Zimbabwe Crisis

I saw this thing on the news about Zimbabwe unfortunately I couldn't find the article. It was about the poverty in zimbabwe the people barely get anything to eat plus they don't have any shelter either most illegally move to South Africa to get food. The article showed this one guy who got a plate of rice with potatoes and a bit of chicken after 2 days of starvation and he was one of the lucky ones. The plate of rice is like 500000 zimbabwe dollars, but like 50 cents in America. This shows the infaltion in Zimbabwe and poverty. At the slightest sign of food people rush in mobs to get the food this is mainly due to the govt, because they aren't doing anything to fix. This makes you think of how lucky you are to have shelter and food here and there is always someone less fortunate then you.

Weird Church Signs

Read these funny church signs unfortunately I couldn't copy the pictures. http://www.asylum.com/2008/11/25/bizarre-church-signs-read-the-writing-on-the-wall/

Jewel Heist

Four armed robbers, two of them men disguised as women, walked into a luxury jewelry store in Paris and swiped an estimated €80 million (U.S. $101 million) in jewels. The gunmans came in showed the clerks there guns and set out to take the jewelery from the cases and the secret hiding spots the gunmans even knew the first names of the clerks so they knew the place pretty well. It is believed that the group was highly professional. The funny thing is the same place was robbed nearly the same day last year for €10 million you'd think they would up the security at least =\.


Bittermann, J ( Fri December 5, 2008). Robbers in drag steal $100M in jewel heist. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from cnn.com/europe Web site: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/12/05/paris.jewel.heist/index.html#cnnSTCText

Be Happy

A study shows that happiness isn't solitairy, but it depends on others. It is also good for your health it helps your heart, lungs, and more. Also in Islam you get 10 good deeds for everytime you smile at someone.
SO...

Grim Black Friday

I didn't have time to blog about this last week so I'll do it today. Last Friday at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, Long Island a 34 year old Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death. His co-worker said "He was bum-rushed by 200 people," "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too ... I literally had to fight people off my back." Police said about 2,000 people had gathered outside the doors before the Wal-Mart opened. If anyone is wondering why Black Friday is called Black Friday its because it has been the day when stores break into profitability for the full year. I don't get why people get up so early for this when they can just do it only or wait for cyber Monday.


(Friday, November 28, 2008). Wal-Mart Worker Dies When Shoppers Break Down Doors. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from foxnews.com Web site: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,458744,00.html

Top Three Gadgets of the Year

1. If you don't like the BlackBerry because its too pricey check out the Peek. The only thing it does is e-mail. This small little device gives you BlackBerry-like portable access to e-mail, but without the hefty fee with monthly service costs about $20 for unlimited access to your messages. The Peek doesn't work with corporate e-mail yet, it's primarily for Web-based mail. But its a great gadget for anyone who just wants to keep in touch when they are away from the computer. Talk about specific.

2. Thought it may not be pretty the T-Mobile G1 is the first smartphone to run Google's sleek new Android operating system, it has a slide-out keyboard, a big bright screen and a lot of power. This "Google Phone" supports loads of applications downloaded from the online Android marketplace: games and programs, like encyclopedias, guitar-teaching tools and time-wasters like Pac-Man and it can easily handles graphics-heavy applications such as Google Maps, Web browsing and video. This phone isn't a pretty pony its a power horse and i don't know why people would put looks over performance anyway.

3. The new MacBook is the most powerful, user-friendly and portable computer in its price range hands-down. It's faster than previous MacBooks, has sharper graphics, rarely crashes and has a sturdier aluminum shell. This Apple is also green its has made itself environmentally friendly by eliminating toxins from its construction materials.

Caplan, J Top 5 Gadgets of 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from Time Web site: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1852747,00.html

Recordbreaking Job Loss in the US

Last month was considered the worst month of job loss in 34 years, a record breaking 533000 jobs had been slashed by employers showing that this country is going into recession. This increased the unemployment to 6.7%. These job losses were widespread, hitting factories, construction companies, financial firms, retailers, leisure and hospitality, and others industries. The few places where gains were logged included the government, education and health services. These are the worst job reductions since December 1974 were 602,000 positions were cut. Job losses this September and October weren't great either employers cut 403,000 jobs in September and 320,000 were cut in October. Bottomline due to low consumer confidence companies aren't making profit so they have to cut jobs to stay within the budget. Wonder if it can get any worse =\.


AVERSA, J (Fri, Dec 5, 2008). U.S. Loses Record 533,000 Jobs in One Month. Retrieved December 6, 2008, from DFW/News Web site: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/us_world/NATL-US-Loses-533000-Jobs-in-One-Month-.html

Worlds Oldest Person Died

The oldest living person died a year ago. Edna Parker was born April 20, 1893 and lived to be 115 years and 220 days old. She became the oldest living person after death of Japan's Yone Minagawa. Parker was the 14th oldest validated supercentenarian in history. Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who was born Sept. 10, 1893, is now the world's oldest living person. Edna Parker outlived her husband by 70 years. She never drank or tried tobacco she didn't give tips on living a long life all she said is "more education." Parker also outlived her 2 sons. By the way the oldest documented person in history is Jeanne Calment, a Frenchwoman.




Edna Parker 115 years and 220 days. (left)







Jeanne Calment 122 years and 164 days.




(November 27, 2008). World's Oldest Person Dies at 115. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from AOL news Web site: http://news.aol.com/article/worlds-oldest-person-dies-at-115/262048

Onion Powered iPod

An environmentally friendly iPod user used an onion and energy drink mixture to power his iPod. Owen Louis, dug two holes in his onion and poured the energy drink mixture in and put his USB cable in to charge his iPod. He got the inspiration when he was watching TV on his laptop and iPod and thought how much energy he was using. His friend showed him the experiment as a laugh but he toke it seriously and has been doing it ever since. He claims that this is a green way of charging your iPod. The science behind it is that vegetables contain ions when reacted with energy drink cause a charge, so almost all vegetable could be used to charge iPods. Although some people don't find this way green or they think it could damage there iPods battery life I think this is a pretty interesting experiment that can be taken farther.





(Monday, 24 November 2008). Onion-powered iPod a hit with environmentalists. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from Macworld Web site: http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?newsid=23652&pagtype=allchandate.com

Rice Shortage in Philippines

The price of rice is sky rocketing all over the world. Why? The supply of rice has decreased due to natural disasters, but rice demand has increased. Philippines is one of the top importers of rice in the world. Why is Philippines an agricultural nation importing rice? Mainly because the governments weak policies for the local rice industry, but many other factors also contributed to this mess. It started in the 1835 when Spain decided to open the Philippines ports. It allowed the country to trade non rice products which were in high demand so rice farmers began to plant them and by 1870 there was already a rice shortage. Along with that there were a few other reasons, as well, the primitive rice culture, meaning no improvement in rice farming technology, the Spanish feudal system meaning farmers didn't enjoy property rights, a religious system that meant 100-120 days of enforced idleness, and farmers were always in debt. Rice is the staple food in the Philippines removing it will cause mass unrest.(The government has to abandon its agricultural liberalization program and its over dependence on rice imports. The government must adopt emergency measures to increase the rice output of farmers. The time has come to implement a genuine agrarian reform. ) (Palatino, 2008)


Palatino, M (April 02, 2008). Why a rice shortage in the Philippines?. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from UPI Asia.com Web site: http://www.upiasia.com/Economics/2008/04/02/why_a_rice_shortage_in_the_philippines/6495/

critter cam

A Crittercam is a research tool designed to be worn by wild animals. It combines video and audio recording with collection of environmental data such as depth, temperature, and acceleration. These compact systems allow scientists to study animal behavior without interfering with there natural habitat. Crittercam brings the animal's point of view to the scientific community. For more than a decade Crittercam gives insight into the lives of whales, sharks, seals and sea lions, sea turtles, penguins, manatees, and other marine animals. In 2002 the first prototype Crittercam designed for land animals survived its maiden voyage on a wild African lion. The critter cam was thought up by a marine biologist and filmmaker, Greg Marshall, he got the inspiration when a shark came to him during his diving trip and then it disappeared into the darkness as it went he saw a remora(sucker fish) clinging to the shark and wondered if he could put a camera in the place of the remora then he could see the sharks behaviour. Greg struggled to find someone to fund his project when he got money he bought a handheld camera(which were a new discover and hard to get) and put it in a fiberglass housing and put it on a captive turtle who didn't seem to mind. After struggle for funds he finally improved his device making it really useful for the science community.






About Crittercam. Retrieved November 29, 2008, from National Geographic Web site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/crittercam/about.html#top

Green Mac Books

When building the new macbooks apples engineers and designer thought of making the greenest family of note books ever. They kept in mind the quality also matters so they made the hardware and software work in sync to maximize efficient and minimize carbon footprint. Apple worked hard to remove many common harmful toxins that are a common part of notebook manufacturing. They have also removed the toxins from iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPhone 3G. The MacBook body is from a single piece of solid recyclable aluminum. The display is made of recyclable glass. Because Apple makes both the hardware and the software for the MacBook, we are able to design them to work together. This allows us to make a smarter product that uses less electricity one thing it does to reduce energy consumption is that the hard drive spins down automatically when inactive. The processor even throttles down to save power between keystrokes as you type. The LED-backlit display in the MacBook is another feature that conserves energy. And the display is designed to dim when you enter a darkened room. These adjustments make the MacBook family much more energy efficient. In fact, the MacBook can run on just one quarter the power of a single light bulb. Also, the packaging is 41% smaller meaning more can fit on a shipment meaning less shipments which results in less CO2 emissions.
I think some people might think of this cutbacks as a cut back to quality, but otherwise I like there new concept.

Green Notebooks. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from Apple.com Web site: http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/

Windows 7

Wimdows 7 is the next version of Windows for PC's, and it's the result of working hand-in-hand with there partners and with people who use Windows in the real world every day and there paying attention things that the people are telling them is important particular improving Vista. Windows 7 and Windows Vista are the same (considering windows 7 is actually an improved Vista). Here are some Major Differences:

Kernel
Virtualization
Sensors
User account control improvements
Improved "Day One Experience"
Scenic application user interface
Libraries
Tweaked Explorer
Accelerators for Windows
Multi-touch
Fewer bundled applications, more control over those applications that are installed
No sidebar
Windows Solution center
Homegroup networking
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Media 12
New, improved Calculator
Windows Media Center
Microsoft Paint
Microsoft Wordpad
Windows PowerShell V2 and Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE)
Windows credentials
Display settings
More granular DPI Scaling control panel
Aero themes
Wallpapers
Biometric control panel
Games Explorer
Cleartype Text Tuner
Windows Mobile Device Center
Workspaces
Troubleshooting Control Panel
Minor tweaks and improvements all around

Also Windows 7 has recognized the interest of Windows consumers in the improved performance of the new operating system. Windows 7 teams are watching the memory usage, CPU usage, disk operations, boot, shutdown, standby and resume time, among other metrics. They are also working on improving device driver performance, network performance and boot performance.


Thurrott, Paul (2008?). Windows 7 FAQ. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from www.winsupersite.com Web site: http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/windows_7.asp

Welcome to Windows 7. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Windows Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

Earths Records

Highest mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest which grows about 4 millimeters a year since because the 2 tectonic plates continue to press against each other. Earths highest waterfall is at Angel Falls in Venezuela which drops 3,212 feet (979 meters). Hottest place on earth is Azizia in Libya 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) and coldest was in Vostok, Antarctica -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius). Pacific is the biggest ocean (32.6% of the Earth's surface). Something I bet you didn't know is that Amazon recently became longest river by a bit more than 100 meters. Amazon is 4,225 miles (6,800 kilometers) long and the Nile is 4,160 miles long (6,695 kilometers).
Well I bet you didn't know half the things there and the most interesting one is the Amazon River fact i was wondering when it would be the longest. Oh yea those things the people are holding are solid ice pillars.

Angels Fall, Venezuela

Vostok, Antarctica



Earths Record Holders. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Interestingfacts.org Web site: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=46

Wanna know more about Azizia go to:
http://www.extremescience.com/hottest.htm

Edgar Allen Poe Facts

Edgar Allan Poe was accepted into Virginia University at the age of seventeen. First year he managed to gamble all his scholarship money. This addiction led to alcoholism. Due to this it is reported that Poe would appear drunk to class and even examinations. The odd part is that he would finish with the highest grades in his class and was the best student of his generation, EVEN WHILE BEING DRUNK!
I knew he was drunk when he wrote his stories (that why there so bizzare) but also when he went to shcool that insane not to mention the fact he still was top of his class.

Edgar Allan Poe And Alcohol. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Interestingfacts.org Web site: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=48

Goats that climb trees?!?!?!

In Morocco goats climb Argan trees to consume delicious berries which are similar to the olives. Local farmers follow these goats because fruit of the Argan tree has the nut inside which is used to make delicious cooking oil. The goats spit or excrete these nuts, which then farmers use to make the Argan oil. Because of this harvesting Argan trees are nearing extinction.
The video is awesome I thought that there were like 5 goats in the tree and like 20 hop down well heres another height i didn't think goats could reach.

Goats That Climb Trees. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Interestingfacts.org Web site: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=357

Farting Contests

In ancient Japan, public contests were held to see who in a town could fart the loudest and longest. Winners were awarded many prizes and received great recognition. If they want a real farting contest they show record the mens bathroom during jumma.


Farting Contest. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Interestingfacts,org Web site: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=13

Read this it'll make u laugh

Dick Cheney walks into the Oval Office and sees The President whooping and hollering.
"What's the matter, Mr. President?" The Vice President inquired.
"Nothing at all, boss. I just done finished a jigsaw puzzle in record time!" The President beamed.
"How long did it take you?"
"Well, the box said '3 to 5 Years' but I did it in a month!"

IBM Lotus Symphony

Whats is Lotus Symphony?
Well to put it simple Lotus symphony is an alternate to MS office. It contains, like office, Documents, Presentations, and Spreadsheets. Since ,it is in its developing stages, its not completely different from office. (Symphony saves all documents by default in open document format. It can open and edit documents created under Open Office and other applications that follow ODF. Symphony can also open and edit all Office documents saved in the older .doc format. Documents created in Office 2007 with the newer .docx formats can't be opened under Symphony. Symphony runs in a single window with a tabbed interface for editing documents. Instead of opening up three different programs to look at Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, they can all be mixed and matched in one single window. It makes the suite much more memory efficient and simple to use. IBM has improved the OpenOffice.org code to make Lotus Symphony more accessible to screen readers for visually disabled users. Keyboard shortcuts are also more systematic and useful under Symphony than for OpenOffice. Symphony is actually built on IBM's Eclipse software platform, so it's efficient and tightly integrated.) (Rashid, 2008)

Rashid, F (Jun 12, 2008). Review: Symphony Sings As Office Clone. Retrieved November 16, 2008, from Channel Web Web site: http://www.crn.com/software/208403730;jsessionid

Shame Walk

Another extreme punishment, found in a town in Tennessee, is the shame walk. When criminal are sentenced they are given a choice, they either serve the time in prison or they spend it holding a poster board and walking around the place they did the crime. The judge said that this is a better method of punishment because its psychological and they dont stay in jail eating food for free.

Open Prisons

I was watching a documentary the other on extreme punishments around the world for crime. And I just remembered one. In India some prisons are open, what does this mean, this means that criminals are free to go about from 7am to 7pm and then are to report back to the prison to stay the night there. You may think this is stupid, but in its long history the open prison has only had one escapee in about 10 years. Why? Well because the village is not really threatened by the open prisoners and if they do another crime they will be sent to closed prisons, also when freed barely any of the open criminals did another crime. This methods saves the government money since they don't spend much on security they have 6 people over viewing 161 and the don't pay much for food because the criminals are free to work during the day. Why doesn't everyone use this method? Well, mainly because the community won't support the criminal, in the village I mentioned neither the villagers nor the prison guards were threatened by the criminals.

13

The fear of number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and it was derived from treiskaideka, the Greek word for thirteen and phobia. There were thirteen people at Christ's Last Supper before his captivity, it is recorder that Christ was crucified on Friday. Routine mission to the moon goes drastically wrong on Apollo 13. Some hotels skip number thirteen when numbering rooms. In Formula 1, there is no car with the number 13.

From: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=45

Really!?!?

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Nikola Tesla!

Nikola Tesla ,Serbian scientist, the greatest genius since Leonardo da Vinci. Few people even know this man. His ideas and inventions were credited by others. Nikola invented X-rays (credited to Roentgen), radio (credited to Marconi), the microwave oven, speedometer, automobile ignition system, basics behind radar, fluorescent bulb, electron microscope, neon lights and on top of all Tesla designed the first hydro-electric power plant in Niagara Falls (invented alternating currents). Tesla had biggest competitor Thomas Edison, who did everything to prove Tesla wrong and to erase him from history books. Tesla's ideas were so extreme that scientist community thought he was lunatic. He believed that both voice and image could be transmitted through the air (in the late 1800's), which of course was true since we have wireless Internet today.

Visit: http://www.interestingfacts.org/?page=fact&id=185 for more.

Left Frozen

100 dead cats were found in Fort Worth in the freezer of Angie Chambers. She had lived on Craig Street for around 10 years and rescued cats from the neighborhood. Fort Worth Animal Control took 50 to 80 living cats and another 50 to 100 from the freezer. Chambers said that the cats were wrapped in bags to be cremated, but said that would cost $100 each and that she couldn't afford it. The live cats were taken to the city's shelter and will likely be available for adoption.

Fierce Competition

Guess what students do to increase there chance of getting into college. Go to :
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-sandbagging_parentsoct20,0,4429322.story to find out what.