his International friends should start a campaign in Facebook against this ban.

There are many proxy methods (356+ sites) in the net by which one can access banned sites from any place in the world, so I doubt this will prevent the Syrians from accessing Facebook and other sites. If the government policies are good, there won’t be any dissenting opinions, the governments use bans and rules to cover their bad policies.

Download Camtasia Studio Screencasting software for Free

Camtasia Studio, Screencasting software. Image: TechSmith

For a limited time, the screen-casting software Camtasia Studio can be downloaded for free. It only works on Windows, but it's easy to use and creates video formats suitable to upload to YouTube.

With Camtasia Studio, you can convert presentation to videos, record online tutorials and convert them to videos for uploading to video sites like YouTube.

It has a high-resolution screen capture so you will be able to record all sessions with great resolution. Now, it is available for free.

The full retail version of Camtasia costs $300, so get it free now by clicking the links below:

First download the trial version from Camtasia Studio 3 here. When you run this version, it will ask for a registration key, so request a registration key for Techsmith here to convert that demo into a fully licensed version.

They just have this software available for Windows, but soon they will make it available for Mac as well. According to Amit Agarwal, Labnol.org, if you want to upgrade to a Pro version Camtasia 5, you can do so at half the price.

I have used Screencast-o-matic's online software to create screencast videos, but Camtasia seems to be a better version and offers a number of options you may like. I tested it and it works fine. It's very easy to use, and no programming skills are needed to do this.

Venezuelan Politician attacks TV host in slapping frenzy

A Venezuelan politician, a member of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s party, becomes enraged and starts attacking her TV interviewer in a live broadcast. She also destroyed the furniture at the set.

President Hugo Chavez is a volatile figure, it appears his members also exhibit similar traits. Iris Varela, the politician, shown in the Spanish language video here appeared for a live interview in a TV show which was broadcast live to the public.

Ms. Varela appears enraged from the beginning and starts to slap the show’s host Gustavo Azocar for defaming her in a book according to the Associated Press news.

She slapped Azocar several times in the face, ripped his microphone and starts to beat him with it. She breaks the furniture at the set and storms off the TV studio.

She hasn’t responded why she acted the way she did at the show, but it appears, Azocar has written a book that defamed her. He had said in the book that her son’s death was a defining moment in her life. She was upset about this and wanted him to apologize to her on the TV show, since he didn’t she started slapping him.

I don’t know whether this behavior is acceptable in the Venezuela or not, but if this happens here, it will be the end of the politician’s career.

Geronimo's rifle, Wyatt Earp's shotgun auctioned

Geronimo with the Springfield Rifle. Image: http://www.archives.gov/

Guns owned by legendary figures like Apache warrior Geronimo, Lawman Wyatt Earp, frontier scout Calamity Jane were sold in an auction and fetched more than $1 million in total.

The Wild West guns and weapons auction was hosted by Bonhams & Butterfields, an arms maker. A Springfield rifle owned by the famous Apache warrior Geronimo fetched $100,000 in this auction.

Lawman Wyatt Earp's double-barrelled shotgun was sold for $65,500.

A saber that is believed to have belonged to U.S. Army cavalry commander George Custer sold for $20,315.

Paul Carella, director of the company’s arms department said some of the guns in this auction belonged to a private collector who has spent a lifetime accumulating firearms carried by famous and infamous figures in American history.

A 32-caliber pistol reportedly carried by frontier scout Calamity Jane at her death, was sold for $4,183.

More than 800 items were sold in this auction.

Carella said to Reuters:

"We achieved some very good prices…I knew those pieces would garner the interest they did, because there are so many people interested in these guys, these folklore legends."

I hope the buyers give them to a museum -- that is where they belong. They shouldn't spend another 100 years in a closet.

You call that a knife? This is a knife

A special collector-edition Swiss army knife weighing 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) is officially recognized by the Guinness World Record 2008 for having the most functions on a penknife.

Released by Wenger and manufactured in Delémont, Switzerland, this unique Swiss army knife has 87 tools with at least 115 distinct uses.

The tools have a dozen blades, key rings, magnifiers, fish scalers, nail files, flash light, watch opener, Phillips and flat head screwdrivers, saws, scissors, rulers, laser pointer, cigar cutter, compass, can opener, golf club face cleaner, grafting blades for gardens, tire thread gauge, tooth pick and many more.



The price for this special collector edition Swiss army knife is $1,150.

The Guinness World Record knife, looks like a bunch of pocket knives placed beside each other and soldered together. The dimension of the knife is 8.75" x 3.25" , slightly bigger than most pockets. They have sold more than 450 this year according to company spokeswoman Jennifer Voss.

Unfortunately, we can’t take this with us on long trips with the recent restrictions at airports. If authorities permit this for storage in your stowed luggage, it would be a handy tool to carry around.

Here is the total list of features.

Christina Applegate Poses Nude for PETA Card

Christina Applegate for PETA. Image: Furisdead.com

Vegetarian, animal lover and TV star Christina Applegate urges holiday shoppers not to buy fur for the holidays in a revealing PETA e-card. She instead encourages them to buy synthetic furs and save money and prevent animal cruelty.

Christina Applegate, 35, became famous after starring in the “Married with Children” sitcom. Now she is starring in another popular series “Samantha Who?”. She is also involved with the group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), in a campaign against fur.

She is encouraging holiday shoppers not to buy any fur. As part of the campaign, she posed nude in a PETA e-card.

The card reads the following:"Cross cruelty off your shopping list by avoiding fur coats, collars, and cuffs (unless it's fake fur of course.)"

Applegate talks about this campaign and her career here. She said she turned vegetarian during lunch one day on the set of “Married with Children” when she was a teenager. She suddenly felt that she couldn't eat anything alive, so she stopped. She also read many articles about how fur was made and how much animal cruelty is involved. So she stopped eating meat from then on.

Christina said to PETA:

"They make really great synthetic fur—you really don’t need real fur. The holidays are also a time when people freak out about their finances. If you don’t want to spend the money, why not try some of the other options instead of killing a bunch of animals?"

Good for her: The ad is done nicely and I hope it will spread the message. You can send the e-card if you like to your friends here.

Indian teenager starts a radio station for his village

Radio Transmitter. Image: 777icons.com

A 17 year old teenager in India decided to build a radio station from scratch to provide service for his village and surrounding area. For two years he has been broadcasting local news and film songs.

Arun Kant Rai,17, is son of a private tutor Mahendra Rai, calls himself the “founder, chief, engineer, producer, program executive and RJ of Radio Reotipur”. He started this radio station with an improvised short wave transmitter, built with parts borrowed from his brother, used transistors, transmitter circuit, capacitors, trimmers and chokes from TV and radio mechanics.

He has been broadcasting local news and film songs for two years now but was worried whether the local authorities will pose problems for him and his radio station. But the Ghazipur district administration was very impressed with his work and are ready to help him to make his radio venture legal.

He broadcasts himself from his room in Reotipur in India. He also has been entertaining the surrounding villages of Tilwa, Gopalpur and Pakri with a daily news bulletin from the world and the local news and film music. On Sundays he broadcasts a special program, songs from Bollywood.

There is All India Radio (AIR), which is government owned company, that provides all of the radio services in India, and one of its program, Vividh Bharati, a song based program, inspired him to start his own radio station.

He studied his brother Amresh’s physics books and built this radio station from scratch. His radio station covers a radius of 200 meters on the Short Wave band.

His father Mahendra Rai got scared by his son’s work and didn’t want him to get into trouble, disbanded the radio station briefly. But Arun along with his siblings, Amresh and sister Priyanka spent their pocket money and rebuilt the transmitter again.

Arun said about his venture to the Indian Express newspaper:

While everyone slept, I worked on improving and upgrading the radio station. One fine day in 2005, I began relaying songs and news within a radius of three kilometers,”

Since that day he has been broadcasting daily for about six hours. Initially he was doing this part time but once he cleared the school exams, it has become a full time occupation for him.

Bhagelu, a farm worker praised Arun’s radio station to the newspaper: “His radio is on air when all others are silent. And he alone gives us local news every morning,”

Arun is not done yet, he wants to expand the range of his radio station to 15 km but has no funds to do that. Radio Reotipur does not generate any income for now, both Arun and his brother are looking for jobs to pay for the service. The only current source of income is from his father’s tutoring work.

The local government however wants to help Arun’s efforts. Ghazipur District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari promised to help him out.

Let him come to us. We will definitely help him in all ways, including getting a free of cost community radio license from the government,”

Rupert Murdoch better watch out for this kid. The children are becoming more ambitious, it is good to see they are enterprising.

Masterpiece Painting found in trash sells for $1 million

Rufino Tamayo's painting "Tres Personajes" was found in trash, sold for more than $1 million dollars. Image: http://www.diario.com.mx/

An abstract masterpiece by a Mexican artist found in a trash by a New Yorker has been sold for more than a million dollars. An unidentified buyer bought the painting. The women received $15,000 and a percentage of the sale price as reward.

The painting “Tres Personajes” by Rufino Tamayo was found accidentally by Elizabeth Gibson as spotted while she was on her morning walk. She didn’t realize it is a masterpiece or it will fetch a $1 million dollars for it, but knew it was something special so she kept it. Later she found it was a stolen painting from a private owner in 1989.

Gibson rightfully handed the painting to the owner via Sotheby’s. The unidentified owner decided to sell the painting instead and also agreed to pay Gibson $15,000 as reward plus a percentage of the sale.

The painting was sold by Sotheby’s Latin American Art Sale this Tuesday to a private American collector for $1,049,000, who bid by phone.

Gibson spent nearly four years trying to find out more about the painting and its estimated value. She finally discovered the painting on “Antiques Roadshow” Web site and found that the painting was featured on the popular PBS program and that the painting was stolen in 1989. She then decided to hand the painting over to the rightful owner and not get into legal troubles later.

The masterpiece was painted in 1970 and it was purchased by a Houston collector for $55,000 as a gift for his wife at a Sotheby’s auction in 1977.

The husband has since died, and the widow, who remained anonymous in this transaction, decided to sell it instead.

Gibson received a $15,000 reward for turning the painting “Tres Personajes” and also will get a percentage of this sale price.

The stolen owner must feel silly now for discarding the painting, like the popular American saying, “Easy come, Easy go”, he got nothing for it and Gibson was rewarded for her honesty.

iPhone Goes Contract-Free In Germany

After Vodafone filed a complaint and obtained a court injunction against T-Mobile to prevent them from selling iPhones with contract in Germany, T-Mobile has changed its mind.

T-Mobile and Apple were selling iPhones exclusively in Germany with a binding contract, but after Vodafone filed a case in court saying T-Mobile shouldn't force contracts, T-Mobile has changed its position. It will now offer the iPhone without a T-Mobile contract for a ridiculous price of 999 Euros ($1464 USD).

Mashable.com said it will be the most expensive Smartphone in the market outside of diamond-fitted phones.

Customers who have signed a contract pay an average 1176 Euros for a 24-month duration. Without a contract it may be cheaper than that, but when they add the connection fees and phone fees with another mobile company, the costs rises dramatically.

T-Mobile says it will also provide an option to unlock iPhones free of charge for customers who bought iPhones since November 19.

As Mashable reports:

This is at least some consolation to Vodafone which doesn’t carry the iPhone anywhere in Europe, as it lost to T-Mobile in Germany, O2 in Britain and Orange in France.

Vodafone managed to flip T-Mobile's stance effortlessly, and I personally hope other phone companies will have the guts to do the same in countries like the United States.

With this announcement, I doubt there will be a significant increase in sales of iPhones. Instead, it just makes Apple look more authoritarian as they appear to want to own their customers.

I believe they could have sold more iPhone worldwide if they had provided both options from day one for a slightly higher price.

How Chocolate Can Save the Planet

Joao Tavares, a fourth-generation cocoa farmer in the eastern state of Bahia, Brazil, grows chocolate using a method called cabruca. His cacao trees are grown under the canopy of larger rainforest trees. Image: NPR

Researchers say chocolate is not only good for the body and the soul, but is also healthy for the environment. They want to help farmers grow more cacao trees in the shrinking rain forests and produce more chocolate in Brazil.

The forests in Brazil are thinning out due to over farming and encroachment of the urban population. As a result it has serious implications with less trees absorbing carbon. Researchers and farmers are cooperating together and finding inventive ways to regenerate the forests.

In Eastern Brazil, the thinned forests are replaced with newly planted cacao trees, the source for chocolate. The seeds inside the pods of cacao trees are roasted and fermented to make chocolate. These new trees and rain forest trees that envelop them help absorb massive amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere and keep it from getting into the air as carbon dioxide.

There used to be 330 million acres of rainforest in eastern Brazil called the Mata Atlantica. Because of increasing population, this forest has reduced in size considerably, only 7 percent of Mata Atlantica remains. The settlers and the local population began to destroy the forest for wood and construction, and clear large swaths of forests for farming purposes.

For every tree that was burned, the stored carbon is released into air and contributes to global warming.

Dario Ahnert, a plant expert at the State University of Santa Cruz in Eastern Brazil, wants to stop this trend and said if the farmers are provided an incentive by planting cacao trees, and generate revenues for them, it may help solve the problem.

Chocolate industry used to be big in Brazil, but because of plant disease and low prices, their industry suffered. Farmers instead turned to logging trees or burned forests for farming. But once the soil were used up, they used to abandon the lands. Ahnert and others want these abandoned lands converted to farms by planting cacao and other trees and help preserve the forest.

One of the farmers, Joao Tavares, a friend of Ahnert, is a living proof of this new strategy. Tavares along with his family have planted cacao trees in more than 2,200 acres. They employ a method called Cabruca Farming in which they cut down just enough of tall rainforest trees and plant cacao trees underneath, so the surrounding trees provide shade for the cacao trees (which helps them grow).

Tavares has been working hard on this for the past 10 years. He said he will help regenerate the forests in the Cabruca area, even if the productivity is less. They don’t produce as much as open farming, but in the latter there are plenty of disease problems, so Tavares instead focuses on preserving the green rain forests. Since there is a high demand now for environmentally grown products, Tavares is able to get a premium for his crops.

Still, his friend, professor Ahnert, admits that cabruca is a tough sell: Farmers want more so-called modern approaches and quicker money. That's why Ahnert hopes that cabruca can become part of the carbon credit market. Farmers would then get money for preserving forest trees, as well as for their chocolate.

Ahnert hopes this strategy will help the farmers and provide more incentives to make them use more cabruca farming.

The World Agroforestry Center and the chocolate manufacturer Mars Inc. are also involved in this greening of the jungle. Howard Shapiro, Chief agronomist a Mars, hopes that chocolate can bring back a little of the forest paradise that used to thrive before in Brazil.

He is working with local scientists at Brazil’s national chocolate research institute. Since some of the lands have been overused, they want to enrich the soil first by growing melons and squashes. Then they plan to grow bananas for shade and plant cacao once the soil is enriched with the previous planting of crops.

They planted rubber trees and heliconium flowers and they could see the soil have started to enrich and could see some healthy cacao trees already.

Shapiro thinks that if they take abandoned lands, they can enrich the soil within three years with the above method.

Thanks to Ahnert, Tavares and Shapiro, they are using chocolate to fight the global warming.

Google Maps gets Wikified

Google Maps added a new feature today and provides Wiki-like edits in the maps, so you get accurate positions of places and features. It is easy to do, and the included video shows some of the highlights.








Google Maps is a good place to find places and directions. And it has many features such as sending the map information to a mobile phone, finding the ratings of business, information about the business, linking the map information, embedding the address at various sites and blogs and many more. Google Maps has added this great feature editing the map location.

Suppose you search for a business location. If it is marked incorrectly you can edit those markers and move it exactly the way you want it. I did the same here is the incorrect location of a coffee shop in my neighborhood:



And the correct one:



Interesting tool, but there may be some abuse if it remains in the open may lead to incorrect markers, so it should be a way that we submit the edit and then they correct it and put the correct version in the maps. But since it may consume more time, Google may not do that way.

For more Google Maps articles click here.

Firefox 3 Beta 1 browser is released

Firefox.com. Image: Mashable.com

Mozilla launched Firefox 3 earlier this month with early versions, but now it has released Firefox 3 Beta 1 version which indicates the final version of Firefox 3 will be available soon.

Firefox 3 Beta 1 is available for download here. When they launched it earlier there were complaints that it had too many bugs and vulnerabilities, and critics said it should have waited until it fixed the bugs. But Mozilla wants to release them quickly for some reason. Mashable.com thinks the Firefox 3 full version will be released in a month or two. Firefox 2.0 also was similarly launched this way.

What is the difference between Firefox 3.0 and Firefox 2.0? The theme, look and feel of Firefox. Mashable.com says don’t expect miracles and revolutionary changes, the upgrade experience from 2.0 to 3.0 should be seamless. The rendering engine used in the browser Gecko 1.9 is faster, more stable and more accurate than earlier versions.

The main features of Firefox 3.0 are:

- Antivirus software integration built in the browser, it may prevent the virus loaded software from the browser.
- Phishing protection by verifying the authenticity of the website (some sites may pretend it to be Amazon, but have strange web addresses, this new Firefox will prevent that).
- Handles the plug-ins better and provides support for Vista parental controls.
- File downloader has been improved and has a feature that enables resuming downloads.
- Add on manager helps to manage the plug-ins better.
- Web pages can be bookmarked with a single click, Del.ici.ous Toolbar does that also

and has many other new features.

Firefox 3 will probably use less of your computer memory which is a great feature, because the Firefox 2.0 if you have don’t more RAM it dominates it and freezes your computer sometimes.

I have downloaded it but I will test them later because some of the extensions I use frequently may not be available with the new version yet. But I am sure it will be a better one than Firefox 2.0 and far better than Internet Explorer browser.

Three boys, 8 and 9, charged with raping 11-year-old girl

Police officials said three young boys were charged Monday for raping a 11-year-old girl last week. The girl told investigators that she was raped Thursday evening and the police say they may have strong evidence but are proceeding with caution.

The three young boys appeared in court in Cobb Country, north of Atlanta on Monday afternoon and were ordered to remain in custody until the hearing is complete. The proceeding was closed to reporters due to the ages of the suspects and the victim.

Police Chief Michael Wilkie of Acworth, Georgia told CNN in a video here, that he has never seen something like this case in his 20 plus years of law enforcement.

Wilkie said the girl was examined by doctors and they think they may have a case but still are investigating. They also interviewed the girl extensively.

The parents of the boys are in disbelief; one of the boys’ father spoke to The Associate Press and said there was no force against the girl and it was consensual. He said the girl leveled these accusations so that she won’t get into trouble with her parents.

Wilkie didn’t agree with this parent’s view and said young kids cannot legally consent to sex, saying "...we have to go with the charges we have."

He said, however, the investigation is far from over and they are still questioning her friends because the girl had talked about it at a slumber party.

Wilkie told CNN:

"The investigators who are following up on this have had a lot specialized training of forensic interviews with children…We've sent them to a number of courses for this, and so we're confident that we've done that part of the investigation as best as we can. We think her story at this point is credible and that's why we went forward with the warrants."

He said they have provided counseling for the girl and they want to resolve the case as soon as possible.

The girl’s mother was very angry at the three boys, and told WGCL-TV in Atlanta:

"They do need to be taught a lesson because if they do it to her, they could do it to somebody else. And who knows when they become teenagers what they can do to other girls."

Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head told reporters the current rape charges would be replaced with juvenile charges, since they are too young to be prosecuted on felony charges. In Georgia, juvenile defendants must be at least 13 years old before a case can be transferred to the adult system.

If they are prosecuted, they face up to five years probation and time in a state youth home.

The Juvenile Court Judge A. Gregory Poole imposed a gag order on participants in the case, so Head said they can’t give additional explanations.

In my opinion, things are getting worse. It is too early to lay blame on the boys, but so far it doesn’t look good.

Afghan Gunfire Making British Soldiers Deaf

A British soldier stops to assess the situation next to a wadi in Musa Quala, Afghanistan. - Photo courtesy British Ministry of Defence

Many British soldiers in Afghanistan are being deafened for life due to intense gun fighting with high-velocity machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons according to a report by The Sun.

The gun fight is so intense and loud in Afghanistan that as many as half the British troops are reporting tinnitus, a permanent, high-pitched ringing in the ears. Many others are suffering from serious hearing loss.

Furthermore, these soldiers have to rely on deaf charities rather than the government for assistance to fix their hearing problems.

Soldiers in Afghanistan do wear ear protection, however they feel it becomes dangerous because the ear protection also mutes the sound of incoming grenades.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Britain does not have precise figures of how many soldiers are suffering hearing loss. Some troops are afraid to reveal their hearing loss, which would get them banned from fighting and they would ultimately lose their salary.

One Grenadier Guardsman told The Sun hearing loss could cost lives and many soldiers are coming back to camp completely deaf:

"It’s a horrific consequence of being out there that nobody wants to talk about or admit. We’re all aware of the consequences — you’d have to leave the infantry. I know so many guys are suffering in silence, they can’t locate where a noise is coming from around them. Everything sounds like a buzz.”

Former Army officer Patrick Mercer, now a Conservative MP, said hearing loss is a hidden problem. The army won’t test it because they will know many soldiers will fail. When there is a shortage of soldiers, they may completely ignore it.

Mercer said this problem is worse in Afghanistan than it is in Iraq. It seems the Taliban are using high-intensity weapons providing a strong resistance leading to heavy artillery gun fighting.

Britain's MoD doesn’t give any solutions, saying hearing protection is given to the soldiers, but the soldiers don’t wear it.

I hope they do find a solution for these soldiers. There is so much modern gadgetry, so they should be able to create a good ear plug and have some warning system in the form of lights when there are loud explosions nearby.

I would only guess U.S. soldiers are facing similar problems.

The $8 Billion Gift Card Scam

Gift cards. Image: Cardweb.com

Last year more than $8 billion was wasted on gift card donations that people did not use. The money that expires on gift cards goes to the businesses, not to your loved ones in most cases.

The holiday season is coming and there are plenty of options to buy gift cards for loved ones rather than gifts. Gift cards will be present everywhere you go in the malls, even in online stores. But is it really effective? Seth Godin says no.

More than $8 billion in gift cards were wasted last year; they were either left unused or soaked up by fees associated with the gift cards. If the gift card is not used within a certain period of time, the money is kept by the business.

So, you waste that money instead of putting it to good use. Wasting $8 billion for nothing is a monumental blunder says Seth Godin: "Along the way, we bought the story that giving someone a hundred dollar bill as a gift ("go buy what you want") is callous, insensitive, a crass shortcut."

Godin said it is a scam and he hopes people will stop using gift cards.

Consumer Reports and other organizations are trying to spread this message, saying gift cards are for chumps. They encourage consumers to spend money differently.

When you spend, for example, $100 on a gift card and your loved one only uses $90, the remaining balance is wasted.

I believe businesses that receive left-over money should put it to good use, such as investing in charities. But they don't.

The businesses keep the money for themselves and make money with fees. I think they should have a provision available to consumers to return the money to the spender, but I doubt they will do it. If a retailer did chose to give money back, think about how great of a marketing tool it would be.

Gift cards may be convenient, but they don't serve the purpose so buy a real gift. Next time you're tempted to buy, think about who will get that leftover balance when you're loved one only uses 80 per cent of the money you spent on them.

Al Gore to be honored at White House by George Bush

Al Gore, George Bush

The president has invited this year’s U.S. winners of Nobel prizes to the White House. President George Bush will host former Vice President Al Gore, Nobel Peace Prize winner along with seven other Nobel laureates this year.

Seven years ago George Bush and Al Gore were competing against each other and Bush won with a slight margin and lots of controversy. Now Bush will be hosting former Vice President Al Gore, as part of customs for the president to invite the US Nobel Laureates this year.

Al Gore and the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Peace price this year for raising awareness about the effects of manmade climate change. Bush is not a big fan of Global warming, so it will be interesting what he and Gore will discuss about. But I am sure it will neither be Global warming nor the elections. I expect them to be diplomatic, but it will be interesting to gauge their reactions.

The other Nobel Laureates invited are the University of Chicago Professor Roger B. Myerson, Eric Maskin from Princeton University, Leonid Hurwicz, an emeritus economics professor at the University of Minnesota, Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and Oliver Smithies from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The former three won the Nobel Prize in economics and the latter two won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their pioneering work.

It will be either a much anticipated or anxious moment for Bush and Gore, we will wait and see.

US Immigration stops Canadian ambulance rushing a heart attack victim to Detroit

US Canada border map. Image: http://www.londonhospitals.ca/

A Canadian ambulance was rushing a heart attack victim to Detroit from a Windsor hospital to perform a life saving surgery, was stopped by the US Customs for secondary inspection and also quizzed the patient.

Rick Laporte, 49, suffered a heart attack and was twice brought back to life with defibrillators at the Windsor hospital. Since the hospital were not well equipped to perform a life saving surgery, they took him across the border to Detroit.

They rushed him with sirens and flash lights on, but the US border guard ignored protocol at the Detroit portion of the tunnel, forced the ambulance to pull over. Then the US customs officers at the secondary inspection site told the ambulance driver to go inside the office to produce identification according to Larry Amlin, of Windsor Essex EMS crew.

It didn’t stop there, other guards told the paramedic crew to open the back doors of the ambulance, then asked Laporte to verbally confirm his identity according to his girlfriend, Kat Lauzon who was visibly upset with the whole ordeal.

"If I'm that person in the booth, and there is an ambulance coming with a critically injured person, I'm not stopping the damn thing…I'm irate. I can't figure it out. He could have died, and I would have blamed that person for murder."

Laporte, a Canadian Auto Workers Union executive, luckily survived this ordeal and had a successful angioplasty surgery at Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital, but remains in the cardiac care unit in serious condition.

Chief Ron Smith of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Detroit could not be reached yesterday.

Amlin said they followed the protocol and yet they were pulled over by the immigration authorities. They received a police escort prior to entering the tunnel entrance, all the other traffic was shut down before they met the US patrol. Under normal conditions, the US patrol are supposed to wave through without any further questions.

Last weekend a Quebec fire truck responding to an emergency request for assistance in upstate New York was delayed at the U.S. border despite having lights and sirens activated.

Canada and the US politicians should sit and make the immigration procedures simple at least for emergency personnel. Nobody is using common sense, if Laporte wouldn’t have communicated then the US patrol would have detained them for some more time, might have caused death.

British woman banned from entering New Zealand because she is too fat

New Zealand Map. Image: http://sites.onlinemac.com/

A British woman who wanted to start a new life in New Zealand with her husband was refused entry by New Zealand. Reason given by the Immigration authorities – she was too fat and will be a burden to health care system.

Rowan Trezise, 33 and her husband Richie Trezise, 35 were planning to move from their home, England to New Zealand, but because she was overweight, New Zealand banned her from entering the country.

When they first tried to gain entry to New Zealand, they were told by the authorities they were both overweight and will be a burden on the health care system.

Mr. Trezise, a submarine cable specialist and former member of the army said his Body Mass Index (BMI) was measured at 42. Any BMI over 25 is considered overweight and unhealthy. So, Mr. Trezise managed to work his body and dropped his waistline to fulfill criteria set out as part of his visa application to work as a technician in the country. When he told this to his doctor, the doctor said this was the most ridiculous thing he has heard in his whole life.

He and his wife had wanted to explore outdoors in New Zealand and be more active.

His wife however had problems unable to shed weight like her husband and is trying to hard to meet the requirements by Christmas. If it doesn’t work they have decided to drop moving to New Zealand. But for now Mr. Trezise is in New Zealand awaiting his wife’s approval.

Robyn Toomath, a spokesman for New Zealand's Fight the Obesity Epidemic and an endocrinologist said they should not be victimized, but however agreed with the restrictions. She said the immigration department cannot afford to import people who are going to be a significant drain on their health resources.

While the New Zealand Immigration Service could not say how many people had been refused entry on similar grounds, the Emigrate New Zealand website revealed that many people had been banned for being obese.

This is an absurd requirement, instead the New Zealand can set health costs a little higher to encourage them to lose weight. BMI is not the true index to determine overweight, you can ask the weightlifters or athletes, they will have a high BMI value.

BMI is measured by a person's weight divided by his or her height squared, but the weight could be either from muscle mass or body fat. Most of the athletes have high muscle mass and low body fat, Shaquille O’Neal for example used to have 3% body fat, that doesn’t make him obese. It is a shame a developed country like New Zealand, has such a ridiculous rule. I think Rowan and her husband are better off in England.

Do you agree with New Zealand’s immigration policy?

Texas math books contain 109,263 errors

A Math joke. Image: http://web.mit.edu/

The San Antonia Express News reported that text book reviewers from the State Board of Education found 109,263 errors. These books will be available next fall in Texas schools.

The errors are spread out over 164 textbooks and online materials are blamed on faulty translation from English to Spanish. But any translation machine would have no problems translating the numbers, so that excuse is weak (maybe they should attribute the errors to carelessness).

For example, one of the second grade math books contains simple errors such as 4+7=10. Other errors are found in answers to end of chapter quizzes.

The books' publishers are lucky to have been caught with errors this early; if the books had been printed and distributed to the Texas State Board of Education, the publishers would have been fined $5,000 per error. That would have been $500 million in penalties if all the 109,263 errors were printed in the books. Instead, the publishers will have enough time to correct these mistakes before they print and distribute.

Houghton Mifflin Co. is one publisher involved in this comedy of errors. Reports indicate the company is responsible for 79 per cent of the errors.

Anita Givens, senior director of educational technology at the Texas Education Agency, said in the years past they had no problems like this. In 2005, they found just one error after the books was released to the school.

In my opinion, the publishers should add a math checker feature in addition to the spell check for the future.

Recall Alert: A Facebook application for toy recalls

Logo of Toy Recall Alert, Facebook application. Image: Facebook.

In order to keep up with hundreds of toys recalled at one place, developers have created a Facebook application that provides the list of toy recalls, whether the toy you are purchasing is safe or not. It also recommends the best safe toys on the market.

This Facebook application can be found here, named “Toy Recall Alert.” It is a very useful service to know more about the toys you are buying for your children or relatives or friends. This app quickly searches the database and tells you whether the toy you are planning to purchase is safe or not.

There have been so many recalls in various industries over the last year, but the amount of products recalled in the toy industry is quite staggering.

Mashable.com said they found nearly seven pages of items that have been recalled recently, and even more of them show up when you search using this Facebook app.

I tried searching with one search term and it gave me nearly 20 to 30 search results with recalls. It lists whether the toys are hazardous, poisonous or harmful and gives a summary about the recall.

The Facebook application also includes a "Best Toys" list recommended by various organizations including Mensa, The Canadian Toy Testing Council, The American Specialty Toy Retail Association and Today’s Parent Magazine.

Here is a Toy Safety 101, free PDF document, which is a good read for anyone interested in this application.

This is a handy tool to use with the holiday season just around the corner.

Scientists translate paralyzed man's thoughts into words

Speech parts in a brain. Image: http://www.strokefamily.org/

Scientists are on the verge of translating the thoughts of a man who can no longer speak into words in a experimental trial, the first of its kind. It won’t be able to read his mind completely, but it will be able decipher basic thoughts.

Researchers at Boston University are working on this pioneering experiment. They have placed electrodes on the brain of Eric Ramsay, who has been “locked in” conscious but paralyzed after a car crash eight years ago. The electrodes have been recording the pulses in the area of the brain involved in speech.

The scientists want to use these signals and convert them to sounds via speech software.

They have not yet fully developed this system, but Boston University researchers think they can correctly identify the sound of Ramsay’s brain, 80 per cent of the time according to a New Scientist report.

Joe Wright of Neural Signals, the company that developed the technology, hopes it will be a breakthrough invention. They will continue to work on this for the next few weeks and start the task of translating Ramsay’s thoughts into sounds.

Eventually, they want to enter into a conversation but right now they are focused on finding out his thoughts. Experts in the field of neuroscience agreed it was an exciting advance.

Professor Geraint Rees, a neuroscientist at University College London told BBC:

"We have been moving towards decoding primitive vocabulary for a while now. But this is certainly an interesting development, although invasive techniques, where something is out in someone's brain, such as these will of course carry risks."

Professor John Dylan Haynes of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences said it is a great start but reading people’s mind is a far-off prospect. Reading a person's mind with a machine is not easy and it will take many years to develop, he said.

But if scientists are able to translate thoughts, it will open up a whole new world for those unable to communicate.

Dinosaur found in Sahara with a vacuum cleaner mouth

Nigersaurus taqueti. Image: Newsvine.

A paleontologist discovers a new dinosaur with vacuum-like wide mouth parts that is designed to suck up food. A plant eater, it roamed more than 110 million years ago in the Sahara region.

Paul Sereno, a paleontologist from the University of Chicago in association with National Geography, discovered this plant eater with vacuum-like mouth part. He has named the dinosaur as Nigersaurus taqueti, acknowledging the African country Niger and a French paleontologist, Philippe Taquet. His team found the first bones of this dinosaur as early as the 1950s but didn’t name it or reconstructed its skull or skeletons until now, so Sereno wanted to honor their discovery.

The Nigersaurus’ mouth is shaped like the wide intake slot of a vacuum cleaner, but has hundreds of tiny, sharp teeth to grind up its food as it sucks up the food. The broad mouth contained more than 50 columns of teeth lined up tightly along the front edge of the jaw. Behind this tooth set, there were more teeth lined up as replacements when the main teeth breaks off.

Using CT scans, the researchers were able study the inside of the animal's skull where the orientation of canals in the organ that helps keep balance disclosed the habitual low pose of the head, they reported.

The 30-foot-long Nigersaurus stood as tall as the modern African elephant, had a feather light skull held close to the ground and grazed the plants like an ancient cow. Sereno compares this dinosaur with the North American dinosaur Diplodicus. It had also a backbone consisting mainly of more air than bone.

Jeffrey Wilson, assistant professor at the University of Michigan and an expedition team member, said without a backbone it is difficult to deal with daily stresses in the jungle, but Nigersaurus managed it well.

The dinosaur's anatomy and lifestyle will be detailed in the Nov. 21 issue of journal PLoS ONE, the online journal from the Public Library of Science, and in the December of National Geographic magazine.

The research was partly funded by National Geographic magazine. It will make a good exhibit at various museums.

Google Co-Founder Larry Page to Wed

Larry Page and Lucy Southworth. Image: http://cfs2.tistory.com/

Silicon Valley's richest bachelor, Google’s co-Founder Larry Page is getting married to Lucy Southworth next month. Southworth is a biomedical informatics doctoral student at Stanford University.

Google’s Larry Page, is worth more than $20 billion dollars is getting married soon with Lucy Southworth, the weekend of December 8th according to a report published Tuesday in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Larry Page is following the footsteps of Google’s other founder, Sergey Brin, who married Anne Wojcicki six months ago in an exclusive ceremony in the Caribbean. The location of Southworth’s and Page’s wedding was not disclosed to maintain privacy.

Southworth is a biomedical informatics doctoral student at Stanford University, the same college Page and Brin graduated from, before they left to start Google in 1998. Page has been dating Southworth for more than a year.

The invitation list to Page's wedding is expected to include many of Google's current and former employees, as well San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and billionaire Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who is with Google’s management board said he was invited for the wedding but will be at the Noble Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway at that time so he won’t be able to attend. But he said he will send a video conference message to Larry Page and his new bride.

Lucy can add her knowledge to already a complex Google search knowledge and make it even more powerful. Wish them a great marriage and a happy married life.

Sexiest Super Computer - SiCortex’ SC5832

SiCortex' SC5832 wins the Sexiest SuperComputer award. Image: Sicortex.com

Before Supercomputers used to fill a whole room if not a building, now not only they are compact, they call them sexy even. SiCortex SC5832 supercomputer wins the Dev Connection’ “Sexiest in the show” award for the year 2007.

The SiCortex SC5832 does look like the ones we see in a Star Trek movie and sure deserves the award with its look and performance. The SiCortex SC5832 has an easy hood door to lift for easy access. Under the hood it contains 972 nodes, each node containing six processors (some of them are Quad core processors), for a total of 5,832 1GFlops 64-bit processors.

All interprocessor communications logic plus two DDR-2 memory controllers and PCI Express I/O logic are on the same node with the multiple processor cores. Complete with its 8 Terabytes of system memory, the SC5832 fits in a single cabinet and requires less than 20 kilowatts of wall power.


Image:ZDNet.

Usually a computer with such high number of processors will have problems of heat and a huge drainage of power waste. Whereas, each SC5832’ node dissipates only 600 milliwatts of power, the combined waste becomes less. Thus they are able to perform well at high speeds and dissipate less power at the same time. The low energy consumption of this supercomputer makes it a big asset in academic areas and research institutions.



The SC5832 has a top speed of 5.8 TeraFLOPS (floating operations per second). It is air cooled and each node of processors runs on a standard Linux kernel. It comes preinstalled with a full suite of software applications including Fortran, C, C++ MPI applications. For more information on this supercomputer click here.

With the pace they are going with miniaturization, soon they will have a supercomputer on a handheld device.

One in three British adults think Everest is in Europe

Mt. Everest Map. Image: http://teacher.scholastic.com/

A National Geographic survey among British adults showed they are reluctant explorers with poor understanding of geography. A third of them said Mount Everest is in Europe, either in the Alps or UK.

The survey was carried out to mark National Geographic’s geography awareness week, called “GIS Day,” which aims to educate young people about world geography with the latest technology such as digital mapping. The UK will be among more than 80 countries that will participate in this awareness week and setup workshops and school assemblies.

The survey, published today, showed the most-visited landmark for British adults’ was their local DIY store. Only 9 per cent visited the museums. Almost a third said they have never visited a museum or church, and a quarter had never been to their leisure center. A third of them thought Mount Everest is in Europe either in the Alps or in the UK, and only half of them knew the Nile is the world’s longest river.

As the Guardian reports:

"The research warns that most people are failing to make the most of their local area and have little knowledge of important geographical facts."

Respondents were also asked about what they remembered most about geography lessons at school from a list of eight topics. The results showed 24 per cent remembered maps, 16 per cent remembered rock and erosion or simply gave an "I don’t know” answer, and only 5 per cent remembered farming.

A survey was also done by the British Council for UK children between 11 and 16 years of age. The council found they have the lowest awareness among their age group in 10 countries.

David Lambert, professor of geography education and chief executive of the Geographical Association, said to Guardian newspaper:

"Geography helps us make sense of the world and face vital issues such as climate change, energy, food production, the 'war on terror', water and poverty. It also touches all our lives every day, from businesses to schools, government to hospitals."

He said geography is an essential part of education, as it introduces young people to relationships between human activity and our physical world. It also helps them to understand the environment better.

In my opinion, this is a sad state: While countries like China and India are spending more money on education infrastructures, it seems the UK and US are busy spending more money on wars rather than protecting your children’s’ education first.

Without sound education, the future will be bleak.

Chocolate began as a status beer 3100 years ago

Cacao Beans. Image: http://www.plenty.org/

The chocolate was consumed by the Americans as early as 3,000 years ago in Honduras. Researchers claim they might have used chocolate as an alcoholic drink rather than the sweet drink version that is consumed now.

John Henderson, Cornell university in Ithaca along with his fellow researchers did a chemical analysis of residues from the pottery vessels found at the Puerto Escondido, Honduras site and found evidence of cacao, used in chocolates now. The vessels dated about 1100 BC (3,100 years in total). They found 10 small, elegant serving vessels implying that cacao brew might have been served in those vessels at important ceremonies like weddings and births.

Henderson said, they might be older than 3,100 years if further testing is done, but this find is the oldest found cacao evidence on Earth. He said more testing should be done on the potteries found at the same area.

The Aztecs and other civilizations used to make ceremonial beverages from Cacao seeds, they also used it as a form of currency. The Spanish conquistadors which destroyed the Aztec empire later, took the cacao products back to Europe and popularized it in Europe.

Henderson and his colleagues reported their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The earliest cacao beverages consumed at Puerto Escondido were likely produced by fermenting the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds.”

Henderson think the village people at that time probably used this cacao drink as a status symbol to gain prestige.

The scientists also report that the cacao brew consumed at the village of perhaps 200 to 300 people may have evolved into the chocolate beverage known from later in Mesoamerican history not by design but as "an accidental by-product of some brewing.

The chocolate enjoyed by later Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and Aztecs was made from ground cacao seeds with added seasonings, producing a spicy, frothy drink. The original cacao bean is bitter in taste, so the Mayans and Aztecs may have added other spices to reduce the bitterness.

Chocolate is the only flavor that is missing in beers (some might have already produced it), maybe the current brewers can make it without hesitancy now. But I would rather prefer them in a chocolate drink or candy bar.

Google's Android OS SDK now available

Google released the Android SDK kit for developers, so they can start developing programs for mobile phones. Google also demonstrated some of the applications they already developed with this SDK.

The video demonstrates some of the Android applications already developed by Google. It is a great start and now with SDK kit others can easily develop and customize their programs for Android compatible devices that will be developed starting next year.

The Android OS is so powerful it will work even on conventional desktops according to Engadget and also plays video games. The software will support the following device requirements.

• Touch screen
• 3G
• Webkit based browser
• Threaded text messaging
• MPEG-4,h.264, MP3, AAC File formats
• Accelerated 3D Graphics

You can download the SDK from this link here. They also have latest news about Android, a community forum where you can discuss this program with others.

Google has created the Android Developer Challenge, with a $10 million dollar total prizes for the winners who develop great programs for it.

There are plenty of other videos for advanced users here who want to know more or develop programs for Android. Here are some:

1. Android Architecture review.
2. Android Developmental demo.

Initial look of Android programs look awesome, I think they will give a good fight to iPhone and other Windows mobile software. The main thing that separates Google and others is simplicity and universal application, will provide a big boost for customers. And is all available for free, though some advanced applications might cost a little more.

Hakini Mudra for Memory

This is a good mudra for memory retention. It is easy to do just try to do this in a quiet place for few minutes and try to focus on the exercise.

Place all the fingertips together. The Hakim Mudra can be practiced at any time. When you would like to remember something, or want to find the red thread again, place your fingertips together, direct your eyes upward, place the tip of your tongue on your gums while inhaling, and let the tongue fall again while exhaling. Then take a deep breath-and what you wanted should immediately occur to you. Moreover, when you must concentrate on something for a longer period of time, could use some good ideas, or want to remember something that you have read, this mudra can be useful. When doing mental work, don't cross your feet. Sit with your eyes facing west. This mudra can do true wonders, and you should always keep it in the back of your mind in case of an emergency.

This finger position has been researched quite well; it has been determined that it promotes the cooperation between the right and left brain hemispheres. It is also recommended today in memory training. It opens access to the right hemisphere, which is where the memory is stored. This mudra also improves and deepens respiration, and the brain profits from it as well.

To activate the energy of the large intestine, shift the finger contact by one finger so that the right index finger is on the left thumb, your right middle finger is on your left index finger, etc.

The Boy With The Incredible Brain

This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few ... all » savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film ‘Rain Man’. (2005)

George Bush's Church Says 'Out Of Iraq Now'

President George Bush. Image: http://weeklyradioaddress.com/

President Bush's church, The United Methodist Church, approved a resolution, calling on Bush, Congress to begin the “immediate safe and full withdrawal” of all troops, provide more support for veterans and have a reconstruction plan for Iraq.

The United Methodist Church, where President George Bush attends, have not been really at sync with each other, they oppose Bush and Congress on matters of public policy for quiet some time.

The 125 current and retired bishops are now meeting in the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and represent more than 11 million Methodists worldwide, including President George Bush, who is a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.

The Bishops said their position is based on the denomination’s belief that “war is incompatible with the teachings and examples of Christ”, and on the call of Jesus Christ for “his followers to be peacemakers”. Their resolution said, “Every day that the war continues, more soldiers and innocent civilians are killed with no end in sight to the violence, bloodshed and carnage”.

The Bishops wants the troops back home immediately, wants the government to declare that there will be no permanent military bases in Iraq, increase the support for veterans of all wars and initiate a reconstruction plan to address the humanitarian, social and educational needs of the Iraqi people.

The White House responded and said that Bush “believes our moral and strategic imperatives are one.”

The White House Spokesman Scott Stanzel said in an e-mail: “Our men and women in uniform are protecting Iraqi citizens from violent terrorists who want to indiscriminately murder innocent civilians by the tens, hundreds and thousands. Our effort to protect innocent life is a noble cause for which the American people should be proud.”

In other words they are telling the Bishops to mind their own business, a typical response from Bush and his staff.

In 2000, the United Methodist News Service welcomed George Bush as President but said a that time it doesn’t mean they agree with every view of the President. They said the United Methodist officials have diverging views from George Bush on death penalty, gun control, abortion and Social security issues.

The bishops and clergy are also opposing a proposed presidential library and policy institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, owned by the church. They feared they will have little control over the conservative think tank in their university, but it seems the proposal will go as scheduled according to the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

He didn’t listen to the Pope, why would he listen to his Bishops now.

Will George W. Bush comply with the Bishops' requests?

Gasoline Tops $5 A Gallon in California

A deserted gas station. Image: http://jalopnik.com/

Gasoline prices are continuing to rise everywhere in the nation especially in California, which reports some parts of the city are already selling gasoline for $5 per gallon of premium fuel. In other parts, it varies from $3.30 to $4 per gallon.

Crude oil prices reached an all time high Wednesday topping $98 a barrel. The gas analysts are claiming the prices are going up because of worldwide rising oil demand. In California, the prices are usually higher than other parts of the states, but still this $5 a gallon gives a stern warning for the things to come.

The article reports that in the past few weeks the gas prices have gone up by 15 cents a gallon. In Oakland, the cost of premium gallon has topped $4 a gallon. A local California TV station KSBW found gas stations in Gorda, south of Big Sur, currently charging $5 per gallon for premium gas. This price is not found in other cities, but their prices are also rising and soon may reach the target with the pace the global fuel prices are rising.

In Salinas, the price was at $3.39 per gallon, in Santa Cruz it was $3.37 per gallon.

The Saudis and the middle men must be making large sums of profits from these high prices. Usually the oil and gas producers and the refineries sign a long term contract, their prices are fixed for a minimum 3 to 5 years, so there shouldn’t be this type of instability. They use various reasons to increase the prices.

Here also the prices have risen, I saw $3.05 this morning in North Carolina. Despite the high gas prices, the traffic remains the same, people are still using it the same way. These gas prices will definitely hurt the poor and middle classes. We have to say a big thanks to G. W. Bush for making all this possible.

Got a long neck and bug eyes? Hollywood's calling

Romulans were characters in Star Trek. - Photo courtesy Startrek.com

Hollywood is looking for actors and actresses with the following characteristics: “long neck, large head, bug eyes, large foreheads” for their upcoming “Star Trek” movie. They will be used as background actors for the movie.

Usually, you would expect Hollywood to seek perfect actors and actresses like the video here. But Paramount Pictures needs odd characters for its new movie. Paramount Pictures will host an open casting call in Burbank, California this Saturday and the studio is seeking people with interesting and unique facial features for their new “Star Trek” movie.

The casting call lists features the actor requirements as follows: "long necks, small heads, extremely large heads, wide-set eyes, bug eyes, close-set eyes, large forehead, short upper lip, pronounced cheekbones, over- or under-sized ears and/or nose, facial deformities".

At the same time they want perfect-looking people too. The list also has the following characteristics requirements: "Ultra plain-looking people, ultra perfect-looking people, pure wholesome looks, twins, triplets, emaciated talent, regally poised and postured talent, or other visually unique characteristics,"

The studio also need actors to portray Starfleet Academy cadets so they want actors who are thin and military types, preferably with marching experience and no objections to having their eyebrows shaved into a Vulcan-type shape.

The new "Star Trek" movie stars Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike, the Starship Enterprise’s first captain, Zachary Quinto, Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana and Karl Urban.

The movie will be released in December, 2008 and is supposed to be based on the early days of the Enterprise crew. William Shatner (Captain Kirk) will not be acting in the movie.

So, the myth is dispelled: Hollywood sometimes needs all kinds of people, not just perfect beauties.

Ingredients for Salad Dressing Found in 2,400-year-old Shipwreck

Ceramic jars onboard a 2,400-year-old shipwreck, with starfish and sponges growing on them. DNA analysis shows these jars held olive oil flavored with oregano and possibly wine. Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Hellenic Ministry of Culture

Ceramic jugs found in a shipwreck show DNA evidence of Olive oil flavored with oregano and possibly wine. The shipwreck dates back to the era of the Roman Republic and Athenian Empire.

An international team of U.S. and Greek researchers did this study and investigated the remains of a 2,400 year old shipwreck that lies 230 feet (70 meters) deep and about half a mile (1 kilometer) off the coast of the Greek Island of Chios in the Aegean Sea.

They found many articles including amphoras, ceramic jars used by ancient Greeks and Romans. Identifying the jars and the contents will help the researchers to understand their living conditions.

The amphoras were used for shipping a variety of commodities at that time such as wine, oil, spices, grapes, olives, nuts, fish and other items. There are many who study such amphoras to determine the age and nationality of the ship it was from. Some amphoras hold the contents even now which helps them to identify more about the lifestyle of the people it belonged to. Other amphoras may not hold anything revealing less what was inside, DNA study could help in some of these cases.

Researcher Brendan Foley, a maritime archaeologist and historian of technology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who helped lead this 2005 expedition and they recovered two amphoras from the Chios wreck. A genetic analysis was done on these jars, by scraping the insides of the contents to get DNA samples.

Foley and his colleagues found olive oil and oregano in one of the jars, suggesting the jars might have held them as a mixture at that time. It was a surprise to the researchers since Chios area was considered to be a major exporter of fine wines. So, initially they assumed such jars must have held wine, but instead they found Olive oil and oregano mixture. The other jar evidence was inconclusive.

Foley told LiveScience:

"This is the first time that we've taken a jar like this that had no visible remains in it and known for sure what was in it”

The researchers found many amphoras in the shipwreck with the similar design as the one they found olive oil and oregano. They think the ship must have sunk while they were outbound from Chios carrying this cargo, which comprised two thirds of the total 350 amphoras found.

Foley said:

"The fact that we detected DNA of olives may mean that Chios exported more than wine….Their agricultural production might have been more sophisticated than we've suspected."

Foley said oregano may have done more just to flavor the oil. The Greeks today especially the older generation of women add oregano, thyme or sage not only to flavor the oil but help preserve the oils longer. Foley thinks the ancient Greeks might have done the same to preserve the oil also. Thanks to that technique the DNA was preserved inside the jars and the researchers were able to identify the contents.

Scientists are trying to apply this technique to identify the contents inside the jars and containers. Foley said it will give a broad knowledge of the living condition of the people at that time. They may apply this technology to identify the jars stored in museums and objects from excavations, but more study need to be done to authenticate this process.

The scientists also want to study amphoras from other wrecks and hope to publish their findings next year. Foley and Maria Hansson, Lund University in Sweden will report the salad dressings finding in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.

It is interesting to find the ancient Greeks had used natural preservatives instead of the hundreds of preservatives and chemicals we find in the modern salad dressing.

YouTube Enhances Video Flagging System

YouTube has announced major changes to flag the videos, if they are inappropriate, show violence, abuse, spam etc. They will monitor the flag at the same time the user reports and will try to improve their existing automatic video removal system.

YouTube announced these major changes today and some say it could be a result of the recent Finland incident, where the killer posted YouTube videos two weeks in a row. So, if someone had identified the videos earlier on, it could have potentially prevented the incident.

Others suggest YouTube may want to improve protection for copyrighted videos and remove those videos that have sexual or violent content.

When you visit a YouTube video and find it is inappropriate, you can hit the “Flag” button on the bottom right of the video. After you press the flag, you will the screen below:


You can choose one of these reasons and hit “Flag This Video”. Each of these categories has a subcategory (total 17 types of categories or reasons). And a subcategory will show as follows:



But since many report it falsely, they give the following message to provide more documentation if it violates a copyright for example. And will give the following message:



Suppose the video shows an inappropriate scene in a large video, they ask you to enter specific information to help them decide quickly.



Then once you enter all the details, and submit the flagged video. YouTube gives a final thank you message.



Some may not like over-censoring, but in certain cases it is necessary when videos show explicit child abuse, for example.

Also, when some post videos promote violence (like the one in Finland), this flagging system will be necessary.

For more information about the YouTube Video flagging system, click here. These flags can be made at the Youtube site only, not on other sites that include embedded Youtube videos.

Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday and Chilli’s are Less Healthy than McDonald's?

An Applebees advertisement. Image: http://golddusteddreams.tripod.com/

Many have said eating food at McDonald’s is unhealthy, but what about quality restaurants like Applebee's, Chilli’s, Ruby Tuesday? They serve dishes that can have more calories and fat than McDonald’s meals.

Documentary like Super Size Me and many articles have criticized that eating foods at McDonald’s is unhealthy and most of the foods served there have high calories. It's recommended to eat healthy foods at home or eat in upscale restaurants like Applebee's, Chilli’s and Ruby Red restaurants. But they are even more unhealthy in most cases, according to Matthew Paulson of Financeispersonal.com.

If you order a hamburger and fries at McDonald's, it has 630 calories in total. When you order the same hamburgers and fries at Ruby Tuesday, their Ruby’s Classic Burger and a side of fries contain 1,372 calories. With Chilli’s, their Oldtimer Burger and fries contain 1,320 calories altogether.

Applebee's doesn’t have calorie information on their menu and at the website, the calories content will be the same. Paulson thinks that Applebee's foods have high calories content and doesn’t want to reveal them by posting their nutritional information.

Burgers and fries may not be healthy, but with items like pastas and salads, all these restaurants have a higher calorie value than McDonald’s. Ruby Tuesday’s Carolina Chicken Salad contains 1022 calories and their Club House Salad has 896 calories. Dressing can add another 100 calories. Chilli’s Crispy Chicken Salad has 810 calories and their Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with dressing contains 1,010 calories.

Paulson suggests eating half a meal at these restaurants but that defeats the purpose of eating a healthy meal. Instead of sodas he suggests other fruit drinks and water.

I have a friend who works at a major restaurant, and he said the food items they receive is also supplied to other food chains including Applebee's, Chilli’s, and other restaurants. So, most of them are made with similar ingredients -- if is unhealthy in one it will be unhealthy at other restaurants, too.

Where can health-conscious foodies find the right restaurants for them?

Google Only Ahead Of Microsoft In Search: Ballmer

Steve Ballmer.

Steve Ballmer releasing the Windows Live from beta version said to reporters that Google is ahead of Microsoft only in search in online. He said Google is not ahead of us in other areas.

Steve Ballmer talks about everything else but Microsoft, here he says Microsoft is ahead of Google in all areas except in search only. They may be good in desktop programs but online, Microsoft lags very badly in many areas, but Ballmer insists they are ahead.

Microsoft released their Windows Live version in its full form from the beta stage it was before. It has hotmail, spaces and other programs in it all accessed from one area. Still they have to work many kinks to call themselves the best, even their full version, doesn’t come close to Google starter page, which has numerous gadgets that you can embed on and access many of the Google programs at one page.


TechCrunch’s Duncan Riley said, Whilst the Windows Live platform is a positive step forward in Microsoft’s long pubescent attempts to become a leader in online services, it doesn’t come close to Google.

Duncan said Microsoft doesn’t have a good online version of Google Docs, it allows upload of documents to Windows Live only if you have the original version of Microsoft Office.

Google’s Adsense advertising is far ahead of Microsoft AdCenter, even Ballmer said it one time they are just a kid growing up in the advertising area. In Social Networking, Microsoft may have gained Facebook advertising, but even there it will become secondary because Facebook is developing its own advertising, “Beacon”.

In Blogging area, Google’s Blogger.com is far ahead with thousands and thousands of blogs compared to Microsoft’s Live Spaces. In videos, Microsoft is not even close, YouTube dominates the market.

Gmail is thousand times better than hotmail and is free even for pop forwarding. Google now has OpenSocial with major social networking sites including MySpace. They have developed Android, open platform for mobiles. Google Maps is everywhere. So, Mr. Ballmer just wake up from the millions you have and admit it for once you are not doing well in every other area except desktop operating system software, even that Apple and Linux is taking away your share.

Gmail IMAP for the iPhone

Learn how to set up Gmail IMAP on the iPhone in about a minute. http://www.gmail.com

For your Outlook setup, use the following instructions. Imap is a better feature than pop3 settings, give it a try you will find it useful and make your editing and reading mails easy over a different platform and servers.

Bibles Banned at 2008 Beijing Olympics

2008 China Olympics Logo

Organizers for the 2008 Olympics in China have released a list of items banned from the Olympic Village, where the athletes will stay. Among the prohibited objects are Bibles, any religious symbols, and video cameras.

The Catholic News Agency reports this banning said the Chinese Olympics organizing committee cited “security reasons” for this ban. However, last month, China’s top religious affairs official, Ye Xiaowen, had said the religious sentiments of others will be tolerated and that they will provide religious services for foreigners. Now they are backtracking.

Xiaowen, director-general of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, had said on Oct. 17 that those who are attending the Olympics will be provided with all the religious services needed for them. He also promised that they will provide a better quality of religious services than the previous games.

According to the Olympic charter, "no kind of political propaganda, religious or racial hatred is allowed in the Olympic areas." But here, China is deliberately forcing their ideology on all the participants by banning the Bible and other religious symbols in the name of security. How is the Holy Book a security threat? If it is, then all books must be dangerous.

China had earlier tried to ban the reincarnations and had said government officials should approve the reincarnations, eliminating the chance of any Dalai Lama-approved reincarnations.

The Spanish daily La Razon responded to this ban and said this is one of the many “signs of censure and intolerance” towards religious objects, particularly those used by Christians in China.

There are 10 million Catholics in China. Many of them remain underground and some are loyal to the state-approved church that respects the Pope as a spiritual figurehead but refuses to be under papal control.

If China keeps insisting on such policies and restrictions, soon everyone will start banning the Olympics and their businesses.

Chicago Police Taser 82 Year Old Woman

A taser demo

A police officer tasered an 82 year old woman, the officer claims that she was swinging with a hammer, when they arrived at her residence. Chicago Police department is investigating the incident.

The officials with the city’s Department of Aging went to Lillian Fletcher’s home on October 29 to make a welfare check and found Fletcher in a window swinging a hammer. So, they called the police and reported it.

The officers arrived and saw her with a hammer, and one of them tried to subdue Fletcher and used a Taser on her.

Lillian Fletcher was rushed to the hospital soon after. She is released now from the hospital and is back at home.

Fletcher told the media on Tuesday that officers pushed their way into her home and shocked her. She sounded confused during the telephone interview with the press. Her granddaughter Traci Taylor, said she is suffering from schizophrenia and dementia. She said her grandmother gets easily confused.

I just don't think they should be Tasing 82-year-old women. That's ridiculous,''

Chicago's Police Department is investigating an officer's use of a Taser and whether he violated the department policy on the use of stun guns.

The tasers use compressed nitrogen to fire two barbed darts and delivers a 50,00 volt shock to immobilize people.

The human rights group Amnesty International USA has voiced concerns that police departments are using Tasers more than necessary and use even for less dangerous situations .

Taser use by police drew national attention recently when police stunned and arrested a University of Florida student after his fervent, videotaped outburst at an event with Sen. John Kerry in September.

Why would anyone want to use a taser on 82 year old woman and shock her with 50,000 volts, it is mind boggling that the some of the police force will use Tasers like a toy gun.

China bans Buddhist monks in Tibet from Reincarnation

Dictatorship and totalitarianism at its worst, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. China is doing this to cut off the influence of the exiled Dalai Lama in India and his remaining followers in Tibet.

The China State Administration for Religious Affairs issued a statement stipulating the rigid procedures which one must follow to reincarnate. They gave the following reason: "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation."

The successor of Dalai Lama is chosen by the following manner. Once the current Dalai Lama dies, his monks and devotees search for the Lama’s reincarnation in and around Tibet. Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is usually found in a small child called “yangsi”. He will be tested under a variety of conditions and make him point the various belongings of the earlier Dalai Lama. If he points them correctly, he is chosen as the successor of Dalai Lama and awarded that title. The child is then taken to Lhasa in Tibet and trained.

China instead wants to go on its own way and has instituted the above set of procedures and wants to choose its own Dalai Lama. It says anyone born outside of China will not be considered as Dalai Lama, in other words it doesn’t want to give any approval to the exiled Dalai Lama.

The current Dalai Lama is 72 years old and is living in exile in India since 1959. He is beginning to plan his successor, but said he refuses to be reborn in Tibet as long it is in China’s control. Since Tibet will be in Chinese control for a long time to come as there is no opposition, it is apparent Dalai Lama will not be reborn. But only question does he have enough control not to be reborn? Dalai Lamas have been efficient so far in reincarnating for the last 600 years, so some of his followers believe his statement that he won’t be reborn again.

After the Dalai Lama dies, the situation will become chaotic; there will be two Dalai Lamas, one near in India and the other chosen by the Chinese government. Paul Harrison, a Buddhism scholar at Stanford said:

"The Dalai Lama has been the prime symbol of unity and national identity in Tibet, and so it's quite likely the battle for his incarnation will be a lot more important than the others."

Harrison and other Buddhism scholars believe the next Dalai Lama will most likely be from the 130,000 Tibetan exiles that live in India, Europe and North America. There is a chance that the next Dalai Lama may be born in America, but it all depends on the current Dalai Lama. However any chance of non-Tibetan to become a Dalai Lama is remote.

If China goes ahead and handpicks the next Dalai Lama, which is the most likely scenario it will look absurd for sure. They already own the Tibetan land, but to extend their power and influence on the religious custom and tradition is ridiculous. Since, no governments will show any opposition, China will have its say and won’t care about others opinions.

Google Coming To A Gas Station Near You

Google Maps at a Gas Station pump. Image: http://www.gilbarco.com

Google in partnership with Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc., provider of gas pumps will provide free Google search tools at the pump station to help them locate various places free. Instead of asking the attendants you can use Google instead for free.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc., provides thousand of gasoline pumps across the US, they will partner with Google to provide this search service free for everyone. The pumps made by Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc., will include an Internet connection and will display Google Maps in color on a small screen.

The motorists can search for places via this display, they will be able to scroll through various categories to find local landmarks, hotels, restaurants and hospitals near the gas stations.

After the driver wants to find details about a specific place, they can enter the name of the place, the pump will print out directions for them. Initially there will be preselected locations only, but later the user will be able to input various addresses.

Lucy Sackett, the company spokeswoman said this service will create more customer loyalty for their retailers.

Initially Gilbarco will offer the service at about 3,500 gas pumps and expand based on retailer demand. Which I am sure others will embrace, many go to the gas stations to ask for directions, this way they can get it on their own via Google Maps and Search.

Unlike other Google sites, this one won’t carry any advertising, but participating retailers will be able to make money from other merchants that offer coupons on the service, like the food coupons we see with printed ads at the back and front.

Karen Roter Davis, Google’s business development manager, said Google wants to make its service available whenever and wherever people need them. Many of the drivers are reluctant to ask for directions from others, so this one will help them to get the maps on their own.

Great idea instead of getting wrong or incoherent directions from others, this will help us find places in a simple and direct way. Soon, the mobile phones will have this map and search service with Android OS, so finding addresses will become easier than ever.

Blogging Spanish Granny a Hit With Internet Surfers

Maria Amelia Lopez is a 95-year-old blogger from Spain. - Photo courtesy amis95.blogspot.com

A 95-year-old grandma in Spain has created quite a stir in the blog world. She blogs daily and has more than 60,000 readers. She is amazed that she is able to connect with so many from around the world.

One day, Maria Amelia Lopez, 95, saw her grandson using the Internet. As soon as she gave it a try herself, she got hooked and started her own blog (found here). She shares her daily thoughts with others in the blog world, which has attracted more than 60,000 readers for her so far.

Lopez says she first saw a blog as a paper notebook but has since developed a different perspective about it all:

"When I saw my grandson using the Internet, it caught my attention. I said to myself 'What's this? You can find out about anything. I want an Internet!'"

Lopez says today's youth don’t respect the elderly, but on the Internet, she found it surprising to see the reaction when young people share their lives and ask her for advice.

Reporters visited Lopez’s home in Sanxenxo in the northern Spanish region of Galicia where she was as passionate in person as she is in her blogs:

"I was always talkative, but now I feel more wanted, embraced, because so may people write to me".

In Spain only one in 10 over the age of 65 use the internet. That number is rising but not as fast as other European countries.

Doming Laborda, an official at Spain’s Industry Ministry, wants to improve these numbers. When elderly people browse the Internet, it will help them to break down isolation and communicate easily via mail, chat or messaging. He said the Internet is fun and always available.

In her blogs, Lopez takes about her youthful good looks and she is not the same as she was when young.

She says the Internet has given her a new lease on life, and she receives messages from far away places like Brazil, Russia and Japan. She calls herself, “the World’s oldest blogger” but she is not (there is another active Australian blogger, Olive, who is 108 years old).

Lopez cannot see the screen well because of cataracts, but her grandson is assisting her in blogging.

So far, she has talked about her long life through Spain’s vicious civil war and the long years of dictatorship under General Francisco Franco. She also mentioned how young men are different now than in the past:

"Young men were different back then. They brought us flowers, gardenias, violets, chocolates. Not like the foul-mouthed bunch today."

Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has written to congratulate Lopez on her blog and she recommends other seniors also take up blogging.

In the end, she craves for broadband rather than a dial-up connection and says she wants to get it before she dies (I hope the Spanish officials listen to her).

Way to go grandma. I hope to see many others like you.

Apple developing Tablet PC is real, says Asus

Apple developing a Mac Tablet computer with Asus. Image: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/

Crave, a Cnet.com blogging site says Apple is seriously considering a Tablet version of its Mac computer and will develop this with Asus, a Taiwan based computer company. Crave says they have received confirmation from Asus sources.

Crave said recently they had a meeting with Asus representatives and they announced that Apple is building a Tablet version of its Mac computer similar to HP’s Tablet PC. Unlike other rumors this maybe true because Asus manufactures bulk of Mac products worldwide. They are responsible for building iBook, PowerBook and MacBook computers.

Crave also confirmed with another source in Asus and they also said the same thing with Apple developing its own Tablet design. Apple was granted a patent for a Tablet version as early as in 2005, so this design might be based on that patent.

The new Tablet will probably be based on Intel Core architecture, a Leopard version modified to suit the Tablet’s requirements, will have the multi touch, CoverFlow features we have seen in iPhone and iPod Touch.

Will Apple’s Tablet PC will be successful? Crave thinks yes. Any company that can make a mobile phone with no buttons, no picture messaging, slow Web access and no video capture into the most desirable phone on the planet can easily make tablets popular.

They didn’t however tell when they will be released but is currently being built. Doesn’t Apple ever stop, we haven’t yet digested the iPhone introduction, the new Leopard, and now they are already talking about a Tablet. Well if you are an Apple fan you would love this news, if not you will be cursing like Steve Ballmer of Microsoft.

Read RSS Feeds In Your Email Inbox with Send Me RSS

Send Me RSS is a free beta service that allows you to read your favorite blogs and news sites in your e-mail inbox. This is another form of reading RSS content. It offers you to keep up with with your favorite blogs in e-mail.

If you would like to keep up to date with your favorite blogs and news site and want to know as quick as possible then this SendMeRss feature will help. It will direct all the latest content of your favorite blogs and sites to your e-mail address. Feedburner owned by Google also has this service.

To use this e-mail feature visit the site, http://www.sendmerss.com/, and do the following:

1. Add the RSS Feed you want in your e-mail box
2. Add your e-mail address
3. Then click “Add Feed”

That’s it and it will automatically send the latest news direct to your e-mail. This will be a good feature in mobiles, where you can read e-mails but can’t access the internet. Here are some more links you can access with your mobile in the absence of internet connections.

According to Labnol, SendMeRSS is an upgraded version of R-Mail acquired by NBC Universal.

For those who are not familiar with RSS, the video above will teach you the basic aspects. With RSS you can be up to date with the latest news from thousands of blogs and sites, without it you would have to access all the different sites individually.

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Google gets the shortest domain name ever

Shortestest Domain name. Image: Valleywag.

Google is trying to make inroads into the China search engine market. To make the users reach its site quickly, it has obtained the shortest possible domain name in China, http://g.cn, and previously users were able to reach it as google.cn.

Google announced today that it purchased the domain name g.cn in China to make it the shortest possible domain name. It said this domain will make the users easy to find. Whether this domain name will be able to surpass the Baidu Search engine, we have to wait and see. When you type in g.cn, you will see the following picture just like the google.cn.



Currently Baidu has 58.1% market share in searches in China, while Google has 22.8% but is rising compared to Baidu.

Though Google purchased this domain name in China, it couldn’t do the same in the US or in other countries. All the single letter and single digit names are reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which is the master arbiter of domain names and addresses on the Internet.

Other shortest domain names owned by major companies are Z.com owned by Nissan, Q.com owned by Qwest and X.com owned by PayPal.

IANA may auction of these single letter and single digit names at a later time, but for now they own the remaining single letters and digits domain names.

Google can buy single letter domain or infinite letters domain; they have the money to buy them. Currently Google trades at $712 per share; they were $600 per share last month.

Facebook: More Popular Than Porn

According to Hitwise traffic site, Facebook is more popular than porn sites for users between 18 to 24 year olds. For Facebook users, Porn sites are ranked fourth only after search engines and e-mail sites.

Bill Tancer is general manager of global research at Hitwise examined which websites social network users visit after logging into their profiles, to see their daily patterns in the web. He found that after the users visit Facebook first, the most clicked category of sites were search engines with 11.6 percent of visits, then the most click after sites were e-mail sites with 8.5 percent. Blogs came in third in popularity at 6.1 percent four times more than the number of visits to traditional news sites.

He analyzed which of the 172 web categories tracked by Hitwise gets the most hits from 18 to 24 year olds. One would expect it to be porn sites, but that is not the case it is actually number four on the list. For 18 to 24 years olds, social networks ranks first, followed by search engines, then web based e-mail and with porn sites coming in fourth. Whereas with users age over 25, comes in second after search engines.

Tancer finds Adult Entertainment category has declined the past two years, visits to porn site have dropped from 16.9 percents of all sits in the U.S. in October 2005 to 11.9% in October 2007, a 33% decline.

If one charts the rate of visits to social networking sites against those to adult sites over the last two years, there seems to be a strong negative correlation. Number of visits to social networking sites have gone up at an incredible rate while the visits to adults’ sites are showing decreasing trends.

Tancer said it may be due to the Gen Y’s changing habits, they are too busy chatting with friends on Facebook. They are even spending less time chatting on IMs and sending e-mails, when they can do everything at one place in Facebook. He said social networking is becoming like e-mail 2.0.

Social networking is the way to go, will definitely give porn sites a run for their money. It is here to stay. We are social animals, Facebook like sites makes us more happy than anything else.

15 Successful Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Need College

Bill Gates

The following entrepreneurs made it successful without having a college degree, while in many homes the parents insist to get ahead one needs a college degree. Some of the big names are Richard Branson, Mary Kay Ash, Bill Gates and Simon Cowell.

Is college really necessary? The parents would say yes but these entrepreneurs made it without an education and became multimillionaires. Here are some of the big names who made it present and in the past.

• Mary Kay Ash: She is the founder of Mary Kay Inc., and started the cosmetics business. Without a college education and training, she made her name famous throughout the cosmetics world. Nearly half a million women have started Mary Kay businesses selling her brand name products. Here is a dedication site for Mary Kay Ash.

• Richard Branson: He is the owner of Virgin brand and its 360 companies. He owns some major businesses such as Virgin Atlantic Airway and Virgin Megastore. He dropped out at the age of 16 and started his own business named Student Magazine.

• Simon Cowell: He began his career in a mail room for a music publishing company, and soon became an executive for Sony BMG in the UK, and television producer for the popular show in the world, American Idol and also judges Idol and other talent contests worldwide. He doesn’t have a college degree.

• Michael Dell: With just $1,000 in his pocket, Michael Dell dropped out of college at age 19 and started his own brand name PC Company called Dell, Inc. It became the most profitable company in the world.

• Coco Chanel: Gabrielle Coco Chanel was an orphan and she trained to become a seamstress. She made a revolution in the woman’s fashions industry. Now she has a perfume in her name, Chanel No. 5.

• Walt Disney: Disney dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and started his famous animation business and captivated children and adults alike. He holds the record for the most awards and nominations. Now Disney’s company has annual revenues of $30 billion dollars.

• Bill Gates: Currently the world’s third richest person, Bill Gates was a college drop out. He started the largest computer software company, Microsoft Corporation. Gates and his wife Melinda Gates are actively involved in their The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

• Steve Jobs: He attended only one semester of college, Steve Jobs dropped out and worked for Atari before co-founding Apple Computers. He created unique brands during the second part of his rein in Apple with products like iPod, iTunes, Leopard, and iPhone.

• Henry Ford: At age 16, Henry Ford left home and became a machinist. He later started Ford Motor Company to manufacture automobiles. He created the famous Model T made specifically for the masses, allowed Ford to open a large factory and later started the assembly line production, revolutionizing the auto making industry as well as other industries.

• Milton Hershey: With only a fourth grade education, Milton Hershey started his own chocolate company; Hershey’s Milk Chocolate and marketed the first national chocolate brand.

• Frank Lloyd Wright: He never attended high school; Frank Lloyd Wright became the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Wright designed more than 1,100 projects and completed about half of them. He blends nature into his designs make it unique.

And there are others like Barry Diller who started Fox Broadcasting Company, Debbi Fields, who started Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery (later became Mrs. Fields’ Cookies), Rachel Ray with no culinary experience has her own cooking and talk shows and Ty Warner, who was the man behind the Beanie Babies craze made over $700 million in one year.

All of them are inspiration to many others; a part of their success can be attributed to hard work and with a passion to excel. But are they the wrong models for education? Not everyone without education has succeeded. Just like they are successful without education, there are as many who have succeeded with education, few names include Sergey Brin, Larry Page of Google, Steve Balmer of Microsoft, Hewlett, Packard, Edison, and many more.
What is your view on this, is education really necessary?

Jenna Bush's new book signing: Say nothing or no signing

Jenna Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush. - Photo by Mia Baxter, HarperCollins

President Bush’s daughter Jenna Bush is on a book tour signing for her new book “Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope”. There are so many restrictions for her fans that all they can do is do nothing, and simply get their book signed.

Jenna Bush is publishing her first book, “Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope,” a story about a young woman named Ana who Jenna befriends during one of her travels. Ana is infected with HIV/AIDS at birth and loses both parents to the disease. Ana endures abuse at her relatives’ homes, falls in love and gets pregnant. The child is luckily born without the virus. And the remaining story talks about how Ana is able to manage her life. It is an inspiring story no doubt.

Many fans would be thrilled to discuss the story with Bush during her book-signing parties, but strict rules mean fans are not allowed to ask her nothing.

While stopped in the historic LoDo area of Denver, Colorado, her fans were asked to restrain from doing the following: No photos, no talking to Bush, no questions, no personalized copies (She will sign Jenna Bush, no more), no laughing or no smiling at Bush, no engaging in conversation with Bush and no looking directly at Bush.

In other words: walk like a machine and get the book signed and leave. No questions.

Since she is a president’s daughter, they will provide her with lots of security and whoever attends will have to be cleared by Secret Service guards.

I really cannot believe readers have to pay $18.95 for the book but cannot say a word. Bush could have stayed home and saved everyone the trouble.

This sounds as though the President himself is doing the signing. Book fans will know that everyone criticizes Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, about her book signings but I doubt even she would act like this.

Would you get a book signed under these restrictions?

New HIV vaccine developed over 90% developed immune response at first trial

A Swedish HIV vaccine study has produced great results; over 90% of the subjects in the Phase I trials developed an immune response to HIV. The Swedish researchers plan to test it fully in Tanzania.

Researchers at the Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet (KI), Karolinska University Hospital and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) have created a vaccine that shows amazing results in blocking the HIV viruses. A vaccine was developed by SMI scientists, a genetic vaccine type, which uses parts of the virus DNA to stimulate the rapid endogenous production of the proteins. This protects against the HIV viruses from attacking the cells.

During the Phase I trials, the subjects were vaccinated on three occasions with this vaccine using a needle free method of injection. They also gave the subjects a fourth dose of vaccine in which parts of the HIV virus DNA had been integrated into another virus (vaccinia = cowpox virus). The HIV based vaccine is produced by the US’ National Institute of Health and enhances the immunization treatment.

Results showed more than 90% of the subjects developed a successful immune response to HIV and also have tolerated the vaccine without any side effects.

Professor Eric Sandström, Chief Physician at Karolinska University Hospital said:

Never has such a good result been seen with a vaccine of this type,"

Professor Britta Wahren at the SMI/KI said their vaccine is designed in such a way that it will protect against many types of HIV viruses that are seen in African and Western countries.

Scientists are planning to conduct the next phase study in Tanzania beginning this fall to confirm this Swedish result.

To know more about this vaccine, you can contact the researchers here.

If it is proven successful again, it will do wonders in Africa and other countries. It is the first step, but hope others don’t take this as a green signal and become more promiscuous or use more protection.

Google Indexes Videos from All Over the Web

Google Searches all the videos in the web. Image: Googlesystem.blogspot.com.

Google Video search initially searched videos only from YouTube, Google Video sites and later added Metacafe videos, but now they are indexing all videos in various video formats posted in the web.

Searching videos in the web has become easy with this new indexing done by Google Video search engine. Google Video will search any videos from the web and put them in terms of popularity ranking just like the Google search results.

Earlier Google video was able to index only YouTube, Google Video and Metacafe videos. One good feature was you can play the videos at the search results page itself, don’t need to click the links multiple times. But the problem with this search results were, Google didn’t index popular videos from other sites.

Now Google will index any sites that have AVI, WMV, MOV, MPEG, FLV video versions and put their links in the search results page. It won’t play them on the search results page because of copyright protection; otherwise it can convert them into flash and play them for us. It is a good start.

Alex Ionut, Google Operating System, said Google Video search just shows the links doesn’t show the pages that provides some context about the video and also doesn’t warn whether the video can be played online or not. But since Google doesn’t have control over other sites, it is difficult for them or any search engine to do this job. The first step it lets search videos anywhere, so one can get more exposure about their videos to the world.

I searched for Digital Journal TV videos with the new indexing feature, I was unable to find the BrightCove original videos content but I could find the YouTube videos of Digital Journal here.

I don’t know why Google Videos didn’t index BrightCove videos, but it indexed YouTube videos.

If you are looking for a specific video, Google Video search would be a great place to start. Whatever limitations they have, I am sure they will fix it soon.

Priests fear driving bans over altar wine

A priest celebrating Eucharist. Image: http://web.ku.edu/

Roman Catholic priests in Ireland are worried about the tough drink driving rules because if they celebrate more than one mass a day, it may push them to trouble and exceed the legal drinking limits.

A Catholic priest usually drinks a small amount of wine during the mass. The altar wine is an integral part of the Eucharist, the ritual in which the Catholics believe the priest turns bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

But if they have more than one mass during the day, it will put the priests in trouble according a leading clergyman, Father Brian D’Arcy.

Ireland is planning to pass a law to limit the legal driving limit to less than the existing limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

The priests are worried about this legislation because there are not enough Catholic priests in the area, sometimes they have to drive to several churches on Sunday to say mass for congregations who have no resident clergy.

Father D’Arcy says any priest that goes to two churches back and forth will get caught easily with the proposed Irish law.

D'Arcy is a broadcaster and rector of the Passionist Monastery in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, where similar changes have also been proposed.

He said any wines that are prepared for the service must be consumed, throwing them away is blasphemous.

Irish Newspapers mentioned about another priest, who often takes three services a day. He said even if he takes a mouthful of wine will put them over the legal limit for driving. When there is an emergency such as a person nearing death, they will have no choice to drive there and do the rites.

Father Iggy O'Donovan from Drogheda, north of Dublin, who approves the legislation said members of the congregation could help finish the wine if too much was left over, so there won’t be any waste.

He told RTE radio station in Ireland:

The day that the celebration of the Eucharist becomes a defense for drunk-driving -- I am afraid it beggars belief,"

Maybe the Irish laws can modify it slightly and allow Priests if they show reasonable driving skills. Or if the church wants the priest to give the mass, they should send a car to his home or church. What do you think?

WHO: Environment woes killing millions each year

Indoor cooking with wood, dung, coal kills millions every year

World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 13 million die every year due to air pollution and contaminated water in both developing as well as developed countries. Many die because of respiratory and diarrhea.

Tackling air pollution, contaminated drinking water and other environmental problems could save millions of lives annually around the world, the World Health Organization said in a report Wednesday.

The study said that Afghanistan and the African nations of Angola, Burkina Faso and Mali are among the countries most affected by environmental troubles.

In 23 countries, 10 percent of deaths can be attributed to two risk factors; one is unsafe drinking water and indoor air pollution caused by burning solid fuels, wood, cow dung or coal for cooking. If proper ventilation and clean water are provided all these deaths could be avoided.

These deaths are occurring not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. In 53 countries in Europe alone, an estimated 1.8 million deaths could be prevented each year if they can be provided healthier environment.

WHO said its results were based on 2002 data from national health authorities, reviews of scientific literature and expert surveys. It also encompasses data collected by the WHO.

The report said as many as 13 million deaths could be prevented yearly by reducing the environmental risks. But WHO officials stressed the report was a preliminary estimate of how environmental factors affect health.

Susanne Weber-Mosdorf, WHO’s assistant director-general for sustainable development and healthy environments said they would be very glad if countries uses this report and develop a plan to tackle the environmental risks.

She said simple water purification methods could decrease the death rate by reducing diarrhea which kills many children. If they are provided with a $3 Water gadget discussed in this article could prevent the same.

WHO said, around the world, children less than five years old make up about 74 percent of deaths from diarrhea and respiratory infections.

Thirty seven children die each day of water related diarrhea in Europe, mostly in eastern and central parts of the region.

WHO suggests household interventions could dramatically reduce the death rate. Using cleaner fuel such as gas or electricity, using better cooking devices, improving the ventilation around cooking area and keeping away children from smoke areas will help reduce respiratory infections and diseases among women and children.

Every country should actively promote safe cooking and provide clean water to the public. This figure of millions of deaths every year is staggering. To see that they can be prevented easily with few minimum steps and not doing it is troubling.

Welcome to a Sydney you probably can't afford

Sydney residents are on a spending spree, they don’t mind spending $50 Australian dollars for a cup of coffee, $190 for steaks. For the residents who are on the low income bracket it is an expensive place to stay.

Sydney, Australia. Image: National Geographic.

According the Australian Bureau of Statistics, consumers in Sydney have spent more than $19.7 billion Australian dollars ($18.08 Billion US dollars) in the month of August alone.

Despite the high interest bank rates, the citizens are spending high. As a result the basic food prices have gone up and the top end restaurants, bars and food shops have no problems with sales even when they have high prices.

CommSec economist Martin Arnold says: "We are seeing unprecedented levels of wealth, the stockmarket has hit record highs and, at the top end of the salary range, wages are still very solid.

Arnold said people are better off compared to five years ago and the people at the high end really like to spend.

One of the shop that sells special coffee in Sydney is Kopi Luwak, is available for $50 a cup at Rob Forsyth’s shop in Naremburn, Sydney. It is made in Indonesia from coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted in whole by a civet cat. They are then dried, broken up, cleaned and roasted for a coffee brew. The drink is supposed to be of exception quality and taste.

Another shop, Sofitel Wentworth hotel sells an expensive alcoholic drink, Hennessy X.O Mathusalem cognac, for $100,000. It comes in an embossed lambskin case with wheels and a telescopic handle and comes in a limited edition of 300 bottles.

Then there is a $1000 per person tasting menu at Star City’s Astral restaurant, includes Persian caviar, lobster with sea urchins and foie gras, with premium alcohol. There is a $190 steak, dry aged Wagyu available at Justin North’s Becasse restaurant. There is a $45 a portion of snapper pie at the Boathouse restaurant has truffle oil. A Deus beer costs $65 at the Belgian Beer Café in the Rocks. They are bottled like champagne.

Maybe Wanderlaugh, our fellow DJ can explain the sudden opulence of Australians, did they discover gold in tons?

Saudi Marriage Expert Advises Men in 'Right Way' to Beat Their Wives

Map of Saudi Arabia. Image: http://www.theodora.com

A Saudi marriage expert gives advices to young Muslim men on how to treat their wives. He said beat them if necessary, beat them light with a tooth pick and don't beat them hard and damage their faces.

Dr. Muhammad Al-‘Arifi has a television show that is shown to Saudi and Kuwait audience. He counsels young Muslim men on how to treat their wives. He tells them to admonish their wives first when the situation goes out of hand. If that doesn’t work even after admonishing them ten times, then refuse to share beds with them.

If the second method doesn’t work, the cleric recommends “beating them”. He said that is the right way.

He gets compassionate and then says don’t hit your wives on the face, that is a no-no. He said beating in the face is forbidden even against the animals.

Even if you want your camel or donkey to start walking, you are not allowed to beat it in the face. If this is true for animals, it is all the more true when it comes to humans. So beatings should be light and not in the face."

You can watch the whole show here (watch this in Internet Explorer, Firefox doesn't play this media), has English translations.

He says the man can beat her with a tooth pick, he shows a different tooth pick than what we have here. He said it is meant to point her mistakes only not beat her savagely with other objects.

He said in the show that husbands should beat their wives light and not make her face ugly by beating hard, slapping her left and right. He continued and said unfortunately men beat their wives when they get mad and punch them like they punch the wall. He cautioned Young Muslim men to remember that their wives are a human being they are beating and it is forbidden to hit them hard.

Wonder how many of them like him are preaching such stuff and how many are listening and find this is acceptable. As if they need an approval to beat their wives.

Alzheimer’s Memory Loss Faster Among Well-Educated

Photo by Kaz Ehara

Studies show that well-educated individuals are prone to delays in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, but once it starts they decline faster than those with a less formal education.

A study was published recently in the journal Neurology by researchers at Yeshiva’s University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. They tracked memory loss in a group of elderly people from New York City's Bronx borough before they were diagnosed with either Alzheimer’s or another form of old age dementia.

The researchers found that for every year of education gained, it delayed accelerated memory decline that precedes dementia by two and half months. But once this memory loss began, the rate of decline was four times quicker for every additional year of education.

Researchers said that a person with 16 years of schooling, experienced memory declines 50 per cent faster than another person with just four years of education.

Charles Hall, a professor of epidemiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine said:

"...This is important to clinicians to know so they can advise their patients that things might well get very bad very fast, whereas in a lot of other people the decline is relatively gradual over a long period of time."

Hall also said people with more formal years of education appear to respond better than other Alzheimer’s patients; they have a greater “cognitive reserve” which is the brain’s ability to keep working despite brain damage due to Alzheimer’s. Another study by scientists at the Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, proved the same in 2003.

The study started in the 1980s in Brooklyn and tracked 488 people born between 1894 and 1908 and gave them periodic memory tests. The study found 117 people from this group developed Alzheimer’s.

Most of the participants were followed until either death or diagnosis of dementia. Those diagnosed with dementia were followed for up to about 16 years and researchers noted a rapid decline with educated persons and lesser decline for others.

Hall admits there have been other studies on this subject, but this study, he says, was done over a wide range, including before and after the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive and fatal brain disease, first discovered in 1906 by German physician Alois Alzheimer. According to the Alzheimer’s Association there are more than five million Americans now have Alzheimer’s disease.

Gmail uses innovative technology to block spam

Gmail has one of the best Spam block software that prevents many incoming spam mails to your inbox. Spammers are finding it harder to send emails and evade the innovative spam block technology used by Gmail.

One of the main reasons many prefer Gmail because of Google’s spam protection, which does a great job in separating the good ones from the bad. The video shows some of the ways Google uses to block spam.

In Gmail, there is a button called “Report Spam” which is a great community feature as seen below. For example when the spam message somehow avoids Google spam protection tools, and when you click this message as “Report Spam”, the Gmail will recognize this type of message as Spam the next time and not only block it at your e-mail account, it will block that message with everyone else’s email accounts also. Thus Gmail’s spam block technology learns with every click we report the spam messages.



Every day, new spam techniques are developed to avoid Gmail and other e-mails such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail etc. So when Google learns these new techniques it modifies it spam block algorithms also to fight these new spam techniques.

Another technique Spammers use is images, which is hard for Gmail to block, but with OCR (Optical Character Recognition), it is able to read what the image content says and blocks the messages.

Gmail uses or supports multiple authentication system to verify the sender and help identify whether it is real or forged messages. They use Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys (which domain the message originates from) and KIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). This will make sure the sender is authentic and originates from the sender itself and not through a third party.

So, the more sophisticated the Spammers get, the Gmail gets even tougher and is ahead of them by many steps. Look at the number of spam messages Gmail blocks with increasing year, it eliminates almost all of them.



I get about 100 spam messages every day, Gmail blocks almost 99 percent of them, the one or two I get, I report it, so it will be avoided in the future. If you are not using Gmail you should use it and avoid bogus messages that may cause problems to your computer and unsolicited messages.

State of the planet Earth, in graphics

The UN’s Global Environment Outlook report shows a grim picture of planet Earth; land resources are shrinking, access to clean water is getting worse and there is a rising threat of mass extinction.

Compared to earlier years, trade between countries is increasing, there is a steady growth rate of population and standards of living have increased compared with the past. But all is not well for Planet Earth according to the UN’s latest Global Environment Outlook report , which was released last week.

CHANGING WORLD

As you can see in the graph, the population is steady in most countries except in Asia, which is growing at a very high rate; China and India are the top two populated countries in the world. With a rising global population, there will be more energy and food demands which might affect the whole world, not just Asia.

Carbon dioxide emissions from all countries are also increasing at a staggering rate, and increased carbon dioxide output leads to global warming.

Over the last 20 years alone, the human population has increased by one third, global trade has tripled, and per-capita income has gone up by 40 per cent. All this leads to more waste and more energy consumed. Annual emissions of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, have also increased by one third.





SHRINKING RESOURCES

You can see from the figure above that land area available for each individual has decreased dramatically. And not all of land is arable, as a great deal of it is desert or mountaineous, and the population is distributed disproportionately. Some land areas have fewer inhabitants, while others have higher concentration of people (like in Japan).

If the human population keeps growing like this, the UN says the amount of resources needed to sustain them exceeds what is available. Then it will lead to a food war, with rising prices and availability.





BIODIVERSITY

The red areas in the map above show the critically endangered areas, as animal and plant species living in these areas face significant threat of extinction. The main reason is the fact that the human population is intruding on wild habitat and forests, either converting them for agricultural needs or to build homes. In Brazil, for example, agricultural expansion in the Amazon regions have posed enormous risks for the wild populations and indigenous tribes living in those areas for hundreds of years.

As many as 16,000 species are threatened with extinction and the UN estimates the global annual loss of primary forest is 50,000 square kilometers.




WATER

Water may be abundant now, but in the future, it will decline and many populations will suffer from water scarcity. Contaminated water is the greatest single cause of human disease and death, according to the UN. The UN said more than 1.8 billion people will be affected by water scarcity.

Fishing is another area that will face problems in the future; with a rising population there will be overfishing.





URBAN GROWTH

With population growth, the UN says urban movement will be high and endanger wild areas.

Cities are also becoming highly concentrated areas worldwide, and the UN says by end of 2007, more people will live in cities than rural areas for the first time in history. As a result, it will add pressure on water resources and infrastructure.





Those who say we are fine with increasing population should think again.

Do you see similar trends in your city?

American Idol's campaign 'Idol Gives Back' collects $75 million

American Idol's "Idol Gives Back" logo.

The American public and sponsors donated $75 million dollars for the charity campaign, “Idol Gives Back”. The money is being distributed to various charities in the United States and Africa.

Last year American Idol and Charity Projects Entertainment Fund partnered for a TV program to help children and young people in extreme poverty in Africa and in the United States. The program “Idol Gives Back” was aired in American Idol and it became a rousing success. The program collected money from the voters as well as the sponsors and they were able to collect $54 million from the viewers and corporations donated $21 million dollars for every vote cast during the April 24th and April 25th in 2006.

American Idol and Charity Projects Entertainment Fund will donate the money to the following projects.

Malaria No More:

Donations for this charity will be used to provide nets to combat malaria, education and monitoring to fight malaria in Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Uganda and Zambia.

Nothing But Nets:

Donations will be used to purchase and deliver long lasting insecticide treated bed nets to children and their mothers, provide education on malaria prevention. They will also provide funds to train local health workers to carry out the programs on their own and distribute these insecticide treated bed nets.

Save the Children:

It will address the several issues of children and will fight against major killers of children such as diarrhea and pneumonia. They currently serve 400,000 children and 500,000 people in Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Sudan and Uganda.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria:

Special funds are allocated for HIV prevention, treatment and care in South Africa’s Western Cape Province.

U.S. Fund for UNICEF:

This will help UNICEF to provide health care services for additional 800,00 children. They will also provide education and school supplies for 500,000 students

Save The Children Federation:

This will help to expand programs in poor areas of Appalachia, the Southwest and Gulf Coast. Will provide help for more than 11,000 children in 25 educational sites in four states.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America:

Donations will be used to fund, “Power Hour”, an after school homework assistance program across the states.

America's Second Harvest:

It serves 9 million hungry children each year. Additional funds from American Idol will help them to distribute 250 million servings of fresh fruits and vegetables and provide grants to support more than 200 community food banks.

Children's Health Fund:

They will help sponsor projects such as funding three new mobile medical units for New Orleans and help the young victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Just two days of sponsorship, American Idol was able to collect more than $75 million and all the funds are being to put to use for these great charities. This effort will make even the critics of American Idol to cheer them. The “Idol Gives Back” is still collecting donations through various subsidiaries like One.org. American Idol has not announced plans for the next year, but I think with this kind of success they might repeat it.

Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday

Daylight Saving Timing will be over this weekend, we have turn the clocks back by one hour this Sunday, November, 4 at 2 a.m. Because of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, this daylight saving time ends a week later than usual.

Bush passed the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which extended the Daylight Saving Time (DST) by four weeks. Normally, DST begins the first Sunday in April and runs through the last Sunday in October. But because of this Energy Policy Act, the DST started this year on March 11 instead of the first Sunday in April. In 2008, DST will be from March 9th to November 2nd.

The main aim of DST was to save energy with extended daylight hours. Less energy is needed to light the home and hence less energy will be consumed. But in reality do they really save energy? No one knows for sure, and even this new Energy Policy Act has not found any valid reasoning whether this extended DST is saving energy. It just makes it confusing for everyone.

In Indiana state, there are two time zones, some counties use and some don’t. Whoever rides through those two time zones will find it annoying.

Arizona state doesn’t find much energy savings because they use plenty of Air conditioning during the summer months, so they are not using the DST.

Here are software updates for DST:

• To update your PC computers to the latest DST, click here for Windows.
• For Apple computers, click here to get the software update.
• If you have Palm devices, click here for a software update.
• For Windows mobile devices, click here for installation instructions.

What do you think about DST, should they abolish it or leave it the way it is? I don’t see any energy savings near my area or in my University, the lights, air conditioning or heater, they are in full blast.

Only 11 Per Cent of France's Population is Obese

Dr. Michael Seabaugh reports that only 11 per cent of France's population is obese, while America has three times that number despite the fact the French eat more. A French culinary teacher says their lifestyle is the reason for being thin.

Dr. Seabaugh says the French eat three course meals with special sauces, they eat a lot of pastries, pâté and cheeses, and drink a lot of red wine.

However, reports indicate they remain thinner than their American counterparts.

During his study, Seabaugh says he also didn’t see the French jog or do exercises frequently, but instead saw most of them walk long distances, casually, without jogging suits.

Seabaugh says the French eat three times more saturated animal fats than Americans, yet only a third of them die of heart attacks.

He put the test to himself for a month in France by eating just like them. Seabaugh says he ate plenty of fluffy croissants full of almond paste and French rouge de maison. Plus, he didn’t do any exercise. After a month or so, he says he gained only one pound.

"So if it isn’t Splenda, no-carb PowerBars, or an obsession with spinning classes, what’s their secret?" he asked himself.

Seabaugh consulted Laurence Hauben, a French woman who teaches French cuisine in Market Foray Classes (Marketforay.com). He asked her how the French are able to eat so much without becoming obese, to which she says it's all about lifestyle.

Hauben says the French do the following:
- The French don’t rush eating a meal, they don’t eat a meal at the desk or while commuting in traffic.

- They sit down with their families or colleagues at a table. Have a relaxing conversation and eat slowly. When you are talking, you are not eating, and because you are relaxed, the hormones released help in the assimilation of calories, unlike the stress hormones we are riddled with here, which trigger hoarding of fat.

- When eating in a relaxed atmosphere, the calories intake is quickly spent, whereas when eating in traffic, it settles in the hips or gut as fat.

- Mireille Guiliano, author of “French Women Don’t Get Fat” emphasized the importance of enjoying the food and recommends portion control. They emphasize quality over quantity, by having fresh and flavorful tastes.

- Prepare your own food instead of fast foods, take time to prepare meals with fresh and healthy ingredients.

- Walk to the market to buy food instead of driving to the market.

- Sit down with family and friends and have a relaxed dinner, instead of eating in front of a TV, taking a bite in the car, or walking and eating.

According to Hauben, the French Paradox isn’t a paradox at all; she said it's a logical consequence of the traditional way of life of being less materialistic and less driven.

She said:

"We need to slow down, think about our priorities, and ask ourselves what the point is of an expensive kitchen remodel when we don’t take the time to cook, and why we work so hard that we never have time to see the people we love.”

Hauben said trade some of the discretionary income for discretionary time, and enjoy food with loved ones -- that is the real luxury.

Finally, Hauben said, to lose weight, make a choice to enjoy life more.

In my opinion, this is great advice. I have seen many people where I live rush, eating in buses, cars or even when walking. People here just fill their stomachs and forget about enjoying food.

Do you agree with this French method? Do you follow the same rules at your place?

Berkeley Team Builds World’s Smallest FM Radio

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have created the world’s smallest FM radio, made of a carbon nanotube. The radio measures one ten thousandth the diameter of a single human hair and can be used for cellphones to microscopic device

Physicists from Berkley made this FM radio out of a single carbon nanotube unit. The device works as an antenna, tuner, amplifier and demodulator in the same unit. The standard FM radio has separate components.

The initial experimental unit is used as an FM receiver but can also be used as an FM transmitter. It's used in a wide variety of applications such as in cellphones to microscopic devices that sense the environment and transmit information via radio signals. This miniaturization will help them to integrate this in a wide range of instruments and could be used for communication.

This nanotube is less than a micron long and only ten nanometers wide in dimensions, or 10,000 times thinner than the width of a single human hair.



Nanotube FM Radio.

When a radio wave of a specific frequency impinges on the nanotube it begins to vibrate vigorously. An electric field applied to the nanotube forces electrons to be emitted from its tip. This electrical current may be used to detect the mechanical vibrations of the nanotube, and thus listen to the radio waves.

One of the scientists said nanotube technology can lead to new applications such as radio-controlled devices small enough to be in a human’s bloodstream.

Since this is in the preliminary stages, they still have a few hurdles to clear before they are used commercially.

In my opinion, there is no excuse for the mobile phone and portable handhelds to say they can’t include FM radio anymore.

Four Million Tons of Waste Processed to Power 25,000 Homes

What do we do with Waste? Image: http://www.eia.doe.gov

A company in the U.S. has created a solution to transform an enormous amount of waste into electricity and says it has Environmental Protection Agency’s approval. This company is the first to make energy from waste as an operation in the U.S.

Covanta is involved in this project and has developed a viable energy from waste unit at the Lee County Resource Recovery Facility, located in Fort Meyers, Florida.

This unit lets the local municipality convert 636 tons of waste daily into an additional 18 megawatts of electricity. In one of the older units, it had converted more than four million tons of waste products into electricity and has generated enough power for 26,000 homes. The new facility will process more waste and generate more power for 36,000 homes.

The energy from waste facility will take trash and put it into a combustion chamber to generate heat. This heat warms up the water in the tubes in the chamber and turns the liquid to steam, sending it through a turbine to generate electricity.

Covanta says this Lee County facility alone has prevented close to four million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The company has also produced enough electricity to eliminate the need to burn one million tons of coal or four million barrels of oil.



Some of the main features for this energy from waste production method are as follows:

• Clean power: The US EPA has said that the waste to energy plants is a clean reliable, renewable source of energy and produces clean university like no other.

• Less dependence on imported fuels: For every ton of waste processed in the facility, we avoid the need to import 1 barrel of oil or mine one quarter ton of coal.

• Net Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction: For every ton of waste processed in the facility, almost one ton of GHG is avoided.

• A safe and effective solution for managing local trash generation: This will take care of landfills in the area, there won’t be any need for shipping them across the states or overseas,

In my opinion, these are excellent methods but one should note they are a temporary solution, as reducing waste should be the primary objective -- not just dealing with it. Right now landfills are piling up, so energy produced from waste is an excellent idea.

Walmart sells $199 Google-friendly PC

Everex company has joined forces with open source companies to create a Linux-based computer with many Google-friendly applications built right in. It currently sells for $199 at Wal-Mart.

Paul Kim, Everex director of marketing, said his company is able to provide a PC at this price because of many free open source programs available on the market, so the main costs come from hardware. Everex will release 20,000 PCs this quarter.

The Everex Green gPC TC2502 sold at Wal-Mart and other stores has the following free applications and links to access some of the online applications: Gmail, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Google Search Tools, Blogger, YouTube, Google Maps, Google News, Meebo (instant messenger), Firefox, GIMP (image editing tool), Xing Movie Player, RhythmBox (iTunes like player), Facebook, Skype, OpenOffice.org 2.2 (Office like suite of applications).



Everex did market research to see who would be their main customers and found many were interested in buying this PC, including first-time buyers.

They will provide free phone support for all gPC customers. The "g" in the name refers to Google, but Google is not officially behind this sale. Everex did, however, get the approval from Google to run all Google software.

The "g" also stands for the gOS, the Ubuntu 7.1 Linux desktop. Its founder David Liu created gOS as an alternative operating system that makes it apparent that Google is your entire computing experience.

With the name gPC and all the Google software, you would think that this is a Google PC. Everex is careful to state that applications from Google are an integral part of the product, however gOS is an entity entirely independent from Google. The gOS is Google-inspired but not officially stamped by Google. The gOS uses Enlightenment window manager and has an Apple-like feel in its desktop according to ZDNet.com.

Everex did get the approval of Google to use icons and trademarks on its gPC.



Everex desktop interface
According to Kim, the gPC costs about $170 to manufacture and the remaining amount is given as a profit margin to Wal-Mart and Everex. The gPC will have a 1.5 GHz Via C7-D processor and chipsets, 512 MB of SDRAM, 80GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW drive, an Ethernet connection and no wireless option.

Everex is also working on an ultra-mobile gPC computer. The company will introduce a Spanish language version of the gPC.

I think this is a good computer for first-time users and for schools who can’t afford something more expensive. It could be used as a great educational tool.