November 2009

Smelly Washers

Posted Mon, 11/30/2009 - 17:27 by admin

A washing machine, clothes washer, or simply washer, is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets. The term is mostly applied only to machines that use water as the primary cleaning solution, as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids, and is performed by specialist businesses) or even ultrasonic cleaners.

For particularly dirty clothing covered with mud or dirt, it was necessary to constantly rub and flex the cloth to break apart solids and help the soap penetrate through thick, dry, or sticky layers of soil on the cloth. At first this was done by pounding or rubbing the clothing with rocks in a river, and later developed into the corrugated wash board. In Roman times a fuller would whiten clothing by stomping on it in a bucket full of fermented urine.

http://www.nufreshnow.com/directions.html

NY paparazzo testifies in Parker-Broderick case

Posted Tue, 11/17/2009 - 11:05 by admin

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio – A paparazzo has testified that an Ohio police chief told him he had access to ultrasound photographs belonging to the woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
Justin Steffman of New York testified Tuesday in the trial of Barry Carpenter, the suspended chief of Martins Ferry, where surrogate Michelle Ross lived. Carpenter and Police Chief Chad Dojack from nearby Bridgeport are accused of scheming to sell items from Ross' home.
A special prosecutor has said Carpenter entered Ross' home in May and removed items that identified her as the surrogate.
Steffman says Dojack offered to sell him the surrogate's address and contact information for $1,000. He says Carpenter said he had access to the plaster cast and ultrasound photos.
Dojack faces trial in January.

Sarah Palin says presidency "not on my radar screen"

Posted Tue, 11/17/2009 - 09:35 by admin

CHICAGO (Reuters) –
Sarah Palin said a run for the White House in 2012 is "not on my radar screen right now" as the Republican carefully did not close the door to a possible candidacy in an interview that launched her big book tour.

Palin spoke to TV talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey as she began the roll-out to her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." Palin made clear she wanted to concentrate on the 2010 congressional elections in which Republicans hope to make inroads into Democratic majorities in the U.S. Congress.

"I'm concentrating on 2010 and making sure that we have issues to tackle," Palin said in the interview taped last week and broadcast on Monday. "I don't know what I'm going to be doing in 2012. (Running for president is) not on my radar screen right now."

The former Alaska governor and unsuccessful 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, who is popular among many U.S. conservatives, has embarked on a campaign-style media tour to promote Tuesday's release of her book.

Her appearance on Winfrey's program, one of the most watched daytime shows on U.S. television, comes as political insiders watch her every move to see if she may launch a bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Winfrey actively supported Democrat Barack Obama during last year's campaign.

Palin is to hit a dozen states during a book tour that will take her mostly to smaller cities. The initial printing of 1.5 million copies promises the memoir written with a ghost writer will be an instant best-seller.

If Palin is to seek higher office, she'll have to overcome some political headwinds.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 60 percent of those polled said Palin was not qualified to serve as president and 52 percent viewed her in unfavorable terms. Among Republicans, however, her positive rating was 76 percent.

The interview with Winfrey was interspersed with home video showing Palin playing with her grandson Tripp, exercising in shorts, and staying out of her daughter's way during a Halloween trick-or-treating excursion in their hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.

A self-styled "hockey mom" during the 2008 campaign, Palin directed her at-times tart tongue at CBS TV anchorwoman Katie Couric and Levi Johnston, who fathered a child out-of-wedlock with Palin's daughter Bristol and has since become a Palin critic.

'NEANDERTHAL TRIBE'

Palin said Couric's questions during their series of interviews during the campaign -- which critics said exposed Palin's lack of intellectual depth -- had "annoyed" her and therefore left the perception she was "unqualified."

"I thought she was asking about this Neanderthal tribe up there in Alaska," Palin said of Couric's questions about which newspapers and magazines she regularly read.

Palin recalled being confronted by Couric backstage following a thrilling campaign stop.

"There's the perky one, with the microphone, with the questions," Palin said disparagingly.

"You're pretty perky, too," Winfrey remarked.

Asked about Johnston, Palin said she did not want to respond to his criticisms, which have included comments that she is a poor parent and not getting along with husband Todd.

"We don't want to mess up the gig he's doing: aspiring porn," Palin cracked, referring to his appearance in Playgirl, an online magazine that features nude men. "I also saw I didn't go to hockey games. There are so many untruths."

Levi is still welcome to come to dinner next week for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday with the Palins, she added. "He's family."

(Editing by Will Dunham and Steve Holland)

Target profit up, cautious on fourth quarter

Posted Tue, 11/17/2009 - 06:53 by admin

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) –
Target Corp (TGT.N) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as traffic in its stores improved and shoppers purchased more than just necessities, like food or medicine.

It broke a streak of eight consecutive declines in quarterly profit for the No 2 U.S. discount retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N).

But Target said it was cautious about its fourth-quarter performance.

Profit in its third quarter that ended October 31, rose to $436 million, or 58 cents per share, from $369 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 50 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 1.4 percent to $14.79 billion, while sales at stores open at least a year, a key retail gauge known as same-store sales, fell 1.6 percent.

Its shares rose to $50.61 in premarket trading after closing on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at $50.29.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Transvestites on trial for theft

Posted Tue, 11/03/2009 - 01:59 by admin

SHANGHAI (Reuters) –
Five Filipino transvestites have gone on trial in Shanghai, accused of drugging men with adulterated foods before robbing them in a city with a reputation for an adventurous nightlife.

Prosecutors told a Shanghai court on Tuesday the five men "dressed as women and, after leading the victims into taxis or hotel rooms, induced them to eat chocolate and other foods laced with sleeping drugs," the Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The men then robbed their victims, taking mobile phones, credit cards, and a Rolex watch. They then uses the cards to buy perfume and gold, the prosecutors said.

The five men aged from 26 to 30 were accused of committing the crimes three times from late last year to February, and were detained by police in March. Local newspaper reports said the goods stolen were worth 340,000 yuan ($49,780).

The men pleaded guilty to the charges, and "expressed remorse for the victims, the Chinese government, their own country and their families," added the Legal Daily.

The court will give a verdict at a later date, the news reports said.

(Writing by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Miral Fahmy)

Many who stormed US embassy now oppose Iran regime

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 23:59 by admin

TEHRAN (AFP) –
Many of the Iranians who led the storming of the US embassy in Tehran 30 years ago, inspired by the newly-created Islamic Republic, have become severe critics of the regime they helped to establish.

The students who captured the city centre compound of "The Great Satan" and who took more than 50 US diplomats hostage said they acted in response to Washington's refusal to hand over deposed shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

They feared a repetition of US interference such as the CIA-organised coup in 1953 that overthrew nationalist prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

Chants of "Death to America" reverberated through the streets of Tehran as Iranian masses sang the praises of the daring move against the embassy. Related article: Decades of bad blood

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic regime, dubbed the building's capture a "second revolution."

But many leading participants such as Massoumeh Ebtekar, Abbas Abdi and Mohsen Mirdamadi have since developed into reformists highly critical of the conservative government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mirdamadi, who played a key role in the embassy capture on November 4 1979, went on to head the influential national security and foreign policy committee of Iran's majlis (parliament).

He is now in prison accused of trying to topple the government.

Abdi too has served time in an Iranian jail for his work on opinion polls saying that Iranians want diplomatic relations with the United States.

Many attribute the failure of Jimmy Carter, US Democratic president from 1977 to 1981, to win a second term in office to his mismanagement of the hostage crisis when a failed rescue operation led to the crash of two aircraft and the deaths of eight American servicemen.

The 52 staff were released only in January 1981 following 444 days in captivity, just moments after Republican Ronald Reagan replaced Carter in the White House.

Washington broke off official relations during the crisis, a rupture that has yet to be healed. Iran still lauds the seizure as a revolutionary act while Washington condemns it as an abuse of human rights.

Nowadays the annual event opposite the former US embassy, known locally as the "Den of Spies," continues to draw a massive crowd, composed mainly of schoolchildren, since the day is also known as "student day."

They listen dutifully to a keynote speaker designated by the government, often someone who was not involved in the hostage-taking.

Iranian state-run television still broadcasts footage of the radical students parading the US diplomats blindfolded around the compound and burning the American flag.

The embassy building, now under the control of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, is used as an educational centre where occasional exhibitions highlight the "crimes" of the United States.

This year the annual anti-US day could also be marked by street protests against Ahmadinejad, whose disputed re-election on June 12 triggered the worst political crisis in the Islamic Republic's history.

Ahmadinejad's main rivals have rejected what they say is his "fraudulent victory" and their supporters have demonstrated in vast numbers against the hardliner.

Melitta Coffee Pods

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 20:38 by admin

Melitta Coffee Pods

When coffee reached North America during the colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe. During the Revolutionary War, however, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was partly due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants. After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the American Civil War together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States.

Coffee may also be brewed by steeping in a device such as a French press (also known as a cafetière). Ground coffee and hot water are combined in a coffee press and left to brew for a few minutes. A plunger is then depressed to separate the coffee grounds, which remain at the bottom of the container. Because the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the water, all the coffee oils remain in the beverage, making it stronger and leaving more sediment than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine.[57]

High Blood Pressure Likely in Alzheimer's Offspring (HealthDay)

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 20:20 by admin

MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged adults whose
parents have Alzheimer's disease are at increased risk for high blood
pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation -- all
of which may be associated with later development of Alzheimer's
disease.

That's the finding of a study by researchers in the Netherlands who
compared 206 adults in 92 families with a parental history of Alzheimer's
and 200 adults in 97 families with no parental history of the disease.

The team at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam measured the
participants' blood pressure, analyzed blood samples for genetic
characteristics, cholesterol levels and levels of pro-inflammatory
proteins called cytokines, and collected medical history and details about
diet, exercise and stress levels.

The study found that 47 percent of adults with Alzheimer's-afflicted
parents carried the gene (APOE e4) known to be associated with the
disease, compared with 21 percent of those with no family history of
Alzheimer's. Those with a family history had higher blood pressure
readings, signs of arterial disease and higher levels of several different
cytokines.

High blood cholesterol and glucose levels were not associated with
parental Alzheimer's disease, according to the study, which is published
in the November issue of the journal Archives of General
Psychiatry.

"Our study shows that high blood pressure and an innate
pro-inflammatory cytokine response in middle age significantly contribute
to Alzheimer's disease," wrote Dr. Eric van Exel and colleagues. "As these
risk factors cluster in families, it is important to realize that early
interventions could prevent late-onset Alzheimer's disease. One could
argue for a high-risk prevention strategy by identifying the offspring of
patients with Alzheimer's disease, screening them for hypertension and
vascular factors and implementing various (non)pharmacological health
measures."

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about Alzheimer's disease.

LLDA Deluxe Lokk Latch

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 19:41 by admin

In the United States, the earliest settlers claimed land by simply fencing it in. Later, as the American government formed, unsettled land became technically owned by the government and programs to register land ownership developed, usually making raw land available for low prices or for free, if the owner improved the property, including the construction of fences.

Ownership of the fence varies. In some parts of the country all boundaries are shared; in other parts of the country you may own the boundary on the left-hand or right-hand side, however, only the title deeds can be depended on to tell you which side is yours. (A 'T' symbol indicates who is the owner). It used to be normal for the cladding to be on the non-owners side (enabling access to the posts for the owner when repairs need doing), but increasingly this cannot be depended on.

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Mouse Pads

Posted Mon, 11/02/2009 - 17:29 by admin

According to Kelley and also stated by Alex Pang, Kelley designed the first mousepad a year later, in 1969.

Optical mice have the problem of not working well on transparent or reflective surfaces (such as glass or highly polished wood). These surfaces, which often include desk and table surfaces, cause jitter and loss of tracking on the display pointer as the mouse moves over these reflective spots. The use of mousepads with precision surfaces eliminates spot jitter effects of modern optical mice.

Mouse Pads