Tell-It-Like-It-Is

Study finds that Facebook users have low self-esteem

2012-01-24T11:15:00.000+03:00

The more time people spend with Facebook, the less happy they are, the study shows

Last year, a pair of studies showed that heavy Facebook users have more grey matter in their brains and are subject to a condition known as Facebook Depression. A new study from Utah Valley University suggests heavy users of Facebook may also share another trait: low self-esteem.
The study surveyed 425 college students about their use of social networking use, in addition to questions about how they spent their time socializing offline. Students who spent the most time on Facebook were the most likely to agree with the statement that others had better lives than they did. Those who were more likely to friend people on Facebook they did not personally know were the most likely to believe that others were happier than they were. The study doesn't single out Facebook as the cause of low self-esteem — it could simply mean that people with low self-esteem are more likely to friend strangers than those with happy and healthy offline lives.
Logically, the study makes a lot of sense. When you're constantly bombarded with pictures from friends' vacations, news of new relationships, and videos of last weekend's party, it's easy to feel that others are leading busier and more enjoyable lives than you are. Especially when negative aspects of peoples' lives such as loneliness, sadness, and failure are often minimized or unshared.
(Source)
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
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How The Biggest Solar Storm Since 2005 Is Going to Affect You

2012-01-24T10:53:00.000+03:00

There's a solar Coronal Mass Ejection travelling towards us at 1,400 miles per second, the largest solar storm since 2005. It will hit Earth around 9am Eastern Time, causing fluctuations on the power grid and disruptions to the Global Positioning System.
There's something else, a strong proton storm—ranking S3 on a 5-level scale—which is in full rage now and gradually increasing. While CMEs are normal—about 2,000 every 11-year solar cycle—proton storms are very rare. Only a couple of dozen happen per solar cycle. And this one can be dangerous.
The storm has already affected aircraft traffic and may affect satellites' computers. On a telephone interview, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center physicist Doug Biesecker told me that, fortunately, there are measures to avoid most dangers.
"Many airliners have been avoiding the North Pole routes because they are more exposed to the proton storm, which disrupts High Frequency radio communications," he said on a telephone interview. HF datalinks are crucial to modern airflight, as they keep aircraft connected to Air Traffic Control. Due to the structure of the magnetic field that surrounds Earth, the polar cusps have very little protection against outbursts of solar radiation, so any airplane crossing that area could be exposed to this mayhem.

We're experiencing technical difficulties

He also said that satellites may be affected, causing reboots on onboard computers as well as noise in imaging systems and interferences in telemetry caused by something called single event upsets. These events may change the values of the telemetry data. Since we are aware of these interferences in advance, engineers on ground bases can take them into account and make corrections before firing any commands that may jeopardize the life of the spacecraft.
The only real unpredictable danger is a total hardware failure, with a proton hitting an electronic component and killing it. But according to Biesecker, this "is a very remote possibility."
Global positioning systems are also affected—and will be even more affected tomorrow. Regular humans will not notice this. You will be able to keep using your GPS normally, but people using high precision GPS equipments—like oil drilling, military, engineering and mining operations—will definitely notice the problems.
According to Karen Fox at NASA Goddard Space Center, "NASA alerted operators of their satellites that the CME was coming, so those operators can take whatever shielding precautions they can."

The biological danger

NOAA's scale says that an S3 proton storm may pose danger to passengers in high-flying aircraft at high latitudes, which is why some airplanes below the 65th parallel north are now actually flying at lower altitudes to avoid any kind of radiation nastiness.
They also recommend for astronauts to stay home and avoid space walks but—according to Biesecker—this type of storm is "far below the level needed for the ISS to take any extraordinary protection measures." If it's ok for them, you can be sure it's perfectly fine for you and me down here on good old planet Earth.

What will happen when the CME hits tomorrow morning?

When the Coronal Mass Ejection arrives to Earth at 1,400 miles per second, we will have a geomagnetic storm and a radio blackout. This, apart from the possibility of awesome auroras at latitudes as low as New York, means several things.
First, the radio blackout will be level R2, which is moderate. According to the NOAA scale, it will cause "limited blackout of HF radio communication on the sunlit side and loss of radio contact for tens of minutes," as well as "degradation of low-frequency navigation signals for tens of minutes." Nothing that you should worry about.
The geomagnetic storm will only be "strong G2 with possibilities of G3," according to Bisecker. In the best case scenario, only power lines will be affected. You will not notice it because any power fluctuations will be handled by companies at the grid level. If the storm is long enough, however, it may damage power grid transformers.
Other than all this, and unless something extraordinary happens, you shouldn't worry about the world ending tomorrow. It won't. But keep your eyes open for auroras happening near you. Those living up north in particular will have a great show today and tomorrow.

Alcohol DOUBLES LIFESPAN, helps resist stress

2012-01-24T10:13:00.000+03:00

Pour yourself another one, quickly, as scientists have proven that alcohol can double life-span.
Moderate levels of alcohol delivered an increase in longevity among test subjects in a recent study that Steven Clarke, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry and senior author on a study published yesterday in the journal PLoS One, described as "shocking".

"This finding floored us" he told the UCLA newsletter.

The booze boost was particularly strong for test subjects put under stressful conditions, with the scientists noting that the addition of small amounts of pure alcohol produced significantly more robust looking subjects, compared to a control "teetotal" group.
The test subjects in this case were worms, though the scientists, and indeed the Register editorial team believe the research is highly likely to be applicable to humans.
The C elegans worms tested are often used as a model in experiments into human ageing, and indeed we share half of our genes with the soft-bodied mud-munchers.
The discovery came about accidentally in an experiment that was originally intended to test reactions to cholesterol. Tiny amounts of ethanol were used to dissolve the cholesterol in the liquid surrounding the worms. The scientists were stunned to see that it doubled the lifespan of worm larvae from an average of 10-15 days to 20-30.
Further tests found that it was the alcohol that turned out to give the magic life-boost rather than cholesterol.
Stressed worms benefited particularly strongly from the drink:

What is even more interesting is the fact that the worms are in a stressed developmental stage. At high magnifications under the microscope, it was amazing to see how the worms given a little ethanol looked significantly more robust than worms not given ethanol.

Researcher Shilpi Khare suggested that the benefits could come from the biochemical reactions that the alcohol unleashed:

We show that very low doses of ethanol can be a worm 'lifesaver' under starvation stress conditions," Khare added. "While the mechanism of action is still not clearly understood, our evidence indicates that these 1 millimeter–long roundworms could be utilizing ethanol directly as a precursor for biosynthesis of high-energy metabolic intermediates or indirectly as a signal to extend life span. These findings could potentially aid researchers in determining how human physiology is altered to induce cardio-protective and other beneficial effects in response to low alcohol consumption.

However, even for worms, binge drinking is not encouraged - if the worms are given much higher concentrations of ethanol, they experience harmful neurological effects and die, the scientists note.
The ideal, life-extending brew doesn't sound like the most appetizing cocktail: "The concentrations correspond to a tablespoon of ethanol in a bathtub full of water or the alcohol in one beer diluted into a hundred gallons of water," Clarke said. ®

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang resigns from its board

2012-01-18T13:32:00.000+03:00

Mr Yang said it was time to pursue interests outside Yahoo!

Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo!, has resigned from its board.

Mr Yang founded the online company in 1995 with David Filo and was its chief executive from June 2007 until January 2009.
His resignation comes two weeks after the company hired former PayPal executive Scott Thomson to be its new chief executive.
Mr Yang annoyed some shareholders by turning down a $47.5bn (£31bn) takeover offer from Microsoft in 2008.
The company's current market value is about $20bn.
Mr Yang has also resigned from the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group and said in a statement: "The time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo!".
He also expressed support for the company's current management.
"I am enthusiastic about the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer and his ability, along with the entire Yahoo! leadership team, to guide Yahoo! into an exciting and successful future," he said.

Yahoo founder Jerry Yang is to step down

Yahoo! shares rose 3.4% in after-hours trading.
Some analysts had seen Mr Yang as an impediment to the sale or restructuring of the business.
"This is clearly a positive. It provides a more objective and unemotional approach to strategic alternatives," said Brett Harriss at Gabello & Co.
"It's also good for the new CEO. He has one less entrenched legacy board member to resist his vision."
In addition to leaving the board, Mr Yang is also giving up his title of "Chief Yahoo".
"While I and the entire board respect his decision, we will miss his remarkable perspective, vision and wise counsel," said Yahoo! chairman Roy Bostock.

'Doomsday Clock' Ticks One Minute Toward Destruction

2012-01-11T10:37:00.000+03:00

In a sign of pessimism about humanity's future, scientists today set the hands of the infamous "Doomsday Clock" forward one minute from two years ago.

"It is now five minutes to midnight," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) director Kennette Benedict announced today (Jan. 10) at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

That represents a symbolic step closer to doomsday, a change from the clock's previous mark of six minutes to midnight, set in January 2010.

The clock is a symbol of the threat of humanity's imminent destruction from nuclear or biological weapons, climate change and other human-caused disasters. In making their deliberations about how to update the clock's time, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists focused on the current state of nuclear arsenals around the globe, disastrous events such as the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, and biosecurity issues such as the creation of an airborne H5N1 flu strain.

The Doomsday Clock came into being in 1947 as a way for atomic scientists to warn the world of the dangers of nuclear weapons. That year, the Bulletin set the time at seven minutes to midnight, with midnight symbolizing humanity's destruction. By 1949, it was at three minutes to midnight as the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated. In 1953, after the first test of the hydrogen bomb, the doomsday clock ticked to two minutes until midnight.

The Bulletin — and the clock — were at their most optimistic in 1991, when the Cold War thawed and the United States and Russia began cutting their arsenals. That year, the Bulletin set the clock at 17 minutes to midnight.

From then until 2010, however, it was a gradual creep back toward destruction, as hopes of total nuclear disarmament vanished and threats of nuclear terrorism and climate change reared their heads. In 2010, the Bulletin found some hope in arms reduction treaties and international climate talks and nudged the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock back to six minutes from midnight from its previous post at five to midnight.

With today's decision, the Bulletin repudiated that optimism. The panel considers a mix of long-term trends and immediate events in the decision-making process, said Benedict. Trends might include factors like improved solar energy technology to combat climate change, she said, while political events such as the recent United Nations climate meeting in Durban play a role as well. This year, the Fukushima nuclear disaster made a big impression.

"We're trying to weight whether that was a wake-up call, whether it will make people take a closer look at this new and very powerful technology, or whether people will go on with business as usual," Benedict told LiveScience on Monday in an interview before the announcement of the "doomsday time" decision. [Top 10 Alternative Energy Bets]

Other factors that played into the decision included the growing interest in nuclear power from countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, Benedict said.

The Bulletin panel found that despite hopes of global agreements about nuclear weapons, nuclear power and climate change in 2010, little progress has been made.

"The world still has approximately over 20,000 deployed nuclear weapons with enough power to destroy the world's inhabitants many times over," said Lawrence Krauss, an Arizona State University professor and the co-chair of the BAS Board of Sponsors. "We also have the prospect of nuclear weapons being used by terrorist non-state actors."

Likewise, talks on climate change have resulted in little progress, the panel found. In fact, politics seemed to trump science in discussions over the last two years, said Robert Socolow, a Princeton professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a member of the Bulletin's Science and Security board.

"We need the political leadership to affirm the primacy of science as a way of knowing, or problems will be far worse than they are already," Socolow said.

End of the World? Top Doomsday Fears
Oops! 11 Failed Doomsday Predictions
Earth in the Balance: 7 Crucial Tipping Points

10 Reasons (Good) Men Don't Take You(Women) Seriously

2012-01-10T13:01:00.005+03:00

#1. You don't take yourself seriously. Let's face it. When men are ready to settle down, they are tired of games, gamesmanship and all around playing around. Some women don't have the carnival out of their system yet. If you're ready for a serious relationship, say so to yourself OUT LOUD and see how you feel. It will cause a mindshift or some painful honesty.

#2. You exercise zero control over your emotions. When folks look at you (yes, your postings on FB count) do they see a woman who is in control of herself or a woman who could. go. off. at. any. MOMENT!!!???? When a man sees a woman out of control, all he can imagine is her being out of control in HIS direction. Not a good look.

#3. You dress like a teenager. You dress like an old woman. A grown woman shouldn't have an entire wardrobe of clothes with tags, logos and screen-printing. Leave Old Navy and Aereoapostal (how is that spelled????) alone! On the other hand, those polyester dresses with the shoulder pads make you look like Ms. Sadie from the Missions Board. Get a catalog and get some new ideas. It doesn't have to cost a lot. Target is doing some great things these days!

#4. You are too needy. You are waaaaaaayyyyy too needy. Everyone needs a friend, a sounding board and a companion. But. When a man is considering a woman, he wants to know that she can focus on his needs, too. Old-fashioned? Perhaps. I know a lot of women who are interested in men whom they know nothing about, however, because they don't ask. The women don't ask because they don't care.

#5. You act like his Aunt Esther. Every good man I know is 100% aware of his failings and weaknesses. He doesn't need to be reminded...almost NEVER...or EVER...whatever. You know what I mean. Your job is to encourage the best out of him and that's done by praising his good qualities, not harping on his bad ones.

#6. You act like his mother. No matter how old he is, a man wants a play partner. He wants someone he can carry on his back, climb a tree with or fly a kite with. If your hair, bugs or fear of sweating are getting in the way of fun, you are losing points. I promise you. Men don't want to live life under the air conditioner and out of the humidity. Men still like to wrestle, too.

#7. You know more about Ice and Coco than politics, religion or money. A man wants a woman who can manage a house, help with his business or help raise them bad *ss kids...yours and/or his. (I don't call kids "bad" and I rarely use the word "kids" but you do, so I'm just trying to relate!) Turn off the "basketball wives" and watch MSNBC for a few minutes. It ain't gonna kill you.

#8. You are not a good listener. A good listener is a non-judgmental listener. If a guy feels like he can never be his true self around you and like you're evaluating everything he has to say, you will NEVER have true intimacy with him. NEVER. If you don't hear anything else I'm saying, please hear that!

#9. You are still taking score. What the previous man did is immaterial and he doesn't want to hear about it. You must bury any feeling of measuring one man against the next man. Every guy gets a clean slate. You can't let any sentence starting with "Men ain't _______" come out of your mouth around him. It shows you're still not allowing him to start fresh and that relationship is probably doomed already.

#10. You give away physical intimacy too easily. You thought this would be #1 didn't you, Christian girl? It isn't. The main reason it isn't is because (statistically-speaking) you and him will end up having sex before you're married anyway. Whether intentional or a (well-orchestrated) "slip and fall" incident, it happens. And...unless physical assault is involved...you were are culpable, as well. You can keep the "he convinced me" lie and try and sell it to someone else. But I digress....

My main point is you can't be having sex or even talking about sex when you first get to know guys. It throws you into the "other" category in his mind and it's hard to ever make it out of that category. (Guys only have two categories for women in their minds....wife material and NOT EVER wife material.)

Worm steals 45,000 Facebook passwords

2012-01-10T12:14:00.000+03:00

More malware is worming its way onto social networks.

A computer worm has stolen 45,000 login credentials from Facebook, security experts have warned.

The data is believed to have been taken largely from Facebook accounts in the UK and France, according to security firm Seculert.
The culprit is a well-known piece of malware - dubbed Ramnit - which has been around since April 2010 and has previously stolen banking details.
Facebook told the BBC that it was looking into the issue.
The latest iteration of the worm was discovered in Seculert's labs.
"We suspect that the attackers behind Ramnit are using the stolen credentials to login to victims' Facebook accounts and to transmit malicious links to their friends, thereby magnifying the malware's spread even further," said the researchers on the firm's blog.
"In addition, cybercriminals are taking advantage of the fact that users tend to use the same password in various web-based services to gain remote access to corporate networks," it added.
'Viral power' Social networks offer rich pickings for hackers because of the huge amount of personal data that is stored on them. Increasingly malware is being updated for the social networking age.
"It appears that sophisticated hackers are now experimenting with replacing the old-school email worms with more up-to-date social network worms. As demonstrated by the 45,000 compromised Facebook subscribers, the viral power of social networks can be manipulated to cause considerable damage to individuals and institutions when it is in the wrong hands," said Seculert.
According to Seculert, 800,000 machines were infected with Ramnit from September to the end of December 2011.
Microsoft's Malware Protection Center (MMPC) described Ramnit as "a multi-component malware family which infects Windows executable as well as HTML files... stealing sensitive information such as stored FTP credentials and browser cookies".
In July 2011 a Symantec report estimated that Ramnit worm variants accounted for 17.3% of all new malicious software infections.
For Facebook users concerned that they have been affected by the worm, the advice is to run anti-virus software.
"It won't necessarily be obvious that you have been attacked. The worm is stealing passwords so it is not going to announce itself," said Graham Cluley, senior security consultant at Sophos.
Update - Friday 6 January, 10:22am: Facebook has responded to this article with the following statement:
"Last week we received from external security researchers a set of user credentials that had been harvested by a piece of malware. Our security experts have reviewed the data, and while the majority of the information was out-of-date, we have initiated remedial steps for all affected users to ensure the security of their accounts.
"Thus far, we have not seen the virus propagating on Facebook itself, but have begun working with our external partners to add protections to our anti-virus systems to help users secure their devices. People can protect themselves by never clicking on strange links and reporting any suspicious activity they encounter on Facebook.
"We encourage our users to become fans of the Facebook Security Page for additional security information."

Top 10 health and fitness holidays 2012

2012-01-04T18:50:00.000+03:00

Getting fit and healthy doesn't have to mean sweating away in the gym. Hop off the treadmill and go walking, swimming, running, kayaking or cycling in the UK or abroad

Kayaking in the Hebrides, Scotland

FIVE IN BRITAIN

Kayaking in the Hebrides

A few days' kayaking around stunning Hebridean islands will do more for your muscles – and your soul – than a couple of weeks on a rowing machine in a gym ever could. Award-winning adventure specialist Wilderness Scotland has extended its Scottish Sea Kayak Trail – listed as one of National Geographic's 50 Tours of a Lifetime in 2011 – to explore the southern section between the sand-fringed isle of Gigha and Oban. Those worried about aching limbs will be pleased to learn that a bed, hot shower and excellent pub meal await at the end of each day on the water. The six-day trip costs £845pp, including breakfast and packed lunches, all equipment and guide, with four departures between 26 May and 1 September.
If that doesn't sound challenging enough for you, how about kayaking around the Sound of Arisaig, camping on an uninhabited island and living off the fat of the land (think campfire meals of shore-gathered mussels with seaweed) and a nip of whisky to ward off the evening chill. Five nights' kayaking and bushcamping costs £625-£650pp.

Adventure weekend in the Lakes

UK-based Field Skills (fieldskills.com) specialises in remote and fairly hard-core expeditions in Borneo, Ladakh and Morocco – but it also runs a number of mini, taster trips on its doorstep, in the Lakes. On the Lakes Adventure Weekend you'll set up an unsupported camp in the woods, spend the night in a hammock, go for a hefty hike and pick up some new skills along the way (navigation, preparing a fire lighting, camping). The two-day trip, running 12-13 May, costs £170pp and includes meals, instruction and activities.
Careful though – this is the sort of experience where, warmed by the campfire after an exhilarating day out hill walking, you find yourself signing up for a two-week jungle survival challenge.
Field Skills is one of a number of small, local activity and adventure specialists listed on muchbetteradventures.com.

Fitness camp on the Isle of Wight

Wild Fitness (wildfitness.com) started out running luxury bootcamps in Kenya with a fairly strict programme of activities – barefoot running, circuits on the beach, sea swims – aimed at getting results, with experts on hand to offer advice and motivation. Last year it extended its reach to the rather less exotic, but more accessible, location of the Isle of Wight where it has distilled its philosophy into a fitness boosting weekend. The three-day "energizer course" involves early morning runs, boxing sessions in the woods, breathing classes and beach games. It is based at Northcourt, a lovely old manor house in an area of outstanding natural beauty, where healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. Trips start in April, and cost from £650pp for a shared room (a single superior room is £1,085), including all activities and meals (these early bird prices are valid for bookings made before 31 January).

Walking around Wales

Now here's a challenge for 2012 – walk round Wales. Come May, you'll be able to do just that, thanks to a major project that has linked up several long-distance paths creating a continuous 870-mile route round the coast of Wales. The official launch of the Welsh Coast Path is planned for 5 May but many stretches can already be walked, and details of some of the best walks, both short and long in each of the regions, can be found at ccw.gov.uk (a dedicated website will be launched when the path opens).
They include 13.8-mile Great Orme Circular Trail, which affords fantastic views across the whole north Wales coastline or the six-mile RSPB Rhossili Coastal Trail in Gower, south Wales, a mix of dramatic cliffs, beach and wild seascape.
Or check out Ramblers Cymru for organised guided walks. Another way to stretch your legs and breathe in some salty sea air is to take part in one of several Welsh walking festivals, including those in Gower, Snowdonia and Monmouthshire.

Olympic trek across London

The Olympic Stadium in Stratford, with Canary Wharf beyond. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian Fancy seeing where this summer's Olympics will take place? Then join this marathon walk across London. Discover Adventure, has launched a one-day, 26-mile trek setting off from the Olympic Park in Stratford (home to the Olympic stadium and village). Going at your own pace (the walk takes between eight and 12 hours), you'll pass Lords Cricket Ground (host to the archery events), Hyde Park (triathlon and marathon swimming) and the Horse Guards Parade Ground (beach volleyball) before culminating at Greenwich Park and the North Greenwich Arena/the O2 (equestrian events and the modern pentathlon). Leaders will be on hand to steer you in the right direction and there will be designated snack stops. Trips depart 13 May and 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013. Registration fee is £49pp.

AND FIVE ABROAD

Triathlon camp in France

Triathlons have moved beyond the realm of professional athletes and become increasingly popular among "ordinary" people looking for a sporting challenge. If you've got your sights set on completing one this year, but need some guidance, a triathlon camp could be just the ticket. Adventure in the Alps offers a week-long retreat hosted by current world champion Christine Hemphill, with one-on-one assessment and video analysis.
Based at a chalet on the shore of Lake Annecy from 12-18 May, the £1,200pp price includes all training – incorporating a mini triathlon, six nights' full board, snacks and water, personal assessment and transfers. Flights (to Geneva), one dinner, insurance and spa treatments are extra. The company also offers running camps, walking holidays, yoga, tai chi and pilates retreats as well as a fitness retreat specifically for over-50s.

Running in New Zealand

I'm going for a run. I may be some time ... Running Wild has launched a guided trail run across the northern part of New Zealand's South Island. Covering a daily average of 25km over five to six hours, the eight-day trip starts with a 26km run along the northern end of the Queen Charlotte Track, and ends with 35km along the Abel Tasman coastal track – taking you on breathtaking routes through beech forests, alongside beautiful lakes, over ridge tops and around high alpine tarns. The trip departs 25 February and costs NZ$2,850pp (about £1,430) including full board accommodation, guiding and portage of luggage. Running Wild also organises customised trips.

Mountain biking in Italy

Photograph: Alamy Riding through pastures and meadows, past lakes and streams with the stunning Dolomites as your constant backdrop, you will barely notice your fitness levels rising on this mountain biking holiday, so distracted will you be by the idyllic scenery. Over eight days you will be guided across the Dolomites, over-nighting in mountain rifugios. Organised by The Healthy Holiday Company (0845 458 0723, thehealthyholidaycompany.co.uk), trips are bespoke, with no set departure date, and start from £1,390pp based on a minimum group of two, including accommodation, meals, bike hire and guiding for the week. Flights (to Innsbruck) and transfers are extra. Details of the trip will be on the new website launching next week.

Swimming in the Caribbean

Photograph: Alamy Feel pretty confident in the water? How about swimming from Britain to the US? That's the British Virgin Isles to the US Virgin Isles – but, still, this Swimtrek trip around idyllic Caribbean isles and cays features some of the longest daily swims in the company's portfolio. Island hopping through pristine waters, swimming over reefs and along coasts, there's also time out of the water for guided walks and technique analysis. If you like the idea of this Caribbean holiday, you'd better get your flippers on – there are just four places left on the 30 March departure. Based at the Leverick Bay Resort on Virgin Gorda (pictured above), the trip costs £1,200 including all breakfasts and lunches, but not flights or evening meals.

Walking in Germany

Burg Rheinstein castle overlooking the Rhine. Photograph: Alamy This might stretch the definition of healthy for some, but for anyone after a gentle trip where you can go at your own pace in your own company, this is perfect. New from On Foot Holidays is a self-guided walk along the 65km Rhine Gorge (graded medium-hard), focusing on the waterway's lesser-known west bank (the RheinBurgenWeg) as well as on the well-trodden east side.
Walking between the gorge's 20 castles and fortified, Unesco-sanctified villages, there are plenty of beer gardens and Riesling vineyards en route for anyone who likes to keep their spirits up with a glass or two of the local tipple. Available May–October, the trip costs from £670pp including eight nights' B&B, one dinner and route information. Travel extra.

'Virginity tests' on Egypt protesters are illegal, says judge

2011-12-28T09:51:00.000+03:00

Samira Ibrahim, who says she was humiliated and tortured by the military, flashes a victory sign after the court ruling in Cairo yesterday. Photograph: Ahmed Ali/AP

Forced "virginity tests" on female detainees were ruled illegal in Egypt on Tuesday, after a court ordered an end to the practice.
Hundreds of activists were in the Cairo courtroom to hear the judge, Aly Fekry, say the army could not use the test on women held in military prisons in a case filed by Samira Ibrahim, one of seven women subjected to the test after being arrested in Tahrir Square during a protest on 9 March.
Fekry, head of the Cairo administrative court, decreed that what happened to Ibrahim and six other detainees was illegal and any similar occurrence in the future would also be considered illegal.
The court is expected to issue a further injunction against such tests and decree that the test was completely illegal, opening the door for financial compensation.
After the verdict Ibrahim, 25, posted on Twitter: "Thank you to the people, thank you to Tahrir Square that taught me to challenge, thank you to the revolution that taught me perseverance."
The 25-year-old marketing manager, who said she faced death threats for bringing the case, told CNN: "Justice has been served today.
"These tests are a crime and also do not comply with the constitution, which states equality between men and women. I will not give up my rights as a woman or a human being."
Ibrahim said her treatment showed the tests were intended to "degrade the protesters.
"The military tortured me, labelled me a prostitute and humiliated me by forcing on me a virginity test conducted by a male doctor where my body was fully exposed while military soldiers watched."
After the verdict she and others, including the presidential candidate and former broadcaster Bothaina Kamel, marched to Tahrir Square. Ibrahim was later photographed at Kaser el Nil bridge flashing the victory sign.
Egyptian academic and columnist Amira Nowaira gave a cautious welcome to the ruling. Speaking from Alexandria she said: "Nobody had heard of the virginity tests before so it is good a court has said they cannot be used. People should be prosecuted but it's going to be hard, even assigning blame will be difficult. Who is ultimately responsible?"
"The military had been denying they were doing the tests, then they said it was a standard procedure and came up with lots of excuses about why they were doing it."
The head of the judicial military authority, General Adel Morsy, was cited in state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper as saying that the administrative court ruling could not be implemented because there was nothing in the statutes that govern military prisons about permitting the carrying out of virginity tests. Ibrahim will return to court in February, to appeal against the one-year suspended sentence she received for insulting authorities and participating in an unauthorised assembly in March.
The case brings to the fore protester complaints against military actions during the transitional period.
There is a long list of violations attributed to the military, with some 12,000 civilians being charged and sentenced in military courts, and numerous incidents that have led to deaths of protesters.
Almost in conjunction with the administrative court ruling, it was announced that the military doctor who undertook the tests would be referred to a military court on 3 January.
He is being charged with public indecency and disobeying military orders, but not sexual assault.
Hossam Bahgat, the head of Egyptian initiative for personal rights (EIPR), said: "To call it a medical checkup is disingenuous. It was torture and sexual assault.
"It wasn't conducted in a medical clinic, but in full view of the soldiers, hence why the charge is one of public indecency, which is incorrect?
"The military doctor being charged is a scapegoat, because these soldiers follow orders and what happened to the detainees is the responsibility of those running the prison."
Ibrahim, in recounting her ordeal to Human Rights Watch, said two officers had entered the prison cell, where the women were detained, and asked which of them were married.
The officers informed them they would be subjected to virginity tests to confirm they were not lying.
"They took us out one by one … they took me to a bed in a passageway in front of the cell. There were lots of soldiers around and they could see me.
"I asked if the soldiers could move away and the officer escorting me teased me.
"A woman prison guard in plainclothes stood at my head and then a man in military uniform examined me with his hand for several minutes. It was painful. He took his time."
The case was heard in the first circuit of the administrative court, known as the rights and freedoms circuit, and was filed by three Egyptian rights advocacy groups – EIPR, the Hisham Mubarak law centre and the Nadeem centre for the rehabilitation of victims of torture.However, the court ruling is an administrative one only, and because of the provisions of the military penal code the chances of pursuing criminal liability against the transgressors lies only within the jurisdiction of military courts.Campaign groups have been documenting the escalation in sexual violence towards female demonstrators and claim brutal tactics are used are to deter, intimidate and humiliate those taking part in political activities.
Last week Nadya Khalife, from Human Rights Watch, said: "Images of military and police who strip, grope, and beat protesters have horrified the world and brought into sharp focus the sexual brutality Egyptian women face in public life. At this crucial stage in Egypt's history, women need to be able to take part in demonstrations and elections without fear. "Security forces' disgraceful attacks and the government's broader failure to address sexual violence and harassment do not bode well for Egypt's women."
The New Woman Foundation, in Egypt, said at least nine women were arrested during a protest in November, with some accusing security forces of physical and verbal assault.

Humiliation and violation claims

Samira Ibrahim was one of seven female protesters subjected to the "virginity test" after being arrested in Tahrir Square during a protest on 9 March. The demonstrators were among almost 200 detained that day, 20 of whom were women.
The following day the female detainees were separated into two groups, the married and unmarried. The seven unmarried women were given a medical checkup during which the "virginity test" was done.
The incident occurred a month into the handling of the country's affairs by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, their authority granted by the deposed Hosni Mubarak before his ousting on 11 February.
The military was by then losing patience with Tahrir protesters, already having forcibly dispersed protests against the government of the then Egyptian prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak's final cabinet appointment.
The case of Ibrahim and the other six female detainees is one of a litany of abuses that occurred that night on the night of 9 March, with many protesters who were held being tortured and beaten on the site of the Egyptian museum that lies off the square. Other protesters were subjected to whipping and electric shocks throughout the night.
Ibrahim was one of those transferred to the military prison known locally as the Haykestep, referring to its location off the Cairo-Ismailia road.
The virginity tests were carried out in full view of soldiers and other detainees present at the prison, according to the human rights lawyer Ahmed Hossam, who was representing Ibrahim in the case and is attached to the Egyptian initiative for personal rights.

Kobe Bryant's Wife Files for Divorce

2011-12-17T19:14:00.001+03:00

Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant reacts during their NBA basketball loss to the Sacramento Kings in Los Angeles, California, January 28, 2011.

Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

(ORANGE, Calif.) — Kobe Bryant's wife, who stood by her husband when he was charged with sexual assault in 2003, filed for divorce on Friday from the Los Angeles Lakers star, citing irreconcilable differences after a decade of marriage.
Vanessa Bryant signed the papers on Dec. 1. Kobe Bryant signed his response on Dec. 7 and it was filed Friday, according to the documents."The Bryants have resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of counsel and a judgment dissolving their marital status will be entered in 2012," according to a statement from a representative for the couple.
In the filing, Vanessa Bryant asked for joint legal and physical custody of the couple's two daughters, Natalia, 8, and Gianna, 5. Kobe Bryant asked for the same in his response. Vanessa Bryant also requested spousal support. (Watch TIME's basketball lesson with Kobe Bryant.)
The Bryants "ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this difficult time," according to the statement.
Bryant met his future wife in 1999 on a music video shoot when Vanessa Laine was 18 years old. Six months later, she and the then-21-year-old Bryant became engaged. They married on April 18, 2001.
The Bryants have been through trying times together.Vanessa Bryant appeared at a news conference with her husband when he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman who worked at the exclusive Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Vail, Colo., in 2003. She held his hand and stroked it tenderly as the NBA star admitted he was guilty of adultery — but nothing else. Earlier she had issued her own statement to the media, vowing to stand by her husband."I know that my husband has made a mistake — the mistake of adultery," she said in the statement at the time. "He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal."
A year later, prosecutors dropped the criminal charge against Kobe Bryant because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Last year, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant settled litigation with a former maid who accused the NBA star's wife of harassment. The Bryants countersued Maria Jimenez for violating a confidentiality agreement by talking to reporters about the family.

Facebook Threatens to Sue Mark Zuckerberg — No, Not That One

2011-12-17T19:08:00.001+03:00

Facebook has threatened to sue Mark Zuckerberg, an Israeli entrepreneur who recently took the social network founder’s name. The new Zuckerberg, born Rotem Guez, legally changed his name Dec. 7.
Zuckerberg II’s website, MarkZuckerbergOfficial.com, states that he first filed a lawsuit against Facebook in January, after the social network refused to give him access to his profile, which it had shut down.
Zuckerberg (all further mentions refer to the Israeli entrepreneur) co-founded Like Store, a social marketing company, which sells companies Likes for their brand pages. The site states (translated), “Are you sad no one’s visiting your Facebook Page? We have a solution! Need 1,000 Likes? We’ll get them for you. Need 5,000 Likes? We’ll get them for you. Need 10,000 Likes? We’ll get them for you.”

In September, Facebook’s law firm Perkins Coie threatened to sue against Zuckerberg, claiming the Like Store violated the social network’s Terms of Service, by selling brands fans. The threat instructed Zuckerberg to shut his company and never return to the social network for any reason.
Zuckerberg officially changed his name Dec. 7. In the below video of his trip to the Interior Ministry to make the switch official, he says he plans to change his family’s names as well. One week later, Facebook again threatened a lawsuit against Zuckerberg’s still existing Like Store. Little did they know, they were threatening someone with the name of their own founder.
Though legally Facebook can, of course, sue someone named Mark Zuckerberg, it makes for quite the funny tale.

Perhaps anticipating the media attention he would receive, Zuckerberg has set up an Internet campaign for his new persona, including a Facebook Page and Twitter account, @iMarkZuckerberg, suggesting that he’s ready to make a splash with his new identity. His Facebook Page includes photos of his new identification card and passport.
Do you think the new Zuckerberg was ridiculous to change his name or has he pulled off a brilliant marketing stunt for his startup? Let us know what you think.

Physics Of The Future': How We'll Live In 2100?

2011-12-02T17:21:00.000+03:00

How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
Imagine being able to access the Internet through the contact lenses on your eyeballs. Blink, and you'd be online. Meet someone, and you'd have the ability to immediately search their identity. And if your friend happens to be speaking a different language, an instantaneous translation could appear directly in front of you.
That might sound farfetched, but it's something that might very well exist in 30 years or less, says theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.
"The first people to buy these contact lenses will be college students studying for final exams," he tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "They'll see the exam answers right in their contact lenses. ... In a cocktail party, you will know exactly who to suck up to, because you'll have a complete read out of who they are. President Barack Obama will buy these contact lenses, so he'll never need a teleprompter again. ... These already exist in some form [in the military]. You place [a lens] on your helmet, you flip it down, and immediately you see the Internet of the battlefield ... all of it, right on your eyeball."
But Internet-ready contact lenses aren't the only futuristic item we're likely to see. Kaku describes some of the inventions that may appear throughout the coming century — based on developments currently taking place in nanotechnology, astronautics, medicine and material science — in his book Physics of the Future. Kaku details some of these inventions, including disposable computers, space elevators and driverless cars — which will likely be ready in the next decade and will completely eliminate the need for high school driver's ed classes.
"In the future, you'll simply jump into your car, turn on the Internet, turn on a movie and sit back and relax and turn on the automatic pilot, and the car will drive itself," he says. "Unlike a human driver, it doesn't get drunk, it doesn't get distracted and certainly does not have road rage."
The cars will be equipped with radar in the fenders that will communicate with road signs and sensors along highways.
"When the car comes to an intersection, the GPS system will alert the computer [inside the car] that there is an intersection coming up," he says. "[The GPS system] will look onto the [roadside] sensor and then slow down."
Kaku also explains how, in the future, our brains might be able to interface with artificial intelligence. He describes one study in which computer chips were placed into the brains of paralyzed stroke patients at Brown University. The patients learned that by thinking certain thoughts, they could manipulate a cursor on a computer screen.

Enlarge Andrea Brizzi/Doubleday Michio Kaku is an author and the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York. His books include Hyperspace, Visions and Beyond Einstein.

Michio Kaku is an author and the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City University of New York. His books include Hyperspace, Visions and Beyond Einstein.

"It takes awhile — it takes a few hours — but after a while, you realize that certain thoughts will move the cursor in certain directions," he says. "After a while ... [the patients] were able to read email, write email, surf the Internet, play video games, guide wheelchairs — anything you can do on a computer, they can do as well, except they're trapped inside a paralyzed body."
Similar technology could be used in the future to control robots that can go places where humans can't, says Kaku.
"It's very dangerous to put astronauts on a moon base where there's radiation, solar flares and micro meteorites," he says. "It'd be much better to put robots on the moon and have them mentally connected to astronauts on the Earth. So you'd go inside a pod, you mentally make certain thoughts, which then [could] control the robots on the moon."
Kaku, a professor of theoretical physics with the City College of New York, also talks about his childhood, his work with Edward Teller, a member of the Manhattan Project, and his work on the development of string field theory. He is the author of several books, including Physics of the Impossible, Parallel Worlds and Beyond Einstein. He has also hosted scientific documentaries for the Discovery Channel, the BBC and the Science Channel.

Kentucky church bans interracial marriage

2011-12-02T11:43:00.000+03:00

A small Kentucky church has chosen to ban marriages and even some worship services for interracial couples. The Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church, located in Pike County, made the vote in response to a longtime member who is engaged to a man whose birthplace is in Zimbabwe.
Other pastoral leaders in the area were quick to denounce the church's vote. "It's not the spirit of the community in any way, shape or form," Randy Johnson, president of the Pike County Ministerial Association, told the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The small congregation, which usually hosts about 40 members each Sunday, held the vote after longtime member Stella Harville, brought her fiancé Ticha Chikuni to church with her in June. The couple performed a song together at the church in which Chikuni sang "I Surrender All," while Harville played the piano.
Chikuni, 29, who works at Georgetown College, is black--and Harville, who was baptized at the church but is not an active member, is white. Dean Harville, Stella's father, said he was told by the church's former pastor Melvin Thompson that his daughter and her fiancé were not allowed to sing at the church again. However, Thompson recently stepped down and the church's new pastor, Stacy Stepp, said the couple was once again welcome to sing.
Stepp's decision prompted Thompson to put forth a recommendation saying that while all members are welcome at the church, it does not "condone" interracial marriage, and that any interracial couples would not be received as members or allowed to participate in worship services. The only exception? Funerals.
The Harville family has formally requested the congregation to reconsider the interracial ban, and Thompson has also said he would like to resolve the issue, the area CBS affiliate WYMT has reported.

A copy of the recommendation, obtained by WYMT, reads in part:

That the Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church does not condone interracial marriage. Parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals. All are welcome to our public worship services. This recommendation is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve.

Members of the church held a vote on Thompson's proposed language, with nine voting in favor and six voting against. The other members in attendance chose not to vote.
Gawker notes that Pike County is 98 percent white and home to the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.
The Harville family doesn't see Gulnare's new policy promoting anything like unity or civil peace. "They're the people who are supposed to comfort me in times like these," Stella Harville said.
And Stella's father was much more forceful in his denunciation of the interracial ban. "It sure ain't Christian," Dean Harville said. "It ain't nothing but the old devil working."

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American green card? No thanks

2011-12-02T11:38:00.000+03:00

A USCIS sample green card from 2010 (AP)

Half as many people applied to enter a diversity lottery to receive an American green card this year than last.Last year, 15 million people around the world entered the State Department-run "diversity lottery," which gives out up to 55,000 green cards each year to people who live in countries with low immigration rates to the United States. (To enter the lottery, applicants must have at least a high school education and two years' recent work experience.)
The Department says the number of entrants plummeted to 8 million this year because Bangladesh--which last year was home to more than 7 million visa lottery applicants--was taken off the list of qualifying countries. That's because it now sends more than 50,000 immigrants to America each year.
But Muzaffar Chishti, the director of NYU law school's Migration Policy Institute office, says he thinks the Department's much-publicized computer glitch last year might have also lowered participation.
"I think that event discouraged a lot of people from applying," Chishti said. Even though Bangladesh was taken off the list, other countries--Poland and South Sudan--were added to the list, suggesting that there should have been more visa applications.
Last May, the State Department mistakenly told 22,000 people all over the world that they had won the visa lottery. Nearly two weeks later, the Department told those people were that they were not in fact able to live and work in the United States, blaming a computer error. "I can't believe that this happened ... It was the most beautiful time of my life for me, my husband and our 4 months baby ... I was happy because i had something beautiful to dream about," wrote Anisa Tane of Albania on one of the many online forums where the 22,000 would-be immigrants congregated to complain. Some of them tried to sue in a class action, but a judge denied their claim.
Chishti says the high unemployment rate in America may have also discouraged applicants."This has been happening with all our immigration streams," he said. "Given the nature of the economy and the labor market, less and less people feel confident that if they come to the U.S. they'll find a job."
Recent data highlighted in the New York Times finds that the sour U.S. economy has also dramatically driven down illegal immigration from Mexico. More than 500,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico entered each year between 2000 and 2004, but that number plunged to 100,000 by 2010, according to estimates.
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Obama Admits to Being Born in Asia?

2011-11-29T17:03:00.000+03:00

During a news conference for the 19th annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leader's summit on Sunday, the president gave birthers the answer they have been waiting for, that Obama was not born in America.

The media seemingly focused on the "magic beans" statement Obama made during the speech but completely glossed over the part where the president said of his birth state of Hawaii, "Here in Asia."

If Hawaii is in Asia, then the president was not born in the U.S. You win, birthers.

This is not the first gaffe the president has made regarding his birth state and the U.S. in general. During his campaign, Obama claimed to have visited 57 states, not including Alaska and Hawaii.

Compounding these gaffes with others such as when he stated his approval ratings were dropping but are still "very high in the country of my birth," one can almost hear the wheels grinding back to life in the birther movement.

Obviously, this is not the first presidential gaffe of the Obama administration. It's not even the first gaffe this month.

On Nov. 9, Reuters reported Obama complaining of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the G-20 summit earlier this month. The president complained, "You're fed up with him, but I have to deal with him even more often than you," not realizing that his microphone was still turned on, according to the report.

What the president's record is beginning to reveal, in addition to his anti-Israel sentiment is the likely reason he will not release his school records, he is not educated on U.S. nor world history, geography or ethics.

In 2009, Obama advised that the Constitution was written more than 20 centuries ago during his news conference on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

During the 2008 presidential debates, then-Sen. Obama stated, "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle."

Illinois, Obama's home state, shares a border with Kentucky. To get to Kentucky from Arkansas one would have to travel through Missouri or Tennessee.

Add to this his disparaging comment about the Special Olympics on the "Tonight Show" that his health care reform would bring greater inefficiencies to health care and many others, it is becoming increasingly clear that Obama is not the amazing orator he is made out to be.

Speech is not the only area where Obama is clumsy. A video from Fox News show "Redeye" shows Obama attempting to enter the White House through a window he thought was a door. Another video, this time from CNN, shows Obama bouncing his face off of Marine 1, the presidential helicopter in 2009.

Doodle 4 Google

2011-11-23T12:17:00.001+03:00

Google Doodle celebrates Stanislaw Lem with giant robot animation

Today's Google Doodle, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem's first book, is one of the most impressive yet

doodle

The doodle is one of the most impressive graphics yet created by the search engine giant and involves an animated character interacting with a giant robot which acts as a bizarre calculator.

A message within the doodle confirms the animation is to mark the ‘60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem's first book publication’ and adds the art work was inspired by illustrations from The Cyberiad - a series of short stories by the Polish author – created by Daniel Mroz.

The graphic itself does not click through to a search page like the majority of previous doodles but instead plays out the animation and interaction with the giant robot instead.

As a result, terms ‘Today’s Google’ and ‘Stanislaw Lem’ have both been trending heavily on Twitter as UK users try and find out more information about the striking doodle.

Lem is best known for his 1961 novel Solaris, which was made into a film starring George Clooney in 2002.

Over 27million copies of the Polish writer’s work are believed to have been sold around the world and translated into some 41 different languages.

Born in September 192, Lem passed away in March 2006 at the age of 84.

HISTORY

Over the years, doodles on the Google homepage have made searching on Google more fun and enjoyable for its users worldwide. When doodles were first created, nobody had anticipated how popular and integral they would become to the Google search experience. Nowadays, many users excitedly anticipate the release of each new doodle and some even collect them!
Doodles are known as the decorative changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists and scientists. Whether it is the beginning of Spring, Albert Einstein's birthday, or the 50th anniversary of understanding DNA, the doodle team never fails to find artistic ways to celebrate these unique events.
Having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is a part of the brand. While the doodle is primarily a fun way for the company to recognize events and notable people, it also illustrates the creative and innovative personality of the company itself.

How did the idea for doodles originate?

In 1998, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. A stick figure drawing was placed behind the 2nd "o" in the word, Google and the revised logo was intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were “out of office.” While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating the company logo to celebrate notable events was well received by our users.
A year later in 2000, Larry and Sergey asked current webmaster Dennis Hwang, an intern at the time, to produce a doodle for Bastille Day. Pleased with the result, Dennis was then appointed Google’s chief doodler and doodles became a regular occurrence on the Google homepage. In the beginning, the doodles tended to celebrate largely visible holidays; nowadays, doodles represent a wide array of events and anniversaries from the Winter Games to the Mars Rover landing.
Over time, the demand for doodles quickly rose both in the U.S. and internationally. Creating doodles is now the responsibility of a team of talented designers. For them, creating doodles has become a team effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring smiles to a myriad of Google users worldwide.

How many doodles has Google done over the years?

The doodle team has created over 300 doodles for Google.com in the United States and over 700 have been designed internationally.

Who chooses what doodles will be created and how do you decide which events will receive doodles?

A group of Googlers regularly get together to decide the events and holidays that will receive doodles. The ideas for the doodles themselves are gathered from numerous sources including Googlers and the general public. The doodle selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that reflect Google's personality and love for innovation. We are aware that the list of doodles is not exhaustive, but we try to select doodles that show creativity and innovation.

Who designs the doodles?

There is a team of designers that are behind the doodles you see on Google.com.

How can Google users/the public submit ideas for doodles?

The doodle team is open to user ideas; requests for doodles can be sent to proposals@google.com. The team receives numerous requests so even if we do not get back to you about your request, please know that we do look at and consider all the requests that are submitted.

I love Google and have designed my own doodle. Where can I submit my fan logo?

You can submit your fan logos to proposals@google.com.

Where can I see all the Google doodles that have been done over the years?

All doodles can be found at www.google.com/logos.

Think twice before getting tattooed

2011-11-23T11:42:00.002+03:00

If you’ve been debating whether or not to get inked, you might want to consider this new trend. City doctors report a rise in tattoo removal procedures after the festive season.
“We receive several cases of tattoo removal after Diwali and Navratri. Since getting a tattoo done has

become common during the festive season — especially among youngsters — a lot of them also choose to get them removed once the good times end,” says Dr Jaishree Manchanda, cosmetologist, Berkowits Skin and Health Clinic, Andheri (W).

However, the treatment for removal may prove to be more complicated than getting inked. “On an average, it takes about two to five sittings depending on the depth and size of the tattoo,” says plastic and cosmetic surgeon Dr Meenakshi Agarwal, director, Face & Figure clinic, Mahim. She adds, “After each sitting, an abrasion or scabs forms around the tattoo. It heals in two to three days. The procedure involves multiple sittings, and an interval of at least six weeks is needed in between these sessions.”
Twenty-six-year old Vaijanti Patra had a tattoo on her forehead, which she had got done around six years ago. But post marriage, she decided to get it removed. “My husband didn’t approve. It was a one-and-a-half inch tattoo and took me around six to seven sittings for the treatment,” says Patra.

Doctors also reveal that since a lot of people tend to get inked on an impulse, they have to face repercussions later. “Several young girls and boys get tattoos of their boyfriends’/girlfriends’ names. And we frequently get cases where they want to remove these tattoos after a break-up or before they marry someone else,” says Dr Manchanda.
Dr Agarwal adds that dark-coloured tattoos are easier to remove, with the treatment showing 100 per cent results. “However, yellow, pink or red coloured-tattoos may pose some difficulty as they don’t respond well to laser. Thus, even after the removal procedure, one may find remnants,” she explains

Your daily cup of coffee may be aging your skin

2011-11-22T10:30:00.000+03:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Maybe you take all the right steps — all 17 of them , even — to care for your skin. But simple, seemingly innocuous habits like a daily cup of coffee may be undermining your best efforts, explained New York City dermatologist Dr. Deborah Wattenberg this morning on TODAY. Here's what to avoid to keep your skin looking young and healthy.

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1. Seriously, stop smoking.
"Smoking is probably the worst thing you can possibly do for your body, including your skin," Wattenberg explains — yet 20 percent of Americans are still lighting up.
Here's just one reason to consider kicking the habit: Nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarettes destroy the skin's elastin and collagen, leading to wrinkles and fine lines. Smoking also takes a toll on the skin's blood vessels, restricting oxygen flow and subsequently causing your skin to appear dull and sallow. Habitual smoking can also lead to those pucker lines around the mouth, Wattenberg says.
2. Wine, candy and coffee are aging your skin.
Turns out, all of your favorite vices — alcohol, junk food and caffeine — are wrecking your skin, too. "Alcohol and caffeine ... act like a diuretic and prevent you from holding on to water, so your skin looks sort of prune-like. It can get dry and get washed out," Wattenberg says. "Junk food contains a lot of preservatives and that will do the same thing."
So if you're drinking a lot of caffeine or alcohol, remember to stay hydrated. We need about six to eight glasses of water per day, anyway, but if you're drinking a lot of lattes to get through the day, you'll need to drink even more water to keep your skin looking pretty.
3. Your lack of sleep is written all over your face.
Actually, if you're drinking caffeine to stay alert throughout the day, we need to talk about that, too. You may think you're getting away with six hours of sleep a night, but your skin tells the real story.
"When you don't sleep, stress causes the release of the hormone cortisol, (which) makes your skin oily (and) causes acne, which makes your skin look less attractive," Wattenbergy says.
4. Be nicer to acne-prone skin.
This is counterintuitive, but Wattenberg says when your skin breaks out, make sure you don't scrub your face too aggressively. "The worst thing you can do when you have acne is to try to scrub away your acne," Wattenberg says. "People try to do that all the time, and come in with irritated faces as a result of scrubbing or overwashing."
Acne, she explains, isn't caused by dirt or uncleanliness — it's hormones that are more likely making you break out. So instead of rubbing your face raw, wash gently, using products that are going to target the acne like salycilic acid. "And you don't want to pick and squeeze — it causes scarring, pigmentation and makes it worse because you can drive the bacteria deeper into the skin and create infections," Wattenberg says. Yikes.
5. You're not wearing enough sunscreen.
Yes, we know it's winter. But you still need to apply sunscreen — several times a day, Wattenberg insists. "Once a day is probably one of the worst things you can do for your skin, because the sun is still really strong, and people spend a lot of time outdoors," she explains.
Especially in parts of the country where the weather is turning snowier and icier, remember to reapply your sunscreen — the sun reflects off the snow and ice, and you can get burned easily. "Sunscreen is the key to youthful skin," she says.
OK, now we know what not to do. But let's focus on the positive here — what do you do to keep your skin looking healthy and youthful? Tell us about your skin secrets on our Facebook page.
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The Dirty Details of Facebook's Porn Attack

2011-11-22T10:09:00.000+03:00

Adam Clark Estes 17,013 Views Nov 15, 2011

On Thursday afternoon, Facebook confirmed that a "coordinated spam attack" has been sending a torrent of hardcore porn and gore into Facebook users' news feeds. It's not pretty. Scattered reports say that images of everything from besitaliality to graphic violence and dead babies to Justin Bieber have been taking over entire feeds for the past two days. Facebook says it's managed to contain the damage. Next, the company plans on crushing the hackers who caused it in court.
"During this spam attack users were tricked into pasting and executing malicious javascript in their browser URL bar causing them to unknowingly share this offensive content," Facebook's Andrew Noyes explained in a statement. "Our efforts have drastically limited the damage caused by this attack, and we are now in the process of investigating to identify those responsible."
So far bloggers have a pretty good idea. Adrian Chen at Gawker was one of the first to cover the attack and suggested that the full-on assault of nasty images "is definitely one of Anonymous' trademark moves," noting that the hacktivist announced an attack on Facebook with something called the "Guy Fawkes virus." ZDNet's privacy blogger Violet Blue reiterated that the "style of images is very much along the lines of 4Chan's /b, which is where the genesis of Anonymous occurred," and added that the content suggested "a much more direct attack on Facebook — the company — rather than an attack on its users." (If you think you've been hit, ZDNet put together a handy how-to-fix-it blog post, too.) Graham Cluley at the Sophos Naked Security blog stopped short of guessing who the perpetrators might be but noted that Facebook users were threatening to flee the site in scores, after seeing the images. "Facebook needs to get a handle on this problem quickly, and prevent it from happening on such a scale again."
Which brings us to Facebook's so far stern-sounding response. Thought the social network stayed quiet about the attack until Tuesday afternoon, they didn't reserve any hesitation in threatening to hunt down and throw the book at the spammers responsible for the gross flood of filth. "In addition to the engineering teams that build tools to block spam," Noyes told The Atlantic Wire, "we also have a dedicated enforcement team that has already identified those responsible and is working with out legal team to ensure appropriate consequences follow."

Just last year, Facebook helped hunt down self-annointed "Spam King" Sanford Wallace in relation to three separate attacks on the social network. Having compromised 500,000 accounts and sent an estimated 27 million spam messages, Wallace earned himself various charges of fraud and intentional damage to a protected a computer. A judge eventually ordered Wallace to pay Facebook a total $711 million in damages. Wallace, who is considered the inventor of spam, had already racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in fees from other sites and is unlikely to pay the fine, though he faces 16 years in prison. Similar cases have yielded similarly jaw-dropping figures, including a $360.5 million judgment against spammer Philip Porembski earlier this year and an $873 million judgment in 2008 against Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital. For spamming.

Sources

Facebook Is Investigating the Huge Cocks Spamming Your Newsfeed, Adrian Chen, Gawker
Facebook Porn and Gore Exploit Spiraling Out Of Control, Violet Blue, ZDNet
Facebook users hit by hardcore porn, violence and animal abuse images, Graham Cluley, Naked Security

Laptops to Sell for Under $200 on Black Friday

2011-11-22T09:52:00.000+03:00

Heavily discounted PCs and tablets will be sold by top retailers on Black Friday, which marks one of the most active shopping days in the U.S. Walmart and Best Buy will offer fully equipped laptops for under $200, continuing a promotional price battle they have engaged in for years.
The sub-$200 laptops have slow processors and may lack key components, but could be effective desktop replacements for basic tasks like office productivity applications, Web surfing and video.
[Read: 10 Awesome Black Friday Laptop Deals Under $500]
Faster and better-equipped laptops with more storage are also being sold for between $300 and $400 by retailers including Office Depot. Analysts have predicted a rise in laptop prices over the coming quarters with hard drive shortages due to extensive flooding in Thailand, so this may be a good time to buy. (See also "Black Friday Doorbuster Deals Preview.")
Walmart and Staples are offering tablets starting at $99. Depending on the store, the laptops and tablets could be on sale on November 24 or 25, or both days.

Laptops Under $200

Walmart is offering Hewlett-Packard's Compaq laptop with a dual-core AMD C-50 processor for $198, according to a Black Friday circular posted on the retailer's website. The laptop has a 15.6-inch screen, 2GB of memory, 250GB hard drive and a webcam. The C-50 processors integrates a graphics processor and is able to handle high-definition video.
Not to be outdone, Best Buy is offering a Lenovo laptop with a 15.6-inch screen for $179.99 starting on Thursday next week into Friday. The laptop has a dual-core AMD E-300 processor, but no further details are available. The E-300 processor is faster than the C-50 processor in Walmart's $198 laptop, so applications and multimedia will run quicker. But Walmart's laptop has a webcam, which sometimes are not included in laptops under $200, so make sure to check Lenovo laptop's feature list. Nevertheless, at $179.99, this could the best laptop deal on a full-size laptop this Black Friday.
No details are available yet, but it's worth watching for deals at Fry's Electronics, which usually offers the best laptop pricing. The store has carried sub-$200 laptops over the last few years on Black Friday. It may also be worth searching the forums on Slickdeals.net, which is actively updated by users who find the hottest deals. Also scour sites like Dealcatcher or Dealnews, which brings users the best discounts.

Laptops Under $300

Walmart is selling an HP laptop with a 15.6-screen and AMD's E-350 processor for $248. It has impressive features, with 3GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive. For $50 more, Best Buy is offering a Samsung laptop with 4GB of memory, Intel's Pentium processor, 320GB hard drive and a 15.6-inch screen. Office Depot will offer a Gateway "exclusive" laptop for $299.99.

Other Laptop Deals

For those who need serious processing power, Walmart is offering an Acer Aspire laptop with Intel's Core i5 processor for $498. The laptop has a 17.3-inch screen, 4GB memory and a 640GB hard drive. Office Depot will offer a Toshiba laptop with 500GB storage for $399. Also, don't be surprised to see laptops with quad-core chips from AMD for sale under $500.

Tablets

Some tablets are also being heavily discounted on Black Friday. The most attractive is Velocity Micro's Cruz tablet, which is already on sale for only $99 on Walmart. The tablet has a 7-inch capacitive screen, Google's Android 2.0 that is upgradable to 2.2, and 4GB of storage expandable to 32GB. The tablet has a 528MHz MIPS processor, which is not blazing fast like dual-core processors on the latest tablets, but Cruz reviewers have said the tablet is useful for basic activities like e-books and web surfing.
Staples will offer the BlackBerry Playbook for $199, and Acer Iconia Tab tablet for $299, according to their Black Friday circular. The Iconia Tab offers the latest hardware and software, including a dual-core processor and Android 3.x, code-named Honeycomb.

25 Worst Passwords of 2011

2011-11-22T09:42:00.001+03:00

Pro tip: choosing “password” as your online password is not a good idea. In fact, unless you’re hoping to be an easy target for hackers, it’s the worst password you can possibly choose.
“Password” ranks first on password management application provider SplashData’s annual list of worst internet passwords, which are ordered by how common they are. (“Passw0rd,” with a numeral zero, isn’t much smarter, ranking 18th on the list.)
The list is somewhat predictable: Sequences of adjacent numbers or letters on the keyboard, such as “qwerty” and “123456,” and popular names, such as “ashley” and “michael,” all are common choices. Other common choices, such as “monkey” and “shadow,” are harder to explain.

As some websites have begun to require passwords to include both numbers and letters, it makes sense varied choices, such as “abc123″ and “trustno1,” are popular choices.
SplashData created the rankings based on millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. Here is the complete list:

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

SplashData CEO Morgan Slain urges businesses and consumers using any password on the list to change them immediately.
“Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords,” Slain says. “Even though people are encouraged to select secure, strong passwords, many people continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess ones, placing themselves at risk from fraud and identity theft.”

The company provided some tips for choosing secure passwords in a statement:

1. Vary different types of characters in your passwords; include numbers, letters and special characters when possible.
2. Choose passwords of eight characters or more. Separate short words with spaces or underscores.
3. Don’t use the same password and username combination for multiple websites. Use an online password manager to keep track of your different accounts.

10 Really Unusual Sick Day Excuses

2011-11-22T09:26:00.000+03:00

If you think you've heard every bad sick excuse, think again. Career Builder recently released results to an annual survey, in which one-third of employers say people call in sick the most during the Winter. Perhaps more people are getting sick because of the weather changes or maybe it's just harder to get out of your toasty bed on a cold and gloomy day.
The poll also found that 29 percent of employees admitted to playing hooky this year. Here are some of the strangest sick day excuses they found in their poll:

"Bats got in her hair."
"Got a cold from a puppy."
"Hurt his back chasing a beaver."
"Had a headache after going to too many garage sales."
"Brother-in-law was kidnapped by a drug cartel while in Mexico."
"Ate too much at a party."
"A refrigerator fell on him."
"Got his toe caught in a vent cover."
"Drank anti-freeze by mistake and had to go to the hospital."
"Deer bit him during hunting season."

Top 10 Excuses for Calling in Sick

By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide October 23, 2011

There are lots of excuses employees use when they call in sick or otherwise take a day off from work. Some of the excuses are more creative than others and some work - and some don't. When it doesn't work you could be in trouble.
A CareerBuilder survey reports that 15% of employers have fired a worker for calling in without a legitimate reason. 28% have checked up on the employee, even driving by their house, to be sure they really are sick.
In the questionable excuse category, employers listed the most unusual excuses workers gave when they called in. Here are the top 10 unusual excuses given for calling in sick:

Employee's 12-year-old daughter stole his car and he had no other way to work. Employee didn't want to report it to the police.
Employee said bats got in her hair.
Employee said a refrigerator fell on him.
Employee was in line at a coffee shop when a truck carrying flour backed up and dumped the flour into her convertible.
Employee said a deer bit him during hunting season.
Employee ate too much at a party.
Employee fell out of bed and broke his nose.
Employee got a cold from a puppy.
Employee's child stuck a mint up his nose and had to go to the ER to remove it.
Employee hurt his back chasing a beaver.

If you're looking for a more reasonable excuse for calling into work, here are excuses to use when you need to miss work and you don't have a legitimate excuse to give your boss. If you have a good excuse for taking time off for an interview, add it to our collection of interview excuses.

No Basketball Anymore? Never Ballin' Again?

2011-11-16T14:41:00.001+03:00

I guess one of those could be the new definition of the NBA is after the two sides seem very far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement. It makes me sick that these two sides can't figure it out and get their butts on the court. The NHL tried this a few years ago and wound up on a deserted island known as the Versus network! The NBA is, or should I say was, at the top of their game unlike the NHL was at the time of their canceled season, but it still is something that makes fans turn away. We don't care who are the millionaires and who are the billionaires, we care about who is on TV when we get home from a hard day's work.I am not taking sides in this battle at all. I think both sides are at fault here, but the more I see David Stern talk the more I am growing to hate him. Is there a more condescending person in interviews? The way he talks about the players makes me think he doesn't respect them at all and let's call it like it is, we watch for the players and that's it! They are the ones who have made the NBA so popular, not Daniel Gilbert or Jerry Buss. There are plenty of replacement owners out there, but there is no substitute for the quality of play of NBA players.
I feel bad for the fans, especially the ones who shell out the thousands of dollars every year to support their teams. They are the ones who are being affected the most. Sure they will have some extra spending cash, but to have that game to look forward to means a lot to most of these people and they would gladly pay the money just to see their guys play.
Finally I feel bad for the Phoenix Suns fans...oh wait maybe I feel glad for the Phoenix Suns fans. I say that kiddingly as the Suns are one of the old teams in the league that will feel this the most if the season is indeed lost. Is this the last year for Steve Nash, what will Grant Hill do? These are questions we will have to deal with if the two sides don't pull their heads out of their backsides soon. Most experts say this thing has to get done in the next 48 hours in order for their to be a season. I don't see that happening. I hope am I wrong!

Facebook 'to seek consent for privacy changes'

2011-11-14T13:58:00.000+03:00

Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has defended its privacy policies

Privacy campaigners have welcomed a report that Facebook is to ask users to opt into any changes in the way it uses their personal information.

The social network previously announced alterations to its members' settings without asking for fresh consent.
The website is changing its policy after an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Facebook is not commenting on the story at this time.
The report suggests the site has also agreed to privacy audits by an independent organisation over the next 20 years.
However, it says the FTC does not prescribe how consent should be obtained.
Suspicion "Facebook has historically been extremely resistant to transparency in its own operations, so we welcome measures that would force the company to obtain express consent of its users," said the London based advocacy group Privacy International.
"However, it seems likely that the FTC's demands will only present a temporary obstacle in the path of Facebook's ambitions to collect its users' information.
"Faced with reams of small print, most users are likely to automatically agree to policy changes, with each change bringing us one step closer to Zuckerberg's vision of a privacy-free future."
The website's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was questioned about the firm's privacy policies on the US television network PBS' Charlie Rose show earlier this week.
"You have control over every single thing you've shared on Facebook," he said, "You can take it down."
He also said other search engines and advertising networks gathered "huge amount of information" about internet users through cookies, which he claimed was "less transparent than what is happening at Facebook".

“Start Quote

Users are not social networking sites' primary customers, advertisers and marketers are”

End Quote Andrew Charlesworth University of Bristol

Complaints

The FTC's intervention is being linked to the Washington-based campaign group, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).

It filed a complaint with the commission in December 2009 claiming that privacy setting changes "violate user expectations, diminish user privacy and contradict Facebook's own representations".
EPIC noted that the website's users, security experts and others had voiced opposition to the change.
The organisation filed a follow-up complaint in 2010 claiming the social network had violated consumer protection law.
This year, EPIC also asked the FTC to investigate Facebook's use of facial recognition software on users' uploaded photographs and changes that gave the firm "far greater ability to disclose the personal information of its users to its business partners".
Knock-on effects Facebook says it has more than 800 million members who have used the site at least once in the past 30 days.
The Reuters news agency recently reported that the site's revenues totalled $1.6bn (£1bn) in the first six months of the year thanks to its popularity with advertisers.
Facebook does not release detailed results as it is not a publicly traded company, although there is speculation it will float its stock in 2012.
Legal experts say any settlement with the FTC is likely to have implications for other internet firms.
"Users are not social networking sites' primary customers, advertisers and marketers are," said Andrew Charlesworth, director of the centre for IT and law at the University of Bristol.
"While the FTC settlement indicates sites must be more open about the ways they make personal data available, and provide users with greater control, Facebook and others will already be rethinking the techniques they use to persuade users to keep their personal data publicly accessible."

World's first man 'functionally cured' of HIV

2011-11-10T15:01:00.002+03:00

A total of 744 HIV/AIDs cases have been reported in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, US: In a first, a San Francisco native has apparently been cured of the deadly HIV virus.
Timothy Ray Brown, 45, had tested positive for HIV, the virus symptomatic of AIDs , back in 1995. However, he has managed to eliminate the virus from his body with what doctors describe as a “functional cure”.
Dubbed the “Berlin patient”, Brown received a stem cell transplant in 2007 when he was suffering from leukemia and HIV, both. The transplant carried an immunity gene which cured Brown of his disease.
“I quit taking my HIV medication the day that I got the transplant and haven’t had to take any since,” said Brown in a CBS report.
However, doctors are cautious not to take Brown’s story as a generic cure for AIDs. A lot of questions were still unanswered in his case to determine the exact cause of ‘cure’.
Many research organisations have been working for decades in a bid to find a cure to HIV, and thereby AIDs.
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation donated $10 billion last year to fund a 10 year research program looking for a cure to AIDS.
Almost 100,000 people in Pakistan are affected by the disease with Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa the worst affected. 744 cases of HIV/AIDs were reported from the north western Pakistani province last year.

Feds: Cyber Criminals Hijacked 4 Million Computers

2011-11-10T14:57:00.000+03:00

Feds: Cyber Criminals Hijacked 4 Million Computers (ABC News)

An Eastern European pack of cyber thieves known as the Rove group hijacked at least four million computers in over 100 countries, including at least half a million computers in the U.S., to make off with $14 million in "illegitimate income" before they were caught, federal officials announced today.

The malware allegedly used in the "massive and sophisticated scheme" also managed to infect computers in U.S. government agencies including NASA and targeted the websites for major institutions like iTunes, Netflix and the IRS -- forcing users attempting to get to those sites to different websites entirely, according to a federal indictment unsealed in New York today.

The accused hackers, six Estonian nationals and a Russian national, rerouted the internet traffic illegally on the infected computers for the last four years in order to reap profits from internet advertisement deals, the indictment said. The FBI busted up the alleged international cyber ring after a two-year investigation called Operation Ghost Click.

"The global reach of these cyber thieves demonstrates that the criminal world is... flat," said Janice Fedarcyk, the FBI Assistant Director in charge of the New York field office. "The Internet is pervasive because it is such a useful tool, but it is a tool that can be exploited by those with bad intentions and a little know-how."

Though they operated out of their home countries, the alleged hackers used entities in the U.S. and all over the world -- including Estonia-based software company Rove Digital from which the group apparently gets its name -- to carry out the plot.

According to the indictment, the suspects entered into deals with various internet advertisers in which they would be paid for generating traffic to certain websites or advertisements. But instead of earning the money legitimately, the FBI said the defendants used malware to force infected computers to unwillingly visit the target sites or advertisements -- pumping up click results and, therefore, ill-gotten profits to the tune of $14 million.

The malware was also designed to prevent users from installing anti-virus software that may have been able to free the infected computers.

The six Estonian nationals have been arrested on cyber crime charges while the Russian national remains at large.

"Today, with the flip of a switch, the FBI and our partners dismantled the Rove criminal enterprise," Fedarcyk said. "Thanks to the collective effort across the U.S. and in Estonia, six leaders of the criminal enterprise have been arrested and numerous servers operated by the criminal organization have been disabled."

How the Fraud Worked, According to the FBI

The indictment describes several examples of alleged cyber fraud including two principle strategies: traffic redirection and ad replacement.

In the first case, if a user searched for the websites of major institutions like iTunes, Netflix or the IRS, the search results would return normally. However, if the user tried to click on the link to the websites, the malware on the computer would force a redirect to a different website where the criminals would profit in their advertisement deal.

In the second, when an infected computer visited a major website -- like Amazon.com -- the malware would be able to simply replace regular advertisements on that page with advertisements of their own making.

Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands

2011-11-09T15:18:00.000+03:00

A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart..

Photos: Family Pictures Of Gordon and NormaFamily said the story of Gordon, 94, and Norma Yeager, 90, is a real-life love story.

Yeager Family

On the day she graduated from high school, Norma Stock promised to spend forever with Gordon Yeager. The couple got married on May 26, 1939 in State Center."They're very old-fashioned. They believed in marriage til death do you part," said son Dennis Yeager.Dennis Yeager was the youngest of four children born to the couple. His sister Donna was first born."Staying together for 72 years is good, I'd say that's exceptional," said daughter Donna Sheets.The way the kids tell it, dad was the life of the party while mom kept everything together.

Yeager Family

"Anybody come over -- she was the hostess with the mostest. She just seriously -- the more she did -- the more she smiled," said Dennis Yeager. "Dad would be the center of attention, like, 'Weee look at me,' and mom was like 'get him away from me!' You know we even got a picture like that." (picture, right)Norma didn't really want the distance, and family said she hardly left Gordon's side for 72 years."They just loved being together. Everybody argues once in awhile, but they still, he said 'I have to stick around. I can't go until she does because I have to stay here for her and she would say the same thing,'" said Dennis Yeager.Dennis Yeager said the couple left home last Wednesday to go into town, but they didn't make it.At the intersection of Highway 30 and Jessup Avenue just west of Marshalltown, state troopers said Gordon pulled in front of an oncoming car. The Iowa State Patrol crash report said the other driver attempted to avoid the crash but was unable to stop in time."I rushed from Des Moines where I was working and saw them in the hospital," said Dennis Yeager.

Yeager Family

In the intensive care unit of Marshalltown's hospital, nurses knew not to separate Gordon and Norma."They brought them in the same room in intensive care and put them together -- and they were holding hands in ICU. They were not really responsive," said Dennis Yeager.Gordon died at 3:38 p.m. holding hands with his wife as the family they built surrounded them."It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up.""They were still getting her heartbeat through him," said Donna Sheets.At 4:38 p.m., exactly one hour after Gordon died, Norma passed too.

Yeager Family

"Neither one of them would've wanted to be without each other. I couldn't figure out how it was going to work," said Donna Sheets. "We were very blessed, honestly, that they went this way.""They just loved being together," said Dennis Yeager.At their funeral on Monday, Norma and Gordon held hands in their casket. Family said they will be cremated and their ashes mixed together.

Mobile phones could be 'health time bomb': More than 200 academic studies link use with serious illnesses

2011-11-09T13:28:00.000+03:00

Danger? There are 70m mobiles in the UK

Mobile phones could be a 'health time bomb', say experts who are urging ministers to warn the public.

More than 200 academic studies link use of the devices with serious health conditions such as brain tumours, according to a group of leading scientists.

In a report published yesterday, they say the Government is underplaying the potentially 'enormous' health risks – especially for children, whose smaller, thinner skulls are more susceptible to radiation.

Although the experts concede the links are not proven, they argue that 'schools, phone shops and the healthcare system' should be enlisted into a campaign to reduce mobile phone use.

Their report states: 'Both the Government and phone companies could very easily do far more to alert the public, particularly children, to the emerging risks and safety measures.'

It accuses officials of 'downplaying uncertainty' over safety, adding: 'This was the kind of wishful thinking that cost lives with tobacco and asbestos'.

However, critics stress scientists have found inconclusive evidence and a campaign would cause panic. The authors point to several studies linking long-term mobile phone use to development of a rare brain tumour called a glioma.

A 2008 Swedish study suggested children who use mobile phones are five times more likely to develop it.

Other peer-reviewed studies have found inconclusive links to low sperm counts, behavioural problems in children whose mothers used them during pregnancy, and damage to brain cells.

More...

One author, consultant neurosurgeon Kevin O'Neill of Charing Cross Hospital, said the latency period for brain tumours is 30 years so it is possible the consequences of phone use are not yet apparent.

'Waiting for certainty of harm is a dangerous policy,' he said.

Professor Denis Henshaw, emeritus professor of human radiation effects at Bristol University, advocates cigarette-style warnings on mobile phone packets.

He said: 'Vast numbers of people are using mobile phones and they could be a time bomb of health problems – not just brain tumours, but also fertility, which would be a serious public health issue.

Danger: A World Health Organisation believes mobile phones may cause cancer

'The health effects of smoking alcohol and air pollution are well known and well talked about, and it's entirely reasonable we should be openly discussing the evidence for this, but it is not happening.

'We want to close the door before the horse has bolted.'

The report, 'Mobile phone health risks: the case for action to protect children', was released by the charity Mobilewise, set up last year.

It says the UK is lagging behind countries such as France, where phones are banned in primary schools, and Canada, where phone shops give out safety leaflets.

But last month, a Danish study of 358,000 people concluded there was no link with brain cancer.

David Spiegelhalter, professor of risk management at Cambridge University, said: 'Public health campaigns have a cost. With no evidence of current harm, then they can lessen trust in science and increase anxiety.'

John Cooke, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association, said devices sold in the UK are subject to 'rigorous testing' and must comply with EU rules on radiation protection drawn up in 2000.

More than 70million mobiles are in use in Britain.

The World Health Organisation admitted in June they may cause cancer, and advised 'pragmatic' measures to reduce exposure such as using hands-free kits.

Britain's Department of Health recommends under-16s use them only for essential calls.

Rapper Heavy D is dead at 44-report

2011-11-09T13:21:00.000+03:00

LOS ANGELES | Tue Nov 8, 2011 6:58pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Heavy D, who scored hit singles such as "Now That We Found Love", died on Tuesday after falling at his Beverly Hills home, according to media reports. He was 44.
Celebrity news website TMZ.com said the rapper, whose real name is Dwight Errington Myers, was found on a walkway and an ambulance was called. When emergency workers arrived he was conscious and speaking but died later at a nearby hospital.
Beverly Hills police confirmed the basic information, but declined to release a name pending family notification. Police Lt. Mark Rosen said a man was found on a walkway at 2:25 p.m. EST, conscious and talking, but having difficulty breathing. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died on Tuesday afternoon.
Further details were undisclosed pending an investigation, but Rosen said there were no signs of foul play.
The singer's New York-based agent was not immediately available for comment.
Rotund rapper Heavy D was born in Jamaica and moved to Mt. Vernon, New York as a child. He enjoyed hip hop music as a kid and formed his first group, the Boyz, with high school friends who took the stage names DJ Eddie F, Trouble T-Roy and G-Wiz.
The group became Heavy D & The Boyz and released their first album in 1987, which included singles "Mr. Big Stuff" and "The Overweight Lover's in the House." Their breakout album came with 1989's "Big Tyme," which included the hits "Somebody for Me" and "We Got Our Own Thang."
The band met with tragedy in 1990 when Trouble T-Roy died in an accident. One year later, they scored their biggest hit with the album "Peaceful Journey" and single "Now That We Found Love," which reached the top five on R&B charts and crossed over to mainstream pop audiences.
A string of hits followed in the 1990s. The band sang the theme song for popular TV show "In Living Color," and Heavy D's 1999 CD "Heavy" became his seventh album to chart among the R&B top 10.
During those years, the rapper also began acting, working in small roles on film and TV before landing a role in high-school TV drama "Boston Public". His film work included parts in "The Cider House Rules," "Step Up" and "Big Trouble."
Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards and at the Michael Jackson tribute show in Cardiff, Wales, both in October.

Facebook rape joke pages taken down from social network

2011-11-09T13:18:00.002+03:00

Advocacy groups want Facebook to provide more detail about why it removed the pages

Facebook has removed several rape joke pages from its social network.

The group pages, which included "You know she's playing hard to get when you're chasing her down an alleyway" had been criticised by victim support groups.
The network said: "There is no place on Facebook for content that is hateful, threatening, or incites violence."
However, controversial postings may remain if administrators add a tag stating they are humorous or satire.
Action was taken because page administrators failed to comply with Facebook's request that they add the tags to their pages' headlines, and became in breach of the firm's terms and conditions.
"We take reports of questionable and offensive content very seriously," the network told the BBC.
"However, we also want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feelings of others.
"Groups or pages that express an opinion on a state, institution, or set of beliefs - even if that opinion is outrageous or offensive to some - do not by themselves violate our policies.
"These online discussions are a reflection of those happening offline, where conversations happen freely."
Pub joke The statement's formal language contrasts with the firm's previous comments.
In August it said: "Just as telling a rude joke won't get you thrown out of your local pub, it won't get you thrown off Facebook."
Facebook's initial reluctance to intervene prompted criticism from campaign groups. Businesses also expressed concern that their adverts were appearing on the pages.
Campaigners said they were "delighted" that the postings had been taken down. However, they said the network needed to do more.
"Simply removing the pages does not go far enough," said Jane Osmond, from the advocacy website Women's Views On News.
"The public need to know that Facebook have revised their position, rather than just removed the pages to protect their public image."
Untagged Some of the joke pages attracted more than 190,000 "like" clicks from the website's members.
Although several postings are now offline, a search for "You know she's playing hard to get when..." still reveals many untagged pages remain.
That may change once the company decides it has given administrators enough notice to implement its rules.
"It's a tricky line for Facebook to walk," said Theresa Wise, a media consultant.
"The risk is that it becomes associated with such acts as the US government taking down Wikileaks or the Chinese restricting Google.
"On the other hand its commercial revenues depend on it not being linked to publicly odious sentiments."

Joe Frazier, Ex-Heavyweight Champ, Dies at 67

2011-11-08T15:57:00.000+03:00

Joe Frazier won the undisputed heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, in an extravaganza known as the Fight of the Century.

Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion whose furious and intensely personal fights with a taunting Muhammad Ali endure as an epic rivalry in boxing history, died Monday night. He was 67.

Multimedia

Slide Show

Looking Back at the Life of a Boxing Great

His business representative, Leslie Wolff, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Frazier had liver cancer and that he had entered hospice care.
Known as Smokin’ Joe, Frazier stalked his opponents around the ring with a crouching, relentless attack — his head low and bobbing, his broad, powerful shoulders hunched — as he bore down on them with an onslaught of withering jabs and crushing body blows, setting them up for his devastating left hook.
It was an overpowering modus operandi that led to versions of the heavyweight crown from 1968 to 1973. Frazier won 32 fights in all, 27 by knockouts, losing four times — twice to Ali in furious bouts and twice to George Foreman. He also recorded one draw.
A slugger who weathered repeated blows to the head while he delivered punishment, Frazier proved a formidable figure. But his career was defined by his rivalry with Ali, who ridiculed him as a black man in the guise of a Great White Hope. Frazier detested him.
Ali vs. Frazier was a study in contrasts. Ali: tall and handsome, a wit given to spouting poetry, a magnetic figure who drew adulation and denigration alike, the one for his prowess and outsize personality, the other for his antiwar views and Black Power embrace of Islam. Frazier: a bull-like man of few words with a blue-collar image and a glowering visage who in so many ways could be on an equal footing with his rival only in the ring.
Frazier won the undisputed heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971, in an extravaganza known as the Fight of the Century. Ali scored a 12-round decision over Frazier at the Garden in a nontitle bout in January 1974. Then came the Thrilla in Manila championship bout, in October 1975, regarded as one of the greatest fights in boxing history. It ended when a battered Frazier, one eye swollen shut, did not come out to face Ali for the 15th round.
The Ali-Frazier battles played out at a time when the heavyweight boxing champion was far more celebrated than he is today, a figure who could stand alone in the spotlight a decade before an alphabet soup of boxing sanctioning bodies arose, making it difficult for the average fan to figure out just who held what title.
The rivalry was also given a political and social cast. Many viewed the Ali-Frazier matches as a snapshot of the struggles of the 1960s. Ali, an adherent of the Nation of Islam who had changed his name from Cassius Clay, came to represent rising black anger in America and opposition to the Vietnam War. Frazier voiced no political views, but he was nonetheless depicted, to his consternation, as the favorite of the establishment. Ali called him ignorant, likened him to a gorilla and said his black supporters were Uncle Toms.
“Frazier had become the white man’s fighter, Mr. Charley was rooting for Frazier, and that meant blacks were boycotting him in their heart,” Norman Mailer wrote in Life magazine after the first Ali-Frazier bout.
Frazier, wrote Mailer, was “twice as black as Clay and half as handsome,” with “the rugged decent life-worked face of a man who had labored in the pits all his life.”
Frazier could never match Ali’s charisma or his gift for the provocative quote. He was essentially a man devoted to a brutal craft, willing to give countless hours to his spartan training-camp routine and unsparing of his body inside the ring.
“The way I fight, it’s not me beatin’ the man: I make the man whip himself,” Frazier told Playboy in 1973. “Because I stay close to him. He can’t get out the way.” He added: “Before he knows it — whew! — he’s tired. And he can’t pick up his second wind because I’m right back on him again.”

Anti-gay pastor arrested for public masturbation asks gay community for forgiveness

2011-11-08T15:35:00.000+03:00

For years, New Orleans area residents have known self-proclaimed "Christian patriot" Grant Storms as a religious crusader who has tirelessly tried to rid the city's French Quarter of homosexual influence--specifically its "Southern Decadence" festival. The celebration, often called the "gay Mardi Gras," draws homosexuals from around the country each Labor Day weekend.
But the 53 year-old Storms has joined the ever-growing fraternity of evangelical moralists whose hypocrisy is exposed through an embarrassing sex scandal. And today he offered an olive branch to the gay community.
Storms -- who would frequently arm his followers with bullhorns, protest signs and Bibles to take to the streets of the French Quarter--was arrested recently for masturbating in public at a children's playground. Storms held a tearful press conference in which he confessed that he was "ashamed" to have stuck his hand in his pants at the local playground. However, he stopped short of using any variation of the word "masturbate" in describing what he did, but admitted that he was randy from having viewed pornography just prior to driving his Ford Windstar van to the park. He also emphatically denied being attracted to children: "I am not a pedophile. I am not a child molester."
Rather, Storms explained that he's battling sex addiction and is now estranged from his wife and four children because of it. In addition to apologizing to his friends and family for his behavior, Storms requested the forgiveness of the gay men and women he's spent years tormenting. "I was very proudful, arrogant," he said. "I have been vicious at times in my condemnation of others."

Wife performing in sex tape doesn’t know she’s a star

2011-11-08T15:28:00.002+03:00

Dear Abby: My wife and I have been married for 10 years, and it is a wonderful marriage.

Recently I found a “sex tape” online of my wife with the guy she dated before me. This video was taken without her knowledge and is from 13 years ago, Because of this, I am not upset about it.

My question is, should I bring this to her attention, and if so, how? I feel she needs to know it’s out there. I’m reacting to this as a man would. I don’t know how a woman would react. Please help.

It’s Private

Dear It’s Private: Although there are no sex tapes of me floating around, I can tell you from a woman’s perspective that if there was one (and the lighting was unflattering), I’d be furious. Your wife has a right to know, so don’t keep her in the dark.

P.S. How did you come across that video? I’m sure she will be interested to know.

Dear Abby: A couple of years ago, my husband of 30 years became distant. He didn’t want to touch me, talk to me or spend time with me. I was devastated.

An old boyfriend emailed me to offer condolences on the death of my brother. There were just chatty emails at the beginning, about our lives and how we had gone such separate ways in 40 years. The emails started becoming more intimate, as I was fed by his seeming “love” for me. He told me I was his “soul mate” and I fell for it. I took risks to see him, eventually slept with him and lied to everyone I know in the process.

Recently my husband came across an email from the past boyfriend. My secret was out and the truth was ugly. I had betrayed God, my husband, my mother and my four beautiful children. My husband no longer trusts me and wants a divorce.

Abby, please tell your readers to think long and hard before acting out of loneliness. It doesn’t just affect the husband and wife; it also has an impact on the entire family, circle of friends and standing within the community.

Adulterous Wife in Florida

Dear Wife: How sad that you didn’t get to the bottom of your husband’s distancing before it led to you having an affair. But before you allow your husband to place all the blame on your shoulders, you should make it your business to learn the reason for HIS behavior — since “everything” is now out in the open.

Dear Abby: I love my husband and, for the most part, we get along great. My only complaint is he stays neutral when someone hurts my feelings.

The latest incident involved good friends of ours until the wife hurt me for the last time. She has a history of inviting me out, even talking me into changing my plans, then ditching me if something better comes along. This last time, I was invited to her house, only to learn that she had left for the evening. I’ve had enough! I gave her as many chances as I did only because my husband said I “overreact.”

This isn’t the first time he has chosen not to validate my feelings. The fact that my husband is never on my side hurts me more than what my “friend” has ever done. Am I right?

Gets No Support
in Azusa, Calif.

Dear Gets No Support: Your husband may not want to be caught in the middle of a disagreement between two women, but that’s no reason for him not to tell you your feelings are appropriate when they are justified. He may be good friends with the husband, but the wife has shown she’s not much of a friend to you.

Real friends don’t stand each other up if something “better” comes along. Her behavior is rude and insensitive, and I don’t blame you for being offended.

CELLPHONES DAMAGE TO THE BRAIN

2011-10-31T11:14:00.001+03:00

Cell phones also cut off the highest-pitched ranges of our voices. Those high-frequency sounds convey a surprising amount of information, according to the study.
NEWS: Your Brain Hears Silence
The results suggest that we may be missing the full meaning of what people say when we talk to them on our mobile devices.
"The prevailing thought was that, because high frequencies are not as loud in the voice, that the brain must not pay much attention to them," said Brian Monson, a speech and hearing scientist at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. "If the brain is paying that much attention to high frequencies, there must be some kind of perceptual information there."

VIDEO: Neuroscientists Develop High-Tech Ear Implant
A typical male voice measures about 100 hertz and an average woman speaks at about 200 Hz. Unlike a monotonic sound like a whistle, voices also contain quieter overtones with frequencies that range as high as 20,000 Hz. But because most of the energy in our voices falls below 5,000 Hz, scientists have long assumed that those high-pitched sounds are irrelevant.
Monson, who is also a singer with experience as a sound engineer, started to suspect that assumption a few years ago. While working with other singers, he noticed that they improved the quality of their voices by making adjustments in very high frequency overtones. In a follow-up project, he found that people could detect tiny differences in the volume of high-frequency sounds – on the scale of just a few decibels.
For the new study, Monson recorded people speaking and singing the Star-Spangled Banner. He filtered the recordings to keep only sounds above 5,000 Hz. He played those recordings to about 50 people in a handful of experiments. Then, he asked listeners to try to identify details about what they heard.
He was surprised at how well people did. Even though the recordings sound much like cricket chirps, just about everyone was able to quickly distinguish between talking and singing, he’ll announce next week at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in San Diego. It took listeners a little longer to tell whether the voice was male or female, but they all did that task really well, too.
HOW STUFF WORKS: Hearing
Most surprising of all based on the current understanding of sound recognition, Monson said, listeners could tell that they were hearing the Star-Spangled Banner, not just when the voices were singing but also when they were just speaking. People were even able to identify key information about the recordings when distracting noises were added to make the task harder.
"If they can understand what's being said, that means there's an ability to extract intelligible information from high frequencies, and nobody would have predicted that," Monson said. "If you're in a situation where there's low-frequency noise covering all of the information you're used to getting from a voice, as long as you have the high-frequency stuff, you can still figure out what the person is saying and get the information you need."

That may be why talking on a cell phone in noisy places is so tough. Most mobile phones and landlines transmit sounds up to about 3,500 Hz, mostly because higher-frequency sounds were never thought to be very important.
According to other research, our brains have to work harder to extract information when it comes in limited bandwidth, Monson said, which explains why phone conversations can be more fatiguing than talking in person. And studies in kids have shown that they learn new words three times more quickly if they hear recordings that range up to 9,000 Hz instead of 4,000 Hz.
To improve the quality of our mobile phone conversations, the new findings suggest that it may be time for a technology upgrade.
"We listen to things over cell phones in pretty adverse situations, and I think their data strongly suggests you can give the listener more information by keeping high frequencies salient," said William Yost, an auditory perception researcher at Arizona State University in Tempe. 2011 Discovery Channel

Thoughts of God Make Us Slackers, Study Suggests

2011-10-31T10:32:00.000+03:00

No matter if you're a believer, thinking about God and religion may turn you into a slacker, according to a new study.
"More than 90 percent of people in the world agree that God or a similar spiritual power exists or may exist,"study researcher Kristin Laurin of the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in a statement. "This is the first empirical evidence that simple reminders of God can diminish some types of self-regulation, such as pursuing one's goals, yet can improve others, such as resisting temptation."
Even for those without a personal belief in God, U.S. culture is saturated with religious references and imagery that could impact them, Laurin said. The study's results were independent of the participants' religious beliefs. Even without knowing it, these signs and signals can have a psychological effect.
A Gallup poll in May found that more than nine out of 10 Americans believe in God. These numbers drop for groups of younger Americans, liberals, those living in the Eastern United States, those with postgraduate educations and political independents. However, belief in God is nearly universal among Republicans and conservatives and, to a slightly lesser degree, in the South.
In the new study, the researchers primed more than 350 engineering students with the idea of God or faith, for example, by having participants write a sentence using a list of words with spiritual connotations. Students then completed skill tests in which they had to make as many words as possible from a group of letters. When prompted with religious imagery or language beforehand, the students came up with fewer words, regardless of their religious background, than those who hadn't been primed with such imagery.
The researchers think the lack of effort in the "religious-primed" group could be dictated by a belief that fate is in God's hands. If the students believe that God controls their destiny, trying to be better isn't going to help them actually be better, resulting in less effort. This entire thought process seems to be unconscious, but just the presence of these God-conjuring words or images could alter behavior.
A second study tempted participants with cookies after they had read one of two passages — one about God and the other on a non-religious topic. Participants who read the God passage not only reported a greater willingness to resist temptation, but also were less likely to help themselves to the cookies.
This effect, however, was found only among participants who had previously said they believe an omniscient entity watches over them and notices when they misbehave, though the strength of their devotion to that God didn't come into play in any of the experiments, the researchers found.
The researchers say like the "Santa Claus" effect, people "behave" because God knows when they've been bad or good. Being reminded of the presence of an all-knowing God helps people resist temptations, for fear they will be "caught" by God and punished, the researchers speculate.
The study was published online Oct. 24 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
Space.com Jennifer Welsh, Livescience Staff Writer
space.com – Sat Oct 29, 12:04 pm ET

Women who delay having their eggs frozen reduce their chances of conceiving through IVF later in life, researchers have found

2011-10-18T15:37:00.002+03:00

A human egg at ovulation...
Flaws accumulate in eggs leading to a rapid decrease in fertility from 35 onwards. Photograph: Yorgos Nikas/Getty Images

Single women who have their eggs frozen so they can put off having a family till later in life may be delaying the procedure too long, fertility specialists warn.
Freezing offers women the chance to store their eggs while they are still in good condition, but many wait until their late-30s, when the quality of their eggs has started to decline, scientists found.
Researchers said women who had their eggs frozen for non-medical reasons were typically aged 37-39. But flaws that accumulate in eggs over time lead to a rapid decrease in fertility over the age of 35.
A team led by Aylin Pelin Cil, at Reproductive Medicine Associates in New York, analysed 26 studies on egg freezing and found women were more likely to conceive if their eggs were frozen when they were under 30.
The analysis included 1,990 cycles of fertility treatment using eggs that were frozen slowly and 291 cycles of treatment with eggs that had been rapidly frozen through a technique called vitrification.
The likelihood of an embryo created from a slow-frozen egg implanting in the womb fell from 10.4% in women who were under 30 when it was frozen to 4.7% in women who had been over 40. The implantation rates for embryos made from vitrified eggs was higher, but suffered a similar decline with age, from 18.8% in the under-30s to 10.3% in the over-40s.
The results will be discussed at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting in Orlando on Tuesday.
Roger Lobo, president of the ASRM and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Columbia University in New York, said the study highlighted the importance of not delaying motherhood.
"Despite increasing numbers of clinics offering the procedure and the significant media attention paid to it in recent years, women are not pursuing elective egg freezing at an age when it would be most likely to help them accomplish their fertility goals," he said. "It is apparent that patients need more education about their fertility at younger ages."
But Gillian Lockwood, medical director at Midland Fertility Services in Aldridge, near Birmingham, said: "Egg freezing is not an option for many women in their late 30s when they've discovered Mr Right has turned out to be Mr Wrong, because it possibly is too late.
"But we have to ask what the comparator is here. The comparator is how well will these women do with their own eggs in their early 40s? A 39-year-old frozen egg is going to do better in IVF than a 42-year-old fresh egg, because the drop-off becomes so sharp during these years."
Dr Lockwood said she sees many women in their mid to late-30s who hope to freeze their eggs. "Unfortunately, 37 is the cusp when the chances go from more or less OK to really not good," she said.
"The women I see who are freezing for social reasons, their stories are very similar. They have been in the same relationship since their late 20s, early 30s, with a man they thought was going to be the father of their child.
"The woman gets to 36 or 37 and says 'I think it's about time we had a child' and he says he's not ready to settle down yet."

Somali militants threaten to enter Kenya if troops don't withdraw

2011-10-18T12:24:00.000+03:00

A masked member of the Al Shabaab militia, pictured in a photograph dated December 14, 2008.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Al-Shabaab says Kenyan planes are killing Somali citizens
"We shall come into Kenya if you do not go back," the group says on a website
Kenya is pursuing militants after recent abductions

Narobi, Kenya (CNN) -- Islamic militants in Somalia have threatened to "come into Kenya" if Kenyan forces do not leave Somalia, according to an online message posted on a jihadist website.
"Kenyan troops have entered 100 kilometers into Somalia, and their planes are bombarding and killing residents," said Sheikh Ali Mahmud Ragi, spokesman for Al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group considered a terrorist organization by the United States, in the posting. "We shall come into Kenya if you do not go back."
Kenyan forces crossed into Somalia to pursue Al-Shabaab fighters after the recent abductions of tourists and aid workers in Kenya heightened tensions in East Africa. Kenya invoked the United Nations charter allowing military action in self-defense against its largely lawless neighbor.
"If you are attacked by an enemy, you have to pursue that enemy through hot pursuit and to try (to) hit wherever that enemy is," said Kenyan Defense Minister Yusuf Haji in a news conference aired on CNN affiliate NTV on Sunday.
Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda, has been fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, on Somalia.
On September 11, armed bandits broke into a beachfront cottage where Britons Judith and David Tebbutt, both in their 50s, were staying. David Tebbutt was shot dead while trying to resist the attack. His wife was grabbed and spirited away onboard a speedboat, and is believed to have been taken into Somalia.
On October 1, pirates made another cross-border raid, this time snatching a French woman in her 60s from a holiday home on Manda Island where she lived part of the year.
Earlier this month, gunmen abducted two Spanish workers from the medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) from the Dadaab refugee complex, about 80 kilometers from the Somali border.
Kenya announced its new tactics days after African Union forces claimed victory against Al-Shabaab in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The military said last week it had taken the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds in the far northeast of the city.
"The challenge is now to protect civilians from the sort of terror attack we saw last week, as they attempt to rebuild their lives," African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said. He was referring to a suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu earlier this month that left dozens dead. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. Other Al-Shabaab attacks that week led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians.
Federal and African Union forces have battled Al-Shabaab in the impoverished and chaotic nation for years. Many analysts believe the AMISOM military push has severely affected Al-Shabaab, along with targeted strikes against organization members and the weakening of al Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab said in August it was withdrawing from Mogadishu, and Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, now controls most districts of the capital city, the United Nations office has said.
However, the group still poses a threat, Ankunda has previously said.

Malaria deaths fall nearly 40% worldwide in last decade

2011-10-18T12:19:00.002+03:00

Malaria accounts for 20% of childhood deaths in Africa.

There has been a fall of nearly 40% in the number of deaths from malaria worldwide in the past decade, the World Health Organization says.

A new report said that one-third of the 108 countries where malaria was endemic were on course to eradicate the disease within 10 years.
Experts said if targets continued to be met, a further three million lives could be saved by 2015.
Malaria is one of the deadliest global diseases, particularly in Africa.
In 2009, 781,000 people died from malaria. The mosquito-borne disease is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where 85% of deaths occurred, most of them children under five.
It has been eradicated from three countries since 2007 - Morocco, Turkmenistan and Armenia.
The Roll Back Malaria Partnership aims to eliminate malaria in another eight to 10 countries by the end of 2015, including the entire WHO European Region.

Malaria Factfile

2000: 233 million cases, 985,000 deaths

2009: 225 million cases, 781,000 deaths
Malaria present in 108 countries and territories
1.3% GDP reduction in heavily-infected countries

Robert Newman, director of the WHO's Global Malaria Programme, said "remarkable progress" had been made.

"Better diagnostic testing and surveillance has provided a clearer picture of where we are on the ground - and has shown that there are countries eliminating malaria in all endemic regions of the world," he told an international Malaria Forum conference in Seattle.
"We know that we can save lives with today's tools."
Global eradication A global malaria eradication campaign, launched by WHO in 1955, succeeded in eliminating the disease in 16 countries and territories.
But after less than two decades, the WHO decided to concentrate instead on the less ambitious goal of malaria control.
However, another eight nations were declared malaria-free up until 1987, when certification was abandoned for 20 years.
In recent years, interest in malaria eradication as a long-term goal has re-emerged.
The WHO estimates that malaria causes significant economic losses, and can decrease gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 1.3% in countries with high levels of transmission.
In the worst-affected countries, the disease accounts for: Up to 40% of public health expenditures; 30% to 50% of inpatient hospital admissions; and up to 60% of outpatient health clinic visits.

Lady Gaga Has 'Marilyn Moment' at Bill Clinton's Concert

2011-10-17T09:33:00.000+03:00

Lifetime wants its piece of the Lady Gaga pie. The female focused cable  network is developing a biopic based on the life of Lady Gaga.

/news/hold-off-on-going-ga-ga-for-a-lady-gaga-1005392752.story
Hold Off on Going Ga Ga for a Lady Gaga-Fronted Queen
Speaking to the U.K. tabloid, The Daily Express, guitarist Brian May appears to hint that THE Lady Gaga is on the cusp of joining Queen. While discussing the  legendary band's "singer problem" since Freddie Mercury's death in 1991,  along with a desire to tour, May told the newspaper that they've  received many offers to collaborate over the years.

/news/lady-gaga-announces-monster-ball-dvd-born-1005395012.story
Lady Gaga Announces 'Monster Ball' DVD, 'Born This Way' Remix Album
Lady Gaga announced a live Blu-Ray/DVD release that chronicles her blockbuster tour, as well as a "Born This Way" remix album.

/news/lady-gaga-trumps-lady-goo-goo-parody-character-1005411552.story
Lady Gaga Trumps Lady Goo Goo: Parody Character Gets Legal Restrictions
The "Born This Way" singer won an interim injunction against the company behind the animated characters Moshi Monsters,  putting major restrictions on popular children's character "Lady Goo  Goo."  

Lady Gaga was one of several musicians who performed Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl during a concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of Clinton's foundation, which has sought to improve global health, strengthen economies worldwide, promote healthier childhoods and protect the environment for the past decade.

"I always wanted to have one, and I was hoping that it didn't involve pills and a strand of pearls," she joked.

Emerging from atop an all-white treehouse, Lady Gaga sported a wavy blonde 'do and red lips like Marilyn Monroe, who famously crooned "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Lady Gaga similarly serenaded Clinton and changed several of her lyrics to reference him, including swapping the title of "Bad Romance" for "Bill Romance." Watch the Entire Concert on Yahoo!

"I thought, 'My God. I get Lady Gaga, and I will have a heart attack celebrating my 65th birthday," Clinton later said.

Clinton, who turned 65 on Aug. 19 but celebrated his birthday at a posh Hollywood party Friday night, sat between wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea in the front row throughout Saturday's event at the outdoor venue set against the Hollywood Hills. Other famous attendees included Maria Bello, Ashton Kutcher, Jason Segel, Ellen DeGeneres, Colin Farrell and Chevy Chase.

"I am the only person in history who got to be President and then had a post-presidential birthday party attended by both Lady Gaga and the Secretary of State," Clinton joked on stage. "I want to thank Hillary because we met 40 years ago this year. When I met her, she was already doing the kind of work you see here long before it was cool."

Ticket prices for "A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation," which was streamed live on Yahoo.com, ranged from $50 to $550. Other performers included Motown legend Stevie Wonder, country star Kenny Chesney, Somali rapper K'Naan, Colombian crooner Juanes and R&B singer Usher.

Usher kicked off his performance with a take on Joe Cocker's rendition of the Beatles classic "With a Little Help From My Friends" before launching into his hits "Yeah" and "OMG." The R&B singer accidently split his pant legs while dancing to reveal his bare left leg. The wardrobe malfunction didn't stop Usher, who continued with his routine, telling the crowd: "I work hard."

Bono and The Edge of U2 closed the concert with a mostly acoustic set that included such tunes as "Desire," ''One" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which Bono sang directly to Clinton. The duo - who were accompanied by a string quartet and Edge's laptop - closed with "Miss Sarajevo." Bono tackled the operatic part of the tune originally sung by the late Luciano Pavarotti.
Clinton himself is no stranger to performing. The saxophone-playing politician memorably belted out "Heartbreak Hotel" when he visited Arsenio Hall's show during his 1992 presidential campaign. Clinton didn't pick up the instrument Saturday night, despite a plea from Lady Gaga, who informed him: "I wish you were playing sax with me tonight, baby."

Kenya vows to hit Al-Shabaab across Somali border

2011-10-17T09:07:00.002+03:00

Kenyan security forces search for two missing aid workers at a village near near Liboi, Kenya's border town with Somalia on October 15.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Abductions of tourists, workers in Kenya have heightened tensions
Kenya is evoking its right to self-defense in sending troops into Somalia
Al-Shabaab is linked to al Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.
African Union military forces said they drove Al Shabaab out of Mogadishu last week

Nairobi (CNN) -- Kenyan troops are pursuing suspected Islamic militants from Al-Shabaab across the border into Somalia, Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told CNN Sunday.
The move marks a dramatic shift in security tactics for the east African powerhouse, which is evoking the United Nations charter allowing military action in self-defense against its largely lawless neighbor.
"If you are attacked by an enemy, you have to pursue that enemy through hot pursuit and to try hit wherever that enemy is," said Defense Minister Yusuf Haji in a news conference aired on CNN affiliate NTV.
Haji said repeatedly that the Kenyan military was ready to pursue "terrorists" inside the war-torn country.
"If a country is provoked and its territorial boundary is violated, a country has all the right to deal with the crisis wherever it is," said George Saitoti, the minister for Internal Security.
Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, on Somalia.
Recent abductions of tourists and aid workers in Kenya have heightened tensions.
On September 11, armed bandits broke into a beachfront cottage where Britons Judith and David Tebbutt, both in their 50s, were staying.
David Tebbutt was shot dead while trying to resist the attack. His wife was grabbed and spirited away onboard the pirates' speedboat. She is believed to have been taken into Somalia.
And on October 1, pirates made another cross-border raid, this time snatching a French woman in her 60s from the holiday home on Manda Island where she lived for part of the year.
Last week, gunmen abducted two Spanish workers for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) from the Dadaab refugee complex, about 80 kilometers from the Somali border.
Kenya announced its new tactics less than a week after African Union forces claimed a victory against Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
They took the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds in the far northeast of Mogadishu, the military said Monday.
"It has been a big achievement to remove Al-Shabaab from the city, and put an end to the fighting that disrupted so many lives," African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said.
"The challenge is now to protect civilians from the sort of terror attack we saw last week, as they attempt to rebuild their lives," he said.
He was referring to a suicide truck bombing in the heart of Mogadishu that left dozens dead. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Other Al-Shabaab attacks that week led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians.
Federal and African Union forces in the impoverished and chaotic nation have battled the group for years. Many analysts believe AMISOM's military push against Al-Shabaab has severely affected the group, along with targeted strikes against its members and the weakening of al Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab said in August that it was withdrawing from Mogadishu, and Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, now controls most districts of the capital city, the United Nations office said.
Forces have pushed Al-Shabaab outside most of Mogadishu, but the group is still a major threat, Ankunda said earlier.

World’s biggest virus discovered in ocean depths near Chile

2011-10-12T12:51:00.000+03:00

Megavirus nudges out Mimivirus, the former heavyweight champion of the viral world

Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson may have large-scale plans for deep sea exploration, but a new ocean discovery makes big waves on a microscopic level. A team of researchers trawling the ocean floor have just published their findings of the world's new largest virus, found lurking off the coast of Las Cruces, Chile. It's so big, it's actual scientific name is Megavirus chilensis — and you can even view it with a basic light microscope. The previous virus record holder was Mimivirus, which boasted the largest diameter of any virus to date until Megavirus came along.
The virus' DNA features 1,259,197 base pairs, which encode some parasitic bacteria-like features. Unlike a virus, bacteria is a cellular organism — a virus can only infect and replicate itself within the cells of other organisms. It even has some built-in DNA repairing enzymes which allow the virus to repair damage from ultraviolet light, chemicals, and radiation.
Mimivirus was found in 1992, lurking in an amoeba in Bradford, England. Its capsid, the protein shell housing the virus' genetic material, was 400 nanometres wide. If that still sounds pretty tiny, most viruses fall in the range between 20 and 300 nanometres, making both Mimivirus and the new Megavirus titans of the microscopic world. Mimivirus and Megavirus are believed to have diverged from a shared viral ancestor somewhere along the evolutionary road, both developing into giant viruses in their own right.

Steve Jobs 'died of respiratory arrest'

2011-10-12T12:48:00.002+03:00

Tributes to Steve Jobs have been left at Apple HQ and its stores around the world

Steve Jobs

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died of respiratory arrest linked to the spread of his pancreatic cancer, his death certificate has revealed.

The certificate, filed in Santa Clara County, California listed his occupation as "high-tech entrepreneur".
The Apple co-founder died on 5 October at the age of 56 at his home in Palo Alto.
No post-mortem examination was performed, and Jobs was buried on Friday.
The death certificate was released by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department on Monday the Associated Press news agency reports.
According to the document, Jobs had a "metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumour" for the past five years.
In 2004, he announced that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He had a liver transplant five years later.
In January 2011 he took medical leave, before formally resigning as CEO in August and handing over his duties to Tim Cook.
A statement from Jobs' family said they were with him when he died peacefully.
Jobs died the day after Apple announced its latest iPhone, the 4S.
On Monday Apple said it received more than one million pre-orders on Friday for the device, breaking a record set by the iPhone 4 when it was released in 2010.

The 10 best-selling games

2011-10-12T12:42:00.000+03:00

1. FIFA12

2. Gears of War 3

3. F1 2011

4. Zumba Fitness

5. Dead Island

6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

7. Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

8. Driver San Francisco

9. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: the Video Game

10. Call of Duty: Black Ops

Users find bugs in Facebook app for iPad

2011-10-12T12:39:00.000+03:00

The Facebook app works both on the iPhone and the iPad

Just hours after Facebook's release of its long-awaited iPad app, users have started reporting minor bugs.

Some said it should have been tested better to ensure it worked properly with peripherals developed for the iPad, such as the iPad dock.
Facebook admitted that there were some bugs, but said that it was not unusual for new products.
The app comes out 18 months after the launch of the first Apple tablet.
Available for free at the Apple app store, the program is actually an upgrade of the existing iPhone app, tweaked to fill the larger iPad screen.
The interface for the application lets users "pinch" the screen to zoom in and out, as well as swipe to flip through photos that fill the entire display, as with a real photo album.
A Facebook spokesperson told BBC News that all products were always "vigorously" tested before launch.
"However, as with all new technology products, occasionally unexpected bugs will surface once people start using products on a mass scale."
The company added that it was "following up on feedback".
'Repeated delays' iPad owners have been pondering over the lengthy wait for a proper Facebook app ever since the tablet was first launched, back in 2010.

Some users have reported bugs - like the "Send" button not appearing when the iPad is on a dock

Until now, they had a choice of whether to use a tiny iPhone-size screen in the centre of the iPad display; to download one of the apps that supported the social network but was developed by a third party, or to access Facebook through its website.
But the company did not go into any detail about why users had been forced to wait so long.
"We're releasing it now because it's done," said Bret Taylor, the firm's chief technology officer.
It was reported in September that Jeff Verkoeyen, the application's lead developer, wrote in his blog about the app's repeated delays despite it being almost finished several months ago.
Bugs found But shortly after the app's release, users have started complaining of a number of bugs.
Michael Clawson wrote on Twitter that he was not able to see his pages when clicking on left panel icons.
Another user, journalist Mark Coyle said that the app came "complete with a glaring bug".
"I have an Apple dock/keyboard, and if you put the iPad on the dock then try to comment on a post, the 'Send' button doesn't appear," he said.
"Take it off the dock - it appears. Poor testing by FB."
Twitter user @Cocoanetics wrote: "Facebook App first impression: decoding images on the main thread cause stutter when scrolling, even on iPad 2."
According to Facebook, of the 350 million people who access the social network on their mobile devices every month, about half do so through a web browser and half use applications built on their phone or tablet operating system.

Fall Of Gaddafi's Home Town 'Hours Away'

2011-10-12T12:33:00.000+03:00

Anti-Gaddafi forces will today attack part of Colonel Gaddafi's home town where loyalists remain holed up - amid signs that the battle is nearly over.

Sky's Alex Rossi, reporting from the front line, said fighters loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC) have advanced deep into the city, taking the university, conference centre, hospital and main police station.
They claim supporters of Col Gaddafi remain in just one area, known as district 2, in the north-west of the city.
Rossi said: "The fall of Sirte is inevitable - most likely today.
"The big question is who is inside this city and why have they put up such a resistance.
"It is believed that senior members of the Gaddafi regime have been here and were resisting so much because they know what fate awaits them."

One of Gaddafi's sons is reportedly hiding in Sirte

The head of the NTC has arrived in Sirte, as the fighting continues.
Sky's security editor Sam Kiley said the rebels have reached a crucial point in the battle for the city: "I think the rebels now have decided they have to go for it.
"If this drags on for much longer they simply won't have the manpower or the resources to be able to sustain a siege of the Gaddafi forces for very much longer."
Anti-Gaddafi forces have reportedly raised their flag on top of the city's convention centre.
One of the commanders in Sirte said he had reports that one of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's sons and several senior officials from the regime were hiding in villas in the city.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Other CEOs and Celebrities React to Steve Jobs' Death

2011-10-06T08:49:00.001+03:00

Hailed as a visionary and a technological genius, Steve Jobs' death prompted several Fortune 500 company CEOs, celebrities, politicians, fellow tech-savvy experts and Apple lovers to offer their condolences and praises of Jobs' life accomplishments.

Apple, Inc. also launched a shout-out tribute page on their website, Apple.com, inviting all to share their "thoughts, memories and condolences."

Jobs died on Wednesday. He was 56.

The Pancreatic Cancer That Killed Steve Jobs

In their announcement of founder Steve Jobs' death, at age 56, Apple officials did not mention a specific cause of death. But the visionary digital leader had been battling pancreatic cancer since 2004.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the faster spreading cancers; only about 4% of patients can expect to survive five years after their diagnosis. Each year, about 44,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S., and 37,000 people die of the disease.
The pancreas contains two types of glands: exocrine glands that produce enzymes that break down fats and proteins, and endocrine glands that make hormones like insulin that regulate sugar in the blood. Jobs died of tumors originating in the endocrine glands, which are among the rarer forms of pancreatic cancer.
IN MEMORIAM: Technology's Great Reinventor: Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
In 2004, Jobs underwent surgery to remove the cancer from his pancreas. In 2009, after taking another leave of absence from Apple, Jobs had a liver transplant in an effort to retain as much of his organ function as possible after his cancer had spread beyond the pancreas. In January, he took a third leave from the company before resigning as CEO in August.
"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know," Jobs wrote in a letter to the Apple board of directors on August 24. "Unfortunately, that day has come."
According to experts, Jobs' was an uphill medical battle. "He not only had cancer, he was battling the immune suppression after the liver transplant," Dr. Timothy Donahue of the UCLA Center for Pancreatic Disease in Los Angeles, who had not treated Jobs, told MSNBC.com. He noted that most patients who receive liver transplants survive about two years after the surgery.
Standard treatments for pancreatic cancer include the common tumor-fighting strategies — surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and, most recently, targeted anticancer drugs that may slightly extend patients' lives. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved erlotinib, a drug that specifically targets growth factors found on cancer cells, for the treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who are receiving chemotherapy. The drug has been shown in trials to improve overall survival by 23% after a year when added to routine chemotherapy. The tumors in patients being treated with erlotinib and chemo also develop more slowly than those in patients receiving chemotherapy alone.
PHOTOS: The Long, Extraordinary Career of Steve Jobs
Because of the poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer, however, many patients elect to try alternative therapies, including a popular therapy known as the Gonzalez regimen, which involves fighting pancreatic tumors with pancreatic enzymes. Patients on the Gonzalez regimen also take a large number of nutritional supplements, including vitamins and minerals such as magnesium citrate, along with coffee enemas performed twice a day.
The treatment's developer, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez of New York, has claimed that the use of pancreatic enzymes is a powerful way to suppress the growth of advanced pancreatic cancer cells. But a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2009, which compared groups of patients on the Gonzalez regiment to patients on standard chemotherapy treatment, found that those on chemo survived for a median of 14 months while those on the alternative therapy survived for a median of only 4.3 months.
Jobs is not reported to have tried the Gonzalez regimen, but he is known to have suscribed to alternative therapy. In a 2008 story, Fortune reported that Jobs initially tried to treat his tumor with diet instead of surgery, soon after he was diagnosed in 2004. In January, Fortune reported that he had also made a hush-hush trip to Switzerland in 2009 for a radiation-based hormone treatment. The exact details aren't clear, but the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland is known for its special form of treatment for neuroendocrine cancer, which is not available in the U.S.
Whether these treatments helped to extend Jobs' life or improve the quality of his last days isn't clear. But cancer experts expressed surprise that Jobs survived as long as he did, continuing to fight his disease. Other pancreatic cancer patients typically aren't as fortunate. Another high-profile patient, actor Patrick Swayze, managed to live for 20 months after his diagnosis, taking advantage of chemotherapy treatments. But, overall, patients' median survival is generally only five months.
VIDEO: Steve Jobs' Career at Apple (in Two Minutes)
Jobs lost his battle with cancer at a time when researchers are constantly pushing the boundaries of treatments, particularly with antitumor agents that can home in on abnormally growing cells with increasing precision. In the end, his cancer proved too advanced to rein in with even the most innovative technologies.
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," Tim Cook, Jobs' successor at Apple, wrote to employees on Wednesday. "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Steve Jobs: Silicon Valley Mourns the Death of a Founding Father

"We will miss you, R.I.P. Steve Jobs" is written on the sidewalk outside the the home of Steve Jobs in Palo Alto, California, October 5, 2011

Beck Diefenbach / Reuters

By the time Rakesh Achanta and Chris Young, two electrical engineering masters students at Stanford, got to Steve Jobs' home in Palo Alto it was past midnight. "We just had to come pay homage," says Achanta, 28, from Hyderabad, India.
"He was just such a gigantic influence," echoes Young, 25, from San Antonio. (See photos of the long and extraordinary career of Steve Jobs.)
The two squint in the candlelight at the chalk and crayon messages of love and condolences scrawled across the sidewalk in front of the English country home, just a block and a half from Google CEO Larry Page's house. Flowers line the wooden fence, behind which stand three apple trees just dropping their fruit. On several of the fence posts, fans have placed apples with one bite taken out of them, a reference to the Apple logo. Interspersed amongst the flowers are iPhone boxes wrapped with notes and even a first-generation iPod with "Steve Jobs 1955-2011" written on it in black marker.
Since the announcement Wednesday evening that Jobs, 56, co-founder and chairman of Apple, had died, a steady stream of visitors have come to his home to pay their respects. Police barriers block vehicular traffic down a side road, but otherwise people are allowed to wander around the property where Jobs' wife Laurene and their three children still reside. That night, a similar scene was playing out at two other locations across town. At the Apple Store Jobs himself used to frequent a mile-and-a-half away on Palo Alto's main drag, people left candles, poems — some slightly singed from the flickering flames — and flowers. Steve Jobs/ the pursuit of beauty and excellence/ demanding perfect ..." read the beginning of one lengthy tribute. (See photos of Steve Jobs' TIME covers.)
But the biggest memorial was at Apple headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino 10 miles away, where seven satellite trucks tracked people streaming through with flowers, balloons and mementos. Six Chinese computer science students from nearby colleges used tea candles to created a big Apple logo and write "Jobs" in English and Chinese on the pavement. At the foot of a bench, swamped with flowers and condolences, red candle wax ran in rivulets along the pavement grooves. "You can read about Gandhi, about people of that level, but it's rare that you could interact with them, meet them," says Ishdeep Sawhney, a software developer for Apple originally from Delhi. "We all knew his health wasn't doing well, but this was a shock." Sawhney, accompanied by his teary wife Bino Kohli, a product developer at Oracle, had come to pay his respects to the man whose sheer work ethic lured Sawhney from Microsoft five years ago.
Jobs announced to his employees in mid-2004 that he'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In April 2009, he underwent a liver transplant. And then in August, he announced his resignation as CEO due to health reasons. On Monday, he succumbed to an unknown disease in the presence of his family. "We'll miss you, Steve," read one thank you card. "We believe that people with passion can change the world for the better." (See a two-minute video of Steve Jobs' career.)
Jobs certainly didn't lack in passion. He was an infamously demanding boss. "I can't decide whether or not to be sad," said one employee who didn't want to be named, walking up to the office memorial. But he was unquestionably brilliant. "He was a big influence on my life," says Richard Jordan, 39, a Brit who works in tech start ups and used to know Jobs as a neighbor in Palo Alto. "He was a big influence on most people's lives around here. He was one of Silicon Valley's founding fathers."
In recent years Jobs has given the world the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iCloud. But perhaps the biggest loss is of the innovations he'd yet to realize. He also didn't live to see his new home or offices completed — both are in the works. In fact, it was his charging ahead with the new projects that had led many close Jobs watchers — he was infamously private - to speculate that his health wasn't that bad. But, clearly, it was.
"Who knows, Chris, maybe you're the next Steve Jobs," electrical engineering student Achanta said to his fellow mourner outside Jobs' Palo Alto home. "Yeah, and you're Woz," Young shot back, referring to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. (See the top 10 Apple moments.)
But Achanta was already reconsidering. "But you wouldn't want to die at 56. I know I wouldn't," he mused. "Though, I suppose I would if I could make an impact like Jobs did. Okay, I'd be the next Steve." By half-past midnight the pair were on their way back to school, having left a note on the only piece of paper they had, a Post It. It read: "An apple falls to the ground to become a shade-giving tree."

Here are their words:

Statement from President Barack Obama

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.

By building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him."

Statement from Bill Gates

"I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely. "

Statement from Jerry Yang, Yahoo! founder
"Steve was my hero growing up. He not only gave me a lot of personal advice and encouragement, he showed all of us how innovation can change lives. I will miss him dearly, as will the world."

Statement from Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO

"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

Statement from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen

"My condolences to Steve Jobs family and friends. We've lost a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products."

Statement from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"Steve Jobs was a visionary who changed the way we live, an innovator whose products brought joy to millions, a risktaker who wasn't afraid to challenge the status quo, and an entrepreneur who led one of the most creative companies of our time.

"His sage advice was respected by policymakers on both sides of the aisle. His courageous fight against cancer brought strength to many.

"I hope it is a comfort to those who loved him, especially his family, that so many grieve his loss and are praying for them at this sad time."

Statement from Walt Disney president Bob Iger

"Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined. Steve was such an "original," with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. With his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time."

Statement from California Gov. Edmund Brown

"Steve Jobs was a great California innovator who demonstrated what a totally independent and creative mind can accomplish. Few people have made such a powerful and elegant imprint on our lives. Anne and I wish to express our deepest sympathy to Steve's wife, Laurene, and their entire family."

Statement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

"Tonight, America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come. Again and again over the last four decades, Steve Jobs saw the future and brought it to life long before most people could even see the horizon. And Steve's passionate belief in the power of technology to transform the way we live brought us more than smart phones and iPads: it brought knowledge and power that is reshaping the face of civilization. In New York City's government, everyone from street construction inspectors to NYPD detectives have harnessed Apple's products to do their jobs more efficiently and intuitively. Tonight our City - a city that has always had such respect and admiration for creative genius - joins with people around the planet in remembering a great man and keeping Laurene and the rest of the Jobs family in our thoughts and prayers."

Celebrities and Politicians Take to Twitter to Offer Condolences

Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post CEO

"@ariannahuff: My thoughts go out to Steve Jobs' family and friends. Thank you for changing our world."

Steve Levitan, co-creator/executive producer of ABC's "Modern Family"

"@SteveLevitan: I'm so sorry to hear about the death of Steve Jobs. He was truly one of my heroes. He leaves one hell of a legacy. #iSad"

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

"@Schwarzenegger: Steve lived the California Dream every day of his life and he changed the world and inspired all of us. #ThankYouSteve"

Former California first lady Maria Shriver

"@mariashriver: I'm going to turn off my Apple computer, iPhone and iPad tonight at 8pm and honor Steve with a moment of digital silence. Will you join me?"

"@mariashriver: I'm so happy that I knew him and was so blessed by his friendship. He impacted all of our lives and changed the world."

"@mariashriver: My heart weeps for all who worked with Steve and who loved him, especially my friend Laurene and their children."

Jon Huntsman, Republican presidential candidate

"@JonHuntsman: Sad to hear about the passing of Steve Jobs, a true inspiration and a great American innovator."

Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol" host/radio talk show personality/producer

"@RyanSeacrest: 'Have the courage to follow ur heart & intuition. They already know what u truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.' - Steve Jobs"

Nancy Grace, TV host, "Dancing With the Stars" contestant

"@NancyGraceHLN: About to go to air & discovered news about Steve Jobs - My heart goes out to his family tonight. #RIP Steve Jobs"

Lebron James, Miami Heat forward

"@KingJames: R.I.P Steve Jobs. Someone who definitely left his mark on this world! Innovations that will live and last forever!!"

Neil Patrick Harris, Actor on "How I Met Your Mother"

"@ActuallyNPH: Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. Your genius will live on for generations to come..."

Zach Braff, Actor

"@zachbraff: RIP Steve Jobs. A legend. A visionary innovator."

Nick Lachey, singer, host of "The Sing-Off"

"@NickSLachey: Best wishes to the family of #stevejobs. What an amazing man and amazing life! Certainly, his legacy will be with us all forever. #RIP."

Human 'alarm clock' enzyme discovered

2011-10-03T15:24:00.000+03:00

Boffins isolate molecular wake-up call!When your alarm clock doesn't go off, you can thank a humble enzyme for getting you out of bed, scientists at the Salk Institute reveal in research published today.
Researchers examining the mechanisms that control our sleep have found the chemical reaction that makes us stir abruptly, throw the cat off the bed and stumble blinking into the bathroom.

They have pinpointed an enzyme called JARID1a which acts as a molecular "bugle call" to our cells, firing them into action, say research team led by Satchindananda Panda and Luciano DiTacchio.

We've already known that a protein called PERIOD or PER is at the centre of our biological clock – raising blood pressure, stimulating heart rate and mental processes – but what shuts it down at night or gets it going again in the morning was unclear.
Tests with human cells and fruit flies suggest that JARID1a is vital to healthy sleep patterns, and that it ensures that the PER protein rises to its normal peak each day.
Fruit flies that were genetically modified to under-produce JARID1a lost their circadian rhythms completely: "Flies deprived of JARID1a took frequent naps and were unable to settle into a normal pattern of sleeping," the researchers reported.
Our body clock is vital in regulating a whole range of functions – and any malfunctioning in the genes which control these processes can result in various disorders. Scientists hope their research will be useful in helping with investigations into those diseases.

Dead Sea Scrolls Come Alive On Google

2011-10-03T15:19:00.000+03:00

Google and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem have partnered to launch a new website that allows people the ability to view the Dead Sea Scrolls in detail. Host Audie Cornish talks with Jon Stokes, who writes about technology for Wired.com.
AUDIE CORNISH, host: For 2,000 years, the Dead Sea scrolls were seen by no one. Today, they can be viewed by anyone with access to the Internet. Google and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem teamed up to put high-quality images of the scrolls online. Images of the relics - the oldest known copies of biblical text - went live on the Web last week. Jon Stokes writes about technology for Wired.com. He is also a scholar of biblical history. And he joins us from KALW in San Francisco. Jon Stokes, welcome to the program.
JON STOKES: Thank you. It's good to be here.
CORNISH: Now, the scrolls may be new to the Web, but they were discovered in 1947, and historical scholars have had access to copies and translations for decades. I mean, what's the big deal about having them online now?
STOKES: So, there's a long and kind of sordid and really interesting publication history behind the scrolls. Because if you're a scholar, you dig something up out of the ground that's brand new or you're assigned to work on something that hasn't been discovered, you might take, you know, a decade to publish this, to really get it in shape to publish it because this is your career. I mean, this is going to be your piece of immortality. You're going to be the guy that did the first critical edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, you know, Isaiah Scroll or what have you. And so there was fierce scholarly competition and the work just dragged on and on and on and scholars got really frustrated at the delays; the wider scholarly community, because they said, hey, you know, this is a once in a generation kind of find and it's been, you know, 20 years and we haven't had access to this, especially not in the way that we want. So, when I was in grad school, there would be a special day in the semester and everybody would get excited because we would get to go and have an in-person look at some of the manuscripts that were in the University of Chicago's collection, or in Harvard's collection. And, you know, the students would sit and these things would be laid out for us and we wouldn't be able to touch them and you could look at them with a magnifying glass. But that was, like, you know, once or twice in my life that happens. Most scholars are lucky if you're able to just get your hands on a really good high-quality color copy of a text that you're working on. So, now this thing has been put online and anyone, you know, my daughter, you know, God forbid, decides to follow in my footsteps and try to become a humanity scholar or a historian, she'll have grown up in a world where she can get really, really close to these manuscripts in a way that almost nobody could.
CORNISH: How close will you be able to get. I'm trying to imagine - what will the scrolls look like online? Will you be able to zoom in on the material the way you can like Google Earth or?
STOKES: Yeah, that's correct. So, these were photographed at a 1,200 megapixel resolution. You know, so if you think about an eight megapixel camera. I mean, this is, you know, 10-Xed out or better. And you can scroll up and see the fibers, you know, and the particles in the manuscript.
CORNISH: Jon, you're a biblical scholar, so I have you ask: have you gone online and looked at the Dead Sea Scrolls and are you excited about the possibilities of what it means for your own work?
STOKES: Absolutely, absolutely. These are searchable. You know, I can actually search these, you know, by English translation. You know, I can go to a specific verse or a specific phrase and I can zoom in and I can attach comments to it. But, yeah, I mean, it's definitely the kind of tool that scholars need.
CORNISH: So, it's not the same as actually getting to touch it but it's the closest any of us are going to get.
STOKES: It's almost better. I mean, I've seen these things in person. And, you know, you look at them with a magnifying glass and it's almost better to be able to do the kind of really, really high-level zoom in and that's going to be incredible.
CORNISH: Jon Stokes is a technology writer and biblical scholar. He joins us from KALW in San Francisco. Jon Stokes, thank you so much for joining us.
STOKES: Thank you.

Smart cities get their own operating system

2011-10-03T14:51:00.001+03:00

Smart cities with devices chatting to each other may dot the planet in the near future

Cities could soon be looking after their citizens all by themselves thanks to an operating system designed for the metropolis.

The Urban OS works just like a PC operating system but keeps buildings, traffic and services running smoothly.
The software takes in data from sensors dotted around the city to keep an eye on what is happening.
In the event of a fire the Urban OS might manage traffic lights so fire engines can reach the blaze swiftly.
The idea is for the Urban OS to gather data from sensors buried in buildings and many other places to keep an eye on what is happening in an urban area.
The sensors monitor everything from large scale events such as traffic flows across the entire city down to more local phenomena such as temperature sensors inside individual rooms.
The OS completely bypasses humans to manage communication between sensors and devices such as traffic lights, air conditioning or water pumps that influence the quality of city life.
Channelling all the data coming from these sensors and services into a over-arching control system had lots of benefits, said Steve Lewis, head of Living PlanIT- the company behind Urban OS.

The system can help with monitoring patients at hospitals

Urban OS should mean buildings get managed better and gathering the data from lots of sources gives a broader view of key city services such as traffic flows, energy use and water levels.
"If you were using an anatomy analogy, the city has a network like the nervous system, talking to a whole bunch of sensors gathering the data and causing actions," said Mr Lewis.
"We distribute that nervous system into the parts of the body - the buildings, the streets and other things.
Having one platform managing the entire urban landscape of a city means significant cost savings, implementation consistency, quality and manageability, he added.
"And it's got local computing capacity to allow a building or an automotive platform to interact with people where they are, managing the energy, water, waste, transportation, logistics and human interaction in those areas."

“Start Quote

That's dealt with by the building itself, with the devices very locally talking to each other to figure out what's the best solution for the current dilemma”

End Quote Steve Lewis CEO, Living PlanIT

Urban apps

The underlying technology for the Urban OS has been developed by McLaren Electronic Systems - the same company that creates sensors for Formula One cars. The Urban OS was unveiled at the Machine-2-Machine conference in Rotterdam.

To support the myriad of different devices in a city the firm has developed an extensive set of application services that will run Urban OS, dubbed PlaceApps - the urban environment equivalent of apps on a smartphone.
Independent developers will also be able to build their own apps to get at data and provide certain services around a city.
Mr Lewis said that eventually applications on smartphones could hook into the Urban OS to remotely control household appliances and energy systems, or safety equipment to monitor the wellbeing of elderly people.
It could also prove useful in the event of a fire in a building, he said.
Sensors would spot the fire and then the building would use its intelligence to direct people inside to a safe stairwell, perhaps by making lights flicker or alarms get louder in the direction of the exit.
"That's dealt with by the building itself, with the devices very locally talking to each other to figure out what's the best solution for the current dilemma, and then providing directions and orchestrating themselves," said Mr Lewis.
'Magical actions' Living PlanIT is working with Cisco and Deutsche Telekom on different parts of the system.

Urban OS might help people escape during a fire

Markus Breitbach of the Machine to Machine Competence Center at Deutsche Telekom said that his firm was helping to bring all the parts of the Urban OS together.
"Everybody's talking about 50 billion connected devices, which effectively means huge amounts of data being collected, but nobody is really caring about managing it and bringing it into a context - and Urban OS can do just that," he said.
"If there's a fire alarm on the fifth floor and the elevator is going to the next floor, the light will switch on - but in addition the traffic lights will be switched accordingly to turn the traffic in the right direction so that fire workers can get through.
"And this is what Urban OS is providing, this kind of solution to analyse mass data, enter it in a context and perform magical actions."
A test bed for the Urban OS is currently being built in Portugal. For its work in developing smart cities, Living PlanIT was selected as one of the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers of 2012.

Southern California's rare squid invasion a bizarre nighttime spectacle

2011-09-29T16:42:00.002+03:00

The rare invasion of perhaps millions of large and ravenous squid off Southern California has been more like a blitz, with the slithery cephalopods showing first off San Diego (last week) and advancing at least as far north as Santa Barbara (this week).

This has sent anglers clambering onto fishing boats for a truly wet and wild experience, but for one resident catching the mysterious denizens wasn't enough. Jon Schwartz dove in with his camera to document the experience from beneath the surface (his self-portrait is pictured at right).

It was not the safest swim the grade-school teacher from Oceanside has enjoyed, and this is not something others should attempt. These Humboldt or jumbo squid boast razor-sharp tentacle claws and a parrot-like beak. These squid are notorious for their frenzied behavior -- they're even cannibalistic -- and have attacked divers off Mexico. They've also adversely impacted native fisheries.

But Schwartz, who is an expert marine photographer, captured some incredible images and even brought a few squid to class for first-grade study.

"I asked a bunch of experts if they thought it was safe and they said it might be," Schwartz, who specializes in photographing large game fish from underwater, said of his weekend plunge.

Humboldt squid have made headlines for good reason.

The deep-water critters, which can measure 7 feet and weigh up to 100 pounds, are visitors from far to the the south and only show off California every 4-5 years.

These northbound forays -- perceived by some scientists as an attempt at permanent colonization -- are believed to be spurred by a warm current or some other anomaly.

A weak El Nino in 2009-10 might have spurred the recent invasion. In past episodes, the squid have shown as far north as British Columbia. They are believed to have an adverse impact on many native fisheries.

The presence of squid, however, is a boon for sportfishing landings that offer special daytime and nighttime expeditions, with night generally best because the squid -- which typically inhabit depths from 650 to 3,000 feet -- are closer to the surface and can be attracted by floodlights.

Schwartz hired a yacht to deliver him to the site of one of the bites off Newport Beach. Armed with just a camera and strobe, he dove in, adjusted his gear and began to shoot away.

As someone who has been scuba diving with Humboldt squid in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico, this reporter can attest that it's an unsettling but surreal experience. I encountered a small group of squid, pulsating in the blue water, at 60 feet. Several of them charged toward me looking like alien beings, with their tentacles clasped to an arrow-like point. They traveled through the water at a remarkable speed but veered off as they reached me, and vanished.

I had heard about attacks by squid on humans in the Sea of Cortez, off Mexico. In one well-documented incident a scuba diver was dragged downward and had some of his gear ripped away in what became a life-threatening frenzy. His companions managed to pull him aboard, but he had suffered numerous cuts and his wetsuit had been torn.

Schwartz was interested in photographing them because they are such rare visitors to Southern California and possess an amazing ability to change color and pulsate with iridescent light, carried out via millions of chromatophores as perhaps a means of communication.

"There were some that were flashing below me that fell in love with my strobe and they were really wild," Schwartz said. "They sit there and stare at you with tentacles pitched forward in a kind of arrow."

The teacher-photographer added that he was less afraid of the squid than he was of much larger predators that patrol the ocean at night.

"I was worried about mako sharks and great white sharks, too," he said.

-- Images are courtesy of Jon Schwartz

Saudi Women Get the Vote, but Real Power Is Elusive

2011-09-28T17:27:00.000+03:00

Saudi women wait for their drivers outside a shopping mall in Riyadh on September 26, 2011 a day after King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. (Photo: Fayez Nureldine / AFP / Getty Images)

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in the next set of municipal elections, scheduled for 2015. That's good news. But not as good as you might think.
Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most sex-segregated place on earth, a country where women can do little without a male chaperon and are not allowed to drive. The roots of this rigid social system can be traced to the traditions of the area's Bedouin tribes, who took pride in keeping women from public view. The practice has since been codified by conservative Muslim clerics on the grounds that women should follow the strict set of 7th century rules that once applied to the Prophet Muhammad's wives. Many Saudis, male and female, have challenged the social order (most recently, by publicly flouting the country's driving ban). And yet, there have been few formal changes, making King Abdullah's decree a welcome surprise. It's a small victory for the country's activists and shows the Kingdom might be willing to change—at least a little.
The problem is that under the current system of government, voting won't give Saudi women, or any ordinary citizen, much power. The country is still an absolute monarchy and municipal councils, introduced in 2005, hold little sway. The King's promise to allow women to sit on Majlis Al-Shura, a council that advises the royals on public policy, feels hollow. For years, Saudi activists have campaigned to have the members of the 150-member body elected, not appointed. By announcing, suddenly, that women will get a seat, the King seems to have sidestepped, or sidelined, that debate. Plus, there's no guarantee the rule will be implemented: A recent decree that lingerie shops should be staffed by women, not men, has yet to be enacted.
Giving women the vote may also sideline debate over the driving ban. Inspired by female revolutionaries in Egypt and elsewhere and fed up with being kept off the road, a small but vocal group of Saudi women have been actively fighting for their right to drive. Despite their best efforts, the ban persists. If a women is in fact appointed to the Shura council, she won't be able to drive to work. It is a stark reminder that, despite this small, symbolic step, spring has yet to bloom in Saudi Arabia.
(Video: TIME's Aryn Baker rides along with a Saudi woman driver)

Life after death

2011-09-24T14:35:00.000+03:00

When he was 12, he flatlined. Twenty years later, his heart failed. Singer-songwriter Simone Felice tells how he came back from the dead. Twice

Simone Felice: 'Love. That's what's saved me, time and again.' Photograph: Jesse Marlow for the Guardian

I would not be just a nothin',
My head all full of stuffin',
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and be merry,
Life would be a ding-a-derry,
If I only had a brain...
Lyric by EY Harburg
When snow lay heavy on the land, and January winds sang in the trees and beat at the plastic we'd hung in the cold door to keep the oil bill down, when Christmas trees shed their needles: that's when I died.
Stuck with other needles. Morphine and glucose. Twelve years old in a white room. Shapes and movement, the sound of machines, the coloured lights. Kingston, New York. 1989.
Apparently, when you die, they call for a priest. My mother, Patti, wouldn't let him in, kept him at the door with a look, a red palm held out: "You can't have him."
The beat of his black sneakers fading down the hall. No last rites that winter day, no good book. Just a cold line on the computer screen by the bed, flat, then back alive, God's own Atari game.
Chance? Fate? Medical science? Love? I pick the last. Call me a romantic. It was love that kept me here. It must have been. And stubbornness, to be fair. My family. My Pop and Nan, sister Clare, brother Ian and many others. Patti most of all. They wouldn't let me leave. Love. That's what's saved me, time and again.
Much later, after I'd learned what had happened, I found myself piecing together the story in my mind's eye, trying to make it fit – smudged pictures conjured through cracked memory and hearsay: I'd gone to school, collapsed in the hallway, been wheeled off to the nurse's office, where she took my temperature, found it high, and called my mum to come fetch me.
Once home, they drew a cool bath and put me in, hoping to cut the fever. It was there the hallucinations began. I thought my stepdad was trying to drown me. I beat the water and screamed. Frightened now, Patti got in the car and sped the half-hour down the mountain to the closest medical centre, Benedictine hospital. With a squeal of brakes, she pulled up in front of the emergency room doors, left the engine running and "ran in carrying you in my arms like you were on fire".
Inside, they told her it might be spinal meningitis, a swelling of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. All the signs were there: crippling pain, fever, hallucination. They called for a spinal tap, but the room where they did the procedure was in use. The neurologist on the scene, Dr Frontera, wouldn't wait for the room to be free. He wanted a closer look at the brain. So he had them wheel me to another floor and send me through the bright sci-fi tunnel of the then newly developed Cat scan to find the early diagnosis of spinal meningitis was off the mark. I had suffered a massive brain haemorrhage.
They called it a cerebral aneurism, a weakness in a blood vessel that had ruptured, bled out and filled the space between my skull and brain with fluid and blood. The pressure was causing the brain to swell and the swelling was killing me.
It was in a new room on a new floor in a different wing where I suffered the seizure. They had begun to prep me for emergency brain surgery when it happened. The smell of laundered sheets and sterilisation. The omnipotent hum of base technologies.
This is the first time I've written any of this down. Yesterday I sat with my mum, sunlight falling through the screened door on her kitchen table, our hands, my notebook, and asked her to tell what she remembers. Tears, mine and Patti's, mingled on the tablecloth for the child she'd clung to. Here was the part of the story we never talked about. The missing piece.
My mother tells it like this: the seizure made you arch your spine. You bit your tongue. Your eyes rolled back in your head. When the seizure was over, I held your hand and you looked at me and said: Mum, I'm gonna die. I told you: No, you're not going to die. But then you did. Just like that. You knew. Somehow you knew. The screen flatlined and all the bells started ringing. When the doctors came running, I thought they were going to ask me out of the room, but instead they told me to climb up on your bed and talk to you, tell you you can't die. They shocked your chest. They shot you full of adrenaline. And I held your face and told you you couldn't die.
There was an ice storm that night. The worst in a century. The roads were closed, so they had to send a police four-by-four to gather the neurosurgeon and nurses, and bring them all to Benedictine. The surgery lasted hours. Afterwards, the doctors came and said you were alive. But not to get our hopes too high. If you survived the first 24 hours, you'd have a 50/50 chance of living. If you lived, you would likely have some degree of brain damage. If you lived, there was a good chance you'd be blind.
"Does he play the piano?" someone asked.
"No. Why?"
"The area of his brain that's been affected, some of which we've removed, is the area associated with music, art, creativity. If he played piano before, he may not play again."
After I made it past the initial 24 hours, touch and go, the neurosurgeon, Dr Gabriel Aguilar, told my mother the physical pain I'd been through was a close second to what it might feel like to burn alive.
The nurses took to calling me the Miracle Boy, and did not hide the nickname from Patti. I don't think I had any clue what the word miracle really meant until I watched my own daughter come into the world. But Pearl was still a universe away.
That summer, after they brought me back from the dead, I got my first guitar. A cheap affair, hardly ever in tune, same as the years that followed. But I spent them nonetheless, all 20-odd, in pursuit of the great rock'n'roll delusion. And still climbing its greasy ladder. Did Lazarus have a green room? Was there scotch on his rider? Was he met with fevered applause when he rose for his greatest show?
When I was a kid, I swore I'd be a marine like my Pop. Rattlesnake dreams. Black sands of Iwo Jima. The Frozen Chosin. The Perfume river. That's when Patti took me aside and told me: "The pen is mightier than the sword."
I was in Italy. Last show of a month's tour. Creepy hotel. Broken elevator. I climbed seven flights of stairs to my room, lost my breath, went pale and collapsed on the floor in the hall. When I came to, I touched the key-card to the door, went to the bedside and called Patti. Thirty-three years old.
"Hello."
"Mum?"
"Hi honey? Are you OK?"
"Mum, there's something wrong with my heart."
I did the gig that night and flew home the next morning. My wife, Jessie, eight months pregnant with our child, drove me up to a cardiologist in Albany. I have no health insurance, but my cousin Kelly is a nurse there and pulled in a favour.
They looked at my heart on a big screen and told us I had developed aortic stenosis, a calcification of the main artery, an anomaly brought on by some childhood trauma, and that there was no medical explanation why I was still alive. I might've died on the plane. Might've died on stage.
So there I was back in the white room. I kissed Jessie's belly. They wheeled me away and ran a tube down my throat. Emergency open-heart surgery. Aortic valve replacement.
When I woke in the recovery room, I could hear the faint, steady tick, tick of the mechanical valve they sewed inside me. Then I heard the glad, hushed whispers of my family in the hallway, just outside the door. I was drugged and thirsty. I asked the nurse for a drink of water and to please tell everybody they could come in from the hall.
"Mister Felice?"
"Yeah."
"It's three in the morning. There's nobody here."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
A month later, our daughter was born at home in a summer thunderstorm. Pearl Simone. Her father has an eight-inch scar on the backside of his skull that runs from the crown to behind his left ear. If my hair is shorn close, you can see it a block away. You might even think me a soldier. Made it home by the skin of his teeth. Luck of the Irish.
And if you see me on a summer's day, down by the river's edge, no big plans, no shirt, you'll see the long, pink seam that runs down the length of my chest like an angry zipper. Put your ear there and you'll hear me tick out the time.
I am the tin woodsman, hunting a heart. I'm the scarecrow, please deliver my brain. I'm the crocodile who swallowed the pocket watch. I haven't learned as much as I imagined I would by now. But I do believe we pass in and out of this world like a song on the wind. And that most of what we see and do in this life is grossly out of tune, behind or ahead of the beat.
But there are moments. You've known them. A kiss in a parked car. A melody in the dark. A meeting of eyes. A babe come in a thunderstorm.
She's got her father's swagger. And her mother's goodness. And Patti's strength of spirit. Go on, boy, write her a song. Read a story by lamplight. Sleep near and greet the pale sun together. Dance in the wet grass, round and round. When she's old enough to understand, tell her how her Grammy loved you back to life long ago. Love her like it's your last morning on earth. Love her more than yourself.
• Simone Felice's first novel, Black Jesus, is published by Allen & Unwin.

Faster than light particles found, claim scientists

2011-09-24T14:32:00.000+03:00

Neutrinos, like the ones above, have been detected travelling faster than light, say particle physicists. Photograph: Dan Mccoy /CorbisIt is a concept that forms a cornerstone of our understanding of the universe and the concept of time – nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
But now it seems that researchers working in one of the world's largest physics laboratories, under a mountain in central Italy, have recorded particles travelling at a speed that is supposedly forbidden by Einstein's theory of special relativity.
Scientists at the Gran Sasso facility will unveil evidence on Friday that raises the troubling possibility of a way to send information back in time, blurring the line between past and present and wreaking havoc with the fundamental principle of cause and effect.
They will announce the result at a special seminar at Cern – the European particle physics laboratory – timed to coincide with the publication of a research paper (pdf) describing the experiment.
Researchers on the Opera (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus) experiment recorded the arrival times of ghostly subatomic particles called neutrinos sent from Cern on a 730km journey through the Earth to the Gran Sasso lab.
The trip would take a beam of light 2.4 milliseconds to complete, but after running the experiment for three years and timing the arrival of 15,000 neutrinos, the scientists discovered that the particles arrived at Gran Sasso sixty billionths of a second earlier, with an error margin of plus or minus 10 billionths of a second.
The measurement amounts to the neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light by a fraction of 20 parts per million. Since the speed of light is 299,792,458 metres per second, the neutrinos were evidently travelling at 299,798,454 metres per second.
The result is so unlikely that even the research team is being cautious with its interpretation. Physicists said they would be sceptical of the finding until other laboratories confirmed the result.
Antonio Ereditato, coordinator of the Opera collaboration, told the Guardian: "We are very much astonished by this result, but a result is never a discovery until other people confirm it.
"When you get such a result you want to make sure you made no mistakes, that there are no nasty things going on you didn't think of. We spent months and months doing checks and we have not been able to find any errors.
"If there is a problem, it must be a tough, nasty effect, because trivial things we are clever enough to rule out."
The Opera group said it hoped the physics community would scrutinise the result and help uncover any flaws in the measurement, or verify it with their own experiments.
Subir Sarkar, head of particle theory at Oxford University, said: "If this is proved to be true it would be a massive, massive event. It is something nobody was expecting.
"The constancy of the speed of light essentially underpins our understanding of space and time and causality, which is the fact that cause comes before effect."
The key point underlying causality is that the laws of physics as we know them dictate that information cannot be communicated faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, added Sarkar.
"Cause cannot come after effect and that is absolutely fundamental to our construction of the physical universe. If we do not have causality, we are buggered."
The Opera experiment detects neutrinos as they strike 150,000 "bricks" of photographic emulsion films interleaved with lead plates. The detector weighs a total of 1300 tonnes.
Despite the marginal increase on the speed of light observed by Ereditato's team, the result is intriguing because its statistical significance, the measure by which particle physics discoveries stand and fall, is so strong.
Physicists can claim a discovery if the chances of their result being a fluke of statistics are greater than five standard deviations, or less than one in a few million. The Gran Sasso team's result is six standard deviations.
Ereditato said the team would not claim a discovery because the result was so radical. "Whenever you touch something so fundamental, you have to be much more prudent," he said.
Alan Kostelecky, an expert in the possibility of faster-than-light processes at Indiana University, said that while physicists would await confirmation of the result, it was none the less exciting.
"It's such a dramatic result it would be difficult to accept without others replicating it, but there will be enormous interest in this," he told the Guardian.
One theory Kostelecky and his colleagues put forward in 1985 predicted that neutrinos could travel faster than the speed of light by interacting with an unknown field that lurks in the vacuum.
"With this kind of background, it is not necessarily the case that the limiting speed in nature is the speed of light," he said. "It might actually be the speed of neutrinos and light goes more slowly."
Neutrinos are mysterious particles. They have a minuscule mass, no electric charge, and pass through almost any material as though it was not there.
Kostelecky said that if the result was verified – a big if – it might pave the way to a grand theory that marries gravity with quantum mechanics, a puzzle that has defied physicists for nearly a century.
"If this is confirmed, this is the first evidence for a crack in the structure of physics as we know it that could provide a clue to constructing such a unified theory," Kostelecky said.
Heinrich Paes, a physicist at Dortmund University, has developed another theory that could explain the result. The neutrinos may be taking a shortcut through space-time, by travelling from Cern to Gran Sasso through extra dimensions. "That can make it look like a particle has gone faster than the speed of light when it hasn't," he said.
But Susan Cartwright, senior lecturer in particle astrophysics at Sheffield University, said: "Neutrino experimental results are not historically all that reliable, so the words 'don't hold your breath' do spring to mind when you hear very counter-intuitive results like this."
Teams at two experiments known as T2K in Japan and MINOS near Chicago in the US will now attempt to replicate the finding. The MINOS experiment saw hints of neutrinos moving at faster than the speed of light in 2007 but has yet to confirm them.
• This article was amended on 23 September 2011 to clarify the relevance of the speed of light to causality.

Nasa's UARS satellite plunges over Pacific

2011-09-24T14:28:00.000+03:00

The BBC's Andy Moore says where debris has landed is "a bit of a mystery"

Nasa says its six-tonne UARS satellite entered the earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean early on Saturday.

The spacecraft was expected to fall to Earth by about 0500 GMT - officials say it is not possible yet to give a precise time.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is the largest American space agency satellite to return uncontrolled into the atmosphere in about 30 years.
Officials said the risk to public safety was remote.
A statement on the Nasa UARS website read: "The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California said the satellite penetrated the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty."
There have been some unconfirmed reports on Twitter that suggested debris might have fallen in western Canada.
Most of the decommissioned spacecraft should simply have burnt up, but modelling work indicated perhaps 500kg could have survived to the surface.
Any pieces of debris should have been scattered over a 800km path; but with more than 70% of the Earth's surface covered by water, many experts said the pieces were most likely to end up in the ocean.
Stephen Cole, a Nasa spokesman in Washington DC, told BBC News: "You have to remember that they're very, very small pieces, even though the original satellite was large - as large as a bus. Most of that burns up in the atmosphere and just a few dozen pieces survive. They're highly damaged, and if they're in the ocean - they're gone."
UARS was deployed in 1991 from the space shuttle Discovery on a mission to study the Earth's upper atmosphere.
It contributed important new understanding on subjects such as the chemistry of the protective ozone layer and the cooling effect volcanoes can exert on the global climate.

Astrophotographer Thierry Legault's video of the falling UARS

In the past few days, Nasa warned members of the public not to touch any pieces of the spacecraft that might survive the fall to land, urging them to contact local law enforcement authorities instead.
"I've seen some things that have re-entered and they tend to have sharp edges, so there's a little concern that they might hurt themselves if they try to pick them up," said Mark Matney, an orbital debris scientist from Nasa's Johnson Space Center.
Under the terms of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the US government retains ownership of the debris and could, if it so wished, seek to take possession of any items found on the ground.
With those ownership rights also comes absolute liability if a piece of UARS is found to have damage property or injured someone.
"There is something called international responsibility; they're internationally liable," explained Joanne Wheeler of law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, and an expert representative for the UK on the UN Subcommittee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
"The Americans have to retain jurisdiction and control, and that pretty much can be interpreted as ownership. So they own it up there, they own it if it comes down to Earth and they're liable if it crashes into something."
Tracking stations will typically witness the uncontrolled return of at least one piece of space debris every day; and on average, one intact defunct spacecraft or old rocket body will come back into the atmosphere every week.
Something the size of UARS is seen perhaps once a year. Much larger objects such as space station cargo ships return from orbit several times a year, but they are equipped with thrusters capable of guiding their dive into a remote part of the Southern Ocean.

Ten Ways to Marry the Wrong Person

2011-09-23T14:53:00.000+03:00

With the divorce rate over 50 percent, too many are apparently making a serious mistake in deciding who to spend the rest of their life with. To avoid becoming a "statistic," try to internalize these 10 insights.

#1. You pick the wrong person because you expect him/her to change after you're married.

The classic mistake. Never marry potential. The golden rule is, if you can't be happy with the person the way he or she is now, don't get married. As a colleague of mine so wisely put it, "You actually can expect people to change after they're married... for the worst!"

So when it comes to the other person's spirituality, character, personal hygiene, communication skills, and personal habits, make sure you can live with these as they are now.

#2. You pick the wrong person because you focus more on chemistry than on character.

Chemistry ignites the fire, but good character keeps it burning. Beware of the "I'm in love" syndrome. "I'm in love" often means, "I'm in lust." Attraction is there, but have you carefully checked out this person's character?

Here are four character traits to definitely check for:

Humility: Does this person believe that "doing the right thing" is more important than personal comfort?

Do I want to be more like this person? Would I like my child to turn out like him or her?

Kindness: Does this person enjoy giving pleasure to other people? How does s/he treat people s/he doesn't have to be nice to? Does s/he do volunteer work? Give charity?

Responsibility: Can I depend on this person to do what s/he says s/he's going to do?

Happiness: Does this person like himself? Does s/he enjoy life? Is s/he emotionally stable?

Ask yourself: Do I want to be more like this person? Do I want to have a child with this person? Would I like my child to turn out like him or her?

#3. You pick the wrong person because the man doesn't understand what a woman needs most.

Men and women have unique emotional needs, and more often than not, it is the man who just doesn't "get it." Jewish tradition places the onus on the man to understand the emotional needs of a woman and to satisfy them.

The unique need of a woman is to be loved -- to feel that she is the most important person in her husband's life. The husband needs to give her consistent, quality attention.

This is most apparent in Judaism's approach to intimacy. The Torah obligates the husband to meet the intimate needs of his wife. Intimacy is always on the woman's terms. Men are goal-oriented, especially when it comes this area. As a wise woman once pointed out, "Men have two speeds: on and off." Women are experience-oriented. When a man is able to switch gears and become more experience-oriented, he will discover what makes his wife very happy. When the man forgets about his own needs and focuses on giving his wife pleasure, amazing things happen.

#4. You choose the wrong person because you do not share a common life goals and priorities.

There are three basic ways we connect with another person:

chemistry and compatibility
share common interests
share common life goal

Make sure you share the deeper level of connection that sharing life goals provide. After marriage, the two of you will either grow together or grow apart. To avoid growing apart, you must figure out what you're "living for," while you're single -- and then find someone who has come to the same conclusion as you.

This is the true definition of a "soul mate." A soul mate is a goal mate -- two people who ultimately share the same understanding of life's purpose and therefore share the same priorities, values and goals.

#5. You choose the wrong person because you get intimately involved too quickly.

Intimacy before the commitment of marriage can be a big problem because it often precludes a fully honest exploration of important issues. Physical involvement tends to cloud one's mind. And a clouded mind is not inclined to make good decisions.

It is not necessary to take a "test drive" in order to find out if a couple is physically compatible. If you do your homework and make sure you are intellectually and emotionally compatible, you don't have to worry about it. Of all the studies done on divorce, incompatibility in the intimate arena is almost never cited as a main reason why people divorce.

#6. You pick the wrong person because you do not have a deeper emotional connection with this person.

To evaluate whether you have a deeper emotional connection or not, ask: "Do I respect and admire this person?"

This does not mean, "Am I impressed by this person?" We are impressed by a Mercedes. We do not respect someone because they own a Mercedes. You should be impressed by qualities of creativity, loyalty, determination, etc.

Also ask: "Do I trust this person?" This also means, "Is he/she emotionally stable? Do I feel I can rely on him/her?

#7. You pick the wrong person because you choose someone with whom you don't feel emotionally safe.

Ask yourself the following questions: Do I feel calm, peaceful and relaxed with this person? Can I fully be myself and express myself with this person? Does this person make me feel good about myself? Do you have a really close friend who does make you feel this way? Make sure the person you marry makes you feel the same way!

Are you afraid of this person in any way? You should not feel you need to monitor what you say because you are afraid of how the other person will view it. If you're afraid to express your feelings and opinions openly, there's a problem with the relationship.

Be on the look out for someone who is always trying to change you.

Another aspect of feeling safe is that you don't feel the other person is trying to control you. Controlling behaviors are a sign of an abusive person. Be on the look out for someone who is always trying to change you. There's a big difference between "controlling" and "making suggestions." A suggestion is made for your benefit; a control statement is made for their benefit.

#8. You pick the wrong person because you don't put everything on the table.

Anything that bothers you about the relationship must be brought up for discussion. Bringing up the uncomfortable stuff is the only way to evaluate how well the two of you communicate, negotiate, and work together. Over the course of a lifetime, difficulties will inevitably arise. You need to know now, before making a commitment: Can you resolve your differences and find compromises that work for both of you?

Never be afraid to let the person know what bothers you. This is also a way for you to test how vulnerable you can be with this person. If you can't be vulnerable, then you can't be intimate. The two go hand in hand.

#9. You pick the wrong person because you use the relationship to escape from personal problems and unhappiness.

If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married, too.

If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married, too. Marriage does not fix personal, psychological and emotional problems. If anything, marriage will exacerbate them.

If you are not happy with yourself and your life, take responsibility to fix it now while you are single. You'll feel better, and your future spouse will thank you.

#10. You pick the wrong person because he/she is involved in a triangle.

To be "triangulated" means a person is emotionally dependent on someone or something else while trying to develop another relationship. A person who hasn't separated from his or her parents is the classic example of triangulation. People can also be triangulated with things as well, such as work, drugs, Internet, hobbies, sports or money.

Be careful that you and your partner are free of triangles. The person caught in the triangle cannot be fully emotionally available to you. You will not be their number one priority. And that's no basis for a marriage.

Are you a woman who is unhappy in her marriage? If your answer is yes, then there are a couple of wrong choices that you made in your life by allowing yourself to marry that man!!
My reason: What most women (and this is from as young as 20) are afraid of is being single. They equate being single with being alone, unhappy and missing on the “fun couples scene” hence as they grow older they crave being with a man, even if it’s the wrong man.
Once you are married to this wrong man, you are bound to be one very sad person. Problem is that this wrong man’s main focus is to take all his sad life memories on you! And he is bad and he knows it! The sad thing is that this man exudes all the signs from the word go, from the time you meet him but you are the one who chooses “to see them, yes, but be the ignoramus.”
Mr. wrong could have had a bad childhood, maybe his folks kept putting him down, maybe he was always told that he wasn’t good enough, maybe he grew up dirt poor while his friends had it all, or maybe he was just a loner… and his life continues to stink because he does nothing to change things. He is bitter with life and he just wants to take steam out on someone, someone he claims to love with all his heart hence the need to do what he does to that person (read girlfriend or future bitter-than-gall wife).
I have always believed that since we live in the 21^st century and things have changed, a woman should always seek to empower herself first. Being self sufficient is the in thing if you didn’t know. Can you imagine a life where you have all the necessary resources to make you happy and you provide them for yourself?
Spot Mr. Wrong from a mile away. He is:

*That man who has decided that you don’t have a brain of your own so he makes every decision for you. He wants to dictate everything…like what you’ll eat, what you’ll wear, when you’ll answer your phone, when you’ll go to work, when you’ll come back from work, how many children you’ll have … everything that has to do with you but sadly you don’t have a say in. There you are thinking that he loves you so much and that he’s doing all this because he only wants the best for you.
*That man who is overly dependent on you and doesn’t make any effort to better his financial situation. So you will support this man’s everything… from his transport to his lunch money to money for drinks with friends. He always promises to give it back. Sometimes even with interest and you’ve never seen a coin from him and the problem is he never has any money to even buy you a gift. Sometimes when need be he steals from you and when you ask…hell breaks loose.
* That man with anger issues! He gets annoyed at everything. Even with others, just a small misunderstanding and he is already clenching his fists. And if you are not careful those fists will gladly land on you. You the woman in his life. And he knows you can’t tell anyone so you suffer in silence. When you notice that he gets angry fast it means he has no self control hence he will tend to be abusive!! You are how he releases anger.
* That man who is anti-responsibility. So he wants you to do everything! Pay all the bills and he never lifts a finger to help around. He is Mr. Arrogant himself and he has the nerve to ask why there’s no cooking gas, why dinner is late, why the electricity bill hasn’t been paid…while he can help you pay bills because after all he is the number one consumer of everything in your house! The house that you pay rent for!
*That man who puts you down. No compliments from him ever Instead he will ask you why you are wearing your hair like that…even go on about how he hates women who wear weaves when it’s very obvious that you have a weave on. He is the real self esteem destroyer.
Once you become the guy’s official girlfriend, your social life becomes non-existent. Woe unto you should you be found having a coffee with even just a colleague and worse still if it is a male colleague…he will pounce on him, then pounce on you…and then on you again when you are behind closed doors.
Most of us girls get excited by small things. So a guy treats you like trash throughout the relationship and he always makes you miserable but then one day he fishes for something in his pocket, unleashes the bling and pops the question and every wrong is forgiven and forgotten and you can’t wait to announce to the whole world that you are engaged!…(To the biggest loser who will forever drag you down!)
Unless you want to live in bondage for the rest of your life, then by all means go ahead and marry Mr. Wrong and especially for a silly reason like your Biological clock ticking and all your friends getting married. Just because you got pregnant, doesn’t mean you should marry a guy who sees you as nothing. Because you will have bound yourself to the equivalent of the devil.
Ladies, love yourself for no one will love you as much. It is ok to be single rather than be somebody’s doormat… Look at the bright side of everything…Instead of considering yourself single, think of it as being in a long standing relationship with fun and freedom.
The good news is that if you haven’t married Mr. Wrong, you still have a chance to avoid him. You can avoid all that heartache and end up being the happiest married woman… on your own terms when the time comes.
When you know what a happy life is like and how it can be shared by a partner who wants to build you and help make you a better person everyday…even if you will be 50 or 90. You will simply get to choose when to be happy-and I’m assuming you’ll definitely choose happiness always).

PS: Nobody has ever died of being single but unhappiness can kill you slowly.

Facebook Timeline tells 'story of your life'

2011-09-23T10:04:00.002+03:00

Facebook / Livestream

By Wilson Rothman

Today at the Facebook F8 developer summit, Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new kind of profile view called "Timeline." Instead of a profile and wall, it's a more controlled view of your world. As the name suggests, it gives you an easier way to view past events, older photos, trips around the world, using chronological, and in some cases geographical, navigation.
Related: See the Zuckerberg keynote and read all the news here
Instead of anchoring your page with a profile pic, you keep your profile pic but add a cover photo, something more panoramic, that doesn't have to represent you so much as look cool. You can jump around in time, all the way back to your first posts, and you can enter a Places map and browse different places you've been. You "star" the most momentous experiences of your life, making them widescreen, and you can remove stuff you'd rather not remember.
There's a private activity log now, too, so that you can go through everything you've ever posted, and select the stuff that you want your friends to see.
And it's not just about photos and posts. You can put the apps you want where you want, for easier access to the stuff you'd like to do. Facebook is clearly no longer just about creating a profile for others to see; it's more about creating a home that you use for communicating but also for consuming media. Timeline, with the anticipated apps coming for music, movies and media — along with the already insanely popular games — makes it possible.
Facebook CTO Bret Taylor says that they will roll out Timeline progressively "over the next couple of months."
When it goes live, you can publish it right away, or you can look it over and play with it, then make it live, explains product manager Samuel Lessin, in a helpful blog post.
I put a MASSIVE Timeline example shot below, so scroll down and have a gander. Also, there's also a great Timeline info page on Facebook. Meanwhile, here's an brief explanatory video:
More from Technolog:

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Blame it on the alcohol?

2011-09-23T10:02:00.000+03:00

We're going to guess many poor decisions were made that night.

By Andrew Winner

It’s a trap that most of us have fallen into: making a rash or regrettable decision after a few cold Coors Lights. Blame it on the booze, right? A new study out of the University of Missouri College of Arts and Sciences sheds light on how the brain processes mistakes in the presence of alcohol.
In a finding that runs contrary to previous thinking, it turns out we still know we are making mistakes when intoxicated. We just don’t care as much.
“I suppose the main implication is that people shouldn’t assume ‘I was drunk’ is a good excuse for doing things one knows he or she shouldn’t be doing,” wrote the study’s author, Dr. Bruce Bartholow of the University of Missouri, in an e-mail. The study will be published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
“It’s not as though people do drunken things because they’re not aware of their behavior, but rather they seem to be less bothered by the implications or consequences of their behavior than they normally would be,” Bartholow added.
Bartholow set out to bring clarity to an area of ambiguity in brain research: Does the strength of the ERN – the error-related negativity “alarm signal” set off in the brain by mistakes – change with the presence of alcohol? Research out of the Netherlands in 2002 had concluded that intoxication reduced the brain’s capacity to detect errors.
However, Bartholow’s study challenged that assumption by asking if it’s possible that the ability to detect errors actually remained the same – but alcohol changed the brain’s reaction to those errors.
“I wondered whether alcohol's effects on error processing were less about reducing awareness of errors and more about reducing the distress that normally accompanies errors,” Bartholow said.
In the study, a group of 67 people aged 21-35 were split into three groups. While two of the three groups received a placebo alcohol (10-proof vodka-tonics), or just plain tonic, the third (lucky?) group received alcoholic beverages -- 100-proof vodka-tonics. The participants in the alcohol group got to a blood-alcohol level of about .09 percent -- just over the legal driving limit. The other two groups remained at a .00 percent blood-alcohol level throughout the study. All participants were then tasked with completing a challenging computer task.
Bartholow’s team noted that while all the groups made mistakes, those which had consumed alcohol were less likely to notice their errors. The alcohol drinkers were also less likely to slow down after an error.
However, in addition to monitoring their performance on the computer, participants also measured the subjects’ mood.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the alcohol group reported feeling less negative. (Hilariously, the group which received the placebo had a more negative mood.) Using these measurements, Bartholow’s team was able to demonstrate a correlation between the mood of the participants and the strength of the ERN. A less negative mood equaled a less severe ERN.
For the study author, the findings represent an important step in understanding how alcohol affects the brain – and the mistakes made by people who have had a couple brew-dogs. Further avenues of research could include testing whether drunk people can be sufficiently motivated to care about their mistakes (and if so, would their brain responses be similar to those of sober individuals).
Another possible avenue Bartholow is pursuing is testing whether the error-related brain activity differences observed in the study will produce changes in other parts of the brain as people attempt to correct their mistakes. In what promises to be endless entertainment for the research assistants, Bartholow is pursuing the use of an fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – or scans that measure brain activity) machine to take measurements of the study participants.

India police investigate Bangalore 'Facebook suicide'

2011-09-23T09:59:00.000+03:00

Malini Murmu was reported to be upset by 'derogatory' Facebook comments

Police in India are looking for the former boyfriend of a student who allegedly committed suicide after he ended their relationship on Facebook.

Malini Murmu is reported to have hanged herself on Sunday in Bangalore. Her father has demanded that her former boyfriend, Abhishek Dhan, be arrested.
Police say they are investigating whether the comments on Facebook amount to aiding and abetting suicide.
The whereabouts of Mr Dhan - also a student - are currently unknown.
Malini Murmu was a first year MBA student in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Bangalore.
Ms Murmu's family say that Mr Dhan's Facebook account contained derogatory references to her - now deleted - which "forced her to take such a drastic step".
In the comments on Sunday he wrote about being "relieved" and "feeling cool" after "dumping his girlfriend". The pair had reportedly had a row earlier on.
Ms Murmu's father told the BBC that her death had left the family devastated.

Single-Sex Schools Have Negative Impact on Kids, Says Study

2011-09-23T09:58:00.000+03:00

Three girls write on a blackboard in this file photo. (Getty Images)

Boys and girls may be opposites, but new research shows that in the classroom, separating the two sexes may not be the best way for either gender to learn and grow.
A new study from Penn State researchers states that students who attend single-sex schools are no better educated than those who attend co-ed schools. Plus, children are more likely to accept gender stereotypes when they go to an all-boys or all-girls school.
"There's really no good evidence that single-sex schools are in any way academically superior, but there is evidence of a negative impact," said Lynn Liben, professor of psychology and education at Penn State and lead author of the study. "Kids' own occupational aspirations are going to be limited, and there could be long-term consequences where, for example, girls are used to being in roles only among other girls, then they have to face the real world where that's not the case."

Getty Images

Three girls write on a blackboard in this file photo.

Remembering the Days of Single-Sex Schools Watch Video

Supporters of single-sex schools argue that boys' and girls' brains are wired differently, and therefore require different teaching styles to maximize education, but study authors note that neuroscientists have not found hard evidence that show differences in girls' and boys' different learning styles.
The report, published in the journal Science, compared two preschool classes. In one class, the teacher used gender-specific language to address the children. The other teacher did not. After just two weeks, the researchers reported that children who had the teacher using sex-specific language played less with children of the other sex. The kids also showed an increase in gender-specific stereotypes (i.e. boys played with trucks, girls with dolls).
The study also noted that a review commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education found little overall difference in academic outcomes between children in single-sex schools versus those in coed schools.
Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments outlawed discrimination on the basis of gender in educational programs that receive federal funds, meaning students were no longer allowed to be rejected from gender seemingly-specific classes, like home economics or metal shop. But Liben said several people still argue for gender separation in the classroom.
"We know from the history of our country that separate is not equal," said Liben. "There's no reason to divide along the lines of biological sex."

Health Watch: Beating Heart Transplant

2011-09-23T09:53:00.002+03:00

ATLANTA - Heart transplants save thousands of patients every year, but hundreds die waiting for a donor heart. Now a new technology that keeps a donor heart alive outside the body could give many heart patients a second chance at life.
Since the first U.S. heart transplant in 1967, donor hearts have been flown from point A to point B packed on ice, in a cooler.
Now doctors at UCLA Medical Center are embarking on a new procedure that could revolutionize transplants.
It's known as the Beat Box, which keeps a heart beating outside the human body while it's transported from the donor to the recipient, ultimately keeping the organ healthier.
On ice, a heart is only good for up to eight hours. With the new method, it's viable for up to 24, so it can travel much greater distances, making more organs available to patients.

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Chinese Star Yao Ming Retires From The NBA

2011-09-23T09:49:00.002+03:00

Chairman Yao, The Great Wall of Yao or the NBA version of the Ming Dynasty has officially hang up his boots and announced his retirement from the NBA.
The 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets centre - the tallest in the NBA, Yao made it official today during a packed news conference in his hometown, Shanghai explaining that prolonged injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.
Yao Ming boosted the popularity of the NBA and basketball in China and Asia and his retirement will have an immediate effect since there is no Chinese player to take up after him.
The eight-time NBA all-star whose personal brand is valued at $1 billion, is a constant feature on Forbes' list of China's most valuable celebrities.
"I will formally end my career," said Yao who joined the NBA in 2002 but missed a staggering 250 regular-season games over the past six years because of his injuries.
"Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future, I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were an agonising wait. I had been thinking about my future over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening."
Yao said he will return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He plans to continue his philanthropic work with his Yao Foundation.

Todd Palin 'will file for divorce and advisers tell Sarah White House dream is over' after release of explosive biography

2011-09-23T09:47:00.000+03:00

Sarah Palin could be set to lose both her marriage and her political career after the release of the explosive biography on the Tea Party darling.
The National Enquirer claims that friends close to the politician and her husband Todd say he is 'fed up' with the constant scandals that have plagued their marriage ever since she ran for vice president and is ready to file for a divorce.
As well as kissing goodbye to hermarriage, it has also been alleged that her advisers have told her to kiss goodbye to the White House fearing a bid would be 'political suicide'.
In The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, the 47-year-old is accused of having a night of passion with a basketball star, snorting cocaine and having an affair with her husband's business partner - all allegations which are thought to have shattered Palin's White House dream.

Scroll down for video

Moving on: Todd Palin is allegedly fed up with the scandals surrounding his wife Sarah Palin and is said to be filing for divorce

Anchor: Sarah Palin in 1987, when she presented a sports show on local TV and met basketball star Glen Rice, who she is alleged to have spent the night with

A source close to the former vice presidential candidate said: 'Sarah Palin has been destroyed by Joe McGinniss' no-holds-barred biography. It exposed all her lies, cover-upsand secrets.
'As a result she has been told by heradvisers that it would be political suicide to announce a White House candidacy. The press and her opponents would have a field day digging into the dirty details of her background.'

Brother: Chuck 'Chuckie' Heath Jr told friends that Todd and Sarah 'didn't have a marriage'

The bombshell book is said to have put the final nail in the coffin of her marriage, after Sarah's brother Chuckie was quoted saying his sister and Todd's marriage was over.

A friend told the National Enquirer: 'The final straw was McGinniss quoting Sarah's brother Chuckie telling afriend they don't have a marriage.
'Todd felt as if he was stabbed in the back by his own brother-in-law after 23 years of being married to the guy's sister, and having five kids together.'
It was revealed last week that formerbasketball player Glen Rice had a one-time fling with the Alaska governor when she was a news anchor for her local station and he was a junior at the University of Michigan.

The source told the Enquirer that Todd feels like he's been made a laughing stock as the hook up had become a joke on late night TV and was all over the internet.
He was also said to be 'fuming' over the biography's confirmation that his wife had an affair with his business partner Brad Hanson and that Todd dissolved their snowmobile dealership after learning of it.
Though both parties denied it at the time it came to light in October 2008, Palin's ex brother-in-law Mike Wooten allegedly confirmed it saying: 'Todd and Sarah were headed for divorce, but Sarah got pregnant soon after, so they decided to stay together.'

The new book also claims that Palin snortedcocaine off a 55-gallon oil drum and separately smoked marijuana in secret liaisonswith one of her college professors.
The book's author Joe McGinniss moved in next door to the Palins in Alaska to dig dirt for his salacious biography.

More...

Inresponse, Todd Palin slammed the author as a 'stalker' who has a 'creepy obsession' with his wife after details of what was in the book were first leaked.
He said: 'This is a man who has been relentlessly stalking my family to the point of moving in right next door to us to harass us and spy on us to satisfy his creepy obsession with my wife.
His book is full of disgusting lies, innuendo, and smears. Even The New York Times called this book "dated, petty," and that it "chases caustic, unsubstantiated gossip".
Mrs Palin, meanwhile, has been careful to avoid commenting.

Styled: Palin in her more familiar look. A new book alleges she has taken cocaine in the past and had a six-month affair with a former business partner of her husband Todd

Separation?: Todd Palin, seen here with his wife outside their house in Wasilla, Alaska, is said to be filing for a divorce

Explosive: The book, written by Joe McGinness, right, is said to have put an end to her White House bid

The author writes that after college Mrs Palin developed a 'fetish' for black men.
She allegedly had a tryst with basketball star Glen Rice in her younger sister Molly's University of Alaska dorm room, while she was dating Todd and just nine months before the couple were married.
Mrs Palin got pregnant with Todd and they eloped in August 1988.
Their son Track, the oldest of five, was born eight months later in April 1989.
Afriend said Mrs Palin spent the night with the basketball star but could not confirm whether they had sex, according to the National Enquirer.
'I remember Sarah feeling pretty good that she'd been with a black basketball star,' a source told the magazine.
The athlete is said to have confirmed the night of passion in Mr McGinniss's book.
Mr Rice went on to have a huge career playing basketball in the NBA and was a three-timer All-Star.

Heat: The book alleges that Palin had a one night stand with basketball star Glen Rice

The explosive book goes on to quote those who knew the family growing up, claiming Mrs Palin was a 'bad mum' who would lock herself in her room for hours on end asking not to be disturbed while her children cooked themselves dinner.
Sarah Palin was plucked from obscurity to be the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008.
The 'pitbull in lipstick' sparked a media storm after accepting the nomination, despite questions over her experience.
But she wowed the U.S. after a barn-storming speech in September 2008 in which she attacked critics forcalling her 'small town'.

Six months: Palin is said to have had an affair with Brad Hanson, one of her husband's colleagues

A former mayor of Wasilla before she became governor of Alaska, Palin stepped down after the Republican defeat in the presidential election.
Themother-of-five has remained tight-lipped on whether she would stand next year, but said she would likely make an announcement at the end of this month.
She has been overshadowed in recent months by Tea Party candidates including Michelle Bachmann.
TheRepublican, who has now associated herself with the Tea Party movement in the U.S., has been dogged by scandal since being selected as Senator John McCain's running mate in 2007.
There have also been frequent rumours that she is set to divorce her husband Todd, which have always been denied.
And she has faced accusations by the father of her daughter's child, Levi Johnston, that she wanted to keep Bristol's pregnancy a secret and adopt the child herself.
Palin has yet to declare whether she intends to run for election in next year's presidential race.
Joe McGinniss, 68, has written several political books including works on former president Richard Nixon and on Alaska.

Headlines: The book, written by Joe McGinniss and released this week, claims Todd (right) dissolved the snowmobile business he ran with Brad Hanson after discovering the affair

Next door: A fence in between the Palins' home, right, and neighbour, author Joe McGinness's home, left

Facebook looks to extend online reach, sharing

2011-09-23T09:43:00.000+03:00

SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is trying to evolve from an Internet hangout where people swing by to share tidbits, links and photos to a homestead decorated with the memories, dreams and diversions of its 800 million users.
In what may be the boldest step yet in the company's seven-year history, Facebook is redesigning its users' profile pages to create what CEO Mark Zuckerberg says is a "new way to express who you are."
It is betting that despite early grumblings, its vast audience will become even more attached to a website that keeps pushing the envelope. To that effect, it is introducing new ways for people to connect with friends, brands and games while also sharing details about their lives from the mundane to the intimate.
"If you look at Facebook's history, obviously they are not afraid of making change," said Sean Corcoran, an analyst with Forrester Research. "They have done a lot of big changes in the past and people have gotten upset. But most of the time Facebook has been right."
Zuckerberg introduced the Facebook "timeline" along with new entertainment and media company partnerships on Thursday in San Francisco, at the annual "f8" conference attended by about 2,000 entrepreneurs, developers and journalists. The event was also being broadcast to, at one point, more than 100,000 online viewers.
The changes seek to transform how and how much people share things online, just as Facebook has been doing since its scrappy start as a college-only network. The overhaul also presents a new challenge for Google Inc., which has been scrambling to catch up with the launch of its own a social network, Google Plus, three months ago.
The timeline, which will eventually replace users' current profile pages, is reminiscent of an online scrapbook filled with the most important photos and text that they have shared on Facebook over the years. It's where people express their real selves and merge their online and offline lives even more than they are doing now.
The timeline can go back to include years before Facebook even existed, so users can add photos and events from, say 1995 when they got married or 1970 when they were born. Users can also add also music, maps and other content next to their memories.
"This radical redesign shows Facebook isn't done becoming what it wants to become," said eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. "In some respects, Google Plus almost looks dated now."
Williamson expects there to be a big generational divide in how the broader sharing tools are perceived, with younger users embracing them more quickly. She also thinks Facebook should become even more attractive advertisers because it should be able to pick up even more data on what appeals to each user.
"They want you to share your authentic self online," she said.
Zuckerberg took the stage Thursday afternoon after a humorous skit, in which Saturday Night Live actor Andy Samberg impersonated him — as he sometimes does on SNL — and poked fun at Facebook. He introduced a "slow poke" button that takes 24 hours to reach its recipient and a new Facebook friend category for "I'm not really friends with these people."
The real Mark Zuckerberg looked considerably more playful and at ease than he has at past events, suggesting he is growing into his role as the public face of a company that is expected to go public in the stock market at some point next year.
But he quickly got down to business as he introduced the timeline as "the story of your life — all your stories, all your apps and a new way to express who you are."
The timeline feature will be rolling out to users in the coming months.
Expanding on its ubiquitous "like" buttons, Zuckerberg said Facebook will now let users connect to things even if they don't want to "like" them.
"We are making it so you can connect to anything you want. Now you don't have to like a book, you can just read a book," he said. "You don't have to like a movie; you can just watch a movie."
To this end, Facebook unveiled a slew of new partnerships with a slew of older and younger companies, ranging from The Washington Post to Netflix Inc. and from the struggling Yahoo Inc. to the hot music service Spotify.
Through a "ticker" feature partly unveiled earlier this week, Facebook users will be able to see the songs their friends have listened to, the shows they watched or the games they played in a live feed of activity on the right side of their pages.
Clicking through takes observers to the services. The diversions include Hulu videos, Zynga games, Spotify and another music subscription service, Rhapsody.
Axel Dauchez, the chief executive of music subscription service Deezer, which has 1.4 million paying customers in Europe, said the integration with Facebook was key to its plan to roll out in more than 130 countries over the next several weeks.
Instead of actively sharing each song they listen to, users who consent to sharing through Spotify, for instance, will now have all their activity on that app beamed to their Facebook friends. They can also to listen to songs together with their friends.
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of Washington DC-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, had some concerns.
"I guess our life is now packaged and streamed in real time," he said, adding that there's a sense that every time Facebook makes changes, more of its users' data gets pushed out into the public. Users than have to go back to their profile settings and reclaim this information.
To this end, Zuckerberg said Facebook users will have "complete control" on how they turn on an application.
"We are working out the rough edges now," he said.

Are you 'Shocked by the Bible'?

2011-09-22T16:09:00.000+03:00

In an age when Christianity is openly under attack, one book that champions the Bible as absolute truth is surprising even longtime Christians with amazing facts many people simply don't know are included in the pages of Holy Scripture.
"If you think you really know the Bible, better think again," warns Fox News' Bill O'Reilly. "Your parents never told you this stuff was in the Bible," adds radio talker and author Melanie Morgan. WND founder Joseph Farah simply says, "'Shocked by the Bible' is nothing short of genius."
They're talking about "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told" by WND Executive News Editor Joe Kovacs. And today only, WND readers can get an autographed, hardcover copy of "Shocked by the Bible" for only $4.95! That's a radical $18 discount off the regular $22.99 price!
"Shocked by the Bible" is a fresh, amazing look at what's actually found in the pages of the greatest book of all time, as well as what's not there. For instance, did you know:

The ultimate destiny of human beings is much more glorious than just gaining eternal life and floating around on clouds all day
"Three Wise Men" appear nowhere in the Bible, and none are ever mentioned visiting baby Jesus in a Bethlehem manger
The Bible doesn't say Jesus died on a Friday, or rose from the grave Sunday morning. (Jesus Himself said He'd be in the grave for three days and three nights, not one day and two nights. Remember, Jesus' followers found an empty tomb Sunday morning. He was already gone!)
There were not just two of every kind of animal aboard Noah's Ark, and the vessel is not said to have landed on "Mount Ararat." It was the "mountains of Ararat."
Jesus made appearances on Earth in the Old Testament
Jesus said no one has gone to heaven except Himself

"Yes, I'm a Bible-believing Christian and am among the biggest fans of the Bible of all time," says Kovacs. "My goal is to educate people about the solid truth of Scripture and to stop the spread of erroneous information. I want people to crack open their Bibles and see with their own eyes what's actually printed on the pages, and what's not. It's shocking!"
Those who have read the entire book are jumping for joy over "Shocked by the Bible." Just look at these glowing reviews:

"I'm drawn to this book. It is so well put together. I started reading it and didn't put it down for two days to finish it. ... This guy is incredible." - Peter Boyles, KHOW radio host, Denver

"Kovacs has done his homework. In 'Shocked by the Bible,' he explodes certain common concepts, brings shocking stories and revelations to light and gives the reader motivation to dig deeper into the very Word of God. A valuable resource for today's jaded but biblically illiterate audience." - Carolyn R. Scheidies, Author's Choice Reviews

"Since the professing church is unwilling to look intently at the Scriptures, embrace it all in context, [God] is using a believing investigative journalist to apply his gift and experience to be a witness to the Truth of what He said and established in His Word. Joe Kovacs is that man. ... I recommend 'Shocked by The Bible' by Joe Kovacs because of his journalistic approach to the Bible. He is not trying to proselytize anyone to his particular brand of religion. His agenda appears to not go beyond just a journalistic look at Scripture in order to get straight facts into peoples' hands that they might make an informed decision." - Banner Kidd, Torah Perspective

The book soared to No. 1 in three Bible-related categories on Amazon.com even before its official release, with readers giving it the maximum five-star rating. It also rocketed to No. 1 on the WND Best-Seller list.
Kovacs holds nothing back as he quotes directly from the Holy Bible to address incredible issues.
For instance:

The word "Easter" has vanished from modern Bible translations. And you won't find a single mention of Easter eggs, but you will find God warning His people not to have anything to do with a pagan fertility goddess, whose name is synonymous with "Easter"
The practice of decking a tree with silver and gold is actually condemned by God
God wanted to kill Moses
Animals had meaningful discussions with people
The Bible calls the devil "god"

"Shocked by the Bible" will even make you laugh as it dares to look at the issues you'll rarely, if ever, hear in church or on TV or radio shows:

There's a character in the Bible called a "dumb ass"
Underwear didn't disintegrate despite 40 years of heavy use
The worst case of hemorrhoids in history is recorded

"It's not about religion," says Kovacs, "it's about the Bible. What's in it, and what's not. You'll truly be stunned when you see for yourself what Scripture has to say, without anyone telling you it doesn't mean what it says."
"Shocked by the Bible" answers questions regardless of anyone's faith or personal outlook.
"It's for those who have never read the Bible, those who don't understand the Word, as well as those who have been reading it for years and know it well, or at least thought they knew it," says Kovacs.
Save $18, get 'Shocked by the Bible,' signed, for only $4.95!
That's right. Right now, you can buy "Shocked by the Bible," normally $22.99, for less than one-quarter of the cover price!
Until tonight at 10 p.m. Pacific, you can get your copy of "Shocked by the Bible" for only $4.95 – by taking advantage of this special offer, exclusively from WorldNetDaily.
But wait – it gets better. There's another part to this deal. When you order "Shocked by the Bible" for $4.95, we will also send you, FREE, three sizzling issues of WND's critically acclaimed monthly magazine, Whistleblower.

Many readers consider Whistleblower to be simply the world's best newsmagazine. Each issue focuses like a powerful laser on a single topic – from how to survive financial meltdown to understanding the secret agendas of America's establishment elite – explored thoroughly, and with facts and insight such as you've never seen anywhere else. Recent issues include "SHADOW GOVERNMENT: Inside the mad, mad, mad, mad world of Obama's czars," "MEDICAL MURDER: Why Obamacare could result in the early deaths of millions of baby boomers," "THE GREAT AWAKENING: How tea partiers are setting a new course for America," "NARCISSIST IN CHIEF: Experts explain what makes Barack Obama tick" and "BLACK HOLE: The shocking truth about the U.S. economy – and what you can and must do."
To interview Joe Kovacs, author of "Shocked by the Bible," please contact him.

Bill Gates stays top of Forbes list of rich Americans

2011-09-22T16:04:00.002+03:00

Despite his efforts to give his money away, Bill Gates increased his wealth and extended his lead

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has extended his lead over investor Warren Buffett at the top of the Forbes list of rich Americans.

Mr Gates' wealth grew by $3bn (£1.9bn) to $59bn, despite his philanthropic efforts, as Microsoft's stock climbed.
Mr Buffett, who also continued giving his wealth to good causes, dropped $11bn to $39bn as the value of his Berkshire Hathaway firm slid.
Fellow investor George Soros also entered the top 10, with $22bn.
Money and politics Both investors have been notable in giving vocal backing to left-leaning policies in the US.
The Hungarian-born Mr Soros is a major donor to the Democrats, and outside the US he sponsors "Open Society Foundations" that seek to promote human rights and liberal democracy.
Mr Buffett meanwhile gave his backing over the summer to higher taxes on high-earning Americans, in particular an increase in the tax rate on capital gains that he claimed allowed him to pay a lower tax rate in the US than his secretary.
President Barack Obama happily took up the idea in his latest job creation proposal, naming the proposal the "Buffett Rule", much to the consternation of anti-tax Republicans.
However, the right-wing also has its own supporters in the top 10.
Brothers Charles and David Koch - joint owners of a vast industrial empire - are each worth $25bn, according to Forbes magazine.
And they have thrown their weight behind the populist Republican Tea Party movement.
However, another wealthy Republican - New York mayor Michael Bloomberg - has dropped out of the top 10.
Meanwhile, the Waltons - owners of giant retail chain Wal-Mart - remain the wealthiest family in the US.
Four family members are in the top 20, with a collective wealth of $87bn.

Women's Memory More Receptive To Low Voice

2011-09-21T15:03:00.001+03:00

Melissa Block and Lynn Neary learn from researcher Kevin Allan of the University of Aberdeen King’s College in Scotland that women remember better when spoken to in a low-pitch voice. This helps women to pick a suitable partner.

View the full story at: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/20/140644517/study-womens-memory-more-receptive-to-low-pitch-voice?ft=1&f=1007

Your Future Self: 11 Medical Advances That Can Change Your Body

2011-09-21T13:30:00.000+03:00

In the not-too distant future, we'll be able to replace and even regenerate our broken-down, worn-out parts—from our ankles to our eyes.

science

Photograph: Dan Saelinger
What was once the stuff of fiction is now turning into fact. Thanks to remarkable advances in scientists' understanding of stem cells, genes, bioengineering, and molecular pathways, we may soon be able to keep ourselves in tip-top shape for longer than we ever thought possible. Take a peek at your future self.

Electronic Eyes

These "eyes" have restored partial vision to people with deteriorating retinas. The imitation peepers involve an implanted device that receives input from a tiny camera and a transmitter mounted on a pair of glasses. Images from the camera are converted into signals that the implant uses to stimulate retinal cells—allowing the brain's vision center to, in essence, see a rough version of what the camera sees. The device could be, for many people, a chance at second sight.

How Soon: Testing is under way at several universities. Early results are promising, and the technology could be available within a year.

Haircolor that Lasts

In June scientists from NYU Langone Medical Center announced their discovery that specialized signaling molecules can dictate the color of hair cells. Once they learn more about this process, they hope to develop a treatment for gray hair.

How Soon: Difficult to predict at this point, since this finding is just a first step.

Real Replacement Teeth

Dentists at Columbia University were able to grow new teeth in rats by implanting a tiny scaffold in the socket left empty by a lost tooth, then saturating the space with dental stem cells and growth factors (substances strained from the blood and jawbone that promote tissue growth).

How Soon: The technique could be ready for the public in about five years, pending FDA approval.

How to Whiten Teeth - Beauty Advice

O, The Oprah Magazine beauty editors on how to whiten, straighten, and brighten teeth.

Whiter! Straighter! Brighter!

O, The Oprah Magazine beauty editors on how to whiten, straighten, and brighten teeth.

Doctor-to-English Dictionary

Confused by medicalspeak? Check our doctor-to-English dictionary for helpful definitions of words medical professionals use.

The Wrinkle Report

From creams to peels to lasers, here's the lowdown on what you can do to keep your skin beautiful as you age.

Steve-O breaks his nose on Mike Tyson's fist at Charlie Sheen Roast

2011-09-21T11:55:00.000+03:00

For some unknown reason, "Jackass" star Steve-O was a roaster at last night's "Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen." And Steve-O wisely played to his strengths which, of course, means hurting himself.

For further unknown reasons, Steve-O ran face first into the outstretched fist of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson who, for additional unknown reasons, was also a roaster. After a less than graceful dive into the aforementioned fist, Steve-O stood up and instantly diagnosed his own malady. Steve-O took to his website to explain his actions:

"I told Charlie Sheen that I was so grateful to be a part of his roast that I was going to attempt to get a black eye from Mike Tyson."

Sure. Makes sense. Charlie Sheen posted a battle pic of Steve-O on his Twitter. Not to be a Nervous Nellie, but something worries us about these two spending a lot of time together.

'Miracle babies' pastor to be extradited to Kenya

2011-09-21T10:36:00.000+03:00

Gilbert Deya is wanted on child abduction charges in Kenya. An evangelist who claimed to have created miraculous pregnancies through prayer is to be sent back to Kenya to face child abduction charges.

Gilbert Deya has fought a legal battle to stay in the UK since 2007, arguing anything else would breach his human rights.
Now the home secretary Theresa May has decided his extradition should go ahead.
The Kenyan government alleges he stole five children between 1999 and 2004.
Concerns were first aired about Mr Deya's conduct on the BBC Radio 4 investigative programme, Face the Facts in 2004.
Infertile or post-menopausal women who attended his church in Peckham, South London were told they would be having "miracle" babies.
But the babies were always "delivered" in backstreet clinics in Nairobi.
The Tottenham MP, David Lammy, had a husband and wife turn up at his constituency surgery who had been through it.
"The couple went to Africa, came back into the country with a child that the authorities found out was not theirs through a DNA test.

"What unravelled was clearly a child trafficking situation, that didn't just involve my constituents, but involved a number of women making their way to Kenya and then arriving back into our country apparently thinking these children were theirs but they clearly were not," he said.

Gilbert Deya was interviewed on Face the Facts in 2004.
When asked how he explained the births of children with DNA different to that of their alleged parents, he said: "The miracle babies which are happening in our ministry are beyond human imagination.
"It is not something I can say I can explain because they are of God and things of God cannot be explained by a human being."
In 2007, the then home secretary, Jacqui Smith decided Mr Deya should be extradited to Kenya.
His appeal against that decision at the High Court failed and he was refused permission to take his case to the House of Lords.
And while the legal wranglings have continued Gilbert Deya has remained in the UK running what appears to be a successful charity, and broadcasting to Africa and Europe on his satellite TV channel, Deya Broadcasting Network.
The latest available accounts for his charity, Gilbert Deya Ministries, date back to 2009 and show an income from voluntary donations of more than £1.2m.
The charity's stated purpose is to "advance the Christian religion". On its website it claims to have 34,000 followers with churches in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leicester and London.
Mr Deya's wife, Mary, has already been jailed in Kenya for child abduction.
In a statement the Home Office said: "He has exhausted all avenues of appeal against extradition under the Extradition Act."

Scientists find way to "disarm" AIDS virus

2011-09-20T12:41:00.000+03:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found a way to prevent HIV from damaging the immune system and say their discovery may offer a new approach to developing a vaccine against AIDS.
Researchers from the United States and Europe working in laboratories on the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found it is unable to damage the immune system if cholesterol is removed from the virus's membrane.
"It's like an army that has lost its weapons but still has flags, so another army can recognize it and attack it," said Adriano Boasso of Imperial College London, who led the study.
The team now plans to investigate how to use this way of inactivating the virus and possibly develop it into a vaccine.
Usually when a person becomes infected with HIV, the body's innate immune response puts up an immediate defense. But some researchers believe HIV causes the innate immune system to overreact. This weakens the immune system's next line of defense, known as the adaptive immune response.
For this study -- published on Monday in the journal Blood -- Boasso's team removed cholesterol from the membrane around the virus and found that this stopped HIV from triggering the innate immune response. This in turn led to a stronger adaptive response, orchestrated by a type of immune cells called T cells.
AIDS kills around 1.8 million people a year worldwide. An estimated 2.6 million people caught HIV in 2009, and 33.3 million people are living with the virus.
Major producers of current HIV drugs include Gilead Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.
Scientists from companies, non-profits and governments around the world have been trying for many years to make a vaccine against HIV but have so far had only limited success.
A 2009 study in Thailand involving 16,000 volunteers showed for the first time that a vaccine could prevent HIV infection in a small number of people, but since the efficacy was only around 30 percent researchers were forced back to the drawing board.
An American team working on an experimental HIV vaccine said in May that it helped monkeys with a form of the AIDS virus control the infection for more than a year, suggesting it may lead to a vaccine for people.
HIV is spread in many ways -- during sex, on needles shared by drug users, in breast milk and in blood -- so there is no single easy way to prevent infection. The virus also mutates quickly and can hide from the immune system, and attacks the very cells sent to battle it.
"HIV is very sneaky," Boasso said in a statement. "It evades the host's defenses by triggering overblown responses that damage the immune system. It's like revving your car in first gear for too long -- eventually the engine blows out.
He said this may be why developing a vaccine has proven so tricky. "Most vaccines prime the adaptive response to recognize the invader, but it's hard for this to work if the virus triggers other mechanisms that weaken the adaptive response."
HIV takes its membrane from the cell that it infects, the researchers explained in their study. This membrane contains cholesterol, which helps keep it fluid and enables it to interact with particular types of cell.
Normally, a subset of immune cells called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) recognize HIV quickly and react by producing signaling molecules called interferons. These signals activate various processes which are initially helpful, but which damage the immune system if switched on for too long.
Working with scientists Johns Hopkins University, the University of Milan and Innsbruck University, Boasso's team found that if cholesterol is removed from HIV's envelope, it can no longer activate pDCs. As a result, T cells, which orchestrate the adaptive response, can fight the virus more effectively.

Facebook 'app economy' has created more than 182,000 jobs, study says

2011-09-20T10:07:00.000+03:00

Facebook apps and mobile apps on smartphones and tablets have, according to the University of Maryland, given rise to a new industry that it calls the "app economy."
And the app industry is one of the few segments of the overall economy that is seeing rapid growth, the University says in a new study put together by professors at the university's Smith School of Business.
Their study, called "The Facebook App Economy," said at least 182,000 new jobs have been created by businesses in the U.S. making apps specifically for Facebook, the world's most popular social network with more than 750 million users.
The University of Maryland study also said its economic models for coming up with its employment estimates for the Facebook app economy has generated a value about $12.19 billion in wages and benefits for U.S. workers.
But those estimates are on the conservative side, the university said in its study.
"Using more aggressive estimates, the Facebook App Economy created 235,644 jobs, adding a value of $15.71 billion dollars to the U.S. economy," the study said.
The businesses in the app economy, however, aren't just made up of companies that make game apps, or sharing apps, or news reading apps, or apps to buy laundry detergent and other goods though Facebook. The app economy also includes "businesses that supply app developers," which in doing business with app makers have themselves added "between 129,000 to more than 182,000 people" to "jobs supported by the app economy," the study said.
These peripheral jobs have an estimated value of about $12.19 billion to as much as $15.71 billion to the U.S. economy, the study said.
The study also forecasts that more growth from app-making firms is on the way.
"Our findings confirm that social media platforms have created a thriving new industry," Il-Horn Hann, co-director of the University of Maryland's Center for Digital Innovation, Technology and Strategy and an information systems professor, said in a statement. "As Facebook and other platforms grow, we will continue to see job growth and the ripple effects of these advances in the U.S. economy."

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