efever

2006-10-13T08:34:00.000Z

From Liberace with love

"Nobody will believe in you unless you believe in yourself."

2006-08-04T13:31:00.000Z

Benjamin Franklin's Goals

Benjamin Franklin developed a "Plan" for regulating his future conduct? He was partially motivated by Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." He followed the plan he created "pretty faithfully" even to the age of 79 (when he wrote about it), and he was even more determined to stick with it for his remaining days because of the happiness he had enjoyed so far by following it.
His "Plan" was made up of 13 virtues, each with short descriptions:

1. Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.
2. Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.
6. Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice: Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation.
11. Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
12. Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
13. Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

2006-02-08T14:25:00.000Z

If ...

"If you would thoroughly know something, teach it to others."

Tryon Edwards (1809 - 1894)

and

"Desire, ask, believe, receive."

Stella Terrill Mann.

2006-02-06T13:01:00.000Z

Be careful ...

"Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter."

Paxton Hood.

and

"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. "

Robert Heinlein.

2006-01-22T11:25:00.000Z

Your pace of life

"If the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be. You have your natural limit of power as much as an engine,--ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain kind of handling."

George S. Merriam.

2005-12-18T15:54:00.000Z

A pre-Christmas thought

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

Benjamin Franklin.

2005-12-16T14:10:00.000Z

Far better ...

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt.

2005-11-26T14:50:00.000Z

Never lose sight

Never lose sight of this important truth, that no one can be truly great until he has gained a knowledge of himself, a knowledge which can only be acquired by occasional retirement.

and

Open your mouth and purse cautiously, and your stock of wealth and reputation shall, at least in repute, be great.

Both from Johann Georg von Zimmermann.

2005-10-31T15:15:00.000Z

Self-confidence

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."

Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784).
English author, critic, & lexicographer.

and

A successful individual

"A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration."

Kurt Lewin (1890 - 1947).
US (German-born) psychologist.

2005-10-28T11:26:00.000Z

A true friend ...

"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities."

William A. Ward.

and

Being more productive ....

"No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you'd be more productive."

Dr. Joyce Brothers (1928 - ).
US psychologist & television personality.

2005-10-23T14:03:00.000Z

Enjoyment is ...

"Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity."

Paul Goodman.
(1911 - 1972)

2005-10-16T21:11:00.000Z

Smoking!
Nope, not the sort of 'smoking' as in that glorious film "The Mask", rather the sort of smoking involving tobacco. Just some interesting facts that I read today about the cost of it ;.....

Smokers spend an average £91,832.43 feeding their habit.

In their life they will puff through 373,302 cigarettes. That is 18,665 packs, or 15.24 coffin nails a day.

UK smokers buy a breathtaking 72 billion fags a year at a cost of £17billion. Laid end to end, they would stretch for more than four million miles.

The average smoker will spend £1,493.22 on 6,060 cigarettes each year.

They would have to stick at it for 61 years to spend the £91,800 total. Even part-time puffers smoke 14.55 cigarettes a week. That is £11,000 in a lifetime.

Source Life's a fag!

And this reminds me of why I need to stay given up, apart from the health benefits that is. (A clumsy way of phrasing it, but you see what I mean, I hope?)

2005-10-13T14:20:00.000Z

An original quote ..

"Life is like riding a bicycle, unless you keep pedalling and/or moving forwards, at some point you are going to fall off!"

Me :)

2005-10-12T11:46:00.000Z

Systematically?

It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human, and disorder is our worst enemy.

Hesiod (~800 BC).
Greek didactic poet.

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882).
US essayist & poet.

Taken together both of these quotes may sound as if they are contradicting each other, but I don't believe that they are. Although they were written 2,000 years apart I believe that they compliment each other, encouraging you to try many different ways of doing things [experimenting] but doing it systematically so that you can see afterwards where things started going wrong or not working out, and then perhaps retrying but putting your newfound knowledge in place to achieve a different outcome, and hopefully to achieve success in your endeavour.

2005-10-11T17:56:00.000Z

In a few minutes ...

"In a few minutes a computer can make a mistake so great that it would have taken many men many months to equal it."

From an unknown author :)

Immortality.

"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."

Susan Ertz.

2005-10-10T20:01:00.000Z

If you wish success ....

"If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother and hope your guardian genius."

Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719) .
English essayist, poet, & politician.

and .......

The secret of success!

"If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut."

Albert Einstein.

See? And you thought being successful was complicated. :)

2005-10-03T14:03:00.000Z

The greatest discovery ....

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind."

William James (1842 - 1910) .
US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist.

2005-10-02T20:31:00.000Z

The great thing ...

"The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving."

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

2005-10-01T20:56:00.000Z

We are ...

"We are what we repeatedly do."

Aristotle.

2005-09-30T09:07:00.000Z

The great thing .....

"The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving."

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

and also .....

"True happiness... arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self."

Joseph Addison.

2005-09-28T13:14:00.000Z

Yesterday's quote

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already possess it.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

2005-09-28T13:11:00.000Z

Today's quote

"To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation."

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.

2005-09-25T14:24:00.000Z

A good plan!

"No plan can prevent a stupid person from doing the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time--but a good plan should keep a concentration from forming."

Charles E. Wilson, chmn., General Motors & U.S. Secretary of Defense

2005-09-24T09:49:00.000Z

Yesterday's quote.

"Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong."

Dandemis

Todays Quote.

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."

G.K. Chesterton

2005-09-22T14:02:00.000Z

Today's quote

"If you can't describe your position in eight words or less, you don't have a position."

Seth Godin and Jay Levinson in "Get What You Deserve!"

2005-09-21T13:23:00.000Z

Quote

"to do a common thing uncommonly well brings success..."

Henry John Heinz, 1876.

2005-09-19T21:34:00.000Z

On being prepared for luck

"Being prepared for luck is like getting a voice message that tells you, 'Something good may happen to you between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. today. Make sure you're at your desk (or in your studio or office or at your laboratory bench) working. And keep your eyes open for it.'"

Twyla Tharp, from "The Creative Habit"

2005-09-19T21:32:00.000Z

On independence

"Subtracting your dependence on some of the things you take for granted increases your independence."

--Twyla Tharp, from "The Creative Habit"

2005-09-17T12:54:00.000Z

Power-dressing man leaves trail of destruction

An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building.

Frank Clewer, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket, was oblivious to the growing electrical current that was building up as his clothes rubbed together.

When he walked into a building in the country town of Warrnambool in the southern state of Victoria Thursday, the electrical charge ignited the carpet.

"It sounded almost like a firecracker," Clewer told Australian radio Friday. "Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt."

Employees, unsure of the cause of the mysterious burning smell, telephoned firefighters who evacuated the building.

"There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear a cracking noise -- a bit like a whip -- both inside and outside the building," said fire official Henry Barton.

Firefighters cut electricity to the building thinking the burns might have been caused by a power surge.

Clewer, who after leaving the building discovered he had scorched a piece of plastic on the floor of his car, returned to seek help from the firefighters.

"We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion, where his clothes would have self-ignited," Barton said.

"I've been firefighting for over 35 years and I've never come across anything like this," he said.

Firefighters took possession of Clewer's jacket and stored it in the courtyard of the fire station, where it continued to give off a strong electrical current.

David Gosden, a senior lecturer in electrical engineering at Sydney University, told Reuters that for a static electricity charge to ignite a carpet, conditions had to be perfect. "Static electricity is a similar mechanism to lightning, where you have clouds rubbing together and then a spark generated by very dry air above them," said Gosden.

A shocking story :)
Link

2005-09-05T11:50:00.000Z

Computers! Huh!

Don't you just love computers! I mean, their so dependable, so always right, so correct, aren't they? :) Not! Mine was broken for two days when a stick of ram died for some unknown reason, and I hadn't a clue as to what was wrong and therefore couldn't fix it. When they work well, they're great .... but when they start playing silly b's, then I hate them! [End of rant :)

Daily Thought Infusion

2005-07-27T12:40:00.000Z

Daily Thought Infusion: "July 27, 2005 | Permalink"

2005-07-21T13:25:00.000Z

No blank ammo for army exercises? Yell "bang" instead
The British Army is short on blank ammunition used for military training exercises. As a result, soldiers playing war games may have to shout "bang, bang" when they fire. From the UK Telegraph:

A senior Army officer said that the ammunition crisis was "shambolic" and came at the worst possible time for the Army.

He said: "There is nothing more dispiriting than soldiers having to go on exercise and shout 'bang, bang' because there is not enough blank ammunition. Any benefit from the exercise will be lost because soldiers just won't take it seriously. Why should soldiers who are being sent to Iraq, where their lives will be endangered, be forced to shout 'bang' in training because someone in the Ministry of Defence can't do basic arithmetic? It's a disgrace."

Link

2005-07-21T08:56:00.000Z

Blogger templates

The new template for this site came from Blogger Templates and this is one that I've long admired, but never known how to copy or acquire. But, here it is ...... but still with a bit more fine tuning to do when I get the time.

2005-06-26T16:12:00.000Z

Whats in a Name?

The name may resonate with happiness conjuring the belief that no misfortune can befall her. But women called Joy are the unluckiest people in Britain and endure more break-ins, water leaks and household calamities than the average Joe or even Josephine.

A survey of insurance claims by first names has revealed that mishaps are more likely to happen to a man named Sean than one christened Frederick and that a Ruth will have less accidents than a Tracey.

While in Britain the three unluckiest names are all female, namely Joy, Diana and Tracey, Scotland bucks the national trend with men the most likely to suffer accidents and claim on their insurance policies.

These latter-day Jonahs now go by the names of Ian, David and Andrew.

A study of 200,000 insurance claims across Britain by Churchill, the insurance company, has revealed the most accident-prone names in the country. Martin Scott, the head of home insurance for Churchill explained: "Our data does show that some names suffer much worse than others, but location, age and type of home are often better indicators."

According to the study, the luckiest names are Frederick, Ruth and Tim, however this only extends to the home and does not, as Tim Henman this week discovered, extend onto the sports field. Names such as Iris and Arthur are also likely to keep out of harm's way and, as a result, have a similar low number of home incidents to report.

The investigation has thrown up a number of curious, but perhaps explainable trends. Men who suffer the biggest financial mishaps and so then make expensive claims on their insurance tend to have "upper-class" names such as Nigel, Phillip and Christopher. Low-cost claims are made by men called Vincent.

On the surface, the link between a name and a greater frequency for mishap appears untenable, however Christine Webber, a psychotherapist and life coach, believes that psychology does have an important part to play.

"It may be that Joy tries to live up to her name. The likelihood is that she is energetic and enthusiastic in all that she does. This may lead her to be clumsy and careless, knocking things over, leaving taps running and forgetting to shut windows.

"On the other hand Ruth tends to be gentle and quietly generous, she is willing to accept the blame.

"Her spare time will be based at home, so decreasing the risk of burglary and more likely to take care with her possessions."

Joy Nielson, 48, a sales rep from Ayrshire, is unsure if her name and "slight clumsiness" could be linked. As a child she remembers not liking her name.

"If you introduced yourself and were anything other than beaming with happiness people would say: 'Cheer up, you're Joy'.
"It did get rather annoying." While she doesn't consider herself unlucky in life, she admits to clumsiness.
Recently she dropped an iron on her carpet, which meant she had to claim on her insurance to have it replaced. She is also in the process of preparing a claim for an expensive lamp which she accidentally knocked over. "I had had it for 20 years and was really annoyed.

"It was sitting on the side table and I just turned round and knocked if off."

The reason men's names are the unluckiest in Scotland while women's take the honour in the rest of Britain could be that men are more likely to have their names on insurance policies in Scotland, according to Cynthia McVey, a lecturer in psychology at Caledonia University.

Ian Love, 43, a process operator from Lanarkshire believes his namesakes, now branded the unluckiest people in Scotland, are being unfairly treated. "I think this is a bit rich.

"I've only ever made the one claim and that was when one of the kids threw a stone through the bathroom window. It seems unfair to me."

The research also revealed the names of people with the most costly home disasters.

Dorothys' claims are the most expensive to put right, while Kathryns' are the most frugal.

Source = Names that lack lucky white heather by STEPHEN MCGINTY.

2005-06-24T22:06:00.000Z

Work and sleep: happy bedfellows?

It could be the hours spent poring over arcane legal documents or perhaps the exhaustion of stress-filled days. But, according to a new report, solicitors manage to get more sleep than workers in most other professions.

Research into the sleeping patterns of eight occupations by the Sleep Council found that, on average, solicitors managed 7.8 hours of sleep a night. One in five of the solicitors surveyed said they enjoyed an average of ten hours’ sleep.

On-call hospital doctors came bottom of the sleep league, managing only 4.5 hours a night, while politicians also fared badly, averaging only 5.2 hours of sleep. Architects and, surprisingly, mothers with young children were other groups who it is claimed managed to get a satisfactory amount of sleep, each clocking up more than seven hours.

The overall picture was worrying, however, as none of the professions surveyed managed on average to reach the recommended eight-hour sleeping time for adults.

The Sleep Council, which compiled the research, promotes the benefits of a good night’s sleep and is funded by bed firms. Spokeswoman Jessica Alexander said those people who got adequate sleep avoided a host of problems that poor sleepers suffered. She said: "Time and again research has shown us that lack of sleep affects our ability to think clearly and rationally.

"Losing sleep erodes concentration and problem-solving ability. According to research, each hour of sleep lost per night is associated with a temporary loss of one IQ point. If we were a political party, ensuring the nation got a good night’s sleep would be at the heart of our manifesto. It’s as important to the health and wealth of the nation as a balanced diet and regular exercise."

According to the report, people need about eight hours of sleep a night, and a "sleep debt" of only seven hours a week can result in symptoms such as burning eyes, blurred vision and waves of sleepiness.

In the case of people who suffer from a long-term lack of sleep, more extreme side effects are possible. Research suggests that it could be responsible for health problems ranging from diabetes to cancer.

Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Lancaster, was surprised that solicitors managed so much sleep, although he said it was a sign that they could "switch off" from their work when they got away from the office.

He said: "Solicitors need to be very vigilant and aware of what they’re doing as they are often dealing with very technical papers. Any slight mistake could be significant for them.

"If they are managing to get a good night of sleep despite working long hours then it shows they must be able to cut themselves off from their job when they finish work, even if they don’t finish until as late as seven or eight at night."

However, Hilary Tilby, the chief executive of LawCare, a charity that offers help and support to lawyers, said the volume of calls received by its helpline suggested the report may not have surveyed a representative sample. She said: "I am extremely surprised by the findings and they certainly do not tie in with the stories that we hear."

"How people cope with the stress of the job depends entirely on the individual. Some will be able to compartmentalise their life very well with the support of friends of families, but others are certainly not as good at doing that.

"Sleep is a very subjective issue and it can effect people to different extents. Some people can get by easily with only five hours while others are like a bear with a sore head after eight hours."

A 2004 report by think-tank Demos said Britons were getting an average of 90 minutes less sleep than they used to each night. It pointed to irritable behaviour, inefficiency at work, ill-health, road accidents and even divorce as potential side-effects of a lack of, or poor quality sleep. Research shows that one night’s lack of sleep results in a 30 per cent loss in cognitive performance the next day and a 60 per cent loss after two nights.

More people are also realising that they have a sleep problem, with an estimated 13 million sleeping pills prescribed in Britain last year.

According to the Sleep Council study, some politicians reported having less than five hours sleep a night.

In a profession where leading figures such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher have promoted the idea of the "power nap", Prof Cooper said MPs may have less of an ability to switch off from their work.

"Sleep is an important constituent of doing well at work. We have night owls and we have morning larks but whichever you are, the important thing is that you need to get the right amount of sleep."

Dr David Lewis, a psychologist who specialises in the link between stress and lack of sleep, analysed the study’s results. He said that, while the average amount of sleep that politicians got was only 5.2 hours, one in four spent at least ten hours a night in bed.

He said this suggested that their difficulty lay in actually getting to sleep, not in finding the time to go to bed.

He added: "One likely reason is that, while mentally exhausted, they are not sufficiently tired to fall asleep. As a result, their heads are filled with circulating thoughts and worries, which conspire to keep them awake."

The report found that one in five people woke up between four and six times every night while more than a quarter had difficulties falling asleep and a further quarter reported waking early as a problem.

Dr Lewis said: "While short-term sleep loss is nothing to worry about, chronic sleep debt can have a seriously damaging effect on our mental and physical health. Not only that, but it can result in serious miscalculations and catastrophically bad decisions being made."

THE Z LIST

* Solicitors: 7.8 hours

* Architects: 7.5

* Mothers of young children: 7.1

* Social workers: 6.9

* Dustmen: 6.5

* Teachers: 6.0

* Politicians: 5.2

* Hospital doctors (on call): 4.5

Source - Work and sleep: happy bedfellows?

2005-05-30T09:38:00.000Z

Drivel.

Some people say that I talk a whole load of drivel :), but now its becoming really true as I'm currently testing out a new program (new to me that is) called 'Drivel'. So we'll see how it goes :)

10 stories that could be pranks - but aren't!

2005-04-02T13:25:00.000Z

April the first is when jokers set out to fool and the rest of us are on our guard. Here is our annual round-up of some of the day's seemingly spoof news stories which are actually true.

April Fool

1. A Japanese inventor has devised solar-powered clothes which can top up the battery on an iPod or mobile phone.

2. The Home Office is being asked to pardon Anne Boleyn, 500 years after she was executed, because she was "obviously innocent".

3. A study of men who attended lapdancing clubs found one man, named by researchers as "Graham the philanthropist" who went five times a week and believed "he was helping the women to make money quickly so they could become financially independent".

4. A family of four ate 20,000 Kit Kats to win prizes worth £12,000. "We had them for breakfast, dinner and tea," said 53-year-old Pat McGovern of Teesside.

5. Joss Stone has earned £5m, shooting her into the top 20 of a rich list of young entertainers. Will Young is worth £8m.

6. A Belgian police training manual which aims to help recruits understand body language has caused a row by likening George Bush's facial expressions to a chimpanzee's.

7. Thousands of visitors are rushing to Death Valley to see a remarkable range of wild flowers which have bloomed there.

8. A tow-truck driver in South Africa has been arrested on suspicion of tampering with traffic lights to make accidents more likely.

9. Conmen in Slough are getting people to pay £400 for laptops, before handing over bags filled not with computer but with bottles of water.

10. Christopher Eccleston, fresh from getting critical acclaim and near-record ratings as the new Doctor Who, has quit.

One smile can make you feel a million dollars.

2005-03-06T13:02:00.000Z

What is better than sex, chocolate, or money? This appears to show what ;- :)

Seeing a smile can give more pleasure than sex or eating chocolate, according to new research.

Receiving a smile from a friend or relative generates much higher levels of stimulation to the brain and the heart than being given money or having a cigarette, according to clinical tests.

But the amount of pleasure depends on who is smiling: a child’s face or that of a celebrity has a much better effect than a politician or a member of the Royal family. The study found that smiles from Geri Halliwell and Robbie Williams created much greater stimulation and pleasure than those by Tony Blair or Prince William.

The research, carried out by the computer giant Hewlett Packard, suggests simple human interaction is still worth far more than material pleasure. The research found that Scots were among the most likely in Britain to return a smile from a stranger.

Tests were carried out on adult volunteers to determine the effects of various factors in creating a short-term high. An electromagnetic brain scan machine and heart-rate monitor measured brain and heart activity to create a "mood-boosting value" for various stimuli. The tests were carried out on 109 volunteers and followed up by a poll of 1,000 adults.

In the clinical tests, the subjects were shown photos of friends, family and loved ones smiling, given money and chocolate.

Participants who were shown a child’s smile experienced the same level of stimulation as they would have had from eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving £16,000 in cash.

The subsequent survey found that seeing a smile was more likely to create a short-term high than sex, chocolate and shopping, ranked in that order behind smiling.

Behind these came receiving money - even just £10 - having a cigarette, coffee or taking drugs, in the list of what provides Britons with a short-term high.

While the smile of a child equated to 2,000 bars of chocolate or £16,000, that of a loved one was worth about 600 chocolate treats or £8,500. The smile of a friend was worth £145 of feelgood, or about 200 bars of chocolate.

The clinical tests were analysed by the psychologist Dr David Lewis, the author of The Secret Language of Success.

He said: "The powerful emotions triggered when someone important in our lives smiles at us and we smile back changes our brain chemistry.

"It creates what is termed a ‘halo’ effect that helps us remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated."

In a test, members of the public were shown smiles without being told who they belonged to and points were awarded for trustworthiness, warmth, sincerity, honesty and other categories. They were shown celebrities, politicians and Royals, and each ended up with a total score out of 100.

Political smiles were voted the worst, particularly for trust, followed by royalty. The best celebrity smiles belonged to Robbie Williams and Geri Halliwell.

Williams scored 90, Halliwell got 79, while Victoria Beckham received just 69, but this was more than the highest Royal, Prince Harry with 64, followed by the Queen, who got 60.

Prince William scored 55, the same as the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, but both were lower than Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, who scored 60. Camilla Parker Bowles could only manage 46 out of 100 but this was still better than Michael Howard’s 40 score - the lowest of all.

Vic Foti, of Hewlett Packard, added: "Feeling like a million dollars is a common saying, but this research shows that if you receive enough smiles, you actually can."

Dr Lewis added: "In contrast [to loved ones] the fake smiles of royalty and politicians are detected and have the opposite effect, giving the person an untrustworthy and hypocritical image.

"The importance of a smile and of face-to-face contact cannot be underestimated. Smiles are incredibly contagious - like yawns, if you smile, the other person usually smiles back. Sometimes we’re a bit inhibited in the UK and think that if we smile it might be misinterpreted."

Dr Lewis explained that slight differences in the shape of the face could give away an insincere smile.

He said: "If people are laughing a genuine laugh they get two little pouches underneath their eyes. Without that, it is definitely a forced smile.

"Any tension around the mouth is usually a dead giveaway, too."

Mr Foti, whose company also makes digital cameras, added: "It’s ironic that with the amount of photo opportunities politicians and royalty create to improve their image, they are actually harming it by faking their smiles in pictures."

The research found that Scots were among the most likely in Britain to return a smile. Four in five of those smiled at by researchers in Edinburgh returned the smile (79 per cent) - behind Manchester (84 per cent) but ahead of all other major cities. The worst was London, on 47 per cent.

When asked: "What gives you the best short-term high?", the responses from people in Scotland were as follows: smiling (36 per cent - the second highest figure across the UK) making love (20 per cent - higher than the national average), listening to your favourite song (13 per cent), shopping (7 per cent), eating a bar of chocolate (4 per cent).

Jeffrey Bray, a lecturer in retail psychology at Bournemouth University, said the impact of smiles was an important lesson for companies amid the current trend towards call centres and internet shopping.

He said: "The high street still has the pleasure part of the shopping experience and smiling from shop assistants is a big part of that.

"Consumers are also smart at spotting insincerity in smiles. We’ve all heard phrases like ‘Did you find what you were wanting today?’ and ‘Have a nice day’ and they come across as robotic.

"Shop staff who are happy and genuinely engaged by their work will convey that sense of pleasure to shoppers."

He added: "Despite the importance of a smile, it is interesting to note that relatively few types of packaging use human faces or smiles to attract attention - it tends to be eye-catching designs that first work on the shelves."

Source - One smile can make you feel a million dollars

Stone carving says Pope will live!

2005-03-01T14:54:00.000Z

NEWS.com.au | Stone carving says Pope will live (26-02-2005): "Stone carving says Pope will live
By Sophie Hardach in Rome
February 26, 2005

A STONE carving in one of Rome's biggest cathedrals may know what millions of Catholics around the world have been fretting about for the past two days: Will Pope John Paul II survive his latest health crisis?
The carved marble monument to Pope Sylvester II, who ruled the Catholic church 1000 years ago, is said to moisten when the death of a pontiff is imminent.

Today, a priest touched the carving in Rome's Basilica of Saint John Lateran and confirmed it was dry - good news for the Pope, who underwent throat surgery yesterday after being rushed to hospital with breathing problems.

The pontiff is also battling Parkinson's disease and crippling arthritis.

In the sacristy of Saint John Lateran, the Pope's 'second cathedral' for his role as bishop of Rome, two elderly Italian nuns in grey habits said the monument's prophesying power was well documented.

'It sweats when the death of a Pope is approaching,' one of them said. They did not give their names.

'The stone cries. It's true, it has happened. There are people who have seen it,' the other nun added.

Both said they did not know anyone who had witnessed the phenomenon.

Peeping out from their empty confessionals under the gaze of gigantic white statues of saints, several priests said they had been unaware of the legend.

Father Edoardo was at first sceptical when told about the carving, framed by two yellow marble columns.

'The stone feels cold,' he said on touching the carving and columns. 'But dry.'

Breaking into a smile, he added: 'So the Pope will live.'"

Just Thinking: When the dawn breaks and the alarm rings.

2005-02-13T14:36:00.000Z

In Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, University of Chicago professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi points out that our approach to getting up in the morning has a significant impact on our overall curiosity, creativity, and enjoyment of new experiences and knowledge. "Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to," writes Csikszentmihalyi. "Creative individuals don’t have to be dragged out of bed; they are eager to start the day....they believe that there is something meaningful to accomplish each day, and they can’t wait to get started on it....It is easier if each night before falling asleep, you review the next day and choose a particular task that, compared to the rest of the day, should be relatively interesting and exciting. Then next morning, open your eyes and visualize the chosen event--play it out briefly in your mind, like an inner videotape, until you can hardly wait to get dressed and get going. It does not matter if at first the goals are trivial and not that interesting. The important thing is to take the easy first steps until you master the habit, and then slowly work up to more complex goals. Eventually most of the day should consist of tasks you look forward to, until you feel that getting up in the morning is a privilege, not a chore."

Source - Just Thinking: When the dawn breaks and the alarm rings

Mummy tar in ancient Egypt

2005-02-08T16:42:00.000Z

For millennia, ancient Egyptians used oil tar to preserve bodies. New geologic research shows that the tar came from several sources, shedding light on how trade routes of old compare to those of today.All tar sands — crude oils, asphalts and bitumen — contain source-specific compounds, known as biomarkers, which have unique chemical signatures that are closely related to the biological precursors of the oil. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometers, geologists can identify these biomarkers in the oil to create a very specific “fingerprint” that enables them to trace the location where the oil originated. This fingerprinting is frequently used to trace oil spills to a ship or other point of origin.Recently, a handful of geologists have fingerprinted tar originating from natural oil seeps around the Middle East and tar samples collected from the 3,000-year-old wraps of mummies. Most have tested mummies that were preserved in tar originating near the Dead Sea, several countries away, close to what is now Israel. But in 2002, Michael Lewan of the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, working with colleague James Harrell of the University of Toledo, found one mummy whose tar could be traced to a site called Gebel Zeit (“Oil Mountain” in Arabic) in the Gulf of Suez in Egypt — the first discovery of Egyptian oil having been used in mummy preservation.

Following on the heels of this research, Texas A&M University geochemist Chuck Kennicutt, along with colleagues at the University of Alexandria in Egypt and elsewhere, examined the biomarker signatures of several more mummies to see if they could find evidence of mummy tar originating from the same site in Egypt.Publishing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geoarchaeology, Kennicutt’s team reports finding just that. Their new evidence, in combination with the earlier studies showing tar originating from the Dead Sea, thus confirms, they say, that the Egyptians used oil from several sources in embalming their dead. “Our work expands the idea that trade was going on throughout the Middle East in antiquity, much as it is today,” Kennicutt says."

What a fascinating piece of research!

The long shadow of Dracula.

2005-02-07T13:44:00.000Z

This is all so amazing that I had to quote it all in its entireity!

Last week, six men were jailed for ripping out the heart of a corpse they believed was 'undead'. As Monica Petrescu in Bucharest writes, to many Romanians, vampires are not legend but terrifying reality

It was just before midnight as Gheorghe Marinescu and five of his relatives crept into the graveyard in the small Romanian village of Marotinul de Sus. They knew which plot they were looking for – a simple earth grave with a wooden cross bearing the name Petre Toma – and quickly, but quietly, set about digging.

When they had dragged the body out, they waited. Then, at the stroke of 12, Marinescu began the ritual that they had been planning for weeks, one that had passed from generation to generation in their family. They drove a pitchfork through Petre Toma's chest, opened it, drew out his heart and then put stakes through the rest of his body. They sprinkled garlic over the mutilated corpse and then, carefully, laid it back in its grave.

They left the cemetery with the heart impaled on the end of the pitchfork and went to a crossroads where Marinescu's wife, son and daughter-in-law were waiting. There the group burnt it, dissolved the ashes and then drank the solution.

The scene last July would fit readily into any number of films about vampires and the Dracula legend but Gheorghe Marinescu is real. Last week he and his five relatives – Mitrica Mircea, Popa Stelica, Constantin Florea, Ionescu Ion and Pascu Oprea – were sentenced to six months in jail for the unlawful exhumation of the body of Toma, 76, a former teacher and a man they believed had risen from the dead to drink their blood while they slept.

News of what the Marinescu family did made headlines in Romania, but in a country where a large minority of the population admit to openly believing in the "undead", football bosses employ witches to cast spells on foreign teams and a couple recently named their newborn son Dracula after premonitions of impending danger to him, many were unsurprised by what they read.

Mihai Fifor, an ethnologist at the Centre for Studies in Traditional Cultures and Societies in Craiova, said, "This particular ritual is quite unique but there have been many cases of people claiming that they are being hunted by the dead and vampires. There are a number of other rituals that exist for this type of situation where people believe they need to kill vampires."

Romania has been associated with vampires in the minds of many Westerners ever since Bram Stoker wrote his classic horror story, Dracula, in 1897. But in Romania the belief in vampires and the threat of the undead stretches as far back as the 15th century leader of Wallachia – modern-day Transylvania and other parts of Romania – Count Vlad Tepes Dracula, who was the inspiration for Stoker's novel. Stoker merged the Middle Ages belief in vampires, which had become entrenched in Romania and many other parts of central and eastern Europe at the time, with the historically documented bloodthirstiness of Tepes's rule. In doing so, he created the story of Count Dracula who rose from the dead to haunt the deep, dark forests and castles of Transylvania, preying on young victims and drinking their blood.

Today, the country's tourist industry still makes millions from his legend. His castle in Bran in Transylvania – Dracula Castle – draws tens of thousands of enthralled holidaymakers every year. There is even a Dracula theme park under construction.

But while Dracula and vampires are just a fascinating legend to most people outside the country, to many Romanians, mostly in rural areas, they are a terrifying reality. After his arrest, Marinescu said: "If we hadn't done anything, my wife, my son and my daughter-in-law would have died. That is when I decided to `unbury' him. I've seen these kinds of things before.

"When we took him out of the grave, he had blood around his mouth. We took his heart and he sighed when we stabbed him. We burned it, dissolved the ash into water and the people who had fallen sick drank it. They got better immediately. It was like someone took away all their pain and sickness.

"We performed a ritual that is hundreds of years old. We had no idea we were committing a crime. On the contrary, we believed that we were doing a good thing because the spirit of Petre was haunting us all and was very close to killing some of us. He came back from the dead and was after us."

Marinescu explained to police when he was arrested that Toma, who he said had been a respected and well-liked teacher in the village for years, had been buried on Christmas Day in 2003. But soon afterwards he had begun to appear to members of Marinescu's family in dreams as a vampire. Although he did not see the man himself, he saw his family become sick and they told him that Toma was not just a dream but a vampire whose spirit had come back from the dead.

He, like the rest of his family, had been told how to recognise vampires and how to deal with them by his parents who had been taught that knowledge from their own parents and they from theirs. He said he had had to act quickly to save his family.

Paula Diaconu, who has lived in Marotinul de Sus for decades, praised the ritual carried out by Marinescu and his relatives. "It was all a good thing to take his heart out because people were in danger. Villagers in Romania know about rituals for driving away the evil spirits of the dead," he said.

Another man from the village, Dumitru Moineasa, once drank a solution containing the ashes of his uncle's heart. "An uncle of mine died in 1992 and a few days after we buried him I started to feel very sick," he said. "The doctor had no idea what was wrong with me. One day, an aunt brought me a glass of water. I drank it all. I got well almost immediately. I only found out later that it was my dead uncle's ashes."

His friend, Domnica Brancusi, said that hearts had been taken out of dead men's chests many times before. "There have been dozens of dead men who turned into vampires and were haunting us," he said. "But usually the family of the dead man who was haunting people made a pact with those people and agreed not to say anything about the rituals. Until this case, no fuss was ever made about it."

Local police laid charges against the six men after Toma's daughter, Floarea Cotoran, who has since left Marotinul de Sus, complained about what happened to her father's body. They admitted that they were aware of similar rituals having been performed in the region. A policeman in nearby Celaru, which has jurisdiction over Marotinul de Sus, and who asked not to be named, said: "We've known about it for years. There's never been anything we could do about it as no one ever complained."

Marotinul de Sus, in the south-west, is far from the only village in Romania to take the threat of vampires seriously. In many rural communities like it across the country, belief in vampires is pervasive and superstition often governs people's lives. "Fear and great challenges in life are sometimes met by people with rituals and superstitions, a set of rules built over generations which has been verified over time," said Sabina Ispas, an ethnologist at the Institute for Ethnology and Folklore in Bucharest. "Rural Romania has conserved excellently this system of rituals and beliefs."

Deep superstition and belief in the paranormal and pagan permeates all levels of society in urban Romania as well. Maria Tedescu, a 21-year-old law student in Bucharest, said: "We all have our little superstitions, like taking three steps back if a black cat crosses your path to stop something bad happening. But vampires are different. It's not something to be taken lightly. I know it may sound silly and I can't totally explain it, but I think they exist. I always wear a crucifix… just in case."
The long shadow of Dracula.

Unexplained Mysteries :: MoD's alien files are out of this world

2005-02-06T23:08:00.000Z

Unexplained Mysteries :: MoD's alien files are out of this world: "The X-Files have been opened: in a victory for ufo-logists everywhere, the man from the ministry not only admits he has an open mind about the existence of extra-terrestrial lifeforms but also keeps a careful tally of UFO sightings. Following a request under the Freedom of Information Act by the Financial Times, the Ministry of Defence has revealed it remains 'totally open-minded' about the possibility that life exists beyond Earth.The MoD has released a detailed log of reported unidentified flying object sightings. 'Strange lights were seen in the sky' in Whitstable, Kent, just over two weeks ago - the same night a member of the public reported a 'flying saucer' over Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and a 'sighting' at Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.More exotic alien encoun-ters were recorded last year. 'A square red object, pinkish at the front' was spotted in Strathclyde, Ayr, on January 2; a 'chewy mint shaped' object was seen in the night sky above Nelson, Lancashire, in May; and a 'large black object' was identified in Rhyl, Clwyd, in February.A diligent ufologist from Surrey gave a detailed eye-witness account in May, noting that 'grooves and windows could be seen and no room for humans to fit within it'. The same month 'a bright, pulsing, spider- looking object' appeared at King's Lynn, Norfolk, and the MoD was even contacted by someone from Sri Lanka in March puzzled by an orange 'ring doughnut'.

A letter from the MoD's directorate of air staff explains that it examines all UFO sightings it receives 'solely to establish whether what was seen might have some defence significance'. It adds: 'Only a handful of reports in recent years have warranted further investigation and none revealed any evidence of a threat.'But, in an aside that will hearten conspiracy theorists, the letter stresses that the MoD 'remains totally open-minded' as to 'the question of the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial lifeforms'."

10 things that make you forward e-mails.

2005-01-19T11:07:00.000Z

The BBc have released an article with the title 10 things that make you forward e-mails giving (obviously!) ten reasons for forwarding emails to your work colleagues or to your friends, or anyone else. Some of them are blindingly obvious, such as the following;-

The world's inboxes are crammed with e-mails containing jokes, pictures, movies, tests or games and which are sent to millions of people within a few hours. They're not just the preserve of skilled hobbyists, they are increasingly part of advertisers' strategies to create so-called "viral" campaigns. What is it about the best e-mails which makes them so compelling?

1. They must be funny. And, for some reason, it's a fairly coarse sort of humour which does best.

Overall, its not a bad little article, and some of it does ring true to my mind. But it finishes up with;-

10. Ignore points one to nine - Brown says finding the right e-mail which will go round the world depends on having the X-factor, something novel which will grab people's attention and distract them long enough from their work.

and if you ain't got the 'x-factor', your lovingly-crafted email may well end up in the trash can!

Under the radar!

2005-01-16T16:25:00.000Z

Now this slipped through the net and under the radar! An article in the Guardian dated Thursday 13 January entitled UK firms warned over employees' blogs which discusses the sacking of Joe Gordon from Waterstones booksallers last week for allegedly "bringing the comapny into disrepute" and "gross misconduct" for commenting adversely about Waterstones in his blog. (More information about Joe Gordon's case is in these articles 'Bookshop worker first to be sacked over internet 'blog'', and also in Worker sacked over blog from the BBC.) The Guardian article starts out by saying;-

A leading internet lawyer has warned that UK companies could face legal chaos if they fail to set out clear guidelines for blogs written by their employees. Nick Lockett, a solicitor at the specialist commercial hi-tech law firm DLLegal, said there was a fine line between what was derogatory and what was fair comment.

As far as I know, although I can't recall where I've seen this posted, Joe Gordon's case has, or maybe is, going to an industrial tribunal. Thats what I think, but I've got no source that I can recall for it, so don't quote me on it.

The Guardian article then goes on to suggest that employers ought to have policies in place to ensure that they are not brought into disrepute in any employees blogs. Which also implies that if they are, then some form of discipline will ensure .... maybe even to the extreme extent of sacking you! Or in blogging terms, you would end up 'dooced'.

However, the last two sentences of the article say;-

"Companies have said that, properly handled, this could be very beneficial," he said. "This could be a low-cost form of marketing."

Which is encouraging anyway.

And why 'Under the radar!'? Well, because I haven't seen it commented on in any UK blogs that I've read, so it seems to have slipped 'under the radar' and not be in the public consciousness. Which is a pity really because it could have implications for ALL UK bloggers with regard to 'freedom of speech'.

Fat to fit the Finnish way!

2005-01-16T15:05:00.000Z

Being an ex-Staff Nurse I'm interested in people's health, so an article in todays Guardian entitled 'Fat to fit the Finnish way' interested and intrigued me. And then it left me wondering, would this system and idea work here in Britain?

My feeling is that its a good idea, and all praise to the Finns for succeeding in reversing their horrific trends and statistics, but it won't work here. Why? Well, for one, theres a different type of government which is not quite so 'nanny-state' like, at the moment anyway. And the consciousness of the British people seems to be changing, seemingly becoming 'Exercise is good, but not for me'! People are more willing to sit around and watch television for their entertainment, to hire a video for Saturday night rather than going to the cinema and then climbing the steps to their seat, etc. Its not safe now for children to cycle to school, or to go cycling in the countryside just exploring their locality, not like it was when I was a child!

Basically, we've become a sedentary society! And it doesn't seem as if this trend and situation is going to be reversed, unfortunately.

Update on 'SciFi on the Web'

2005-01-14T08:27:00.000Z

Futurismic has returned! This wonderful site of modern science-fiction writing has returned from a short break, when, every time I visited their site I got a '404' page. It turns out that they've changed their host, but now they're back.

I had a rather nice email from Tom Doyle two days ago saying that the site was back up, but I didn't see it as being back and working until today.

Welcome back Futurismic, I for one missed you and look forward to many more wonderful stories like Tom's Consensus Building.

Weird or what?

2005-01-11T19:20:00.000Z

Now I've heard it all! A 20-year-old man, Andrew Fischer, from Omaha, Nebraska, USA, is auctioning advertising space on his forehead through ebay! So far he's received 39 bids, and currently the largest bid is £171. The idea is that the advertising slogan or logo is tattooed onto his forehead using nonpermanent, temporary, ink which remains for about 30 days before it just fades away. He then went on to say that he would use the money to pay his college fees - he is planning to study graphic design.

Is he weird or what? What must his mother or girlfriend think? Probably that he needs his head examined, and without any tattoos either! :))))

Link

Happy Birthday Elvis!

2005-01-08T17:16:00.000Z

Elvis Presley would've been 70 today, if he hadn't died of a drugs overdose. But his image and magic lives on from beyond the grave, to the extent that he has sold over one billion records worldwide, more than anyone else, and attracts 600,000 tourists a year to Graceland, his home in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as pulling in an annual $45 million through sales of songs and a merchandising range that includes everything from T-shirts to train sets.

But he is set to accomplish one more feat from beyond the grave by reaching the number one spot in the British charts with 'Jailhouse Rock', 47 years after its original release and 28 years after his death from a drug overdose. And if it does reach 'Number One' then the special birthday re-release will give the King his 19th chart-topper, it will be the 999th number one single in UK pop history. Link

Also to commemorate his birthday a three-day Elvis convention will take place in Blackpool, over this weekend with the aim of finding the best European Elvis impersonator. Fans in France will celebrate with a tribute concert by Elvis cover bands and a special exhibition of memorabilia will be on display in Bonn, Germany. And his Graceland, home will be the focus for US celebrations with four days of events including a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

Record company SonyBMG are releasing Elvis' 18 number one singles at the rate of one a week in Britain, complete with original artwork and a collector's box. Hit single 'One Night' will follow next week - with the chance of becoming the 1,000th number one as interest surrounding Elvis' birthday grows. Link

Captured prison escapee was living in stores.

2005-01-08T14:56:00.000Z

A prison escapee who was apprehended in Charlotte this week had been living in a 'Toys "R" Us' and vacant 'Circuit City' building for months, eating baby food and watching DVDs, police said Thursday. He lived off the bounty of 'Toys "R" Us', police said. He decorated his secret room with posters and model toys, played hoops with a mini-basketball net and watched "Spider-Man 2." He even routed water from 'Toys "R" Us' to his new home, police said, and installed a smoke detector. Along with a fire extinguisher and a portable toilet!

The full details are here. (Free registration required).

How Google determines its pecking order.

2005-01-08T12:55:00.000Z

I've often wondered how Google determines its 'ranking' for the sites that it indexes. Now it appears that it should properly be called 'pecking order' as it uses pigeon technology in determining the page rank.

When a search query is submitted to Google, it is routed to a data coop where monitors flash result pages at blazing speeds. When a relevant result is observed by one of the pigeons in the cluster, it strikes a rubber-coated steel bar with its beak, which assigns the page a PigeonRank value of one. For each peck, the PigeonRank increases. Those pages receiving the most pecks, are returned at the top of the user's results page with the other results displayed in pecking order.

'I want to make my country safe for my people'

2005-01-07T21:36:00.000Z

On the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of Pol Pot, Aki Ra describes a life of brutalisation as a child soldier, and his work clearing the landmines that are the Khmer Rouge's legacy.

This is an amazing, and harrowing, story of a man who started life in a very harsh regime in Cambodia under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, subsequently 'joined' several differernt armies, learnt to be an interpreter, and then a landmine clearance expert. Now he lives in peace with his memories and has a small museum, and an extended family that includes several people injured by landmines. I feel that his story is worth reading and opens a window on the past, that is generally being forgotten by the peoples of the western hemisphere.

Link

SciFi on the Web.

2005-01-06T19:35:00.000Z

A rather interesting site is futurismic fiction where new science fiction stories are being published. I rather like the latest which is "Consensus Building" by Tom Doyle, and is well worth a read.

Back in the 1950's the newest science fiction was published in 'pulp mags', so-called due to the paper that they were printed on, and many famous authors cut their teeth and honed their writing skills on them. People like Robert Silverberg, Andre Norton, Fred Saberhagen, Clifford Simak, and Philip K. Dick to name just a few. Perhaps the equivalent 'publishing stage' in the 21st century is the web, but if so, will the writers stories be preserved for future enjoyment? Or will they just dissappear into the electronic ether in a flurry of dying pixels? Who knows?

Update on Black Santa.

2005-01-06T13:01:00.000Z

The Dean of Belfast has said that the Black Santa appeal for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster is on course to raise more than £1m.

Reverend Houston McKelvey said that politicians should learn lessons from the generous spirit of the people.

Link

Just browsing around .............

2005-01-04T16:35:00.000Z

It being a quiet Sunday afternoon I was just surfing with no aim in mind and came across some interesting things, so here goes.

Curcumin helps fight Alzheimer's!

The pigment that makes curry yellow, curcumin, which is also found in turmeric, does a better job at treating Alzheimer's Disease than the majority of drugs being tested. (Interestingly, India has one of the lowest Alzheimer Disease rates in the world.)

The new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry spice, inhibits the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and also breaks up existing plaques.

Anyone for curry?

Link.

Tips for living 100 years!

It is well-known that the Japanese islands have a high proportion of centenarians, perhaps more so than in any other part of the world, so it is no suprise to learn that a Japanese journal has conducted a study of 4,152 of these Japanese centenarians.

According to the study, the tips to be followed to live a long and healthy life are:

Eating lots of protein

Keeping the calories down

Getting enough sleep

Living in an area with excellent medical facilities

Link.

Big Changes May be Coming.

2005-01-04T16:21:00.000Z

Michael Crichton may think global warming is hooey, but recent signs suggest dramatic changes along the lines of what happened 5,000 years ago (when Peruvian plants were flash frozen by an advancing glacier). The article also makes reference to a man frozen into an alpine glacier, probably 'Ötzi the Iceman who was discovered in 1991 and is the 5,200-year-old remains of a Copper Age man.

Some freebies.

2005-01-02T16:46:00.000Z

If, like me, you're interested in Science Fiction writing, then you'll also be interested in a free ' Sf writers' birthday calendar'. Each month highlights a cover of a book's author who was born in that month, and each page has a list of famous science fiction authors' and artists' birthdays for that month. Its very colourful so if you intend to print it out then it might be useful to use a colour printer.

Link.

First of 52 weekly old kiddie records.
Here's the first of 52 records that will me made available this year by kiddierecords: "Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood." It comes as a single zip file with 192kbps and the album cover art (17.2 MB). Although when you do get this one, you've got the equivalent of two 78rpm records and a colouring book. And its also available as an MP3 stream too.

Link.

The 10 trends that will shape 2005.

2004-12-30T15:50:00.000Z

As its almost New Years Eve I thought I'd post this excerpt from a rather interesting article that I read recently. The whole article can be found here The Scotsman.

1 Age complexity
Children are becoming teenagers before reaching their teens. Today’s 12-year-old is more likely to think he or she is 17, and manufacturers are developing children’s products with "cool teen" attributes. To confuse matters, adults are behaving more like teenagers, playing computer games, reading "kidult" literature and wearing "young" clothes.

2 Gender complexity
Traditional distinctions between men and women are becoming blurred. Women have moved into many traditionally "male" employment areas and are earning more. There are also more women entering tertiary education, and they are marrying later or staying single. Women’s drinking habits have radically changed too. In the UK, their consumption of alcohol had increased by almost 27 per cent between 1998 and 2003.

At the same time, men are becoming more feminised as they take an active role in parenting, become more fashion-oriented and develop beauty regimes, including opting for plastic surgery.

3 Lifestage complexity
There’s been a sharp decline in the number of people with a family and rapid growth in people living alone, not getting married or not having children. Next year, there will be 21 million (14 per cent) fewer nuclear families in western Europe than in 1995.

4 Income complexity
We are curbing our spending in one area so we can splurge in others. This will mean food and drink manufacturers having to supply many people’s everyday purchases through the growing discount grocery channel. At the same time, British consumers spent a total of £920 million on premium treats and comfort foods in 2003. Datamonitor forecasts that consumers’ expenditure on premium indulgence will increase by 27 per cent, to £1.2 billion in 2008.

5 Individualism
We want ever more personalisation, in the way we live (46 million people now live alone in Europe), the marketing we receive ("Your M&S") and those adverts about "your inner self". Food and drink companies have responded with customised labels and the offer of any number of types of coffee - "I’ll have the frappacappamochacino".

6 Homing
Thanks to DIY and new gadgetry, consumers are spending more money on (and time in) their homes. This mega-trend has brought us a new vocabulary - downsizing, cocooning, pampering and everyday treating - and any number of new TV programmes.

7 Connectivity
We are now more connected through technology. But this mega-trend also encapsulates many people’s increased desire for belonging at the community, national and even global levels. It is evident in the success of schemes such as Walkers "Books for Schools" and Fair Trade products.

Manufacturers are also tapping into the idea of friendship with more sharable products (Pringles with Trivial Pursuit questions printed on them) and innovations such as Molson Twin Label beer bottle labels that get people talking and help to break the ice at parties.

8 Sensory experiences
We are all becoming more tolerant of risk and change and are actively seeking out more intense experiences. Hence the increase in extreme sports and short, busy weekend breaks. In our everyday lives, consumers are more prepared to experiment with new products, discover authentic ethnic foods and try intense flavours such as sour soft drinks, peppery liqueurs and chocolate-flavoured water.

9 Convenience
As the pace of life gets faster still, there will be more multi-tasking, "grazing" - at your desk and on-the-move consumption and other "quick fixes". UK consumers are Europe’s biggest on-the-go eaters and drinkers. Already on the horizon are products such as self-heating cans and fast-chilling drinks.

10 Health
The report shows that almost three-quarters of Europeans are now more concerned about their health and well-being compared with a year ago. People are putting greater value on healthiness such that sales of healthy, de-stressing and self-medicating products are booming. UK consumers are among the biggest spenders on functional foods and drinks in Europe, spending on average £110 a year each. Over the past five years, the number of functional food and drinks consumed in the UK has more than doubled and is set to reach five million by 2007. But for manufacturers, the biggest prizes will be found in products that cross over trends: health on-the-go such as salad pots or healthy indulgences such as Danone’s Actimel and Yakult bio-drinks.

Firefox Power-User Tips

2004-12-30T15:40:00.000Z

Here's something for broadband people that will really speed Firefox up:

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining network.http.proxy.pipelining network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

If you're using a broadband connection you'll load pages MUCH faster now!

And the source for this article is Making firefox faster as I forgot to attribute it earlier. Oops!

'Black Santa' helps quake victims.

2004-12-29T20:40:00.000Z

Dean Houston McKelvey raised over £200,000 for local charities during his Christmas sit-out in the Belfast's St Anne's Cathedral. And now he's extended the collection until Saturday evening to raise funds for victims of the undersea earthquake in south-east Asia.

The dean said it was important that people in Northern Ireland did what they could for those affected by the devastation. "The capacity of the Northern Ireland community to respond to people in need never ceases to amaze me, and I think we've all been shocked by what we've seen," he said. "At the cathedral, we have a facility that people know about to channel funds to a cause like this." The dean said the response was "quite staggering and moving. All age groups and all walks of life came along - the generosity of young people in particular was noticeable," he said.

The collection will continue at the cathedral in Donegall Street from 1000 GMT to 1600 GMT until Saturday.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tom Ekin, gave his backing to the appeal which continues until Saturday. "If every man, woman and child in the city of Belfast gave just £1, we could raise more than £270,000 to offer much needed practical support to the people of this devastated region," he said.

'Black Santa' helps quake victims

New light on Rudolf Hess flight to Britain .

2004-12-27T18:02:00.000Z

A diary entry made by the wife of a senior British intelligence officer has rekindled interest in the 1941 flight to England by Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess.

Britain's foreign intelligence agency MI6 has released few of its files from the World War II era, but a diary kept by Kay Foley offers some clues as to what was going on at that time. Her husband was renowned spy Frank Foley, who was the agency's chief of station in Berlin.

Entries in the diary are all very brief, but The Telegraph said by cross-checking dates of her husband's travels, it appears Foley had hopes of using the deputy fuehrer to Britain's benefit in Berlin. The diary confirms Foley spent two weeks in Lisbon, at the same time one of Hess' intermediaries was also in the Portuguese capital.

However, MI6 has repeatedly denied it had much interaction with Hess.

Conspiracy theories abound in Britain about Hess, who reportedly died in a 1942 plane crash. Among them is that it was not the real Hess who died in the crash, and others that claim Hess was kept by MI6 in Britain and used in an anti-Nazi propaganda campaign.

New light on Rudolf Hess flight to Britain

Only 'A Matter of Time' Until Scotland is Hit - Scaremongering.

2004-12-27T17:46:00.000Z

SCIENTISTS believe it is only a matter of time before Scotland is hit by a massive natural disaster.

Just a small climactic shift could trigger freak weather conditions or increase the pace at which the polar ice caps melt.

There is also the possibility of underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or even a meteor strike all bringing death and destruction.

A tsunami is a series of huge waves caused by an impact, eruption or explosion on the ocean. The name means harbour wave in Japanese.

The actual existence of Britain as an island came about as a result of a 40ft tsunami. The Storegga tsunami, 8000 years ago, was caused by an underwater landslide off the coast of Norway.

That created a succession of giant waves which flooded down the east coast and battered the landmass near the Borders which connected Britain to Europe and flooded it.

The waves can be virtually undetectable, can travel across an ocean in 24 hours and be hundreds of feet high when they hit shore.

And according to experts, it could be only a matter of time before the Scottish coast is pounded by a wall of water.

And it could come from any number of directions.

An impact from space would produce destruction on a massive scale.

Like the film Deep Impact, any sort of asteroid or meteorite hitting an ocean would create a huge wave.

The fact that tsunamis are able to travel across hundreds of miles of oceans in a matters of hours, means even an impact thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, could have serious consequences for Scotland.

A less dramatic - but equally effective - cause of giant wave destruction could be triggered by global warming.

The Day After Tomorrow effect - where the melting of polar ice caps interrupts the current of warm Gulf water moving up to heat the climate of the northern Atlantic causing a new ice age - is a genuine scientific concern.

Although it would happen over decades, the idea of Scotland being hit with floods and ice storms is perfectly feasible.

Dr Andrew Dugmore of Edinburgh University said: 'It is a fact that the Greenland ice cap is reducing and the saltiness of the water is definitely changing. That could have some serious impacts on global change.'

While Dr Mark Maslin of the University College London recently predicted that the melting ice caps could cause the land underneath the Greenland ice shelves to shift.

He believes that would cause underwater earthquakes - sending tsunamis across the north Atlantic.

With a force of 1000 hurricanes, the 15ft wall of water would cover the entire country in minutes.

But the most likely, imminent and terrifying source of sea-born destruction to threaten Scotland comes in the form of two Spanish words which could hold the key to our future - Cumbre Vieja.

That is the name of an unstable volcano on La Palma in the Canary Islands. Many scientist predict Cumbre Vieja could erupt in a matter of years and send a rock twice as big as the Isle of Man into the sea.

They believe that would create a 500mph tsunami which would be sent in all directions.

The effects would include a wave 160ft high hitting the east coast of both North and South America Waves of up to sixty feet would smash into the west coast of Scotland and the rest of the UK.

That would ravage towns and cities for several miles inland with a similar impact to the Storegga destruction, and possibly leave hundreds of thousands dead.

But although the eruption is destined to happen - scientists at the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre in London believe it could take place in the next few decades - experts are divided on the impact.

While some believe there could be a 60 foot tsunami, others claim it will peter out by the time it reaches the UK and hit us with a 10 or 15 foot high wall of water - still deadly but not as devastating.

But as one expert predicted: 'It is not a question of if it will happen, only when it will happen.'

Only 'a Matter Of Time' Until Scotland Is Hit

Update on Black Santa.

2004-12-25T12:56:00.000Z

On the 17th December I mentioned 'Black Santa' and his fundraising efforts in Northern Ireland. Over the years much bad news has come out of that province, but this very definitely falls on the good side of the news balance.

On Christmas Eve Dean Houston McKelvey finished his seven-day vigil outside Belfast's St Anne's Cathedral, and it has today been announced that he has raised at least £180,000! Dean McKelvey said a final total would be known in the next few days when they had finished counting the money. A cheque for at least 10% of the total raised was presented to Christian Aid at a carol service on Christmas Eve.

Black Santa

Merry Christmas Around the World.

2004-12-25T12:51:00.000Z

Afrikander - "Een Plesierige Kerfees"
Arabic - "I'd Miilad Said Oua Sana Saida"
Argentine - "Felices Pasquas Y felices ano Nuevo"
Armenian - "Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand"
Basque - Eguberri on
Bohemian - "Vesele Vanoce"
Brazilian - "Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo"
Breton - "Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat"
Bulgarian - "Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo"
Chinese - [Mandarin] - "Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan"
Chinese - [Catonese] - "Saint Dan Fai Lok"
Cornish - "Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth"
Croatian - "Sretan Bozic i Nova Godina"
(Merry Christmas & Happy New Year)
Czech - "Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok"
Danish - "Gl􏻦delig Jul"
Dutch - "Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar"
Inupiaq Eskimo (Kotzebue area in NW Alaska)-
Quvianagli Anaiyyuniqpaliqsi suli Nakuuluni Ukiutqiutiqsi-
(Merry Christmas) (and) (Happy New Year)
English - "Merry Christmas"
Farsi - "Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad"
Filipino -"Maligayang Pasko"
Happy New Year in Filipino
"Manigong Bagong Taon"
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Filipino
"Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon"
Finnish - "Hyvaa joulua"
French - "Joyeux Noel"
German - "Froehliche Weihnachten"
Greek - "Kala Christouyenna"
Hawaiian - "Mele Kalikimaka"
Hebrew - "Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova"
Hindi - "Shub Naya Baras"
Hungarian - "Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket"
Icelandic - "Gledileg Jol"
Indonesian - "Selamat Hari Natal"
Iraqi - "Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah"
Irish - "Nollaig Shona Dhuit"
Italian - "Buone Feste Natalizie"
Japanese -" Shinnen omedeto, kurisumasu omedeto.
The first part is translated "Happy New Year.
Kurisumasu omedeto means Merry Christmas.
Japanese people generally add the expression gozaimasu
to indicate soemm humility.
Korean - "Sung Tan Chuk Ha"
Latvian - "Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu"
Lithuanian - "Linksmu Kaledu"
Navajo - "Merry Keshmish"
Norwegian - "God Jul"
Pennsylvania German - "En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei
Yaahr"
Polish - "Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia"
Portuguese - "Feliz Natal" "Boas Festas"(Good Holidays.)
Rumanian - "Sarbatori Fericite"
Russian - "Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva s Novim Godom"
Serbian - "Hristos se rodi"
Slovakian - "Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce"
Samoan - "La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou"
Scots Gaelic - "Nollaig chridheil huibh"
Serb-Croatian - "Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina"
Slovak - "Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok"
Slovene - "Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto"
Spanish - "Feliz Navidad"
Swedish - "God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt 􏻅r"
Tahitian -Merry Chrismas :" Ia orana te Noera"
and Happy new year is "Ia orana i te mata iti api"
Thai - "Sawadee Pee Mai"
Turkish - "Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun"
Ukrainian - "Z Rizdvom Khrystovym !" - "Merry Christmas"
" Z Novym Rokom !" - "Happy New Year"
"Z Rizdvom Khrystovym i Novym Rokom !" - both greetings together.
Vietnamese - "Chuc Mung Giang Sinh"
Welsh - "Nadolig Llawen"
Yugoslavian - "Cestitamo Bozic"

Sleep your way slim.

2004-12-20T19:15:00.000Z

Early to bed, early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!

Stay up late, get up too early,
Gives a man baggy eyes, a foul mood,
and maybe extra body fat!

The first paragraph is an age-old rhyme, but the second, surprisingly enough, is the result of scientific research carried out on volunteers in two separate sleep studies, as reported in The Scotsman today.

Chronic lack of sleep could be one reason people are getting so broad in the beam, suggest the authors of two new studies. Their research found that going without sleep seems to elevate blood levels of a key appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin. It causes levels of a "stop eating" hormone, known as leptin, to take a dive. The likely net effect is an increase in appetite. It appears that the hunger-inducing powers of sleep deficits - i.e. the craving for salty, fatty food and the resulting extra weight that this puts on does not conversly prove that getting extra sleep will help shed extra weight!

Seems like a no-win situation, but either way getting a good nights sleep will certainly help your body through the daily rigours of life.

Just one little kind word ........ You never know...

2004-12-19T17:09:00.000Z

You never know where just one little tiny kind word of kindness can take you. We all need them, its a form of recognition and praise, it shows that we're really needed ......... and its so often missed out and missing from our lives.

So what sparked this off? I just happened to be reading an obituary to Alex Soria of The Nils. Who? Alex Soria died last Monday aged 39 as reported in the Montreal Gazette, and also at The Rock and Roll Report and is remembered by Mark because of a single throwaway comment from Alex which was "Hey, you should play the drums, you have natural rythym".

And that single comment changed Mark's life by encouraging him to learn to play the drums and thereby fostering a love of music which has given him a lot of pleasure.

When did you last receive a small word of kindness? And more to the point, when did you last give a kind word? You can't remember! That long ago huh? :) Maybe you've got some catching up to do? And maybe I'm taking this all too seriously :))))

And I can't finish better than by quoting Mark again As we approach Christmas this year, never underestimate the power that music and a kind word can have on a total stranger.

The New Words of the Year! Coming soon to a dictionary near you!

2004-12-18T16:05:00.000Z

Once again, The Washington Post published its yearly contest where readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. And the winners are...

1. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your
nightgown.

7. Lymph (v), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.

13. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.

14. Pokemon (n), A Jamaican proctologist.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets
stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.

Has the world gone completely Christmas Mad?

2004-12-18T14:05:00.001Z

Seen on Slashdot a guy called Brian Whiteman has had a bank of computers listening to as much Christmas music as they could handle, and thus learned their own true meaning of holiday cheer. And then, get this, he's had his computers compose the 'statistically optimal' Christmas music in A Singular Christmas, a freely downloadable MP3 album. Available here and a BitTorrent download from here.

Now, I don't know what this sounds like, but I'm downloading it via BitTorrent at the moment, so .... watch this space :)

Mobile hospitals hailed 'success'

2004-12-18T14:05:00.000Z

So says one of the headlines in this mornings BBC News that I'm reading off their rss feed. It goes on to say, "Mobile casualty units to help deal with the problem of drunk and injured revellers during the party season were a "huge success", medics said. The field-style hospitals were launched in Cardiff and Swansea for Black Friday - one of the year's busiest nights as many offices shut for Christmas.

All very well and good, except for one thing. Aren't they doing exactly what part of the voluntary sector are doing? Specifically Saint John Ambulance Brigade, the men and women who give their own time, and sometimes money too, to undergo voluntary training in first aid and emergency life-saving skills, are re-examined annually, and then attend various events where they are invited by the organisers and provide 'first aid cover'. They are also trained to use the equipment on board ambulances, which also include defibrillator machines which can help to restart a heart after it has stopped beating, and then crew their own ambulances too. If they think that one of their casualities needs further treatment, beyond their skills and capacity, then they are taken to their nearest Accident and Emergency department. Saint John Ambulance has been providing their skills for over 100 years now, and were the forerunner of todays NHS Ambulance Service

I find it rather strange that the news media should be picking up on the Ambulance Service co-operating with the nurses and doctors to provide 'emergency medical centres' i.e. field hospitals, and talking about it as if it is a new idea. Having spent over thirteen years with Saint John Ambulance, and attending many events and dealing with many different casualties I feel rather upset with the latest 'new idea' trumpeted by the media. Although I am no longer a member of Saint John Ambulance I know that their members will have been out on duty last night, as they will be when requested by the civil authorities come wind, rain, hail, sleet or snow. And I also know it from the NHS side of things too, being a former Staff Nurse in a NHS hospital.

To my mind, Saint John Ambulance Brigade are the fourth emergency service, whatever the Automobile Association would like you to believe in their adverts.

Christmas is coming...

2004-12-17T11:20:00.000Z

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in Santa's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a halfpenny will do,
If you haven't got a halfpenny then God bless you.

So goes the old Childrens Rhyme. And children throughout the world will be getting excited as its now only just over a week away from Christrmas Day. But, whats happening in the rest of the world as part of the buildup to Christmas?

In Belfast,

'Black Santa' has started his annual charity collection outside St Anne's Cathedral until Christmas Eve, continuing a tradition started by his predecessors. This tradition is relatively recent, it was only started in 1976 by Dean Sammy Crooks, but in the intervening years Black Santa has collected over £2.8 million for various Northern Irish charities and Christian Aid.

And in England and Wales in 180 town and city centres the police will from tonight be handing out Â£80 fines to people caught fighting, urinating or being sick in the street. This campaign will run until the 3rd January 2005 as announced by the
Home Office today. In the same article, the BBC announced that in Wales mobile hospitals have been set up to treat Christmas casualties. In Cardiff and Swansea mobile casualty units and rapid-response teams of paramedics are being set up on Friday - the last Friday before offices close for Christmas. The units will also hit the streets on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Paul Evans, head of the Police Standard's Unit, said "This is a period where people tend to drink more - we are not being Grinches or killjoys, but we want this to be a safe holiday season". Minister Richard Caborn said "We're not messing around - we want decent, law-abiding people to be able to get home safely from their Christmas and New Year's parties".

It seems as if the message of enjoy Christmas but don't get drunk and obnoxious in public places is becoming more strident and louder, and with the police being able to enforce higher fines [up from £50 to £80] the pain of a hangover could be even greater! I for one, applaud these efforts - yes, I admit to being drunk and vomiting in the street one Christmas in my youth, but it only has ever happened once ..... losing a whole Christmas Day with my family through being drunk and recovering from the hangover was not a pleasant experience, and one that I will never repeat.

TV News in a Postmodern World

2004-12-15T23:15:00.000Z

A Broadcaster's Christmas Carol.
by Terry L. Heaton (and Charles Dickens)

A gust of wind swirled around the trees in front of old Ebenezer Broadcaster's hilltop house this cold December night, scattering snow from the branches like an invisible broom sweeping dust from the attic. The large evergreen at the corner bent in the gale and rerouted the gust over the valley and its inhabitants. It was Christmas Eve, 2004.

It was a peaceful and starlit night throughout the land, and the little ones dreamt of the next morning with its joy and gifts — all except the little ones at the cottage of Bob Gadget. Gadget had worked as an engineer for Ebenezer for 30 years, but this Christmas, he feared for his job and, along with it, his ability to care for his crippled son, Tiny New. Rather than buy gifts, he was saving what little money he had for the inevitability of Broadcaster's axe.

Ebenezer was a second generation Broadcaster, having built his empire from a small A.M. radio station his father owned in the 50s. With a penchant for squeezing every last penny from a dollar, Ebenezer Broadcaster had a reputation as a hostile and difficult employer. He boasted that many celebrities had come through his television stations on their way up the ladder, but the truth is he never paid anybody enough money to want to stick around.

"Humbug," he would say on the matter. "I just did my part in helping their careers move along."

Earlier in the evening, Ebenezer had been enjoying his holiday brandy, when a vision appeared to him warning of visits by three Ghosts during the night. Dismissing the apparition as too much booze, he went to bed as usual. However, his fitful sleep was interrupted when the clock struck midnight, and he bolted upright in bed as a strange presence rattled chains while emitting a comfortable but frightening warmth. The Ghost was small in stature, and a broad smile never left its face.

"Are you the Spirit, sir, whose coming was foretold to me." asked Ebenezer.

"I am."

The voice was soft and gentle. Singularly low, as if instead of being so close beside him, it were at a distance.

"Who, and what are you." Ebenezer demanded.

"I am the Ghost of Broadcasting Past."

"Long Past?" inquired Ebenezer, observant of its dwarfish stature.

"No. Your past. Now, come. Let us look and observe."

Suddenly, Ebenezer Broadcaster was pulled into a vortex of sight and sound — familiar yet unfamiliar. The tunnel was lined with all sorts of money — floating cash, loose change, profit, credit scores, check books, and an endless sea of balanced budgets. He reached for a $100 bill, but it slipped through his fingers. Laughter and merriment echoed from every direction, and he was aware of a profound sense of power as they flew along on their journey.

"A journey to where?" he wondered.

The Ghost turned to the left and suddenly they were aboard a cruise ship with hundreds of old associates and clients.

"I never thought the Broadcasters would ever spend their money on something like this," said a stout fellow holding a martini.

"Their money?" replied his companion. "Hell, it's OUR money they're spending. They've got us by the balls, they do. If we want to reach our customers, we're a slave to their outrageous rates."

With a sudden yank, the Ghost pulled Ebenezer heavenward, and they were soon floating over the city. Tucked in an envelope of warmth, it seemed they were immune to the cold night air. Every home had an antenna attached to the chimney, and inside smiling faces were everywhere as families gathered around their television sets to enjoy the programming Ebenezer's station provided. It was good and all was well, but in an instant Ebenezer was back in his bed. With its toothy smile, the Ghost stood before him and announced that another Spirit would soon knock.

Then, Ebenezer Broadcaster was alone.

In mid-snore, he was again awakened as the clock struck one. A stream of light from the next room beckoned, and Ebenezer reluctantly investigated, discovering a giant Phantom surrounded by a floating field of electronic gadgetry and wires that filled the room. The Ghost of Broadcasting Present was pleasant and young, and she carried a torch shaped like a computer screen. When the Ghost turned to the left, the floating field turned with her. When she turned to the right, the floating field followed. It was most strange indeed.

First the Ghost of Broadcasting Present showed Ebenezer the people of the town in all their merriment on Christmas morning. As they watched the townspeople, the Ghost sprinkled good cheer on them from her computer and the people rejoiced. As Ebenezer looked around each home, he noticed that no one was watching television. The set still stood in the corner of the living room, but youngsters played video games and DVDs, while older people watched cable niche channels like HGTV and The Food Channel, each in their own room. How awful, he thought.

Computers were evident in other rooms of the homes, and people sat typing and drawing and reading and watching. There was only a scattering of antennas on the chimneys of the homes.

A bone shivering chill swept over Ebenezer's body as he considered the scene before him, and he felt a want that was unfamiliar.

"What's happened to my business?" he inquired of the Spirit. "You cannot represent the present, Ghost. Where are the people watching television? What about Nielsen? What about my clients?"

"You seek the past in what is now," the Ghost replied.

"Humbug," Broadcaster muttered. "This is nonsense! My spreadsheet still shows profit."

Off they flew to the northeast corner of the valley and entered the home of Ebenezer's most loyal employee, Bob Gadget. Electronic machines sizzled and swirled in every corner of the cold house, and Bob himself was busy in front of a computer. As he pecked at the keyboard, the Ghost led Broadcaster to read the screen. Gadget was making an entry to his blog — forecasting doom for the industry he'd served for 30 years and gathering links from like-minded bloggers who were searching for ways to calm their unemployment fears.

"Rebellion," Ebenezer cried. "My own trusted employee is rebelling against me."

"You've given him no choice," answered the Spirit. "He must protect his family, including Tiny New Gadget."

In the living room, the Gadget family was gathered around the TV watching a Seinfeld rerun between the commercials.

"At least these are loyal to me," Ebenezer thought, but the Spirit directed his attention to the empty floor beneath the Christmas tree.

Suddenly, Ebenezer Broadcaster was alone once again, and he trembled for perhaps the first time in his life.

The clock struck two, and he awoke to a room filled with a terrible sense of foreboding and dread. Before him stood a third Spirit — this one ghastly and misshapen.

The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came, Ebenezer bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved, it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.

"I am in the presence of the Ghost of Broadcasting Yet To Come," said Ebenezer.

The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.

"You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us," Broadcaster pursued. "Is that so, Spirit?"

The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.

The city appeared before Broadcaster as if it sprang up around him, and the Ghost's hand directed Ebenezer to listen to the conversation of several groups of men in the streets. They spoke of the death of a man and a funeral that no one planned to attend.

"He died a fool," said a fellow with a moustache and glasses. "The old coot just couldn't accept change."

"He also died broke," added another. "He never knew what hit him, because he wouldn't listen to anybody."

Ebenezer stared into the black emptiness of the Phantom's hooded face and said, "They're talking about me. Is it not so?"

Suddenly, they were above Broadcaster's old television station. It was a shadow of its former self, its windows broken and its walls covered with the utterings of vandals armed with spray paint. Equipment racks had been ransacked and anything of value removed. The parking lot stood empty. The tower was broken in half, and its transmitter was covered in overgrowth and wires. The cold wind whistled through the buildings of Broadcaster's once proud station.

"This, this cannot be," Ebenezer cried.

Over the city they flew, and joy and merriment was all the Ghost could reveal. Life went on. The people were entertained. The people were informed. Gone was any trace of a TV antenna. Inside the homes, the people entertained themselves with a variety of gadgetry. Elaborate menus of content drifted before his eyes, along with acronyms he didn't recognize. VOD, DVR, and PSP. There were no television sets, only flat screens, laptops and handheld units — some connected by wires,others not.

Broadcaster's thoughts turned to his own sense of worthlessness. All this time, he had believed the people of the town couldn't live without him. Yet, here they were doing just fine despite the loss of the TV station.

Once again, he found himself inside the dwelling of Bob Gadget. The family home had been transformed into a sprawling mansion, the splendor of which overwhelmed Ebenezer. Laughter and joy filled the house, and prosperity flowed from every room. Bob's son, Tiny New, was the center of attention, and cash fell from his pocket as Bob lifted him into the air and set him in a special chair.

"It's all been worth it, my family," Bob announced as he raised his glass in a toast. "While that old bastard, Ebenezer Broadcaster, wasted away the hours counting on the immortality of his spreadsheets, we've explored the many new ways of doing what he used to do. Mass marketing died when the Internet was born, and media is now all about consumer choice.

"Our company has gone public, and thanks to our Tiny New Gadget here, we've come to a place where we can enjoy the fruits of life's many blessings."

And Ebenezer found himself in a graveyard, alone with the Phantom. Before him stood a tombstone that read:

Here lies the body of Ebenezer Broadcaster.
He dug the hole in which he is now buried.

The scales fell from his eyes and he realized what the Ghost of Broadcasting Yet to Come was telling him, so he asked, "Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be only?"

He begged the Spirit to assure him that if he changed his ways, this would not be his end, but the Ghost did not answer. He threw himself at the Spirit's feet and pleaded saying, "I will honor New Media in my heart, and try to keep up with changes. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me, and I will spend what the Future requires."

Ebenezer watched frightfully as the Ghost began to shrink until it melted away into nothing more than a bedpost.

As the sun broke through the window, Ebenezer Broadcaster awoke with a stretch and a smile. He was also on a mission, and there was no time like the present to get started. He made his way to the mall and burst into the door buster sales to buy this gift and that. He turned his car northeastward to the home of Bob Gadget and his family.

When Gadget opened the door, old Ebenezer smiled and announced, "Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas to you and your family."

He handed out gifts to one and all, put his arm around Bob, and said, "Let's you and I sit down and talk on Monday about what's going on in the business and what we can do together to prepare for the Future."

And Tiny New raced to Ebenezer and squeezed his leg.

"God bless us all," he proclaimed, "each and every one of us."

A Broadcaster's Christmas Carol.

New easy blogging program

2004-12-15T21:22:00.000Z

I've been looking for a long time for a program that will help me in my blogging and I think that I've now found one, and this is my first post with it :) Its got the rather strange name of PyQLogger and can be found at PyQLogger 1.3.3 and also at PyQLogger 1.3.3 and this is my first [aka 'test page'] with it :) Its nice and will, I think, fulfill my needs ... but as usual, only time will tell :)

2004-12-15T12:30:00.000Z

Online Scams.

Foiling the Phishers.

Phishing is a growing form of online fraud. It blends old-fashioned confidence scams with innovations in technological trickery. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to remember that real companies almost never send e-mail asking you to submit any personal data.

Phishers use "spoofed" [fake] e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool you into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, Social Security numbers, etc. By hijacking the trusted brands of well-known banks, online retailers and credit card companies, phishers can fool you.

They often include fancy graphics, trademark symbols, and an authentic-looking e-mail address in the "from" line, but all of these things can be faked easily. One of the easiest ways to tell that it comes from a phiser is if the message tries to scare you into giving up personal and financial information by saying that your account needs to be verified, updated or confirmed. If you think a message might be legitimate, contact the organization by phone or open a new Internet browser window and type in the company's Web address. Do not cut and paste material from suspicious e-mail messages and never reply to a suspected phiser.

Be smart. Be safe. Here's more on how to avoid these phishing scams: PHISHING

Nigerian Scam.

On another fraud front, many people have been contacted by perpetuators of what's known as the Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud or "4-1-9" scheme -- so named after the section of the Nigerian penal code that addresses fraud schemes. These are often quite creative as people are discovering.

A large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses (often by using your family names) to share in some multi-million dollar windfall profits. Don't fall for such frauds either. Read this online public awareness advisory: NIGERIAN SCAM

2004-12-15T12:06:00.000Z

Todays Guardian Newspaper.

Watery Grave

Once a week, somewhere along the 213 miles of the Thames, a dead body is washed ashore. But only rarely do these discoveries make the news; most simply become forgotten victims of the river. Zaiba Malik meets those who find them - and those they leave behind.

A very interesting and thought provoking article about the bodies recovered from the River Thames. This river is the recipient of many bodies from many fictional authors, some of whom are Sax Rohmer and Simon Scarrow to name but two, and spanning two centuries form the 19th to the 21st.

But as I read the article I found myself thinking, if one a week is found, how many are not found? Some bodies must, as it were, slip through the net and remain undiscovered and then to eventually reach the sea. Perhaps then they are finally washed ashore somewhere, or consumed by fishes, or just simply decay into oblivion. Perhaps mourned but with no grave site to be mourned over. Perhaps this is where, and how, some of the 'missing people' on the police files end up? Who knows?

San Francisco in Ruins

2004-12-12T16:21:00.000Z

San Francisco in Ruins: "THE YEAR was 1906, and the citizens of San Francisco must have found it a wildly incongruous sight--grown men at child's play in the midst of tragedy. Less than three weeks before, the earth had shaken and the city had burned. The disaster began with an earthquake in the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, and when the fires were extinguished three days later, at least two hundred thousand San Francisco residents were homeless. Yet on the afternoon of May 5, a small group of men was flying kites near Folsom and Sixth streets."

An article about the remarkable aerial photography of the devastated city of San Francisco in 1906. Four of these photos are shown in the article although much reduced from their original size. Truly Lawrence was a pioneer!

2004-12-12T13:05:00.000Z

Why is it ....

Why is it that when you spend quite some time sorting something out for a web page so that it looks right to you, and then you upload it and view it again ....... it either isn't there or it now looks totally distorted and horrible!? Does a gremlin live within the guts of my computer? Because whenever I've had the side off for some reason I've never seen it, unless its cunningly disguised as a dust-bunnie! And, rabbits are supposed to breed proverbially fast, but does that also apply to the afore-mentioned dust-bunnies too? However fast I seem to clear them out, they seem to reoccur just as fast, seemingly a losing battle that I'm fighting.

Ah well, such is life, and back to the onslaught :)

2004-12-10T13:45:00.000Z

It works!

Now why am I suprised that it all works as it should do? And what am I going to fill these blank pages up with? Time will tell, and tempus fugit.

2004-12-10T13:38:00.000Z

A new site and a new blog.

The first entry will just be a purely 'test' entry just to see if its all working as it should do. Other than that, theres not a lot to say until I can see it all.