Overview

The GDP of the 15 countries in the euro zone fell by 1.5% in the final quarter of 2008 compared with a year earlier, according to the European Unions statistics office. The corresponding fall for all 27 countries in the EU was 1.4%. But thanks to the growth in the first half of the year, GDP still grew in 2008 as a whole, by 0.8% for the euro area and 0.9% for the entire EU.Britains industrial production was 5.8% lower in the three months to February 2009 than it had been in the previous three months, and 12.5% lower than a year earlier. This was the biggest annual drop in industrial output since comparable records began 41 years ago.

Portable Ubuntu

Portable Ubuntu for Windows PortableUbuntu.DemonCCC.com & SourceForge.net - Portable Ubuntu - Linux - Windows - Downloads - About About Portable Ubuntu : "Portable Ubuntu for Windows is a Ubuntu system running as a Windows application.This system is built with the Colinux Kernel, Xming X server and Pulseaudio server for Windows. Portable Ubuntu for Windows is a useful tool when you need to move yourself to other machine that have Windows as operating system...."(PortableUbuntu.DemonCCC.com)Draai de portable versie van Ubuntu op een computer waar Windows (XP & Vista) op geinstalleerd is. De gratis download vergt ongeveer 430 mb. en je kunt de Portable Ubuntu applicatie opstarten als elk ander programma. Beertjes Weblog by Peter Franken

do you tell your friend if her man is cheating??

my partner and i have some very good friends who are also a couple and we spend alot of our free time together. however i have recently found out that my partners friend is cheating on my friend and i am torn of what to do about it. i want to tell my friend but i know that by doing so would spoil the friendship we all have together, would split them up and would also cause tension between me and my partner - what should i do?

Diets

Diet and Weight LossWe at That's Fit and AOL Health know that you've got a lot going on in your lives besides staying in great shape, and we know that a lot more than diet and exercise goes into feeling your best every day. That's why we thought we'd share some of the exciting reporting going on at AOL Health.While we can't condone crash dieting as a weight-loss program, even nutritionists, fitness trainers and healthy dieters use a "quick fix" on occasion. That's why we went to the experts for their healthy and safe short-term weight loss tips for quick weight turnarounds. There's a new calorie-burning drink in town -- Celcius. But does it actually work? Find out about negative foods and drinks on AOL Health.In the long line of celebrity yo-yo dieters, first there was Oprah, then there was Jennifer Love Hewitt, next Jessica Simpson received media attention (heckling) for her fluctuating figure.

Which is more clean, hand or foot?

Many persons don’t want other’s foot to close to his hand. But I think foot is more clean than hand. The foot is always in shoe, it doesn’t contact other things. also with socks packed. but the hand always contact cell phone,keyboard which Is not very clean . and someone don’t like to wash his hand always.

Apple's double standards keep

Filed under: Internet, Apple, iPhoneIt's fine for Apple to have policies about what kind of apps they will and won't approve for sale on iTunes. It's their platform, after all, so they've got every right to decide what gets put on the store's virtual shelves.But I need some help with this one. You've seen those pens with the sex kitten in the barrel? Tip the pen and giggle like a schoolboy as her clothes go floating away. They're harmless, and hardly what most people would classify "excessively sexual content."So if you were to, say, turn that concept into an iPhone app it would be equally harmless, right? Apparently not.Peekababe, we're told, was rejected on precisely those grounds. Check it out for yourself on YouTube. Now convince me that the images presented are in any way more lewd than, say, the lyrics of 2 Live Crew. Seriously.If I can buy Me So Horny or any of their other tracks with less publishable titles in the iTunes store, how can Apple justify banning an app for images that you can find in any Sears catalog or plastered in the front window of a Victoria's Secret?It's time for some consistency, Apple. If you allow audio tracks laden with lyrics that compete with scenes from a Vivid Video release in the iTunes store, it doesn't make sense to block an app that amounts to a slightly rude bachelor party favor.Thanks for the tip, Tom!

"in name only"

Earlier this week we wrote about MPs missing select committee meetings. Amongst those was Adam Afriyie. Hephas "hit back" in his local paper, arguing that he wasponly ever a member of the powerful and importantpchildrens schools and families select committee "in name only". I've never heard of such thing. But judge for yourself. Loving the quotes - is that the sound of violins.....?p From the Windsor and Maidenhead Observer Reporter WINDSOR MP Adam Afriyie has slammed a report in national newspaper The Times - after it claimed he routinely skipped meetings. The report in Wednesday’s paper claimed Mr Afriyie was among backbenchers who missed more than half of their commons committee meetings last year. It went onto say the Conservative only attended three out of 45 Children, Schools and Family Committee meetings. However, a spokesman for Adam Afriyie said the MP was involved in a number of committees - many of which he attends on a regular basis. The spokesman said: “Adam Afriyie is one of the most hard-working and conscientious MPs. "He is shadow minister for Science and Innovation, one of the most cost-effective MPs and has a 100 per cent attendance record on many committees.It was always understood that he would be helping the Parliamentary process by agreeing to be a ‘name only’ member of the CSF committee to enable it to function.With 4 young children, including three babies, we’re amazed that he’s been able to be so active throughout. It probably explains his emails at 2 o’clock in the morning.” The Government has recently relaxed the rules on meeting attendance allowing parliamentary private secretaries to sit on select committees. Mr Afriyie added: “With so many official and unofficial responsibilities it is well understood that one has to balance time carefully.I can understand why some people would wish to paint an entirely inaccurate picture – I guess that’s the nature of being in the public eye.”

Do you suffer from a undiagnosed health condition?

Well a few years ago I started suffering from an irritating condition.... I just feel a terrible itch and all that I want to do is blowing my top off and scratching my back. I have asked my doctor who did some blood tests and said that I am healthy and it might be some kind of allergy and there is nothing much you can do about it. Allergies are tricky to diagnose he said. I am suffering this condition during the change of weather... it always starts late April or beginning of June. When it happens I just take a cold shower and change my clothes and try to relax as much as possible.

when friendships turn sour

There is one person in our congregation whom i find very difficult to forgive. i dunno, she just grates on my nerves. she is soooo annoying. anyway, I DON'T NEED ADVICE ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM. i know the many ways how. i guess in time, God will eventually change my heart towards this person. i am just sharing this with you, because i feel there is no day that i do not pray for this person and our relationship. the problem is, i don't want to be friends with this person anymore, which is quite contradictory with the faith that i profess. hehe anyway, i know that someday that God will heal my wounds and my heart and even if this person is very difficult to forgive, God will enable me to do so. there are just some wounds that are deeper than the others. do you have this kind of situation too? or have you encountered this in the past? take care all and God bless you!

Does anyone have a chronic disease?

I have had multiple sclerosis for about ten years. Although I have to use a walker and wheelchair to get around, I am thankful that I have MS, rather than diabetes, heart disease, or many other serious diseases. MS affects my mobility, but does not stop me from using my computer and the internet--my passions.

Things are tough, how to show your support?

My husband works nonstop (handyman jobs and charter fishing) and I left the corporate world to be home with our two girls. We are making it, and I'm good at finding things for our girls to do to have fun and stay healthy. I am bringing in some money on line and trying to increase that amount. My problem is the financial stress is really bringing my husband down. I think he feels like a failure because we're always just making our bills by their due date.

warshrag on my wall

and answers to other questions Back when dinosaurs roamed, pre-blog, before the Mason Dixon Knitting gestalt entered my consciousness, long before I went into residence as both a Mason & a Dixon to photograph the grooviest of knitting books, I thought handknit dishcloths were folly. I was wrong. No 4/1 joke. Kay passed me a book by mail this week. The packing materials, I kid you NOT: Noro scraps and this utterly wonderful washrag. I mean really? Who even noticed the book was in there. And who else would pack a book that way? No return address necessary.I'm having crazy stress and with a lightening bolt strike knew that this humble handknit artisanry was classing up my whole week. As well as my kitchen .You know how some people mix juicy & dull? Not us. We're all about the juicy. My kitchen floor is old school red linoleum. You can see the mango yellow walls, and the 1940's cabinets are painted periwinkle.They have glass front, my dishes are every color Fiestaware. (I'd show you, but the counters along them are too cluttered).This is a perfectly juicy warshrag. It just goes.And in answer to other questions which haven't yet been asked, or I'd have answered from the comments except %$#&Blogger makes most comments "no reply" - no that doesn't mean I'll knit some myself. puh-lease! babysteps folks! - you're all correct, my stripey mismatched cuffs are only going to be noticed by me. (see previous post) They were knit in the round, what I did is start one cuff following a brown knit stripe, and one cuff following a yucca knit stripe. The cuffs are purled- so you get the little ridge at the changeover looking like sewn running stitch, I love that.- this Francis v2 sweater is finished. Straight off the blocking towel I slipped it on to see how it hung. LOVE! so much so, I am wearing it for 3 days now and have not yet grafted the open armpits or tacked down the collar (photo soon). I look weird but I am mostly working in the home office this week and the dog doesn't care. The fit and drape are perfecto.- Kimberly, you didn't ask but I'll tell you: even I don't know what I wrote on this blog way back when I started it, you deserve a medal of endurance for reading all that, and thanks for wanting to, mwah. Also, I maintain those Trader Joes sea salt & dark chocolate covered almonds are the snack of the gods. Let's get everyone eating them so they are not discontinued as the late lamented YinYang peanuts were. (sniff)- Vestuary? no. Varch? nope. I am on my way to Vestril (details near the end of this post). I'll show soon. Adoring the Cascade Eco wool which is on sale for a steal if you click that link to Webs, talk about budget knitting! One skein=one vest. - The seaglass buttons.(again you need to scroll down on that post).There are more. I am opening an etsy shop for them. I'm hanging shelves and painting now, there'll be a virtual wine & cheese open house for you all (and if you spill the red wine on the new floors, I'll be OK. Virtual shopkeeping means never having to say you're sloppy.)

It's Playoff Beard Time

In the '05-'06 Stanley Cup run, I grew a pretty substantial playoff beard, just for the heck of it. (see fig. 1, pictured right) This time, the Hurricanes are doing a great charity event for the Kids 'N Community Foundation: the Beard-A-Thon! When the regular season games are over, I'm going to shave, and then grow a playoff beard as hard as I can. Now, as I mentioned, it's a charity event, and I need you folks to help me out, by pledging at the Beard-A-Thon page. Don't forget to enter "Benjamin Reed" where it says, " There's a specific beard grower I'd like to support." Comments (6) Comments on this Entry: (wvmac on Apr 10, 2009 10:05 AM) The penguins are doing the same thing. Are you only supposed to grow the beard as long as the Hurricanes are in the playoffs? If so, your beard won't get very long. :) (Benjamin Reed on Apr 10, 2009 11:35 AM) Funny, since the Hurricanes/Penguins series this year was 2 and 2, I guess you're saying the Pens won't make it very far either? Also, you clearly hate children, since you don't want them to get help from a charity. FOR SHAME. (wvmac on Apr 10, 2009 12:08 PM) I like puppies. Does that count? Anyways I hope you get some donations. (bobby on Apr 10, 2009 3:49 PM) you use the gif format? yuck -10 (Benjamin Reed on Apr 10, 2009 6:12 PM) Yeah, because browser support for MNG is so awesome? What else does animation reliably nowadays without embedding a movie or flash or something? (Louie on Apr 11, 2009 8:41 PM) Is that Little Bobby Tables (http://xkcd.com/327/) I see? Oh, I agree with him! GIF is so distasteful due to the drunken vagaries of its past. YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT FORMAT HAS BEEN! I prefer using a rapid automatic page refresh and a specially crafted daemon that replaces the image file to increment the frame. I've been using it to animate erotic images on my Golden Girls fan page for ages! So far, no one has complained.

The myopia of the Valley

Robert Scoble just rips apart the NewTeeVee conference as missing the boat. And, while he might have a few points on his list of 40 ... he forgets the audience, those that are going to come to the conference.Is the audience for this conference the more advanced veterans, or is it for the new audiences (and, well, corporations) that are trying to figure out (still) what to do in all this new media, including the NewTeeVee world?The post, in essence, was written for the Valley bloggers and vidcasters, but not the rest of the country. This past week was the Forrest Consumer Forum in Chicago - almost every new media person should have been there (including PR firms and advertising firms) and see what is understood and what is not understood by companies that are trying to get social and new media. If you want a better take, check out the Forrester Blog for the conference, Jeremiah Owyang' blog, what the blogosphere said, or even my posts - it showcases what is and is not clicking out there, and how companies are and are not getting it, but still trying.We can sometimes forget that when we are in the Valley (or, well, why I am in Chicago right now, and looking beyond the Valley community to others).For me, the NewTeeVee conference schedule looks great. When I was at a firm, I'd recommend it to clients that are trying to get a handle on what is going on out there, as well as clients that tangentially touch upon online video.But, before we rush off to commend a company like Kyte.tv - a UGC channel that speaks very little to me, as I primarily love my television programming. And, before the Valley goes nuts over that one ... read your own Twitters on Heroes or Battlestar Gallactica or any other hot show right now. We can all pretend to be too cool for old media ... but are still there for certain instances of appointment television.And, that's what we need to remember in the Bay - those cheesy flyover states have a lot of power and a lot of pull. And, they are the hardcore communities we are trying to reach and get to use our stuff.

The cheapest jaipurknee

Stanford University's Joel Sadler and his students in the biomedical device designed a special achievement. On April 8, in the annual school,they showed amazing products, they developed 20 U.S. dollars prosthetic products "JaipurKnee" .

Choosing an Inheritance Strategy

What strategies does the Entity Framework support? The Entity Framework supports 3 primary inheritance strategies: Table Per Hierarchy (TPH): In TPH, all data for a type hierarchy is stored in one table, and there is a discriminator column that is used to establish the type of a particular row (i.e. 'C' for Car or 'B' for Boat). Properties that are not shared across all types need to be nullable, even if they aren't nullable properties. Which means the database is not completely enforcing your null-ability constraints. A TPH table might look something like this: ID Description Discriminator HorsePower KeelLength 1 Porsche 911 C 600 NULL 2 Yacht - KZ7 B NULL 2.2 Table Per Type (TPT): In TPT properties in a base type are stored in a shared table. For example a Vehicle table: ID Description 1 Porsche 911 2 Yacht - KZ7 And then there is a table for each sub type, with columns for just newly declared properties and the key, so the tables can be joined. So there would be a Car table: ID HorsePower 1 600 and Boat table: ID KeelLength 2 2.2 Table Per Concrete Class (TPC): In Table per Concrete Class there is a table for each class, and each of those tables has a column for every property of that type, i.e. a Car table: ID Description HorsePower 1 Porsche 911 600 And a Boat table: ID Description KeelLength 2 Yacht - KZ7 2.2 Which strategy is the Best? Trick question! In isolation of your requirements there is no 'Best' strategy. But... While the EF runtime supports TPC, the designer doesn't, and using TPC in the EF forces you to avoid associations in your base type. Because of these issues we generally discourage the use of TPC with the Entity Framework. This means in most situations the question comes down to TPH or TPT? Here are some of the things you might want to consider when making your decision: Concern Winner Reasoning Performance TPH Table Per Hierarchy is generally better performing, because no joins are necessary, everything is in one table. The decision becomes even more clear cut once the inheritance hierarchy gets deep. Flexibility TPT Table Per Type is often used by ISVs, as it allows customizations without modifying the 'base' table. I.e. new subtypes can be added simply by creating new tables for those sub-types. Database Validation TPT TPH requires columns in derived types to be NULLABLE in the database, so that other derived types can be stored in the same table. Because of this it is possible to create rows in the table that are not valid according to the conceptual model. I.e. the column is NULLABLE but the combination of a particular column being NULL and a particular discriminator or type is not valid. This means the database is not enforcing the conceptual model for you anymore. This is fine if all access to the database is via the EF, but if anything else is used, you can end up with 'dirty' data. Aesthetics TPT This one is completely subjective, but TPT feels more Object Oriented to me :) As you can see once you know what it is you are looking for it should be a pretty easy task to choose a strategy. Most of the time the recommendation is TPH because generally performance trumps these other concerns. But every situation is different, and the key is to understand exactly what you value, and then make the decision accordingly. Let me know if you have a questions.

Taiwan Relations Act at 30

Yes, it has been 30 years since Carter switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing and Congress responding by putting together the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) (Text of the Act). A few articles out there on it today. Reuters observed that pro-Taiwan groups in the US are worried that improving relations between the US and China mean Taiwan will soon be sold out:Taiwan lobby groups, suspicious of China and fearful of fast improving Sino-U.S. relations, urged U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to stop Beijing's "growing military threat" against the island it claims as its own.The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, recognising Beijing's "one China" policy, but is obliged by the 30-year-old Taiwan Relations Act to help defend the island and is its biggest arms supplier.Advocacy groups, including the World Federation of Taiwan Organisations and a U.S.-based group representing 700,000 people, sent Obama and the U.S. Congress letters asking for stronger ties with Taipei, one of the signatories said in a statement.Second paragraph there contains two problematic statements. First, the US is not obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan. Sec 3302 is pretty clear on who makes the determination: the President and Congress. Taiwan is not involved anywhere in the process, and there is nothing to stop the US from washing its hands of Taiwan by declaring the island has "sufficient" arms. Whether Taiwan gets weapons is the result of a political calculus -- and Congress has tended to place foreign policy decisions in the hands of the Executive. Chris Nelson, a former Dem staffer who was in on its drafting, had this to say in 2007:In fact, the US is not obligated to defend Taiwan by law, and in the post-9/11 world, senior Republican offcials and military brass have cast considerable doubt on the US moral obligation, if President Bush were to conclude that hostilities were the result of actions by Taiwan.In fact, although the TRA includes language designed to discourage the use of force by the PRC against Taiwan, the TRA only obligates the US to consider arms sales under certain circumstances, period.Take our word for it, as a junior staff-participant, even this language was extracted very reluctantly from the State Department at the cost of considerable blood on both sides.The strongest language Congressional friends of Taiwan were able to add talks about a "grave threat" to US interests in the event of an upset in the peaceful status quo. That's it...not exactly a mutual defense treaty.So you add it all up, and not even at the beginning did the TRA mandate that the US defend Taiwan under any circumstance, nor that arms must be sold, simply because of requests by Taiwan.Every aspect of this is subject to US political will, judgement and discretion...the everlasting frustration of both China and Taiwan, duly noted.The second problem is...."The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, recognising Beijing's "one China" policy," ....but in fact we never recognized it. We merely acknowledged that it exists, and to this day Washington and Beijing have different One China policies. Hopefully we can get a correction on that wording.The Taipei Times offered a scary piece from trusty correspondent William Lowther, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the TRA with bad news: Mark Kao (高龍榮), an official with the Formosan Association for Human Rights, told one gathering that Taiwanese students in the US are now often frightened to give their names if they say anything critical of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.“We are deeply concerned about this situation,” Kao said. “There has been an erosion of human rights in Taiwan and it is getting worse since Ma took over last year.”“I am often on university campuses and I find that students from Taiwan will not reveal their true identity when they speak critically of the Ma administration because they fear they will be harassed or made to suffer in some way when they go home,” he said.Kao said that many Taiwanese students he had met in the US over the last few weeks believed that the government at home would take action against them if they were critical or complained about Ma’s pro-China policies. “It is a common concern,” he said.Unlike with weapons, the TRA contains a strong statement supporting human rights in Taiwan.There's a short Q&A on the TRA with Julian Chang of Harvard, which offers little. Jon Adams, though, over at Global Post had yet another good piece, this time a background on the TRA past and present:Since it took power a year ago, a new KMT administration has sidled up to Beijing to forge closer economic links. The next round of talks, due next month or June, will address banking ties and crime-fighting.Some optimists are even talking peace deal."Because of the new situation, Taiwan-China relations are quite different from 30 years ago," said Lin Cheng-yi, from Taiwan's Academia Sinica. "Some might argue that the current government is pursuing a policy of 'creeping unification.'"All of which leads to the question: Is it time to rewrite — even scrap — the Taiwan Relations Act, to fit new realities?A growing number of experts think so. One is Robert Sutter, formerly with the CIA and State Department, and one of America's top Asia hands. In a recent paper, Sutter argues that U.S. policy is obsolete, as China ups its diplomatic, economic and military edge over Taiwan."Recent developments suggest that the longstanding notion of U.S.-supported balance in the Taiwan Strait is no longer viable in the face of ever-increasing Chinese influence over Taiwan," he wrote.Still, there are several reasons why the Taiwan Relations Act probably won't be eighty-sixed anytime soon.For one, Taiwan would strongly object. As friendly as Taipei may be getting with China, it still craves global recognition. The Taiwan Relations Act is the next best thing to formal recognition from America — so any tinkering would be viewed with alarm."Does the TRA in practice imply statehood for Taiwan?" asked Andrew Hsia, Taiwan's vice foreign minister, at the forum. "We believe so."Other experts note that although the Taiwan Relations Act may be outdated, Taiwan is so far down Obama's priority list that it's unlikely to be changed.Wang, the AIT official, took an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach at the forum. "[U.S.] policy has worked for the past 30 years," Wang said. "So there's no urgency in Washington or elsewhere in wanting to change this."...like so many of us at 30, the TRA faces an uncertain future.

The United States' bra size is increasing

Wacoal underwear brands from well-known in the United States statistics: Over the past three years, Americans on average are larger Bra Size. 3-year average size of 36C, while last year the average size of 36D. Wacoal is expected in 2009, the most popular will be the size 36D.

Scream in dream woke myself

Last night I was indulged in food to kill time,so dreamed eating all the time .

Then a dog's going biting me at where it's painful,at the just time I SCREAMED,and woke myself.

DON'T EAT BEFORE YOUR SLEEP!

Evolution in an unblinking eye

Two neighbor girls came over after school yesterday, hoping I had a key to the younger one’s garage. They wanted to ride bikes in the suddenly warm weather.One of these girls is 8, dark-haired and tall for her age. The other is 6, on the small side and impossibly cute, with red hair and a little voice. They live on either side of us, and they’ve both known me since they were born. Nonetheless, the younger one is a little intimidated by me, so when she came in the house she went with the most natural behavior choice: watch Older Girl and do everything she does.She walked up the short, awkward flight of steps to our kitchen right behind Older Girl, making sure to place her feet in the exact same spot on the step and hold the wall the same way. They stood in the kitchen to talk for a minute, and Younger Girl stood next to Older Girl, watching her every move. She placed her body in the same position as Older Girl, holding her right arm with her left, and her eyes shifted like a pendulum between me and Older Girl.Me: “So. Girls. Glad to be back in school after spring break?”Older Girl: “Not really.”Younger Girl: “Not really.”Me, to younger girl: “Are you sure it’s OK with your folks to be digging your bike out?”[Younger Girl looks at Older Girl.]Older Girl: [shrug, nod] “Yeah.”Younger Girl: [shrug, nod] “Yeah.”We found that I only have a key to Younger Girl’s house, not her garage. They turned to leave, Younger Girl watching and again imitating the “going down the stairs” technique. She even stopped and started over to make sure she used the same foot on the first step as her friend did.“Bye, girls.”“OK.”“OK.”(Even the nonstandard response to “Bye” was copied!)It was a pleasing encounter. I enjoyed how the younger girl so automatically, so thoughtlessly defaulted to imitating the older one’s motions and words when she found herself in my house without her parents or my wife being around. There’s nothing novel about this behavior, as any parent knows, and I guess its function is old news to anthropologists, too. Still, I felt like I was seeing natural selection at work, right out in the open, in one of its finest forms: imitation. Imitation is not flattery, it’s survival. The governing principle must be something like, “If you’re older and larger than me, then the more closely I imitate everything you say and do, the more likely it is that I will get to be as old and as large as you, and enjoy whatever social and survival benefits come with that position.”Despite the current ideologically manufactured “controversy,” the beauty of evolution is displayed everywhere you look. Even in the restless eyes of an impossibly cute child.

All The News That's Fit To Print My Ass

In the span of a typical Monday through Friday workweek, I chalk up a total of about 15 hours of time riding the rails. In other words, I am afforded the daily pleasure of sitting on a train for an hour and a half each way to get to work. Yeah, it sucks; I know. Anyway, the usual routine is to read the newspaper on the way to work at least until I pass out and read a book or some work related goodness on the way home. My daily newspaper rundown – usually 2 NY Times, 2 USA Today, and 1 Wall Street Journal in a given week – keeps me pretty well covered in the world, in sports, in politics, and in finance. Anyway, this brings us to the point of this here ‘tribe. The New York Times Sports page just flat-out blows.For starters, the biggest problem - and real oversight in my opinion - is that they are incredibly focused on the local teams from New York. The Yankees and Giants get the majority of the coverage, but Mets, Jets, and Knicks fans aren’t starving. The Nets are bastards for sure. I ask why is this extreme concentration necessary? New York consists of over 8 million occupants from over 8 million places, not only from all over the country, but also the world. Sure, the NYC teams deserve to have quality coverage, but couldn’t they at least make an effort to cover nationally. After all, this is the most famous newspaper in the world, yet the sports page has but a tiny roundup section of little paragraphs detailing the other games in the nation. To go a step further, shouldn’t they pay at least some attention to the international futbol leagues, most importantly the EPL? Anyone who has ever been to Nevada Smith’s can attest that the footy scene in NYC is huge. There are tons of tourists and ex-pats working and living in NYC, so the major news internationally seems totally underreported.Another gaping hole in the New York Times sports page is their lack of a strong columnist. Again, this is the biggest, most famous newspaper in the world, yet they have no Mitch Albom, Rick Reilly, Bill Simmons, or Michael Wilbon. Shit, they don’t even have a Stephen A. Smith. Shouldn’t the best sports writer in the world want to be writing for the Times?The problem with the NY Times is that there is an image conflict. By setting a certain standard for professionalism for it’s coverage of foreign affairs, politics, and the arts, the sports page follows suit. The astute sports fan appreciates a little more innovative approach – whether it be through complex statistical analysis, humorous slants to the writers, or even insider content, such as the surge of athlete blogging. These are just a few examples, but the evidence is mounting that New York Times is becoming irrelevant as a source for credible sports coverage. It’s just too objective, too mainstream, and too focused on the NY teams.Another shortfall of the NY Times sports page is the emphasis on stats. A serious sports page understands that sports fans love stats. They dedicate a lousy half a page to the boxes and the majority of the data is just the standings. There have box scores for NFL and NCAA games, but nothing for college and very little in terms of league leaders and more detailed data. This is the difference of the sports page entertaining us for 10 minutes or an hour. I guess that real estate is just a little too precious.Shall I keep going? OK, the next complaint is the layout. The Times typically crams 7 to 8 stories on the front page. Rather than featuring the two or three best stories and keeping the majority of it on the front page, the Times has a couple leader paragraphs on the front and then requires flipping through the pages back and forth to read the articles. This is really bush league. Anyone who has held a newspaper on train knows that the less have to turn those damn pages, the better.Finally, the biggest gripe is the content. I’ve already stated my piece on the over concentration of New York team coverage, but there’s more. It’s the feel good stories, of Ron Bunyan, the high school volleyball coach, who helped increase participation in the volleyball program among young children. I just made that up, but this one is actually in a Sunday Times: “The Keeper of the Silks For Jockeys." Now that is a gripping headline. It’s literally a story about some guy who does the laundry for some horse racing jockeys. Can someone please explain what is interesting about that story?As I mentioned, I try to plow through the NY Times about twice a week. As much as I appreciate the real news coverage and solid Op-Ed writing, it’s definitely to the point where I dread these mornings, because I know the sports articles are going to suck so royally. Thank goodness for USA Today (don’t laugh).Subscribe to us

Baby's First Birthday Party

You made it through the ups and downs of baby's first year. Now it's time to celebrate!
Some parents choose to keep the first birthday simple and small - just the immediate family. After all, baby is too young to appreciate a big bash. But others just can't resist and they spend months planning a lavish affair, complete with catered food, entertainment and a lengthy guest list.
Most parents opt for something in the middle: A party for family and friends, a few decorations, traditional birthday cake and gifts for the birthday boy or girl.

Whatever the choice, baby's one-year birthday is a real milestone. Before you know it, your child will be a full-fledged toddler, so take the time to remember the last 12 months. Acknowledge your accomplishments as a parent and everything that baby has learned in the first year of life.


Location Most baby experts agree that your home is the best location since this is where baby is most comfortable. However, using a relatives' or a close friend's home - especially if baby is very familiar with the surroundings will also work. Even if money is no object, remember that you want your child to enjoy the birthday experience.
Short and Sweet Although it is tempting to invite guests for an entire afternoon and evening, it works best to keep the party fairly short. This is especially important if you have a number of children invited to the party. Kids and babies can reach overload pretty quickly, so plan on about two to three hours maximum. That will give everyone the chance to mingle, hold the birthday baby, take plenty of photos, have some food and enjoy the presents.
Baby's ScheduleYou know your little one best, so plan the party during a time your baby is usually awake and in the best humor. A birthday party will work during the day, so you shouldn't have to miss a nap to make the party a success.
Make it Manageable Keep things simple so you can enjoy the party. Remember that you will also be responsible for the birthday boy or girl which normally is a full-time job!
Prepare Ahead of Time Know what you are going to wear and what you plan to dress baby in for his or her big day. Be sure to have a back up outfit as you will probably need it for baby. Buy and prepare foods ahead of time. Finger foods are a great option. A self-serve buffet and drink table are great serving options. Don't overdo on the decorations, as your baby should be the center of attention.
Help! Don't be Shy...Ask for AssistanceAsk friends and family for their help before guests arrive and during the party. Have your cousin take pictures while her husband runs the video camera. Ask a good friend to pass snacks and another person to keep the beverages stocked.
Decorations and a Theme Picking a theme might sound silly since this is a birthday party for a one-year-old. However, a theme - as long as it is a common one – is actually a good idea. Say you choose a princess theme. Then, all your choices for the cake, decorations and even what to wear can revolve around a pink, girlie theme. And, your guests can follow suit by selecting a gift that matches the theme.


Your baby is the star so plan the party accordingly.

How to Brew Your Own Beer

Equipment Needed: Ingredients
• A 20 quart brew pot ; Water
• Large stirring spoon ; Malted Barley
• A basic tablespoon ; Hops
• Measuring cup; Yeast
• Glass jar• Fermenter (plastic bucket)
• Air lock
• Sanitizer
• Thermometer
• Rolling pin

Procedure:1. Preparing the Ingredients – Crush the malted barley into suitable sizes using your rolling pin. This will break the grain into pieces and will extract the goodness of the grain when it’s inserted into hot water. 2. Boil the Wort – The ingredients for the wort are mixed with the amount stated on the beer recipe. This is called the “mash”. The mash is mixed together in the boiler and hot water is added. The mash is brought to a boil for approximately half an hour. Once it’s finished boiling, you must filter out the grains and add the hops. Boiling the hops will eliminate its bitter flavor. Boil the hops for approximately 10 minutes. 3. Fermentation – This is the most important step to beer brewing. Insert the yeast into the wort and leave it for approximately one week. If you use the correct amount of yeast, you will notice foam throughout the liquid within the first 24 hours. This foam indicates that the beer is fermenting accordingly.4. Storage – Store your beer in tanks or package it in bottles or kegs until it is ready for consumption.

Get in Shape for Summer

1) Get on the ball.If you don't already have one, purchase an inexpensive fitness ball. Use it to perform abdominal and leg toning exercises 5 days per week. Do 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5-10 minutes in the evening. There are hundreds of exercises you can do on a ball from beginner to advanced levels so the variety will keep boredom at bay and ensure you keep your body challenged.
2) Add resistance training to your weekly workout.Aim for a minimum of two sessions per week. Each session should work all of your major muscle groups with 2-3 sets per exercise of 8-12 reps using a resistance that fatigues your muscle by the final rep. Start with your larger muscles and then do exercises to target the smaller muscles as well.
3) Change up your strength training.The change helps ensure your body stays challenged, that you are regularly recruiting multiple muscle fibers and ultimately that you make progress and see improvements.
4) Add intervals to your cardio workouts.Strive for three 30-minute interval training sessions each week. Interval training is short, high-intensity exercise periods alternated with periods of rest. It is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. These higher and lower intensity periods are repeated several times to form a complete workout. By exercising harder for short periods of time and then allowing yourself recovery time, you can push yourself harder.
5) Evaluate your eating habits.
6) Maximize your efforts with cross training.Cross-training is a type of exercise regimen that combines strength work, aerobic work, and stretching. With this method you use different muscles each day, which means you'll be able to work out at an intense level without overstraining your body.

Avoiding Exercise Burnout

Exercising too much can not only lead to injuries but also to burnout. Burnout is a real toxin that commonly plagues those new to exercise. This is one of the major reasons that so many people quit workout programs before they barely have gotten started.

Positive enthusiasm often turns into a negative because the individual forgets another key component of success: moderation. When an exerciser starts furiously and takes on workouts that are far too frequent and/or far too intense, then inevitably they burnout and quit all together.

Don't overdo it in the beginning. Start with as little as just two 20 minute sessions per week and build slowly week after week.
Workout at home. You'll be able to save travel time and avoid the "can't get to the gym" excuse.
Watch for over training signals which include: loss of appetite, lack of progression, extreme fatigue and recurring injury.
Start slowly and try to manage your motivation so that it lingers rather than waning after a few short weeks.
Make at least minor changes to your workout routine every four weeks
Completely change your routine at least every 8-12 weeks
Don't do the same exact workout every session. Try 2-3 different workouts per week.
Strive to try something completely unique and different every few months.
Take a week off from exercise every 3-6 months.
Alternate between 2-3 different cardio machines (or options) within a given workout. Try 5-10 minutes of each to stay interested.

keep fit or fat?

nake do good

Swimming Pool Safety

Many of us think that having a swimming pool in the home is just great. Well, it is really great, but you also have to be safe while swimming in the pool and around it. One area where accidents can easily occur is the swimming pool. The reason for this is that pool safety is not taken seriously, reason being that people are more interested in playing in water than about how to keeping safe while having fun.

Keep signs in those areas of the pool where the water is deep
Have life vests and rescue equipment available in the pool area
Never keep any electrical appliances around the pool area because water conducts electivity
Children should at no point be unsupervised, even though they have undergone swimming classes and know how to swim to some extent
Pool chairs and table should not be kept close to the pool because children will climb on them and attempt to jump into the pool
Pool covers should never be kept on partially because children are seen to get trapped in them
Learn CPR because you can save someone’s life with this knowledge
The pool area must be completely fenced and make use of self latching gates to keep the place secure
Do not leave toys in the pool are as a child can just get wander unsupervised into the pool area in search of the toy.

They died of ...?

Beer belly

Waist hip ratio>0.9(male) >0.8(female)

1.Beer belly men suffering from erectile dysfunction easily

2.Suffering from high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases

3.Standing can not see their toes, can not be pretty to wear trousers

4.Abdominal obesity may accelerate the aging!

5.Inducing cardiovascular disease, the biggest killer

dance dance

Snow mountain

Youth

Be careful,your bra!