Saturday, May 31, 2008
Meet the Mini Pigs !!!
More from Fuzz-time, with some super cute pics!
50 Habits of "Naturally Thin" People
This is not a diet -- or a rigorous exercise program. (Nobody can stick to those for long.) Instead, it's a simple way to make weight loss a natural part of the life you already live. And guess what? It's fun! You don't have to give up the foods you love or join a gym. It's about balancing calories in tiny ways that add up to big benefits. You just adopt some tricks naturally lean people do. Pick the ones you like, stick with them, and you'll slim down and tone up -- for good!
See the 50 at Reader's Digest
Friday, May 30, 2008
U.S. troop deaths in May near lowest level of war
Overall, militant attacks in Iraq have dropped to levels not seen since spring 2004, U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said this week. Attacks are down 70% since President Bush ordered a U.S. troop increase, or "surge," early last year.
"We're seeing progress because we're getting more capability out of the Iraqi security forces," said Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, the number two U.S. commander in Iraq.
More from USA Today
Wal-Mart puts the squeeze on food costs
"When our grocery suppliers bring price increases, we don't just accept them," says Pamela Kohn, Wal-Mart's general merchandise manager for perishables. To be sure, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) isn't the only retailer working to cut fat from the food chain, but as the largest grocer - Wal-Mart's food and consumables revenue is nearly $100 billion - it has a disproportionate amount of leverage. Here's how the retailer is throwing its weight around.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Mediterranean diet may also help stop diabetes
The study published in the British Medical Journal showed that people who stuck closely to the diet were 83 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 percent of all cases and is closely linked to obesity and heart disease. The condition accounts for an estimated 6 percent of all global deaths.More good health news at Reuters
Voters to decide whether unborn 'persons'
Colorado voters in November will become the first statewide electorate in the nation to decide whether the unborn should be granted "personhood" under the law, pro-life advocates announced today.
Officials with Colorado for Equal Rights, which is sponsoring the proposed state constitutional amendment, confirmed state officials notified them enough valid signatures had been verified to place the issue on the election ballot.
The Colorado secretary of state's office confirmed 103,377 valid signatures, far surpassing the 76,047 required for the amendment, the group said. Officials with Colorado for Equal Rights said it will be the first time in U.S. history the issue of personhood will be decided in a statewide election.
10 Tips to Make Your Car Last Longer
Find out how to stretch the life of your car at MSN Autos
Workers shifting to 4-day week to save gasoline
The reason is simple: rising gas prices and a desire to retain good workers. And while so far only the university's custodians are eligible, Rainone hopes the option will be offered to all departments -- including his own.
But the surge in gasoline prices is pushing more private employers as well as local governments to offer a four-day week as a perk that eliminates two commutes a week.More from Yahoo News
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ten Simple Meals in Ten Minutes or Less
Why can't everything in life be so easy?
Good Eats from Wise Bread
This Story Stinks - and that's a good thing. Sweden turning sewage into a gasoline substitute
Once the methane is purified, it is pumped through Goteborg's network of gas pipelines to specialized filling stations, where it is pressurized for delivery. Any car with an engine and tank configured for compressed natural gas can use biogas.
Hybrid Technologies Building 220+ MPG Supercar With 'Wild' Horsepower
Is your mouth not watering over the concept designs pictured above? Well, how do two versions of it sound—a gas-electric hybrid entrant for the Automotive X Prize, and an all-electric for (almost) the rest of us? Yeah, we thought so. Best part: A drivable prototype should be ready by September.
But power under the hood will have to trump a cushy ride: Hybrid Technologies is aiming for a 150- to 180-mi. range per charge from the all-electric model, while the lithium-ion-meets-gas hybrid needs to hit 220 mpg—minimum. And that’s not to mention performance. When we asked Cerven if Hybrid Technologies could hit ZR1-level horsepower equivalent numbers in the mid-600s, he laughed, vaguely adding that we were “way out of the ballpark—it’s gonna be wild.”
Be careful with this one.
More from Popular Mechanics
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The 100 Best Tech Products of 2008
The Best 100 from PC World
Eight Sure-Fire Ways to Sock Away $100
Either way, consumers are cutting back on spending.
Along with this comes a desire to save money as well. But how? If you have a few hours to spare you can find ways to put $100 or more back into your pocket.
The money may not show up instantly, but the time and effort to create the savings is minimal. By year's end you will have saved a nice chunk of change. In some cases, your savings will keep piling up well after that.Check them out at Yahoo Finance
Monday, May 26, 2008
Cold-fusion demonstration "a success"
This hasn't prevented a handful of scientists persevering with cold-fusion research. They stand on the sidelines, diligently getting on with their experiments and, every so often, they wave their arms frantically when they think have made some progress.
I'd like to let you know that one of the handful of diligent cold-fusion practitioners has started waving his arms again. His name is Yoshiaki Arata, a retired (now emeritus) physics professor at Osaka University, Japan. Yesterday, Arata performed a demonstration at Osaka of one his cold-fusion experiments.More at Physicsworld.com
Toyota Building $192M Green-Car Battery Plant
Toyota's joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, is building the plant in Shizuoka prefecture, in central Japan, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said Friday. He declined to give more details.
The plant will produce nickel-metal hydride batteries, now in the company's hit Prius hybrid.
The Nikkei, Japan's top business daily, reported Friday that Toyota was building another plant in Japan to make lithium-ion batteries, set to be running by 2010, for future ecological cars. Nolasco said no decision has been made on such a plant.
Japan's top automaker, which leads the industry in gas-electric hybrids with its hit Prius, has said it will rev up hybrid sales to 1 million a year sometime after 2010.
Hybrids reduce pollution and emissions that are linked to global warming by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor to deliver better mileage than comparable standard cars. But they are still a niche market.
The Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, recently reached cumulative sales of 1 million vehicles.
The Magnifying Glass Gets an Electronic Twist
The tiny, high-resolution video camera within the device captures the image, and the electronics bolster the contrast in the display, making it easier to read words on the monitor.
From the New York Times
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, Age 83 Just Got Married
More from Fox News and AP
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The History Of Memorial Day
More at Usmemorialday.org
JESUS film frees villages from witchcraft
Area witches reportedly have the power to kill and cause tremendous physical suffering, besides terrorizing the community. The government routinely imprisons accused witches, but prison walls cannot contain their power.
More from Mission Network News
Missing Kentucky Dog Found More Than A Thousand Of Miles Away
Tom and Debbie Griswald's 9-month-old German Shepherd, Trudy, disappeared on April 25th.
Tom told our sister station, WKYT, "I had pretty well decided that Trudy was dead, that the coyotes had gotten her because I couldn't imagine anyone picking up a dog in that good of condition with a collar and not trying to find the owner."
What they didn't know is that a woman had picked up the dog in a restaurant parking lot in Nicholasville and driven it to her home in Texas.
She even renamed the dog Lexie.
But then, on May 1st, the Griswalds got a break in the form of an e-mail from the Texas woman's sister-in-law in Vermont.
Debbie Griswald recalls, "The Vermont woman saw Trudy on Dog Detective.com and said her sister-in-law picked up a dog, a female German Shepherd , in the Lexington area in April. She wondered if that could be our Trudy."
Luckily, the Griswalds had implanted a micro chip identifier in Trudy, and authorities in Montgomery County, Texas were able to determined that the dog there did indeed belong to the Kentucky couple.
Tom and Debbie now give the lady who took the dog the benefit of the doubt, sort of.
Tom Griswald says, "Misguided Samaritan I think is what I've finally come to call her. I had some other names before."
Police in Texas say the woman will probably not face any charges.
Trudy was flown from Houston to Lexington Thursday night where her grateful owners were waiting to be reunited with her.
Miracle: Woman Wakes Up after 'Death Set In'
Val Thomas from West Virginia died and her family said their farewell. But 10 minutes after her heart stopped a third time, she miraculously woke up and called for her son.
"I feel very blessed," Thomas told NewsNet5. "I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don't know what it is but I'm sure he'll tell me."
Thomas' heart had stopped at home on Saturday at 1:30 a.m. Doctors at a West Virginia hospital say she suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 hours, according to the local news channel.
Friends Quit Smoking? You Probably Will Too
What's more, smokers tend to quit in groups and those who don't stop puffing increasingly find themselves pushed to the edge of their social circles, the researchers found.
''Your smoking behavior depends upon not just the smoking behavior of the people you know, but also the people who they know'' and so on, said Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the new report.
The findings back up previous studies showing that peer influence plays a key role in people's decision to stop lighting up and provide evidence that the ''buddy system'' used by smoking cessation, weight loss and alcoholism programs to change addictive behavior works.
Study: N. Pacific Humpback Whale Population Rises
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpback whales have made a dramatic comeback in the North Pacific Ocean over the past four decades, a new study says.
The study released Thursday by SPLASH, an international organization of more than 400 whale watchers, estimates there were between 18,000 and 20,000 of the majestic mammals in the North Pacific in 2004-2006.
Their population had dwindled to less than 1,500 before hunting of humpbacks was banned worldwide in 1966.
''It's not a complete success, but it's definitely very encouraging in terms of the recovery of the species,'' said Jeff Walters, co-manager of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Get 45mpg out of a 28mpg car
More from Wisebread
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Pilots run out of fuel, pray, land near Jesus sign
More at Kentucky.com
9 Summer Offers That Will Give You Gas
More at Wisebread
Great-great-grandmother, 96, does laps at Indy
The ride from the Indy Racing Experience was a Christmas gift from Pittenger's children. Pittenger, who is retired from Ball State University as assistant director of personnel services, began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1965.
"I like the excitement, the speed, the noise," she said. "I'm one of the few that like the noise."
More at Yahoo News
Bible class bill goes to governor
The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, who represents Henry County as part of his district.
The bill also protects the existing Bible courses presently taught in less than 20 percent of Tennessee counties, Herron said.
“Our teachers cannot constitutionally preach the Bible, but they can teach the Bible,” Herron said. “The Bible is the world’s best-selling and most influential book. It has shaped this country and changed this world. Our young people must know the Bible to understand literature, art, music, culture, history and politics.”
Herron said the bill survived vigorous debate both in committee and on the floor of both chambers of the state Legislature.
More at Parispi.com
Top 10 Firefox 3 Features
Note: Firefox 3 hasn’t been officially released yet-a public preview release is available and intended for testers only. While it’s a very stable preview, only use it if you’re willing to deal with bugs and instability as the Mozilla teams ready the official release.
I've been using it for most of a week and I'm just giddy about how fast it is. It has been very stable, and it allows me open up 20 or more tabs on my old laptop. You really should try this out.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Netflix set-top box debuts, looks pretty nice
Manufactured by Silicon Valley startup Roku, the Netflix Player is about the size of a Mac mini and a bit thicker than an Apple TV. The unit impressively includes a full gamut of outputs, including HDMI, component video, S-video, optical audio, and even good ol' fashioned composite RCA jacks. Netflix doesn't want to leave any viewers in the dust just because they haven't sprung for the latest and greatest. The Netflix Player can get online via Ethernet or Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, and setup reportedly requires not much more than entering a five-digit code the player gives you into your Netflix account.
The cost? This is where things get interesting. Roku's Netflix Player is a one-time purchase of $99 (and available now). As long as you subscribe to any Netflix plan costing $8.99 or more, you're ready to stream as much content as you want.
Would you believe I live in a rural area with no broadband? Arrrrggggg!!!!
More from Ars Technica
Lost Parrot Returns Home After Telling Veterinarian His Address
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.
He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
Clean Diesels are coming, at upto 60 MPG!
Later this year we will finally begin to see an influx of new model diesels in the United States. While diesels make up 50% of the market share of vehicles in Europe, they’re still trying to shrug off the stigma of being dirty, noisy beasts here in the US. So what changed? In 2006, the EPA required the introduction of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), which removed a major polluting component of diesel fuel. Since sulfur would damage advanced emissions control systems, ULSD paved the way for better emissions control technology.
As early as August, we will start to see a new era of diesels that employ new technology to meet the strictest emissions standards in the world—BIN5/LEV II—which are enforced by 5 US states: California, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, and Vermont. BIN5/LEV II standards severely cap nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions (0.05 g/mile), one of the two tailpipe pollutants that have given diesels a bad rap (that and particulate matter).
Gov. Arnold: Let homeschooling continue
"The governor's brief supports the right of California parents to teach their children at home," stated the governor's press secretary, Aaron McLear. "It explains how the California Education Code already provides for homeschooling and urges the court to recognize and affirm this important right."
Way to go Arnie!
More fro WorldNetDaily
'Good' Bacteria Aid Weight Loss Surgery
Researchers studied 42 morbidly obese people who had weight loss surgery. Six months after surgery, those who took a daily probiotic supplement had shed 70% of their excess pounds vs. 66% for those who did not.
Study participants who took probiotics after surgery also had less nausea and bloating and generally felt better than those who did not, says researcher John M. Morton, MD, of the Stanford School of Medicine.
"It's a very safe, cheap, and easy-to-administer adjunct to weight loss surgery," he tells WebMD.
Foreclosures mean opportunity for Habitat charity
Some Habitat for Humanity chapters have seized buying opportunities in neighborhoods affected by the mortgage meltdown, snapping up scores of empty lots and unoccupied homes — some for as little as half price.
"The down real estate market is a wonderful opportunity for all Habitats," said Gage Yager, executive director of Trinity Habitat for Humanity in Fort Worth, Texas. "As prices drop, we have the opportunity to acquire at prices that just weren't available a few years ago."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Homemade power banishes the bills
Her family of two adults and three children are one of hundreds around the country generating their own electricity.
With power prices on the rise, the $20,000 the Watts spent installing solar panels, a small wind turbine, storage batteries and wiring is starting to look like a good investment.
"I don't need to worry about power cuts," said Ms Watts. "It's just like a normal house. I flick the switch on my computer or my DVD player and away I go."
Is the price of gas too high? Maybe you need a BUDDY to help you out.
GasBuddy.com
Athletes to share love of God at Olympics
Steve McConkey, president of 4 Winds Christian Athletics in Madison, Wis., has been in track and field ministries since 1981. He said China does not have the right to censor faith at the Olympic Games.
"As long as it is done in a peaceful way, and they proclaim the true Jesus Christ, no person should ever take it away, regardless of who they are, government or whatever," he told WND.
Section 51 of the Olympic Charter states, " … no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."
McConkey said he spoke with the United States Olympic committee, and he asked if the athletes will be required to change their responses during press interviews to omit Christ from their statements.
"They told me no," he said. "In other words, they can witness."
In rubble, Chinese couple clung to each other, and to life
Breathing had become harder as day turned to night. The chunks of brick and concrete that had buried him and his wife were pressing tighter by the hour, crushing them. Their bodies had gone numb.
Then there was the rain, sharp and cold, lashing at them through the cracks.
“I don’t think I can make it,” he told his wife, Li Wanzhi, his face just inches from hers, their arms wrapped around each other.
She sensed he was giving up. “If God wants to kill us, he would have killed us right away,” she said. “But since we’re still alive, we must be fated to live.”
20 Timeless Money Rules
More from Yahoo Finance
Monday, May 19, 2008
$2 Billion Wind Turbine Order Is Largest Ever
The $2 billion order is just one quarter of the total amount he plans to purchase. Once built, the wind farm would have the capacity to supply power to over 1,200,000 homes in North Texas. Each turbine will produce 1.5 megawatts of electricity. The first phase of the project will produce 1,000 megawatts, enough energy to power 300,000 homes. GE will begin delivering the turbines in 2010, and current plans call for the project to start producing power in 2011.Ultimately, Picken’s company, Mesa Power, plans to have enough turbines to produce 4,000 megawatts of energy, the overall project is expected to cost $10 billion and be completed in 2014.
6 Hobbies That Can Make You Money
Whether you wade in part-time or dive in full-time, there are several advantages to launching your hobby as a business. For starters, you already enjoy it. You also have the knowledge base and skill set upon which to build, and may have a network of fellow enthusiasts to help get you started.
It's likely that you also have a sense for pricing and market dynamics surrounding your hobby.
MythBuster: Why Electric Vehicles Beat Gas in 5 Extreme Tests
From Popular Mechanics
'Prince' wears box office crown
The adventure-fantasy, reteaming director Andrew Adamson with the cast of the first film, wasn’t able to match the $65.5 million domestic opening of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in early December 2005.
Overseas, “Prince Caspian” grossed $20.7 million as it rolled out in its first 12 territories, besting the opening performance of the first film.
Court Upholds Law That Prohibits Promotion of Child Pornography
The court voted 7 to 2 that the law criminalizing "pandering" of real or purported child pornography over the Internet or through the mail met constitutional standards. The majority dismissed arguments Justice Antonin Scalia called "fanciful hypotheticals" that the law might make documentarians, movie reviewers and even unsuspecting grandparents subject to its pandering standards.
"Child pornography harms and debases the most defenseless of our citizens," Scalia wrote for the majority, adding that federal and state authorities have been frustrated to find it "proliferating through the new medium of the Internet."
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Indiana's first commercial wind farm online
Indiana was once deemed unsuitable for wind farms because of the assumed lack of sufficient winds. But its wind potential was uncovered by a series of wind studies by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The most recent, released in 2006, found that Indiana's winds could produce at least 40,000 megawatts of electricity, or more than twice the state's current generating capacity.
More from The Chicago Tribune
Prius Sales Top 1 Million
Toyota says cumulative worldwide sales of the Prius hit 1,028,000 last month -- when sales jumped 67 percent amid record gas prices -- and claims the cars have eased global warming "by producing approximately 4.5 million tons less C02 when compared with gasoline-powered vehicles in the same class."
Despite Toyota's impressive sales figures, hybrids are still just 2.3 percent of the U.S. market. That number is sure to change as consumers ditch their gas-guzzlers. Hybrid sales rose 38 percent last year even as overall vehicle sales fell, and with gas prices approaching four bucks a gallon, Toyota's having trouble meeting demand for the Prius.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Get Five Dollars Off 25 Dollars or more at True Value
Get the Coupon from True Value Stores
Yahoo! Music To Premiere New Casting Crowns Video 'Slow Fade'
The anticipated world premiere of the powerful new music video “Slow Fade” from Christian music’s top-selling artist Casting Crowns, launches next week exclusively at Yahoo! on Wednesday, May 21. The video will go live on Yahoo! Music’s homepage at midnight EST on Tuesday, and will have homepage and video premier page placement. Casting Crowns is in line with Yahoo’s recent premieres from Sugarland, Kid Rock, Scarlett Johansson and Rascal Flatts. As one of the most visited U.S. websites, the average Yahoo! Music video premiere initially receives 150,000 views and 2-3 million impressions.
“Slow Fade” is the first music video from the GRAMMY-winning, multi-platinum band’s blockbuster RIAA Gold album The Altar and The Door. Produced and directed by the Erwin Brothers, the “Slow Fade” music video was shot in Birmingham, AL., and features crashing pianos and stained glass windows as the storyline follows the heart-wrenching reality of a deteriorating family.
The song, which highlights vocals from lead singer Mark Hall’s daughter Reagan, was “inspired by the spreading cancer of moral failure in the fathers of this generation,” Hall said.
The “Slow Fade” video tells the story of a family slowly fading because of compromising decisions they have made. Hall adds, “As believers, we must guard our hearts and understand that no one crashes and burns, they just slowly fade away, one little compromise at a time.”
View it May 21 on Yahoo! at: http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/premieres/.
Street preacher set to challenge powers that be
"I would require that the city police go through a mandatory course on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and a course training them on what their actual legal authority is and training them on when it is proper to use force to apprehend a suspect…" Daniel Guyeski said in a campaign statement released to WND.
Now Guyeski is launching his campaign.
He said his agenda would include addressing faith:
"As a Bible believing Christian I firmly believe that there is a God and that we are all created in his image and I firmly believe that as individuals and as a community and as a nation that we are accountable to God for how we live and act," he said.
"As mayor I would fight to preserve our Christian heritage and speak out on issues of local importance and take a stand against the liquor and pornography industries coming into our beautiful city. I would protect the churches from unlawful taxing and interference with worship and other activities and I would protect the right of street preachers and evangelists to share their faith freely in public," he said.
He also cited his allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.