tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74740151266354754482024-03-05T07:38:51.881-08:00About alLfor allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-26627665199098462182011-02-13T23:31:00.000-08:002011-02-13T23:33:04.903-08:00<div style="text-align: justify;">Nepal is a country in South Asia.Nepal is a landlocked country between India and China.Kathmandu is the capital and largest city of Nepal.Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture.the deepest in the world canyon Kali Gandaki.The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten. Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass.There are a great many- out of all of the cities in a country, only one is the national capital.Certain areas of the southern flatlands have been declared as National.Nepal's real GDP at producer prices grew by 4.7 per cent.Most Hindus accept Buddha, even if they do not accept all Buddhist teachings.Many Nepali do not distinguish between Hinduism and Buddhism and follow both religious traditions.Nepal<br /> Officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolis.<br /><br />Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest, called Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft<br />above sea level. The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized.<br /><br />By some measures, Hinduism is practised by a larger majority of people in Nepal than in any other nation. Buddhism, though a minority faith in the country, is linked historically with Nepal as the birthplace of the Buddha. Many Nepali do not distinguish between Hinduism and Buddhism and follow both religious traditions. There are 3 different buddhist traditions: Himalayan Buddhism, Buddhism of Kathmandu Valley and also the Theravada Buddhism.<br /><br />A monarchy throughout most of its history, Nepal was ruled by the Shah dynasty of kings from 1768, when Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms. In 2006, however, a decade-long Civil War by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) along with several weeks of mass protests by all major political parties of Nepal culminated in a peace accord, and the ensuing elections for the constituent assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of the abdication of the last Nepali monarch Gyanendra Shah and the establishment of a federal democratic republic in 28 May 2008.[9] The first President of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav, was sworn in on 23 July 2008.<br /></div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-68647572612973724712011-01-30T23:47:00.001-08:002011-01-30T23:53:39.211-08:00Jesus<div align="justify">In the year 4 B.C., Rome was flourishing in the golden age of Caesar Augustus. Though not yet expanded to its fullest extent, the Empire included all the Mediterranean lands, including Palestine. Indeed, Palestine had been benefiting from the Pax Romana for more than half a century, and though the Jews had once or twice tried to throw off the Roman yoke, they had not succeeded.<br /><br />A proud and active people, they chafed under the rule of Roman Governors, but they were not unaware of their limitations, and at this time, probably more than any other, they were looking forward to the appearance among them of a miraculous king, a Messiah, who would free them from the bondage of Rome.<br />Such a king had been a part of Jewish religious belief for several centuries, for the Romans had not been the first foreign power to subjugate them. They held that one of their great prophets, Isaiah, had foretold the coming of such a king.<br />Isaiah had lived in the eighth century B.C. at the very time that the city of Rome was being founded, and he had foretold the subjugation of the Jews by Babylon, which occurred some two hundred years after his death. From the time of the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.) the Jews suffered from succeeding foreign conquerors, and during all this time they had consoled themselves with the hope of the Messiah.<br />In religion, the Jews had long been distinguished from most of their ancient contemporaries by believing in and worshipping one God, as compared with the many gods of the Greeks, the Romans and the Assyrians, for example. This God, Jehovah, was all-powerful, a jealous God who punished if his commands were not implicitly obeyed. The Jewish prophets presented world history as the moral judgment of God on mankind.<br />This conception of God naturally regulated the Jewish attitude to life. Jehovah demanded that Man should live in righteousness. Goodness is the road to God, and by the same road God sends happiness in exchange.<br />From this they developed the view that the exchange is not Man’s right, but comes to him by the favour of Jehovah, and that this favour can only be obtained by Man obeying God’s commands implicitly; that is, by serving God.<br />Jewish national life was controlled by these beliefs, and it is interesting to notice that throughout their long history of subjugation by foreign powers they struggled not for political freedom but for the right to worship in their own way. This right was almost always accorded to them.<br />In practising their religion they had gradually built up a strict code of religious observances, in which ritual and ceremonial played a great part. The central point, the focus, of the religion was the Temple in Jerusalem. The destruction of the Temple which happened several times in Jewish history was always regarded as the most severe of all punishments which God could inflict.<br />The Temple and the local synagogues were administered by the priests. The priests constituted a special class in the community, and for many centuries they were drawn from one clan only, the Levites, the office being passed down from father to son. About 500 B.C., when certain reforms were undertaken, a higher order of priests was introduced, with a high priest at the head of them. This higher order of priests administered the Temple, and had a far more powerful influence in the lives of the people than their political leaders.<br /><br /><br />To maintain this influence, they insisted on the strict observance of religious rites and festivals—the Law and the Prophets, as laid down in the Scriptures. The festivals punctuated the Jewish year to mark historical events, such as the Passover, which celebrated the exodus from bondage in Egypt, and so on. With the reforms of 500 B.C., however, a new festival was introduced. Called the Day of Atonement (the seeking of divine forgiveness for sins) and now familiarly known as Yom Kippur, it is thought to commemorate the day on which Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Tables of the Law and proclaimed forgiveness for worshipping the Golden Calf. (The story of this can be found in the Old Testament, the Book of Exodus chapter 32 and chapter 34.)<br />At the time of the great festivals, the priests required as many Jews as possible to make a pilgrimage to the Temple. Those who made such a pilgrimage and performed certain sacrifices when they reached the Temple could have a greater hope of forgiveness than those who did not.<br />These rules and regulations, like every other, were designed to give to the priests a greater power over the people than they might otherwise have achieved. It must be stressed that in their belief that Jehovah was the only One True God, the Jews held that all who did not worship Him could not hope for salvation; and that salvation could only come to the Jews if they obeyed the Law and the priests.<br />This, then, was the religious situation when in 4 B.C. there was born in the village of Bethlehem, about five miles south-west of Jerusalem, a boy who was given the common Jewish name, Jesus.<br />According to the accounts of the birth, life and teaching of Jesus contained in four short documents known as the Gospels “good news” the birth of the boy was accompanied by certain miraculous events.<br />His mother was Mary, wife of a carpenter called Joseph, who lived at Nazareth. Shortly before they were married, Mary had been visited by an angel who had told her that the Holy Ghost would come to her and she would conceive; and though she came to Joseph a virgin, she was actually pregnant when they were married.<br />Shortly before the birth of Mary’s baby was due, the Emperor Augustus decreed that a census of all the inhabitants of his Empire should be taken. For this purpose, every man was to return to his birthplace to be counted.<br />Joseph’s birthplace was Bethlehem, and he set out from Nazareth with his wife. When they arrived at Bethlehem, they found that all the public accommodation had already been taken and that the only place that could be offered them was a stable at the inn. Here the baby was born.<br />The birth was accompanied by a number of supernatural happenings: the appearance, to a party of local shepherds, of a choir of angels, and the arrival of wise men from the East who had been led to Bethlehem by a moving star. The latter had been told in dreams that a king was to be born in Bethlehem who would lead the Jews out of their present bondage, a declaration which they interpreted literally, though the actual meaning was symbolic that He would lead the Jews out of their rigid religious bondage to a state of spiritual salvation.<br />According to the author of Matthew’s gospel, Herod, the King of Judaea, also heard this news of the birth of a King. To avoid trouble in the future he first tried by a ruse to have the baby brought to him. But when Joseph heard that Herod was searching for the boy, he fled with his wife and the child to Egypt, and remained there until Herod died; while Herod, determined to rid himself of this threat to his throne, ordered the massacre of all the male children in Bethlehem who were two years and under, hoping thereby to include Jesus.<br />The next we hear of Jesus is on His achieving the status of manhood at the age of twelve. Following religious custom, Joseph went up to Jerusalem at feast-time to worship in the Temple. On the journey home, they found the boy missing, and on hurrying back to Jerusalem discovered Him in the Temple arguing with the theologians there.<br />When Joseph rebuked the boy for not staying with the family, Jesus replied, “Did you not realize that I must be about my Father’s business?” thereby demonstrating that from infancy He was conscious of having been sent into the world from God to accomplish some specific task.<br />For the next eighteen years, however, He lived in Nazareth in obscurity, working as a carpenter. After the death of Joseph it is probable that as head of the family He supported His mother and brothers and sisters.<br />When He was not quite thirty, His cousin John began to make a name for himself in Judaea as a prophet. John’s preaching foretold the coming of a saviour, of a Messiah, of the Messiah as preached by Isaiah five hundred years earlier.<br />It seems that Jesus realized now that John was referring to Him, and that He must begin the special work for which He had been born. So He went to John, and was baptized by His cousin in the river Jordan.<br />Gathering round Him a few young disciples, He began at Capernaum, on the Lake of Tiberias, in Galilee, a ministry of teaching and healing.<br />The main theme of His preaching was the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. In parables winch attracted both attention and curiosity, He described the nature of this kingdom or rule of God which He had come to initiate. At the same time by restoring the sick to health, by feeding the hungry and raising the dead to life, He demonstrated the divine mercy which was so different from the jealous and awful judgments which Jehovah passed on those who did not obey His commands.<br />The true God was a God of mercy and forgiveness; and His own role was that of the Saviour of mankind from the results of their sins.<br />The essence of His teaching is to be found in what we now call the Sermon on the Mount. Beginning with the nine Beatitudes (Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit, they that mourn, that seek righteousness, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the merciful and those who are persecuted for the faith) and including the Lord’s Prayer, the Sermon sets out clearly Christ’s moral code, which may be summed up as: Love your enemies, tolerance, honesty, simplicity, meekness.<br />This teaching, if not in direct conflict with the teaching of the priests, was so different from it and so appealing in its freshness of concept that God is Love that people were drawn to Him and collected in great crowds wherever He went. This naturally brought Him into collision with the religious authorities who recognized that if His influence spread it could mean the end of their own doctrinaire teaching and destroy the privileges which the ancient system granted them; in other words, it threatened their authority over the people.<br />From the early days of His ministry, therefore, the religious leaders determined to put Jesus to death.<br />For His part, Jesus recognized that only through death could He accomplish His task, the seed must fall into the ground and die in order to live.<br />He had always made a practice of going to Jerusalem for all the festivals, and visited the Temple for the Passover in the third year of His ministry He was conscious that the end was very near. By raising Lazarus from the dead and by cleansing the defiled Temple, He deliberately provoked the priests to action against Him.<br />Through the treachery of one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, He was quietly arrested after praying in the Garden of Gethsemane; an illegal trial was hurriedly held during the night; and on the morning of the Feast the religious authorities demanded that the Roman Procurator, Pontius Pilate, should authorize the crucifixion of their victim.<br />The Roman sense of justice at first rebelled against this application to have murder judicially approved and permitted, for Pilate had seen behind the arguments put forward by the religious authorities and had observed that they were not valid. However, when the High Priests threatened to denounce Pilate to his jealous and suspicious Emperor, Tiberius, Pilate agreed, though he made a show of refusing responsibility for the judgment. So Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary probably in A.D. 29 or 30.<br />This is the full extent of the historical life of Jesus as we know it. His disciples claimed, however, that after His body had been three days in the tomb, He rose again, and the Gospels give accounts of several appearances which He made to several of His followers. The last of these appearances occurred forty days after the crucifixion.<br />On this occasion He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were meeting together in Jerusalem. After talking with them for a time, He asked them to go out with Him; and He went with them as far as Bethany, two miles east of Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives. While He blessed them there, “he was taken up to heaven”.<br />Though the religious leaders imagined that with the death of Jesus they would remove the threat to their own authority, they quickly discovered that they were wrong.<br />Obeying Jesus’ command, His followers, after a short period of frightened disorganization, began to preach the faith which He had preached. It was the beginning of a mission which has lasted throughout the intervening two thousand years and which has spread to every corner of the world. No other religion has had so great an influence on the personal lives of so many people. Christians outnumber Hindus three to one, Muslims more than three to one and Buddhists four to one.<br />Christianity recognizes Man’s claim to a highest good, and promises blessings which constitute a full salvation for the individual. By his very nature, Man is conscious of his imperfections, especially in the realms of moral rectitude. Christianity offers release from the guilt and the penalties of sin for the individual, and holds out hope of final salvation for the individual. It is, in fact, this stress upon the individual’s relationship with God in which Christianity differs from other religions.<br />The principles of the Good Life as laid down by Jesus are without doubt the best rules which a man can follow to achieve the greatest spiritual fulfilment, whether he accepts Christianity as a faith, or whether he has no faith at all.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-90373212663644517082011-01-30T23:24:00.000-08:002011-01-30T23:39:38.734-08:00Buddha<div align="justify">In the year 563 B.C., the principal religion of India was Brahminism. Brahminism was a modified version of an older religion still, Vedism, whose “scriptures” are considered to have been the work of poets living between 2000 and 1000 B.C., and came into being round about the year 1000 B.C. as the result of the increasing number and the growing influence of the Brahmins, or priests.<br />Vedism was a religion which provided for the worship of a very-large numbers of gods, for, strictly speaking, every aspect of Indian life and every act performed by a man was considered to be religious, and had to be accompanied by a prayer of religious right. Nevertheless, all the different gods were regarded each as one aspect of the one Supreme Being.<br /><br />Vishnu with Lakshmi, on the serpent Ananta Shesha, as Brahma emerges from a lotus risen from Vishnu's navel<br />The gods of Vedism were chiefly personifications of natural objects and forces, and while Brahminism retained the concept of the one supreme God, the One All Brahma, worshipped in all his many forms, the great difference between the ancient religion and Brahminism was a striking one.<br />In Vedism the gods were worshipped, feared and conciliated by prayers and sacrifices; while in Brahminism they were considered to be controlled by the sacrifices offered or by hymns chanted by the Brahmins.<br />This was a very important distinction, and one that was chiefly responsible for the development of the religion, for, as will be seen, those who wielded the supreme power were no longer the gods, but the Brahmins who controlled the gods. On the proper performance of the Brahmins’ priestly duties everything, even the acts of the gods themselves, depended.<br />The principal teaching of the religion was that it was a Way of Life. The good man was the virtuous, upright, honest man, who achieved this state by the strict observance of religious rites and ceremonies. But the Brahmins also taught that these rites and ceremonies had to be performed according to stringent regulations, which were so intricate that only the priests could perform them properly and therefore effectively. So the ordinary man had to engage the services of a priest if he was to attain the Way of Life. The priest was absolutely essential as the channel of communication between men and the gods, and from this it followed that the priests attained a power scarcely before or since acquired by the priesthood of any religion.<br />This priestly superiority over ordinary men was established even more firmly by the introduction of a caste system, in which the priests represented the highest caste.<br />The teaching of Brahminism was based on two classes of religious literature, one regarded as inspired, the other as uninspired. The inspired literature embraces the Mantras, or Vedic hymns, and the Brahamanas. The latter are prose or liturgical treatises intended primarily as manuals for the Brahmins, and they lay principal stress on ritual, not, as do the Vedas, on theology and ethics.<br /><br />Adi Shankara Bhagavadpada, expounder of Advaita Vedanta and commentator (bhashya) on the Upanishads<br />Attached to the Brahamanas are theosophic discourses called Aranyakas, and also Upanishads. The Upanishads are collections of philosophical obiter dicta uttered by many men living at different times, and they constitute for Brahminists (and for modern Hindus) the principal authority in philosophical matters. They conceive Brahma, the Supreme Entity, as </div>(I) an absolute impersonal being,<br />(II) as the ground of being,<br />(III) as the personal God, the one creator and ruler.<br /><div align="justify">On the whole, it is the first conception that predominates, the second following it at no great distance.<br />The uninspired writings include the code of Manu, which teaches Brahminic doctrine. This code, besides containing a system of theology and philosophy, gives minute directions for the regulation of the individual life from the cradle to the grave.<br />Others are the two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Rama-Yana, in which the outstanding doctrines of Brahminism are taught. Embedded in the Mahabharata, the Iliad of India, it has been called, is a poem in praise of Krishna, one of the chief Hindu gods, called the Bhagavad-Gita, the Holy Song, generally regarded as one of the most exquisite specimens of religious poetry.<br />Such then was the religious situation in India when, round about 563 B.C. a certain Maya, while on a journey from Kapilavastu, the capital of the Kshatriya caste of the Sakya clan, whose country lay along the southern edge of Nepal, gave birth to a son in the Lumbini Garden of Nepal.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-12542002889514970262010-08-03T02:18:00.000-07:002010-08-03T02:22:06.102-07:00Coin Collection<div align="justify"><br />The decade between 1834 and 1844 was the beginning of the modern era at the United States mint. The second half of this decade was especially interesting. A number of experiments and acts of legislation provided some of most attractive and popular issues in the history of American coinage.<br />A combination of factors occurred in the early to mid 1830’s that led to these design changes and the introduction of new mints and new denominations. Large quantities of gold were discovered in North Georgia and western North Carolina in the early 1830’s. This led to the establishment, in 1834, of branch mints in Charlotte, New Orleans and Dahlonega. These mints opened in 1838 and by the end of the 1830’s, all three were producing gold coins.<br />An important technological advance was the introduction of the steam press in 1836. Coins were now able to be struck using a close collar which allowed for a thicker edge and a more precise diameter and sophisticated designs. It also meant that the quaint, “folk art” designs of John Reich were to be replaced with more modern, technologically savvy renderings.<br />Christian Gobrecht was named the new Mint Engraver in 1835, after the exodus of John Reich. Gobrecht was a talented artisan whose skill enabled the Mint to modernize its gold coinage. Beginning in 1838, he attempted to create a uniform Liberty Head design for all three of the current gold denominations. This design would remain, with minor changes, until 1907.<br />One of the first assignments that Gobrecht was given was to design a new gold dollar. A small number of experimental pieces were produced in gold (Judd-67) as well as in a gold alloy, silver and copper. Despite an attractive design, this experiment did not produce any immediate results and the gold dollar denomination was shelved until 1849.<br />As more and more gold was discovered in the south, the importance of the yellow metal in coinage increased. Conversely, large discoveries of silver in Mexico and South America meant that the price of gold bullion rose. The Classic Head quarter eagle was introduced in 1834 and it featured a design by William Kneass and John Reich. The weight of these quarter eagles was reduced to 258 grains (from 270) and the diameter was lessened from nineteen millimeters to 17.5. Most importantly, mintage figures rose dramatically. Between 1829 and 1834 around 25,000 quarter eagles were struck. In 1834 alone, over 112,000 of the new Classic Head pieces were produced.<br />Gobrecht’s experimentation with the Classic Head design began in 1835 when the head was made taller. In 1836, there are no less than three variations of the head: the original design of 1834, the taller head of 1835 (based on Kneass’ original design) and the head of 1837 (with the hair distant from the sixth star) which was actually executed by Gobrecht.<br />Gobrecht’s experimentation went a step further in 1838. The Philadelphia quarter eagles of this year are noticeably different in appearance than those dated 1835-1837. The 1838 issues have a very broad obverse border, smaller stars and a new variation of the Classic Head portrait that is modeled on the original Kneass design of 1834 but with a taller, differently positioned head.<br />Production at the branch mints began in 1838 with the striking of 7,880 quarter eagles at the Charlotte mint. The design of the head was similar to that seen on the Philadelphia quarter eagles of this year. The most notable overall difference is a very pronounced doubled obverse rim that is different from that seen on any other quarter eagle of this era. The Mint made the decision to place the mintmark on the obverse and on the 1838-C it is prominently doubled.<br />In 1839, the head was redesigned–yet again–on the Philadelphia issues. The back and upper curls are different in shape and the stars are larger. In addition, the obverse denticles are longer and finely defined. The reverse is the same as seen on 1836.<br />Three branch mints coined quarter eagles in 1839. The 1839-C coins are found with an 1839/8 overdate and an 1839/39 repunched date. The mintmark is still prominently displayed on the obverse but it is further to the left than on the 1838-C. In addition, the denticles are much longer and finer in 1839.<br />Both the 1839-D and 1839-O issues have a distinctive appearance. The former has very long, boldly detailed denticles on the obverse and reverse. The latter has a more narrow border with much smaller, more rounded denticles. The 1839-O is found with two major varieties. One has a high date with a widely spaced fraction on the reverse while the other has a low date with a closely spaced fraction.<br />Why are there so many varieties known? Part of the reason may have to do with the Mint’s embrace of new technology. The steam press and close collar were complicated to use and it took a while to learn how to best employ them. And the original Kneass Classic Head design did not strike very well. Most Classic Head quarter eagles show weakness at the centers, due to the fact that the high point of the obverse was opposite the high point on the reverse. The mint was constantly tweaking this design in order to get better struck coins. As evidenced by the results through 1839, this did not work and the fact that Classic Head gold coins are nearly always poorly struck was probably the major reason why the Liberty Head design was introduced.<br />The new Christian Gobrecht Liberty Head design was first used on eagles in 1838. It made its way to half eagles in 1839 and quarter eagles in 1840.<br />A very noticeable change was the moving of the mintmark to the reverse. It is not known whether this was done for aesthetic reasons or to facilitate better striking.<br />Other changes can be seen on quarter eagles from the 1840 to 1843 era but they are more subtle. From 1840 to 1842, date sizes from all four mints are tiny. In 1843, large and small date varieties are found on Charlotte and New Orleans strikings. Philadelphia quarter eagles from this year are found with only a large date while Dahlonega quarter eagles are seen only with a small date. Mintmark sizes vary in 1843 as well with large and small punches seen on all three branch mint issues.<br />Beginning in 1844, the quarter eagle design becomes more settled. Date and mintmark sizes are more consistent. Why did the wholesale changes of the first four years suddenly stop? One would have to suspect this was due to the Mint finally being satisfied with the designs and reaching the decision that these were the most suitable for producing good strikes and were the most difficult to counterfeit.<br />There are a number of varieties seen on the Classic Head half eagles but not as many as on the quarter eagles. In 1834 there are two distinct head design and the 4 in the date is seen with both plain and crosslet varieties. In 1835 there are three varieties of head and both large and small dates. When Gobrecht became more involved in the design process in 1836, three distinct head types can be seen. The design becomes more uniform in 1837 and stays the same through 1838.<br />The Mint was more successful in striking the half eagle of this design than the quarter eagle. While most Classic Head half eagles show some weakness at the centers, they are much better detailed than their smaller counterparts. The fact that the mint was able to successfully strike this design in the larger format suggests that this may have been part of the motivation behind the constant tinkering with the quarter eagle.<br />Branch mint half eagles were struck at Charlotte and Dahlonega in 1838. These issues each have a very distinctive appearance and both show the mintmark on the obverse. The 1838-C has very narrow borders with tiny denticles, weakness at the centers and a loss of detail on the eagle’s feathers due to over-lapping of the dies. The 1838-D has a broader border with distinctive denticles, sharper detail at the centers and more complete feathers on the reverse.<br />In 1839 Gobrecht’s coronet head design began on the half eagle denomination. It featured a liberty head with a very curved neck truncation and the mintmark displayed prominently on the obverse. This design was deliberately made to be similar to the 1838 eagle, as it was planned that all three gold denominations would ultimately have a similar appearance.<br />The design was modified in 1840. The truncation of Liberty’s neck was no longer so curved and the mintmark was moved to the reverse. The mint experimented considerably with diameter and date size in 1840. Some issues are seen with a so-called Broad Mill which has a diameter that is approximately 23 millimeters. Others have a Narrow Mill that is around 21 millimeters. The edge reeding has different varieties as well with some showing a very fine configuration and others more coarse in shape.<br />The next areas of experimentation seen on half eagles are date and lettering size. In 1842, half eagles from three of the four mints (all except New Orleans) have large date and small date varieties. The Philadelphia and Dahlonega coins dated 1842 also have small and large letter varieties on the reverse. This continued into 1843 when New Orleans experimented with date and letter size variations. In 1844, the mint decided that date and letter sizes would be large.<br />Again, we can assume that these experiments from the 1840’s were done primarily to decide what would be the best design to enable half eagles to be well struck and hard to counterfeit. The design that was adapted in 1844 went basically unchanged (with the exception of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST being added in 1866) until 1907.<br />After being discontinued in 1804, the eagle was resurrected in 1838. This was the “crown jewel” of gold denominations which is why it was the first to be completely redesigned by Christian Gobrecht. His initial design featured a Liberty Head with an extremely curved neck truncation on the obverse with the left side of the neck placed over the 18 and the right side just past the right side of the final star. The reverse had large letters. This design was continued for part of 1839 but was changed.<br />The new design featured a less curved neck and a differently positioned head. The left side of the neck was now far to the left of the date while the right side was well to the left of the final star. The date shows a slight curve. The reverse lettering was reduced in size.<br />The design found on 1838 and the first group of 1839 eagles did strike well so it cannot be argued that the change was made to facilitate quality. My guess is the decision was aesthetic in nature as the shape of Liberty’s neck and its position relative to the date and stars appears “odd.” The reconfiguration made in 1839 makes the obverse look more balanced but not perfectly so.<br />A final, subtle change to the eagle design was made in 1840. The date was made straight while slight variations can be seen on the neck curls. Small and Large Date varieties are found on the 1842 eagles from Philadelphia but there are no other changes during this era.<br />I regard the 1834-44 decade as one of the most interesting and under-researched eras of American numismatics. The collector who wishes to focus on types has a number of options while the variety collector has access to an almost unlimited group. Most importantly, this is extremely fertile ground. There has been little research done on gold coins from this era and many new discoveries are, no doubt, waiting the dedicated collector.<br /></div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-39593951959517607842010-08-03T02:11:00.000-07:002010-08-03T02:18:05.515-07:00Catch up<div><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br />This week saw Samsung take a swipe at the iPhone 4's reception problems with a new ad for the Galaxy S while Microsoft defended th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjep1-pMrw_bDLliIddb3PF_dPjq8eqkN16euU9Vipfb3W2dDyTQ4fypNOwx-LxaAHqOGNCO3VquWOUACwDZIW1F0E0aS15oTM3Lfyp2VQgXrYGkgNo8YychNESjvK6LH4NkOh0qD7VCv52/s1600/samsung_galaxy_ad-218-85.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501110285199989746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjep1-pMrw_bDLliIddb3PF_dPjq8eqkN16euU9Vipfb3W2dDyTQ4fypNOwx-LxaAHqOGNCO3VquWOUACwDZIW1F0E0aS15oTM3Lfyp2VQgXrYGkgNo8YychNESjvK6LH4NkOh0qD7VCv52/s320/samsung_galaxy_ad-218-85.jpg" border="0" /></a>e price of Kin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELnLceGyeY3QkQoAq7Ny3UyEtiZIxo9KR_r3iBUV4QOAlw0qWUCaIuZNXGKFqJKpUpCGdxciQjPsgq7d-hCr6NMHC1JL6Mz0Esu3wklKIKJq3vieds9Zsa5QSQap-jvg6gc8fX0LHltO8/s1600/samsung_galaxy_ad-218-85.jpg"></a>ect – which some have been criticising as high.<br />We also posted our wishlist of 10 things Google should change for Android 3.0, and also in the Android world, HTC confirmed that the 2.2 Froyo upgrade is being rolled out to Desire owners.<br />Hot reviews included Motorola Milestone XT720, the Samsung Galaxy Apollo and our hands-on with the Apple Magic Trackpad.</div></div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-58962145489161709442010-07-01T19:30:00.000-07:002010-07-01T19:46:02.159-07:00HEALTH INFORMATION FOR ALL<span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#009900;">What is Depression?</span></strong><br /></span>Clinical depression is more than just the "blues," being "down in the dumps," or experiencing temporary feelings of sadness we all have from time to time in our lives. It is a serious condition that affects a person's mind and body. It impacts all aspects of everyday life including eating, sleeping, working, relationships, and how a person thinks about himself/herself. People who are clinically depressed cannot simply will themselves to feel better or just "snap out of it." If they do not receive appropriate treatment their symptoms can continue for weeks, months, or years.<br /><br />The good news is that very effective treatments are available to help those who are depressed. However, only about one-third of those who are depressed actually receive treatment. This is unfortunate since upwards of 80-90% of those who do seek treatment can feel better within just a few weeks. Many people do not seek treatment for depression for a variety of reasons. Some believe that depression is the result of a personal weakness or character flaw. This is simply not true. Like diabetes, heart disease, or any other medical condition, clinical depression is an illness that should be treated by a mental health professional or physician. Another reason why many people do not seek help for depression is that they simply do not recognize the signs or symptoms that something may be wrong.<br /><br />Depression affects approximately 19 million Americans, or 9.5% of the population in any given one-year period. At some point in their lives, 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men will likely become clinically depressed. In fact, it affects so many people that it is often referred to as the "common cold" of mental illness. It is estimated that depression exacts an economic cost of over $30 billion each year, but the cost of human suffering cannot be measured. Depression not only causes suffering to those who are depressed, but it also causes great difficulty for their family and friends who <span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#333333;">o</span></span><span style="color:#000000;">ften do not know how to help. </span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Types of Depression<br /></span></strong>Major Depressive Disorder<br />This illness impairs a person's ability to work, sleep, eat, and function as he or she normally would. It keeps people from enjoying activities that were once pleasurable, and causes them to think about themselves and the world in negative ways. Major depression is often disabling and may occur several times in a person's lifetime.<br /><br />Dysthymic Disorder<br />A milder yet more enduring type of major depression. People with dysthymia may appear to be chronically mildly depressed to the point that it seems to be a part of their personality. When a person finally seeks treatment for dysthymia, it is not uncommon that he/she has struggled with this condition for a number of years.<br /><br />Bipolar Disorder<br />Also known as manic-depression or manic-depressive disorder. This condition is characterized by mood that alternates between periods of depression and periods of elation and excitable behavior known as mania (see symptoms below). For people who have bipolar disorder, the depressions can be severe and the mania can seriously impair one's normal judgment. When manic, a person is prone towards reckless and inappropriate behavior such as engaging in wild spending sprees or having promiscuous sex. He or she may not be able to realize the harm of his/her behavior and may even lose touch with reality.<br /><br />Cyclothymic Disorder<br />A milder yet more enduring type of bipolar disorder. A person's mood alternates between a less severe mania (known as hypomania) and a less severe depression. (For more information go to Diagnosis: Cyclothymic Disorder)<br />Mood Disorder Due to a General Medical ConditionDepression may be caused or precipitated by a known or unknown physical medical condition such as hypothyroidism. (For more information go to Diagnosis: Mood Disorder Due to...<br />Substance-Induced Mood DisorderDepression may be caused or precipitated by the use or abuse of substances such as drugs, alcohol, medications, or toxins.<br /><br />Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)<br />This condition affects people during specific times or seasons of the year. During the winter months individuals feel depressed and lethargic, but during other months their moods may be normal<br /><br />Postpartum Depression<br />A rare form of depression occurring in women within approximately one week to six months after giving birth to a child.<br /><br />Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder<br />This is an uncommon type of depression affecting a small percentage of menstruating women. It is a cyclical condition in which women may feel depressed and irritable for one or two weeks before their menstrual period each month.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong> Symptoms of Depression</strong></span><br />People who are depressed or manic may not experience all of the following symptoms. Some will have many symptoms, others will have just a few. The severity of the symptoms may also be different for every person and even vary over time. If you are experiencing some of these symptoms or if you have questions about whether you may be depressed or manic, you should consult with your physician or a qualified mental health professional. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, or has made plans to do so, you should seek the help of a mental health professional or physician immediately.<br /><p><span style="color:#663366;">-Sadness, anxiety, or "empty" feelings<br />-Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"<br />-Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed, including sex<br />-Insomnia, oversleeping, or waking much earlier than usual<br />-Loss of weight or appetite, or overeating and weight gain<br />-Feelings of hopelessness and pessimism<br />-Feelings of helplessness, guilt, and worthlessness<br />-Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts<br />-Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or remembering<br />-Restlessness, irritability or excessive crying<br />-Chronic aches and pains or physical problems that do not respond to treatment<br />-Symptoms of Mania<br />-Abnormal or excessive elation<br />-Unusual irritability<br />-Decreased need for sleep<br />-Grandiose notions<br />-Increased talking<br />-Racing thoughts<br />-Increased sexual desire -Markedly increased ene-rgy<br />-Poor judgment</span></p>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-27740387125131830242010-06-23T21:05:00.000-07:002010-06-23T21:09:32.815-07:00FIFA World CUPTelevision coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ was the most extensive to date with 376 channels showing the event compared to 232 in 2002. What is more, the 2006 event was aired in a total 43,600 broadcasts across 214 countries and territories in 2006, generating total coverage of 73,072 hours - an increase of 76 percent on the 2002 event (41,435 hfours) and a 148 percent increase on 1998. This means that if all the 2006 coverage were shown on just one channel, it would take over eight years to broadcast non-stop.<br />The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany had a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (24.2 billion in-home and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers). This is on a par with the 1998 event, which like 2006 was also staged in Europe, but a little below the 26.4 billion in-home viewers noted for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. Unsurprisingly, the most-watched match was the final Italy - France with a global cumulative audience of 715.1 million viewers.<br />This 2006 report was commissioned by FIFA's television partner, Infront Sports & Media, and compiled by Sponsorship Intelligence, a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. It confirms the competition's status as the world's most popular event that has sustained robust worldwide viewing levels at a time when most programme genres are suffering a downturn in market share. FIFA has adopted a more rigorous approach as regards the compilation of TV figures and this report is consequently based on more audited data than ever before.<br />Asia was once again the region to contribute the highest share of television audience with its 8.28 billion in-home viewers accounting for 32.2% of the global total. However, the total cumulative audience fell by 25.7 percent in 2006. This decline in viewer numbers is not surprising when viewed in the correct context. The 2002 event was staged in two Asian territories (Japan and South Korea) and kick-off times for live matches were consequently during prime viewing hours across most of the region whereas live matches in 2006 were shown mostly after midnight. Secondly, China - which accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total global audience - qualified for the finals for a historic first time in 2002 but failed to qualify in 2006.<br />These circumstances explain the nine percent fall in the global cumulative audience in 2006.<br />By contrast Europe - where the matches were broadcast during prime time viewing - registered a 29.6% increase in viewers over 2002. While this undoubtedly reflects the more accessible timing of matches for the European audience compared to 2002, it nevertheless confirms the unparalleled stature of the event in this highly developed and media-saturated region.<br />The United States produced some very encouraging scores that underline football's growing popularity in the country. The cumulative audience jumped 38.9% over 2002, coverage surged 221% to 1,889 hours and the number of broadcasters doubled to 13 in 2006. Univision's broadcast of Argentina v Mexico was the most-viewed sports telecast in the history of U.S. Spanish-language television with 6.7 million viewers.<br /><strong>Key findings at a glance</strong><br />TV coverage in 214 countries generated over 73,000 hours of dedicated programming, a significant 76.4% increase over 2002.<br /><br />The 2006 FIFA World Cup produced 43,600 dedicated television broadcasts worldwide.<br />An increasingly fragmented TV market saw 2006 FIFA World Cup broadcasts on 376 channels, a vast increase over the 232 broadcasting channels in 2002.<br /><br />The increased fragmentation of television broadcasting has also lead to a shift in the proportion of overall coverage represented by each of the broadcast types. In 2002, almost 70% of all TV coverage was of live action whereas just over half of all coverage of 2006 FIFA World Cup was live.<br /><br />A cumulative audience, in-home and out-of-home, of 26.29 billion viewers.<br /><br />Asia contributed the highest share of the overall cumulative television audience, 8.28 billion in-home viewers, 34.2% of the global total.<br /><br />The largest single market contributor was China, which accounted for 3.98 billion viewers, followed by Brazil, Vietnam and Germany.<br /><br />European cumulative audience was 5.33 billion in 2006, up 29.6%, with host Germany and winner Italy accounting for 31.5% of the region's total.<br /><br />2006 FIFA World Cup coverage across Africa saw a massive 131.5% increase over 2002, up from 7,475 hours to 17,301.<br /><br />The Final between Italy and France was followed by 0.8 million more French viewers than watched France triumph in 1998.<br /><br />In Europe there were 76.3% more broadcast hours than in 2002.<br /><br />Total hours of 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage increased over 2002 in all regions, most significantly across Africa, Oceania, Asia and Europe.<br /><br />Each of the 64 matches received on average 858 hours of dedicated coverage and drew an audience of 259.9 million viewers.<br /><br />The top match, in terms of coverage and audience, was the Final between Italy and France, totalling 1,882 hours of coverage and 607.9 million in-home viewers.<br /><br />The highest television rating, of 56.6%, was recorded in the Netherlands for their national side's defeat to Portugal in the Round of 16.<br /><br />The highest single audience was recorded in China at 71.5 million viewers, for the group match between Japan and Croatia.<br /><br />Hosts of the next FIFA World Cup, South Africa, enjoyed more 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany coverage than any other African market, with the cable/satellite network, SuperSport, showing a total of 1,627 hours of coverage on its five channels.<br /><br />The cumulative audience in Brazil increased from 1.35 billion in 2002 to 1.72 billion in 2006 (+27.8%) despite the fact that the 2002 FIFA World Cup was won by Brazil and 2006 the national team were knocked out in the quarter final stages.<br /><br />In Northern America & Caribbean there was 39.1% more coverage - 10,580 hours in 2006 versus 7,605 hours in 2002.<br /><br />The cumulative audience in Northern America & Caribbean was 829.1 million viewers - this represents a 76.8% increase over the 2002 total.for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-45430911820193053782010-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:002010-06-23T21:05:39.324-07:00TOEFL AND IELTS ESSAY................<div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">TOEFL</span></strong></div><div align="justify">"POPULAR EVENTS LIKE THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL SPORTING OCCASIONS ARE ESSENTIAL IN EASING INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS AND RELEASING PATRIOTIC EMOTIONS IN A SAFE WAY"- </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">Nowadays we are constantly under the menace of the explosion of a new World War, international tensions are at their acme everywhere and no one knows where and when the next battle will be fought. In such a scenario, having the possibility to ease these tensions is vital for a less worrying future. Such possibility is often provided by sporting occasions, among which the football World Cup, played every four years, is one of the most popular.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">IELTE</span></strong></div><div align="justify">First of all, the World Cup, Olympics and other international games work for easing tensions among different nations. For example, South and North Korea have football games regularly <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip2', ' which gives the', 'which give', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="9">which give</a> two nations a chance to understand each other <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip3', ' better', 'deeply', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="10">deeply</a>. In the mid <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip4', ' 1990s, hundreds', '1990s, a hundreds', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="11">1990s, a hundreds</a> of North Korean supporters came to South Korea with the footballers and they were very excited during the sporting events. Even if it sounds ridiculous, many South Koreans were quite surprised at that moment when North Koreans shouted and cried during the match. We all realized that they were very normal sports fans even though they were occasionally very secretive. Through the sports, two divided nations could reduce their political and ideological tensions and could feel the patriotic unity.<br />On the other hand, some sports matches can make international relations worse. For instance, football or baseball games between Korea and Japan are always big matches in two countries where <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip5', ' tensions often overflow', 'full of tensions overflow', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="12">full of tensions overflow</a>. Sometimes, after the matches, the two rivals blame each other and their patriotic emotions explode in an aggressive way. <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip6', ' a much worse', 'Even much worse', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="13">Even much worse</a> scenario is that the troubles caused by losing games affect the players directly. As far as I know, a couple of Korean players in Japan <a class="tippy_link" onmouseover="domTip_toolText('tip7', ' have', 'are', '');" onmouseout="domTip_clearTip('false')" jquery1277352044589="14">are </a>suffered from invisible discrimination after the match between two countries.<br />In conclusion, I think that international sporting occasions can be one of the good ways to ease tensions or to release patriotism safely. However, I believe that games can not be the fundamental ways for the sound patriotism or peaceful international relations. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-87763068131280549122010-06-23T20:58:00.000-07:002010-06-23T21:00:18.225-07:00World’s Most Popular Event<div align="justify">How are you preparing to use the world’s most popular event? You may be asking, “What event is he talking about?” I’m talking about the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. How are you using this event that will be holding the attention of the world for over 30 days to reach the people in your community?<br /><br />You may not think it has anything to do with you, especially in the suburbs of America, but let me ask you a few things. Do you have refugees living in your community? Do you have a Hispanic population in your community? Do you have soccer-loving kids in your community and your church? If you’re in a church like I was, you can answer yes to all of those questions. So let’s use this platform to reach people for the kingdom.<br /><br />My family and I now live in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the host cities for the World Cup. We run Ubuntu Sports Outreach that provides primary school-aged boys with coaching mentors from local churches in township communities. Those relationships get kids connected to that church and to Jesus. Where we live, World Cup fever is reaching its height. People are excited and expectant about what is coming. Trust me, in your refugee, Hispanic, and soccer-playing communities the excitement is also building. People are reading Internet stories, wondering who will start for their country, and preparing to watch all the games. You can use this attention and passion for the glory of Christ and to spread the word about your church.<br /><br />Here are a few ideas on how to capitalize on this event. Host a public viewing event for specific attention-grabbing matches. Put together a 5-a-side soccer tournament for kids. Have a soccer-themed worship service in your church. Host a soccer camp for kids in your community. These are just a few of the ideas, but possibilities are left only to your creativity. There are resources and ideas available at www.theultimategoal.co.za. Also check with your local sports ministry like FCA, Athletes in Action, and Upward. They will likely have even more ideas and resources. Don’t allow this great opportunity to reach new people in our communities pass us by.<br /><br />Casey Prince served as the Director of High School Ministries at Grace Community Church in Raleigh, NC for 7 years. His family now lives in Cape Town where they have started Ubuntu Sports Outreach. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-91528046412915760632010-06-19T19:47:00.000-07:002010-06-19T19:58:28.363-07:00Fantastic!takes place in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater located near "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" and "Beauty and the Beast-Live On Stage". Watch Sorcerer Mickey battle Disney Villains in this sensational laser and light show.<br /><br />The amphitheater opens 90 minutes before the show begins. You can bring in outside food or purchase snacks inside. You can also book a Fantasmic Dining Package which gives you reserved seating. <br /><br />There are long rows of metal benches that are banked for easy viewing. It's designed after the famous Hollywood Bowl and can accommodate 1,500 guests. While it's tempting to run down to the front, the "water screens" used in a lot of the sequences often produces a light mist that could head right in your direction. <br /><br />Fantasmic originated in Disneyland. While parts of the show are similar, there are differences. It's rare for those who have seen both prefer the Disney World version.<br /><br />As noted above, it's rare that a performance doesn't have a parent scrambling out with their terrified child. The Disney Villains can be pretty scary, especially when it's dark and they're larger than life. If your little one is sensitive, think twice about going until they're older and can understand what's going on. <br /><br />The finale is a lot of fun. An 80-foot replica of the ship from "Steamboat Willie" features 26 Disney characters waving and singing as they go by. <br /><br />If you want to take advantage of priority seating and skip the usual long wait to get into this show, book the Fantasmic Dining Package <br /><br />TIP: If you're visiting during a busy time of year, there are usually two performances scheduled. Go to the second one for a less crowded experience. <br /><br />FUN FACTS: <br />- The moat surrounding the show contains approximately 1.9 million gallons of water.<br />- The mountain stands approximately 57.5 feet above the water.<br />- The fire-breathing dragon rises 50 feet into the air and has a wing span of 50 feet.<br /><br /><br />Click Here for current show times<br />The entire show lasts 25-minutes long. There are normally only showings 2 or 3 times a week.for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-36184842430714210492010-04-19T00:24:00.000-07:002010-04-19T01:01:56.833-07:00WORLD WIDE SPORTS (SPORT GIVE HEALTH & FITNESS)<div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">espn wide world of sports</span></strong><br />What launched with a single cable network on Sept. 7, 1979, is now ESPN, Inc., the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets, including six domestic networks, 46 international networks and more than 50 business entities. Today, ESPN delivers sports programming to more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents across a variety of platforms – television, wireless, interactive, print, radio, broadband, event management and consumer products – all with the hopes of fulfilling its original mission of serving sports fans.<br />In 1996, The Walt Disney Company, under CEO Michael Eisner, acquired Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., which included 80 percent of ESPN. In 2005, Robert Iger was named CEO of The Walt Disney Co. – after serving as president and COO since 2000 – and continues to oversee ESPN today. In one momentous deal, Disney and ESPN changed the entire landscape of sports and entertainment, combining the sport expertise of ESPN with the creativity and the guest-experience capabilities of Disney.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">A Field of Dreams Fully Realized<br /></span></strong><br />Today, the newly renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort represents the perfect intersection of sports and entertainment – Disney’s sports complex as the leading multi-sport venue in the nation combining with ESPN’s stature as the preeminent sports entertainment media outlet in the world.<br />The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex marks the latest collaboration between the two powerful brands. The two companies have worked together successfully in the past on such events as the X Games Trials, the Old Spice Classic NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and ESPN RISE Games. Most notably, ESPN and Walt Disney World Resort together stage ESPN The Weekend, the sports-themed special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that has been a virtual “Who’s Who” of celebrity athletes and personalities. In all, ESPN televises dozens of events from Walt Disney World Resort each year.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ESPN Designates ESPN WWoS Complex Official 3D Development Center<br /></span></strong>Recognizing the need for a real-world testing ground to continue the development of ESPN 3D, ESPN has designated the ESPN Innovation Lab at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as the hub for developing 3D technology. ESPN will invite various technology companies to utilize the site for emerging technology enhancements focused on 3D television. In addition to the resources at the Innovation Lab, ESPN will bring online a new production center that can be used for producing live sporting events for multiple ESPN platforms.<br />The Innovation Lab and the new Production Center based at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex gives ESPN a designated testing ground to continue creating a robust ESPN 3D network. This complex provides ESPN access to more than 300 sporting events which means 3D production testing can occur throughout the year. The research ESPN gathers through these facilities will set the pace for innovation and provide fans the best 3D on-air coverage of sporting events.Chuck Pagano, executive vice president, technology, ESPN<br />The new Production Center will also serve as a training facility for production personnel to gain experience in telecasting 3D events. This facility houses eight edit rooms which will feed highlights into the main server system based in Bristol, Conn. Also, the Production Center controls 42 robotic cameras scattered throughout the complex which will capture highlights from the various playing venues. The facility also has 10 ENG cameras and four EFP cameras. The production control room has 16 channels of bi-directional video along with audio ingest, play-out capabilities, graphics building and more.<br /><br />ESPN’s Innovation Lab opened in October 2009. It has produced two innovative production elements, Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom. Ball Track is a Doppler radar hit-tracking system that has the ability to track home runs showing the distance and height of the ball in-flight, updating continuously during the ball’s flight. It debuted on the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby telecast on July 13. ESPN Snap Zoom debuted on Monday Night Football on Sept. 28 and is a freeze-frame technology that brings the fan closer to the play by zooming in an area of interest and providing insight to a current action on the field thus giving the viewer a different view on a particular focus of play.<br />ESPN 3D, the industry’s first 3D television network, will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match on June 11 featuring South Africa vs. Mexico. Other events to be produced in 3D include up to 25 2010 FIFA World Cup matches, NBA, X Games 16, college basketball and college football, which will include the BCS National Championship game in Glendale, Ariz., Jan. 10, 2011. Additional events will be announced at a later date.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex</span></strong><br />ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts more than 300 events a year, is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States, accommodating 60 different sports and athletes from more than 70 countries. Designed to take youth sports to the next level, the 220-acre facility features: The Fieldhouse, a 165,000-square-foot field house which seats 5,500 for basketball; Champion Stadium ballpark ,Hess Sports Fields, which include multiple baseball, softball and soccer fields,JCenter, an 80,000-square-foot multi-sport fieldhouse, and Innovation Lab, a real-world testing ground for the ESPN Emerging Technology group to develop ground-breaking on-air products like Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom. In addition, the complex features 56 high-definition cameras and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture and display footage from any event taking place at the complex. The camera and video screens, as well as a 20-zone audio system, are controlled through a state-of-the-art Production Center that features eight edit bays and links to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles. </div><br /><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ESPN WWoS Complex Expands Diversity of Events in 2010<br /></span></strong>Already distinguished for its unparalleled diversity of sport, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex has added an even wider variety of events in 2010 and beyond, highlighted by the debut of its first-ever Major League Gaming Pro Circuit tournament and the expansion of events that are part of the ESPN RISE Games. New and expanded events range from traditional sports (baseball, softball and soccer) to up-and-coming sports to non-traditional sports.<br />The ESPN RISE Games in July is expected to expand considerably, with more than triple the number of athletes from last year. In its second year, the event includes seven sports, with new events involving AAU basketball, U.S. Lacrosse and USSSA softball.<br />This year, the complex will serve as a 2010 tournament stop on the Major League Gaming Pro Circuit, bringing together the nation’s top professional and amateur video gamers for a three-day competition at the complex. In all, the tournament plans to attract more than 250 teams, comprised of nearly 2,500 gamers, with competitors facing off in a variety of popular games. Major League Gaming is the largest professional video game league in the world, targeting the approximately 40 million North American consumers who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity.<br />The famed Harlem Globetrotters returned to the facility for a special performance on Feb. 25 as part of the official re-launch of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The clown princes of basketball played the Washington Generals in a special performance featuring sports celebrities, ESPN personalities and Disney characters, in a game that aired on ESPN2 on Feb. 26. The Globetrotters have entertained fans around the world for more than 84 seasons and have won more than 23,000 games.<br />Capitalizing on the excitement of the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Walt Disney World Resort will host viewing parties across the resort, including at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, for guests looking to follow the action of their favorite countries while on vacation.<br />There are also a number of other traditional, up-and-coming and non-traditional sports events taking place at the complex:<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>TRADITIONAL</strong>:</span><br />Varsity Brands has extended its relationship with Walt Disney World Resort through 2014 and will look to add to its list of national cheerleading championships and events that currently includesthe College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, theNational High School Cheerleading Championship, the National All Star Cheerleading Championship, the National Dance Team Championships and the Cheerleading and Dance Worlds Championship. These championships are broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 to more than 90 million homes each year. More than 40,000 cheerleaders and 80,000 fans attend these events annually.<br />Those events join several other recently announced events such as the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, Oct. 1-2, which culminates with a 13.1-mile nighttime race and after-hours party inside the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. And the inaugural Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic ,a four-team exhibition event featuring two-time MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls, who reached 2008 MLS Cup Final, FC Dallasand Toronto FC.<br />USSSA, a longstanding partner of the complex, has expanded its event offerings to include a new 64-team elite baseball national championship, and two additional girls fast pitch softball national championships. Additionally, the USSSA Pride, a pro women’s softball team, will be playing two four-game homestands at the complex in the summer of 2010.<br />Another new event is the Rawlings Gold Glove baseball tournament, an invitational tournament with players (ages 10-18) from around the country, scheduled for fall 2010.<br />Pop Warner Little Scholars, the parent organization of the Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheerleader Championships, has expanded its event lineup to include Pop Warner-branded flag football tournaments.<br />ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will be hosting the NIKE Football Combines, providing SPARQ testing to thousands of high school athletes wanting to measure and track their athletic capabilities.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">UP-AND-COMING:<br /></span></strong>The national governing bodies (NGB) for USA wrestling, judo, gymnastics, fencing and lacrosse have extended their relationships with ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and will host several new and expanded events between 2010 and 2013.<br />The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has extended its involvement through 2014, with the complex hosting the 2011 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championships, the 2012 MAAC Cross Country Championships, the 2013 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championships and the 2014 MAAC Volleyball Championships. The MAAC has hosted conference championships at Walt Disney World Resort since 1998.<br />In September, the complex will host the Touch Rugby USA Nationals, an international rugby tournament with limited physical contact. The event features some of the best adult touch rugby athletes from around the world.<br />Disney’s Soccer Showcase, which features the top youth soccer players in the nation, will add a fourth college showcase tournament to its popular lineup of events in the summer of 2010.<br />AAU is expanding its national championship events at the complex with the addition of three more girls’ basketball championships and showcase tournaments, and the addition of a boys and girls national cross country championship in December.<br />The high school and college spring training program, presented by Champion, at the sports complex, which involves baseball, softball, lacrosse and track & field teams from around the country training at the sports complex, will expand to include golf this year.<br />A volleyball summer camp in June, hosted by Kaylee Scholarship Association, will become the first-ever high school team camp offering.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">NON-TRADITIONAL:<br /></span></strong>In November, the VEX Robotics competition returns for the annual VEX Robotics All-Star Challenge Tournament. The Vex Robotics Competition, the largest secondary school robotics program in the world with more than 2,500 teams in 20 countries, features middle school and high school teams competing against each other with their student-built robots in a game that tests their science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.<br />The Iron Kids Triathlon has been added to the Iron Man 70.3 Florida Triathlon Weekend, held at Walt Disney World Resort. Similar to the Iron Man event, the Iron Kids Triathlon involves swimming, biking and running.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">New and Expanded Events for 2010 and Beyond</span></strong><br />-ESPN RISE Games<br />-Major League Gaming<br />-Harlem Globetrotters<br />-Major League Soccer<br />-FIFA World Cup Viewing<br />-Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend<br />-Rawlings Gold Glove Baseball Tournament<br />-Pop Warner Flag Football<br />-Varsity Brands<br />-AAU Girls Basketball Championships and Showcase<br />-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships<br />-USSSA Baseball and Softball<br />-VEX Robotics<br />-Touch Rugby USA Nationals<br />-Kaylee Scholarship Association Volleyball Summer Camp<br />-Iron Kids Triathlon<br />-New Events Tied to National Governing Bodies for Wrestling, Judo, Gymnastics, Fencing and </div><br /><br /><div>Lacrosse<br />-Disney Soccer Showcase<br />-Disney High School Spring Training Program<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ESPN WWoS Complex Key Annual Sporting Events</span></strong><br />The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is home to more than 300 events each year, accommodating 60 different sports, and drawing athletes from more than 70 countries. Competitors range from the young to the old, from the amateur and highly skilled to the Special Olympian and the weekend warrior. Below are a handful of signature events: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikK7MYb13LOOaww03nwKjB10FQU_C2Y_3g8SfAorUZx8rX825Po0mAfVdOF_-jYuO2D0mAl2PCStiZaLIXazjUMVJE61hfhPVA5tA9xlBaxGZDEtZq4_CvfpF-ZNWFwPR51_Li37QDp2J5/s1600/wdw_marathon_001_a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461752798708457346" style="WIDTH: 284px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikK7MYb13LOOaww03nwKjB10FQU_C2Y_3g8SfAorUZx8rX825Po0mAfVdOF_-jYuO2D0mAl2PCStiZaLIXazjUMVJE61hfhPVA5tA9xlBaxGZDEtZq4_CvfpF-ZNWFwPR51_Li37QDp2J5/s320/wdw_marathon_001_a.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNE2ybwn5_r0jeZZMgcRz1VgUqkoK5KrD1fQqJFxkbJwhhFZ2PSBZ5opC-xh_GS6d04KBcN93aEE4yYTTQSgV8xk8ApybgYzXfe0KF_iTPlM5Ssxs4N1i45Y40pvdW528f4FI-GZVYph4/s1600/0329AU_0145JD37772414_a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461754162565360146" style="WIDTH: 354px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 261px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxNE2ybwn5_r0jeZZMgcRz1VgUqkoK5KrD1fQqJFxkbJwhhFZ2PSBZ5opC-xh_GS6d04KBcN93aEE4yYTTQSgV8xk8ApybgYzXfe0KF_iTPlM5Ssxs4N1i45Y40pvdW528f4FI-GZVYph4/s320/0329AU_0145JD37772414_a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA (January)</span></strong><br />The Walt Disney World Marathon began in 1994 and takes runners along a magical 26.2-mile journey through all four Disney theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom). Known as one of the top family-destination races, marathon weekend attracts more than 55,000 runners and their families (more than 100,000 people total) to enjoy the weekend’s activities – Kids Races, a Family 5K, half marathon, marathon and Health & Fitness Expo.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Tom Shaw Performance Camp (February)</span></strong><br />Since 2006, renowned speed and conditioning coach Tom Shaw has trained some of the top NFL players at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Notable athletes include Deion Sanders, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh Steelers), 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steelers), Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), Glenn Dorsey (Kansas City Chiefs), Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) and Devin Hester (Chicago Bears).<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Atlanta Braves Spring Training (February-March)</strong><br /></span>On March 27, 1997, the Atlanta Braves exhibition game versus the Cincinnati Reds marked the grand opening of the sports complex. Led by manager Bobby Cox and perennial all-star Chipper Jones, the Braves enjoyed a string of nine straight division titles while at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and now feature one of the most promising young teams in baseball.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Cheerleading Worlds Championship (April)<br /></strong></span>Considered the Super Bowl of cheerleading events, the Cheerleading Worlds Championship features the globe’s best cheerleading squads. Participation in the event has grown dramatically from three international teams representing two countries to more than 100 teams (8,500 cheerleaders) from 40 countries.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">AAU Boys Basketball National Championships (July)<br /></span></strong>The tournament features some of the top high school-age players from across the country. Known as a breeding ground for future NBA stars (Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade), the event attracts NCAA coaches from the top basketball programs, making it the premier collegiate recruiting event in the nation.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ESPN RISE Games presented by Target (July</span>)<br /></strong>The multi-sport festival anchored by several elite high school sports events including the AAU 17-under Boys Basketball Super Showcase, the Under Armour High School Softball All-American game and the Gridiron Kings, an elite 7-on-7 football event. The event also includes an open division for baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse and track & field competitions.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend (debuts October 2010)</span></strong><br />The Disney Wine & Dine Fall Half Marathon Weekend will make its debut Oct. 1-2, 2010. The nighttime race will take participants through multiple theme parks and will culminate at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival for an exclusive after-hours party. The weekend will include Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run 5K, Kids Races and the event’s first-ever half marathon two-person relay.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Children’s Miracle Network Classic (November</strong></span>)<br />Since 1971, the PGA TOUR’s most magical stop has taken place at Walt Disney World Resort. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses play host to the final tournament of the PGA TOUR Fall Series. Notable winners of the event include Jack Nicklaus, who won the first three Classics (’71-’73), Payne Stewart (’83), Tiger Woods (’96, ’99), Vijay Singh (’04), Davis Love III (’08) and Stephen Ames (’07,’09).<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Old Spice Classic (November)<br /></span></strong>The premier pre-season Division I event is an eight-team, 12-game men’s basketball tournament that takes place over Thanksgiving weekend and features some of the top collegiate teams in America. Past winners include Arkansas (2006), North Carolina State (2007), Gonzaga (2008) and Florida State (2009). Competing this year will be Notre Dame, Temple, Boston College, California, Georgia, Manhattan College, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards/Disney Spirit Award (December)</strong><br /></span>The star-studded awards show features the live presentation of nine of college football’s most prestigious awards, along with Disney’s Spirit Award. The event takes place at Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk. Disney’s Spirit Award has been presented annually to college football’s most inspirational figure since 1996, including Tim Tebow in 2008 and Mark Herzlich in 2009.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Pop Warner Super Bowl (December)<br /></span></strong>Sixty-four of the top youth football teams in the nation compete in this week-long Super Bowl after advancing through regional competitions. National crowns will be won in four divisions based on size and age – Jr. Pee Wee (ages 8-11 yrs.), Pee Wee (9-12 yrs.), Jr. Midget (10-13 yrs.) and Midget (11-15 yrs.). The Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championships also takes place, bringing together thousands of cheerleaders from across the country.<br />Disney’s Soccer Showcase presented by Chelsea Football Club (December)<br />Widely regarded as the leading elite youth soccer tournament in the nation, this event annually attracts the top high school-aged boys and girls soccer players from across the country. The tournament features more than 500 teams (roughly 9,500 athletes). More than 800 college coaches attend, making it the place where top college prospects are recruited.<br />ESPN WWoS Complex Breakdown<br /><strong>ARCHITECTURE (Overall Facility)</strong><br />Architect: David Schwarz (Washington, D.C.). Schwarz also designed The Ballpark at Arlington, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.<br />Design: “Florida Picturesque” style embodies a Florida- or Mediterranean-flavor design with Spanish-style roofing, blue and green accent tiling, vibrant yellow colors and symmetrical tower-like structures.<br />Venues: Champion Stadium, The Fieldhouse, Jostens Center , Hess Sports Fields, Baseball Quadraplex, Softball Complex, Tennis Complex, Track & Field Complex, including cross country, covered training facility, Production Center and Welcome Center. A state-of-the-art bowling center is coming in 2012.<br />Other amenities: Expanded retail pop-ups (four locations), ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill, PlayStation Pavilion, a welcome center and a parking lot with more than 5,000 spaces.<br /><strong>CHAMPION STADIUM</strong><br />The centerpiece of the sports complex, Champion Stadium is a retro-style Major League Baseball ballpark that annually hosts MLB spring training (Atlanta Braves) and numerous amateur tournaments. With permanent seating and existing infrastructure, the facility can also host concerts, corporate hospitality functions, event opening ceremonies and other large gatherings.<br />Maximum capacity for 11,500 guests, including 9,500 permanent upper and lower deck seats (80 percent are located between first and third base), plus a grass berm in left field that offers seating for an additional 2,000+ guests.<br />Four luxury suites (all include indoor and outdoor seating areas), plus an additional suite that features a large conference room; two upper-level outdoor suites; and two mezzanine-level outdoor terraces.<br />Display booth equipped with state-of-the-art production equipment for managing in-stadium entertainment, including a 33’ 7” wide by 21’7” high jumbo screen which can display ESPN programming, customized videos, daily highlight reels and interviews from the sports complex.<br /><strong>PRODUCTION CENTER</strong><br />2,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility with eight edit bays and uplinks to ESPN in Bristol, Conn., Los Angeles and New York.<br />56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including 3 jumbo screens that can capture and display footage, event highlights and interviews that will broadcast throughout the complex and on various Disney and ESPN platforms.<br /><strong>THE FIELDHOUSE<br /></strong>Versatile indoor arena includes high arches and trusses and other architectural and design elements reminiscent of a classic 1950s style fieldhouse (capacity: 5,500). This multi-purpose facility can accommodate virtually any indoor sport that does not require ice, including basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, martial arts, team handball, roller hockey, cheerleading and dance, trampoline and tumbling, indoor tennis, etc., in addition to concerts and conventions.<br />Room for six full-size collegiate basketball courts (four on main level and two upstairs on auxiliary court).<br /><strong>JOSTENS CENTER<br /></strong>A state-of-the-art multi-sport fieldhouse, Jostens Center includes space for six college-size basketball courts, or 12 regulation-size volleyball courts, or two roller hockey rinks, and four locker rooms, two conference rooms and two officials’ rooms.<br /><strong>HESS SPORTS FIELDS<br /></strong>The Sports Fields venue, sponsored by Amerada Hess Corporation, are large enough to accommodate a variety of outdoor sports — soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, rugby, softball, cricket, etc. The seven grass playing surfaces and four fields may be used collectively for one large event or multiple events may take place simultaneously on various fields.<br />Permanent bleacher seating is available at each field and additional bleachers may be added for larger events (capacity: 10,000).<br /><strong>BASEBALL QUADRAPLEX/ SOFTBALL COMPLEX<br /></strong>The Baseball Quadraplex includes four professional baseball fields and a half field (used for infield drills). The quad annually hosts MLB players during spring training and minor league players during Rookie League (Gulf Coast League) and Fall Instructional League seasons, as well as camps, clinics and tournaments for amateur and youth players.<br />The Softball Complex includes six fields that can accommodate fastpitch and slowpitch softball, as well as youth baseball (12 and younger).<br /><strong>TENNIS COMPLEX<br /></strong>Tennis complex includes 10 “HAR TRU” green clay courts, including a stadium court, and can accommodate events ranging from youth clinics to major professional tournaments. Formerly hosted U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships on ATP Tour (1997-2000).<br /><strong>TRACK & FIELD COMPLEX<br /></strong>World-class 400-meter polyurethane Track & Field Complex meets IAAF world governing body standards and measurements, and is consistent with Olympic T&F venues throughout the world.<br />The Track & Field Complex features an adaptable Cross Country Course.<br /><strong>ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS GRILL<br /></strong>An enlarged and enhanced sports-themed fast casual restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating located across from Champion Stadium. The restaurant contains a full bar and menu items include burgers, pizza, signature sandwiches and salads, along with a variety of desserts and beverages.<br />Includes high-definition TV screens, live radio remote capabilities and a SportsCenter desk.<br /><strong>ESPN INNOVATION LAB<br /></strong>New home for the Emerging Technology group at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.<br />Facility develops various broadcast-related technologies that eventually may make their way to air on ESPN Networks.<br />ESPN has utilized the sports complex and its numerous sporting events to build and test future on-air applications, such as player and object tracking and player game simulation.<br /><strong>UNIQUE EXTRAS<br /></strong>Retail facilities: Three sports-themed merchandise locations reside at the sports complex, while customized merchandise vehicles are located throughout the other venues during individual events.<br />The Welcome Center provides assistance to sports complex guests during their visit to Walt Disney World Resort, including planning for theme park visits, dining and golf reservations.<br />The PlayStation Pavilion features 17 state-of-the-art PlayStation 3 systems, including a SingStar stage, and a collection of just-released game titles.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ESPN WWoS Complex Quick Facts</span></strong><br />The complex incorporates the signature elements of ESPN for a one-of-a-kind experience that is designed to take youth sports to the next level and make athletes, coaches and fans feel as if they made it to the “big time” and on to ESPN.<br />The complex features a 20-zone audio system, 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 handheld and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture any competition at the complex and display live action, game highlights, player interviews and ESPN programming.<br />A new 2,500-square-foot state-of-the-art Production Center with eight edit bays and uplinks to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles provides competition footage to various ESPN media platforms such as ESPN, ESPNRISE.com and ESPN3.com.<br />The ESPN Innovation Lab, where new ground-breaking on-air products are developed and tested utilizing the athletes and events taking place at the complex. Additionally, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was recently designated as ESPN’s development hub for 3D telecast technology.<br />A redesigned and renamed ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill, a sports-themed eatery with high-definition TV screens, live radio remote capabilities and a SportsCenter desk.<br />The PlayStation Pavilion features 17 PlayStation 3 systems, including a SingStar stage, and a collection of just-released sports-themed games and other titles.<br />The Welcome Center is an information hub for sports complex guests looking for sports event information as well as theme park information, dining reservation, golf tee times, etc.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">About ESPN, Inc.<br /></span></strong>ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU), ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and ESPNU HD simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (46 networks, syndication, radio, Web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN3.com (Broadband), ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">About ESPN Technology:</span></strong><br />ESPN Technology develops the ideas and applications that bring the fan closer to the game with new, innovative production enhancements. ESPN’s technology team designed and supports two of the most technologically advanced production centers in the world, the Digital Center in Bristol, Conn., and the Los Angeles Production Center which is the first 1080p-capable production facility. In addition, the Emerging Technology Group has developed many on-air advancements over the past 30 years, including virtual graphics applications, Huck-O-Meter and the Emmy-winning EA Virtual Playbook</div></div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-49175950214177349642010-04-19T00:09:00.000-07:002010-04-19T00:15:48.126-07:00Health Awareness for PublicHealth education has an important role in teaching, developing and maintaining awareness of people about the health issues, health care and hygiene. It is a profession which is aimed at the achievement of health awareness in the masses.<br />In developed countries health education is efficiently working to promote the methods by which health of people in a society could be ensured. But the developing countries are lacking in this sector.<br />Health education involves education regarding the maintenance and promotion of physical, mental, spiritual and social health of people. It equips individuals, communities and societies to take planned and effective health decisions for the promotion and well being of people in general.<br />It is the health educator who prepares plans regarding improvement and promotion of health facilities in the society.<br />The awareness campaigns are also designed by health educators for the masses so the people can enjoy better health using scientific and natural measures. Health education also helps counsel people regarding illness prevention and remedies.<br />Educational skills along with health expertise enable the health educators to enhance the health of others. The health educator decides his plans about health education strategies only after analyzing the need and knowledge level of a community regarding health. The communities which are developed but do not have water and those that suffer from environmental pollution will be educated differently in comparison to the people of less developed community that have many hygiene problems.<br />They may also do a research and evaluate after educating people about health to know the effectiveness of the efforts. In case of severe virus infecting masses in a society, like swine flu and bird flu, people can get useful information regarding prevention from health educators. The health educators motivate people for practicing what they learn through health education.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">More Health Issues :</span></strong><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;">-Achieving Physical, Mental and Social Well Being<br />-Getting started with Exercise for Healthier Life<br />-Consuming Sufficient Healthy Foods Yet Maintaining Ideal Weight<br />-Understanding Your Body Needs in Maintaining Optimal Health<br />-Stay Off Smoking with Physical Activities</span></em>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-27197165843676266082010-04-19T00:02:00.000-07:002010-04-19T00:09:25.359-07:00Health Tips For Busy People<p align="left">Many women's lifestyle magazines frustrate us by providing exercise regimens for work and then adding: "You can do this exercise in your office!" What about those of us who work in a cube or other small space (with no floor space for Pilates-style stretches) that's not very private (do you really want your boss to wander by right when you're doing jumping jacks?). Even if you are cube-confined, you can maintain your health in a cube.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Make A "Health" Drawer<br /></span></strong>Your filing spaces are your friends. Most cubes have lots of little drawers. Make one of them a "health" drawer. Add a ziplock bag or two with healthy non-perishable snacks in it (maybe dried veggies), a few bags of herbal, non-caffeinated tea (switch over from coffee midday to help you sleep better at night), and a travel-size hand-sanitizing gel for use regularly when there's a cold going around the office (did you know most colds are transmitted through shared objects like doorknobs?). A decorative canvas bag can store an extra pair of athletic shoes in case you can take a 10 minute walk or stretch break over lunch.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Get Blood Back To Your Brain:<br /></span></strong>Pop goes the weasel. When you sit in a cube in front of a computer or on the phone for hours at a time, gravity pulls your blood towards your feet. It pools in your feet, ankles, and fanny; if you're ever noticed your feet looking puffy towards the end of the day, the puffiness may be a side-effect of having blood spending so much time down there! Our arm and leg muscles function as "pumps" to get blood back to the heart.<br />While you could just do jumping jacks to get the blood flowing back upwards, there are less noticeable ways to get blood moving: If you've got a shelf in your high in your cube, keep daily useables (paperclips, stapler) there; getting up regularly will remind you to stretch. While standing lift your legs up at the knee, one at a time, to help get blood flowing. One enterprising woman kept a postcard pinned up towards the very top of her cube wall - and kept an ever-growing collection of postcards that she exchanged every day in the afternoon. The new postcard each day perked her up, and it gave her a reminder to get up and stretch several times a day.<br />Muscular injury is common in the desk-job world. The Center for Disease Control reports that 92,576 injuries resulted from repetitive motion, including typing or key entry. Make sure to take breaks from the keyboard at least once an hour. Use a wrist support at your computer when you are typing or browsing, Your forearm, wrist, and hand should be on a level, not making a V. The Harvard RSI action group suggests some exercises to help prevent repetitive stress injuries . If you spend a lot of time on the phone and can't use a speaker phone, don't hold the phone by crunching your shoulder against your ear. Instead, invest in or ask for a headset or shoulder support for your receiver.<br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Drink Plenty Of Water:<br /></span></strong>Drinking water is very important. It can help you recover from a cold more quickly (though it doesn't "cure" it), replenish lost fluids after exercise, and assist in weight loss (many people think they are hungry when they are actually thirsty, so make sure to take a drink before diving for the candy machine). Keep a four-cup bottle or thermos near the computer and replenish daily. Don't overdo though - excess water can dilute important minerals and vitamins in your blood stream.<br />Make Sure To Take Your Vitamins & Other Pills:<br />Pill reminders. Do you need regularly forget to take vitamins because you're busy? Find an attractive, desk-top container to put the bottle in - a decorative flower pot is one option. Something attractive and eye catching will remind you it's there. This can also work for daily medications, but keep in mind that some medications can be toxic to others or have street-value (many prescribed pain killers), so these are medications that should stay with you, rather than your desk.</p>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-5946579993622994762010-02-22T02:06:00.000-08:002010-02-22T02:12:45.522-08:00Imaginary scenarios can influence world eventsThe concept of a scenario, which is used in areas such as social planning and some fields of research, was originally borrowed from the world of the theatre and was first launched in the 1950s by the American Herman Kahn in the context of futurology studies. Kahn had in mind a description of possible developments in a particular area, for example military technology or civil transport. He introduced the term “scenario” to make the point that this was something other than traditional forecasting (which simply described the most likely course of development).<br />His idea was, by making use of several basically different scenarios, to broaden thinking about the future and to provide a better basis on which to arrive at robust conclusions. Such scenario-based planning soon found a place in the defence sector in a number of countries including Sweden and it was also adopted by large corporations, for example Shell, where much of the method-related pioneering work was carried out.<br />There is also a parallel scenario tradition, involving so-called normative scenarios, which takes values and interests into account. This is often referred to as “backcasting”. Backcasting scenarios reason from a desired future situation and offer a number of different strategies to reach this situation. Both these techniques have long been used and further developed by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) in the context of assignments from civil and military customers and in a variety of research projects.<br />Forecasts and trend predictions need to be based on stable patterns of development in the particular field of interest concerned. Demographic trends have, over long periods of time, been characterised by such stability and the same applies, for example, to the growth of car ownership over much of the period since the Second World War. But there are also many examples of situations in which the course of development appears more irregular, or where periods of stability are interspersed with more chaotic spells.<br />One example is the fall of the Berlin Wall, which changed the balance of power in the world, a change that is still having repercussions. There are new actors and new types of conflict which can affect Sweden’s security. The Cold War meant that there was a fixed structure for the threats that could be envisaged, a structure that no longer exists. At the same time, modern society faces new, imponderable challenges, for example globalisation and the effects of climate change on the environment which, in the long term, entail a higher risk of pandemics and extreme weather phenomena. One might say that that there is a broad or qualitative uncertainty as to the possible effects of global developments in terms of new risks and threats to Sweden’s security.<br />Both scenario planning, as conceived and developed by Kahn and Shell, and advances in normative scenario planning such as backcasting, have emerged as a reaction to the inability of prediction and trend-based planning to handle situations involving rapid changes and possible trend breaks. Scenarios can be used where one cannot rely on trends or if one considers that unfavourable trends should be broken.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Developments not easily influenced</span><br /> Shell’s scenario planning emerged in the early 1970s as a result of the realisation that current trends and development patterns could no longer be taken as given. In that situation it became necessary to broaden future-oriented analysis. This marked the beginning of the development of scenarios for the surrounding environment as a basis for strategic assessments. Many other companies followed and today such techniques are also used in the public sector.<br />In the tradition of Shell’s work, a set of qualitatively different scenarios were developed to handle the fundamental uncertainty as to which direction development would take. The scenarios focus on the environment in which the organisation works and describe the possible courses of development in areas which the organisation cannot influence but which can have a major effect on its own operations. An example of such a factor in the surrounding environment is the effect of the price of oil on a transport business. Such scenarios have since been used to develop a strategy which can function in all the different scenarios, so-called robust planning. Usually three or four different scenarios are developed. This allows a relatively broad spectrum to be covered while keeping the number of scenarios to a manageable figure.<br />Shell’s real contribution is the development of a participating process in which the users, that is to say the decision makers concerned, together with external experts, participate in the scenario development through workshops with structured brainstorming. Computer models based on so-called morphological analysis have been developed by FOI and a number of other research institutes as an alternative to the Shell approach but with the same effort devoted to developing qualitatively different scenarios. One example in which the scenario process in a Shell-type approach was led by FOI is described in the article on page 50.<br />The normative scenario approach (backcasting) emerged, as did the explorative approach, during the 1970s. In the wake of the oil crises a number of countries carried out normative energy system studies with the aim of finding long-term solutions to the dependence on oil, something that was increasingly recognised both as a security threat and as an environmental problem.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Desirable visions of the future</span><br />The concept of backcasting was launched with the idea that it could be used to develop future situations that were desirable, or at least to help solve relevant social problems. Subsequent analysis would address the question of how that future situation or situations could be achieved. In Sweden, FOI carried out early studies which attracted attention. Among the results were two articles, published in the highly regarded journal Science during the 1980s, on the future energy situation in Sweden. This is one topical example of a backcasting study carried out by FOI.<br /><br />So when does either scenario planning or backcasting represent the best choice of method?<br />Scenario planning, with scenarios of the surrounding environment in which an organisation is operating, can be appropriate when the activities to be planned are strongly dependent on factors outside that organisation’s control while, at the same time, a number of these factors could conceivably develop in different ways, in other words when there is a significant degree of uncertainty. Backcasting, on the other hand, may be an appropriate choice if there is a major problem which cannot be resolved by means of current trends, but where the relevant actors should together be able to bring about a trend break.<br />Karl Henrik Dreborg is an analyst at FOI and a specialist in the scenario technique known as backcasting.for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-81868398984600472592010-02-22T00:28:00.000-08:002010-02-22T00:44:20.894-08:00New electronic display be used<div align="left"> One of the latest inventions in the field of light emitting devices might change the way people light their homes and design clothes. The device represents a thin film of plastic able to conduct electricity and create solar power.<br /> Scientists working on the international project are looking forward to bring the organic light emitting devices to the masses. Thus the invention could significantly cut costs by billions of dollars each year.<br /> Due to the fact that the organic light emitting devices are very thin and flexible, electronic display screens could be easily created on nearly every material, thus, for example, clothing could, for the first time in history, display specific electronic information.<br /> There are various ways of using the this OLED, like for example change the color of clothes, beer can would be able to display various sports results. In addition the OLED is much more efficient than the light bulb used today.<br /> Currently these devices are applied in mobile phones and MP3 players. However, such OLED is not quite reliable for large TV or computer screens.<br /> In order to make the device more efficient so later to launch it to mass market, the international consortium of researches, Modecom, headed by the University of Bath, United Kingdom, started a three-year project which will cost about $1,700,000.<br /> Modecom comprises 13 groups from 9 universities and two companies. There are three groups from the United Kingdom, six groups from the United States and one group from China and one each from three European countries including Belgium, Italy and Denmark. Only the European countries and China will receive financial aid from the European Union.<br /> The coordinator of Modecom is Dr Alison Walker, who represents the Department of Physics of the University of Bath. "This is a long-term project, and the contributions of many scientists are needed for its success ... Success in achieving the goals of cheap, efficient and long lasting devices is essential as we must do everything we can to reduce our energy costs," he stated.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-60263106024564927242009-10-26T20:49:00.000-07:002009-10-26T21:41:47.956-07:00We Miss About Middle School<span style="font-size:130%;"> Field Trips<br /></span>Remember the pleasure of getting to miss a day of school to goof around with your friends while not listening to a weirdo museum tour guide go on about some crap you’re not going to be tested on? I do. Now the closest thing I get to a field trip is forcing myself to eat an extra Taco Bell Chalupa on my lunch break so I can spend the next hour of work taking a shit.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> You were bigger and better than somebody<br /></span>The hierarchy that existed within middle schools is the only social system that has ever made sense to me. Whenever life got you down or someone was giving you a hard time, there was an entire grade of kids younger and smaller than you to take it out on. This safety net was enough to make the humdrums and hardships of middle school life tolerable. Now, when your boss yells at you, you turn around and bitch out your intern. The intern calls his dad, who knows your boss and you get yelled at again. Something here is messed up.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> You could still be anything you wanted<br /></span>Remember being told that you could grow up and be anything you wanted? The parents of our generation filled our heads with this idealistic propaganda that the world was a place of opportunity. On my block alone there were three astronauts, two rock stars, five presidents of the United States , 12 profession athletes and one tattoo artist (Timmy was a bit odd). The inveterate concept and all likelihood of being able to be anything you want slowly washed away as the tide brought in more practical prospects. Now you’re 24, working at a Chuck E. Cheese and throwing a fit because some little bastard kid beat your high score on Time Crisis III. Your mom, instead of telling you that you can be whatever you want, is telling you to move out of her basement and the closest you get to being an astronaut is getting blazed out of your skull from an eighth of this new hydroponic shit that just came in from Canada sold to you by old neighbor Timmy.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Pranks and sexual harassment were still acceptable<br /></span>In the old days a good, elaborate prank went a long way. Whether it was something like a whoopee cushion or peeping in the girls locker room, it was guaranteed good fun. Try and pull a stunt like that in the office and you’re guaranteed a lawsuit. For example, a colleague of mine, or should I say former colleague of mine, got fired for turning his pockets inside out, whipping out his dick and pretending to be an elephant. It’s just not fair.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> Girls Weren’t Ruining My Life<br /></span>In middle school all you had to do was treat a girl like dirt and she would stick to you like mud. If that didn’t work just have your friends do all the talking. They didn’t care how much money you made, because no one made any. Every girl was a virgin, no one had STDs, and shooting blanks was the most effective contraceptive. A girl’s body was still uncharted waters and unexplored territory rather than that neighborhood that used to be nice, but started to wear down a bit; now cops don’t go there and there is a hooker on every block. Those were the days. I don’t know why I wasted them begging my older brother to buy me playboys. there were way better porno mags to be had.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> You were able to eat anything<br /></span>google_protectAndRunFresh off my latest coronary, I long for the days when ice cream was a meal, candy was a snack and pussy wasn’t too laced with mercury to eat.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> You didn’t need alcohol to have fun</span><br />Remember when you are a kid and you could have fun without the help of drugs and alcohol? Imaginary force-fields, crayons, sticks, spinning around in circles and thumb wars were just a few of the things we used to find thoroughly entertaining. Now, I can’t even imagine sitting down to a family dinner without at least 3 drinks in me. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t even go to the movies anymore because by the time the previews are over I am not even high anymore.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> Summers meant something<br /></span>The first large chunk of our existence on this planet was spent crossing off calendar days until summer arrives. You used to relentlessly look forward to flipping all your teachers the bird and entering those golden days; the days where it was socially acceptable to play your Alice Cooper CD on repeat and fulfill every human being’s dream of doing absolutely nothing. Now, if anything, summers mean back sweat, swamp ass, getting your ball sack stuck to your leg and dick stuck to your sack. Summers mean weekends at your girlfriend’s parent’s house and getting weird looks from people because you’re an overweight, balding man running after an ice cream truck. No worries, only about 14,479 days left until retirement.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> People were proud of you for things<br /></span>There was a time when parents, teachers and friends used to shell out vast amount of praise for even the most pedestrian of accomplishments. Shit, we had it so good people were even proud of us for flat out failing at certain tasks. Whether it was doing some god awful performance at a talent show, striking out 3 times in a row in a little league game or making fun of the foreign kid’s glasses, we were rewarded with applause, ice cream and high fives. Now, no one is proud of you for anything, there’s just different degrees of disappointment.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> Energy<br /></span>Remember the days before energy was served exclusively in a can and our bodies just produced it naturally? It’s hard to believe that as a kid we actually had too much energy, so much so that our parents refused to serve us certain foods. Now, regardless of what I am doing, where I am or who I am with, I am pretty sure I could fall asleep on command. I need about three red bulls, two mountain dews and a line of cocaine just to finish a game of Madden.for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-50226139630520300312009-10-26T20:25:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:49:25.701-07:00"Music is imaginary"Elliott Carter Great Music Composer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZFMx1_Ex9kq-dt6PPg8DGv4pERrOTYPribg_yHpsYbO3W_l1wvjc9oECPxw05B5dOH_7gzu8O_5fU_Qczmo8kuFDiHoNn9Hd7m_rOCh03Gb44OjyT-9fEPEDmSBdKxbgDwOOsDQkWcO0/s1600-h/0,,4420649_1,00.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397121779065857634" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 194px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZFMx1_Ex9kq-dt6PPg8DGv4pERrOTYPribg_yHpsYbO3W_l1wvjc9oECPxw05B5dOH_7gzu8O_5fU_Qczmo8kuFDiHoNn9Hd7m_rOCh03Gb44OjyT-9fEPEDmSBdKxbgDwOOsDQkWcO0/s320/0,,4420649_1,00.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#336666;">Acclaimed American composer Elliott Carter came to Germany on a scholarship as a young man. Now, at 100, he encourages budding composers to follow their hearts.</span><br /></em><br /></span>Composer Elliott Carter is internationally recognized as one of the leading American voices of the classical music tradition. One of the extraordinary features of Carter's career is his astonishing productivity and creative vitality as he embarks on his eleventh decade. He has written more than 130 works and over 40 of these in the past decade alone.<br /><br />DW's Breandain O'Shea met with Carter during the Aldeburgh Music Festival in the UK, where a special program of his music was being presented to celebrate his 100th birthday.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#003333;"><em>Deutsche Welle: Mr. Carter, you spent a period of your life in Germany - around 1964, when you wrote your much celebrated piano concerto. How did you come to Germany and how important has German music been in your career?</em><br /></span><br />Elliott Carter: It was a time when the Ford Foundation and the Berliner Senate got to together to start what I think was called the Deutsche Austauschdienst (German Exchange Program) and they invited a number of artists - WH Orden was one, I can't remember the rest. You could stay there for a year. We had a very good and interesting time.<br /><br />I'd had an interest in Germany since I was in college in 1920 and 1930. I use to go to Germany - Munich - hoping to learn German, but instead ended up going to Wagner and Mozart operas at the Prinzregententheater.<br /><br />So I never really learned German. I was more interested in the music than the language. It is a country that I have greatly admired in many, many ways. After all, most of the music I am interested in is German. It has been an important part of my life.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;"><em>Literature has had an incredible influence on you: Proust, James Joyce, Thomas Mann and the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. You once said literature helped you discover important aspects of music that you didn't find in compositions. What do you mean by that?</em><br /></span><br />Well, of course literature deals with the actual physical world and the world that we see. Music is an imaginary thing; in some ways it deals with what seems to be feelings and thoughts. Literature is much more concerned with how we think about the world around us, while music is much more "innerlich" (internal).<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><em><span style="color:#99ff99;">What advice would you give young composers today?</span><br /></em></span><br />Young composers should always do what they love to do. If they love to make money, that's one way of writing music. And the other one is if they like to write notes.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#663333;"><em>Is there a difference?</em><br /></span><br />Of course there is, because if you really want to make money then you have to write for a large public. If you write notes then you have to write what you think is good and hope that other people will like it. We are all composers that are a result of a good deal of training and that training consisted partly of understanding what audiences expect. And so as a result, the relationship of the composer to the audience is a built-in thing when you become a professional.<br /><br />Then, of course, it doesn't mean that all the audience will like it.<br /><br />Here we are all taught to write fugues - but then who in that audience will know what a fugue is? (Composing) is full of peculiar problems like that. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-24616277410145208732009-10-26T20:17:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:25:23.746-07:00An Online Dating Game<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFDC-TdkLureqsNqMLMcgYwlVKxx0ujEls-alwboDQ0BUC2CQmq5-X5bqqRyYYkTfG-dVljBxGtnX2r-G7wQKG9BcZzWDr2Ky5pQScYQQKSfd7eyWgLZjqKWupTNAa1wlr2cb7HbmOMaG/s1600-h/1178516_com_be_with_me.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397115376255282866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFDC-TdkLureqsNqMLMcgYwlVKxx0ujEls-alwboDQ0BUC2CQmq5-X5bqqRyYYkTfG-dVljBxGtnX2r-G7wQKG9BcZzWDr2Ky5pQScYQQKSfd7eyWgLZjqKWupTNAa1wlr2cb7HbmOMaG/s320/1178516_com_be_with_me.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">Every once and a while a gamer seeks out a new type of gaming experience, but virtual girlfriends?! Who would have thought!<br />There are several news articles floating around on the internet about imaginary girlfriends. A search on google using the terms eBay Imaginary Girlfriend will turn up several blog posts and even news stories from more reliable sources such as Fox News Around 2003/2004 eBay featured auctions for virtual girlfriends and virtual dates. Women, many in college, would post a picture and offer their services as a pretend or imaginary girlfriend to single and lonely men.<br />These long distant relationship services usually consisted of an online chat, a few emails a month, perhaps some pictures, and a hand written love letter or two. The auctions were very popular and many women would easily make upward near $100 a month, sometimes more, by offering these long distant virtual or imaginary girlfriend services.<br />Somehow something went wrong. Somewhere, despite the spirit of good entrepreneurship, some ladies started to take advantage of the lonely men in the world. Though the services would be offered and the single men would pay for them, some virtual girls never carried out their duties as an imaginary or virtual girlfriend, thus conning some guys out of hundred of dollars. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-58370296784062818862009-10-26T19:53:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:00:20.082-07:00"Imaginary Boyfriend"<div align="justify"> An ironic thing happened this week when a writer for UMM, a magazine some consider to be the Canadian Maxim, was interviewing Leah Renee about her quickly rising dance hit single 'iBF (Imaginary Boyfriend)' for its Summer 2009 issue. </div><div align="justify"><br />Far more than just a typical squeaky clean pop princess, the New York based singer and songwriter mentioned that she was reading 'Scar Tissue,' Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Keidis' best-selling 2004 drug addiction memoir. </div><div align="justify"><br />She told the journalist that, while she's focusing on R&B influenced dance/pop as an artist, she grew up on a heavy dose of hard rock, including Guns N' Roses and Black Sabbath. Her father and brother are big rock fans and long-haired Harley riders who had a major influence on Leah's musical sensibilities.</div><div align="justify"><br />While there's more to Leah than meets the eye, it's plain to see that she's an out and out dance sensation as her 'iBF' remix leaped 10 slots this week to No 38 on the FMQB Dance Chart, a dynamic and eclectic list featuring superstars from Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 to Madonna, Flo Rida and Kelly Clarkson. </div><div align="justify"><br />The track also remains at No 1 on IDJPOOL - Chicago's April Dance Chart, No 10 on both the DJ Mag Dancefloor Destroyers House Chart and XPressbeats Top Ten House Chart, and No 20 on XPressbeats Top 50 Most Wanted Chart. 'iBF' is also the No 2 Breakout track on the dance chart of the Mass Pool DJ Association. </div><div align="justify"><br />'iBF' is being spun on XM, AOL Music, Fusionradio, iPartyradio, B91, DMX and stations like WDRE, WKIE, KNHC, WBZC and WMPH. </div><div align="justify"><br />The week of April 17, Leah was featured on Myspace Celebrity under Rising Star. Last week's celebrity icon was Ryan Seacrest. The page also featured Tila, Nicole Richie, David Cook, David Archuleta, Jewel and Ashley Tisdale. Leah was on CBS Radio New York on Wednesday, April 15 and was interviewed by Matt Simpson, the Director of Music Content, CBS Radio Digital Media Group. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-53741473470307628472009-10-25T01:00:00.000-07:002009-10-25T01:12:59.946-07:00Guy is Cheating<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMMLrpbxBPuukzzShE4W-aMIi2LTI1vbfvpGj-yz98qYXAhxM-Tdit7uNk0tl0OqdvRXxcIE4N35Uzb0gn6-a0T-8otIchafsEICWtrhVbSEtOUsLVK-QJtyq5VYJ5YAteRV7lU-kPFxt/s1600-h/mr_84107eca397456.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396446245411640098" style="WIDTH: 682px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 257px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMMLrpbxBPuukzzShE4W-aMIi2LTI1vbfvpGj-yz98qYXAhxM-Tdit7uNk0tl0OqdvRXxcIE4N35Uzb0gn6-a0T-8otIchafsEICWtrhVbSEtOUsLVK-QJtyq5VYJ5YAteRV7lU-kPFxt/s320/mr_84107eca397456.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>From changes in behavior to mysterious disappearances, signs that your guy could be stepping out on you.<br /><br />It’s every woman’s worst relationship fear that her man is cheating. We’ve all heard the statistic: half of all men cheat. And some experts say that number is even closer to three quarters. Could it be happening to you? Aside from finding lipstick on his collar, a mysterious condom in his pocket or, yes, a phone number on a napkin (helpful hints but unlikely clichés!), there are some red flags to watch out for to tip you off that something fishy might be going on.</div><br /><div>The following are six signs that should raise your eyebrows:</div><br /><div>1. He’s Acting Differently.</div><div>The most telltale sign of a cheating man is that he’s acting differently than the way he used to. If any of the signals below describe your guy’s usual actions, don’t freak out and immediately assume he’s having an affair; he’s probably just being his quirky self. What you should be suspicious of is new developments, says Barbara Feld, LCSW, a couple’s therapist at Park Avenue Relationship Consultants in New York City. She says you should ask yourself, “Is what’s happening different than normal? Is he showing a real change in behavior?” If he’s always been private, hasn’t ever had the highest sex drive, or often flakes out on plans, that’s just who he is. It’s when he starts to be that way and never was before that you should start asking questions.</div><br /><div align="justify">2. He’s Avoiding You.</div><div align="justify">If your guy has suddenly started coming home much later, seems to be making excuses to be out of the house, starts going away with out you on the weekends, or just generally seems to be avoiding you, that’s a clear indication of trouble in your relationship. M. Gary Neuman, a licensed family counselor and the author of “The Truth About Cheating” found that 61 percent of cheating men said they started spending more time away from home. 55 percent of men about to cheat said the same thing. No matter how busy your guy may be, he should be making an effort to see you (because, hello – he loves you, right?). If he’s stopped making time for you, it’s not at all unreasonable to wonder if he’s making time for someone else. </div><div align="justify"><br />3. You’re Having Less/Different Sex.</div><div align="justify">You might think that cheating men stop sleeping with their partners completely. But that’s not always the case. According to M. Gary Neuman, a little less than half of cheating men report having less sex with their partner. Others keep having sex so that they don’t raise suspicions – sneaky b_ s. So be alert to the amount of sex you’re having, but most of all, pay attention to the quality of the sex. Therapist Barbara Feld says sometimes when a guy is having an affair, the quantity of sex remains the same, but it’s the sex itself that changes. Maybe it used to be very romantic, and feel more like making love, and now it just feels like plain old sex.</div><br /><div align="justify">4. His General Response to You Has Changed.</div><div align="justify">If a guy is having an affair, he may stop acting like the sweet, romantic man you fell in love with. Maybe he used to be very loving and kind towards you, but now he seems to get annoyed easily, be critical, or pick fights. If he’s consistently not being affectionate with you, don’t brush it off. Try to figure out why he’s different – and what could be distracting him, or making him feel guilty.</div><br /><div align="justify">5. He Has Suddenly Become Very Private.</div><div align="justify">It’s just not normal for your guy to always go into a different room to answer calls, keep his cell phone in his car, or get really private about his bills (unless, of course, your man is a privacy freak and you knew that going in). But if he suddenly stops checking his e-mail in front of you, has turned the bathroom into a phone booth, and has redirected the bills to his office, it’s a fair guess than an affair is under way.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">6. He is UnreliableQuite simply, says Barbara Feld, “is he where he says he will be?” If he’s never where he says he’s going to be, it’s a certain sign he’s lying to you about something. Maybe he says he’ll be at the office, but you call and he’s not there. Or he says he’s with a friend, and that friend then calls looking for him. Everyone’s plans change sometimes, but if your guy is consistently not where he says he will be, it’s very possible it’s because he’s with another woman.</div><br /><div align="justify">What to Do?</div><div align="justify">If your guy is showing any of these six signs, talk with him about it. Tell him things feel different than they used to, and you want to know what’s going on. “If he tells you everything is fine but you know it’s not, continue to pursue the issue,” says Barbara Feld. “You can also suggest, ‘let’s talk to someone together,’ and get couples therapy.”Don’t turn a blind eye on your relationship. If things are bad, getting bad, or just feel strange, do something about it. Even if you guy isn’t having an affair, all the signs above could be signals that he’s about to. By addressing – and working with him to fix – whatever is going on in your relationship, you can prevent an affair from ever happening in the first place. If you’re noticing negative changes or problems in your relationship, address them now, while they’re still small. Maintaining a strong relationship with open communication is one of the best things you can do to ensure fidelity—both on his part, and on yours.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-39362302919820976042009-09-20T22:07:00.000-07:002009-09-20T22:10:05.931-07:00HOW TO EARN EXTRA MONEY ?!<div align="justify">Do you know that Google top paying adsense keywords is one of the most overlooked ways to make extra money?However, in the field of the use of computers to make money at home, statistics show that 90% of the beginners hurry after all these premade websites that use adsense free.They do so motivated by the hope to earn serious cash using high paying keywords. But unfortunately the results are that around 50% of these beginners dramatically fail to make even 1$ online.But why did they fail?They simply do this most serious mistake. Indeed, they devote huge time and energy searching here and there to find the latest top paying keywords adsense and they overlook the following 2 points:- Is the website well optimized to attract enough visitors from the search engines?- Is the website well designed to increase the click through rate (ctr) on the ads?In few words, using the top paying keywords on your website is one of the overlooked ways to make extra money provided that you consider the previous 2 points concerning search engines and the click through rate.So, let us in this article list few tips about how to well consider these 2 missing points.Category #1: Search engine optimization.Tip #1: do not forget to include your keywords in the HTML tags of your home page. I.e. meta, description, title and alt images tags. But why you should do this?Google uses these tags to formulate an idea about what the topic of your home page is and, consequently, shows relevant ads on your webpage. Therefore, make your tags keywords rich and be very specific.Being specific -i.e. targeting specific niches like student loans in California rather than loans- makes your ads extremely relevant to your website and, therefore, leads to high ctr rates adsense.Tip #2: Some of the beginners make their content not that useful in the hope that their visitors will quit their non-valuable websites by clicking on the ads. This is definitely wrong! Do not do this.You may win one click but you will loose this visitor for ever. Therefore, make your website useful and rich-content so that you visitor will bookmark it and come back again looking for new information. And during this process he will surely click on your ads.Therefore, here you won one visitor and multiple clicks instead of one visitor and one click. I.e. more clicks mean more money and here is the key point where you can consider Google's program as one of the best overlooked ways to make extra money.Category #2: Successful Website Design.Tip #1: Make your ads look naturalThe internet nowadays is full of non-sense ads that doing nothing but annoying the visitors and, therefore, people are currently mentally trained to ignore ads. To fight against this, make your ads look like normal hyperlinks to more pages.To do so:- Avoid having frames around your ads.- Make the color of the ad's title like any other hyperlinks on your page (usually blue).- Make the color of the ad's URL like the other text you have (usually black).Tip #2: Avoid Pop-UpsAs it is known, you are not allowed to point to your ads using arrows, especial graphics, etc. and that is why some beginners go around this limitation by adding pop-up near their ads.Do not do this. This makes your website's loading time longer with no real value for your visitors except annoying them and it makes your site look like a typical sales website.Tip #3: Use proper positions Google ads are really one of the overlooked ways to make extra money, if you do not assign your ads to the right positions on your webpage.So, here are the best positions:- Top left: Internet visitors look there to navigate through your menu.-Top Center: This the first place that attracts attention to seek the title of your webpage.- Bottom Center: After reading your article, most of the visitors will be eager to know more.In a nutshell, head to Google's program as it is considered as one of the optimal answers to the question "How to make a lot of money online avoiding scams?" and further Google, from my personal point of view, is the best company that hires people to work at home.So, inserting the top paying adsense keywords and considering the above mentioned categories will open your eye to one of the best legitimate overlooked ways to make extra money. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-40721902559459193702009-09-20T21:42:00.000-07:002009-09-20T22:07:09.387-07:00Study Exposes Extra Risk For Heart Patients<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAzHpy8-3FKC5LZ3KhqCLR5iAjLwQqC_WPt7MwNawyE4pc_C7uJMjXPzK7rBTmsHn6yqxpzTafTNQxDRQ-545DwPzGyVZbVqCHvNhZ1JJaWV06xMRwopc9kwfSicafvh_UKJJZSOLD1Sz/s1600-h/heart.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383782651945548626" style="WIDTH: 664px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 371px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAzHpy8-3FKC5LZ3KhqCLR5iAjLwQqC_WPt7MwNawyE4pc_C7uJMjXPzK7rBTmsHn6yqxpzTafTNQxDRQ-545DwPzGyVZbVqCHvNhZ1JJaWV06xMRwopc9kwfSicafvh_UKJJZSOLD1Sz/s400/heart.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>An international study led by University of Auckland researchers finds, because many people with heart failure do not get effective treatment, they are at an increased risk of dying.<br />Data from over 45,000-patients involved in 29-international studies shows about 3 in 10-New Zealanders die within a year of being admitted to hospital with their first heart failure, and a quarter of the patients do not respond to the standard drug treatments.<br />Standard treatment usually includes diuretics for relieving congestion in the heart and drugs for easing constriction.<br />The study found that if a patient's condition is not managed well, they have an increased risk of death, a lower quality of life, and are hospitalised repeatedly for treatment.<br />This study highlights the fact that there is a considerable need tor direct improvements in the care of patients with heart failure, which is a common but complex and difficult condition to manage.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-66876749793197878342009-09-20T21:38:00.000-07:002009-09-20T21:42:30.508-07:00‘30 Rock’<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3T8hg0tWA28zFWSrH1h9vRIgZnZXhvkcSqPPT23lT9ZGvOfUJlP9yv63HIwvTN5CAYmbQrYcxyodjKmMP6SfFxTEBRuJYIgE_WnmHvYz6O-vpqbzeOiJnN-rFYycED0pGR0aqL4yh12A/s1600-h/data.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383776438634396306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3T8hg0tWA28zFWSrH1h9vRIgZnZXhvkcSqPPT23lT9ZGvOfUJlP9yv63HIwvTN5CAYmbQrYcxyodjKmMP6SfFxTEBRuJYIgE_WnmHvYz6O-vpqbzeOiJnN-rFYycED0pGR0aqL4yh12A/s320/data.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">NBC’s “30 Rock” won the Emmy award for best comedy series for the third year in a row and its star Alec Baldwin received his second win for his portrayal of a slick and unscrupulous network executive.<br />AMC’s “Mad Men” won best dramatic series for the second year in a row at today’s 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris on CBS Corp.’s television network.<br />“30 Rock” dominated the comedy category. The satire, set behind the scenes at a television show on General Electric Co.’s NBC, won a total of five awards, the most of any television series. The accolades haven’t helped in viewer ratings, where the show has struggled.<br />“This is the greatest job I’ll ever have,” Baldwin said after his win. “We’ve been very lucky with the show.”<br />There were multiple repeat winners. Glenn Close and Bryan Cranston both won for the second year in a row for their leading dramatic roles in FX Network’s “Damages” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” AMC is owned by Bethpage, New York- based Cablevision Systems Corp. and FX is owned by New York-based News Corp.<br />Toni Collette received the award for best lead actress in a comedy for her role as a mother with an identity disorder in Showtime’s “United States of Tara.”<br />‘The Daily Show’<br />“The Amazing Race,” on CBS, won the award for best competition reality show, and “Grey Gardens” won best made- for-television movie on Time Warner Inc.’s HBO.<br />Jon Cryer won best supporting actor in a comedy series for his role as a hapless father in CBS Corp.’s “Two and a Half Men,” and Kristin Chenoweth also won for supporting actress in a comedy for her role in ABC’s “Pushing Daisies.”<br />Cherry Jones, who plays President Allison Taylor of Fox’s action thriller “24,” won best supporting actress in a drama. It was Jones’s first Emmy nomination.<br />“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” from Viacom Inc.’s Comedy Central received awards for best program and best writing in variety-comedy-musical categories.<br />Prime-time audiences fell at three of the four biggest U.S. TV networks last season, with only CBS gaining both total viewers and the 18-to-49-year-olds that advertisers target most, according to Nielsen Co. CBS ended the season as the most- watched network and Fox finished with the most viewers 18 to 49.<br />The broadcast networks followed HBO in nominations, with 67 for New York-based NBC and 55 for Burbank, California-based ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co. CBS nabbed 49, while News Corp.’s Fox received 42, with 8 coming from “American Idol,” the most- watched show in prime time.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-24534426749047488982009-09-20T20:42:00.000-07:002009-09-20T21:28:28.998-07:00Obama`s health insurance<div align="justify">President Barack Obama says requiring people to get health insurance and fining them if they don't would not amount to a backhanded tax increase.<br />"I absolutely reject that notion," the president said. Blanketing most of the Sunday TV news shows, Obama defended his proposed health care overhaul, including a key point of the various health care bills on Capitol Hill: mandating that people get health insurance to share the cost burden fairly among all. Those who failed to get coverage would face financial penalties.<br />Obama said other elements of the plan would make insurance affordable for people, from a new comparison-shopping "exchange" to tax credits.<br />Telling people to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase, Obama told ABC's "This Week."<br />"What it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore," said Obama. "Right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase."<br />Obama faces an enormous political and communications challenge in selling his health care plan as Congress debates how to pay for it all.<br />He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he will keep his pledge not to raise taxes on families earning up to $250,000, and that much of the final bill — hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years — can be achieved from savings within the current system. Coming up with the rest remains a key legislative obstacle.<br />Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said there is no way Obama can achieve his goals without raising taxes.<br />"He has to. How else do you pay for it?" he told CBS.<br />Obama put his support behind the idea of taxing employers that offer high-cost insurance plans.<br />"I do think that giving a disincentive to insurance companies to offer Cadillac plans that don't make people healthier is part of the way that we're going to bring down health care costs for everybody over the long term," Obama said on NBC's "Meet the Press."<br />Obama's network interviews were taped Friday at the White House. He became the first president to appear on five Sunday network shows in the same morning, an extraordinary effort to build public support for his top domestic priority.<br />The goal is to expand and improve health insurance coverage and rein in long-term costs.<br />Yet despite so many weeks of speeches, town halls and interviews, Obama said he has found it difficult at times to make a complex topic clear and relevant.<br />"I've tried to keep it digestible," Obama said. "It's very hard for people to get their arms around it. And that's been a case where I have been humbled and I just keep on trying harder."<br />Obama told Univision's "Al Punto" ("To the Point") that the strong opposition to his plan is part of a political strategy.<br />"Well, part of it is ... that the opposition has made a decision," he said. "They are just not going to support anything, for political reasons."<br />Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Obama doesn't understand Republicans' opposition.<br />"I don't know anybody in my Republican conference in the Senate who's in favor of doing nothing on health care," McConnell said. "We obviously have a cost problem and we have an access problem."<br />But he told CNN's "State of the Union" that the Democrats' plan is simply too rushed.<br />Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Obama has ignored grave concerns over his plan and his media blitz won't change that.<br />"The president is selling something that people, quite frankly, are not buying," Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press."<br />"He's been on everything but the Food Channel," he added.</div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7474015126635475448.post-58978485209036037482009-09-19T02:27:00.000-07:002009-09-19T02:39:49.622-07:00Top universities reject extra places<div align="justify"> English universities were last week given just 48 hours to accept 10,000 extra university places in priority areas, including science and technology for the coming 2009-10 academic year. But they will receive no additional state funds so 13 universities almost immediately declined the offer. A further 16 universities, most of them smaller research intensive institutions, later also refused to accept further places.Universities had until late last Thursday to tell the Higher Education Funding Council if they would accept the places allocated to them in a circular on Wednesday. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> Any rejected places were to be redistributed across the rest of the sector within 24 hours.The government has agreed to cover the cost of student support for the places but universities will not receive any teaching grant. Many research-intensive institutions confirmed they would turn down the extra places because they were only part-funded.Thirteen almost immediately declined and 11 belong to the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities which has 16 English universities among its 20 members.Those that refused include Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College and King's College. In a statement, the group's Director General Dr Wendy Piatt said: "Maintaining quality is sacrosanct and the Russell Group is concerned about underfunded extra students - there is already a funding shortfall for teaching at our universities."Of the two universities outside the group, Exeter, a member of the 1994 Group of smaller research-intensive universities, is headed by Professor Steve Smith, President of UniversitiesUK, which represents all UK universities. </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> London Metropolitan University, a member of the million+ group largely composed of former polytechnics, is required to repay overfunding caused by massive under-reporting of student drop-out rates and is struggling to balance its books. The funding council has commissioned an independent review of its handling of the issue by Sir David Melville, former vice-chancellor of the University of Kent.The newer universities have received the largest share of the additional places in the funding council's allocation. Manchester Metropolitan University was offered the most (341), followed by Kingston (329) and Sheffield Hallam (234). In the final distribution, Manchester Metropolitan University extra places were increased to 519 and Kingston's to 501.It is likely that all 10,000 places will have to be allocated later this month during clearing - the fast-track process under which applicants who failed to make the grade for their chosen universities scramble for a vacancy at another.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"> The funding council has made clear to universities the new places "relax but not remove" the restriction on increases in full-time undergraduate and postgraduate teaching certificates imposed when universities were "asked" to avoid exceeding increases beyond 2008-09 admissions.The courses will be in priority areas, including biological and related health sciences (excluding psychology, sports science and those that are primarily practice-based), physical sciences (excluding geography), mathematical and computer science, engineering, technology, economics, and business studies.The government will fund financial support for the extra students over the duration of their higher education courses through maintenance grants and loans to cover tuition fees for full time students. But the cost will be offset by reprioritising existing budgets within the Department for Business, Enterprise and Skills, and by reducing an optional five-year holiday on repayment of student loans to two years. </div>for allhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00845697566252467594noreply@blogger.com0