MFS-The Resource Center Blog

⅏Did You Know... You Can Create Beatbox Sounds with Google Translate?

2012-02-05T08:52:00.000-05:00

Did You Know... You can make a beatbox machine using Google Translate?

That's right, a beatbox. You know, the art of producing drum beats, rhythm and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. However, instead of using all those body parts - you can just use Google Translate. Talk about clever manipulation and having alot of free 'time on your hands', lol. Redditor harrichr has devised a scheme for turning Google Translate into a makeshift beatbox machine.

1) Go to Google Translate
2) Set the translator to translate German to German
3) Copy + paste the following into the translate box: pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch
4) Click "listen"
5) Be amazed :)

There’s nothing magical about this particular sequence, and there’s tons of room for experimentation: In German, anyway, “pv” and “zk” make complementary breathy sounds and clicks, respectively. Spaces add pauses. No idea why “bsch” makes that parrot-chirpy sound, but there you go. For some reason, German seems to be the best language for this, since German Google Translate rapidly strings vowelless consonants where it tends to enunciate each one in some other languages. (Which isn’t to say that there aren’t yet more tricks elsewhere.) After a little bit of playing around, “r,” “w,” and “f” seem to be promising letters for beatboxing purposes as well.

The possibilities are endless! LOL. Check out these samples I've gathered and collected through comments and forums. After clicking on the respective buttons below, just wait for the speaker icon to load then click on it! Enjoy!!

✚Helpful Hints #8

2012-02-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

HEALTH and WELLNESS

GOT MILK? GET A SHARPER MEMORY!

Frequently forgetting where you put your keys? Having trouble recalling information you just learned?
Forgetfulness is one of the most common signs of stress - and new research in the journal Nutrition Research has pin-pointed a super-easy way to thwart it: Drink a yogurt smoothie or a glass of milk every day. Turns out, phospholipids - certain fats in dairy products that help keep cell membranes healthy - rev recall by improving your brain's ability to adapt to chronic stress, particularly in neurons where new memories are formed!

SANITIZING SURFACES SUPER CHEAPLY

Forget those pricey germ-killing scrubs, sprays, foams and the like: Research shows that plain old bleach trumps them all, killing nearly 100% of illness-causing bugs on kitchen and bathroom surfaces within minutes.
To do: Once weekly, mix 1 oz. (29.57ml), of bleach into 1 qt. (0.946 litre), of water. Put on rubber gloves and using a clean cloth, wipe common resting spots for bacteria and viruses, including faucet handles, door-knobs and cupboard latches.

BEAUTY and FASHION
MAKE HAIR SUPER-SHINY! (THE ITALIAN WAY)

Olive oil! Olive oil is a big reason Italian women are known for their lustrous hair. The golden oil is rich in fatty acids that coat and protect the hair, leaving it soft and glossy!
Make your own - Deep Conditioning Treatment!
Massage olive oil (1 Tbsp. for fine or short hair, 2-3 Tbsps. for thick or long hair) into your hair and scalp. Place a warm towel or shower cap over your hair for 15-30 minutes, allowing the heat to help the oil penetrate each strand. Then shampoo, condition and rinse.

GIVE YOUR SKIN A WORKOUT!
Going for a walk? Hitting the gym? Before you go, wash your face and apply a light serum or moisturizing cream. As your body starts to heat up, and your blood starts to pump, the beauty treatments easily penetrate deep into your skin. What's more, the boost in your circulation helps the products work at optimum levels!

HOME and AUTO
BAD WINTER DRIVING HABIT: LOCKING YOUR BRAKES
Braking in winter requires the driver to adapt to road conditions. Today, most new automobiles are equipped with ABS (anti-lock braking system), which prevents the wheels from locking up on slick surfaces. If one or more wheels begins to lock during hard braking, the system prevents those wheels from skidding by pulsating the brakes several times per second, allowing the driver to both slow down and steer. When ABS is active, you'll hear and feel a rumbling sound coming from the vehicle - while this may startle you, whatever you do, don't let off the pedal!

If your vehicle is not equipped with this feature, it's important to brake firmly without locking the wheels. This is called threshold braking. You want to do everything you can to avoid locking the wheels, as you'll not only skid, but you'll also lose your ability to steer around obstacles.

COMMON DECOR MISTAKE: BAD LIGHTING
The Problem: The worst offenders include glaring overhead lighting and the unflattering old-school fluorescent bulbs that make your bathroom look like something from an '80s horror flick.
The Solution: Use soft white bulbs and dimmer switches for your overhead lights. And make sure your CFL bulbs are marked "warm white."

FOOD and DRINK
HEALTHIEST WAY TO STORE MUSHROOMS
To reap the most nutritional benefit from mushrooms, store them in a paper bag in the refrigerator, not in the plastic-wrapped container they're sold in. And don't clean them until you're ready to use them!

NEVER THAW OR MARINATE FOODS ON THE COUNTER
Many people are surprised at this tip. But since bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, thawing or marinating foods on the counter is one of the riskiest things you can do when preparing food for your family.

To thaw food safely, choose one of these options:

Thaw in the refrigerator. This is the safest way to thaw meat, poultry, and seafood. Simply take the food out of the freezer and place it on a plate or pan that can catch any juices that may leak. Normally, it should be ready to use the next day.
Thaw in cold water. For faster thawing, you can put the frozen package in a watertight plastic bag and submerge it in cold water. Be sure to change the water every 30 minutes. Note: If you thaw this way, be sure to cook the food immediately.
Thaw in the microwave. Faster thawing can also be accomplished in the microwave. Simply follow instructions in your owner’s manual for thawing. As with thawing in cold water, food thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
Cook without thawing. If you don’t have enough time to thaw food, just remember, it is safe to cook foods from a frozen state—but your cooking time will be approximately 50% longer than fully thawed meat or poultry.

To marinate food safely, always marinate it in the refrigerator.

PETS AND ANIMALS
SOS FOR A DOGGY BREATHING SPASM
If your pug sometimes startles you with a series of snorting and gasping noises, you're probably witnessing a spasm of the soft palate. Small dogs, especially short-faced breeds, are particularly susceptible to these spasms, which can be caused by dust or pollen irritation, eating, drinking or just running around. To stop the spasm, gently massage your dog's throat area or carefully pinch his nostrils. Forcing him to take air in through his mouth will aid airflow and eventually stop the attack.

Sprigs of fresh dill

KEEP PETS FROM GETTING GASSY
When the pet store ran out of your pal's brand of wet food, you had to buy her a different kind, resulting in an upset stomach. to ease her discomfort, add some finely chopped fresh dill to her food daily for three to four days. This herb has been shown to ease gas, bloat and cramps. For dogs and cats under 10 pounds,use a small pinch. Give a large pinch for pets up to 20 pounds and 1 tsp. for those up to 50 pounds. For dogs over 50 pounds, give 2 tsp. of dill.

Money saving
ideas and tips

MONEY and FINANCE
SNEAKY WAYS TO SAVE ON ELECTRONICS!
Shopping for electronics can be confusing - and that's how many retailers want it! After all, it makes you more likely to pay extra for a device when a far less expensive one can fit your needs. Read on to see what you should skip and what you should buy!

COMPUTERS
Skip: Upgraded Processor
Buy:   More RAM
While an upgraded processor means your computer will work faster, average users won't notice a difference! That's because standard processors are more than adequate for most people's usage. The real slowdown comes from too little memory - and that's easy to fix by adding more RAM when you buy the computer. Bonus: Your computer won't become outdates as quickly!

CAMERAS
Skip: Mega megapixels
Buy:   Bigger image sensor
More megapixels means a camera takes larger photos, yet the average device takes images than can print up to 11" x 17". To really get better photos, the camera needs a bigger image sensor, which can capture more detail. Since manufacturers use different formats for image sensor sizes, look up the camera you want at sensor-size.com.

TVs
Skip: Super-fast refresh rate
Buy:   120 Hz refresh rate
A gelevision's refresh rate indicates how many times per second the screen is updated. And while a bigger number equals better image quality, there's no need to spend extra for anything over 120 Hz. Why? Your eye actually can't detect anything higher than a refresh rate of 120 Hz, so it's like throwing money out the window!

Pet Peeves in the Workplace!

What habit irks workers more than anything else?

Seventy-eight percent of 17,000 workers surveyed by LinkedIn said they were most annoyed by people who do not take ownership of their actions.

Pet peeves in the workplace tend to vary by country, gender, and job. Want to annoy a worker in Germany? Make a mess in the luch room. If you want to get along with your co-workers in Japan, don't pullany pranks. And if you are in the US, don't swipe someone else's food.

Overall, workers in India reported having the most pet peeves while Italian workers reported having the least. Not surprisingly, women are much more likely than men to be annoyed by their co-workers' revealing clothing.

Top five global pet peeves

People not taking ownership for their actions
Constant complainers
Dirty common areas
Starting meetings late or going long
People who don't respond to emails

Resource(s):

Reader's Digest magazine, foodsafety.gov/, Consumer Reports magazine, The Oprah magazine, Womans World magazine, autos.ca.msn.com/, Men's Health magazine, Best Health magazine, Money magazine, Macleans magazine, Better Homes and Garden magazine, First-for-Women magazine

☑PC-Tips and Tricks: Sending Text Via E-mail

2012-01-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

Sending Text Via E-mail

Do you text alot? Dumb question right. Sure you do. Well if you still have one of those little keypads with little teeny-tiny keys that drives you mental like it does me, or a touchpad screen that's well, un-touchable or unresponsive sometimes, this little trick is for you! This little trick has been around since 2008, but somehow I never discovered it, lol.

If you know your friends’ phone numbers and the carrier they are on then you can easily send emails to their cell phones directly from your email using an SMS gateway. What is SMS gateway you say?

You really don't have to know this in order to do this neat little trick. But if you're curious, an SMS gateway is a telecommunications network facility for sending or receiving Short Message Service (SMS) transmissions to or from a telecommunications network that supports SMS. Most messages are eventually routed into the mobile phone networks. Many SMS gateways support media conversion from email and other formats.

Anyways, all you have to know is the number and the carrier of the person you are sending a text to and then check out this list from Wikipedia (or the list below), to find the "Mail-to-SMS Gateway", or in otherwords, the email address to use to send your text message.

So, for example, if my friend's carrier is Koodo Mobile (Canada), then I look it up on the list from Wikipedia and this is what it is:

So, then I type it in my friend's phone number along with the gateway address (in red):

Then hit SEND and voila!

UNITED STATES

3 River Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@sms.3rivers.net
Advantage Communications - xxxxxxxxx@advantagepaging.com
AirVoice - xxxxxxxxx@mmode.com
Airtouch Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@airtouch.net
Airtouch Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@airtouchpaging.com
Airtouch Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@alphapage.airtouch.com
Airtouch Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@myairmail.com
AllTel - xxxxxxxxx@message.alltel.com
Alltel PCS - xxxxxxxxx@message.alltel.com
Alltel - xxxxxxxxx@alltelmessage.com
Ameritech Paging - xxxxxxxxx@pageapi.com
Arch Pagers (PageNet) - xxxxxxxxx@archwireless.net
Arch Pagers (PageNet) - xxxxxxxxx@epage.arch.com
AT&T - xxxxxxxxx@txt.att.net
Bell South (Blackberry)- xxxxxxxxx@bellsouthtips.com
Bell South Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@blsdcs.net
Bell South - xxxxxxxxx@blsdcs.net
Bell South - xxxxxxxxx@sms.bellsouth.com
Bell South - xxxxxxxxx@wireless.bellsouth.com
Bluegrass Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@sms.bluecell.com
Boost Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@myboostmobile.com
Boost - xxxxxxxxx@myboostmobile.com
CallPlus - xxxxxxxxx@mmode.com
Carolina Mobile Communications - xxxxxxxxx@cmcpaging.com
Cellular One East Coast - xxxxxxxxx@phone.cellone.net
Cellular One PCS -xxxxxxxxx@paging.cellone-sf.com
Cellular One South West - xxxxxxxxx@swmsg.com
Cellular One West - xxxxxxxxx@mycellone.com
Cellular One - xxxxxxxxx@message.cellone-sf.com
Cellular One - xxxxxxxxx@mobile.celloneusa.com
Cellular One - xxxxxxxxx@sbcemail.com
Cellular South - xxxxxxxxx@csouth1.com
Central Vermont Communications - xxxxxxxxx@cvcpaging.com
CenturyTel - xxxxxxxxx@messaging.centurytel.net
Cingular (GSM)- xxxxxxxxx@cingularme.com
Cingular (TDMA)- xxxxxxxxx@mmode.com
Cingular Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@mobile.mycingular.net
Cingular - xxxxxxxxx@cingularme.com
Communication Specialists - xxxxxxx@pageme.comspeco.net
Cook Paging - xxxxxxxxx@cookmail.com
Corr Wireless Communications - xxxxxxxxx@corrwireless.net
Dobson Communications Corporation - xxxxxxxxx@mobile.dobson.net
Dobson-Alex Wireless / Dobson-Cellular One - xxxxxxxxx@mobile.cellularone.com
Edge Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@sms.edgewireless.com
GCS Paging - xxxxxxxxx@webpager.us
GTE - xxxxxxxxx@gte.pagegate.net
GTE - xxxxxxxxx@messagealert.com
Galaxy Corporation - xxxxxxxxx@sendabeep.net
GrayLink / Porta-Phone - xxxxxxxxx@epage.porta-phone.com
Houston Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@text.houstoncellular.net
Inland Cellular Telephone - xxxxxxxxx@inlandlink.com
JSM Tele-Page - xxxxxxxxx@jsmtel.com
Lauttamus Communication - xxxxxxxxx@e-page.net
MCI Phone - xxxxxxxxx@mci.com
MCI - xxxxxxxxx@pagemci.com
Metro PCS - xxxxxxxxx@metropcs.sms.us
Metro PCS - xxxxxxxxx@mymetropcs.com
MetroPCS - xxxxxxxxx@mymetropcs.com
Metrocall 2-way - xxxxxxxxx@my2way.com
Metrocall - xxxxxxxxx@page.metrocall.com
Midwest Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@clearlydigital.com
Mobilecom PA - xxxxxxxxx@page.mobilcom.net
Mobilfone - xxxxxxxxx@page.mobilfone.com
Morris Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@beepone.net
NPI Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@npiwireless.com
Nextel - xxxxxxxxx@messaging.nextel.com
Nextel - xxxxxxxxx@page.nextel.com
Ntelos - xxxxxxxxx@pcs.ntelos.com
Omnipoint - xxxxxxxxx@omnipoint.com
Omnipoint - xxxxxxxxx@omnipointpcs.com
OnlineBeep - xxxxxxxxx@onlinebeep.net
PCS One - xxxxxxxxx@pcsone.net
Pacific Bell - xxxxxxxxx@pacbellpcs.net
PageMart - xxxxxxxxx@pagemart.net
PageOne NorthWest - xxxxxxxxx@page1nw.com
Pioneer / Enid Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@msg.pioneerenidcellular.com
Price Communications - xxxxxxxxx@mobilecell1se.com
ProPage - xxxxxxxxx@page.propage.net
Public Service Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@sms.pscel.com
Qualcomm - name@pager.qualcomm.com
Qwest - xxxxxxxxx@qwestmp.com
RAM Page - xxxxxxxxx@ram-page.com
ST Paging - pin@page.stpaging.com
Safaricom - xxxxxxxxx@safaricomsms.com
Satelindo GSM - xxxxxxxxx@satelindogsm.com
Satellink - xxxxxxxxx.pageme@satellink.net
Simple Freedom - xxxxxxxxx@text.simplefreedom.net
Skytel Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@email.skytel.com
Skytel Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@skytel.com
Smart Telecom - xxxxxxxxx@mysmart.mymobile.ph
Southern LINC - xxxxxxxxx@page.southernlinc.com
Southwestern Bell - xxxxxxxxx@email.swbw.com
Sprint PCS - xxxxxxxxx@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Sprint - xxxxxxxxx@sprintpaging.com
SunCom - xxxxxxxxx@tms.suncom.com
Surewest Communications - xxxxxxxxx@mobile.surewest.com
T-Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@tmomail.net
TIM - xxxxxxxxx@timnet.com
TSR Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@alphame.com
TSR Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@beep.com
Teletouch - xxxxxxxxx@pageme.teletouch.com
Telus - xxxxxxxxx@msg.telus.com
The Indiana Paging Co - xxxx@pager.tdspager.com
Triton - xxxxxxxxx@tms.suncom.com
US Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@email.uscc.net
USA Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@mobilecomm.net
Unicel - xxxxxxxxx@utext.com
Verizon PCS - xxxxxxxxx@myvzw.com
Verizon Pagers - xxxxxxxxx@myairmail.com
Verizon - xxxxxxxxx@vtext.com
Virgin Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@vmobl.com
Virgin Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@vxtras.com
WebLink Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@pagemart.net
West Central Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@sms.wcc.net
Western Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@cellularonewest.com
Wyndtell - xxxxxxxxx@wyndtell.com

AUSTRIA

MaxMobil - xxxxxxxxxx@max.mail.at
One Connect - xxxxxxxxx@onemail.at
T-Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@sms.t-mobile.at

AUSTRALIA

Blue Sky Frog - xxxxxxxxx@blueskyfrog.com
Optus Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@optusmobile.com.au

BELGIUM

Mobistar - xxxxxxxxx@mobistar.be

BERMUDA

Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@ml.bm

BRAZIL

Nextel - xxxxxxxxx@nextel.com.br

CANADA

Aliant - xxxxxxxxx@sms.wirefree.informe.ca
Bell Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@txt.bell.ca
Bell Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@txt.bellmobility.ca
Fido - xxxxxxxxx@fido.ca
Koodo Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@msg.telus.com
Microcell - xxxxxxxxx@fido.ca
Manitoba Telecom Systems - xxxxxxxxx@text.mtsmobility.com
MTS Mobility - xxxxxxxxx@text.mtsmobility.com
NBTel - xxxxxxxxx@wirefree.informe.ca
PageMart - xxxxxxxxx@pmcl.net
PageNet - xxxxxxxxx@pagegate.pagenet.ca
PC Telecom - xxxxxxxxx@mobiletxt.ca
Rogers - xxxxxxxxx@pcs.rogers.com
SaskTel - xxxxxxxxx@pcs.sasktelmobility.comTelus - xxxxxxxxx@msg.telus.com
Virgin Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@vmobile.ca

CHILE

Bell South - xxxxxxxxx@bellsouth.cl

CZECH REPUBLIC

Eurotel - +ccaaxxxxxxx@sms.eurotel.cz
Oskar - xxxxxxxxx@mujoskar.cz

DENMARK

Sonofon - xxxxxxxx@note.sonofon.dk
Tele Danmark Mobil - xxxxxxxx@sms.tdk.dk
Telia Denmark - xxxxxxxxx@gsm1800.telia.dk

ESTONIA

EMT - xxxxxxxxx@sms.emt.ee

FRANCE

SFR - xxxxxxxxx@sfr.fr

GERMANY

T-Mobile - +49xxxxxxx@t-d1-sms.de
Mannesmann Mobilefunk - xxxxxxx@d2-message.de
E-Plus - 0177xxxxxxx.sms@eplus.de

HUNGARY

PGSM - 3620xxxxxxx@sms.pgsm.hu

INDIA

BPL mobile - xxxxxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Chennai RPG Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@rpgmail.net
Chennai Skycell / Airtel - xxxxxxxxx@airtelchennai.com
Delhi Aritel - xxxxxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Delhi Hutch - xxxxxxxxx@delhi.hutch.co.in
Idea Cellular - xxxxxxxxx@ideacellular.net
Orange - xxxxxxxxx@orangemail.co.in

IRELAND

Meteor - xxxxxxxxx@sms.mymeteor.ie

ITALY

Telecom Italia Mobile - 33xxxxxxxx@posta.tim.it
Vodafone Omnitel - 34xxxxxxxx@vizzavi.it
Vodafone - xxxxxxxxx@sms.vodafone.it

JAPAN

Vodafone Japan - xxxxxxxxx@c.vodafone.ne.jp
Vodafone Japan - xxxxxxxxx@h.vodafone.ne.jp
Vodafone Japan - xxxxxxxxx@t.vodafone.ne.jp

LATVIA

Kyivstar - xxxxxxxxx@smsmail.lmt.lv
LMT - 9xxxxxx@smsmail.lmt.lv
Tele2 - xxxxxxxxx@sms.tele2.lv

LEBANON

Cellis / LibanCell - 9613xxxxxx@ens.jinny.com.lb

LUXEMBOURG

P&T Luxembourg - xxxxxxxxx@sms.luxgsm.lu

MALAYSIA

Celcom - 019xxxxxxx@sms.celcom.com.my

NETHERLANDS

Dutchtone / Orange-NL - xxxxxxxxx@sms.orange.nl

NORWAY

Netcom - xxxxxxxxx@sms.netcom.no
Telenor - xxxxxxxxx@mobilpost.no

PANAMA

Cable and Wireless - xxxxxxxxx@cwmovil.com

POLAND

Plus GSM - +4860xxxxxxx@text.plusgsm.pl

PORTUGAL

Telcel - 91xxxxxxx@sms.telecel.pt
Optimus - 93xxxxxxx@sms.optimus.pt
TMN - 96xxxxxxx@mail.tmn.pt

RUSSIA

BeeLine GSM - xxxxxxxxx@sms.beemail.ru
MTS - 7xxxxxxxxxx@sms.mts.ru
Personal Communication - sms@pcom.ru (number in subject line)
Primtel - xxxxxxxxx@sms.primtel.ru
SCS-900 - xxxxxxxxx@scs-900.ru
Uraltel - xxxxxxxxx@sms.uraltel.ru
Vessotel - xxxxxxxxx@pager.irkutsk.ru

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO (YUGOSLAVIA)

Mobtel Srbija - xxxxxxxxx@mobtel.co.yu

SINGAPORE

MiWorld - xxxxxxxxx@m1.com.sg
Mobileone - xxxxxxxxx@m1.com.sg

SLOVENIA

Mobitel - xxxxxx@linux.mobitel.si
Si Mobil - xxxxxx@simobil.net

SPAIN

Movistar - xxxxxxxxx@correo.movistar.net
Vodafone - xxxxxxxxx@vodafone.es

SWEDEN

Comviq GSM - 467xxxxxxxx@sms.comviq.se
Europolitan - 4670xxxxxxx@europolitan.se

SWITZERLAND

Sunrise Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@freesurf.ch
Sunrise Mobile - xxxxxxxxx@mysunrise.ch
Swisscom - xxxxxxxxx@bluewin.ch

TANZANIA

Mobitel - xxxxxxxxx@sms.co.tz

UKRAINE

Golden Telecom - xxxxxxxxx@sms.goldentele.com
Kyivstar - xxxxxxxxxx@2sms.kyivstar.net
UMC - xxxxxxxxx@sms.umc.com.ua

UNITED KINGDOM

Orange - 0973xxxxxx@omail.net
Orange - xxxxxxxxx@orange.net
O2 - name@o2.co.uk
O2 (M-mail) - 44xxxxxxxxx@mmail.co.uk
T-Mobile UK - xxxxxxxxx@t-mobile.uk.net
Vodafone UK - xxxxxxxxx@vodafone.net

Resource(s): makeuseof.com, worldstart.com, tech-faq.com

◎ИLƴ on YOUTUBE: SOUR '日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro)'

2012-01-13T07:31:00.002-05:00

I was looking up stuff to do with animation and came across this 'weird' yet captivating video.

It's from a band called 'SOUR'. The music video was shot for Sour's 'Hibi no Neiro' (Tone of everyday) from their first mini album 'Water Flavor EP'. The cast were selected from the actual Sour fan base, from many countries around the world. Each person and scene was filmed purely via webcam.

⅏Did You Know: China Built 30-Storey Building in Over Two Weeks!

2012-01-08T12:52:00.004-05:00

Did You Know... China built a 30 story building in 15 days??!!!

The Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, has yet attempted another impossible feat, building a 30-story tall hotel prototype in 360 hours, after building a 15-story building in a week earlier in 2011. You may ask why in a hurry, and is it safe? The statistics in the video can put you in good faith. Prefabricated modular buildings has many advantages over conventional buildings.

Higher precision in fabrication (+/- 0.2mm).
More coordinated on-site construction management.
Shorter construction time span.
Lower construction waste.

Also many other health and energy features are included in Broad Sustainable Buildings (BSB).

The building was built over last Christmas time and finished before New Years Eve of 2012.

Resource(s): liveleak.com

☑PC-Tips and Tricks: Extra Security During Log On in Windows 7 Using CTRL+ALT+DEL

2012-01-02T08:37:00.001-05:00

Extra Security During Log On in Windows 7 Using CTRL+ALT+DEL

You can require users to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE before logging on to a Windows 7-based computer.

If you’re looking to add an extra layer of security to your Windows 7 system, then you may want to consider implementing a bit of a “human touch”, just to be extra sure.

By requiring users to physically hit Ctrl+Alt+Del to access the log on screen in windows, you ensure that malicious programs (ones that try to mimic a system logon to hack passwords) can’t even make it through the front gate.

Here’s how you do it:

Hit Start, and in the search box type netplwiz – click the icon that appears in the list above.

Once the User Accounts window opens up, click the Advanced tab.

At the bottom you’ll see the Secure logon field. Put a check in the box next to Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Hit OK, and you’re all set! If you want to go back to a Ctrl+Alt+Delete-free world again, just follow these steps and un-check the box!

What does the “Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete” do?
The main advantage of using secure logon is that other programs such as password software cannot intercept your user name and password as you enter them for login. Therefore, using secure logon provides an additional layer of security for your computer.

Resource(s): worldstart.com, support.microsoft.com/

✍ FYI: epinions.com

2011-12-27T11:16:00.002-05:00

For Your Information...

Consumer Reviews

About to buy something online?
Then check out Epinions.com first.

Epinions helps people make informed buying decisions. It is a premier consumer reviews platform on the Web and a reliable source for valuable consumer insight, unbiased advice, in-depth product evaluations and personalized recommendations.

Epinions does not decide what content to post and what not to post. Epinions is a platform for people to share their experiences - both good and bad. With millions of consumer reviews, ratings and comments, Epinions' robust content engine presents you with high quality content based on how helpful other users have found it.

Source: MFS-UsefulLinks

Mussels Instead of Turkey for Christmas!

2011-12-26T21:43:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone! How was YOUR Christmas holidays? I made mussels for Christmas - Belgian Style, instead of the usual turkey. And since I received a camera for christmas (I've always wanted my own), it has inspired me to create yet another blog, (god help me), and started posting some pics of my Mussels For Christmas @ MFS-SNAPSHOTS! Check it out when you have some time! Ok?

◎ИLƴ on YOUTUBE: Ultimate Dog Tease

2011-12-23T11:53:00.001-05:00

Well, I was watching the news last night and was surprised to find out that YouTube released its 2011 list of the most-watched videos in Canada. While I do not care to mention the #1 most watched videos by us, (ok, it's some chick called Rebecca Black singing some lame song called “Friday”), I'm happy however, to reveal the 2nd most watched videos by us entitled "Ultimate Dog Tease' video.

Andrew Grantham, who hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, secured the number two spot. The hilarious voice over to a home video of a German shepherd has garnered almost 76 million views to date! Check it out!

❏This vs That ❐: Virus vs Worm vs Trojan

2011-12-22T07:42:00.001-05:00

I know you've all heard of them at one time or another - or even worse - experienced them. The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, even those that do not have the reproductive ability. Malware includes computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, etc. Viruses are sometimes confused with worms and Trojan horses, but there are differences among the three:

Computer Viruses
A computer virus is a small program written to alter the way a computer operates, without the permission or knowledge of the user. A virus must meet two criteria:

It must execute itself. It often places its own code in the path of execution of another program.
It must replicate itself. For example, it may replace other executable files with a copy of the virus infected file. Viruses can infect desktop computers and network servers alike.

Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by damaging programs, deleting files, or reformatting the hard disk. Others are not designed to do any damage, but simply to replicate themselves and make their presence known by presenting text, video, and audio messages. Even these benign viruses can create problems for the computer user. They typically take up computer memory used by legitimate programs. As a result, they often cause erratic behavior and can result in system crashes. In addition, many viruses are bug-ridden, and these bugs may lead to system crashes and data loss.

Computer Worms
Worms are programs that replicate themselves from system to system without the use of a host file. This is in contrast to viruses, which requires the spreading of an infected host file. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the capability to travel without any human action. A worm takes advantage of file or information transport features on your system, which is what allows it to travel unaided. Although worms generally exist inside of other files, often Word or Excel documents, there is a difference between how worms and viruses use the host file. Usually the worm will release a document that already has the "worm" macro inside the document. The entire document will travel from computer to computer, so the entire document should be considered the worm. W32.Mydoom.AX@mm is an example of a worm.

Computer Trojan Horses
Trojan horses are impostors—files that claim to be something desirable but, in fact, are malicious. A very important distinction between Trojan horse programs and true viruses is that they do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they replicate themselves. Trojan horses contain malicious code that when triggered cause loss, or even theft, of data. For a Trojan horse to spread, you must invite these programs onto your computers; for example, by opening an email attachment or downloading and running a file from the Internet. Trojans are also known to create a backdoor, (an undocumented way of gaining access to a program, online service or an entire computer system) on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised.

Tips to Combat Viruses, Worms and Trojan Horses on Your Computer

Keep The Operating System Updated

The first step in protecting your computer from any malicious there is to ensure that your operating system (OS) is up-to-date. This is essential if you are running a Microsoft Windows OS. Secondly, you need to have anti-virus software installed on your system and ensure you download updates frequently to ensure your software has the latest fixes for new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Additionally, you want to make sure your anti-virus program has the capability to scan e-mail and files as they are downloaded from the Internet, and you also need to run full disk scans periodically. This will help prevent malicious programs from even reaching your computer.

Use a Firewall

You should also install a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall can be either hardware or software. Hardware firewalls provide a strong degree of protection from most forms of attack coming from the outside world and can be purchased as a stand-alone product or in broadband routers. Unfortunately, when battling viruses, worms and Trojans, a hardware firewall may be less effective than a software firewall, as it could possibly ignore embedded worms in out going e-mails and see this as regular network traffic.

For individual home users, the most popular firewall choice is a software firewall. A good software firewall will protect your computer from outside attempts to control or gain access your computer, and usually provides additional protection against the most common Trojan programs or e-mail worms. The downside to software firewalls is that they will only protect the computer they are installed on, not a network.

It is important to remember that on its own a firewall is not going to rid you of your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and a good anti-virus scanning software, it will add some extra security and protection for your computer or network.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, a Worm will attack your computer by itself, whereas a Virus requires you to install it by downloading it from the network or storage device. A Trojan Horse is a malicious program that presents itself in an interesting or entertaining manner (e.g a free game, beautiful screen saver, mp3 song etc), but it harms the computer.

Resource(s): symantec.com, webopedia.com, wikipedia

☺On The Lighter Side... Judas Asparagus

2011-12-17T08:46:00.000-05:00

JUDAS ASPARAGUS

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible.
Through the eyes of a child:

The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas.

The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.

Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve.

Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast.

Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston.
Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.
God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.
After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus.
Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

✈Worldwide Wednesdays: Mystic Mountain Bobsled, JAMAICA

2011-12-07T09:07:00.001-05:00

Where shall we travel to today?....

MYSTIC MOUNTAIN BOBSLED, JAMAICA

Mystic Mountain Bobsled, Ocho Rios, JAMAICA

Have you ever been bobsledding? In the mountains? I think not!
I was planning to go somewhere 'tropical' next year and Jamaica has always been a favourite destination of mine. It has been over 20 years since I last visited so I was surprise to see and hear about this Bobsled mountain ride!

I searched for it on Youtube hoping to get a better understanding and experience by seeing it live and boy,... what a ride! LOL
I'm usually terrified of roller coasters since I have a natural fear of heights but this kind of ride I think I'm ready for. And what a lush, tropical scenery! I'm hoping just the beauty of the natural surroundings will take away the inner fear... temporarily anyways.

Mystic Mountain
Mystic Mountain is Jamaica's newest water park attraction, located in the Drax Hall area of Ocho Rios. Visitors will experience Jamaica's rainforest terrain from 700 feet above sea level.

The park's signature attraction, Rainforest Bobsled Jamaica, features a 1000m (about 3,280 feet) long gravity-driven plunge with twists and turns through the rainforest on custom designed, high-tech sleds. You are able to control the speed of your descent with an in-sled handbrake, therefore allowing for a nice 'sunday drive' through the forest or a heart pounding, pulse quickening dive to the bottom (speeds up to 40 mph). And just when you think you are done, you and the bobsled are slowly raised back to the Railway Station through the forest on an elevated tramway, where you can... well, do it ALL OVER again!

It is said that the ride was designed to evoke the experience of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled teams of 1988 and 1992. Remember them? LOL

Yeeeehaaaa!

Video

Remember, you can control the speed, ride solo or 'attached'. So if you're on your own and not afraid... you can zip through that rainforest 'like a bat out of hell'!

Resource(s): jamaicascene.com, rainforestadventures.com/, cruiseportinsider.com/

☺On The Lighter Side...Top 10 Reasons Men Prefer Guns Over Women (With Top 10 Reasons Women Prefer Guns Over Men)

2011-11-26T11:59:00.001-05:00

Top 10 Reasons Men Prefer Guns Over Women (With Top 10 Reasons Women Prefer Guns Over Men)

#10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22 AND nobody gets hurt.

#9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're on the road AND nobody gets hurt.

#8. If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.

#7. Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

#6. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

#5. A gun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.

#4. Guns function normally every day of the month.

#3. A gun doesn't ask, "Do these new grips make me look fat?”

#2. A gun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

And the number one reason a gun is favored over a woman is...

#1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN

10 Reasons Why Women Prefer Guns Over Men

#10. You can easily trade that snubby in for something with a longer barrel.

#9. You can keep a gun clean with a little Hoppe's and some elbow grease.

#8. A gun never complains about the fit of its holster.

#7. A gun doesn't need to watch a bad Western on video before you take it to the range.

#6. Too many rounds and shots over the years don't cause the trigger guard to grow and sag.

#5. You can carry a gun in your pants all day without it becoming a pest.

#4. A gun doesn't complain if you want to spend more than 15 minutes at the range.

#3. Emission of noxious gases is always under your control.

#2. A gun doesn't call you a tease after you do a bit of dry fire.

#1. A gun doesn't need to take a nap after each shot.

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: The New Canadian Money

2011-11-18T08:09:00.001-05:00

The New Canadian Money!

Canadian currency has come a long way. And it's going even further. The new polymer notes look and feel quite different, but they're a good change for Canadians. They are highly secure, durable, and innovative.

Pic by Flickr Bank of Canada - Banque du Canada

Feel, look and flip

Feel
Feel the smooth, unique texture of the note. It’s made from a single piece of polymer with some transparent areas.
Look
Look for transparency through the large window and the outline of the frosted maple leaf window.
Look at the details in the metallic portrait and building in the large window.
Flip
Flip the note to see the metallic portrait and building repeated in the same colours and detail on the other side of the large window.

Benefits For You

Polymer notes carry benefits that you’ll appreciate as you make those basic transactions of everyday life.

Secure:
Their leading-edge security features are easy to verify and hard to counterfeit.
Durable:
They last at least 2.5 times longer than paper notes, reducing processing and replacement costs and environmental impact.
Innovative:
The detailed metallic imagery carried in a transparent area of the notes makes for one-of-a-kind currency.
Easy to Handle:
The new notes feel different from paper notes, but are just as simple to use.

Video

Canada introduces its new bill June 20th 2011 its going to be made out of plastic or as they call it " polymer " Look at the innovative security features and design of the new $100 polymer…

Ok, so I'm expecting one of these new Canadian 'plastic' money any day now...
(Yeah, right. Too bad I haven't seen a hundred dollar bill in about... a hundred years.)

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not but when I do eventually get one, I shall see!

Resource(s): bankofcanada.ca

◎ИLƴ on YOUTUBE: The New Men's Training Tool?

2011-11-11T06:56:00.001-05:00

I can't remember WHAT I was looking for when I came across this video (lol):

✍ FYI: How Fast Does Your Web/Blog Page Load?

2011-11-01T00:08:00.000-04:00

For Your Information...

Testing the Loading Time of Your Website

Nobody likes a slow web page and mine is full of so much stuff that I've always wondered how long it really took to load in terms of actual seconds as well as how to fix the problem if it does take a long time to load.

Well after searching 'high and low' and sifting through some really crappy sites, I finally found one that seems to get the job done. Let's put it this way, after using pingdom.com, my site loading time went from 60 seconds to 3.27 seconds just by deleting some of the "slow-as-molasses" culprits they've discovered on my page!

As Pingdom Stated Best...
"We built this Full Page Test tool to help you analyze the load speed of your websites and learn how to make them faster. It lets you identify what about a web page is fast, slow, too big, what best practices you’re not following, and so on. We have tried to make it useful both to experts and novices alike.

In short, we wanted it to be a free, easy-to-use tool to help webmasters and web developers everywhere optimize the performance of their websites."

Go check them out when you have some time, to see what else they have to offer!

I hope this was helpful.

Source: MFS-UsefulLinks

HAPPY HALLOWEEN - 2011!

2011-10-23T11:18:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd celebrate this year's Halloween by talking a bit about the famous Haunted House - Nightmares Fear Factory - located close to me in Niagara Falls, Ontario, CANADA.

I've never been there myself, (yes, I'm too afraid), but I've heard and seen so much about it on the radio and internet. It's a 15 minute walk-through attraction that preys on each visitor's fears and phobias. It is the longest running haunted house in North America - and possibly the scariest!

As the story goes...
The haunted house is built on the site of the once industrious Cataract Coffin Factory where eccentric proprietor Abraham Mortimer dedicated every waking hour to surveying the progress of his domain.

At night, the old man was tormented and taunted by young hooligans. Abraham would chase the riff-raff from their pranks and dares. They always laughed at his threats… until one fateful night Abraham confronted a rowdy group of thrill-seekers. In the ensuing struggle, a stack of solid oak coffins overturned, and Abraham was crushed to death!
The guilty ran off and were never apprehended for their part in the gruesome murder.
Soon after the funeral, Abraham Mortimer's coffin was found unearthed and empty!

To this day it is said, he walks the halls for revenge on those who dare trespass on his beloved, and now abandoned factory.

The haunted house is so scary that...
visitors can yell a safety word - Nightmares - if they can't handle the nightmare no longer. They are escorted out but not before given a "Chicken Card" which gives them a free ticket if they muster the courage to return in the future.

For over 30 years, the attraction has been scaring, thrilling and challenging guests to survive, with over 112,500 chickening out and counting todate - all heading for the exits faster than you can say.. holy sh**t let me outta here!

But don't take my word for it. Just check out the photos below taken at the moment of fright from real shots caught on a hidden camera!

Visitors wander around in complete darkness, go across a shaky bridge, a tunnel and a room where walls close in. The picture is taken right when people see a car full of ghosts.

Just one more thing, I couldn't help but wonder while viewing the photos...

Why are the men hiding behind the women in alot of these pics???

That's It! We're Outta Here! Right Behind You Dude!

See you after...

Resource(s): cliftonhill.com, nightmaresfearfactory.com, ca.news.yahoo.com, fyasko.com

☺On the Lighter Side... A Lawyer Riding in his Limo ...

2011-10-22T08:18:00.000-04:00

A LAWYER RIDING HIS LIMO...

A lawyer riding in his limo sees two men along the roadside, eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate. He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?"

"We don't have money for food," says he. "We have to eat grass."

The lawyer says, "Come home with me and I'll feed you."

"But, sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there under that tree."

"Bring them along," the lawyer replied. Turning to the other man, he said, "You come with us also."

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, "But, sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me."

"Bring them all as well," the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task even for a car as large as the limousine.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for thinking of all of us."

The lawyer replied, "Think nothing of it. You'll love my place. The grass is at least a foot high."

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: The P-Tree and the Toilet Made From Poop!

2011-10-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

The P-Tree!

aka the Piss-Tree by AANDEBOOM

Just when I thought I'v seen it all...

The P-TREE is a temporary tree-friendly urinal that can be fixed on every tree using straps and lashings. The P-TREE gives a feeling of freedom... (yeah, if you're an exhibitionist).

The P-TREE can be hooked up to a central sewerage system or connected to a tank with a pump. Material: rotation molded recycled plastic, stainless steel and straps and lashings. The P-TREE and Lashings are available in different RAL colors.

The P-TREES were a great success at the Roskilde festival 2011 in Denmark, with more than 100,000 visitors and many of them using the P-TREE more than once. For the Roskilde festival, AANDEBOOM produced 50 P-TREES in the typical Roskilde Orange color. The P-TREES were placed on 2 different spots near the main stage. By using the P-TREE the festivals problem with public peeing was significantly reduced.

But don't take their word for it.. check out the video below:

Are you grossed out yet?

Well, how about the toilet made from uh... poop!

The Loowatt Toilet

Form follows function to whole new level in Virginia Gardiner’s energy generating toilet – which is literally made from poop!
When you start talking about developing nations, access to clean water and reliable energy are two major problems. The Loowatt takes a crack at both of these problems at once by providing a toilet that converts human waste into natural gas and fertilizer. It doesn’t waste water, it creates fuel, and it takes care of processing human waste – what’s not to love?

Now it’s not clear if every Loowatt is going to look like this but if it does, does it really have to look like a gigantic cylindrical poop? Yuck!

The low-cost mechanical eco commode encourages people to trade in their waste for biofuel, creating an urban infrastructure that encourages proper waste disposal, cuts down on the spread of water-born illnesses, and provides a reliable source of energy (so long as you’re regular). Check out Dwell‘s fantastic video (below) for an interview with designer Virginia Gardiner, and read on for more on the poop toilet!

Resource(s): aandeboom.nl, icbe.org, inhabitat.com

❏This vs That ❐: Internet vs World Wide Web (WWW)

2011-10-20T07:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Thursday's

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The hardware and software infrastructure of the Internet establishes a global data communications system between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services used to gain access to and through the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.

One of the greatest things about the Internet is that nobody really owns it. It is a global collection of networks, both big and small. These networks connect together in many different ways to form the single entity that we know as the Internet. In fact, the very name comes from this idea of interconnected networks.

The Internet

Simply, the Internet is a network of networks -- and there are all kinds of networks in all kinds of sizes. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail.

You may have a computer network at your work, at your school or even one at your house. These networks are often connected to each other in different configurations, which is how you get groupings such as local area networks (LANs) and regional networks. Your cell phone is also on a network that is considered part of the Internet, as are many of your other electronic devices. And all these separate networks -- added together -- are what constitute the Internet. Even satellites are connected to the Internet.

WWW's "historical" logo,
created by Robert Cailliau

The World Wide Web (WWW aka Web)

The World Wide Web (abbreviated as WWW or W3, and commonly known as the Web) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents, (text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence) accessed via the Internet. With a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them via hyperlinks.

Using concepts from earlier hypertext systems, British engineer and computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee, now Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), wrote a proposal in March 1989 for what would eventually become the World Wide Web. At CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau proposed in 1990 to use hypertext "... to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will", and they publicly introduced the project in December.

"The World-Wide Web was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human culture, which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common project."

Conclusion
So, to better understand the difference between internet and web, think of it this way:

Consider the internet to be the highway and you are driving through the city looking for access to this highway/internet. In order to get on the highway/internet, you will have to be able to access it through the exit/ramp/world wide web.

Resource(s): howstuffworks.com, wikipedia, webopedia.com, wikipedia

☺On The Lighter Side.. A Woman's Week At The Gym

2011-10-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM

This is dedicated to all you ladies (and men) who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine... and failed.

Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my husband purchased for me a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY:Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around.

This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

TUESDAY:I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.
Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

THURSDAY:Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes.
He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.
Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.

FRIDAY:I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anaemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.
Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.
The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY:I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun-- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

THE END

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: Invest In Breasts

2011-10-14T07:27:00.000-04:00

Invest In Breasts!

Just fun, friendships, and free breast implants!

Have you always wanted to go from an A or B to a CC,DD or beyond but never have the funds to do so? Well, if you are flat chested and flat broke - this is the site for YOU!

Over 311,000 women had breast augmentation last year - and that's only in the United States alone! This 'boob obsession' eventually led to a revolutionary website that will probably have alot of you guys saying "why didn't I think of that!"

MyFreeImplants.com is a social funding company that provides the only no cost alternative to expensive cosmetic surgery loans. The service is a specialized social networking website that provides fundraising for women who have a strong desire to enhance their physical appearance through breast augmentation surgery, and donors who wish to make a difference in their lives.

How It All Began...

MyFreeImplants.com started in early 2005 when a bunch of friends were attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas. During the course of the party a conversation started up about how our hostess had the most perfect set of breasts. She told us how she had just recently "gotten them done." Her beautiful friend chimed in and mentioned that she wanted to get hers done but could not yet afford the $6000 price tag. One of us yelled out "I got $5 on it" and then someone else offered $10, and then $20, and then $50. By the time we done there was a verbal commitment amongst all our friends to pay for 20% of her implants!

With that initial brain storm and proof of concept we set out to actually raise the rest of the money needed for a full procedure. We came up with the name MyFreeImplants.com and put together a quick website and started spreading the word online. It was an instant hit and donations poured in from all over the world. Within 4 months the remainder of the money was raised and a woman's dream of bigger breasts was achieved.

From there we took the concept to the next level and expanded the website from helping out just one lady, to an entire community of women.
Since the launch of this website in 2005, more than 40,000 men have flocked to the site, to help the girl of their dreams get the body of hers!

Now you can go from THIS⇩ to THIS!⇩

One thing I'm just pondering here as I'm writing this post... where are these men? Would they be willing to do cars instead or just boobs?

Screw the boob job! - Give me their names, numbers and addresses. I mean I could use a boob job just as much as the next woman - but some of us women could use a car more.

I'll start a website out there for men who are willing to buy women the CAR of their dreams and sign these guys up immediately! Who knows, if they are considerate and generous enough to donate for boob jobs, they just might do the same for cars (for the women of their dreams, of course)!

Resource(s): dailymail.co.uk

✍ FYI: Save Large with eBay Bloopers!

2011-10-12T07:16:00.000-04:00

For Your Information...

Get the best bargains on eBay using these sites!

eBay is the worlds largest auction Web site with over $23 billion worth of goods expected to sell this year. eBay is turning into a real gold mine for misspelled items all because sellers rush. How does this work you may ask? It’s quite simple. For example Mr X is trying to sell a 20-inch wide screen television. He accidentally misspells "televison". If you go to eBay and search for television you will get thousands of results. "televison" however only returns a few items. Very few potential buyers will see this listing as they will search for the correct spelling of television only. The number of bids and competition for that auction will be low.

For a list of common misspellings, check out these sites:

typohound.com - Simply enter a search term and follow the link that is generated to hunt for typo deals on eBay!

or

auctionbloopers.com - Type the correctly spelled search term for the product you're looking for into the search box to start saving money!

The best thing is that you don’t even have to keep the item you just bought. You can sell it straight away using the same old eBay and make a large profit. However make sure you spell your listing correctly. The possibilities are endless. It’s impossible to tell how many misspelled items are out there. At the end of the day it’s all about experimenting. You never know what might be around the corner. Just be creative and search for the strangest misspelled keywords. Who knows, it could be you walking away with the $1000 diamond watch you have bought for $10. Best of luck!

Source: MFS-UsefulLinks

⅏Did You Know: Aileen Wuornos - The American Female Serial Killer

2011-10-09T09:16:00.001-04:00

Did You Know... She was the tenth woman in the United States to be executed since the Supreme Court lifted the ban on capital punishment in 1976, and the second woman ever executed in Florida?

Aileen Wuornos mug shot
Photo credit

Aileen Carol Wuornos (29 February 1956 – 9 October 2002) was an American serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990, claiming they raped or attempted to rape her while she was working as a prostitute. She was convicted and sentenced to death for six of the murders and executed by lethal injection on October 9, 2002. At the age of 12, Aileen Wuornos was already engaging in sexual activities in school in exchange for cigarettes, drugs, and food and at age 15, was literally on the road earning a living prostituting...

Childhood
Wuornos was born as Aileen Carol Pittman in Rochester, Michigan, on 29 February 1956. Her mother, Diane Wuornos, was 15 years old when she married Aileen's father, Leo Dale Pittman on 3 June 1954. Less than two years later, and two months before Wuornos was born, Diane filed for divorce. Aileen had an older brother named Keith, who was born in February 1955. Wuornos never met her father, because he was in prison for the rape and attempted murder of an eight-year-old boy when she was born. Leo Pittman was considered to be a schizophrenic, who was convicted of sex crimes against children, was in and out of prison, and hanged himself in prison in 1969. In January 1960, when Aileen was almost 4 years old, Diane abandoned her children, leaving them with their maternal grandparents, Lauri and Britta Wuornos, who legally adopted Keith and Aileen on 18 March 1960.
Wuornos claimed that she was sexually assaulted and beaten as a child by her grandfather. Aileen's grandfather was an alcoholic. Before beating her, he would force her to strip out of her clothes. In 1970, at age 14, she became pregnant, having been raped by a friend of her grandfather. Wuornos gave birth at a home for unwed mothers, and the child was placed for adoption. A few months after her baby was born, Aileen dropped out of school as her grandmother died of liver failure; and Aileen and her brother became wards of the court. When she was 15, her grandfather threw her out of the house; and she began supporting herself as a prostitute and living in the woods near her old home.

She was also gang raped by Hells Angels when she was 15, her boyfriend was a Hells Angel in Richmond, Michigan. She regularly traveled to Daytona Beach during her teens (Daytona Beach Florida is Hells Angels central, like Sturgis South Dakota).
When she was 20 she moved to Daytona Beach and was a regular at the Hells Angels biker bar 'The Last Resort' for the next 15 years of her life.

She was pimped out to tourists by the Hells Angels in Daytona Beach for as long as her looks lasted, and then turned gay and moved to cottage country in central Florida, living in camp grounds and trailer parks.

On 4 January 1986, Wuornos was arrested in Miami and charged with grand theft auto, resisting arrest, and obstruction by false information for providing identification with her aunt's name. Miami police officers found a .38-caliber revolver and a box of ammunition in the stolen car. On 2 June 1986, Volusia County, Florida deputy sheriffs detained Wuornos for questioning after a male companion accused her of pulling a gun, in his car, and demanding $200. Wuornos was found to be carrying spare ammunition, and a .22 pistol was discovered under the passenger seat she had occupied.

The Last Resort Bar

Around this time, Wuornos met Tyria Moore, a hotel maid, at a Daytona gay bar. They moved in together, and Wuornos supported them with her prostitution earnings.

Tyria Moore, a husky lesbian, is depicted as a petite ingenue played by Christina Ricci in the movie 'Monster' when in reality Tyra was several years older and fifty pounds heavier than Wuornos.
On 4 July 1987, Daytona Beach police detained Wuornos and Moore at a bar for questioning regarding an incident in which they were accused of assault and battery with a beer bottle. On 12 March 1988, Wuornos accused a Daytona Beach bus driver of assault. She claimed that he pushed her off the bus following a confrontation. Moore was listed as a witness to the incident.

Tyria Moore -
Aileen Wuornos's former girlfriend

She provided for herself and her lover by hitchiking to remote areas of state parks or near highway truck stops and posing as a stranded motorist alongside remote stretches of highway and trucking routes, and then robbing and shooting the men who kindly offered her a ride, stealing their cars.

After seeing Wuornos on television prior to her first trial, a 44-year-old born-again-Christian woman named Arlene Pralle felt compelled to contact Aileen. She claimed Jesus told her to do so. Pralle quickly became an outspoken advocate of Wuornos, speaking with her daily and claiming her innocence.

Murders

Richard Mallory, age 51, 30 November 1989—Electronics store owner in Clearwater, Florida. Wuornos' first victim was a convicted rapist whom she claimed to have killed in self-defense. Two days later, a Volusia County, Florida, Deputy Sheriff found Mallory's abandoned vehicle. On December 13, Mallory's body was found several miles away in a wooded area. He had been shot several times, but two bullets to the left lung were found to have been the cause of death. It was on this murder that Wuornos would eventually be condemned.

David Spears, age 43—Construction worker in Winter Garden, Florida. On 1 June 1990, his nude body was found along Highway 19 in Citrus County, Florida. He had been shot six times.

Charles Carskaddon,age 40, 31 May 1990—Part-time rodeo worker. On 6 June 1990, his body was found in Pasco County, Florida. He had been shot nine times with a small-caliber weapon.

Peter Siems, age 65—In June 1990, Siems left Jupiter, Florida, for New Jersey. On 4 July 1990, his car was found in Orange Springs, Florida. Moore and Wuornos were seen abandoning the car, and Wuornos' palm print was found on the interior door handle. His body was never found.

Troy Burress, age 50—Sausage salesman from Ocala, Florida. On 31 July 1990, he was reported missing. On 4 August 1990, his body was found in a wooded area along State Road 19 in Marion County, Florida. He had been shot twice.

Charles "Dick" Humphreys, age 56, 11 September 1990—Retired U.S. Air Force Major, former State Child Abuse Investigator, and former Chief of Police. On 12 September 1990, his body was found in Marion County, Florida. He was fully clothed and had been shot six times in the head and torso. His car was found in Suwannee County, Florida.

Walter Jeno Antonio, age 62—Police Reservist. On 19 November 1990, Antonio's nearly nude body was found near a remote logging road in Dixie County, Florida. He had been shot four times. Five days later, his car was found in Brevard County, Florida.

Sentencing
On 4 July 1990, Wuornos and Moore abandoned Peter Siems's car after they were involved in an accident. Witnesses who had seen the women driving the victims' cars provided police with their names and descriptions, resulting in a media campaign to locate them. Police also found some of the victims' belongings in pawnshops and retrieved fingerprints matching those found in the victims' cars. Wuornos had a criminal justice record in Florida, and her fingerprints were on file.

On 9 January 1991, Wuornos was arrested on an outstanding warrant at The Last Resort, the biker bar in Volusia County. Police located Moore the next day in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She agreed to elicit a confession from Wuornos in exchange for prosecutorial immunity. Moore returned with police to Florida, where she was put up in a motel. Under police guidance, Moore made numerous telephone calls to Wuornos, pleading for help in clearing her name. Three days later, on 16 January 1991, Wuornos confessed to the murders. She claimed the men had tried to rape her and she killed them in self-defense

On 14 January 1992, Wuornos went to trial for the murder of Richard Mallory. Four days later, she was sentenced to death.

On 31 March 1992, Wuornos pleaded no contest to the murders of Dick Humphreys, Troy Burress, and David Spears, saying she wanted to "get right with God". In her statement to the court, she stated, "I wanted to confess to you that Richard Mallory did violently rape me as I've told you; but these others did not. [They] only began to start to." On 15 May 1992, Wuornos was given three more death sentences.

In June 1992, Wuornos pleaded guilty to the murder of Charles Carskaddon; in November 1992, she received her fifth death sentence

In February 1993, Wuornos pleaded guilty to the murder of Walter Gino Antonio and was sentenced to death again. No charges were brought against her for the murder of Peter Siems, as his body was never found. In all, she received six death sentences.

Wuornos told several inconsistent stories about the killings. She claimed initially that all seven men had raped her while she was working as a prostitute but later recanted the claim of self-defense. During an interview with filmmaker Nick Broomfield, when she thought the cameras were off, she told him that it was, in fact, self-defense, but she could not stand being on death row—where she had been for 12 years at that point—and wanted to die.

Wuornos was brought into the death chamber on October 9, 2002. She had declined a last meal and instead was given a cup of coffee. Her last words before the execution was "Yes, I would just like to say I'm sailing with the rock, and I'll be back, like Independence Day with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big mother ship and all, I'll be back, I'll be back."

At 9:47 A.M. EDT, Aileen Wuornos died.

After her execution, Wuornos' body was cremated. Her ashes were taken by Dawn Botkins, a childhood friend of Wuornos, to her native Michigan and spread beneath a tree. She requested that Natalie Merchant's song "Carnival" be played at her funeral.

Video

Resource(s):wikipedia, letsrollforums.com

☺On The Lighter Side... Get Out of the Car!

2011-10-08T14:27:00.003-04:00

GET OUT OF THE CAR!

(This is supposedly a true account recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida)

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.

She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"

The four men didn't wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad.

The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition.

She tried and tried, and then she realised why. It was for the same reason she had sondered why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat.

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down.

She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake.

The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn't stop laughing.

He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun.

No charges were filed.

Moral of the story?

If you're going to have a senior moment... make it memorable.

Before and After...

✚Helpful Hints #7

2011-10-07T08:43:00.000-04:00

HEALTH and WELLNESS

MEN ARE YOU PRONE TO GALLSTONES?

Then how about going meatless at least once a week? Research has shown men who consume large amounts of the type of iron abundant in red meat have a 21% higher risk of developing the stones.

A GOOD REASON TO ENJOY WINE WITH DINNER.
To help stop a cold before it starts just sip one glass daily and you'll be 40% less likely to catch a cold more than teetotalers - even if you smoke, have allergies or are constantly exposed to sniffling, sneezing children! Why? Flavonoids - powerful plant compounds found in grape skins - actively combat rhinoviruses, the major cause of the common cold, say researchers.

BEAUTY and FASHION

PUFFY EYES?

Place a chilled spoon over each eye for 10 minutes. The coolness reduces swelling so your eyes look pretty and rested!

CHAPPED LIPS?
Smooth on olive oil. Dry skin soaks it up like a sponge, leaving lips soft and protecting them from the environment.

HOME and AUTO
TO IMPROVE FUEL ECONOMY IN YOUR CAR:

If you drive an automatic, and you have an "economy setting" - keep your car in economy mode. If you drive a manual transmissioned vehicle, you can improve efficiency by not "revving" out the gears, but by doing the opposite - shift as early as is safe, so as not to stall the engine, and to allow a safe rate of acceleration. You engine required far less fuel this way.
That cool roof rack or bike rack is costing you dearly if you carry it around when it's not being used. Wind resistance is greatly increased when you add an "extremity" to the carefully sculpted shape of your car or truck.
Remove the roof racks, racing wings, sports flags, extra ladders or tools, or anything else that is protruding from your car or truck. Keep your car clean, and even wax it for the smoothest finish possible to slice easily thru the air.
Driving 80mph on the highway uses 10%-20% more fuel than driving 70mph, and only saves you a few minutes for most trips. Driving 70mph on the highway uses 20%-30% more fuel than driving 55mph. It's not hard to see that the wind resistances increases substantially above 60mph. If you have time to get where you are going, move to the right, and simmer down in the slow lane, knowing that you're saving money and fuel the whole way.

SEX and RELATIONSHIPS
SEX FACT #3
A U.K. study found that most men prefer women with some curves to super-skinny waifs.

TELL YOUR HUSBAND WHAT YOU REALLY THINK!
You may think keeping quiet during arguments with your mate is helping your marriage by keeping the peace. But piping up could save your life! That's the news from researchers who found that wives who hold in their feelings are four times more likely to die prematurely than wives who freely air their views!

PETS AND ANIMALS
CUT PET BOWL-CLEANUP TIME IN HALF!
If you're sick of scraping crusty leftovers from your animal's dish, spray the inside with a light coating of cooking spray before adding his food. The slick base will prevent the chow from sticking to the bottom of the bowl, so all you'll have to do between feedings is wipe and rinse for a spotless result.

CLIP A FRISKY FELINE'S CLAWS WITH EASE!
When it comes to nail-clipping time, your cat goes ballistic. To the rescue: clothespins. First, approach the feline when she is relaxed. Then attach four clothespins down the scruff of her neck. The pins mimic her mother's grip (while leaving both of your hands free), which will instantly soothe her for a stress-free grooming session.

MONEY and FINANCE
MONEY LESSONS - FOR KIDS!

Helping your kids with money now could put them on the path to riches as they grow up, says financial guru Linda Y. Leitz, CFP, M.B.A. Her advice:

Give them their own money. Allowances help children gain financial independence - try $1 per year of age (so a 10-year-old gets $10 a week). teens can also open a bank account to teach them to budget.
Do some comparison shopping. Young children don't always know how much things cost, but you can help them by comparing items they like. For example, with $1, they can buy candy and get change, or an ice cream for the whole dollar. Studies show kids who can gauge values are more financially responsible later.

DO YOU TEND TO BE LEFT-BRAINED OR RIGHT?
TRY THIS THUMB TEST TO FIND OUT!

Interlock the fingers of your hands, and place one thumb on top of the other.

Analysis:
The brain works in two general modes. In one mode (often called ‘right-brained’), it is more intuitive, visual, and creative. In the other (often called ‘left-brained’), it is more logical, sequential, and language based. In many ways, it is like having an artist and accountant arguing in your head, and you keep flipping between the two.

All of us work in both modes, but everyone naturally tends towards one or the other.

People who place their right thumb on top of their left thumb tend to be left-brain dominant, and are thus more verbal and analytical. Those placing their left thumb on top of their right thumbs tend to be a right-brain dominant, and thus excel in visual, spatial and intuitive tasks.

Resource(s):
Reader's Digest magazine, tesh.com, Consumer Reports magazine, The Oprah magazine, Womans World magazine, Men's Health magazine, Quirkology.com, Best Health magazine, homesafe.com, Money magazine, Macleans magazine, Better Homes and Garden magazine

◎ИLƴ on YOUTUBE: World's Fastest Cigarette Roller

2011-10-07T08:37:00.000-04:00

Was looking for something on rolling... came across this video:

✈Worldwide Wednesdays: Presidential Palaces Around the World

2011-10-05T11:13:00.002-04:00

Where shall we travel to today?....

Presidential Palaces Around the World

A Presidential Palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. However, some countries do not call the official residence of a head of state a presidential palace. Some of the presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in countries that were monarchies that have now become republics.

Kremlin, RUSSIA

Moscow, Kremlin. Bird's Eye View from the southwest

The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль, Moskovskiy Kreml), sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

View of the Kremlin, Moscow, 1992
Photo credit

The name The Kremlin is often used as a metonym to refer to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars), in the same way that the metonym Quai d'Orsay refers to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the White House refers to the Executive Office of the President of the United States and Number 10 Downing Street (or simply Number 10) refers to the Office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It is still used in reference to the government of the Russian Federation and even the Russian President's official website is Kremlin.Ru. "Kremlinology" referred to the study of Soviet and Russian policies

Moscow, Kremlin. Bird's Eye View from the East.
Photo(s) credit

The existing Kremlin walls and towers were built by Italian masters over the years 1485 to 1495. The irregular triangle of the Kremlin wall encloses an area of 275,000 square metres (68 acres). Its overall length is 2235 metres (2444 yards), but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres, depending on the terrain. The wall's thickness is between 3.5 and 6.5 metres.

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Palac Prezydencki, POLAND

The palace of Koniecpolski family in Warszawa. Today the office and residence of the Poland's president. Photograph in July 2006
by Henryk Kotowski.

The Presidential Palace (in Polish, Pałac Prezydencki; also known as Pałac Koniecpolskich, Lubomirskich, Radziwiłłów, and Pałac Namiestnikowski) in Warsaw, Poland, is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and advocates of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which historian Norman Davies calls "the first constitution of its kind in Europe.

Wieczorna iluminacja Pałacu Prezydenckiego w Warszawie
Evening illumination of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw
Photo by wiki user Cezary p

An equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski (a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of France), stands in the courtyard. It was commissioned in 1816 and was created by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, modelled after the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. It was sponsored by Polish aristocracy and executed between 1826 and 1832. It was not put in place on account of the tsar's opposition and stood in Ivan Paskevich's manor of Gomel (Eastern Belarus) from 1842 to 1922.

After the Soviet-Polish War, the statue of Prince Józef was brought back to Warsaw. It stood before the Polish General Staff building (the Saxon Palace) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier within the Palace. Though the statue was destroyed in World War II. It was deliberately and completely destroyed by the Germans in 1944 (blew up on December 16). The statue was reconstructed between 1948-51 and recast in 1965 from the original mold by Paul Lauritz Rasmussen (financed by Danish people).

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Grassalkovich Palace, SLOVAKIA

The Grassalkovich Palace
Photo by wiki user Paulrudd

The Grassalkovich Palace (Slovak: Grasalkovičov palác) is a palace in Bratislava and the residence of the president of Slovakia. It is situated on Hodžovo námestie, near the Summer Archbishop's Palace.

The building is a Rococo/late Baroque summer palace with a French garden. It was built in 1760 for Count Antal Grassalkovich, a Hungarian noble serving as the head of the Hungarian Chamber (a sort of ministry of economy and finance for the Kingdom of Hungary), by architect Anton Mayerhofer. It features many beautiful rooms and an impressive staircase.

Photo credit

The building became a center of Baroque musical life in Pozsony/Pressburg. Joseph Haydn premiered some of his works here. Count Grassalkovich also had his orchestra and his "colleague", Prince Esterházy, used to "lend" him his favorite conductor, Haydn. Grassalkovich was Maria Theresa's vassal, so the palace was used for various balls and parties of the Habsburg royal court. For example, it was Haydn who conducted the orchestra when Maria Theresa's daughter married Albert of Sachsen-Teschen, then governor of the Kingdom of Hungary (see Bratislava Castle). Ľudovít Štúr is said to have declared his love to Adela Ostrolúcka for the first time during a ball organized by archduke Stephen Francis Victor (Buda 14 September 1817 – Menton 19 February 1867), son of the Palatine, Joseph. The last owners of the palace before the end of Austria-Hungary were archduke Frederick of Teschen with his wife Isabella of Croy-Dülmen.

After its reconstruction in the early 1990s, on 30 September 1996 the palace became the residence of Slovakia's president. Its once-large gardens are now a public park, complete with a statue of Bratislava-born composer Jan Nepomuk Hummel.

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Rashtrapati Bhavan, INDIA

Main Gate of the President's house
Photo by wiki user Dcastor

The Rashtrapati Bhavan (Sanskrit for Presidential House/Palace) or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India. It is amidst an area known as Lutyens' Delhi.

At present, it is the largest residence of any Chief of the State in the world. The construction of the building was planned for 4 years, but World War I intervened and construction required 19 years to complete. Its first occupant, Lord Irwin, began occupation on January 23, 1931.

Photo credit

The Rashtrapati Bhavan is a large and vast mansion with four floors and has 360 rooms. It is built on a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m²). Various Indian designs were added to the building. These included several circular stone basins on the top of the palace, as water features are an important part of Indian architecture.

The plan of the palace is designed around a massive square although there are many courtyards and open inner areas within. There are separate wings for the Viceroy, and another wing for guests. The Viceroy's wing is a separate four-storey house in itself, with its own court areas within. The wing was so large that the first president of India decided not to stay there, staying in the guest wing, a tradition which was adopted by subsequent presidents.

Going up to Rashtrapati Bhavan
Photo credit

The dome in the middle involved a mixture of Indian and British styles. In the centre was a tall copper dome surmounted on top of a drum, which stands out from the rest of the building, due to its height. The dome is exactly in the middle of the diagonals between the four corners of the building. The dome is more than twice the height of the rest of the building.
The height of the dome was increased by Lord Hardinge in the plan of the building in 1913. The dome combines classical and Indian styles. Lutyens said the design evolved from that of the Pantheon in Rome, while it is also possible that it was modeled partly after the great Stupa at Sanchi. A porch is around the dome with evenly spaced columns which support the dome, with an open area between the columns. Because this goes the whole way round, it makes the dome appear from any angle that it is floating as seen in the heat haze of Delhi. The reinforced concrete shell of the outer dome began to be formed at the beginning of 1929. The last stone of the dome was laid on April 6, 1929.
The main entrance to Rashtrapati Bhavan is known as Gate 35, and is located on Prakash Vir Shastri Avenue, renamed from North Avenue in November 2002, as a memorial to the politician Prakash Vir Shastri (1923-1977), who served here during his tenure as a Member of Parliament for the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Source

Schloss Bellevue , GERMANY

Photo by wiki user Jazz-face

Schloss Bellevue is the official residence of the President of Germany since 1994. The palace in the central Tiergarten district of Berlin is situated on the northern edge of the Großer Tiergarten park, on the banks of the Spree river, near the Berlin Victory Column. Its name ("beautiful view" in French) derives from the scenic prospect over the river course.

The Bellevue Palace is the traditional home of the German president, a ceremonial position not to be confused with the chancellor, who holds the country's executive power. Bellevue was built in 1786
Photo credit

Schloss Bellevue was erected in 1786 as a summer residence for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, the younger brother of King Frederick II, according to plans by architect Michael Philipp Boumann on the site of a manor built in 1743 by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. It then was the first Neoclassical building in Germany, characterized by its Corinthian pilasters, with wings on either side ("Ladies' wing" and "Spree wing"). The upper floor features a ball room designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans. The palace is surrounded by a park covering about 20 hectares. In 1843 Bellevue was acquired by King Frederick William IV of Prussia and in 1865 became the residence of his niece Princess Alexandrine after her marriage with William of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It served the royal and imperial princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty until the German Revolution of 1918.

Photo credit

A property of the Free State of Prussia since 1928, the building in the mid-1930s was used as a museum of ethnography, before being renovated as a guest house for the Nazi government in 1938. During World War II it was severely damaged by strategic bombing and the 1945 Battle of Berlin, whereafter it was refurbished substantially in the 1950s. Inaugurated by President Theodor Heuss in 1959, it served as the secondary residence of the West German president, a pied à terre in West Berlin to supplement his primary residence at the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn. The palace was refurbished again in 1986-87, and after German reunification President Richard von Weizsäcker moved his primary residence to it in 1994. A modern annex was erected at the southern wing in 1998 to host the offices of the affiliated Bundespräsidialamt federal agency.

President Roman Herzog remained the only office holder, who actually lived at Bellevue during his incumbency 1994-1999. The palace was reconstructed again in 2004-05 to remedy defects in earlier renovations. President Horst Köhler used nearby Charlottenburg Palace for representative purposes during this period. Bellevue became the president's primary official seat again in January 2006, but since this reconstruction has not included living quarters. The Federal President lives in a government-owned villa in the suburban Dahlem district of southwestern Berlin.

Contrary to popular belief, the presidential standard is flown on top of the palace even on many days when the President is not in Berlin. It is lowered only when the President takes up official residence elsewhere - e.g. on the occasion of a state visit, when the standard is raised over his temporary residence abroad, or when he uses his second residence at Villa Hammerschmidt. If he is just on vacation, Schloss Bellevue remains his official residence and the standard is flown over it.

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Palazzo del Quirinale, ITALY

The Quirinal Palace housed popes, then kings, and now the Presidents of the Italian Republic.
Photo by wiki user MM

The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply Quirinale) is a historical building in Rome, Italy, the current official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome. It housed thirty popes, four kings and eleven presidents of the Italian Republic.

The current site of the palace has been in use since Roman times, as excavations in the gardens testify. On this hill that the Romans built temples to several deities, from the Flora to Quirinus, after whom the hill was named. During the reign of Constantine the last complex of Roman baths was built here, as the statues of the twins Castor and Pollux taming the horses decorating the fountain in the square testify. The Quirinal, being the highest hill in Rome, was very sought after and became a popular spot for the Roman patricians, who built their luxurious villas. An example of those are the remains of a villa in the Quirinal gardens, where a mosaic, part of the old floor has been found.

Panoramic view of the Piazza del Quirinale with the palace on the left side.
Photo by wiki user Grenouille vert

The palace, located on the Via del Quirinale and facing onto the Piazza del Quirinale, was built in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. The pope wanted to find a location which would have been far away from the humidity and stench coming from the river Tiber and the unhealthy conditions of the Lateran, therefore the Quirinal hill was one of the most suitable places in Rome. On the site there was already a small villa owned by the Carafa family and rented to Luigi d'Este. The pope commissioned to the architect Ottaviano Mascherino the building of a palace with porticoed parallel wings and an internal court. The project was not fully executed, due to the death of the pope in 1585 but it's still recognisable in the north part of the court, especially in the double loggia facade, topped by the panoramic Torre dei venti (tower of the winds) or Torrino. To the latter a bell tower was added according to a project by Carlo Maderno and Francesco Borromini.

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The White House, USA

South facade of the White House, the executive mansion of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C
Photo by wiki user UpstateNYer

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817.

The White House with Marine One the Aircraft carrying the President of the United States - Washington DC
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Today, the White House Complex includes the Executive Residence, West Wing, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room, East Wing, and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which houses the executive offices of the President and Vice President.

The White House is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, and Third Floor, as well as a two-story basement. The term White House is regularly used as a metonym for the Executive Office of the President of the United States and for the president's administration and advisers in general. The property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the President's Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture".

The White House and surrounding grounds
Photo by wiki user Dschwen

Like the English and Irish country houses it was modeled on, the White House was, from the start, open to the public until the early part of the 20th century. President Thomas Jefferson held an open house for his second inaugural in 1805, and many of the people at his swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol followed him home, where he greeted them in the Blue Room. Those open houses sometimes became rowdy: in 1829, President Andrew Jackson had to leave for a hotel when roughly 20,000 citizens celebrated his inauguration inside the White House. His aides ultimately had to lure the mob outside with washtubs filled with a potent cocktail of orange juice and whiskey. Even so, the practice continued until 1885, when newly elected Grover Cleveland arranged for a presidential review of the troops from a grandstand in front of the White House instead of the traditional open house. Jefferson also permitted public tours of his house, which have continued ever since, except during wartime, and began the tradition of annual receptions on New Year's Day and on the Fourth of July. Those receptions ended in the early 1930s, although President Bill Clinton would briefly revive the New Year's Day open house in his first term.

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Presidential Mansion, GREECE

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The Presidential Mansion in Athens, Greece, is the official residence of the President of the Hellenic Republic. It previously served as the Royal Palace, until the abolition of the monarchy by referendum in 1974.

The decision to construct the building which is used today as the Presidential Mansion was taken in 1868. That year, King George I's son, Constantine, the heir to the throne, was born and the Greek state decided to present him with a private dwelling, when he came of age. Twenty one years later when Constantine married princess Sophia of Prussia, the state assigned the planning of "The Crown Prince's Palace", as the building became known, to Ernst Ziller. Building began in 1891 and was completed six years later in 1897.

On Christmas Eve 1909 a fire destroyed a large part of the Royal Palace (today used by the parliament), with the result that the Crown Prince's Palace was used temporarily as the residence of the royal family. After the assassination of George I in 1913 and the accession of Constantine to the throne, the Crown Prince's Palace finally became the royal residence.

The garden of the Presidential Mansion. Athens, Greece
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The use of the building as a Palace was interrupted in 1924 when the monarchy was overthrown and a Republic was declared. It was then used as the Presidential Mansion until 1935 when the monarchy was restored and the King returned. Since 1974, when democracy was restored after a seven year military dictatorship, the building has been used as the Presidential Mansion and the residence of the President of the day.

In modern times, with the city of Athens extending over many square miles, the Presidential Mansion is located in the centre of the capital next to the National Garden and Parliament. Herodou Attikou Street, where the Mansion is located, is not only one of the most beautiful roads in the city, it is also bound to the political and social life of Greece, as also situated there is the Maximos Mansion where the Prime Minister of the day has his office. The Presidential Mansion with its garden takes up a total area of about 27,000 square metres (about 7 acres). The official entrance to the Mansion is on Herodou Attikou Street.

The garden of the Presidential Mansion. Athens, Greece
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The garden of the Presidential Mansion occupies an area of about 25,000 square metres (just over 6 acres) and constitutes a green heaven in the centre of Athens. In the middle of the nineteenth century, this area, because of its especially fertile soil, was in fact the vegetable garden of the Royal Palace (now Parliament building).
After the erection of the mansion in 1897 and the construction of Herodou Attikou Street, the area which surrounded the Crown Prince's Palace was fashioned into a large ornamental garden. The planning of this appears to have been assigned to Ziller's technical office. The selection of suitable plants, though, must have been entrusted to a Greek specialist, since most of the trees are native to Greece.

From the very beginning the garden was divided into two large sections because of the slope of the land. The building is situated in the upper section.
The design of the garden in front of the building was similar to that of other neo-classical structures of the period (the Academy, the University and the National Library). The garden follows a relatively rigid geometric plan of the French type, with symmetrical beds of grass and seasonal flowering plants. The formalism of the composition approaching Herod Atticus Road is alleviated by the perennial plane trees, lindens, palms and cypress trees.

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☺On The Lighter Side... Trying to Have a Picnic - International Style

2011-10-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

'REDNECK' TRANSLATION:
It was a beautiful day and a mother wanted to take her two children and her husband out for the day. Here's her story...

I've decided it was time for me to take the family out for a picnic, so I shouted, "Ok everyone, let's haul Ass and get the hell out of here! So we gathered up all the food and liquour and headed towards the beach - after all, it was a fine day and an even better day for swimming with the young ones, I thought. As we were approaching the beach, the little one hollard:

Hey mamma, I think I seen a vagina down on the beach.

A what?", I wondered.

A vagina! Me too, me too mamma!
I see a vagina and a cock and a....
Shito! Ok kids, just close those eyes and don't look untill we get to our spot, you here me?

Where? Where? Where? replied their pappa, Bubba.
So I told him:

Bubba! Don't be a prick! You get them there eyeballs back in the them sockets if you know what is food for you!

Later on that evening after hours of playing, the kids were starting to get hungry...

What in the world are we having for picnic Mamma? We are starving?
Oh darling, mamma did great. I got me here a bounty of goodies for the whole family from all over the world.

We got some JussiPussi rolls from Findland, some MegaPussi!, some Jamaican cock soup, cock bacon, some fine Bra yogurt all the way from Sweden. Then in this here basket I got me some Super Titi for you kids, some Spotted Dick I whipped up in the microwave before coming here. Some...

"Damn sweetipie, all this here talk of food is sure making me horny... I mean hungry. Can we just eat already."

Bubba, I'm starting to get tired of your shit! If you don't shut your trap hole I'm going to kick you in the nuts then grab them here Donkey Balls I got for the young ones and shove it up your ass!

You got that Bubba?
I'm sorry sugarbun. I just couldn't help it. You were starting to give me a woody. a erektus...

WHACK! That's It! We are going home!
Kids, get away from that barb wire fence and pack your things because we are going home!

Your pappa is being a real Big Ass, a real flake, and a real dirty old Fart, and we sure as hell won't be sticking around to see him Wack Off! in front of strangers!

Kids get in the Chevrolet and shut them doors, just don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you.

This here is the last time we will be going on a picnic with your pappa! You know he's a beer short of a six-pack and about as sexy as socks on a billy goat.

Damn, I have seen halloween pumpkins with more teeth than your pappa. Next time we will be going to Georgia or somewhere over yonder! The End

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: 1969 Ford Mustang Made Entirley Out of Paper!

2011-09-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

1969 Ford Mustang Made Entirley Out of Paper!

THE REAL 1969 Mustang. Mr Brand owned a 1969 Ford Mustang until he sold it to pay for a diamond engagement ring.

A few years ago, Brooklyn artist Jonathan Brand sold a 1969 Ford Mustang he rebuilt with his father to pay for an engagement ring. In his latest work, entitled "One Piece at a Time," he's getting it back by reconstructing that Mustang, piece by piece, at 1:1 scale.

Except he's rebuilding it from scratch with a very unlikely medium. Paper.

Yes, that's right — this Mustang is built out of nothing but paper.

Photos by jalopnik

It's amazing especially when you look at some of the details — like the keyhole on the door or the interior of the backseat — it just looks so amazingly lifelike.

Photo credit: jonathanbrand

His work begins as 3D drawings on a computer which he then utilizes a large format printer to translate the digital into the real world as a flat inkjet print. Next he cuts, folds and glues these numbered and labeled shapes together much like a complicated three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

The title, One Piece at a Time, is a nod to the Johnny Cash song about a Detroit assembly line worker who dreams of someday owning one of the Cadillac’s he assembles and decides to steal one, one piece at a time and reassemble it.
"It’s a theme that runs through my life and my current work. I was born in a small working class city in Canada on the border with Michigan. The song points to the Midwest working class mentality that I grew up in and more literally my practice of making one piece of something at a time not always knowing what the sum of these parts will be or how they will interact. "

"Cars played a pivotal part of my upbringing and the forming of my personal relationships as well as who I am as an artist. My grandfather built the assembly lines that Cash refers to, my uncle and cousins are mechanics, my father and I restored 3 antique vehicles, one of which is the focus of this project.

I later sold this car to pay for a diamond engagement ring. This project became closely linked to my emerging ideals, consuming my focus and is an experience that I continually draw on in my studio practice."

"The original car didn't run and I never drove it. The body and interior were completely refinished but not its mechanicals, making the paper version almost as complete as the original. The details of the car are based more on my memory and a few photographs. I no longer have access to the original car and chose not to use a surrogate to measure and get all the details correct. I like when things are slightly off, in the wrong place or missing, just like my memories of the original. " - Jonathan Brand

Resource(s): jonathanbrand.com, jalopnik.com

✍ FYI: Surfs Up

2011-09-27T07:09:00.000-04:00

For Your Information...

It's Not Just the Homeless Who Couch Surf...

Today, there are websites that allow you to surf the web in search of a couch to sleep on while you are travelling.

Couchsurfing.org, the largest site, has over 3,000,000 couch surfers signed up and has hosts in almost every country!

Imagine having an interesting friend wherever you go -- whether that’s 2,000 miles away, or right in your hometown.

With millions of members in over 230 countries and territories around the world, CouchSurfing is blazing the trail towards a better, friendlier world where people who are different from one another can find their similarities.

How does CouchSurfing work?

When you join CouchSurfing, you tap into their network of welcoming people worldwide. You can share your hospitality and experience your city through new eyes by offering travelers a place to stay on their journey. You can bypass the typical hotel experience by staying at the home of a local and learning about their culture. You can meet open-minded people in your home city by attending events. And you can meet up with new people, whether at home or while traveling, for inspiring experiences and new friendships.

They are a tight-knit community whose participants educate themselves about careful decision-making and share knowledge to help keep everyone safer.

Their goal is advancing our vision of a better world.

So go ahead. Go to that special country you've always dreamt of going.... maybe there's a couch there waiting for you to crash on!

Source: MFS-UsefulLinks

☺On The Lighter Side... The Loving Couple

2011-09-24T10:20:00.004-04:00

THE LOVING COUPLE

Bill sat alone in the hospital room at his dying wife's beside. It was difficult to hear her above the many life sustaining devices, as her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Bill darling," she breathed. "I've got a confession to make before I go... I ... I'm the one who took the $10,000 from your safe in the house ... I spent it on a fling with your best friend Jimmy. And it was I who forced your mistress to leave the community in utter disgrace. I'm afraid I also was the one who reported you to the IRS for income tax evasion..."

"That's all right dearest; don't even give it a second thought." said Bill. "I have a small confession too. I'm the one who poisoned you."

ⓌⒽⒶⓉ Will ⓉⒽⒺⓎ Think of Ⓝ€✘Ⓣ: ZAUO - The 'Sit and Fish' Restaurant, JAPAN

2011-09-23T07:22:00.000-04:00

ZAUO - The 'Sit and Fish' (座魚) Restaurant

I loove seafood - cooked, not raw, but eating in a restaurant like this would be a unique experience!

Zauo (ざうお), a chain restaurant in Japan, offers patrons their seafood of choice, cooked (or not) to their liking. As long as you catch it yourself!

It sounds like a pretty smart business plan and frankly, you can't get any fresher than this -- customers are always concerned about how fresh their seafood is, so why not just allow them to fish for their own meal?
In Japan, chain restaurant Zauo has its customers fish for their food, then asks them how their catch should be prepared - shioyaki (salt-baked), sashimi (sliced raw), nabe (cooked in a hotpot with broth), karaage (deep fried), ochaazuke (served with rice in tea and other seasonings), and others. Plus, if you successfully catch a fish, you get a discount.

This isn't quite like being out on a lake with a canoe and a fishing rod though.The diners/fishers can see the fish with no problem since the water is clear. And as you will see in the video below, the fish bite pretty easily.

The tanks are generously spread throughout the restaurant, each tank with a mix of specific fish to make fishing random but weighted toward specific catches.

Photo credit

Customers even sit on giant boats that are inside aquariums (or a side room right next to the aquarium), rather than dining tables, to fish for your meal and eat.

Video

They even had more exotic sea animals that there was only one of, like anago (saltwater eel) and same ([pronounced sah-meh] shark) that nobody in their right mind would catch because of their expensive price tag.

And as mentioned earlier, whatever you catch can be cooked any way you like - even alive, ikizukuri-style:

Video

Resource(s): tofugu.com, geoffropuff.com

To read more about the Japanese custom ikizukuri, check out my post:
Foods Prepared and Eaten Alive

❏This vs That ❐: Front-Wheel vs Rear-Wheel Drive

2011-09-22T09:38:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I bought me an old 2005 Chrysler 300 a few months ago, (since I couldn't afford a new one) and decided to show my parents. They liked it alot - until they found out it was a rear-wheel drive. Then they started to worry.

My dad gave me a quick lecture on the dangers of driving in the snow with a rear-wheel drive.

Anyways, all this had me wondering - what IS the difference between a FF or FWD (front-wheel drive), and a FR or RWD (rear-wheel drive)? Is there a BIG difference and is one BETTER than the other?

Well, I decided to research this hoping to find answers that I could use to eventually put my parents' minds at ease. In order for me to understand the differences between the two, I first needed to understand the layout of the two and how their performance was affected by it.

The 1970s...

The fuel crises of the 1970s and the success of small FF/FWD cars like the Mini, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Tercel, and Honda Civic, changed the way manufacturers made cars. Less weight meant less fuel, improved acceleration and braking which in turn meant economical cars for the consumers as well as and especially, lower production costs for the manufacturers - FWD systems are cheaper to manufacture and install than RWD systems. There is no driveshaft or rear axle housing to build. The transmission and differential are located in one housing and less parts are needed. It also makes it easier for the designers to locate other parts beneath the vehicle, such as brake lines, fuel lines, and exhaust system. Hence, manufacturers adopted assorted variations of the front-engine/front-drive layout. With all of the drivetrain components under the hood, cars became smaller and lighter and still had adequate interior room. Plus, with the engine over the drivewheels, traction improved too. Today, the majority of family cars are front-drive but does it mean it's better?

Front-wheel Drive (FF or FWD), Layout and Performance
Front-wheel-drive layouts are those in which the front wheels of the vehicle are driven. The most popular layout used in cars today is the front-engine, front-wheel drive, (FF/FWD or FWD), with the engine in front of the front axle, driving the front wheels. This layout is typically chosen for its compact packaging; since the engine and driven wheels are on the same side of the vehicle, there is no need for a central tunnel through the passenger compartment to accommodate a prop-shaft between the engine and the driven wheels.

As the steered wheels are also the driven wheels, FWD cars are generally considered superior to FR (front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout or RWD) cars in conditions such as snow, mud or wet tarmac. However, powerful cars rarely use the FF/FWD layout because weight transference under acceleration reduces the weight on the front wheels and reduces their traction, putting a limit on the amount of torque which can be utilized. Electronic traction control can avoid wheelspin but largely negates the benefit of extra torque/power.
A transverse engine (also known as "east-west") is commonly used in FF/FWD designs, in contrast to FR/RWD which uses a longitudinal engine. The FF/FWD layout also restricts the size of the engine that can be placed in modern engine compartments. This is another reason luxury/sports cars almost never use the FF/FWD layout.

Advantages

Interior space: Since the powertrain is a single unit contained in the engine compartment of the vehicle, there is no need to devote interior space for a driveshaft tunnel or rear differential, increasing the volume available for passengers and cargo. Instead, the tunnel may be used to route the exhaust system pipes.
Weight: Fewer components usually means lower weight.
Improved fuel efficiency due to less weight.
Cost: Fewer material components and less installation complexity overall. However, the considerable MSRP differential between a FF/FWD and FR/RWD car cannot be attributed to layout alone. The difference is more probably explained by production volumes as most rear-wheel cars are usually in the sports/performance/luxury categories (which tend to be more upscale and/or have more powerful engines), while the FF/FWD configuration is typically in mass-produced mainstream cars. Few modern "family" cars have rear-wheel drive as of 2009, so a direct cost comparison is not necessarily possible. A contrast could be somewhat drawn between the FF/FWD Audi A4 and the FR/RWD BMW 3-Series, both which are in the compact executive car classification.
Improved drivetrain efficiency: the direct connection between engine and transaxle reduce the mass and mechanical inertia of the drivetrain compared to a rear-wheel drive vehicle with a similar engine and transmission, allowing greater fuel economy.
Assembly efficiency: the powertrain can often be assembled and installed as a unit, which allows more efficient production.
Placing the mass of the drivetrain over the driven wheels moves the centre of gravity farther forward than a comparable rear-wheel drive layout, improving traction and directional stability on wet, snowy, or icy surfaces.
Predictable handling characteristics: front-wheel drive cars, with a front weight bias, tend to understeer at the limit, which (according to e.g. SAAB engineer Gunnar Larsson) is easier since it makes instinct correct in avoiding terminal oversteer, and less prone to result in fishtailing or a spin.
A skilled driver can control the movement of the car even while skidding by steering, throttling and pulling the hand brake (given that the hand brake operates the rear wheels as in most cases, with some Citroen and Saab models being notable exceptions). A small car with the FF/FWD layout is superior for motor sport events focusing on manouvreability such as Autotesting.
It is easier to correct trailing-throttle or trailing-brake oversteer.
The wheelbase can be extended without building a longer driveshaft (as with rear wheel driven cars).

Disadvantages

Torque steer is the tendency for some front-wheel drive cars to pull to the left or right under hard acceleration. It is a result of the offset between the point about which the wheel steers (it is aligned with the points where the wheel is connected to the steering mechanisms) and the centroid of its contact patch. The tractive force acts through the centroid of the contact patch, and the offset of the steering point means that a turning moment about the axis of steering is generated. In an ideal situation, the left and right wheels would generate equal and opposite moments, canceling each other out; however, in reality, this is less likely to happen. Torque steer can be addressed by using a longitudinal layout, equal length drive shafts, half shafts, a multilink suspension or centre-point steering geometry.
Lack of weight shifting will limit the acceleration of a front-wheel drive vehicle. In a vehicle, the weight shifts back during acceleration, giving more traction to the rear wheels. This is one of the main reasons why nearly all racing cars are rear-wheel drive. However, since front-wheel drive cars have the weight of the engine over the driving wheels, the problem only applies in extreme conditions.
In some towing situations, front-wheel drive cars can be at a traction disadvantage since there will be less weight on the driving wheels. Because of this, the weight that the vehicle is rated to safely tow is likely to be less than that of a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicle of the same size and power.
Traction can be reduced while attempting to climb a slope in slippery conditions such as snow- or ice-covered roadways.
Due to geometry and packaging constraints, the CV joints (constant-velocity joints) attached to the wheel hub have a tendency to wear out much earlier than the universal joints typically used in their rear-wheel drive counterparts (although rear-wheel drive vehicles with independent rear suspension also employ CV joints and half-shafts). The significantly shorter drive axles on a front-wheel drive car causes the joint to flex through a much wider degree of motion, compounded by additional stress and angles of steering, while the CV joints of a rear wheel drive car regularly see angles and wear of less than half that of front wheel drive vehicles.
Turning circle — FF/FWD layouts almost always use a Transverse engine ("east-west") installation, which limits the amount by which the front wheels can turn, thus increasing the turning circle of a front-wheel drive car compared to a rear-wheel drive one with the same wheelbase. A notable example is the original Mini. It is widely misconceived that this limitation is due to a limit on the angle at which a CV joint can be operated, but this is easily disproved by considering the turning circle of car models that use a longitudinal FF/FWD or F4 layout from Audi and (prior to 1992) Saab.
The FF/FWD transverse engine layout (also known as "east-west") restricts the size of the engine that can be placed in modern engine compartments, so it is rarely adopted by powerful luxury and sports cars. FF/FWD configurations can usually only accommodate Inline-4 and V6 engines, while longer engines such as Inline-6 and 90° big-bore V8 will rarely fit, though there are exceptions. One way around this problem is using a staggered engine.

Rear-Wheel Drive (FR or RWD), Layout and Performance
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) typically places the engine in the front of the vehicle and the driven wheels are located at the rear, a configuration known as front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout (FR/RWD layout). The front mid-engine, rear mid-engine and rear engine layouts are also used. This was the traditional automobile layout for most of the 20th century. Nearly all motorcycles and bicycles use rear-wheel drive, either by driveshaft, chain, or belt, since the front wheel is turned for steering, and it would be very difficult and cumbersome to "bend" the drive mechanism around the turn of the front wheel.

All the disadvantages of FF/FWD systems are advantages of RWD vehicles. With some of the mechanical parts removed from the front and installed at the rear, vehicle balance and handling are much improved. Using the rear tires for acceleration traction takes the load off the front, so drivers accelerating out of a corner have much more lateral grip. RWD is used on all the world’s fastest road course race cars and many performance production vehicles for this reason.

Advantages

Even weight distribution — The layout of a rear-wheel drive car is much closer to an even fore-and-aft weight distribution than a front-wheel-drive car, as more of the engine can lie between the front and rear wheels (in the case of a mid engine layout, the entire engine), and the transmission is moved much farther back.
Weight transfer during acceleration — During heavy acceleration, weight is placed on the rear, or driving wheels, which improves traction.
No torque steer (unless it's an all-wheel steer with an offset differential).
Steering radius — As no complicated drive shaft joints are required at the front wheels, it is possible to turn them further than would be possible using front-wheel drive, resulting in a smaller steering radius for a given wheelbase.
Better handling in dry conditions — the more even weight distribution and weight transfer improve the handling of the car. The front and rear tires are placed under more even loads, which allows for more grip while cornering.
Better braking — the more even weight distribution helps prevent lockup from wheels becoming unloaded under heavy braking.
Towing — Rear wheel drive puts the wheels which are pulling the load closer to the point where a trailer articulates, helping steering, especially for large loads.
Serviceability — Drivetrain components on a rear-wheel drive vehicle are modular and do not involve packing as many parts into as small a space as does front wheel drive, thus requiring less disassembly or specialized tools in order to service the vehicle.
Robustness — due to geometry and packaging constraints, the universal joints attached to the wheel hub have a tendency to wear out much later than the CV joints typically used in front-wheel drive counterparts. The significantly shorter drive axles on a front-wheel drive car causes the joint to flex through a much wider degree of motion, compounded by additional stress and angles of steering, while the CV joints of a rear wheel drive car regularly see angles and wear of less than half that of front wheel drive vehicles.
Can accommodate more powerful engines as a result of the longitudinal orientation of the drivetrain, such as the Inline-6 and 90° big-bore V8, making the FR/RWD a common configuration for luxury and sports cars. These engines are usually too long to fit in a FF/FWD transverse engine ("east-west") layout; the FF/FWD configuration can typically accommodate at the maximum an Inline-4 or V6.

Disadvantages

Under heavy acceleration, oversteer and fishtailing may occur.
On snow, ice and sand, rear-wheel drive loses its traction advantage to front- or all-wheel drive vehicles, which have greater weight on the driven wheels. Rear-wheel-drive cars with rear engine or mid engine configuration do not suffer from this, although fishtailing remains an issue.
Some rear engine cars (e.g. Porsche 911) can suffer from reduced steering ability under heavy acceleration, because the engine is outside the wheelbase and at the opposite end of the car from the wheels doing the steering although the engine weight over the rear wheels provides outstanding traction and grip during acceleration.
Decreased interior space — Though individual designs vary greatly, rear wheel drive vehicles may have: Less front leg room as the transmission tunnel takes up a space between the driver and front passenger, less leg room for center rear passengers (due to the tunnel needed for the drive shaft), often no seat for a center rear passenger, and sometimes less boot space (since there is also more hardware that must be placed underneath the boot). Rear engine designs (such as the Porsche 911 and Volkswagen Beetle) do not inherently take away interior space.
Increased weight — The components of a rear wheel drive vehicle's power train are less complex, but they are larger. The driveshaft adds weight. There is extra sheet metal to form the transmission tunnel. There is a rear axle or rear half-shafts, which are typically longer than those in a front-wheel drive car. A rear wheel drive car will weigh slightly more than a comparable front wheel drive car (but less than four wheel drive).
Improper weight distribution when loaded — A rear wheel drive car's center of gravity is shifted rearward when heavily loaded with passengers or cargo, which may cause unpredictable handling behavior.
Higher initial purchase price — Modern rear wheel drive vehicles are typically more expensive to purchase than comparable front wheel drive vehicles. Part of this can be explained by the added cost of materials and increased complex assembly of FR/RWD layouts, as the powertrain is not one compact unit. However, the difference is more probably explained by production volumes as most rear-wheel cars are usually in the sports/performance/luxury categories (which tend to be more upscale and/or have more powerful engines), while the FF/FWD configuration is typically in mass-produced mainstream cars.
The possibility of a slight loss in the mechanical efficiency of the drivetrain (approximately 17% coastdown losses between engine flywheel and road wheels compared to 15% for front wheel drive — however these losses are highly dependent on the individual transmission). Cars with rear engine or mid engine configuration and a transverse engine layout do not suffer from this.
The long driveshaft (on front engine cars) adds to drivetrain elasticity. The driveshaft must also be extended for cars with a stretched wheelbase (e.g. limousines, minivans).
When shifting down at high RPM, rear-wheel drive vehicles tend to oversteer if the clutch is not released correctly.

Conclusion
Ok. I'm obviously no mechanic so alot of this was a bit too complex for me to grasp, to say the least. But what I did understand was:

Front-wheel drive vehicles transmit power through the front wheels. Rear-wheel drive vehicles transmit power through the rear wheels.
Front-wheel drive offers an advantage in slippery conditions such as ice or snow as more weight is over the drive wheels reducing slipping during acceleration. But since most of the weight is up front, a FWD car is not as well balanced therefore it doesn't handle quite as well.
Rear-wheel drive has advantages for traction under acceleration and with rear-wheel drive, the steering function is separated from power delivery. The front wheels steer, the rear wheels drive.
By having the front wheels do the steering, and the rear wheels driving the car, you get a better-balanced vehicle. This eliminates torque steer and improves acceleration. Rear wheel drive offers better weight distribution (much closer to 50/50 than FWD), which in turn offers more predictable handling.

As for which one is BETTER - Neither! It all depends on the purpose and use of your vehicle. If you want space, better fuel economy and less concerned about speed - front-wheel is the way to go. If acceleration and handling are of greater importance to you and space is the least of your concern - rear-wheel drive is for you.

As cars become more powerful it is difficult to have one set of wheels doing the steering and the accelerating. Today's sophisticated traction and stability control systems are so good they can mask or enhance the true driving dynamics of a vehicle - the front wheel drive advantage in slippery conditions has been significantly reduced.

Ultimately, you've got more choice, and when more choice is offered we all win.

As for me...
I bought this Chrysler 300 without even knowing anything about front-wheel rear-wheel drive. Quite honestly, I bought it simply because I liked how it looked and I liked the size - not too small, not too big. The extra 'comforts' were a bonus such as the heated leather seats, dual temperature control etc. (all things I could live without, actually).

Getting in and out of a car was another important thing for me (since I'm tall), and the 300 offered a greater ease of this.

As for traction in the winter months - I have that covered by buying snow tires! It's becoming mandatory soon (if it isn't already), in Canada for all cars to have snow tires during winter anyways.

The only thing I never thought about was the fuel economy. Unlike most people, fuel consumption was never an issue for me (probably because I rarely go anywhere besides work and back). But the fuel consumption - 12.2 L/100km (23 mi./gal.) in the city and 8.1L/100km (35 mi./gal.) on the highway - is not the greatest - but it's not the worse either and compared to the 2011 Ford Fusion (the other car I was thinking of getting), with a smilar engine (3.5L/V6) that consumes 12.6L/100km in the city - I think I'll sacrifice fuel economy for comfort and style.

Resource(s): autos.ca, wikipedia, popularmechanics.com, all-about-car-selection.com

⅏Did You Know.. Goiânia Accident of 1987 - Caesium-137 Poisining in Brazil

2011-09-18T09:51:00.001-04:00

Did You Know...

On September 18th, 1987 -

Cesium-137 was removed from an abandoned cancer-therapy machine in Brazil. Hundreds of people were eventually poisoned by radiation from the substance, highlighting the danger that even relatively small amounts of radiation can pose.

In 1985, the Goiania Institute of Radiotherapy moved to a new location and left behind an obsolete Cesium-137 teletherapy unit in their abandoned headquarters. The institute failed to inform the authorities of the existence of the outdated device and the machine sat in the building in downtown Goiania, 600 miles from Sao Paulo, for over a year before two criminally enterprising men removed the machine.

A wheel type radiotherapy device which has a long collimator to focus the radiation into a narrow beam. The caesium chloride radioactive source is the blue square and gamma rays are represented by the beam emerging from the fuchsia iridium window

The source of the Goiânia accident was a small thimble containing about 93 grams of highly radioactive caesium chloride (a caesium salt made with a radioisotope, caesium-137) encased in a shielding canister made of lead and steel with an iridium window. The source was positioned in a container of the wheel type, where the wheel turns inside the casing to move the source between the storage and irradiation position

The Theft and Contamination

On 13 September 1987, the security guard in charge of daytime security, Voudireinão da Silva, did not show up to work, using a sick day to attend a cinema screening of Herbie Goes Bananas with his family. That same day, scavengers Roberto dos Santos Alves and Wagner Mota Pereira entered the partially demolished facility, found the teletherapy unit, which they thought might have some scrap value, placed it in a wheelbarrow and took it to Alves' home, about 0.6 km north of the clinic. There, they partly dismantled the equipment, taking the billiard ball-sized caesium capsule out of the protective rotating head.

The gamma radiation emitted by the capsule's iridium window nauseated the men and within a day or so, the two men became ill, experiencing vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness. The clinic's diagnosis was that the men were suffering an allergic reaction caused by eating bad food. The two continued their efforts to dismantle the unit, eventually rupturing the source capsule and exposing the radioactive material. The exposure eventually caused localized burns to their bodies and one later had to have an arm amputated.

A few days later one man broke open the iridium window which allowed him to see the caesium chloride emitting a deep blue light.

The exact mechanism by which the light was generated was not known at the time the IAEA report was written. The light is thought to be either fluorescence or Cherenkov radiation associated with the absorption of moisture by the source; similar blue light was observed in 1988 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the disencapsulation of a 137Cs source. The man scooped out some of the radioactive caesium and tried to light it, thinking it was gunpowder, and eventually gave up

Greenpeace Activists in Brazil chained

themselves to the gates of the

National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN),

placing a memorial plaque in tribute to the

victims of the tragedy of Cesium-137 in Goiânia,

the worst radiation accident in an

area urban history. - August 24, 2008

On September 18 Roberto dos Santos Alves and Wagner Mota Pereira sold the items to a nearby scrapyard. That night the owner, Devair Alves Ferreira, went in the garage and saw the blue glow from the caesium capsule. Over the next three days he invited friends and family to view the strange glowing substance. Ferreira intended to make a ring for his wife, Gabriela Maria Ferreira, out of the material.

Several people who visited the home came into contact with the dust and spread it around the local neighborhood and to other towns nearby. Ferreira's ownership led to many people becoming contaminated. A brother of the scrapyard owner used the dust to paint a blue cross on his abdomen. He also contaminated the animals at his farm, several of which died. At this scrapyard, a friend of Ferreira's (given as EF1 in the IAEA report) hammered open the lead casing. On 25 September 1987, Devair Alves Ferreira sold the scrap metal to another scrapyard. He survived the incident.

Ivo, Devair's brother, scraped dust out of the source, taking it to his house a short distance away. There he spread some of it on the floor. His 6-year-old daughter, Leide das Neves Ferreira, later ate while sitting on the floor, absorbing some of the radioactive material (1.0 GBq, total dose 6.0 Gy). She was also fascinated by the blue glow of the powder, applied it to her body and showed it off to her mother.

Gabriela Maria Ferreira was the first to notice that many people around her had become severely sick all at the same time, and her actions from that point on probably saved lives. She first suspected the culprit was a beverage they had shared, but an analysis of the juice showed nothing untoward. On 28 September 1987 (15 days after the item was found) Gabriela went with one of her scrapyard employees to the scrapyard then in possession of the materials. She reclaimed them and transported them by bus in a plastic bag to a hospital. There, physician Paulo Roberto Monteiro rightly suspected that it was dangerous. He placed it in his garden on a chair to increase the distance between himself and the object. Because the remains of the source were kept in a plastic bag, the level of contamination at the hospital was low.

About 130,000 people overwhelmed hospitals. Of those, 250 people, some with radioactive residue still on their skin, were found, through the use of Geiger counters, to be contaminated. Eventually, 20 people showed signs of radiation sickness and required treatment.

Fatalities

Leide das Neves Ferreira, aged 6, was the daughter of Ivo Ferreira. Initially, when an international team arrived to treat her, she was confined to an isolated room in the hospital because the hospital staff were afraid to go near her. She gradually developed swelling in the upper body, hair loss, kidney and lung damage, and internal bleeding. She died on October 23, 1987, of "septicemia and generalized infection" at the Marcilio Dias Navy Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, as a result of the contamination. She was buried in a common cemetery in Goiania, in a special fiberglass coffin lined with lead to prevent the spread of radiation. There was a riot in the cemetery, where over 2,000 people armed with stones and bricks tried to prevent her burial.
Gabriela Maria Ferreira, aged 38, wife of junkyard owner Devair Ferreira, became sick about three days after coming into contact with the substance. Her condition worsened and she developed internal bleeding, especially in the limbs, eyes, and digestive tract, and suffered from hair loss. She died 23 October 1987, about a month after exposure.
Israel Baptista dos Santos, aged 22, was an employee of Devair Ferreira who worked on the radioactive source primarily to extract the lead. He developed serious respiratory and lymphatic complications, was eventually admitted to hospital, and died 6 days later on 27 October 1987.
Admilson Alves de Souza, aged 18 (5.3 Gy, 500 REM), was also an employee of Devair Ferreira who worked on the radioactive source. He developed lung damage, internal bleeding, and heart damage, and died 18 October 1987.

Other individuals

Several people survived high doses of radiation. This is thought in some cases to be because the dose was fractionated. Given time, the body's repair mechanisms will reverse cell damage caused by radiation. If the dose is spread over a long time period, these mechanisms can ameliorate the effects of radiation poisoning.

More than 40 homes in the city were found to have high levels of contamination and had to be demolished. The after-effects were also serious. Many of the citizens suffered psychologically from their fear of contamination. In fact, fear was so widespread that other cities shunned the people and products of Goiania following the incident.

Following this disaster, Brazil completely overhauled their laws regarding the storage of radiation sources.

Caesium-137

Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as a fission product by nuclear fission, and has a half-life of about 30.17 years?
All caesium-137 existing today is unique in that it is totally anthropogenic (man-made). Unlike most other radioisotopes, caesium-137 is not produced from its non-radioactive isotope but from uranium, meaning that until now, it has not occurred on Earth for billions of years. By observing the characteristic gamma rays emitted by this isotope, it is possible to determine whether the contents of a given sealed container were made before or after the advent of atomic bomb explosions. This procedure has been used by researchers to check the authenticity of certain rare wines, most notably the purported "Jefferson bottles".
As of 2005, caesium-137 is the principal source of radiation in the zone of alienation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
As of April 2011, it was also being found in the plumes emanating from the continuing leakage at the Fukushima reactors in Japan. In July 2011, meat from 11 cows shipped to Tokyo from Fukushima prefecture was found to have 3 to 6 times the legal limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive caesium.
Accidental ingestion of caesium-137 can be treated with Prussian blue, which binds to it chemically and then speeds its expulsion from the body.

Resource(s): wikipedia, history.com

☺On The Lighter Side... Don't Be Rude - Wait Your Turn!

2011-09-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

DON'T BE RUDE - WAIT YOUR TURN!

An award should go to the Virgin Airlines desk attendant in Sydney some months ago for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.

A crowded Virgin flight was cancelled after Virgin's 767s had been withdrawn from service. A single attendant was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travellers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said:

"I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be FIRST CLASS".
The attendant replied:

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these people first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out.."

The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear,"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?"

Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone:

"May I have your attention please, may I have your attention please,"she began - her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal.

"We have a passenger here at Desk 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Desk 14."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the Virgin attendant, gritted his teeth and said,"F**k You!"

Without flinching, she smiled and said,

"I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to get in line for that too."