Theatre draws veil over naked Anna Friel

Theatre draws veil over naked Anna Friel

Mobiles banned from Breakfast at Tiffany's

Staff at the Theatre Royal Haymarket have been placed on Defcon 1 and ordered to prevent perving audience members grabbing a quick mobe snap of Anna Friel in her birthday suit, in the West End outing of Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Operatives are instructed to confiscate any mobile which may present a threat to 33-year-old Friel's modesty as she disrobes in her role as Holly Golightly. The show opened last night, but the interwebs are already awash with the former soap thesp's assets - apparently captured during a preview performance.

According to the Telegraph, an inside source confirmed: "Front of house staff have been put on alert to spot mobile phones because of Anna's nudity."

To underline that the Theatre Royal's adaptation of the Truman Capote 1958 novella is in no way exploiting the presence of a butt-naked Friel to sell tickets, the insider insisted: "This is a serious production and they don't want the naked scenes to be the only talking point."

Well, Truman Capote may well have approved of the theatre's attempt to undo the damage done to Breakfast at Tiffany's by the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn as Golightly. He wasn't much impressed, and said of the movie: "The book was really rather bitter. The film became a mawkish valentine to New York City, and as a result was thin and pretty, whereas it should have been rich and ugly."

Theatre lovers will doubtless be flocking to the Theatre Royal Haymarket's box office for the chance to judge for themselves how serious, bitter, rich and ugly the production is, while studiously ignoring Friel's shapely backside.* �

Bootnote

*Allegedly. We, of course, wouldn't dream of Googling "Anna Friel Tiffany's" to check the evidence for ourselves.

Clown blasts off for ISS

Clown blasts off for ISS

Red noses all round for orbiting outpost

The billionaire founder of the Cirque du Soleil this morning blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission to deliver a bit of levity to the International Space Station.

Guy Lalibert�, 50, plus flight engineers Jeffrey Williams and Maxim Suraev flew aloft at 07:14 GMT aboard a Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft. Lalibert� is apparently carrying vital supplies of nine comedy red clown noses for the ISS crew, and said prior to the launch: "I am going with my sense of humour. Even in serious things you need to leave a place for humour."

Quite what Lalibert� paid for his jaunt is unknown, but the same trip cost US space tourist Charles Simonyi a cool $35m. Lalibert� will return to Earth on 10 October along with Expedition 20 crew members commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Michael Barratt, who've been on the ISS since arriving back in March.

The new professional arrivals, Williams and Suraez, form part of Expedition 21. Williams, 51, is a spaceflight vet, who previously visited the ISS on space shuttle Atlantis's STS-101 mission in May 2000. In 2006, he did a six-month stint aboard the orbiting outpost as an Expedition 13 flight engineer.

Russian Air Force colonel Suraev, 37, is making his first flight into space. �

boring? that depends!

Good afternoon everyone

You recognize Garfie, watching something at the tele of what you think, hmm, is that worth to watch?

Sometimes it happens here as well (yes, I DO watch tv, but I prefer to watch PC LOL)

But even a boring program (or a boring thing at the pc) can be useful, it depends what you make of it yourself.
Don't let the grey get black
Transform it to light

Happy watching, whatever you watch!

beeldbuisblabla

Goede middag allemaal

Tsja, volgens mij overkomt ons dat allemaal wel eens, dat we tv zitten te kijken en dan denken van waar KIJK ik eigenlijk naar!

Hoewel, veel van ons zullen meer achter de pc beeldbuis zitten, maar ook dan kan je je afvragen waar je nu precies naar kijkt, hoe veel waarde heeft het?

Aan de andere kant, wat maakt het uit wat je doet, als je er maar plezier aan hebt. Zo hebben wij elke dinsdagavond ons 'mopperuurtje' als we weer Horatio Caine bij CSI miami in de weer zien met zijn zonnebril. We hebben er een sport van gemaakt om op- en aanmerkingen te maken, en dat is best wel grappig.

Nou ja, de boodschap is, maak er wat van, wat je ook doet, doe het goed. Niets nieuws, maar ook ik vergeet dat wel eens!

UN Demands End of Sexual Violence as Tactic of War UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a halt to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. [A Congolese woman who was raped in 2006 rests at a hospital in Goma. The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a halt to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. (AFP) ]A Congolese woman who was raped in 2006 rests at a hospital in Goma. The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a halt to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. (AFP) Resolution 1888 reiterated the 15-member body's "demand for the complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence with immediate effect." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who chaired the high-level meeting as her country hold the council's rotating presidency this month, said the resolution was "a step forward in our global efforts to end violence perpetrated against women and children in conflict zones." The text focused on an issue that "has received too little attention," she said, noting that it builds on two previous similar Security Council resolutions. Ending sexual violence, particularly in Africa, is a proclaimed priority for the United States and Clinton raised the issue when she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country which has seen an epidemic of horrific sexual assaults against women. The US-drafted text affirms "that effective steps to prevent and respond to such acts of sexual violence can significantly contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security." It calls on UN chief Ban Ki-moon appoint a special representative to "provide coherent and strategic leadership to... address, at both headquarters and country level, sexual violence in armed conflict." It urges states to "undertake comprehensive legal and judicial reforms... without delay and with a view to bringing perpetrators of sexual violence in conflicts to justice." Parties to a conflict must also "ensure that all reports of sexual violence committed by civilians or by military personnel are thoroughly investigated and the alleged perpetrators brought to justice." � 2009 AFP

UN Demands End of Sexual Violence as Tactic of War

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a halt to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war.

A Congolese woman who was raped in 2006 rests at a hospital in Goma. The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a halt to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war. (AFP)

Resolution 1888 reiterated the 15-member body's "demand for the complete cessation by all parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence with immediate effect."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who chaired the high-level meeting as her country hold the council's rotating presidency this month, said the resolution was "a step forward in our global efforts to end violence perpetrated against women and children in conflict zones."

The text focused on an issue that "has received too little attention," she said, noting that it builds on two previous similar Security Council resolutions.

Ending sexual violence, particularly in Africa, is a proclaimed priority for the United States and Clinton raised the issue when she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country which has seen an epidemic of horrific sexual assaults against women.

The US-drafted text affirms "that effective steps to prevent and respond to such acts of sexual violence can significantly contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security."

It calls on UN chief Ban Ki-moon appoint a special representative to "provide coherent and strategic leadership to... address, at both headquarters and country level, sexual violence in armed conflict."

It urges states to "undertake comprehensive legal and judicial reforms... without delay and with a view to bringing perpetrators of sexual violence in conflicts to justice."

Parties to a conflict must also "ensure that all reports of sexual violence committed by civilians or by military personnel are thoroughly investigated and the alleged perpetrators brought to justice."

� 2009 AFP

EPA Wants More Oversight on Chemicals

by Kelly Zito

Tens of thousands of chemicals found in everyday items, from toys and cell phones to food containers and medical devices, would face high levels of federal scrutiny and control under a set of guidelines unveiled Tuesday in San Francisco by President Obama's top environmental official.

Water bottles display tags proclaiming their lack of bisphenol A, a controversial chemical used to harden plastics. (Photo: David McNew / Getty Images)

The effort to rewrite how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluates and enforces the use of potentially harmful chemicals marks the most significant overhaul of the nation's chemical policies since the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

The move also coincides with growing public alarm over the risks posed by chemicals of all stripes - from pesticides in food to plastic coatings in baby bottles and flame retardants in clothing and pillows. Of particular concern are rising levels of toxics found in children and developing fetuses.

EPA chief's call

"Chemicals are ubiquitous in our environment and our bodies," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in an afternoon conference call with reporters. "Some chemicals may be risk free ... but the public is understandably anxious and confused. They're looking to the government for assurance that these chemicals have been assessed using the best available science. Current law doesn't allow us to give those assurances."

Jackson unveiled the EPA's chemical reform goals during a talk at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club on Tuesday evening.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates chemicals in food, drugs and cosmetics, the EPA has jurisdiction over some 80,000 chemicals used in just about every other sector of the economy. Despite the huge and varied uses, however, current codes do not require manufacturers to collect or submit toxicity data to the EPA. In addition, legal roadblocks have meant the government has severely restricted or banned only five of those 80,000 chemicals, including dioxin, asbestos and hexavalent chromium.

Two-pronged plan

The administration's new plan is two-pronged. First, Jackson said her agency would work with Congress on legislation that would, among other things, call for chemicals to be evaluated based on health and safety risks and for manufacturers to submit toxicity data for existing and new chemicals. Legislation would also give the EPA authority to ban or restrict chemicals.

One bill expected to be reintroduced in the U.S. Senate this session would require chemicals used in baby bottles, children's toys and other products to be proved safe before they are put on store shelves.

In addition to legislative changes, the EPA will use existing regulatory power to launch new reviews of "priority" chemicals that the agency could ultimately restrict or ban. Among those are bisphenol A and phthalates. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a plastic-hardening chemical. Phthalates, which add flexibility and durability, are used in everything from glues to medicine coatings to vinyl upholstery. Both are associated with disrupting hormone production.

Obsolete regulations

While the EPA's goals seem to cover very basic ground, environmental health advocates say the move is evidence that the nation's chemical regulations under the TSCA - sometimes pronounced "tosca" - are obsolete.

"The system we have now assumes that chemicals are innocent until proven guilty," said Jane Houlihan, senior vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C. "These reforms introduced today would flip that."

Despite the sweeping changes and added costs the administration's reforms could impose on the chemical industry, its main trade group, the American Chemistry Council, commended Jackson's announcement. Council president and chief executive Cal Dooley said Obama's guidelines hew closely to his group's recently released aims for reform.

"We have confidence we can modernize TSCA, which can give consumers greater confidence while also ensuring we'll have products at the forefront of innovation and provide high-paying jobs," Dooley told reporters.

Along with regaining consumers' trust in his industry, Dooley acknowledged that by supporting the EPA's measures, chemical manufacturers also hoped to avoid a "patchwork" effect created by layers of state and regional laws.

Surviving Washington

Some scientists, however, expressed concern that the EPA's effort could get bogged down in the Beltway morass.

"Just like climate change legislation and health care reform have not been easy to achieve, my guess is it won't be easy to achieve toxic chemical reform," said Arlene Blum, founder of the Green Science Policy Institute in Berkeley and a visiting scholar with UC Berkeley's department of chemistry. "Jackson will need a lot of support from the public, scientists and industry."

� 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.

Italy Seeks Jail for US Spies in Rendition Trial

MILAN - An Italian prosecutor called on Wednesday for 26 Americans, all but one believed to be members of the CIA, to be jailed for between 10 and 13 years each for the kidnapping of a terrorism suspect in 2003.

Public Prosecutor Armando Spataro also asked a Milan court to sentence four Italians, including the former head of Italy's Sismi secret service, to up to 13 years in prison for the abduction of Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr.

Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was snatched from the streets of Milan six years ago and secretly flown for interrogation in Egypt, where he says he was tortured and held until 2007 without charge.

The trial is the most high profile case in Europe to challenge the extra-judicial transfers, known as 'renditions', used by the government of former President George W. Bush in its fight against terrorism.

"Democracies are founded on principles that cannot be renounced even in moments of emergency. If we give up that vision we would have partly lost the fight against terrorism," Spataro told the court in his summary of the evidence.

"This was an unbearable blow to legality and fundamental human rights, unacceptable even in the interests of security."

None of the Americans is in Italy for the trial and the United States has ruled out extraditing them, so any conviction would be purely symbolic. The longest jail term, 13 years, was requested for the ex-head of the CIA station in Rome, identified as Jeff Castelli.

Prosecutors sought 12 years for the former chief of the Milan station, identified as Robert Feldon Lady. Spataro said a verdict could be delivered by late October or early November.

Spataro dropped charges against three of the seven Italian suspects after an earlier Constitutional Court ruling made evidence against them inadmissable as it broke state secrecy.

Prosecutors had used wiretaps on the spies and questioned them on classified matters, such as relations with the CIA.

Last week, Washington said it invoked jurisdiction in the case against Colonel Joseph Romano -- believed to be the only non-CIA member on trial -- under a NATO accord. The other U.S. suspects in the Italian trial do not face prosecution in their homeland.

Under the Bush administration, the United States has said it used rendition to seize terrorism suspects around the world and deliver them for interrogation in third countries. It has not acknowledged any rendition in Italy.

Washington is currently debating the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects who were in U.S. custody and whether to prosecute the officials responsible.

Egyptian-born Nasr, who was released from Egyptian custody in 2007, faces an arrest warrant in Italy on suspicion of terrorist activity.

� 2009 Reuters

Michael Moore Tells Democrats: 'Find Your Spine' on Health Care

by Markham Heid

WASHINGTON - Sans video camera, filmmaker Michael Moore on Tuesday turned his megaphone on the current health care system and those Blue Dog Democrats he claims are "dogging" the health care debate.

Moore, an advocate of a single-payer, government-run health care system, called the current setup "cruel," and said that two-thirds of Americans support a single-payer system and would punish those Democrats who steer the conversation away from that option.

"To the Democrats in Congress," Moore said, "find your spine. Read the polls. And see us coming."

The contentious documentarian spoke at the Washington offices of Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy group. Moore has a new film called "Capitalism: A Love Story" slated for release Friday, and says he's using the media attention to push for single-payer health care.

When asked why the single-payer option hasn't won much support in the health care debate in Washington, Moore said Democrats "haven't felt the heat."

Moore also criticized liberal voters, who he said lacked the motivation of Republicans and "wouldn't get up at 6 a.m." like their conservative counterparts.

"There's a lot of anger out there that's simmering beneath the surface," said Moore, adding that the Democrats haven't tapped that fury.

Echoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower's famous words regarding associations between the military and private business, Moore took aim at what he called the "Health Care Industrial Complex."

The filmmaker also applauded President Barack Obama on several fronts, but said the president needs to "hit the reset button, and go back to the drawing board" with the health care debate.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee rejected the "public option" for revamping the nation's health care. The public option would have created a government run insurance company to offer low-cost health insurance coverage to those who could not afford private plans.

The vote, in which five Democrats joined all 10 of the panel's Republicans, is a rejection of one of Obama's central proposals for improving coverage for millions of Americans without health insurance.

During the entire congressional debate over healthcare, no legislation to create a government-run health system like those in other developed nations has garnered significant support.

Moore's other well-known movies include: "Roger and Me," about General Motors chairman and chief executive Roger Smith; "Bowling for Columbine," about gun violence following the mass killings at a Colorado high school, and "Fahrenheit 9/11," about America after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

(The Medill News Service is a Washington program of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Heid, a graduate student in journalism from Ann Arbor, Mich., covers health care policy.)

�2001 - 2009 Medill Reports

Mobiele telefoon met internet pret

Mobiele telefoon met internet pret

Datum: 30 september 2009

Het gebruik van mobiele telefoons met internet stijgt fors. Wat velen zich niet realiseren, is dat de mobiele telefoons eigenlijk kleine computers zijn. Dit brengt niet alleen pret met zich mee. Het maakt ook mobiele telefoons, net als je computer thuis, gevoelig voor digitale aanvallen.

Het afgelopen jaar is het aantal telefoons met mobiel internet met 15% gestegen. Mobiele telefoons worden steeds krachtiger en bieden steeds meer mogelijkheden. De Apple iPhone en Google Android zijn hier voorbeelden van. Ook worden applicaties die via internet worden aangeboden, beschikbaar gemaakt voor gebruik via een mobiel platform. De functionaliteit wordt steeds complexer. En, de mobiels zijn continu verbonden met internet. Dit maakt dat ze doelwit worden voor (internet) criminelen.

Aanvallen vinden nu nog sporadisch plaats via SMS, MMS en Bluetooth. Gezien de groei in het mobiele telefoongebruik is de verwachting dat virussen een serieuze bedreiging voor mobiele telefoons gaan vormen. Wanneer criminelen de controle over een telefoon krijgen, kunnen ze bijvoorbeeld de microfoon aanzetten, een telefoongesprek starten bij voorkeur met een duur buitenlands nummer en natuurlijk jouw telefoon gebruiken om het virus verder te verspreiden.

Wat kun je doen?
Als gebruiker van een mobiele telefoon kun je je verweren tegen criminelen door er voor te zorgen dat de software van hun telefoon up-to-date blijft. Je dient hiervoor zelf het initiatief te nemen, omdat veel mobiele telefoons geen waarschuwing geven zodra je software verouderd is. Ook een flinke portie gezond verstand helpt de deur dicht te houden voor internetcriminelen: open geen SMS of MMS als je die ontvangt van onbekenden. Overweeg de aanschaf van antivirussoftware. Zet Bluetooth uit op je telefoon als je het niet gebruikt. Accepteer alleen Bluetooth-verbindingen die je vertrouwt. Beveilig je telefoon met een pincode, zodat anderen er geen gebruik van kunnen maken.

Zo houd je het gebruik van je mobiele telefoon leuk.

Design

It looks so easy
to say, I will change, I will do that for you
It is so easily said
If you can not change, than I can not continue

Why should I promise you to change myself?
Am I not good enough for myself
or am I just not good enough for you?

You are perfect, to me, the way you are
And that's how our creator made us
unique personalities

Of course I like to hear the things you don't like about me
I can handle that, and I shall try to make it more easy for you

But if you expect me to change
than you will be as disappointed
as that you will be
if you expect yourself to change

Be yourself, the wonderful and adorable you

Moments

Now and than I have some moments That I love to be not here Just being gone, like that, disappear And those moments I enjoy I need the time to come further Two steps back, out of my dreams All by myself, with myself alone Without those well meant words to listen to In the dark, just for a bit My own shadow in what I sit Not sober, not feeling sat Just thoughtful and quiet, just like that Looking peaceful to the stars That enlighten my night Easily letting drop my thoughts back in the row At such moments It is wonderful To breath a bit of the cold air It's not a drama It is not sad It is just all me Believe it All through the years I learned I need this I take the time out Away from everything Just nothing around me And than you can wait for it I will return from my shadow Standing again in your light http://saturnnl.multiply.com

Momenten

Ik heb soms van die momenten dat ik er eventjes niet wil zijn Even gewoon, hupla verdwenen zo een moment vind ik fijn Ik heb het nodig Om verder te komen Even terug, uit mijn dromen Helemaal bij mijzelf met mij alleen Geen goed bedoelde woorden om me heen Even in het donker In mijn eigen schaduw zitten Niet somber of verdrietig Maar gewoon, bedachtzaam en nietig Rustig kijken naar de sterretjes Die mijn nacht verlichten Rustig gedachten op een rijtje laten vallen Op zulke momenten Is het heerlijk Eventjes te kunnen ademen van de koude lucht Het is niet vervelend het is niet naar Het is helemaal ik vertrouw het maar Door de jaren heen weet ik Dat ik het nodig heb Ik neem de time out Eventjes weg van alles Even niets meer om me heen En dan, je kan erop wachten, Kom ik uit mijn schaduw En sta weer in jouw licht http://saturnsworld.multiply.com/

Treemometers: A new scientific scandal

Treemometers: A new scientific scandal

If a peer review fails in the woods...

A scientific scandal is casting a shadow over a number of recent peer-reviewed climate papers.

At least eight papers purporting to reconstruct the historical temperature record times may need to be revisited, with significant implications for contemporary climate studies, the basis of the IPCC's assessments. A number of these involve senior climatologists at the British climate research centre CRU at the University East Anglia. In every case, peer review failed to pick up the errors.

At issue is the use of tree rings as a temperature proxy, or dendrochronology. Using statistical techniques, researchers take the ring data to create a "reconstruction" of historical temperature anomalies. But trees are a highly controversial indicator of temperature, since the rings principally record Co2, and also record humidity, rainfall, nutrient intake and other local factors.

Picking a temperature signal out of all this noise is problematic, and a dendrochronology can differ significantly from instrumented data. In dendro jargon, this disparity is called "divergence". The process of creating a raw data set also involves a selective use of samples - a choice open to a scientist's biases.

Yet none of this has stopped paleoclimataologists from making bold claims using tree ring data.

In particular, since 2000, a large number of peer-reviewed climate papers have incorporated data from trees at the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia. This dataset gained favour, curiously superseding a newer and larger data set from nearby. The older Yamal trees indicated pronounced and dramatic uptick in temperatures.

How could this be? Scientists have ensured much of the measurement data used in the reconstructions remains a secret - failing to fulfill procedures to archive the raw data. Without the raw data, other scientists could not reproduce the results. The most prestigious peer reviewed journals, including Nature and Science, were reluctant to demand the data from contributors. Until now, that is.

At the insistence of editors of the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions B the data has leaked into the open - and Yamal's mystery is no more.

From this we know that the Yamal data set uses just 12 trees from a larger set to produce its dramatic recent trend. Yet many more were cored, and a larger data set (of 34) from the vicinity shows no dramatic recent warming, and warmer temperatures in the middle ages.

In all there are 252 cores in the CRU Yamal data set, of which ten were alive 1990. All 12 cores selected show strong growth since the mid-19th century. The implication is clear: the dozen were cherry-picked.

(This oversimplifies the story somewhat: for more detail, read this fascinating narrative by blogger BishopHill here.)

Controversy has been raging since 1995, when an explosive paper by Keith Briffa at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia asserted that that the medieval warm period was actually really cold, and recent warming is unusually warm. Both archaeology and the historical accounts, Briffa was declaring, were bunk. Briffa relied on just three cores from Siberia to demonstrate this.

Three years later Nature published a paper by Mann, Bradley and Hughes based on temperature reconstructions which showed something similar: warmer now, cooler then. With Briffa and Mann as chapter editors of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this distinctive pattern became emblematic - the "Logo of Global Warming".

IPCC's Assessment Report from 2001 - with the error bars in grey emphasised

Hokey hockey sticks

Mann too used dendrochronology to chill temperatures, and rebuffed attempts to publish his measurement data. Initially he said he had forgotten where he put it, then declined to disclosed it. (Some of Mann's data was eventually discovered, by accident, on his ftp server in a directory entitled 'BACKTO_1400-CENSORED'.)

Tree data was secondary in importance to Mann's statistical technique, which would produce a dramatic modern upturn in temperatures - which became nicknamed the "Hockey Stick" - even using red noise.

Similarly, all the papers that used the Yamal data have the same point to make. All suggest recent dramatic warming. Having scored a global hit with a combination of flawed statistics and dubious dendroclimatology, the acts repeated the formula.

"Late 20th century warmth is unprecedented for at least roughly the past two millennia for the Northern Hemisphere," wrote the two authors of Global Surface Temperatures over the Past Two Millennia published in Geophysical Research Letters in 2003 - Mann, and Phil Jones of CRU.

For example, Briffa's 2008 paper concludes that: "The extent of recent widespread warming across northwest Eurasia, with respect to 100- to 200-year trends, is unprecedented in the last 2000 years."

The same authors in 2004:

It continues to this day. A study purporting to show the Arctic was warmer now than for 2,000 years received front-page attention last month. Led by Northern Arizona University professor Darrell S Kaufman, and including dendro veteran Mann, this too relied heavily on Yamal, and produced the signature shape.

Now here's Yamal.

And when Yamal is plotted against the wider range of cores, the implications of the choice is striking:

A comparison of Yamal RCS chronologies. red - as archived with 12 picked cores; black - including Schweingruber's Khadyta River, Yamal (russ035w) archive and excluding 12 picked cores. Both smoothed with 21-year gaussian smooth. y-axis is in dimensionless chronology units centered on 1 (as are subsequent graphs (but represent age-adjusted ring width).

"The majority of these trees (like the Graybill bristlecones) have a prolonged growth pulse (for whatever reason) starting in the 19th century," wrote Canadian mathematician Steve McIntyre on his blog on Sunday. "When a one-size fits all age profile is applied to these particular tries, the relatively vigorous growth becomes monster growth - 8 sigma anomalies in some of them."

McIntyre's determination to reproduce the reconstructions has resulted in the Yamal data finally coming to light.

All the papers come from a small but closely knit of scientists who mutually support each other's work. All use Yamal data. And without the Yamal data, the temperature record shows a very different shape.

What went wrong?

The scandal has serious implications for public trust in science. The IPCC's mission is to reflect the science, not create it.

As the panel states, its duty is "assessing the scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. It does not carry out new research nor does it monitor climate-related data." But as lead author, Briffa was a key contributor in shaping (no pun intended) the assessment. A small group was able to rewrite history.

When the IPCC was alerted to peer-reviewed research that refuted the idea, it declined to include it. This leads to the more general, and more serious issue: what happens when peer-review fails - as it did here?

The scandal has only come to light because of the dogged persistence of a Canadian mathematician who attempted to reproduce the results. Steve McIntyre has written dozens of letters requesting the data and methodology, and over 7,000 blog posts. Yet Yamal has remained elusive for almost a decade. �

Bootnote

The Royal Society's motto from the enlightenment era is Nullius in verba. "On nobody's authority" or colloquially, "take nobody's word for it". In 2007, the Society's then president suggested this be changed to "respect the facts".

Just the way you are

I dont need to change you
I dont need to change the way you do

Because you are okay, the way you are

I dont need to say you how you are
Because you are unique
A wonderful person
with all your glory and all your doubts

As the painter tells
The colors are at their best
When the work is finished
with a shadow line

You wont notice the shadow
Because the colors are so much more

Please, stay just the way you are

Don't go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you anymore
I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are

Don't go trying some new fashion
Don't change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take 'till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you.

I said I love you, and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are.

Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High

September 29, 2009: Planning a trip to Mars? Take plenty of shielding. According to sensors on NASA's ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) spacecraft, galactic cosmic rays have just hit a Space Age high.

"In 2009, cosmic ray intensities have increased 19% beyond anything we've seen in the past 50 years," says Richard Mewaldt of Caltech. "The increase is significant, and it could mean we need to re-think how much radiation shielding astronauts take with them on deep-space missions."

Above: Energetic iron nuclei counted by the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer on NASA's ACE spacecraft reveal that cosmic ray levels have jumped 19% above the previous Space Age high. [larger image]

The cause of the surge is solar minimum, a deep lull in solar activity that began around 2007 and continues today. Researchers have long known that cosmic rays go up when solar activity goes down. Right now solar activity is as weak as it has been in modern times, setting the stage for what Mewaldt calls "a perfect storm of cosmic rays."

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"We're experiencing the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century," says Dean Pesnell of the Goddard Space Flight Center, "so it is no surprise that cosmic rays are at record levels for the Space Age."

Galactic cosmic rays come from outside the solar system. They are subatomic particles--mainly protons but also some heavy nuclei--accelerated to almost light speed by distant supernova explosions. Cosmic rays cause "air showers" of secondary particles when they hit Earth's atmosphere; they pose a health hazard to astronauts; and a single cosmic ray can disable a satellite if it hits an unlucky integrated circuit.

The sun's magnetic field is our first line of defense against these highly-charged, energetic particles. The entire solar system from Mercury to Pluto and beyond is surrounded by a bubble of magnetism called "the heliosphere." It springs from the sun's inner magnetic dynamo and is inflated to gargantuan proportions by the solar wind. When a cosmic ray tries to enter the solar system, it must fight through the heliosphere's outer layers; and if it makes it inside, there is a thicket of magnetic fields waiting to scatter and deflect the intruder.

Right: An artist's concept of the heliosphere, a magnetic bubble that partially protects the solar system from cosmic rays. [larger image]

"At times of low solar activity, this natural shielding is weakened, and more cosmic rays are able to reach the inner solar system," explains Pesnell.

Mewaldt lists three aspects of the current solar minimum that are combining to create the perfect storm:

1. The sun's magnetic field is weak. "There has been a sharp decline in the sun's interplanetary magnetic field down to 4 nT (nanoTesla) from typical values of 6 to 8 nT," he says. "This record-low interplanetary magnetic field undoubtedly contributes to the record-high cosmic ray fluxes." [data]

2. The solar wind is flagging. "Measurements by the Ulysses spacecraft show that solar wind pressure is at a 50-year low," he continues, "so the magnetic bubble that protects the solar system is not being inflated as much as usual." A smaller bubble gives cosmic rays a shorter-shot into the solar system. Once a cosmic ray enters the solar system, it must "swim upstream" against the solar wind. Solar wind speeds have dropped to very low levels in 2008 and 2009, making it easier than usual for a cosmic ray to proceed. [data]

3. The current sheet is flattening. Imagine the sun wearing a ballerina's skirt as wide as the entire solar system with an electrical current flowing along its wavy folds. It's real, and it's called the "heliospheric current sheet," a vast transition zone where the polarity of the sun's magnetic field changes from plus to minus. The current sheet is important because cosmic rays are guided by its folds. Lately, the current sheet has been flattening itself out, allowing cosmic rays more direct access to the inner solar system.

Right: The heliospheric current sheet is shaped like a ballerina's skirt. Image credit: J. R. Jokipii and B. Thomas, Astrophysical Journal 243, 1115, 1981.

"If the flattening continues, we could see cosmic ray fluxes jump all the way to 30% above previous Space Age highs," predicts Mewaldt. [data]

Earth is in no great peril. Our planet's atmosphere and magnetic field provide some defense against the extra cosmic rays. Indeed, we've experienced much worse in the past. Hundreds of years ago, cosmic ray fluxes were at least 200% to 300% higher than anything measured during the Space Age. Researchers know this because when cosmic rays hit the atmosphere, they produce an isotope of beryllium, ¹⁰Be, which is preserved in polar ice. By examining ice cores, it is possible to estimate cosmic ray fluxes more than a thousand years into the past. Even with the recent surge, cosmic rays today are much weaker than they have been at times in the past millennium. [data]

"The space era has so far experienced a time of relatively low cosmic ray activity," says Mewaldt. "We may now be returning to levels typical of past centuries."

NASA spacecraft will continue to monitor the situation as solar minimum unfolds. Stay tuned for updates.

Gotcha!

Good morning everybody

It was extreme early that we woke up, oh well, after a huge wrestle I could escape the bed finally, but went back a bit later again -smile- and now am trying to join my coffee in rolling through the grey day.

That was in short the start of my moring, way too early, but what can we change of it? Just like the weather, we have to accept the things and make the best of it. And you better not even doubt that I do so -smile-

I hope you have a wonderful day as well. There is always something to smile about, and I smile about a friend that I found back after a few years, and of who I look forward to talk with again.
Life is good
and you are even better

Scheiden

Scheiden

Twee mannen zijn lekker rustig aan het vissen met een paar biertjes er bij.

Zachtjes, om de vissen niet af te schrikken, zegt Bob:
"Ik denk dat ik ga scheiden van mijn vrouw. Ze heeft al twee maanden niet tegen me gepraat."

Peter denkt na, neemt een slokje van zijn bier en antwoordt dan:
"Denk er nog eens goed over na Bob. Zulke vrouwen zijn moeilijk te vinden."

Orion in Gas, Dust, and Stars

Orion in Gas, Dust, and Stars
Credit & Copyright: Rogelio Bernal Andreo (Deep Sky Colors)

Explanation: The constellation of Orion holds much more than three stars in a row. A deep exposure shows everything from dark nebula to star clusters, all imbedded in an extended patch of gaseous wisps in the greater Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The brightest three stars on the far left are indeed the famous three stars that make up the belt of Orion. Just below Alnitak, the lowest of the three belt stars, is the Flame Nebula, glowing with excited hydrogen gas and immersed in filaments of dark brown dust. Below the frame center and just to the right of Alnitak lies the Horsehead Nebula, a dark indentation of dense dust that has perhaps the most recognized nebular shapes on the sky. On the upper right lies M42, the Orion Nebula, an energetic caldron of tumultuous gas, visible to the unaided eye, that is giving birth to a new open cluster of stars. Immediately to the left of M42 is a prominent bluish reflection nebula sometimes called the Running Man that houses many bright blue stars. The above image, a digitally stitched composite taken over several nights, covers an area with objects that are roughly 1,500 light years away and spans about 75 light years.

Raising Heaven

-And slowly the evening slides into the night

The day was fine, just fine.
What did I expect? Honestly? nothing
What did I get? Honestly? I found back a friend, I had some good talks, good meals, wonderful music to listen to
Nice balance for a day in the middle of the week, right?

I want to share this wonderful song of patrick swayze with you
I got it. Didn't even think about getting it
and there you have it.
Have a wonderful night and start in the Wednesday.

We're up to the weekend :)
-

It's getting late in the evening, it's time now for dreaming
A candle is burning and tables are burning, yeah
The shadows of darkness will fade in the pale moonlight
And when we get together as one it will be alright

Don't talk of destiny, don't tell me, whatever will be will be
'Cause you're gonna see, we'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Fill the shadows with tender might
Raising Heaven in Hell tonight, in midnight's dream

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Love, thunder and dynamite
take my hand and hold on tight in midnight's dream

We'll see the joker, the juggler, the sailor, the refugees
We'll hear the rich man, the poor man, the beggar down on his knees
We'll see the hungry, the stranded, the poor empty handed ones
And I'll hold you in my arms forever 'til kingdom comes

Don't talk of destiny, don't tell me, whatever will be will be
'Cause you're gonna see, we'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Fill the shadows with tender might
Raising Heaven in Hell tonight, in midnight's dream

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Love, thunder and dynamite
Take my hand and hold on tight in midnight's dream

As the years roll by and the memories fly
And the sun goes down tonight
I will take your hand, we will make our stand
Tonight, tonight, tonight

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Fill the shadows with tender might
Raising Heaven in Hell tonight, in midnight's dream

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Love, thunder and dynamite
Take my hand and hold on tight, in midnight's dream

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Fill the shadows with tender might
Raising Heaven in Hell tonight, in midnight's dream

We'll be raising Heaven in Hell tonight
Love, thunder and dynamite
Take my hand and hold on tight, in midnight's dream

Discovering yourself - explore your coffee

You are a multifaceted person. Discovering yourself can be the adventure of a lifetime. Learning how uncomfortable you are in certain situations, if you;re outgoing or quiet, what makes you happy or sad, and knowing what you're good at and what you've not, is part of nurturing and a balanced life. Do you know all those things about yourself? Or, are you too busy, too stressed, or too focused on someone else to care? Knowing as much as you can about yourself makes Decision-making easier. When you know "you." you can rely on yourself to make the right choices. So, take the time to know yourself. This knowledge is your key to a balanced life. 3 Steps to Revealing Your Life Purpose Up in the hills after a long day of walking, my feet hurt. A lot. Not the usual blister hurt, but a throbbing soreness that pressed against the balls of both my feet. Were my boots wrong? Or had I just become a tenderfoot office gal? In any case, my feet hurt, and I had a lot of walking to do, starting with a creek crossing in freezing water. In spite of the glorious surroundings, the rain having stopped, and the warm and yummy, I was not in the best of moods. Nothing like a few aches and pains to spoil your enthusiasm. So Rob, ever Mr. Happiness, bounced across the river leaving me to fend for myself. Why are there always super happy people around when you are grumbly?! My boots were off, the stream was bracing, and every step was on slimy, slippery rocks that hurt my tender tootsies. The inner dialogue went something like this: "This sucks. My feet hurt. Stupid boots. This is Rob's fault. He left me behind. I feel so alone. I am stuck all by myself out in this stupid river." There was nowhere to go - I had to keep moving. There was no one to blame, and no one could help me. It was just me, my pack, and the river. So I vented a few expletives, and went deep. All I had was my inner resilience. The dialogue went something like this: "C'mon, don't be so wimpy! This is hardly a river, it doesn't go past your knees, so what if you get wet? What would you do if you were leading a group?" And that's when it struck me. I had forgotten who I really was. I've hiked mountains, paddled thousands of kilometers by canoe, run six marathons, moved around the globe, and survived cancer treatment... And I was complaining about a cold river?! Sheesh! I started to laugh. I was being truly ridiculous. Rob captured it all on film without me knowing: It's even more embarrassing when you see how low the river is - hardly a raging torrent! It's so easy to succumb to that inner gremlin. It's so easy to forget how remarkable, powerful, and resilient we really are. And why we came here in the first place. For me, my purpose is about inspiring people to be more, try more, and live a truly wild and exhilarating life. I remembered that when I asked myself, "What would you do if you were leading group right now?" I'd show enthusiasm even if I felt afraid. I'd step out in faith, with determination and commitment. I'd make light of it and have a bit of a laugh - crossing a creek is hardly the most nerve-wracking or serious of activities. I'm a leader. And you are too - you just may not have remembered that you are. So let's look at how you can remember YOUR life purpose... Step 1. When have you felt most challenged? How did you get through it? What did you discover about yourself? Step 2. When have you felt most alive, most excited, most 'in the moment'? What were you thinking, doing, focusing on? Step 3. What do you care about most in the world - beyond your family? If you had one wish for your friends and colleagues, what would that be? Now look back at your answers and see if there any patterns there. Often we feel most passionate about the challenges that have taught us the biggest lessons, and are eager to share these with others. Your life purpose comes down to this: Be more of who you are when you are called on in times of challenge; Be more of who you are when you are most joyful, and Be the person that helps others' wishes comes true. Once you are being who you are meant to be, the doing takes care of itself. � Zoe Routh. All rights reserved. What you do over and over again, becomes a part of you. What you do over and over again, becomes so comfortable and familiar that you don't even think about it. So what do you do over and over again? What thoughts do you think to yourself again and again? What words do you repeatedly say to others? What habits have you built into your daily life? Do something once, and it has a small effect. Do something over and over again, and it can grow into a powerful, unstoppable force. Success is built not by getting lucky on a one-shot attempt. Real success comes by integrating the small, seemingly trivial positive actions firmly into the fabric of your life. The road to fulfillment is not hidden or complicated, and yet it does involve many steps, one after another after another. Achieve the small goals, over and over again, and they will surely grow into magnificent achievements. Ralph Marston

Absolute Greatest Distributed on New Logitech Squeezebox!

	29th September 2009

	Logitech and Queen To Distribute New Album and Exclusive Content on New Logitech Squeezebox Radio Wi-Fi Music Player The legendary rock band, Queen, announced today that they are making music history with the release of their new album, Absolute Greatest - the ultimate compilation of the band's most popular, enduring and iconic songs on EMI Music's Parlophone Records. In an industry first, Queen are joining up with Logitech to offer Absolute Greatest exclusively on the company's new Logitech Squeezebox Radio Wi-Fi music player. As of today, owners of the Logitech Squeezebox Radio can listen to the new Queen album before it hits the shops on November 16 and experience a series of unique Queen photos and track-by-track audio commentaries recorded by the band. For seven weeks, leading up to the album's availability on November 16, Queen fans who own a Logitech Squeezebox Radio will have exclusive access to the complete Absolute Greatest album, track lyrics and a series of Queen photographs that have been made available for the first time. They can also enjoy exclusive track-by-track audio commentaries in which Brian May and Roger Taylor talk through the composition and history of each famous song. All they need to do is select the Queen application found under the Squeezebox Radio's new Apps menu. Queen's Roger Taylor said: "What a thrill to be first past the post on this new and mind- boggling technological innovation; another exciting step on our long journey." For more information on Queen's partnership with Logitech go to www.queenonline.com/logitech where you can see new images and win one of five Squeezeboxes! Click here to read the full Queen + Logitech press release. Absolute Greatest is released on November 16th (17th in North America). Click here to view all formats and to pre-order now!

Yahoo plaatst naam in Flickr logo

maandag 28 september 2009 - via: computeridee.nl

Yahoo heeft een wijziging aangebracht in het logo van de online fotodienst Flickr. Aan het logo is nu 'from Yahoo!' toegevoegd wat inmiddels de nodige boze reacties (op dit moment 1201) van gebruikers heeft opgeleverd. Het is hierbij dan ook niet duidelijk waarom Yahoo nu ineens de noodzaak ziet om zijn eigen naam toe te voegen aan het Flickr logo. Op de homepage is Yahoo! te zien onderin bij de taalselectie. De fotodienst werd overgenomen door Yahoo in 2005.

the miracle

When I wake up
I expect nothing from the day
and at the same time, I expect everything
everything I need.
When I open my eyes, it suprises me, when the sun shines
and I am surprized when it rains
The smell of coffee amazes me
Nothing tastes better than the first cuppa
or the second, with a cookie

All my days are filled with moments of routine
but I dont see them as routine
They are small pearls
Life is a miracle

Even when, on some days, it is very hard to see!

that time will come one day you'll see.. that we can all be friends

Oz woman demands chihuahua at gunpoint

Oz woman demands chihuahua at gunpoint

Pulls piece on cop as puppy deal goes bad

A Sydney woman has been charged with attempted robbery after she demanded at gunpoint that a police officer hand over a chihuahua, ABC News reports.

The 26-year-old dog lover had apparently arranged to buy the puppy and duly turned up at the cop's Kellyville home to collect the mutt.

For reasons which are not clear, she then "produced a gun and demanded the puppy be handed over", according to police. The residents of the house were able to restrain the woman, who has now earned herself an appearance before the beak next month.

The pistol used in the attempted dog-jacking was a replica, police said. Paris Hilton was unavailable for comment this morning. �

Attack of the Killer Tits

Attack of the Killer Tits

Hungarian cave-dwellers massacred in their sleep

Reports are coming in of a previously unknown, deadly threat to sleepy Hungarian bats: that of being killed by tits.

The shock news comes courtesy of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, where boffins have been working with "colleagues in a cave in Hungary". Needless to say, we speak here not of any scenario involving carelessly-roosting chiropterine boudoir intruders inadvertently stifled by human female tophamper in a comedo-tragic cleavage mishap or similar. Rather, the "Great Tits" in question here are peckish birds - of the same ingenious family as the renowned cream-snaffling Blue Tits of old Blighty.

According to the German/Hungarian boffinry team:

The observed cave had a large entrance... The Great Tits needed at most 15 minutes from entry into the cave to capture a bat. In some cases, they carried the Pipistrelles out of the cave in their beaks and ate them on nearby trees.

Reports on the ingenuity of birds of the tit family in their search for food go as far back as the 1940s when it was observed that Blue Tits in the British Isles had learned how to open the aluminium tops of milk bottles left on doorsteps by milkmen to get at the cream that had formed on top of the milk. Another astonishing acquired behaviour among Great Tits (Parus major) has now been observed...

It seems that the hungry feathered assassins only scoff snoozing bats when their need is extreme, as in midwinter when heavy snow cover in Hungary prevents them getting hold of their usual cold-weather diet of seeds, berries etc. Researchers found that the tits would ignore bats in favour of more conventional birdy tuck such as sunflower seeds or bacon rind if such was on offer.

"Behavioural flexibility coupled with altered environmental conditions, e.g. food scarcity, can trigger astonishing innovations in animal behaviour," concludes Bj�rn Siemers of the Max Planck Institute. "This could support the idea of cultural learning between different populations or it could indicate an independent development in different locations with the same ecological conditions."

We asked our colleagues over on the Reg biology desk for comment on the remarkable killer-tit discovery. After some thought, they felt it important to point out that "Tits are not the same as Boobies". �

German cops impound motorised beer crate

German cops impound motorised beer crate

'Looked like a lot of fun', Polizei admit

A German biker who rather brilliantly converted a beer crate into a diminutive quad bike has been relieved of his wheels, following a police pursuit, Ananova reports.

Matthias Krankl apparently attracted the attention of law enforcement operatives by speeding on his lovingly-crafted machine. He attempted to make good his escape into woodland in Maulburg, but got bogged down in thick mud.

One cop explained: "It's a quad bike but it's tiny, and once it got stuck it couldn't get out again."

The officer added: "We were very impressed with the workmanship so we congratulated him and then we confiscated the machine."

He concluded: "It only has a tiny one cylinder engine but somehow he managed to break the speed limit. It wasn't legal so we had to confiscate it, but it looked like a lot of fun and would certainly make drink driving more risky."

Would-be beer crate converters can get some tips from a pic of the machine here. �

Garfield

zo daar is ie dan eindelijk

Tsja, een lui dagje, mag het?

the cat and its boss

Good afternoon

A day together at home, just like that
A relaxing start
fresh stuff from the bakery
fresh coffee
fresh cookies

a fresh garfield

The day slightly slides away
sssshhh don't let it wake me up

Keep the ribbon, walk the line

do you wanna get rocked?

Let's go Let's go, Let's get rocked!

this is ROCK!!!
this is Def Lep at its best
(april 1992)
Tune up LOUD and let's get it on


Do you wanna get rocked?
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked

I'm your average ordinary everyday kid
Happy to do nothin', in fact that's what I did
I got a million ways to make my day
But daddy don't agree
Cause when I try to get away
He says he got plans for me
"Get your butt right out of bed"
Stop buggin' me
"Get up and move your sleepy head"
Don't shake my tree
He said "Mow the lawn" - who me?
"Walk the dog" - not my style, man
"Take out the trash" - no way
"Tidy your room" - c'mon get real
Sorry dad, gotta disappear
Let's get the rock out of here

Seven day weekend, up all night
In at the deep end, hang on tight
It won't take a minute, it won't take long
So get on in it, come on, come on, come on

Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Let's go all the way
Get it night'n'day
Come on, let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked

I'm your average ordinary everyday dude
Drivin' with my baby to get her in the mood
She's dialin' through my radio
And I'm ready to make my move
But what she got ain't rock'n'roll
And it really blew my groove
It was Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven
It makes me wanna scream
Bach, Tschaikovsky, violins
Turn it off, that ain't my scene
Well I'm sorry girl here's my confession
I suppose a rock's out of the question

Seven day weekend, up all night
In at the deep end, hang on tight
It won't take a minute, it won't take long
So get on in it, come on, come on, come on

Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Let's go all the way
Get it night'n'day
Come on, let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked

All I wanna do is take a ride into the blue
Every time I want to love you
I get stuck inside my room
Heaven knows I'm sick 'n' tired of dancin' with this broom

I feel lucky today
Hey look at that, man
Do you wanna get rocked?
Do you wanna get rocked?

It won't take you a minute
It won't take that long
So get on, get with it
Oh, come on everybody

Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Get on top baby
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Do you wanna, do you wanna?
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Get on top of it
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Love to rock your body baby
Let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked

Let's go all the way
Let's do it night'n'day
Let's get out and play
Rock the night away
Come on, let's get, let's get, let's get, let's get rocked
Do you wanna get rocked?

prepare and accept (the coffee ;) )

This day you will be provided with precisely what you are willing to accept. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. You are immersed in an endless sea of abundance. The treasures of that abundance are yours to the extent that you choose to bring them into your life. There are opportunities branching out in many directions from every little detail. At each fork in the road, accept and explore the path that most closely resonates with your deepest purpose. To achieve the life that you desire, fully and sincerely be the person who will live it. Anything you can imagine is possible for you when you truly accept the possibility and sincerely bring it to life. With the thoughts you think, with the words you say, with the feelings and actions that fill each moment, you are accepting what is already available to you. The person you choose to be, comes ever more richly and fully to life as each day passes. Consider carefully and thoughtfully what you are willing to accept. For whatever it is, you will most certainly have. DOING SOMETHING GREAT When was the last time you were challenged to do something really... well... great? President Abraham Lincoln helped me to understand that there is a bit of greatness within all of us. It is said that he often slipped out of the White House on Wednesday evenings to listen to the sermons of Dr. Phineas Gurley at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He generally pre�ferred to come and go unnoticed, so when Dr. Gur�ley knew the president was coming, he left his study door open. On one of those occasions, the president quietly entered through a side door of the church, took his seat in the minister's study, located just off the sanctuary, and propped the door open just wide enough to hear the preacher. During the walk home one Wednesday even�ing, an aide asked Mr. Lincoln his appraisal of the sermon. The president thoughtfully replied, "The content was excellent... he delivered with elo�quence... he had put work into the message.." "Then you thought it was an excellent ser�mon?" questioned the aide. "No," Lincoln answered. "But you said that the content was excel�lent, it was delivered with eloquence and it showed much work," the aide pressed. "That's true," Lincoln said. "But Dr. Gur�ley forgot the most important ingredient. He forgot to ask us to do something great." There is nothing wrong with average lives and average accomplishments. Most of the good of the world is built on the accumulated efforts of everyday people. But, as Lincoln seemed to know, a life should strive for some greatness. Are you part of a relationship that, if given more effort, could be outstanding? Or do you volun�teer for an organization which is truly doing something excellent? Have you joined a cause that is attempting something great? Or have you ever said to yourself concerning a beautiful dream, "I could never do that," while knowing that if you were to attempt it and succeed, you just might ac�com�plish something significant? If Abraham Lincoln is right, then every life should strive to reach a little further today than it did yesterday, for there is some greatness in each of us. Steve Goodier Diligent preparation leads to outstanding achievement. What are you preparing for right now? In every moment, in every action, you are preparing yourself for one thing or another. Prepare yourself for the life you desire to lead, and it will come to be. Opportunities are constantly coming your way. Yet in order for them to be of any value, you must be prepared to take hold of those opportunities. The sooner you begin to prepare, the more you can achieve. Being prepared gives you considerably more options, and puts time on your side. Live joyfully and completely in each moment, knowing that you are preparing yourself for the times to come. Build one day upon another, with focus, positive intention and purpose, and you'll build a life that's truly spectacular. Each moment is your opportunity to prepare yourself for reaching higher and higher levels of fulfillment. Prepare well, and your life will reap many great rewards. Ralph Marston

Blind one-legged man wins arse-kicking contest

Blind one-legged man wins arse-kicking contest

Rum-fuelled piratical rampage quelled by Taser

A partially-sighted, one-legged man who had consumed a substantial quantity of rum was accused of attempted murder after he set about four American policemen single-handed earlier this week brandishing an assortment of cutting and stabbing weapons. The understandably alarmed plods subdued their assailant by the use of a Taser electroprod gun.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports today on the fracas, which took place on Monday in Colorado. According to court statements, four Pueblo cops responded to an emergency call made by a member of the public.

On arrival, the officers found James Ray Howard, 42, "shirtless on his front lawn" while brandishing a steak knife and a 12-inch metal spike. Howard later told police that he had consumed "a pint of rum" and unspecified prescription medication prior to the encounter. He is reportedly "legally blind" and has had one foot amputated, besides suffering from "other maladies".

According to the cops, on sighting them Howard uttered "threatening remarks" and made at them in an "aggressive manner". His aspect was sufficiently alarming that the cops understandably declined to engage in any hand-to-hand combat, despite their assailant's presumably limited abilities.

One officer discharged his Taser, planting the weapon's twin barbs into Howard's head and shoulder and zapping him with a crippling electric current. The legless one-legged scuffler was then disarmed and "brought under control".

The encounter was apparently sufficiently upsetting that the responding plods originally recommended a charge of attempted first-degree murder against Howard, but in the event he was written up only for first-degree assault. Perhaps having in mind the cops' advantages in numbers, limbs and un-addled mental processes during the Monday dustup, prosecutors eventually settled for a plea of guilty to a misdemeanour resisting-arrest charge.

The Chieftain reports that Howard is eligible for probation, and will be sentenced in November. His mother reportedly told police that he had been upset because his wife departed overseas some time ago and he hasn't heard from her for two months.

There was nothing in the report, but it's hard not to speculate that Howard may be keen to get home in order to feed his parrot. �