No TV allowed inside the room

Raise your hand if you have a television in the bedroom? How about the kids' bedroom? It's not hard to put a television in every room, especially if you keep upgrading to sleeker, flatter, sharper television sets. I don't have kids, yet I have three televisions in the house, and yes, I have the obligatory flat-panel display in the bedroom because I'm a news junkie who likes to watch CNN in the morning.

It seems to me that lately, researchers are focusing on the effects of having a television set in the bedroom. In a nutshell, having a TV in your sleep sanctuary is bad, very bad, but we already knew that. I guess what we may not have known is how bad it really is, especially when it's in the kid's room. So to bring you up to speed, I've gathered the latest findings hoping to shed some light on this bad habit.

New York Times and IO9 have good articles on the subject so I'll start there. Here's what they say in a nutshell:

TV makes you dumb: In a 2005 study of six Northern California schools, 70 percent of students who had their own TV scored "significantly and consistently" lower on math, reading, and language-arts tests. Those who had computers scored higher. It's believed the TV is a distraction during homework and may interfere with sleep. Seventh graders in Montreal also had the same problem. Those who spent more time in front of the TV, had lower grades. No surprise there.

TV makes you overweight: Several studies have suggested that kids with TVs in their bedroom are likely to be overweight. In a two-year study by the The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers found that kids snacked less when a device (I'm assuming BOB) was programmed to cut into the child's TV viewing time. Kids weren't inspired to exercise more, they just ate less calories a day. A French study found that boys with TVs in their bedroom were more likely to gain weight.

TV makes you a smoker: Yet, another study of 700 middle-school students between 12 and 14 years old, found that kids with TVs were twice as likely to start smoking. Of those surveyed, 42 percent who smoked had a TV in their bedroom.

TV messes up your sleeping patterns: Ok, so all the above figures have been for kids, but adults are also affected by bedroom TVs. Blog IO9, found a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey (ATUS) shows that late night TV watching can control a person's sleeping patterns. Once upon a time, the day and night cycle determined our sleeping patterns, but with modern technology, mainly that television in the room, people's sleeping patterns are getting worse. Those most vulnerable to TV-timed sleep changes are people who work in services sectors like education, health, leisure, and hospitality, and people who live in the Eastern time zone.

There you have it. A few more reasons to kick that bedroom TV out.

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Someone is reading your emails

This may or may not come as a shocker, but according to a recent FTC survey on identity theft, 16 percent of the victims said their information was stolen by people they knew, which included friends, relatives, neighbors, and coworkers. This is very important because it serves as a reminder that we need to take extra precautions whether we're at home or at work. It's probably a good idea to disable cookies, so you don't save login and password information of your accounts, and you should never keep sensitive information where thieves can easily find it.

I've gotten several emails from readers asking me how they can find out if someone has accessed their personal email account, so I thought I'd point you to an excellent post written by PCWorld's Erik Larkin on how to set a hacker alarm on your web mail box. This is a good way to find out if anyone besides you is logging into your email account.

Here's the gist:

1. Open an account with OneStatFree.com, and use a disposable e-mail address to complete the registration process.
2. You'll receive an email from OneStat with an attached file. Save the file, note the account number, and then delete the email.
3. Rename the file with a name that would catch a hacker's eye like "AccountPasswords." Save the .txt file as an .htm file so it opens up in a web browser.
4. Send an email with the .htm file to the account you want to monitor. Use a subject title that is eye catching.
5. Wait for the hacker to take the bait. If the attachment is opened by anyone else but you, the hit counter will record their IP address.

Hackers are very clever, so you want to change your password frequently to something that's a little harder to crack.

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Wonders of Mathematics

I'd like to share this message that I read ealiear

"THE BEAUTY OF MATH"

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=123456789 87654321

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K

8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E

11+1 4+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E

1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

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History speaks through Jerusalem Stone

by: guestblogger

Stone Importer Honors Beauty and Tradition of the Holy Land

This fact does not seem to change. A visionary businessman has decided to bring the legend and history of possibly the most famous region in the world to the U.S., by importing stone direct from family-owned quarries in Israel (www.jerusalemstonecompany.com). For over 5,000 years, stone from these quarries has been used to build the resilient city of Jerusalem. Gill Lobel’s passion is to assure that the exquisite stone educates and open doors to understanding between political and religious groups.

“Jerusalem is the nexus of the Abrahamic religious traditions. This is vitally important to Jews, Christians and Muslims,” explains Lobel who visited Jerusalem often as a child always admiring the stone in the buildings and the legendary “Wailing Wall”. “One does not have to be religious to appreciate the appeal and historical significance of the stone. This stone has a unique power, so it adds an ethereal quality to wherever it is used.”

On a trip years ago, Lobel realized that the very stone from which Jerusalem is built is an affordable and beautiful alternative to granite or marble. Jerusalem Stone, a durable limestone developed over millions of years of ocean water, sand, and shells coming together to create a durable stone. Each variety reflects its own unique hue: bone, gold, grey and rose. Much of the stone contains million year old fossils which add to its depth of beauty. The family purchased quarries in Israel.

“When I touch this ancient stone, I feel the pulse of history. I believe that if the stone could speak, the amazing story of the region would be brought to the forefront,” explains Lobel who sells to builders, homeowners, businesses, churches and synagogues who choose the stone to enrich their facilities. “My vision is to offer an affordable alternative to marble or granite while bringing something historically important and timeless from the Middle East to America.”

Jerusalem is known as “The City of Gold” because reflections of the sun on the stone create a golden glow across the entire town. Even today, the building code in Jerusalem regulates that all new buildings must use the stone in construction or as a facade in order to keep the city historically consistent.

Lobel’s imports the stone direct from his family’s quarries in the Negev desert and the Galil region to North America. This makes the stone more affordable than many commonly used stone materials. He supplies to a number of dealers in the U.S. His passion is to help consumers find ways to utilize the stone in their homes or in their houses of worship thus bringing a bit of history to each project inspiring discussion and reflection.

Press Contact:

Susan Carskadon
303-329-8476
Sales Contact:
Contact us about Jerusalem Stone

www.jerusalemstonecompany.com

Firefox 3 T-Shirt Contest – Join the Launch!

Show off your creativity and promote the many benefits of your favorite browser as part of the Firefox 3 T-Shirt Design Contest. The winning design will be featured as the official Firefox 3 T-Shirt in the Mozilla Store. You will receive worldwide recognition for your work, and an opportunity to win prizes!

Submission DEADLINE: Sunday March 16th 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST)
View current submissions in the image-pool of the contest-specific Flickr group. Read More Here >>

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The handy dandy cell phone printer

No need to go to photo shops just to print your photos or look for printers for you to print your pictures. All you need is to have the cell phone printer, very portable , affordable and handy. You can bring it anywhere and everywhere. It's one of a kind printer that suites your mood and surely you will love it, its plug and print.

The printer was designed by ZINK Imaging, a company built on the idea that printer ink is not a good thing. The printers they design are ink free. Instead the printers incorporate dye crystals inside ZINK paper. The crystals are secured under a glossy protective layer, and heat produced by the printer melts the cyan, magenta and yellow crystals to release the appropriate colors. Read more here >>

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Goodbye to Netscape Navigator

A web browser that gave many people their first experience of the web is set to disappear.

Netscape Navigator, now owned by AOL, will no longer be supported after 1 March 2008, the company has said.

In the mid-1990s, as the commercial web began to take off, the browser was used by more than 90% of people online.

Its market share has since slipped to just 0.6% as other browsers such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox have eroded its user base.

The company recommends that users upgrade their browser to either Firefox or Flock, which are both built on the same underlying technologies as Navigator. Read more here >>

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Luxurious Mac Book Air

This is a new creation by Blink My Thing. The name "Golden Age" which is a Macbook Air decked in 12,000 Swarovski crystals. The crystals are even more shiny than usual thanks to a coating of 24k gold applied under each crystal. The translucence of the crystals allows for true layered luxury. Each “Golden Age” takes a week to construct since each and every crystal is hand-applied, so only 20 of these beauties exist, one of which will be for sale at Selfridges, Oxford Street, on March 18th. That is if you can muster up the £20,000 ($39,750) price tag for the mega-bling. Read more here >>

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