Health Eating Guide with WHO Food Pyramid

The food we consume comprises varying proportions of the following:

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats
• Fiber
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

The World Health Organization advocates the Food Pyramid as a simple guide to healthy eating.

Components of Healthy Diet

The base of the pyramid is the “carbohydrate” component. Thus rice, pasta and cereal products should make up the bulk of our food intake. The next tier consists of “protein” products like meat, seafood and soy. Proteins should comprise a proportionately smaller component of our diets than the carbohydrates. The smallest contribution should be from the “fat” group as this is linked to the development bof obesity and heart disease. Vitamins and minerals are trace elements that are found in varying quantities in the various food substances.

More recently, healthy eating advisors advocate the minimum daily consumption of two pieces of fruit and two portions of vegetables. This is to ensure the intake of fiber is adequate for the regulation of bowel movements.

Reducing Fat Intake

Although meat products are primarily made of protein, the choice of cut can markedly affect the fat content. We can choose to reduce our fat intake by choosing lean cuts of meat and ctting off all visible fat prior to consumption. With poultry, the breast meat tends to have less fat than the thigh meat. However, the removal of the skin and visible fat allows us to continue to enjoy the thigh meat. Such small actions can have a drastic effect on our total fat intake and long-term health.

Use the Right Cooking Technique

In the same way, the way we cook the food also has marked effects on the eventual fat content. The use of deep-frying or shallow-frying techniques markedly increases the fat and calorie content compared to grilling or steaming.

I advocate the use of stir-frying with non-stick equipment (particularly frying pans and woks) and the use of minimal amounts of cooking oil.

Generally, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil is enough for each dish. Compare this with the numerous cookbooks that advocate the use of large amounts of oil to marinade the meat (to prevent sticking), followed by stir-frying with large volumes of oil or even deep-frying the meat before stir-frying!

Quality, Not Quantity, Counts

Read full article: Health Eating Guide with WHO Food Pyramid

So many ways to treat so many types of headache

Treatments can vary widely, from medication to surgery or herbs
By CINDY GEORGE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Constant shooting, stinging, throbbing and other painful head-pounding could ruin — or rule — your life.

Up to 35 million Americans suffer migraine and other forms of headache, according to the American Academy of Neurology.

• FOUR TYPES OF HEADACHES: The main types of headaches are tension, migraine, cluster and hormone.
Tension headaches, the most common, cause a band-like sensation or other pressure around the head. Most migraine headaches occur on one side of the head. Described as the most intense, cluster headaches attack in groups. Hormone headaches are associated with women’s menstrual cycles.

• OTHER TYPES OF HEADACHES: You might also experience over-medication rebound headaches, sinus headaches and those caused by brain abnormalities, including tumors.
• TRIGGERS: Stress, certain foods and sleeping patterns can trigger headaches.
“Eating meals regularly, staying well-hydrated and trying to minimize stress in life, sleeping well and getting exercise really do make a difference,” said Dr. Pamela Blake, a Houston neurologist at Memorial Hermann Northwest.

Changing weather that causes barometric pressure to spike or dip could be the culprit.

“When the fronts are coming in, primarily in the spring and fall, that will trigger headaches in the front of the head or face,”said Dr. Howard S. Derman, a neurologist at The Methodist Hospital. “People sometimes think those are sinus headaches because of spring flowers, but they’re really not.”

The same concept applies to people plagued with head pain while flying, hiking or mountain-climbing.

Read full article: So many ways to treat so many types of headache

Tata signs sponsorship deal with Ferrari

MUMBAI (AFP) — Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy announced on Thursday a sponsorship deal with Formula One team Ferrari, bucking predictions that the sport could collapse in the global economic crisis.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will display its logo on Ferrari cars during the 2009 season, a company statement released in Mumbai said.

“TCS has entered into a historic agreement with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership,” it said, without giving financial details of the deal.

Last week Formula One agreed cost-cutting measures following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco.

The sport’s governing body is clamping down on costs as it struggles to survive the global credit crisis.

Honda’s recent shock withdrawal from the Formula One raised fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport.

TCS has been a technology partner of the Ferrari team since 2005.
Source
Permanent link to this post: http://blog.automoton.info/2008/12/tata-signs-sponsorship-deal-with-ferrari/

Lose Your Weight By Choosing Correct Diet Plan

The first step towards a healthy life is a healthy body. And for a healthy body you need to keep your body in shape. In other words you will have to loose the extra pounds you have accumulated for so many years by spending a lot of money. ‘Lose weight’ seems to be the new slogan of the present generation. They want to do it to make their life healthier, more promising and look better. Hence the requirement for a healthy body arises.

The first step toward loosing your weight would be controlling your diet. You will have to make your diet according to the requirement of your body. Many people think that they can lose their weight by abstaining from food, by eating just to survive. But this is not a healthy practice as you also lose the basic nutrients required by the body not just unnecessary fat. A correct diet plan should reflect your life style. For example if you work in a office and all you have to do is to just sit there and then come home then your diet plan would be something else than the person who has to constantly move from one location to another during their day job. It also depends upon whether you work in day or in night.

There are many diet plans available in the market. They include weight watchers, jenny Craig, south beach, and Atkins and nutria system. They all work well. They can help to enhance your healthy life and at the same time make you lose your weight if you follow its rules from the start to the end without any interval, without any break. But do remember that it is always easier said than done. Hence choose your diet plan carefully and accordingly. And once you have chosen them then stick to it.

Read this article - Lose Your Weight By Choosing Correct Diet Plan

Ask the Expert: Treat migraines at first warning signs

Q. How is a migraine treated?

A. Migraines can be treated at two different times: once the person develops a migraine or before they develop one. Both treatments are done with medications that relieve the symptoms, though outcomes are usually better when the migraine is treated as early as possible.

Some women can get severe migraines around their time of menstruation. These types of migraines can be helped with the use of hormones or birth control pills.

Q. When should I get medical help for migraines?

A. You can take over-the-counter, pain-relieving drugs once you experience the first signs or symptoms of a migraine. However, if you are taking over-the-counter medications for them more than eight times a month you should look into seeing your doctor about a prescription treatment. These medications are preventive in nature, sometimes taken daily, and serve to reduce the frequency and severity of the person’s migraines. Your doctor may also discuss medications to take at the first sign of a migraine. These medicines help eliminate the migraine or make the symptoms much more tolerable.

Q. What about alternative medicines or home remedies?

A. Any activity you find relaxing might lessen the effects of a migraine, such as taking a hot bath or sitting quietly in a darkened room. If you are experiencing chronic headache pain, some alternative remedies like massage or even acupuncture might provide relief. Ideally, you should consult a physician before beginning any alternative medicines.

Read full article - Ask the Expert: Treat migraines at first warning signs

Zephyr Announces Business Partners in Germany and South Africa

Following the establishment of its UK branch earlier this year, Zephyr are pleased to confirm international business partner contracts for Germany and South Africa. The new business partners will distribute the Zephyr PASSPORT family of terminal emulation products.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) December 14, 2008 — Following the establishment of its UK branch earlier this year, Zephyr are pleased to confirm international business partner contracts for Germany and South Africa. The new business partners will distribute the Zephyr PASSPORT family of terminal emulation products.

In Germany, Zephyr is represented by UBS Hainer GmbH (www.ubs-hainer.com), who manages and supports PASSPORT products at such customer accounts as Allianz Suisse, Daimler Bank AG and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW).

In South Africa, Zephyr is represented by JMR Software Ltd (www.jmr.co.za), who supports Zephyr products at First National Bank (FNB), Business Connexion (BCX), Cadiz and others.

“We have a wealth of current international customers and many new prospects that we feel will benefit from having fully trained partners in their own countries” said Russell Martin, Zephyr Vice-President Sales and Marketing. “Familiarity with local business practices and the ability to support the Zephyr products and business model is essential”.

“We really want to send a clear message to international organizations that use Attachmate®, MicroFocus® (formerly NetManage®), IBM® and other terminal emulation products: Zephyr can save you substantial sums of money with an easy and transparent change to PASSPORT”, Martin continued.

PASSPORT 2009 is slated for release in January and will have localized language support for the Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese markets.

Zephyr Announces Business Partners in Germany and South Africa

Samsung Behold (for T-Mobile) Cell Phone

The head-turning Samsung Behold is a responsive touch-screen cell phone with a few advanced features and a great camera.

Ginny Mies, PC World
PC World
Saturday, December 13, 2008; 12:19 AM

The 3G Samsung Behold ($150 from T-Mobile), the younger sibling of the Samsung Omnia on the Verizon network, is a slick cell phone with a bevy of advanced multimedia features and a responsive touch screen. However, the Behold lacks Wi-Fi and a standard headphone jack, and its Web browser is a bit counterintuitive.

Slightly smaller than the Omnia, the Behold measures 2.1 by 4.1 by 0.5 inches. Weighing 3.9 ounces, it’s light but feels solid in the hand.

The Behold’s 3-inch touch screen takes up the majority of the phone, and three physical keys–end, send, and back–reside underneath. The landscape touch-screen QWERTY keyboard, with generously spaced keys and vibrating feedback, is comfortable to use. I didn’t notice any lag between when I typed and when the results appeared on the screen, a problem I’ve experienced with some other touch-screen keyboards. The Behold’s predictive text feature gives two word choices, but you can also turn predictive text off with a dedicated key on the keyboard. The arrangement includes a few dedicated punctuation keys, as well.

The Behold uses Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, also seen on the Omnia. But unlike the Omnia, which seemed sluggish running Windows Mobile, the Behold is very responsive. The accelerometer, which reacted slowly on the Omnia, flipped from portrait to landscape quickly and smoothly on this handset. I encountered some lag only when I scrolled through lists of contacts or my media library. And otherwise, I found TouchWiz very user-friendly.

The lens for the Behold’s 5-megapixel camera, along with a flash, is located on the phone’s metallic back (which is available in a brushed espresso or light-rose finish). A volume rocker and a headphone/USB jack lie on the left spine of the device, while a dedicated camera key and a phone-lock key sit on the right.

Call quality was very good overall. My contacts sounded loud and clear, and I heard no static or interference. Parties on the other end heard some background noise, but otherwise the sound quality was clean. I experienced no dropped calls.

The Today screen–the Behold’s home screen–has a widget bar running along its left side. You can arrange the widgets in any order, as well as drag one into the main part of the screen to launch its respective app. To end the application, you slide the widget back onto the bar. Available widgets include a calendar, a phone book, a music player, and a clock. But other than rearranging widgets and removing them, you don’t have a lot of room for customization; you can’t add new widgets to the bar or buy new programs (there is no app store), which was disappointing.

The Behold offers a full HTML browser, which is a nice addition for a non-smart-phone handset. The browser is difficult to use on occasion: Scrolling through pages wasn’t as smooth a process as on other touch-screen browsers, and getting the hang of navigating took time. For example, to zoom in on a page, you must touch the magnifying-glass icon at the top of the browser and then select the page size to view. The phone doesn’t do Wi-Fi, either, but that didn’t seem like too big of a loss; Web pages loaded very quickly over T-Mobile’s 3G network.

The Behold’s standout feature is its 5-megapixel camera, with 4X digital zoom and a power LED flash. The camera has four resolution settings, light metering, adjustable ISO, a self-timer, a self-portrait mirror on the back cover, an antishake feature, and a setting for shooting backlit subjects. It also has three fun shooting modes (continuous, panorama, and mosaic), as well as a smile-shot mode that will take another shot if the subject is frowning.

Read the rest of this article - Samsung Behold (for T-Mobile) Cell Phone

15 important credit card terms to consider before buying a credit card!!

By Thomas Lindstrøm

A credit card is a form of borrowing that often involves charges. Credit terms and conditions affect your overall cost.
So it’s wise to compare terms and fees before you agree to open a credit or charge card account. The following are some important terms to consider that generally must be disclosed in credit card applications or in solicitations that require no application. You also may want to ask about these terms when you’re shopping for a card.

If you don’t understand the language, credit card offers and statements could lead you to deep debt — or at least furious frustration. For the big scoop on the fine print, here’s what these frequently used credit card terms mean.

1.Average daily balance — This is the method by which most credit cards calculate your payment due. An average daily balance is determined by adding each day’s balance and then dividing that total by the number of days in a billing cycle. The average daily balance is then multiplied by a card’s monthly periodic rate, which is calculated by dividing the annual percentage rate by 12. A card with an annual rate of 18 percent would have a monthly periodic rate of 1.5 percent. If that card had a $500 average daily balance it would yield a monthly finance charge of $7.50.

2.APR(Annual percentage rate) — A yearly rate of interest that includes fees and costs paid to acquire the loan. Lenders are required by law to disclose the APR. The rate is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan, so borrowers can compare loans.

3.Balance transfer — The process of moving an unpaid credit card debt from one issuer to another. Card issuers sometimes offer teaser rates to encourage balance transfers coming in and balance-transfer fees to discourage them from going out.

4.Cash-advance fee — A charge by the bank for using credit cards to obtain cash. This fee can be stated in terms of a flat per-transaction fee or a percentage of the amount of the cash advance. For example, the fee may be expressed as follows: “2%/$10?. This means that the cash advance fee will be the greater of 2 percent of the cash advance amount or $10.

The banks may limit the amount that can be charged to a specific dollar amount. Depending on the bank issuing the card, the cash advance fee may be deducted directly from the cash advance at the time the money is received or it may be posted to your bill as of the day you received the advance. The cost of a cash advance is also higher because there generally is no grace period. Interest accrues from the moment the money is withdrawn.

5.Card holder agreement — The written statement that gives the terms and conditions of a credit card account. The cardholder agreement is required by Federal Reserve regulations. It must include the Annual Percentage Rate, the monthly minimum payment formula, annual fee if applicable, and the cardholder’s rights in billing disputes. Changes in the cardholder agreement may be made, with written advance notice, at any time by the issuer. Rules for imposing changes vary from state to state, but the rules that apply are those of the home state of the issuing bank, not the home state of the cardholder.

6.Finance charge — The charge for using a credit card, comprised of interest costs and other fees.

7.Floor — The minimum rate possible on a variable-rate loan or line of credit, after any initial introductory rate period. For example, on a credit card with the Prime rate as its index, no matter how low the Prime rate drops, the rate on the line may never decrease below the stated rate floor.

8.Free Period — Also called a “grace period,” a free period lets you avoid finance charges by paying your balance in full before the due date. Knowing whether a card gives you a free period is especially important if you plan to pay your account in full each month. Without a free period, the card issuer may impose a finance charge from the date you use your card or from the date each transaction is posted to your account. If your card includes a free period, the issuer must mail your bill at least 14 days before the due date so you’ll have enough time to pay.

9.Minimum payment — The minimum amount a cardholder can pay to keep the account from going into default. Some card issuers will set a high minimum if they are uncertain of the cardholder’s ability to pay. Most card issuers require a minimum payment of two percent of the outstanding balance.

10.Over-the-limit fee — A fee charged for exceeding the credit limit on the card.

Source article: 15 important credit card terms to consider before buying a credit card!!

Analyst: Apple could sell a million iPhone gift cards

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu has been checking with his contacts in Apple’s (AAPL) supply and distribution channels and reports that demand for the iPhone is “fairly healthy” in the U.S., Europe and, with the exception of Japan, most of Asia Pacific. He’s anticipating sales of 6 million units for the December quarter (Apple’s fiscal 2009 Q1), down from 6.9 million in Q4 but in line with the Street’s expectations of between 5 and 7 million.

But that significantly understates actual demand for the iPhone, Wu says, because it doesn’t include the wild card in this holiday season’s iPhone sales: the iPhone gift card.

“We think there is strong reception of AAPL’s new iPhone 3G Gift Card program,” Wu wrote in a report to clients Wednesday, “where the process of giving the iPhone as a gift is greatly simplified without the need for activation and personal information. … We estimate several hundred thousand to one million units could be impacted.”

The good news about these gift cards is that Apple gets to collect the revenue up front, which improves cash flow. The bad news for Apple’s Q1 earnings is that it can’t recognize the sale of an iPhone until the customer activates it. “The risk here is that the customer will likely activate post-Christmas,” writes Wu. “Therefore revenue and units won’t likely be recognized until the March quarter.”

In a separate note issued Tuesday, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster took a stab at estimating how many iPhones Wal-Mart (WMT) is likely to sell when it, as reported, begins carrying the devices three days after Christmas. Bottom line: Apple could sell as many iPhones through Wal-Mart in 2009 as it sells through its own Apple Stores.

Read more: Analyst: Apple could sell a million iPhone gift cards

Financial Crisis Affecting Banks’ Security Budget

LONDON, Dec 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The current economic meltdown has affected sales in the global market for physical security solutions in banking and financial institutions. This is the case especially in North America and Western Europe, due to branch closures and headquarters consolidation.
Banks review their security spending every semester and it is expected that they will put on hold large and medium sized projects in the strenuous effort of consolidating their balance sheets. However, solution providers will remain buoyant due to banks’ need to protect their valuable assets from both physical and IT attacks.
According to Frost & Sullivan’s latest report, global market for Electronic Physical Security in Banking and Finance earned revenues of $936 million in 2007. “The critical need for security in banks will help in some way to sustain the spending for physical electronic security, however the growth rates in 2008 and 2009 are expected to be at least two per cent less than the peak in 2007,” observes Matia Grossi, Industry Analyst for Frost & Sullivan Electronics & Security group.
Since the electronic physical security market in the banking and financial institutions sector is very mature, it is sensitive to the shrinking of the installed base of bank retail branches and financial institutions. The huge installed support of analogue security equipment also makes banks reluctant to make the transition to Internet Protocol (IP) technology. At the same time Greenfield deployments, where latest technologies and systems are usually installed, are expected to be put on hold as new branches are unlikely to be opened.
“Focusing on the applications of security systems beyond traditional security applications, for example in customer relationship management, is one of the keys to succeeding in these challenging situations,” notes Grossi.
Greater customer awareness about the advantages and new functionalities of IP-based systems drives banks to maintain their current level of spending in electronic physical security, even in the present difficult times. Furthermore, regulatory and insurance requirements compel banks to sustain a required level of physical electronic security.
News source - Financial Crisis Affecting Banks’ Security Budget

Acacia

ACACIA (a-ka’sha). About 1200 species of acacia are scattered through the warm regions of the world. Most of them are shrubs or small trees. Some are matted plants a few inches high. All are thorny and pod-bearing. The tiny sweet-smelling blossoms cluster together in fluffy balls or cylinder shapes. They range in color from deep yellow to almost white. The leaves are usually grayish and fernlike. The acacia is quick-growing and short-lived.
Australia has about 300 species of acacia. The early settlers called them wattles because they used the pliant branches to make wattle-and-daub huts. The golden wattle is Australia’s national Bower.
In the southwestern United States acacias are grown in many parks and gardens. The ornamental species were imported from Australia. The native catclaw (Texas mimosa) grows wild and (Types Of Flowers )is heartily disliked because of its strong hooked spines. The Arizona Indians, however, made meal of the pods. Smaller acacias are eaten by cattle and horses.
Gum arabic is obtained from an African species (see Gums and Resins). The Australians get tannin, used for tanning leather, from the bark of some species and make furniture of the hard, dark “black-wood” acacia. The wood of an Indian species is the chief source of catechu, a dye for true khaki. France grows several kinds for perfume.
The genus acacia belongs to the mimosa tribe of the pea family . The black locust is sometimes called “false acacia” . The plant that florists call mimosa is actually an acacia.
Read this article: Acacia plant

Spanish Property Law Decreto 218/2005 in Andalucia Set to Shake Up the Property Market

Marbella property company La Costa Property Solutions now undergoing an audit in order to comply with the new Spanish property law in Andalucia - Decreto 218/2005, which is now being enforced by the Junta de Andalucia in order to protect consumers.

Marbella, Spain (PRWEB) December 9, 2008 — In order to protect the rights of their property buyers and vendors on the Costa del Sol, real estate company and Spanish Property specialists La Costa Property Solutions recently announced their intent to fully comply with the new law for real estate agents and developers selling or renting properties on the Costa del Sol.

“It’s important to note that if people buy or rent directly with property owners, they are not protected by the Decreto. This is why it is better to use a real estate agency that is compliant with Decreto 218? says Justin Thompson of La Costa.

The Decreto 218/2005 is a law that has been in existence for over 2 years and the Junta de Andalucia is now enforcing it strongly, sending inspectors to make sure agents and developers are complying with the law and handing out fines if this is not the case.

All agencies must have a Decreto 218 Compliance notice on display in their office and failure to comply with this can result in fines ranging from up to €5,000 for minor offences to €400,000 for more serious offences.

Read this full story - Spanish Property Law Decreto 218/2005 in Andalucia Set to Shake Up the Property Market

Hormone changes can generate migraines

By Paul G. Donohue M.D.
To Your Good Health
December 09, 2008 6:00 AM

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter, who is 41, has been getting really bad migraine headaches just before her periods. Is it due to menopause?

— V.M.

Her headaches are not due to menopause. They come from her menstrual cycle, and they’re called menstrual migraines. A migraine sufferer often can identify things that give rise to a headache — foods, alcohol, physical exertion, too little sleep, too much sleep, hunger, bright lights and loud noise. For quite a few women, menstrual periods trigger the headache. The sudden drop in the female hormone estrogen that takes place at the time of a menstrual period precipitates headaches in these women.

Your daughter can take medicine prior to her anticipated menstrual period to prevent the headache. Naprosyn or one of the many other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, taken two days before the period begins, often can avert menstrual migraines. They should be taken for as long as the headache has lasted in the past.

Another approach is birth-control pills. The ones that stop periods for six months to a year are particularly useful. Seasonale and Lybrel are two such preparations.

Most migraine sufferers are aware of the triptan drugs, medicines that have had a huge impact on migraine treatment. There are seven such drugs, and I won’t mention them all. Maxalt and Relpax are two of these drugs. The triptans should be used as the anti-inflammatory drugs are used — two days before onset of periods and continued for the length of the usual migraine.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a plantar wart. What do I do for it?

— C.R.

Read this full: Hormone changes can generate migraines

In Pursuit Of New Efficiencies, Honda Drives Green IT Effort

The automaker’s new $25 million, 62,000-square-foot data center is one of a handful in the United States that’s certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek

Many business technology organizations are pursuing green computing, but what does that actually look like? At Honda’s new data center in Longmont, Colo., it entails floors made of recycled concrete, office furniture crafted of reused steel and newsprint, low-flow automatic faucets, motion-sensor lights, energy-efficient servers, outside air for cooling, and an Energy Star-certified roof.

Honda isn’t insulated from the economic pressures squeezing U.S. automakers; its U.S. sales fell 32% in November compared with a year ago. Honda’s green IT push should lead to lower energy costs and other efficiencies, though the bigger impetus is a company-wide commitment to being environmentally friendly, says Jennifer Sepull, CIO of American Honda.

Honda’s 61,000-square-foot data center, which opened in October, is one of a handful of U.S. data centers certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building construction. Honda spent more than $25 million on the data center, a price that included a premium for its green design. Because the facility is only 2 months old, Sepull declined to estimate just how much Honda stands to save in energy costs.

Honda selected building materials based on proximity to the data center’s location and materials that were produced in an “environmentally responsible manner,” Sepull says. And it recycled 73% of the construction waste associated with the project. The company left much of the site undeveloped and replanted trees and shrubs indigenous to the area.

Data center administrators were trained in how to be more energy efficient. For example, they were advised to decommission unused equipment quickly and to use management tools to ensure that servers are optimally provisioned. Honda has found that energy-monitoring tools aren’t up to snuff and that the data they generate needs to be more comprehensive. “They’re just coming on the market,” Sepull says. “We monitor electricity, but monitoring will get more advanced to give us better day-to-day awareness.”

read full article - In Pursuit Of New Efficiencies, Honda Drives Green IT Effort

Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider Makes Debut at 2008 Bologna Auto Show

The top has come off the Ferrari 430 Scuderia in honor of the brand’s victory in the 2008 Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. Ferrari has announced that it will offer only 499 examples of this lightweight high-performance drop-top. The Scuderia Spider 16M will be available in two new color schemes. The standard will be black and grey, but true racers at heart will opt for a tricolor livery available as part of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme. In commemoration of Ferrari’s 16th Constructor’s World title the rear grille will sport a special badge. Inside, a plaque reading “limited series” is mounted just above the air vents at the center of the dashboard. Other features specific to the limited edition include a carbon-fiber roll bar and the implementation of a next generation audio system that can be paired with a customized Ferrari 16GB iPod Touch that can be docked right in front of the dash. Having Scuderia in the name implies that this car isn’t all show and no go. It tips the scales at just 2,954 lbs which is 132 lbs lighter than a F430 Spider. Behind the cockpit resides the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter V-8 cranking out 510 horsepower and linked to the quick-shifting six-speed F1-style gearbox. That 5.7 lb/hp ratio is good for a 0-62 time of only 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.
 Read full artcle: Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider Makes Debut at 2008 Bologna Auto Show

Stop snoring with SnorePro?

We get some odd-ball press releases and story pitches here at TechFlash HQ. And this one, from a Fremont, Calif.-based company that has developed a $99.99 anti-snoring device called SnorePro certainly would qualify.

“HBI-USA, a biomedical device company, announced today its new SnorePro which uses its proprietary Dynamic Snore Detection (DSD) technology to precisely detect snores and to gently issue a programmable digital pulse to prevent snoring. The digital pulse functions like a spouse by nudging their snoring bedmate, which in turn trains the body to change sleep positions to eliminate the snoring. Bedmates of snorers lose an average of one hour of sleep per night due to snoring. The stimulation may disturb the snorer; however, it helps their bedmates to enjoy and regain sleep as they won’t have to nudge the snorer any more.”

Described as a wrist-watch style device with a built-in LCD screen, the press release goes on to say that the SnorePro can track the improvements of the snorer over time.

Read full article here

Source

Building for the Future: Sustainable Home Design

Company: Solar Energy International Cost: $695/$645 mbr. Location: Online Website: Visit event website Whether you’re building your own house or simply want to talk knowledgeably with those who will build it for you, this workshop will help you understand the home design principles that make use of both new and centuries old methods and materials for sustainable living. Building for the Future Online will focus on the principles behind designing and building residential structures that achieve optimal year-round comfort, reduce energy consumption, improve indoor air quality, and limit environmental impact. The emphasis is on integrated design using a whole-building approach, applying building science and integrating green design strategies into the built environment. Also covered will be the synergistic relationship between climate-sensitive design and natural building materials. Designed to compliment each other, the Building for the Future online & face-to-face courses can be taken independently to bring you up to speed or combined with each other to solidify knowledge. Both courses provide a solid overview of building a sustainable home with specifics in site analysis, building science, energy efficiency, passive solar design and alternatives to conventional building materials & techniques. In addition to online curriculum, participants will receive The Building With Awareness video, the book Your Green Home by Alex Wilson, and industry related hand-outs, and numerous Internet resource links. A course glossary, extensive resource guide and case studies of successful sustainable homes are included online. You can work on the Building for the Future Online course at ANYTIME, but you will generally need between 8-15 hrs/week to complete assignments/quizzes and participate in online discussions. The Consortium for Education in Renewable Energy Technologies (CERET) offers certificates in Renewable Energy to provide students with the theoretical knowledge necessary to begin a career in energy management and renewable energy technology. Certificates are granted through Madison Area Technical College (MATC). SEI’s online courses qualify for college credits through MATC and towards a Renewable Energy Certificate. Click here for more information on CERET’s Renewable Energy Certificates.” Students residing outside the United States must pay an extra fee for shipping of course materials. Contact SEI for details. Topics Include * Building Orientation * Solar Site Analysis * Lessons Learned * Building Science * Moisture & Air Leakage * Super-Insulation Strategies * New Window Technologies * Passive Solar Designs * Energy Efficient Technologies * Indoor Air Quality * Sustainable Back-up Heating Systems * Healthy/Green Building Materials * Domestic Solar Hot Water * Renewable Energy Options * Practical Building Techniques Read full article: Building for the Future: Sustainable Home Design

Awful’ Month for Carmakers

By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 3, 2008; Page D01

Carmakers continued to load on the discounts in November, but American consumers continued to slam on the brakes.

The industry tried everything. Companies offered zero-percent financing, “red tag” sales, employee-discount pricing and even buy-one-get-one-free pickup truck deals. Still, U.S. auto sales plunged to their lowest pace in 26 years. Overall, automakers sold 746,789 cars, trucks and minivans in the United States, down 37 percent from a year earlier, according to Autodata.

All major carmakers suffered steep declines, but Detroit was particularly hard hit. General Motors’ sales tumbled 41 percent, to 152,552. Ford sold 118,319 vehicles last month, a 30 percent fall. Chrysler sold 85,260, down 47 percent.

Jesse Toprak, a sales analyst at Edmunds.com, said the incentive programs have reached a point of diminishing returns, where virtually no amount of cash on the hood will move sales. He said Americans harbor deep economic fears.

“The majority of the decline is low consumer confidence,” he said. “Consumers are not showing up regardless of what kind of deals, regardless of how low gas prices go.”

Toprak said middle-class and upper-middle-class Americans — who make up the market for new car buyers — are reeling from steep erosions in home values and losses in 401(k) plans.

“They don’t know if they are going to have a job in the next few months,” he said. “It’s a bit depressing when you put it all together. Consumers don’t want to make a big-ticket purchase, and cars are the biggest purchase after homes.” The sales figures were also hurt by would-be buyers’ inability to get financing, Toprak said.

November’s sales, translated into the closely watched seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate, or SAAR, slipped to 10.18 million, the lowest selling pace since October 1982, according to preliminary figures by Autodata. Sales appeared to slow from October, when the seasonally adjusted selling pace was measured at 10.56 million.

Economists and industry analysts yesterday were looking for signs that the market was close to bottoming out. Bob Schnorbus, the chief economist at J.D. Power and Associates, said he expected stronger November results from automakers. He said the industry was struggling to get out of “unprecedented territory” and that fourth-quarter results may represent the low point for the industry, barring other large-scale financial calamities.

“It’s probably getting pretty close,” Schnorbus said. “That’s kind of cold comfort if it turns out that the recovery is very weak and protracted.”

Read full article: ‘Awful’ Month for Carmakers

Different Types of Taxi Insurance

Looking at the increasing number of road accidents, as well as vehicle theft, insurance for your vehicle is a must. Getting coverage for a vehicle means that at the time of damage or theft, the company from whom the policy is taken will cover the cost of damages, or will pay for the cost of the vehicle in case of theft. Many of the firms are offering insurance policies on a commercial basis as well, one example being the introduction of taxi insurance in which cover is provided for taxis, cabs and even vans. Private hire insurance policies, as well as public hire insurance policies, are two types of taxi insurance policies available. In comparison to the public hire insurance policy, private hire insurance policies are a lot more expensive as they involve a higher risk.

These types of taxi insurances are very popular these days, as having taxis for public as well as private hire includes a lot of risks, and not opting for any kind of insurance policy will make the running of taxis unaffordable. But one must also be very careful in choosing the company from whom the insurance is obtained, as it is a very specialised field, and very few companies are providing it at genuine prices. Getting a cheap taxi insurance policy may not be a very hard nut to crack because of the competition between the companies.

Obtaining these taxi insurance policies is very easy, as one may register directly over the net or can even consult any executive from the taxi insurance company. The best way to get cheap taxi insurance is to directly get in contact with the wholesale insurance agents as they are well trained and can calculate the minimum amount of premium required to obtain a taxi insurance policy. The prices, or the premium, of the policy is relatively cheap, if there is a good number of a taxis included in the policy. Apart from this, there are three types of taxi insurance policies offered by companies and they are: third party, fully comprehensive, and third party fire & theft.

Read full article: Different Types of Taxi Insurance

Source

From: Different Types of Taxi Insurance

U.S. auto dealers looking north of border to snap up used-car bargains

Consumer confidence could hurt new-car sales in final quarter of fiscal year

Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun

Published: Friday, November 28, 2008

Bargain-priced “slightly used” cars will become a hot commodity in Canada as price-conscious buyers scoop them up and U.S. car dealers — armed with a stronger currency — prowl the Canadian market for deals.

That’s the prediction from Canadian car-pricing expert Paul Timeoto, who expects a falling dollar to stir the interest of U.S. dealers in Canadian vehicles.

“The prospect of U.S. dealers coming up here to buy is looming very strongly now,” said Timeoto, president of online car-pricing-data firm CarCostCanada.com. “The dollar has only been below 90 cents US for a few weeks so it may take a little while for them to pay attention to our market. But it won’t take long.”

He noted that until recently, Canadian car dealers took advantage of a strong Canadian dollar to buy used cars — less than one year old — in the U.S. and resell them in Canada.

“Dealers went down there and literally brought them back by the truckload and Canadians saved a lot of money that way,” Timeoto said. “But that situation has dried up now and the reverse is likely to happen.”

New vehicle sales in Canada during the first three quarters this year appeared to be heading for a solid year of about 1.6 million sales, but declining consumer confidence in the final quarter could push that figure down.

Statistics Canada said 14,900 new vehicles were sold in B.C. in September, a 10.8-per-cent decline from the same month last year.

Dueck Downtown general manager Greg Keith said used cars are popular with many buyers, but almost everyone wants the newest technology possible because fuel efficiency is such an important factor.

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for a person to buy a three-year-old car, especially with gas prices the way they are now,” he said. “I drive a new Escalade hybrid full-size vehicle that gets better fuel economy than a lot of mid-sized cars.”

StatsCan said new-vehicle prices in Canada are at their most affordable level now in more than 15 years, measured as a percentage of disposable income. It takes about 19 weeks of disposable income for a typical Canadian household to buy a new car, down from a peak of 25 weeks a decade ago.

Read full article: U.S. auto dealers looking north of border to snap up used-car bargains

Source

The Biggest Secret of Successful Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, the biggest hurdle that people face is that of getting started. They just don’t have any idea of where to start from! If you are one of these people then this article is for you! It doesn’t really matter whether you want to lose ten or hundred pounds, the tips I am going to share with you in this article are going to help you anyway!

The first step to successful weight loss is to set some goals. Goals should be used in the same way as milestones are used on highways. Just as without any milestone, you will have no idea of where you are going, without a goal, you will have no idea of how much work you need to do to shed all the extra pounds!

First you should ask yourself some questions:

1. How much weight you want to lose?

2. By when you expect to lose all the weight?

Then write answers to these questions on a sheet of paper. Oh yeah, before I forget, let me tell you that writing your goals is one of the surefire ways of making sure that you never forget them! Write your weight loss goals on a piece of paper, make copies of that paper, and stick each paper on every place you can.

Make sure you don’t forget to stick this paper on your refrigerator and kitchen, since it is in these places that the demon called temptation tries to ruin your weight loss efforts!

Setting goals is just not enough; in order to make the goals achievable, you must set REALISTIC goals. If you have a goal of losing sixty pounds within a couple of weeks or a month, that is not going to happen. Setting such unrealistic goals for yourself will nullify the very effect of goal setting.

When you set unrealistic goals and fail to achieve the same, you will be disappointed and frustrated with yourself and your weight loss efforts.

Read full article: The Biggest Secret of Successful Weight Loss

Tags: Dieting, Weight Loss

Source

Weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy

New York - Researchers have found that weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy. They found that women who had weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant are less likely to have problems in their pregnancy than women who were obese and did not have any type of weight loss surgery. Usually pregnant women who are overweight have gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. The number of bariatric surgeries being done every year from 1998 to 2005 has increased by eight hundred percent. This is a shocking statistic. It shows that many people prefer to have weight loss surgery instead of trying to find a natural way to lose weight. Surgery can be dangerous and life threatening. Doctors always explain that the risks associated with weight loss surgery can be serious because it is an abdominal and stomach surgery. You could have an allergic reaction to the anesthesia that they administer to you and if this happens you will face a life threatening situation. It is important to have healthy eating habits before and during your pregnancy. You want to try and maintain a healthy weight in order to help prevent pregnancy complications. Researchers found that weight loss surgery and tradition weight loss can help to improve a woman’s fertility rate. Doctors always tell you to try and lose weight if you are trying to conceive because it is better for your body and reproductive system. This research shows women that if they are overweight or obese and want to conceive a child then losing weight either through traditional weight loss methods or through weight loss surgery might be very helpful. Women want to be able to conceive a baby and losing weight can boost your chances of being able to become pregnant. You can also reduce your chances of facing health complications due to your weight. It is important that people are healthy during pregnancy. In today’s society many people are overweight or obese. Obesity has become a huge epidemic in the United States of America. It has huge health implications because your body has to work harder to do every day activities.
Read full article

10 tips for holiday travel

By Ed Hewitt
updated 3:11 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2008

With the global economy in crisis and both travelers and airlines feeling the pinch, it may not seem like 2008 will be the cheeriest of holiday travel seasons. Airlines have cut flights, raised fares and added a surge of surcharges for everything from checked bags to phone bookings. Meanwhile, many travelers are postponing or canceling their holiday plans to save money.

But for travelers still planning to visit Grandma’s for Thanksgiving or spend Christmas weekend in Paris, the news isn’t all bad. There are still deals to be found, provided you shop carefully and plan ahead. Check out our 10 tips for holiday travel and find some joy this holiday season.

Avoid peak travel dates
At Thanksgiving, Wednesday is the critical outbound “avoid” day as a rule. Traveling on Thanksgiving day proper is often a breeze and more affordable; there are often cut-rate airfare deals on Thanksgiving day.

On the return, Friday morning isn’t bad at all, with each successive day getting a little busier, more difficult and more expensive through Sunday evening. The bottom line: If you are looking for a deal, you won’t find one on the peak travel days. Travel off-peak whenever possible.

Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Thursdays this year, which means that the same advice for Thanksgiving will apply to both of these holidays — fly on the holiday itself if possible, and avoid Sunday evening at the end of the long weekend.

Book early
Haven’t booked your holiday travel yet? It’s time to stop waiting and start booking. Fares are only rising as Thanksgiving approaches, so those who hold out in hopes of a late-breaking sale are likely to get left out in the cold or pay a very steep price for their procrastination. The same goes for the Christmas holiday; book sooner rather than later, particularly if you require very specific travel dates or times. With the current state of the airline industry, it is never too early to book your holiday travel flights.

While many of the best deals are probably already gone, keep an eye on our Holiday Deals section for any last-minute bargains. Be prepared to be flexible with dates and flight times.

Read full article: http://blog.summer-winter-air-travel.info/?p=9

Source: 10 tips for holiday travel

Growing a Flower Bed With Beautiful Blooms

If you want your garden to have blooms of beautiful and colorful flowers, you’ll need to plant them carefully. Arrange them properly, and provide adequate care. It is even possible to have flowers blooming year-round, if you plan your garden correctly. You can choose annuals and perennials that bloom at different times of the year so that you’ll always have a colorful garden.

Before you plant the flowers, make sure that the soil is right for them. You should dig your beds down a foot and a half for two deep. While you can grow flowers in a shallower bed, they will not be as likely to thrive. Break up the dirt, making sure there are no large clumps, and spread in some sand, manure, compost, or grass clippings. Don’t pack the bottom dirt down, let it settle naturally so that the roots will be able to penetrate it and it will drain better.

Once you have the base of your flowerbed ready, make sure that you use a good mixture for the topsoil. If you want your plants to be healthy, well-rotted manure and peat moss are excellent additions to your soil. If you do use manure, make sure it doesn’t touch the roots of your plants. You can also add wood ashes in the spring, or use lime to loosen the soil.

Consider the type of soil that you naturally have in your garden, and choose a fertilizer that will help it reach the optimum balance for your plants. The fertilizer you choose should include the elements that your plants aren’t getting from the soil.

When planning the location of your plants within your flower beds and border, keep in mind the color of the blooms, even if the plant is not blooming when you purchase it. Plan for contrast in the texture and color of the flowers, but make sure that the colors will also blend in an attractive manner. For example, the bright color of Zinnias can be balanced with softer colors from chrysanthemum or cosmos.

Don’t forget to consider where you are situating the flower bed. Ideally, it should face south or southwest, but any location that gets enough sun should help your flowers thrive. You should try to plant it close to the house, so that your plants will be protected.

Read article: Growing a Flower Bed With Beautiful Blooms

Gift Ideas For the Realtor in Your Family

Christmas time is fast approaching, which means that it’s time to start thinking about gift ideas for family, friends, and co-workers. If a real estate agent happens to among the people on your gift-giving list, here are a few ideas for what to fill their stocking with this year. A BlackBerry; if he or she doesn’t already have one of these technological marvels, now is the time to treat them. Not only will a BlackBerry make an agent’s workday more efficient and organized, but they’ll also be able to keep track of dates with family and friends, which can be difficult sometimes for busy realtors to do. It’s a phone and a web browser, it’s got a calendar for scheduling appointments, and it can synchronize its information with your desktop computer, so all your information is stored at the ready. Agents can instantly access maps and get turn-by-turn directions to properties, keep in touch with clients and associates, and much more. These trusty gadgets are so useful and addicting that they’ve even been nicknamed “CrackBerry.” High tech tools like the BlackBerry are essential for today’s real estate agents to take their business to the next level. The iPhone is a recent addition to the world of high tech communications. Similar to the BlackBerry in its appeal to businesspeople, the iPhone features an easy-to-use touch screen interface, offers Internet access, and can play videos and music MP3 files. iPhones are fairly new to the marketplace, and already they’ve received a great deal of positive buzz. Some suggest that a BlackBerry would be more suitable to an agent’s needs, particularly due to its GPS system and convenient email and calendar access, but no doubt your favorite realtor would be pretty excited to find a new iPhone under the tree as well. If you’re looking for something more affordable that will still help your loved one stay organized, consider buying a nice leather or moleskin agenda. He or she can keep all their contacts and appointments together in one sharp looking date book. If you’d like to be extra helpful, fill in any birthdays, anniversaries, and phone numbers you’d like the person to remember before you give them their gift. You’ll be saving them time, as well as potentially saving them from the doghouse later on. Another great idea this Christmas is to consider treating the real estate agent in the family to a spa day. Realtors spend most of their time dealing with clients, so they need to put their best foot forward. And if they’re really successful at their job, they may not have time to pamper themselves when they need to. So, give them something that will truly be a gift-a massage, facial, pedicure, or mud bath and sauna. There are so many exquisitely relaxing treatments out there that can rejuvenate the soul, so research a little to see which treatment would be right for your friend or family member.
Read full article: Gift Ideas For the Realtor in Your Family

Rain on the Way

Showers are pushing through Wisconsin already sprinkles over the lake . These will arrive in the mid late afternoon. The showers are ahead of a cold front that will usher in the coolest air of the season. Temperatures northwest of Duluth are only in the s. At Chapleau about miles north of Sault Ste. Marie miles as the crow flies. miles if you want to get there by car they were below freezing this AM. As close to us as Pellston MI it was in the s this AM. It s not impossible there could be a thundershower ahead of the front. Here s the latest visible daytime satellite picture latest radar loop from Milwaukee and Grand Rapids .the latest Michigan Wisconsin weather map state of Michigan current weather observations . Check out rainfall from Tropical Storm Kyle in Maine . Kyle produced a gust to mph at Baccarro Point Nova Scotia and up to of rain in New Brunswick. Permalink Bookmark Email Write a comment Name E mail Website Your comment All content Copyright WorldNow and WOODTV.! All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Source: http://blogs.woodtv.com/2008/09/29/rain-on-the-way/


Another site recomended to review: bakkie namibia ( http://www.automoss.com.na/Bakkie_vehicles.html )

My life's been completely boring recently. My mind is like a bunch of nothing. Not much on my mind right now, but I guess it doesn't bother me. So it goes. Eh. Nothing seems worth doing.

Feel free to read: bakkie namibia ( http://www.automoss.com.na/Bakkie_vehicles.html )

1434 The Year a Magnificent

Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance By Gavin Menzies Published by HarperCollins Available at Asia Books Bt Reviewed by Paul Dorsey Gavin Menzies The Year China Discovered the World published six years ago was blown out of the water by an international armada of scholarly critics backed up by a flotilla of incensed torch waving Eurocentrics so he s really got some balls coming up with another audacious theory so soon. The man must surely love the limelight even if all he has left is the old British Navy skipper s uniform on his back and that s in tatters too because his nautical lore is leaky. Junk history was the punning name given Menzies hypothesis in Australia after he swore that Admiral Zheng He s massive fleet had left behind a calling card there centuries before Captain Cook ever saw the place. Queensland s Gympie Pyramid turned out to be a local farmer s stopgap against erosion not a mediaeval Chinese shrine. Just the same Australian sales of the! book promptly tripled. It s soon to be a major motion picture from Warner Bros. Since was indeed a best seller scores of Menzies fellow amateur historians continue sending him titbits of fresh information which has become an online wiki of speculation. Helpfully some of this addressed one of the primary criticisms of his first book which the original Wikipedia encapsulates thus the conspicuous absence of an explanation of why these Chinese fleets seemed to touch every coastline of the world except that of Europe . Say no more Here s the proof that they did. The mammoth Chinese fleet not only sailed into Venice harbour in it brought all the sea maps and star charts the Europeans needed to get over to America and see for themselves what Zheng He had already seen. And not only did Columbus and Magellan sail westward with a confidence born of their ancient Asian guidebooks the treasure trove of knowledge that the Chinese shared with the Italians showed Da Vinci the way to grea! ter inventions and Galileo the path to greater discoveries. In fact it fomented all the glories of the gilded Renaissance. Menzies stops short of saying Michelangelo shared his Sistine scaffold with Chinese artisans but not by much. Menzies claims fall like autumn leaves. He suggests Europe would have gone a lot longer without the pleasures of porcelain gunpowder printing the compass and the crossbow had the Chinese not shown up with their manuals in . In fact all of these were there already. And the Asians who appear in some classic European paintings of the time aren t Zheng s sailors. They re either Asian slaves by then well known in Italian ports or just as probably a hallucination stemming from misperception. At least for amusement s sake might be read with the same suspension of belief that intelligent people gave The Da Vinci Code That would be wise except that Menzies is no Dan Brown. It s a very sad thing to have to say but as a writer Menzies doesn t even meet Brown s lowbrow standard. It s surprising for example how quickly the book! bogs down in logistics and other minutiae of the voyage. As a historian though he certainly gives Dan Brown a run for the money. While professional historians credit Zheng De with a great deal they place him no further from home than Iran. In Menzies puffs Zheng s sails out on a second great mission to revisit all of the faraway territories he d previously charted and this time share with the barbarians China s volume Yongle Dadian a compilation of all Eastern wisdom. In return the Chinese emperor expected global obeisance. Zheng s fleet was a floating university and from it the Europeans borrowed hungrily machines canals weaponry agricultural and architectural innovations . and Chinese concubines to sow some genes. Menzies traces many of Leonardo Da Vinci s inventions to the Chinese tourists of but can t bring himself to completely trash the old man. In my eyes he remains the greatest genius who ever lived. However it is time to recognise the Chinese contributions to his ! work. Without these contributions the history of the Renaissance would have been very different and Leonardo almost certainly would not have developed the full range of his talents. Galileo gets the same backhanded adulation. Elsewhere he s credited with discovering Jupiter s four largest moons in but here we meet Gan De the Chinese astronomer who spotted a small red star next to the Annual Star in and these in Menzies view were probably the jovial gas planet and its satellite. Menzies drops a clattering hint that his next book will be about Zheng s final voyage to his death in Asheville North Carolina But this book ends poking around in New Zealand where it seems the Taiwanese were the indigenous inhabitants not the Maoris. While we await DNA testing we have constructions like this from Menzies It s clear to me that Europeans may have had access to Chinese knowledge . Clearly maybe. source The Nation This entry was posted on Friday November th and is filed under Hoz Life style . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS . fee! d. Responses are currently closed but you can trackback from your own site. th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology Comments are closed. Recent Posts The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet By Gavin Menzies th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology Thaksin urged to rethink phone in plan it would do more harm than good to the country. Famed plastic surgeon released on bail injured in explosion near Klong Toey market Bomb wounds Bangkok slum traders Fan of Abdul Found Dead Near Idol Judge s Home Lohan Refers to Obama as First Colored President McCain Jokes With Leno in First Appearance Since Loss Thai funeral comes amid tug of war over monarchy Blooming Mexican Sunflowers Northern Thailand River Kwai Bridge Week November December Commart Comtech Thailand At Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Bangkok governor resigns over Austrian fire truck case Google adds video to Gmail translations of RSS feeds Categories Hoz Entertainment Hoz Life style Ho! z News Hoz Thailand news Hoz Travelling Archive Select Month November Links Documentation Development Blog Plugins Mariah Carey I Stay in Love Live on The X Factor HQ New Song Rihanna I can Handle you LEO LYRICS Welcome To Samui island Delicious Blog Thai Massage Jennifer Kim Advertisement HozNews.com Mo Siamwebthai SEO Siamranking www.Stats.in

Source: http://www.hoznews.com/hoz-life-style/1434-the-year-a-magnificent/


Another site recomended to review: namcars cars ( http://www.alexa.com/browse?&CategoryID=25811 )

My life's been boring recently. I can't be bothered with anything these days. I've just been sitting around not getting anything done. My mind is like a fog. Pretty much nothing notable happening right now.

Feel free to read: namcars autos ( http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main/namcars.com )

Losing Weight Using Phentermine

To combat the growing problem of obesity and the increasing number of fake weght loss pills, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been approving a number of safe and effective anti-obesity products through the years. One such FDA-approved product is phentermine. Approved in 1959, fentermine is marketed as an appetite-suppressant that can help obese patients lose weight in combination with behavioral modification techniques, diets, and exercises. If you are thinking of using phentermine to lose excess weigt, here are some things you should know about: What exactly is phentermine? Phentermine is an appetite suppressant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class. Like most prescrition medications, phentermyne works by interfering with the neurotransmitters of the central nervous system. By stimulating neurons to release chemicals like norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine, phenermine blocks hunger signals from reaching the brain. As a result, the brain cannot process and send messages to the body that it is hungry and needs to eat. How is phentermine sold? Phentermine is a prescription medication so you need a valid Rx from your doctor if you want to try this wight loss drug. Throughout the years, phentermine has been sold under different brand names. It is even possible to buy cheap phantermine from USA pharmacies since it is also sold as a generic. Below are the commercial trade names of phentermine currently sold in the US:
Adipex P
Anoxine-AM®
Obephen®
Obermine®
Obestin-30®
Phentrol®
Phenterex®
Phentromin®
Pro-Fast SA
Redusa
Panbesy
Phentermine
Trenker
Obenix
Oby-Trim
Read full article: Losing Weight Using Phentermine

Source: Losing Weight Using Phentermine

South Africa’s Rand Rises Against Dollar, Euro as Stocks Rally

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) — South Africa’s rand rose against the dollar as gains in stocks on better-than-expected earnings eased concern the global economy is slowing, encouraging purchases of higher-yielding assets.

The rand traded below 10 per dollar as advances in Asia and Europe boosted the MSCI World Index of stocks for a sixth straight day. South Africa’s currency strengthened even after an industry report showed vehicle sales fell for a 19th straight month in October, indicating the continent’s biggest economy is faltering.

“Globally we’re seeing a general improvement in positive sentiment which has fed through to European equities from Asia,” said Jon Harrison, an emerging-markets currency strategist in London at Dresdner Kleinwort. “Lower global interest rates help alleviate some of the strains in the financial system and that helps short-term risk appetite.”

The rand climbed as much as 1.9 percent to 9.8506 per dollar and was at 9.9125 by 1:12 p.m. in Johannesburg. It also advanced versus all 16 most-actively traded currencies monitored by Bloomberg, adding 0.7 percent to 12.6187 per euro.

South Africa’s currency still faces “challenges in the medium to long term” and will “trend much weaker” next year, Harrison said. It may slip to as low as 12 per dollar in the next three to six months, he predicted.

“Emerging markets aren’t going to avoid the impact of a global economic slowdown,” Harrison said. “We still expect to see further sell-offs in riskier asset classes.”

Read full article: South Africa’s Rand Rises Against Dollar, Euro as Stocks Rally

Source: South Africa’s Rand Rises Against Dollar, Euro as Stocks Rally

Is Phentermine Safe?

In the past there has been much controversy about the safety of the stimulant known as Phentermine which acts as an amphetamine. Phentermine has been used as an appetite suppressant which does affect the central nervous system. Together with exercise, Phentermine has been successful for weight loss. In the late 1990’s, the issue of Phentarmine safety arose because of the Phen-fen scare where it was determined that the combination of Phentermine and Fenfluramine which made up Phen-fen was pulled from the market due to serious health conditions involving the heart and lungs. It was the combination of the two drugs that were the problem, primarily the Fenfluramine. There has been no evidence that Phentermine is ineffective or unsafe on its own.

Phentirmine is also sold under the brand name Adipex and is available for anyone to order via online pharmacies. Under these conditions, Phenturmine would not be considered safe unless it was prescribed by and monitored by a physician. There are certain side effects when using Phentarmine and there are also certain people who should not use this drug because they would be considered high risk. Phentermine can be safe for some people and not for others especially those who might suffer from conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, any type of heart disease, an overactive thyroid, glaucoma, or if you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Specific side effects can be associated with the use of Phentermin and while some are minor such as dizziness, nervousness or anxiousness, headaches, insomnia, itching, diarrhea, or constipation sometimes a simple dosage adjustment will alleviate these side effects. However, there can be major side effects that might need more attention than just a dosage adjustment and can indicate a serious problem. These could include chest pain, swelling in the feet or ankles, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, a feeling of restlessness or confusion, increased blood pressure, or seizures.

Read full article: Is Phentermine Safe?

Source: Is Phentermine Safe?

ArcelorMittal, AngloGold, Sasol: South Africa Equity Preview

By Janice Kew

Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell for a fourth day, losing 95.43, or 0.5 percent, to 18,363.70. The measure has dropped 23 percent in October, the worst monthly performance since August 1998.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG SJ): Gold fell for the fifth time in six days in Asia as the U.S. dollar’s strength kept a lid on investor demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset. AngloGold, Africa’s largest mining company, climbed 4 rand, or 2.5 percent, to 164.

Ansys Ltd. (ANS SJ): The designer of transport and defense monitoring and control systems said it will post a loss per share of between 4.5 cents and 5.5 cents in the six months through August after delays in the start up of a “significant” number of their projects. Ansys slumped 17 cents, or 14 percent, to 1.08 rand.

ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. (ACL SJ): Africa’s biggest steelmaker said it will leave December prices unchanged after cutting them for two consecutive months. ArcelorMittal South Africa fell 7 rand, or 8.1 percent, to 79 rand.

Barloworld Ltd. (BAW SJ): Morgan Stanley rated the world’s largest forklift dealer as “equal-weight” in new coverage of the stock. Barloworld lost 1.90 rand, or 4 percent, to 46.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BIL SJ): Copper fell below $4,000 a metric ton as the ongoing slump in stock markets increased concern a glob recession will sap demand. The metal used in wires and pipes plunged by the daily limit for a fifth day in Shanghai. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, rose 2.07 rand, or 1.4 percent, to 145.90.

Infrasors Ltd. (IRA SJ): The brick and sand producer said first-half earnings per share fell as much as 40 percent. Infrasors was unchanged at 1.90 rand.

Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. (MUR SJ): South Africa’s largest construction company by market value holds its annual general meeting in Johannesburg. Murray & Roberts was unchanged at 60 rand.

Read full article: ArcelorMittal, AngloGold, Sasol: South Africa Equity Preview

Is Phentermine Safe?

In the past there has been much controversy about the safety of the stimulant known as Phentermine which acts as an amphetamine. Phentermine has been used as an appetite suppressant which does affect the central nervous system. Together with exercise, Phentermine has been successful for weight loss. In the late 1990’s, the issue of Phentarmine safety arose because of the Phen-fen scare where it was determined that the combination of Phentermine and Fenfluramine which made up Phen-fen was pulled from the market due to serious health conditions involving the heart and lungs. It was the combination of the two drugs that were the problem, primarily the Fenfluramine. There has been no evidence that Phentermine is ineffective or unsafe on its own.

Phentermine is also sold under the brand name Adipex and is available for anyone to order via online pharmacies. Under these conditions, Phenturmine would not be considered safe unless it was prescribed by and monitored by a physician. There are certain side effects when using Phentermine and there are also certain people who should not use this drug because they would be considered high risk. Phentermine can be safe for some people and not for others especially those who might suffer from conditions such as anxiety, high blood pressure, any type of heart disease, an overactive thyroid, glaucoma, or if you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Specific side effects can be associated with the use of Phentermin and while some are minor such as dizziness, nervousness or anxiousness, headaches, insomnia, itching, diarrhea, or constipation sometimes a simple dosage adjustment will alleviate these side effects. However, there can be major side effects that might need more attention than just a dosage adjustment and can indicate a serious problem. These could include chest pain, swelling in the feet or ankles, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, a feeling of restlessness or confusion, increased blood pressure, or seizures.

Read full article: Is Phentermine Safe?

Source: Is Phentermine Safe?

What US Expats Need to Know About Paying Taxes

The main opinion considering taxes and American expatriates is that there is no need to worry about paying any more dues to the government. However, the meaningfulness is not that simple, and it is vital that you understand exactly the facts concerning the matter to keep yourself from getting into any legal complications.

The following are the facts involving the Internal Gross income Service and the tax liabilities of an American expat:

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

This of obviously, refers to any amount that you may have, or have earned from working in another country besides the US. It includes not just your salary but also any allowance that you may receive as compensation.

To avail of the revenues exclusion, you must meet the following requirements: the first is that you must have lived in that foreign country for at least full year, or have spent at least 330 days from a 12 month epoch. The amount that you can take advantage of can reach up to $80,000. You must, however, file all the necessary papers to the IRS to be a part of this program.

Expats and Self Occupation Tax / the US Social security and Medicare

If you are an expatriate who is employed by a company in the United Sates, it is almost always the case that your proprietor will hold back any Meficare or Social Security.

For those that are their own employers (self employed in other words), you will need to pay up to whatever amount you owe the gate service. Moreover, there is a self employment tax that you will have to pay so that you will be entitled to both Social Security and Medicare.

American Expats Employed by ForeignersIn the mainIf you are working for a corporation in another country, you will not, except in special cases, pay anything to the Internal Revenue Service with respect to your Social Safe keeping, and instead will be covered by that country’s own laws concerning taxation.

Facts about Tax Treaties

Read full article: What US Expats Need to Know About Paying Taxes

S.Africa rand recovers vs dollar

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand recovered some ground against the dollar on Thursday after a battering overnight that took it to new 6-1/2 year lows, but generally remains on the backfoot as global economic worries hit markets.

At 0637 GMT the rand traded 2.08 percent firmer at 11.32 against the greenback, compared with Wednesday’s close at 11.56 in New York. The local currency went as low as 11.88 against the dollar overnight, its weakest level since March 2002, Reuters data shows.

The rand’s latest gains were due to some profit taking after its heavy losses overnight and in Asian trade earlier on Thursday, a Johannesburg trader said.

“But it still looks quite horrible. There’s lack of liquidity, especially during New York trade, although it seems as though during local (Johannesburg) time we have two-way flows,” the trader said.

“All emerging market currencies are under immense pressure. To be honest it can go any way, but we’re still of the view that there could be some more rand weakening.”

Government bonds were also firmer, and yields fell in turn. The benchmark 2015 bond yield dropped 6.5 basis points to 9.89 percent, while that for the 2036 note was down 7 basis points at 9.215 percent.

Read full article: S.Africa rand recovers vs dollar

Article source: S.Africa rand recovers vs dollar but remains vulnerable

Samsung E250 Review

In a nutshell: The E250 is an entry-level slide phone and is one of the best phones in the entry-level price range. For less than 50 quid you get a cool-looking slide phone with a camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth and a memory card slot for storing loads of music. You can’t go wrong with this one! Best buy: On Pay as you Go from the Carphone Warehouse for ??39.95. The E250 is Samsung’s first slide phone in the entry-level market, and it’s an impressive one. This is a phone that retails for less than ??50 on Pay as you Go, but it shares the cool looks and design of Samsung’s top-end slide phones that are currently all the rage. It’s a very compact, slimline and lightweight phone, weighing just 81g. The keypad and slide are very similar to the top-of-the-range Samsung D900, and are a proven design - very easy to use. When closed, the navigation keys enable you to access most of the phone’s functions and you just slide the phone open to make a call or send a text. For an entry-level phone it’s very well specified too. The VGA camera (0.3 megapixels) and video recorder are fairly basic, but the phone is also equipped with a good quality MP3 player and FM radio too. In this price range, only the Sony Ericsson W200i can offer the same. The MP3 player can also handle AAC and AAC+ formats too. You can also set MP3 tracks as your ringtone. The built-in memory of 13 Mbytes is enough to store 3 or 4 songs only, but you can expand the memory with a MicroSD memory card if you want to make more use of the music player. Other handy features include a built-in speakerphone and a voice memo recorder. All kinds of messaging are supported, including MMS (multimedia messaging) and email. You can download Java games as well as the embedded games that come pre-installed. A full range of personal organiser functions are included. Flight mode lets you listen to music, play games, etc whilst the network connection is switched off.Read full article: Samsung E250 Review

Ukraine Presents Best Escort Services In Europe!

It is often said that relationships between ladies and gentlemen are like business. Thus, business-like gentlemen are more likely to treat courting a lady with the effort of luxurious fun and souvenirs doesn't differ much from just paying her for sex or company. As a result, escort agencies will blossom while there are girls ready to offer sexual services and men willing to pay for them. With the progress of globalization, things have become even easier: if you cannot pay for pleasure or afford a vip escort girl in your native country, you may always go abroad for a massage escort. One of the sex attractions in Europe is Ukraine. Economically Ukraine is stabilizing. And yet, capitalism does not offer happiness for everyone. They work hard to live a better life. Financial guarantees and independence is what lures many young girls to work for escort agencies. As everywhere in the world, escort services in Ukraine can be grouped into certain classical segments. On the lowest level you will see several types of independent escort girls from Kiev also known as a bar girl. VIP escort agencies providing adult escort service Ukraine are on top of that industry. Such agencies provide widest choice of beautiful and educated Ukrainian women. However, there's a significant difference between simple prostitutes and elite agency girls. Some escort agency kiev present elite educated girls to make you company for some specific cultural and social parties. However, it is not clear whether an exchange of sex for money actually happens. You can find an agency offering professional erotic massage service in the web. If you are intended to pay for a girl's time, there is an advantage in such a service that you may find them from home. Came to Kiev? The girl you arranged to date can even meet you when you arrive to Kiev. The drawback is that you have to pay beforehand. In case you don't like the lady of your choice don't hope to get a refund. Srteet prostitutes are definitely not that expensive and don't require prepayment. If you choose this option, you'll have to investigate tourist areas of Kiev before risking into something like that. Another problem that may appear is that such independent women are less likely to speak English than that escort service lady from the agency. Nevertheless, this disadvantage may seem quite sexy to some. So, you think you might want to have a try? Kiev is no doubt a great city to visit. Beign accompanied by a gorgeous woman is definitely great. Some wise men believe, however, that no sexy escort, not even gorgeous Ukrainian, can substitute true relationships.

Basters and their "Starter Packs"

Namibia is a multihued nation with different cultures and believes. Every culture has certain character traits that group them together. Most people believe that Ovambo people mostly drive Toyota Hilux Bakkies. The Herero people drive Isuzu Bakkies. Today we're talking about Basters and their starter packs. I think the next thing that going to pop in your mind is '' what is a starter pack?'' Most of us define the starter pack and the Volkswagen Golf which can branch from the Citi Golf to the Velocity Golf, and or the Toyota Conquest or Tazz. What I have just mentioned is a very controversial topic and everyone will have his or her own point of view. Let's take one example Alan Bock was born and raised in Rehoboth. As he grew up his first aim was to have his own car. He wanted a silver Toyota conquest. Interior will be leather seats. Maple color with darker sued. 18'' inch rims, spinners to be exact. Black tinted windows and a massive sound system. This is a Baster's dream car for his partying days. Most youngsters buy it, as it's the most reasonably priced. Everyone that buys the famous 'starter pack' say it's fairly easy to maintain, as the spare parts are cheap to replace; yet most of these cars are second hand models. You'll hear people say that they bought from Jacky who bought it from Alan who bought it from Jason who bought if from Babsie who bought it from Nam Cars over the internet. As the young Basters grow older and become more mature, they realize it's better to have a secondhand model Ford bakkie. This can be a Bantam or the Ranger 1800 and the most famous is the Nissan Champ 1400 Bakkie.

The Women of Your Initial Desires

We can call leisure time a period of time when different people have nothing to do i.e. they don't have to do any work or other kind of activity, so they have their own free time. Going to a workplace and running a business, visiting an educational institution and household duties are not included in one's free time. This word derives from Latin and signifies "to be permitted" or "to be free". This word appeared in Victorian Epoch in Britain when people have got their 8-hour working day and had 2 days off per week. Hobbies and vacations were the part of workers' privileges so they also came from that times. People divide leisure into two types: active and passive. Active leisure includes different activities such as soccer, tennis etc. It can be any activity that exhausts a person's mind or body such as painting a picture or playing draughts. Going to cinema, watching television etc. are the passive leisure when you just doing nothing, when your brain and body are relaxed from any exertions. Many persons say that passive free time is unreasonable and it destroys all the pleasures of free time. But, passive leisure time is more preferred among different persons. Escort kiev offer you to spend your leisure time in the surrounding of amazing girls. As you may know sex is an activity the aim of which is to get a totality of body and psychical reactions. So you have active free time and in the same time an amazing relaxation that is really good for your health. Erotic massage is another service that you can find on this website. Escort agency kiev may give you such a service. Massage is the combination of physical influence methods on people's organism. One of our proposals is an erotic massage. It is not a simple massage but a proposal that gives you enjoy and prolonged satisfaction of your desires. Escort girl kiev is a competent in this type of massage and you will be convinced of it. The basic thing in such a massage is that it is done with the assiatance of a woman's body but not just with her hands. You will feel her hips, buttocks and bust. It is really exciting especially when you get it for the first time. A person always needs a diversity in his feelings and experiences and an erotic massage is a wonderful variety in sexual activity. Many different people attitude to the term "prostitute" with caution. Nowadays it is not as horrible as it was some years ago but many people still have a bad attitude to the prostitutes. Society interprets prostitution the same as they find sexual activities for the definite period of time. From the one hand sex gives a pleasure. That's why intimate services for money may be defined as any things that a person can buy. But from another point of view this type of sex is not connected with making infants. At all ages people tabooed various sexual activities and reproved everybody who had such relations. In the authoritarian regime countries were the streakiest censure on sexual activities and prostitution in general. But in the first half of the XX century the situation completely altered, especially on the West. Terrible attitude that the term "prostitution" has is reflected on the other notions of human activity. For example any mercenary person can be named "a prostitute". But we are the people of the 21 century and our attitude should be tolerant to every manifestation of people's activity. Don't be scared of this word and contact our company to have a real pleasure with our girls.