How much would you believe that the nine months the baby is in the womb determines the life of the child? You better believe it. There is enough evidence to show that how a pregnant woman spends her nine months is a good inkling of how the baby will be. Recent studies only prove what […]
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evawhite on October 10th, 2008
People who think creatively, if a little bizarrely seem to have a way with weird and wacky inventions. And having created their strange inventions they then go on to register the patents as well; as though others would be clamoring to lay claim to their inventions and cheat them out of the rightful proceeds accruing from it.
Arthur Paul Pendrick was an examiner at a British patent office and after his retirement immersed himself in inventing strange devices and obtaining patents for them. Among the things that seemed to trouble he greatly was the great deserts of the world and he expended a lot of thought on how to irrigate them. Shown in this figure is his idea about piping fresh water from the mouth of the Amazon in South America to irrigate the Sahara desert. Also presumably he thought that it was perfectly practical to pipe snowballs and ice from the Antarctic to irrigate the dry regions of Australia.
If you need help quitting smoking, you may have help in this talking ashtray which senses when you are about to light up and tells you how bad smoking is for you. I have also read about many other strange inventions such as a male chastity belt (worried about leaving your man alone while you go out of town?), a shoe air conditioner (in case even you can’t stand your foot odor), Santa Claus detector, bird trap cum cat feeder (sounds quite macabre) and others.
When I get a cold I get so miserable and that runny nose is a veritable river, causing me to carry along a tissue dispenser everywhere; so this item, a toilet paper/tissue dispenser may be just the thing for me! When is a tie not just a tie? When it has room for a pair of scissors, paper clips, ID cards, pens and other things! There are many other interesting Japanese inventions such as cockroach swatter slippers, noodle hair protector and other gems.
If you are a major Elvis fan, you may want to imitate his look by wearing these Elvis sideburn glasses. Or if you need help washing your hair, perhaps a hair washing machine? For other whacky inventions, such as a diaper alarm, chicken protector, poodle earring etc. look here.
Did any of you ever get the urge to express your creativity by inventing something really original and ingenious?
evawhite on October 5th, 2008
This friend of mine wanted to get married and have kids early. This was because she had lost her mother to breast cancer and did not want to suffer the same affliction herself. Early motherhood and breast feeding children till at least a year and a half are factors that can significantly reduce risk of breast cancer. These and other facts about breast cancer can be useful to everyone in that information is power. October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when corporate and individuals make the attempt to spread the word about breast cancer. Every woman can benefit from arming herself with information about this disease which is one of the most common and lethal of cancers.
Symptoms: The first symptom of breast cancer is a lump felt in the breast. This is how 80% of women make their first discovery of this cancer. Other symptoms include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin, redness and mild flaking of the nipple skin and unusual nipple discharge. For more information about symptoms, look here or look here.
Detection: Early detection is the best way to combat breast cancer. One of the ways in which this cancer can be detected early is by self examination. Here you will find detailed information on how to carry out a self exam. It is also advisable for women aged 40 and above to have a screening mammogram every year. For comprehensive information about early detection,
take a look here.
Prevention: With breast cancer prevention is definitely better than cure (which includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immune therapy). Having more children, early on in life and breastfeeding them lowers risk. Living a healthy, active life eating healthy food, lowering stress, cutting out on smoking, controlling drinking are all factors that can affect breast cancer risk. Eating foods rich in folic acid (folate) has also been shown to reduce risk. Understanding personal risk factors is a good way to combat breast cancer, so understand how you are at risk by looking here for information about the
factors that increase risk.
If my little sermon gave any one pause to think and make a serious effort to educate themselves or others about breast cancer, then I am well pleased with myself!
evawhite on October 1st, 2008
It was Daughter’s Day a few days ago, and quite frankly it would have passed me by, had I not read an article in the newspaper about it. So the greeting card companies came out with another ‘Day’ to sell cards and other merchandise, thought I. Apparently this one is observed on the last Sunday of September. Ho hum. I tried to find out more about Daughter’s day and it would seem that it is something that Archies thought up.
However, what Daughter’s day did do is make me reflect about the fact that now I have a daughter myself, what is it that I do differently from when I did not have one. Being responsible for a tiny new life makes you reassess everything in life and when that little life is so very precious you tend to perceive things differently, take fewer risks, act in a more responsible fashion. For instance I remember being a bit of a tear away in college, whizzing around all over town on my scooter. People used to carry tales to my father, telling him his daughter is a rash driver. Dad counseled me, but I was either too immature or just too unaware of the perils that I placed myself each time I drove rashly, to heed his wisdom. Now as a mother myself, I think about how stupid I was, and acknowledge the fact that when my daughter grows up, I may see history repeating itself.
As a mother of a daughter, when I hear about female infanticide still being practiced in many countries of the world, and hear about the ridiculous extremes that people go to, to obtain a male ‘heir’ I am both puzzled and appalled. Even the thought of what my life would be like without that precious angel of my daughter makes me go cold. Quite simply I cannot now imagine my life without her, she is so incredibly precious, that I wonder how some people can think of spurning a gift that a daughter is.
I still read in horror about how unwelcome the girl child still is in so many places around the world: female feticide is common in India, in China one child families are the norm, but you are permitted to have a second child if the first is a mere girl. The girl child is still killed or abandoned at birth because of the bride price that will ultimately have to be paid for her.
If this still happens in the world, I wonder if we can still call this world civilized.
evawhite on September 29th, 2008
Tattoos are a form of body art that has been around for ages; they are a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Other reasons include reasons like identification, for instance in India, in some remote areas, a few numbers of the population have their names tattooed on their hands of an easily visible part of the body such as the forearm, for purposes of identification; because of illiteracy and the fact that they cannot write their own names. Tattoos also have religious and ritualistic connotations, with many tribal tattooing customs marking rites of passage.
Today, people choose to be tattooed for cosmetic, sentimental/memorial, religious, and magical reasons, or to symbolize their affiliation to a gang or similar group. Tattooing also includes permanent make up and are also used to disguise birthmarks or skin discolorations as well.
Tattoos are a real style statement these days and very popular among celebs too. It was found that among the top 20 sexiest women in the world according to FHM’s poll, some 16 have tattoos. For the list, look here. One very famous example of a celeb tattoo is that of Angelina Jolie from before she started to date Brad Pitt. That one said Billy Bob, not Brad Pitt, and the tattoo of a former lover can be a difficult presence in a marital bed I would imagine?
Johnny Depp is another celeb who is famous for his tattoos which started a bit of a trend, not just among the hoi polloi but also among the stars themselves:
David Beckham is one more international celeb who is known for several things: his athletic prowess, his wife, and his amazing good looks and also … his tattoos. That is Victoria tattooed in the Hindi (Devnagri) script on his left forearm:
Colin Farrell is also one celeb well known for his body art:
And here is some pretty amazing (or weird depending how you look at it) tattoos on some people and a pig as well….
evawhite on September 26th, 2008
Now after the successful completion of the Olympics, China is once again in the news but this time for all the wrong reasons. No this time it isn’t for human rights violations, or for Tibet or for the unsafe toys that they import all over the world and which were recalled last year.
This time it is toxic milk. Some 54,000 children are said to have been affected by a milk and milk powder contaminated with melamine, the industrial material used to make plastic items. At least 4 children have reportedly died from ingesting the toxic material present in the milk. When this is added to milk it can make the milk appear richer in protein.
The immediate reaction to the crisis is that many countries have banned Chinese milk products and some of the top officials involved in the milk scandal have been dismissed. In a sequence of events that started in March of this year, when China’s top infant milk powder brand Sanlu received complaints about discolored babies’ urine and that some infants were admitted to hospital after drinking its milk, it has taken up till September for the authorities to sit up and take notice when babies actually started to die from the melamine poisoning. Now dairy products including liquid milk, milk power, and products made from milk such as milk lollies etc. have all been recalled from the market.
What this has done in renew the suspicions of the people regarding the Made in China label as being a case for CAVET EMPTOR or Let the Buyer Beware! This and all the other crises that China has been embroiled in makes one wonder if China is not a bit too focused on development, economic progress, advancement and financial prosperity. In its race to be a world leader in the economic sphere perhaps some short cuts are being taken, in the bid to make cheap products, quality control, safety procedures and business ethics are perhaps being sacrificed somewhere along the way.
It is now coming to light that a dairy firm knew about the toxic milk for months. I think that the cavalier attitude that has caused the present scandal is encapsulated in a nutshell by Michael Man, marketing manager at Full Champion Ltd, which makes toys in the Pearl River Delta city of Dongguan who said “there’s too much testing required now. The testing costs are high.” A sorry comment on the Chinese dragon.
evawhite on September 25th, 2008
So guys Halloween is just around the corner. Have you guys decided on the costumes and the get up that you’ll are wearing. I am all confused as to what should I get dressed as. There are lots of sites which are giving Halloween costumes at reasonably good prices. I am looking out for some really unusual and unique character; I am quite bored of the standard things which people generally become. Guys pool in your suggestions and may be we all can get some great ideas here.
