vineri, 31 decembrie 2010

TOP 12 Hottest Politicians’ Wives

With the power and authority of government office, you might imagine that hotties would be falling over themselves to get their hands on the great and good. In fact, that’s rarely the case – politics can be a dry, dry subject and it takes decades to get to the top. However, to test the rule, here are 12 of the hottest women in the world to be married into politics!

12) Bianna Golodryga

Named one of the 30 hottest journalists under 30 in 2004, Bianna certainly is smoking hot. The ABC correspondent, who specialises in business and economic issues, is now a co-anchor on the weekend edition of Good Morning America. Married to Peter Orszag, Obama’s Budget Director, she’s also fluent in Russia. Who ever said that power wasn’t the ultimate aphrodisiac?

11) Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein

Daughter of King Hussein I of Jordan and junior wife of Mohammed bin Rashid, the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, Haya knows a thing or two about walking down the corridors of power. As well as being a humanitarian, she is an Olympic show jumper. And did we mention? She’s also a princess.

10) Filippa Reinfeldt

Politicians do flock together it seems. Filippa, who is married to Swedish Prime Minister (or ‘Sveriges statsminister’) Fredrik Reinfeldt, is herself a Moderate party politician and is currently the County Commissioner of Health Services, having previously sat on Stockholm County Council. She is rumoured to have previously dated Swedish dance star E-Type and has been accused of manufacturing ‘Christmas porn’ with over the top festive bun making spreads (we kid you not).

9) Asma al-Assad

Syria might have been one of the spokes of the axis of evil, but first lady Asma, wife of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is one fine looker. Completing her education in the UK, she went on to become an invest banker, working for firms like Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan in London and New York. Which suggests that as well as being gorgeous, she might be extremely smart.

8) Laureen Harper

Married to the apparently ‘intensely cerebral’ Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Laureen has declared she’ll do ‘Whatever I can to help Canadian fashion’. As well as volunteering her home to the Ottawa SPCA as a kitten sanctuary, she also likes riding her motorcycle and gardening. An eclectic mix, we think.

7) Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain – one of the golden ladies of politics. This beaut is looking absolutely fine for a 66-year-old woman who has been married to John McCain for 30 years. After all, Sarah Palin couldn’t cope with spending more than a couple of weeks with the maverick before going rogue. To add to that… she’s a beer-heiress. Is there any higher calling from which to inherit wealth?

6) Sonsoles Espinosa

Sonsoles is a classical singer and a music teacher at one of Madrid’s most prestigious schools. She’s also married to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister. While she might have a gothic style, she’s renowned for her good taste in fashion.

5) Maria Shriver

As the Governator’s wife, Maria isn’t just married into the Californian Republican Party, she’s also married into Hollywood. But then she isn’t unacquainted with either – she is the niece of John, Bobby and Ted Kennedy and is an Emmy award-winning NBC journalist. She is also an advocate of Alzheimer’s causes – and has a rose named after her.

4) Elizabeth Kucinich

Standing 6′ tall, Elizabeth really is a red-headed English rose. She is also half the age of her 5′7”, 63 year old husband, Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat in the US House of Representatives. She certainly must see a lot of something in him. Like Dennis, Liz is a vegan, though unlike him she has a tongue stud. Raunchy stuff, indeed.

3) Rania Al Abdullah

Wife of Abdullah II, King of Jordan, Rania is, uh, The Queen of Jordan… Described as one of the most powerful women in the world, she is also the author of a New York Times bestselling children’s book. Rania apparently enjoys water skiing and cycling. She’s some pretty hot royalty.

2) Carla Bruni

Actress, singer-songwriter and former model, Carla Bruni is one of the most glamorous women on Earth. Period. A modern successor to Jackie O, she spent the 1990s as one of the world’s best paid supermodels, during which period a nude photograph of her sold for over $90,000. Then in 2007, she started seeing diminutive French President Nicolas Sarkozy, only weeks after he had left his second wife, before marrying him in 2008.
Almost single-handedly raising the bar of international conferences, Carla is probably the sexiest politician’s wife in the world. With one exception…

1) Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama – half of the coolest couple on the face of the Earth and possibly the most beautiful first lady ever. Standing at 5′11”, she’s as tall as a supermodel, she’s a trained lawyer and she is an icon of style. Would you rather get stuck in an elevator with this lady or with Barbara Bush? Without a shadow of a doubt, we know which way we’d swing.

Honorable mention: Thailand’s Pimpen Vejjajiva
She’s pimp-in. She’s also a doctor, but, hey, lighten up, ‘eh?

TOP 10 Hottest CEOs’ Wives of 2010

Money and power. These keys to any city also count as the keys to many a girl’s heart – not to say panties! – and no one knows this better than the chief execs of some of the big names in big business. Boy do these big guys get babes. Some may sneer and call them fat cats or worse, but these corporate bosses have bigger fish to fry. And short of keeping their global empires on top of the game, bedding and wedding the hottest hotties on the planet has got to figure pretty high on the list of priorities – at least if this catwalk call of chick-tastic loveliness is anything to go by. Here are our top 10 most babe-elicious CEOs’ wives.
10. Erica Packer
Despite failing fortunes and a mug akin to a monkey’s, James Packer, as Australia’s third richest man and the head of a global gambling empire, still carries clout in the world of commerce, and with power and wealth comes that most precious of commodities: babes. Erica Packer – born Baxter – sure counts as one of those. James may have made a few bad decisions to tarnish the famous Packer name (admitting responsibility for the collapse of telecommunications company One.Tel is a case in point) but tying the knot with the lovely Erica wasn’t one of them. And while the Australian model and singer hasn’t proven a success in pop, she knows how to pop the cork in style: her 2007 wedding in Antibes cost Aus$15 million. She’s also popped out two mini-Packers with her husband.

9. Melanie Craft

Next up is Melanie Craft, the thinking businessman’s crumpet because she’s a romance novelist (and everyone knows all romance novelists are sharp cookies). That’s not to say Craft isn’t hot – far from it – and clearly Larry Ellison saw something in the girl from Pittsburgh besides her way with words when he took her for his (fourth) wife in 2003. As the co-founder and CEO of software giant Oracle, Ellison is the sixth richest person on the planet. So, bad facial hair notwithstanding, we kind of assume he could have anyone he wants. Still you’ve got to admit, Melanie’s pretty cute. Does US$28 billion buy you happiness? It certainly doesn’t harm your chances of getting brains and beauty all in one goodie bag. Ellis’s friend, Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, was their wedding photographer, by the way.

8. Wendi Deng

Chinese born American businesswoman Wendi Deng needs scarcely less introduction than her husband, Australian News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. In 1999 a newly appointed vice-president at Asia’s STAR TV, Deng got hitched with the media mogul just 17 days after Rupert’s divorce from his second wife Anna. Murdoch was 68 at the time, with Deng just 30, but the age gap hasn’t proven a barrier (if that ain’t an oxymoron) and the Manhattan-based couple have since produced two daughters. Murdoch has been widely satirized as a cynical and unscrupulous operator on a global scale, but we’ll almost forgive the old fox these foibles in view of his taste in women. We definitely reckon Ms Deng qualifies as pretty hot media property.

7. Kathy Freston

Self-help author Kathy Freston makes another bookish yet babelicious addition to this list. Yes, we’re encroaching into cougar territory – but that’s because we’re beasts who don’t mind being preyed on if the predator stays in as good shape as Kathy. Neither does TV exec Tom Freston, whose name the wellness expert took when she became his bride back in 1999. A one time model, Kathy promotes a body/mind/spirit approach to healthy living, and the first part of that holy triangle certainly gets our vote. One of MTV’s creators and later boss of Viacom, Tom carries plenty of clout in the entertainment industry, and when Oprah Winfrey recruited him to head her cable network, it’s no coincidence Kathy made a few appearances on her show. That must’ve kept him out of the doghouse for a while.

6. Kirsty Bertarelli

Kirsty Bertarelli may also be erring on the side of MILF-dom, but the former Miss UK (1988) still banks as a babe in our book. Born of a major ceramics making family, the silver blonde with the body to boot has, in Ernesto Bertarelli, a husband who in 2009 ranked 64 in Forbes’s annual list of the world’s wealthiest people, with a personal fortune estimated at US$10 billion. The Swiss billionaire and two-time America’s Cup winner was the owner of biotech giant Serono until 2007, and since splitting his stake with his sister, now spends his time with Kirsty and their three children on the shores of Lake Geneva. Married for 10 years, the couple would seem a model of beautiful marital bliss for any aspiring young business graduates. Ka-ching meets schuh-wing!

5. Salma Hayek

After that table-top snake dance in 1997’s From Dusk Till Dawn, plus starring roles in numerous other Hollywood movies, who can argue with French PPR chief exec François-Henri Pinault’s choice of a bride in Salma Hayek? As the head of a luxury brands holding company, Pinault is worth a colossally cool US$16.9 billion (Forbes ranked 39th), but in Hayek he’s got the best thing to come out of Mexico since burritos and midget wrestling. Not that it’s been an easy ride. After giving birth to Pinault’s daughter, Valentina Paloma, in 2007, Salma and her husband-to-be called off the engagement. They later made up and were married twice in 2009 – on Valentine’s Day in Paris and then in April the same year in Venice. Two of Europe’s most romantic cities in as many months. Nice.

4. Georgina Chapman

Harvey Weinstein is known as a ruthless movie mogul and all round scary dude. The Miramax co-founder and joint head of the Weinstein Co is no stranger to making tough decisions, but after leaving his wife in 2004, plumbing for the hot prospect of gorgeous Georgina Chapman – 24 years his junior – must have been one of the easier choices the beardy tycoon has made in his career. The English fashion designer, actress and ex-model ticks all the boxes you’d want ticked in a wife and herself comes from good stock as the daughter of a millionaire businessman and organic coffee company owner. Married on 2007, Chapman and Weinstein are expecting their first child in September 2010. Let’s hope it takes after its mother – at least in the facial hair department.

3. Kristy Hinze

James H. Clark is the founder of Silicon Graphics and Netscape. In 2009 he married Kristy Hinze, an Australian model, actress and TV host who’s appeared everywhere from Sports Illustrated to America’s Next Top Model. Did we mention that she’s a smoking hot blond bombshell? Did we need to? Smooth move, James. At 34 years Hinze’s senior, the Aussie e-entrepreneur is unlikely to find a bride any younger without it looking a little weird. Of her 64-year-old-billionaire husband, Heinze has said: “To me, it was different to hang out with someone with something to say that was so interesting and important and who was truly, incredibly intelligent. He’s handsome and has so much charisma – and he’s so funny.” Keep her close, James. She might be lying.

2. Oleksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin

Phil Ruffin features on this list as sugar daddy supremo, for in Oleksandra Nikolayenko he not only has a wife with an unpronounceable name, but a smoking hot Eastern European beauty who is an impressive 46 years younger than himself. The 70-something tycoon with fingers in business interests ranging from greyhound tracks to oil production found another piece of pie worth investing in when he married the Ukrainian stunner back in 2008 – proof that age is no barrier if you’ve got a wodge full of cash. As the winner of more beauty awards than any other woman in Ukraine, no less than eight titles, Oleksandra knows a thing or two about beauty. Still, undeterred, old Phil not only wed her but promptly fathered her child – and his fourth. Hot damn, he’s a hell of a man!

1. Melania Knauss-Trump

Donald Trump may have one of the worst combovers in business, but – never afraid to trade in an older model for a fresh chassis – you can’t argue with his line in wives. First there was Ivana, then there was Marla Maples, and now there’s the hottest of the lot: the lovely Melania Knauss-Trump. After several years on New York’s high society scene, the beautiful, not to say generously endowed Slovenian model wed the real estate billionaire in 2005, famously wearing a $200,000 dress by Christian Dior. A year later Knauss-Trump gave birth to a baby boy – and Donald’s fifth – Barron William. Bad choice of name. Good looking choice of wife. Melania’s a sexy socialite who takes some trumping, and the 64-year-old mogul would be a fool to tell her, ‘You’re fired.’
Honourable mention goes to…
…Stephanie Seymour – the former supermodel with the flowing brunette locks and delectable 33-23-33 measurements. If only she’d managed to keep the knot tied with publishing entrepreneur Peter Brant, but alas the couple are currently in the throes of a divorce, which makes the sumptuous Ms Seymour exempt from this list. Damn shame. She’d have been a contender for our number one spot.

joi, 30 decembrie 2010

TOP Top 10 Most Popular Plastic Surgery Procedures in the World

It used to be that only celebrities and wealthy housewives underwent cosmetic surgery… but not anymore! Today people of all ages, backgrounds, and income-levels are going under the knife to enhance their looks. Plastic surgery is a booming industry with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Below is a list of the top 10 plastic surgery procedures, compiled by PlasticSurgerySpot.com using statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.


1. Liposuction: This popular procedures is used to remove excess fat from the body, neck, and chin. When done right the results are impressive, when done wrong lumps can occur.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world liposuction
Liposuction

2. Breast Implants: A larger breast size is desired by many woman. This is accomplished using either saline or silicone breast implants.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Silicone gel  filled breast implants
Silicone gel filled breast implants

3. Cosmetic Eye Surgery: This anti-wrinkle procedure helps to minimize the appearance of aging skin around the eyes. Both upper and lower eye lifts are a popular procedure for the baby boomer generation.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Cosmetic Eye  Surgery
Cosmetic Eye Surger


4. Tummy Tucks: This is a popular body procedure after a pregnancy or losing a lot of weight. According to this tummy tuck forum, this procedure has a high satisfaction rate.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Tummy Tucks
Tummy Tucks

5. Breast Reduction: Many women who were born with above-average breasts choose to undergo breast reduction in order to make them smaller.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Breast  Reduction
Breast Reduction usually done by Athlete

6. Rhinoplasty: This is a popular procedure for both males and females. Unfortunately, rhinoplasty causes a relatively high number of dissatisfied patients.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty

7. Face Lifts: For this wishing to pull the skin tighter to minimize wrinkles, a face lift is performed. Often times cheek implants or another form of cheek augmentation is done in conjunction with this anti-wrinkle procedure.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world face lift
Face Lift

8. Breast Lift: Over the years gravity takes its toll on the breasts. This is why the breast lift procedure to lift them back up is so popular.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world breast lift  surgery
Breast lift surgery

9. Forehead Lift:
This is a less invasive procedure than a face lift. A forehead lift is done for those that only want to target the forehead.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world Forehead  Lift
Forehead Lift

10. Male Breast Reduction: This is an extremely popular procedure for males. Some develop fatty deposits in their breasts or hormonal imbalances trigger the abnormal creation of breast tissue. Either way, this procedure corrects the problem.
most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world male breast  reduction
Male Breast Reduction
Have You ever doing one of those most popular plastic surgery procedures in the world?

Beauty of Mathematics-Fun Facts

Sequential Inputs of numbers with 8
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321


Sequential 1's with 9
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 + 10 = 1111111111


Sequential 8's with 9
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888


Numeric Palindrome with 1's
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321


Without 8
12345679 x 9 = 111111111
12345679 x 18 = 222222222
12345679 x 27 = 333333333
12345679 x 36 = 444444444
12345679 x 45 = 555555555
12345679 x 54 = 666666666
12345679 x 63 = 777777777
12345679 x 72 = 888888888
12345679 x 81 = 999999999


Sequential Inputs of 9
9 x 9 = 81
99 x 99 = 9801
999 x 999 = 998001
9999 x 9999 = 99980001
99999 x 99999 = 9999800001
999999 x 999999 = 999998000001
9999999 x 9999999 = 99999980000001
99999999 x 99999999 = 9999999800000001
999999999 x 999999999 = 999999998000000001
......................................


Sequential Inputs of 6
6 x 7 = 42
66 x 67 = 4422
666 x 667 = 444222
6666 x 6667 = 44442222
66666 x 66667 = 4444422222
666666 x 666667 = 444444222222
6666666 x 6666667 = 44444442222222
66666666 x 66666667 = 4444444422222222
666666666 x 666666667 = 444444444222222222
......................................

Example of wrong proof

Example of wrong proof
Find a mistake in the following chain of arguments, pretending to prove that 2=1
1)
Let a = b
2) Multiply 1) by a
a2 = ab
3) Add a22ab to both parts of 2)
a2 + a22ab = ab + a22ab
4) 3) could be simplified:
2a22ab = a2ab
5) It is the same as
2(a2ab) = 1(a2ab)
6) Reduce 5) by (a2ab).
2=1
Where is a mistake?
Mistake is in the 6th step.
We can not divide by (a2ab) because a2ab = 0.
a = b, so a2ab = 0.

Mathematics: Interesting facts and numbers

Some beautifull examples with multiplication
;
12345679 x 9 = 111111111;
12345679 x 8 = 98765432;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An interesting number 2519
Let us look at 2519 Mod n (n = 2, ... 10).
2519 Mod n means reminder portion of (2519\n), where "\" is the integer division.
2519 Mod 2 = 1;
2519 Mod 3 = 2;
2519 Mod 4 = 3;
2519 Mod 5 = 4;
2519 Mod 6 = 5;
2519 Mod 7 = 6;
2519 Mod 8 = 7;
2519 Mod 9 = 8;
2519 Mod 10 = 9.
2519 = 1259 x 2 + 1;
2519 = 839 x 3 + 2;
2519 = 629 x 4 + 3;
2519 = 503 x 5 + 4;
2519 = 419 x 6 + 5;
2519 = 359 x 7 + 6;
2519 = 314 x 8 + 7;
2519 = 279 x 9 + 8;
2519 = 251 x 10 + 9.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example of wrong proof
Find a mistake in the following chain of arguments, pretending to prove that 2=1
1)
Let a = b
2) Multiply 1) by a
a2 = ab
3) Add a2 – 2ab to both parts of 2)
a2 + a2 – 2ab = ab + a2 – 2ab
4) 3) could be simplified:
2a2 – 2ab = a2ab
5) It is the same as
2(a2ab) = 1(a2ab)
6) Reduce 5) by (a2ab).
2=1
Where is a mistake?
Mistake is in the 6th step.
We can not divide by (a2ab) because a2ab = 0.
a = b, so a2ab = 0.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An interesting fact about primes
Mathematicians of XVIIIth century proved that numbers 31; 331; 3331; 33331; 333331; 3333331; 33333331 are primes. It was a big temptation to think that all numbers of such kind are primes. But the next number is not a prime.
333333331 = 17 * 19607843

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An elegant proof that
It is obvious that 1 = (2 -1).
= * (2 -1) = (1 + 2 + 22 + ... + 2n) * (2 -1) =
(2 + 22 + 23 ... + 2n+1) - (1 + 2 + 22 + ... + 2n) = 2n+1 - 1.

duminică, 26 decembrie 2010

Urari de botez mesaje, felicitari si SMS-uri

Urari de botez mesaje, felicitari si SMS-uri
- Felicitari! Ai devenit mamica! Este cel mai frumos lucru de pe pamant. Sa fiti sanatosi si sa va bucuratii!
- Sa-i uram bun venit noului nascut! Sa-i uram multa fericire si o viata frumoasa pentru ca cei mai minunati parinti deja ii are.
- Va doresc tuturor sanatate, bucurii, realizari pe toate planurile. Micutului bebe ii uram o viata lina, fara suparari, cu mii de realizari, sa fie mereu protejat, indrumat si iubit de parintii si nu numai.
- Sa cresti mare, mare, mare, Sa ai parte de iubire, Sa ai parte de noroc, Sa traiesti in fericire, Cu tot neamul la un loc! La Multi Ani!
- Sa va bucurati de micul miracol ce a aparut in viata voastra!
- Dupa lungi asteptari, planuri si vise a venit barza si a adus cu ea cel mai frumos si dulce copil. Fie ca acest moment sa fie binecuvantat si ca acest copil sa fie tot ce v-ati dorit vreodata.
- Barza s-a lasat asteptata si a venit intr-un final, nu cu unul, ci cu doi bebelusi. A adus cele doua lumini care va vor umple casa si sufletul de fericire. Felicitari pentru gemeni!
- Bine ai venit in familie! Sa fii sanatos si norocos, iar pe parinti s-ai faci bucurosi!

sâmbătă, 4 decembrie 2010

Mos Nicolae - Obiceiuri si Traditii de Mos Nicolae , Cine a fost Mos Nicolae , Legenda despre Sfantul Nicolae

In fiecare an, la data de 6 decembrie, crestinii il sarbatoresc pe Sfantul Nicolae, intruchiparea darniciei lui Dumnezeu .

Mos Nicolae nu este doar un personaj mitologic, ce aduce copiilor dulciuri sau, daca nu au fost cumininti, o nuielusa, ci este un personaj real, Sfantul Nicolae traind in secolul al IV-lea, fiind arhiereu in Mira Lichiei (Turcia de azi). Nascut din parinti cinstiti si credinciosi, tatal Teofan si mama Nona, Sfantul Nicolae (al carui nume inseamna „biruitor de popor”) invata inca de mic tainele credintei in Iisus, fiul lui Dumnezeu, si ale iubirii de oameni.

Averea mostenita de la parinti a impartit-o celor nevoiasi iar viata si-a trait-o ca unul din cei saraci, in post si rugaciune, fiind un model de feciorie, intelepciune si iubire pentru semeni. Unchiul sau, episcop purtand acelasi nume, Nicolae, il ajuta sa urce pe sfintele trepte ale preotiei si astfel ajunge, ales de Duhul Sfant, arhiereul cetatii Mira din tara Lichiei.

Intreaga viata a Sfantului Nicolae sta sub semnul facerii de minuni, intre care salvarea de la inec a unui credincios care i-a cerut ajutorul in rugaciunile sale, izbavirea unei corabii prin oprirea furtunii de pe mare, dar si scoaterea oamenilor nevinovati din temnite, vindecarea unor boli incurabile, redarea vederii, auzului si a graiului.

Ultima parte a vietii si-a petrecut-o in manastirea Sionului de langa Mira, pe care a intemeiat-o si unde a fost inmormantat. Din anul 1087 moastele Sfantului Nicolae se afla la Bari (Italia), la loc de mare cinstre, unde credinciosii din intreaga lume se inchina si se roaga pentru ocrotire si vindecarea de boli.

Traditii si obiceiuri de Sfantul Nicolae

In traditia populara Mos Nicolae sau San-Nicoara este un mos cu barba alba, calare pe un cal alb, patronul marinarilor, soldatilor, calatorilor, vaduvelor, orfanilor si fetelor sarace nemaritate. Barba alba a lui Mos Nicolae este semn ca in ziua de 6 decembrie trebuie sa ninga, cand mosul isi scutura barba, iar calul alb simbolizeaza zapada care cade la inceputul iernii.

San-Nicoara este un pazitor al soarelui, la fel ca si Santandrei, el stand de veghe la portile cerului dinspre apus, lucru ce simbolizeaza victoria luminii asupra intunericului, a binelui asupra raului.

Asemeni lui Mos Craciun, din vechimi exista obiceiul ca in dimineata zilei de Sfantul Nicolae copii sa gaseasca in ghetute dulciuri, jucarii si o nuielusa frumos colorata, ori o varguta adevarata, in cazul in care nu au fost destul de cuminti. Conform acestui obicei, in ajunul sarbatorii copiii isi pregatesc cizmulitele si le aseaza langa usa, pentru ca mosul sa le gaseasca si sa le umple cu daruri.

Povestea lui Mos Nicolae

Mos Nicolae este intruchiparea darniciei iar de-a lungul anilor au aparut multe povesti si legende referitoare la actiunile sale de binefacere. Una dintre ele spune ca in vremea preotiei Sfantului Nicolae se afla in cetatea Mira un barbat care si-a pierdut avere si nu avea cu ce sa-si hraneasca sau sa-si imbrace cele trei fete frumoase pe care le avea. Prin dar divin, Sfantul Nicolae a aflat ca barbatul cugeta sa-si dea fetele spre desfranare ori sa le ia zilele si apoi sa-si curme si el viata.

La aflarea acestora, Sfantul Nicolae a strecurat in casa acelei familii, noaptea, o punga cu galbeni, cu ajutorul caruia barbatul a reusit sa-si marite cu cinste fata cea mare. La fel s-a intamplat si cu cea de-a doua fata iar, in cele din urma, cand Sfantul Nicolae a adus un saculet cu galbeni pentru cea de-a treia fata, a fost recunoscut de catre nobilul care se asezase de paza, pentru a-l descoperi pe binefacatorului familie sale. Jurandu-i Sfantului Nicolae ca nu va spune nimanui despre fapta sa, obiceiul ce s-a pastrat pana in zilele noastre este ca in noaptea de 5 spre 6 decembrie copiii sa primeasca daruri de la Mos Nicolae, care insa nu se arata niciodata.

marți, 23 noiembrie 2010

Secrete cu care vei face faţă bolilor din sezonul rece

1. Consumă legume la fiecare masă

Infecţiile respiratorii care se înmul­ţesc la venirea iernii pot fi prevenite printr-o alimentaţie echilibrată, bogată în fructe şi legume proaspete. Nelipsite de pe masa ta ar trebui să fie merele, portocalele şi lămâile, care împreună cu roşiile, gogo­şarii, ceapa, usturoiul şi ardeiul iute trebuie consumate zilnic, pentru întărirea sistemului imunitar.

2. Apără-ţi copilul de infecţii periculoase

Boala pneumococică este cea mai frecventă infecţie la copii, iar sim­p­tomele sale sunt foarte asemănătoare cu cele ale virozelor, in­clu­­zând şi febra. Ca să previi îmbolnăvirea puiului tău, vaccinează-l din timp cu un ser contra acestei a­fecţiuni. Dacă în alte ţări această injecţie este gratuită, la noi serul trebuie cumpărat din farmacii.

3. Imunizează-te cu seruri naturale

Poate nu ştiai, dar există vaccinuri homeopate care au efect dovedit în faţa afecţiunilor de sezon, precum virozele şi gripa. Aceste seruri sunt recomandate mai ales persoanelor care nu tolerează injec­ţiile clasice, fiind alergice la componentele acestora. Înainte de a opta pentru produsele naturale, con­sultă-ţi medicul de familie.

4. Ceaiurile de plante îţi dau energie

Nici o zi fără ceaiuri care să te hidrateze, să te încălzează şi să te învioreze! După fiecare ceaşcă savurată, vei vedea că vei fi plin(ă) de energie şi poftă de viaţă. Încearcă infuziile din fructe de pădure sau cele de ceai verde cu lămâie, iar dacă apreciezi mai mult plantele medicinale, apelează la brânduşa de toamnă, levănţică sau mentă.

5. Ia suplimente alimentare

Suplimentele sunt foarte practice şi îţi oferă exact ce alimentaţia ta zilnică nu poate acoperi. Alege comprimate care îţi asigură necesarul zilnic de vitamine esenţiale şi de minerale. Dacă vrei doar să îţi întăreşti imunitatea, cere farmacistului vitamina C şi urmează cu stric­­teţe indicaţiile de administrare.

6. Fă-ţi anual vaccinul antigripal

Vaccinarea se face toamna, înainte de venirea frigului, pentru a lăsa timp organismului să îşi creeze populaţia de anticorpi responsabilă cu protecţia antigripală. Bolnavii cronici, vârstnicii şi copiii se pot imuniza gratuit la medicul de familie, în timp ce alte persoane trebuie să cumpere serul din farmacii.

7. Mergi la un control medical de rutină

Dacă suferi de o afecţiune cronică, sfârşitul toamnei e momentul când trebuie să îi faci o vizită medicului tău. El îţi poate reco­man­da să repeţi anumite analize şi îţi poate schimba tratamentul, pentru ca organismul tău să facă faţă schimbărilor de temperatură şi de umiditate specifice venirii iernii.

8 .Gustările din timpul nopţii îţi distrug dinţii

Un studiu făcut de cercetătorii de la Universitatea din Copenhaga arată că persoanele care mă­nâncă noaptea riscă să-şi distrugă dinţii. Studiul a fost realizat pe 2.200 de femei şi bărbaţi, dintre care 8% aveau prostul obicei de a se trezi în timpul nop­ţii pentru o gustare. Monitorizarea a arătat că după şase ani, cei care mâncau noaptea au avut mai multe probleme cu dantura şi au ajuns chiar să-şi piardă dinţii, spre deosebire de cei care nu şi-au întrerupt somnul pentru a face excursii la frigider.

9. Detoxifiere cu păpădie

Prescrisă ca tratament natural pentru hepatita C şi pentru anemie, păpă­dia mai are o mulţime de beneficii pentru sănătate. De exemplu, pentru că ajută la eliminarea toxinelor şi a sării în exces, e indicată în detoxificarea ficatului şi buna func­ţionare a sistemului digestiv. Acţio­nează ca diuretic, dar, toto­dată, tratează şi diareea, pentru că are proprietăţi antibacteriene.

10. Lactatele te ajută să ai un păr frumos

Proteinele din lactate sunt foarte importante pentru creşterea pă­rului. Benefice pentru podoaba ca­pilară sunt şi vitamina C, care e e­sen­ţială pentru structura firului de păr, cerealele integrale, bogate în fibre, carnea, pentru că are proteine, fier şi zinc, şi apa, care favori­zează transportul nutrienţilor în organism şi întă­reşte firul de păr.

11. Vinetele scad colesterolul

Sărace în calorii (doar 27 la 100 de grame) şi bo­­­gate în vitamine, vinetele blochează formarea radicalilor liberi şi reduc nivelul de colesterol rău din sânge. Sunt o sursă ex­ce­lentă de acid folic, calciu, magneziu, zinc, fosfor, fier şi potasiu, vitamina C şi vitamina B9. Au efect laxativ, ca urmare a fibrelor pe care le conţin, şi stimulează activitatea ficatului şi a pancreasului.

12. Prunele sunt antidepresive

Renumite ca laxativ natural, prunele au şi un puternic efect tonic asupra celulelor nervoase, ca urmare a concentraţiei crescute de vitamine din gama B. Sunt recomandate în perioadele de conva­les­­cenţă şi pentru combaterea depresiei. Prunele mai au capacitatea de proteja împo­triva cataractei, într-o măsură mult mai mare decât o pot face alte fructe şi legume. În plus, nu sunt o ame­nin­ţare pentru siluetă, fiindcă au puţine calorii: o prună = 35 de calorii.

13. Scapă de răul de maşină cu ghimbir

Răul de maşină - ameţeala şi starea de greaţă indusă de viteza vehiculului, de schimbarea direcţiei sau de virajele bruşte - trece cu ghimbir. Acesta poate fi consumat sub formă de capsule sau de infuzie şi trebuie administrat înainte de plecare. Răul de maşină e frecvent întâlnit la femei şi la copiii cu vârste cuprinse între 5 şi 12 ani.

14. Cafeaua previne bolile de inimă

Ca şi ceaiul, cafeaua ne protejează de bolile de inimă, sus­ţin cerce­tă­to­rii din Olanda. În urma unui studiu realizat pe o peri­oadă de 13 ani, timp în care au fost monitorizate 40.000 de persoane, specialiş­tii au ajuns la concluzia că şase ceş­cuţe de cafea sau de ceai consumate zilnic micşorează riscul de afec­ţiuni cardiace cu o treime. Da­că beţi mai mult de şase ceşcuţe, rolul protector al cafelei sau al ceaiului nu creş­te, ci, în mod paradoxal, se anulea­ză.

15. Sportul, indicat în anxietate

Cercetătorii americani de la Universitatea Georgia susţin că persoanele care au boli cronice pot scăpa de anxietatea provocată de afecţiunea de care suferă cu ajutorul exerciţiilor fizice. Ei au descoperit că mişcarea este mai eficientă decât medicamentele prescrise pentru anxietate şi, spre deosebire de acestea, nu are efecte secundare.

Dieta grupei sangvine

Acest regim e sănătos şi dă rezultate bune, mai ales dacă e asociat cu sport.

“Înainte de începerea unui regim, oamenii ar trebui să-şi facă analizele, pentru a se evita carenţele de vitamine şi de minerale”, a spus medicul.




Miracles You’ll See In The Next Fifty Years: An Article from 1950

Like most predictions about the future, this article from Popular Mechanics dated Feb, 1950, does a pretty mediocre job. Some predictions are accurate, some are wrong, and many of them are plain weird or impractical. It’s a long article, but it sure makes an entertaining read.
A text version of the entire article can be found after these images.
next_fifty_years_00

next_fifty_years_01
next_fifty_years_02
next_fifty_years_03
next_fifty_years_04
next_fifty_years_05
next_fifty_years_06
next_fifty_years_07
next_fifty_years_08
next_fifty_years_09
next_fifty_years_10

Miracles You’ll See In The Next Fifty Years

By Waldemar Kaempffert
Science Editor, The New York Times
WHAT WILL the world be like in A.D. 2000? You can read the answer in your home, in the streets, in the trains and cars that carry you to your work, in the bargain basement of every department store. You don’t realize what is happening because it is a piecemeal process. The jet-propelled plane is one piece, the latest insect killer is another. Thousands of such pieces are automatically dropping into their places to form the pattern of tomorrow’s world.

The only obstacles to accurate prophecy are the vested interests, which may retard progress for economic reasons, tradition, conservatism, labor-union policies and legislation. If we confine ourselves to processes and inventions that are now being hatched in the laboratory, we shall not wander too far from reality.
The best way of visualizing the new world of A.D. 2000 is to introduce you to the Dobsons, who live in Tottenville, a hypothetical metropolitan suburb of 100,000. There are parks and playgrounds and green open spaces not only around detached houses but also around apartment houses. The heart of the town is the airport. Surrounding it are business houses, factories and hotels. In concentric circles beyond these lie the residential districts.

Tottenville is as clean as a whistle and quiet. It is a crime to burn raw coal and pollute air with smoke and soot. In the homes electricity is used to warm walls and to cook. Factories all burn gas, which is generated in sealed mines. The tars are removed and sold to the chemical industry for their values, and the gas thus laundered is piped to a thousand communities.

The highways that radiate from Tottenville are much like those of today, except that they are broader with hardly any curves. In some of the older cities, difficult to change because of the immense investment in real estate and buildings, the highways are double-decked. The upper deck is for fast nonstop traffic; the lower deck is much like our avenues, with brightly illuminated shops. Beneath the lower deck is the level reserved entirely for business vehicles.

Tottenville is illuminated by electric “suns” suspended from arms on steel towers 200 feet high. There are also lamps which are just as bright and varicolored as those that now dazzle us on every Main Street. But the process of generating the light is more like that which occurs in the sun. Atoms are bombarded by electrons and other minute projectiles, electrically excited in this way and made to glow.

Power plants are not driven by atomic power as you might suppose. It was known as early as 1950 that an atomic power plant would have to be larger and much more expensive than a fuel-burning plant to be efficient. Atomic power proves its worth in Canada, South America and the Far East, but in tropical countries it cannot compete with solar power. It is as hopeless in 2000 as it was in 1950 to drive machinery directly by atomic energy. Engineers can do no more than utilize the heat generated by converting uranium into plutonium. The heat is used to drive engines, and the engines in turn drive electric generators. A good deal of thorium is used because uranium 235 is scarce.

Because of the heavy investment that has to be made in a uranium or thorium power plant, the United States government began seriously to consider the possibilities of solar radiation in 1949. Theoretically, 5000 horsepower in terms of solar heat fall on an acre of the earth’s surface every day.

Because they sprawl over large surfaces, solar engines are profitable in 2000 only where land is cheap. They are found in deserts that can be made to bloom again, and in tropical lands where there is usually no coal or oil. Many farmhouses in the United States are heated by solar rays and some cooking is done by solar heat.
The first successful atomically driven liners began to run in 1970 after the U. S. Navy had carried on many expensive, large-scale secret experiments. Outwardly the liners are not much different from the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, but they have much more cargo and passenger space because it is no longer necessary to carry about 12,000 tons of fuel.

The metallurgical research that makes the gas turbines in the power plants and in the trans-Atlantic liners possible has influenced both civil engineering and architecture. Steel is used only for cutting tools and for massive machinery. The light metals have largely displaced it. Ways have been found to change the granular structure so that a metal is ultrastrong in a desired direction and weaker in other directions. As a result, the framework of an industrial or office building or apartment house is an almost lacelike lattice.
Thanks to these alloys, to plastics and to other artificial materials, houses differ from those of our own time. The Dobson house has light-metal walls only four inches thick. There is a sheet of insulating material an inch or two thick with a casing of sheet metal on both sides.

This Dobson air-conditioned house is not a prefabricated structure, though all its parts are mass-produced. Metal, sheets of plastic and aerated clay (clay filled with bubbles so that it resembles petrified sponge) are cut to size on the spot. In the center of this eight-room house is a unit that contains all the utilities - air-conditioning apparatus, plumbing, bathrooms, showers, electric range, electric outlets. Around this central unit the house has been pieced together. Some of it is poured plastic - the floors, for instance. By 2000, wood, brick and stone are ruled out because they are too expensive.

It is a cheap house. With all its furnishings, Joe Dobson paid only $5000 for it. Though it is galeproof and weatherproof, it is built to last only about 25 years. Nobody in 2000 sees any sense in building a house that will last a century.

Everything about the Dobson house is synthetic in the best chemical sense of the term. When Joe Dobson awakens in the morning he uses a depilatory. No soap or safety razor for him. It takes him no longer than a minute to apply the chemical, wipe it off with the bristles and wash his face in plain water.

This Dobson house is not as highly mechanized as you may suppose, chiefly because of the progress made by the synthetic chemists. There are no dish washing machines, for example, because dishes are thrown away after they have been used once, or rather put into a sink where they are dissolved by superheated water. Two dozen soluble plastic plates cost a dollar. They dissolve at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit, so that boiling-hot soup and stews can be served in them without inviting a catastrophe. The plastics are derived from such inexpensive raw materials as cottonseed hulls, oat hulls, Jerusalem artichokes, fruit pits, soy beans, bagasse, straw and wood pulp.

When Jane Dobson cleans house she simply turns the hose on everything. Why not? Furniture (upholstery included), rugs, draperies, unscratchable floors are all are made of synthetic fabric or waterproof plastic. After the water has run down a drain in the middle of the floor (later concealed by a rug of synthetic fiber) Jane turns on a blast of hot air and dries everything. A detergent in the water dissolves any resistant dirt. Tablecloths and napkins are made of woven paper yarn so fine that the untutored eye mistakes it for linen. Jane Dobson throws soiled “linen” into the incinerator. Bed sheets are of more substantial stuff, but Jane Dobson has only to hang them up and wash them down with a hose when she puts the bedroom in order.
Cooking as an art is only a memory in the minds of old people. A few die-hards still broil a chicken or roast a leg of lamb, but the experts have developed ways of deep-freezing partially baked cuts of meat. Even soup and milk are delivered in the form of frozen bricks.

This expansion of the frozen-food industry and the changing gastronomic habits of the nation have made it necessary to install in every home the electronic industrial stove which came out of World War II. Jane Dobson has one of these electronic stoves. In eight seconds a half-grilled frozen steak is thawed; in two minutes more it is ready to serve. It never takes Jane Dobson more than half an hour to prepare what Tottenville considers an elaborate meal of several courses.

Some of the food that Jane Dobson buys is what we miscall “synthetic.” In the middle of the 20th century statisticians were predicting that the world would starve to death because the population was increasing more rapidly than the food supply. By 2000, a vast amount of research has been conducted to exploit principles that were embryonic in the first quarter of the 20th century. Thus sawdust and wood pulp are converted into sugary foods. Discarded paper table “linen” and rayon underwear are bought by chemical factories to be converted into candy.

Of course the Dobsons have a television set. But it is connected with the telephones as well as with the radio receiver, so that when Joe Dobson and a friend in a distant city talk over the telephone they also see each other. Businessmen have television conferences. Each man is surrounded by half a dozen television screens on which he sees those taking part in the discussion. Documents are held up for examination; samples of goods are displayed. In fact, Jane Dobson does much of her shopping by television. Department stores obligingly hold up for her inspection bolts of fabric or show her new styles of clothing.

Automatic electronic inventions that seem to have something like intelligence integrate industrial production so that all the machines in a factory work as units in what is actually a single, colossal organism. In the Orwell Helicopter Corporation’s plant only a few trouble shooters are visible, and these respond to lights that flare up on a board whenever a vacuum tube burns out or there is a short circuit. By holes punched in a roll of paper, every operation necessary to produce a helicopter is indicated. The punched roll is fed into a machine that virtually gives orders to all the other machines in the plant. The holes in the paper indicate exactly how long a reamer is to smooth the inside of a cylinder, just when a stamping machine is to pass a sheet of aluminum along to its neighbor with orders to punch 22 holes in indicated places. There are mechanical wrenches that obediently turn nuts on bolts and stop all by themselves when the bolts are in place, shears that know exactly where to cut a sheet of metal for a perfect fit. Every operation in the plant is electronically and automatically controlled.

One of the more remarkable electronic machines of 2000 is a development of one on which hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent in the middle years of the 20th century by Dr. Vladimir Zworykin and Dr. John von Neumann. The purpose of this improved Zworykin-Von Neumann automaton is to predict the weather with an accuracy unattainable before 1980. It is a combination of calculating machine and forecaster. The calculator solves thousands of separate equations in a minute; the automatic forecaster carries out the computer’s instructions and predicts the weather from hour to hour. In 1950, meteorologists had no time to deal with the 50-odd variables that should have been mathematically handled to predict the weather 24 hours in advance.

Following suggestions made by Zworykin and Von Neumann storms are more or less under control. It is easy enough to spot a budding hurricane in the doldrums off the coast of Africa. Before it has a chance to gather much strength and speed as it travels westward toward Florida, oil is spread over the sea and ignited. There is an updraft. Air from the surrounding region, which includes the developing hurricane, rushes in to fill the void. The rising air condenses so that some of the water in the whirling mass falls as rain.

With storms diverted where they do no harm, aerial travel is never interrupted. And the Dobsons, like everybody else in Tottenville, travel much more than we do in 1950—that is, to foreign countries.
By 2000, supersonic planes cover a thousand miles an hour, but the consumption of fuel is such that high fares have to be charged. In one of these supersonic planes the Atlantic is crossed in three hours. Nobody has yet circumnavigated the moon in a rocket space ship, but the idea is not laughed down.
Corporation presidents, bankers, ambassadors and rich people in a hurry use the 1000-mile-an-hour rocket planes and think nothing of paying a fare of $5000 between Chicago and Paris. The Dobsons take the cheaper jet planes.

This extension of aerial transportation has had the effect of distributing the population. People find it more satisfactory to live in a suburb like Tottenville, if suburb it can be called, than in a metropolis like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Cities have grown into regions, and it is sometimes hard to tell where one city ends and another begins. Instead of driving from Tottenville to California in their car - teardrop in shape and driven from the rear by a high-compression engine that burns cheap denatured alcohol - the Dobsons use the family helicopter, which is kept on the roof. The car is used chiefly for shopping and for journeys of not more than 20 miles. The railways are just as necessary in 2000 as they are in 1950. They haul chiefly freight too heavy or too bulky for air cargo carriers. Passenger travel by rail is a mere trickle. Even commuters go to the city, a hundred miles away, in huge aerial busses that hold 200 passengers. Hundreds of thousands make such journeys twice a day in their own helicopters.

Fast jet and rocket-propelled mail planes made it so hard for telegraph companies all over the world to compete with the postal service that dormant facsimile-transmission systems had to be revived. It takes no more than a minute to transmit and receive in facsimile a five-page letter on paper of the usual business size. Cost? Five cents. In Tottenville the clerks in telegraph offices no longer print out illegible words. Everything is transmitted by phototelegraphy exactly as it is written - illegible spelling, blots, smudges and all. Mistakes are the sender’s, never the telegraph company’s.
When the Dobsons are sick they go to the doctor, in a hospital, where he has only to push a button to command all the assistance he needs.

In the middle of the 20th century, doctors talked much of such antibiotics as penicillin, streptomycin, aureomycin and about 50 others that had been extracted from soil and other molds. It was the beginning of what was even then known as chemotherapy - cure by chemical means. By 2000, physicians have several hundred of these chemical agents or antibiotics at their command. Tuberculosis in all of its forms is cured as easily as pneumonia was cured at mid-century.

It no longer is necessary in 2000 to administer the purified extracts of molds to cope with bacterial infections. The antibiotics are all synthesized in chemical factories. It is possible to modify their molecular structure, so that they acquire new and useful properties.

Even in 1950 physicians did not know exactly how a piece of beefsteak is converted by the body into muscle and energy - the process technically known as metabolism. The physician of 2000 knows just what diet is best for a patient. This knowledge, coupled with his knowledge of hormones, enables him to treat old age as a degenerative disease. Men and women of 70 in A.D. 2000 look as if they were 40. Wrinkles, sagging cheeks, leathery skins are curiosities or signs of neglect. The span of life has been lengthened to 85.
In 1950 little was known about a virus beyond the fact that it could slip through a filter so fine that it would hold back any microorganism visible in the optical microscope. The electron microscope, which magnifies from 30,000 to 100,000 times and which substitutes a beam of electrons for a beam of light, has changed all this. In the viruses, little bodies have been detected with this instrument. They are virtually protein molecules. By tying together what chemists have discovered about the structure of protein and what the pathologists see in the electron microscope, such virus diseases as influenza, the common cold, poliomyelitis and a dozen others are cured with ease.

Even in the 20th century hospitals were packed with instruments and machines. The hospitals of 2000 have even more. Instead of taking electrocardiographs, doctors place heart patients in front of a fluoroscopic screen, turn on the X-rays and then, with the aid of a photoelectric cell, examine every section of the heart.
Cancer is not yet curable in 2000. But physicians optimistically predict that the time is not far off when it will be cured.

The nervous diseases are linked up with electrochemical processes in 2000 in a way that is impossible in our time. Such afflictions as multiple sclerosis or palsy are no longer regarded as incurable. There are electrochemical methods of stimulating and reactivating nerves, so that victims of Parkinson’s disease are no longer objects of pity. But these sufferers from damaged or degenerate nerves are somewhat like our diabetics who must take insulin regularly to remain alive. A little battery-driven apparatus must be carried in the pocket to provide the stimulus the nerves need.

Any marked departure from what Joe -Dobson and his fellow citizens wear and eat and how they amuse themselves will arouse comment. If old Mrs. Underwood, who lives around the corner from the Dob-sons and who was born in 1920 insists on sleeping under an old-fashioned comforter instead of an aerogel blanket of glass puffed with air so that it is as light as thistledown, she must expect people to talk about her “queerness.” It is astonishing how easily the great majority of us fall into step with our neighbors. And after all, is the standardization of life to be deplored if we can have a house like Joe Dobson’s, a standardized helicopter, luxurious standardized household appointments, and food that was out of the reach of any Roman emperor?