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Critical Mass - Modern Day Battle Katar

Critical Mass - Modern Day Battle Katar

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Jason Hawkes

Lloyds Building

Emirates stadium, north London, and the home of Arsenal Football Club

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Questions I have never been able to answer on SpongeFish

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet  Soup?
 
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
 
Stop singing and read on……. Yes, it caught me too!

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but  don't point to  their bum when they ask where the bathroom  is?  

Why does your Obstetrician, Gynaecologist leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?  

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours?  They're both dogs!

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I’ll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"  

Who  was the first person to say, "See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its bum."  

Why  do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to  a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?  

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is  wet?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word  "lisp"?

What is the speed of darkness?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?

If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the  ground?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

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EMBRIO - One-Wheeled Motorcycle | thecontaminated.com

The EMBRIO Advanced Concept is a one-wheeled recreational and commuting vehicle for the year 2025, designed by the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. Although the riding position is similar to that of a motorcycle, the vehicle uses sensors and gyroscopes to balance up to two passengers on a large single wheel whilst driving. Specifications and pictures of this weird motorcycle are showed below:

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL NAME: EMBRIO Advanced Concept
DEVELOPED BY:Bombardier Recreational Products
STATUS: Concept
YEAR: 2003
DRIVE SYSTEM: Fuel cell electric
FUEL: Hydrogen
LENGTH: 1,240 mm (48.8 in)
WIDTH: 700 mm (27.5 in)
HEIGHT: 1,200 mm (47.5 in)
WEIGHT: 164 kg (360 lbs)
SEATING CAPACITY: 2

Although the vehicle will also remain stable when motionless, with two small front wheels deployed at speeds below 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph). To move forward, the rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar. At a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph) the front wheels or “landing gear” retracts so the rider is balancing on the large single wheel. To turn the rider leans to the left or right. The brake is activated by a trigger on the right handlebar. Fuel cells running on hydrogen provide electricity for the electric motor which drives the single wheel.

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A Banana A Day - you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again

Reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in
the same way again!!

Bananas which contain three natural sugars (sucrose, fructose and glucose) and fiber give an instant, sustained, and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous, 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Reducing Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: Two-hundred students at a Twickenham (Middlesex, UK) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood-sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito Bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at Work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood-sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every 2 hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature Control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Smoking Cessation: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6 and B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress Relief: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. They can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Stroke Risk: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Wart Removal: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

Splinter Removal: For those hard-to-remove wood splinters, rather than poking and prodding with tweezer and needle, take a small piece of banana skin, large enough to cover the splinter wholly, yellow side out, and carefully tape it over the splinter with a band-aid or tape. Overnight the banana and its enzymes will work the splinter out, dissolving it and sealing the wound. So in the morning, when you remove the band-aid, the pad will be yucky brown mush and no more splinter!

CONCLUSION: So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around!

So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say: "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

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oj3rdc7hk.jpg (JPEG Image, 613x613 pixels)

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Learnings from Life: Life and Love

I thought this was a great read, I think people sometimes lose sight of what's right in front of them, and this will definitely help you get it back, we all need it.

Life and Love

My husband is an Engineer by profession, I love him  for his steady  nature, and I love the warm feeling when I lean  against his broad  shoulders. 
Three years of courtship and now, two years into  marriage, I would have  to admit, that I am getting tired of it. The reasons  of me loving him  before, has now transformed into the cause of all my  restlessness. I am a sentimental woman and extremely sensitive when  it comes to a  relationship and my feelings, I yearn for the  romantic moments, like a  little girl yearning for candy. My husband, is my  complete opposite,  his lack of sensitivity, and the inability of  bringing romantic moments  into our marriage has disheartened me about love. One  day, I finally  decided to tell him my decision, that I wanted a  divorce. 
"Why?" he asked, shocked. "I am tired, there are no  reasons for  everything in the world!" I answered.
He kept silent the whole night, seems to be in deep  thought with a  lighted cigarette at all times. 
My feeling of disappointment only increased, here was  a man who can't  even express his predicament, what else can I hope  from him? 
And finally he asked me:" What can I do to change  your mind?" Somebody  said it right, it's hard to change a person's  personality, and I guess,  I have started losing faith in him. 
Looking deep into his eyes I slowly answered : "Here  is the question,  if you can answer and convince my heart, I will  change my mind, Let's  say, I want a flower located on the face of a  mountain cliff, and we  both are sure that picking the flower will cause your  death, will you  do it for me?" 
He said :" I will give you your answer tomorrow...."  My hopes just sank  by listening to his response. 
I woke up the next morning to find him gone, and saw  a piece of paper  with his scratchy handwriting, underneath a milk  glass, on the dining  table near the front door, that goes.... 
My dear, 
"I would not pick that flower for you, but please  allow me to explain  the reasons further.."
This first line was already breaking my heart. I  continued reading. 
You always leave the house keys behind, thus I have  to save my legs to  rush home to open the door for you.
You love traveling but always lose your way in a new  city, I have to  save my eyes to show you the way. 
You like to stay indoors, and I worry that you will  be infected by  infantile autism. I have to save my mouth to tell you  jokes and stories  to cure your boredom. 
You always stare at the computer, and that will do  nothing good for  your eyes, I have to save my eyes so that when we  grow old, I can help  to clip your nails,and help to remove those annoying  white hairs. So I  can also hold your hand while strolling down the  beach, as you enjoy  the sunshine and the beautiful sand... and tell you  the colour of flowers,  just like the color of the glow on your young face... 
Thus, my dear, unless I am sure that there is someone  who loves you  more than I do... I could not pick that flower yet,  and die.. " 
"Now, that you have finished reading my answer, if  you are satisfied,  please open the front door for I am standing outside  bringing your  favorite bread and fresh milk... 
I rush to pull open the door, and saw his anxious  face, clutching  tightly with his hands, the milk bottle and loaf of  bread.... 

Now I am very sure that no one will ever love me as  much as he does,  and I have decided to leave the flower alone...  
That's life, and love.

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7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea - Beauty Eats on Yahoo! Food

The steady stream of good news about green tea is getting so hard to ignore that even java junkies are beginning to sip mugs of the deceptively delicate brew. You'd think the daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants--long linked with heart protection--would be enough incentive, but wait, there's more! Lots more.

CUT YOUR CANCER RISK
Several polyphenols - the potent antioxidants green tea's famous for - seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body, by discouraging their growth and then squelching the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that people who regularly drink green tea reduce their risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and/or prostate cancer.

SOOTHE YOUR SKIN
Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton pad in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed breakouts and blemishes, sunburns, even puffy eyelids. And that's not all. In the lab, green tea helps block sun-triggered skin cancer, whether you drink it or apply it directly to the skin - which is why you're seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

STEADY YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Having healthy blood pressure - meaning below 120/80 - is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup a day are almost 50 percent less likely to wind up with hypertension than non-drinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC). They help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

PROTECT YOUR MEMORY, OR YOUR MOM'S
Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea's big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

STAY YOUNG
The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque build-up in your blood vessels, which ups the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your biological age (or RealAge), and saps your energy too. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

LOSE WEIGHT
Oh yeah, one more thing. Turns out that green tea speeds up your body's calorie-burning process. In the every-little-bit-counts department, this is good news!

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savage

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IGN: Disgaea 3 Announced

February 27, 2008 - NIS America announced today that Disgaea 3 for the PlayStation 3 will be coming to the US. The next title in the Disgaea series, Disgaea 3 will arrive sometime in August 2008, and "makes a bold new step towards the next generation console with a whole new cast, story and game system."

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Disgaea features immensely deep strategy RPG gameplay with a rich amount of humor and fantasy. The press release states that the third member of the series will feature a new object: the Geo Block. This object will give players access to terrain-altering abilities that will enable them to reach enemies on the battlefield they wouldn't normally be able to reach. Making a return to the series are the Geo Panels and the Item World, the latter of which gives players the option of exploring the world within any item in their inventory.

Although no other major details are given, the press release indicates that "plenty is due to arrive in the coming months."

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Review: Mario Kart Wheel Is Quite Possibly "Absolute Crap"

Bulent Yusuf from the blog WiiWii just got back from Nintendo's base in Frankfurt, Germany. There he had a chance to play Mario Kart. His review? He loved the game, lauding the experience (especially the newly tweaked drifting system). But what about the Wii Wheel that comes with? He's not feeling it. At all.

Finally, the Wii Wheel. This was the most disappointing thing, simply because it's absolutely crap.

He continues:

Though Nintendo valiantly tried to convince us otherwise, it's a silly gimmick that detracts from the quality of the game. Fortunately, you can play using the standard Wiimote and Nunchuk, or you can bust out the GameCube pad and be proper old school.

Don't know why Nintendo thought this thing was necessary; perhaps it looks good in advertising? A good way of bumping up the price? Either way, it's rubbish.

Whether or not he means the game doesn't steer as well with the wheel, or that the wheel just feels horrible in your hands, we can't tell. But it's more than a little ironic that Nintendo has released this one, magically simplistic universal controller...and then decided that what we really need is a boatload of more peripherals.

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Colored Water on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Colored Water on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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Thanks Geek Squad! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

wow, people must be really in need of some serious help!

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Away For Months on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Away For Months on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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Kleptography - Places - Apartment Block

Kleptography - Places - Apartment Block

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The Wealthy Programmer: Square Watermelons

A few years ago, Japanese farmers realized that they could grow square watermelons using a simple technique. Their "secret" recipe doesn't require gene hacking, chemicals, or any other questionable practice. Before I reveal how they did it, let me make one point about the nature of good ideas.

Square watermelons are obviously a great idea, but only in hindsight. Good ideas are like that - obvious in hindsight. Before you saw these photos, you probably assumed the status quo; that all watermelons are awkward, difficult to transport, stack, carry, and slice. But when you see the photos, you instantly get it.

So, how do they grow square watermelons? The farmers put boxes around the melons as they grow, and the melons simply fill the available space! Brilliant!

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38 random thoughts on building prosperity -- brip blap

If you were going to sit down and write a list about building prosperity, what would be on your list? Here are 38 random lessons I’ve learned about building prosperity. None of them are set in stone, and some of them are just goals for me today. Almost all of them, though, are critical to building prosperity for anyone.

1. Spend less than you earn is not always the FIRST way you should think. “Spend less than you earn” and “earn more than you spend” could be the basis of a much shorter list: the only two things you need to know to be wealthy.
2. Pay yourself first. When money comes in (paycheck, client payments, alimony, whatever), put the first 10% in savings until you have an emergency fund of at least $1000. Then put the first 10% into paying off any debt you have. After that, put the first 10% into retirement accounts or investments. No excuses. Ever. Make do with the other 90%, no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.
3. Invest early and often. $100 invested at 8% for 50 years will be worth $4,690. $100 at 8% invested for 40 years will be worth $2,346. 10 extra years means twice as much money. Start investing today.
4. Buy and hold. You are not smart enough to time the market all the time. You may win some and lose some, but unless you are incredibly lucky - or smarter than an investment bank with 1000s of employees studying the market full-time - you will probably not be able to time the market much better than a mutual fund.
5. Don’t let STUFF rule your life. If you are 25 years old today and buy an iPhone for $399, that would have been $8,700 when you retired. But at least 40 years from now you’ll still have that iPhone. Right.
6. Don’t go into debt. If you go into debt, even if you manage to pay it all off someday, you will be starting out significantly behind even the laziest, slowest investor who never incurred debt in the first place. Debt will destroy your future.
7. Get educated, and keep learning throughout your life. Do you think Warren Buffet stopped reading about finance and taxes and economics when he finished school in 1951? Do you think he chills out in front of the TV watching Gray’s Anatomy or playing with his Wii, or do you think he’s educating himself right this very minute?
8. You shouldn’t try to keep up with the Joneses. It’s a race that has no winners, only losers.
9. A penny saved is a penny earned…thanks to the miracle of compound interest it’s actually a nickel earned.
10. You don’t need that. I told myself that I really needed a brushed nickel mortar and pestle for crushing spices. I didn’t. Every time you go shopping, write down anything you see that you NEED. Wait until the next time you go shopping to get it - because by then you’ll probably realize that you lived without it.
11. Getting married and staying married is a good financial move. Losing 50% of your money and buying a second home in one year is a tough way to grow wealth.
12. Live somewhere with good public schools. Private schools are fine if you want it for religious or social reasons, but the simple fact is that you are paying for your child’s education twice: once in private school tuition, and once in taxes.
13. Don’t gamble. If you feel the urge, just send me a donation instead. Either way you’ll be giving your money away.
14. Money is replaceable. Time is not. Money that is wasted can be replaced, because technically there is an infinite supply of money that you can acquire in your life. Actually acquiring it may be tricky, but if you waste $10 today you can think of ways to generate alternate income tomorrow to replace it. Time, once wasted, is gone. If you watch 2 hours of TV a night starting at age 21 and living to age 78, you will have watched TV for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 4 years and 9 months of your life. Think about that.
15. You cannot spend too much on your health. This may be one of the oldest cliches in the book, but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.
16. Complaining is counterproductive. Move on. All of the time most of us spend complaining - and this one is a HUGE problem for me that I’m trying to overcome - is time that we could spend on a million different positive things: exercising, learning, playing, cooking, laughing… the list goes on and on.
17. Write down your goals.
18. Half the battle is preparation. Going half-cocked into any venture is a sure recipe for disaster.
19. Athletic ability or musical talent or fantastic good looks are great ways to become wealthy. For the rest of us, brains will have to make up the difference.
20. Inherited wealth gives some people a head start, but we are all working - on average - within a 78 year average lifespan. You and Bill Gates both started out as naked, squalling babies with approximately 28,470 days to spend on this planet; he didn’t have any advantages in terms of 27 hour days. He’s making the most of his time (at least as far as wealth, I can’t speak to his personal development…)
21. Doing what you love is a good way to be happy. It is not always a good way to be rich. You don’t have to be rich to be happy, but not being rich doesn’t guarantee you’ll be happy, either. Do something you can tolerate for a job. Do something you love for a hobby.
22. Persistence is admirable…to a point. After that, it can become stupidity. After that, it can become dangerous.
23. Your first job out of school will set a pattern for your entire life - if you let it.
24. Chasing gains in the market is a sure way to never catch them.
25. Investing in the stock market is very difficult, and there are millions of people better at it than you - don’t kid yourself into thinking you are smarter than 99.9999% of the investors there.
26. Buying a home is satisfying, but it costs a lot more than just the cost of the house.
27. The biggest money drain in your life is your own lack of self-control.
28. Don’t borrow money from friends or family, and don’t lend money to friends or family. Ever. Unless you do it through some sort of P2P lending website.
29. Personal finance doesn’t have to be boring, but often it is - a lot of it has been said before.
30. Mutual fund performance is variable, but fees are forever.
31. Dividends are cash in hand. Unrealized gains are just that - unrealized.
32. Investment advisors are not going to be any better with your money than you are. If for some reason you find a multimillionaire advisor who is willing to take care of your investments for you, fine, but otherwise they are probably getting the same information you are. Don’t assume they spend all of their time studying the market while you’re working at your day job - most of their time is probably spent making cold-calls.
33. If you don’t learn about taxes, you will pay for it dearly for your entire life. And afterwards.
34. Not everyone has the fortitude to prepare their finances for their own death, but people with a wealthy mindset do.
35. Frugality does not mean spending ten hours sewing socks together that could be replaced for $8, or using a blend of toenails, toothpaste and BubbleYum to make homemade glue. Your time must be SPENT wisely.
36. Eating out is a lot of fun, and you pay a premium for that fun. If you ever doubt that, look at the cost of a six-pack of beer versus a single beer at a restaurant. Consider how much the restaurant charges for a side order of french fries, then go see how much potatoes cost per pound. But there is a labor cost to shopping for food, preparing it and cleaning up afterwards that you avoid when you go out.
37. Driving a gas-guzzling car is always a waste of money, no matter how much gas costs. In addition to the fact that you probably paid too much for an overpriced tank that’s designed for offroading and you don’t even like getting your shoes muddy, you are helping to destroy the earth’s environment by contributing to climate change.  One way or another, climate change is going to be expensive.
38. If you get married, make sure you are on the same page about money, lifestyles and children before you get married. Why? Reason #1: If you have the same goals, you have a better likelihood of achieving them.

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dog found

dog found

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Mohammad-Taher-Pilevar1.jpg (JPEG Image, 600x400 pixels)

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THE FLOWER SERMON

THE FLOWER SERMON

 

Toward the end of his life, the Buddha took his disciples to a quiet pond for instruction. As they had done so many times before, the Buddha’s followers sat in a small circle around him, and waited for the teaching.

But this time the Buddha had no words. He reached into the muck and pulled up a lotus flower. And he held it silently before them, its roots dripping mud and water.

The disciples were greatly confused. Buddha quietly displayed the lotus to each of them. In turn, the disciples did their best to expound upon the meaning of the flower: what it symbollized, and how it fit into the body of Buddha’s teaching.

When at last the Buddha came to his follower Mahakasyapa, the disciple suddenly understood. He smiled and began to laugh. Buddha handed the lotus to Mahakasyapa and began to speak.

“What can be said I have said to you,” smiled the Buddha, “and what cannot be said, I have given to Mahakashyapa.”

Mahakashyapa became Buddha’s successor from that day forward.

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You were cupped!

YOU WERE CUPPED!

9.5.2006 Update: Vulture Walk
7.9.2006 Update: Coming soon, behind the scenes.

What $40 in cups, a lot of free time, and motivation for a prank get you:



Bedroom 1



Bedroom 2



Bedroom 3



Bathroom Toilet (it was more packed in than this by the end but no one took a picture)



Main Hallway



Living Room



Foreshadowing on the door

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Quick Facts:

• 2040 cups were purchased, but about 100 went unused due to some scares and some rushing at the end
• All the cups are filled with varying amounts of water, making cleanup extra annoying
• Cups were stacked atop doors and other high to reach places. Hopefully they notice before they attempt to close a door.
• There were some other cool elements, like a whiteboard that proclaimed "You were cupped!" Wish there were pictures *ahem*
• Many hidden cups remain to be found once the obvious ones are removed (hint: check behind the fish tank)
• Don't feel bad for these guys; they've done many eviler pranks before

A more detailed page with more images and higher quality images will be put up later.

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piclicious.tv: Crazy Staircases

piclicious.tv: Crazy Staircases

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20 Excellent Conversation Questions Everyone Loves

By: Peter Murphy

Once you have experimented asking questions for a while, you will realize just how great questions are for starting conversations, helping them flow and for getting to know someone better. Now it is time to have some fun with it!

What makes an excellent conversation question?

1. It is easy to answer
2. It does not cause offence
3. It includes everyone
4. People will not be judged on their responses!

This last point is particularly important, as people will be reluctant to talk if they feel they will be judged. So you can see a good conversation question is also about tone and circumstances.

Below is a list of excellent conversation questions to delve deeper into the personalities of people you feel comfortable with and find out a few more things about them. These are great for social gatherings and parties or anywhere where you want to have fun and get to know someone in the process.

It is a great spin on the old party game "Twenty Questions" but see where each question leads you when you get the answers. Do not turn your questioning into an interrogation and listen to the answers you get.

Pick up on these answers and as subsidiary questions, add your own answers: ask whatever seems appropriate and whatever the other person seems to want you to do. Just go with the flow and enjoy it!

1. If you were God for a day, what would you do?
2. If you could be the parent of one famous person, who would you want it to be and why?
3. What was the last thing you regret buying?
4. If you had a chance to bring one person back from the dead, who would it be and why?
5. What three things you regret not learning to do?
6. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?
7. What's worse... having expectations that are too high, or having no expectations at all?
8. How do you know when you're in love?
9. What is the most important invention or innovation that has happened during your life-time?
10. How would you spend your ideal day?
11. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?
12. What three adjectives might other people use to describe your personality?
13. Who would you choose to be shipwrecked on a desert island with?
14. What is your idea of a perfect romantic evening?
15. If you were to be remembered for one thing, what would you like it to be?
16. If you were guaranteed honest responses to any three questions, whom would you question, and what would you ask them?
17. If you saw someone shoplifting, what would you do?
18. Is there anything you would willingly give your life for?
19. If you could re-live a day of your life again, which would it be and why?
20. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

These are all light-hearted questions that should cause no-one offence, but they also touch on philosophical issues and allow you to really get to know a person - if they are honest with their answers. You make it a lot more likely that they will tell the truth if you set the scene and provide a relaxed atmosphere and if you are prepared to chip in with your own answers.

Under those circumstances, these provide excellent conversation questions to enable you to know more about your friends than you might ever have found out in any other way.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. Apply now because it is available only at: conversation starters

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Stage6 to Shut Down on February 28

I’m Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. I’m writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you’ll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I’d like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.

We created Stage6 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover a new kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always knew there was a chance that it might not succeed.

In many ways, though, the service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 became very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented filmmakers who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We helped prove that it’s possible to distribute true high definition video on the Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by offering content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other products beyond the PC.

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that.

Now, why didn’t we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That’s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren’t providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn’t continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won’t (and can’t, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

So that’s where we are today. After February 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger DivX universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices arrive on the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered by DivX Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, music and Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We remain committed to empowering content creators to deliver high quality video to a wide audience, and we’ll continue to offer services that will make it easy to find videos online in the DivX format.

It’s been a wild ride, and none of it would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for making Stage6 everything that it was.

--Tom

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Why Some People Hurt Others - Blame It On The Pain

When someone does something to you to intentionally hurt you, it can make it much worse than if they were to do the same thing accidentally.  When speaking of mental wounds, part of the reason for this is that you feel like there must have been something about you that made them want to hurt you.

That is almost never, quite possibly actually never, the real cause.  The real cause is nearly certain to be the internal pain that they feel from something in their own life... it could be something from early childhood, or it could be something from earlier today, but the desire to inflict pain on someone almost always originates from your own pain.

Think back to the last time you did something to intentionally hurt someone, even if it was very small.  What were you feeling at the time?  It wasn't sweet, sugary feelings of happiness and love, was it?

You may not have thought directly of pain... you may have been angry, or jealous, or some similar emotion.  Those feelings only come from pain, however... you don't get angry, for instance, without feeling that someone has done something wrong to you.

The same is true of others... no one truly does things just because they enjoy inflicting pain.  Even if it seems that way to them,  THAT feeling in turn is caused by some pain from their past.

That doesn't mean that their actions are justified, by any means... it's still wrong to hurt someone intentionally, regardless of how badly you've been hurt in the past.  Your own pain isn't a valid excuse for inflicting pain on others.

On the other hand, once you realize that the harm comes from the pain of another, it does make it far easier to forgive them, and somewhat easier to not take hurt from the actions in the first place, even when they are intended to cause pain.  It takes away their power, because you realize that they are attacking from a place of weakness, not a place of strength.

And it's amazing the amount of relief that you feel when you truly forgive someone... it takes a lot of energy to hold a grudge.

Try this, when you have a chance:  Think back to one of your hurts that you carry with you... it doesn't have to be a big one, but it could be if you choose.  Now think about the person who caused that hurt, and picture them as having done it because they were lashing out from their own pain (a feeling the vast majority of us are familiar with).  Let yourself feel that feeling, the conscious knowledge that you are saying or doing something you don't really mean because of your own hurt, and then understand that whatever they did came from a similar place, that they had just as hard a time controlling it.

It changes the way you feel about it a lot when you look at it that way, doesn't it?

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10 Tips to Feel Good Instantly

10 Tips to Feel Good Instantly

February 20th, 2008

I thought this was too good to pass up. Trisha is always telling me to smile because she likes my smile and it always cheers me up. I thought this was a great idea to use for a post. It’s been scientifically proven that a change in your physiology will change the way you feel. Here are 10 tips to feel good instantly:

1. Smile

2. Smile more.

3. Smile even more.

4. Smile even more than that.

5. Smile when you don’t want to.

6. Smile when you do.

7. Smile if you feel good.

8. Smile if you don’t.

9. Smile everyday.

10. Keep Smiling :)

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lloyd_delorean.jpg (JPEG Image, 780x585 pixels)

lloyd_delorean.jpg (JPEG Image, 780x585 pixels)

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10 Tips to Change Yourself From a Dedicated Couch-Potato to a Gym Enthusiast | LifeRemix Blog

10 Tips to Change Yourself From a Dedicated Couch-Potato to a Gym Enthusiast

Written by Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project.

Photo by kajo55

Exercise helps keep you happy and vital. Studies show that folks who exercise are healthier, cheerier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better, and have delayed onset of dementia. What’s more, they get relief from anxiety and mild depression—comparable to medication and therapy.

But of course, no one really disputes the benefit of exercise. The trick is actually DOING IT.

My own favorite activity is reading in bed—preferably, while snacking. It took me a while, but I’ve managed to get myself into the habit of exercising regularly.

These ten strategies helped me stick to my routine:

1. Always exercise on Monday. Starting the week on the right foot makes it easier to stick to your plan.

2. Never skip exercising for two days in a row. You can skip a day, but the next day, you must exercise no matter how inconvenient. This rule dramatically increased the number of times I exercise over the course of a month.

3. Remember, exercise GIVES energy. If you feel too tired to exercise, remember that exercise boosts energy. It took me a long time to notice that I’d drag myself to the gym, work out for forty minutes, and leave feeling far more energetic than when I went in.

4. Any work-out “counts.” Give yourself credit for the least effort. My father, a runner, always said that all he had to do was put on his running shoes and close the door behind him. Why does this work? Because if I know I can quit after five minutes, I get started—and once I start, I usually follow through with my usual routine. Getting out the door is by FAR the toughest part.

5. You don’t have to shower. One problem—mostly for women—is that taking a shower can take too much time. Look for exercise like strength-training, yoga, or walking, that don’t make you sweaty.

6. Throw money at the problem. Spend more to go to a more convenient gym, or to get an iPod, or to work with a trainer. Exercise pays off BIG in your quality of life, so this is a place to splurge.

7. Don’t set the bar too high. I have a friend who thinks it’s not worth exercising unless she’s training for a marathon – and so she never exercises. She’d be better off going for a one-mile run five times a week.

8. Don’t kid yourself. Belonging to a gym doesn’t mean that you go to the gym. Having been in good shape in college doesn’t mean you’re in good shape today. Be honest about what your habits really are now.

9. You have time. Just take a twenty-minute walk. If you can’t do more, do that! Just a twenty-minute walk will really pay off.

10. Exercise for SANITY not VANITY. I find it more motivating to think about the fact that exercise is going to make me feel happier, calmer, and more energetic, right now, rather than to think about vaguer long-term benefits, like strengthened immunity or longer life. It’s not clear that exercise has much impact on weight loss, so don’t be give up when the pounds don’t fall off. It’s worth doing for so many other reasons.

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Best Mario cake EVER! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Best Mario cake EVER! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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