Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time!

LTE

2012-01-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

A standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals that is anticipated to become the first truly global mobile phone standard:

LTE (3GPP Long Term Evolution)

Google+

2012-01-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Google's social-network challenger to Facebook:

Google+

Google Circles are groups of friends you organize by topic: Friends, Family, College Buddies, Roommates, etc. From your Circles page you drag and drop your contacts into each of these groups, which makes it easier to share what you want with them. Read more here.

The Descendants

2012-01-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

A 2011 American comedy-drama movie that won the Best Motion Picture - Drama in the 2012 Golden Globe awards:

The Descendants

London

2011-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

The largest city of the European Union by population:

London

Sharpen Your Brain! (for Kindle)

Neurosynaptic Computing Chips

2011-09-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

A new generation of experimental computer chips designed to emulate the brain’s abilities for perception, action and cognition by IBM unveiled in August 2011:

Neurosynaptic Computing Chips [for more information check IBM's website at: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/35251.wss]

Gelotology

2011-09-15T22:35:00.000-07:00

The study of humor and laughter and its effects on the body from a psychological and physiological perspective:

Gelotology

Coordinated Universal Time

2011-09-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

The primary time standard by which the world (computer servers, web services, etc.) regulates clocks and time:

Coordinated Universal Time (it is abbreviated as UTC)

Biofortification

2011-09-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

A method of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value through conventional selective breeding, or through genetic engineering:

Biofortification

Biofortification differs from fortification as it makes plant foods more nutritious as the plants are growing, rather than having nutrients added to the foods when they are being processed.

Edgar Allan Poe

2011-09-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

American author, poet, editor and literary critic, best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre; he was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre:

Edgar Allan Poe

Macabre

2011-09-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

The quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere in works of art which emphasizes the details and symbols of death:

Macabre

This quality is often found in Latin writers, though there are traces of it in Apuleius and the author of the Satyricon. The outstanding instances in English literature are John Webster, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mervyn Peake, Charles Dickens, and Cyril Tourneur. In American literature notable authors include Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. The word has gained its significance from its use in French as la danse macabre for the allegorical representation of the ever-present and universal power of death, known in English as the Dance of Death and in German as Totentanz. The typical form which the allegory takes is that of a series of images in which Death appears, either as a dancing skeleton or as a shrunken shrouded corpse, to people representing every age and condition of life, and leads them all in a dance to the grave. Of the numerous examples painted or sculptured on the walls of cloisters or church yards through medieval Europe, few remain except in woodcuts and engravings [read more here].

Motorola Xoom

2011-09-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

An Android-based tablet computer by Motorola; it is named the Best of the CES 2011 by CNET.com:

Motorola Xoom

Motorola Xoom

MOTOROLA XOOM Android Tablet (10.1-Inch, 32GB, Wi-Fi)

Android

2011-09-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

An operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google:

Android

Android's Official Website: http://www.android.com

Android

Open Handset Alliance

2011-09-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

A business alliance of 80+ firms established in 2007, led by Google, to develop open standards for mobile devices:

Open Handset Alliance

Open Handset Alliance's Website

Geisha

2011-09-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

A Japanese girl or woman who is trained to provide entertaining; e.g. performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance, especially for a man or a group of men:

Geisha (Geisha, Geiko or Geigi)

A Geisha

Boomerang

2011-09-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

A flying tool with a curved shape, especially designed to return near the thrower, used as a weapon or for sport:

Boomerang

Boomerang

Arabic, English, French, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish

2011-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

The official languages of the United Nations are the six languages that are used in UN meetings, and in which all official UN documents are written. They are:

Arabic
English
French
Mandarin
Russian
Spanish

Note: To remember them use FRAMES as a peg:

French, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, English, Spanish

CHLCA

2011-08-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

The last species, a species of African apes, that humans, bonobos and chimpanzees share as a common ancestor:

CHLCA (Chimpanzee-Human Last Common Ancestor)

Ancient Ape Discovered: Last Ape-Human Ancestor?
National Geographic News
November 18, 2004
In Spain scientists have discovered 13-million-year-old fossils of new species of ape. The species may have been the last common ancestor of humans and all great apes living today.

The great apes—which later gave rise to humans and which now include orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas—are thought to have diverged from the lesser apes about 11 to 16 million years ago. Today's lesser apes include the gibbons.

The new species was christened Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, after the village, Els Hostalets de Pierola, and region, Catalonia, where it was found. Like great apes and humans, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, had a stiff lower spine and other special adaptations for climbing trees [read more here].

BBC News: 'Original' great ape discovered
By Paul Rincon
BBC News science reporter
Thursday, 18 November, 2004

Scientists have unearthed remains of a primate that could have been ancestral not only to humans but to all great apes, including chimps and gorillas.

The partial skeleton of this 13-million-year-old "missing link" was found by palaeontologists working at a dig site near Barcelona in Spain.

Details of the sensational discovery appear in Science magazine.

The new specimen was probably male, a fruit-eater and was slightly smaller than a chimpanzee, researchers say.

Palaeontologists were just getting started at the dig when a bulldozer churned up a tooth [read more here].

Simian

2011-08-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

A classification of primates, which includes monkeys, apes, and humans:

Simian

Simian

Paleontology

2011-08-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

The study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, as represented by the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms:

Paleontology

For more information visit the following websites:

The Paleontological Society

The Paleontology Portal

Gelotology

2011-08-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

The study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychological and physiological perspective:

Gelotology

A Better Brain at Any Age: The Holistic Way to Improve Your Memory, Reduce Stress, and Sharpen Your Wits

Galapagos Tortoise

2011-08-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

The largest living species of tortoise, reaching weights of over 400 kg and lengths of over 1.8 meters, with life spans in the wild of over 100 years - it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates:

Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Tortoises

Pro bono

2011-08-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

A phrase derived from Latin meaning "for the public good" which is generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment as a public service:

Pro bono

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll

2011-08-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

A Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s; the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer after Gloria Estefan, having sold over 60 million albums worldwide according to Sony Music:

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (known professionally as Shakira)

Shakira (Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll)

French Polynesia

2011-08-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

A sprawling possession of France in the Pacific Ocean, made up of 118 volcanic and coral islands and atolls:

French Polynesia

French Polynesia

[image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Polynesia]

For France this huge stretch of the Pacific - as big as Western Europe - remains strategically valuable. Atomic testing on the atolls enabled France to keep the nuclear clout it needed to remain one of the world's leading powers.

The issue of independence dominates the political agenda.

Overview

There are five island groups - the Society islands, the Tuamotu archipelago, the Gambier islands, the Marquesas islands and the Tubuai islands. Tahiti is the most densely-populated island.

European contact was gradual; the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and British were credited with the discovery of one or more of the islands. In the 18th century European traders and missionaries came, bringing diseases which wiped out much of the indigenous population.

The missionaries tried to put a stop to local religious practices, nudity and other aspects of indigenous life. Some forms of Polynesian culture were lost for many years.

Tahiti, in the Society islands, became a French colony in 1880. France later annexed other islands to form the French Colony of Oceania. In 1946 the islands became an overseas territory and in 2004 gained "overseas country" status.

Pro-independence movements flourished in the 1970s and over time the islands took more control of internal affairs, culminating in a statute granting increased autonomy in 1996.

There has been friction with Paris over nuclear testing. France conducted 41 atmospheric tests on the Mururoa atoll and neighbouring Fangataufa from 1966. In 1975, under international pressure, it switched to underground tests.

Ending a three year moratorium, French President Jacques Chirac said testing would resume in 1995. The move provoked international anger and protests in Papeete turned violent.

Six of the eight planned tests were carried out, the last one in January 1996. At the end of the programme Paris agreed to a 10-year compensation package.

In 1995 the UN's nuclear watchdog concluded that radiation levels around the atolls posed no threat. In 1999 Paris admitted that fractures had been discovered in the coral cone at the sites. The atolls continue to be monitored.

In March 2009, the French government enacted legislation to allow compensation for former workers at France's nuclear weapons test sites.

French Polynesia enjoys a high standard of living, but wealth is unevenly distributed and unemployment is high.

Tourism is an important money-earner; travellers favour Tahiti and Bora Bora. Boasting a year-round warm climate, volcanic peaks and tranquil lagoons, it is easy to see why the islands are popular. French Polynesia is, though, prone to typhoons.

Facts

Territory: French Polynesia
Status: French overseas territory
Population: 251,000 (via UN, 2006)
Capital: Papeete, on Tahiti
Area: 4,167 sq km (1,609 sq miles)
Major language: Tahitian and French
Major religion: Christian
Life expectancy: 71 years (men), 76 years (women)
Monetary unit: Pacific franc
Main exports: Cultured black pearls, fish and coconut products
GNI per capita: $16,540 (World Bank, 1999)
Internet domain: .pf
International dialling code: + 689

Leaders

Head of state: (French) President Nicolas Sarkozy, represented by a high commissioner
President: Oscar Temaru
French Polynesia has a 57-member assembly which is elected every five years. The president is elected from the assembly. France retains responsibility for foreign affairs, defence, justice and security. The territory is represented in the French parliament by two deputies and a senator. It is represented at the European Parliament.

[source: BBC News: Regions and territories: French Polynesia]

Atoll

2011-08-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

Coral islands that encircle a lagoon partially or completely:

Atoll

An atoll is a coral island or series of coral islands forming a ring that partially or completely encloses a shallow lagoon. Atolls are surrounded by deep ocean water and range in diameter from about 1 km to over 100 km. They are common in the western and central Pacific Ocean. Atolls are formed along the fringes of underwater volcanoes.

Satellite picture of the Atafu atoll in Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean.
[image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll]