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Worlds's smallest bodybuilder.. at 9 Kg...India's very own

2008-02-15T04:03:00.005+05:30

At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Aditya 'Romeo' Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder.

Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight.

Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.
Unlike many dwarfs, Romeo is well proportioned, with a head circumference of 15in and a chest measurement of 20in.

Romeo said: "I've been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world.

"I have always been fit but since I started working out, I have become famous for my strength.

"My size has never stopped me. I train with dumbbells and do aerobics and dance. People are always pleased to see me. I have been invited on TV shows and dance on stage."
His trainer Ranjeet Pal spents hours helping his 19-year-old protege build his small muscles to perfection.

"Because of his small size, I don't assign him hard exercises. But Romeo trains more or less the same as anyone else and he's much more determined.

"When he first started, I insisted he did a month of basic exercises like aerobics, push-ups and basic gymnastics to prepare his body. "After that, I made lightweight dumbbells and taught him basic weight-lifting exercises to shape his biceps and triceps. His size and his weight were taken care of so that he never hurt himself."

Determined Romeo is hoping to have an entertainment career after performing in many local TV shows.

He said: "I earn good money through my dance and bodybuilding shows but being rich doesn't interest me.

"My dream is to travel a lot - I want to perform in London with my idol, Jazzy-B."

Hookah - Cigarette on Steroids and even deadly

2008-02-13T23:32:00.000+05:30

The sweet-smelling tobacco smoke wafts dreamily into the relaxed atmosphere of the hookah bar. Customers draw heavily from the water pipes in front of them, calm expressions on their faces, making easy conversation with friends.

Sound romantic?

It's anything but.

In the most recent issue of the medical journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, a study led by Dr. Stephanie Smith-Simone and colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond documents attitudes and behaviors of water pipe users — and makes some disturbing findings.

Water pipe use, also known as hookah or hukka, is becoming increasingly popular among American youth, particularly college students. Smoking in this way involves heating the tobacco to form smoke that then bubbles through water and into tubes from which one inhales the smoke.

It is estimated that more than 100 million people worldwide smoke tobacco using a water pipe, with use most common in the Middle East.

While the exact number of users of water pipe tobacco is not known in the United States, dozens of water pipe bars have opened in college towns and large metropolitan areas nationally. Most tobacco experts believe that this phenomenon is on the increase, but no national surveys have been done.

Like a Cigarette on Steroids

Water pipe tobacco comes in many varieties, with fruit flavors among the most popular. Unlike other forms of tobacco use, it appears that women are equally as likely to smoke hookah as men.

Water pipe smoking is by no means safe. Use of this product exposes the smoker to twice the amount of poisonous gas, carbon monoxide, and three times the amount of nicotine compared with one cigarette.

Water pipe smoke also contains more tar — the component of tobacco smoke that contains the cancer-causing chemicals — than cigarette smoke, although some experts argue that hookah smoke tar is less harmful than cigarette tar because it is not heated to the same degree.

There is no disagreement, however, that the worst cancer-causing chemicals — the so-called tobacco specific nitrosamines — are present in water pipe smoke. In addition, particles within the smoke irritate the lungs, causing inflammation that in turn can lead to bronchitis and emphysema. In fact, some evidence suggests that airflow rates among regular hookah smokers are reduced more frequently than among cigarette smokers.

And that is not the end of the story. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the length of hookah smoking sessions combined with the depth of inhalation expose smokers to 100 to 200 times the volume of a single cigarette. Moreover, hookah smokers can develop the same diseases as cigarette smokers, including heart disease and cancers of the mouth, lung and bladder.

Cancer development is not surprising because water pipe smoking causes DNA changes in the cells of these smokers compared to nonsmokers.

Safe Smoke? A Dangerous Misconception

Despite these scary risks, Smith-Simone and colleagues document relatively favorable attitudes toward water pipe smoking compared with cigarette smoking.

Their study surveyed customers from a water pipe café in Richmond as well as Internet users who logged on to HookahForum.com.

Sixty percent of participants reported first-time water pipe use at or before age 18. About one-fifth of those surveyed reported daily use, and more than half of the users stated that they owned their own water pipe, usually ordered via the Internet. More than 40 percent of users smoked 60 minutes or more at one session.

Most users were confident that they could quit easily.

More ominously, the majority of users felt that water pipe use was safer than cigarettes because the smoke passes through water before being inhaled.

But neither belief has been proven.

In fact, because water pipe use involves a greater exposure to nicotine than cigarette smoking, the likelihood of regular hookah smokers to become addicted is higher.

Furthermore, prolonged exposure to water pipe smoke increases the likelihood of health effects that have been documented in scientific studies.

Diet Soda May Sabotage Weight Loss Efforts

2008-02-13T23:27:00.000+05:30

People who drink diet soda in an effort to lose weight may be doing more harm than good according to a recent study conducted by the Ingestive Behavior Research Center at Purdue University. In the study, rats given yogurt sweetened with zero calorie saccharin later gained more weight and put on more body fat than rats who ate yogurt sweetened with glucose (a simple sugar comparable to table sugar).

The study surmised that by breaking the connection between a sweet sensation and high-calorie food, the use of saccharin changes the body’s ability to regulate intake. Problems with self-regulation might explain in part why obesity has risen in parallel with the use of artificial sweeteners. Because people have different experiences with artificial and natural sweeteners, human studies that don’t take into account prior consumption may produce a variety of outcomes. Three different experiments were conducted to explore whether saccharin changed lab animals’ ability to regulate their intake using various assessments, the most obvious being caloric intake, weight gain and compensation by cutting back.

India tests its first interceptor missile successfully..

2007-12-07T02:10:00.000+05:30

Indian Defence research organisation has once again proved why its one of the best in the world with the successful testing of Advanced Air Defence (AAD-02) which is in the same level of Patriot Missile systems of US(PAC-3).

ccording to Dr. Saraswat, the AAD-02 was capable of intercepting M-9 and M-11 class of missiles “which are with our adversaries.”

The AAD-02 was slightly better than the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) of the U.S. in terms of range and altitude. The direct hit compared very well with the PAC-3 in terms of accuracy.

Avinash Chander, Director, Advanced Systems’ Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, said, “I don’t think any country [other than India] was able to achieve a direct-hit in the first attempt” in endo-atmosphere. “The interceptor crossed the target missile at the correct point. The target missile went into fragments thereafter.”

The ASL, a DRDL unit, had contributed significantly to the mission.

The AAD-02 was specifically designed and developed by the DRDO for endo-atmospheric interception of an incoming missile at an altitude of around 15 km. It is a single-stage missile powered by solid propellants. It is 7.5 metres tall and weighs around 1.2 tonnes. It had a diameter of less than 0.5 metres.

M. Natarajan, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, who watched the two lift-offs and the interception live on a video-screen at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi, likened the interception to “almost hitting a bullet with a bullet.”

The mission’s success had boosted the confidence of the DRDO scientists in networking an array of radars, optics, command, control and communication systems to track an incoming missile in real time, validate all the software computation and send the command to the seeker to home in on the target, he said.

The mission “signified the DRDO’s capability to network massive software with hardware actuation,” he added.

Mr. Natarajan called the interceptor “a totally new missile,” which had “a massive software integration and high manoeuvring capability.” The centrepiece of the interceptor was its seeker, a radio frequency device that passed on information on the position, velocity and direction of the target missile to the AAD-02.

The target missile is a modified single-stage Prithvi missile, fuelled by liquid propellants. It is 11 metres tall and weighs five tonnes. Its diameter is one metre.

On Thursday, the Army launched the target missile from Chandipur-on-Sea, Orissa, in an independent manner. The Mission Director for the target missile was Lt. Gen. (retired) V.J. Sundaram.

There were scenes of jubilation at the Mission Control Centre on Thursday soon after AAD-02 achieved a direct hit of the target missile at an altitude of 15 km in the endo-atmosphere.

Scientists cheered and hugged each other, while the younger members erupted into shouts of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “DRDO zindabad.”

There was prolonged applause and full-throated shouts of joy when the interceptor collided head-on with the target missile after performing deft manoeuvres.

Vodafone India website is hacked...

2007-11-06T18:45:00.000+05:30

It appears certain parts of the Vodafone India website has been hacked by people who call themselves the Turkish Republic.

I was checking some callertne links and Boom.. it seems the callertune section is redirecting a turkish website which displays this message. Though other sections of the site are working. The below links appear to be redirecting to the turks.

Wonder whether the hacking is not complete or still going on.

http://www.vodafone.in/_layouts/callertunes.aspx

On observing the site I found the following to be the source of main hack tool

http://www.vodafone.in/vodafone/PnS/Pages/services_callertunes.aspx

On looking at the code it appears, This page' s select menu points to the turkish site.

I will add other links soon.

The message displayed is
HACKED VODAFONE :) :) :) Your Security is Down
BY BoZKuRTSeRDaR
For Turkish Rebuplic
Damn! PKK/kadek Terrorism

Manage Ads feature is available to certain publishers from today..

2007-11-06T17:56:00.000+05:30

Check if the New Manage Ads tab is available in your setup tab. Then go ahead take a test ride.

Now during creation of a ad Google generates a unique id and name. Simply code the code as before and paste it in your site.You are ready to rock now.

Click manage ads tab and select the recently added ad(If you havent added anything after launch of this new feature no ads will be available in Manage ads)

Select it and edit it well Manage it to your wishes.

But to see the changes in your site it takes some time.

Ten diseases that cant be cured even now !!

2007-11-06T17:00:00.000+05:30

10. Ebola

Ebola is a virus of the family Filoviridae that is responsible for a severe and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever; outbreaks in primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees as well as humans have been recorded. The disease is characterized by extreme fever, rash, and profuse hemorrhaging. In humans, fatality rates range from 50 to 90 percent.
The virus takes its name from the Ebola River in the northern Congo basin of central Africa, where it first emerged in 1976. Outbreaks that year in Zaire (now Congo [Kinshasa]) and The Sudan resulted in hundreds of deaths, as did another outbreak in Zaire in 1995. Ebola is closely related to the Marburg virus, which was discovered in 1967, and the two are the only members of the Filoviridae that cause epidemic human disease. A third related agent, called Ebola Reston, caused an epidemic in laboratory monkeys in Reston, Virginia, but apparently is not fatal to humans.

9. Polio

Polio is known in full as poliomyelitis - also called infantile paralysis. It is an acute viral infectious disease of the nervous system that usually begins with general symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, fatigue, and muscle pains and spasms and is sometimes followed by a more serious and permanent paralysis of muscles in one or more limbs, the throat, or the chest. More than half of all cases of polio occur in children under the age of five. The paralysis so commonly associated with the disease actually affects fewer than 1 percent of persons infected by the poliovirus.
Between 5 and 10 percent of infected persons display only the general symptoms outlined above, and more than 90 percent show no signs of illness at all. For those infected by the poliovirus, there is no cure, and in the mid-20th century hundreds of thousands of children were struck by the disease every year. Since the 1960s, thanks to widespread use of polio vaccines, polio has been eliminated from most of the world, and it is now endemic only in several countries of Africa and South Asia. Approximately 1,000–2,000 children are still paralyzed by polio each year, most of them in India.

8. Lupus Erythematosus

Also often referred to simply as lupus, this is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation in various parts of the body. Three main types of lupus are recognized—discoid, systemic, and drug-induced. Discoid lupus affects only the skin and does not usually involve internal organs. The term discoid refers to a rash of distinct reddened patches covered with grayish brown scales that may appear on the face, neck, and scalp. In about 10 percent of people with discoid lupus, the disease will evolve into the more severe systemic form of the disorder.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common form of the disease. It may affect virtually any organ or structure of the body, especially the skin, kidneys, joints, heart, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and serous membranes (membranous linings of organs, joints, and cavities of the body.) While systemic lupus can affect any area of the body, most people experience symptoms in only a few organs. The skin rash, if present, resembles that of discoid lupus. In general, no two people will have identical symptoms. The course of the disease is also variable and is marked by periods when the disease is active and by other periods when symptoms are not evident (remission).

7. Influenza

Influenza, also known as the flu, or grippe, is an acute viral infection of the upper or lower respiratory tract that is marked by fever, chills, and a generalized feeling of weakness and pain in the muscles, together with varying degrees of soreness in the head and abdomen.
Influenza is caused by any of several strains of orthomyxoviruses, categorized as types A, B, and C. The three major types generally produce similar symptoms but are completely unrelated antigenically, so that infection with one type confers no immunity against the others. The A viruses cause the great influenza epidemics, and the B viruses cause smaller localized outbreaks; the C viruses are not important causes of disease in humans. Between pandemics, the viruses undergo constant, rapid evolution (a process called antigenic drift) in response to the pressures of human population immunity. Periodically, they undergo major evolutionary change by acquiring a new genome segment from another influenza virus (antigenic shift), effectively becoming a new subtype to which none, or very few, of the population is immune.

6. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease occurs throughout the world at an incidence of one person in a million; however, among certain populations, such as Libyan Jews, rates are somewhat higher. The disease commonly occurs in adults between the ages of 40 and 70, although some young adults have been stricken with the disease. Both men and women are affected equally. The onset of the disease is usually characterized by vague psychiatric or behavioral changes, which are followed within weeks or months by a progressive dementia that is often accompanied by abnormal vision and involuntary movements. There is no known cure for the disease, which is usually fatal within a year of the onset of symptoms.

The disease was first described in the 1920s by the German neurologists Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and Alfons Maria Jakob. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is similar to other neurodegenerative diseases such as kuru, a human disorder, and scrapie, which occurs in sheep and goats. All three diseases are types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, so called because of the characteristic spongelike pattern of neuronal destruction that leaves brain tissue filled with holes.

5. Diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism characterized by impaired ability of the body to produce or respond to insulin and thereby maintain proper levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood.
There are two major forms of the disease. Type I diabetes, formerly referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and juvenile-onset diabetes, usually arises in childhood. It is an autoimmune disorder in which the diabetic person’s immune system produces antibodies that destroy the insulin-producing beta cells. Because the body is no longer able to produce insulin, daily injections of the hormone are required.
Type II diabetes, formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and adult-onset diabetes, usually occurs after 40 years of age and becomes more common with increasing age. It arises from either sluggish pancreatic secretion of insulin or reduced responsiveness in target cells of the body to secreted insulin. It is linked to genetics and obesity, notably upper-body obesity. People with type II diabetes can control blood glucose levels through diet and exercise and, if necessary, by taking insulin injections or oral medications.

4. HIV/AIDS

AIDS is the byname of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome - a transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, the body’s defense against infection, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other infections and certain malignancies that eventually cause death. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection, during which time fatal infections and cancers frequently arise.

HIV/AIDS spread to epidemic proportions in the 1980s, particularly in Africa, where the disease may have originated. Spread was likely facilitated by several factors, including increasing urbanization and long-distance travel in Africa, international travel, changing sexual mores, and intravenous drug use. According to the United Nations 2004 report on AIDS, some 38 million people are living with HIV, approximately 5 million people become infected annually, and about 3 million people die each year from AIDS. Some 20 million people have died of the disease since 1981.

3. Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disorder of the lungs in which inflamed airways are prone to constrict, causing episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness that range in severity from mild to life-threatening. Inflamed airways become hypersensitive to a variety of stimuli, including dust mites, animal dander, pollen, air pollution, cigarette smoke, medications, weather conditions, and exercise. Stress can exacerbate symptoms.
Asthmatic episodes may begin suddenly or may take days to develop. Although an initial episode can occur at any age, about half of all cases occur in persons younger than 10 years of age, with boys being affected more often than girls. Among adults, however, the incidence of asthma is approximately equal in men and women. When asthma develops in childhood, it is often associated with an inherited susceptibility to allergens, substances such as pollen, dust mites, or animal dander that may induce an allergic reaction. In adults, asthma also may develop in response to allergens, but viral infections, aspirin, and exercise may cause the disease as well. Adults who develop asthma may have nasal polyps or sinusitis.

2. Cancer

Cancer refers to a group of more than 100 distinct diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer affects one in every three persons born in developed countries and is a major cause of sickness and death throughout the world. Though it has been known since antiquity, significant improvements in cancer treatment have been made since the middle of the 20th century, mainly through a combination of timely and accurate diagnosis, selective surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapeutic drugs. Such advances actually have brought about a decrease in cancer deaths (at least in developed countries), and grounds for further optimism are seen in laboratory investigations into elucidating the causes and mechanisms of the disease.
Owing to continuing advances in cell biology, genetics, and biotechnology, researchers now have a fundamental understanding of what goes wrong in a cancer cell and in an individual who develops cancer—and these conceptual gains are steadily being converted into further progress in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease.

1. The Common Cold

The common cold is an acute viral infection that starts in the upper respiratory tract, sometimes spreads to the lower structures, and may cause secondary infections in the eyes or middle ears. More than 100 agents cause the common cold, including parainfluenza, influenza, respiratory syncytial viruses, and reoviruses. Rhinoviruses, however, are the most frequent cause.
The popular term common cold reflects the feeling of chilliness on exposure to a cold environment that is part of the onset of symptoms. The feeling was originally believed to have a cause-and-effect relationship with the disease, but this is now known to be incorrect. The cold is caught from exposure to infected people, not from a cold environment, chilled wet feet, or drafts. People can carry the virus and communicate it without experiencing any of the symptoms themselves. Incubation is short — usually one to four days. The viruses start spreading from an infected person before the symptoms appear, and the spread reaches its peak during the symptomatic phase.

Source: listverse.com

Dandruff may soon be history..Dandruff causing fungus DNA decoded

2007-11-06T16:17:00.000+05:30

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/A_killing_provoked_by_littering_isnt_murder_SC/articleshow/2520489.cms

LONDON: Scientists conducting a research for Proctor and Gamble have decoded the complete DNA of a natural fungus responsible for dandruff, a genetic breakthrough that may lead to the elimination of the problem of the flaky skin condition.

Dr Thomas Dawson, who led the five-year study, believes that his team’s work may pave the way for more effective shampoos, lotions, and medicines to provide people respite from the problem of dandruff.

“We have been able to see how the fungus interacts with the skin, and that opens up all sorts of new targets for medication,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

According to the researchers, nearly all skin conditions are associated with yeast called Malassezia globosa, which lives on human skin.

They say that by feeding off natural oils in the skin, and by releasing a toxic by-product that can irritate the scalp, the fungus causes itchiness and clumps of dead skin that are noticeable on hair and clothes.

While medicated shampoos are available to deal with fungal infections, they are not 100 per cent reliable.

It was about five years ago that researchers found that Malassezia globosa was associated with the problem of dandruff. The genome for the dandruff yeast has just 4,285 genes written in nine million chemical ‘letters’ of DNA, tiny compared to that for humans.

During the study, the researchers grew ten litres of the yeast in a tank, froze it in liquid nitrogen before extracting its DNA, and then smashed it up into fragments.

The researchers read the DNA sequences of the pieces, and fed them into a powerful computer.

The results of the study have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rugby tackle into fire leaves two men badly burned

2007-11-06T00:18:00.000+05:30

Two men are being treated for serious burns after falling into a fire they had lit at an Otago property.

Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken, of Dunedin police, said that the pair, thought to be in their early 30s, used petrol to light a fire at the back of a property in Mosgiel about 4am yesterday.

It appeared one of the men was still holding the petrol container when another man "rugby-tackled" him backwards into the fire, he told the Otago Daily Times.

The fuel spilled from the container and caught fire, burning both men.

Mr Aitken said one of the men suffered severe burns to his upper body, torso, and face, and the other had severe burns to his leg.

Police believe the men were drunk at the time.

"It looks like some antics went badly wrong," Mr Aitken said.

The men were taken to Dunedin Hospital for treatment.

Couple from Hell wins Halloween lottery

2007-11-06T00:16:00.000+05:30

HELL, Mich. - Life in Hell just got a little easier for John and Sue Wilson. The couple, who live in the unincorporated town 45 miles west of Detroit, were blessed with a $115,001 windfall from the Michigan Lottery.

They won the big prize in the Fantasy 5 drawing held Wednesday — that is, Halloween.

"How cool is that?" said Sue Wilson, 43, a teacher's aide. Her husband is an electrician.

The couple said they plan to use their winnings to pay off bills, make some home improvements, buy a video game system for their 13-year-old son and possibly visit relatives in Georgia.

Microsoft launches first ever rechargeable Keyboard and mouse..

2007-11-05T12:27:00.000+05:30

Microsoft has launched "a first time ever" rechargeable Keyboard and mouse pair.Interestingly Both keyboard and mouse have Battery status indicators. The 2.4GHZ technology allows freedom of moving around 30 feet.

This can be called an intelligent pair with ability to adjust power consumption and performance based on battery status. It remains to be seen in future whether Microsoft will put windows mini.. into its Keyboards as well (juz kiddin).

The product is available in Microsoft stores and at an online price of 299.95$ , you can buy this beauty if you have money to spend.

Forgot to mention the pair looks really cool.

Review by Admin
visit Microsoft Hardware for Detailed Info

Wi LAN has sued Apple,Intel,Dell,Sony,HP over patent infringement..

2007-11-05T11:54:00.000+05:30

WiLAN a canadian wireless network provider has sued 22 companies including Apple,Intel,Sony,Dell and HP over patents infringement in Wireless technology and power consumption in DSL products.The patent numbers are 5,282,222, RE37,802 and 5,956,323.
The suit also accused distributers like bestbuy.

In 2005 in a seperate filing WiLAN had out of court settlement with Cisco, where Cisco paid huge sums to buy the infringed patents of WiMax and antenna technology.Cisco also obtained license for WiLAN's products.

Other companies covered in the suit are Acer, Atheros Communications, Belkin International, Broadcom Buffalo Technology (USA), D-Link, Gateway, Infineon Technologies AG, Lenovo Group, Marvell Semiconductor, Netgear, Texas Instruments,Toshiba, Westell Technologies and 2Wire.

Click here for WiLAN's patents

King Tut's Gallery (Top 15 Most viewed pictures)

2007-11-05T09:03:00.001+05:30

'Employment exchanges to be online'

2007-11-05T08:19:00.000+05:30

Government has said it would make all state exchanges accessible online soon.

Many states including Delhi have already done this, Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes said at an awards ceremony here on Saturday night.

"The Employment News, the weekly paper is already online. This is a complete interactive website, wherein one can search jobs, download forms and apply for jobs also," he said.

This site enables the candidates to post their forms besides providing results of the recruitment exams, he added.

Referring to growing employment opportunities in IT sector, the Minister said that Information and Communication Technology has so far provided around 16 lakh jobs this year.

"India may become a super power in the next 15 years in the field of ICT by using its highly talented young workforce," he said, adding that the domestic IT market has touched 50 billion dollar mark this year.

Chipmaker Intel Technology India bagged the award for best processor and motherboard of the year, while HCL Infosystems won an award for best PC with Indian brand.

"The IT industry is really booming in India and offering high employment opportunities, especially to the youths today," Canon India Assistant Director Parveen Sahni said, adding that a considerable number of workers are less than 25 years of age.

MacBooks Move to Intel Santa Rosa

2007-11-05T08:18:00.000+05:30

Apple Computer has quietly moved its MacBook laptop line to Intel's Santa Rosa chipset.

The company is giving MacBook Pro users the option to upgrade to a 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor for an additional $250. Of course, those who want to use their Pros with 2.2- and 2.4-GHz chips, can continue doing so.
It is also giving both MacBook and MacBook Pro users the option to upgrade to a 250GB hard drive.

Santa Rosa is Intel's Gen-Next implementation of its Centrino wireless NB platform, and includes: a Core 2 Duo processor, 802.11n spec with data throughput of up to 74 Mbps over Wi-Fi network, 4 Mbytes of shared L2 cache, and front-side bus speed up to 800 MHz.

Significantly, MacBooks upgraded to Santa Rosa automatically get a video upgrade to Intel's GMA X3100 graphics processor, vis-a-vis their predecessors that feature Intel's slower GMA 950 processor.

And, Santa Rosa imparts a Turbo Memory feature that boosts hard drive performance with a flash-based cache.

New and improved MacBooks priced at $1,099 come with a 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo processor and an 80 GB hard drive. Those with a 2.2-GHz processor and 160 GB storage are priced at $1,499. Meanwhile, standard MacBook features include: a 13-inch display and 1GB memory.

"I raped the woman because of Spider Bite" says accused in court

2007-11-04T23:39:00.001+05:30

An Australian man who kidnapped and raped a woman blamed his actions on a spider, local media reported on Thursday.

Philip Spiers pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape, but told a court that the poison from a funnel-web spider bite had left him with a viral illness which led to his actions.

But a toxicologist told the New South Wales state District Court there was no medical evidence to suggest a spider bite could be responsible for anger and hatred.

Spiers, who kidnapped and raped the woman in 1997, was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years jail.

Living donkey meat ad sparks controversy

2007-11-04T23:26:00.000+05:30

A mangy donkey tied to a post all day in a Beijing street wearing an advertisement for a donkey meat shop run by his owner has sparked debate in the Chinese capital, a local newspaper said on Saturday.

The donkey is periodically moved around wearing its green and white coat advertising the store, but left on its own, given a few cobs of corn to eat, and surrounded by its own manure, the Beijing News said.

"It has caused controversy," the newspaper added. "Some people think that using the donkey is very interesting. Yet others worry it's not hygienic, and may affect the city's image."

The owner doesn't seem to care for all the fuss, the report said. "The aim is to attract customers. The effect has been great," it quoted the man, whose surname was given as Zhao, as saying.

Animal rights are still a strange concept to many Chinese, who enthusiastically consume donkey, horse, dog and even cat and think little of keeping those meant for the pot in terrible conditions.

Last year though, banner-wielding animal rights protesters swarmed into a restaurant serving cat meat in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and forced it to shut.

More than 3500 Chinese children named 'Olympics'

2007-11-04T23:00:00.001+05:30

The upcoming Beijing Olympics is more than just a point of pride for China — it's such an important part of the national consciousness that nearly 3,500 children have been named for the event, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Most of the 3,491 people with the name "Aoyun," meaning Olympics, were born around the year 2000, as Beijing was bidding to host the 2008 Summer Games, the Beijing Daily reported, citing information from China's national identity card database.

The vast majority of people named Aoyun are male, the newspaper said. Only six live in Beijing. The report didn't say where the others live.

Names related to the Olympics don't just stop with "Olympics." More than 4,000 Chinese share their names with the Beijing Games mascots, the "Five Friendlies."

The names are Bei Bei (880 people), Jing Jing (1,240), Huan Huan (1,063), Ying Ying (624) and Ni Ni (642). When put together, the phrase translates to "Beijing welcomes you!"

Chinese have increasingly turned to unique names as a way to express a child's individuality.

In a country with a population of 1.3 billion, 87 percent share the same 129 family names. That's why 5,598 people have the same name as basketball player Yao Ming and 18,462 share a moniker with star hurdler Liu Xiang, according to the Beijing Daily report.

Parents have turned to unusual combinations of letters, numbers and symbols when choosing their child's name, Li Yuming, deputy director of the National Language Commission, told the Xinhua News Agency in an August interview.

At least one couple wanted to call their child "1A," he said, while others use the e-mail address symbol (at), which in Chinese is pronounced "Aita," meaning "love him."

Loyal to the end..(picture of pet dog near dead body of owner)

2007-11-04T22:26:00.000+05:30

Orlando Cricket Player Shoots Opponent During Match

2007-11-04T17:29:00.000+05:30

An argument between several Indian men during a cricket match in Orlando led to an on-the-field shooting that seriously injured one of the players, according to police.

Orange County sheriff's deputies said they responded to a 911 call at 4:20 p.m. Saturday from a cricket match at Cyprus Grove Park and found Francis Singh, 36, shot in the abdomen.

Officers said Singh apparently became involved in a fight and threatened Devan Bascom, 37, with a cricket bat.

Police said Bascom then pulled a small semi-automatic gun and fired at Singh, hitting him at least once.

"The shooter was defending himself from an attack with a cricket bat which is simlar to a baseball bat but it's flat," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Spike Hopkins said. "For this man to bring a firearm to a sporting event is odd but then again, he has the right to do so. He has a concealed weapons permit and if, in fact, he was protecting himself, he was authorized by law to do so."

Singh was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center and was undergoing surgery late Saturday.

There have been no arrests made in the case as the investigation continues.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Software that can track your lost mobile phone

2007-11-04T17:22:00.000+05:30

Finding a lost cell phone is a just not an easy process. Informing service providers and lodging police FIRs don't really help you to trace your lost phone. So here is how you can yourself do the policing of your handset.

Jayprakash's mobile was stolen last month. But MicroTec's Lost Mobile Tracking System (LMTS) or got it back.

Till now, a new SIM in a stolen mobile is all that thieves needed to hide their crime. Try that with a LMTS phone and this is where you could land up.

Parag Sapra, LMTS says, "We have cases where people have got their phones back."

Here's how it works. Download the software on to your mobile and MicroTec's server records your number, two reference numbers and your e-mail ID.

If a thief makes a call with a new SIM, it messages and e-mails you his phone number and location. Impressed? It's up for grabs at www.microlmts.net.

Other players like Samsung take the game one step further. Their phones cannot only be tracked; they can be locked to prevent data misuse.

And if for a change, you are kidnapped with your phone, a single key fires text messages to your closest contacts.

Anti-theft and tracking features are useful. But in India, simply finding the thief doesn't guarantee getting your phone back.

That's why brands like Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson stress more on data security than just mobile tracking.

They let you lock your phone, or just your SIM or just specific files so no one messes with your precious data.

But since even they support downloadable tracking software, today, your phone's security is quite literally in your own hands.

Need a healthy heart? Brush teeth properly

2007-11-04T17:19:00.001+05:30

There is one more reason for you to brush your teeth properly and take good care of your gums now.

According to a latest medical find, good oral hygiene also ensures a healthy heart.

Says cardiologist, Max Hospital, Dr Praveen Chandra, “Of my daily heart patients 20-25 per cent have oral problems.”

So how exactly does brushing the teeth help the heart?

“Bacteria causing oral and cardiac problems are the same. Food particles stuck to teeth lead to bacterial growth which can reach heart,” says HOD, Dept of Dentistry, Max Hospital, Dr Ramesh Mathur.

Bleeding gums can also result in bacteria entering the bloodstream. Cardiologists warn that individuals with a particular heart problem are more prone to infections due to lack of oral hygiene.

“For those with valve problems oral health is very important,” says Dr Chandra.

Healthy gums and teeth are also important if you are looking at valve surgery.

Says Dr Mathur, “Such patients are made to first go through oral treatment otherwise new valve will also be infected and surgery will fail.”

So what is the to keep one’s teeth and gums healthy?

“Keep teeth clean, floss them and visit dentist. Dentistry is painless today,” says Dr Mathur.

So if you care for your heart all you need to do is follow all this and visit your dentist.

Teenage coin collector headed for Guinness

2007-11-04T17:03:00.001+05:30

15-year-old Deviprasad Mangaraj has attained worldwide fame for his hobby, which has resulted in his possessing the country's largest collection of antique coins.

The teenage numismatist has more than 40 thousand antique coins from 120 different countries and hopes to enter the Guinness Book of World Records soon.

But it's not just the love for records that keeps him going.

"By collecting such coins I am keen to make people aware of the history, important personalities and the period of those coins," says Mangaraj, who dreams of building a coin museum for children in Bhubaneshwar.

In this regard he was promised help by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, then president APJ Abdul Kalam and the state government.

The US dollar is now worth 93 cents Canadian, lowest since the Civil War

2007-11-04T10:24:00.001+05:30

The Canadian dollar entered uncharted territory Friday after a monster employment report blew the roof off the upper limits for the loonie's potential.

With the economy pumping out 63,000 additional jobs in October and the unemployment rate plunging to 5.8 per cent - the best in 33 years - the dollar gained a full two cents in morning trading, peaking over $1.07 US.

The loonie, already soaring on high commodity prices, hit new records Friday, surging more than 1.9 cents to end the day at 107.04 cents US, its highest close on record. Earlier, the loonie traded as high as 107.3 cents US before cooling slightly as a new report showed U.S. employment also was healthy in October, gaining 166,000 jobs.

"That's a big move," said Bank of Montreal deputy chief economist Douglas Porter. "I think a reasonable near-term target now is $1.10, but there's no sign it's going to stop there."

The loonie has risen 22 cents this year alone against the U.S. greenback, making it the world's best-performing major currency. But it has also appreciated against the euro, Japanese yen, Brazilian real and other currencies, making goods imported from Europe, Japan and Brazil cheaper for Canadian consumers.

The rising level has benefited consumers booking U.S. vacations to the sunny south and cross-border shoppers flocking to U.S. border cities looking for bargains on everything from auto parts to CDs, shoes and clothes. It has also forced some Canadian retailers to lower their prices in response and helped more and more companies afford U.S.-built technology and machinery to boost productivity.

Opinions were mixed if the dollar has risen too fast, too high. Paul Gardner of Avenue Investment Management in Toronto said at best the economic fundamentals justified a loonie at par with the greenback, adding that much of the quick appreciation was based on speculation and an exaggerated view of the Canadian economy's strength.

Currency traders believe the stronger than expected jobless report Friday has made it less likely the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates, which means the rate spread between Canada and the United States will remain attractive in Canada's favour.

Gardner noted that while the jobs number may look impressive to foreign investors, a closer look would show that most of the gain was in government and social service jobs. As well, the market views Canada as an oil superpower, "when we're really more of a natural gas producing country," he said.

"Don't get me wrong, it's a great economy, but ... we're now nine months that the private sector hasn't created any jobs."

Gardner said the loonie is also being pushed up by investors fleeing the weakening U.S. greenback to foreign currencies, which has a disproportionate impact on the lighter-traded loonie.

But CIBC analyst Avery Shenfeld said attributing the rise to speculation does not detract from the real factors behind the surge.

"Speculators who push currencies or oil prices or anything else to levels they can't sustain, are speculators who lose money," he noted. "Speculators are not doing this in a vacuum, they are looking at underlying fundamentals that are very positive for the Canadian economy."

While the headline jobs number was five times higher than economists' consensus, analysts cautioned there was also some underlying weakness in the statistics.

All and more of the additional jobs came in the service sector, which gained 66,200 jobs, particularly in health care services and public administration. This boosted this sector's job growth to 3.2 per cent in the past 12 months, but so far this year, the goods producing side is actually down 0.5 per cent.

As well, public-sector employment growth outstripped the private sector by a ratio of six-to-one last month, or 38,000 to 6,500, some as a result of one-time additional hiring for the Ontario provincial election.

Meanwhile, the dollar-battered manufacturing sector registered another poor month in October, shedding an additional 3,500 jobs.

The tight labour market continued to apply pressure on wages as employers paid workers 4.1 per cent more for their hourly labour than a year ago, well above the 2.5 per cent inflation rate.

So far this year, the economy has created 346,000 new jobs, three-quarters in full-time positions and the vast majority in the public sector.

Porter said while the "jobs party" is good news for the domestic economy in terms of higher wages and consumer spending, "This is definitely not good news from a productivity standpoint, as employment has risen more in the past year (2.5 per cent) than real GDP (2.4 per cent)."

The dollar and jobs story also puts the Bank of Canada in the delicate position as it considers what do to with interest rates at it's next scheduled announcement on Dec. 4, particularly after the U.S. Federal Reserve Board cut its key rate another 25 basis points this week.

Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove met in Ottawa with Industry Minister Jim Prentice on Friday to ask for assistance for the auto sector. Referring to Thursday's announcement of 1,100 jobs layoffs at the Chrysler plant in Brampton, Ont., Hargrove said the dollar is only making a bad situation worse.

"We need a dramatic lowering of the interest rates," he said he told Prentice. "The Americans have already lowered interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in the last couple of months and we have done nothing."

Hargrove said many auto parts manufacturers signed contracts in the U.S. when the dollar was under 90 cents US, putting them in a precarious position today.

"This dollar coupled by this latest announcement by Chrysler could very well tip them into bankruptcy," he said. Prentice discounted applying pressure on the central bank on interest rates.

While bank governor David Dodge has shown no inclination of budging from the current stand still position, Gardner said the situation has changed dramatically since the bank's last announcement in October.

"The Bank of Canada said at $1.02 US that they were uncomfortable with the level of the currency, so they have to back it up with more than words," he said. "If we're at $1.07 and above for a couple of weeks and it looks like it will stay there, they may have to cut interest rates by a quarter point," he said.

In Toronto, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he is concerned about the rise in the currency and its impact on corporate Canada but won't intervene on the interest rate front.

"I'm always concerned about rapid acceleration of the currency because of its effect on business," he said after a speech. "Business tries to plan and it's very difficult for businesses to plan when they see volatility in the currency like that. Having said that, monetary policy is the responsibility of the Bank of Canada. I have regular discussions with the governor of the bank and I think their next date for rate-setting is the first week in December."

Flaherty said Canada's manufacturing sector remains vibrant and resilient despite the loonie's rise.

"Over the course of the last several years, we've seen resiliance in the Canadian manufacturing sector," he said. "In the auto sector, there is some weakness. In the forestry sector, there is certainly weakness. That has a lot to do with a reduction in demand in the US economy."

In Quebec, where the forest sector has been particularly hurt, provincial Economic Development Minister Raymond Bachand said the Bank of Canada must follow the lead of the Federal Reserve and cut interest rates.

"The Bank of Canada isn't moving because it's afraid of inflation," Bachand said in Quebec City. "Inflation isn't our major worry."

It's the "rapid rise" of the loonie and this can put investments and exports in danger, he said.

Bachand said he will introduce a plan in the next few weeks to deal with the pain that Quebec's manufacturing industry is experiencing as a result of the high loonie.

Children & alcohol: Britain's deadly cocktail.. 40% raise in under age drinkers

2007-11-04T09:22:00.000+05:30

Record numbers of children are in treatment for alcohol abuse. Britain's drinking culture, combined with the sheer availability and affordability of alcohol, is taking a heavy toll of those most vulnerable to its effects.

An investigation by The Independent on Sunday has discovered that children as young as 10 are spending up to three years in treatment, ranging from residential rehabilitation to specialist counselling.

The new statistics, obtained from the National Treatment Agency, and published for the first time by the IoS, reveal a devastating picture of Britain's young people and children suffering from alcohol-related illness and self-destruction.

The number of under-18s in alcohol treatment programmes has soared by 40 per cent, from 4,781 in 2006 to 6,707 in 2007. The findings reveal the highest increases have been among 12- to 14-year-olds, up 62 per cent from 592 to 953.

Meanwhile, thousands of youngsters continue to be admitted to hospital each year for serious illnesses usually expected in ageing alcoholics: children aged 16 or under hospitalised due to drink have risen by a third in the past decade – from 3,870 in 1995/6 to 5,281 in 2005/6.

Health professionals are particularly concerned about the number of young girls drinking excessively and requiring treatment. Girls accounted for just under 60 per cent of all hospital admissions for alcohol.

Health professionals look with concern at the antics of high-profile figures who appear to glamorise excessive boozing. Daily coverage of celebrities such as Amy Winehouse, Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding and Lily Allen looking worse for wear does nothing to help matters, particularly among impressionable young girls. Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: "Even I've heard of Amy Winehouse. Clearly it's highly inappropriate for young pop stars, looked upon as role models by young people, to be celebrating or boasting about their misuse of alcohol, and the 'Amy Winehouse factor' isn't helping the situation."

Girls are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol, adds Professor Gilmore: "We know girls' bodies are more sensitive to the effects of alcohol than boys. Unless we can stop this heavy drinking culture among young girls, we're more likely to see women with serious liver disease at a younger age in the future."

Professor Roger Williams, director of the Institute for Hepatology, University College London, and physician for the late George Best, said: " Many young people say that they drink and feel perfectly fine, but they need to realise that the damage done by drinking is progressive. The number of under-18s admitted to hospital has gone up 15 per cent over the past decade, and deaths from cirrhosis are rising in younger age groups, with people in their 20s and 30s now being treated for liver failure."

Alarming as the latest statistics are, health campaigners describe them as a mere indication of the true picture. "This is the tip of the iceberg. There are more than 800,000 children below the age of 15 drinking regularly in the UK," said Frank Soodeen from Alcohol Concern. "Many of the young people who drink at hazardous levels require a depth of support that is simply not available in the current system. There are fewer than 150 residential detox beds available for under-18s, with much of that capacity provided by the private sector."

Continued price promotions, combined with a rise in incomes, means that alcohol has never been more affordable. And the explosion in child drinkers is being fuelled by a culture of drinking to get drunk, experts claim. " Of 15-year-olds, nearly two-thirds have drunk in the past four weeks, and around one in seven of those drinkers consumed enough to vomit. The reality is that about 30 per cent of all 15-year-olds think it is OK to get drunk once a week," said Professor Mark Bellis from the North West Public Health Observatory, and the Government's lead adviser on alcohol. "We need to tackle a youth culture in which drunkenness is commonplace, underage access to alcohol relatively easy and alternatives to drinking far too scarce."

The issue of young people and drink will be the focus of Alcohol Concern's annual conference on Wednesday, where calls will be made on the Government to set up a regulatory watchdog to force the drinks industry to do more to curb under-age sales of alcohol and help to stem the rising tide of teen drinkers. In a new report, the charity will call on the drinks industry not to advertise on television before 9pm. They say an independent regulatory body to police the drinks industry would result in a reduction in the amount of alcohol that continues to be sold to under-age drinkers. In addition, the report will call on the Government to set aside £1.6bn – 10 per cent of tax revenues from alcohol – to tackle the crisis.

Although still in its infancy, there are already 3,000 premises licensed for 24-hour drinking. Government thinking on 24-hour drinking is being reviewed amid fears that the promotion of cheap alcohol is leading to more alcohol abuse, and a report due out next summer will look at ways of controlling the activities of drinks companies.

British teenagers, along with those in Ireland and Denmark, are among the heaviest teenage drinkers in Europe. They are more likely to drink to get drunk and suffer from alcohol abuse than their European counterparts. One in four young people drink in parks or on street corners and there was a sharp increase of 77 per cent in the number of 16- to 17-year-olds being drunk and disorderly between 2004 (1,328 cases) and 2005 (2,354 cases).

Unable to work due to developing a drink problem when just 16, David James (not his real name) was one such statistic. He was repeatedly arrested for being drunk and disorderly, with his descent into alcoholism having begun when he left home at 16; he drank as a way to fit in with those around him. " Within months I was drinking five or six litres of cider every day. It was strong and only cost me £6 so I could afford it without a job," he said. "I wasn't old enough to be buying it myself so my friends would get it for me, but by the age of 17 I was getting served in shops as well. By this time I needed to drink was soon as I woke up. Otherwise the shaking and sweats wouldn't go away."

Desperate to stop drinking, the teenager from High Wycombe began seeing a counsellor through the Addaction charity last year. Now 19, he admitted that it is a daily struggle. "I'm talking about my problems rather than just drinking, though I still need a strong lager as soon as I wake up, but I'm down to five or six cans," he said. "I really want to stop and have a normal life. I want to get a job, sort things out with my family, find a stable place to live and a girlfriend, but it's hard. I still can't stop drinking completely and just wish I'd never started."

Despite protestations that local authorities have clamped down hard, the selling of alcohol to children remains widespread. Prosecutions at magistrates' courts for selling alcohol to children rose fivefold from 198 in 1995 to 1,084 in 2005. And there has been an explosion in the numbers of penalty notices issued for underage sales of alcohol – from 113 in 2004 to 2,058 in 2005.

The crisis has gone to the top of the political agenda, with the Prime Minister having described his concern over teenagers that drink, saying: " Binge-drinking and under-age drinking that disrupt neighbourhoods are unacceptable." He has warned that shops persisting in selling alcohol to children will lose their licences; he also urges councils to ban alcohol in trouble spots and calls on the industry "to do more to advertise the dangers of teenage drinking".

In 2003/04, a total of £217m was being invested in alcohol treatment and 63,000 people were receiving treatment for alcohol-related disorders. But this is a tiny fraction of the million alcoholics in Britain, not to mention more than eight million people who drink above sensible levels.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "We have invested significantly in young people's substance misuse services through a ring-fenced local partnership grant – £24.7m for 2007/08 – and we are determined to go further by reducing the harm caused to young people by alcohol and educating young people and their parents on the very real harm it causes."

The stakes could not be higher, said Professor Williams. "The health consequences are simply too serious to be ignored."

The schoolgirl: 'When you start drinking you forget about the bad things'

"I started drinking when I was about 11 or 12," says Kayleigh from Esher, Surrey. "I had older friends who used to drink and it went from there. I was drinking beer, cider and bottles of wine and I used to drink about three times a week. It's too easy for children to get hold of – adults always have it in their house."

Alcoholism came early for the schoolgirl. Now 18, she knows only too well the addictive and damaging effects of drink. Her formative years were spent as a heavy drinker, turning up at school either hung-over or drunk, to the distress of her teachers. After her mother died three years ago, from deep vein thrombosis, Kayleigh's drinking became even worse. Living with a foster family, she started to drink almost every day, sometimes even stealing drink from shops to feed her addiction. "When you first start drinking, there is a buzz and you forget about the bad things. You just don't care about them any more, you're not so scared."

Kayleigh started counselling this April and now visits a weekly drugs and alcohol clinic run by young persons' charity Rainer.

"It all depends on whether you want to get better. They can't make you do it; they can only advise and help you."