WHO INVENTED IT?

WHO INVENTED THE HEATER

2011-11-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

Willis Haviland Carrier (November 26, 1876 – October 7, 1950) was an American engineer and inventor, and is known as the man who invented modern air conditioning.
In Buffalo, New York, on July 17, 1902, in response to a quality problem experienced at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company of Brooklyn, Willis Carrier submitted drawings for what became recognized as the world's first modern air conditioning system. The 1902 installation marked the birth of air conditioning because of the addition of humidity control, which led to the recognition by authorities in the field that air conditioning must perform four basic functions: 1.) control temperature; 2.) control humidity; 3.) control air circulation and ventilation; 4.) cleanse the air.
After several more years of refinement and field testing, on January 2, 1906, Carrier was granted U.S. patent No. 808897 on his invention, which he called an "Apparatus for Treating Air," the world's first spray-type air conditioning equipment. It was designed to humidify or dehumidify air, heating water for the first and cooling it for the second.
In 1906, Carrier discovered that "constant dew-point depression provided practically constant relative humidity," which later became known among air conditioning engineers as the "law of constant dew-point depression." On this discovery he based the design of an automatic control system, for which he filed a patent claim on May 17, 1907. The patent, No. 1,085,971, was issued on February 3, 1914.
On December 3, 1911, Carrier presented the most significant and epochal document ever prepared on air conditioning – his "Rational Psychrometric Formulae" – at the annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It became known as the "Magna Carta of Psychrometrics." This document tied together the concepts of relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dew-point temperature, thus making it possible to design air-conditioning systems to precisely fit the requirements at hand.
With the onset of World War I in late-1914, the Buffalo Forge Company, for which Carrier had been employed 12 years, decided to confine its activities entirely to manufacturing. The result was that seven young engineers pooled together their life savings of $32,600 to form the Carrier Engineering Corporation in New York on June 26, 1915. The seven were Carrier, J. Irvine Lyle, Edward T. Murphy, L. Logan Lewis, Ernest T. Lyle, Alfred E. Stacey, Jr., and Edmund P. Heckel. The company eventually settled on Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.
Despite the development of the centrifugal refrigeration machine and the commercial growth of air conditioning to cool buildings in the 1920s, the company ran into financial difficulties, as did many others, as a result of the Wall Street Crash in October 1929. In 1930, Carrier Engineering Corp. merged with Brunswick-Kroeschell Company and York Heating & Ventilating Corporation to form the Carrier Corporation, with Willis Carrier named Chairman of the Board.
Spread out over four cities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Carrier consolidated and moved his company to Syracuse, New York, in 1937, and the company became one of the largest employers in central New York. In 1930, he started Toyo Carrier and Samsung Applications in Korea and Japan. South Korea is now the largest producer for air conditioning in the world.
The Great Depression slowed residential and commercial use of air conditioning. Willis Carrier's igloo in the 1939 New York World's Fair gave visitors a glimpse into the future of air conditioning, but before it became popular, World War II began. During the post-war economic boom of the 1950s, air conditioning began its tremendous growth in popularity.
The company pioneered the design and manufacture of refrigeration machines to cool large spaces. By increasing industrial production in the summer months, air conditioning revolutionized American life. The introduction of residential air conditioning in the 1920s helped start the great migration to the Sunbelt. The company became a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation in 1980. Carrier remains a world leader in commercial and residential HVAC and refrigeration. In 2007, the Carrier Corporation had sales of more than $15 billion and employed some 45,000 people.

WHO INVENTED THE DIGITAL CAMARA?

2011-11-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

Steven J. Sasson (b. 1950) is an electrical engineer and the inventor of the digital camera.

His invention began in 1975 with a very broad assignment from his supervisor at Eastman Kodak Company, Gareth A. Lloyd: Could a camera be built using solid state electronics, solid state imagers, an electronic sensor known as a charge coupled device (CCD) that gathers optical information?

Texas Instruments Inc. had designed an electronic camera in 1972 that was filmless but not digital, using instead analog electronics. After a literature search on digital imaging came up virtually empty, Sasson drew on whatever was available: an analog-to-digital converter adapted from Motorola Inc. components, a Kodak movie-camera photographic lens|lens and the tiny CCD chips introduced by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1973.

He set about constructing the digital circuitry from scratch, using oscilloscope measurements as a guide. There were no images to look at until the entire prototype - an 8-pound (3.6-kilogram), toaster-size contraption - was assembled. In December 1975, Sasson and his chief technician persuaded a lab assistant to pose for them. The black-and-white image, captured at a resolution of .01 megapixels (10,000 pixels), took 23 seconds to record onto a digital cassette tape and another 23 seconds to read off a playback unit onto a television. Then it popped up on the screen.

"You could see the silhouette of her hair," Sasson said. But her face was a blur of static. "She was less than happy with the photograph and left, saying 'You need work,"' he said. But Sasson already knew the solution: reversing a set of wires, the assistant's face was restored.

In 1978, Sasson and Lloyd were issued United States Patent 4,131,919 for their digital camera.

Sasson now works to protect the intellectual capital of his employer, Eastman Kodak Company.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_the_digital_camera#ixzz1dtNWuyLQ

2011-07-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

“Pea hybrids form germinal and pollen cells that in their composition correspond in equal numbers to all the constant forms resulting from the combination of traits united through fertilization.”

Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 to peasant parents in a small agrarian town in Czechoslovakia. During his childhood he worked as a gardener, and as a young man attended the Olmutz Philosophical Institute. In 1843 he entered an Augustinian monastery in Brunn, Czechoslovakia. Soon afterward, his natural interest in science and specifically hereditary science led him to start experiments with the pea plant. Mendel's attraction for scientific research was based on his love of nature in general. He was not only interested in plants, but also in meteorology and theories of evolution. However, it is his work with the pea plant that changed the world of science forever.
His beautifully designed experiments with pea plants were the first to focus on the numerical relationships among traits appearing in the progeny of hybrids. His interpretation for this phenomenon was that material and unchanging hereditary “elements” undergo segregation and independent assortment. These elements are then passed on unchanged (except in arrangement) to offspring thus yielding a very large, but finite number of possible variations.
Mendel often wondered how plants obtained atypical characteristics. On one of his frequent walks around the monastery, he found an atypical variety of an ornamental plant. He took it and planted it next to the typical variety. He grew their progeny side by side to see if there would be any approximation of the traits passed on to the next generation. This experiment was “designed to support or to illustrate Lamarck's views concerning the influence of environment upon plants.” He found that the plants' respective offspring retained the essential traits of the parents, and therefore were not influenced by the environment. This simple test gave birth to the idea of heredity.
Overshadowing the creative brilliance of Mendel's work is the fact that it was virtually ignored for 34 years. Only after the dramatic rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 (16 years after Mendel's death) was he rightfully recognized as the founder of genetics.1

Why Peas?
Pisum sativum

Mendel was well aware that there were certain preconditions that had to be carefully established before commencing investigations into the inheritance of characteristics. The parental plants must be known to possess constant and differentiating characteristics. To establish this condition, Mendel took an entire year to test “true breeding” (non-hybrid) family lines, each having constant characteristics. The experimental plants also needed to produce flowers that would be easy to protect against foreign pollen. The special shape of the flower of the Leguminosae family, with their enclosed styles, drew his attention. On trying several from this family, he finally selected the garden pea plant (Pisum sativum) as being most ideal for his needs. Mendel also picked the common garden pea plant because it can be grown in large numbers and its reproduction can be manipulated. As with many other flowering plants, pea plants have both male and female reproductive organs. As a result, they can either self-pollinate themselves or cross-pollinate with other plants. In his experiments, Mendel was able to selectively cross-pollinate purebred plants with particular traits and observe the outcome over many generations. This was the basis for his conclusions about the nature of genetic inheritance.3

Mendel observed seven pea plant traits that are easily recognized in one of two forms:

1. Flower color: purple or white
2. Flower position: axial or terminal
3. Stem length: long or short
4. Seed shape: round or wrinkled
5. Seen color: yellow or green
6. Pod shape: inflated or constricted
7. Pod color: yellow or green

Mendel's Law of Segregation

Mendel's hypothesis essentially has four parts. The first part or “law” states that, “Alternative versions of genes account for variations in inherited characters.” In a nutshell, this is the concept of alleles. Alleles are different versions of genes that impart the same characteristic. For example, each pea plant has two genes that control pea texture. There are also two possible textures (smooth and wrinkled) and thus two different genes for texture.
The second law states that, “For each character trait (ie: height, color, texture etc.) an organism inherits two genes, one from each parent.” This statement alludes to the fact that when somatic cells are produced from two gametes, one allele comes from the mother, one from the father. These alleles may be the same (true-breeding organisms), or different (hybrids).
The third law, in relation to the second, declares that, “If the two alleles differ, then one, the dominant allele, is fully expressed in the organism's appearance; the other, the recessive allele, has no noticeable effect on the organism's appearance.”
The fourth law states that, “The two genes for each character segregate during gamete production.” This is the last part of Mendel's generalization. This references meiosis when the chromosome count is changed from the diploid number to the haploid number. The genes are sorted into separate gametes, ensuring variation. This sorting process depends on genetic “recombination.” During this time, genes mix and match in a random and yet very specific way. Genes for each trait only trade with genes of the same trait on the opposing strand of DNA so that all the traits are covered in the resulting offspring. For example, color genes do not trade off with genes for texture. Color genes only trade off with color genes from the opposing allelic sight as do texture genes and all other genes. The result is that each gamete that is produced by the parent is uniquely different as far as the traits that it codes for from every other gamete that is produced. For many creatures, this available statistical variation is so huge that in all probability, no two identical offspring will ever be produced even given trillions of years of time.
So, since a pea plant carries two genes, it can have both of its genes be the same. Both genes could be “smooth” genes or they could both be “wrinkled” genes. If both genes are the same, the resulting pea will of course be consistent. However, what if the genes are different or “hybrid”? One gene will then have “dominance” over the other “recessive” gene. The dominant trait will then be expressed. For example, if the smooth gene (A) is the dominant gene and the wrinkle gene (a) is the recessive gene, a plant with the “Aa” genotype will produce smooth peas. Only an “aa” plant will produce wrinkled peas. For instance, the pea flowers are either purple or white. Intermediate colors do not appear in the offspring of these cross-pollinated plants.

The observation that there are inheritable traits that do not show up in intermediate forms was critically important because the leading theory in biology at the time was that inherited traits blend from generation to generation (Charles Darwin and most other cutting-edge scientists in the 19th century accepted this “blending theory.”). Of course there are exceptions to this general rule. Some genes are now known to be “incompletely dominant.” In this situation, the “dominant gene has incomplete expression in the resulting phenotype causing a “mixed” phenotype. For example, some plants have “incomplete dominant” color genes such as white and red flower genes. A hybrid of this type of plant will produce pink flowers. Other genes are known to be “co-dominant” were both alleles are equally expressed in the phenotype. An example of co-dominant alleles is human blood typing. If a person has both “A” and “B” genes, they will have an “AB” blood type. Some traits are inherited through the combination of many genes acting together to produce a certain effect. This type of inheritance is called “polygenetic.” Examples of polygenetic inheritance are human height, skin color, and body form. In all of these cases however, the genes (alleles) themselves remain unchanged. They are transmitted from parent to offspring through a process of random genetic recombination that can be calculated statistically. For example, the odds of a dominant trait being expressed over a recessive trait in a two-gene allelic system where both parents are hybrids are 3:1. If only one parent is a hybrid and the other parent has both dominant alleles, then 100% of the offspring will express the dominant trait. If one parent has both recessive alleles and the other parent is a hybrid, then the offspring will have a phenotypic ratio of 1:1.

Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment

The most important principle of Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment is that the emergence of one trait will not affect the emergence of another. For example, a pea plant's inheritance of the ability to produce purple flowers instead of white ones does not make it more likely that it would also inherit the ability to produce yellow peas in contrast to green ones. Mendel's findings allowed other scientists to simplify the emergence of traits to mathematical probability (While mixing one trait always resulted in a 3:1 ratio between dominant and recessive phenotypes, his experiments with two traits showed 9:3:3:1 ratios).
Mendel was so successful largely thanks to his careful and nonpassionate use of the scientific method. Also, his choice of peas as a subject for his experiments was quite fortunate. Peas have a relatively simple genetic structure and Mendel could always be in control of the plants' breeding. When Mendel wanted to cross-pollinate a pea plant he needed only to remove the immature stamens of the plant. In this way he was always sure of each plants' parents. Mendel made certain to start his experiments only with true breeding plants. He also only measured absolute characteristics such as color, shape, and texture of the offspring. His data was expressed numerically and subjected to statistical analysis. This method of data reporting and the large sampling size he used gave credibility to his data. He also had the foresight to look through several successive generations of his pea plants and record their variations. Without his careful attention to procedure and detail, Mendel's work could not have had the same impact that is has made on the world of genetics.

Mendel and Darwin

Mendel's ideas on heredity and evolution were diametrically opposed to those of Darwin and his followers (although neither Mendel nor Darwin knew of the other’s work).2 Darwin believed in the inheritance of acquired characters. This led him to his famous theory of continuous evolution. Mendel, in contrast, rejected both the idea of inheritance of acquired characters (mutations) as well as the concept of continuous evolution. The laws discovered by him were understood to be the laws of constant elements for a great but finite variation, not only for cultured varieties but also for species in the wild.3 In his short treatise, Experiments in Plant Hybridization, Mendel incessantly speaks of "constant characters", "constant offspring", "constant combinations", "constant forms", "constant law", "a constant species" etc. (in such combinations the adjective "constant" occurs 67 times in his original paper). He was convinced that the laws of heredity he had discovered corroborated Gärtner's conclusion "that species are fixed with limits beyond which they cannot change". And as Dobzhansky aptly put it, "It is...not a paradox to say that if someone should succeed in inventing a universally applicable, static definition of species, he would cast serious doubts on the validity of the theory of evolution".
As the Darwinians won the battle for the minds in the 19th century, no space was left in the next decades for the acceptance of the true scientific laws of heredity discovered by Mendel. Further work in genetics was continued mainly by Darwin's critics. In agreement with de Vries, Tschermak-Seysenegg, Johannsen, Nilsson, et al., Bateson stated:

“With the triumph of the evolutionary idea, curiosity as to the significance of specific differences was satisfied. The Origin was published in 1859. During the following decade, while the new views were on trial, the experimental breeders continued their work, but before 1870 the field was practically abandoned. In all that concerns the species the next thirty years are marked by the apathy characteristic of an age of faith. Evolution became the exercising-ground of essayists. The number indeed of naturalists increased tenfold, but their activities were directed elsewhere. Darwin's achievement so far exceeded anything that was thought possible before, that what should have been hailed as a long-expected beginning was taken for the completed work. I well remember receiving from one of the most earnest of my seniors the friendly warning that it was waste of time to study variation, for "Darwin had swept the field.”” 4

The general acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution and his ideas regarding variation and the inheritance of acquired characters are, in fact, the main reasons for the neglect of Mendel's work, which (in clear opposition to Darwin) pointed to an entirely different understanding of the questions involved.1

1. Genetics 131: 245-253, 1992.

2. Callender, L. A., Gregor Mendel: An opponent of descent with modification. History of Science 26: 41-75. 1988.

3. Mendel, Gregor. Experiments in Plant Hybridization. 1865.

4. Bateson, W. Mendel's Principles of Heredity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1909.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S DAY TO ALL THE LADIES IN THE WORLD

2011-03-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.
1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
1910
n 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.
1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Wommen's Day ever since. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.
1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.
1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.
2000 and beyond
IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.
However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.
Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.
Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.
So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

WHO CREATED THE GAME FARMVILLE AND WHAT IS THE GAME ALL ABOUT?

2011-02-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

Farmville was created by a company called Zynga Mark Pincus is the founder and CEO of Zynga and he is from New York.

FarmVille is a farming social network game developed by Zynga. It is available on the social-networking website Facebook and as an App on the Apple iPhone. The game allows members of Facebook to manage a virtual farm by plowing land, planting, growing and harvesting virtual crops, harvesting trees and bushes, and by raising livestock. FarmVille started as a clone of the popular Farm Town, which also featured on Facebook in June 2009, but has since grown to be the social network's most popular application, with over 62 million active users and over 24.6 million Facebook application fans as of September 2010. Ten percent of all Facebook users play it. Despite this, Farmville is still classed by Zynga as being in a "Beta Testing Stage", with "all of [their] players ... currently considered Testers."
On February 4, 2010, Microsoft's MSN Games also launched FarmVille on its website, requiring a Facebook account but not a Windows Live ID in order to play the game. On June 7, 2010, at Apple's WWDC, the CEO of Zynga announced that they were porting FarmVille for the Flash-less iOS platform. It was later released on June 23, 2010 for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

WHAT IS FARMVILLE ALL ABOUT?
Gameplay
Upon beginning a farm, the player first creates a customizable avatar which may be changed at any point. The player begins with an empty farm and a fixed starting amount of "farm coins", the primary currency in the game. Players also earn XP (experience points) for performing certain actions in the game such as plowing land or buying items. At certain XP benchmarks, the player's level rises. As the player obtains more items and progresses through levels, crops and animals become available to them via the "market" where items can be purchased using either farm coins or "farm cash". Farm cash is earned by leveling up, completing offers or microtransactions

Crops
The main way a player earns farm coins is through harvesting of crops. The player does this by paying coins for plowing a unit of land and for planting crops, such as tomatoes on it, finally harvesting them after a certain amount of time has elapsed. The amount of time it takes for it to mature and how much money it yields when harvested is dependent on the crop planted and is noted on its entry in the "market" dialog.They will wither,or they will be of no use when time has elapsed.to determine how much time,multiply the time with 2.5n (for eg-crops which take 8 hours to grow will wither after 20 hours as 2.5*8=20). However, a player can use farm cash to purchase an "unwither" to rejuvenate the crops or can use a biplane with "instant grow" to cause crops to be immediately available for harvest. Although the biplane can be purchased with coins, this special feature is only available for farm cash. As a player levels up more, crops with a higher payoff and economy will become available.

Livestock and other plants
A player may also buy or receive from friends livestock and trees or bushes, such as cherry trees or chickens, which do not wither but instead become ready for harvest for preset amounts of money a set amount of time from their last harvest.
Social interaction
Like most Zynga games, FarmVille incorporates the social networking aspect of Facebook into many areas of gameplay. Players may invite their friends to be their neighbors, allowing them to perform five actions on each other's farms per day by "visiting" it. Neighbors may also send gifts and supplies to each other, complete specialized tasks together for rewards, and join "co-ops" - joint efforts to grow a certain amount of certain crops.

Gifts
Neighbors may also send gifts to each other in the form of mystery gifts with expensive, but random items, special deliveries with building supplies, or by choosing a particular item to send. They cost the sending user nothing.

Decorations
Decorations can be purchased in the market for coins or cash or can be sent in the form of free gifts.Decorations include many items like buildings, hay bales, fences, nutcrackers, gnomes, flags, topiaries, etc. There are sometimes limited edition items depending on the theme such as a Valentine's Day theme, halloween theme, winter theme, etc. Decorations also give experience points (xp) depending on the cost.

Controversy
Accused scamming
FarmVille had offered users "farm cash" for completing various advertising surveys or signing up for services: for instance, the player would get some virtual currency for signing up for Netflix. However, FarmVille has been accused of scamming its users through misleading offers, such as filling in bogus survey or IQ tests which in fact subscribe the users to an unwanted service which appears on their phone bill or sending them advertisements through email. In a video posted November 9, 2009, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says "I did every horrible thing in the book too, just to get revenues right away. I mean we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this Zwinky toolbar which was like, I don't know, I downloaded it once and couldn't get rid of it," in regard to criticism about business practices. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch accused Facebook of allowing Zynga's FarmVille to continue these practices because a great deal of the money it gets from such leads is reinvested in ads inside the Facebook network. In response to this negative publicity, Zynga removed all virtual cash offers on 8 November 2009 only on those pages on the main farmville.com website, but at least since July 12, 2010, farmville.com has still offered its virtual cash. Players accessing the game from within Facebook also may see these offers.
More recently, Zynga has been accused of sharing information with advertisers and other internet tracking companies about their users, however, Zynga had denied these accusations.

Originality
FarmVille has also been criticized for being "almost an exact duplicate" of its previously released competitor Farm Town.

Critical reception
In a December 2010 interview with Gamasutra, game designer Jonathan Blow criticized FarmVille for being designed to create an atmosphere of negativity, requiring an unprecedented commitment to the game, and encouraging users to exploit their friends.

Awards
FarmVille won an award at the Game Developer's Conference for the "Best New Social/Online Game" in 2010.

WHO INVENTED THE GAME OF FOOTBALL?

2010-06-26T23:54:00.000-07:00

By Football if one means Soccer as it is more popularly known, then the game is said to have a history dating back thousands of years. There are records of a game called Cuju played in China about 4000 years ago which resembled football in some ways. In fact there have been mentions of a game somewhat similar to football being played in various parts of the World throughout history. The Greeks, the Romans, the Mexicans, the Japanese and the Eskimos have all played a game involving the use of their legs, a spherical object and in some cases a goalpost at some time or the other in their history. However, the place that is credited to be the birthplace of modern day Football are the British Isles with records of matches being played between different villages in the middle ages. In fact a recent discovery of a book written by a Scottish teacher, David Wedderburn way back in 1633 describes in detail a match of football played in Aberdeen, Scotland. According to another story a game closely similar to Rugby was already being played at the Rugby School in 1823 when a player William W Ellis ran the ball into the net thereby giving birth to another form of football better known today as American Football. The date for the start of modern American Football though is said to be 1876, invented by a man named Walter Camp who had supposedly heard the Ellis story.
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Mahendra 4 years ago

FACEBOOK... AN INVENTION OF TODAY

2010-06-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Facebook is a social networking website launched in February 2004 and operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can add people as friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks organized by workplace, school, or college. The website's name stems from the colloquial name of books given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better. Anyone age 13 or older can become a Facebook user.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It later expanded further to include (potentially) any university student, then high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over. The original concept for Facebook was borrowed from a product produced by Zuckerberg's prep school Phillips Exeter Academy which for decades published and distributed a printed manual of all students and faculty, unofficially called the "face book". The website currently has more than 400 million active users worldwide.
Facebook has met with some controversy. It has been blocked intermittently in several countries including Pakistan, Syria, China, Vietnam, and Iran. It has also been banned at many places of work to discourage employees from wasting time using the service. Privacy has also been an issue, and it has been compromised several times. Facebook settled a lawsuit regarding claims over source code and intellectual property. The site has also been involved in controversy over the sale of fans and friends.
A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social network by worldwide monthly active users, followed by MySpace. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade 'best-of' list, saying, "How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?"
There have recently been reports of Facebook proposing an initial public offering (IPO). However, Zuckerberg stresses that it will not be for a few more years, and the company is in no need of additional capital. Also, some analysts fear the Facebook IPO might be a particularly weak one.

WHO INVENTED AROMATHERAPY?? PART 2

2010-01-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

Essential oils are the fragrant, highly concentrated natural constituents that are found in plants. They are what give the plant its characteristic odour and contain the healing power of the plant from which it was extracted. When used correctly, essential oils bring a wide range of health benefits since unlike modern drugs, they have no side-effects.

The essential oils are located in tiny secretory structures found in various parts of plants; leaves (eucalyptus), berries (juniper), grasses (palmarosa), flowering tops (lavender), petals (rose), roots (angelica), zest of fruit (orange), resins (frankincense) and wood (cedar).

How are they extracted?
Mostly, essential oils are obtained by steam distillation although other methods are used. Citrus fruits are cold pressed by mechanical means, and the oil from delicate flowers is obtained by a more sophisticated method that produces what is known as an absolute. This is because delicate flowers can not withstand the high temperatures needed for steam distillation.
After extraction, the resulting essential oil is a highly concentrated liquid that contains the aroma and therapeutic properties of the source from which it came. Nothing should be added or removed from this oil if it is to be used in aromatherapy. To achieve maximum therapeutic benefits, essential oils should be exactly as they came from the still, so to speak.

Standardised oils
Some industries process essential oils in order to make them meet a required odour or flavour 'profile'. To achieve this, synthetic chemicals are added to the oil and often certain unwanted non-fragrance components are removed (rectification). This 'standardisation' is common practice in the perfumery and flavour industries in order to maintain absolute consistency in fragrance or taste, but totally unacceptable if the essential oil is for use in aromatherapy. To us, this is adulteration - not standardisation.
Adulterated essential oils may often smell acceptable to the untrained nose, but because they are extended with synthetics or diluted with vegetable oil it makes them extremely poor value for money. Not only that, but if an essential oil has been standardised, adulterated or adjusted in any way it simply will not be effective.

Look for purity
This is why you should always buy essential oils from long established and trusted aromatherapy suppliers who specialise in clinical grade oils and not the more common commercial grade. To meet the high quality for aromatherapy, an essential oil should be extracted from a single botanical species that has been botanically authenticated, and derived from a known country of origin.
To be 100% pure, nothing should be added or taken away from the oil after extraction. To enable us to meet this requirement, every essential oil supplied by Quinessence has been analytically tested for purity using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) to establish its purity. This is why all our oils are guaranteed to be pure, natural and unadulterated.

The science bit
The chemistry of an essential oil is extremely complex, and a typical example of oil will contain an elaborate mixture of aromatic constituents such as alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, lactones, phenols, terpenes and sesquiterpenes that combine to produce a unique set of therapeutic qualities.
This complex mixture of natural chemicals is what makes essential oils such effective healing agents; for example eucalyptus oil is refreshing and invigorating - plus it is a very powerful antiseptic agent. This means that essential oils can be used in a variety of ways in aromatherapy to promote physical and emotional health and well-being.

Health benefits
Essential oils possess a wide range of healing properties that can be used effectively to keep you in the best of health as well as looking good. These health-giving benefits include improving the complexion of your skin by stimulating cellular renewal, balancing roller-coaster emotions and fighting bacteria, fungi and other forms of infection. Essential oils have an almost endless list of therapeutic uses.
But only by using essential oils of the very highest quality can you be sure of achieving text-book results. Although cheaper essential oils may appear to save you money, they will certainly not deliver the results that you are entitled to expect. Therefore you will have wasted your hard-earned cash.
Quinessence are committed to supplying only the very finest, organic essential oils produced from ecologically grown products. We work closely with farmers to ensure that our essential oils are produced from plants that have not been subjected to the use of pesticides or herbicides.
To guarantee this level of quality and purity, every essential oil is subjected to the most searching analytical procedures, including GC/MS chromatography.

(THIS INFORMATION FROM QUINESSENCE ESSENTIAL OILS WEBSITE. PLEASE NOTE, IT IS USED IN OUR SPA IN BELIZE AND MEXICO. PREHISPANICO IN CHETUMAL, MEXICO AND PREHISPANIC, COROZAL IN COROZAL TOWN, BELIZE)

WHO INVENTED GOOD CHEER??

2010-01-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

I haven´t a clue but I believe we all have it inside of us. So, today I wish to send some good cheer out to all my readers. I am back. I have returned. I need good cheer and I know you are all there. So, here´s hoping this year will look on us kindly. I love you all.

Brenda

HE IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

2009-12-25T01:02:00.000-08:00

At this time of the year, with pain in my heart and tears in my eyes at the loss of my best friend and soul companion, I reach out across the miles to greet all my blog readers. I promise to return in the new year with a vigor and the passion I once had. Now I wish to thank you for your support. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU ALL WELL.

ABEL MARTIN LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ

2009-10-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Nov 14, 1955 to Oct 18, 2009

Dear Abel, you were the best teacher and lover of life I have ever known. I will love you always, cielo. Y sabes que? T.A.

REST IN PEACE, BABY

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ABEL DESESTRESS

2009-10-20T23:56:00.001-07:00

NOVEMBER 14, 1955 -- OCTOBER, 18, 2009

"FIRST YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF SO THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LOVE OTHERS" (Abel Desestress)

MEDICINAL PLANTS... DID YOU KNOW???

2009-10-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

In the ancient world 5,000 to 10,000 BC - long before plant medicines of any sort had been discovered, our ancestors would burn aromatic herbs, scented woods and barks to drive out the 'evil spirits' from sick people.
Some of these poor individuals were possibly suffering from mental illness, but apart from using fire and water, 'smoking' was the only other form of treatment.

The word perfume comes from the Latin per fumum, which means 'through smoke'. Initially, any fragrant woods, barks or herbs growing in the locality would have been used, since the major aromatic trading centres would not appear for thousands of years yet.

ALL ABOUT ESSENTIAL OILS

2009-10-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

science bit
The chemistry of an essential oil is extremely complex, and a typical example of oil will contain an elaborate mixture of aromatic constituents such as alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, lactones, phenols, terpenes and sesquiterpenes that combine to produce a unique set of therapeutic qualities.

This complex mixture of natural chemicals is what makes essential oils such effective healing agents; for example eucalyptus oil is refreshing and invigorating - plus it is a very powerful antiseptic agent. This means that essential oils can be used in a variety of ways in aromatherapy to promote physical and emotional health and well-being.

WHO INVENTED Aromatherapy ??

2009-10-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

The History of Aromatherapy

Part 2: 529 AD - Today

It was the Persians who next made the most enduring contributions to the knowledge of aromatics and medicine. Al-Razi (865-925) is considered one of Persia's finest physicians, and during his lifetime he penned a phenomenal 237 books and articles covering several fields of science, half of which concerned medicine. Born in the town of Rayy near Tehran, Al-Razi was known in the West as Rhazes and he had an enormous influence on European science and medicine.
His most influential work was a medical encyclopedia covering 25 books called 'AI Kitab al Hawi', which was later translated into Latin and other European languages, and known in English as 'The Comprehensive Work'. His medical accomplishments were legion, and he also developed tools such as mortars, flasks, spatulas and phials which were used in pharmacies until the early twentieth century.
A legend is born
Next came Ibn Sina (980-1037), also a Persian, who was probably the most famous and influential of all the great Islamic physicians and known throughout Europe as Avicenna. His life truly was the stuff of legend. At the age of 16 he began studying medicine and by 20 he had been appointed a court physician, earning the title 'Prince of physicians'. He wrote 20 books covering theology, metaphysics, astronomy, philology, philosophy and poetry, and most influentially, 20 books and 100 treatises on medicine.
His 14 volume epic 'Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb', which means 'The Canon of Medicine' was over one million words long and contained the sum total of all existing medical knowledge. This monumental medical encyclopedia included the Hippocratic and Galenic traditions, describing Syro-Arab and Indo-Persian practice plus notes on his own observations, becoming the definitive medical textbook, teaching guide and reference throughout Western Europe and the Islamic world for over seven hundred years.
Anglo-Saxon remedies
The oldest surviving English manuscript of botanical medicine is the Saxon 'Leech Book of Bald', which was written between 900 and 950 by a scribe named Cild under the direction of Bald, who was a friend of king Alfred the Great. ('Leech' is an old English word meaning healer). This early text contains a mixture of herbalism, magic, shamanism and tree lore, and describes 500 plants, their properties, and how they can be used in amulets, baths or taken internally.
When the Crusaders returned from the Holy Wars they brought back rose water, perfumes, aromatics and remedies that were previously unknown. Fragrant plants became more popular, with aromatic herb garlands decorating homes and rose water being used to wash the hands of those who could afford it. The availability and range of aromatic medicines continued to increase over the next few hundred years, but the knowledge of the Eastern physicians had not yet begun to arrive on our shores.
Medieval apocalypse
During the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe, medicine was almost entirely governed by the Catholic church. They considered illness and disease to be a punishment from God, and the standard form of treatment administered by the priests was prayer, and perhaps a session of blood-letting. When the 'Black Death' first arrived in 1347, it was devastating. Almost 50% of London's inhabitants succumbed within the first year, and up 40% of the entire population of Europe would die within 3 years. The basic Anglo-Saxon botanical remedies such as wearing sachets of dried lavender and amulets of thyme proved no match for this deadly pandemic.
In 1597 John Gerard published ' Herball, or General Historie of Plantes' which is now considered a herbal classic. Although the very first essential oils such as juniper, lavender, rosemary and sage had arrived in Britain around this time, he makes no mention of them. Gerards book proved highly influential, and the apothecaries which had previously only sold the medicines prescribed by doctors, began to to prepare and compound their own medicines too. New style apothecaries that dispensed medicines and attended to the patient began appearing throughout England. But not quickly enough.
The second visitation of the Black Death in 1603 hit almost as hard as the first, and virtually every available aromatic was burned in houses and on the streets to keep the pestilence at bay. Benzoin, styrax, frankincense and various spice oils were all used to prevent the spread of this deadly disease, but to little effect. It was reported the only people not to succumb to the plague were the workers involved in aromatics and perfumery, and this is undoubtedly due to the highly antiseptic properties of the essential oils.
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was one of the most influential herbalists who also introduced the concept of astrological herbalism. In his most famous work, 'The English Physician' (1652), Culpeper's descriptions of herbs, oils and their uses were intermixed with astrology. Other notable herbalists such as Joseph Miller and John Parkinson would also leave a rich botanical legacy, paving the way for later generations to expand upon. The essential oil industries throughout Europe flourished, providing oils for the pharmaceutical, flavour and fragrance industries.
Champions of modern aromatherapy
The term 'aromatherapie' was coined by a French chemist named René-Maurice Gattefossé (1881-1950) who studied the medicinal properties of essential oils for many years whilst working in his families perfumery business. He had the opportunity to personally test his innovative theories when an explosion in his laboratory caused a severe burn to his hand.
He plunged his hand into a vessel of pure lavender oil which immediately reduced the swelling and helped accelerate the healing process. Most impressively, he was left with no scar. He was a prolific writer covering many subjects, but it was his passion for researching essential oils that eventually led to the publication in 1937 of his ground-breaking book, 'Aromathérapie: Les Huiles essentielles hormones vegetales'.
A French doctor named Jean Valnet followed the work of Gattefossé, and during World War 2 whilst working as a surgical assistant he used essential oils of chamomile, clove, lemon and thyme to treat gangrene and battle wounds. After graduating as a surgeon at the end of the war, Valnet continued to use essential oils to treat illnesses, and was the first ever to use them to treat psychiatric conditions. His inspired book, 'Aromathérapie - Traitment des Maladies par les Essence de Plantes' was released in 1964, and in 1980 translated into English and released under the new title of 'The Practice of Aromatherapy', putting aromatherapy on the English map.
Madame Marguerite Maury (1895-1968) was an Austrian born biochemist who became interested in what was to become aromatherapy, after reading a book written in 1838 by Dr Chabenes called, 'Les Grandes Possibilités par les Matières Odoriferantes'. This was the man who would later become the teacher of Gattefossé. Her influential book, 'Le Capital Jeunesse' was released in France in 1961 but sadly did not initially receive the acclaim that it deserved. In 1964 it was released in Britain under the title of 'The Secret of Life and Youth' and has at last been recognised for the great work that it was.
After her death, the work of Maury continued through her protege, Danièle Ryman, who is now herself considered an authority on aromatherapy. The work of Valnet and Gattefossé stimulated and influenced Englishman Robert Tisserand, who in 1977 wrote the very first aromatherapy book in English entitled, 'The Art of Aromatherapy'. This book became the inspiration and reference for virtually every future author on the subject for almost two decades.
Today we are at last unfolding the final secrets of the Egyptian mysteries, revealing aromatherapy to be one of the finest ways to combat the detrimental effects of stress, restoring the beauty, tranquility and harmony of Nature into the lives of everyone.

WHO INVENTED AROMATHERAPY?? PART 1

2009-10-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

The History of Aromatherapy

Pt 1: 3,500 BC - 199 AD

The roots of Aromatherapy can be traced back more than 3,500 years before the birth of Christ, to a time when the use of aromatics was first recorded in human history. In reality, the history of aromatherapy is inexorably linked to the development of aromatic medicine, which in the early days was itself combined with religion, mysticism and magic.
This was a time when the ancient Egyptians first burned incense made from aromatic woods, herbs and spices in honour of their gods. They believed that as the smoke rose up to the heavens, it would carry their prayers and wishes directly to the deities. Eventually, the development of aromatics as medicines would create the foundations that aromatherapy was built upon.
Look to eternity
During the 3rd Dynasty (2650-2575 BC) in Egypt, the process of embalming and mummification was developed by the Egyptians in their search for immortality. Frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, cinnamon, cedarwood, juniper berry and spikenard are all known to have been used at some stage to preserve the bodies of their royalty in preparation of the after-life.
The valuable herbs and spices they needed were laboriously transported across inhospitable deserts by Arab merchants for distribution to Assyria, Babylon, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia. The most sought after materials were frankincense and myrrh, and because during those early trading years demand outstripped supply they had a value equal to that of gems and precious metals.
Masters of perfumery
The Egyptians loved to use simple fragrances in their daily lives and did so at every opportunity. At festivals and celebrations women wore perfumed cones on their heads which would melt under the heat, releasing their beautiful fragrance. After bathing, they would anoint their bodies with oil to protect them from the drying effects of the baking sun and to rejuvenate their skin.
During the period between the 18th and the 25th Dynasty (1539-657 BC), the Egyptians continued to refine their use of aromatics in incense, medicine, cosmetics, and finally perfumes. Until just a few hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Egyptian perfumery industry was celebrated as the finest in the whole of the Middle East and beyond. So great was their reputation as master perfumers, that when Julius Caesar returned home with Cleopatra after conquering Egypt around 48 BC, perfume bottles were tossed to the crowds to demonstrate his total domination over Egypt.
Enter the Greeks
The richness of the Egyptian botanical pharmacopoeia had already been assimilated by many other cultures during previous millennia; the Assyrians, Babylonians and Hebrews had all borrowed from their vast knowledge of aromatic medicine. As the Egyptian Empire crumbled into decline around 300 BC, Europe became the heart of empirical medicine, where new methods were steadily evolving into a more scientifically based system of healing.
The earliest known Greek physician was Asclepius who practiced around 1200 BC combining the use of herbs and surgery with previously unrivalled skill. His reputation was so great that after his death he was deified as the god of healing in Greek mythology, and thousands of lavish healing temples known as Asclepieion were erected in his honor throughout the Grecian world.
The Father of Medicine
Hippocrates (circa 460-377 BC) was the first physician to dismiss the Egyptian belief that illness was caused by supernatural forces. Instead, he believed the doctor should try to discover natural explanations for disease by observing the patient carefully, and make a judgment only after consideration of the symptoms.
His treatments would typically employ mild physio-therapies, baths, massage with infusions, or the internal use of herbs such as fennel, parsley, hypericum or valerian. Hippocrates is said to have studied and documented over 200 different herbs during his lifetime. He believed that surgery should be used only as a last resort and was among the first to regard the entire body as an organism. Therefore we have Hippocrates to thank for a concept fundemental to true aromatherapy - that of holism.
Founders of botany & pharmacology
After Alexander's invasion of Egypt in the 3rd century BC, the use of aromatics, herbs and perfumes became much more popular in Greece prompting great interest in all things fragrant. Theophrastus of Athens who was a philosopher and student of Aristotle, investigated everything about plants and even how scents affected the emotions. He wrote several volumes on botany including 'The History of Plants', which became one of the three most important botanical science references for centuries to come. He is generally referred to today as the Founder of Botany.
The next great luminary was the Greek military physician Dioscorides (40-90 AD) who served in Nero's army. In order to study herbs, Dioscorides marched with Roman armies to Greece, Germany, Italy and Spain, recording everything that he discovered. He described the plants habitat, how it should be prepared and stored, and described full accounts of its healing properties. His results were published in a comprehensive 5 volume work called 'De Materia Medica', also known as 'Herbarius'.
This epic publication was the first ever systematic pharmacopoeia and contained 1000 different botanical medications, plus descriptions and illustrations of approximately 600 different plants and aromatics. His magnificent work was so influential he has been bestowed the accolade, the Father of Pharmacology.
Of gladiators and emperors
Perhaps the most brilliant and influential of all Greek physicians was Claudius Galen, who lived from 129-199 AD and studied medicine from the age of seventeen. He began his medical career aged 28 under Roman employ treating the wounds of gladiators with medicinal herbs. This unique experience provided him with the opportunity to study wounds of all kinds, and it is said that not a single gladiator died of battle wounds while under the care of Galen.
Due to his phenomenal success he quickly rose to become the personal physician to the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and since Rome was a thriving academic center during the lifetime of Galen it was the ideal place for him to conduct further research. Galen was the last of the great Greco-Roman physicians, and within 100 years of his death the Roman Empire would begin to decline, plunging Europe into the dark ages.
As the Romans began pulling out of Britain, much of their medical knowledge was discarded and all progress in the Western tradition of medicine came to a halt for hundreds of years. During this period, Europe sank into the lowest depths of barbarism recorded in history, and it would be the turn of another culture to carry the torch of aromatic medicine forward.

WHO INVENTED THE STONE MASSAGE

2009-10-13T04:06:00.000-07:00

For those who may ask, we do Hot stone massage at PrehiSPAnic, Corozal!!! Come and try it out!!!! You will love it!!!

Although the hot stone massage is believed to have been done thousands of years ago, it is said that a certain Mary Hannigan of Tucson, Arizona invented the hot stone massage more than a decade ago and trademarked her own version of this unique massage technique. However, many other hot stone massage proponents have since come up with their own versions, but basically using the same principles.
A hot stone massage makes use of several different-sized basalt stones. Basalt is volcanic in nature and can thus absorb and retain heat efficiently. Smooth rocks are chosen for the hot stone massage, with large ones being placed on the lower abdomen, the sacrum, and along the spine; while the smaller ones – approximately the size of the tip of the thumb – being used between the toes.
The rocks are heated in water with a temperature of 120-150 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot stone massage practitioners must be well trained in the trade, because using stones that are too hot or too cold can be deleterious to health, not to mention potentially unsafe.
The hot stone massage therapist must use rubber gloves or a tool to take the stones out of the water – this is usually a slotted spoon. The rocks must not be picked up with bare hands out of the water, because apart from the obvious reason that these might scorch the therapist's hands, the water must also be kept clean and free from bacteria.
Bacteria usually die in very high temperatures, but they thrive when the water temperature goes down. This is why it is essential to keep the water clean at all times.
Large, baseball-sized stones are placed on the patient's palms while the other stones are situated on the points mentioned above. In addition, the hot stone massage is complemented by a massaging of oiled, heated stones onto the torso, arms, and the legs.
The therapist sees to it, too, that the water temperature is strictly maintained. If you find the heat uncomfortable, you can always inform your therapist so adjustments could be made. Hot stone massage also involves the variable application of pressure, and you can always speak up and request for light, medium, or deep pressure.
The heat from the stones have been known to reduce anxiety in people and has helped them maintain calmer and more relaxed moods. The hot stone massage improves circulation and keeps panic attacks, for some, to a minimum.
Those new to hot stone massage, though are warned about the potential dangers of this technique, as it could raise a person's blood pressure. It is thus not recommended for pregnant and hypertensive women.

MONDRAGON´S INVENTION

2009-10-12T02:04:00.000-07:00

General Mondragon, weapons expert, invited his friend, Don Porfirio Díaz, to an exhibition of an accessory he had invented, which allowed tuning with mathematical precision the aim of guns and missiles.

The exhibit, surrounded by the pomp and military ceremony was impressive but did not work. Although Mondragon adjusted once and again his invention, the cannon did not shoot anything.

Diaz, who was also a military expert, was asked by Mondragon to intervene. The dictator went to the gun, took something off and bam!, It worked. Mondragon, half angry, asked: "What did you take off, pal?

Well, your invention! Was the reply.

That's what we're doing with Rodrigo Medina Gonzalez Paras's inventions: We are removing the thick boning administrative apparatus invented six years ago for an alleged modernized administration and a failed attempt of citizen involvement.

Natividad, an expert in public administration, educated in France, wove a dense organizational network that halted the start of his government for an entire year, while fabricating structures that conformed to the laws or changed the laws to authorize them.

Created agencies, institutes, commissions, trusts, councils, but, ironically, in their hands centralized coordination and control in all these organisms.

To begin a new presidential term, Medina has to eliminate the Mondragon invention of his godfather for the cannon to make noise.

WHO INVENTED FOOTBALL???

2009-10-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

The most frequent question a football supporter asks himself is, without any doubt, "Who invented Football?".

Of course, there is a lot of controversy around the answer. The two countries that are fighting for the historical honor are Italy and England. Most of the Europeans think it's the latter. After all, the first stadium that was invested with artificial lighting was the Wembley Arena. That seems to be their main argument when asked to give you a reason.The Italians, on the other hand, do not agree. Their opinion is that the Italy Peninsula was the first place to witness the "king of sports". And, of course, who can argue with them? As a matter of fact, both nations cannot be proven wrong. Still, it seems that England is the one nation closer to the truth. After the latest news coming from the Aberdeen Library, it seems that the Scottish people is the one that invented football. David Wedderburn, teacher of the Aberdeen Grammar School, has written a book that can prove that. "Vocabula" shows a detailed story about the game's rules. And, in order for you to believe me, I'm going to show you a short paragraph of his book. The indications in the paragraph refer to his pupils."Let's pick sides. Those who are on the outside, come over here. Kick off, so that we can begin the match...Pass it here".A 1711 manuscript of the book - written in 1663 - was stored in the Scottish National Library, in Aberdeen. "The book is the first evidence we have come across of a passing game with goalkeepers and players passing the ball to score goals. The other interesting thing is that the FA was not formed until 1863. In the first FA rule book there is no mention of goalkeepers and the game is based more on a rugby-type structure, where players could not pass the ball forward. Scotland has a fantastic claim to have developed the modern game. It is frankly an amazing discovery and one which is hard to dispute", said Richard McBrearty, the curator of the Scottish Football Museum.

WHO INVENTED THE CRUEL SLAUGHTERING OF DOLPHINS AND WHALES?

2009-10-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

THE PEOPLE OF DENMARK!!! ON FAROE ISLAND!!!!!

THE PHOTOS TELL IT ALL. AND AS THEY ARE CONTINUALLY STABBED TO DEATH THE SOUND THESE POOR CREATURES MAKE ARE LIKE THAT OF CRYING BABIES!!!

THEY DO IT FOR FUN. AND IT IS YOUNG MEN WHO DO THE KILLING BECAUSE ONCE THEY HAVE DONE THIS THEY ARE CONSIDERED MATURE YOUNG MEN!!!! HOW CRUEL IS THAT???? THE "ENTERTAINMENT" HAS SPECTATORS, TOO!!! LETS NOT ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE!!!!! SOME GROUP SOMEWHERE MUST ACT AGAINST THIS. WE ARE HUMANS AFTER ALL!!! NATURE DEPENDS ON US FOR EXISTENCE. THESE CREATURES ARE FRIENDLY. LET US BEGIN TO CARE!!!

DOUBLE DECKER BUSES IN ENGLAND

2009-09-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

by Rachelle de Bretagne
Double decker buses are as common a sight in the United Kingdom, as the old red telephone boxes and black city cabs. Part of Great Britain's heritage, few realize that the evolution of the double decker bus or that the first versions of the bus were in fact brought out during the Industrial revolution of the late 19th century.
As far back as this, it was recognized that double decker buses which could carry more people to their destination at a time were proven as an economical method of transport. The first buses were horse driven, and although not of the same family as those seen today, were innovative and had seating areas on top of the main bus itself. London General, which would later become known among the British as London Transport brought out their first double decker buses for the 1851 Exhibition of London, converting a standard carriage into one which had secure seating on the roof.

This model paved the way to new thoughts on transport, and as far back as 1899, the first motorised double decker bus driven by steam took its place on the London streets, followed by the very first Daimler model which was petrol driven, and which used a 12 horse power engine. The old buses of the early part of the 20th Century were of completely different design to those seen in London in this day and age, and most required the upstairs passengers to climb up steps on the outside of the bus.
By the early fifties, the buses had been developed not only to be more economical, but to carry more passengers in comfort. The Routemasters came into use at this time, and are the standard design upon which modern day buses are built. The suspension was changed and the bus no longer relied upon the chassis being the main stress bearer. Little by little designs changed, and early buses of this kind had a separate entrance for the driver, at the front cab, and an entrance for the passengers at the back with an internal staircase which took them to the upper floor.
In seaside towns, the open topped double decker buses were popular with the tourist, and these are still used to take them around cities on tours, and in coastal regions, though now much different from the original Routemaster designs of older times.
In the early sixties, the length of the bus was extended to take 72 seats although this varies from model to model, and the old buses, while resembling those of the original fleets were adapted to have lighter bodywork, and sport the advertising panels which became their trademark
and began being used in 1964. 2005 marked the sad end of the Routemasters which were, by that time, sold privately, though the double decker buses which followed took on that same familiar look though were adapted for passengers with handicap. The Routemaster ramps were well known for their flaws of design and were never really a viable option.
Special edition Routemasters were used for ceremonies and celebrations, stepping away from the standard red to gold and silver. New buses took on a more streamline look allowing for adaptations to the times, and the introduction of the one man bus, where the driver and conductor were no longer needed and the driver took the money for tickets from the customers as they entered the front of the bus. The traditional method of having the engine at the front of the bus was replaced with placing it at the rear, making the front of the buses into available space for the customers to enter and to pay the driver their fare.

With the privatization of many companies all over England, many companies now use smaller buses, though the double decker bus has its place in large towns all over Britain, and while looking more sleek, still give the customer a comfortable ride to their destination, though with lightweight materials and more attention to overall cost.
It was a sad day when the Routemasters stopped running, as these had been the backbone of British transport since their early design days. The design was a solid design which was built to last, and even as late as 1995, the buses were refurbished, not because of anything other than the public expecting more comfort with new upholstery being added, to take the buses through the last ten years of their useful lives.
The bus conductor with his little ticket dispensing machine was as much a part of the British way of life as the Routemasters. Now, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has pioneered a contest to design a new London bus, offering a 25,000 prize for the winner, meaning that the future of London buses is still on the drawing board until October.
It will take imagination and ingenuity to come up with a design that last as well as the traditional Routemasters, which have become all too familiar symbols of everything British, though no doubt the future will hold innovative designs which take on the Routemaster designers in an attempt to change the face of transport in the United Kingdom and bring it up to date with other famous landmarks. Who knows, they may even take the black cabs of London and try and replace them with electric cars, though it will take a bit of persuading for the new double decker buses to be as accepted as the old Routemasters were, or to win the hearts of the British public.

WHO INVENTED THE GREETING CARD?

2009-09-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

It was a custom brought in by Prince Albert and was firstly only practiced among the gentry. It was also Prince Albert who introduced the decorated christmas tree custom to Britain. The cards started out as greetings between the great families at christmas and then spread to the masses as the years went by.The first greetings cards were single postcard types and some were hand coloured and others were embroidered - obviously the more elaborate they were the more it represented your wealth.

YOUNG SCIENTISTS AT THE SEVILLE FAIR THIS YEAR

2009-09-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

This year´s Science Fair of Seville is a sample of 2,500 inventions created by some very special "scientists". They all have in common that they are minors.

The nearly 100,000 visitors, mostly school-can enjoy learning what, for example, static electricity is, how to manufacture robots, or mixing chemicals.

MEXICAN CORN TORTILLAS CAN PREVENT CANCER BY ADDING FLAXSEED

2009-09-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Eat corn tortillas to prevent cancer!

A group of Mexican scientists designed a special form of this food, which can help prevent disease while lowering cholesterol and glucose in the blood, they say.

The product, designed at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), would help in preventing breast, prostate and colon cancer, which according to officials is listed in high levels in the population.

To a corn tortilla, which is one of the staples in the Mexican diet, flaxseed was added, phytoestrogens and omega 3, Rodolfo Rendon, the project leader, told BBC NEWS. "Some studies say that consuming six grams of flaxseed daily reduced cholesterol by 20% in three months," he said.

The product has completed its testing phase and in four months could go on the market, one of the largest in the country, since Mexico consumes daily 630 million tortillas.

WHO INVENTED THE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR THAT CONVERTS BODY WARMTH TO ELECTRICAL POWER???

2009-09-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

Charge your phone with your body

Within not too long this phrase that seems impossible to occur may be a common action. A thermoelectric generator developed by the University ETH Zurich converts body warmth into electrical power. This invention could be the first key to the development of chargers directly using our energy to keep alive the electronic devices. The invention has won the "Swiss Electric Research Award 2009". A thermoelectric generator may be the solution to not having the battery run out at the most inopportune time. Its inventor, Wulf Glatz, a scientist at the ETH Zurich University, has been awarded the "Swiss Electric Research Award 2009" awarded by the electricity companies of Switzerland for being one of the most innovative inventions. The system which has been developed uses the difference in temperature between the heat source and the environment to generate no contaminated emissions and produce enough energy to charge a mobile phone or electricity to an apartment. Thus, the same as the heat of a body could recharge a cell phone, the heating of a building might give electricity to a floor or heat from a motor vehicle could give it fuel.