Video games can increase more improvement vision'

Improve vision' by video games.....
Researchers found playing the games improved the ability to notice even very small changes in shades of grey against a uniform background.

"Contrast sensitivity" is important in situations such as driving at night, or in conditions of poor visibility.

The Nature Neuroscience study raises the possibility of using a video game training regime to improve vision.

Contrast sensitivity is often one of the first aspects of vision to be affected by ageing.
It can also be affected by conditions such as amblyopia, known as "lazy eye".

Improving contrast sensitivity usually requires physical changes in eye optics, through eye surgery, glasses or contact lenses.

A team from the University of Rochester studied expert video game players playing games involving aiming and shooting at virtual targets.

They found that they had better contrast sensitivity when compared with players who played non-action video games.

These results were not because people with better contrast sensitivity were more likely to be action video game players - giving non-video game players intensive daily practice in video game playing improved this group's performance on tests of contrast sensitivity.

Crucially, the improvements in this study were sustained for months or even years in some cases, suggesting that time spent in front of a computer screen is not necessarily harmful for vision, as has sometimes been suggested.

Unpredictable events

Lead researcher Dr Daphne Bavelier said it was likely that several aspects of playing video games combined to produce the beneficial effect.

Scene Your:Street fashion....

2009 fashion shows, we got a glimpse of fashion forward as well as a bit of deja vu. Trends from the 1980s and early '90s have popped up on the runway again.

Here's a look at our fashion photos from years past and how they compare with what's in store for autumn and winter.

But the question is: How will these looks fair when they're taken to the streets? We've seen lots of leggings and long shirts over the last few years. What other fashion trends of the 1980s are showing up on the streets today? Share your photos in our Your Scene gallery. Or use the comments section to tell us which trends you hope come back and which, like, totally gag you with a spoon.

Celebrity designer Manish Malhotra, at the ongoing Lakme India Fashion Week in Bombay.

King Khan(Shah Rukh Khan ) will showcase another set of collections inspired by the uniform and styling of his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), just like he did for the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week in Delhi last week, in the KKR colours.
The event featuring Bollywood's global superstar Shah Rukh Khan is scheduled to take place this Monday, that is the 30th of March 2009.
It was a show highlighting two highly fashionable items — the Škoda Superb and Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra’s clothes.

Save Money on Groceries

Your grocery bill with these money-saving tips.

1. We won't ask you to set aside your Saturday nights for coupon clipping, but most major supermarket chains will list their weekly sales online, so log on before you do your food shopping. Tweak your menu and shopping list according to what's on sale, or compare the sales at a few different stores, if you have more than one nearby to choose from.

2. Ordering takeout? If you're ordering from a major chain like Domino's, look up promo and coupon codes. Sites likes retailmenot.comeven sort coupon codes by their success rate, as reported by customers on the site.

3. Replace meat with an extra serving of greens to save some green — go vegetarian for a few meals every week. Stock up on your favorite veggies, and experiment with different recipes and seasonings.

4. A slow cooker can be the most useful kitchen tool for those short on money and time. Throw in ingredients in the morning, and by the time you come home for dinner, you'll have meals ready to eat plus extra portions to freeze for those days when you don't feel like cooking and can't afford to eat out.

5. Trim your waistline while you pad your wallet — order an appetizer as your main course when you go out to eat. The portion will still likely be more than enough to satisfy, and once you get in the habit, the calories and cash you'll save will really add up.

6. For meals you have every day, like your breakfast yogurt and granola or favorite sandwich for lunch, don't buy prepackaged meals. Make it yourself. Nutrition expert and registered dietitian Sharon Richter suggests making sure you buy foods that are in season — they're less expensive and taste better.

7. Sign up for a credit card with rewards points and use the card for monthly expenses that you've budgeted for and are confident you can pay off in full, like groceries and restaurant meals.

8. Sign up for your grocery store's savings card. In some stores, discount prices and sales are only offered to cardholders, so don't lose out — sign up for a savings card and you could be saving a lot of money each time you shop.

9. Buy in bulk — but choose carefully so you don't end up throwing away money. Sales are a great time to stock up on basics like pasta and cereal, but reign in the impulse to buy 10 cartons of yogurt just because they're buy-one-get-one-free.

10. Save cash and change up your routine by going out for lunch instead of dinner once in a while. Lunch-special prices are cheaper than dinner prices, so meet up with your guy for a midday catch-up, or call your friends for a late lunch on the weekend instead of meeting for dinner.

11. Big on baking? Things like chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and even spices all go on sale around the holidays, so stock up then on these expensive items.

Save Money on Your Energy Bill..

1. As long as plugs are inserted into an outlet, they're drawing electricity--unplug your phone and laptop chargers when you're not using them.

2. Everyday appliances such as computers, game consoles, plasma televisions and DVD/VCR players burn up energy—about 40-percent of your total bill—even when you're not using them. Instead of leaving them on standby or sleep mode, turn them off.

3.Attach appliances and battery chargers to a power strip, and get in the habit of unplugging or switching it off when you leave the house for the day.

4. We won't ask you to take cold showers, but you can wash your clothes in cold water, which expends about half as much energy as hot rinses. To save even more, make sure to clean out the lint tray before starting the dryer.

5. Showers account for most of a household's hot-water use. Cutting showers from 30 minutes to 10 could slash water-heating costs by 50-percent.

6. Lower your thermostat to 58 degrees if you’re away from home for a chunk of the day. You use much less energy to heat the house up when you return than to keep it heated while you’re away.

7. Keep your refrigerator full. It'll operate more efficiently.

8. You still need to wash your dishes, but now you have a great reason to stop hand-washing and invest in a dishwasher. According to Consumer Reports, just pre-rinsing your dirty dishes uses roughly 20 gallons of heated water a day. Just scrape the food off and drop them in the washer.

9. Alliance to Save Energy claims a one-degree thermostat reduction can save 3 percent on your heating bill.

Health Groups Fail to Find agreement on Ways to Expand Coverage in US

President Barack Obama’s pledge to overhaul the U.S. health system to provide coverage for everyone has spurred lawmakers, insurers and advocates to develop plans to accomplish it.

broken health-care system is a critical part of fixing the economy, but it will not happen overnight, and it won't be easy," Lavizzo-Mourey said. "Fortunately, a lot of people are working together this time -- government and business, doctors and patients, Democrats and Republicans -- so that we can achieve real reform."

A consensus on divisive issues in the debate over health-care reform, including whether to require Americans to purchase insurance, failed to emerge from six months of private meetings among insurers, consumer advocates, hospitals and other health-interest groups.

Support grew on Friday for insurance industry demands that all Americans be required to obtain coverage as part of a planned healthcare system overhaul, with a senior Senate Democrat and a coalition of business and consumer groups promoting the idea.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat who is helping write healthcare legislation, said an insurance requirement, or mandate, would help the market function better and reduce premium costs for everyone.

Panel agrees on need for universal health care, though approache differ.

Is America ready for health care reform?
Are caregivers, patients and insurers willing to make the sacrifices to support quality health care for all?
Maybe not yet.
A panel of health care professionals and analysts who discussed health care reform at Baldwin-Wallace College on Monday evening could agree on one point, though: America needs a universal health care system.
But their discussion showed the reluctance of most people to give up something to arrive at that goal

What did you say about men wear..

What did you say about men wear..???????

The birds are tweeting, the weather's annoyingly inconsistent, the stores are full of pretty, feminine frocks. So, where does that leave all you stylish men out there? Frankly, we weren't sure. So we called Eric Jennings, director of menswear (and many other things) for Saks Fifth Avenue. He had some surprising things to say. For example, economic doldrums or not, men aren't shying away from buying color right now.

Qwhat is the biggest trend out there for men right now?
A. Sharp, strong pops of color. Novelty is selling, anything colorful. Need is about basics. All the basic things, people are not replacing. What's selling is things people respond to emotionally, like big pops of color. It has to make you feel something.
Q. What about ties? Color there?
A. Traditional, classic ties are not selling quickly, but narrow ties are. Younger customers are wearing narrow ties and bow ties with jeans, khakis, cardigans. . . . I love to see young men taking an interest in accessorizing. . . . We're also seeing a lot of non-silk [ties]. Ones made from suiting material, from leather. And then we're back to novelty.
Q. Speaking of novelty, let's talk about these shrunken suits for men. They look cool, but what can you do if you don't have the body for them?
A. It's not about buying a suit that's smaller. The key is to get a suit that fits you, one that's a little bit closer to the body. Getting a shoulder that is closer to your shoulder, not hanging over the shoulder. Just a bit more fitted.
Q. What about the pants?
A. Wear them without a break, or with little or no break.
Q. Whoa. No break. Really?
A. Even for me it takes a while to get used to wearing them without a break or with a very small break.
Q. What's the biggest problem you observe with men and the way they dress?
A. Fit. It drives me crazy. A larger guy feels that he has to buy bigger clothes but that just makes you look sloppier. Conversely, you have men who refuse to go up a size, and they end up looking like a stuffed sausage.
Q. What about shoe trends?
A. The dress-up sneaker does very well for us. It's an instant update to your wardrobe. Patent leather, metallic finishes, suede. Of course, saying that, my fear is that someone will take a white athletic sneaker and pair it with a suit.

Technicolour is our life

It was that time of the year when the who’s who of New Delhi turned up looking their best to catch a glimpse of designs that will send the fashion barometer soaring in the coming months. Here are glimpses from this year’s Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week that brought together India’s leading designersEkruEkta Jaipuria and Ruchira Kandhari’s collection embraces the rich cultural heritage of Europe, India and Mexico. The colourful story includes chocolate, black, turquoise, sea green, red, plum, and off-white. It also features folk embroidery to create beautiful accents and sharp tailored silhouettes with a sophisticated touch. The floral embroidery in vibrant colours go well with uniquely colourful texturing in the collection. Ruffles, pleats, tucks and quilting added a quirky touch to the collection. It includes jackets, dresses, skirts, saris and lahenga in beautiful variations and innovative cuts.

Google is to lay off 200 staff from its global sales and marketing operation

About 100 redundancies to come from Google's US operation

About 100 of the job cuts will come from the US operation of Google, which has its global headquarters in California, according to a report in the New York Times.
The US company, which has now made three rounds of lay-offs from its global workforce of more than 20,000 this year, announced the latest cuts on its official blog late yesterday.
"Google has grown very quickly in a very short period of time," said the Google senior vice-president of global sales and business development, Omid Kordestani. "When companies grow that quickly it's almost impossible to get everything right and we certainly didn't. In some areas we've created overlapping organisations which not only duplicate effort but also complicate the decision-making process. That makes our teams less effective and efficient than they should be. In addition, we over-invested in some areas in preparation for the growth trends we were experiencing at the time."
Kordestani said that the company recognised that "the recession makes the timing even more difficult for the Googlers concerned."
"We did look at a number of different options but ultimately concluded that we had to restructure our organisations in order to improve our effectiveness and efficiency as a business," he added. "We will give each person time to try and find another position at Google, as well as outplacement support, and provide severance packages for those who leave the company."

Climate-friendly gardening

Pruning one's patch is the quintessential British pastime. But could we be pruning our emissions while we're at it?
Those blessed with green fingers may live in fear of the phrase 'hosepipe ban' but, in terms of climate change, dousing our daffs is the least of the problems our gardens cause. Watering plants accounts for 6% of our domestic water use, and a day's water use emits just 24g of CO2 - less than the weight of a small packet of crisps.
The real climate culprits? Our mushrooming purchases of garden gear. Think petrol mowers, paving, tropical garden furniture and peaty composts.

According to a recent survey, about a third of British gardeners are worried that global warming is affecting their gardens - but there's growing evidence that the reverse is also true. Here are some of the ways our gardening helps emissions to grow:

According to the carbon offset company Reduce Your CO2

swapping your petrol lawnmower for a manual can cut emissions by 36kg of CO2 every year - and knock £18 off your annual spend
Most of our peat use is in our gardens. Peat bogs store twice as much carbon as all the world's forest combined but every year an area of Eire ten times the size of Monaco is dug up
The UK is the third largest importer of Vietnamese garden furniture - most of which comes from illegally-logged forests in South East Asia. Read more about the impact of deforestation on the climate it in our article, Buying Sustainable Wood On top of that, although watering the garden may be down the list of climate change crimes, emissions from our water use can stack up:
One litre of mains water emits about 0.75g of CO2 according to Waterwise
Installing a rainwater butt can save 0.6kg of CO2 per year - equivalent to a three mile drive in your car - and up to £200 off your water bills, according to The Low Carbon Diet
Watering with a sprinkler uses 138 times more water than watering with an old-fashioned watering can, while a garden hose can use almost as much water in an hour as an average family of four uses in a day
Digging in a low volume irrigation system with a timer in a large garden can cut water use by half according to The Low Carbon Diet - and the time you spend watering the garden by about 90%.

Weddings trends, Fashion Week preview and more in LifeStyle

Weddings trends, Fashion Week preview and more in March 28's LifeStyle .

Check March 28's LifeStyle for a look at the growing reputation of planned elopements; and the fading tradition of daughters wearing their mother’s wedding dresses.

Also watch for a flashy preview of Edmonton Fashion Week, which takes over the TransAlta Arts Barns April 2 to 9. You'll also find the latest instalment in our Make it a Habit series, looking at ways in which a small amount of money set aside each day can add up to an indulgent monthly reward all year long. Our latest suggestion? Join a gourmet coffee club.

Journal photographer Shaughn Butts is on the hunt for images encouraged by the word “savour” for LifeStyle’s new photo feature, The genesis Project. If the word inspires you, too, upload your photos at edmontonjournal.com/send-us-your-news. Be sure to mention "genesis project" in the caption information.

Love is the main part for marriage..

Love the mysterious word, that many failed to explain, is where the secret of survival lies. Only very few were able to find their way through this maze and avoid getting lost in it. Falling in love is a very sophisticated psychological behaviour that many find in interpreting since it is not instinctive as parental love for example. Hence, it is liable to be affected by external facts such as time, place and the major shift in social conditions. In a very simple attempt to identify what love is, I may say that it is a complex process that grades from the stage of presentable attraction to reach the ultimate phase of soul unification. Mutual understanding, respect, trust and the sense of full integration are all crucial elements that help love grow and develop on a good basis.

Being married to someone you love is priceless. Love doesn’t come everyday for everyone. You could catch it if you are at the right time and at the right place. Mutual love is even harder to find. We all know that one-sided love will never last. Unfortunately, many of us couldn’t even have a chance to be in love or to smell and taste the sweetness of love.
For some people, there are many reasons for getting married as the followings:
•For companionship,

•As part of “to-do” list

•Time to get married,

•As the “right” thing to do,

•Peer pressure (because everybody is doing it),

•The “baby clock” is ticking (many women believe that they should have their first child before the age of thirty-five.)Not too long ago, I met a friend on the street and she told me she has been busy. She used “very busy” and not just “busy.” When I asked, she replied with a frown on her face, and her exact words were: “I have to get myself married. All my friends are either married or getting married. The guy I am seeing seems to be nice and I think he should be a good husband and father.” I was speechless at that moment. I had to digest what she said in silence. I really wish her the best of luck.

Relationship protocol..

Alone Time Relationship Good or Bad?.
My friend has been dating her boyfriend for about two and a half years. Over that time, he has basically convinced her that if she really loves him, she'll spend all her spare time with him. At the beginning, I thought it was fine because it was new, but now, he still gets upset and offended if she goes for a night out with the girls (even if it's just dinner and a movie). She ends up having to explain herself and defend her love for him, and it usually results in a fight.

We've talked about it and she told me that he says when two people love each other, they should want to spend all their time together or else it's not "true love." I don't agree, but am I wrong? Isn't it normal to want some alone time or time with your friends without being made to feel like a bad girlfriend? Can you truly love someone and still want some time away from them?

comments...
You're not going crazy. It's partly true that when you're in love you probably want to spend all the time in the world with that other person, should you? No. Everyone needs their time, time with family, time with friends, and time alone period. Without that, you lose who you really are as an individual. I gave/am giving my gf her space, and she called me earlier after class and basically told me that me understanding and respecting that she needs some space, and that I was giving her that space made her even more in love with me. Everyone needs their space to be themselves.



more........

Fighting about money?
Near 43 percent of couples fight about money. When you're having to learn to love the simple life again and cut back on your frivolous spending, it's easy to be on edge — especially if your money woes are ruining your sex life!

Of course this recession is affecting everyone differently so tell me, is money a topic of conversation that lends itself to an argument these days?

Depression and Stress:family Affair

What they all have in common is stress, a condition that results when a person perceives that they do not have the resources or ability to cope with a situation. When this occurs, stress and depression enter in to a dance, meaning, individuals who are both depressed and stressed have a similar biochemical profile: fatigue, a depressed immune system, or decreased creativity. Because of this, if you deal with one, it helps to “disable” the other.
Mind-Body ConnectionRecent research has shown that babies of stressed mothers have lower birth weight and an increased propensity to be obese. Research has also revealed that the brains of depressed individuals have reduced nerve growth in the pre-fontal cortex—the conscious thinking brain. Because of this, depression may make you less mentally competent in various ways, such as being more forgetful, or finding it harder to complete tasks.
De-stress to “de-depress”Depression and stress may be a family affair, but it can take a village of strategies to manage them. Here, some get-started steps to disengage from these unwelcome visitors:
• If negative thinking or a stressful situation or relationship is at the core of your depression, the good news is that there’s a lot you can do about it.

The first step is awareness; become aware of what is causing your depression. To begin, listen to your self-talk. What beliefs do you have that feed your negative “mind chatter?”

Are you overly critical of yourself or your prospects?
• When you become aware of a negative thought or a depressed feeling, consider looking at the other side of the issue.

By considering both the positive and negative aspects of a situation, your thinking will become more balanced. In turn, you’re likely to realize you’re not stuck; that you have choices.

• At least once every day, do something you really enjoy.
Perhaps one of the most effective (and documented) ways to de-stress and “de-depress” is to exercise regularly. Other lifestyle strategies include incorporating a contemplative practice in your life, such as meditation or yoga, eating well and healthfully, and connecting with friends and family. Giving to others and expressing authentic feelings to a caring person also are proven strategies for replacing stress and depression with a satisfaction-filled life. EmpowHer expert and writer, Deborah Kesten, MPH, offers still more suggestions in her article, “B” Wise to Beat the Blues."

Relx lifestyle

More and more studies are revealing that if you’re an adolescent girl, you’re at greater risk for being depressed than if you are an adolescent boy.
A sampling:
• Pre-adolescent boys and girls have about the same low level of depression. But when they reach puberty, depression in girls increases well above that for boys.
• Poor social relationships is a key reason depression is higher for adolescent girls than boys.
• Another related factor is low self-esteem. Poor social support combined with low self-esteem increase the chances of getting depressed when faced with stressful situations or negative life events.

Celebrating Independence Day of Bangladesh

March 26 - the day Independence of Bangladesh was formally declared on the eve of a 9month long war of Independence with Pakistan that led to the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation. After many years of exploitation, both politically and economically, the Bengali national sentiments led to the massive victory of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Awami League in the Pakistan National Elections of 1970. The ruling oligarchs in the then West Pakistan balked at having to give up the reigns of power to East Pakistanis. They stalled the installation of the newly elected parliament, and on the dark night of March 25, 1971 embarked on a genocidal reign of terror aimed at extinguishing all signs of Bengali nationalism. In the face of this, the inevitable declaration of independence was proclaimed, and the fight was on for the people of Bangladesh to achieve independence, at a terrible price of 3 million people killed by the marauding armies of Pakistan.

Spring fashion trends for men and women

It may be the spring of the shrinking pocketbook .The season's trends for men and women could fill a California Closet, but they're available at all price points. And there's nothing that's an absolute must-have for fashionistas who don't want to lose their credentials.

We blinked and saw that "I Dream of Jeannie" harem pants were prowling around the catwalks, and that jumpsuits had jumped out of the '70s onto the runways again.

Jeans have made their way back into designers' good graces, though fashion gurus are still pushing the idea that looking put-together remains the overriding trend when dressing up or down.

We say take advantage of the fact that you don't have to have a particular body type or taste anymore to fit in.

If heavy metals are your thing, go for metallics.

Get graphic in a tee.

Go bold with a big bracelet.

Strut your stuff in stripes.

It's all good.
What isn't okay to wear these days is probably the best question.

If you want to take on the tight economy and show who wears the pants, try mixing less expensive pieces with ones that cost more. Yes, fashionistas, it is possible, and you'll find the world will still be here in the morning.

With the right style and the right swagger, you can rock a $400 dress with a bangin' $10 bangle, and no one will be the wiser.

The senses of newborn baby.

Your baby will probably also like repetitive, rhythmic sounds that mimic the sound of vibrations or the heartbeat that he heard while he was still in the womb. Tapes of heart sounds, the beating of a tom-tom or other drum, and the loud hum of a vacuum cleaner will all be music to your baby's ears.
Most babies have a sensitive sense of hearing, and they pay careful attention to the noises in their world. Your baby can distinguish among a wide variety of different sounds. Like most newborns, he will probably show a particular fondness for human
For the duration of the first weeks of life your newborn may seem to do little more than eat, sleep, cry, and make dirty diapers. But in reality, all senses are functioning as your baby takes in the sights, sounds, and smells of this new world.
It's hard for us to know exactly what a newborn is feeling — but if you pay close attention to your baby's responses to light, noise, and touch, you can see complex senses coming alive.
Sight
Your newborn can see best at a distance of only 8 to 14 inches, and focus when gazing up from the arms of Mom or Dad. Your newborn can see things further away, but it is harder to focus on distant objects. Still, the light shining in from a faraway window may catch your infant's eye.

After human faces, brightness and movement are the things a newborn likes to look at best. Even a crude line drawing of two eyes, a nose, and a mouth may keep your infant's attention if held close enough.

Although your baby's sight is functioning, it still needs some fine tuning, especially when it comes to focusing far off. Your baby's eyes may even seem to cross or diverge (go "wall-eyed") briefly. This is normal, and your newborn's eye muscles will strengthen and mature during the next few months.

Your newborn is better equipped to see contrasting colors than closely related hues. Black-and-white pictures or toys will keep your baby's interest far longer than objects or pictures with lots of similar colors.

Give your infant lots of interesting sights to look at, but don't overdo it. One item at a time is plenty. And don't forget to move your infant around a bit during the day to provide a needed change of scenery.

Hearing
Most newborns have a hearing screening before being discharged from the hospital (most states require this). If your baby didn't have it, or was born at home or a birthing center, it's important to have a hearing screening within the first month of life. Most kids born with a hearing loss can be diagnosed through a hearing screening.

In some cases, hearing loss is caused by things like infections, trauma, and damaging noise levels, and the problem doesn't emerge until later in childhood. So it's important to have kids' hearing evaluated regularly as they grow.

Your newborn has been hearing sounds since way back in the womb. Mother's heartbeat, the gurgles of her digestive system, and even the external sounds of her voice and the voices of other family members were part of a baby's world before birth.

Once your baby is born, the sounds of the outside world come in loud and clear. Your baby may startle at the unexpected bark of a dog nearby or seem soothed by the gentle whirring of the clothes dryer or the hum of the vacuum cleaner.

Try to pay attention to how your newborn responds to your voice. Human voices, especially Mom's and Dad's, are a baby's favorite "music." Your infant already knows that this is where food, warmth, and touch come from. If your infant is crying in the bassinet, see how quickly your approaching voice quiets him or her down. See how closely your baby listens when you are talking in loving tones.

Your infant may not yet coordinate looking and listening, but even while staring into the distance, your little one is probably paying close attention to your voice when you speak.

Taste and Smell
We assume newborns can smell because we know they can taste, and these are the two most closely related of the senses. Research shows that new babies prefer sweet tastes from birth and will choose to suck on bottles of heavily sweetened water but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to taste.

In the first 6 months, babies get needed nutrition from breast milk or formula and then will start "solid" baby foods. Because infants like sweeter flavors, it's sometimes easier start them on the sweeter vegetables, like carrots or sweet potatoes. As your baby matures, offer different tastes and flavors so that your little one develops a liking for a variety of foods.

And at this point, though, you don't have to worry too much about your baby's taste buds. Breast milk (the best!) or formula will satisfy your newborn completely!

Touch
As it is to most humans, touch is extremely important to a newborn. Through touch, babies learn a lot about surroundings. At first, your baby is looking only for comfort. Having come from a warm and enveloping fluid before birth, babies are faced with feeling cold for the first time, brushing up against the hardness of the crib, or feeling the stiff edge of a seam inside clothes.

Babies look to parents to provide the soft touches: silky blankets, comforting hugs, and loving caresses. With almost every touch a newborn is learning about life, so provide lots of tender kisses and your infant will find the world is a soothing place to be.

Should I Be Concerned?
If you just want a little reassurance that your baby's senses are working well, you can do some unscientific testing for yourself. Hold a small light just out of your baby's direct line of vision, about a foot away from his or her face. Your baby should turn to look at the light. Don't be too worried if it doesn't hold his or her attention for too long — even a brief look at the light indicates that the baby sees it. In just 4 to 8 weeks, a newborn's eyes will begin to follow a moving light.

If your baby's eyes seem to cross more than just briefly, be sure to tell your doctor. In rare instances, medical correction is required. Also tell the doctor if your baby's eyes appear cloudy or filmy, or if they appear to wander in circles as they attempt to focus.

Most newborns will startle if surprised by a loud noise nearby. If you want to check that your baby is hearing, make a sharp noise while standing behind your baby. Your little one should jump a bit — but if not, don't worry. It may mean your baby was concentrating on something else and had "tuned out" the rest of the world at that moment. Just try the noise test again later.

Other ways to rest assured your baby is hearing well: Does crying stop once he or she hears your voice? Does your baby respond to soft lullabies or other music? Do sounds made out of sight capture your baby's attention?

If you have any concerns about your newborn's ability to see or hear, talk to your doctor immediately. Even newborns can be tested using sophisticated equipment, if necessary. The sooner a potential problem is caught, the better it can be treated.

lifetime honour collects Seamus Heaney

Irish poet Seamus Heaney gain David Cohen Prize for Literature.
The £40,000 award, given to a writer from the British Isles, was presented by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion at a ceremony in London.

The 69-year-old, whose first collection of poems appeared in 1966, said it was "a lovely reward".

Past winners include fellow Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing.

'Venerated'
Heaney, who won the Nobel Prize in 1995, paid tribute to previous recipients, calling them "a roll call of the best".

"There's the fact that you don't enter for it but are chosen from the wide field of your contemporaries," he added.
Motion called Heaney a "venerated public figure", with a "reputation is so exalted judging panels might be expected to feel some trepidation about bestowing another prize on him".

"But the self-renewing force of his writing, and the sheer scale of his achievement make the award an absolutely right and proper act of recognition," he added.

As the winner of the Cohen Prize, Heaney has chosen an organisation supporting young writers to receive the £12,500 Clarissa Luard Award.

About Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney was born in April 1939, the eldest member of a family which would eventually contain nine children. His father owned and worked a small farm of some fifty acres in County Derry in Northern Ireland, but the father's real commitment was to cattle-dealing. There was something very congenial to Patrick Heaney about the cattle-dealer's way of life to which he was introduced by the uncles who had cared for him after the early death of his own parents. The poet's mother came from a family called McCann whose connections were more with the modern world than with the traditional rural economy; her uncles and relations were employed in the local linen mill and an aunt had worked "in service" to the mill owners' family. The poet has commented on the fact that his parentage thus contains both the Ireland of the cattle-herding Gaelic past and the Ulster of the Industrial Revolution; indeed, he considers this to have been a significant tension in his background, something which corresponds to another inner tension also inherited from his parents, namely that between speech and silence. His father was notably sparing of talk and his mother notably ready to speak out, a circumstance which Seamus Heaney believes to have been fundamental to the "quarrel with himself" out of which his poetry arises.

Heaney grew up as a country boy and attended the local primary school. As a very young child, he watched American soldiers on manoeuvres in the local fields, in preparation for the Normandy invasion of 1944. They were stationed at an aerodrome which had been built a mile or so from his home and once again Heaney has taken this image of himself as a consciousness poised between "history and ignorance" as representative of the nature of his poetic life and development. Even though his family left the farm where he was reared (it was called Mossbawn) in 1953, and even though his life since then has been a series of moves farther and farther away from his birthplace, the departures have been more geographical than psychological: rural County Derry is the "country of the mind" where much of Heaney's poetry is still grounded.

When he was twelve years of age, Seamus Heaney won a scholarship to St. Columb's College, a Catholic boarding school situated in the city of Derry, forty miles away from the home farm, and this first departure from Mossbawn was the decisive one. It would be followed in years to come by a transfer to Belfast where he lived between 1957 and 1972, and by another move from Belfast to the Irish Republic where Heaney has made his home, and then, since 1982, by regular, annual periods of teaching in America. All of these subsequent shifts and developments were dependent, however, upon that original journey from Mossbawn which the poet has described as a removal from "the earth of farm labour to the heaven of education." It is not surprising, then, that this move has turned out to be a recurrent theme in his work, from "Digging", the first poem in his first book, through the much more orchestrated treatment of it in "Alphabets"(The Haw Lantern, 1987), to its most recent appearance in "A Sofa in the Forties" which was published this year in The Spirit Level.

Factors are personal characteristics and evolutionary explanations.

Explanations connecting to Interpersonal Attraction.
Personal uniqueness
It has been found that physical good looks is probably the most vital factor right at the beginning of the relationship, as we do not have anything else on which to base our judgement of the person in question. If a person is physically gorgeous, we automatically expect them to have other positive attributes. This is called the halo effect, and explains why we are more likely to be attracted to physically attractive people. This has been shown in a study where photographs were attached to students essays when the teachers were marking them. It was seen that the more attractive students did indeed score much higher on the essays than the unattractive ones.
Though it may seem that everyone would try to get the most attractive partner possible, this may not be the case. Walster proposed something called the matching theory, and suggested that we pick a partner based on our own level of attractiveness.
Although personality is not the most important thing at the beginning of a relationship, it is one of the most important factors after the initial judgement has taken place. Different countries value different personalities as being attractive, for instance UK and US cultures value independence and extroversion, whereas eastern cultures prefer introversion.

As well as this, the traits that we see attractive at the beginning of a relationship, such as predictability, may become boring late on in the relationship, and may cause issues within the couple.

Evolutionary Explanations

It has been found that women seek partners who can agree them economic constancy, because of the high level of physical investment they put into having children. Because they spend nine months carrying the child, they want to make sure that there is money available to care for the child when it is born.

Men on the other hand have an almost endless reproductive capability, so their level of initial parental investment is low. Because of this, they will search for women who are attractive and will be able to give them healthy, ‘good quality’ offspring. Traits which could show good reproductive qualities are youthfulness in general, and also symmetry of facial features.

This has been shown in newspaper ads, where men would search for a youthful mate 42% of the time, in comparison to the 25% of females who searched for this. Also, 44% of men search for a physically attractive partner, in comparison to the 22% of females.

Your Health and Fitness

About Health and Fitness..
Reports surface that teens are taking cow drugs for abortions
Veterinary and medical professionals said that they have been warned about a potentially alarming practice among the state's rural youth: teenage girls ingesting livestock drugs to end their unwanted pregnancies.

Brewing up a stroke safeguard?
The role coffee and tea play in a person's risk of having a stroke got a little clearer recently as two large observational studies found that the beverages may actually provide a modest amount of protection.

Patton took on cancer with humor
Mark Patton liked to bill himself as "The World's Most Transplanted Person." Patton underwent three bone marrow-stem cell transplants, plus other stem cell treatments. He survived 18 years with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood canc

Switch in health records boosted
The incentives in the economic recovery act to encourage the conversion from paper to electronic health records could mean hundreds of millions of dollars for the state's health care systems and doctors.

How Stimulus Funds are being Spent
Infant addictions rising, doctors say
"The number of methadone-withdrawing babies has skyrocketed in the last four to five years," said John Glaspey, a pediatrician and neonatologist who works at several area hospitals for Newborn Care Physicians of Southeastern Wisconsin. "The problem right now is much worse than it ever was before."

Happy, everybody’s happy

happy smile for all......
Hobby symbolizes lifestyle.When passers-by see Ralph Noriega’s 2008 Toyota Yaris, they see interesting decals of a knight on a horse and symbols related to dragons.

On the trunk, are the words, “Dragon Rider.”

What is a dragon rider?

“A dragon rider is a peace keeper and protector of the ‘realm’,” Noriega said.

Noriega has always been a fan of knights in shining armor riding fast steeds, and promoting safety and tranquility.

The white Yaris symbolizes what Noriega does for a living and what he truly believes — for the past 20 years or so, he has been an employee of SRS, a defender of those who cannot defend themselves.

“I fight poverty, domestic violence, and abuse,” he said. “I protect children and promote adult self-sufficiency.”

He follows the code of a knight, on and off the job — chivalry, fighting forces of evil, and does not believe in injuring women or children.

His wife, Kathy, has always been intrigued with dragons.

“I’m the knight who came along and tamed the dragon,” Noriega said with a smile. “If the dragon’s happy, everybody’s happy.”

This is Noriega’s first new car which came out of necessity. When the Marion SRS office closed, he was forced to commute to work. His pickup did not get the gas mileage he wanted so he traded it for an economy car.

He wanted a black car but the dealership did not have one available at the time. So Noriega settled on a white car.

“It was a blank canvass,” he said.

The car is a work in progress, with Noriega adding decals, as he is inspired. He has plans that include dragon claws and eyes on the hood and a dragonhead on the roof

The money he has saved in fuel costs are paying for the car, Noriega said. It has been an adjustment for the six-foot-tall-plus man to drive a compact car, but it has been worth it.

Noriega lives the life of a man committed to his wife and family. While talking in his driveway, he is quick to point out the strong female influences in his life.

His mother-in-law, Joy Wildin, lives next door.

“She’s a cancer survivor. At 60, she learned how to drive a truck to pay her medical bills,” Noriega said. “Ten years later, she’s still driving. Joy is the matriarch dragon.”

For Noriega, he believes his “successful” and happy marriage of 30 years is attributed to his and Kathy’s commitment to each other and to their faith.

“The knight on his white horse and dragon are tied together to love. What is love? God is love,” Noriega said. “Taming dragons is through servitude not control.”

A couple of years ago, Kathy fulfilled her dream or, as she puts it, her midlife crisis. She purchased a Pontiac Firebird, which seemed appropriate for the “dragon.”

Recently, Noriega found his family’s crest and guess what the symbol was. A knight on a horse.

Driving his “white stead,” Noriega has received a few double takes.

“I was driving down the street and a kid, about 8 or 9 years old, saw it and loved it,” he said. “I loved his reaction.”

Noriega is willing to tell his story because it not only applies to his car but to his way of life.

China assurance Baby Products

China assurance Johnson & Johnson Baby Products.
Joannan Lu, the Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman in China, confirmed the company had handed in products to the Shanghai quality watchdogs for checks, but added it has no plan to pull its products from the Chinese market.
The company has no information about when the results would be available from the quality checks by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, Lu told Reuters in a telephone interview
Chinese officials have given the all-clear to Johnson & Johnson baby products made in China.

Beijing says no evidence has been found that the products contain potential carcinogens as alleged by an activist group.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration says it found no contamination by formaldehyde in 33 products sold by the company's Shanghai branch.

Economic hardship suffer Few middle-class families

African-American and Hispanic families faces in this year's difficult economic times.

In measuring economic factors such as assets, education, housing costs, household budget and health care, only one in four African-American and one in five Latino middle-class families can be considered financially secure, according to "Economic (In)Security: The Experience of the African-American and Latino Middle Classes," a study released by Demos, a public-policy institute in New York.
Financial advisers who work with black and Hispanic families said they are also seeing increasing concern among their clients.
"People who were talking about asset-building and growth are now talking about: How do they sustain and maintain what they have?" said Saundra Davis, a financial planner and principal of Sage Financial Solutions Inc. in San Francisco.
"Folks are struggling more now. They're all doing some belt-tightening," said Lee Baker, founder of Apex Financial Services Inc. in Tucker, Ga.
"The struggle for middle-class Hispanics has always been a high income-to-expenses ratio, which means very little savings or 401(k) or emergency accounts," said Ruben Ruiz, chief executive of The Ruiz Financial Group in San Marcos, Texas, and author of "The One-Hour Hispanic Millionaire"

Help & SAVE, INVEST MORE

MR. Ruiz is advising his clients to increase the percentage of their income they put in savings and investment accounts, get out of debt and save money for major purchases before making them.
"I tell them, 'Before you start this, you have to take a weekend to recite to yourself and your family, to write down, to walk and talk, to scream out, 'On Monday, we are changing our financial goals and are going to have a structured income plan and get out of debt,'" he said. "You have to get psyched, because you have to make a change. There is no other way."
Ms. Davis is advising her clients to increase their emergency funds beyond the standard three- to six-month time frame and to keep more assets liquid, including those set aside for college savings.
"So much of what they do with money is emotional that I want to find out what will make them feel safest, and incorporate that into the plan," she said.
Mr. Baker said he's telling clients to use the current economic climate as an opportunity to "take a look at their life and ask what they would change."
Some suggestions he has given them include cutting expenses by considering car pooling and re-assessing their current cell phone plan and cable TV package.
Mr. Baker is also advising his clients to increase their emergency savings fund.
"If they lose their job, they shouldn't have to worry about keeping their head above water in addition to looking for a new job," he said.

African-American and Hispanic families in the middle class, broadly defined in the report as families with household income ranging from $40,000 to $120,000, have "alarmingly insufficient assets," according to the Demos study.

India's biggest fashion event started New Delhi using the global recession

Prevailing grim global mood as seen in designs showcased at the Wills India Lifestyle Fashion Week .Designers using the global recession and emotional depression to set a sombre trend for their autumn/winter collections.Models draped in black, grey and deep purple sashayed down the catwalk at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, a five-day event in which 103 designers vie for the attention of 175 domestic and international buyers.
"We are in the heart of recession, and it's fashionable," said designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh, whose "Frugality is the new Black" collection was inspired by the global downturn.
"I've combined high-street cheap leggings with luxe jackets, T-shirts with luxury shawls," she said. "You can be frugal, sensible, spend less and yet you can be fashionable."
Designer Nitin Bal Chauhan's "Condition Apply Part II" showed the underbelly of fast urban life, especially in India's capital, in a follow-up to an earlier collection.
Models acted out themes such as vanity, divorce and depression on stage wearing predominantly grey pleated dresses, trousers and skirts.
"It's inspired by the urban life, the flip side of urban life far removed from the glowing city life," said Chauhan, who added he is influenced by TV and newspaper stories of urban misery.
Models wore headgear made from junk such as spectacles, which the designer said represented lonely senior citizens left behind in a bustling city, or a study lamp, in reference to students who commit suicide because of work and social pressures.
The show ended with a masked robber strangling a model sitting on a rocking chair.
Chauhan also wove gloom from the recession, which has dented India's recent economic boom, into the designs.

"If you look at my shirts, they are asymmetric, and parts of the shirt is missing. Part of the cuff is missing, part of the collar is missing, so recession will definitely have an impact on my collection," he said.
"All my headgear are made of junk," Chauhan added. "In times of recession things that you put aside certainly hold meaning."

Jonas Brothers are launching a clothing line for teenage girls.

The teen heart-throbs JONAS BROTHERS are breaking into the fashion world. The US boy band – comprising brothers Kevin, 21, Joe, 19 and Nick, 16 - are teaming up with Disney customer Products to discharge a back-to-school sportswear range later this year, which will communicate with their upcoming Disney TV series J.O.N.A.S!

Disney Consumer Products’ Pamela Lifford said: “We see this line as high chance for back-to-school. Also, as an added element, within each of the retailers we are offering up separation, so that each store has elite product on their floors.”

The fastener item in the range – a v-neck argyle sweater vest – will feature the logo of the fictional high school Horace Mantis Academy, which features in their new show.

Other pieces from the collection - called Jonas - include woven tops, T-shirts, polo shirts, plaid belted shorts, leggings, jeans and denim skirts.

explanation Disney bosses are adamant the line will sell, Pamela explained: “The difference we have with the Jonas Brothers is that we have three young men. And when you look at their customer following, we have the whole heartthrob play, which is a great thing for us to work with when we are talking about tween girls.”

The range – which was not designed directly by the brothers - will be available in popular US stores, including Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears and J.C. Penney and priced at $10 - $25.

Pamela added: “The Jonas Brothers are a lifestyle, not just a boy band. Their movie Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience lets you into their world, and the clothing line is just another way to do that.

"It’s a way to obtain closer to them and their world.”

Living being Happier

provide yourself consent to be human.When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or worry — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

Happiness lies at the connection between pleasure and meaning.Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments all through the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

Q: Do you believe the first 30 days of change are vital to living a happier life?

A: Absolutely, because you need to begin creating a new pathway in your brain to think differently.At any given moment, we have a choice about how we interpret reality. The brain is a meaning-making machine. It takes in data and interprets it, filters it and makes a story out of the information it allows in. That story has everything to do with whether we're happy or not. It's incredibly simple. Every single moment, we have the choice to take the raw material and tell ourselves a story that makes us miserable, or a story that makes us happy.

Q: During the first 30 days being happier, should people focus on stopping negative thoughts or promoting positive thoughts?

A: It goes hand in hand, like driving a car -- you have a brake and a gas pedal. Feelings follow thoughts, activating a chemical cascade in our minds. We think certain things and that creates a biochemical reaction in our brains that either releases stress hormones or feel-good hormones. So when you find yourself thinking negatively, stop and think of a positive explanation, interpretation or outcome. That way you build a pathway in your brain for thinking "up." It's about teaching your mind to think about what's right and good.
Q: Is happiness a habit, and thus, is unhappiness a habit?

A: Absolutely. The research shows that 50% of it is genetic, meaning we have a set point of biochemical happiness or unhappiness. But the other 50% is made up of habits that we created in our brain that we can change. It doesn't matter what your set point is. It doesn't matter how you got this way. Understanding why is the booby prize. The real question is: What do we do from here? That's when we have freedom.

Q: Is that how you rewire your brain from thinking negatively?

A: Yes -- don't feed it any more negativity. The more time you spend telling yourself your old sad story, such as "my mother was an alcoholic and she used to yell at me," the more you drive that misery into your brain. But the more you say, "OK, that was that, now what am I going to choose to think about to change that?," then you start to pay attention to what you can enjoy.

Q: What is the relationship between happiness and the actions one performs?

A: The brain learns and changes from experiences. It doesn't change from reading or listening -- it changes by doing things. It has to be an action and you have to be able to measure it, so you can see that you're doing it. People try without measuring, but if you tell your brain you're going to do this for the rest of your life, it gets very confused and says, "Oh no, that's too hard." Lots of times people come to me and say they want to learn how to be happy and I say, "Well, what are you going to do?" If you don't know, then you're not going to get happier.
Q: How many changes should people make during the first 30 days of being happier?

A: People try to do too much. That's one of the key reasons they don't succeed. Remember, you need to come up with a measurement. In 30 days, get one thing that you really nail in and the more that you practice that one thing, the more bang for your buck you're going to get in terms of actual results you'll be proud of.
Q: How can people choose the correct changes that will make them happier?

A: This is about what you need to work on. There are two things that are highly correlated with happiness: One is contentment and the other is fulfillment. The path of contentment includes the practice of gratitude -- which allows us to become aware of the goodness in our lives and helps us connect and be kind to others -- and the art of savoring -- which is about appreciating the goodness in the present moment, the bird singing outside your window, the wind blowing. The path of fulfillment is about our life's purpose, about using our gifts on behalf of something that has meaning to us.

Q: How important is it to learn from your mistakes to be happier in the first 30 days and beyond?

A: Actually, I think it's more about learning from your successes. Those are the things you want to focus on. The brain works better by paying attention to what's right. Don't turn goof ups into give ups. We're extremely good at paying attention to all the ways in which we screwed up. This is why people don't change. As soon as they don't do it perfectly, they say, "I can't do this." Instead, pay attention to when you did it right, even if it was only once. I know that sitting with my feet up on the couch for 10 minutes at the end of the day to think about what I did well makes me happier and I only did it once this week.

Do you want Looking Younger and Healthier?

keep you ever green....Best Advice for Looking Younger and Healthier..

Looking younger is all about how you feel inside. When you reveal your inner health, you bloom with natural beauty and bounce about the world showing a verve for life that conveys a message of youth. How do you enhance your own energy levels and feel healthy? Follow these tips for using skin products, hair products, diet products, exercise products and fashionable clothing.

Skin Products to Look Ten Years Younger and Feel Healthier
To delay aging, start when young to care for your skin. Before you reach the teenage years, start using a light moisturizer on your skin to protect from the effects of sun. Sun protection products like Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic and Nivea can protect against later skin cancer but also against wrinkles.

When you enter puberty, switch to an oil-free moisturizer for your skin. If you think that because you have so much oil produced by your body during these years that a moisturizer won’t help, you’re wrong. An oil-free moisturizer like Almay’s will replace moisture stripped from your cells by harsh acne treatments, will protect your pores from collecting acne producing dirt and will sop up some of the excess oil.

Using a face powder during these years will also sop up oil and keep the shine off your face.

After adolescence, slowly move from a light moisturizer for normal skin to a deep moisturizer, like Physician’s Formula. Use a hypo-allergenic, non-comeogenic moisturizer to have as little impact on your skin as possible.
Keep makeup to a minimum needed to even out skin tone and highlight your best features. Your best blush is your natural one.

Hair Products to Look Ten Years Younger and Feel Healthier
The truth about hair dye is it is really harsh on your hair.

Nothing makes you look older than to have frayed hair ends and dull tones. A dye such as that helps bring out your natural tones and shine will make you look younger. A trick learned from a hairdresser is to use a semi-permanent dye such as , then touch up with short term herbal remedies that keep the gray covered. As you age, make sure your hair color lightens in an imperceptible way that makes the inevitable acceptance of gray hair natural.

To protect your hair, use a conditioner that is suited to your hair’s oiliness and the amount of chemicals you use on your hair. Products such as that are designed for use with hair color products helps the dye last longer.
Diet Products to Look Younger and Feel Healthier
Adequate sleep and good health will make you look and feel younger. Use StressTab daily vitamin to protect you from loss of vitamins that wash out of your body. Use an iron or mineral supplement if your doctor suggests it. During menopause, using estrogen or soy-products can ensure you get adequate sleep.
Products to Make Your Legs Look Younger and Feel Healthier
Some people have genetic problems with varicose veins and should use support hose like that offered by L’eggs to protect themselves from problems in later life. Most people look younger if they take a walk daily. Flabby or knotty muscles will make you look older. Learn Yoga from x and use the stretched to keep your muscles energized and smooth.
Wear Sports Clothing to Look Younger and Feel Healthier
Sports clothing stretches with your movements, breathes and feels comfortable on your body. Nothing dates a person more than clothing that looks twenty years old, stuffy, or constricting. Make sure your clothing allows you to walk to all the places you want to go.
Wear Glasses with a Tint or Sunglasses to Look Younger and Feel Healthier

Protect your eyes from wrinkles caused by squinting by keeping an up to date prescription lens and using a tinted les or sunglasses to protect from sunlight.
Wear Support Underwear to Look Younger and Feel Healthier
As your waistline bulges and your breasts looking perky, use a bra with adequate support such as Maidenform or and a higher waist swimsuit bottom and underpants, especially ones that offer light support such as those sold at JC Penney . Wear mock turtlenecks to hide neck wrinkles.

Minimize Your Display of Wealth to Look Younger and Feel Healthier.

Nothing says old and settled more than large jewels and big pocket books. If it weighs you down, you look older. And best of all, being uncluttered makes you safer and much more free.
So dress young, act young, think young, move and breathe and let in all the health and energy the world has to offer, this is the best time of your life

How to prevent food-borne illnesses

ASK FOOD EXPART........

food safety inconsistent in Scrutiny.almost always includes a method invented in Minnesota to keep astronauts from getting sick in space.The idea: Food makers must identify the riskiest steps in processing each kind of food and systematically attack the pathogens at those critical junctures.Food scientists say the deadly salmonella outbreak linked to the Peanut Corp. of America shows why such preventive measures should be mandatory across the food industry.Under the government's fragmented regulation of food safety, some industries, such as meat and seafood, are required to have science-based programs to keep harmful germs out. For most other food processors, such programs are voluntary.Makers of fresh juice and canned vegetables have to follow preventive control efforts, but not those that package fresh lettuce and spinach. Almond processors must comply with salmonella-prevention requirements imposed in 2007. The peanut industry doesn't.The PCA processing plant in Blakely, Ga., linked to the salmonella outbreak wasn't required to have a hazard-control program and "to our knowledge, did not have one," Arty Schronce, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, said in an e-mail.It's not known how many plants don't bother with food-safety protocols developed nearly 50 years ago at Pillsbury. Large food makers have widely embraced the practice, said Francisco Diez, an associate professor of food safety microbiology at the University of Minnesota.For others, "the government has relied on self-policing by the industry, but the case of PCA shows that self-policing is not sufficient," Diez said.Even food industry groups say that Congress should require every manufacturer to have a food safety plan.

peanut product recalls have been announced because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems:
___
Texas Star Nut & Food Co. of Boerne, Texas, recalled raw peanuts distributed in Texas through retail grocery stores. No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date, the company said. The product is packaged in 12-ounce plastic bags with UPC code 8-32112-00410-4 with product code date "sell by Jan. 11, 2009 thru July 11, 2009." The sell by date appears in the clear box that includes the product name "Raw Peanuts." Details: By phone, 1-866-455-8300.
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Ultimate Nut and Candy Co. of Burbank, Calif., recalled specific peanut products distributed through its store in Los Angeles Farmer's Market and the Internet from Jan. 1, 2007, to Feb. 13, 2009. No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date, the company said.

Online fashion store opens in asia first

New fashion store opens in asia .May be its great opportunity for all asian"s people.
ASIA’S first on-line multibrand fashion and lifestyle retail outlet begins business this month, and it’s based in the Philippines.

A venture of 27-year-old Bianca Cristina Zobel, www.im-hm.com carries internationally known and under-the-radar labels – including some Filipino designers – for apparel, accessories and other lifestyle products.

IM-HM.com (or “I Am High Maintenance”) aims to sell to countries like Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

“The potential of an online shopping business in Asia is huge,” Zobel says in an e-mail interview. She is president of Intelligent Movement, the company behind the project.

“Reports show there is a slight deceleration in the growth rate of yearly Internet sales in the US and Europe. Growth, however, is poised to accelerate in the Asia Pacific region. E-commerce sales in countries like Japan, China and Korea are booming and other countries in the region are following suit. Where fashion and retail are concerned, Asian countries account for around 10 percent of worldwide online sales, and these three countries are consistently in the top five countries that shop for fashion online.”

Challenge

“Women are not about to give up on being fashionable and stylish just yet,” Zobel notes. “While before, some women would go for the most expensive items, they now show a marked tendency toward thinking twice, or will check other retailers for better prices...Women have always used fashion as a feel-good way of expressing themselves, and no credit crunch is going to change that.”

What she foresees to be a challenge is establishing a secure and efficient online structure that would earn Asian consumers’ trust. In Asia, she says, “immature online payment systems, poor delivery networks and distrust between buyers and sellers” have been hampering the growth of e-commerce.


Australian brands
Targeting the age 21-and-up market, IM-HM.com’s initial list of brands is dominated by Australian names, some of which Zobel discovered at last year’s Australian Fashion Week: Sass & Bide, Ksubi [formerly known as Tsubi], Azzollini, Kirrily Johnston, Madame Marie, Skin and Threads, Nevenka, Mor Cosmetics.

The Sydney-based Filipino-Australian designer Leonardo Salinas also headlines the offerings, alongside brands such as Junk Food, Joe’s Jeans, Melissa Odabash and the high-end Ego Laptops. Price points average $250-$500, with delivery charges from $5-$20. IM-HM.com has exclusive Asian distribution rights to some of these brands.

Lindsay Lohan won't be in court but her lawyer will be there..

Beverly Hills police say an arrest warrant has been issued for Lohan and they believe it involves her 2007 drunken driving conviction.
Attorney Shawn Chapman Holley told The Associated Press on Sunday that she will show in court on behalf of the 22-year-old artist.
A Beverly Hills judge issued the warrant Friday. It carries a $50,000 bail.

Holley said she believes the warrant was issued as the result of a misunderstanding and that it should be cleared in court.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said the warrant apparently has something to do with Lohan's probation.

The "Mean Girls" star was sentenced to three years probation following a pair of DUI arrests in 2007. Since then, Holley said, she has complied with all court orders.

Violations could include failing to complete a drug test or not reporting to her probation officer.

Lohan was arrested Memorial Day weekend 2007 after her Mercedes-Benz hit a tree in Beverly Hills. She was arrested in Santa Monica a few weeks later after the mother of her former personal assistant called 911 to report that her car was being chased by an SUV driven by Lohan.

The actress pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine, no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and one count of reckless driving.
She was warned at the time that if she violated her probation she could face up to a year in jail on each of the drunk-driving and cocaine charges and 90 days on the reckless-driving charge.

Today"s parents are prefer homebased scool for their kids..

Homeschool Lifestyle more tha preperable other school..
people about homeschooling I used to get the big socialization question. Will my kids be able to handle social situations? But that is changing now; more people are asking how they can homeschool their kids, for many are being bullied at school or online. Today, parents are becoming more concerned with the negative affect of a social environment and are turning to more creative options. This is why homeschooling is a wonderful option for parents. They have greater control over what their kids see and do, not to mention that they are with their children more which fosters confidence in them.
In this day and age there are so many different avenues in which people can influence our children, through the television, music, and internet to. When we started homeschooling we knew that we would be the main filter for our kids. Limiting the hours my children watched television, played video games, and time spent online kept them focused on sports, music, and reading; all of which nurtured their natural curiosity to life.

Websites have helped many young riders like Rasy gain exposure and showcase their talent to the world-wide freestyle community

Rhys Hillier most definitely has his own style...

Thank decency For The Internet!Many Australian freestyle riders come from small country town's hours away from big cities. Usually they're one-of-a-kind Evil Knievel types who've tried their hand at racing motocross, but end up finding out jumping ramps is more fun and easier on the wallet.

Take Rhys 'Rasy' Hillier as a recent example — he's an emerging talent from a small place called Corryong located in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains seven hours south of Sydney. Rhys broke away from his tight-knit community of 1000 people with the aid of cyberspace.

Websites like freestylemtx.com and fmxaustralia.com have helped many young riders like Rasy gain exposure and showcase their talent to the world-wide freestyle community, and if it wasn't for the net, kids like Rasy would find it near impossible to reach out to industry and event promoters who can help make or break a young riders career.

I recently caught up with Rasy to get his take on what it was like growing up in a small town, and how he broke away from it to forge a career in freestyle motocross.

So you decided to be an FMX rider, how did you connect with the scene? Internet, word of mouth?

I connected with the small, but growing scene by Internet. I lived at least three hours from any FMX riders back when I was comfortably jumping ramps and had a handful of tricks up my sleeve. Just by posting up photos each weekend, people start to see that your definitely improving. I also picked up small. but helpful sponsorships from industry people who scanned the forums looking for talent. I also met a young grom named Jesse, who worked for Freerider MX and I'd always send him photos that he'd pass onto the Editor, and next issue I bought I had my first shot in a mag!

Once you get in a magazine at a young age people keep an eye on you. After hearing about an event for amateurs on the Gold Coast, which is18-hours north of here, I entered and my Dad drove me up and I ended up placing third in my first event. From that came more exposure through magazines and word of mouth, which slowly but surely led onto other events and gigs. My first big break was being approached to do a six-month show over in China for ARD (Australian Ramp Designs).

Who inspired you to want to ride FMX? Was it a pro rider, mates, movies?
The first moto vid I saw was the originalCrusty Demons of Dirt and that's when the itch began. Once the scene in Australia slowly started to evolve, Freerider MX magazine basically unearthed the underground movement of FMX in Australia, so each month I was down at the newsagent grabbin' a copy and reading it over and over. I remember noticing one guy who was young and seemed to be the next big thing — that was Luke Urek, and since then I've always been inspired by him. It was cool seeing Urek doing seatgrabs in the pages of Freerider MX and then going on to become Australia's first FMX champ, and then become a member of the Metal Mulisha in the States. I've always thought his style on a bike is unique!

What dreams for the future did you have when you started, if any?My dreams were just to be able to ride FMX for life, and once I realized it's possible, I set my goals really high, because I believe you gotta aim high to get high. With the drive of riding solo for most of my FMX days, I know what I want and I know I can get there. My dream was to ride for the Metal Mulisha growing up, it'll always be a dream, but with the way things have been shaping up for me over the last two years, who really knows where I'll end up!

Looking back, you were one of the many amateurs behind the likes of Urek, Kinnaird, Maddo, Schuie, etc, trying to crack the pro level. How hard has this been, and what has helped you open the door to finally being recognized as a rider good enough to compete at AFMX events, and demos with Gary Reid's Showtime Yamaha team?

When you on the job keep your health good & freash.

Good health practice while on the job
following tips you may helpfull....

Balancing calories and optimizing fats.

- Eating your way to better health - a diet for immunity.

- Nutrient-dense foods for better nutrition.

- Shopping smart - getting the facts on nutrition labels.
The Health Department is offering this free program to its employees in March to encourage them to become active and healthy, and be a role model for other residents in the county.

Other employers in Nassau County can do the same for their employees. It does not have to be done by a registered dietitian; all you need is a leader. For example, several of our "Walk 'n' Talks" will be hosted by representatives from various departments such as Healthy Start and Epidemiology.

Benefits to adding a worksite wellness program to your company include:

- A reduction in absenteeism, which is time paid to an employee who is not at work. Chronic diseases and other lifestyle factors play a huge role in this. Teaching employees about the importance of wellness and lifestyle changes would decrease this cost.

- A decrease in presenteeism, which applies to employees who come to work but are not really working. These individuals often cannot afford to miss work, and although they go to work, may not be productive. This, in turn, may cost the company more time and money if deadlines are missed or work has to be corrected.

- Lower health care premiums, which are a major expense for most companies. Letting insurance companies know that worksite wellness programs have been instituted may lead to lower premiums.

It’s not hard at all to achieve a glowing clear skin and all you need is to take care and provide proper cleansing to your skin. The following tips can be very handy to achieve a clear and glowing skin.

keep skin healthy and fresh....

Vitamin C is considered very important for the skin as it helps to reduce spots effectively .You must take such foods as are rich of vitamin C to get a better spotless skin.
Smoke can damage your skin as well as hair and you must avoid smoke filled rooms and other places where smoke is found highly.

High fiber foods can be very handy to keep your skin fresh and glowing

Take low-sugar diets.

Don’t use such foods and beverages as are rich with caffeine.

Say goodbye to fried foods that have trans fatty acids.

Use skimmed milk and use its reasonable amount daily.

Reduce intake of junk foods if you are quite habitual to them.
Consume such diets as are rich with essential minerals and vitamins. You can also take vitamin supplements for this purpose.

Consume such foods as have sufficient amount of zinc. Zinc is considered quite essential for a healthy skin.

Avoid Iodine-rich foods as they can cause acne problems.

Water helps to keep your skin moist. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin fresh and your health good.

Use recommended products for acne cleansing and prevention, to keep your skin clean.

Don’t apply soap on your face regularly and you should use it only below the neck. It’s a small but useful skin care tip.

The outer layer of the skin begins to break when it gets dry that leads to rough and unappealing appearance. Try to keep your skin moist as much as possible to avoid that roughness and unappealing appearance.

If you are facing some skin problem, treat it with care and must consult your doctor before using any skin care products. Sometimes these products make the skin bad to worse.

Fashion meets technology

Fashion & technology when they are toghter...
Designer Raghavendra Rathore, known for his clothes, takes a giant leap into a new world, with “lifestyle” software for the iPhone. He offers Abhilasha Ojha a preview of his ideas.

What made you step into the world of technology?
I don’t talk about it much, but I’m a tech geek and I also studied robotics for a year in Hampshire. It was a course on the human interface with electronic gadgets. I think, like in fashion, or chocolates — another product that we bring out — or technology — where we’ve ventured now — everything hinges on a good concept. Once an idea is conceived and you’re convinced of it, all that matters, in technology, for instance, is how one tweaks the software to reach out to more people.

What was your first attempt at entering the tech mart?
Like fashion transcends geographical boundaries, technology is the future in the palm of our hands. Our first attempt is iCarbon, software that can be downloaded from the Apple iTune store on the Web for 99 cents directly to your iPhone. It helps you calculate your individual carbon footprint. It then offers solutions to reduce your environmental impact. If you calculate your iCarbon rating at 150 tonnes, the immediate solution offered is planting trees in Rajasthan, or even in the Amazon basin, wherever it’s required.

What else is on your business agenda?
We will be ready with our second software product by next month. It is a lifestyle software that lets a couple put up their photographs in order to determine how their future children will look.


Are you serious?
I’m dead serious. There’s a lot of mathematical calculation involved, but once you’ve tweaked the software to suit your idea, anything is possible. In the near future we are going to have software that will link people to heritage sites. So, for example, when tourists land in Jodhpur, they’ll immediately have a map on the iPhone marking the forts and palaces of the city. It’s an idea that needs to be — and I’m sure, will be — developed.