eConsultant

eConsultant - Sanjeev Narang - writes notes on technology, personal growth, personal MBA, productivity and time management.

New Cornell study suggests that mental processing is continuous, not like a computer

Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Cornell News: New mind model:

New Cornell study suggests that mental processing is continuous, not like a computer
By Susan S. Lang

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The theory that the mind works like a computer, in a series of distinct stages, was an important steppingstone in cognitive science, but it has outlived its usefulness, concludes a new Cornell University study. Instead, the mind should be thought of more as working the way biological organisms do: as a dynamic continuum, cascading through shades of grey.

Cornell psycholinguist Michael Spivey asks Florencia Reali to listen for a word and then click on its picture. By studying the curvature of the trajectory of the mouse, he can analyze language comprehension processes. Copyright � Cornell University

In a new study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (June 27-July 1), Michael Spivey, a psycholinguist and associate professor of psychology at Cornell, tracked the mouse movements of undergraduate students while working at a computer. The findings provide compelling evidence that language comprehension is a continuous process.

'For decades, the cognitive and neural sciences have treated mental processes as though they involved passing discrete packets of information in a strictly feed-forward fashion from one cognitive module to the next or in a string of individuated binary symbols -- like a digital computer,' said Spivey. 'More recently, however, a growing number of studies, such as ours, support dynamical-systems approaches to the mind. In this model, perception and cognition are mathematically described as a continuous trajectory through a high-dimensional mental space; the neural activation patterns flow back and forth to produce nonlinear, self-organized, emergent properties -- like a biological organism.'

In his study, 42 students listened to instructions to click on pictur

Your brain: Search engine, or calculator

[print version] Your brain: Search engine, or calculator? | CNET News.com:

Your brain: Search engine, or calculator?

By Michael Kanellos
http://news.com.com/Your+brain+Search+engine%2C+or+calculator/2100-1008_3-5768611.html

Story last modified Wed Jun 29 13:39:00 PDT 2005


For years, cognitive theorists have likened the human brain to a computer that completes tasks by breaking down complex problems into a series of small yes/no decisions. A recent study, however, shows that the brain adjusts its thinking as more data arrives.

In a study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Michael Spivey, a psycholinguist and associate professor of psychology at Cornell University, tracked the mouse movements of 42 undergraduate students while working at a computer.

Students heard a word--such as 'candy'--and were then shown two pictures. If the pictures were of different sounding objects--such as 'candy' and 'ziggurat'--the mouse moved in a straight line to the candy and clicked on it. If the words for the pictures sounded similar--'candy' and 'candle'--they were slower to click on the correct answer, and the mouse trajectory was more curved. This indicates that, when faced with ambiguity, humans study what limited data they have before clicking.

Under the old metaphor, one would have expected subjects to rush to one solution and then correct the answer if they had chosen wrong.

Interestingly, the whole field of artificial intelligence has moved from a Boolean model, in which systems guide themselves through a series of embedded rules, to a Bayesian model, in which machines guide themselves by studying past experiences. Bayesian probability also underlies search engines.

'In thinking of cognition as working as a biological organism

FlickrFind : Fun Ephemera - a photoset on Flickr

Fun Ephemera - a photoset on Flickr:

Fun Ephemera

Personal MBA: Ask the eConsultant Book Review - Weird Ideas That Work by Robert I. Sutton

Personal MBA: Ask the eConsultant Book Review - Weird Ideas That Work by Robert I. Sutton:

Ask the eConsultant Book Review - Weird Ideas That Work by Robert I. Sutton

FlickrFind - Surreal

Surreal - a photoset on Flickr:

Surreal

D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition

Monday, June 13, 2005
Your next action: Print this out now!

D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition:


D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition


I�m hereby pleased to announce the release of the much-requested D*I*Y Planner 2 Hipster PDA Edition, a series of 34 organisational and planning templates designed for printing onto index cards (a.k.a., the Hipster PDA). These are a subset of the regular D*I*Y Planner forms, re-designed for the smaller size, and may be used either in conjunction with the full kit or as a stand-alone system. Although chiefly inspired by David Allen�s Getting Things Done, an emphasis has been placed upon tweakability and multiple methodologies.


Armstrong says didn't feel comfortable in mountains

Sunday, June 12, 2005
Armstrong says didn't feel comfortable in mountains
Sat Jun 11, 2005 02:21 PM ET

MORZINE, France (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong was comforted by the fact that most of his Dauphine Libere rivals did not fare better than he did as the American toiled during four first-category mountain climbs Saturday.

With the exception of Colombian Santiago Botero, winner of the 155-km sixth stage from Albertville to Morzine, none of the leading contenders for next month's Tour de France was able to threaten Armstrong.

"I feel better from what I've seen as nobody was able to attack without faltering," the six-times Tour de France champion told reporters after finishing seventh in Saturday's stage.

Discovery Channel team leader Armstrong, who is fourth in the overall standings, finished in the same group as fellow American Levi Leipheimer and Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov, who could both be among his Tour rivals.

The American also easily dropped former team mate Floyd Landis on the Joux-Plane climb, the most difficult of the day.

"I cannot say I felt comfortable even if it was better toward the end," said Armstrong.

"For most of the first part of the stage I had to be content with following the pace. Then it went better and better.

"In Joux-Plane, I tried to follow my own tempo without getting excited. It's not easy because I haven't climbed many mountains at race level this season.

"The Ventoux (on Thursday) was the first."

The fourth stage up the gruelling Ventoux was won by Vinokourov. Armstrong finished fourth.

"I don't yet have the punch and the stamina Vino or Levi have," said the American, adding the Dauphine had been especially hard this year.

"The man who designed this course was obviously in a bad mood."

Merckx wins fifth stage at Dauphine Libere, Armstrong in chasing pack

Saturday, June 11, 2005
Print Story - canada.com network:

Merckx wins fifth stage at Dauphine Libere, Armstrong in chasing pack

Canadian Press

Friday, June 10, 2005

Axel Merckx of Belgium celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 5th stage of the Dauphine Libere cycling race between Vaison-La-Romaine and Grenoble, southeastern France. Friday. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

GRENOBLE, France (AP) - Axel Merckx won the fifth stage of the Dauphine Libere cycling race on Friday after a solo breakaway in the French Alps while six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong stayed comfortably in the chasing pack to finish 23rd.

Merckx, the son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx, finished two minutes 15 seconds ahead of second-place Inigo Landaluze in the 219-kilometre trek from Vaison-la-Romaine to Grenoble.

Poynter Online - Writing Tool #50: The Writing Process

A good map of the writing process ...

Poynter Online - Writing Tool #50: The Writing Process:

Writing Tool #50: The Writing Process
Use these tools to demystify your writing.

Sniff around
Explore ideas
Collect evidence
Find a focus
Select the best stuff
Recognize an order
Write a draft
Revise and clarify

Graffiti Taxonomy

Graffiti Taxonomy:

Graffiti Taxonomy presents isolated letters from various graffiti tags, reproduced in similar scales and at close proximity. The intent of these studies is to show the diversity of styles as expressed in a single character. In these photographs, the �S' is reproduced from photographs of tags taken in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, while the 'A' is reproduced from tags from Central Park North to 125th St. in Harlem.


Ask the eConsultant - Firefox Extensions List

Friday, June 10, 2005
Top 20 Firedox Extensions Everyone Needs!

Ask the eConsultant - Firefox Extensions List:

Top 20 Firefox Extensions List



Add Bookmark Here - A convenient way to add bookmarks.

Auto Copy - Select text and it's automaticaly copied to the clipboard.

BetterSearch - An extension for Firefox which enhances Google (all international flavours, too), MSN Search, Yahoo Search, A9, Answers.com, AllTheWeb, del.icio.us bookmarks and Simpy.com by adding previews (thumbnails) and Amazon product images and info (type, price, rating) as well as "Open in New Window", "Site Info", "Wayback Machine" links and a Quick Preview feature to the search results. Supports anonymization of all Alexa.com thumbnail calls. Until v1.7, BetterSearch was named McSearchPreview.

BlogThis - The "There's more than 26 letters?" version, where I realize that I'm not properly escaping things to make the trip to Blogger.

Bookmark All - Bookmark all opening tabs quickly.

Bookmarks Synchronizer - Bookmarks Synchronizer is a Mozilla Firefox extension that let you connect to an FTP/WebDAV server and synchronize your bookmarks that are stored in an XML file.

Download Manager Tweak - A modification of the Firefox download manager that changes its appearance and allows it to be opened in a separate window, a new tab, or the sidebar.

Flat Bookmark Editing - Edit bookmarks in the bookmark manager, without opening the properties window.

Favorites Converter (export) - From Bookmarks To Favorites.

Googlebar - Google toolbar for Firefox, with many of the features of the IE version. Major new release.

Linky - Linky will increase your power to handle links. Open/download/validate links and pictures in tabs or windows.

Magpie - Magpie is a set of tools that makes saving media from web pages easier - you can save all media of a specific type linked from a web page, save all tabs following the current tab, etc to time stamped folders.

Open link in... - Adds context menu items for opening links and images in a new background tab (or foreground tab if your tabs normally open in the background), in a new background or foreground window, and in the current tab. Includes an option to gather menu items into a submenu.

PDF Download - Allows to choose whether you want to view a PDF file inside the browser (as PDF or HTML) or you want to download it!

SessionSaver - SessionSaver restores your browser -exactly- as you left it, every startup, every time. Not even a crash will phase it. Windows, tabs, even things you were typing -- they're all saved.

Sort Bookmarks - This extension sorts your bookmarks alphabetically.

SyncMarks - Synchronizes your bookmarks with various targets, including HTML, XML, and the Favorites directory.

Tabbrowser Preferences - Enables enhanced control for some aspects of tabbed browsing.

GreaseMonkey Script

GreaseMonkey User Scripts List


Ask the eConsultant - Improve Your Google PageRank

Thursday, June 09, 2005
Ask the eConsultant - Improve Your Google PageRank

Ask the eConsultant - Improve Your Google PageRank

1. Valid Code
2. Title Pages Properly
3. Tags - Name and Keyword
4. Sitemap
5. CSS Content and Navigation Properly
6. Read up Google Information for Webmasters
7. Add Site URL to Google
8. Unique Content
9. Keywords
10. Inbound links from other relevant Sites
11. Inbound links from Blogs
12. Blogger
13. Pay-Per-Click
14. Google Sitemap Beta
15. Avoid SEO Services

House carved to appear made of books


Amazing house ...

Livio De Marchi

Can you imagine a house made out of books? A house in which even the table, the chairs and the bed seem to have been made of pages to turn and bound covers? You might say that this is a dream turned into reality by Livio De Marchi!

Best Tool For the Job - Two Great Uses for PostIt Notes


Two great ideas for PostIt Notes.

Best Tool For the Job - Two Great Uses for PostIt Notes

Two Great Uses for PostIt Notes



1. Task focus tool. Before I sit down at the computer at home I take a sticky note and write on it what I plan to accomplish in that sitting.

2. Goal keeping tool. I've decided to write my goals, along with a very basic estimate of my progress every morning on a sticky note and stick them on the most recently used page in my pocket Moleskine notebook. Each time I open it, I'm reminded of my goals.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Rivals spur men to produce better sperm


Rivals spur men to produce better sperm - Breaking News | Print | New Scientist:

Rivals spur men to produce better sperm


Men who view pornographic images of two men and a woman produce better-quality sperm than men viewing pornographic images of just women, an Australian study reveals.

The finding suggests that humans may be capable of subconsciously increasing semen quality when faced with the possibility that their sperm will have to outrun those of other men in a woman�s reproductive tract.

Celebrities Playing Table Tennis


Celebrities Playing Table Tennis

Chen Shaofeng paints his subjects while they paint him


Chen Shaofeng paints his subjects while they paint him

Armstrong stunned by Botero victory


Armstrong is playing the last poker game for the 7th TDF.

IOL: Armstrong stunned by Botero victory:

Armstrong stunned by Botero victory

Roanne, France - Lance Armstrong completed what he considered his first real test for the upcoming Tour de France by finishing third in the 47km time trial of the Dauphine Libere's third stage on Wednesday.

The race lead went to Gerolsteiner's Levi Leipheimer, who took over from Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin of the AG2R team but lost out on winning the race against the clock by just 01sec to Colombia's Santiago Botero.

The 33-year-old Armstrong finished behind the former world time trial champion from Medellin in what was considered a pre-Tour de France battle between some of the possible contenders for the yellow jersey.



Floyd Landis - Botero's teamate at Phonak - took fourth place ahead of Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov, of T-Mobile.

Armstrong admitted it had been a hard slog
It meant three Americans finished in the top five behind South American winner Botero, and two of those - Leipheimer and Landis - were former members of Armstrong's former team, US Postal.

The time trial course featured only one climb, a 3.5km ascent at an average of six percent, although 155 riders had to contend with a strong headwind for the rest of the way.

Armstrong admitted it had been a hard slog, and that was before he knew he had finished well behind Botero.

"I started fast and hard. It was difficult. There was a climb then a downhill with a headwind too so it was very difficult to pedal in the downhill sections," said Armstrong.

"It was 100 percent effort all the way, but that's okay. Santiago Botero is a specialist. He rides good."

Botero, the 2002 world champion who is only beginning to regain his form after a barren couple of years at the T-Mobile team, stunned the field by posting a time of 1hr 00min 06secs.

Armstrong then came home with a deficit of 26secs to the 32-year-old while Leipheimer finished moments later.

Armstrong appears to be on form for his upcoming challenge on the Tour de France on July 2-24, and said he was not too disappointed with his efforts, which for the past six years have been handy in him winning the yellow jersey.

"I'm not overwhelmingly pleased but not too disappointed. I'm on schedule (for the Tour)," he added.

"I'm better than I was at the Tour of Georgia. I'm more comfortable on the bike. My position is better and my cadence is better.

"Today wasn't perfect but the overall sensation is good."

Still unaware of Botero's time, Armstrong added: "I was six seconds behind Botero at the second checkpoint but if I was 30

seconds behind him at the finish line then that would be a little disappointing."

Botero's convincing finish might prove worrying to Armstrong on paper, although the Colombian said his yellow jersey aims this July were minimal.

"My main objective for the Tour is to win stages, and the time trial of course," said the Colombian, who explained his lack of results in the past two years - and the suspicions which have followed his recent resurgence - by a combination of patience and help.

"I can understand people might have suspicions about me. I'm in the public eye and people are entitled to have their opinions, even suppositions.

"But all I can do is show what I can do on the bike. It's been a difficult two years for me but thanks to patience and support from my family and friends I feel back on top of things."

Leipheimer, who finished third on the Tour of Spain a few years ago, admitted it will be a hard slog to the finish on Sunday, beginning with the 182km fourth stage which climbs to the summit of Mont Ventoux.

"I'm not putting any pressure on myself, it's day by day for me," said Leipheimer, who is nonetheless in the running for a shot at the Tour de France podium. - Sapa-AFP

FlckrFind - The Innuendo Pool


Flickr: The Innuendo Pool

IOL: Armstrong ready for his day of reckoning


IOL: Armstrong ready for his day of reckoning

Armstrong ready for his day of reckoning

Chauffailles - Lance Armstrong admitted that Wednesday's 47km time trial on the Dauphine Libere would be his first big test ahead of his bid for a seventh consecutive yellow jersey on the Tour de France.

Armstrong, a two-time winner of the Dauphine, is using the week-long stage race as a crucial preparation for next month's Tour - which will be his final race before retiring from the sport.

The American finished with the main peloton more than three minutes behind four glory-seeking Frenchmen on Tuesday's 187km stage from Givors to here which robbed his Discovery Channel team-mate George Hincapie of the race lead.

FlckrFind - The Crappy Bootleg DVD covers Pool


Flickr: The Crappy Bootleg DVD covers Pool

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Molecular Expressions Photo Gallery: Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream - Apple Pie Yogurt


Take a look at microscopic shot of ice-cream.

Molecular Expressions Photo Gallery: Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream - Apple Pie Yogurt

Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison - Photography


Surreal landscape photography.
Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison

FlickrFind - Least Wanted


Flickr: Photos from Least Wanted

Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons


Every IT project manager must read this article.

IGDA - Articles - Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons:

Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons



Lesson One, then, is this: Productivity varies over the course of the workday, with the greatest productivity occurring in the first four to six hours. After enough hours, productivity approaches zero; eventually it becomes negative.

Lesson Two, then is this: Productivity is hard to quantify for knowledge workers.

Lesson Three is this: five-day weeks of eight-hour days maximize long-term output in every industry that has been studied over the past century. What makes us think that our industry is somehow exempt from this rule?

Lesson Four is this: At 60 hours per week, the loss of productivity caused by working longer hours overwhelms the extra hours worked within a couple of months.

Lesson Five is this: Continuous work reduces cognitive function 25% for every 24 hours. Multiple consecutive overnighters have a severe cumulative effect.

Lesson Six is this: Error rates climb with hours worked and especially with loss of sleep . Eventually the odds catch up with you, and catastrophe occurs. When schedules are tight and budgets are big, is this a risk you can really afford to take?

FlckrFind - Apple Home Page


Apple Home Page - a photoset on Flickr:

Publisher pushes textbook ads


It's a mAD mAD mAd world.

TheStar.com - Publisher pushes textbook ads:

Publisher pushes textbook ads
McGraw-Hill targets students
Critics warn plan could backfire

RICK WESTHEAD
BUSINESS REPORTER

The first thing Tamy Zubyk sees when she wakes up and peels the curtains back in her Ryerson University dormitory room is the sea of flashing, dazzling billboards that pepper Toronto's downtown skyline.

From then on, the 21-year-old says she spends the rest of her day being targeted by ads in subways, on storefronts � even in the women's washrooms at Ryerson, which feature ads alongside hand dryers and on the inside of the toilet stall doors. The classroom is one of the few advertising-free zones for Zubyk and Canada's other 785,000 university and college students.

Perhaps not for long.

For the past several months, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., one of the country's largest publishers of university textbooks, has been quietly trying to coax companies into buying advertising space in their texts.

'Reach a hard to get target group where they spend all their parents' money,' says a McGraw-Hill brochure touting its planned ads. 'Do you really think 18-24 year olds see those on-campus magazine ads? Do you really think they could miss an ad that is placed in a very well-respected textbook?'

The Whitby-based publisher, which has made presentations about its prospective textbook ads to more than a dozen advertising agencies, says in its brochure that ads can be purchased nationally or regionally, and 'can be so targeted, you can even buy a specific major.

'We've never offered this before and we'll only offer it to the right organizations,' McGraw-Hill's brochure says. The company plans initially to charge as much as $1.40 per book, and the ads would be inserts, instead of being placed permanently alongside text.

Several media planners whose companies weren't involved in the ad push said McG

FlickrFind : Bookbinding


Bookbinding - a photoset on Flickr

Tin Million Uses


Make some art out of Altoids tin and Enter the contest ...
Tin Million Uses

Whitman Image Gallery


Uncle Walt or WW (as called in Dead Poets Society)

Whitman Image Gallery

Supreme Court Rejects Lexmark's Petition


Lexmark's shameless use of DCMA should come to an end now. Someday the DCMA itself should come to an end.

Supreme Court Rejects Lexmark's Petition

Supreme Court Rejects Lexmark's Petition
Monday June 6, 8:53 am ET

SANFORD, N.C., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Supreme Court has rejected Lexmark's petition for certiorari, upholding Static Control's position against the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright issues raised by Lexmark in connection with Static Control's sale of Lexmark compatible chips.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030305/CHW018LOGO )

The latest ruling marks the fifth straight victory for North Carolina- based Static Control Components Inc. and the end of Lexmark's attempts to use the DMCA to create a monopoly in aftermarket supplies. Static Control now offers the only Lexmark compatible chips that have been cleared by the courts under the DMCA or copyright.

In October, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, overturned a preliminary injunction banning the sale of Smartek replacement chips by Static Control Components for the Lexmark cartridges based upon Lexmark's claims under the DMCA and copyright. The 6th Circuit opinion turned, in part, on the design of the Static Control chips.

Lexmark appealed to the full body of the 6th Circuit to rehear the case, and that request was denied in February 2005.

Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena


Check out various optical illusions and you'll be surprised how your eyes and brain work!

Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena:

These pages demonstrate visual phenomena, called "optical illusions" or "visual illusions". The latter is more appropriate, because most effects have their basis in the visual pathway, not in the optics of the eye. I selected these based on relative novelty and interactivity. I will expand the explanations when I find the time, to the degree that these phenomena are really understood. Any nice and thoughtful comment welcome.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Maxtor Expands Hard Drive Capacity to Half a Terabyte


All your music and movies on one disk!

Maxtor Expands Hard Drive Capacity to Half a Terabyte


Hard Disk Drive Giant Pairs Industry-Leading Capacity with Next Generation Features MILPITAS, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Maxtor Corporation (NYSE: MXO), a worldwide leader in hard disk drives and consumer storage products, announced today that the company will be shipping its next- generation 3.5-inch 7200RPM 3.0Gb SATA and ATA 133 hard drives with capacity points up to 500GB in the third quarter of this year. The new capacity will span the company's line of award-winning products, including Maxtor(R) QuickView(R) (consumer electronics -- DVR/STBs, DVD/HDD combo devices), MaXLine(R) (enterprise applications), DiamondMax(R) (desktop), Maxtor Shared Storage(TM) (easy add-on storage for a home network) and Maxtor OneTouch(TM) (simple external storage and backup) brand hard drives.

Boycott Dilbert


A few nanoseconds before someone start the Boycott Dilbert movement.

BSA Engineers

As an engineer like you, Dilbert was trained to think through the consequences of an action. He grasps the connection between protection of intellectual property and the motivation to innovate and create. Engineers, like software developers, want their work product to be respected, not copied.

Mission to build a simulated brain begins


IBM ti make "Blue Brain"

Mission to build a simulated brain begins - Breaking News | Print | New Scientist:

Mission to build a simulated brain begins


An effort to create the first computer simulation of the entire human brain, right down to the molecular level, was launched on Monday.

The �Blue Brain� project, a collaboration between IBM and a Swiss university team, will involve building a custom-made supercomputer based on IBM�s Blue Gene design.

The hope is that the virtual brain will help shed light on some aspects of human cognition, such as perception, memory and perhaps even consciousness.

It will be the first time humans will be able to observe the electrical code our brains use to represent the world, and to do so in real time, says Henry Markram, director of Brain and Mind Institute at the Ecole Polytecnique F�d�rale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

It may also help in understanding how certain malfunctions of the brain�s �microcircuits� could cause psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and depression, he says.

Until now this sort of undertaking would not be possible because the processing power and the scientific knowledge of how the brain is wired simply was not there, says Charles Peck, IBM�s lead researcher on the project.

�But there has been a convergence of the biological data and the computational resources,� he says. Efforts to map the brain�s circuits and the development of the Blue Gene supercomputer, which has a peak processing power of at least 22.8 teraflops, now make this possible.

Monster Engine


Artists's rendition of children's artwork.

Dave Devries's Monster Engine

Flickr : Episode III: Pirate DVD


Episode III: Pirate DVD - a photoset on Flickr:

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Laugh out loud to burn a few calories


Eat healthy *and* laugh ... there are better ways to lose weight.

Laugh out loud to burn a few calories
Scientists find energy produced by laughter can lead to weight loss

ATHENS, Greece - If you want to burn a few extra calories, laugh.

It�s no match for running, cycling or pumping iron but scientists said on Saturday laughing out loud for 10 to 15 minutes a day burns between 10 and 40 calories, the amount in a small piece of chocolate, depending on a person�s body weight.

�We calculated that this is equal to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) a year if you do it every day,� Dr. Maciej Buchowski, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told an obesity conference on Saturday.

Everyday apples pack antioxidant punch


Children have been saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" for a long long time.

MSNBC - Everyday apples pack antioxidant punch
"Everyday apples pack antioxidant punch
Red Delicious, Northern Spy most potent, study finds
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:51 p.m. ET June 5, 2005

CONCORD, N.H. - America�s most common apple also may be its most potent. Just don�t skimp on the skin.

A Canadian government study that measured the levels of antioxidants in eight varieties of apples found that Red Delicious contain the highest concentrations of the health enhancing chemicals.

And to get the most bang for your bite, be sure to eat the peel.

The skin of Red Delicious apples � the most common variety grown in the United States � contains over six times more antioxidant activity than the flesh, according to researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

But don�t swear off other varieties just yet."

The Cardster PDA


Gadgetize - gadgets and gizmos for reals: The Cardster PDA: "I use 2x3.5 inch business card stock for my cards. My writing is fairly clear, so I don't have a hard time with less space, and they're still readable at a glance. Besides the obvious size difference, there are a number of other advantages:"

Bird Watchers Guide


Flickr: Bird Watchers Guide: "Bird Watchers Guide"

Music from TV Commercials


Name that tune in the commercial ... here's all the information.

Music from TV Commercials

Lost Dumas novel hits bookshelves


I recommend everyone read the Three Musketeers on this day.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Lost Dumas novel hits bookshelves: "Lost Dumas novel hits bookshelves

A newly discovered novel by Three Musketeers author Alexandre Dumas has gone on sale in France.

Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine was found in the National Library by Dumas expert Claude Schopp.

The now-completed work, which gives an account of the Battle of Trafalgar, has been described as 'indescribably brilliant' by scholars.

The work was first serialised in a French newspaper, but was not finished by Dumas when he died in 1870.

Mr Schopp added a new section to the novel, which acts as a conclusion to the 1,000 page book.

Nelson's death

The finished book closes the chapter on a trilogy of novels, the first of which was penned by Dumas in the late 1850s.

It tells the tale of the French knight, whose brothers were killed in the previous instalments, and finds himself caught between his royalist past and fascination with the Napoleonic empire.

The story gives a full account of the Battle of Trafalgar, which explains that the hero of the book was responsible for the death of Lord Nelson.

Nelson led the English fleet in its victory over the French and Spanish off the cape of Gibraltar in 1805, but died on board his flagship when he was hit by a bullet from an unknown French sniper."

Hack can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro Lite


Hack can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro Lite | The Register: "Hack can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro Lite"

German computer magazine C'T claims that by changing only 2 bytes from the file setupreg.hiv in Windows's XP Home kit, users can get access to certain functions only avalaible in Windows XP Professional, such as Remote Desktop, User management and enhanced security features.

C'T writes in its latest print issue (in German only) that you need to copy the root directory and the i386 directory of the WindowsXP CD to your harddisk, extract the Bootsector of your WindowsXP CD and change only 2 bytes in i386\Setupreg.hiv by using Regedit. In fact all you have to do is edit the binary key "default" and change "01" to "00" and "02" to "00" in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Homekey\ControlSet001\Services\setupdd, C'T claims.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Top 100 Largest newspapers by Circulation


1. Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan) 14,532,694
2. Asahi Shimbun (Japan) 12,601,375
3. Sichuan Ribao (China) 8,000,000
4. Mainichi Shimbun (Japan) 5,845,857
5. Bild (Germany) 5,674,400
6. Chunichi Shimbun (Japan) 4,323,144
7. Sun (England) 3,718,354
8. Renmin Ribao (China) 3,000,000
9. Sankei Shimbun (Japan) 2,890,835
10. Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Japan) 2,705,877
11. Gongren Ribao (China) 2,500,000
12. Daily Mail (England) 2,387,867
13. Daily Mirror (England) 2,339,001
14. Chosun Ilbo (South Korea) 2,225,000
15. Dong-A Ilbo (South Korea) 2,150,000
16. Hokkaido Shimbun (Japan) 1,962,666
17. Eleftherotypia (Greece) 1,858,316
18. Xin Min Wan Bao (China) 1,750,000
19. Wall Street Journal (United States) 1,740,450
20. Yangcheng Wanbao (China) 1,730,000

More ...

http://www.newspaperindex.com/blog/2005/06/03/100-largest-newspaper-by-circulation

BBC - Beethoven Downloads


Make it a habit to listen to Beethoven every day. Free MP3s from the BBC. What's your excuse ?!

BBC - Radio 3 - Beethoven Experience - downloads: "Download all nine of Beethoven's symphonies here the day after they are broadcast. All the symphonies are performed by BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. "

Men charged over plot to sell new Potter novel


Children to be tried for "inability to wait for the new book" !

MSNBC - Men charged over plot to sell new Potter novel: "Men charged over plot to sell new Potter novel
2 Britons charged with firearms offenses, handling stolen book
Updated: 10:21 a.m. ET June 4, 2005

LONDON - Two British men were charged on Saturday with firearms offenses after allegedly trying to sell a stolen copy of the new Harry Potter book to a tabloid newspaper before its release.

Police were called to an address in Kettering in central England on Friday after reports of a shot being fired.

The Sun newspaper said the incident came as the men tried to sell one of its reporters a stolen copy of �Harry Potter And the Half-Blood Prince� for 50,000 pounds ($90,880)."

Friday, June 03, 2005

Krispy Kreme Celebrates Doughnut Day


Free 200-300 Calories and 12-18grams of Fat ! Free !! Mmmm Mmm!

Krispy Kreme Celebrates Doughnut Day: "Krispy Kreme Celebrates Doughnut Day
Wednesday June 1, 6:47 am ET
Stop by Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut of your choice on Friday, June 3rd, 2005

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Could there be a sweeter day of the year? On Friday, June 3rd, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD - News) celebrates National Doughnut Day by offering customers a free doughnut of their choice in participating stores throughout the U.S."

Scientists create 'trust potion'


BBC NEWS | Health | Scientists create 'trust potion': "Scientists create 'trust potion'

A key hormone helps determine whether we will trust lovers, friends or business contacts, scientists claim.

Exposure to an oxytocin 'potion' led people to be more trusting, tests by University of Zurich researchers found.

They report in the journal Nature that the finding could help people with conditions such as autism, where relating to others can be a problem.

But one expert warned it could be misused by politicians who want to persuade more people to back them."

Oxytocin is a molecule produced naturally in the hypothalamus area of the brain which regulates a variety of physiological processes, including emotion.

It also acts on other brain regions whose function is associated with emotional and social behaviours, such as the amygdala.

And animal studies have shown oxytocin is linked to bonding between males and females and mother-infant bonding.

Reaping rewards

The Swiss and American team of researchers suspected the same effect may occur in humans and invited 58 people to take part in a "trust test".

The participants in the study played a game, in which they were split into "investors" and "trustees". The investors were then given credits and told they could choose whether to hand over zero, four, eight or 12 credits to their assigned trustee.

If the investor showed trust, the total amount which could be distributed between the two increased, but the trustee initially reaped all the reward.

It was then up to them to decide if they would honour the investor's trust by sharing the profit equally - or if they would keep the lot.

At the end of the game, the credits were translated into real money, meaning both participants had a selfish financial incentive.

Investors and trustees were either given oxytocin via a nasal spray, or a dummy, or placebo, version.

Of 29 investors who were given oxytocin, 13 (45%) displayed "maximal trust" by choosing to invest highly, compared with six (21%) of the 29 investors who were given the dummy spray.

Oxytocin did not change the behaviour of trustees.

In addition, when trustees were replaced by a computer, the oxytocin effect was no longer seen on the investors.

Possible 'abuses'

The researchers, led by Dr Ernest Fehr, say this suggests the chemical promotes social interaction, rather than simply encouraging people to take risks.

And they say it appears to over-ride obstacles such as the fear of being betrayed.

Writing in Nature, the team says: "Oxytoxin does not increase the general inclination to behave prosaically. Rather, oxytocin specifically affects the trusting behaviour of investors."

They suggest this is because people in the position of "investors" have to take the first step.

The scientists say their findings could potentially be used to help people with conditions such as social phobia and autism which can be linked to persistent fear and avoiding social situations.

"Our results might lead to fertile research on the role of oxytocin in several mental health disorders with major public health significance."

In the same journal, Dr Antonio Damasio of the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, US, said some might fear the findings could be used by those trying to gain people's trust.

"Some may worry about the prospect that political operators will generously spray the crowd with oxytocin at rallies of their candidates.

"The scenario may be rather too close to reality for comfort, but those with such fears should note that current marketing techniques - for political and other products - may well exert their effects through the natural release of molecules such as oxytocin in response to well-crafted stimuli.

"Civic alarm at such abuses should have started long before this study."

Ask the eConsultant - The 10-Step Scrabble Study Plan

Thursday, June 02, 2005
1. All the 2-letter words

2. All the 3-letter-words

3. The vowel dumps 2-letter, 3-letter, 4-letter, 5-letter words

4. All 4-letter J , Q , X , Z words

5. All the 4-letter words

6. Stems 1-10 (SATINE, SATIRE, etc.) 7s

7. All 5-letter J , Q , X , Z words

8. Stems 11-100 7s

9. Stems 1-10 8s

10. All the 5-letter-words (alphagrams)

80 Years of The New Yorker to Be Offered in DVD


One of the best literary and cartoon magazines - on DVD !

80 Years of The New Yorker to Be Offered in Disc Form - New York Times

80 Years of The New Yorker to Be Offered in Disc Form

The New Yorker, the weekly magazine that started as "a hectic book of gossip, cartoons and facetiae," as Louis Menand once wrote, and has evolved into a citadel of narrative nonfiction and investigative reporting, will publish its entire 80-year archives on searchable computer discs this fall.

The eight-disc "Complete New Yorker" is to be available this fall.

The collection, titled "The Complete New Yorker," will consist of eight DVD's containing high-resolution digital images of every page of the 4,109 issues of the magazine from February 1925 through the 80th anniversary issue, published last February. Included on the discs will be "every cover, every piece of writing, every drawing, listing, newsbreak, poem and advertisement," David Remnick, editor of the magazine, has written in an introduction to the collection.

Legal Downloads up; Illegal Downloads up; 1:10 Ratio


Some people are getting used to paying for songs ... but for every song bought legally, 10 are downloaded for free.

March 2005
Legal downloads: 25.9 million
Illegal Downloads: 242 million

Macworld UK - Illegal downloads on the up
Illegal downloads on the up
By Macworld staff
The number of people buying music online has doubled since last year, but illegal downloads are also on the up.