eConsultant

Paul Klee Gallery

Paul Klee (December 18, 1879 � June 29, 1940) was a Swiss painter. Klee was born in Munchenbuchsee (near Bern) of Switzerland into a musical family - his father, Hans Klee, taught music at the Hofwil Teacher Seminar near Berne. In his early years, Paul wanted to be a musician, but decided on the visual arts in his teen years. He studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck. After travelling to Italy and then back to Bern, he settled in Munich, where he met Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and other avant-garde figures, and became associated with the Blaue Reiter. Here he met Bavarian pianist Lily Stumpf, whom he married; they had one son.

Raoul Dufy Gallery

M C Escher Gallery

Conclusions
Based on the data created from our sample searches, this study concludes that a user can expect, on average, to receive 166.9% more results using the Google search engine than the Yahoo! search engine. In fact, in the 10,012 test cases we ran, only in 3% of the cases (307) did Yahoo! return more results. In 96.6% of the cases (9676) Google returned more results. In less than 1% of the cases (29) both search engines returned the same number of results.

It is the opinion of this study that Yahoo!'s claim to have a web index of over twice as many documents as Google's index is suspicious. Unless a large number of the documents Yahoo! has indexed are not yet available to its search engine, we find it puzzling that Yahoo!'s search engine consistently returned fewer results than Google.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 28, 1573 � July 18, 1610), named after his hometown Caravaggio near Milan, was an Italian Baroque painter, whose large religious works portrayed saints and other biblical figures as ordinary people. Though his paintings were controversial in the church, the weathly people purchased them for their drama, their spectacular technical accomplishment, their startling originality, and even their brazen homoeroticism.

Sanjeev.NET : Top 1000 Bookmarked and Blogged Links (Updated continuously throughout the day).

Guide to Springfield - The Simpsons

Symphony in PC
How to get your computer and stereo to make beautiful music together.

Men do have trouble hearing women, scientists find

Sat Aug 6, 7:29 PM ET

Men who are accused of never listening by women now have an excuse -- women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to than other men's, a report said.

The Daily Mail, quoting findings published in the specialist magazine

NeuroImage, said researchers at Sheffield university in northern England discovered startling differences in the way the brain responds to male and female sounds.

Men deciphered female voices using the auditory part of the brain that processes music, while male voices engaged a simpler mechanism, it said.

The Mail quoted researcher Michael Hunter as saying, 'The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having greater natural 'melody' in their voices.

'This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice.'

The findings may help explain why people suffering hallucinations usually hear male voices, the report added, as the brain may find it much harder to conjure up a false female voice accurately than a false male voice.

If You�re Not a Terrorist... Then Stop Asking Questions! is the hilarious follow-up to Micah Wright�s hit debut. This new book combines 42 different posters with critical political commentary to deliver a scabrous take on the State of the Union. Available in larger size format than the previous book, If You're Not a Terrorist is available in paperback AND in a deluxe hardcover edition. With a foreword by noted graphic designer and art historian Steven Heller, the book is a must for art collectors and rabble-rousers both!

Move to commercialise breast milk
A US firm is looking to commercialise breast milk by selling it to hospitals for the treatment of sick babies.

Prolacta Bioscience, a small company just outside Los Angeles, also wants to carry out research to develop breast milk-based therapies.

Breast milk, with its minerals, digestive enzymes and antibodies, has long been credited with keeping babies healthy and boosting intelligence.

But experts said it would put pressure on mothers to sell their milk.

Until now breast milk donation in the US and UK has largely been confined to a handful of non-profit milk banks that collect milk on a local basis to provide it to premature and sick infants whose mothers struggle to breast feed.

If you have Excel 2003 and use the social bookmarking tool Del.icio.us, you can backup your bookmarks in Excel.

1. Download the Del.icio.us Excel Spreadsheet

2. Press the 'Backup Del.icio.us' Button

3. Enter your Del.icio.us Username and Password then click GO!

del.icio.us / search / all

Creationism: God's gift to the ignorant
As the Religious Right tries to ban the teaching of evolution in Kansas, Richard Dawkins speaks up for scientific logic

The creationists' fondness for "gaps" in the fossil record is a metaphor for their love of gaps in knowledge generally. Gaps, by default, are filled by God. You don't know how the nerve impulse works? Good! You don't understand how memories are laid down in the brain? Excellent! Is photosynthesis a bafflingly complex process? Wonderful! Please don't go to work on the problem, just give up, and appeal to God. Dear scientist, don't work on your mysteries. Bring us your mysteries for we can use them. Don't squander precious ignorance by researching it away. Ignorance is God's gift to Kansas.

Deep into Sleep
While researchers probe sleep's functions, sleep itself is becoming a lost art.

'Thoughts read' via brain scans
Scientists say they have been able to monitor people's thoughts via scans of their brains.

Teams at University College London and University of California in LA could tell what images people were looking at or what sounds they were listening to.

The US team say their study proves brain scans do relate to brain cell electrical activity.

The UK team say such research might help paralysed people communicate, using a 'thought-reading' computer.

The Top 30 Torrent Sites of 2005

Bi-Torrent.com
Bitower.com
BitTorrents.com
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BitTorrent.com
BTbot.com
Btefnet.net
CommonBits.com
FileList.org
FileMP3.org
HyperTorrent.com
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LegalTorrents.com
MiniNova.org
Pirate Bay
ThinkTorrent.com
Throughput.de
TorrentBox.com
TorrentBytes.net
Torrents.co.uk
TorrentIt.com
TorrentMatrix.com
TorrentReactor.to
TorrentSearch.us
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TorrentSpy.com
TorrentTyphoon.com
TV-Swarm.com
TvTorrents.com
TvTorrents.ws
Yotoshi.com

Unfortunate Childrens Books

Dale Chihuly Gallery

Read any book with google

Top 10 dot-com flops :
1. Webvan
2. Pets.com
3. Kozmo.com
4. Flooz.com
5. eToys.com
6. Boo.com
7. MVP.com
8. Go.com
9. Kibu.com
10. GovWorks.com

Carb Supporters Rejoice as Atkins Goes Belly Up
Pasta makers and potato farmers are happy to see the weight-loss firm's bankruptcy filing.
By Jerry Hirsch
Times Staff Writer

August 2, 2005

In Boise, staff members of the Idaho Potato Commission gave one another gleeful high-fives when they heard the news. In Houston, the folks at the U.S. Rice Producers' Assn. declared 'good riddance.' And fruit farmers in California's Central Valley said they were 'happy to see them go.'

Across the nation, producers of carbohydrate-laden food exulted at the decision by Atkins Nutritionals Inc., the Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based designer of the once-popular low-carbohydrate weight-loss program, to file for bankruptcy protection.

The company said it planned to reorganize and focus mainly on selling nutrition bars and shakes. But analysts and nutritionists said Atkins' bankruptcy filing effectively signaled the demise of the low-carb lifestyle and an era when tens of millions of Americans embraced high-protein diets rich in meat and cheese while eschewing carbohydrates and sugars in grains, fruits and vegetables.

'It just proves that what Atkins was trying to do was just too extreme,' said Jeff Yankellow, a South San Francisco baking instructor and winner of the World Cup of Baking in Paris in April. 'Bread has survived as a nutritional food for thousands of years, and Atkins isn't going to kill it.'

In court papers, the company indicated that it was a victim of fierce competition from large food companies such as Unilever, Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc., which in the last few years rolled out their own lines of low-carb food.

When the diet was at its peak, fast-food chain Carl's Jr. pushed its lettuce-wrapped Low Carb Six Dollar Burger, Round Table Pizza developed a low-carb crust, Kraft came out with low-carb Oreos and Frito-Lay pitched low-carb

Swallowing a Lie May Aid in Weight Loss, Research Suggests
A team found it could make people believe that some foods sickened them as children.
By Rosie Mestel
Times Staff Writer

August 2, 2005

In their battle against the bulge, desperate dieters have tried drugs, surgery, exercise, counseling, creams and even electrical fat-burning belts.

Now some psychologists have a new idea: subtle brainwashing.

A team led by psychologist Elizabeth F. Loftus of UC Irvine found that it could persuade people to avoid fattening foods by implanting unpleasant childhood memories about them � even though the memories were untrue.

In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team said it successfully turned people off strawberry ice cream and, in earlier studies, it had done the same with pickles and hard-boiled eggs � in each case by manipulating the subjects to believe that the foods made them sick when they were children.

The scientists say they have also successfully implanted positive opinions about asparagus by convincing subjects that they once loved the vegetable.

The method, if perfected, could induce people to eat less of what they shouldn't and more of what they should, Loftus said. Good memories about fruits and vegetables could be implanted, as well as bad ones about low-nutrient, high-calorie foods.

In the strawberry ice cream experiment, Loftus and her team asked 131 students to fill out forms about their food experiences and preferences, including questions about strawberry ice cream. The subjects were then given a computer analysis of their responses that was supposed to indicate their true likes and dislikes.

However, 47 students were inaccurately told that the analysis made it clear that they had gotten sick from eating strawberry ice cream as children. Of these,

In a Furry First, A Dog Is Cloned In South Korea

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 4, 2005; A01

South Korean researchers said yesterday that they have created the world's first cloned dog: a playful black, tan and white Afghan hound named Snuppy.

The puppy, grown from a single cell taken from the ear of a 3-year-old male Afghan, marks a milestone in the race to fabricate genetically identical dogs for research and as companion animals.

The process of dog cloning remains highly inefficient, a reflection of how much scientists still have to learn about how to make mammalian offspring from single parents and without the help of sperm. Multiple surgeries on more than 100 anesthetized dogs and the painstaking creation of more than 1,000 laboratory-grown embryos led to the birth of just two cloned puppies -- one of which died after three weeks.

But the feat suggests that a market in cloned dogs, through which people grieving the loss of their favorite pets could order genetic duplicates, may not be as futuristic as some had thought. And by leapfrogging a seven-year-old, multimillion-dollar U.S. effort, the success has clinched South Korea's quickly growing reputation as a premier center for cloning and stem cell research.

Cloned dog embryos could make available the first canine versions of embryonic stem cells. Researchers could then test stem cell therapies that have been proposed for people and, perhaps, cure some dog diseases along the way.

Amphetamines may slow Parkinson's, study shows

Thu Aug 4, 9:31 AM ET

Amphetamines, including the party drug Ecstasy, have reversed the effects of Parkinson's disease in mice, researchers said on Wednesday.

Their finding does not suggest the use of now-illegal drugs to treat the incurable brain disease, but may offer a way forward in helping patients, they said.

The team at Duke University in North Carolina treated mice that were genetically modified to suffer from Parkinson's-like symptoms with more than 60 types of amphetamines.

Fourteen of the drugs helped reverse the symptoms of the mice, including the tremors and rigidity that mark the disease -- raising the possibility of exploring related treatments for humans.

'We hope to find new drugs that are close chemically, but safe,' Marc Caron, who led the research, said in a telephone interview.

Parkinson's disease is caused by the death of brain cells that control physical movement and produce the essential chemical dopamine.

According to the American Parkinson's Disease Association, there are about 1.5 million Americans with the disease.

The new research shows that dopamine replacement, so far the most common, but only partly effective Parkinson's treatment, may not be the only viable option, Caron said.

Amphetamine-like drugs, not unlike those now given to children with attention deficit disorder, could eventually be used for Parkinson's, he said.

'We give these drugs in low doses to children, so it's not so terrible to say some day we should give similar drugs to Parkinson's patients,' Caron said.

The effects of another stimulant, coffee, have been cited in the past as easing Parkinson's symptoms by keeping dopamine levels high.

But Caron said coffee is only effective in early stages of the disease, when some dopamine

Announcing The Yahoo! Publisher Network Self-Serve Beta

You may have heard a few rumors over the past few months about Yahoo! developing more solutions for small- and medium-sized publishers. Well, those rumors are true, and we're 100% committed to living up to them.

I'm proud to announce today that Yahoo! has launched a beta network in the U.S. for small- and medium-sized publishers. Currently available through invitation only, as Yahoo! tests and refines the new platform, small- and medium-sized publishers can easily sign up online and access new revenue sources and enhanced Yahoo! content through our new self-serve platform. Our goal is to extend the beta to more publishers by the end of the year.

Yahoo is planning to launch on Wednesday an ad network for small Web publishers intended to strengthen its hand against rival Google, a source familiar with the plan told CNET News.com.

5. Private victory precedes public victory. Novices learn how to play in the casino. Experts learn how to play at home and then apply their knowledge in the casino. Experts spend a lot more time practicing, which takes tremendous patience. Their real victories are unseen. Talented people who perform in public have often spent many years honing their skills in private.

The study looked at search results from more than 12,500 random queries on Ask Jeeves, Google, MSN search and Yahoo, and found that the overlap in first page results for these four engines was a scant 1.1% on average for a given query, suggesting that each of the four major search engines has a unique voice that's not duplicated by the other services.

CSS Rounded Box Generator

eBay Phone Number: Yes, eBay Does Have A Contact Phone Number!

Making libraries more delicious: Social bookmarking in the enterprise

TV loses out to the web among teens

Young people are switching off their television sets and are spending more time surfing the internet than ever before, according to a new survey.

The European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) quizzed 8,000 participants across Europe about their media consumption habits, and found that although traditional media is still popular, 46 per cent are watching TV less whilst 22 per cent are turning off their radios.

The inspiration and process behind the Van Gogh Project.

The Van Gogh Project is a series of Big Easel paintings based on Vincent van Gogh's Sunflower Paintings. Each sculpture consists of a colossal hand-painted reproduction of one of the seven Sunflower Paintings, measuring an impressive 7 x 10 metres, which rests on a 25 metre,17,000 kilogram steel easel. The first Easel was erected in Altona, Canada on October 17, 1998. The second was finished and erected on November 8, 1999 in Emerald, Australia. The third easel was successfully proposed to the city of Goodland and the State of Kansas, USA. Construction began in the spring of 2000. Discussions are currently underway in South Africa, and Japan for future sites.

The 'Not Insane' To-Do List

'There is no multi-tasking. There is only the monkey mind jabbering so fast it seems like multi-tasking.' *

LET'S FACE IT, we all have far too much to do. But the only reason this is so is because of the proliferation of productivity tools that respond to our insane lust to be 'productive.' Driving this insanity is the To-Do list which is, being limitless, is unlimited in its ability to drive us insane. It's time to stop the To-List insanity. Toss all you've previous To-Do Listing Systems you've got out -- paper and/or electronic -- and convert to this new, improved certifiably not-insane system.

Explore / Interestingness / Last 24 Hours

the official story, straight from the source

on january 28th, 2005, i was terminated from google. either directly or indirectly, my blog was the reason. this came as a great shock to me because two days ago we had looked at my blog and removed all inappropriate content - the comments on financial performance and future products. for my next entries, i was very cognizant of my blogging content, making sure to stay away from these topics. i mean, as much as i like to be open and honest about communicating to users and customers, i'm not insubordinate. if i was told to shut down this blog, i would have.

One blog created 'every second'
The blogosphere is continuing to grow, with a weblog created every second, according to blog trackers Technorati.

In its latest State of the Blogosphere report, it said the number of blogs it was tracking now stood at more than 14.2m blogs, up from 7.8m in March.

It suggests, on average, the number of blogs is doubling every five months.

Successful Strategies for Commenting Code
By Ryan Campbell
Introduction

Commenting your code is like cleaning your bathroom�you never want to do it, but it really does create a more pleasant experience for you and your guests. Because I�ve recently adopted a new mantra to use comments frequently and appropriately in my code, I spent a few hours researching the literature on commenting readability, reusability, and guidelines.