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Showing posts from 2009

New Year 2010 celebrations take place around the world

Countries around the world are beginning to hold celebratory events to welcome in 2010. New Year arrived first in the South Pacific. At midnight local time (1100 GMT) fireworks were set off over Auckland's Sky Tower in New Zealand. A massive fireworks display has taken place in Sydney, Australia, with some 5,000kg of explosives sent up around around the famous harbour bridge. An estimated 1.5 million attended the city's dramatic show. Fireworks were launched from the bridge, from boats in the harbour and from buildings around the waterfront. Crowds had been gathering since the early morning, some of them camping overnight to secure the best /vantage point for the 12-minute midnight fireworks display. Police minister Michael Daley warned those attending to avoid excessive drinking. "If you're one of these fools that can't handle their grog and likes to go out and ruin other people's nights, make yourself a new year's resolution to grow up and be

The most-read stories of 2009

From the king of pop to the queen of reality TV, from swine flu to MPs' expenses, these are among the year's most-read stories. There are goodbyes and near-misses, extremes in the weather, and a few light-hearted moments alongside more serious tales. JANUARY Two near misses and a certain Time Lord grabbed the headlines in January. It was new year, new Doctor, as  Matt Smith was named  as the actor to take over from David Tennant in Doctor Who. At 27, he will be the youngest to take on the role when he appears on TV in 2010. A pilot ditched an Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after a double bird strike Attention turned to Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who  wrote off his Ferrari  in a crash near Manchester Airport but walked away unscathed. Another lucky escape attracted plenty of attention when  a pilot crash-landed an airliner  in New York's Hudson River after birds disabled its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued. Two technology

Mind Soup featured on World Food Programme website

Dear All, I was recently informed that my blog is featured on the World Food Programme website for being a blogger against hunger . Here is the link if you want to check it out. Below is the list of other blogs that are bloggers against hunger. (If you're a Blogger against Hunger too, tell them by adding a link to it in the comments section here .) Doerr BlogCritics Blogger - William Lambers Javaholic Market Share - Belinda Ang Pimp that Food To Think and Act Lights, Wings, Flight cheliuta In Between the Lines The Runaway Spoon Lilolu SkyPilot Project Dandine Trophico SEO Blog Letter box - Shelby Blitz Climate for Change - Jenny Downes Imagination - Ming Zhe Blog from our Kitchen Fatamas Never be Silent - Cara O'Brien Global Epiphany Better Now - Christina Just Trying to Help - Charlie eHands - Jean Rocha International Transactions - Bernard Macdougall Soul1383 Numb Mind Soup Eve Butterflies JaBig

Photo of the day

Probably the funniest e-mail conversation ever.

From:  Simon Edhouse Date:  Monday 16 November 2009 2.19pm To:  David Thorne Subject:  Logo Design Hello David, I would like to catch up as I am working on a really exciting project at the moment and need a logo designed. Basically something representing peer to peer networking. I have to have something to show prospective clients this week so would you be able to pull something together in the next few days? I will also need a couple of pie charts done for a 1 page website. If deal goes ahead there will be some good money in it for you. Simon From:  David Thorne Date:  Monday 16 November 2009 3.52pm To:  Simon Edhouse Subject:  Re: Logo Design Dear Simon, Disregarding the fact that you have still not paid me for work I completed earlier this year despite several assertions that you would do so, I would be delighted to spend my free time creating logos and pie charts for you based on further vague promises of future possible payment. Please find attached pie chart as requested

Blue moon to shine on New Year's Eve

  (CNN) -- It happens only once in a blue moon -- and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve. Don't expect an azure glow over our lunar satellite, however. The term "blue moon" simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn't happened on a New Year's Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says. "December 1990 ended with a blue moon, and many New Year's Eve parties were themed by the event," said Professor Philip Hiscock of the department of folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Canada. "It was a lot of fun." Most months have just one full moon, because the 29.5-day cycle of the moon matches up pretty well with the length of calendar months. Occasionally, there will be two full moons in a month, something that happens about every 2½ years, NASA says. But a blue moon on December 31 is rare. It is possible for the moon to have a cerulean hue

6 Animals That Show Mother Nature’s Sense of Humor

You’ve heard jokes like these all your life:  What do you get if you cross an octopus with a cow? An animal that can milk itself.  I didn’t find such an animal, but the world has plenty of strange species that at first glance appear to be hybrids of unrelated species because they have attributes that surprise us. However, we are only surprised because our personal experiences don’t encompass all that nature offers. 1. Turtle + Hedgehog = Armadillo Rudyard Kipling wrote the story  The Beginning of the Armadillos , in which the animal came from a tortoise and a hedgehog. They didn’t join to give birth to armadillos; instead, they taught each other their talents. The hedgehog helped the tortoise learn to curl into a ball, and the tortoise taught the hedgehog to swim, which toughened up his spines into armor. Before they knew it, both had turned into armadillos. Here in the real world,  armadillos  are related to both sloths and anteaters and are native to Latin America except for the n

Amazing moment male lion loses patience with attention-seeking cub and bites him on the head

This lion cub has clearly bitten off more than he can chew after annoying his dad once too often. The adult male finally lost patience with his attention-seeking son after the fun-loving cub spent hours tugging on his mane and chewing his fur. The young lion scrambled all over the adult male, trying to entice him to play as he lay sleepily on a car roof. Pride: The grumpy father lion bites his cub on the head after it was tugging and chewing on his mane Eventually he snapped, whipping his head around with teeth bared before sinking his fangs into the cub's head. But far from being subdued by his father's show of discipline, the cub looked up at him adoringly before running off to play. The incredible moment was captured on camera by amateur photographer Karl Drilling at San Diego Wild Animal Park. Mr Drilling, 46, from California, said: 'The lions were relaxing on top of the car, which they absolutely love to do. 'The cub had been annoying his dad for ages,

We sure feel silly

9 Astronomy Milestones in 2009

This year provided plenty of cosmic eye-openers for astronomers and casual stargazers alike. Neighborhood planets such as Mercury and Jupiter received makeovers in both a scientific and literal sense. The discovery of water on the moon and Mars provided clues to the past, not to mention hints for the future of space exploration. A class of newly-detected "Super-Earth" planets around alien stars may ultimately prove more habitable than Earth. And a growing fleet of existing, new and revived space telescopes promises another stellar year ahead. Here are the stories that stood out: 9. Oddball Objects Earth had a front row seat to a multitude of space objects in 2009, with stunning meteor showers, wayward space rocks buzzing the planet and weird lights in the sky – both natural and man-made. Annual light shows such as the Leonid meteor shower continued to dazzle, but some space rocks came a bit too close for comfort. An asteroid exploded over Indonesia with the force of

Scientists Find an Antibody Which Hunts and Kills Prostate Cancer

Researchers have discovered an antibody which, when injected into mice, will bond with prostate cancer tissue and "initiate direct cell death" in it. If results carry over to humans, this discovery would almost be a cure to prostate cancer. I say that it would almost be a cure for that particular type of cancer, because in initial trials with mice "F77 bonded with tissue where prostate cancer was the primary cancer in almost all cases (97 percent) and in tissue cores where the cancer had metastasized around 85 percent of the time." This means that while the antibody even attacked advanced stage cancer cells, it did not attack them all. Still, this is fantastic news and I hope that further research lives up to the initial optimism. [ PhysOrg ]

My Top 50 Songs of the Decade

Since the 00's decade is almost over, I thought it would be a great idea to list my top 50 songs of this decade.. So here goes: 1- Boston - Augustana (2005) 2- My Immortal - Evanescence (2004) 3- Because of You - Kelly Clarkson (2004) 4- Flowers for a Ghost - Thriving Ivory (2009) 5- Shape of My Heart - Back Street Boys (2000) 6- Beautiful - Christina Aguilera (2002) 7- Fix You - Coldplay (2005) 8- Save the Last Dance for Me *Re-release* - Michael Buble (2005) 9- Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt (2004) 10- My Love - Westlife (2000) 11- Unfaithful - Rihanna (2006) 12- The Scientist - Coldplay (2002) 13- No Promises *Re-release* - Shayne Ward (2006) 14- Kryptonite - Three Doors Down (2000) 15- Bye Bye Bye - NSYNC (2000) 16- Like We Never Loved At All - Faith Hill and Tim McGraw (2005) 17- Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray (2005) 18- Secret Life - Thriving Ivory (2008) 19- Every Other Weekend - Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney (2007) 20- Where is the Love? - Blac

20 Things that happen in 1 minute

3 Awkward Moments Brought to You by Email Auto-Address

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Can I become pregnant by having sex?

Should I Stop Beating My Wife?

Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a free Whopper

(Credit: Burger King) Facebook's developer platform has been used for a zillion marketing campaigns so far, but this one is actually dead-on hilarious. Fast-food chain Burger King has created " Whopper Sacrifice ," a Facebook app that will give you a coupon for a free hamburger if you delete 10 people from your friends list. Burger King has put out some interesting campaigns as of late ("Whopper Virgin," "Subservient Chicken"), but this one piques our interest because of how gleefully it pokes fun at our social-networking obsessions. "Now is the time to put your fair-weather Web friendships to the test," the Whopper Sacrifice site explains. "Install Whopper Sacrifice on your Facebook profile, and we'll reward you with a free flame-broiled Whopper when you sacrifice ten of your friends. The funniest part: The "sacrifices" show up in your activity feed. So it'll say, for example, "Caroline sacrificed Josh Lowensoh

Handling Roommate Problems - His and Her Reactions

Situation: Not Doing the Dishes Hers: "Someone left their dishes in the sink! Someone who eats Lucky Charms! Didn't you buy Lucky Charms? I really don't want to point fingers, I want to share the responsibilities of living together, but it just upsets me when people don't respect my space and thus, don't respect me. We can all be adults about this and talk it out. If it doesn't change, I'm going to schedule a mediation with the RA." His: "Whoa, check out this mold! Cool!" Situation: Keeping the Lights/Music on Late Hers: "Hey, um, so, I noticed your light is still on, and it's, like, 3AM." "I'm just having a hard time falling asleep." "Oh my God, is there something you need to talk about?! Is this about Brad? It is, isn't it." "I don't understand why he doesn't want to be with me!" "You're so much better than him! I'm coming over there and we are s