Opposite sex drives you crazy -- the causes

By Joy Hepp

(LifeWire) -- As Walter Christensen, a 53-year-old physics professor from Pomona, California, discovered, when it comes to cuddling, women know what they want. When he and his lover spend the night together, he's usually awoken around 3 a.m. with a familiar request.

"She calls out, 'Spoon, spoon!'" he says. He willingly obliges with front-to-back cuddling -- even though he admits he probably wouldn't do so without being asked.

"I like the feeling of her wanting to do that," he says, "so I do it out of a sense of responsibility."

His lover, 32-year-old art-history scholar Natalie Valle, appreciates the attention.

While the differences between the sexes drive some couples to distraction, being aware of them enhances relationships, as Christensen and Valle can attest. Is there hope for the rest of us? Researchers have found that science can be used to explain a lot of behavior that widens the gender gap, and in so doing may help couples understand each other better.

1. Women want to cuddle

What you think: Women love to cuddle after sex, whereas men just want to fall asleep.

What the experts say: "During sexual intercourse, oxytocin is released in both men and women, and that encourages bonding within the couple," says Dr. Marianne J. Legato, founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University and author of "Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget."

Oxytocin is a hormone often associated with love because its levels increase during intimate acts like hugging, kissing and intercourse. However, "testosterone neutralizes the effect of oxytocin, so men are less likely to want to prolong contact after orgasm."

2. Men hate shopping

What you think: Men hate to go shopping with their mate because they think it's a waste of time.

What the experts say: Men do enjoy shopping when they get to "hunt" for a specific item, whereas women enjoy "grazing" for items. This goes back to our hunting and gathering days, when losing focus could mean losing the week's meal.

"Men are much more task-oriented," says Robert Schwarz, a psychologist and director of the Mars and Venus Counseling and Wellness Center in Haverford, Pennsylvania. "They hunt it, they kill it, they buy it and they go out."

In the aptly titled 2007 study "Men Buy, Women Shop," University of Pennsylvania researchers found that factors having to do with speed and convenience were the most important for men. Of the 1,250 male and female shoppers surveyed by phone, finding parking near the store or mall entrance was the No. 1 problem men said they encountered when shopping (29 percent of respondents), whereas women cited "lack of help" as their chief complaint (also 29 percent).

3. Women make mountains out of molehills

What you think: Women obsess about every little thing; men seem to have it all under control.

What the experts say: Men are problem-solvers and tend to bring up a problem only in order to search for its solution, says Schwarz. The "eureka" moment of problem-solving increases the level of dopamine, a pleasure-inducing chemical, in the brain. (This also explains why men will wait until it's absolutely necessary to stop and ask for directions.)

Women relieve stress by talking and relating their problems to others, which produces serotonin, said to enhance moods and ward off depression.

4. Men are impervious to cold

What you think: Men are content to freeze, while women always want to turn up the thermostat.

What the experts say: According to the Mayo Clinic, women are more sensitive to cold than men are, but not because they like to feel warm and cozy. Because women on average are smaller than men, their metabolic rate tends to be lower. This means their bodies generate less heat. They also tend to have less fat, which acts as insulation, on their upper bodies and around their waists, as well as less muscle mass, which also helps keep the body warm.

5. Women Love 'chick flicks'

What you think: Women prefer romantic movies (aka "chick flicks") while men like action and adventure. Watch how troops like chick flicks »

What the experts say: Women may like romantic movies better than men, but in a 2007 study at Kansas State University, men rated romantic movies "higher than most people would have guessed," says psychology professor Richard Harris, who led the survey of 265 Kansas State students. On a scale of 1 to 7, men gave the movies a 4.8, while women rated them a 6.

However, "we found that when seeing the film on a date ... if one party makes the decision, then they stay true to those stereotypes, with guys choosing to go to a violent film and women choosing a romantic film," Harris told the Reuters news agency in January.

Jose Ferraro can relate. He spent New Year's Day at the theater, dozing through the romantic drama "Atonement" with his wife, Kyle.

"She tricked me into going," says the 44-year-old engineer from Yorba Linda, California.

His wife, Kyle, a 49-year-old fitness instructor, fesses up: "I said there was some fighting in it," she admits.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates signals end of the computer mouse

Microsoft boss Bill Gates signals end of the computer mouse
By Tom Peterkin

Microsoft is developing a new touch screen operating system that could mean the end of the computer mouse, Bill Gates has announced.

Bill Gates says interaction with computers will change dramatically
Windows 7 aims to build on the success of the touch screen systems developed by Microsoft's rival Apple's iPhone.

Microsoft users will issue commands by touching the screen rather than by the traditional keyboard and mouse combination, which has dominated since the 1970s.

Windows 7 is due to be released in 2010 and is Microsoft's attempt to catch-up with Apple, whose handheld iPhone has proved exceptionally popular.

Amazon to launch streaming video

Amazon.com, the largest internet retailer, will launch a streaming video service in the next few weeks to augment its digital offerings, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Jeff Bezos, speaking at The Wall Street Journal's three-day D: All Things Digital conference taking place north of San Diego, did not elaborate, and a company spokeswoman would not provide more information.

The Seattle-based company has been beefing up its digital media offerings in order to better compete with rivals such as Apple, which dominates the category with the popular iTunes music download service.

Besides recently launching an electronic book reader, the Kindle, Amazon has been building a digital music store and now offers downloadable movies, television shows and videos on its website.

It also has a deal with TiVo, maker of the popular digital video recorder, that allows users to rent videos from Amazon's Unbox service and watch them on their televisions.

Amazon is not alone in looking at streaming online video, allowing viewers to essentially rent movies via the Web rather than download large files to store on personal computers or other devices.

On Wednesday, the chief executive of DVD-by-mail company Netflix, Reed Hastings, said the company is currently funding streaming video in order to "give us years of subscriber and earnings expansion." Hastings spoke at the company's investor day in San Francisco.

"Once we're in streaming ... we can attract well beyond 20 million subscribers worldwide," Hastings said.

Reuters

Can science and God ever get along?

Can science and God ever get along?

Shared faith: what string theory and the belief in a divine entity might have in commonTim Hames

This Bank Holiday weekend is often referred to as “Whitsun”. In truth, it has not been, except by coincidence, for more than four decades. Whitsun, or the Pentecost, refers to the moment, seven weeks after Easter Sunday, when the Holy Spirit supposedly descended on the Apostles and other followers of Jesus – as set out in Acts, 2. It should, therefore, like Easter, be a variable, rather than a fixed, date in the calendar. In 2008 it would have been celebrated by a day off a fortnight ago. Bank Holidays were set like this until 1967 when the arrangement was replaced by a new Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May. This has not stopped it being referred to as Whitsun, much as some people in London still refer to where they live as Middlesex. It is a strange way to treat the Almighty.

God has, I suspect, bigger things on his mind, however – such as whether we believe in Him at all. A brilliant series of 13 short essays published by the John Templeton Foundation (at www.templeton.org/belief) offers different responses to the question: “Does science make belief in God obsolete?” The appeal of this slender volume is threefold.

The first part of its charm is the unexpected nature of many of the answers. Although about half of the contributors are in the “Yesish” camp, only one (Professor Victor Stenger) is willing to state unambiguously that: “Science has not only made belief in God obsolete. It has made it incoherent.”

Some of those whose opinions might have been considered predictable turn out not to be. Professor Robert Sapolsky is an outright “No”, because: “Despite the fact that I am an atheist, I recognise that belief offers something that science does not.”

Yet Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, answers both “No, and Yes”, because although he contends that the knowledge acquired by science makes belief in God “more reasonable than ever”, a reductive “scientific mentality” has, he says, “helped push the concept of God into the hazy twilight of agnosticism”. This is a brave concession from him.

The second element of the book’s appeal is the data that comes with some of the responses. Thanks to Christopher Hitchens (his answer was “No, but it should”), I have learnt that our species is no more than 200,000 years old and was on the edge of extinction 60,000 years ago, when the population seems to have fallen below 2,000. This triggered a massive exodus from Africa. He also notes that “the Andromeda galaxy is on a direct collision course with our own, the ominous but beautiful premonition of which can already be seen with a naked eye in the night sky”.

There are other surprises. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (his answer, “Not necessarily”) says: “Smarter humans go for smarter Gods. Anthropomorphic representations – such as Gods with octopus arms – are a bit out of fashion today but they were enormously popular just a few centuries ago”. Michael Shermer (his answer, “It depends”), meanwhile reveals that a survey of American scientists in 1916 showed that 40 per cent of them believed in God. A similar study in 1997 came up with the same figure.

The third point of interest of this book is perhaps the most fascinating – namely the responses of eminent scientists who replied “No” to the question because they are committed Christians.

William Phillips is a Nobel laureate at the University of Maryland and a well-regarded physicist. His accumulated work has led him to see “a universe that, had it been constructed differently, would never have given birth to stars and planets, let alone bacteria and people. And there is no good scientific reason for why the universe should not have been different”.

Jerome Groopman, Professor of Medicine at Harvard, latches on to the limits of science and its lack of moral precepts. There are, he says, “no Ten Commandments in thermodynamics, no path to righteousness and charity and love in Euclidean geometry or atomic physics”.

Keith Miller, a professor at Brown University and an expert in – and passionate advocate of – evolution (and something of a scourge of the US “Intelligent Design” lobby), has articulated all the same that: “The categorical mistake of the atheist is to assume that God is natural and therefore within the realm of science to investigate and test. But God is not and cannot be part of nature. He is the answer to existence, not part of existence itself.”

These scientists receive reinforcement from a senior biblical scholar. Keith Ward, ordained in the Church of England and also a canon at Christ Church, Oxford University, examines more deeply what is meant when it is asserted that science has developed a complete and whole explanation for the universe that would render God redundant. To have even an abstract model necessitates, he rightly asserts, concepts such as many space-times, or of this space-time as “a 10 or 11 dimensional reality that dissolves into topological foam below the Planck length”.

He could have taken aim at string theory, too, which assumes that something essentially unobservable exists because it is the only means by which a massive inconsistency in scientific thinking can be resolved. So 11 dimensions rather than three? Invisible “string”? How different is that from a faith in a divine entity?

Others will read this dialogue and come to a wholly opposite conclusion. That is the joy of this exchange and enterprise.

One rather hopes that, if there is a God, our capacity to engage in serious debate as to whether He is there and what He is would itself be the ultimate tribute to Him (or Her).

ePetrol solution for fuel subsidy

Eddy said:

Simple and nice solution to our "problem".

Technologically, it should works. The concept is straigthforward, every member in the population uses MyKad. Every MyKad has a subsidy limit. And every limit is being monitored and controlled. What could goes wrong?

Put it in another perspective about our subsidy "problem" at individual level.

Why and how an individual consumes petrol?

1. Transportation to work
Eventual outcome of this is increase in GDP. The country is in better productivity if GDP is high.

2. Travelling to destination
Eventual outcome of this is increase in spending. Higher individual spending means better flow of money supply in the market

3. Drives luxury car that "drinks" petrol
First and foremost, if the individual can afford to buy that class of car, means that the individual most probably contributes relatively more productivity than others, thus he/she earns higher wages that afford him to buy the car. They pays higher marginal tax rate. Banks make money from them by charging interests from hire purchase loans.

The conclusion is most individuals consume petrol in a way that drives the country's economy. My ideology is an individual must not be forbid the rights to entitle for equal amount of benefits given their relative percentage of contribution to the overall economy. That's my thinking.

What I'm afraid is the final subsidy structure doesn't fulfill the actual petrol usages. Poor people get poorer.

Then.. what about businesses? Total removal of subsidies from their operations? Cost of doing business shall be higher, profit margin reduced, taxable amount decreased, thus this lead to cutting down product supply, maybe higher unemployment, leading to shifting of long run market equilibrium to significantly higher product prices.

I see Inflation Boom. Poor people do get poorer.

I agreed with the finale of open up the market to natural supply and demand forces.

But I believed that Malaysia is still a developing nation with reasons. Fundamentally we are a Sultanate country, and there is nothing wrong that our beloved Sultan subsidizing his people with the natural resources of the land.

Corruptions must be severely published.

Beats Capitalism.

ePetrol solution for fuel subsidy
Stories By ELAINE ANG


USING the MyKad at the petrol kiosk could become a reality soon if ePetrol Holdings Sdn Bhd's fuel subsidy management solution is used to revamp the country's fuel subsidy scheme.

ePetrol Holdings, established in 2003, is led by a team of industry experts and leaders from the oil and gas, payment, banking and smart-card industries.


Jeff Perera demonstrating how the ePetrol system works.

Executive vice-president Jeff Perera said the ePetrol system – with debit, credit or prepaid payment services – would enable the MyKad to be used to pay for fuel purchases at petrol stations nationwide.

“There is no necessity to carry another card to enjoy any fuel subsidy as all Malaysians carry a MyKad with identification and payment capabilities,” he told StarBiz at the World Congress on Information Technology 2008 (WCIT) in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Perera said the ePetrol fuel subsidy management module was an integrated and centralised purchasing and payment system between consumers, oil companies, banks and the Government.

“The platform has the capability and flexibility to accept any set of rules to effectively monitor, manage and control fuel subsidies down to the individual consumer level,” he said.

The benefits of the system include:

·Automatically identifying consumers entitled to fuel subsidies;

·Managing the amount of subsidies to be allocated to each consumer;

·Controlling the frequency of the subsidy to be provided – weekly, monthly and so forth; and

·Managing how the subsidy is provided (in a lump sum or as a percentage of the purchase).

The ePetrol system, which was showcased by the Multimedia Development Corp and National Registration Department at the WCIT, garnered much attention from the public.

Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was said to be suitably impressed when shown a short demonstration of the system by ePetrol Holdings' owners, RHB Group founder Tan Sri Rashid Hussain and Dialog Group Bhd chairman and group managing director Ngau Boon Keat, when he visited the booth.

Perera said the system would enable the Government to lift price controls and let market forces determine the pump price of fuel and still be able to selectively provide fuel subsidy benefits only to deserving consumers.

As the scheme benefited only MyKad-holders, subsidies for non-Malaysians and cross-border fuel smuggling would also be reduced, he added.

“This can result in potential savings of billions of ringgit per annum, which can be channelled toward generating greater economic growth and development,” he said.

In fact, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad was quoted in a recent report that subsidised fuel in the future could be available only to Malaysians carrying their microchip-based national identity cards.

Moreover, Perera said, multinational oil companies had endorsed the system as technologically compatible with their retail station information technology systems; thus no additional substantial capital investment would be necessary.

“The ePetrol system is now available and ready to go. It can be deployed countrywide to consumers as they already carry a MyKad.

“We will undertake all technology, infrastructure and development investments. Therefore, no Government funding is needed,” he said.

The subsidy management scheme could also be extended to other controlled items such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, cooking oil, rice, flour and sugar.

An industry expert pointed out that the restructuring of the fuel subsidy system must be done to improve the social economic welfare of the rakyat.

“That should be its main aim; otherwise it defeats the purpose. The ePetrol system looks like a practical and efficient system, but whether it will work to expectations is left to be seen.

“If the ePetrol system is chosen, the onus is on the Government to come up with a great set of criteria that ensures the right group of people get the right amount of subsidies as well as plug leakages and wastage,” he said.

He added that the ePetrol system would also help boost the usage of the MyKad, deemed a half-a-billion ringgit white elephant as it has not lived up to its potential in terms of multi-purpose usage.

Besides the MyKad solution, the Government is said to be considering a proposal to replace the existing octane ratings of petrol – research octane number (RON) 92 and 97 – with RON 95 and 99.

The Government would then allocate most of the subsidy into the RON 95 used by the lower to medium-income groups while those with high-performance and luxury cars can opt for the more expensive and less-subsidised RON99 fuel.

Another proposal is the fleet card approach which involves issuing authorised cards for vehicle owners from lower income groups.

Eligible citizens who hold the fleet card can fill their vehicles with subsidised fuel. Higher-income citizens would pay rates that more closely reflect market prices.

I'm SoundLess

Rich As* Hol*

Boooooks!!!! Boooooooks!!!!

If you need something to store books anyway, why not choose something that makes a statement or serves two purposes like a bookcase that doubles as a secret door or even a bed? Some of these shelving systems are virtually invisible while others are virtual works of art in their own right. So, if you or a book-lover you know are stuck on how to redecorate your urban dwelling and store your favorite volumes here are twenty unusually clever shelving solutions.

Stairs Bookshelves: What started as a space-saving strategy turned into a centerpiece of this interior redesign. The experience: complete book-overload as the London owners make their way to the loft bedroom above the main floor of their condo. Shot from virtually any perspective the result is remarkably attractive and a good reminder that a lack of space can be a great design opportunity.

Bookshelves and Bookcases Made of Books: Jim Rosenau has a very particular (and peculiar) furniture-made niche related to his love of books: furniture (particularly shelves and bookcases) made of books. His work is sold around the country and the world and can be purchased online from his website or made-to-order. His past experience as a comedy writer and carpenter seem like as good a background as any for someone creating these clever and humorous bookshelves and bookcases.

Bookcase Bedroom: Most parents want to surround their children with books, but most don’t take that advice quite so literally. This bookcase bedroom designed by Point Architects in Tokyo is a great example of a Japanese approach to space-saving interior design: why have walls or bookshelves when you can have both in one?

Color-Coded Books: This amazingly organized color-coded bookshelf arrangement is a great example of how not only bookcases but the books stored in them can be decorative. Can you imagine the time, energy and dedication it would take to meticulously sort your entire book collection by color? And worse yet: what do you do when you have to add another book to your collection?

Bookcase Door to Hidden Room: We’ve all seen it in the movies: you pull the book from the shelf and the mysterious door opens into a secret room to the side. Well, this isn’t a mansion in a murder mystery - just someone’s house - but when they were renovating they wanted maximum book storage but to get it they had to obstruct a door. Instead of an ungainly workaround they simple bookcased over the door and made a secret one instead.

Bookcase Door: Besides one-off secret-room bookcase doors there are entire design firms and creative interior design lines dedicated to dual-functioning bookcases. The Woodfold Bookcase Door System is designed to camouflage anything from a closet or a wine cellar to a wall safe or a private retreat.

Rafter Shelving System: Exposed rafters can be a nice touch visually but if you’re living in cramped quarters you know that every bit of usable space has surprising potential. This is definitely a simple solution and easily executed by one that provides great overflow space for anyone who finds it hard to throw old books away.

Hanging Bookshelves: This book hanger system is designed with style and materials clearly in mind. The concept is to have books hanging like clusters of grapes that sway with any movement and can be casually plucked by people passing by. The overall aesthetic impression is one of fragility, reflecting the delicate nature of old books and running contrary to the traditional idea of bookshelves and bookcases as some of the heaviest objects in a room.

Bed Bookcase: While not everyone may find the results attractive the concept behind this convertible bed-and-bookcase design is an admiral start anyway. As a space-saving device this would be a great way to keep an extra bed around and then let it blend into the background, wrapped around bookshelves, when not in use.

Invisible Bookshelf: If you really want to wow your guests an invisible shelf system might be just the solution. Talk about minimalist design: once your books are in place the support seems to disappear entirely. However, since hidden grips hang onto the insides of your books you might want to use this solution primarily for throw-away paperbacks and magazines.

Invisible Bookshelf Stacks: While these shelves are quite visible when bare, once they are filled up they all but disappear. The resulting effect is the appearance of a disturbingly tall stack of seemingly unsupported by anything but the books of which it is composed. This has quite a lot of potential entertainment value: sit back and watch your visitors bump into one and leap into action trying to keep it from toppling (which it won’t).

Floating Bookshelf: Available for around 10 dollars from Amazon this simple-but-clever invisible bookshelf design is definitely priced right. The appearance? Books seem to hang invisible along the wall, stacked apparently on nothing. The trick? The bottom book isn’t real and supports the rest.

DIY Bookcase: Don’t want to spend all that money on a fancy bookcase? Someone submitted a 60-minute do-it-yourself bookcase design-and-construction process to Instructables worth checking out. Sure, the joinery is pretty low-tech and the material is plywood but for a cheap shelving solution built from a single piece of ply in an hour the result is surprisingly sophisticated.

Gravity Bookshelves: While this wonderful bookshelf system is not yet in production it is an excellent example of how a few well-chosen materials and a minimal number of cuts can go a long way. This apparently complex and visually compelling shape is held together entirely by gravity - a great example of modernist interior design principles of simplicity and structural honesty translated into a far-from-simple form.

Original Site

Paint chemicals 'may harm sperm'

Glycol solvents seem to be key
Men regularly exposed to chemicals found in paint may be more prone to fertility problems, research suggests.

Men, such as painters and decorators, who work with glycol solvents were two-and-a-half times more likely to produce fewer "normal" sperm.

The UK study looked at more than 2,000 men attending 14 UK fertility clinics.

However, the Occupational and Environment Medicine study found a wide range of other chemicals had no impact on fertility.

Infertile men are often concerned about whether chemicals they are exposed to in the workplace are harming their fertility

Dr Allan Pacey
Sheffield University

Sperm motility - the amount of movement of individual sperm - is an important factor in overall fertility.

There had been fears that exposure to a wide variety of workplace chemicals might affect a man's ability to father a child.

The joint research project between the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield looked at two groups of men attending fertility clinics - those with sperm motility problems, and those without them.

The men were questioned about their jobs, lifestyles, and potential exposure to chemicals, revealing a 250% increase in risk of sperm motility problems among those exposed to glycol ethers.

These chemicals are widely used as solvents in water-based paints.

This risk was present even after other lifestyle factors, such as smoking, wearing tight underpants, testicular surgery and manual work, were taken into consideration.

'Reassuring'

Dr Andy Povey, from the University of Manchester, said: "We know that certain glycol ethers can affect male fertility and the use of these has reduced over the past two decades.

"However, our work suggests they are still a workplace hazard and further work is needed to reduce such exposure."

However, this was the only chemical linked to fertility problems in men, and Dr Allan Pacey, a fertility specialist from Sheffield University, said that this would ease mens' worries.

"Infertile men are often concerned about whether chemicals they are exposed to in the workplace are harming their fertility.

"Therefore it is reassuring to know that on the whole, the risk seems to be quite low."

Smoothies 'can damage your teeth'

It has been claimed that smoothies are good for health
Dentists have warned the current popularity of fruit smoothies could lead to widespread tooth damage.

It was claimed last week that the fruit drinks could be twice as healthy as first thought.

But dentists warn that the beneficial effects of boosting consumption of fruit are likely to be far outweighed by damage the drinks cause to teeth.

They warn that the high levels of sugar in the drinks can promote decay without good dental hygiene.

Every time you sip on a fruit smoothie your teeth are placed under acid attack for up to an hour

Dr Nigel Carter
British Dental Health Foundation

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Fruit smoothies are becoming increasingly popular and the fruit content can make them seem like a good idea.

"However, they contain very high levels of sugar and acid and so can do a lot of damage to the teeth."

Serious disease

Dr Carter said research had linked poor dental hygiene and tooth decay to a range of serious health conditions, such as heart disease, respiratory disease, and diabates.

However, a survey of 1,000 people conducted by the British Dental Health Foundation and the company Oral B found more than 30% of people think fruit smoothies are actually good for the teeth.

Dr Carter said: "While fruit smoothies can be a good way to get people to consume more fruit, the high concentration of sugar and acids means that they can do real damage to the teeth if sipped throughout the day.

"Every time you sip on a fruit smoothie your teeth are placed under acid attack for up to an hour, so constantly sipping on these drinks can cause the protective enamel to erode, causing pain and sensitivity. It can also lead to decay."

Dentists advise the best policy is to brush your teeth before drinking fruit juice, as this helps protect against the damaging effect of the acid contained in the juice.

Brushing immediately after drinking juice can cause damage as the tooth enamel can be weakened by the acid content.

Bad habits

The survey found that many people engage in very poor dental habits, with a significant number admitting to using every day items such as hammers, screwdrivers, scissors and lollipop sticks to pick food from between their teeth - risking cuts and infection.

More than a quarter (27%) of respondants said they had opened a bottle with their teeth.

More than one in ten (13%) of respondants admitted to flossing their teeth while driving.

Dr Carter said: "People are putting themselves at risk with these shocking habits - yet around 85% of people are completely unaware of the link between the health of the mouth and the health of the body."

"Gum health, in particular, is very important and has been linked to a range of conditions. However, people are risking their gum health by picking and flossing without paying the necessary care and attention."

Everyone flips for the 'miraculous' FitFlop

Designed for women seeking toned legs without the gym, a humble sandal is now helping those with chronic back pain

By Ian Johnston

At £90 a pair, the latest range of flip-flops might seem an unlikely summer bestseller. But, according to an adviser on biomechanics to UK Athletics, this is not simply beachwear: the FitFlop appears to be capable of performing miracles.


Despite the product being originally designed and marketed as a "vanity shoe" that would help body-conscious women to tone their bottoms and legs, stories of how people crippled with arthritis or back pain are suddenly able to walk again are flooding in, according to the manufacturers.

On Friday, the FitFlop gained influential public support from Oprah Winfrey when she named it as one of her summer favourites on her television talkshow in the US, while other celebrities including Hilary Swank, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel, have a pair. Jade Johnson, the Olympic long jumper who suffers from a painful foot condition, found she gained the same benefit from wearing them as exercises recommended by her physiotherapist.

The FitFlop is said to produce a similar effect to walking barefoot, but with a degree of shock absorption. This makes the muscles work harder, creating the toning effect.

But Dr Phil Graham-Smith, head of the directorate of sport at Salford University and a consultant biomechanist for UK Athletics, also believes they may make the body adjust its walk to ensure the knee is correctly aligned.

"We carried out some independent tests and they came out quite favourably," he said.

Dr Graham-Smith, who works with Britain's jumping athletics team, said Johnson had benefited from wearing FitFlops. "She suffers from plantar fasciitis, which causes pain in the heel. Her physio gives her drills like walking through sand to help strengthen the arch of the foot," he said.

"When she tries these on, she gets the same benefit as walking through sand and prefers using the FitFlops because, of all things, she has an allergy to sand."

Marcia Kilgore, founder of the FitFlop company, admitted they were initially designed for their cosmetic effect on the body.

"They were originally launched as a vanity shoe – you could walk and help tone your legs. But over and over again, we'd hear things like 'I've had a degenerative spine disease, haven't been off morphine, and all I have to do is put on a pair of FitFlops and suddenly I don't feel pain any more'," she said. "A lot of people with severe and chronic back pain have reported a vast improvement, an almost miraculous improvement on putting these things on."

The FitFlop was launched in May last year and has sold more than a million pairs, mostly in the US and UK. The basic style costs £36, but in keeping with this summer's trend, Roman sandal-style versions costing £90 have been introduced.

Vincent Tan joins billionaires’ club, net worth US$1.3bil

Vincent Tan joins billionaires’ club, net worth US$1.3bil


KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Corporation Bhd chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun has joined Malaysia’s billionaires’ club with a net worth of nearly US$1.3bil (RM4.17bil), according to the latest ranking by Forbes Asia.

It said in a statement Thursday that Tan’s net worth of US$1.3bil, up nearly US$1bil from last year, which saw him moving up the billionaire’s list from 14th spot to ninth position.

“Tan’s company, Berjaya Corp, has bucked the trend with its stock price up nearly three-fold over the past 12 months,” it said.

Tan reigns over US$4bil combined sales network of enterprises spanning industries from gaming, to media, telecommunications, consumer products and retail, as well as real estate.

Forbes Asia said Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok topped Malaysia’s rich list again as his net worth rose US$2.4bil over last year to US$10bil.

Kuok, 84, is involved in many businesses including Hong Kong property, media and palm oil giant Wilmar.

In second place was T. Ananda Krishnan, who heads Maxis Communications Bhd. His wealth declined by US$200mil to US$7.2bil.

IOI Corporation Bhd group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng was in fourth place, with his wealth increasing US$1.6bil to US$5.5bil as share prices in IOI Corp and Wilmar soared.

“A net worth of only US$100mil was needed to make the list this year, down from US$127mil, despite that the ringgit gained 7% against the US dollar,” said Forbes Asia. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was off 5% in the past year, but had fallen 15% since mid-January.

Forbes Asia said the collective wealth of the top 40 was US$46bil, up US$3bil from last year. However, Kuok, Lee and Tan accounted for US$4.9bil collectively.

Buy stocks with low price-to-book ratio?

Buy stocks with low price-to-book ratio
Personal Investing
By Ooi Kok Hwa


A fortnight ago, we elaborated on four of the seven criteria used in stock selection. In this week's article, we continue with the remaining three criteria: B for Book Value, H for Health and M for Management.

THE book value of a company is an important indicator of a company’s value as it tells us what the owner’s cost of a company is. No owner would be willing to sell a healthy and growing company at below cost unless the company has problems that are not known by general public.


If the company has problems that are not not known by us (the public), wouldn't that causes the P/BV low, and we might be misleaded by it?


Normally, we use book value per share (total shareholders’ funds divided by the outstanding number of shares of a company) to compare with the current stock price.

Price-to-book ratio is computed by dividing the stock price by a company's book value per share. It gives us the number of times the current stock is selling above or below the book value.

A ratio of lower than one means the current stock price is trading at lower than its book value.

One of the selection criteria is to select stocks with lower price-to-book ratio.

Benjamin Graham in his book entitled Security Analysis said we should consider buying stocks with price-to-book of lower than 1.5x. The number 1.5x or below implies that the maximum price that we pay for a company should not exceed 50% of the owner’s cost.

Due to the implementation of new financial reporting standards, there have been a lot of write-downs and impairment on certain assets of listed companies.

As a result, we can safely say that the current book value of these companies should reflect the owner’s real cost.

Real cost huh?

The price-to-book ratio is also frequently used in valuing banking, finance and insurance companies. In most instances, it is quite difficult to search for financial institutions that are selling at below their book values. This is because the book value is mostly in cash.

Normally owners would not accept any value that is less than the book value. This explains why most analysts use the price-to-book ratio in valuing financial institutions.


Use P/BV as one of the indicators, if you just rely on this simplified number, most probably your investments will fail.


H for Health refers to the financial health of a company. We use debt-to-equity ratio (D/E ratio) to determine the level of borrowings of a company.

It is computed by taking a company's total debts and dividing it by a company's total shareholders’ funds.

A lower ratio implies that the company is using less debt but more equity to fund its operations. Even though cost of borrowing is lower than cost of equity, most investment gurus prefer companies to use less debt.


I disgreed. I believe that the writer opinion about lower ratio above is just one mean leading to such cause. Even if you comparing the P/BV ratio across the same sector, you must consider too their asset production methods and how inflation and technological changes impact the true value of the firm assets.


It will be even better if we are able to find companies that are cash rich and have zero borrowings.


Within the context of P/BV, yes I agreed. From the value investment perspective, we need to look at other factors whicn include qualitative reasoning on such phenomenon. The company growth might be stale for few fiscal years for god sake!


According to Graham, a good company should have a D/E ratio of less than 0.5x. It means that for every RM1 the owner puts into the company, the maximum amount that he should borrow is 50 sen.

Who can disagree with Graham? :). But again, the guideline is just a guideline.

The rationale is to look for companies with lower financial risk - lower borrowings mean companies pay less interest expenses and face lower bankruptcy risk.

My rationale is to look for companies with proper capital management, good profitability, enough liquidity (not too much) and proven track records, amongst other considerations.

M for Management refers to companies with high management quality. It is always very difficult to determine the management quality of a company.

Almost all investment gurus, like Graham, Philip Fisher and Warren Buffett say that the management quality is one of the most important factors in stock selection.

A good management should exhibit unquestionable management integrity and try their best to maximise shareholders’ wealth through high dividend payment and capital gains.

It is almost impossible for each listed company to consistently show high profit during all periods, especially in a weak economy.

However, a good management will make sure that they are able to perform better than their peers even in the toughest business environment.

The writer is a licensed investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.


I don't like just to see the good side of any recommendations or investment strategy. Nothing's perfect, but you are going to give some information to general public, make sure it's not bias toward the advantages/benefits/goodness/blah blah, tell us the downfalls too.

Gates predicts wall-to-wall touchscreens

And I predict ubiquitous touch screens.... anywhere, anytime, anything.

Gates predicts wall-to-wall touchscreens
Bill Gates claims that every surface will be turned into a touchscreen in the homes and offices of the future.

Unveiling Touch Wall, a vertical version of Microsoft's Surface technology, Gates said he expects such "natural user interfaces" to proliferate in the future.

"Our view is that all the surfaces - horizontal surfaces, vertical surfaces - will eventually have an inexpensive screen display capability, and software that sees what you're doing there, so it's completely interactive," he told attendees at Microsoft's CEO summit.

"When I say everywhere, I mean the individual's office, I mean the home, the living room, all of those things. The cost of the hardware is not that great, and the quality of the software is improving substantially."

Gates claimed the "phenomenal" reaction to the early Surface devices has led the company to develop Touch Wall, a vertical screen that can be hung on walls in the office, shops or home. "This idea that you just sit there and interact, touch, you don't have to learn anything, that naturalness really draws people in," he claimed. "So, it's been a strong success so far, and that form factor is going to get cheaper and smaller.

"We're also going to have that in a vertical form. So, think about the whiteboard in your office becoming intelligent."

Gates then demonstrated the intelligent whiteboard technology using familiar Microsoft applications. "A PowerPoint presentation is slide by slide, and if something happens during the presentation, you want to skip around, that's hard to do," he explained.

"Here [with Touch Wall] we've got things laid out in this nice two-dimensional form. So, I can zoom in on anything, I can move around. I've got different types of information that I'm using here. And it's all just easy to navigate to, because at any time I can look at different things."

"I can even take and say if I want to ink on here, I just touch that, and say I want to circle this, say that's something important, and then when I go back to the presentation mode, as I zoom in and out, that's there just exactly like you'd expect."

Interactive whiteboard technology is nothing new: such devices have been in classrooms for years. What sets Microsoft technology apart is that the touch is detected by a camera beneath the 4ft x 6ft screen, and not with an electromagnetic surface or lasers to detect the hand or stylus movement.

Office and Windows integration

Gates said that although the Touch Wall technology is still in R&D, the company is already looking to integrate it into its next generation of software.

"This kind of whiteboard, with a little bit of hardware advance over the next couple of years, will not be an expensive thing, and that's why we're saying that it will be absolutely pervasive," he claimed.

"Already the Office group is thinking about what they can do in the next version that has built-in capabilities for this. In fact, the Windows group is also building it down at the operating-system level, so any piece of Windows software will be able to have this type of interaction."

Click here to see a video of the Touch Wall in Windows Media format.

Barry Collins

Obesity seen contributing to global warming

Personally, I think everything related to human productivity activity contributing to global warming. So in this context. the writer opinion may seems exaggerating his claim. Discriminating perhaps?

Cut down human population, might just cut down global warming.

Obesity seen contributing to global warming
Fri May 16, 2008 12:05am BST
By Michael Kahn

GENEVA (Reuters) - Obesity contributes to global warming, too.

Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.

This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices, the school's researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts wrote in the journal Lancet on Friday.

"We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibility," Edwards said in a telephone interview. "Obesity is a key part of the big picture."

At least 400 million adults worldwide are obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects by 2015, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.

In their model, the researchers pegged 40 percent of the global population as obese with a body mass index of near 30. Many nations are fast approaching or have surpassed this level, Edwards said.

BMI is a calculation of height to weight, and the normal range is usually considered to be 18 to 25, with more than 25 considered overweight and above 30 obese.

The researchers found that obese people require 1,680 daily calories to sustain normal energy and another 1,280 calories to maintain daily activities, 18 percent more than someone with a stable BMI.

Because thinner people eat less and are more likely to walk than rely on cars, a slimmer population would lower demand for fuel for transportation and for agriculture, Edwards said.

This is also important because 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture, he added.

The next step is quantifying how much a heavier population is contributing to climate change, higher fuel prices and food shortages, he added.

"Promotion of a normal distribution of BMI would reduce the global demand for, and thus the price of, food," Edwards and Roberts wrote.

Vitamin D may lower breast cancer risk

Vitamin D may lower breast cancer risk
Fri May 16, 2008 2:25am BST
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Breast cancer patients with lower levels of vitamin D were far more likely to die and far more likely to have their cancer spread than women with normal levels, Canadian researchers reported on Thursday.

Women deficient in the "sunshine vitamin" when they were diagnosed with breast cancer were 94 percent more likely to have their cancer spread and were 73 percent more likely to die than women with adequate vitamin D levels, the researchers said.

More than three-quarters of women with breast cancer had a vitamin D deficiency, the researchers reported to an upcoming meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

"The women with the lowest vitamin D levels had the highest risk of death from breast cancer," Dr. Richard Schilsky, of the University of Chicago and president-elect of ASCO, told Reuters in an interview.

"We are seeing an association. It is possible that vitamin D is simply a marker for healthy lifestyle. We don't think that is the case," said Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, who led the study.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that vitamin D, made when sunlight hits the skin and used to fortify many foods including milk, is important for preventing chronic diseases. It is key to maintaining strong bones.

Goodwin's team studied 512 women with a mean age of 50 with newly diagnosed breast cancer treated at three University of Toronto hospitals between 1989 and 1995. They were followed until 2006, a median of just under 12 years.

Only 24 percent of the patients had adequate levels of vitamin D when they were diagnosed with cancer.

Read More

The World's Most Competitive Countries

The World's Most Competitive Countries

The U.S. is still No. 1, but not for long, according to IMD's annual list. With Singapore leading the way, Asia looks like an unstoppable force

by Jennifer Fishbein

Asian economies are overtaking the U.S. and Northern Europe to become the most competitive in the world, according to an annual study by one of Europe's top business schools.

The 20th World Competitiveness Yearbook, released May 15 by IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, ranks the U.S. No. 1 for the 15th straight year. But the report's author, professor Stéphane Garelli, expects Singapore to take the top spot next year. The small city-state trails the U.S. by less than seven-tenths of a point in the 2008 rankings. While it still has the world's strongest domestic economy, the U.S. is particularly vulnerable because its financial sector contributes 40% to corporate profits.

Meanwhile, Asia has proven relatively immune to the financial crisis gripping the U.S. Garelli says that Asia's roaring economies, led by China, will likely raise their competitive edge relative to the star-spangled superpower and slowing European countries this year. "Asia is discovering that it is not so much the hostage of the American economy, that it can have a life by itself," Garelli says. "They make life difficult for European countries, especially because, let's face it, Europe is suffering from the euro."

Among the top 20 economies out of the 55 ranked, those in Asia-Pacific posted the greatest gains compared with last year. Malaysia climbed four spots to No. 19, while Taiwan and Australia each jumped five places to No. 13 and No. 7, respectively. Other strong gains were made by Thailand, which rose six spots to No. 27, and the Philippines, up five to No. 40.

A Detailed Study
IMD produced the rankings using 331 criteria ranging from gross domestic product growth and unemployment to the number of Internet users and the price of local cell-phone calls. Hard data from sources such as the World Bank and U.N. comprised two-thirds of the inputs; the rest came from nearly 4,000 survey responses from executives in each country—many of them IMD alumni—regarding the availability of skilled employees, government regulation, the availability of venture capital, and other more qualitative issues.

The top 10 economies have changed little from last year (BusinessWeek.com, 5/14/07). Iceland, which ranked seventh in 2007, was removed from this year's list due to its volatile economy and financial problems at the local institute that had supplied data to IMD. Hong Kong retained its third-place position, followed by the usual top performers: Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Denmark. Canada moved up two places to No. 8, while the Netherlands dropped two to No. 10. Sweden remained unchanged at No. 9.

No. 17-ranked China posted the highest annual GDP growth, 11.9%, "pulling the whole region upward," Garelli says. In contrast, U.S. GDP rose 2.2%. In turn, Asian economies are developing not only domestic markets but also regional ones. Growing investment and trade among Asian nations "is creating a very strong level of confidence in the region," Garelli says. The emerging economies of Vietnam and Kazakhstan will join the rankings before long, he adds.

A Swelling Consumer Class
The rapid growth of the middle class in emerging economies—particularly in China and India—will boost consumption in the coming years, and this, too, will likely influence their ranking. Roughly 50 million people in India are considered middle class, and this figure will probably swell to 580 million by 2030, Garelli says. Since 2000, about 600 million people around the world reached middle-class status, spending an average of $4 billion annually on brand-name products, new homes, vacations, and other indulgences.

The annual IMD survey uses different methodology and data but comes up with relatively similar findings to an annual ranking of economic competitiveness from the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. The most recent WEF ranking, in November, 2007, also found the U.S. on top, followed by a half-dozen European countries (BusinessWeek.com, 11/6/07).

The WEF also produces an annual study of "tech-readiness" that assesses countries on their IT and communications infrastructure and how well they exploit it to drive growth (BusinessWeek.com, 4/9/08).

See BusinessWeek.com's slide show of the top dozen countries in this year's IMD competitiveness ranking.

Fishbein is a reporter in BusinessWeek's Paris bureau .

	IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook		WEF Global Information Technology Report
	Rank 2008	Rank 2007	Rank 2008	Rank 2007
USA	1	1	4	7
Singapore	2	2	5	3
Hong Kong	3	3	11	12
Switzerland	4	6	3	5
Luxembourg	5	4	24	25
Denmark	6	5	1	1
Australia	7	12	14	15
Canada	8	10	13	11
Sweden	9	9	2	2
Netherlands	10	8	7	6
Norway	11	13	10	10
Ireland	12	14	23	21
Taiwan	13	18	17	13
Austria	14	11	15	17
Finland	15	17	6	4
Germany	16	16	16	16
China Mainland	17	15	57	59
New Zealand	18	19	22	22
Malaysia	19	23	26	26
Israel	20	21	18	18
United Kingdom	21	20	12	9
Japan	22	24	19	14
Estonia	23	22	20	20
Belgium	24	25	25	24
France	25	28	21	23
Chile	26	26	34	31
Thailand	27	33	40	37
Czech Republic	28	32	36	34
India	29	27	50	44
Slovak Republic	30	34	43	41
Korea	31	29	9	19
Slovenia	32	40	30	30
Spain	33	30	31	32
Jordan	34	37	47	57
Peru	35	N/A	84	78
Lithuania	36	31	33	39
Portugal	37	39	28	28
Hungary	38	35	37	33
Bulgaria	39	41	68	72
Philippines	40	45	81	69
Colombia	41	38	69	64
Greece	42	36	56	48
Brazil	43	49	59	53
Poland	44	52	62	58
Romania	45	44	61	55
Italy	46	42	42	38
Russia	47	43	72	70
Turkey	48	48	55	52
Croatia	49	53	49	46
Mexico	50	47	58	49
Indonesia	51	54	76	62
Argentina	52	51	77	63
South Africa	53	50	51	47
Ukraine	54	46	70	75
Venezuela	55	55	86	83
Iceland	N/A	7	8	8

Fashion is found in the details

Fashion is found in the details
Janna Farley • jjfarley@argusleader.com • May 16, 2008

For years, menswear-inspired clothing for women has been popular. Sleek trousers, tailored vests and even a tie or two makes for an elegant and even sexy look.

But sometimes, a little feminine frill can be fun.

This season, the common denominator among many clothes for women is that feminine frill - those simple details that elevate an ordinary shirt into one that's pretty and playful. It's about light and easy details like contrasting trim, delicate layers, soft ruffles, strategically placed bows and ties and precise but never overdone embellishments.


In short, it's what makes you say, "hey, I need to buy this." It didn't take me long to shop around Sioux Falls to say that either. Here are a few great shirts I found with fun, feminine flourishes.

- Knitwear isn't just for winter. Artful prints - and short sleeves, natch - keep it fresh for summer. This pullover from Old Navy ($28.50) features sweet scalloped sleeves - a delightful alternative to the ordinary straight edge. It's a subtle, yet thoughtful detail.

- The most fashionable women I know have a style that looks effortless. (Whether it is or not is another story. Perhaps they spend hours mixing and matching various outfits in front of their closet mirror.) But my point is that they make style look simple. I get that same no-fuss but still fashionable feel from this shirt from the Gap ($29.50). The lightweight floral shirt is airy and romantic, with a side tie that adds a trendy touch.

- The classic white button-front shirt has been given a pretty - yet still practical - makeover with the addition of a few ruffles around the collar, like on this shirt by INC ($69 at Macy's). It's a slight nod to the Victorian era (or, for you "Seinfeld" fans - the episode with Jerry's puffy shirt). Either way, I love the flirtatious whimsy of this shirt. And, it can pull double duty, too. Dress it up with a pair of trousers for work or wear it with your favorite jeans for the weekend.

¥ The basic tank top is practically a required part of every woman's summer uniform. After all, there's nothing cooler to wear on a 90-degree day. But why settle for the ordinary ribbed boy version? Instead, pick one with a bit of elegant embroidered detail at the bottom, like this one by Testament ($66 at Posh Boutique). Pretty and practical _ the perfect combination.

- The simple T-shirt is a timeless staple in every closet. Update yours by picking out a knit that features delicate lacy details, like on the neckline and sleeves of this shirt by Isaac Mizrahi ($27.99 at Target). It's an unexpected accent that modernizes _ and feminizes _ an otherwise simple silhouette.

Reach Janna Farley at 575-3628.