Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Top Corporate Logos - Web 2.0 Style

 

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps [Feature]



 
 

Sent to you by J. Todd via Google Reader:

 
 

via Lifehacker by Gina Trapani on 12/17/07

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Throughout Lifehacker's archive of over 14,000 posts, we've mentioned hundreds of free web and desktop apps that help you get things done—but which are the best? As we wrap up the year 2007, it's the perfect time to put together an authoritative guide to our favorite pieces of free software and web services for common computing tasks on every platform. After the jump, check out our favorite freebies to date in over 20 categories and counting, as we add your suggestions to the list.

Application Launchers

Backup Utilities

BitTorrent

Bookmarks

Calendar

Desktop Search

Disk Space Visualizers

DVD Rippers

File Syncing

Image Editing

Image Viewers/Managers

Instant Messenger

Macro Makers

Media Players

Password Managers/Helpers

PDF Readers/Writers/Editors

Personal Finance/Money Managers

Start Pages

Telephony Managers/Helpers

Text Editors

To-do List Managers

Virus Killers and Malware Cleaners

Web Clippings

Wikis

Zip File Extractors


Phew! Surely we missed one or two or 16 items on this list, so now we pass the torch to you, dear reader. What should be here that isn't? Let us know in the comments, and we'll add to it as we go.


 
 

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Quit Finder in OSX

Unlike some of you new Mac users might think, the Finder is just another application, it's not like Windoze Explorer.

So, to add a Quit Menu to the Finder (which helps CPU and cleans your Desktop), open Terminal.app (I prefer iTerm - Terminal tab goodness, besides background images, customizable colors and other cool stuff) and then type the following command:

defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 1

You can relaunch the Finder at any time clicking the Dock icon, and quitting Finder doesn't do anything harmful to your system.

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3 Stages of Man's Life

The 3 Stages of a Man's Life:

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The image
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Friday, December 14, 2007

20 Signs You May Be About to Die

20 Signs You May Be About to Die

Dec 13th, 2007 by Sawser

Cliff Jumping

I recall reading about an obscure native culture in which the concept of death is fluid rather than fixed. You might be "dead" (somewhat sick), "very dead" (extremely ill) or "completely dead" (actually deceased) according to their terminology. The following 20 funny photos have been organized by these darkly funny and fatalistic categories! Believe it or not, the image above is completely real - the photograph was taken in Lysefjorden, Norway.
Shark Coming

Bull Coming

Ball Comign 2

Bike Flipping

Dead (aka Somewhat Sick): The above victims may survive their ordeals but will certainly have some scars an bruises to show for them. A shark bite here, broken nose there and a few gore marks later these traumatized sports players, spectators and commuters all have priceless photos to document their near-death experiences.

People Falling

Man Falling

Truck 2

Truck 1

About to Fall

Very Dead (Extremely Ill): The top set of photos, while completely unretouched via Photoshop, was of course staged. A French photographer hired hip-hop dancers to jump and appear to be falling on the sidestreets of France. The latter group of images, though, depict dizzying near-death automotive accidents. How do you suppose that last guy got out in time?!

Train Ending

Tower Ending

Log Coming

Bridge Ending

Balloon Ending

Ball Coming

Sinking

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Pros and Cons of Coffee Drinking



 
 

Sent to you by J. Todd via Google Reader:

 
 

via Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life by Jay White on 12/12/07

Mmm... coffee, the aroma, the flavor. It makes mornings so much better! But is our daily cup of coffee doing more harm than good? There is a lot of research concerning both the negative and the positive effects of coffee drinking.

The "Pros"
  1. Antioxidants. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. Melanoidins from roasted coffee have antioxidative effects depending on the way the coffee is treated.

  2. Parkinson's disease. Regular coffee consumption reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease. A number of studies [1],[2] have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.

  3. Diabetes. Coffee consumption is potentially protective against the development of type 2 diabetes. A prospective cohort study as part of the US Nurses Health Study found that moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle aged women.

  4. Liver cirrhosis. Coffee drinking may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis.

  5. Gallstones. There is some evidence that coffee drinking may be protective against gallstone formation in both men and women.

  6. Kidney stones. Coffee consumption lowers the risk of kidney stones formation. Coffee increases the urine volume, preventing the crystallization of calcium oxalate, the most common component of kidney stones.

  7. Improved mental performance. Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.

  8. Alzheimer's disease. Regular coffee consumption seems to protect against Alzheimer's disease. Recent mouse study showed that caffeine equivalent to 5 cups of coffee per day reduced the build up of destructive plaques in the brain.

  9. Asthma. Caffeine in coffee is related to theophylline, an old asthma medication. Caffeine can open airways and improve asthma symptoms.

  10. Caffeine safety. In 1958, caffeine was placed on the Food and Drug Administration's list as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
The "Cons"
  1. Heart disease. The relation between coffee consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease has been examined in many studies, but the results remain controversial. Most prospective cohort studies have not found coffee consumption to be associated with significantly increased cardiovascular disease risk.

    On one hand, diterpenes cafestol and kahweol present in unfiltered coffee and caffeine each appear to increase risk of coronary heart disease. High quality studies have confirmed the cholesterol-raising effect of diterpenes. Coffee consumption is also associated with an increase of plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

    On the other hand, a lower risk of heart disease among moderate coffee drinkers might be due to antioxidants found in coffee.Besides that, caffeine can increase the risk of heart attack, especially among those people who carry the "slow" gene variant for the enzyme that metabolizes caffeine.

  2. Cholesterol. Heavy consumption of boiled coffee elevates blood total and LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") levels. Unfiltered coffee contains two cholesterol-raising compounds cafestol and kahweol.

  3. Blood vessels. Coffee negatively affects the blood vessel tone and function (increases arterial stiffness and wave reflections).

  4. Heart rhythm disturbances. Coffee can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias).

  5. Blood pressure. Although coffee consumption is not a significant risk factor for hypertension, it produces unfavorable effects on blood pressure and people prone to hypertension may be more susceptible. Recent Italian study found that coffee drinking can slightly increase the risk for development of sustained hypertension in persons with elevated blood pressure.

  6. Osteoporosis. Coffee intake may induce an extra urinary excretion of calcium. Heavy coffee consumption (4 cups=600 ml or more) can modestly increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women with a low calcium intake.

  7. Heartburn. A cup of coffee can trigger heartburn.
    8. Sleep
  8. Sleep. Most of us are aware of the stimulatory effects of caffeine. High amounts of caffeine taken before going to sleep, can cause restlessness and difficulty falling asleep, tendency to be awakened more readily by sudden noises, and a decreased quality of sleep. However, some people can drink coffee and fall right asleep.

  9. Dehydration. The caffeine in coffee is a mild diuretic and can increase urine excretion. This effect may be easily neutralized by drinking an extra glass of water.

  10. Dependence. Caffeine is a drug, a mild central nervous system stimulant, and it produces dependence. Caffeine withdrawal is a real syndrome. You may get a few days of headache and irritability if you choose to quit drinking coffee, however, it is relatively easy to break this habit, and most people are not addicted to caffeine.
So, what is the key? The old principle - "everything in moderation" - holds true for coffee. It is not bad unless you abuse it. Coffee has its downsides, but offers enough good points to make it a worthwhile drink. For moderate coffee drinkers (3-4 cups/day providing 300-400 mg/day of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks and some evidence of health benefits. And for sure you can enjoy your coffee as part of a healthy diet.

Written for Dumb Little Man by Christine Simmons, contributing author for HealthAssist.net


 
 

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

MRSA: Experts Answer Your Questions

MRSA: Experts Answer Your Questions

How to Identify MRSA Infections and Reduce Your Risk
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 24, 2007 -- MRSA, the superbug that is resistant to many antibiotics, has been making headlines recently. This month, a CDC report said there were more deaths from MRSA in 2005 than from AIDS.

WebMD spoke with experts to get answers to nine common questions about MRSA.

What is MRSA?

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of staph infection that is resistant to methicillin and other commonly used antibiotics in the same class, including penicillin, amoxicillin, and oxacillin.

What does an MRSA skin infection look like?

In otherwise healthy people with no recent history of hospitalizations, MRSA often appears as a pimple or boil that can be red, swollen, and painful. The lesion may also have pus or other drainage. Draining the lesion in the doctor's office may be the only treatment needed for localized skin infections, but doctors may also treat skin infections with oral antibiotics that are not resisted by MRSA.

What is health-care-associated MRSA?

A report issued earlier this month by the CDC concluded that nearly 19,000 people died from MRSA infections in 2005. Almost all of these deaths occurred among people with weakened immune systems who were being treated or had recently been treated in hospitals or other health care settings, including nursing homes and dialysis centers.

Health-care-associated MRSA can occur as surgical wound infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia. These life-threatening invasive infections are resistant to many, but not all, antibiotics. Roughly 5% of people treated in U.S. hospitals for MRSA died of the infection in 2005, according to a new report from the government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Do I need to worry about MRSA if I am healthy and haven't been hospitalized recently?

Community-associated MRSA infections were first reported about a decade ago and are increasingly common, Virginia Commonwealth University infectious disease specialist Richard P. Wenzel, MD, tells WebMD. But fully 95% of these non-health-care-related infections are confined to the skin and soft tissue, he says.

CDC spokeswoman Nichole Coffin says community-associated skin infections are typically mild in nature. But she adds that in rare cases they can become life-threatening.

The point was illustrated by the death last week from MRSA of a previously healthy 17-year-old high school football player in Bedford, Va.

"We want people to take [MRSA] seriously, but we also want them to understand that most community-acquired infections are mild so that they can make an honest risk assessment."

Who is at risk for community-associated MRSA?

Outbreaks have been reported among athletes, prisoners, and military recruits; risk factors include sharing close quarters and personal hygiene products like razors or towels. Infections are increasingly being seen in the general community and have been reported in schools, gyms, and even day care centers.

While health-care-associated MRSA infections more typically occur among the elderly, the average age of a person with a community-associated infection is 23, according to one study.

How can I protect myself from MRSA?

Close skin-to-skin contact, cuts and abrasions in the skin, contact with contaminated objects, and living in crowded conditions have all been associated with the spread of MRSA, according to the CDC.

Some of the best ways to keep from getting or spreading the infection include:

  • Frequent and thorough hand washing. Experts recommend washing your hands for as long as it takes to slowly recite the alphabet.
  • Covering cuts and scrapes with a clean bandage.  
  • Do not touch other people's wounds or bandages.
  • Do not share personal items like towels or razors, and wipe down surfaces you come into contact with at the gym or in a locker room.

I will be entering the hospital soon for a surgical procedure. What can I do to minimize the risk that I will be infected with MRSA or another hospital-acquired infection?

One of the most important steps a patient can take is to make sure doctors, nurses, support staff, and visitors wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer prior to touching them, Coffin says.

"Patients shouldn't be afraid to speak up and be active participants in their health care," she says.

Patients or patient advocates should also ask health care providers what is being done in the hospital to prevent MRSA and other types of hospital-acquired infections, she says.

Late last year, the CDC issued guidelines designed to reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bugs in the nation's hospitals and other health care settings.

"The bottom line is we think a comprehensive approach is needed, and every [health care facility] should have a program in place," Coffin says. "The goal for everyone should be to get these infection rates down. If the interventions aren't doing this, they need to do more."

How common is invasive MRSA?

It has been hard to get a handle on the magnitude of MRSA infections in the nation's health care settings, but two recent reports have shed some light on the issue.

One study estimated that for every 1,000 patients treated in U.S. hospitals, 46 cases of MRSA occur. The figure was 11 times higher than previous estimates.

In a CDC report, published earlier this month, researchers estimated that just over 94,000 cases of life-threatening MRSA infection occurred in 2005, with nearly 19,000 of these cases leading to death.

Does having HIV infection affect MRSA risk?

According to the CDC, people with weakened immune systems, including HIV infection, may have more severe illness if they become infected with MRSA. People with a weakened immune system should follow the same preventive measures to prevent being infected, including washing their hands frequently, covering wounds with bandages, and refraining from sharing personal hygiene items.

To learn more about MRSA infection and its causes, read more on Understanding MRSA.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Carribean Slideshow

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