For better Health let your Kids get Dirty!

Worried about your kids hygiene? Always keep your little ones neat and clean by not allowing them to get in touch of mud or dust? If yes, you are probably doing something wrong, the findings of a study suggests! Because, exposure to infectious microbes early in life may actually protect individuals from cardiovascular diseases that can lead to death as an adult. During the study, a group of researchers from the Northwestern University found that ultra-clean, ultra-hygienic environments early in life may contribute to higher levels of inflammation as an adult, which in turn increases risks for a wide range of diseases. So, the researchers suggests that American parents should ease up on antibacterial soap and perhaps allow their little ones a romp or two in the mud or at least a much better acquaintance with everyday germs. Are you listening?

The Northwestern study is the first research on microbial effects on inflammatory systems in infancy that relate in later life to diseases associated with aging. Most provocatively, it suggested that exposure to infectious microbes early in life may actually protect individuals from cardiovascular diseases that can lead to death as an adult and exposure to ultra-hygienic environments early in life may create great problems in adulthood.

Exposure to clean, hygienic environment may cause harm, because humans only recently have lived in such hyper-hygienic environments. The research suggests that inflammatory systems may need a higher level of exposure to common everyday bacteria and microbes to guide their development. "In other words, inflammatory networks may need the same type of microbial exposures early in life that have been part of the human environment for all of our evolutionary history to function optimally in adulthood," said researcher McDade.

"In the U.S we have this idea that we need to protect infants and children from microbes and pathogens at all possible costs. But we may be depriving developing immune networks of important environmental input needed to guide their function throughout childhood and into adulthood. Without this input, our research suggests, inflammation may be more likely to be poorly regulated and result in inflammatory responses that are overblown or more difficult to turn off once things get started," McDade added.

Read the full article here: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2009/12/germs.html

Clearing Driving Theory Exam in 950th Attempt!

In her 950th attempt, a Korean woman has finally passed her driving theory test. Yes, you read it right. It was the 950th attempt for the theory test. According to news sources, Cha Sa-soon, 68, has been repeatedly trying to pass the multiple-choice exam since April 13, 2005. Even after intensive coaching, her results only barely touched the 60% pass mark that had eluded her for so long.

How she managed to appear 950 times in the same exam? According to news sources, Cha Sa-soon has taken the test every day apart from weekends and holidays. It cost her more than £6,000 in bus fares and test fees. But the greengrocer, of Jeonju, near Seoul, still has to tackle and pass the more difficult practical test before she can drive.

Why Ms Cha was so desperate to pass the exam? Actually, she need a driving license for her green groceries business. Because of her commitment to pass the driving theory exam, Ms Cha has already become a local celebrity, a Japanese reality TV star and a symbol of undaunted spirit, reports The Times.

Ideas Stolen at Work? One in Four said 'Yes'!

According to a recent survey, more than one in four employees have had their ideas stolen at work and more than half of those who have had their ideas stolen never did anything in response. It means idea theft is prevalent in workplace and most idea thieves get away without any problem. This is really scary, specially when we talk about teamwork. Isn't it?

The interesting survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service, and was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with 444 workers 18 years of age or older and employed in an office environment. At the end of the survey, it was found that 29% employees had said 'Yes' to the question: "Has a coworker ever taken credit for your idea?". It means more than one-quarter of employees have had their ideas stolen at work. Surprisingly 51 % of them said 'Nothing' to the question "What did you do in response?". So, more than half of those ideas thieves get away without

"Today's workplace is more competitive than ever and, unfortunately, there are people who will go to great lengths to make themselves look good or get promoted, including taking credit for someone else's ideas," said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. "Being proactive in sharing your vision with your manager and colleagues early on can help ensure others know the concept originated with you."

OfficeTeam offers the following tips for getting the credit you deserve:

• Report up. Use status updates to remind your manager of your ideas and the progress being made to implement them.
• Look for patterns. If a minor contribution is occasionally overlooked, you may decide to let it go. However, if other people routinely get credit for your ideas, it's a sign that you need to be more assertive.
• Don't act in haste. When someone receives credit for your idea, try to get to the bottom of the situation. It could be a misunderstanding. Be sure to give your colleague the opportunity to present his or her side of the story to you.
• Set the record straight. If you are credited with a coworker's idea, be sure to swiftly correct the situation. Your colleague will appreciate it.
  

via: OfficeTeam

Credit Card Fraud : Miss Singapore Quits

Miss World Singapore 2009 winner Ris Low, who was revealed to be a convict of a credit card fraud, has decided to back out of the finals at Miss World 2009 to be held in South Africa in December. I think it was for the first time in Miss World history, a contestant backed out because of revealed fraud.

Ris Low was already under presser after a slew of negative media reports, where she incurred the ire of the public for her poor English, according to local radio 938 Live. Later, news of her conviction for credit card fraud in May also surfaced, which put her in the spotlight again. She was sentenced to two years' probation for using illegally obtained credit cards to purchase expensive items and dining at posh restaurants, running a bill close to 8,000 dollars.

There was controversy on whether she could or should represent the country. Many Singaporeans wanted her to be stripped of her title, while others requested her not to represent Singapore in the finals of the Miss World pageant to be held in South Africa in December. China Press reported that Low pleaded to be given a second chance, and asked for forgiveness from Singaporeans.

The 19-year-old beauty said that it would be better for everyone and that giving up the crown is the best choice she could make. ERM World Marketing, organizer of Miss Singapore World pageant, said it will be interviewing a new representative to represent Singapore at Miss World 2009 in the coming days.

Anne Frank Video on YouTube

Take a look at the video. This is the only existing video footage of Anne Frank, now published on YouTube by Amsterdam museum the Anne Frank House. The footage, filmed on 22 July 1941, shows Anne's neighbor on her wedding day. A 13-year-old Anne can be seen nine seconds into the video, leaning out of a second-floor window to get a better look at the bride-to-be next door.

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who was born in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany, and who lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. By nationality, she was officially considered a German until 1941, when she lost her nationality owing to the anti-Semitic policies of Nazi Germany. Anne gained international fame posthumously following the publication of her diary which documents her experiences hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Today's Babies will Live to 100 Years!

More than half of babies born in rich countries after year 2000 will live to 100 years, a paper published in the latest edition of medical journal Lancet suggests. According to the Danish experts, life expectancy in developed countries increased by more than 30 years since the 20th century and surprisingly the trend shows no sign of slowing down. So, if the trend continues, most babies born today in developed countries will live to see the 22nd century.

For the study, James Vaupel of the Max Planck Institute in Germany and colleagues in Denmark examined data published globally on numerous issues related to aging in 2004-2005. They found that human life expectancy is increasing steadily in most countries and there is no sign of slowing down. It is basically the improvements in health care, that are slowing down the process of aging and challenging the idea that there is a limit to human longevity.

While illnesses affecting the elderly like heart disease, cancer and diabetes are rising, advances in medical treatment are also making it possible for them to remain active for longer. But the obesity epidemic may complicate the matters. Though our kids could live to be 100, obesity could make them more susceptible to diseases and may even increase their risk of earlier deaths from cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

Pregnant Woman Pregnant Again!

A pregnant woman in US got the most shocking news of her life when she visited her doctors for a routine ultrasound and found that she is pregnant again! Sounds weird, isn't it? But, this is the truth. Julia Grovenburg from Arkansas conceived the second baby two-and-a-half weeks after the first. This extremely rare case is called "superfoetation", in which a woman conceives for a second time while she is already pregnant.

Dr Karen Boyle, of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center said: "When the woman had her ultrasound initially they saw one sack, one baby developing, and that baby had a certain gestational age." Then they noticed a second heartbeat in a child that was much, much younger developmentally.

The 31-year-old woman was first pregnant with a baby girl. But, the recent ultrasound report showed that next to the baby girl there was a second, younger male baby developing side by side in Mrs Julia Grovenburg's womb. Julia Grovenburg and her husband Todd had already named the baby girl as Jillian. Now they will call the younger one as Hudson.

Superfoetation condition is very very rare and it can be dangerous for the younger baby as it could lead to premature birth and lung problems. But in case of Mrs. Julia Grovenburg's case, it should not lead to a problem as the gap between the two babies is only two-and-a-half weeks.

Handwriting Can Help Detect Liars!

One can tell who is a liar and who is not by analyzing handwriting. How? Because, people who write lies press harder on the paper, have longer pen strokes and produce taller letters than those writing the truth. No, this is not my assumption, but the findings of a scientific study that was recently published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. And the study concludes that yes, handwriting can be used to detect lies.

The unique study was conducted by a group of researchers at the University of Haifa, Israel. For the study, the researchers asked 34 volunteers to write two short paragraphs, one recalling a real memory, the other a fictitious event. For writing, a wireless electronic pen with a pressure-sensitive tip was provided to the volunteers.

After analyzing the writings, the researchers then found those who wrote lies (about the fictitious event) pressed harder on the paper, had longer pen strokes and produced taller letters than those telling the truth. It means our handwriting tells the state of our mind?

But why? Why handwriting changes when we lie? The researchers thinks that while writing lies the human brain works harder to invent facts, which in turn interfere with normal writing process. So, in the case of false writing, the average pressure, stroke length and height were significantly higher than in the true writing condition.

"A lie detector that analyzes handwriting has many advantages over the existing detectors, since it is less threatening for the person being examined, is much more objective and does not depend on human interpretation. The system also provides measures that the individual has difficulty controlling during performance. This is certainly a system that can improve - alongside the existing detectors - our ability to identify lies," the researchers concluded.

Though the research is in it's early stage, the usability of a handwriting-based verification system is very promising. I hope that someday there will be some kind of devices that can quickly scan handwriting to detect lies.

102-year-old Woman Quits Smoking

According to news reports, a woman who has smoked for 95 years has finally decided to say goodbye to the habit! Sounds strange. Isn't it? Winnie Langley, who is now 102 years old, started her smoking habit back in 1914, when everyone used to smoke and there were no awareness of the risks of smoking. Now, she has decided to quit because she "didn't fancy it any more".

Mrs Langley, who lives in Croydon, South London, has smoked on average five cigarettes a day. And still she is fine without any serious disease like cancer. Langley claims that she has prevented getting cancer because she does not inhale the smoke.

Yes, smoking is injurious to health. We all know this fact. But, it is not that every smoker is dying with cancer or other smoking-related diseases. In my view, Mrs Langley's case also proves that. But it must not encourage you to smoke more cigarettes. Because, it is a scientifically proved fact that smoking is the cause, the root cause, of many deadly aliments. Stay away from cigarettes and it's smoke.

The good news is that she is quitting. Smokers can take inspiration from her to quit the bad habit. When a 102-year-old woman can quit, why can't you? Think about it.

Via: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212928/Im-giving-cigarettes--95-years.html

People, Life, Happiness and Living Life Fully

Are you happy? Do you think that your life is complete? Or how to feel like your life is complete? In exploring his own and others' lives, a wise man has identified the following four rules of living that give a sense of completeness to our days on earth :

1. Accept challenge and pain: We have to be prepared to accept pain, or else we will never dare to hope or to live. Without the readiness to feel, which must include feeling pain, we will never know joy. We have been led to believe that for every hurt there is a pill we can take to stop it. But when the pain of rejection, deteriorating health or dashed dreams does not go away, many do not know how to deal with it. Pain is part of being alive, but it does not last for ever, and it is bearable. Broken hearts, like broken bones, ultimately heal and there is life beyond the hurting.
2. Be close to People: We need to belong intimately to a few people with whom we share our lives. All the structures for which we spend so much time and energy to create are built on sand. At any time a wave may knock them down. When that happens, the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh, and start over.
3. Know that you have made a difference: While not all of us have great wealth or talent, we can invest our creative energy in ways that remain after we are gone. We can all make a difference by teaching. By this I mean not only the classroom teacher but also the experienced accountant or factory worker passing on advice to the new arrival. Having an impact on another person, shaping his or her life in some small but vital way, is one of the most enduring satisfactions we ever know.
4. Live life until you die: The philosopher Horace Kallen once said, "There are persons who shape their lives by the fear of death, and persons who shape their lives by the joy of life. The former live dying; the later die living. Whenever I die, I intend to die living." We should think of life as the accumulation of treasures. Every new friend made, every new truth learned or experience undergone makes us richer than we were. You should keep it in mind that, it is only when you are no longer afraid to die, you can say you are truly alive.

Women Spend One Year deciding What to Wear!

On average women spend nearly a year of their life deciding what to wear, the findings of a new study suggests. Can you believe this? Though it sounds odd, I think it is true and applicable to most women. The study, conducted by clothes giant Matalan, found that on average a female spends 287 days of her life rifling through her wardrobe deciding what to wear.

The study was based on poll results that involved 2,491 women within the age of 16 to 60 years. It revealed that most women will spend around 20 minutes deciding what to wear before going out on a weekend night. Even during week nights women spend up to 20 minutes a time deciding what to wear. And during holidays it may take up to 52 minutes each time.

The study also found on average women will try on two outfits each morning before coming to a final decision. And one in two women spend 15 minutes the night before work working out what to wear. Interesting. Isn't it?

Why women spend lots of time deciding what to wear? According to a spokesperson of Matalan, clothes represents an image and it is fundamentally important to women. Also, what you wear has a direct impact on how you feel about yourself . That's why it is important a woman feels exceptional in her outfit. Yes, that's why we love to shop!

Relieve Stress Quickly and Effectively

Meditation is a method for relaxation and personal growth that has been around for centuries. It is a great tool for calming and concentrating the mind any time, any place. In simple words, meditation is the best stress buster. But what is you don't have time for meditation? What if you are having trouble with your meditation? Don't worry. Try one of the following three good ways to relieve stress. They don't even require any practice.

1. Breath Well to Relieve Your Stress:

When you feel anxiety coming on, breath deep. If you don't feel like meditating or just don't have time for it, stop for one minute and breath. Just breath deeply through your nose and let the tension drain out from your muscles as much as possible. Give special attention to the tightness in your face and shoulders. Deep breathing, even for a minute, can relax you significantly.

2. Get Rid of  Your Stressors Quickly: 

Get rid of your stress but taking a quick decision. At least take some action. Indecisiveness, waiting, wondering and worrying cause stress. Simply making decisions and taking action can be one of the most immediate ways to relieve stress. Take a moment whenever you feel stressed, identify the things in your mind that are contributing to your stress, and then do something about them. Start a list, talk to someone, make a decision - just do something to let the stressor go. That's all there is to this simple technique.

3. Do Things You Enjoy and Love:

Engage yourself yourself in something that you enjoy and drop your worries. When you are totally engaged in an activity, you'll notice that there isn't any room for stressful thoughts. So, it will help you relieve your stress. While physical activity has some advantages, you can try doing anything that you can put your whole mind into. That could be reading a good book, cooking, or playing the piano. Even your job or business can be one of the best ways to relieve stress, provided you are passionate about your job or business.

Beauty Contest for Earthquake Survivors

It is reported that a beauty contest was organized for refugees of Italy's L'Aquila earthquake to give recovery hopes a head start. That was definitely a good cause. Stunning beauty Sara Iervolino, 26, was made Miss Tent City in the contest aimed at cheering up victims of the quake, many of which are still living in tents erected by the Italian government.

Organiser, hairdresser Antonello Durastante, said: "These girls have been through hell and back and now they have to live in a tent which doesn't do anything for a girl's self-esteem. We want to give them back dignity and beauty." Yes, after all we all are humans!

The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake was an earthquake of 6.3 moment magnitude that occurred in the central Italian region of Abruzzo on 6 April 2009. The majority of the damage occurred in the medieval city of L'Aquila and the surrounding villages. 297 people are known to have died, making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.

Lady who missed Flight 447 dies in accident!

An Italian woman, who arrived late for the Air France flight 447 that crashed in the Atlantic last week, was not so lucky after all. Call it coincidence or fate, she has been killed in a car accident in Austria.

 

 

Johanna Ganthaler was holidaying in Brazil with her husband and missed Air France Flight 447 after turning up late at Rio de Janeiro airport on May 31, The Times reported. Later, the couple managed to get a flight back to France and all the 228 people aboard flight 447 lost their lives after the plane crashed into the Atlantic.

 

But destiny had something else in store for her. Ganthaler died when their car turned across a road and swerved into an oncoming truck on an Austrian road earlier this week. Her husband who was in the car with her escaped death with seriously injuries.

 

This reminds us of the movie "Final Destination", where air crash survivors dies after someday, like everything was already planned! Yes, this is life. No one can be sure about what will happen next.

Plan And Use Your Time Wisely

Proper planning always helps in our life. In life you can't expect anything to happen as planned. But planning can help you solve your problems effectively. So, it is a good idea to get in the habit of planning your time and effort.

Have a clear idea of what you want to do with the day. Draw out a definite programme. Know what you like doing with your leisure. Have definite hobbies and interests, and develop them.

Plan your work. Organize it before you start. Get each stage clear in your mind so that you cut out unnecessary details. Fix a time-limit for each job and do your best to complete it within that time.

Learn to do things the right way with ease, speed, and efficiency. Never be afraid to learn from others. Watch people who know. Take lessons if necessary. Eliminate all unnecessary movements. Have your tools and materials ready before you begin your work.

Try to do something useful with odd minutes like those spent waiting for buses or trains. For example, plan your next job. Test your memory. Go to bed at a reasonable hour so that you do not oversleep or want to lie in bed next morning.

Be punctual about appointments. If you are late, you may have to wait or even find your journey a wasted one.

Talking to people is nice but it can become a habit that eats up your time with no purpose. Keep it under control.

Buying Home and Garden Products Online

Love online shopping? Want to buy some Home and Garden Products online? Need some help? Take a look at ShopWiki, an unique shopping search engine that will make your online shopping experience easier and more convenient.

 

 

ShopWiki is a powerful combination of web-crawling technology and product buying guides. It not only lists available products from more than 200,000 online stores but also provide helpful, wiki style, buying and gift guides. ShopWiki is designed to help consumers find the products they wanted to buy online. So, all the product listings comes with full product details and price information. Also all products are organized into different categories and they can be easily accessed and compared with the help of a search feature.

 

So, from home furnishings and decor items to kitchen appliances and from home improvement tools to garden accessories, you will find anything everything related to home and garden on ShopWiki. Their shopping search is so unique that with minimum effort you will be able to locate and buy the products of your choice. For example, to buy Hedge Trimmers online, perform a search on ShopWiki and you will find more than 800 product listing from different stores. To narrow down your search use filters such as price, colors or brand. In this way you will able to decide on the products to buy. From the specific product listing pages, you can directly go to the respective online stores to buy the products. This will not only save your time but also your money.

 

The product buying guides on ShopWiki are meant for newbies as well as everyone else. Those guides are available for all kinds of products and are very very helpful, specially when I want to buy something important. For example, when I wanted to buy some good cleaning products, there Housewares and Home Maintenance products buying guides helped me. I just love those product buying guides! Check them today.

Friendship and Some Tips

True friendship is hard to find and even harder to keep! Many people don't realize this fact, which ultimately harms their relationships. When friends clasp their two hands, five plus five, ten fingers come closer to each other. If you want to keep those fingers close forever, you must give some efforts towards the relationship. Here I would like to tell you about some genuine tips.

Guidelines For Lasting Friendship

1. To be friend, you must be a good listener. It was Benjamin Disraeli who said, nature has given us two ears, but only one mouth. The ears cannot be closed whereas the mouth can be closed. Once a word leaves your mouth, you cannot get it back. Think twice before you speak anything. You are the master of the unspoken word; you become a slave of the spoken word. Listen not only with your ears, but with your heart.
2. You must learn to appreciate others. Do not find fault with others in the midst of people. Leonardo da Vinci has said: "Blame in private, but praise in public."
3. If you would be a true friend, you must grow in the sprit of forgiveness.
4. Never forget a friend's name, because that lapse on your part can never be pardoned. That will show up your insincerity.
5. Make promises sparingly, but when you make one, fulfil it with the least delay.
6. You must not preach what you do not practice yourself.
7. Be cheerful; smile as much as you can. Learn to laugh. Laughter is a good mental tonic. Don't laugh at others. You may laugh at yourself.
8. Discuss, but do not argue. You may win an argument, but lose a friend.
9. Do not feel hurt when friends criticize you. Whenever you find yourself in the wrong, admit it.
10. If you want to win friends, you must be on the look out for opportunities to serve them. The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Emerson has said: 'The only way to get a friend is to be a friend'. And Henry Davidson has said: 'Radiate friendship, and it will be returned tenfold'.

Prayer is Power

Prayer is the most powerful form of energy that one can produce. If you pray sincerely everyday you will feel a steady flow of continuous power in your daily life. Do you pray? How often do you pray?

All of us pray in different ways. Some people go to their places of worship and offer prayers, though many believe that God is present anywhere. People believe that prayer produces desired effect. This has been proved in some rare cases in the medical field where patients have been cured of diseases by the calm effort of prayer though the medical treatment had failed to produce the desired effect.

Properly understood, prayer is an activity indispensable for the fullest development of one's personality. Only in prayer we achieve that complete harmony of body, mind and spirit that gives the frail human body its unshakable strength.

How does prayer fortify us with so much dynamic power? Human beings seek to increase their limited energy by turning themselves to unlimited source of all energy. When we pray, we connect ourselves with the inexhaustible power that spins the universe. We then arise and feel morally strengthened and physically brightened up.

In order to mould our personality fully, prayer must become a regular habit. One can pray anywhere in the street, in the office, in the school or college, alone in one's room, in the church, mosque or temple. There is no prescribed posture, time or place for prayer. But it is of no use to pray in the mornings and lead a life without a sense of values for the remainder of the day. True prayer is a way of life. In fact, the 'trust' in life is literally a way of prayer.

So, go for it! Prayer will always help you in your life.

Reliable Home Security Systems

Home security is a prime concern for most homeowners. When there are concerns for the safety of your family and your property, you must take it seriously. Home Security can be achieved by anyone with the help of electronics and advanced technology. There are many companies that offers home security systems and services for households.

If you are considering to buy a home security system, you can visit the Home Security Team website (www.homesecurityteam.com). Home Security Team is an authorized dealer of ADT Security Systems. With more than 130 years of experience in the business and after 5 million satisfied customers, ADT is now one of the most trusted home security companies in the US.

Home Security Systems of ADT are designed to give you complete peace of mind. Their systems comes with digital keypad, keychain remote access, PIR infrared motion detectors, high decible alarm siren, battery backup etc. Also the installation is done by certified professionals and the customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

ADT monitored home security systems comes with burglary alarm, police emergency alarm, fire alarm, power failure alarm and trouble conditions notifications. Also there are options for additional upgrades such as heat sensors, water sensors, carbon monoxide sensors etc. ADT have 4 monitoring centers throughout the nation, which guarantee that you will get uninterrupted monitoring service 24/7.

ADT have three different packages - basic, total and cellular. Their basic package starts at $35.99 per month. With every ADT Security System you will get money-back guarantee, theft protection guarantee, mover's security guarantee, homeowner's insurance certificate and service of nationwide monitoring network. So, with the help of ADT systems you can easily ensure the safety of your family, your home and your possessions. Think about it!

1 in 4 Americans Texting While Driving

One in four US drivers text while driving, even though there are bans in some states, the findings of a new survey reveals. The survey, conducted by mobile voice application company Vlingo, also found that 83 percent of the 4,800 people surveyed believed the practice should be banned.

Interestingly, sending text messages while driving is more prevalent in states where it is already banned or legislation is pending for a ban. Drivers in Tennessee were the most prolific texters, with 42 percent of those questioned admitting to the habit. A ban on using a cell phone to text while driving will go into effect in Tennessee in July. Currently texting while driving is banned only in seven US states and the capital city.

During the survey 26 percent of the respondents said they could not resist a bit of texting while driving. This is really scary. Because texting while driving increases the risk of accidents. Texting was responsible for a train crash in Los Angeles last September which killed 25 people, and a Boston trolly crash this month injured nearly 50 people.