Let us take for example a glob of clay, it has no capabilities of its own, you hit it, it will bear a scar, you burn it, it will forever be burnt, if you treat it to more water than it can sustain then it will lose form. Like so the baby is a clean slate, a new form that the parents can choose to create the best they can.
Other than the atmosphere and mentality of the mother, and more commonly known, is what the mother eats is vital. New studies at the Barcelona’s Municipal Institute of Medical Research show that the quality life enjoyed by the child can be affected by pollution and chemical contamination of the womb, which can even happen unknowing.

“For their study the researchers measured the levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in the umbilical cords of 482 children born on the Spanish island of Menorca from mid 1997, along with weight and height which were measured again at 6.5 years.”

The link found was that high HCB levels indicated a greater possibility of obesity. HCB is a pesticide which is banned internationally but it continues to remain in the environment and can sometimes be found in food. The quality of food and requisite protein and vitamins must be rigorously maintained. For example low levels of vitamin D can affect the newborn’s tooth calcification.
The list is not endless as people may fear but there are certain fundamental elements of a good diet and quality food which needs to be followed. While it is essential the vitamins and proteins requirements are met but by consuming supplements and meat will dilute the cause and may also result in potential damage to the baby. To bring a blessed child on to this earth we need to impart the blessing, that is by treating the pregnant mother right, which also included the pregnant mother treating herself right, for she is the baby.

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This is the reason that I marvel at all those people (and I have to confess that it is mainly women who are so obsessed) who want anything but a simple wedding and are willing to spend what they earn in a year on a wedding. Apparently the average American wedding costs a whopping $30,000, which is not far from the average income!

Theme or fantasy weddings are hugely popular, so that you have the Gothic Wedding, with distinctly offbeat and nontraditional outfits, decorations and basically everything ‘Gothic’. Though why anyone would wish for a scary satanic wedding beats me.

Then there is the Victorian wedding, which is more understandable, with the accent of traditional and old fashioned, if elaborate and ornate settings, dresses etc. Would turn out to be really costly too is a museum worthy dress is to be created and other wedding props as well!

People also enjoy creating weddings that hark back to their ancestry; Scottish or Celtic for instance: Celtic music and Celtic jewelry apparently features largely in Celtic weddings. The Scottish wedding is probably something promoted by the Tourism Industry of Scotland, which urges you to come to Scotland and don tartan and probably a kilt for your wedding.

Now if you have a streak of the juvenile in you, you may want a Disney wedding: you can satisfy the romantic in you by having a Cinderella wedding or a Snow White wedding (with seven strategically placed ‘dwarfs’) or have a wedding with Disney land and a backdrop, check out the many possibilities.

After spouting off about fantasy weddings, may I just end with the post script, that the relationship itself is worthy of time, nurturing and planning and work; rather than the wedding. The former is your whole life, the latter but a day!

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I have got myself one of these blankets to try this winter and all set to welcome this cold and chilly season.

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As people grow older, naturally the scope of activity decreases. It is due to various things, people used to physical activity and responsibilities are unable to do so and are confined to their homes so the lack of things to do slowly dulls them, their senses and mind. Older people have always been asked to keep active doing something, be it a puzzle or a crossword or anything simple activity.

Today it had been found that using the internet stimulates the centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning whereby working against the dulling factors.

Its so deceptively simple that you already knew of it. You’re older relatives, your dad or anyone who always found using the computer very alien. Now for them to use it takes all of their understanding and processing capability to say check their email or search the internet for anything. Damn right it stimulates in the brain ‘decision making’ – between the yes and no button and ‘complex reasoning’ to decipher through web search results. I have seen it for myself! Using the computer and the internet demands a huge effort involving lots brainpower and attention by someone older and new to it.

Glad to see it is catching on a lot already. The computer and the internet have permutated all aspects of life and the older crowd are not to be left behind. It is a great boon to the internet users as these people have gravitated towards their areas of expertise and are guiding younger learners in that regard. Fantastic. Normally such knowledge would be lost but with the experts coming forth once again is of tremendous help to students and experts of these times looking to defeat a problem.

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It really is fantastic how the USB – Universal Serial Bus and flash memory have gotten together. The versatility brought by them is path breaking. Today, a high number of devices; car audio players, home theater, TV’s and numerous appliances come with a USB slot default. USB has truly become its intention, universal. Imagine, copy your favorite songs on your pen drive at your friend’s place and instantly be able to enjoy them on while driving back home. Data transport has become very versatile like never before.

These days’ digital signatures, soft copies of resumes and forms are all digitized and copied on pen drives. People no longer carry requisite forms and files, all the information is put on pen drives by the processing offices to make life easier for them and for citizens.

The hard media format is going obsolete, take a look this latest device from Sandisk, you can see the tiny card beside the red mp3 player, it is a new generation of players which accept SD (also flash memory) cards, like how we used to music CD’s on portable players now there will be music albums on SD cards which we can use to the same effect.

64GB pen drives, massive capacity, there are even luxury models like the one in the picture. I guess that depends on the kind of data people use it for… Swiss bank account information I suppose could use a luxury model …

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You need less sleep as you get older: Not true: all adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep everyday and a deficit can be a contributing factor to high blood pressure, diabetes and even weight gain! You need this basic quota of sleep for optimum performance health and safety.

In fact a surprising study found that there is a connection between childhood obesity and amount of sleep the children got. It was found that sleeping an extra hour a night reduced the chance of being overweight from 36 percent to 30 percent in young children, and from 34 percent to 30 percent in older children.

Adults don’t need afternoon naps: I thought I was weird in that I need a 15 to 20 minute nap in the afternoon that I wake up from completely refreshed and recharged. But it turns out that an afternoon nap not only is beneficial but can actually improve one’s memory, because sleep and specifically naps can help memory consolidation. Therefore the concept of a power nap I guess. That also validates my study methods during important exams: I used to study for say 3 to 4 hours and then nap for half an hour. It really seemed to work!

Exercise and sleep: I find that if I have had a sedentary day, I get the restless legs syndrome when I sleep at night, and if I have had my usual brisk walk for half an hour and had my usual active day, I sleep quite promptly and like a baby! I also finish dinner at least three hours before bed time as recommended. I suppose I have good habits and therefore no sleep problems. If you do however, check out these tips for getting a good night’s rest.

Snoring is annoying, but not a problem: Not true! So the next time you get a snorer as a co passenger in bus/train/plane, wake them up and tell them to get help because it isn’t just something that is annoying to others, it may be caused by sleep apnea and may be potentially dangerous.

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Google’s response to the iphone. Released earlier then we expected actually, the expected was in November, so a month early. Google hopes to shake up the so called ‘walled garden’ of the iphone. The name ‘walled garden’ comes from how the Apple phone is so great to use, all fun and easy but all within the specified limits set by the company. Like for example development of new software for the phone was completely restricted and opened up only slightly in recent times, what one can put on the phone and from where they can get it is also restricted. People don’t have much complaints about that though, Apple have provided a garden space comfortable enough so people don’t have many complaints.

What Google has done however is to go open-source with the operating software. People can create plug-ins for the OS and customize it to whatever they wish. Also of course the phone has the full suite of the existing Google applications which we have gotten so used to about. Gmail, Google Maps, Calendar, Office apps and so on. A lot of people are excited about the levels of customizations it will bring. Google has a similar Android Market along the lines of the Apple itunes store.

The features on this phone are on par with the iphone, it is 3G, quad-band, is WiFi & Bluetooth capable and, has a 3.2 megapixel camera. The additional 1.2 megapixels over the iphone doesn’t yet give it that much of a quality boost. What this has however is a full QWERTY keyboard is one thing the iphone doesn’t have. The G1 comes with a touch screen which not being as intuitive as the iphone’s doesn’t really disappoint nonetheless. It responds well to finger touches and is not intended for the sharp point of a stylus. It has assisted-GPS which is the norm today. GPS along with Google maps make navigation interesting. Anyone who has used Google maps know that they can add any information they want on it, their neighborhoods, workplaces and their local hangouts. That kind of localization is only available on Google maps.

The design is probably the only thing which gets an ‘ok’. It is manufactured by HTC and the phone looks, well, ok for a first generation model. The android platform is what there is to celebrate about. Google, unlike Apple, do not have a locked down system, since it is open-source we can expect a whole plethora of android-enabled devices to hit the market. The G1 hit US stores with T-Mobile on 22nd October; it should be available world wide soon.

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