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Sunday, November 4, 2007

Fighting to Hold on: Halle's 'Things We Lost in the Fire'


On a recent Oprah appearance, Oscar-winner Halle Berry revealed how she had to convince the moviemakers to cast her as the bereaving, gently acerbic Audrey, made a young widow through violence. While the production was rather set on David Duchovny for the role of Audrey's husband, they were intimidated by the dilemma they thought the illustrious beauty posed: how would they represent an interracial world? And what would her kids be like?

Perhaps the mixed-race Berry was the exact actress needed to help tear down the illusive barrier, and open up the filmmakers to the possibilities of Berry and Duchovny sharing a perfectly normal marriage with their normal kids.

Fully appreciating this family portrait, Berry asserted, "For me, that's my life, so it was a no-brainer--I'm the product of that. I thought they'd [the kids would ] be like me, and what's wrong with that?" To her credit, powerhouse Danish director, Susanne Bier of After the Wedding (2006), pays no attention to that 'issue' in her story. What she does focus on is the tale of how one woman aching from loss, finds a complicated way to reconnect to her husband through his dubious recovering best friend (Benicio Del Toro), and through the love of her dispirited children--all searching for hope.


Halle Berry stars in Things We Lost in the Fire
It's a good thing tenacious Berry is used to fighting for her parts, as it's the first role that inspired her to grasp hold, conceptually, of motherhood. Hollywood.com sat with the pregnant Halle to discuss her searing performance in Things We Lost in the Fire.

Hollywood.com: Was it the script that attracted you to this film or was it an awareness of Allan Loeb's films?
Halle Berry: I read the script and I thought, "Wow. I have got to play this part and be in this movie. I don’t care who else is in it. I’ve got to do this." The response we got was, "No, no, no." Then we finally were told, "Once we get a director in place then maybe we’ll know." There was an opportunity for me to meet with Susanne [Bier]. I had seen her movies when I learned she was being cast and then I really knew I wanted to work on this with her.

hollywood-Jenna Fischer


As the sweet but wary receptionist Pam on the NBC hit comedy, “The Office” (2005- ), actress Jenna Fischer provided a down-to-earth ray of light in the otherwise insufferable world of cubicles, staff meetings and annoying co-workers.
Born in Fort Wayne, IN on March 7, 1974 and raised in St. Louis, MO, Fisher developed an interest in performing as a child; no doubt inspired by her mother, who taught acting at the time. Enrolling in her mother’s class at age six, she met fellow student Sean Gunn, who was the same age....


Walk Hard - ( Darlene / 2007 / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )
Official Rejection - ( Interviewee / / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )
Quebec - ( Jen / / Lensing/Awaiting Release / )
Blades of Glory - ( Katie Van Waldenberg / 2007 / Released / )
The Brothers Solomon - ( Michele / 2007 / Released / )
LolliLove - ( Director / 2006 / Released / )
LolliLove - ( Screenplay / 2006 / Released / )
LolliLove - ( - Cast / 2006 / Released / )
Slither - ( Shelby / 2006 / Released / )




Full Biography

As the sweet but wary receptionist Pam on the NBC hit comedy, “The Office” (2005- ), actress Jenna Fischer provided a down-to-earth ray of light in the otherwise insufferable world of cubicles, staff meetings and annoying co-workers.
Born in Fort Wayne, IN on March 7, 1974 and raised in St. Louis, MO, Fisher developed an interest in performing as a child; no doubt inspired by her mother, who taught acting at the time. Enrolling in her mother’s class at age six, she met fellow student Sean Gunn, who was the same age. Years later, Gunn went on to star in “The Gilmore Girls,” and Fischer stayed in touch, eventually marrying his brother James Gunn, a writer and director. Fischer graduated from Truman State University in Missouri, and, while waiting for her big break in acting, worked several administrative jobs, ironically ideal for her future part as Pam.

Her early television roles included bit parts on “Spin City” (ABC), as well as the cult comedy series, “Undeclared” and “That 70s Show” (both on Fox). She also appeared on the short-lived Alicia Silverstone series, “Miss Match” (NBC), the procedural drama “Cold Case” (CBS), and had a two-episode stint in the fifth season of HBO’s “Six Feet Under.” On the big screen, she appeared in a number of small, independent films, including “Lucky 13,” a comedy starring Lauren Graham, and “Employee of the Month,” (2004) a dark comedy starring Matt Dillon and Steve Zahn. She also had an uncredited cameo in 2005’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin," starring her "Office" boss Steve Carell.

In 2005, Fischer landed the part of her dreams – that of the perpetually put-upon receptionist, Pam Beesly on the American version of "The Office." On the show, Fischer memorably endured the antics of backbiting, insecure co-workers as well as tolerating boss Michael Scott's (Carell) endless attempts at motivation and humor. Taking on the part inspired by actress Lucy Davis' character in the original BBC version, Fischer made the role her own – down to the out-of-date hairstyle and matronly sweaters. As the slowly suspecting object of affection of fellow normal officemate Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), she also provided one half of the heart of the show. A "will they or won't they" hook-up interest soon took hold, as fans routed for the characters to get together. At the end of the first full season, Jim and Pam shared a kiss to the delight of viewers. However, Pam turned down his declaration of love and left fans wondering what would happen with their fave couple. During her "Office" downtime, Fischer also authored a blog (done at her desk and working computer during set-ups amidst the sitcom's production) and landed a part in the 2006 thriller, “Slither,” under the direction of husband, Gunn.

Fischer followed her husband’s footsteps and turned director for the first time with the hour-long featurette “Lollilove” (2006), a mockumentary about a self-absorbed Hollywood couple (Fischer and Gunn) trying to do good works by passing out lollipops with inspirational phrase on the wrapper to homeless people. Conceived four years prior to shooting and Fischer’s “Office” success, “Lollilove” was unflinching in its good-natured satirizing of charity work, the homeless and even Fischer herself. Meanwhile, Fischer landed a costarring role in “Blades of Glory” (2007), playing the meek and mild sister of a brother-and-sister skating pair (real-life couple Amy Poehler and Will Arnett) who spies on a newly formed duo (Will Ferrell and Jon Heder) determined to return to championship glory after both were banned for life from solo competition.

The year would carry mixed blessings, however, for the pretty young actress. On May 15, 2007, Fischer fractured her back in four places after falling down a staircase at a hip New York bar called Baddakan. Just two months later, Fischer received an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Pam Beesly on “The Office.”


Profession(s):
actress Sometimes Credited As:
Family
brother-in-law:Sean Gunn (met in acting class at age six)
husband:James Gunn (married in October 2000; split in September 2007)
mother:Anne Fischer

Education
Truman State University Kirksville, Missouri Bachelor of Arts theatre

Emergency operation saves space station


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts successfully unfurled a torn solar power wing at the international space station on Saturday after spacewalker Scott Parazynski cut loose a tangled clump of wires and patched everything up.

His emergency surgery saved the solar energy panel — and the space station.

"This was just a fabulous effort," said Mike Suffredini, the space station's program manager. "Our baby is still beautiful to us."

In the tense buildup to the spacewalk — one of the most difficult and dangerous ever attempted — NASA repeatedly warned that station construction would have to be halted if the wing could not be fixed.

The prospect was so grave that NASA felt it had no choice but to put Parazynski practically right up against the swaying power grid, which was coursing with more than 100 volts of electricity. No other astronaut had ever been so far away from the safe confines of the cabin.

Even before Parazynski made his way back inside, the radio traffic was full of cheers and congratulations.

Shouts of "Yay! All right! Beautiful! Great news!" streamed from the linked shuttle-station complex once the wing was unfurled to its full 115-foot (35-meter) length. Mission Control promptly relayed thanks from NASA's top brass.

"It was an honor," Parazynski replied.

The commander of the docked shuttle Discovery, Pamela Melroy, who supervised the wing repairs, cautioned everyone to hold off on "the victory dance" until Parazynski and his spacewalking partner, Douglas Wheelock, were safely back inside. "Then we can all rejoice," she said.

Tense hours
It took almost an hour for Parazynski to be maneuvered back from the wing, riding on the end of a nearly 90-foot (27.5-meter) robotic arm extension that just barely reached the damage. That's how long it took him to get out there, too.

Parazynski worked on the damage for more than two hours, cutting hinge and guide wires that became snarled and snagged the wing when it was being extended Tuesday. The astronauts had just relocated a massive beam at the space station, and finished extending its first solar power wing, when the second wing got hung up after extending only 90 feet (27.5 meters).

Parazynski, 46, an emergency medical doctor before becoming an astronaut, looped five makeshift braces into the wing to reinforce a partially ripped hinge. They resembled big white stitches, and were nicknamed "cufflinks" because they work like the connectors that hold together the cuff of a shirt sleeve.

Throughout the repair, Parazynski used an L-shaped Teflon stick, wrapped with insulating tape, to keep the billowing solar wing away and to avoid being shocked. At times, as his shadow loomed large on the wing, gleaming orange and gold in the sunlight, he looked like a stick-wielding hockey player, all bundled up in his puffy spacesuit.

A long reach
As Parazynski got ready to cut the snarled guide wire for the wing, he mentioned that it was a bit of a reach.

"It's what those monkey arms are for," Melroy told the 6-foot-2 (188-centimeter) astronaut. She said not too many other astronauts could do what he was doing.

"They don't have to," Parazynski replied with a laugh.

Parazynski counted down — "3, 2, 1, snip" — as he sliced the guide wire with a pair of cutters. To everyone's relief, the 90-foot (27.5-meter) length of cut wire retracted smoothly into its reel at the base of the wing, where Wheelock slowed its speed with a gripping tool.

Parazynski accidentally let go of his wire-cutting tool at one point, but caught it. A few hours later, he lost his needle-nose pliers. The astronauts inside the station spotted the pliers drifting nearby.

"We're going to have to let it go ... not much we can do now," Parazynski said, hustling to get back indoors.

The spacewalk — the fourth for Discovery's space station visit — lasted more than seven hours. It wrapped up station construction work for the seven shuttle astronauts. The hatches between the linked spacecraft will close Sunday and the shuttle will pull away Monday. Landing is set for Wednesday.

Lots of work left to do
Considerable work remains for the space station's three occupants.

They need to move the pressurized compartment that was delivered and installed by the Discovery crew, and conduct three spacewalks, before shuttle Atlantis can launch with the first of two new laboratories. Liftoff remains targeted for Dec. 6, but could be delayed a few days, Suffredini said.

NASA still has to figure out what to do about a rotary joint that isn't working right and can be used only sparingly to turn another set of solar power wings toward the sun. Steel shavings were found inside the joint during a spacewalk last Tuesday, apparently the result of grinding parts.

Samples of those shavings will return to Earth aboard Discovery and help pinpoint the source of the trouble.

The Sony Ericsson W660i - Walkman Power


Sony Ericsson W660 is mid-level Walkman that bets on the stylish design. It features tri-band GSM and UMTS support, 262k color TFT display, 2 mega pixel camera, FM Radio, Bluetooth with A2DP support and Memory Stick Micro M2 slot for memory.

The Walkman phone's sporty orange trim gets switched out for a classy attempt in gold on Sony Ericsson's newest rendition, the W660. At a svelte 0.57-inches, the UMTS 2100 and GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone really packs in the goods with Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, FM radio support, a 2 mega pixel camera, web browsing, RSS feeds, and a 512 MB Memory Stick Micro (upgradeable). It has a 2-inch color TFT display and totes random extras like TrackID, a music identification service, and a Picture Blogging function that allows you to send snapshots directly to your personal blog.

To top off the lifestyle angle on this phone, Sony Ericsson has embellished the pants off this one, with the aforementioned gold trim on both glossy color options, Record Black and Rose Red. The Rose Red (geez, what's up with the cranberry hype?) model jazzes it up a bit more with its floral-themed relief pattern on the backside. For those of you who are more concerned with performance, you'll get up to 6 hours of talk time on GSM, up to 2.5 hours with 3G, or a max of 25 hours of music listening.

The W660i is a mid-tier mobile, and there is an optional portable speaker that plugs into the bottom, essentially transforming the music phone into the world's ghetto-est ghetto blaster. Some have even said that it looks almost like a rubber boot on its side with a speaker on the sole. Available in two color combinations -- rose or black, both with gold trim -- the Sony Ericsson W660i Walkman phone is a candy bar with a reasonable set of features. You get high-speed 3G connectivity, an included 512MB Memory Stick Micro, and an integrated 2-megapixel camera. In fact, there's an optional "camera phone kit" that consists of a 3-inch high tripod. Yes, the camera has a lens cover.

For this phone you can snap on MPS-75 speakers to listen your FM radio or Music. Bluetooth enabled w660 also have a music identifying "Track ID" which gives you the full details of a song which you supply a piece of it to the device via a microphone or from your FM Radio. This Sony Ericsson W660 will store 470 full length of music songs on its 512MB memory stick, which is provided, to store more songs, you can store 1,000 songs in a 1GB Memory stick. At 3G speed you can upload images taken by this walkman phone's 2 Mega Pixel camera to your web space or blog. Also you will get RSS feed while you are surfing the websites. The W660 Walkman phone is an UMTS 2100 and operates in GPRS 900/1800/1900, and is one of the smartest 3 phones on the market.

The Sony Ericsson W910i - Walkman Phone Evolution


Smooth, sophisticated and supremely powerful Sony Ericsson W580i sums up the reason behind Sony Ericsson towering popularity in the mobile hob-nob. It is an innovative manifestation of Sony Ericsson's constant trials in offering mankind with multipurpose mobile phones. Sony Ericsson W580i works great and looks very stylish. If that is what a concoction of a successful mobile phone is? This mobile phone is sure to take mobile world by its storm!

Sony Ericsson W580i, within its dark complexion, comes to offer a plethora of highly functional features, able to light up its owner's mood every-time. Come to talk of its Walkman speciality and the phone is all set to awe-inspire you with its list of feature that counts shake control (which is awesome), megabass, multiple file format supporting media player, disc2phone feature, TrackID, PlayNow, stereo FM Radio and Bluetooth support for A2DP. In addition to all, there is an innovative shake control feature, allowing one to change the track with the flick of a wrist. Additional microSD memory expansion slot alongside the 12 MB internal memory allocation makes the phone store each and every of your choicest music tracks within.

Add to its music features, Sony Ericsson W580i comes with a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and video recording ability. There is GPRS, EDGE, USB, Access Netfront web browser and supports for RSS feeds.

The JAVA supporting Sony Ericsson W910i comes with in-flight mode controls to let the phone's service be availed being right inside a hospital, airplane or places where using mobile phone is prohibited. Now with so much so in offer, can any one believe that the W910i weighs a mere 94 gm with size being 14 mm? It is said miracle still happen and who knows it is one before you proving all maxims wrong in an one single go? Well, see it to believe it guys!
The Sony Ericsson W910i Black has features including:
Bluetooth for Voice
Bluetooth for Data
Video Camera
Video Downloads
Colour Screen
Java Technology
Music Player
Polyphonic Tones
FM Radio
Internet
Email
MMS
2 mega pixel camera
Slide Phone
Digital Zoom
Video Messaging
MP3 Ringtones
USB
Wallpapers
We like innovation. We love anything that makes us go, 'Ooooooooh, clever!' And that's why we love the Sony Ericsson W910i. With brand new music features, including shake control to skip through your music just by jiggling the phone, this is one handset that dares to be different

Wordpress 2.3 Simple Upgrade Tutorial.

The recent release of WordPress 2.3 with new features and database changes begs the question, how should a webmaster plan and then implement the enhancement. Any upgrade that involves database changes should be undertaken carefully, and preparation is key to a successful enchancement.

Typically, most webmasters install custom themes and extra plugins, and of course they upload extra files such as images to their /wp-content/uploads folder. All of these files need to be backed up and stored off server prior to undertaking the enhancement process. The database itself also needs to be backed up.

Backing up the particular site information is first achieved by installing the BackUpWordpress plugin and selecting the default backup options which will create a compressed file of the complete site including files and database. If anything does go wrong it should be relatively easy to restore this and import the particular database into MySQL using phpMyAdmin or the particular host's preferred database manager.Once you are certain the particular site has been backed up, you're ready to start preparing for the enhancement.

Are the plugins and chosen theme complying with WordPress 2.3? Most modern themes shouldn't cause any problem except that non v2.3 themes may not take into account the tags code needed to make use of the new tags feature of WordPress 2.3. This is the least simple update to make, and only involves adding extra php code to the theme's index.php and single.php.

Open up index.php and single.php in your favorite text editor and hunt for the following code, and just add the following code '); ?> before or after depends on where you want the tags to be displayed (before or after the document).

The plugins used in the site will need to be inspect against the list of complying plugins. Any plugin that isn't complying will likely not work correctly or at all. You may need to contact the plugin author for an update or discontinue using that plugin until an update is available.

You should now be ready to enhancement the particular installation to WordPress 2.3, and if your host provides wget functionality only copy the zip file to your server then unzip them directly into the WordPress folder. If wget isn't available to you, then you'll need to download the zip file and use an ftp client to upload the unzipped files.

Once you've installed your WordPress files, make sure your WordPress 2.3 complying theme is uploaded to /wp-content/themes. Do you need updated plugins? Upload these to /wp-content/plugins. You should now be ready to initiate the WordPress update script.

Navigate to the admin section of the particular site, WordPress will automatically discover that an transformation is required. Once completed, and if all has gone to plan, you should be able to login to Dashboard without any difficulty. Good luck.

Ivonson is full time wordpress blogger with interest in Wordpress and SEO. Visit him at his website where you can find all tips and resources on wordpress and seo.

What is Blog?

Blog is actually short form for web log and then it was coined as “weblog” by Jorn Barger in 1997. It was until 1999 that the term “blog” got its popularity as both a noun and verb by Peter Merholz who broke “weblog” into we blog at his blog Peterme.com

Then blog usage spread like wildfire starting 1999 and with the evolution of tools available to the large and less technical public, the blogging community escalates to an enormous number. This is shown by Technorati (blog search engine) was tracking more than 106 million blogs until September 2007.

Many blogs share a common function as a textual personal online diary where you can post on an ongoing basis. Then your visitors can read your post and they can comment on the posts or even email you.

With that function, blog can be your place to make friends who share the same interest as yours. This is because when your visitors comments on your blog, they are actually responding to you. You can nurture a friendship out of it when you respond back. And as this grows, you will have your own private space to share ideas, news, supports and links with them. You might even be exposing to some new ground. Isn’t that cool?

Most of the blogging directories offer you the ability to search for blogger and blogs that have the same interests as yours. You can also list your own interests, blogs and profile so that others can find you .Then you can expand your social network and have fun with others.

So now, you might be interested to get your feet wet in blogging but you might also be thinking how to make your blogs “shine”. Just to let you know, most of the blogging directories nowadays allow you to design your blog. They have different templates for you to choose from and you can do it without any knowledge of HTML but of course if you want to edit your blog with HTML, you are also free to do it.

Don’t like the color of your blog? Easy. Just click and change it. With a few clicks and you can have your prefer color as your blog and you can see the changes almost immediately. Best of all you can change it again when you are tired of the same color. You can do the same with the fonts on your post. You can even have a post of different font in different color and different pattern. Remember, you own the blog, and this is something you can make it PERSONAL. With these and more features, you can have a blog that totally belong to you and show the real you.

Lastly, you can only experience the fun and excitement in blogging is to start your own blog. So just do a search online and you will find different blogging directories which allow you to create your blog with them.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Arborist looks to cloning to save redwoods



SAN GERONIMO, Calif. - An arborist on a mission to preserve and restore Northern California's towering redwoods has begun taking cuttings that he hopes can be used to make genetic clones of the ancient trees.

On a recent foggy day in Marin County, about 25 miles north of San Francisco, David Milarch assembled a team of crack tree climbers who used ropes and harnesses to clamber more than 100 feet into the treetops at Roy's Redwoods Preserve.

The workers clipped boughs from some of the preserve's oldest and tallest trees to get genetically pure samples of some of nature's ultimate survivors.

Milarch, 58, believes these trees can provide the toughest possible stock for a kind of "genetic savings account." He hopes that material can be used to restore old-growth redwoods in their native range up and down the state.

About 95 percent of the original forest has been cut down over the last few hundred years.

Saving these ancient trees
Milarch, from the state of Michigan, recalled thinking on his first visit to Northern California in 1968 that he would see avenues of coast redwoods 100 miles long. What he found instead was a "moonscape," he said.

Nearly 40 years later, Milarch has returned, and he believes the latest advances in genetic cloning could save the most ancient of these trees.

"What does this tree's immune system have in it that it has survived when other trees haven't?" Milarch asked, leaning against a massive, shaggy trunk of a redwood he's dubbed "Grandma." He estimates the tree is at least 800 years old.

Average mature redwoods stand between 200 to 240 feet tall and have diameters of 10 to 15 feet. The tallest trees have been measured at more than 370 feet, making coast redwoods the tallest living organisms in the world. The hardiest members of the species can live to be 2,000 years old.

Redwoods have gained a prized status among nature lovers, but their high-quality timber has long been favored by home builders seeking the same durability that allows the trees to survive in the wild, which has led to widespread harvesting.

Milarch said coast redwoods can reproduce themselves through a natural cloning process and by mating with other trees. A tree like Grandma could effectively be the latest incarnation of an individual tree that first saw daylight 20,000 years ago, he said.

"If we're going to pick out the strongest, longest-lived genetics, this old gal's a survivor," Milarch said.

Horticulturists and genetic engineers plan to use the samples from the Marin County redwoods to see which of several techniques — some traditional, some cutting-edge — work best to reproduce the trees.

Creating a genetic storehouse
Milarch has high hopes for the most advanced approach, known as tissue culturing, which creates exact genetic replicas by manipulating individual cells.

Not everyone agrees that cloning represents the most effective way to preserve redwoods. Conservation groups have traditionally focused on curbing development and logging along the 500-mile stretch from Big Sur to the Oregon state line where most coast redwoods grow.

"Protecting the habitat of the species in place — I think that's the most important approach to conservation," said Deborah Rogers, a redwood geneticist and director of conservation science for the San Diego County-based Center for Natural Lands Management.

Rogers said a genetic storehouse that could protect the entire species from an unforeseen cataclysm caused by climate change or an imported disease would require samples from hundreds of trees across the state.

Milarch hopes that samples from about 20 individual trees taken from ancient redwood stands in five distinct areas will be enough to get his restoration effort under way. Next he plans to solicit landowners and communities for plots of at least five acres where the clones will be planted and, ideally, interbreed.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Veteran astronaut will go far, far out to fix damaged solar array


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The astronaut chosen to make emergency repairs on the space station’s ripped solar wing — a dangerous and unprecedented electrical job — is actually an emergency medical doctor and mountaineer whose specialty at NASA just happens to be spacewalks.

What’s more, Scott Parazynski is 6-foot-2 (188 centimeters tall) and has long arms, a lucky stroke since he’ll be working Saturday alongside a damaged electrical generator with hot wires possibly exposed.

“We have a bunch of challenges ... but the beauty of having Scott available to us is that it’s one piece that you don’t worry about,” flight director Derek Hassmann said Friday. “I cannot overstate the significance of his experience and just his approach to the job.”



To save the solar wing, Parazynski needs to clear whatever snagged the panels and caused the wing to tear while it was being unfurled Tuesday. He won’t know what he’s up against until he sees the damage up close.

As it is now, the wing poses a structural hazard for the international space station. The damage could worsen and the wing could become unstable, quite possibly forcing NASA to cut it loose and lose a vital power source for future laboratories.

That’s why NASA is willing to undertake this riskier and trickier than usual spacewalk before the shuttle Discovery undocks from the space station in just another few days. The shuttle is currently due to undock on Monday and return to Earth on Wednesday.

Complicating matters for NASA is a malfunctioning solar rotary joint on the opposite side of the space station. It’s needed to turn another set of solar wings toward the sun, but it’s gummed up with steel shavings and, for the most part, unusable.

For now, the torn wing is the priority. Because of the tight schedule, the work on the joint has been put off for another time. Also put off was a demonstration of a high-tech caulking gun and goo for mending shuttle thermal tiles, a technique that Parazynski helped develop.


This will be Parazynski’s fourth spacewalk during the current mission and the seventh of his 15-year astronaut career.

Parazynski, 46, who is married with a 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, became an astronaut three years after graduating from Stanford Medical School. He said earlier this week that every spacewalk is, by nature, dangerous.

“You’re in your own personal spacecraft and you are relying upon the spacesuit hardware and on your own physical abilities,” he said.




Parazynski and his spacewalking partner, Army Col. Douglas Wheelock, will wear partial mittens over their gloves for extra protection. Wheelock pierced the outer layer of a glove near the end of Tuesday’s spacewalk; it was the third time in less than a year that a spacewalker tore a glove on something sharp at the space station.

To shore up the wing, astronauts have devised attachments that have been nicknamed "cufflinks." Like the cufflinks that close up sleeves on shirts, the attachments could be slipped through grommets in the solar array to close up a tear — that is, if such a closure is judged necessary.

As for the electrical hazards, all of the metal parts on Parazynski’s spacesuit have been covered with insulating tape — triple-taped, in fact — as have all the tools that he’ll carry with him.

The solar panel will be teeming with more than 100 volts of electricity, possibly as much as 160 volts.

“It’s not the kind of thing that would burn you, but we could get conduction through the heart, let’s say, or mild shocks,” said David Wolf, the spacewalk branch chief for the astronaut office.

Before calling it a day Friday, Parazynski asked for another hookup with spacewalking experts at Mission Control, saying he still had questions. Controllers told him they could not come up with a wire on board for him to practice a fraying technique he may need Saturday.

Parazynski told them not to worry, that he’s pretty good at fraying wires “having done a lot of home wiring projects myself.”

“Just use your magic on this one the same way,” Mission Control replied.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Home Business Tips--Beware of the Scam Artist?

What is a scam artist? I thought long and hard before writing this article as not to offend anyone. Nobody would ever be complimented by being called a scam artist. A scam artist is one who takes your money for product or service and never delivers anything to you. They run off with your money to never be heard of or found again. I have found very few people in the world who are scam artists like that.

It has been my experience that there are similar traits in a lot people on the internet and I’ll let you be the judge whether or not you call these people scam artists. I usually find that program jumpers have similar traits and characteristics to the scam artists or maybe more resembling a swarm of Locusts.

These people are usually people who jump ship to every new program out there on the internet. If a new program comes out, they jump in it, take all you suckers out there with them until they have sucked you dry and then move on to the next program.

Here is an article I found at http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574486/Locust_(insect).html - Let’s see if this resembles any of the so called "Internet Guru’s". Locust (insect), common name applied to a number of jumping insects and especially to the true locusts, which are migratory grasshoppers (see Grasshopper). The true locusts cause great damage to crops wherever they swarm.

Control measures include the spreading of poison bait and the plowing under of locust eggs. Infestations threatening large regions of the United States are combated with insecticides sprayed by planes and truck-mounted mist blowers provided by joint federal-state programs.

Aside from the true locusts, the periodical cicada (see Cicada) is another important insect to which the name locust is applied. Grouse, or pygmy, locusts are small, jumping insects that are of little economic importance.

Most species are dark brown and are less than 2.5 cm (less than 1 in) in length. Now, does this sound familiar out there on the internet? I would love to warn you about these people by name, but would never do that. I will however, give you things to watch out for and let you be the judge.

If a person has joined 3 or more programs in one year, they are probably program jumpers, which as we see above, have similar traits to the locusts and do more harm than good. These people are simply out to take your money. No wonder they are making so much money. They have perfected the locust style of business.

Yes, you certainly need to be cautious and make sure you carefully investigate any home business opportunity that you are considering. You will find that there are some companies with opportunities that are credible, solid and rewarding.

The 3 Vital Steps :To Achieving Financial Freedom Online

Everyone dreams of becoming financially free. With the technology of the internet more and more people are living that dream. There are lots of ways to make money on the web and in this article I will tell you about one off them. This method is most probably the easiest and cheapest way to put you on the road to financial freedom. It has worked for me and I can almost guarantee you that it will work for you.


1. Create a Website
If you don't have a website then I strongly recommend that you get one. There are lots of companies on the web offering free web hosting but you will only end up with a website that will be cluttered with the company's banners and ads. That is why they are hosting your site for free because they earn revenue from the ads they put on your site. Too many banners and ads on a site will distract visitors in such a way that it will be quite difficult for them to focus on what you have to offer. Having a free site will also leave you with a sub domain name. Sub domain names usually don't rank well on the major search engines and believe me that if you want to make money on the internet you will need your site to rank well on the major search engines like Google and Yahoo because that is where all the people are. It is well worth it rather paying for your own website that has got no bannners and ads from the hosting company. Don't fret about spending some penny's because by following these 3 steps outlined here your income will by far exceed your expenditure. I personally recommend you get your website hosted by Lunar Pages. Their prices are very affordable and they are rated number 1 in the industry. Next you should decide on a topic for your site. It should be something that most people are usually interested in for example employment, work from home etc. Whatever topic it may be, just make sure you add lots of original quality content. The more the better.

2. Join an Affiliate Program
There are literally hundreds of affiliate programs on the internet. All you need to do is go to sites like AffiliateGuide.com or Commission Junction and sign up for a program that suites the topic of your site. By far the most popular of these is Google Adsense. When you join the Adsense program you will be able to display Google ads on your site and get paid for it every time a visitor clicks on it. The reason for this is that advertisers pay Google every time someone clicks on the ads and then you, the publisher gets paid a percentage of that fee. The amount you get paid depends on how much the advertisers are willing to pay Google per click. The ads will be related to whatever your site topic may be so it will only increase the chances of someone clicking on the ads.

3. Increase Your Website Traffic
In order for your site to become successful in generating a healthy income you will need lots of traffic. There are lots of ways to do this. One is to submit your site to as many search engines as possible. SubmitExpress lets you submit your site to 40 search engines for free. Another effective method is to write an article and briefly mention your site. Submit your article to as many e-zines and article directories as possible. Check which sites similar to yours ranks high in the major search engines and try to contact the webmasters and ask for a link exchange. You can also go to FreeViral or TrafficSwarm and sign up for a free account. Both systems let you generate targeted traffic to your website through the use of viral marketing. Getting lots of traffic to your site is not an easy task. It will take some time and effort before your site will lift off. Perseverance is the key word. If you can master that quality, then you are well on your way to financial freedom.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

my blogrush

Syndication Credit Earned From Your Traffic


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Where Your Credits Come From


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Credit Earnings Report


TODAY
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Syndication Credit Earned From Your Referral Network


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Referral Network

Current Bloggers In Your Network:
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Credit Balance

Current Credit Balance:
82
Referral Network

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dragonjambala: http://dragonjambala.blogspot.com
CREDITS ALLOCATED : 75% -->
YOUR LAST 12 BLOG POSTS
SYNDICATED
READERS
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Plug-in Hybrid
290
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German Teen Escapes Prison In Suitcase
21
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Shortage To Boost Costs:beer Drinkers Beware
333
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Unlimited Software Downloads -
128
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On ‘blackout,’ Britney Emerges Confident, Sensual And In Control
150
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Entertainment And Nightlife In Nepal
409
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Step On It! Britney Drives Over Paparazzo’s Foot
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“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf
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Painting
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Spending '30 Days Of Night' With Josh Hartnett
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How to Take Great Photos!
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Motorola Ming A1200 (unlocked)
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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Plug-in hybrid



A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid vehicle with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electric power source. With an internal combustion engine and batteries for power, they share the characteristics of conventional hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. Most PHEVs on the road today are passenger cars, but there are now PHEV versions of certain commercial passenger vans, utility trucks, school buses, scooters, and military vehicles as well. PHEVs are sometimes called grid-connected hybrids, gas-optional hybrids, or GO-HEVs.

The cost for electricity to power plug-in hybrids for all-electric operation in the U.S. state of California has been estimated as less than one fourth the cost of gasoline. Compared to conventional vehicles, PHEVs can help reduce air pollution and dependence on petroleum, and lessen greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Plug-in hybrids use no fossil fuel during their all-electric range if their batteries are charged from renewable energy sources. Other benefits include improved national energy security, fewer fill-ups at the filling station, the convenience of home recharging, opportunities to provide emergency backup power in the home, and vehicle to grid applications.

As of September 2007, plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles are not yet in production. However, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and Chinese automaker BYD Auto have announced their intention to introduce production PHEV automobiles. Toyota obtained permission in July 2007 to sell their plug-in Prius in Japan, BYD Auto expects to introduce their PHEV-60 sedan in the second half of 2008, and General Motors expects to introduce plug-ins in 2009 or 2010. Conversions of production model hybrid vehicles are available from conversion kits and conversion services. Most PHEVs on the road in the U.S. are conversions of 2004 or later Toyota Prius hybrid cars, which extend their electric-only range and add plug-in charging.




Technology
PHEVs are based on the same three basic powertrain architectures as conventional hybrids:

Series hybrids use an internal combustion engine (ICE) to turn a generator, which in turn supplies current to an electric motor, which then rotates the vehicle’s drive wheels. A battery or capacitor pack, or a combination of the two, can be used as a buffer of sorts to store excess charge. Examples of series hybrids include the Renault Kangoo Elect'Road, Toyota's Japan-only Coaster light-duty passenger bus, DaimlerChrysler's hybrid Orion bus, the Chevrolet Volt concept car, and many diesel-electric locomotives. With an appropriate balance of components this type can operate over a substantial distance with its full range of power without engaging the ICE. As is the case for other architectures, series hybrids can operate without plugging in as long as there is liquid fuel in the tank.

Parallel hybrids, such as Honda's Insight, Civic, and Accord hybrids, can simultaneously transmit power to their drive wheels from two distinct sources—for example, an internal-combustion engine and a battery-powered electric drive. Although most parallel hybrids incorporate an electric motor between the vehicle's engine and transmission, a parallel hybrid can also use its engine to drive one of the vehicle's axles, while its electric motor drives the other axle. The Audi Duo plug-in hybrid concept car is an example of this type of parallel hybrid architecture. Parallel hybrids can be programmed to use the electric motor to substitute for the ICE at lower power demands and to substantially increase the power available to a smaller ICE than would normally be used, either mode substantially increasing fuel economy compared to a simple ICE vehicle.

Series-parallel hybrids have the flexibility to operate in either series or parallel mode. Hybrid powertrains currently used by Ford, Lexus, Nissan, and Toyota, which some refer to as “series-parallel with power-split,” can operate in both series and parallel mode at the same time. As of 2007, most plug-in hybrid conversions of conventional hybrids utilize this architecture.


Modes of operation
Regardless of its architecture, a plug-in hybrid may be capable of charge-depleting and charge-sustaining modes. Combinations of these two modes are termed blended mode or mixed-mode. These vehicles can be designed to drive for an extended range in all-electric mode, either at low speeds only or at all speeds. These modes manage the vehicle's battery discharge strategy, and their use has a direct effect on the size and type of battery required:

Charge-depleting mode allows a fully charged PHEV to operate exclusively (or depending on the vehicle, almost exclusively, except during hard acceleration) on electric power alone until its battery state of charge is depleted to a predetermined level, at which time the vehicle's internal combustion engine or fuel cell will be engaged. This period is the vehicle's all-electric range. This is the only mode that a battery electric vehicle can operate in, thus their limited range.[26]

Charge-sustaining mode is used by production hybrid vehicles (HEV) today, and combines the operation of the vehicle's two power sources in such a manner that the vehicle is operating as efficiently as possible without allowing the battery state of charge to move beyond some predetermined narrow band. Over the course of a trip in a HEV the state of charge may fluctuate but will have no net change. The battery in a HEV can thus be thought of as an energy accumulator rather than a fuel storage device. Once a plug-in hybrid has exhausted its all-electric range in charge-depleting mode, it can switch into charge-sustaining mode automatically.


The redesigned Renault Kangoo Elect'road operates in blended mode, using engine and battery power simultaneously.Blended mode is a type of charge-depleting mode normally employed by vehicles which do not have enough electric power to sustain high speeds without the help of the internal combustion portion of the powertrain. A blended control strategy typically takes more miles to use stored grid electricity than a charge-depleting strategy.[28] The Renault Kangoo and some Toyota Prius conversions are examples of vehicles that use this mode of operation. The Electri'cité and Elect'road versions of the Kangoo were charge-depleting battery electric vehicles: the Elect'road had a modest internal-combustion engine (ICE) which extended its range somewhat. 2004 and later model Toyota Prius conversions can only run without using the ICE at speeds of less than about 42 mph (68 km/h) due to the limits dictated by the vehicle's powertrain control software. However, at faster speeds electric power can still be used to displace gasoline thus improving the fuel economy in blended mode, generally doubling the fuel efficiency.

Mixed mode describes a trip in which a combination of the above modes are utilized.[29] For example, a PHEV-20 Prius conversion may begin a trip with 5 miles (8 km) of low speed charge-depleting, then get onto a freeway and operate in blended mode for 20 miles (32 km), using 10 miles (16 km) worth of all-electric range at twice the fuel economy. Finally the driver might exit the freeway and drive for another 5 miles (8 km) without the internal combustion engine until the full 20 miles (32 km) of all-electric range are exhausted. At this point the vehicle can revert back to a charge sustaining-mode for another 10 miles (16 km) until the final destination is reached. Such a trip would be considered a mixed mode, as multiple modes are employed in one trip. This contrasts with a charge-depleting trip which would be driven within the limits of a PHEV's all-electric range. Conversely, the portion of a trip which extends beyond the all-electric range of a PHEV would be driven primarily in charge-sustaining mode, like a conventional hybrid.


Batteries
Further information: Battery electric vehicle
PHEVs typically require deeper battery charging and discharging cycles than conventional hybrids. Because the number of full cycles influences battery lifetime, battery life may be less than in traditional HEVs which do not deplete their batteries as deeply. However, some authors argue that PHEVs will soon become standard in the automobile industry. Design issues and trade-offs concerning battery life (they would last ten years[citation needed]), capacity, heat dissipation, weight, costs, and safety need to be solved. Advanced battery technology is under development, promising greater energy densities by both mass and volume, and battery life expectancy is expected to increase.

The cathodes of some early 2007 lithium-ion batteries are made from lithium-cobalt metal oxide. This material is expensive, and cells made with it can release oxygen if its cell is overcharged. If the cobalt is replaced with iron phosphates, the cells will not burn or release oxygen under any charge. The price premium for early 2007 conventional hybrids is about US$5000, some US$3000 of which is for their NiMH battery packs. At early 2007 gasoline and electricity prices, that would break even after six to ten years of operation. The conventional hybrid premium could fall to US$2000 in five years, with US$1200 or more of that being cost of lithium-ion batteries, providing a three-year payback. The payback period may be longer for plug-in hybrids, because of their larger, more expensive batteries.

Nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries can be recycled; Toyota, for example, has a recycling program in place under which dealers are paid a US$200 credit for each battery returned. However, plug-in hybrids typically use larger battery packs than comparable conventional hybrids, and thus require larger resource flows. Recently PG&E has suggested that utilities would purchase used batteries for backup and load levelling purposes. They state that while these used batteries may be no longer usable in vehicles, their residual capacity still has significant value.

Électricité de France and Toyota are installing recharging points for PHEVs in France, on roads, streets and parking lots.. EDF is also partnering with Elektromotive, Ltd.[38] to install 250 new charging points over the next six months in London and elsewhere in the UK. Recharging points also can be installed for specific uses, as in taxi stands.


Conversions of production hybrids

15 lead-acid batteries, PFC charger, and regulators installed into WhiteBird, a PHEV-10 conversion of a Toyota PriusFor more details on this topic, see Electric vehicle conversion.
Conversion of an existing production hybrid to a plug-in hybrid typically involves increasing the capacity of the vehicle's battery pack and adding an onboard AC-to-DC charger. Ideally, the vehicle's powertrain software would be reprogrammed to make full use of the battery pack's additional energy storage capacity and power output.

Many early plug-in hybrid electric vehicle conversions have been based on the 2004 or later model year Toyota Prius. Some of the systems have involved replacement of the vehicle's original Ni-MH battery pack and its electronic control unit. Others, such as Hymotion as well as builders of the CalCars Prius+, and the PiPrius, piggyback an additional battery back onto the OEM battery pack, this is also referred to as Battery Range Extender Modules (BREMs). This has been referred to as a "hybrid battery pack configuration" within the electric vehicle conversion community. Early lead-acid battery conversions by CalCars demonstrated 10 miles (15 km) of EV-only and 20 miles (30 km) of double mileage blended mode range.

EDrive Systems use Valence Technology Li-ion batteries and have a claimed 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 km) of electric range. Other companies offering plug-in conversions or kits for the Toyota Prius include Hymotion, Hybrids Plus, and Manzanita Micro.

The EAA-PHEV project was conceived in October of 2005 to accelerate efforts to document existing HEVs and their potential for conversion into PHEVs. It includes a Conversion Interest page. The Electric Auto Association-PHEV "Do-It-Yourself" Open Source community's primary focus is to provide general information to curious parties and detailed conversion instruction to help guide experienced EV Converters through the process, including public conversions, lasting about two hours per car. Many members of organizations such as CalCars and the EAA as well as companies like Hybrids Plus, Hybrid Interfaces of Canada, and Manzanita Micro participate in the development of the project.

German teen escapes prison in suitcase

BERLIN: A 19-year-old German woman has escaped from prison by hiding in a friend's suitcase.

The fugitive hid inside the large case when her 17-year-old fellow inmate was released from the youth prison in northwest Germany on Friday, Lower Saxony ministry spokesman Dennis Weilmann said on Monday.

The girl simply walked out of the building with her friend concealed in her luggage, Weilmann said.

"Our staff are going to make sure they inspect big suitcases more carefully in the future," Weilmann said.

Neither of the teenagers has since been caught. Both had been jailed for theft. The escaped prisoner had less than two weeks left to serve.

Airbus A380 completes maiden voyage


Worlds largest passenger jet makes historic Singapore to Sydney flight



ON BOARD FLIGHT SQ380 - A Singapore Airlines A380 on Thursday completed a long-delayed historic journey — the first commercial flight by the world's largest jetliner that boasts luxurious suites, double beds and the quietest interior of any plane.

With 455 passengers and a crew of about 30 including pilots, the Airbus superjumbo lifted off safely from Singapore's Changi Airport. About seven hours later, it landed in Sydney.

Before take off, passengers clapped as the plane disengaged from the dock on schedule at 8 a.m. and taxied to the runway that was widened and lengthened to accommodate

More cheers broke out 16 minutes later as the double-decker aircraft, powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, soared into the nearly cloudless sky, tinged pink by the light of the early morning sun.

Flight attendants handed out champagne and certificates to passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars in an online auction for the seats to be part of aviation history.

"I have never been in anything like this in the air before in my life," said Australian Tony Elwood, reclining with his wife, Julie, on the double bed in their private first class suite.

"It is going to make everything else after this simply awful," he said, sipping Dom Perignon rose after a lunch of marinated lobster and double boiled chicken soup. He paid $50,000 for the two places.

'Milestone in the timeline of aviation'
The double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbojet as the world's most spacious passenger plane. The A380 is also the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger jet ever built, from inside and outside, according to its European manufacturer, Airbus SAS.

It was delivered to Singapore Airlines on Oct. 15, nearly two years behind schedule after billions of dollars in cost overruns for Airbus. Still, the wait was worth it, says Singapore Airlines, which got the exclusivity of being the plane's sole operator for 10 months.

"This is indeed a new milestone in the timeline of aviation," said Chew Choon Seng, chief executive of Singapore Airlines, or SIA, in a speech before the departure.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet generally carries about 400 passengers. The A380 — as tall as a seven-story building with each wing big enough to hold 70 cars — is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.

However, Singapore Airlines, recognized as one of the best in the world, opted for 471 seats in three classes — 12 Singapore Airlines Suites, 60 business class and 399 economy class.

Each suite, enclosed by sliding doors, is fitted with a leather upholstered seat, a table, a 23-inch (58-centimeter) flat screen TV, laptop connections and a range of office software. A separate bed folds up into the wall. Two of the suites can be joined to provide double beds, one of which the Elwoods occupied.

On the upper deck, business class seats can turn into wide flat beds, while the economy class seats on both decks will enjoy more leg and knee room, the carrier says. Business class passengers also have a bar area.


Sunday, October 28, 2007

Shortage to boost costs:Beer drinkers beware


SUNNYSIDE, Wash. - Fans of Snipes Mountain Brewery’s cloudy Hefeweizen relish the subtle wheat flavor of the bright, summery brew, and like beer drinkers everywhere, they know when their favorite brew tastes a little too hoppy or bitter.

Connoisseurs could be in for a surprise this year, and they may not be alone.

Small brewers from Australia to Oregon face the daunting prospect of tweaking their recipes or experimenting less with new brews thanks to a worldwide shortage of one key beer ingredient and rising prices for others.

Oh, and one other thing: Beer prices are likely to climb. How high is anybody’s guess. Craft brewers don’t have the means to hedge against rising prices, like their industrial rivals.

“I’m guessing, at a minimum, at least a 10 percent jump in beer prices for the average consumer before the end of the year,” said Terry Butler, brewmaster at central Washington’s Snipes Mountain.

Sales have been relatively flat in recent years among the country’s big three brewers — Anheuser-Busch Cos., Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC. unit Miller Brewing Co — while small, independent brewers have experienced tremendous growth. The craft brewing industry experienced a 12 percent increase by volume in 2006, with 6.7 million barrels of beer. Sales among microbreweries, which produce less than 15,000 barrels per year, grew 16 percent in 2006.

Now the bright spot in the brewing industry is facing mounting costs on nearly every front. Fuel, aluminum and glass prices have been going up quickly over a period of several years. Barley and wheat prices have skyrocketed as more farmers plant corn to meet increasing demand for ethanol, while others plant feed crops to replace acres lost to corn.

A decade-long oversupply of hops that had forced farmers to abandon the crop is finally gone and harvests were down this year. In the United States, where one-fourth of the world’s hops are grown, acreage fell 30 percent between 1995 and 2006.

Australia endured its worst drought on record. Hail storms across Europe damaged crops. Extreme heat in the western United States hurt both yields and quality.

Big brewers can hedge against rising prices for raw ingredients and can negotiate better, longer-term contracts for ingredients, while smaller brewers generally are left with whatever is left.


Snipes Mountain saw its barley malt prices grow between 10-15 percent this year, and paid $12.35 per pound for Cascade hops, far beyond the $5.60 per pound allotted last year.

Those rising prices and, in some cases, shortages, may force Butler to rethink his lineup of 13 beers in the months ahead. He’ll also be tinkering with a Hefeweizen recipe that relies on Saaz hops, a mild variety popular with Bohemian pilsners, after severe weather in Europe dinged as much as 40 percent of the crop.

Iphone software Downloads - Review of Iphone Media Downloads Site

There aren’t many places where you can find good Iphone software downloads, and the software selections don’t even always work. A few monthes ago I started searching places on the web where I could find all the Iphone software downloads that I wanted. I wasted a lot of time and money but I then I came across the Iphone Download Pro.

This site has more than just Iphone software downloads. They have downloads for games, movies, TV shows, music, software, sporting events and much more. For the small one time membership fee I got all the downloads I needed. Other sites charge per download but the Iphone media downloads site gives you unlimited downloads for life. You can go on there 24 hours a day and download Iphone softwares.

The downloads are very fast with no restrictions. You are provided with all of the necessary DVD to PC to Iphone software to make your Iphone softwares work flawlessly at no extra charge. They also give you free step by step tutorials that make downloading and installing very easy. Their media selection is huge and covers every variety of music, movies and games.

They offer top notch free 24 hour technical support. If you ever have any questions or problems, you can contact them with any technical questions. They will walk you step by step, through any problems you may be having with your Iphone software downloads.

This site provides you with one of the access to one of the largest file networks on the planet and it is all 100% legal. Another very nice benefit is that you can start downloading you Iphone softwares, music, movies and TV shows within minutes of joining. I haven’t come across any sites that off as much as this site does for what you pay.

I have seen a lot of sites pop up and fizz off over the past few months but I feel very fortunate to have come across this site because now my Iphone is filled with 100+ movies, some of which are still in the theatres.

This site specializes in Iphone software downloads and because of this, they have covered all the bases and left no stone unturned. This is by far the best collection of Iphone software downloads that I have seen. Hands down, I would give this site 10/10 stars. This site is a no brainer

Converting videos to your iPod or Phone

Are you interested in converting videos to your iPod or iPhone? Are you wondering how do you get DVDs onto my iPod or iPhone? What is the iPod or iPhone video format? Are you interested in ripping DVDs onto iPod or iPhone? This article will answer all those questions for you so read bellow.

To idea is to be able to take whatever source you have (DVD or video file) and rip it to an MP4 (mpeg 4) video file at 320 x 240 resolution so it can be played on an iPod or iPhone. The 5G (fifth generation) iPods will not accept video at resolutions higher than 320 x 240 so you usually need to convert your video. A typical DVD movie will take up about 500 to 700 megs when converted.

Users have always been in a need of program that transforms digital video files into an iPod-compatible format. Such applications should work with AVI, MPEG, VOB, WMV, and RM files and support batch conversion. Users should be able to specify the video and sound quality and have the program automatically shut down the computer when it's finished. A good program like that should feature an easy-to-use interface, produce high quality files in a timely manner. The format of iPod and iPhone for video files is MPEG 4 at 320x240

Blow away any previous tools and software you might have installed that you don't need and you think might conflict with getting a good DVD rip. Also blow away any old media files you don't need. This process is fairly heavy on resources so generally the more room you have and the less things that can get in the way, the better.

Winxmedia DVD iPod Video Converter converts DVD to iPod video (MP4 with AAC). It can split large files to multi-volumes according to the mode and size you set. You can preview the video and monitor the converting process. The Winxmedia can process DVD, IFO, and MPG/VOB files. You can select just a part of video/audio to convert according to start time and quantity of frames. The software provides luminace filter and deinterlace filter. You can also select audio track and subtitle to convert. Users can set the resolution of the output video and many other options. The interface is easy to use.

If all seems to have gone well, open iTunes and drag your new video onto your Library or directly onto your iPod or iPhone.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Unlimited Software Downloads -

There are many websites that offer unlimited software downloads, but the software is usually not very good quality. I have searched many websites were I can get all of the unlimited software downloads that I would need and want. When I came across the software download site, there was more than just unlimited software downloads.

The unlimited software downloads site has downloads for music software, video games, music, movies, office tools, and much more. Here I can get all of the downloads I need for a one time only membership fee. Other sites charge per download, the site gives you unlimited downloads for life 24 hours a day with just a one time only small membership fee. Click Here

They offer 24/7 free technical support which is second to none. If you ever have any questions or problems, you can contact them with any technical questions. They will walk you step by step, through any problems you may be having with your unlimited downloads.

The have fast unlimited 24/7 downloads, no time limits, resume anytime, no bandwidth limits, no content limits You can download as many games, music, software, and movies as you want. Using their exclusive and easy burning software, copy any file to DVD or CD. Click Here

With Over 1 million files find exactly what you are looking for. All movies, music and games come with excellent quality. The unlimited software download site also provides you with antivirus, firewall, antispyware and design programs software, along with tutorials to get you started immediately.

You can begin downloading your unlimited software downloads within minutes after joining. You really get your money's worth. There are many sites that offer software downloads but I have never come across a site that offers as much as this one does.

Friday, October 26, 2007

On ‘Blackout,’ Britney emerges confident, sensual and in control

Britney Spears, “Blackout” (Jive Records):
Just when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punch line only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us.

“Blackout,” her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it’s her best work ever — a triumph, with not a bad song to be found on the 12 tracks.

Granted, a Spears rave should be put in its proper context — it’s not like we’re talking Bob Dylan here. Spears is a lightweight singer who only flourishes when she has great songs and great producers to supplement her minimal vocal talent.

But when she has that help, she’s fierce. And she gets that boost on every single track on “Blackout,” a sizzling, well-crafted, electro-pop dancefest that should return her to pop’s elite.

This is a shocker, given all the lowlights Spears has given us this year. From her embarrassing MTV Video Music Awards performance to her bizarre public antics to allegations that she’s an irresponsible parent, Spears has been a walking disaster. It seems amazing that she even found her way to a recording studio, let alone did anything of value while in it.

But Spears emerges on “Blackout” as the antithesis of her tabloid persona — confident, sensual, and in control.

I got my eye on you,” she coos on one of the album’s best tracks, “Radar,” a sexy techno groove that you can’t help but bounce to — a feeling that permeates all of “Blackout’s” tracks. You won’t find any saccharine ballads or fluffy pop on this disc — it’s all about generating heat on the dance floor (and if Spears has shown us anything in the last year, it’s that she knows how to party).

On the aptly titled “Freakshow,” produced by Danja (who worked on Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds”), Spears gets voyeuristic with a tantalizing promise to get wild in the club. The hypnotic “Get Naked (I Got A Plan),” also produced by Danja, features Spears breathlessly asking, “What I gotta do to make you move my body” before demanding, “take it off, take it off, take it off.”

It’s not all about grinding to the music, though. On rock-tinged “Piece of Me,” produced by Bloodshy & Avant, she defiantly addresses her critics: “I’m Mrs. Bad Media Karma, another day another drama ... I’m Mrs. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, I’m Mrs. ‘Oh My God That Britney’s Shameless.’ ” And on the slow-burn, Neptunes-produced “Why Should I Be Sad,” the album’s last track, she cops to heartbreak but refuses to let it get her down, a rare vulnerable moment.

Coming soon: Make ad changes without replacing code

We're very excited to let you know about an upcoming feature that lets you easily manage your ad units from within your AdSense account. It isn't live yet, but here's a sneak peek so you'll know what to expect in the coming weeks. (We know many of you have been eagerly anticipating its arrival.)




This new ad management feature means that your ad unit settings (such as colors and channels) for new AdSense for content ad units will be saved in your AdSense account every time you generate ad code. Then, if you'd like to change any of these settings in the future, all you do is make the update within your account -- you'll no longer need to manually replace the ad code on all of your pages. For instance, you can quickly change the borders of all your 300x250 medium rectangles from red to blue with just a few mouse clicks. Fancy! We hope that this new feature will help you save time and will simplify the process of optimizing your ad units.






As we noted above, please keep in mind that the ad management feature isn't yet available in any publisher accounts. We'll be rolling it out in phases in the next few weeks, and we'll follow up with another post at that time to help you better understand how to use the feature. When you see the "Manage Ads" page appear under your AdSense Setup tab, you'll know the feature is available for you to use. Here's what it will look like:





Stay tuned to read more about this new feature!



Posted by Traci Hailpern - AdSense Product Marketing

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Entertainment and Nightlife in Nepal


Nepal is an agricultural based society which means most of the locals go to bed early and get up with the rising sun – working like a dog and sleeping like a log but this does not mean that life goes to sleep too. The life is still wide awake and young to many who need to keep themselves fully entertained and you will find plenty of places to fulfill your desire. Most of the restaurants in the main tourist areas like Thamel close after 10 pm but a number of bars stay open until after midnight.

Note that the city laws in Kathmandu means all music needs to be put off by 10 pm and people on the streets should be on their way home. In this magnitude too, you still can be merry in the fascinating action packed Casinos or shake a leg or two in some discotheques.

People travel to Nepal for various reasons and one of the reasons for their travel especially for the South Asian people has been to play in the Casinos of Nepal and try their lady luck smiling upon them.

There are four Casinos in Kathmandu located in the premises of the city’s top hotels which offers 24 hours of non stop fun and games like baccarat, blackjack, flush, poker, pontoon, roulette, and other card games and slot machines. All the games are played in chips and they can be bought with US dollars or Indian rupees. You'll get free food and sometimes a disco if you put some money on the tables. Nepali's are officially forbidden from entering in Casinos.

To keep yourself amused from dawn to dusk, you can get yourself engaged in different things from a short trek, sight seeing, mountain flight, movies to dining in a nice and cozy restaurant that offers cultural programs and witness the diverse and fascinating ethnic and cultural traditions of Nepal. Enjoy your visit to Nepal all the more by visiting in the following entertainment places in Kathmandu:

Casino Nepal - Soaltee Compound, Tahachal, Ph. 4270244
Casino Anna - Hotel de L'Annapurna, Durbar Marg, Ph. 4228650
Casino Everest - Hotel Everest, New Baneshwor, Ph. 4488100,
Casino Royale - Hotel Yak & Yeti, Durbar Marg, Ph. 4225550

Culture Shows - Almost every restaurant and hotel that caters to the non-backpacking, up-scale market hotels, hosts a nightly culture show complete with local dances, music, songs and costumes. Usually starts at around 7.00 PM and costs about Rs 200 per person.

The Himalchuli Cultural Group is a Classical and Folk Dance group, which performs nightly, at 7.00 PM - 8.30 PM, at The Festival Restaurant and Bar in Lazimpat, (behind the Peace Zone English School) Ph. 4415280. The restaurant serves excellent Nepali and Newari cuisine.

In Pokhara many restaurants have a cultural dance show on every night. Sign boards outside the restaurants advertise what’s happening.

Local Bands, the Bar Scene and Dancing - Look for local bands in the cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara that may even get away with staying open past the 10pm curfew. Discos are becoming popular and dancing sometimes breaks out at local bars. Because of cultural attitudes toward men and women contact, local people general dance with the same sex. A general rule: if you see local women dressed in jeans, they've been cultured abroad or family ties extend outside the country.

There are several bars scattered around Thamel in Kathmandu, all close to each other. Each one has its own style so have a look in each one to choose which appeals to you.

Tom & Jerry Pub - upstairs, opposite to Pilgrims Book Store, has been open for along time, it's noisy and has pool tables. Close by on the same side of the road is the New Orleans Cafe - a popular place to eat good food and often has live bands. In the same area is the Jump Club - a popular bar with DJ and a small dance floor. Further north is the Tunnel Club - a popular top-floor place with very loud music and open late hours. Almost opposite is Sam's Bar - a small place with good music that opens after 5 PM.

A well known bar is the Rum Doodle Restaurant & Bar - it's a favorite meeting place for mountaineering expeditions, and you can eat here free for life, but only if you conquer Everest first! The Pub Maya, which is associated with Maya Cocktail Bar - has remained a favorite for along time. Close to Thamel Chowok is the Underground Bar, which always has its music up pretty high. Further along on Tridevi Marg, Studio 54 is currently popular.

Right near Yin Yang Restaurant is Paddy Foley's Irish Bar - a very popular place, especially on St. Patrick’s day!

Kathmandu has a couple of discos, popular with the more wealthy Nepalis. The Moon Sun Disco - at the Heritage Plaza in Kamaladi, Club X Zone near Durbar Marg. Both are open late every night but are probably not ideal for visiting tourists. If you want to dance bars in Thamel are a lot better.
Caution: with over 50 ethnic groups, drunken brawls are not uncommon whenever people are warmed up enough to cut-a-rug.

Movies - The only theaters in the country play popular Hindi movies from Bollywood, mostly without English subtitles. But catching a Hindi movie is worth it since understanding the language is not essential to enjoy these comedy-musical spectaculars. Recently, a few local venues have popped up serving English language movies that are about 6 months behind their market release.

A number of restaurants in Thamel offer pirated videos or laser discs on TV's, almost as soon as they are released at the cinemas in the west. These places usually require you to eat at the restaurant and the movie is included. You'll see the movies written up on chalk boards on the pavements.

Update: The Inter-Cultural Film Society - Starting in March 2000, this non-profit organization promises to "bring diverse feature films from different cultures around the globe ... for promotion of inter-cultural understanding”. Call Prem Basnet or Susi Groeli at: 4481659 or 5537551 for detail information.

There are films shown at the Russian Cultural Center in Kamal Pokhari. They are foreign language films with English subtitles.








Step on it! Britney drives over paparazzo’s foot


BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - It might just be Britney Spears’ latest hit.

Hours after losing visitation rights with her two young sons, the struggling pop star apparently ran over the foot of a photographer for celebrity Web site TMZ.com. Spears was driving away from a Beverly Hills medical building, her car surrounded by photographers, when the incident occurred about 5 p.m. Thursday.

Messages left with her attorney weren’t immediately returned.


Video posted on the Hollywood.TV Web site shows elements of the incident but not the tire rolling over the cameraman’s foot.

The video shows Spears beginning to pull out of the structure when her car is surrounded by more than a dozen photographers. The car comes to a stop.

Spears honks and the car lurches forward a few feet. Shouting is heard, and the camera jerks around as fellow photographers appear to help a man up.

Spears drives off and seconds later video shows what appears to be a tire mark on the photographer’s sock. The man, wearing sandals with white socks, doesn’t respond to questions from the others as he walks away, apparently unhurt.

TMZ producer Gillian Sheldon confirmed Friday that the photographer was employed by the Web site. She said there were no plans to file a police report. In a statement released by TMZ, the photographer indicated he wasn’t angry.

“Things happen at certain times and she was just a little impatient,” said the man, whose name wasn’t released. “She got a little impatient for whatever reason. I say let bygones be bygones.”

Earlier Thursday, Spears, 25, learned she can no longer visit her two preschool-age sons, who are in the custody of ex-husband Kevin Federline, until she complies with an order from Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon.

Gordon’s ruling didn’t spell out what directives Spears had defied, but a hearing was scheduled for Oct. 26.

Previously, though, Gordon has ordered Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week and to meet weekly with a “parenting coach.”






Going pantyless is so last week — except for Brit


As celebrity trends go, the crotch shot is so not hot. Heck, even Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton started putting on panties two seasons ago. But just last week, Britney Spears treated the world to yet another gander at her no-no. Why does the plummeting pop star keep doing it? The latest issue of In Touch Weekly delivers the scoop on Brit’s distaste for drawers.

“The underwear thing is ridiculous — and I’ve told her,” Britney’s pal, jewelry designer Tuesday Knight, told In Touch. “I’ve said, ‘You cannot walk into a store wearing just a shirt with your underwear off.’ I’ve told her that no one will take her seriously when she does this.”

“I love Britney — adore her — but she brings a lot of it on herself” Tuesday said, and went on to explain that parading around panty-free started as prank between LiLo, Paris and Brit. “I’ve heard (them) talk about how they shock Hollywood just for the fun of it. They were discussing how they could play a little joke on all of us.”


It’s not all fun and games, though. Tuesday’s alarmed that her famous friend's revealing habit is sabotaging her image as a mom. “Britney has always been a good mother,” she insisted. “I want people to know that she’s the better parent — not Kevin! (Britney) asked me, ‘Doesn’t anybody get to see this part of me?’ The answer is, no, they don’t. People just read about her not wearing underwear.” Newsflash, Tues. They see it, too.

Is Owen Wilson off the wagon?
Now that embattled Owen Wilson is back in the public eye, it seems he’s exchanged his sober buddy for that alleged harbinger of human downfall, Steve Coogan. Won’t somebody please listen to Courtney Love?! Steve, you may recall, is the British actor and comedian whom ex-gal Courtney blamed for Owen’s emotional and/or substance abuse issues.

Steve and his legal representatives denied his alleged bad influence, and now Life & Style reports the “Night in the Museum” co-stars are hanging together once again, despite Courtney’s warnings. But Steve isn’t the only hard-partying pal Owen’s out drinking with, according to several L&S spies. The magazine reports that Owen “apparently suffered a major setback in his recovery from an August suicide attempt” when earlier this month, he allegedly drank heavily at the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica.

This is the poop: Owen and crew partied privately in the hotel’s library room. “They had bottle service and were drinking vodka,” one witness claimed. What’s more, when Owen first arrived at the bar, “he looked like he’d already been drinking,” hotel guest Jamie Brandt told Life & Style. “He was stumbling when he came in and literally falling down when he left.”

Despite these accounts, one Owen insider said it’s not the drinking that’s the problem. The Wilson family views Owen’s obstacles “as a mental health problem as opposed to a substance-abuse issue,” the family friend said. “So Owen’s goal wasn’t to sober up, it was to feel better about himself.” And contrary to witness reports re: Owen’s Viceroy partying, the actor’s representatives insist he wasn’t drunk.



Oprah says thyroid problem caused weight gain

Winfrey tells O magazine condition slowed down her metabolism, energy






NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey is going public about the thyroid condition that slowed down her metabolism and caused her to gain 20 pounds.

Winfrey, 53, was feeling incredibly sluggish by the time her talk show wrapped up its season in May. She eventually discovered the problem: an out-of-balance thyroid.

“My body was turning on me,” she says in the October issue of O, the Oprah magazine. “First hyperthyroidism, which sped up my metabolism and left me unable to sleep for days. (Most people lose weight. I didn’t.)”









“Then hypothyroidism, which slowed down my metabolism and made me want to sleep all the time. (Most people gain weight. I did! Twenty pounds!)”

Hyperthyroidism can also cause a fast heartbeat, among other symptoms; hypothyroidism, the opposite condition, can result in fatigue and weakness.

Winfrey, exhausted and stressed, took a month-long break in Hawaii to regain her health.

Winfrey also discussed her thyroid condition on Tuesday’s “Oprah” show, saying she “wanted so many other women who are going through the same thing to check on yourself and recognize that ... it’s an issue we all share in common.”

She devoted the show to women’s health issues and featured Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of “The Wisdom of Menopause.”


Consumer Reports sees Toyota reliability slip

Two of top automaker’s models earn below-average rankings in a study



DETROIT - Consumer Reports said on Tuesday that it was reversing a practice of recommending all new Toyota cars and trucks after two models earned below-average rankings in a closely watched reliability study.

The step marked the latest setback for Toyota Motor Corp. after a period of fast growth in the United States that has made it the No. 2 player in the world’s largest auto market.

In recent years, Japanese auto brands, led by Toyota, have dominated Consumer Reports’ influential study of the most reliable new vehicles.





Besides its influence with car shoppers, the annual study is used by major automakers as a proxy for their performance in improving and maintaining vehicle quality.

Although Toyota ranked third in reliability behind only Honda Motor Co and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd’s Subaru, Consumer Reports also found two Toyota models had “below average” predicted reliability.

Those two models were the V-6 version of Toyota’s flagship Camry sedan and the four-wheel-drive, V-8 version of its new Tundra pickup truck.

“Consumer Reports will no longer recommend any new or redesigned Toyota-built models without reliability data on a specific design,” the publication said in a statement. ”Previously, new and redesigned models were recommended because of the automaker’s excellent track record.”

The same study found gains for Ford Motor Co., which landed three models on the magazine’s “most reliable” list.

Consumer Reports ranked the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and the automaker’s market-leading F-150 pickup truck with a V-6 engine as among the most-reliable new vehicles on the market.

“Ford continues to improve,” David Champion, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports, said in a statement. “We believe Toyota is aware of its issues and trying to fix problems quickly.”


brief reporters in Detroit on the results of the annual survey on Tuesday.

Representatives for Toyota and Ford were not immediately available for comment.

In the first nine months of this year, Toyota had a 16.2 percent share of the U.S. market for new cars and light trucks, behind only General Motors Corp at 23.8 percent.

But the Japanese automaker’s fast growth since 2000, when it had less than 10 percent of the U.S. market, has left it facing new pressure and scrutiny.

Two high-ranking executives have defected from Toyota’s U.S. subsidiary in recent months to join U.S. automakers. The most recent of those was Jim Farley, who left Toyota’s luxury Lexus division, to take over as top marketing executive at Ford.

In September, Toyota’s North American chief, Jim Press, left the automaker after a 37-year career to become vice chairman at newly private Chrysler LLC.

Toyota, which has won credit with consumers for its reputation for quality and fuel-efficiency, has also come under fire from environmental groups.

Although Toyota dominates the market for fuel-efficient hybrids with its Prius, it has joined Detroit-based automakers in lobbying against stringent increases in fleetwide fuel economy.

Consumer Reports is published by the nonprofit Consumers Union. The magazine accepts no paid advertising.

The publication’s “predicted reliability” study for new model vehicles is based on an average of consumer ratings of the same model in the recent years.

The magazine surveys readers and visitors to its Web site about their experience with the cars and trucks they own.

Top 10 most fuel-efficient luxury SUVs

New breed that's bursting onto car scene, 'crossover' tops the 2008 list





All of the most fuel-efficient sport utility vehicles forsake their truck roots for car-like qualities that not only improve fuel economy, but make for a better ride on the road. A lot of people, from automotive analysts to manufacturers to marketers, are pretty excited about the growth prospects of this new breed of SUV called the “crossover.”

Sales of these vehicles are climbing while traditional SUV sales are declining. One reason often cited in these times of lofty gas prices is crossovers’ better fuel economy. But there are other factors at play.

“This year, the traditional SUV market will fall below 2 million units sold in the U.S. for the first time since 1995,” says George Pipas, U.S. sales analysis manager at Ford, the company that perhaps reaped the most rewards from the 1990s SUV craze with its then best-selling Ford Explorer and Lincoln Navigator. “At the same time, the crossover utility market this year will be 2.7 to 2.8 million,” a fivefold increase since 2000.


Back then, the term “crossover” didn’t even exist, unless you were talking about a basketball move; these in-between vehicles were often dubbed “sport-cutes” or “cute-utes” by industry insiders. Now they can be called crossover utility vehicles, or CUVs. Regardless of the name, it’s an incredible growth rate considering the slight decline in overall SUV sales since then. “Crossover utility vehicles have been, and, in our view, will continue to be the fastest growing category in the U.S. industry,” Pipas says.

What are crossovers?
Named for the way they blend the characteristics of cars, minivans and SUVs, crossovers are often touted for combining the high seating position and utility of an SUV with the better on-road handling and less stigmatized image of a car.

There’s another meaningful, if less visible, difference: Like cars, crossovers are built on unibody platforms, which are typically smaller and lighter than traditional SUV body-on-frame designs that are based on pickup trucks.

Both crossovers and SUVs usually offer four-wheel drive (4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD) systems; 4WD is intended more for serious off-road use, while AWD implies a system designed more for foul-weather security and traction on paved roads.

In exchange for their better ride and on-road handling, crossovers lose some of the ruggedness of traditional SUVs, such as the ability to tow or haul extremely heavy loads and, in some cases, the ability to tackle rough terrain. Considering that most SUV buyers rarely, if ever, go off road, the compromises crossovers create aren’t an issue for many drivers.

Are crossovers really better?
Traditional SUVs might be brawnier, but crossovers tend to get better gas mileage. All of the vehicles on our list of Top 10 most fuel-efficient luxury SUVs are crossovers. See the full list in the slideshow.

To illustrate the fuel economy differences in a fair comparison, we looked at crossovers and traditional SUVs of similar size, weight and specifications. According to the latest EPA fuel-economy data, two crossovers — the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano — have a 3-mile-per-gallon advantage in combined city/highway driving over comparably sized and equipped traditional SUVs — Ford Explorer and Nissan Pathfinder.

Here’s how the Edge stacks up against the Explorer: The base Ford Edge with a V6 engine and front-wheel drive gets 19 mpg overall, while the rear-wheel-drive Explorer with a V6 engine achieves 16 mpg, according to the EPA. Both figures drop by 1 mpg with optional four-wheel drive.


Likewise, the Murano bests the Pathfinder: The front-wheel-drive Nissan Murano with its V6 engine returns an estimated 20 mpg, while a similarly equipped Pathfinder gets 17 mpg. Fuel economy for both Nissans also drops by 1 mpg with the addition of four-wheel drive.

Much of the Ford Edge’s and Nissan Murano’s (the two crossovers) advantage in fuel economy lies in their smaller V6 engines and more efficient transmissions.

“It is clear that crossovers achieve better mileage, and often mileage that is within 2 to 3 miles per gallon of the figures achieved by the sedans that they are based on, particularly if they are two-wheel drive versions,” says NADA’s Taylor.

But keep in mind that the EPA’s fuel-economy estimates are produced in a lab. Real-world numbers are a function not only of the vehicles, but of their drivers — as well as the terrain.

Jaxtr links your phone


What is jaxtr?
Jaxtr links your phone to the web, so you can hear from callers worldwide while keeping your existing phone number private.

Can I control who calls me?
Yes. Jaxtr’s PrivacyShield™ automatically routes calls to voicemail. You can then easily control which friends you want to ring through to your phone.

Do I need a headset?
No, it works with any phone you already use, including ordinary landline phones. No download required.

How much does it cost?
Jaxtr is free. In the future, we will offer premium services for jaxtr power users, but our basic service will remain free.

Can jaxtr save me money?
With jaxtr, you bypass expensive international mobile fees. Now, for the first time, you can call friends and family overseas at the same cost and with the same convenience as calling a friend down the street.
just try nothing loose

Monday, October 22, 2007

“The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf

Modern women are free and independent and the objectification of women is no modern phenomenon. Women were always against the image of decorative objects as they are allocated. There is a famous book “The Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf. In this book she explains why women are treated this way. She says that women’s obligation to a diet and doing make up is something that society prescribed to her. This society assigns significance to women in the vertical hierarchy according to culturally set physical model. Men always think that women are so interested in their appearance, that they have no time for other problems. As long as women are conscious about their bodies and their shortages, their self-esteem is weak and they have no desire to think over politics or any other global problems.
In the media there are a lot of works, which try to demoralize women’s identity. They try to dissect, decorate and attract attention only to the body of women. Many people still stick to the point that women can only be regarded as object of beauty and sexuality. By dividing the whole person into parts such as hands, legs and breast in advertisements, women not only see themselves as sexual objects, but they are coerced into the degrading recognition with their interiorized bodies. This is some type of link between the beauty and clearly sexuality, invading the mainstream to weaken women’s new and defenseless sense of sense worth. This linkage means that without idealized body type, women are not supposed to be sexy and desirable. As a result, one can say that in any case women are always connected with their sexuality and beauty and the movement of feminism gave them certain rights but it did not deliver them from their main physical features and sexuality.


Welcome to the Nokia 7373 phone support pages, where you can find assistance and information to help you make the most of your Nokia 7373 phone.

For an overview of product details and technical specifications, please go to the Nokia 7373 product pages.

If you have trouble opening a file, right-click and open in a new window or disable your pop-up blockers.



Innovative swivel design, vibrant QVGA display, integrated 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and video recorder, stereo player, convenient push-to-talk and Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging functions

Painting


Painting, meant literally, is the practice of applying color to a surface (support) such as paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer or concrete. However, when used in an artistic sense, the term "painting" means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and other aesthetic considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner.

Painting is used as a mode of representing, documenting and expressing all the varied intents and subjects that are as numerous as there are practitioners of the craft. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, be loaded with narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. A large portion of the history of painting is dominated by spiritual motifs and ideas; sites of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to biblical scenes rendered on the interior walls and ceiling of The Sistine Chapel to depictions of the human body itself as a spiritual subject.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Spending '30 Days of Night' With Josh Hartnett


A starring role in the WWII melodrama “Pearl Harbor” put Josh Hartnett at the forefront of the emerging twenty-something actors of the time, though it was not the most indicative work of an actor who preferred the murky waters of dark indie drama. His breakout role in the horror hit “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998) jettisoned him to teen heartthrob status, but Hartnett was able to break from the post-adolescent pigeonholing that might have resulted from “The Virgin Suicides” (1999) and the multiple appearances on People magazine’s “Hottest” lists....


Full Biography

A starring role in the WWII melodrama “Pearl Harbor” put Josh Hartnett at the forefront of the emerging twenty-something actors of the time, though it was not the most indicative work of an actor who preferred the murky waters of dark indie drama. His breakout role in the horror hit “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998) jettisoned him to teen heartthrob status, but Hartnett was able to break from the post-adolescent pigeonholing that might have resulted from “The Virgin Suicides” (1999) and the multiple appearances on People magazine’s “Hottest” lists. He went on to build a solid reputation with his strong, understated Midwestern presence in films like “Lucky Number Slevin” (2006) and “The Black Dahlia” (2006).
Josh Hartnett was born on July 21, 1978, and raised in St. Paul, MN. He played soccer and football in high school; not thinking much about acting until he was sidelined with a knee injury. He looked to the school’s drama program for an alternative extracurricular activity and found himself cast in “Huck Finn.” Hartnett had always enjoyed watching classic films like “On the Waterfront” (1954) with his father, but now he became interested in acting on a whole new level by getting involved with regional theater productions with the Steppingstone Theater and the Youth Performance Company in Minneapolis. He even worked at a video store. It was enough of a dedicated background to woo the drama department at the State University of New York in Purchase, where Hartnett began as a student in 1996. In an interview, Hartnett claimed that irreconcilable differences with the school’s administration were to blame for his departure after only one year. The move did not seem to hinder the upward trajectory that the boyishly handsome, quietly imposing figure was clearly heading on.

From the very start, Hartnett seemed less concerned with fame and the Hollywood lifestyle than with following his interest in a challenging variety of material. And the offers came quickly. Months after leaving school he was cast as the troubled son of a crime stopper in a remake of the British series "Cracker" (ABC, 1997-99). But he first turned a lot of heads with his big screen debut in "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998), playing the son of Jamie Lee Curtis' tormented Laurie Strode. The newcomer was on a roll, next being asked to join the ensemble cast of Robert Rodriguez and Kevin Williamson’s sci-fi teen thriller "The Faculty" (1998). Hartnett played the roguish cool kid and resident smart aleck of a group of high school students warding off an alien. The popular film and its promotional tie-in campaign with Tommy Hilfiger – including print ads featuring Hartnett – launched the actor reluctantly into teen heartthrob status. An engaging turn as teenage lothario Trip Fontaine in Sofia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides" (1999) introduced Hartnett’s surprisingly sturdy handle on art house fare, which he exercised in several independent shorts before snagging the lead in the 2001 blockbuster “Pearl Harbor.” Everything was about to change.

Hartnett still was not sure if he was mentally prepared for the new level of fame his co-lead role was likely to bring when he signed on to play a US Air Force pilot caught in a love triangle in Michael Bays’ sweeping period piece. At press time, "Pearl Harbor" was likened to Jim Cameron’s "Titanic" (1997) in sheer size, scope and historical context, but even if it did not mirror its predecessor's monumental success, it did put Hartnett at the top of the hunk heap. In fact, he gave his co-star, well-established heartthrob Ben Affleck a run for his money onscreen.

In contrast to the gauzy, romantic edges of Bay’s film, Hartnett next appeared in “Black Hawk Down” (2001), Ridley Scott’s harrowing look at the botched United States humanitarian mission to Somalia. The film was well-received by critics and Hartnett proved he could hold his own alongside a seasoned ensemble cast including Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore and Sam Shepard. The respected film might have left Hartnett wishing that “40 Days and 40 Nights” (2002) – the romantic comedy about a guy who gives up sex for lent that was shot in 1999 – but not released as a follow up. Fortunately, the unfortunate timing did little to take away from Hartnett’s growing dramatic reputation – with his loyal ‘tween fans probably preferring this film – allowing him to continue his focus on more consistently darker onscreen themes.

Hartnett spent a year or so out of the spotlight before pairing with Harrison Ford in the buddy cop flop "Hollywood Homicide” (2003). After struggling to carry the erotic thriller "Wicker Park" (2004), Rodriguez and Miller recruited Hartnett again for a brief but memorable turn as a suave, chameleon-like assassin in "Sin City" (2005). All those years spent watching old movies with his dad came in handy for Hartnett’s ensuing run of film noirs. The mistaken identity thriller “Lucky Number Slevin” (2006) was praised by critics and earned a Best Film honor at the Milan Film Festival. It also primed Hartnett for a lead in Brian De Palma’s “The Black Dahlia” (2006), a richly-textured noir about two hard-edged cops investigating the brutal murder of would-be actress. The highly anticipated remake made a strong debut at the 2006 Venice International Film Festival but ultimately did not win over critics or audiences stateside.

Hartnett’s starring role as a journalist who unwittingly discovers a presumed dead former boxing champ in “Resurrecting the Champ” (2007) barely made a blip on the radar in the summer of big-budget blockbusters, but there was plenty of hype for his fall release – “30 Days of Night” (2007) — a stylized thriller about a flock of vampires descending upon an Alaskan town during the one dark month of winter.










Absolute, bleak and relentless, the bitterly cold night descends without permission upon the town of Barrow, Alaska, ravaging all signs of hope in its path--much like the blood-sucking vampires who stop by, without invitation, for a frosty, month-long carnage feast. Only one thing can stop them: the light. But little does Sheriff Eben know that his gun is about as helpless as is his plan to outsmart the cunning eating machines.

Thoughtfully laconic, Josh Hartnett’s emboldened Sheriff Eben is a finely cast pluck. He's who horror-thirsty audiences want to see in the role of a flustered, soft-on-the-eye good guy, with a few bad solutions for a problem much larger than he can surmount: the living dead! Harnett’s wholesome, toned-down hipster flavor strikes the right balance of vulnerability and strength to play a fragmented hero, such that you’re constantly wincing and cheering and cheering and wincing--just what you’re supposed to do while watching the blood get slurped out of desperado screaming citizens, wishing they had gone south for the season.


Melissa George and Josh Hartnett star in 30 Days of Night
Hollywood.com caught up with Hartnett to talk about his romantic, paternal Sheriff Eben, who had to battle super-strength forces and viciously ghoulish encounters in order to save his town--and fellow, tough mamita, sheriff-wife (Melissa George)--from being an appetizing platter of vampire frozen food!

HW: Are you a fan of the genre?
Josh Hartnett: Yeah, yeah! I grew up watching vampire movies and I don’t think there’s been a really interesting look at the vampire genre in a long time. The biggest reason I wanted to do the film was mostly because of David Slade’s vision. He came up to where I’m from, Minnesota, and laid out what he wanted the movie to be like and it seemed completely different from anything I’ve ever heard of before, kind of visceral and dark but also artistic.

HW: Rumor has it there was an issue with you wanting to have a beard for the whole shoot...
JH: They wanted me clean-shaven at the beginning of the film and it would’ve been a lot easier if I could have grown as much as I can grow, and then add pieces as we went along…I mean, it is Alaska, it is cold there--and I thought the guy should have a beard. There were just people who didn’t believe it was a good idea for me to start the movie with a beard. [Wryly smiles] I actually sent [the producers] a letter including a list of very successful people who had beards; and I tried to explain how much I wanted it, by who had made how much and where I would fit in that progression. [Laughs] It didn’t work!


Danny Huston stars in 30 Days of Night
HW: How is it to be on a production where you’re shooting nights, non-stop?
JH: It depends how well organized it is, really. This film was really well-organized, so we shot for nights--for what a 100 weeks? And then days for the rest so we didn’t have a bunch of going back and forth. Yeah, of course, it messes with, you but it’s a movie about vampires, so you kinda get a sense of what it’d be like [to be one]. It’s method acting!

HW: This was based on a novel?
JH: I read the novel before, but when I read the script David Slade also gave me the graphic novel as well. So, I re-read it and looked at the script and saw what I thought he wanted to do with it. I did one other graphic novel adaptation, Sin City, so I kind of understood that this was something that was supposed to be half-fantasy and half-reality.

HW: The bitter climate, the oppressive dark, reuniting with your wife--so many issues happening at once!
JH: It’s fun to have multi-layers of turmoil. The idea of being trapped in this horrible situation--you kind of want to feel like everybody is alone. If everybody has someone to latch onto, there’s even conflict between young Jake and myself, and the conflict enriches the whole feeling of isolation and impending doom. I think it was a good choice, honestly.


Melissa George, Rachel Maitland-Smith star in 30 Days of Night
HW: What was it like working with Melissa George, who plays your estranged wife?
JH: I like Melissa a lot. We had a great time. [Matter-of-factly] We showed up, and we started rehearsing. We spent a couple of weeks before shooting getting to know each other. Melissa is a really sweet, really intelligent, ambitious, cool actress. I think she’ll go really far. And, she’s obviously incredibly beautiful!

HW: In real-life, what’s your biggest fear?
JH: Sharks. That’s a fact. I’m not lying.

HW: Can you talk about your rehearsal process, and what you appreciated most about it?
JH: Absolutely, what I really appreciated about David was that we did all this back story. We worked on all of these scenes that may not have made it into the film--that we knew, at the time, that they probably wouldn’t make it into the film. Because we had extra time to shoot the film, we wanted to make sure there was a real life there, and that these guys [Barrow's terrified citizens] actually "lived" together. I think that it worked. I think there are relationships that aren’t really highlighted in the film that exist below the surface [in a] kind of way. The subtlety is the key to going back and watching a film again.

HW: What would you consider the pivotal turning point for your character, Sheriff Eben?
JH: [*Spoiler alert!] I think the pinnacle point in the movie was when he had to cut off Carter’s head. Ah-ha. Hmm. Never thought I’d be saying that sentence. I think up until that point, he’s surviving and trying to find a solution to all this--and after that, it’s no holds barred. It’s not about finding a solution and it’s pure survival.


Ben Foster stars in 30 Days of Night
HW: Ben Foster clearly dug his heels into this role. Can you talk about his vibe on the set?
JW: Ben is a very capable and committed actor. He would do things to himself that nobody should do to themselves in order to feel pain, anguish and anger. He’s a very interesting actor.

HW: Was it difficult to film the scenes out of sequence order, given the physical range your character has to stretch to protect the town?
JH: Yeah, it’s always difficult to make all the pieces match up but that’s the puzzle; that is being an actor in film!

HW: On thinking about Alaska, do you feel that climate impacts a community, having grown up in Minnesota’s coldness?
Absolutely. There’s an enormous amount of creative people who come out of my home town because we literally spend six months of the year sitting inside having nothing to do but imagine. A lot of really great musicians come out of Minnesota, too, because there’s just so much time to practice. We had a couple of true geniuses like Bob Dylan and Prince and then there’s a bunch of other people who are quite good as well. I come from an artistic family and I think the climate ultimately affects everything. If you have nothing but beaches around you you’re probably going to surf. You’re probably going to have a great tan. It’s going to effect the way you look and the way you act. Period.

Brad Pitt


Despite his pretty boy looks and movie star charisma, actor Brad Pitt spent most of his career trying to avoid bloated box office leads, in favor of riskier, lower profile roles. After achieving heartthrob status with revealing performances showing off his “six-pack abs” in “Thelma and Louise” (1991) and “Legends of the Fall” (1994), Pitt actively subverted his hunky blond image by taking on ugly and often crazed characters – most notably in “12 Monkeys” (1995), “Fight Club” (1999) and “Snatch” (2001)....





Full Biography



Despite his pretty boy looks and movie star charisma, actor Brad Pitt spent most of his career trying to avoid bloated box office leads, in favor of riskier, lower profile roles. After achieving heartthrob status with revealing performances showing off his “six-pack abs” in “Thelma and Louise” (1991) and “Legends of the Fall” (1994), Pitt actively subverted his hunky blond image by taking on ugly and often crazed characters – most notably in “12 Monkeys” (1995), “Fight Club” (1999) and “Snatch” (2001). While en route to becoming one of the top box office draws of his generation, Pitt generated a substantial amount of tabloid press – particularly for his headline-grabbing romantic entanglements, which provided ample fodder for supermarket stands across the country. His high profile marriage to Jennifer Aniston – once tagged as being the perfect storybook Hollywood romance between the boy and girl next door – crashed and burned in the flames of his alleged affair with proverbial bad girl, Angelina Jolie. The result, however, was a new image of Pitt as multi-racial father and globetrotting activist – thanks to Jolie’s serial adoption of impoverished orphans from Africa and Southeast Asia – a transformation that was underscored by a strong and mature performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s meditative “Babel” (2006), for which the actor earned his second Golden Globe nomination.
Born on Dec. 18, 1963 in Shawnee, OK, Pitt was raised in a devout Baptist home headed by William, a trucking company manager, and Jane, a high school counselor. The family moved to Missouri, where Pitt attended high school in Kickapoo. After graduating, he went to the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism and belonged to the Sigma Chi fraternity. But two weeks prior to earning his degree, Pitt suddenly decided to pile into his Datsun with $300 in his pocket and move to Los Angeles, CA to become an actor. Pitt started out in television guest spots, including a recurring role on the CBS primetime soap "Dallas" in 1987 that tended to capitalize on his wiry good looks. He co-starred in "Glory Days" (Fox, 1990), a short-lived drama about post-high school angst. Pitt entered features via the well-traveled low road, appearing in supporting roles in such standard teen fodder as slasher flicks, sex comedies and family-oriented sports dramas.

In that rarest of film moments, Pitt gained instant stardom as the hitchhiking hunk – part charmer, part thief – who seduces Geena Davis while brandishing a hairdryer and sporting a cowboy hat in the female buddy movie, "Thelma & Louise" (1991). The following year, he achieved leading man status while sporting a formidable pompadour as the fictitious, aspiring teen idol "Johnny Suede;” he maintained the hairstyle as a soft-hearted yet hard-boiled vet-turned-cartoon cop in "Cool World” – Ralph Bakshi's uneven blend of live-action and animation. Pitt gained some critical esteem playing the troubled younger brother who casts a mean fishing line in Robert Redford's "A River Runs Through It" (1992), but fared less well as a bearded psycho killer in "Kalifornia" (1993). He provided a delightful character turn as the stoner roommate of a struggling actor (Michael Rapaport) who connects his Detroit buddy (Christian Slater) with a Hollywood producer (Saul Rubinek) for a coke deal gone bad in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted "True Romance" (1993). Despite his relative minor degree of celebrity at that time, there was already considerable interest in Pitt’s romantic involvements. Around the release of “True Romance,” he called off a reported engagement to three-year girlfriend, actress Juliette Lewis.

Pitt subsequently played his first high profile lead in a Hollywood blockbuster as Louis, the lachrymose narrator of "Interview with the Vampire" (1994). His depressed bloodsucker seemed all the more anemic when paired with a lively Tom Cruise. Pitt's star qualities were better displayed as the wild, middle brother of a colorful Western clan in "Legends of the Fall.” In a change of pace from glamour roles – and to subtly subvert his being dubbed the “Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine – the actor played a scruffy, arrogant policeman tracking a serial killer with Morgan Freeman in "Seven" (1995), before earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination as a twitching mental patient/animal rights activist in Terry Gilliam’s manic futuristic dystopia, "12 Monkeys" (1995).

After a turn as a prosecutor in Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" (1996), Pitt adopted a passing Belfast accent as an IRA gunman seeking refuge in the home of a New York City cop (Harrison Ford) in "The Devil's Own" (1997). What had been a long a troubled shoot resulted in a muddled and uneven drama. Pitt caused some controversy with a Newsweek interview, in which he made disparaging remarks about the film’s script. With "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997), he adopted an Austrian accent to play an egotistical man who undergoes a spiritual conversion when he is befriended by the youthful Dalai Lama. That film was also the subject of debate when it was revealed that Heinrich Harrer (Pitt) had been a Nazi Party member – the resulting negative publicity and mixed reviews hurting the film's box office. Pitt followed up by reuniting with his "Legends of the Falls" co-star Anthony Hopkins in the languid "Meet Joe Black" (1998) – a loose remake of "Death Takes a Holiday" (1934) – with the younger actor playing the Grim Reaper in human form.

Further downplaying his attractive facade, Pitt was cast as Tyler Durden, the straight-shooting but charismatic mastermind behind "Fight Club" (1999), an underground society of disaffected young men who engage in brutal fisticuffs as a means of reclaiming their masculinity. He continued in a similar vein with a turn as an Irish gypsy with a flair for bare knuckles boxing in "Snatch" (2000). In both of these films, Pitt's muscular physique was on display, but in "Fight Club,” he favored a scruffy look; while in "Snatch,” he was covered in tattoos. Off-screen, however, Pitt's celebrity status as a hunky Hollywood icon soared into the stratosphere, after his romantic relationship with the equally beautiful and popular “Friends” (NBC, 1994-2004) TV star Jennifer Aniston culminated in 2001 with a storybook wedding – complete with fireworks – in Malibu, CA. The golden couple's every move quickly became must-have fodder for entertainment-oriented media outlets everywhere.

In "The Mexican" (2001), he offered a relaxed, loose turn as a somewhat dim, low-level gangster sent south – over the objections of his long-time girlfriend, played by Julia Roberts – to retrieve the title object, an antique pistol that supposedly carried a curse. He remained busy portraying the protégé of a retiring CIA operative (Robert Redford) in "Spy Game” (2001), before joining George Clooney and an equally beautiful ensemble cast for Steven Soderbergh’s wildly fun remake of "Ocean's Eleven" (2001). That year, Pitt also made two notable TV guest appearances – first, on his wife's sitcom, "Friends," playing a now-thin high school pal of Monica's (Courteney Cox-Arquette) who has long harbored an animosity toward Rachel (Aniston); secondly, in a much discussed slot on MTV's stunt-prank series – and a personal Pitt favorite – "Jackass," where the actor was violently "kidnapped" from L.A.'s Pink's hot dog stand, as several dumbfounded witnesses observed. In 2002, Pitt made brief cameo appearances in Soderbergh's experimental film "Full Frontal" (as himself) and Clooney's directorial debut, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.” In 2003, he made the jump to animated features, voicing the title character in the quickly forgotten "Sinbad."

After years of downplaying his handsome, heroic looks by appearing in scruffy beards and long hair, Pitt finally took a role that cast him as every bit the Golden Boy, playing legendary Greek hero Achilles in director Wolfgang Petersen's epic, "Troy" (2004) – a role that inspired excitement among his male and female fans alike. The actor also agreed to rejoin Clooney, Soderbergh, et al, for the sequel romp "Ocean's Twelve" (2004), this time playing a Rusty with his own love interest (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Unfortunately, the male camaraderie was wearing thing and the film lacked much of the charm of the first outing.

In early 2005, the film work became secondary, when Pitt found himself at the center of an intense media whirlwind when he announced he was splitting from Aniston. One of the speculated reasons for the divorce of the dream couple centered on rumors of an on-set relationship with Angelina Jolie during his next film, the Doug Liman-helmed action-fest "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (2005). Long hours spent choreographing fight scenes and special effects could have done the trick, when onscreen, the actors played a bored married couple surprised to learn that they are each secretly assassins and are ultimately hired to kill each other. Though both actors initially refuted rumors of their affair – and after frequently being photographed together in their private lives, took a less coyer stance later on, with Pitt petitioning to adopt Aniston’s two children – the intense media and public interest in their possible relationship propelled the film to huge box office receipts, thanks in large part to their palpable onscreen chemistry. Their "are they or aren't they?" coupling captivated star watchers and was the most written-about celebrity story of 2005 – prompting the coining of the term "Brangelina." As their relationship gradually emerged in the public eye, Pitt accompanied Jolie on her missions of mercy to third world nations to adopt children. The couple ultimately revealed that they were expecting their own biological child together – daughter, Shiloh Nouvel – while articles trumpeting Aniston’s reportedly ongoing anguish over the loss of Pitt continued to propel the spectacle forward. In fact, the public’s intense interest in the split-turned-love affair heard round the world eventually came down to camps – with Team Aniston and Team Jolie T-shirts being sold off the shelves that summer.

After a noted absence from the big screen – but not the tabloid pages, which seemed to concoct a new and ridiculous story about Brangelina every week – Pitt returned with a strong and rather mature performance in “Babel” (2006), a dense and heartbreaking look at confusion, fear and the depths of love. Set on different continents – Asia, Africa and North America – “Babel” told three separate stories brought together by a single random act of violence. Pitt played an American tourist traveling to Morocco, when a stray bullet from a rifle crashes through a bus window and seriously wounds his wife (Cate Blachett), touching off a series of events – including the couple’s Mexican housekeeper (Adriana Barraza) trying to cross the border, a neglected Japanese girl (Rinko Kikuchi) scouring Japan for love in all the wrong places, and two Moroccan boys (Said Tarchani and Boubker Ait El Caid) dealing with their responsibility for the shooting. Meanwhile, Papa Pitt – by now, the father of three adopted children and one biological w/ Jolie – reunited with Soderbergh, Clooney, Damon and the rest one more time for “Oceans 13” (2007), the third installment to the hipster caper series that saw the gang exacting revenge on a ruthless Las Vegas casino owner (Al Pacino) after becoming the victims of a double-cross. Hijinks and hilarity ensue.


Profession(s):


Actor, chauffeur, delivery man Sometimes Credited As:
William Bradley Pitt Family
brother:Doug Pitt (owns computer company; born c. 1966)
daughter:Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (legally adopted in 2006; mother is Angelina Jolie)
daughter:Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt (born May 27, 2006 in Namibia; mother is Angelina Jolie)
father:William Pitt
mother:Jane Pitt
sister:Julie Pitt (born c. 1969; married with at least one child)
son:Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (adopted at three years old from a Vietnamese orphanage in 2007; Angelina Jolie adopted the boy as a single parent because Vietnam's adoption regulations don't allow unmarried couples to co-adopt; name was legally changed to Jolie-Pitt three months after his adoption)
son:Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (legally adopted in 2006; mother is Angelina Jolie)
wife:Jennifer Aniston (met in 1998; married July 29, 2000 in Malibu, California; announced separation on January 6, 2005, after more than fours years of marriage; Aniston filed for divorce March 2005; divorce finalized October 2005.)
Companion(s)

Angelina Jolie , Companion , ```..met while filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"; rumored to be romantically involved throughout filming, but this was denied by both parties; began being photographed together as a couple in spring 2005
Gwyneth Paltrow , Companion , ```..met on set of "Seven" (1994) where they played a married couple; became engaged in November 1996; separated in June 1997
Jill Schoelen , Companion , ```..met on set of "Cutting Class"; (1989); broke up in 1989
Jitka Pohlodek , Companion , ```..dated briefly in 1993
Juliette Lewis , Companion , ```..met on the set of the 1990 TV-movie "Too Young to Die?"; together for three years; broke up c. February 1993; reportedly were engaged
Katja von Garnier , Companion , ```..German; born c. 1966; dated in 1997
Robin Givens , Companion , ```..dated briefly in 1988 after working together on episodes of the TV sitcom "Head of the Class"



Education

Kickapoo High School Springfield, Missouri
University of Missouri at Columbia Columbia, Missouri journalism 1982

Awards


Venice Film Festival Best Actor "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford" 2007
MTV Movie Award Best Fight "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" 2006
People's Choice Favorite Leading Man 2005
MTV Movie Award Most Desirable Male 1996
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor "12 Monkeys" 1995
MTV Movie Award Best Male Performance "Interview with the Vampire" 1995
MTV Movie Award Most Desirable Male 1995


Milestones

2007 Reprised role along with the original cast for "Ocean's 13"
2007 Produced "A Mighty Heart," the film based on the book by Mariane Pearl, wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, and which starred his partner Angelina Jolie
2007 Portrayed outlaw Jesse James in "The Assassination Of Jesse James" by Coward Robert Ford"
2006 Co-starred with Cate Blanchett as a tragedy-stricken American couple in "Babel"; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2005 Starred opposite Angelina Jolie, as a bored married couple that is surprised to learn that they are assassins hired to kill each other in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
2004 Portrayed fated warrior Achilles in director Wolfgang Petersen's epic "Troy"
2004 Reunited with the original cast for "Ocean's Twelve" directed by Steven Soderbergh
2003 Voiced the title character in the animation feature "Sinbad"
2002 Cast as the lead in the sci-fi film "The Fountain" directed by Darren Aronofsky; film fell through
2001 Teamed with Robert Redford in "The Spy Game", playing the protege of a retiring CIA agent
2001 Had featured role in the ensemble of "Ocean's Eleven" which included Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Matt Damon
2001 Co-starred with Julia Roberts in "The Mexican", playing a mafia bagman sent to retrieve the titular object, an antique pistol that supposedly carried a curse
2000 Portrayed an itinerant Irish gypsy bare knuckles boxer in "Snatch", written and directed by Guy Ritchie
1999 Co-starred with Edward Norton in "Fight Club"
1998 Reteamed with Anthony Hopkins for "Meet Joe Black", a loose remake of "Death Takes a Holiday"
1997 Engendered controversy for making negative comments about "The Devil's Own", in which he played an Irish revolutionary opposite Harrison Ford as an NYC cop
1997 Successfully sued Playgirl magazine to stop distribution after it published unauthorized nude photographs of Pitt and then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow
1997 Film "Seven Years in Tibet" was subject of controversy when it was disclosed that the character Pitt played, Heinrich Harrer, had ties to the Nazis
1995 In January dubbed "The Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine
1995 Co-starred with Morgan Freeman as detectives tracking a serial killer in "Seven"
1995 Earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a mental patient in "12 Monkeys"
1994 First worked with Anthony Hopkins playing one of his sons in "Legends of the Fall"
1994 Co-starred with Tom Cruise in "Interview With the Vampire", playing Louis, the aristocratic Southerner made turned reluctant bloodsucker
1993 Played featured role in "True Romance"
1992 Had major role in "A River Runs Through It", directed by Robert Redford
1991 Cast in breakthrough role of drifter J D in "Thelma & Louise" after Billy Baldwin bowed out to star in "Backdraft"
1991 Debut as a feature lead, "Johnny Suede", about an aspiring pop singer
1990 Co-starred with Juliette Lewis in the fact-based NBC TV-movie "Too Young to Die?" , about a teenage girl put on trial for murder
1990 Appeared in the regular role of Walker Lovejoy, a high school graduate working as a reporter, in the short-lived Fox drama "Glory Days"
1989 Made second guest appearance on "Growing Pains", playing a different character
1989 Feature acting debut, "Cutting Class"
1988 TV-movie debut, "A Stoning in Fulham County"
1987 Did extra work in the film "Less Than Zero"
1987 Had small role on the NBC soap opera "Another World"
1987 Primetime TV debut in a guest role in an episode of the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains"
1987 Cast as the boyfriend of Jenna Wade Ewing's daughter in three episodes of the CBS primetime soap "Dallas"
1986 Moved to Los Angeles claiming to his parents that he was attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena
Grew up in Springfield, Missouri
Worked at odd jobs including as a chaffeur to Strip-O-Gram strippers, delivering refrigerators to college students and dressing up in a chicken costume outside the El Pollo Loco restaurant
Will star in David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (lensed 2006)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

How to Take Great Photos!

Well, this isn’t something that happens overnight, and people spend years of their life perfecting this skill, but I can give you all a few pointers.



First is exposure. You don’t want the pics to be too dark or too light, but rather just in the middle. Many cameras have auto exposure and do this for you, but it can't always be trusted; so sometimes you might have to take control in manual mode to adjust. Every camera is different, so I suggest you take the time to read your manual. Ugggh! I know you don’t want to, but i'ts really important.

Secondly, once you've perfected this, your creativity can really shine through. One thing that I find a lot of amateurs do is not look at their background close enough. A lot of times you can be shooting, but if you don’t have a clean background, it can look as if a telephone pole is growing out of your model's head. So always be aware!!

I, personally, like to shoot at the beach because it makes things clean - all you have is sand, water and sky in the background. But even at the beach, the time of day you shoot is really important in all your photographs always.

The sun can create harsh shadows that are not flattering to your model's face. Sometimes an overcast day can be really nice to shoot in, but a favorite for many photographers is something called the “magic hour," which is usually during sunrise or sunset. The sun is less harsh, and it turns a golden color that is just beautiful on your model's skin.

The only problem is this time of day only lasts about 45 minutes; so you have to design your shot and work quickly. A nice effect during sunset is having the sun behind your model, highlighting her back and using a flash on your camera to light the frontal. If you have the chance to put a gel on (which you can get at a camera store) you can put a warming gel, which is a yellowish red color, on the flash.

If you have to shoot during the middle of the day, which is the absolute worst, try and find some open shade that is completely covered. This way there will be no ugly shadows on your model. Just try and experiment! Usually your best pics will come by something you do by accident. So keep at it, and good luck!!!!

Comedy: the only thing that works


At present there is only one thing that works in Bollywood - comedy. Anything else falls flat (Chak De India is a glowing exception).

After a spate of shocking failures, the industry has just received the much-needed CPR in the form of Priyadarshan (master of comedy) and his story (actually a remake) of four boys, a girl and a drum.

Pretty thin lines for a story to move along but trust Priyan to get the execution right. The common man feels that there are enough laughs to pay for and the industry is only too happy to acknowledge.

But the trend is quite surprising, if not alarming, with even well-made serious subjects, thrillers and action movies failing to cut any sort of ice at the box office. Even the big production houses are bearing the brunt of this trend. Remember the reports on Adlabs reportedly phasing out of movie production after continuously nailing shockers at the box office? Whether the trend is for real or just a passing phase will become clear with two big budget serious movies releasing. The Rani Mukherjee-starrer Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag and Saawariya. If Bhool Bhulaiya (another trademark Priyadarshan product) wins this battle hands down too then the Bollywood bosses will have to seriously sit down and think. Are comedies the only way to make money?

Motorola Ming A1200 (Unlocked)


The good: The Motorola Ming A1200 is a functional smartphone with a stylish, compact design and satisfying call quality. The feature set offers a decent range of options, including stereo Bluetooth, world phone support, a business card reader, and a media player.

The bad: The Motorola Ming A1200's interface was occasionally sluggish and the call volume tended to be low. Its virtual keyboard is tiny and the microSD card slot is in an inconvenient location. Also, it lacks 3G and Wi-Fi, and the internal memory is quite low.

The bottom line: Though it lacks some key data features, the Motorola Ming A1200 is a unique and user-friendly smartphone that delivers on call quality.



We know we're a bit late reviewing the Motorola Ming A1200, but even we had a hard time getting it into our hands. Since it's not available with a North American carrier, and Motorola wasn't forthcoming with a review model, we had to turn to other sources. But now, almost a year since our comrades at CNET Asia gave the Ming a shakedown, we can do the same. And from what we can tell, the Linux-based handset was worth the wait. Though it ran a bit short in the feature department--there's no 3G or Wi-Fi--and its performance was occasionally sluggish, the Ming is nonetheless an intriguing smartphone. Call quality was satisfactory and the design, while certainly quirky (touch screen anyone?), is unquestionably distinctive. Without carrier rebates the Ming isn't a steal--it's $254 from Mobileplanet.com--but if you're looking for a unique smartphone that's not overwhelming, the Ming may be just the ticket. To find accessories for this phone, see our cell phone ringtones and accessories guide.

Design
Considering the avalanche of Razrs, Krzrs, and Rizrs that we've endured over the last three years, we can't tell you how enjoyable it is to review a Motorola handset that's so completely different (we also love that Moto didn't drop any vowels from the Ming's name, but that's another story). Make no mistake that the A1200 would stand out in any smartphone crowd, mostly because of its diminutive size. At 3.77 inches by 2.94 inches by 0.85 inch, it's much smaller than the Palm Centro or the RIM BlackBerry Pearl, and at 3.63 ounces it won't weigh you down. What's more, it fits comfortably in the hand and the rounded edges give it a streamlined appearance. We like the red color scheme on our review model, but it comes in a more minimalist silver hue as well.

Though the Ming is not the first smartphone to rely so heavily on a touch screen, it is one of only a few handsets we've seen to feature a protective cover. Though the cover is transparent, it has a slight gray color that gives it a sleek and futuristic look. In fact, this is the first plastic cover we've seen that so enhances a phone's overall aesthetics. It's eye-catching even in the open position, as the Ming almost looks like one of those communicator gadgets from Star Trek. It's worth noting, however, that the cover doesn't open at the touch of a button. You must open it the old-fashioned way (by using your finger), but the hinge has a sturdy construction. Some users complained of difficulty in opening the cover, but we didn't have a problem.

In another unique move, Moto stashed the earpiece/microphone in the middle of the cover. The silver disc may appear innocuous, but a closer look will show that it's connected to the phone by two thin wires. This means that, except for when you're using a headset, you must have the cover open to make or receive calls. But that wasn't a problem for us.

The Ming's touch screen measures 2.4 inches (320x240 pixels) and supports 262,000 colors. Visually rich with bright colors and graphics, the screen is a treat to use, but anyone with visual impairments should take the Ming for a test drive first. The menu font size is adjustable, but the virtual keyboard is pretty small. We had to squint when using the keyboard in the dark and at times we had trouble tapping the correct key. You can change the display's backlighting time, the wallpaper, and the color scheme, but not the brightness level.

Screen input on the A1200 is best handled through the included stylus that's stored in a slot on the back cover, though you can use your finger, as well. You can enter text via the virtual keyboard mentioned above or you can use the Ming's handwriting recognition software. The latter worked well for the most part; it recognized most of our entries accurately, and the onscreen letter suggestions and the predictive text were helpful. Also, we like that you're given two squares in which to write. You can use the handwriting recognition to enter Chinese characters--that's one feature we didn't test--and it supports Chinese-language menus, as well.

As mentioned earlier, the Ming uses a Linux-based user interface. On the home screen, you're greeted with the date, the time, and the usual battery and signal indicators. At the top of the display are four static icons that open the main menu, your contacts list, the messaging folder, and the numeric keypad for making calls. Your calendar events for that day are conveniently displayed in the middle of the screen, but you can turn that setting off if you want. Finally, at the bottom, are five shortcut icons that are user-customizable. The main menu interface is easy to understand, as well. Graphical icons represent the various functions or you can choose a standard list view.

Below the display are the only three buttons on the front of the phone: a Talk key, a select button, and the End/power control. In standby mode, you can use the select control and the Talk key to browse through your calendar events or to open one of the five menu shortcuts at the bottom of the display. Though the process isn't confusing, it is a bit tedious, so we preferred to use the stylus whenever possible. Also, like on all other cell phones, you can access your recent calls list with the Talk button. On the downside, we found it annoying that the A1200 doesn't give you one-touch access to the main menu through a button. Instead, you have to bust out the stylus and tap the main menu icon.

On the Ming's left spine are volume buttons and the traditional Motorola smart key. Besides changing the ringer profile, you also can use these controls to select icons on the main menu. There's also a headset jack on the left spine, but it's only 2.5mm, so you will need an adapter for 3.5mm headphones. On the right spine are a camera shutter and a button for activating the voice recorder (with a short tap) and the voice dialing (with a long tap). The camera lens is on the rear side of the Ming at the top. It comes with a self-portrait mirror and a Macro switch, but we were disappointed there's no flash. We also didn't like that the microSD card slot is stashed behind the battery.

Features
The Ming has a large, 1,000-contact phone book, but if that's not enough, the SIM card can store an additional 250 names. Each phone book entry has room for seven phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, two street addresses, a Web site address, a company name and title, assistant and manager names, a birthday and anniversary date, spouse and child names, and notes. You can organize callers into groups or pair them with a photo and one of 14 polyphonic ringtones (the A1200 also supports MP3 tones).

Organizer features include a calendar, a file manager, a calculator, a task list, a voice recorder, an alarm clock, a call recorder, and a world clock. We had a small gripe with the calendar; meetings are marked only at their start time rather than for the whole time they're supposed to last. Also, a few more PIM options, such as a stopwatch and a countdown timer, would be nice on a smartphone. Messaging options are plentiful, however. Besides the standard text and multimedia messaging, the Ming offers an integrated MSN Messenger and IMAP4 and POP3 e-mail with Exchange server compatibility. On-the-go types can also make use of the speaker-independent voice commands and the speakerphone. We'd like the ability to edit Office documents, however, as the Ming only allows you to view them.

The A1200 offers full Bluetooth for making calls, sending files wirelessly, and listening to music with stereo headphones. Other data features include a full HTML browser, PC syncing, USB mass storage and file transfer, and a dedicated application for using the Ming as a modem for a PC. You can use Bluetooth or a USB cable to make the modem connection.

The Ming's 2-megapixel camera offers fewer features than we'd expect on a high-res shooter. You can take pictures in just three resolutions (1,200x1,600; 768x1,024; and 480x640) while editing options are limited to a self-timer, brightness and white balance settings, a night mode, four color effects, and an 8x zoom. There's also the aforementioned Macro switch, but we'll say again that we were hoping for a camera flash. The camcorder records clips in three resolutions (352x288; 320x240; and 176x144) with sound and offers a similar set of editing options. On the upside, we like the camera interface. Almost all options are displayed directly on the display, which eliminates the need to sift through multiple menus to change settings. Also, you're given a handy meter detailing how much memory is remaining for your shots and clips. The Ming has 8MB of internal memory, which is quite small, but it can accommodate microSD cards up to 2GB.

Photo quality was decent, but we noticed a few flaws. Though most colors were bright, oranges and reds looked a bit unnatural and whites were somewhat fuzzy. Also, though object outlines were distinct, the flowers in our test shot were somewhat blurry. True shutterbugs can take advantage of the Ming's photo editor application, which allows you to alter your shots using basic tools. Videos seem fine as long as your subjects are close to the phone.

The A1200's camera also functions as a business card reader. When it's set in macro mode, you can use the shooter to snap photos of a business card and the text will then be translated directly into a phone book entry. It works best on horizontal cards with large, clearly labeled text. It didn't register every letter accurately, but even then it takes just a couple taps to correct the error. And in any case, it was much better than entering in all the information by hand. Cards with odd shapes or small type didn't fare so well, and it had a hard time reading cards that were crumpled or soiled.

For entertainment purposes, the Ming comes bundled with RealPlayer for watching videos and listening to music. The feature assortment--shuffle and repeat modes--isn't extensive, but the player interface is easy to understand and the music quality, though slightly tinny, was respectable. The Ming also comes with an FM radio, a talking dictionary, which we didn't test, and one game, Extreme Air Snowboarding. You can always download more games and applications.

Performance
We tested the quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Ming in San Francisco using T-Mobile service. Call quality was admirable in most situations; voices sounded natural, and interference and static were almost nonexistent. The volume could be a tad louder, however, as we had some trouble hearing when were in very noisy locations. What's more, the sound level is not displayed on the screen when you're adjusting the volume, which makes it difficult to tell when you've reached the upper limit. At times the sound also cut in and out for a few seconds, but it wasn't enough to be distracting.

On their end, callers said we sounded fine, though they could tell we were using a cell phone. They also had trouble hearing us when we were talking in a loud place, but on the whole our friends didn't report any major problems. The A1200's speakerphone delivered clear conversations on both ends as long as we were relatively close to the phone. The speaker is on the rear face of the phone, but was quite loud. The voice dialing function performed well, too, but we discovered it was easy to press the voice dialing button when handling the phone. Calls using the included wired headset or a Bluetooth headset were satisfactory, as well.

Kaplan University

The Right Philosophy, the Right Knowledge, the Right Online Degree Program

As an accredited University, our online degree programs feature a real-world philosophy and the belief that the right knowledge provides you with the freedom to grow, to achieve your goals, and to help you excel in your profession and in your life.


Kaplan University is a school of higher education like no other. It’s where you’ll find a world of knowledge, the right knowledge, that’s meaningful in your daily life. When you’re educated at Kaplan University, you don’t just learn to memorize by rote, you learn what you won’t learn anywhere else ... how to educate yourself ... how to make the world work for you.

To learn more about our online degree programs, please call us or click Chat Live to speak with one of our Advisors. Or choose an area of study from the menu above and learn why a Kaplan education is knowledge for a professional life.


Premier Education Provider
Since 1937, we’ve built a long and distinguished tradition as both an academic pioneer and career-maker. We’re part of Kaplan Higher Education, a premier education provider, with more than 70 campus-based schools in 22 states. Unique to our education family are some of the highest ranked programs in the world. Kaplan is the world leader in test preparation and has helped more than 3 million students prepare to take the tests necessary to achieve their education and career goals. The Kaplan Professional companies provide certification training developed for adult learners who are juggling the demands of home, family, and busy careers.

Through these programs Kaplan offers an array of educational tools from on-site classroom training and correspondence, to online and software distance education. In addition, Kaplan provides private tutoring and admissions consulting services. The benefit for you is an outstanding education from one of the world’s finest providers of higher education.


Dedicated Advisors
While you won’t find traditional classrooms, you will find a dedication to providing you with the personal attention and academic support you may need. One of the many things that make Kaplan University unique is that every student has access to dedicated Advisors who are available to you from the moment you start the application process through your graduation. Additionally, degree candidates work with Advisors and faculty mentors to explore and discuss professional opportunities. We understand that having support when you need it only increases your odds of being successful. When you’re educated at Kaplan University, your success is our goal too.


Educators With Real-World Knowledge
With Kaplan University online, we have no boundaries and aren’t limited geographically to who we recruit. This enables us to recruit leading educators and practicing business professionals from anywhere in the country. This ensures that you are taught by experts who have access to the most current knowledge and skills ... a world of knowledge that’s meaningful in your day-to-day life.


Innovative Learning Techniques
The flexibility and dynamic interaction of the Internet allows for many innovative learning opportunities. Some highlights you’ll experience include:

• Interactive Seminars: Students participate in interactive seminar sessions with their classmates and educators. The seminars help create a significant and enriching exchange within students' online learning experience.

• Online Quizzes: Many classes have a quiz at the end of each lesson, which provides you with instant feedback on what you’ve learned.

• One-on-one teacher/student feedback.

• Discussion Boards: Each week’s unit includes interaction between students and their instructors on our discussion boards. This provides you the chance to expand your learning through discussions or get advice from a professor or class peers.

• Web Field Trips: Students conduct research using various Internet research sites and are asked to take notes in their online learning journals for later discussion.


A Vast Library of Resources
Kaplan University offers its students a full complement of library services through LexisNexis and the fully appointed UAH Salmon Library at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama. Here you’ll find a collection of 325,000 volumes along with collections of U.S. government documents, materials in microform and microfiche, and manuscript collections. The library currently receives over 20,000 serials and periodicals.

The library’s vast catalog is available online, and you can easily access a description of any item in the collection. Library books are delivered physically to borrowers; articles and excerpts can be scanned and delivered electronically. The library also offers access to 13,000 e-journals

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Naked short selling

Naked short selling, or naked shorting refers to the practice of selling a stock short without first borrowing the shares or making an "affirmative determination" that the shares can be borrowed. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a regulation, known as "Regulation SHO", seeking to curb abusive naked shorting. Many other countries and trading markets have developed similar regulations.


Regulatory policy

The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 stipulates a settlement period up to three business days before a stock needs to be delivered.

The SEC states that "Naked short selling is not necessarily a violation of the federal securities laws or the Commission's rules. Indeed, in certain circumstances, naked short selling contributes to market liquidity." However, naked shorting to drive down share prices violates the law.

On American exchanges, under Regulation SHO, "a broker or dealer may not accept a short sale order" without having first borrowed or identified the stock being sold. However, this rule is exempted under these circumstances:

Broker or dealer accepting a short sale order from another registered broker or dealer
Bona-fide market making
Broker-dealer effecting a sale on behalf of a customer that is deemed to own the security pursuant to Rule 200 through no fault of the customer or the broker-dealer.
The SEC contends that naked short selling has been falsely blamed on share price declines by stock promoters and corporate insiders, but can be used as a tool for illegal market manipulation.

Failures to deliver shares, possibly resulting from naked short sales, that persist for an extended period of time may result in large delivery obligations where stock settlement occurs. The SEC observes that fails can occur because of ordinary "long" stock sales and for reasons entirely unrelated to efforts to profit from share price declines.

Regulation SHO is intended to reduce the number of potential failures to deliver, and by limiting the time in which a broker can permit failures to deliver. The regulation requires broker-dealers to close-out open fail-to-deliver positions in "threshold securities" (i.e., securities that have experienced a substantial number of extended delivery failures) that have persisted for 13 consecutive settlement days."

On its Regulation SHO website ("Does Naked Shorting Drive Prices Down?" section), the SEC cites the prevalence of false claims of naked short selling in Pump and Dump fraud. The SEC downplays naked shorting as a factor in declining stock prices, stating that stock values ideally should be determined by "the quality of the company itself," "supply and demand" of the company's shares, and the company's ability to generate positive income.

The SEC says that naked short-selling has been frequently and falsely blamed for low stock prices in the wake of pump and dump scams involving companies that are in poor financial condition.

In July 2006, the SEC proposed to amend Regulation SHO, to close loopholes that could possibly be exploited via naked short selling. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox referred to "the serious problem of abusive naked short sales, which can be used as a tool to drive down a company's stock price." and that the SEC is "concerned about the persistent failures to deliver in the market for some securities that may be due to loopholes in Regulation SHO.

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) held a conference on naked short selling in November 2005. An official of the New York Stock Exchange stated that NYSE had found no evidence of widespread naked short selling, and alleged "fear mongering that there's this rampant naked shorting that's gone unregulated." Cameron Funkhouser, NASD senior vice president of market regulations, noted that although companies have alleged stock manipulation through the Berlin stock exchange, the NASD has seen not one instance of naked short selling [on the Berlin stock exchange]". Ralph Lambiase, head of the Connecticut Securities Agency and the NASAA, declared his disappointment at how the industry was handling the issue as a whole.[citation needed]

In March 2007, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved short selling for institutional investors in the cash segment of the Indian stock market. Naked short selling will not be allowed and traders will have to fulfill delivery obligations by borrowing shares that have been lent from other investors who own the shares.

In June 2007, the SEC voted to remove the grandfather provision that allowed fails to deliver that existed before Reg SHO to be exempt from Reg SHO. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox called naked short selling “a fraud that the commission is bound to prevent and to punish.” The SEC also said it was considering removing an exemption from the rule for options market makers. Removal of the grandfather provision and naked shorting restrictions generally have been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Stock price fluctuations


The price of a stock fluctuates fundamentally due to the theory of supply and demand. Like all commodities in the market, the price of a stock is directly proportional to the demand. However, there are many factors on the basis of which the demand for a particular stock may increase or decrease. These factors are studied using methods of fundamental analysis and technical analysis to predict the changes in the stock price. A recent study shows that customer satisfaction, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), is significantly related to the stock market value. Stock price is also changed based on the forecast for the company and whether their profits are expected to increase or decrease.




Supply and demand
In economics, supply and demand describe market relations between prospective sellers and buyers of a good. The supply and demand model determines price and quantity sold in the market. The model is fundamental in microeconomic analysis of buyers and sellers and of their interactions in a market. It is also used as a point of departure for other economic models and theories. The model predicts that in a competitive market, price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity. The model incorporates other factors changing such equilibrium as reflected in a shift of demand or supply.

Contents [hide]
1 Fundamental theory
2 Supply schedule
3 Demand schedule
4 Changes in market equilibrium
4.1 Demand curve shifts
4.2 Supply curve shifts
5 Elasticity
6 Vertical supply curve (Perfectly Inelastic Supply)
7 Other markets
8 Other market forms
9 Positively-sloped demand curve?
10 Negatively-sloped supply curve
11 Empirical estimation
12 Macroeconomic uses of demand and supply
13 History
14 References
15 See also
16 External links

Share (finance)

In financial markets, a share is a unit of account for various financial instruments including stocks, mutual funds, limited partnerships, and REIT's. In British English, use of the word shares in the plural to refer to stock is so common that it almost replaces the word stock itself. And especially in American English, the plural stocks is widely used instead of shares, in other words to refer to the stock (or perhaps originally stock certificates) of even a single company. Traditionalist demands that the plural stocks be used to refer only to stock of more than one company are rarely heard nowadays....

The income received from shares is called a dividend, and a person who owns shares is called a shareholder.

A share is one of a finite number of equal portions in the capital of a company, entitling the owner to a proportion of distributed, non-reinvested profits known as dividends and to a portion of the value of the company in case of liquidation. Shares can be voting or non-voting, meaning they either do or do not carry the right to vote on the board of directors and corporate policy. Whether this right exists often affects the value of the share. Voting and Non-Voting shares are also known as Class A and B shares.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Nepal Sambat

Nepal Sambat (Nepal Bhasa: नेपाल सम्बत) is a lunar calendar. It was initiated by Sankhadhar Sakhwa to commemorate the pay back of all the debts of Nepalese people.

Description

Nepal Sambat is a lunar calendar. It consists of 354 days per year and a month is added every third year. This calendar came into being and into official use during the reign of king Raghabdev, immediately after the completion of Mandev Sambat 304 (881 AD). Nepal Sambat is a unique calendar in the whole world. All other calendars are named after some rulers or religious leaders. Nepal Sambat is the only calendar which is named after a country. This calendar is said to have been introduced by a common subject Shankhadhar Sakhwa by clearing on his own all debts owing to the state by the then subjects of Nepal. This calendar was in continuous official use in Nepal for 888 years, i.e., from 881 to 1769 AD. After conquering Kathmandu in 1769 AD, Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah discontinued official use of Nepal Sambat. He instead revived and brought Shaka Sambat (Bikram Sambat) into official use since then.






Most Popular Native Calendar of Nepal
Gregarion Calendar, Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat are three main calendars in use in Nepal, among which Nepal Sambat is the only one native to Nepal.


Months of the year
The months of the year are :-

Devanagari Roman script Corresponding Gregorian month
कछला Kachha lā November
िंथंला Thin lā December
पोहेला Pohe lā January
िसल्ला Sil lā February
िचल्ला Chil lā March
चौला Chau lā April
बछला Bachha lā May
तछला Tachha lā June
िदल्ला Dil lā July
गुंला Goon lā August
ञंला Yen lā September
कौला Kau lā October




History
This calendar was the national calendar of Nepal in Malla and early Shah era. It was replaced by Bikram Sambat as the national calendar. However, the calendar is still in use because most of the Nepalese festivals are celebrated according to the calendar.


Invention
According to local legends, a citizen of Kathmandu named Sankhadhar Sakhwa paid off the debts of all the people in Nepal. To commemorate the event, a new era was established.

Google subscriber counts:

There's been a lot of discussion this weekend about the subscriber counts that have recently appeared in Reader's search results. Leaderboards have been drawn up, numbers are being compared and in some cases there's confusion as to how these numbers compare with other subscriber metrics. Additionally, we've made changes (some as recently as today) as to how counts are being calculated. This is probably going to be pretty boring unless you're a feed publisher, but we thought it would be best to explain things a bit. Here are the various numbers you may come across, and what they all mean:

Google subscriber counts: These numbers include subscribers across all Google services, including Reader, iGoogle, and Orkut. You can see them in Reader's feed search results (pictured below) and the Google Webmaster Tools. Additionally, our crawler reports them to the publisher each time we fetch the feed. Reader's feed search was recently showing stale and incomplete data, but as of today (October 15) the numbers should be the same everywhere.



FeedBurner numbers: If you use FeedBurner to manage and track your feed, you will see a subscriber count there that is attributed to "Google Feedfetcher." This number is a sum of all the feeds that you have redirecting to your FeedBurner feed URL. So if http://www.example.com/atom.xml has 3 subscribers, http://www.example.com/rss.xml has 7 subscribers and http://feeds.feedburner.com/Example (where you redirect the other two feeds now) has 12 subscribers, then you will see 3 + 7 + 12 = 22 subscribers reported in the FeedBurner interface.

What this all means if you're a feed publisher is that if you're interested in getting the most comprehensive overview of your subscribers, you should be using a service like FeedBurner or Google Webmaster Tools. On the other hand, if you're a Reader user, we hope you take advantage of the numbers that we now show next to search results, so that you can pick the most appropriate feed to subscribe to.

Celebrating Blog Action Day with Mongabay

It's Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers around the world take time to write about the environment. So, we thought it would be fitting to feature an AdSense publisher who has focused their site on increasing awareness and appreciation of the environment -- specifically, wild lands and wildlife.

Mongabay.com, run by Rhett Butler, originally focused on providing information about tropical rainforests, a topic Rhett is personally familiar with through his travels to a Borneo rainforest that has since been destroyed. In recent years, however, the site has expanded to include environmental news on numerous topics ranging from climate change to green business. He's also added a kids' version of the site aimed to spark interest in youngsters to learn about and appreciate rainforests. Rhett hopes through his work with Mongabay that more people will become aware of the beauty and importance of the environment so they'll be motivated to preserve our remaining biodiversity for the future.

On Mongabay.com, Rhett describes the concept of TREES, which are five basic steps we can take to saving rainforests:

Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.
Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.
Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.
Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.
Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

The revenue Rhett's sites generate through AdSense has allowed him to quit his 9-5 job and focus on growing his environmental effort: traveling around the world to gain a connection to the efforts he is passionate about, garnering hands-on experiences, and looking for conservation opportunities. This travel also enables him to take these experiences and add valuable content to his website and further educate his readers.

Thanks, Rhett, for raising awareness about the importance of rainforests both to the global ecosystem and to people everywhere.

Posted by Julie Beckmann - AdSense Publisher Support

Monday, October 15, 2007

Clean scrapbooking sequel simple is a way to keep records intact

One always derives pleasure while viewing one’s scrapbooking projects. It also reflects the happiness and fun activities that one has spent while creating scrapbooks. If you have unrealistic expectations for what you will accomplish or how the finished project will look, you will be very disappointed in the work you have done. The aim of clean scrapbooking sequel simple is to make one relax so that and one can enjoy each moment of scrapbooking projects.



The goal of clean scrapbooking sequel simple is to create wonderful memories that you can be proud of instead of criticizing your work each time you look at the scrapbook pages.Clean scrapbooking sequel simple includes incorporating the concept of telling a story as one completes a scrapbooking project. One can add words and a short story or in fact a series of photographs to explain the pictures that further gives a nice touch to the project.


This is an excellent way to use clean scrapbooking sequel simple to share those experiences with other people. One can find many people starting out with a clean scrapbooking sequel simple and by the time it is finished they have several ideas for their next one. If it is to be a continuation of the first scrapbook then one can use clean scrapbooking sequel simple methods to make that happen. As memories are never ending and they stay forever, one can actually make a sequel by creating various designs on the fronts of the books that say volume one and volume two or more. Or else, one can stick a picture of their beloveds in their different stages of growth, such as the original one can have a baby’s picture and the clean scrapbooking sequel simple can have the other stages of the baby’s growth.


At the end of volume one, one can create a scrapbooking page that says, to be continued or something nice but catchy that tells the person there is another book on the way. In fact, one can add different colored or textured pages to the scrapbooks a reference to a clean scrapbooking sequel simple. These days, one can find pre-prepared kits on a clean scrapbooking sequel simple in the markets. In fact, if one is short of time or wants to create a clean scrapbooking sequel simple in very short period then one can log onto various websites that are specifically dedicated to scrapbooking.


When it comes to scrapbooking, incorporating a clean scrapbooking sequel simple always leaves the door open for you to pursue new ideas and a variety of different projects. Even though you want your scrapbook pages to be exceptional and unique, remember the reasons why you wanted to engage in the process of scrapbooking to begin with. Creating a clean scrapbooking sequel simple will help protect your memories.

Clean scrapbooking sequel simple is just not a fun activity but also provides a chance to relive every moment of life. One can say that clean scrapbooking sequel simple additionally offers the opportunity to reflect and record the old good memories.

Calculat Net Income For Support Purposes

The percentage guidelines are applied to the supporting parent's net income. The starting figure for net income is the total income from all sources and is interpreted broadly. For example, a worker's compensation award has been held to constitute income (In re Marriage of Dodds, 222 Ill. App. 3d 99). Additionally, pension benefits, when paid, are considered income for purposes of calculating support (In re Marriage of Klomps, 286 Ill. App. 3d 710).



In re Marriage of Baylor, 324 Ill. App. 3d 213, mother's military allowance for off-base housing and other living expenses should have been included in net income.Some courts have made exceptions from the statutory inclusion of "all income from all sources". In re Marriage of Feesen, 275 Ill. App. 3d 97, the court properly refused to consider passive income reported on Husband's income tax returns because the testimony proved that Husband did not receive the income. The income was retained by his company and simply was an effort to reduce the company's debt. With regard to a personal injury settlement, the court found that only the portion of the recovery that replaced past and future lost income could be considered (Villanueva v. O'Gara, 282 Ill. App. 3d 147).Several expenditures are subtracted from total income to derive the net income.



The following are said expenditures:

1) Federal Tax. The tax must be at the properly calculated level. If a non-custodial parent over withholds and overpays his or her income tax, the overpayment should be added back for the purpose of determining net income.


2) State Tax.

3) Social Security.

4) Mandatory retirement contributions.

5) Union dues.

6) Dependent and individual health insurance.

7) Prior obligations of support or maintenance with a court order.

8) Expenditures for repayment of debts incurred for the production of income, certain medical expenses and certain expenditures for the benefit of the child or other parent, exclusive of gifts.Determining net income should not be a highly contested issue. The calculation is truly mechanical with the exception of the court's discretion on whether or not an expense is "reasonable and necessary". In some cases, a party will have expenses being deducted from pay which are not necessary in an effort to reduce the net income.


For example, the person may have an auto payment being deducted from pay. In that case, the payment needs to be added back into the calculation for net income. In other cases, there may be an unnecessary deduction for installment purchases that someone permits to be deducted from the paycheck.

As above, that payment must be added back for proper calculation purposes.If the parties are adequately represented by counsel, many of the issues regarding net income will become simplified. Once a party is made aware of the guidelines and the court's likely ruling, an agreement should be easily obtainable.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

How You Promoting Your Blog?

Blogging can be a great deal of fun for some bloggers but for others it is a source of income. Whether this income is earned through an AdSense campaign, paid advertisements, affiliate marketing or some other type of revenue generating source one of the key elements to maximizing this profit is by driving greater traffic to the blog. This is because the more visitors the blog receives the more opportunities there are for the blogger to have visitors click through the advertisements in the blog.
There are a few basic techniques which bloggers can rely on to promote their blog and increase traffic to their blog. This article will cover a few of these key concepts including participating in relevant message boards, optimizing the blog for search engines and keeping the blog interesting to visitors. Active Participation in Message BoardsParticipation in message boards which relate to the blog topic is actually one very simple way for blog owners to drive traffic to their blog. However, one caveat to using this type of promotion for the blog is to avoid violating the rules of the message board.
This is important because some message boards have strict regulations regarding the inclusion of links to other websites on the message board. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in the blogger being banned from the message board and may also cause other message board users to not think highly of the blog owner.
Another careful consideration for the blog owner is to avoid posting the web address to his blog in a way which will be considered spam by other message board users. This is important because other message board users are likely to not visit the blog if they believe the blog owner is simply spamming the message board. This can be avoided by including the link to the blog in the signature and ensuring the posts made on the message board are informative and of interest to the other message board users.
Building a reputation as a useful contributor to the message board will be beneficial to enticing other users of the message board to visit the blog. Optimizing Your BlogSearch engine optimization is another factor which blog owners should also carefully consider. Optimizing the blog for search engines can be beneficial because improved search engine rankings often lead to increased blog traffic. Depending on the amount of competition on the blog subject rising to the top of the search engine rankings may not always be easy. Blog owners who have a blog with a very popular subject may face stiff competition for search engine rankings from other blogs and websites which may have the means to hire professionals in the search engine optimization industry to assist them in achieving high rankings.
However, there are some steps the blogger can take to attempt to boost rankings. Some of these steps include researching and using relevant keywords naturally throughout the blog postings, incorporating these keywords into the title, META and image tags and avoiding black hat optimizing techniques which could result in the blog being penalized by search engines. Keeping Your Blog InterestingFinally, one of the simplest ways a blog owner can help to drive traffic to his blog is by regularly updating the blog and keeping it interesting.
This is important because a blog which is interesting is much more likely to not only maintain blog traffic but also generate new traffic. This is because readers who are interested in the posts on the blog are not only likely to keep coming back to the blog but are also likely to recommend the blog to other members of the target audience. This type of word of mouth advertising can be very beneficial because those who have an interest in the content of a particular blog also typically have friends who would also be interested in the blog.
Once one blog owner recommends a blog to one or more friends, these new blog visitors are also likely to recommend the blog to others if they find it to be interesting, useful or otherwise worthwhile.

Getting Affordable Auto Insurance-How To Insure Your Car Without Breaking The Bank

In today's day and age, getting affordable car insurance really isn't that difficult. In fact, you can often times find many affordable auto insurance quotes on the Internet. Of course, just because the Insurance is cheaper doesn't is make the right one for you.
In fact, often times the most affordable auto insurance isn't the best ones for you, because the customer service is poor and the company many times has only been in business for several years. One of the most important aspects of any insurance companies is experience; unfortunately, most times cheaper insurance companies haven't had much experience in the industry, and therefore aren't all that reliable.
Of course, just because auto insurance is affordable doesn't necessarily make it bad either. If you are set on finding affordable and cheap car insurance here are some important tips to consider.
First of all, do your shopping over the Internet. There are a couple big advantages to doing this on the Internet, and here they are.
First of all, it is much quicker. Instead of having to sort through the Yellow Pages and wait literally hours on end to talk to several agents, you can easily and quickly get a quote online to find out the best car insurance for you. You can do this for many different companies, much faster than you could over the phone.
Now, once you've narrowed down your search to several companies, you may want to give them a call and find out more from directly speaking to an agent. This is a great way to test out their customer service; if you find you to wait hours to talk to one person, that company is probably out of the picture.
However, if they have good customer service and you can talk an agent rather quickly, then they are probably worth considering. However, always start your search on the Internet and narrow it down to several different companies.

Free Web Content: Best practises in Article Directory management-5

Free web content is, as a result of the basic and essential requirement for relevant, and substantial, information, a hot commodity on the Internet today. The Internet, after all, is a massive resource of readily available information served up on demand by search engines and, for the most part free.Web content, plenty of it, relevant, and constantly changing is what ensures regular visits from the search engine spiders, it can quite literally be the critical success factor for any website, irrespective of its purpose.

The Article Directory owner plays a valuable role in the free web content supply chain that needs to be understood in order for the directory to succeed.Unfortunately, the Internet is littered with examples of webmasters falling foul of the put up an article directory, everyone supplies me with free web content, then a miracle happens and I get rich, equation. So, it is important to understand the free web content value proposition in order to manage an article directory successfully with best practise in mind.Fundamentally webmasters want their sites to be found. People, looking for specific information, products, or services, typically, use a search engine to find what they are looking for. The search engines strive to serve the user by delivering highly relevant results. They do this by indexing the entire Internet and ranking the results by way of their authority. The way they do this, and therefore the pivot in the free web content value proposition, is by following links. The webmaster wants his site to be ranked highly, or in other words seen as an authority site. In order to do that his mission becomes getting as many quality links back to his site as is necessary to achieve that goal.

One well recognised, and legitimate, method of achieving quality back links to a site is article writing. The premise behind this is simple. The webmaster writes an article and gets it published on another site, or many sites, the article is indexed by the search engines and the author’s link back to his site boosts the sites link popularity, and therefore its ranking.As a consequence of this, article directories have become repositories, accommodating the supply and demand of free web content, providing a location for articles to be indexed, providing link popularity to webmasters, and supplying publishers who need a steady supply of fresh, on topic, free web content for their sites, ezines, and blogs.So the free web content value proposition is this; first and foremost the reader, looking for accurate and pertinent information, relies upon the search engines to find it, the search engines, at a very simplistic level, use page rank, determined by link popularity, to serve accurate results to the reader.

The webmaster, who wants her site to be found by the reader, exchanges some of her expertise, in the form of free web content articles, in return for a back link to boost her sites popularity. The article directory owner hosts, distributes, and ensures that articles are indexed, in return for the monetization opportunity associated with having thousands of pages of free web content, along with the proliferation of back links to the directory itself as a result of the articles being used on other sites and publications.There is, however, a problem with this that undermines the value for all concerned.

That is when the back link is seen as more important than the article quality itself and, as is the case with many internet marketing concepts, the more unscrupulous operators propagate the internet with minimum word count, inferior, often plagiarized, and useless material, creating back links to sites of equally inferior quality and dubious purpose. The question then becomes what free web content quality is expected in return for a back link?The Article Directory owner has an integral role to play in ensuring the quality of information available in the internet today. It could be argued that maintaining a high standard of quality free web content in directories such as this could improve the overall experience of using the Internet altogether.Achieving high quality standards in free web content is as simple as making a few logical changes to article submission guidelines.

The first of these being required word count. Setting a higher word count means that more effort needs to be applied to make an article work, it filters out those articles that are simply aimed at achieving the minimum required to get a link.Next, pay careful attention to the Author’s resource box and limit the links to bona fide web sites only.

The link in the resource box should be directly related to the article’s subject matter, otherwise it is a reasonable indication of bogus content and doesn’t deserve publishing.Pay careful attention to subjects. Does the article provide any meaningful insight or is it just a rehash of the same old information? Is it just boring? If you think so then there is a good chance everyone else will too.Last, and certainly not least, is keyword optimization. Fundamental to the monetisation of an article directory, which is the owner’s driver behind hosting free web content, is the articles themselves being indexed.

One well written and optimized article is worth a hundred that aren’t. Develop some guidelines around keywords that will ensure you accept less articles, but with a higher standard of quality.Implementing and following a best practise approach, raising the bar, in terms of article quality, will ensure that the value is maintained in free web content.

The Gap Outlet Store - Fall Fashion Around World

Fall is here at your doorstep and this is the signal to start stocking up on all those essentials for winter. Essentials like Jeans, Sweaters, Hats, and shirts. The Gap also carries things like handbags. Even though they may not be in a large abundance they are there. Belts and those small accessories are also available.Jeans:Jeans could be the most important item on any shopping list and the gap outlet store has them. The gap main jean line is with wrangler. What else could be said? Wrangles last for a very long time and hold up even better. Washing them is a breeze also. They tend to not bleed.





The gap carries all sizes of jeans from children to adults. In some cases you may even find irregular sizes that are not normally at these types of stores.Sweaters:You can’t get through a cold winter without sweaters. Either cashmere or wool the gap has them. They also have a great color selection to suit even the most distinctive taste. Now, you’re not going find sweaters with embroidered designs. Most of the sweaters from the gap are usually one color with one or two designs woven into them. Nothing spectacular but this is the style these days. This is a long way from what I used to wear. Their used to be sweater like the ones worn by Crosby on the Crosby show. I sure do miss those styles.





Anyway, I digress.Last but not least, you can’t forget about the shirts:There is nothing list a hot ironed shirt with a cool v neck vest sweater. Or how about just a plan shirt with a v cut full length sweater. Now that is sharp.



Well, if you like that look the Gap is the place for you. They always have a large collection of shirts to match any sweater that they might carry. But if you’re not trying to match to a sweater, they have very cool looking shirts with colorful designs that hold their own.The gap outlet store if mainly a place to get a lot of this merchandise, jean shirts and sweaters, at a steep discounted price. Some of it is 20% to 50% off depending on the merchandise. So, if you’re looking for some discounts like this check out the links below.

The Gap Outlet Store - Fall Fashion Around World

Fall is here at your doorstep and this is the signal to start stocking up on all those essentials for winter. Essentials like Jeans, Sweaters, Hats, and shirts. The Gap also carries things like handbags. Even though they may not be in a large abundance they are there. Belts and those small accessories are also available.Jeans:Jeans could be the most important item on any shopping list and the gap outlet store has them. The gap main jean line is with wrangler. What else could be said? Wrangles last for a very long time and hold up even better. Washing them is a breeze also. They tend to not bleed.
The gap carries all sizes of jeans from children to adults. In some cases you may even find irregular sizes that are not normally at these types of stores.Sweaters:You can’t get through a cold winter without sweaters. Either cashmere or wool the gap has them. They also have a great color selection to suit even the most distinctive taste. Now, you’re not going find sweaters with embroidered designs. Most of the sweaters from the gap are usually one color with one or two designs woven into them. Nothing spectacular but this is the style these days. This is a long way from what I used to wear. Their used to be sweater like the ones worn by Crosby on the Crosby show. I sure do miss those styles.
Anyway, I digress.Last but not least, you can’t forget about the shirts:There is nothing list a hot ironed shirt with a cool v neck vest sweater. Or how about just a plan shirt with a v cut full length sweater. Now that is sharp.
Well, if you like that look the Gap is the place for you. They always have a large collection of shirts to match any sweater that they might carry. But if you’re not trying to match to a sweater, they have very cool looking shirts with colorful designs that hold their own.The gap outlet store if mainly a place to get a lot of this merchandise, jean shirts and sweaters, at a steep discounted price. Some of it is 20% to 50% off depending on the merchandise. So, if you’re looking for some discounts like this check out the links below.

Want Free Fun? Try Online Flash Games---

If you haven't played an online flash game before, then you're missing out on a truly fun experience. There are sites with hundreds of addictive, fast-paced, and creative little games. You can spend hours stuck on just one game, determined to get to the last level. If you've got work to do, then you should probably stay away from flash games. You'll find yourself using valuable work time playing the games, and you'll have trouble tearing yourself away.


In order to find the most fun and addictive flash games, you can look in many different places. Some sites collect flash games, categorize them, organize them, and allow users to rate them. You can then see the most popular games, sorted by their ratings, the number of play, or the style of the game. This really helps to narrow down the type of game you play. Some days you might be in the mood for a fast-paced action game, or you may be in the mood for a logic game that requires you to think. All styles of games exist, it's just a matter of finding them. Some of the most popular game sites include Ebaum's World, Newgrounds, AddictingGames, and FlashArcade.

There are other sites which are focused more on the developers of free flash games. GotoAndPlay is a popular site like this, along with the Experimental Gameplay Project. While these sites are geared towards developers, there is still a place for people who just want to play games. In fact, by playing a game and telling the maker what you think, you can play a crucial role in the development of the game, and help to improve it for future players. So if you're willing to type a little bit to the programmer, those sites may be great for you.
If you're interested in making free flash games, then you need the program that gets it done: Adobe Flash. It's expensive to buy, but you can use a trial version for free. It also takes a lot of effort to learn ' however, that effort is not all in memorizing code and functions, as with other programming languages. Mostly you focus on learning the layout of Flash, and how to time things right.

Free flash games are all over the internet, and are extremely popular because of how fast and convenient they are. No file downloads, no installations, and no OS-specific games. So look up some flash games, and start playing!

Google Adsense and The Many Questions about Adsense.!!

a) Why Do You Need Google Adsense?Because it is there, it is fun and it is free. If you are reading this, you obviously have some interest in the internet. You do not even have to have your own website, although the more sites you use Google Adsense on, the more money you will make. For example, anyone can write a blog even if it is just your own opinion on something. You can also make money referring other people to Google Adsense. By placing a referral button on your site you increase your earnings potential. When a publisher that you referred makes their initial $100.00 within 90 days of sign-up and is eligible for payout, your account will also be credited $100.00. Additionally, they must never have registered for a Google Adsense account before.Do not be intimidated by the html code. It is already formatted. All you have to do is choose the language and kind of button you would like, and copy and paste the html code to your website. Look for the referral code and more information under Adsense support.
b) What is Google Adsense for Search?Google Adsense for Search is different than Adsense for Content but it is just as important to your earning power with the Google Adsense program.Just like Adsense for Content places targeted ads on your content webpages, Adsense for Search places targeted ads on the results page of the search set in motion on your page.You can use the standard Google search box on your site and the user can then search the web or even your website. When you feel more comfortable, you can change the look of the Google search box, essentially customizing it by changing the colors and using your logo.The best thing about Google Adsense for Search is that you can track what web surfers are searching for. That is, if the search has two or more hits. Unique queries will not be tracked. But you can see the top 25 searches performed from your website by clicking on the Advance Report from the Reports tab and specifying a date range.
c) What Other Forms of Payment Does Google Adsense Offer?You can elect to have your Google Adsense payments mailed to you via check in your local currency. Google Adsense offers this option in 42 countries. Check the Google Adsense support center to see if your country is included in this list.To select receiving your check by postal mail, log in to your Google Adsense account, click the edit link near Payment Details and then click the Check, Standard Delivery radio button. Then click continue. Now you can select your currency, if available or you may select US dollars. When you’re satisfied with your choices, click save settings.You may also choose to receive your payment through Secured Express Delivery. There is a fee for this service but you can expect to receive your check within 5-10 business days after it has been sent. If you choose this option, you will need to contact DHL (the courier service) to make sure they offer service to your area and that your address is in the proper format.
d) When Do You Get Paid Using Google Adsense?Google Adsense pays you approximately 30 days after the end of the month in which you become eligible to receive payment. You become eligible for payment only when your Adsense account reaches at least $100.00. Suppose, for example, you started in January and at the end of the month you had not yet accumulated $100.00 in your Google Adsense account. You would then need to wait and see if your January and February earnings combined equal $100.00. If they do, you would be paid approximately 30 days after the end of the month of February, that is, you could expect payment near the end of March.Another good reason to also use Adsense for Search is that you get to combine the earnings to reach the $100.00 payout minimum. So if your earnings for Adsense for Content do not reach $100.00 in time for the current payout, but when combined with your Adsense for Search earnings they do meet the payout minimum, you will be paid accordingly.

Friday, October 12, 2007

How to Make Money from Blogging-!

Making money from blogging is one easy method to earn a steady income online. As blogs are simple to create and maintain, and best of all, you do not need to know html language to create blogs, they are prefect for beginners who want to start their online business. Moreover, search engines, such as Google, love blogs as they are usually updated with fresh contents. Hence, Google and other search engines will tend to send their spiders to your blogs, rather than static webpages.
In this way, your blogs will be indexed in the search engines faster than other websites. That is great as you will get more organic search traffic from the search engines and that is the first step to making money from blogging.After you have created your own blogs and a steady stream of visitors coming to your blogs regularly, then it is time for you to monetize your blog. One way to do that is to use AdSense. AdSense allows you to put advertisements on your blogs. Whenever your visitors come to your blogs and clicks on the ads, then you will be paid. It is as simple as this.
Hence, when your blogs are able to generate many clicks every day, then you can easily earn a steady stream of income.Another method to make money from blogging is to promote your own products. Some of us may have some knowledge which is highly demand by others. Then you might want to create your own info product and sell it. For instance, you may really good at cooking some healthy, yet tasty, dishes. Then you can start writing your own ebook about healthy dishes and promote it on your blogs. When people start buying your products, then you will start earning money too.For some of us who are really clueless on what to create, then promoting other’s products may be another method for you to make money online.
On the internet, there are a variety of products and services which you can promote others to buy from. When these people whom you have recommended have bought some products, then you will be paid. Hence, you can simply write a simple blog post saying why you think the product which you recommend is good and worth buying.
When you consistently able to make your visitors trust you and buy what you have recommended, then earning money from your blogging is not difficult at all.Indeed, there are many ways to make money from blogging.
I have just given you the some of easiest methods to do so. If you are interested in having the exact blueprint to make money from blogging, then you must take a look at Blogging to the Bank 2.0 website. It will show you the most recent and advance techniques on how you can make money from your blogs.

Again and again-How to Write an Amazing Posts

Did you ever have a feeling that when you read one article time flies by imperceptibly, but when you read another your mind is breaking? Though both in the first and in the second case you read the same things which are interesting to you personally. I had. The main problem consists in that, that to pick up a theme and to present it beautiful.
Once I wrote an interesting article as I thought and ask my friend to read it. I even couldn’t imagine that it has so much lacks. “Many words, big quantity of not interesting sentences, examples are not present” - that was far not all that I heard from him.
Then I made a first conclusion for myself:1. The article should cause emotions, positive or negative, no matter.Again and again
I want to show an example of John Chow. He has more than 300,000 readers per month. People like him or hate him but nobody remains indifferent to him.It is obvious, that to promote even not so good article with help of SMO (social bookmarking services) is not so hard, but it could be possible only if you are experienced in this area and know what to do.
The next rule which I have learned:2. Tell readers about your own life experience in your articles.Nobody remains indifferent to such stories.To execute the first two items there is a condition - the article should have a title or the beginning which will attract the attention of the reader. The reader should be interested in further reading of the post in limits of the first paragraph.
And here is the third rule:3. Pay attention to the beginning of the article. The reader needs to be prepared for reception of the further information.Sometimes, when I read blog posts of other people it seems that present only retentiousness of phrases, dryness of words, etc.
But some other authors have secrets and one of them is so:
4. It can be possible even to use sex or an obscene expressions. If it is to a place.Let’s sum up:
* The article should cause emotions, positive or negative, no matter.
* Tell readers about your own life experience in your articles.
* Pay attention to the beginning of the article.* It can be possible even to use sex or an obscene expressions.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Nepal Maoists pull out of government

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Nepal's Maoists pulled out of the country's coalition government Tuesday after their demands to abolish the monarchy and declare the nation a republic went unheeded.

A Nepalese Maoist soldier stands in front of the entrance to a meeting of top leaders in Kathmandu.

The Maoists, also known as the Communist Party of Nepal, had four ministers in the cabinet, and their resignation from government has put a question mark on Nepal's ongoing peace process and upcoming elections.
"We are convinced that the elections cannot happen as long as the monarchy exists," said Maoist leader Barsa Man Pun.
The former Maoist rebels said they will start a peaceful people's revolt, but will make their program public through a mass meeting on Tuesday.
In June, Nepal's government set November 22 as the date for legislative elections, a move that marked a key milestone in the ongoing peace process between the governing coalition and the rebels.
The vote will decide the makeup of Nepal's 497-member constituent assembly, which will decide the fate of Nepal's monarchy and prepare a new constitution.
The 239-year-old monarchy has been virtually suspended since King Gyanendra was forced to give up powers in April 2006 following a popular uprising across the country against his direct rule.
Maoist rebels, who had been fighting to replace the monarchy with a republic, signed a peace deal with the subsequently formed democratic government last November to hold elections for a constituent assembly.
The former rebels joined parliament in January and the interim government in April this year after a decade-long conflict in which about 13,000 people were killed.
The United Nations is monitoring Maoist fighters as they lock away their weapons and keep 30,000 combatants in barracks across the country.

Jennifer Lopez Expecting Twins


NEW YORK, New York (October 10, 2007) – While the world has been waiting for Jennifer Lopez to announce she is pregnant, Access Hollywood is hearing it’s a double dose of baby news for J.Lo.
Sources tell Access Jennifer is carrying twins. However, there has been no confirmation from Jennifer.
Baby bump rumors have been swirling around Jen for quite some time. Her noticeable transition from form-fitting clothes to a looser look has only added fuel to the fire.
On Tuesday, Jen paid a visit to “The Late Show with David Letterman,” arriving in a belly-hiding black pea coat with a black leather cap and thigh high boots.
And while Dave tried to broach the subject, Jennifer (who changed into a flowing turquoise mini baby doll dress for her TV interview) continued to play coy.

SUZUKI GSXR750


Used SUZUKI GSXR750 Specs
Build Date:
2001
Make:
SUZUKI
Model:
GSXR750
Bike Type:
SPORTSBIKE
Price:
$4,400
Condition
Excellent Condition
Number Owners
1
Colour
blue
Engine Capacity - CC
750
Number Gears
1
Odometer:
km
Rego No.:
22yse21
VIN/Eng No.:

Rego Expiry:
N/A

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Apply to get adsense

Getting started with AdSense is easy, but when reviewing the applications we get, we've noticed a few common pitfalls. To help make sure your application is approved the first time around, ask yourself the following questions below before submitting.


Do I have what I need to apply?
Website: To display Google ads, you need administrative access to the site you submit for AdSense in order to place our JavaScript ad code on your site. Adding the Google code to your site's source code will enable you to show ads, search boxes, and referral units on your pages.If you don't have a website of your own, that doesn't mean you can't participate in AdSense. We offer a couple of options to help you easily create your own site.First, there'sBlogger, a free tool for setting up and publishing your own blog online. With its easy-to-use and customizable templates, you can create an account and start blogging right away. You can also set up AdSense ads easily through your Blogger account.If you prefer more flexibility and control, then our web page tool, Page Creator, may be more suitable. Signing up for a Page Creator account is free as well -- all you need is a Gmail account. The best part is that you don't have to download any software or hire a designer. Once you've created your Page Creator site, you can begin displaying Google ads in minutes.
Valid payee name: Payments will be made out to the name on your account, so make sure to include your full and valid name, or that of your business, rather than just initials. If banks won't accept the name you enter in the 'Payee Name' field, neither will we.
Valid address: We want to make sure your hard-earned money reaches you, so please also provide a complete valid address where you can receive mail. If you live in a country or territory that doesn't have a standard format for addresses, please be sure that your application includes as much information as a mailman would need to find your residence.Does my website meet all the necessary requirements?
Valid URL: If you manage an entire website, give us the URL of your home page. If you manage a blog or other account within a larger website, you should provide the URL of the specific page that you manage and not the URL of the entire hosting website. Don't forget to double check your URL for typos!
Fully launched website: Since we won't be able to review websites that are not fully launched or built, please ensure that your site is live and functioning at the time you submit your application.
Unique content: We want visitors to sites in the AdSense network to have a good experience, so please publish content that's interesting and unique. Avoid using "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other cookie cutter approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content. If you're participating in an affiliate program, give people a reason to visit your site first.
Supported language: We're constantly working to provide targeted, relevant ads in more languages. However, until then, we can only approve your application if the majority of your website is in one of our supported languages.
Pay-To Sites: If your site participates in programs that compensate people to perform activities that drive traffic to you, we can't approve your application. Some examples of these "pay-to" programs are sites that encourage users "to click" or "to surf" or "to read email." In addition, you shouldn't encourage others to join these programs in the content, links, or third-party ads on your site.

Computer Association of Nepal (CAN)

Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) was established in December 1992 as an autonomous, non political, non partisan, non-profitable and service oriented organization. The Computer Association has been formed with the involvement of professionals, specialists, manufacturers, institutions and the related organization of Computer and Information Technology within the country.


Objectives

To assist in the utilization, enhancement and promotion of computers and information technology within the country and help to develop strategies to meet the necessary requirements for the development of literacy and skills regarding computer science.
To provide and protect the necessary rights and privileges, benefits to individuals, institutions, companies and organizations affiliated to the activities of CAN.
To provide support and facilities to all general, corporate and honorary members of CAN.




Activities


To assist in the institutional development of Computer Technology.
To assist and develop the synchronization and standardization in the field of computer training and education.
To develop coordination among computer professionals with their services.
To organize and conduct seminars, workshops, talk and training programmes and to provide consultancy and R & D services.
To exchange knowledge, skill and technology in the field of Computer and information technology with similar types of organizations within and outside the country.
To assist in the field of technology transfer, export, import and formulation of national policies.

NEPAL

Official Name:
Kingdom of Nepal

Political system:
Multi-party democracy

Head of State:
Pri-minister

Head of Government:
Prime-minister Rt. Hon’ble Shri Girija Prasad Koirala

Political parties in parliament:
Nepali Congress, Nepali Congress(D), Nepal Communist Party(UML), Nepal Communist Party(Maoist)...



Surface area:
147,181 sq. km

Population:
24.5 million

Population density:
163 per sq. km



GDP per capital:
$240 (at purchasing power parity $1,400)

Currency:
Nepali Rupee (NR)

Official language:
Nepali. English is widely used in business, higher education and the professions.

Other principal languages:
Maithili, Bhojpuri, Newari, Magar



Principal religions:
Hindu(80.6%), Buddhist(10.7%), Muslim(4.2%), Kirati (3.6%), other (0.9%)



Time Zone
GMT +5.45



Working days:
Sunday to Friday

Working hours:
Mid February to mid November: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Mid November to mid February: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm



Climatic conditions
Sub-tropical in the Terai plains along the southern border, temperate in the hills along the middle belt, and alpine in the mountainous region along the northern belt. The Kathmandu valley has a pleasant climate with average summer and winter temperatures of 19 - 27ºC and 2-12º C respectively. Rainfall is heavy in the eastern part during June–August, while the western part gets more rain in winter.
Annual precipitation varies from around 300 mm in the north and west to over 2,500 mm in the east. The Kathmandu valley receives 1,200 mm of annual rainfall.



Main cities/towns and numbers of inhabitants
Kathmandu: 671,846
Biratnagar: 166,674
Lalitpur:162,991
Pokhara: 156,312
Birgunj:112,484



Working days
Six days a week

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Bamboo


Bamboo is a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. New shoots of some of the larger species can grow over 1 meter per day. They are of high cultural significance in East Asia where they are used extensively in gardens, as a building material as well as a food source. In Chinese as zhu (Chinese: 竹; pinyin: zhú), in Japanese they are known as take (Kanji: 竹; Hiragana: たけ, take?), and Tre /tʃe/ in Vietnamese.



There are 91 genera and about 1,000 species of bamboo. They are found in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. They occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin through to northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalaya. They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Americas from the southeast of the United States south to Chile, there reaching their furthest south anywhere, at 47°S latitude. Major areas with no native bamboos include Europe, north Africa, western Asia, Canada, most of Australia, and Antarctica.

Arts and crafts of Himachal Pradesh


The handicraft that come out of this state and is worth appreciating are the carpets, leather works, shawls, paintings, metalware, woodwork and paintings. Pashmina shawl is the product which is highly in demand not only in Himachal but all over the country. Colourful Himachali caps are also famous art work of the people. One tribe, Dom, is expert in manufacturing bamboo items like boxes, sofas, chairs, baskets and rack. Metalware of the state include utensils, ritualistic vessels, idols, gold and silver jewelleries.
Weaving, carving , painting, or chiselling is considered to be the part of the life of Himachalis. Himachal is well known for designing shawls especially in Kullu. The architecture, objects, shops, museums, galleries and craftsmen charm with a variety perfected over time.


Women take an active part in pottery and men in carpentry. For ages, wood has been used in Himachal in the construction of temples, homes, idols etc.

Culture of Himachal Pradesh


Himachal was one of the few states that had remained largely untouched by external customs, largely due to its difficult terrain. With the technological advancements the state has changed very rapidly.Himachal Pradesh is a multireligional, multicultural as well as multilingual state like other Indian states. Some of the most commonly spoken languages includes Hindi, Punjabi, Pahari, Dogri, Kangri and Kinnauri. The Hindu communities residing in Himachal include the Brahmins, Rajputs, Kannets, Rathis and Kolis. There are also tribal population in the state which mainly comprise Gaddis, Kinnars, Gujjars, Pangawals and Lahaulis.Himachal is well known for its handicrafts. The carpets, leather works, shawls, paintings, metalware, woodwork and paintings are worth appreciating. Pashmina shawl is one of the product which is highly in demand not only in Himachal but all over the country. Himachali caps are also famous art work of the people.Local music and dance reflects the cultural identity of the state. Through their dance and music, they entreat their gods during local festivals and other special occasions.Apart from the fairs and festivals that are celebrated all over India, there are number of other fairs and festivals also that are of great significance to Himachal Pradesh.The day to day food of Himachalis is very similar to the rest of the north India. They too have lentil, broth, rice, vegetables and bread. As compared to other states in north India non vegetarian is more preferred. Some of the specialities of Himachal include Pateer, Chouck, Bhagjery and chutney of Til.





People & Lifestyle



Himachal Pradesh is a multireligional, multicultural as well as multilingual state like other Indian states. The Hindu communities residing in Himachal include the Brahmins, Rajputs, Kannets, Rathis and Kolis.There are also tribal population in the state which mainly comprise Gaddis, Kinnars, Gujjars, Pangawals and Lahaulis. In some area, like Lahaul Spiti, there is a majority of Buddhist population since the area is located near Tibet. A percentage of people are also Tibetans. Muslim, Christian and Sikhs are in minority but they also enjoy the same rights as Hindus.Though hindi is the state language, many people speak Pahari also. Pahari itself has many dialects and all of them trace their origin to the Sanskrit language- also known as origin of all languages. A majority of the population is engaged in agricultural practices, however the more educated of them are now moving towards tertiary sectors. As per the traditional dressing norms the dress of the Brahmin male includes dhoti, kurta, coat, waistcoat, turban and a hand towel while that of the Rajput male consists of tight fitting churidar pyjamas, a long coat and a starched turban. With the changing time the dress up of the people has now become a mixed one. Though the above mentioned style is now hardly followed, people have started wearing western style of clothes.The typical house is constructed of clay bricks and the roofs are of slate. In some areas the slate roof is also replaced by timber.

Sliver Jewellery




We focus in wholesaling silver jewellery and made mostly by hands of skilled craftsman reflecting the traditional arts and culture of Nepal. Unique sets and varieties of earrings, necklace, bracelets, brooches, pendants, payels, kalli, phuli etc.

Felt Products




Felt is a fabric made of wool fibers or animal hair matted together by steam and force without spinning , weaving or knitting. Such fibers includes wool, fur and certain hair fibers that mat together under proper conditions because of their peculiar structure and high degree of crease.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Britney Spears - Teen Pop Star Gone Wild

Britney Spears was born on the 2nd of December in Mississippi USA. She reached fame after starting her career as one of the child actors in the Mickey Mouse Club (with Justin Timberlake) and has reached the top of the worldwide music charts numerous times. With sales of over 75 million records all over the world she is the eight best selling singer in American history with sales of over 30 million albums in the USA alone.





Britney’s career in music started with hits such as "...Baby One More Time", and songs like "Oops!... I Did It Again" and the more mature "I'm a Slave 4 U". She has won a Grammy award and her latest album is supposed to be released in the USA in November 2007.Britney Spears is reportedly worth over $150,000,000. She makes much of this money from her music career, such as album sales, as well as endorsements, movies, and tv shows.Britney married a dancer called Kevin Federline. This second marriage produced two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James.





During the marriage she put her singing on hold and eventually the marriage resulted in a divorce in 2007. The marriage was riddled with drug and alcohol abuse by Federline (according to Spears) and Kevin was seen out and about in town nearly every single night during the last months of the marriage.After the divorce it was reported that Britney would pay Kevin a whopping $19 million - but this soon proved to be a bit too good to be true for Federline. He only ended up walking away from the deal with $1 million - less than %1 of what Britney Spears is worth.Currently Britney is enjoying a lot of press but not for a good reason.





After the marriage she experienced a public meltdown of her profile. During the divorce proceedings she was seen drunk and possibly under the influence of drugs and going out with friend Paris Hilton. It appeared that she was not spending any time with her kids and this led to a public questioning of her parenting skills.



During her last public performance as a singer at the VMA Awards in 2007 Britney seemed incoherent. She stumbled across the stage and did not bother with any of the dance moves that she had been studying for a week. According to many music industry professionals this may haven been the final blow to her music career.

Car Accessories –1

There's a part in all of us humans when we let ourselves fly free in a happy creative indulgence to pep up our prized belongings, and it is also that moment that gives us lofty satisfaction through such pleasant activities.






Now, apart from our homes, shops and offices, perhaps vehicles are one domain where car owners unleash their pent up creative skills with a vengeance. Capitalising on this highly saleable trend, car accessories makers are meeting the demands with equal excitement through newer and better stuff everyday.The market for car accessories in the UK has escalated tremendously during the last few years, and it's all thanks to the rising force of such enhancers as car mats, rear spoilers, alloy wheels, security alarm systems roof boxes and so on.



As more and more innovation is poured in towards the creation of these items, there will be no end to how the market will prosper. As the popularity of car accessories has moved up day by day in the UK, the concept of online shopping has also been catapulted rhythmically towards greater heights. Now, not only can you browse through a huge list of the latest and the trendiest accessories available over the Internet, you can also reap tremendous benefits through your online shopping in the form of free delivery and great discounts.




What's more, you will even be assisted by the deliverers with free installation of equipments like roof boxes, security alarms and GPS navigation systems.In other words, your quest for those much desired car accessories would not only be a pleasure trip but a pretty beneficial one too. Moreover, you can brag of bagging accessories by some of the leading names in the industry like Momo Corse, Richbrook, Auto Maxi and Tybond, which is reason enough to loose yourself in this whirlwind of a shopping extravaganza.

Tell All About a Cricket Match

If you are not a cricket fan, you are most likely to wonder what is it about cricket scores that keep fans glued to their televisions sets. Well this is something many people have been asking and thinking about and let me tell you till you become involved with the game one can never understand the importance and the thrill behind watching cricket scores.




Cricket is a team game consisting of eleven players and it is the duty of all these players to ensure that they keep the score of their team moving till they win the game. For a cricket fan knowing about the cricket score is very important as this is the one factor that actually tells the status of a live match. Ideally fans would love to see the cricket scores live on the field, but all of us know that this is not possible at all times.




A fan can access the latest cricket scores of live matches through different sources, he only needs to choose which means he wants to use. Today you have many corporate houses venturing into the field of providing the latest cricket scores to fans. This is a wonderful marketing strategy which has worked very well for big corporate houses. So you have one of the biggest names in the world of cricket Sachin Tendulkar endorsing a particular telecom company that promises to give customers the latest score of match in the voice of Tendulkar.




Now this is something that cricket fans will not like to miss out on and you will find that many of them actually subscribe to this network just because their favorite cricketer is endorsing it. Today you can find most of the telecom companies giving updated cricket scores to fans as there is huge demand of this. The internet is a wonderful source through which fans can come to know about the cricket scores.


And this is just the perfect source for the cricket fan who is also a working professional, as they can know all about the cricket scores and yet continue with their work. All important business meetings can be conducted, all deadlines can be met and yet you can continue to know about the latest cricket scores.



There are several sites on the World Wide Web that provide the live cricket score to fans and all they need to do is find out one such site and they can know about the latest status of a live match. The cricket score contains all the elements that a fan would like to know about the game.Cricket scores can tell many things about a game starting from which team is batting first to which players are bowling and how is the team playing.


One can get a simple scorecard and also a detailed score card about the match. So if you are looking for all the details of the game detailed cricket score will tell you all about the game. So even if you cannot catch the live action on the television or on the field you can use the different sources to know all about cricket scores of a live cricket match.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Here Are Two-Free Ways To Make Money Online

There are actually quite a few free ways to make money online. It really just depends on your personal talents, interests, ect. Most businesses don't take a lot of money to start either. It only cost less than $9.00 for a domain name for your website for a year and you can get cheap hosting for under $5.00 a month.




I don't recommemd that you get any hosting that's free. It looks very unprofessional and it will also have other people's ads on the pages. Anyone that's been online for any amount of time will recognize a free hosting page right off the bat and click off your page in a heartbeat. Would you do business with someone too cheap to spend $5.00 a month?



Here are a free ways to make money online.EbayEbay is still a great opportunity, if you know how to properly monetize it. The competition on Ebay is huge and prices are driven down to a bare minimum in most markets, however, savvy marketer's have ways of making BIG bucks using Ebay as a catapult to building huge lists of prospects and customers.



Get to know the right people and don't focus on physical products and you can make a ton of money with Ebay.Affiliate MarketingThere are virtually unlimited affiliate programs online. You can sell physical products, services or downloadable information and software.


The sky is the limit. You can get started here by simply doing some good keyword research, finding a market on something that you enjoy doing, join 1-3 related affiliate programs and setting up a blog. Start posting to it regularly and within a month or two you should start seeing decent traffic and a few sales.

Of course, there's much more to it than that, but that should get you started down the right path. Good luck!

Finance On The Net

The internet has long been home to ‘get rich quick schemes’, but it now seems that the serious face of investing is getting wise to the potential of the web. So forget about the ‘I made a million in a week and you can too’ emails that turn up in your inbox.




Turn your attention to the world of stocks and shares. Not only is there a wealth of information about the whys and wherefores of trading in stocks and shares on the internet, but it is also possible to start trading online.It isn’t just the big spenders who are catered for either.





Even if you are a complete beginner, or just have a small portfolio, there is plenty of online information and help out there. Before you start worrying about what’s available online, it is worth taking a closer look at yourself and your preconceptions about investing in the stock market.Day TraderFor most people, the image of the 80’s city investor springs to mind: sharp suits, fast cars, and million dollar deals struck during the blink of an eye. The reality is far removed. While there is no escaping the fact that with the necessary combination of funds and nerves you can assume this role. The day trader who risks all on the hourly fluctuations of the market is not the norm.





The reasons for this are simple. The vast majority of day traders don’t get rich quick. In fact, the majority don’t make a profit at all.If you want to invest your money in this way, then the services offered by the internet are ideally suited to it, with real time quotes and execution available. However, there are also services geared to more sober traders, such as long term investors and savers looking for an alternative to leaving their hard earned money in a bank account accruing a safe, yet modest interest.





While the elements of risk are not removed by playing the long game, investing in shares over a longer period tends to be a safer option than diving into the frenetic world of the day trader. But it’s not all about high rolling stocks and shares.Financial PlanningThe first thing to do is work out what you want to achieve by investing on the stock market. This may sound like a stupid statement, because you want to make money, right? Obviously, that is the driving force, but ‘how much, how soon and how safely?’ are the questions you need to ask yourself.






At this stage you don’t need to be familiar with all the possibilities, because all you are doing is setting some guidelines covering how much you have to invest, how much of a risk you can take with the money and when you would like to see a return. Where to BeginBefore you jump into the daunting world of buying and selling shares, build up a useful set of resources. The financial world speaks a language of its own.






Make sure you understand the glossary of terms.It is vital that you understand both the markets and the companies you are investing in. You really can’t have too much information on these matters. Fortunately, providing information is where the internet excels. Visit the websites of your local stock exchanges.





While there is a dearth of financial services websites around, finding the right one for you and your needs is not always that easy, and you get bogged down by the dazzling array of services offered by impressive websites all vying for your patronage. Direct share dealing in the past was quite limited. But with the advent of the internet, this has all changed.





Alternatively, you could avoid the actual markets altogether and pop down to your local computer games store and grab a copy of the latest wall street trader game that provides another risk free way to get the feel of trading.

Top Affiliate Online Program Secret: How To Earn Much More

Criminal defense lawyers are experts specialized in handling criminal cases of different ranges. Criminal defense lawyers are lawyers whose profession is based on providing essential services to the people who are considered as accuse or criminal under the court of law. The basic purpose of hindering the service of the criminal defense lawyer is that, the criminal defense lawyer will argue the points with regards to various laws and sections created to serve the people against the criminal cases.
Criminal lawyers are categorized under different sections and classifications. people when arrested for any of their criminal actions such as murder, rape, theft, sex crimes, domestic violence, kidnapping, hit and run and many other criminal cases, they will be proceeded under the court of law. Under such case, the criminal defense lawyer will argue for the criminal and provides them services. Criminal lawyers provide more essential services to the people around the world. Criminal defense lawyers are considered to be more important and essential and also fetch more demand among the people. Nowadays, criminal defense lawyers are required in more number, because the crimes have been increased in large number.
The price consideration paid for each criminal defense lawyers will vary as per the popularity and fame and successfulness created for the person. Criminal defense lawyers offers the service to the public for a reasonable price consideration to enable them not be offended by the court without any wrong doings. There are cases were people may be arrested in the court of law for non-performing of wrongful act. In such cases, the criminal defense lawyers will provides service to the people by attending the case for them in the court and makes argument and enable the people to come out from the case.
Today, criminal defense lawyers are required for each and every activity performed by people. Criminal lawyer is someone different from other professionals. Criminal lawyers are one who is specialized in analyzing, inspecting and examining the criminal cases undertaken by him. Criminal lawyer may argue for either the plaintiff or for the defendant. As per the lawyer interest and request of the people, criminal lawyers precede his functionality in the court of law. The features of each criminal lawyer differ from individual to individual as per their state and county. Criminal lawyers come up with wide responsibility. The involvement of criminal defense lawyer may provide positive or negative result for the criminal case taken.
Criminal defense lawyers provide their service either in individuals or in groups or team. The argument of each criminal lawyer may differ as per their statutes and laws of the state court.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Prayer box (Ghau or Gau) -Tibetan jewellery


The beautiful Tibetan prayer boxes are known as Ghau or Gau. These Tibetan Ghau or gaus are in use to carry magic charms & medicinal herbs as well as the portable shrine for self protection when traveling. Tibetan Buddhists often wear the Ghau that has sacred verse stored inside as the powerful divine objects. These Ghaus are quite similar like American wish boxes.

Statues: wooden-##


Nepal has a very long history of wood carving. Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is named after a very large wooden temple known as 'Kastamandap'. In Sanskrit 'Kastha' means wood and 'Mandap' means a special place made with great skill. One can see wonderful wood carving around the city as a proof of Nepalis' wood carving skill.

Sales Training Tip - 10 reasons why hard sales tactics never work----!!!!

Hard selling is when you go straight to the point and start to try to sell your product without any finesse. It is simply telling your prospective buyer that he should buy your product. Now this hard-core approach may work in some instances but the majority of your prospective buyers will be put off the sale by this approach.
Here are 10 good reasons to change your sales tactics.
1. People hate being sold to: hard sell will bring out the worst in people. When aggressive sales techniques are used this will prompt the prospective buyer to be aggressive as well and act negatively to the sales person. Pretty soon they are ready to argue with you and you know the sale is completely lost.
2. Hard sell will intimidate your prospective buyer: This sales tactic will intimidate some buyers and again cause them to have less interest in the sale. Intimidation will again give your prospective buyer negative feelings towards the sale. They will not have a very good feeling about your company when they see the sort of sales people you hire. This is another factor that will cause you to lose the sales
3. Hard sell makes you sound desperate to sell and this will always put off your buyer. The buyer can sense when the sales person is desperate to sell a product to them. The buyer wonders why the seller is so desperate and is immediately suspicious. This suspicion will turn into mistrust of the truth in what the sales person is saying. The buyer will very likely not buy the product.
4. Hard sell in sales copy will often use hype and prospective buyers can see right through this. Prospective buyers are savvier than they were and will not put up with hype. They want the facts not some pie in the sky promise. If sales copy tries to push the sale with this type of tactic there will be no sale.
5. Prospects need a reason to buy: hard sell does not allow time to explain benefits and what the prospective buyer can expect from the product. Hard sell usually uses features rather than benefits. Benefits are the reason for a customer to buy. You must answer the quest on every prospective buyers mind “What’s in it for me?”
6. You need to build rapport with prospective buyers: building a relationship with your potential buyer is a very important part of selling. You will not only make a sale on the initial product you will build confidence in your buyer. When the buyer has confidence, they will very likely purchase another related product from your company. If you use hard sell you cannot build this all-important relationship. Ultimately you will lose not only the initial sale but also a valuable long-term customer.
7. Soft sell will allow the reader to make his own decision without being pushed into a sale. As mentioned people do not like to be sold to, they do not want to feel that someone is dictating to them and telling them that they have to buy something. Most people want to feel that they are making their own decisions and soft sell will do this for them.
8. Soft sell always outsells hard sell: it is a proven fact that soft sell always outsells soft sell. This is because people can be persuaded but do not like to be forced into a sale. Hard sell is literally pushing your product at your prospective customer and not giving them a chance to say no. Soft sell on the other hand is offering your prospective buyer a product and allowing them to make the decision to buy.
9. It is easier and more enjoyable to use soft sell tactics: soft sell will allow you to use more sales strategies. It is a more enjoyable way to sell because you can talk to the customer, demonstrate benefits and build up a good rapport with your prospective buyer. It is more enjoyable to talk with your buyer and get to know him rather than pushing a sale on him.
10. Soft sell is a powerful way of pre selling products and warming your customer for the sale. When you warm your prospective buyer for the sale, you will be far more successful in selling your product or service. People like to know more about products before they buy and pre selling will allow you to do this for them.Hard sell rarely works because of the above reasons. Additionally there is a stereotype of the pushy sales person using hard sell tactics. When hard sell is used this image comes into the prospects mind and prevents them from accepting the sale. In this way you will lose many sales.

Nepalese puppets & dolls



Nepalese string puppets and dolls are considered as popular souvenir items among the visitors to Nepal before they are introduced by different media to promote them. Creation Nepal offer these puppets and dolls aiming to introduce the reflection of Nepalese culture, dress and lifestyles on them which are also used in ceremonial and religious festivals and rituals as well. The puppets are available in different sizes, colors and costumes of various ethnic groups like Newari, Maithili, Jyapu, Sherpa etc. from Nepal. These puppets are made of wood, cotton/ clay, nylon fiber, cotton thread etc. and painted and well dressed. Besides the culture reflecting puppets, we also offer varieties of handmade modern dolls/ toys (different animals) made by the Nepalese women.

Title with Sex is :Better than Without

Recently I have started to notice strange law - it is no matter what content of the post, but the title matters. Even if in my post there are a huge quantity of tips and useful information it is not attracting popularity if heading is mediocre. And the it matters not only for people, but for search engines too.
Therefore I shall paraphrase Google: Content is Queen - Title is King!All we on own skin experienced how it is hard to think up a good advertising title. Happens, that do not do, there is no stone flower, only flourishes are born. And besides it is quite good also to please Google. In such minutes call sex to the aid.
Push an erotic in title in a combination with post subject and there will be happiness to you. :)Here, for example my post about How to Make Money on Adult Blog. In it is not spoken about sex directly, but there is something predicting and this something involves readers very much. Besides, the theme of the post is mentioned.
It seems to me this is an excellent combination.I wish to show you an example from the article of New York Times - “Seems Somebody Is Clicking on That Spam“.Spam messages promoting pornography are 280 times as effective in getting recipients to click on them as messages advertising pharmacy drugs, which are the next most effective type of spam.
The third most successful variety is spam advertising Rolex watches, 0.0075 percent of which get clicked on, according to an analysis by CipherTrust, a large manufacturer of devices that protect networks from spam and viruses.You See? In 280 times! I think it is not required any more reasons. Look how advertisers of Garnier have overdone with flight of an idea using this tactic. It is an advertising of volume muss.One head is obviously not enough for attraction of attention - it would banal photo. :) Sex sold, sells and will sell.

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