20 Strange and Mysterious Medical Syndromes

Doctors have come across some baffling day-to-day ailments, but few conditions are as strange as these 20 disorders, which range from biological to psychological to cultural in nature.

Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a speech disorder that causes sudden changes in speech pattern, intonation and pronunciation so that the victim is perceived to speak with a "foreign" accent. FAS usually results from severe trauma to the brain, such as a stroke or head injury, and typically develops within one or two years of the injury. Of the 50 to 60 cases that have been verified since 1941, only a few FAS sufferers regained their normal speech pattern, although some experienced success through speech therapy.

99 ways to make your computer blazingly fast

These tips will help you to make your computer fast.

There are probably a lot of great tweaks and performance hacks that I’ve missed here, so feel free to chime in with comments! Enjoy!

1. Defragment your computer hard disk using free tools like SmartDefrag.

2. You should also defragment your Windows pagefile and registry.

3. Clean up hard drive disk space being taken up by temporary files, the recycle bin, hibernation and more. You can also use a tool like TreeSize to determine what is taking up space on your hard drive.

4. Load up Windows faster by using Startup Delayer, a free program that will speed up the boot time of Windows by delaying the startup of programs.

5. Speaking of startup programs, many of them are useless and can be turned off. Use the MSCONFIG utility to disable startup programs.

6. By default, the size of the paging file is controlled by Windows, which can cause defragmentation. Also, the paging file should be on a different hard drive or partition than the boot partition. Read here on the rules for best paging file performance.

7. In Windows XP and Vista, the Windows Search indexing service is turned on for all local hard drives. Turning off indexing is a simple way to increase performance.

8. If you don’t care about all the fancy visual effects in Windows, you can turn them off by going to Performance Options.

9. You can optimize the Windows boot time using a free program called Bootvis from Microsoft.

10. Clean your registry by removing broken shortcuts, missing shared DLLs, invalid paths, invalid installer references and more. Read about the 10 best and free registry cleaners.

11. One of the main reasons why PC’s are slow is because of spyware. There are many programs to remove spyware including Ad-Aware, Giant Antispyware, SUPERAntiSpyware, and more.

12. If you have a deeper spyware infection that is very hard to remove, you can use HijackThis to remove spyware.

13. Remove unwanted pre-installed software (aka junk software) from your new PC using PC Decrapifier.

14. Disable unnecessary Windows services, settings, and programs that slow down your computer.

15. Tweak Windows XP and tweak Windows Vista settings using free programs

16. Disable UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista

17. Tweak your mouse settings so that you can copy and paste faster, scroll faster, navigate quickly while browsing and more. Read here to learn how to tweak your mouse.

18. Delete temporary and unused files on your computer using a free program like CCleaner. It can also fix issues with your registry.

19. Delete your Internet browsing history, temporary Internet files, cookies to free up disk space.

20. Clean out the Windows prefetch folder to improve performance.

21. Disable the XP boot logo to speed up Windows boot time.

22. Reduce the number of fonts that your computer has to load up on startup.

23. Force Windows to unload DLLs from memory to free up RAM.

24. Run DOS programs in separate memory spaces for better performance.

25. Turn off system restore only if you regularly backup your Windows machine using third party software.

26. Move or change the location of your My Documents folder so that it is on a separate partition or hard drive.

27. Turn off default disk performance monitors on Windows XP to increase performance.

28. Speed up boot time by disabling unused ports on your Windows machine.

29. Use Process Lasso to speed up your computer by allowing it to make sure that no one process can completely overtake the CPU.

30. Make icons appear faster while browsing in My Computer by disabling search for network files and printers.

31. Speed up browsing of pictures and videos in Windows Vista by disabling the Vista thumbnails cache.

32. Edit the right-click context menu in Windows XP and Vista and remove unnecessary items to increase display speed.

33. Use the Windows Performance Toolkit and the trace logs to speed up Windows boot time.

34. Speed up your Internet browsing by using an external DNS server such as OpenDNS.

35. Improve Vista performance by using ReadyBoost, a new feature whereby Vista can use the free space on your USB drive as a caching mechanism.

36. If you have a slow Internet connection, you can browse web pages faster using a service called Finch, which converts it into simple text.

37. Use Vista Services Optimizer to disable unnecessary services in Vista safely.

38. Also, check out my list of web accelerators, which are programs that try to prefetch and cache the sites you are going to visit.

39. Speed up Mozilla Firefox by tweaking the configuration settings and by installing an add-on called FasterFox.

40. Learn how to build your own computer with the fastest parts and best hardware.

41. Use a program called TeraCopy to speed up file copying in Windows XP and Vista.

42. Disable automatic Last Access Timestamp to speed up Windows XP.

43. Speed up the Start Menu in Vista by hacking the MenuShowDelay key in the registry.

44. Increase the FileSystem memory cache in Vista to utilize a system with a large amount of RAM.

45. Install more RAM if you are running XP with less than 512 MB or Vista with less than 1 GB of RAM.

46. Shut down XP faster by reducing the wait time to kill hung applications.

47. Make sure that you have selected “Adjust for best performance” on the Performance tab in System Properties.

48. If you are reinstalling Windows, make sure that you partition your hard drives correctly to maximize performance.

49. Use Altiris software virtualization to install all of your programs into a virtual layer that does not affect the registry or system files.

50. Create and install virtual machines for free and install junk program, games, etc into the virtual machines instead of the host operating system. Check out Sun openxVM.

51. Do not clear your paging file during shutdown unless it is needed for security purposes. Clearing the paging file slows down shutdown.

52. If your XP or Vista computer is not using NFTS, make sure you convert your FAT disk to the NTFS file system.

53. Update all of your drivers in Windows, including chipset and motherboard drivers to their latest versions.

54. Every once in a while run the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup utility.

55. Enable DMA mode in Windows XP for IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers in Device Manager.

56. Remove unnecessary or old programs from the Add/Remove dialog of the Control Panel.

57. Use a program click memtest86 or Prime95 to check for bad memory on your PC.

58. Determine your BIOS version and check the manufactures website to see if you need to update your BIOS.

59. Every once in a while, clean your mouse, keyboard and computer fans of dust and other buildup.

60. Replace a slow hard drive with a faster 7200 RPM drive, SATA drive, or SAS drive.

61. Changing from Master/Slave to Cable Select on your hard drive configuration can significantly decrease your boot time.

62. Perform a virus scan on your computer regularly. If you don’t want to install virus protection, use some of the free online virus scanners.

63. Remove extra toolbars from your Windows taskbar and from your Internet browser.

64. Disable the Windows Vista Sidebar if you’re not really using it for anything important. All those gadgets take up memory and processing power.

65. If you have a SATA drive and you’re running Windows Vista, you can speed up your PC by enabling the advanced write caching features.

66. Learn how to use keyboard shortcuts for Windows, Microsoft Word, Outlook, or create your own keyboard shortcuts.

67. Turn off the Aero visual effects in Windows Vista to increase computer performance.

68. If you are technically savvy and don’t mind taking a few risks, you can try to overclock your processor.

69. Speed up the Send To menu in Explorer by typing “sendto” in the Run dialog box and deleting unnecessary items.

70. Make sure to download all the latest Windows Updates, Service Packs, and hot fixes as they “normally” help your computer work better.

71. Make sure that there are no bad sectors or other errors on your hard drive by using the ScanDisk orchkdsk utility.

72. If you are not using some of the hardware on your computer, i.e. floppy drive, CD-ROM drive, USB ports, IR ports, Firewire, etc, then go into your BIOS and disable them so that they do not use any power and do not have to be loaded during boot up.

73. If you have never used the Recent Documents feature in Windows, then disable it completely as a long list can affect PC performance.

74. One basic tweak that can help in performance is to disable error reporting in Windows XP

75. If you don’t care about a pretty interface, you should use the Windows Classic theme under Display Properties.

76. Disable short filenames if you are using NTFS by running the following command: fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1. It will speed up the file creation process.

77. If you have lots of files in a single folder, it can slow down Explorer. It’s best to create multiple folders and spread out the files between the folders.

78. If you have files that are generally large, you might want to consider increasing the cluster size on NTFS to 16K or even 32K instead of 4K. This will help speed up opening of files.

79. If you have more than one disk in your PC, you can increase performance by moving your paging file to the second drive and formatting the volume using FAT32 instead of NTFS.

80. Turn off unnecessary features in Vista by going to Control Panel, choosing Uninstall a program, and then clicking on Turn Windows features on and off. You can turn off Remote Differential Compression, Tablet PC components, DFS replication service, Windows Fax & Scan, Windows Meeting Space, and lots more.

81. Install a free or commercial anti-virus program to help protect against viruses, etc. Make sure to use an anti-virus program that does not hog up all of your computer resources.

82. Completely uninstall programs and applications using a program like Revo Uninstaller. It will get rid of remnants left behind by normal uninstalls.

83. If you know what you are doing, you can install several hard drives into your machine and set them up in RAID 0, RAID 5, or other RAID configurations.

84. If you are using USB 1.0 ports, upgrade to 2.0. If you have a Firewire port, try to use that instead of a USB port since Firewire is faster than USB right now.

85. Remove the drivers for all old devices that may be hidden in Device Manager that you no longer use.

86. A more extreme option is to choose a faster operating system. If you find Vista to be slow, go with Windows XP. Switching to Mac or Linux is also an option.

87. One of the easiest ways to speed up your PC is to simply reformat it. Of course, you want to backup your data, but it is the best way to get your computer back to peak performance.

88. Speed up Internet browsing in IE by increasing the number of max connections per server in the registry.

89. If you use uTorrent to download torrents, you can increase the download speeds by tweaking the settings.

90. If you have a desktop background, make sure it’s a small and simple bitmap image rather than a fancy picture off the Internet. The best is to find a really small texture and to tile it.

91. For the Virtual Memory setting in Windows (right-click on My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Performance Settings, Advanced, Virtual Memory), make sure the MIN and MAX are both the same number.

92. If you search on Google a lot or Wikipedia, you can do it much faster on Vista by adding them to the Vista Start Menu Instant Search box.

93. If you have a custom built computer or a PC that was previously used, make sure to check the BIOS for optimal settings such as enabled CPU caches, correctly set IDE/SATA data transfer modes, memory timings, etc. You can also enable Fast/Quick boot if you have that option.

94. If you have a SCSI drive, make sure the write cache is enabled. You can do so by opening the properties of the SCSI drive in Windows.

95. If you have a machine with an older network card, make sure to enable the onboard processor for the network card, which will offload tasks from the CPU.

96. If you are using Windows Vista, you can disable the Welcome Center splash screen that always pops up.

97. If you already have anti-spyware software installed, turn off Windows Defender protection.

98. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows and have 4GB of RAM or more, you can force Windows to see and use all of the RAM by enabling PAE.

99. Buy a new computer!!! Pretty easy eh?

I’m sure I have missed out on lots of performance tweaks, tips, hacks, etc, so feel free to post comments to add to the list! Enjoy!

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-xp-tips/99-ways-to-make-your-computer-blazingly-fast/comment-page-1/

Essential guide to language in the 21st century economy

These words will help you to understand 21st Century economy stats

Bad bank A financial institution, or part of one, that looks after a bucket of debts that may turn sour. Strictly speaking it is the loans, not the bank, that is bad. Good banks, and especially talented bankers, are needed to orchestrate bad-bank salvage operations.

Bear a pessimistic investor

Bull a stock market investor with an optimistic disposition. Only sceptics reckon bulls talk rubbish.

Certificates of deposit Sometimes, in finance land, jargonised names are more self explanatory than the innocent observer might think. A “certificate of deposit” is exactly that, a document that represents a deposit, often at a bank. All other things being equal, a CD is worth the amount deposited with the bank. Think of one like an old-style building society pass book, if you like. The owner receives all the interest payable on the deposit, just as if the holder of a building society pass book received all the financial goodies payable. Why do CDs exist? They usually have a fixed life span, and because they do, banks know that the can rely on having the funds in the coffers for that time. For their part, depositors get a better interest rate by agreeing to the lock-in. Because CDs are tradable, the original depositor can get his or her hands on money before the end of the pre-agreed term, by selling the CD – together with all the rights and responsibilities that go with it - in the second-hand market. Proper CDs are among the most boring and reliable investments there are. In the Stanford case, it seems that financial instruments called certificates of deposit were weird mutants, or not real CDs at all.

Commercial paper Promises, made by companies, to pay. Invoices, which are glorified IOUs, represent one variety of commercial paper. The IOU may be a promise to settle an unpaid bill for work done; it may be a promise to repay a loan.

Credit insurance Guarantees given to banks, and other lenders. With government-backed credit insurance, the lender will not lose money even if the borrower welches.

Creditors People who lend money, or those who are in credit

Debtors People who borrow money, or those who are in debt

Deflation What happens when things get cheaper. While many might think falling prices are a good thing, it is bad in at least three key ways. Firstly, if the price of stuff is going down, consumers will be tempted to wait before buying. Since tomorrow never comes, steady reductions in prices means that stuff never gets bought. And if falling prices becomes a widespread problem, companies stop making stuff, the economy stagnates, shops empty and people lose their jobs. Secondly, falling prices means that companies get less money for selling goods and services. If revenues fall, there is less money knocking around to pay wages and companies reduce their wages bills by stopping over-time, or making people redundant. If they do that, prices continue to spiral downwards because there is less money around to spend. Thirdly and most scarily, deflation increases the real, underlying, weight of debts. The size, in pounds, dollars, euros or yen, of a mortgage does not change, but if you earn less, it will take longer to pay the interest and pay off the capital. Governments hate deflation because they are habitual borrowers, and the last thing they want to do is spend a larger part of their declining tax revenues on paying interest. Those with mortgages should be similarly fearful. Although inflation is disliked, it is seen as the better of two evils - not least because inflation lightens the underlying weight of outstanding debts.

Depression When recessions get really bad, they become depressions. Unlike recession there is no widely accepted textbook definition of a depression, although some say it comes when GDP shrinks by a total of 10 per cent. It will feel distinctly like a depression if a recession goes on for more than a year. After two years, talk of recessions is sure to be replaced by ultra-glum references to depression.

Dove an observer who is believes that friendly economic levers (such as interest rates) should be pulled

Fractional banking this lies at the very heart of the credit crunch, and near the centre of most, if not all, financial crises. Fractional banking is widely deployed and sees banks lend much more money than they hold in deposit. Deposits of money, in other words, are a fraction of the amount of money created as debts to businesses, individuals, governments and homeowners. Fractional banking is a force for economic good – it means that many more people can use the money to buy things they want, to build factories and create jobs, and to engage – generally – in economic activity that improves standards of living. Fractional banking is inherently unstable, however; if depositors want their money back for any reason banks can rapidly run out of funds. Confidence plays a key role, and if confidence dissipates, the unstable boat that is fractional banking can quickly become swamped, and then sink. Once a run on the bank starts it rapidly becomes catastrophic for the institution concerned. As a rule of thumb, sound fractional banks lend out the equivalent of £10 for every £1 of safely-deposited capital they hold. In the lead up to the credit crunch, some banks lent out more that that and were consequently more vulnerable were confidence began to disappear.

GDP A number that represents the size of national economies. It is a measure of economic activity. GDP is usually referred to in terms of the change on previous periods and since relatively sound economies grow, over the long term, at about 3 to 5 per cent a year, even small-looking percentage changes in GDP can have a dramatic impact.

Gilts Government debt. When the state borrows money, it borrows from institutional and, or, individual investors. Normally, the British Government sells gilts in exchange for hard cash to spend on things such as education, health and defence. At present the Government is issuing gilts in exchange for commercial paper in the hope that the exchange will increase levels of trust in the financial system. (NB “Gilt” is a nickname: the full name is “gilt-edged government security”. Why? Because in Napoleonic times, when the British Government started borrowing in this way, the IOUs were written on paper edged with gold leaf. It was a sign of the reliability, or creditworthiness, of the Government-borrower.)

Hawk someone who thinks that you have to be cruel to be kind when it comes to economic policy

Hyperinflation is to inflation what depression is to recession: the same only much worse. Opinion divides as to textbook definitions: but inflation that runs at 10 per cent or more a month, or 100 per cent or more a year, is hyperinflation. When inflation gets really bad it destroys faith in currencies, and when faith in currencies dissolves, economic activity goes down the drain. Money helps trade, and helps build complex - hopefully civilised - societies. Without money, civilised societies are weakened, and inefficient bartering takes the place of more advanced, better, forms of life-enhancing trade.

Inflation The fancy name for rising prices. Inflation is bad for lots of reasons. It is bad because it creates economic instability. Companies are always uncertain about the future, and that makes it hard for them to plan. If inflation is high, the sense of uncertainty rises and companies may play safe and decide against developing new products, building factories, and employing staff. High inflation therefore stunts economic growth, in the long term, although in the short term, a little inflation serves as economic encouragement.

Leverage A fancy name for debt often expressed in proportion to a borrower’s assets. Also known as “gearing”.

Liabilities Debts

Liquidity A fancy name for money. The more liquidity in the financial system, the more money there is sloshing around. If liquidity is scarce, as now, there is only a small amount of money in the system. The Government is attempting to improve liquidity by replacing low-quality commercial paper with high-quality gilts. It is crucial, in this context, to understand that cash is only one type money. Money is anything that is used in the exchange of goods and services. Gold bars, IOUs, hire purchase agreements, and mortgage debts, are some examples of “other” sorts of money. Different types of money have different qualities, some are good, some are bad, most are in-between. The quality of money shifts, over time, as economic circumstances change. The quality of money also changes as people, particularly people who are also investors, adjust their opinions.

Ponzi schemes alarmingly simple but powerfully deceptive investment schemes – especially if you are the gullible type. Also known as “pyramid selling”, the schemes often start with a genuine investment idea but become derailed in order to line the pockets of fraudsters. They work, temporarily, by paying mouth-watering investment profits out of fresh investments of new investors’ cash. Ponzis might be compared to a hose pipe. As long as water (that is, money) goes in at one end, water (that is, more money) comes out at the other. And as long as the water flows, the founders siphon off a fat share of the loot for themselves. But as soon as the tap is turned off, the whole kaboosh is seen for being the hollow pipe-dream it really is. Ponzi schemes are named after an Italian-American by the name of Charles Ponzi, one of the most famous fraudsters of the ilk.

Profit margin an indicator of profitability rather than just profits. It is calculated by dividing the turnover (aka sales or sometimes revenues) of a company by its profits to get a percentage figure. For example: imagine that Lollipop PLC sells £1 million-worth of lollipops in a year, and makes a profit of £50,000. Its profit margin is £1 million divided by £50,000 or 5 per cent. Now imagine that Gum PLC sells £10 million of chewing gum and makes £250,000 of profit. At first glance it might seem that Gum is doing better. But since Gum's profit margin is only 2.5 per cent, you might say that the opposite is true.

Preference shares Financial agreements used by companies to raise money. Companies usually raise finance in one of two ways. They either issue shares, selling ownership right and responsibilities in exchange for the cash raised. Companies also borrow, often through the issue of glorified IOUs called bonds, that confer no rights of ownership. Preference shares are a hybrid: they get dividend before holders of ordinary shares, but come lower than bondholders (x-ref creditors) in the pecking order.

Quantitative easing A posh way of referring to the process of printing money. It is a horrible piece of jargon. The hope is that if Governments print money, and inject it into the economy, people and companies will be more likely to spend. If they are more likely to spend, there is a greater chance that the economy will spring into life. Take a bar-room illustration: the bloke at the bar with a fistful of dollars is more likely to splash out on a round than the man who is down to his is last nickels and dimes. Even if the cash is borrowed, greater quantities breed greater generosity. How does quantitative easing take place? The Government, or its agents in central banks, replaces poor-quality money in the economy with good money. Old IOUs issued by companies that may welsh on promises to pay up are replaced with IOUs underwritten by the full force of the state, and its ability to raise tax revenues. It is like printing money because the old IOUs because useless. Replacement, in other words, is akin to creating new money. And by boosting confidence some forms of money (that is, corporate IOUs and the like), it is hoped that confidence across the economy will rise.

Recession Wags would have you believe that a recession happens when your neighbour losses his or her job, and it is a depression when you are made redundant. Economic textbooks tell that a recession is what happens when the economy shrinks for six months on the trot. GDP is used to measure the size of the economy, and when the figures go negative for two successive three months periods (or quarters) the technical definition is met.

RPI Stands for retail price index and is a measure of changes in the cost of living. If it is positive, we have inflation. If it is negative we have deflation. The RPI is only one measure of inflation as calculated by National Statistics, the UK Government agency although it is important because, among other things, it is the one used for increasing state pension payments. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which sets UK official UK interest rates, uses another measure - the Consumer Prices Index, or CPI, largely because it is closer to the measures used across Europe. The CPI like the RPI except it excludes things such as council taxes.

Sub-prime Equals dodgy. Sub-prime borrowers are people who prove themselves unable to repay what they owe. Sub-prime loans are debts that may not be repaid. Sub-prime mortgages are home loans where the debt will not be settled even if the house on which it is secured is sold because the property has fallen in value.

Systemic threat A threat to the whole financial system, rather than just a part of it. Government is obliged to act against systemic threats because failure may bring financial Armageddon. Banking failure is systemic because banking (that is, the practice of exchanging money, goods and services between people) is everywhere. In extremis, a country can do without a motor industry. Modern society would collapse if banks ceased to exist because money would cease to exist.

Toxic debt Loans that may not be repaid. They are especially scary because of the risk that one toxic debt may poison other loans that were previously OK. For example, if one home loan on one street goes bad, it might make people think that all the loans on the street will go bad.

Writedown If a company, or a bank, thinks that it might lose money it “writes down” the value in its ledgers. The company may or may not actually lose the money, a writedown process is a precautionary move – albeit one that often leads to “write-offs”.

Write-off Like a car involved in a bad accident, a loan that won’t be repaid is written off. Prior to the accident, the car will have value. After it, it does not. Ditto for money involved in a credit accident. Where does the money go? It disappears, with the resulting gap being eventually reflected in the year-end tally of corporate or governmental profits and loss.

21 things Girls don't realize

I found this list on Friendster Bulletin and found it interesting. In short, I agree with this. I don’t really know who the author is, but I’m reposting it. Read it carefully, you might realize reading all this.

1. Guys may be flirting around all day, but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about….
2. Guys are more emotional than you think, if they loved you at one point, it’ll take them a lot longer than you think to let you go, and it hurts every second that they try.
3. Guys go crazy over a girl’s smile
4. A guy who likes you wants to be the only guy you talk to.
5. Giving a guy a hanging message like “You know what?..uh…nevermind..” would make him jump to a conclusion that is far from what you are thinking. And he’ll assume he did something wrong and he’ll obsess about it trying to figure it out.
6. If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don’t need to give advice.
7. A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you.
8. GUYS LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE THEM!!!
9. Guys use words like hot or cute to describe girls. They rarely use beautiful or gorgeous. If a guy uses that, he loves you or likes you a whole heck of a lot.
10. If the guy does something stupid in front of the girl, he will think about it for the next couple days or until the next time he spends time with the girl.
11. If a guy looks unusually calm and laid back, he’s probably faking it and he is really thinking about something.
12. When a guy says he is going crazy about the girl, he really is. Guys rarely say that.
13. When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he’s just actually saying, “Please come and listen to me”.
14. If a guy starts to talk seriously, listen to him. It doesn’t happen that often, so when it does, you know something’s up.
15. When a guy looks at you for longer than a second, he’s definitely thinking something.
16. Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions and are MAD confusing but somehow are drawn even more to them.
17. A guy would give the world to be able to read a girl’s mind for a day.
18. No guy can handle all his problems on his own. He’s just too stubborn to admit it.
19. NOT ALL GUYS ARE RUDE!!! Just because ONE is RUDE doesnt mean he represents ALL of them.
20. WHEN A GUY SACRIFICES HIS SLEEP AND HEALTH JUST TO TALK TO YOU, HE REALLY LIKES YOU AND WANTS TO BE WITH YOU AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
21. Even if you dump a guy months ago and he loved you he probably still does and if he had one wish it would be you to come back into his life.

Lessons for Life

I've learned-
that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned-
that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
I've learned-
that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned-
that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned-
that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.
I've learned-
that you should never ruin an apology with an excuse.
I've learned-
that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned-
that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.
I've learned-
that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned-
that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned-
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned-
that you can keep going long after you can't.
I've learned-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned-
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned-
that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
I've learned-
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned-
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned-
that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned-
that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I've learned-
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I've learned-
that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned-
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned-
that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.
I've learned-
that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't biological.
I've learned-
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you are to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned-
that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
I've learned-
that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned-
that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I've learned-
that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned-
that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned-
that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I've learned-
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned-
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
I've learned-
that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings, and standing up for what you believe.
I've learned-
that people will forget what you said, and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

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AR Rahman Wins Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire

Rahman has also made India proud by winning 2 awards for the best Original Movie Score and best Song for 'Jai Ho' . Slumdog won its fourth Oscar in the Film Editing Category.Indian Rusel Pookutty won the third Oscar for 'Slumdog Millionaire' in the best Sound Mixing Category.

Smile Pinki, a documentary on a young Indian girl also won an Oscar in the best Short Documentary category.

British scriptwriter Simon Beaufoy fetched the first Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category while Anthony Dod Mantle won the Oscar for best Cinematography in 'Slumdog Millionaire', based on Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel ‘Q and A', as the world's top film honours got under way in Los Angeles.

"It is a tremendous honour. I thank Vikas Swarup, without him 'Slumdog' would not have happened, thanks Vikas Swarup," said Beaufoy while accepting the golden statuette.

"Thank you Dev, thank you Latika and the entire cast and crew of Slumdog," Beaufoy said.

The scriptwriter has already bagged the Golden Globe and BAFTA for "Slumdog Millionaire".

"I learnt a lot about life," said Beaufoy about his India experience.

This is a first Oscar for Beaufoy, who was earlier nominated in 1997 in the Original Screenplay Category for the film "Full Monty".

The list award winners are as follows:

Heath Ledger wins Oscar posthumously for best Supporting Actor for 'The Dark Knight'

* Penelope Cruz wins Supporting Actress Oscar for 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona

* Dustin Lance Black wins Oscar for best Original Screenplay for the film 'Milk'

* 'Slumdog Millionaire' wins first Oscar; Simon Beaufoy awarded for best Adapted Screenplay

* Anthony Dod Mantle gets wins Oscar for best Cinematography in 'Slumdog Millionaire'

* 'Slumdog Millionaire' wins Oscar for best Film Editing

* Resul Pokutty wins Oscar along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for best Sound Mixing

* 'WALL-E' wins Oscar for best Animated Feature Film.

* 'La Maison en Petits Cubes' gets best Animated Short Film Oscar

* 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' gets Oscar for best Art Direction

* Michael O'Connor bags Oscar for Costume Design in 'The Duchess'

* 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' gets Oscar for Makeup

*Spielzeugland' (Toyland) named best Live Action Short Film at the Oscars

* 'Man on Wire' wins Oscar for best Documentary Feature'

* India-based 'Smile Pinki' wins Oscar for best Documentary (short subject)

* 'The Dark Knight' wins Oscar for Sound Editing

* 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' wins Oscar for best Visual Effects

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rahman-wins-2-oscars-for-slumdog-millionaire/427010/

Top 10 stylish cities of world (Pics)

1. London, England - The city of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace is been rated as the most stylish cities. A favourite destination of tourists and businessmen, London has a fine mix of renaissance architecture and the modern day multicultural society. The city is London is all set to host the 2012 Olympics. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

2. Paris, France - The presence of the 'Louvre Museum', 'Eiffel Tower' and 'Notre Dame de Paris' puts Paris among the most stylish cities around the world. The romantic city of Paris is surely a lover's delight, with beautiful architecture and cosy hotels. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

3. Sydney, Australia - Australia's Harbour City, Sydney is also famous for 'Sydney Opera House', its beaches and also it's cosmopolitan landscape. With several tourist attracts and business-friendly environment, Sydney is an ideal destination to mix business with pleasure. (AP Photo/Russell McPhedran)

4. New York, USA - If you're looking for a city that has music, business and entertainment all in one, look no further than the American city of New York. The 'Statue of Liberty', 'Empire State Building' and several other skyscrapers makes New York's skyline the most attractive. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)

5. Rome, Italy - The city of Rome has vibrant history and breathtaking architecture, which puts in among the most stylish cities of the world. The 'Roman Colosseum', 'Pantheon' and the famous Italian cuisine ensures the city is a tourist's paradise. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti)     

     

6. Barcelona, Spain - Be it basking under the sunlight of Barcelona or admiring architect Gaudi's splendour, Barcelona oozes both style and substance. (AP Photo/Cesar Rangel)

7. Melbourne, Australia - The Australia city of Melbourne is known for a classy mix of contemporary and Victorian architecture. Melbourne is a multicultural society and also regarded as the sports and cultural capital of Australia. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

8. Berlin, Germany - Germany's largest city, Berlin not only has an eventful history but also known for its style. The city has a lot to showcase through its sightseeing destinations, myriad restaurants and not to forget 'Reichstag', which gives a breathtaking view of the city. (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner)

9. Amsterdam, Netherlands - The magnificent city of Amsterdam has a lot to offer for tourists. Be it its historic canals, museums or its coffee shops, Amsterdam has been drawing tourists with varied interests from far and wide. (AP Photo/peter Dejong)

10. Madrid, Spain - The Spanish capital city of Madrid has a fine mix of art and culture. Famous attractions such as 'The Royal Palace of Madrid', 'Royal theatre' and its many archeological and art museums, brings Madrid in the list of most stylish cities. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

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Ancient Greek Sayings

ANCIENT GREEK SAYINGS

By all means marry. If you get a good wife you will become happy, and if you get a bad one you will become a philosopher.
--Socrates (470-399 B.C.)

Seeing a woman all dressed up for a trip to the city, Socrates remarked, "I suspect that your trip is not to see the city, but for the city to see you.
--Socrates (470-399 B.C.)

No better thing befalls a man than a good wife, no worse thing than a bad one.

--Semonides of Amorgos

The kind of events that once took place will by reason of human nature take places again.

--Thucydides

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office --Aesop (~550 BC) Appearances often are deceiving. --Aesop (~550 BC) In union there is strength. --Aesop Never trust the advice of a man in difficulties. --Aesop Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything --Aesop We often despise what is most useful to us. --Aesop He that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends. --Aesop Wealth unused might as well not exist --Aesop

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.
--Sophocles

We cannot learn without pain.
--Aristotle

Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.
--Aristotle

Only the dead have seen the end of war
--Plato

Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.
--Plato

Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will fin d a way around the laws.
--Plato

To be at once exceedingly wealthy and good is impossible.
--Plato (c. 428-348 BC)

The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.

--Plato

First secure an independent income, then practice virtue.
--Greek Proverb

Asked once how far Sparta's borders stretched, Agesilaus brandished his spear, and said, "As far as this can reach."

There's nothing certain in man's life except this: That he must lose it.

--Aeschylus

Aristotle
No one ever creates anything great without a dash of madness.

Homer
Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing and dancing sooner than of war.

Delphic Maxims
Know yourself.
Nothing in excess.
Aid friends.
Control anger.
Shun unjust acts.
Ackowledge sacred things.
Hold on to learning.
Praise virtue.
Avoid enemies.
Cultivate kinsmen.
Pity supplicants.
Accomplish your limit.
When you err, repent.
Consider the time.
Worship the divine.
Accept old age.

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Seven steps to overcoming procrastination

IF YOU'RE constantly leaving work to pile up on your desk, there's a very good chance you might just be on the avoidance treadmill.
Procrastination shouldn't be a long term strategy, but sometimes we all treat it as though it is.
It happens to the best of us. And we rationalise our action, or lack of action in this case, in so many ways.
The harsh reality is that procrastination is just a nice way of saying avoidance. Why do we avoid things? Simple - because we don’t enjoy them, or because they take us out of our comfort zone.
So instead of succumbing to the dreaded beast – try these tips for overcoming procrastination:
1. Be honest about why you are avoiding the activity.
Is it fear, is it that you don’t get on with someone, is it because you have to deliver bad news and you’re not sure how to go about it?
2. Commit to doing it at a certain time.
I usually do the things I'd prefer to avoid in the morning, so they are out of the way.
3. Prepare!
If you need to write yourself a script, do it. If you need to have absolute quiet, switch off the phones for a couple of hours. Whatever it takes – set yourself up for success.
4. Just do it!
5. Reward yourself when you are finished.
But only when you are finished. Go out for coffee afterwards, or just take a break.
6. Appreciate the feeling.
See how good it feels to get something done that would normally sit in your in-tray for ages.
7. Consider whether you should actually be doing this job.
There are some things that we just aren’t suited to, or that we don’t have the expertise for. If the things you avoid fall into this category, consider outsourcing them to an expert.
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,24995008-5017672,00.html