Pages

40 amazing facts about sleep.


40 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT SLEEP YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW BY THE NATIONAL SLEEP RESEARCH PROJECT


-The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

- It's impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.

- Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you're sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you're still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.

- A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year

- One of the best predictors of insomnia later in life is the development of bad habits from having sleep disturbed by young children.

- The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper.

- REM sleep occurs in bursts totalling about 2 hours a night, usually beginning about 90 minutes after falling asleep.

- Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It's possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless.

- REM dreams are characterised by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery - obsessively returning to a suspicion you left your mobile phone somewhere, for example.

- Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film

- No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans.

- Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep.

- Some scientists believe we dream to fix experiences in long-term memory, that is, we dream about things worth remembering. Others reckon we dream about things worth forgetting - to eliminate overlapping memories that would otherwise clog up our brains.

- Dreams may not serve any purpose at all but be merely a meaningless byproduct of two evolutionary adaptations - sleep and consciousness.

- REM sleep may help developing brains mature. Premature babies have 75 per cent REM sleep, 10 per cent more than full-term bubs. Similarly, a newborn kitten puppy rat or hampster experiences only REM sleep, while a newborn guinea pig (which is much more developed at birth) has almost no REM sleep at all.

- Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain's sleep-wake clock.

- British Ministry of Defence researchers have been able to reset soldiers' body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hrs. Tiny optical fibres embedded in special spectacles project a ring of bright white light (with a spectrum identical to a sunrise) around the edge of soldiers' retinas, fooling them into thinking they have just woken up. The system was first used on US pilots during the bombing of Kosovo.

- Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

- The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.

- The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents.

- Exposure to noise at night can suppress immune function even if the sleeper doesn’t wake. Unfamiliar noise, and noise during the first and last two hours of sleep, has the greatest disruptive effect on the sleep cycle.

- The "natural alarm clock" which enables some people to wake up more or less when they want to is caused by a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up.

- Some sleeping tablets, such as barbiturates suppress REM sleep, which can be harmful over a long period.

- In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving.

- Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a "neural switch" in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes.

- To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain's sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That's why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep. The blood flow mechanism that transfers core body heat to the skin works best between 18 and 30 degrees. But later in life, the comfort zone shrinks to between 23 and 25 degrees - one reason why older people have more sleep disorders.

- A night on the grog will help you get to sleep but it will be a light slumber and you won't dream much.

- After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you've slept enough.

- Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.

- Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode.

- Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

- Snoring occurs only in non-REM sleep

- Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the
least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal

- Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men.

- Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.

- Diaries from the pre-electric-light-globe Victorian era show adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets.

- Most of what we know about sleep we've learned in the past 25 years.

- As a group, 18 to 24 year-olds deprived of sleep suffer more from impaired performance than older adults.

- Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.

- The extra-hour of sleep received when clocks are put back at the start of daylight in Canada has been found to coincide with a fall in the number of road accidents.

Source : The National Sleep Research Projects - The project is the biggest survey of Australian's sleep habits ever conducted. The survey was overseen by Professor Ron Grunstein, Dr David Joffe and Dr Bruce Thompson of the Australasian Sleep Association.

amazing facts for kids - collection of interesting facts

DO YOU KNOW? - Collection of Amazing facts, fun trivia, interesting facts, useless facts, knowledge facts, Fun Facts, Useless Amazing Facts - also includes Amazing facts People, Strange Animals, Sea, Creatures, Fish, Birds, Real facts, Plants, Earth, City, Historical Facts.


-Ants don't sleep.
-Owls have eyeballs that are tubular in shape, because of this, they cannot move their eyes.
-A bird requires more food in proportion to its size than a baby or a cat.
-The mouse is the most common mammal in the US.
-A newborn kangaroo is about 1 inch in length.
-A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
-The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."
-There are 701 types of pure breed dogs.
-A polecat is not a cat. It is a nocturnal European weasel.
-Tapeworms range in size from about 0.04 inch to more than 50 feet in length.
-A baby bat is called a pup.
-German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.
-A female mackerel lays about 500,000 eggs at one time.
-It takes 35 to 65 minks to produce the average mink coat. The numbers for other types of fur coats are: beaver - 15; fox - 15 to 25; ermine - 150; chinchilla - 60 to 100.
-The animal responsible for the most human deaths world-wide is the mosquito.
-The biggest pig in recorded history was Big Boy of Black Mountain, North Carolina, who was weighed at 1,904 pounds in 1939.
-Cats respond most readily to names that end in an "ee" sound.
-A cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why the cat cannot seem to find tidbits on the floor.
-Pigs, walruses and light-colored horses can be sunburned.
-Snakes are immune to their own poison.
-An iguana can stay under water for 28 minutes.
-Cats have more than one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
-The biggest member of the cat family is the male lion, which weighs 528 pounds (240 kilograms).
-Most lipstick contains fish scales.
-Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
-Each day in the US, animal shelters are forced to destroy 30,000 dogs and cats.
-A shrimp's heart is in their head.
-A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
-A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.
-The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe.
-A woodpecker can peck twenty times a second.
-It may take longer than two days for a chick to break out of its shell.
-Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.
-Despite man's fear and hatred of the wolf, it has not ever been proved that a non-rabid wolf ever attacked a human.
-There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States.
-Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.
-Cat's urine glows under a black light.
-The largest cockroach on record is one measured at 3.81 inches in length.
-It is estimated that a single toad may catch and eat as many as 10,000 insects in the course of a summer.
-Amphibians eyes come in a variety shapes and sizes. Some even have square or heart-shaped pupils.
-It would require an average of 18 hummingbirds to weigh in at 1 ounce.
-Dogs that do not tolerate small children well are the St. Bernard, the Old English sheep dog, the -Alaskan malamute, the bull terrier, and the toy poodle.
-Moles are able to tunnel through 300 feet of earth in a day.
-Howler monkeys are the noisiest land animals. Their calls can be heard over 2 miles away.
-A quarter of the horses in the US died of a vast virus epidemic in 1872.
-The fastest bird is the Spine-tailed swift, clocked at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour. There is no single cat called the panther. The name is commonly applied to the leopard, but it is also used to refer to the puma and the jaguar. A black panther is really a black leopard. A capon is a castrated rooster.
-The world's largest rodent is the Capybara. An Amazon water hog that looks like a guinea pig, it can weigh more than 100 pounds.
-The poison-arrow frog has enough poison to kill about 2,200 people.
-The hummingbird, the loon, the swift, the kingfisher, and the grebe are all birds that cannot walk.
-The poisonous copperhead snake smells like fresh cut cucumbers.
-A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.
-Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
-The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is blue.
-Cheetahs make a chirping sound that is much like a bird's chirp or a dog's yelp. The sound is so an intense, it can be heard a mile away.
-The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
-The bloodhound is the only animal whose evidence is admissible in an American court. 98% of brown bears in the United States are in Alaska.
-Before air conditioning was invented, white cotton slipcovers were put on furniture to keep the air cool.
-The Barbie doll has more than 80 careers.
-To make one pound of whole milk cheese, 10 pounds of whole milk is needed.
-99% of pumpkins that are sold for decoration.
-Every 30 seconds a house fire doubles in size.
-The month of December is the most popular month for weddings in the Philippines.
-A one ounce milk chocolate bar has 6 mg of caffeine.
-Carbon monoxide can kill a person in less than 15 minutes.
-The largest ever hailstone weighed over 1kg and fell in Bangladesh in 1986.
-Ants can live up to 16 years.
-In Belgium, there is a museum that is just for strawberries.
-The sense of smell of an ant is just as good as a dog's.
-Popped popcorn should be stored in the freezer or refrigerator as this way it can stay crunchy for up to three weeks.
-Coca-Cola was originally green.
-The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
-The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they startwith.
-The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
-TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only onone row ! of the keyboard.
-Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!
-You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.
-It is impossible to lick your elbow.
-People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heartstops for a millisecond.
-It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
-The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughesttongue twister in the English language.
-If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress asneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.
-Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades - King DavidClubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
-If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in theair, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air,the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse hasall four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
-What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laserprinters all have in common?Ans. - All invented by women.Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this?Ans. - HoneY.A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.A snail can sleep for three years.All polar bears are left handed.
-American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from eachsalad served in first-class.
-Butterflies taste with their feet.
-Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
-In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
-On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.
-Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.
-Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
-The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
-The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
-The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body tosquirt blood 30 feet.
-Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your earby 700 times.
-The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
-Most lipstick contains fish scales.
-Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different

french connections controversial lesbian kiss

French Connection's controversial advertising campaign featuring two women fighting and a lesbian kiss scene has notched up 116 complaints, mainly relating to its violent and sexual content.

The Advertising Standards Authority has confirmed that complaints relating to the ad, running on TV and in cinemas, have rocketed since its debut last week. From an initial 39 complaints, this had reached around 70 by the end of last week and now exceeds the 100 mark.

A spokesman said that the association was still considering whether to investigate any possible breaches of its regulations.

Of particular concern to viewers is the level of violence. The ad ends with a violent headbutt and features martial arts punches and kicks. The sexual content features the two fighting women covered in oil and the lesbian kiss.

The ad, by Beattie McGuinness Bungay, was embroiled in further controversy last week when dance act Groovecutters said the creative was an almost scene-for-scene "rip off" of the video for their top 40 hit 'We Close Our Eyes', which was released in January last year.

It emerged the ad was directed by the same person, Duncan Jones, and was, in fact, a shot-for-shot remake using the same location.

how to treat a rude customer - amazing inspiration story

How to Treat a Rude Customer
An award should go to the gate attendant at Luqa airport. A crowded Malta-London flight was cancelled. She was the lone attendant in charge of re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be FIRST CLASS".
The attendant replied, "I'm sorry sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these people first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?"
Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone: May I have your attention please? May I have your attention please?" she began. With her voice being heard clearly throughout the terminal, she said, "We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Gate 14."
With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the attendant, gritted his teeth and said, "F... You!" Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to get in line for that too."

33 very true amazing facts about guys

33 very true amazing facts about guys

*Belive it or not.......

1. Guys don't actually look after good-looking girls. they prefer neatand presentable girls.

2. Guys hate flirts.

3.When a guy says he doesn't understand you, it simply means you're notthinking the way he is.

4. Guys may be flirting around all day but before they go to sleep,they always think about the girl they truly care about.

5. When a guy really likes you, he'll disregard all your badcharacteristics.

6. Guys go crazy over a girl's smile.
7. Guys will do anything just to get the girl's attention.

8. When you touch a guy's heart, there's no turning back.

9. When a girl says "no", a guy hears it as "try again tomorrow".... so true.

10. You have to tell a guy what you really want before he gets themessage clearly.

11. Guys love their moms.

12. A guy would sacrifice his money for lunch just to get you a coupleof roses.

13. A guy often thinks about the girl who likes him. But this doesn'tmean that the guy likes her.

14. You can never understand him unless you listen to him.

15. If a guy tells you he loves you once in a lifetime. He does.

16. Beware. Guys can make gossips scatter through half of the face ofthe earth faster than girls can.

17. Like Eve, girls are guys' weaknesses.

18. Guys are very open about themselves.

19. It's good to test a guy first before you believe him. But don't lethim wait that long.

20. Guys hate it when their clothes get dirty. Even a small dot.

21. Guys really admire girls that they like even if they're not thatmuch pretty.

22. If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone tolisten to him. You don't need to give advice ... very true.

23. A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teasesyou.

24. Guys cannot keep secrets that girls tell them.

25. Guys think too much.

26. Guys fantasies are unlimited.

27. Girls' height doesn't really matter to a guy but her weightdoes! ... very true.

28. Guys tend to get serious with their relationship and become toopossessive. So watch out girls!!!

29. Guys are more talkative than girls are especially when the topic isabout girls.

30. You can truly say that a guy has good intentions if you see himpraying sometimes.

31. If a guy says you're beautiful, that guy likes you.32. Guys hate girls who overreact.

33. Guys love you more than you love them

IF they are serious in yourrelationships.Doesn't this all make sense?

SEND THIS TO ALL GIRLS SO THAT THEY CAN REALLY UNDERSTANDGUYS......AND HAVE GOOD LAUGH

amazing bloomers

Did you take a bath?"
"Why, Is there one missing?"

X------------X------------X
"Are you chewing gum?"
"No, I'm John Smith."

X------------X------------X
"I want to buy a dress to put on around the house."
"Yes, Madam. How large is your house?"

X------------X------------X
"What are you going to be when you graduate?"
"An old man"

X------------X------------X
"I spent three years in college taking medicine."
"Are you well now?"

X------------X------------X
Do you say a prayer before you eat?"
"No, we don't have to. My mother is a good cook."

X------------X------------X
"I've got a surprise for you, honey. I brought a friend home for Dinner."
"Who wants to eat friends?"

X------------X------------X
"We are having mother for dinner, darling."
"Make sure she's well done."

X------------X------------X
"I want some rat poison."
"Should I wrap it up or do you want to eat it right here?"

X------------X------------X
"It seems that everything I say to you goes in one ear and out the Other."
"Well, I guess that's why I've got two ears."

X------------X------------X
"May I hold your hand?"
"No, thanks, It isn't heavy."

X------------X------------X
"Does water always come through the roof in this place?"
"No, sir, only when it rains."

X------------X------------X
"When will you straighten out the house, dear?"
"Why? Is it tilted?"

X------------X------------X
"Do these stairs take you to the second floor?"
"No, you'll have to walk"

X------------X------------X
"Now that you're married, you should have some insurance
"But why? My wife isn't dangerous."

X------------X------------X
"I have changed! My mind.
"Thank heaven! Does it work better now?"

X------------X------------X
Waiter: Would you like your coffee black?
Customer: What other colors do you have?

X------------X------------X

little about friendship - amazing friendship quotes

Little about friendship - amazing friendship quotes

· In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

· A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself.

· A true friend sticks with you through thick and thin no matter what.

· A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

· A road to a friend's house is never long.

· Similarities create friendship's while differences hold them together.

· To lose a friend is hardship, but to forget them is as if you died too.

· Could we see when and where we are to meet again, we would be more tender when we bid our friends good-bye. .

· When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do.

Think up something appropriate and do it.

· I always felt that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friendship was that one had to explain nothing.

· A friend is someone who can sing you the song of your heart when you've forgotten it.

· Verily, great grace may go with a little gift; and precious are all things that come from friends.

· The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.

· A friend is a present you give yourself.

· Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

· In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.

· Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache; do be my enemy — for friendship's sake.

· True friendship is seen through the heart not through the eyes.

· Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one.

· Friendship without self-interest is one of the rare and beautiful things of life.

· The only way to have a friend is to be one.

· If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone; one should keep his friendships in constant repair.

· The happiest business in all the world is that of making friends,And no investment on the street pays larger dividends,For life is more than stocks and bonds, and love than rate percent,
· Friendships are fragile things, and require as much handling as any other fragile and precious thing.

· Friendship is one mind in two bodies.

· Friends are the siblings, God never gave us.

· True friendship is like sound health, the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.
· True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.Never Explain — your Friends do not need it and your Enemies will not believeyou anyway.

10 wonders of the new china - amazing monuments china

It's a hotbed of innovative architecture, from diaphanous theaters to buildings heated and cooled by water

International Design

China's current building boom is doing more than sucking up the world's supply of steel -- it's creating a stage for some of today's boldest architecture and engineering. Take a tour of the 10 of the most intriguing examples.

The Commune, Beijing

First phase completed 2002, expansion scheduled for completion in 2010Even if the Commune didn't sit beside that wonder of the ancient world, the Great Wall of China, it would still qualify as a wonder. The complex includes houses by 12 of Asia's leading architects. It was conceived by married real-estate developers Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi, who gave each architect a $1 million budget. Shigeru Ban, the Japanese architect most famous for the paper houses he designed for refugees of the Kobe earthquake, designed the Furniture House, featuring the laminated plywood typically used for modular furniture, and China's Yung Ho Chang created the Split House, which takes the idea of a boxy dwelling, slices it in half, and spreads it out like a fan.

The Commune is now operated as a boutique hotel by the Germany luxury hotel group Kempinski, which is responsible for an upcoming expansion, which will feature 21 homes (including replications of the originals). One element will remain untouched in the new development: the Commune's private pedestrian trails, which trace untouched sections of the Great Wall.

Beijing International Airport, Beijing

Foster & Partners. Under construction, to be completed in late 2007According to the U.S. Embassy to China, the country will be building 108 new airports between 2004 and 2009 -- including what will be the world's largest: the Beijing International Airport, designed by Foster & Partners. Set to open at the end of 2007, in time for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the airport terminal will cover more than 1 million square meters, giving it a bigger footprint than the Pentagon.

It's designed to handle 43 million passengers a year initially and 55 million by 2015, figures that will probably push the new facility into the ranks of the top 10 busiest airports, going by the 2004 numbers from the Airports Council International. Given the scale and traffic, Foster & Partners focused on the traveler's experience, making sure that walking distances are short, for instance.

Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai

Kohn Pederson Fox Architects. Under construction, completion scheduled for 2008Rising in the Lujiazhui financial district in Pudong, the Shanghai World Financial Center is a tower among towers. The elegant 101-story skyscraper will be (for a moment, at least) the world's tallest when completed in early 2008.

One of the biggest challenges of building tall is creating a structure that can withstand high winds. The architects devised an innovation solution to alleviate wind pressure by adding a rectangular cut-out at the building's apex. Not only does the open area help reduce the building's sway but it also will be home to the world's highest outdoor observation deck -- a 100th-floor vista that will take vertigo to new heights.

National Swimming Center, Beijing

PTW and Ove Arup. Under construction, completion scheduled for 2008The striking exterior of the National Swimming Center, being constructed for the 2008 Olympic Games and nicknamed, the "Water Cube," is made from panels of a lightweight form of Teflon that transforms the building into an energy-efficient greenhouse-like environment. Solar energy will also be used to heat the swimming pools, which are designed to reuse double-filtered, backwashed pool water that's usually dumped as waste.

Excess rainwater will also be collected and stored in subterranean tanks and used to fill the pools. The complex engineering system of curvy steel frames that form the structure of the bubble-like skin are based on research into the structural properties of soap bubbles by two physicists at Dublin's Trinity College. The unique structure is designed to help the building withstand nearly any seismic disruptions.

Central Chinese Television CCTV, Beijing

OMA/Ole Scheeren and Rem Koolhaas. Under construction, scheduled for completion in 2008The design of the new Central Chinese Television (CCTV) headquarters defies the popular conception of a skyscraper -- and it broke Beijing's building codes and required approval by a special review panel. The standard systems for engineering gravity and lateral loads in buildings didn't apply to the CCTV building, which is formed by two leaning towers, each bent 90 degrees at the top and bottom to form a continuous loop.

The engineer's solution is to create a structural "tube" of diagonal supports. The irregular pattern of this "diagrid" system reflects the distribution of forces across the tube's surface. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren and engineered by Ove Arup, the new CCTV tower rethinks what a skyscraper can be

Linked Hybrid, Beijing

Steven Holl Architects; Li Hu, lead architect. Groundbreaking on December 28, 2005, scheduled for completion in 2008Linked Hybrid, which will house 2,500 people in 700 apartments covering 1.6 million square feet, is a model for large-scale sustainable residential architecture. The site will feature one of the world's largest geothermal cooling and heating systems, which will stabilize the temperature within the complex of eight buildings, all linked at the 20th floor by a "ring" of service establishments, like cafés and dry cleaners. A set of dual pipes pumps water from 100 meters below ground, circulating the liquid between the buildings' concrete floors.

The result: The water-circulation system serves as a giant radiator in the winter and cooling system in the summer. It has no boilers to supply heat, no electric air conditioners to supply cool. The apartments also feature gray-water recycling -- a process that's just starting to catch on in Beijing in much smaller buildings -- to filter waste water from kitchen sinks and wash basins back into toilets.

Dongtan Eco City, Dongtan

Masterplan by Arup, for the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corp. In planning stages, first phase to be completed in 2010Developed by the Shanghai Industrial investment Corp., Dongtan Eco City, roughly the size of Manhattan, will be the world's first fully sustainable cosmopolis when completed in 2040. Like Manhattan, it's situated on an island -- the third-largest in China. Located on the Yangtze River, Dongtan is within close proximity of the bustle of Shanghai.

By the time the Shanghai Expo trade fair opens in 2010, the city's first phase should be completed, and 50,000 residents will call Dongtan home-sweet-sustainable-home. The goals to be accomplished in the next five years: systems for water purification, waste management, and renewable energy. An infrastructure of roads will connect the former agricultural land with Shanghai.

Olympic Stadium, Beijing

Herzog & de Meuron. Under construction, to be completed in 2008Sports stadiums have long followed the enduring design of one of the original wonders of the world, Rome's Coliseum. Herzog & de Meuron's National Stadium in Beijing is an attempt to rethink the classic sports-arena layout for more ecologically correct times.

The Swiss architects (of Tate Modern fame) wanted to provide natural ventilation for the 91,000-seat structure -- perhaps the largest "eco-friendly" sports stadium designed to date. To achieve this, they set out to create a building that could function without a strictly enclosed shell, yet also provide constant shelter for the audience and athletes alike.

To solve these design problems, they looked to nature for inspiration. The stadium's outer grid resembles a bird's nest constructed of delicately placed branches and twigs. Each discrete space within the facility, from restrooms to restaurants, is constructed as an independent unit within the outer lattice -- making it possible to encase the entire complex with an open grid that allows for natural air circulation. The architects also incorporated a layer of translucent membrane to fill any gaps in the lacy exterior.

Donghai Bridge, Shanghai/Yangshan Island

China Zhongtie Major Bridge Engineering Group, Shanghai # 2 Engineering Co., Shanghai Urban Construction Group. Officially opened in December, 2005 A key phase in the development of the world's largest deep-sea port was completed when China's first cross-sea bridge -- the 20-mile, six-lane Donghai Bridge -- was officially opened in December, 2005. Stretching across the East China Sea, the graceful cable-stay structure connects Shanghai to Yangshan Island, set to become China's first free-trade port (and the world's largest container port) upon its completion in 2010.

To provide a safer driving route in the typhoons and high waves known to hit the region, Donghai Bridge is designed in an S-shape. The structure, reported by Shanghai Daily to have cost $1.2 billion, will hold its title of China's -- and one of the world's -- longest over-sea bridge for only a couple of years, though. In 2008, the nearby 22-mile Hangzhou Bay Transoceanic Bridge, which also begins (or ends, depending on your journey) in Shanghai, will earn the superlative.

National Grand Theater, Beijing

Paul Andreu and ADP. Under construction, to be completed in 2008Located near Tiananmen Square, the 490,485-square-foot glass-and-titanium National Grand Theater, scheduled to open in 2008, seems to float above a man-made lake. Intended to stand out amid the Chinese capital's bustling streets and ancient buildings, the structure has garnered criticism among Bejing's citizens for clashing with classic landmarks like the Monument to the People's Heroes (dedicated to revolutionary martyrs), the vast home of the National People's Congress, or Tiananmen Gate itself (the Gate of Heavenly Peace).

French architect Paul Andreu is no stranger to controversy -- or to innovative forms. A generation ago, in 1974, his untraditional design for Terminal 1 of Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport was criticized for its unusual curves, yet Andreu's groundbreaking, futuristic building later was seen to distinguish de Gaulle from more generic European and international air hubs. (The same airport's Terminal 2E, also designed by Andreu, gained attention in 2004 when it collapsed, tragically killing four people.)

Beijing's daring National Grand Theater is as much a spectacle as the productions that will be staged inside in the 2,416-seat opera house, the 2,017-seat concert hall, and the 1,040-seat theater. At night, the semi-transparent skin will give passersby a glimpse at the performance inside one of three auditoriums, a feature that highlights the building's public nature

never forget just how special you are

easy vs difficult - amazing inspirational facts

EASY vs DIFFICULT - amazing inspirational facts

Easy is to judge the mistakes of others
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes

Easy is to talk without thinking
Difficult is to refrain the tongue

Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Difficult is to heal the wound...

Easy is to forgive others
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness

Easy is to set rules.
Difficult is to follow them...

Easy is to dream every night.
Difficult is to fight for a dream...

Easy is to show victory.
Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity...

Easy is to admire a full moon.
Difficult to see the other side...

Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Difficult is to get up...

Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Difficult to give its real value...

Easy is to promise something to someone.
Difficult is to fulfill that promise...

Easy is to say we love.
Difficult is to show it every day...

Easy is to criticize others.
Difficult is to improve oneself...

Easy is to make mistakes.
Difficult is to learn from them...

Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.

Easy is to think about improving.
Difficult is to stop thinking it and put it into action...

Easy is to think bad of others
Difficult is to give them the benefit of the doubt...

Easy is to receive
Difficult is to give

Easy to read this
Difficult to follow

Easy is keep the friendship with words
Difficult is to keep it with meanings

AMERICANIZATION - usa amazing facts

AMERICANIZATION

u don't open a telephone conversation with a HELLO but
with a "Hi"

The telephone is never "engaged", it's always "busy".

U don't "disconnect" a phone, U simply "hang-up".

U never "mess-up" things, U only "screw them up".

U don't look for the "toilet"/"loo", U look for the "restroom"

U no longer say "I agree" or "thats so true", U say "U bet!!"

U never have a "residence" tel. no., U have a "home no.

U don't stop at the "signals", but halt at the "lights".

U don't "accelerate", U "step on the gas".

Your tire never "punctures", U may have a "flat".

The trains have "coaches" or "boggies' no more but "carriages" or "boxes".

There R no "petrol pumps", but "gas stations".

"I don't know nothing", 2 negatives don't make a positive here.

U no longer meet a "wonderful" person, U meet a "cool" guy

U don't pull the switch down to light a bulb,rather flick it up.

No one stays "a stone's throw away", might"a few blocks away".

There's no "Town Side", it's "Down Town".

In hotel U no longer ask for "bill" and pay by "cheque", rather ask for "check" and pay with (Dollar) "bill"s.

There R no "soft drinks", only "soda" or "pop"

Life's no longer "miserable" it "stinks" .

Never "post" a letter, always "mail" it and "glue" the stamps, don't "stick" them.

U no longer live in "flats" or "blocks", find an "apartment".

U don't stand in a "queue", you are in a "line".

U no longer "like" something, U "appreciate" it.

"#" is not "hash", it's "pound".

U can't get "surprised" U get "zapped".

U never "joke", U just "kid".

U never "increase" the pressure, U always "crank" it up.

U never ask for a pencil "rubber" U ask for an eraser. a rubber is a condom

U don't try to find a lift U find an elevator.

U no more ask for a route but for a "RAUT"

U don't ask somebody "How r u ?", U say "What's up dude?"

U never go to see a game U go to watch a game.

There's no FULL STOP after a statement, there's a PERIOD.

If someone gets angry at U, U get "flamed".

You don't say "How do you do", you say "How you doin"

original and genuine amazing story

These have to be original and genuine - no adult is this creative!!

JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: "Mom why have you got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?"

MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember anymore. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six."

STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight. "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window."

BRITTANY (age 4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller.She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she Said, "It makes my teeth cough."

Di (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "How much do I cost?"

MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?"

CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?"

JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife And flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt." Concerned, James asked: "What happened to the flea?"

TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?

The Sermon I think this Mom will never forget....
This particular Sunday sermon..."Dear Lord," the minister began, with Arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are but dust." He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter(who was listening!) leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

inspirational, friendship and love - amazing quotation

Inspirational, Friendship and LovePoems & Quotations from the Heart

Friends are kisses blown to us by angels.~Author unknown

Never let a problem to be solved become moreimportant than a person to be loved.~Barbara Johnson

The greatest good you can do for anotheris not just to share your riches, butto reveal to him his own.~Benjamin Disraeli

To the world you may be one person,but to one person you may be the world.~Author unknown

Life The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.
~William Arthur Ward

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of otherscannot keep it from themselves.~Sir James Barrie

Do not wish to be anything but what you are,and try to be that perfectly. ~St. Francis de Sales

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.~Carl Bard

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of otherscannot keep it from themselves.~Sir James Barrie

The most important trip you may take in lifeis meeting people halfway. ~Henry Boye

If nature has made you a giver, your hands
are born open, and so is your heart.
And though there may be times when your hands
are empty, your heart is always full, and you
can give things out of that.
~Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess

It is better to be hated for what you are,than loved for what you are not.~Andre Gide

life long partner - amazing wife quotation

Tell me truth how much you agree with expert comments

I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry. That must be why my wife treats me like toxic waste.- David Bissonette

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.- Sacha Guitry

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.-- Socrates

A happy marriage is a matter of giving and taking; the husband gives and the wife takes.

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.-- Dumas

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want?-- Freud

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."- Henny Youngman

"I don't worry about terrorism. I was married for two years."- Sam Kinison

"There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage."- James Holt McGavran

"I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn't."- Patrick Murray

It's true that all men are born free and equal, but some of them get married!

Marriage is the process of finding out what kind of man your wife would have preferred.

Marry not a tennis player. For love means nothing to them.

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
2. Whenever you're right, shut up.
-- Nash

My wife only has 2 complaints. Nothing to wear and not enough closet space.

You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.-- Henny Youngman

My wife and I were happy for twenty years.Then we met.-- Rodney Dangerfield

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.-- Milton Berle

Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.-- Anonymous

"I haven't spoken to my wife in years. I didn't want to interrupt her."- Rodney Dangerfield

Please send your comments and views

worlds largest mega mall wuxi jiangsu china

A brand new ‘Mega-mall’ that covers an area of 1.35 million square metre is being set up at Wuxi, Jiangsu Province of China.

The government is fully supporting this development and the construction is expected to be completed by 2007.

This mall will be equivalent to the area of 40 commercial centres and will be the biggest apparel and textile centre in the world with around 20000-30000 traders.

The mall will also house a five-star and three-star hotel, a conference and exhibition centre, logistics centre, an 'International Fashion Design Centre’ and also a special service centre for international customers.

It will fulfill the ever-increasing Chinese demand for branded apparels.

Statistics show that apparel consumption in China reached RMB 378.2 billion or US $44.9 billion in 2004 and went up 21.6 percent in the first half of 2005.

sharp launches world largest television - 65 inches


Sharp announces the world's largest full HDTV resolution LCD HDTV dubbed PN-655. Sorry,

Sharp is targeting this 1080p 65 inch monster LCD panel just for professional use and not for home theater use. There are Plasma HDTV with full HDTV resolution that are much larger though. Panasonic showed a 103 inch 1080p Plasma HDTV at the CES 2006. It is obvious that it is still much easier to make large Plasma panels.

The Sharp PN-655 is designed for presentation rooms or video conference applications. This new Sharp LCD HDTV panel features a brightness of 400cd/m2, a 700:1 contrast ratio and 170 degrees viewing angle. DVI and RGB input interfaces are available on the PN-655.

Sharp has actually the LC-65GE1 65 inch LCD HDTV (Thanks Stephane W.) on the market in Japan. The LCD Panel of the LC65GE1 has also full HDTV resolution, but apparently the TV

worlds largest scientific society meets in St. Louis

If a science issue has made headlines, chances are that scientists will be talking about it as the world's largest scientific society meets in St. Louis.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science expects up to 9,000 scientists, journalists, policymakers and citizens to converge here and examine issues including Katrina, stem cell research, evolution and global warming

About 200 meetings and lectures are planned during the five-day meeting, which was scheduled to begin Thursday night.

Dr. Gilbert Omenn, president of AAAS, said the public's understanding of science is a crucial element of heated political, social, religious and technical debates.

"Scientific thinking is absolutely essential to preserving democracy," Omenn said.

Some areas of science continue to be disputed and are often confusing, he said. It must be clarified that research is an ongoing process.

"These are not beliefs. These are not catechisms. These are changeable facts," Omenn said.

Doug King, president of the St. Louis Science Center, said that interest in science is growing and today's visitors are likely to be adults who come without children.

"When I went to school there was no doubt that there are nine planets," King said. "Now, maybe there are eight or 10 and we've found a whole bunch around other stars."
Members of the public will have a chance to participate in several free events and lectures at the science meeting and family events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the America's Center.
The AAAS is the world's largest scientific society and publishes the journal Science. The society last held its meeting in St. Louis in 1952.

Source : Associated Press

edward steichen pond photograph sets world record, $2.9 million

A photograph of a pond taken by Edward Steichen sold for more than $2.9 million on Tuesday, easily setting a world record for the highest-priced photograph ever auctioned, Sotheby's said.

“The Pond-Moonlight,” taken on Long Island in 1904, sold for $2,928,000, including the buyer's premium, Sotheby's spokesman Matthew Weigman said. It was bought by Peter MacGill, of Pace/MacGill Gallery, on behalf of a private collector.

The photograph shows a pond in a wooded area with light coming through the trees and reflected in the water. Pre-sale estimates priced the photo, which is slightly bigger than 16 inches by 19 inches, at up to $1 million. The only other two prints are in museum collections.

The previous record for a photograph sold at auction, $1,248,000, was set in November by Richard Prince's “Untitled (Cowboy).”

Also surpassing that record on Tuesday were two photographs of the artist Georgia O'Keeffe taken by Alfred Stieglitz, her husband. A photograph of her hands sold for $1,472,000, and a portrait of her nude sold for $1,360,000, Weigman said. Both went to West Coast dealers.

All three photographs were among a group of about 140 scheduled to be auctioned by Sotheby's on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The photographs have been put up for sale by the Metropolitan Museum of Art from its acquisition last year of the more than 8,500 photographs in the renowned Gilman Paper Co. collection.

Some of the Gilman works duplicated material already in the museum's holdings so they were put up for auction, as were some photographs in the Met's collection that were in better condition in the Gilman collection.

Stephen Perloff, the editor of The Photograph Collector, a newsletter about the photography art market, said before the Steichen auction that it would be a “moment of history.”

The entire sale is estimated to bring in between $4 million and $6 million, said Denise Bethel, director of the Sotheby's photography department. The proceeds will go toward defraying the costs of acquiring the collection.

Steichen, who was among a group of early photographers who aimed to gain acceptance of photography as a fine art, curated the famed 1955 exhibit “The Family of Man,” which included more than 500 images submitted from around the world. He died in 1973.

Source : Associated Press

world record for the longest blind dating

Boston Singles Seek Everlasting Love for Valentine's Day by Attempting World Record for the Longest Blind Date

Date.com, Foxwoods and KISS 108 FM Partner to Send Two Lucky Singles on the Longest Blind Date of Their Lives

In celebration of Valentine's Day, Date.com, one of the leading online dating services, along with Foxwoods Resort Casino and KISS 108 FM, became the ultimate matchmakers as they paired up one lucky couple on a date they will never forget. On Monday, February 13th, the clock started ticking down as two of Beantown's singles attempt to set the World Record for the World's Longest Blind Date.

The blind date began on KISS-108 FM when 28 year old Keith Santarelli, a PH.D. student at MIT, and Tara Fortunato, a 23 year old who works at a local nonprofit child welfare organization, met for the first time. The daters then proceeded to Boston's romantic Frog Pond for a get-to-know-you skating session, a first for both singles who have never been on skates before. The anticipated love fest will continue with a variety of indulgent and heart-pounding activities such as massages, private poker lessons, a candlelit dinner and more at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT. Together, the pair have pledged to try to set the world record at 48 hours!

"People seem to have a very black-and-white way of thinking when it comes to dating - they think they're either going to fall madly in love at first sight or else the person's not for them," says Anna David, Relationship Advisor for Date.com. "Blind dates tend to bring that attitude out in us even more, which is why they sometimes don't last past the appetizers. This challenge changes the rules up a bit; it prompts the participants to push past the first impression stage. I'm excited to see what happens then."

More than a hundred contestants entered for a chance to win the date during live segments on Boston's KISS 108FM "Matty in the Morning" radio show. The winning couple will receive prizes including two round trip tickets to Miami Beach with hotel accommodations, courtesy of Date.com. The two record breaking participants will also receive lifetime memberships to Date.com, while finalists will receive a free one year membership to the online dating website.

About Date.com

Every relationship begins with a date. Date.com is a community committed to helping its members find and maintain the best relationship for them. Launched in 1997 and re-launched in 2001 as a subscription based service, the site has approximately two million active members worldwide with over eight million members since 1997. Date.com members range in age from 18 to over 80. The premier resource for all dating and relationship needs, Date.com melds personality profiles, chat and IM, with our newly launched interactive blog, Date Info, which features monthly polls and expert advice about dating, relationships, entertainment and health. For more information, visit www.date.com.

Source : http://www.Date.com

Recognizing a Stroke

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours, he can totally reverse > the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient within 3 hours which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps. Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.

Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE

(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today) If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting last February 2005. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

A cardiologist says, if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE, you could save their lives.

Story Sender :
Mr. Tikendra Desai - Tikendra Desai's Holistic Research Center
M.R.C.P. {U.K.}
4788, Lakerun Court,
Riverside,
CA 92505 U.S.A.
Tele : (951) 352-9986
Fax : (951) 352-8908
http://www.geocities.com/holisticresearch

Come to seek advice of the experienced and well known Neurophysician from Gujarat, India with over 40 years of practice in India and Australia.

He has successfully cured thousands of his patients suffering from various chronic diseases. Take advantage of his experience and advice. Get your life back on track through his healing touch and excellent advice.

proof that girl are devil



Proof that girl are Devil - exclusive counting - see it.

fortune 100 best companies to work for 2006

Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2006 - FORTUNE's annual ranking of companies that rate high with employees

1 Genentech
2 Wegmans Food Markets
3 Valero Energy
4 Griffin Hospital
5 W.L. Gore & Associates
6 Container Store
7 Vision Service
8 J.M. Smucker
9 Recreational Equipment (REI)
10 S.C. Johnson
11 Boston Consulting Group
12 Plante & Moran
13 Quicken Loans
14 HomeBanc Mortgage
15 Whole Foods Market
16 Edward Jones
17 Republic Bancorp
18 Baptist Health Care
19 Alston & Bird
20 Kimley-Horn & Associates
21 QuikTrip
22 American Century Investments
23 Qualcomm
24 David Weekley Homes
25 Cisco Systems
26 Goldman Sachs
27 Network Appliance
28 Four Seasons
29 Starbucks
30 SAS Institute
31 Robert W. Baird
32 Alcon Laboratories
33 Nugget Markets
34 CDW
35 American Fidelity Assurance
36 TDIndustries
37 American Express
38 Milliken 39 Amgen
40 JM Family Enterprises
41 Timberland
42 Microsoft
43 Intuit
44 Pella
45 SRA International
46 Nordstrom
47 AFLAC
48 Perkins Coie
49 Nixon Peabody
50 Northwest Community Hospital
51 Genzyme
52 Eli Lilly
53 Hot Topic
54 Arnold & Porter
55 Station Casinos
56 Publix Super Markets
57 Synovus
58 Stew Leonard's
59 Baptist Health South Florida
60 Vanguard Group 61 Sherwin-Williams
62 Memorial Health
63 Russell Investment Group
64 FedEx
65 PCL Construction
66 MITRE 67 Ernst & Young
68 Bronson Healthcare Group
69 Valassis 70 A.G. Edwards
71 Pricewaterhouse Coopers
72 Booz Allen Hamilton
73 Yahoo
74 Standard Pacific
75 Quad/Graphics
76 Children's Heathcare of Atlanta
77 National Instruments
78 Methodist Hospital System
79 East Penn Manufacturing
80 CH2M Hill 81 Autodesk
82 Bingham McCutchen
83 Texas Instruments
84 Worthington Industries
85 First Horizon National
86 Principal Financial Group
87 Washington Mutual
88 Morrison & Foerster
89 Mayo Clinic
90 John Wiley & Sons
91 Granite Construction
92 Men's Wearhouse
93 CarMax
94 Bright Horizons
95 Wm. Wrigley
97 Intel
98 General Mills
99 Marriott International
100 Nike

Source : cnn.com

happy valentine day gift - 21 reasons why i love you




21 Reasons Why I Love You !

  • I can be myself when I am with you.
  • Your idea of romance is dimlights, softmusic, and just the two of us.
  • Because you make me feel like,like, like I have never felt before.
  • I can tell you anything, and you won't be shocked.
  • Your undying faith is what keeps the flame out of love alive
  • You and me together, we can make magic.
  • We're a perfect match.
  • Thinking of you, fills me with a wonderful feeling.
  • Your love gives me the feeling, that the best is still ahead.
  • You never give up on me, and that's what keeps me going.
  • You are simply irresistible
  • I love you because you bring the best out of me.
  • Your terrific sense of humor
  • Everytime I look at you, my heart misses a beat
  • You're the one who holds the key to my heart
  • You always say what I need to hear (You are perfect).
  • You have taught me the true meaning of love.
  • Love is, what you mean to me - and you mean everything.
  • You are my theme for a dream.
  • I have had the time of my life and I owe it all to you.
  • When I look into your eyes, I can see your heart.
  • Your love for me is a natural anti-depressant.
  • I love to hear your voice.
  • Your love has helped me to rediscover myself.
    Your love is an effective anti-dote to despair.
  • I love to wake up with you by my side...It makes my days better.
  • You always make me feel that you are by my side no matter what.
  • I love that feeling of being secure when you wrap your arms around me.
  • I love the way you keep your cool when I do something stupid.
  • Just being with you feels like I can defy the whole world.
  • You mean the world to me.
  • I like your small gestures that speak volumes about how much you care.
  • I love the way you treasure the gifts that I gave you.
  • I love the way you patch up with me after a tumultuous fight.
  • And, of-course, your intelligence, 'cause you were smart enough to fall in love with me ;-)

Wish You A Very Happy Valentines Day !


  • wife quality requirement in india

    Hi All,
    DOCTOR:
    Recently a love-bug injected in me a strange bacteria,making me desirous of marriage. I'm looking for a girl who is patient and has knowledge of all ills and pills, is religious minded and keeps away from all sins be it anasin,metasin or crosin.I promise to be a good doctor with no side effects. Apply or reply.


    SOFTWARE ENGINEER:
    Wanted a Girl with a Lovely Look & Feel, Good GUI with Security features(privileges only for the Specific User especially critical Functionalities). There must not be any Critical or Medium Bug in her. LowBugs can be deferred But needs to B fixed by the Next Build. She Must not be PLATFORM INDEPENDENT, USER FRIENDLY. We are ready to Test the Application & CERTIFY the product but we will assure it will never be released to ANY OTHER Customer.


    BEGGAR:
    Allah ke nam pe koi ek biwi de de, Doosre ki nahi to apni hi de de, Allah tujhe ek ke badle do dega, Hillary hogi to Monika bhi dega


    LAWYER:
    I hereby beg to solicit myself as an eligible candidate for the post of husband after marriage. The person whom I'm looking for should be strictly a girl. The girl should be strictly a girl. The girl should be willing to surrender to the service and jurisdiction of My Lord i.e. My self. Any objection would be overruled and will not be sustained. Apply in confidence and if you have the confidence.

    BANKER:
    Wanted wife who takes interest in me and credits me with her service.


    SHAYAR (Poet):
    Badi muddat ke baad ek arzoo jaagi hai, Ki hum bhi shadi shuda ho jaye, Kya vajah shadi karane ki jo kahde sahi sahi, To yaaron ab khud se kaam ghar ka hota nahi.


    DRUNKER:
    Wanted a girl. Girl's father should preferably have a soda factory. I am an occasional alchoholic who drinks only when friends come home. Friends come home only seven times a week. Girl preffered will carry me from bar to ghar-bar. Meet personally or send soda for trial.Sample should be ample.


    CAR MECHANIC:
    Wanted a sturdy wife. Should be in working condition. Should be above average and must run the household at a good average

    alcohol quotes - alcoholism drinking quotes

    Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver." ~ Jack Handy

    "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.

    "When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." ~ Henny Youngman
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.

    "When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." ~ Henny Youngman
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.

    "24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not." ~ Stephen Wright
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.

    "When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!" ~ Brian O'Rourke

    "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." ~ Benjamin Franklin
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a retard.

    "Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." ~ Dave Barry
    WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

    To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can! ~ Dave Howell WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite s e x without spitting.

    And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers. One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm. Here's how it went: "Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

    top 20 sayings we do like to see on office posters

    20 Sayings We'd Like To See On Office Posters

    1. Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did
    it by killing all those who opposed them.
    2. If you can stay calm, while all around you there is chaos, then
    you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of
    the situation.
    3. Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the
    job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen
    times gives you job security.
    4. Artificial intelligence is no match for
    Natural Stupidity.
    5. A person who smiles in the face of adversity probably has a scapegoat.
    6. Plagiarism saves time.
    7. If at first you don't succeed, try management.
    8. Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.
    9. TEAMWORK: means never having to take all the blame yourself.
    10. The beatings will continue until morale improves.
    11. Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.
    12. We waste time, so you don't have to.
    13. Hang in there, retirement is only 50 years away!
    14. Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes; that way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes!
    15. A snooze button is a poor excuse for no alarm clock at all.
    16. When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.
    17. INDECISION: is the key to FLEXIBILITY.
    18. Succeed in spite of management.
    19. Aim Low, Reach your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.

    Top 20 replies by Programmers to testers when their programs don't work

    Top 20 replies by Programmers to testers when their programs don't work
    20. "That's weird..."
    19. "It's never done that before."
    18. "It worked yesterday."
    17. "How is that possible?"
    16. "It must be a hardware problem."
    15. "What did you type in wrong to get it to crash?"
    14. "There is something funky in your data."
    13. "I haven't touched that module in weeks!"
    12. "You must have the wrong version."
    11. "It's just some unlucky coincidence."
    10. "I can't test everything!"
    9. "THIS can't be the source of THAT."
    8. "It works, but it hasn't been tested."
    7. "Somebody must have changed my code."
    6. "Did you check for a virus on your system?"
    5. "Even though it doesn't work, how does it feel?
    4. "You can't use that version on your system."
    3. "Why do you want to do it that way?"
    2. "Where were you when the program blew up?"

    And the Number One Reply by Programmers when their programs don't work:

    free valentine day sms for your valentine 2006

    free valentine day sms for your upcoming valentine 2006

    1) Where love reigns there is no will to power and where the will to power is paramount love is lacking the one is but the shadow of the other happy velentines day

    2) Love is never lost if not reciprocated it will flow back and soften and purify the heart happy velentines day.

    3) After the verb to love to help is the most beautiful verb in the world love is the flower you have got to let grow happy velentines day.

    4) Go out on a rainy day and count how many rain drops fall and i'll tell u thats how much i miss u and care for u. =)

    5) miles & tym cnt stp wt we hv. ts a bond dt lsts aftr evrytn els n my lyf hs gone wrng.we myt b bth bc doin wt we hv2do, bt f evr ul nid me, il alwys b arnd 4 u

    6) its a nice feelin whn sum1 u luv luvs u in return. So whn u knw d 1 u luv has special feelings 4 u, nvr let dem go coz its rare 2 find 2 hearts dat beat as 1.

    7) Sumday ul forget me... My name, my voice, and who i am to you. But even if you forget me, just want u to know that i will never forget how much you mean to me.

    8) i never regret d chance i gave myself 2 kwn you. Coz now u're a part of me dat i'l chersh til d end. im happy having knwn you, hope you fell d same way 2, (" ,)

    9) ThRee seConDs t0 say i LoVe yoU...3 hours to explain it...aNd a LiFeTiMe 2 prove iT.

    10) Valuing someone is not merely by seeing each other evryday. Wat counts is dat somehow in our busy lives,we remmber each other.

    11) Wen u find luv...Treasure it...Take care of it...B true 2 it...Make gud use of it...Bcoz luv comes unseen...U can only c it...wen it's gone.

    12) When i say i love you, i mean i love you as you are i have no expectations, no selfish motives, no other desires than to let you know i really love you.

    13) Can i say i love you today? if not, can i ask you again tomorrow? and the day after that? Because i'll be loving you every single day of my life.

    14) i luv youtil the day i die, i luv youtil i break down and cry.i love youand i'll make you seethat noone will ever love you - more than ME.

    15) if u hesit8 whn i hold ur hand, ill let u go. if u run away whn i giv u a kiss, il let u go. But once u let me giv u a hug, just once... il never let you go.

    16) knowing uhas always beena mystery.
    i cudnt evn undrstand
    how we evrbcame friends.

    But watevrd rison mayb
    im thankful
    coz some
    howu made me hapPy...

    17) When people see me texting they think i'm addicted to this texting thing. They're wrong because they don't know is that it's YoU i'm addicted to.

    18) Never waste an opportunity to say "i love you" to someone you really love cause it's not everyday you meet a person who has the magic to let you fall in love.

    19) Love is like air. you'll never know it's there until you feel it and you'll never know it's gone until you need it.

    20) wn i tel u here i am, wn i tel u i cre, i do..wn i teL u iL nver Leave u, i wont. iL b here. i wont Leave u, & iL nver get tired of bein here 4u.

    21) if u fall,"NoBoDy" wil care 4u!
    if u die,"NoBoDy" will cry 4u!
    coz "NoBoDy" luvs u!
    oh by d way...my name is "NoBoDy!"

    22) y do we close our eyes wen we dream?..
    dts bcoz d most btiful thngs n lyf s unseen..
    so ask me...y cnt i see u ryt nw?

    23) Wn it cms 2 luv, its hard 2 know f u hve d ryt 1. Many lovers weep, and left n sorrow.y?Bcoz WoRDS cant iMMoRTaLiZe emotions..:'c

    24) i tHaNk u Bcoz u LiSten wHen i sPeak & U c Me 4 wHo i am. i wiL thanK u evRy day of My LiFe Bcoz Ur 1 of My Life's greatst gfts!

    25) u dnt hav 2 ask f i care. in evry word u say, fil free2tel ur worries & realyz dt im hir..4 now 4 always & 4evr 4u exclusvely...

    26) its ok 2 disagree w/ sum1 u luv. how u disagree makes all the difference. Disagree with respect 4 d other person's opinion whether or not u think its right.

    27) D bad tyms can strengthen a relationship if both persons r willing to make a commitment 2 do whatever it takes 2 work on d problems & learn from the bad tim es.

    28) i wndr y d strs stl shyn evn f im sad.
    i wndr y d birds stl fly evn f i cry.
    i wndr y d sun stl smyls evn f im blu.
    myb bcz d wrld's telin me i stl hv u.

    29) To live this Life , i need heartbeat,,,To have a heartbeat, i need a Heart,,,To have a Heart, i need Happiness,,,To have a Happiness, i need you..!!

    30) I love my eyes when you look into them, i love my name when you say it,i love my heart when u love it, and i love my life when you are a part of it.

    "It takes a minute to have a crush an hour to like someone and a valentine day to love someone but it takes a lifetime to forget someone" Be in touch..


    Don't forgotte to comment or reply or mentioned here your Best Valentine SMS or Messanges

    foreign architects and designer eye indias huge it outsourcing projects

    The emergence of huge software parks has not just changed the landscape of Indian cities, but has created a new genre of demand for overseas architects as well.

    Such as Singapore-based Architects Team 3, which has designed the largest facility of Hexaware to come up in Chennai -- over 1 million sq ft spanning 27 acres at an investment of Rs 350 crore.

    This facility, which is expected to be completed in three phases, will house 9,000 software professionals. Its construction will add to the list of the few green buildings in the country.

    Green buildings are those designed and built for the efficient use and harvesting of energy and water resources, and for better waste management, to make for a better world.

    Tay Hui Tiong, director, Architects Team 3, says his company now plans to open offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Currently, there are a dozen-odd people working for Architects Team 3 in Chennai and Bangalore.

    Tiong says Architects Team 3 has been working in the country along with Ascendas, the business space provider, for the last two years.

    "Prior to setting up a base here, we were working out of Singapore," he says, when the need to operate in India was felt. However, the core team of six people who design the constructions are still based in the company's Singapore office.

    It's clear that these overseas architects sense a huge opportunity in India's construction boom on the commercial front driven by IT and ITES companies.

    Architects Team 3 had worked along with Ascendas flagship software park, International Tech Park in Whitefield at Bangalore.

    ITPL has a total built-space of 2 million sq ft. The company has also provided its expertise to the International Tech Park in Chennai, of which the 5 lakh sq ft phase one has been completed.

    Ascendas, also a Singapore-based company, has to its credit 4 million sq ft built space in India, and is developing a tech park in Kolkata at an investment of $150 million, and another project in Pune.

    The variety of experience and expertise in designing mega structures has been the cutting edge of overseas architects, and the reason Indian architects lose out on similar opportunities.

    Tiong says it has been profitable to take up work in India as the volumes of projects make up for the lower exchange rates as compared to projects in Singapore.

    Ask Tiong about India's limitations, and he says that it takes time to make local employees focus on the importance of on-time delivery and quality.

    love is crazy - amazing love poem

    I wonder why people act insane
    Sometimes almost crazy
    Is it the love they have for one
    Or is it something uncontrollable

    For me it's something different
    For me it's something weird
    It's like I know I should not love you
    I know it's not right

    I know what I do
    I do it all for you
    But I know you don't realize
    Half the stuff I do

    I do things in hope
    That you'll be mine one day
    I do things in the spirit
    Of how 'we' did them in the past

    I know it not normal
    Yet I can't seem to control
    My emotions drive me wild
    Almost out of control

    This crazy thing called love
    Does anyone really know
    What drives us to such levels
    That we cannot control?

    torino winter olympics 2006 10 amazing games must to watch















    Torino winter olympics 2006

    After 62 days Relay and over 10,000 kilometres covered, the Olympic Flame has reached Torino. Today, a little before 12.21, the Holy Fire of Olympia entered the city welcomed by 4,000 kids and begun it meander among streets, avenues and roads of a city whose inhabitants descended to salute and pay homage to the principal symbol of the Games.

    10 things to watch in turin at torino winter olympics 2006

    With 15 sports, 73 events and about 2500 athletes crammed into 16 days of competition, the Torino Winter Olympics promise a whirlwind of activity. Need a guide? Here's what – and who – to keep your eye on.

    Canada's quest for another hockey sweep
    Hard to believe, but in early 2002 Canadian hockey (and perhaps even the nation itself) was in the midst of a perceived crisis. The men's national team hadn't won Olympic gold in 50 years and the women's squad had never done it (though women's hockey only became an official event at Nagano 1998).

    Four years later, Canada is back in its "rightful" place atop the hockey world. Both the men's and women's teams will take the ice in Turin, Italy, as reigning Olympic champions.

    Defending their crowns won't be easy, though. The men's field is as deep as ever, with talented teams like Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic eyeing gold. In the bipolar women's game, the struggle between superpowers Canada and the United States continues. The evenly-matched foes will likely meet in the Olympic gold medal match, a one-game affair in which anything can happen.

    Germany's Fab Frauleins
    It may be the finest extended period of sporting brilliance no one has heard of. A member of the German team has won 64 consecutive women's World Cup luge races, a streak that began in December 1997. And the run shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

    Tajana Hufner, 22, suggested a promising future for German luge in earning a gold and three silver medals on the circuit this season. She'll be joined at her first Olympics by decorated veterans Sylke Otto, the reigning Olympic and world champion, and Silke Kraushaar, the newly-crowned World Cup champ, in a bid for a German sweep of the women's luge medals in Turin.

    Deidra Dionne's courageous comeback
    Coming off a freestyle aerials bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Dionne was considered a podium favourite for the Torino Games as recently as this summer. Then she crashed hard on a training jump in September, severely damaging her neck and her medal hopes.

    After months of difficult rehab, the 24-year-old fought her way onto the Canadian Olympic team. But her story doesn't fit neatly into some "courageous Olympian overcomes the odds" template. Dionne has admitted to struggling with her confidence recently and won't be back in peak physical condition in time for the Games, making her a long shot for a repeat medal. But after toiling in the shadows for months just to get there, Dionne has earned her moment in the Turin spotlight.

    Bode Miller's wild ride
    The reigning alpine World Cup overall champion has slipped a bit this season (he has only one win, in a giant slalom in Colorado) but his outsized personality has as much traction as ever. The often-contradictory Miller claims to detest the spotlight but doesn't seem to mind his status as an American media darling. In the past month alone, he posed for the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports

    Miller has also been the poster boy for pre-Olympic controversy. This season he has drawn heat for receiving dubious treatment from a medicine man in Mexico, criticizing skiing's anti-doping measures to the press and admitting to competing drunk during a 60 Minutes interview.

    The free-spirited 28-year-old is worth watching in Turin because he is as unpredictable on the course as off. Miller's all-or-nothing style can lead to a jaw-dropping time ... or a spectacular crash. And he remains the rare skier capable of reaching the Olympic podium in all five disciplines.

    Janica Kostelic's encore
    The fresh-faced Kostelic became an instant star in Salt Lake City with her triple gold-medal performance in alpine skiing. In Turin, the Snow Queen (as she is known in her native Croatia) will try to make Olympic history once again.

    Kostelic, who heads to Turin as the World Cup overall leader, can become the first skier to win an Olympic medal in all five alpine disciplines by reaching the podium in the downhill. And she's got a shot: the 24-year-old is the reigning downhill world champion and won her first career World Cup race in the event this season.

    A medal threat in all five disciplines, Kostelic needs one win at the 2006 Games to become the first female alpine skier to capture Olympic gold four times. She'll be a favourite in the slalom, where she has 18 career World Cup victories and is the reigning Olympic and world champion.

    Italy's tough doping laws
    Spurred by ongoing controversies involving steroids in professional baseball and recent accusations against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, the fervor over performance-enhancing drugs in sport has reached new heights. And things could get even testier in Turin.

    Under Italian law, anyone caught doping faces a maximum sentence of two years. The International Olympic Committee, which opposes criminal charges for doping, lobbied the Italian government for a suspension of its tough rules for the duration of the Olympic Games. When Italian officials refused to budge, a compromise was reached whereby the IOC agreed to accept the laws and the government agreed to let the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency administer athlete testing for the Games.

    So could we see, say, a famous hockey player led out of the athletes village in handcuffs? It's possible, though few athletes have actually gone to jail for a doping offence in Italy. Still, Italian police say that although they won't conduct random room inspections in the Olympic village, they won't shy away from searches if they receive a tip.

    It looks like the hard-nose Italian anti-doping laws have rubbed off on the IOC, which plans to conduct 1,200 drug tests during the Games. That's 72 per cent more than at the previous Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

    Canada's new and newly-departed citizens
    As Canada recently found out, the migration of Olympic talent can cut both ways.
    In December, Lascelles Brown, a Jamaican national, finally received his Canadian citizenship after a protracted struggle with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. That was great news for Canadian bobsleigh pilot Pierre Lueders, Brown's partner in the two-man for the past two years.
    Though athletes are allowed to compete on the World Cup circuit for countries of which they are not citizens, Olympic rules require a passport. With the powerful six-foot-one, 214-pound Brown on board as his brakeman, Lueders secured his spot as an Olympic favourite.

    On the flip side, Canadian ice dancers will face the unenviable task of competing against newly-minted American citizen Tanith Belbin and her partner Ben Agosto. Belbin, 21, was born in Kingston, Ont., and raised in the Montreal area before moving to Michigan at age 14 to seek a competitive partner. She finally became an American on Dec. 31, one day after a new U.S. law designed to speed up the naturalization process for "extraordinary" people took effect. Belbin and Agosto, the runners-up at last year's world championships, will be among the favourites for ice dancing gold in Turin.

    Figure skating's new (and improved?) judging system
    After the pairs debacle in Salt Lake City, the International Skating Union devised a new judging system to try to thwart result-fixing. But are the changes ultimately good for the sport?
    Under the new rules, the marks from three randomly-selected judges are thrown out. Of the remaining nine scores, the highest and lowest are tossed so only the scores from seven judges count. Trying to prop up or knock down skaters with unusually high or low scores is futile for any one judge.

    It appears the ISU has cleaned up its act, but the new system might lead to a different sort of controversy. Each element in a skaters' routine now has an assigned value, with points deducted based on execution. Certain high-value elements are widely performed, leading to more homogenous programs, while some crowd-pleasing moves like spins and spirals are now less common because of their low point value. And only a total score for each skater will be posted. The marks assigned by individual judges, and their nationalities, will be kept secret.

    So while the integrity of the Olympic skating competitions might not be questioned this time around, fans could still come away shaking their heads at the results.

    Snowboard's new discipline
    Snowboard cross, making its Olympic debut in Turin, is not for the faint of heart. Packs of four boarders race down an icy course, navigating bumps, turns and jumps at speeds that can reach 90 km/h. Since getting out front is key, there's plenty of jostling for position.

    Competitors aren't allowed to elbow or forearm, but they're permitted to protect their personal space, which leads to lots of body contact at high speeds.

    There's method to all this madness, too. Only the fastest two in each heat move on to the next round, so boarders will often team up to box out a fellow competitor they wouldn't mind seeing eliminated.

    Watch for Jasey-Jay Anderson (men's) and Maelle Ricker (women's) – Canada's top snowboard cross medal hopes.

    The Olympic legends' final acts
    After years of brilliant performances, a number of Olympic greats are seeking one last moment in the spotlight in what is likely their final appearance at the Games.

    German luge legend Georg Hackl, the first Winter Olympian to win a medal in five straight Games, will try for the fourth gold medal of his unparalled career. The Speeding Sausage has battled physical and personal problems in the past year, and observers wonder if the wily 39-year-old has one last trick up his form-fitting racing suit.

    On the slopes, Austria's Hermann Maier and Norway's Kjetil Andre Aamodt will attempt to add to their already-prolific medal hauls. Aamodt, the first alpine skier to win seven Olympic medals, is among the favourites in the super-G and combined. Maier, who emerged from a spectacular crash in Nagano to capture gold days later in the super-G and giant slalom, returns as a favourite in those disciplines after missing the Salt Lake City Games due to injury.

    In speed skating, Germany's Claudia Pechstein, who set world records in the 3,000 and 5,000-metre races in Salt Lake City, is seeking her eighth medal (and fifth gold) in her fifth Olympics. Memorably monikered Chinese short-track great Yang Yang (A) goes for her fifth medal and third gold.

    Torino 2006 Official website for more details : http://www.torino2006.org

    2006 valentines day gift ideas for her and him


    Heart to heart; soul-to-soul that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about. Spark and dazzle this Valentine with valentine gift ideas. Let your valentine gift speak your heart. Relish the relationship you share with your sweetheart and send beautiful gifts to her and make your darling feel on the top of the world with the best Valentine Gift.

    We bring together some great Valentine’s Day Gift ideas for that extra special person. Let your Valentine gifts go beyond the usual chocolates, roses and teddies. Let them be the mirror to your emotions speaking in the true sense of a romantic Valentine gift.

    Valentine Evening--------- Dressed to kill
    If this is your first Valentine then flowers and chocolates will work out just fine as Valentine gifts. But if you want to surprise your girl with something more personal then select a nice dress for the evening. It will not only show that you spent time selecting her Valentine gift but will also make her look the most gorgeous woman on the earth. Don’t you agree?

    Scent your Senses
    A perfect Valentine gift idea for the most handsome man of your life. Of course this Valentine gift is also absolutely befitting for your classy lady. Select a nice perfume for your man or woman and make the Valentine a dazzled world of fragrance and love. There are many brands available in the market. So you can select what suits your sweetheart. This Valentine gift never goes wrong and is a perfect expression to your love.

    The Book of Love
    So you have been together for a few years and love each other profusely. In these intimate years you sent him/her so many mails as expressions to your love. Well this Valentine relive all those cherished memorable years. Take a print out of all the love letter and bind it in the form of a book. Gift it to your sweetheart and show that love is not just about the present but also about the moments gone by…

    Carved Love
    All of us have seen the carved trees with names of the lovers written on them. It looks so romantic. Then why not bring the same spirit to our Valentine gift. This idea is just perfect for the Valentine’s Day. Select a big heart shaped candle. With your tools carve some flowers and leaves on the side of the candle. And on the top carve out her name and a small Valentine message. Let the warmth of the candle fill your relationship with love and joy.

    Open Your Heart
    Love is an expression of your truest feelings and emotions. Then why be shy about it? This Valentine show the world that you are in love and are proud of it. A great Valentine gift idea is to get a message printed in a paper. Just a few lines from you and the day is made. On the Valentine morning leave a chit stapled to the newspaper to go through Valentine messages. She’ll be surprised at what she finds hidden in the news. You can even dedicate a song on the radio for him, and as he drives for work your voice will follow him.

    Send your best valentine message or comments here.

    LinkWithin

    Related Posts with Thumbnails