we are made by the choices we make

An Australian Love Poem
(Who said Australians weren't romantic?)

Of course I love ya darling
You're a bloody top notch bird
And when I say you're gorgeous
I mean every single word

So ya bum is on the big side
I don't mind a bit of flab
It means that when I'm ready
There's somethin there to grab

So your belly isn't flat no more
I tell ya, I don't care
So long as when I cuddle ya
I can get my arms round there

No sheila who is your age
Has nice round perky breasts
They just gave in to gravity
But I know ya did ya best

I'm tellin ya the truth now
I never tell ya lies
I think its very sexy
That you've got dimples on ya thighs

I swear on me nanna's grave now
The moment that we met
I thought u was as good as
I Was ever gonna get

No matter wot u look like
I'll always love ya dear
Now shut up while the footy's on
And fetch another beer!

What is the geekiest part of your book collection? WCDMA

What is your secret guaranteed weeping movie? A walk to remember

If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done?  My eyebags taken out

Do you have a completely irrational fear?  Heights

What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moments? Bite nails

Do you know anyone famous? No

What do you carry with you at all times? wallet, cellphone, ipaq, ipod,

What do you miss most about being a kid?  Not having to worry about the bills and carefree attitude

What was the last song you were listening to? Nightbird by kalapana

What’s the one language you want to learn?  French and Spanish

What do you order at a bar? orange juice, ice tea

Have you ever pierced your body parts?  just my ears

Do you have tattoos? No, am not the type who'd get one

Most frivolous purchase? Gucci wallet :-(

What are you best at cooking? all kinds

Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?  Hmmmm

What kind of books do you like to read? Fiction, Suspense

If you won the lottery, what would you do? Hmmmmm

Do you cry in front of your friends? Shamelessly, yes

What’s one thing you like to do alone? Shopping. I like to shop alone :-)

Are you a giver or a taker? A little bit of both

When’s the last time you cried? two days ago

How many drinks before you’re tipsy/ sleepy? sorry I don't drink alcohol  so I don't get tipsy :-)

E N G I N E E R S   E X P L A I N E D

People who work in the fields of science and technology are not like other people. This can be frustrating to the non technical people who have to deal with them. The secret to coping with technology-oriented people is to understand their motivations.

This chapter will teach you everything you need to know. I learned their customs and mannerisms by observing them, much the way Jane Goodall learned about the great apes, but without the hassle of grooming.

Engineering is so trendy these days that everybody wants to be one. The word "engineer" is greatly overused. If there's somebody in your life who you think is trying to pass as an engineer, give him this test to discern the truth.

Engineer Identification Test

You walk into a room and notice that a picture is hanging crooked. You

A. Straighten it.

B. Ignore it.

C. Buy a CAD system and spend the next six months designing a  solar-powered, self-adjusting picture frame while often stating aloud your belief that the inventor of the nail was a total moron.

The correct answer is "C" but partial credit can be given to anybody who writes "It depends" in the margin of the test or simply blames the whole stupid thing on "Marketing."

Social Skills

Engineers have different objectives when it comes to social interaction. "Normal" people expect to accomplish several unrealistic things from social interaction:

Stimulating and thought-provoking conversation

Important social contacts

A feeling of connectedness with other humans

In contrast to "normal" people, engineers have rational objectives for social interactions:

ü      Get it over with as soon as possible.

ü      Avoid getting invited to something unpleasant.

ü      Demonstrate mental superiority and mastery of all subjects.

Fascination with gadgets

To the engineer, all matter in the universe can be placed into one of two categories:

B      Things that need to be fixed, and

B      Things that will need to be fixed after you've had a few minutes to play with them.

 Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems. Normal people don't understand this concept; they believe that if it isn’t broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet. No engineer looks at a television remote control without wondering what it would take to turn it into a stun gun. No engineer can take a shower without wondering if some sort of Teflon coating would make showering unnecessary. To the engineer, the world is a toy box full of sub-optimized and feature-poor toys.

Fashion and Appearance

Clothes are the lowest priority for an engineer, assuming the basic thresholds for temperature and decency have been satisfied. If no appendages are freezing or sticking together, and if no genitalia or mammary glands are swinging around in plain view, then the objective of clothing has been met. Anything else is a waste.

Love of "Star Trek"

Engineers love all of the "Star Trek" television shows and movies. It's a small wonder, since the engineers on the starship Enterprise are portrayed as heroes, occasionally even having sex with aliens. This is much more glamorous than the real life of an engineer, which consists of hiding from the universe and having sex without the participation of other life forms.

Dating and social life

Dating is never easy for engineers. A normal person will employ various indirect and duplicitous methods to create a false impression of attractiveness. Engineers are incapable of placing appearance above function. Fortunately, engineers have an ace in the hole. They are widely recognized as superior marriage material: intelligent, dependable, employed, honest, and handy around the house.

Honesty

Engineers are always honest in matters of technology and human relationships. That's why it's a good idea to keep engineers away from customers, romantic interests, and other people who can't handle the truth.

Engineers sometimes bend the truth to avoid work. They say things that sound like lies but technically are not because nobody could be expected to believe them.

The complete list of engineer lies is listed below:

"I won't change anything without asking you first."

"I'll return your hard-to-find cable tomorrow."

"I have to have new equipment to do my job."

"I'm not jealous of your new computer."

Frugality

Engineers are notoriously frugal. This is not because of cheapness or mean spirit; it is simply because every spending situation is simply a problem in optimisation, that is, "How can I escape this situation while retaining the greatest amount of cash? “

Powers of concentration

If there is one trait that best defines an engineer it is the ability to concentrate on one subject to the complete exclusion of everything else in the environment. This sometimes causes engineers to be pronounced dead prematurely. Some funeral homes in high-tech areas have started checking resumes before processing the bodies. Anybody with a degree in electrical engineering or experience in computer programming is propped up in the lounge for a few days just to see if he or she snaps out of it.

Risk

Engineers hate risk. They try to eliminate it whenever they can. This is understandable, given that when an engineer makes one little mistake the media will treat it like it's a big deal or something.

Examples of bad press for Engineers

D       Hindenberg.

D       Space Shuttle Challenger.

D       SPANet(tm)

D       Hubble space telescope.

D       Apollo 13.

D       Titanic.

D       Leyland P76.

The risk/reward calculation for engineers looks something like this:

RISK: Public humiliation and the death of thousands of innocent people.

REWARD: A certificate of appreciation in a handsome plastic frame.

Being practical people, engineers evaluate this balance of risks and rewards and decide that risk is not a good thing. The best way to avoid risk is by advising that any activity is technically impossible for reasons that are far too complicated to explain. If that approach is not sufficient to halt project, then the engineer will fall back to a second line of defence: "It's technically possible but it will cost too much."

Ego

Ego-wise, two things are important to engineers:

ü      How smart they are.

ü      How many cool devices they own.

The fastest way to get an engineer to solve a problem is to declare that the problem is unsolvable. No engineer can walk away from an unsolvable problem until it's solved. No illness or distraction is sufficient to get the engineer off the case. These types of challenges quickly become personal -- a battle between the engineer and the laws of nature.

Engineers will go without food and hygiene for days to solve a problem. (Other times just because they forgot.) And when they succeed in solving the problem they will experience an ego rush that is better than sex--and I'm including the kind of sex where other people are involved. Nothing is more threatening to the engineer than the suggestion that somebody has more technical skill.

Normal people sometimes use that knowledge as a lever to extract more work from the engineer. When an engineer says that something can't be done (a code phrase that means it's not fun to do), some clever normal people have learned to glance at the engineer with a look of compassion and pity and say something along these lines: "I'll ask Bob to figure it out. He knows how to solve difficult technical problems." At that point it is a good idea for the normal person to not stand between the engineer and the problem. The engineer will set upon the problem like a starved Chihuahua on a pork chop.

"Most people have it all wrong about wealth. Wealth is not the same as income. If you make a good income each year and spend it all you are not getting wealthier. You are just living high. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend."

Today, I decided to live 80% of my pay. I decided not just to earn but to be wealthy as well. I refuse to live high. GO TO FRUGAL LIFE!

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter.”

It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

Life is short. Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

ü       Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

ü       Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

ü       Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

ü       If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

ü       If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

ü       Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

ü       Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

ü       Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

ü       The second mouse gets the cheese.

ü       When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital at 6:00p m, Ingrid passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ.

Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

 RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR.

Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

 Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.

T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke... If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call EMERGENCY immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Immaturity is thinking that you have all the answers.

South Beach Diet is not depriving of food but gives alternatives and teaches you to choose food containing theright carbs and theright fats for your health. It does not limit portion size, it only limits the wrong kinds of food.

This diet is based on three-phase structure:

First Phase - this should only last two weeks and aims to banish food carvings by restraining carbohydrates intake. This phase is the most effective but the strictest one.

What to expect: weight loss between 8 t 13 lbs. esp. at the midsection of your body.

Foods allowed: Six meal a day are allowed; three main meals and three snacks but based on protein, good fats and the lowest-gylcemic index carbs diet.

Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nut group > Beef: eye of round, top round, sirloin, tenderloin. Poultry: (without skin) cornish hen, turkey, chicken breast. Seafoods: all types of fish and shellfish. Pork: boiled ham, tederloin. Veal: chop, leg, cutlet, top round. Lamb: center cut, chop, loin. Nuts (to be served only once a day and should be dry roasted without salt)

Milk, yougurt and cheese group: low-fat, fat-free: > Cheddar, cottage cheese, feta, mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta, string. Milk:  low-fat, soymilk, sugarfree. Soy: Tofu, low-fat soy burger, soy hotdog, soy sausage patty, soy crumbles.

Vegetetables and fruit group: > Vegetables: fresh, frozen or canned (nosugar added) artichokes, aspagarus, beans and legumes (black beans, butter beans, garbanzo, kidney, lentils, lima, peas) brocolli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, parsley,peppers, pickles, radishes, scallions, sea vegetables, spinach, sproutsm squash, zuchinni.

Fruits: > none

Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group: > none

Spice and seasoning: > all spices and seasoning that contain no added sugar.

Foods to avoid during Phase 1: All starchy food, all fatty cuts meat, vegetables that contains high amount of carbohydrates or sugar, all fruits (because of sugar), all kinds of alcohol and caffeine containing beverages.

South Beach Diet Phase 2: After two weeks, you can start phase 2 which is the same as phase 1 but with 1 serving of grains, creal, rice, pasta or fruits a day.

Tomato - a major source of antioxidant lycopene that reduces the risk of cancer by 40% --notably prostate, lung and stomach cancers -- and increases cancer survival. Toamto eaters function better mentally in old age and suffer half as much heart disease. Concentrated tomato sauces have 5 times more lycopene than fresh tomatoes, and canned tomatoes have times more than fresh

Olive Oil - shown to help reduce death from heart disease, study shows that heart-attack survivors on a Mediterranean diet had half the death rates of those on an ordinary low-fat diet. Olive oil is also high in antioxidant activity.

Red Grapes - including red grape juice. Red grapes have moderate antioxidant power, while purple grape has four times more antioxidant activity than orange or tomato juice. Red wine has about the same antioxidant caoacity as purple grape juice or tea. Research shows that drinking red wine in moderation increases longevity, but excessive drinking has the opposite effect, so limit to two glasses per day.

Drink Grape juice. 

Garlic - Researchers have found that garlic is packed with antioxidants known to help fend off cancer, heart disease, all-over aging, and prolong cancer survuval time. Let crushed garlic "rest" for about 10 minutes before cooking to preserve disease-fighting agents.

Spinach - second among vegetables only to garlic in antioxidant capacity and is also rich in folic acid, which helps fight cancer, heart disease and mental disorder. Research shows folic acid help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Eat both raw and steamed for best benefit.

Whole Grains - study suggests that the more whole grains you eat, the lower your odds of death by 15%. Whole grains contain anticancer agentsand help stabilize blood sugar and insulin, which may promote longevity. Whjole grain "dark" breads, cereals and "old fashioned" oat meal are excelent source.

Salmon - and other fatty fish contains high amount of omega-3 fat that performs miracles througout the body, fighting virtully every chronic disease known. Without it, your brain can't think, your heart can't beat, your arteries clog, and joints become inflamed. You need one ounce a day or two servings of salmon, sadines, mackerel, herring or tuna per week.

Nuts - A harvard university study found that eating more than 5 ounces a week can cut heart attack deaths in women by 40% and help prevent deadly irregular heart beats in men. Almonds and walnuts lower blood choleterol. Most of the fat in nuts is good type monounsaturated and/or omega-3. Unsalted nuts are the best.

Tea - Green or black tea has equal antioxidant benefit. Harvard researchers found that one cip a day can cut heart disease risk in half, whilst other studies shows that made from loose tea or tea bags, instant or bottled tea has little effect.

Berries - High in antioxidants. Researchers say that half a cup of blueberries a day can retard aging andcan block brain changes leading to decline and even failing of memory.

· Skin is the human body's largest organ that accounts for 18 percent of our body weight and covers about 19 square feet…  

· Since massage, like cocaine, stimulates the production of endorphins, lack of touch may lead to addictive behaviors…  

· Massage feels good and it also reduces stress, eases back pain, fights anorexia, lifts depression and saves lives?  

Life said so in an article entitled The Healing Power of Touch, chronicling the healing powers of massage, thus making it serious medicine. Yes, concurred a psychiatrist named James Gordon, "Massage is medicine" that can relieve and/or cure various illnesses (hypertension, among them).  

According to the Life story, "Physical touch is more than skin-deep. There are as many as five million touch receptors in our skin - 3,000 in a single fingertip - that send messages along the spinal cord to the brain. A simple touch - a hand on a shoulder, an arm around the waist - can reduce the heart rate and lower blood pressure. Touch also stimulates the brain to produce endorphins, the body's natural pain suppressors, which is why a mother's hug of a child who has skinned his knee can literally 'make it better'…  

"… Stronger, sustained touch can have even greater effect. Massage may increase the lymph flow rate. It enhances immune function and lowers levels of the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine. Massage also stimulates the vagus, one of 12 cranial nerves that influence various bodily functions. One branch of the vagus travels to the gastrointestinal tract, where it facilitates the release of food-absorption hormones like insulin and glucose."  

The truth is that discovery that touch can heal is as old as, perhaps, civilization itself.  

The Life story recalls that the first written records of massage - the word comes from an Arabic word meaning stroke - date back 3,000 years to China. A bas-relief on the tomb of Ankh-mahor, a 2200 B.C. Egyptian priest, depicts a seated man receiving a vigorous foot rub. The Life story added, "Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the father of modern medicine, was a 4^th century B.C. proselytizer for massage. The physician must be experienced in many things, but most assuredly in rubbing..."  

The medium, as you can see, is (the) massage. I mean, of course, honest-to-goodness massage, minus the "monkey business" that can leave you sensationally high. At no other time have spas and massage parlors (the "legit" ones, that is) mushroomed in Metro Maeverywhere as they do now, proof positive maybe that life has become so stressful that after a hard day's work, we need to unwind, to be touched here and there and to be rejuvenated for us to feel new again.

• Sing in the shower
• Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated
• Watch a sunrise at least once a year
• Leave the toilet seat in the down position
• Never refuse homemade brownies
• Strive for excellence, not perfection
• Plant a tree on your birthday
• Learn three clean jokes
• Return borrowed cars with gas tank full
• Compliment three people everyday
• Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them
• Leave everything a little better than you found it
• Keep it simple
• Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures
• Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know
• Floss your teeth
• Ask for a raise when you feel you've earned it
• Be forgiving of yourself and others
• Overtip breakfast waitresses
• Say "thank you" a lot
• Say "please" alot
• Avoid negative people
• Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards
• Wear polished shoes
• Remember other people's birthdays
• Commit yourself to constant improvement
• Carry jumper cables in your trunk
• Have a firm handshake
• Send lots of valentine cards, Sign them, "someone who thinks you're terrific"
• Look people in the eye
• Be the first to say "Hello"
• Use the good silver
• Return all things you borrow
• Make new friends but cherish the old ones
• Sing in a choir
• Plant flowers every spring
• Have a dog
• Always accept an outstretched hand
• Stop blaming others
• Take responsibility for every area in your life
• Wave at kids on school buses 
• Be there when people need you
• Feed strangers' expired meter
• Don't expect life to be fair
• Never underestimate the power of love
• Drink champagne for no reason at all
• Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation
• Don't be afraid to say " I made a mistake"
• Don't be afraid to say "I don't know"
• Compliment even small improvements
• Keep promises (no matter what)
• Marry only for love
• Rekindle old friendships
• Call your mother
• Count your blessings 

Life is fragile, Life is short

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning palyed. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not looked peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest -- in perfect peace.

The king chose the second picture.

"Peace does not mean to be in  place where there is no noise, trouble or hardwork. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart."