The Putrajaya Highway

Malaysia's very own "King of Tolls", Datuk Seri Samy Vellu, has announced that the cabinet would decide whether the government is to bear the cost of constructing the RM900 million (US$243 million) highway connecting Kuala Lumpur with Putrajaya, the nation's administrative capital, next Wednesday (December 6, 2006), in the weekly cabinet meeting. My personal view is that Pak Lah's administration should be responsible for undertaking this important project. Why? This is because failure to do so would again place an additional unwanted burden on the long-suffering rakyat (people) of this blessed country. Everyone knows that despite continuing hikes on almost all essential goods, products and services, the measly take-home wages of the average hard-working Malaysian citizen has not shown any significant increase for quite some time. And all civil servants would surely remember the black day when Pak Lah decided not to grant a wage increase to them recently. And yet another highway that charges a toll to motorists would not be very popular to all.

Soccer Trivia Part I - The Answer

QUESTION

Apart from having played for the England national team, what do these following players have in common?

Peter Crouch, Steve Bruce, Tony Cottee, Mike Channon, Martin O'Neill, Joe Royle and Martin Peters

ANSWER

All played for Norwich City FC at some stage of their playing careers.

Joe Frazier Makes Comeback

Are you kidding? Thank God that his comeback is for charity. Joe once held the boxing heavyweight title. Among his arch-rivals include nemesis Muhammad Ali, probably the greatest boxer ever.

Click here to read more on Joe Frazier

2000-year Old Computer?

2000-year-old 'computer' sheds new light on ancient geeks

An ancient astronomical calculator made at the end of the 2nd century BC was amazingly accurate and more complex than any instrument for the next 1,000 years, scientists have said. The Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest known device to contain an intricate set of gear wheels. It was retrieved from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, but until now what it was used for has been a mystery. Although the remains are fragmented in 82 brass pieces, scientists from Britain, Greece and the United States have reconstructed a model of it using high-resolution X-ray tomography. They believe their findings could force a rethink of the technological potential of the ancient Greeks. "It could be described as the first known calculator," said Professor Mike Edmunds, a professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University in Wales. "Our recent work has applied very modern techniques that we believe have now revealed what its actual functions were." The calculator could add, multiply, divide and subtract. It was also able to align the number of lunar months with years and display where the sun and the moon were in the zodiac. Edmunds and his colleagues discovered it had a dial that predicted when there was a likely to be a lunar or solar eclipse. It also took into account the elliptical orbit of the moon. "The actual astronomy is perfect for the period," Edmunds told Reuters.

"What is extraordinary about the thing is that they were able to make such a sophisticated technological device and to be able to put that into metal," he added. The model of the calculator shows 37 gear wheels housed in a wooden case with inscriptions on the cover that related to the planetary movements. Francois Charette, of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, said the findings, reported in the journal Nature, provide a wealth of data for future research. "Newly deciphered inscriptions that relate to the planetary movements make it plausible that the mechanism originally also had gearings to predict the motion of the planets," he said in a commentary. Edmunds described the instrument as unique, saying there is nothing like it in the history of astronomy. Similar complicated mechanisms were not been seen until the appearance of medieval cathedral clocks much later. "What was not quite so apparent before was quite how beautifully designed this was," he said. "That beauty of design in this mechanical thing forces you to say 'Well gosh, if they can do that what else could they do?'"

Taken from www.theage.com.au

S S P N

SSPN is the Malay acronym for "Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional", or the National Education Savings Scheme. It is a savings instrument for parents who are Malaysian citizens for the purpose of financial planning of their children's future tertiary education. Financial institutions that have been appointed to accept deposits are CIMB Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), Bank Pertanian and Bank Rakyat. The minimum deposit to open an account is RM20, with subsequent deposits of similar value upwards. You only need to bring a copy of your NRIC and your child's birth certificate, or NRIC. Also needed is a copy of your salary slip. Permanent residents and non-residents are not eligible. To learn more, click here (in Malay).

Old, But Good Advice

Signs your PC's under siege, and what you can do

If your Windows PC is being used as a zombie, you may notice recurring slowdowns of e-mail and Web browsing. Or you may not be able to e-mail or browse at all. If your PC has been infected with a self-replicating network worm, a dormant backdoor Trojan horse or several other types of stealthy programs, you may not notice anything.

• Always use a personal firewall with a PC connected to a cable modem, DSL or wireless Internet service. Free ones are listed at www.free-firewall.org. Tip: Have the personal firewall set to at least the medium level of security.

• Buy anti-virus software, such as Norton AntiVirus, McAfee VirusScan or ZoneLabs Security Suite, and keep the subscription current. Set it to automatically check for updates. Tip: New PCs typically come with a free trial subscription from Norton or McAfee. However, you must subscribe after the trial period expires to continue getting updates.

• Enable Microsoft Windows Auto-Update to automatically download the latest security patches. Tip: Follow instructions to make sure downloaded patches are also automatically installed.

• No software vendor will ever send you patches via e-mail. If you get e-mail pretending to be a patch from Microsoft or any other vendor, delete it. Distrust all attachments. If you have even the slightest doubt, delete it without reading.

• Back up all of your important documents and folders at least once a month, more often if you can stand it. Use complex passwords and periodically change passwords and PINs.

• Beware of spyware. If you can, use the Mozilla Firefox browser. If you must use Internet Explorer (IE), set the security settings to high; this will disable multimedia features of many Web sites, but also will block a main path intruders use to plant Web contagions. Tip: To set IE security to high, navigate to Tools, Internet options, Security settings.

• Install, use and regularly update Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy anti-spyware programs. Both are free for the downloading. Tip: Be extremely wary of counterfeit versions of Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, spelled slightly different; those are actually spyware.

• Consider switching to a non-IE browser, such as Mozilla's Firefox.

By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz, USA TODAY

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Aussie Broadband Sucks!

Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo said today he agrees with media mogul Rupert Murdoch that Australia's access to high-speed broadband is a disgrace. Mr Trujillo said that developed countries such as the United States, Canada and Germany had or were planning to provide regulatory relief to facilitate investment in broadband infrastructure.

"Everyone does understand how important it is for their economies to assist in getting fibre (fibre to the node) now deployed throughout their countries," Mr Trujillo told a luncheon of the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce. "So when you look at world travellers and global citizens such as Rupert Murdoch, who two weeks ago said access to high-speed broadband was a disgrace and that we're being left behind and will pay for it, from me, you will find no argument." "I wholeheartedly agree that high-speed broadband is critical for this nation to be globally competitive."

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NY Police Gun Down Unarmed Black Man

Sean Bell, 23, was killed on Saturday when officers opened fire as he left a strip club on the eve of his wedding. It is alleged police began firing after his car hit an unmarked police vehicle. Two of Mr Bell's friends, who were travelling in the car, were also injured. Joseph Guzman was hit by at least 11 bullets and is in a critical condition. Trent Benefield was hit three times and is in a stable condition. No weapons were found on the three men or in their car, nor have any charges been made. Five officers have been placed on administrative duties during an inquiry into the shooting outside the Kalua Club, at the end of Mr Bell's stag night celebrations. Following the talks with the city's police chief and community leaders, Mr Bloomberg said: "I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired, but that is up to the investigation to find out what really happened." Mr Bloomberg said he was not going to speculate or "fill in the blanks" but would make information public as soon as he had it. Reverend Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights activist, called it a "very candid, a very blunt meeting".

He said the message to the mayor was: "This city must show moral outrage that 50 shots were fired on three unarmed men." New York police have faced criticism over other shootings of unarmed black men in recent years.According to Commissioner Kelly, the club was under surveillance because of its long history of weapons complaints, drug-dealing and prostitution. He said an undercover officer at the club had reported that the men were in a group involved in a dispute with another person outside the club. The officer had reportedly called his colleagues saying he feared a gun would be produced.

PREVIOUS POLICE VIOLENCE

Timothy Thomas, 2001: Unarmed black teenager shot by white officer in Cincinnati while fleeing. Death sparked days of rioting in city

Patrick Dorismond, 2000: Unarmed black man killed in bungled drugs sting in New York, in a death which drew protests

Amadou Diallo, 1999: West African immigrant killed when white police mistook his wallet for gun. Four officers acquitted; family given $3m

Rodney King, 1991: Black man badly beaten by LA police after resisting arrest for speeding, in videotaped attack. Acquittal of officers led to riots in 1992. Mr King given $3.8m

Aussies Draw First Blood

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series when it beat England by 277 runs in the first Test at the Gabba today.

It took the home side just 20.1 overs on the fifth morning to claim England's last five wickets, and the Australians were jubilant when Stuart Clark's fourth wicket finished off the match. England was all out for a commendable 370 in its second innings. Brett Lee landed the biggest body blow when he removed Kevin Pietersen with the fourth delivery of the day, all but ending any hopes the tourists had of batting out the day to save the match. Pietersen did not add to his overnight score of 92 and was on his way when he spooned a catch off his pads straight to Damien Martyn at mid-wicket. Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark then cleaned up the innings before lunch. Australia's massive win was on the cards from day one, when captain Ricky Ponting's century set his side up for a massive first innings score. Australia declared at 9-602 late on day two and then bowled England out for 157. Ponting opted not to enforce the follow-on despite holding a 445-run lead on the first innings and the home side declared a second time at 1-202, before lunch yesterday, which set England a victory target of 648. Thunderstorms were forecast for later today, but the Australians made sure the weather never became a threat. The match highlights for Australia included Ponting's first innings 196, Justin Langer's fine double of 82 and 100 not out, McGrath's 6-50 in his comeback match in England's first innings, Clark's match return of 7-93, and 4-124 to Shane Warne in the tourists' second dig. England's best day was easily the fourth, when Pietersen and Paul Collingwood (96) launched a counter-offensive which halted Australia's progress after the first three days of domination. In further good news for the Australians, Ponting took the field today after spending yesterday off the ground because of a back problem, while McGrath appeared unhampered by a slight heel injury. Both sides are likely to think long and hard about personnel changes for the second Test in Adelaide, which starts Friday. Australia is likely to consider allrounder Shane Watson depending on how he recovers from a hamstring strain, while legspinner Stuart MacGill could be an option on the spin-friendly Adelaide Oval. However Clark's impressive return with the ball, of 3-21 and 4-72, almost gurantees him another game, while batsman Michael Clarke, who replaced Watson, made 56. The second Test squad is expected to be named later today.

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Toll Rates Up Again

Hmm...not another hike...

Toll rates will be increased for five concessionaires come Jan 1, 2007, according to Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. He said the Government could not afford to compensate the concessionaires for the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Karak Highway, Grand Saga Cheras-Kajang Highway, Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Kesas Shah Alam Highway the estimated RM2bil, if no increase was approved during this round of concession agreements. It is understood that this is how much the Government will have to fork out until the concession agreements lapse. Citing an example, Samy Vellu said the original toll rate when the LDP first opened was RM1.50. “But because of complaints by the people, it was reduced to RM1. Just because the toll was reduced, it did not mean the balance of 50 sen did not have to be paid,” he said, adding that the Government had to compensate the LDP concessionaire RM68mil last year and RM76mil this year. Samy Vellu said the quantum of increase would only be finalised after a study by the ministry to make sure the increase was reasonable and would not burden the public. The last toll increase was on Jan 1, 2005, when Plus Expressways increased toll rates by 10% on the North-South Expressway. In April 2002, Kesas highway also raised its rates by between 20 sen and 60 sen. Samy Vellu added that as a matter of policy, the Government would also ensure that if there were two different concessionaires operating on similar routes their toll rates would be identical.

Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya, Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Ashfar Ali said he hoped that the increase would not apply to buses. “We cannot afford to absorb an increase. We hope that if the increase does apply to buses, then the Government will allow us to pass on the charges to passengers, as allowed for taxis.”

Pan Malaysia Lorry Operators Association president Er Sui See said if the lorry operators were burdened the increase would be passed on to customer. On another matter, Samy Vellu said the proposal for the 216km West Coast Highway was withdrawn by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) at the last Cabinet meeting. He added that if the Government had carried out the project earlier, it would have been much cheaper, instead of the estimated cost of RM3bil now. Samy Vellu also said he would ask the Cabinet to stop issuing licences for Class F contractors because too many of them were dormant.

Cannavaro Voted As Europe's Best

Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro won recognition for his stunning World Cup performance by winning the prestigious European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or) yesterday. “Of course I will bring this trophy back to Madrid but I would also love to bring it to Turin,” Cannavaro, who joined Real Madrid from Juventus in July, told a news conference. “My season at Juventus was just outstanding. I played 37 matches and scored four goals, all decisive.” The imperious Italy captain was a rock at the heart of a defence which leaked just two goals in seven matches – an own goal and a penalty – on their way to lifting the trophy for a fourth time in Germany. Hard but fair, he was not cautioned in the entire World Cup. The 33-year-old Neapolitan succeeds Barcelona star Ronaldinho, winner of last year's award who was placed fourth this time largely as a result of his World Cup performance as Brazil crashed in the quarter-finals to France.

Cannavaro with 173 points won ahead of Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (124) of Italy and Arsenal's French striker Thierry Henry (121). France's Zinedine Zidane, who retired after reaching the World Cup final, placed fifth with 71 points. The last defender to win the award was Germany's Mathias Sammer (1996). The award, organised by French football magazine France Football, was decided after votes from European football's leading journalists.

US$8.6 Billion Malaysian Merger

Saw the business news just now. It was reported that the CIMB Group will buy stakes in nine plantation firms in Malaysia. Using its own vehicle, the new entity will emerge as among the top five companies that are listed in Bursa Malaysia. the stock exchange. The deal involves a staggering amount of RM32 billion.

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Nicol Retains World Squash Title

MALAYSIAN sports superstar Nicol David has done it again.

The world number one and defending champion succeeded in retaining the women’s world Open squash title at the Ulster Hall in Belfast yesterday. It was hard work for Nicol as she had to fight back in a dramatic final to become the first Malaysian athlete to win a world championship title for the second consecutive time. Nicol, who became the first Asian player to win the title last year, took 98 minutes to defeat fourth-seeded Australian Natalie Grinham 1-9, 9-7, 3-9, 9-5, 9-2. The match was played in a glass court, which was set up in the historic Ulster Hall, which was built in 1862 with a huge classical English organ in the background. It was the perfect setting for Nicol to stamp her mark once again as the best player in the world. Nicol had her parents, Desmond and Ann Marie, a handful of Malaysians students from Queens College and officials of the Malaysian Embassy among the crowd to cheer her on to victory. And she did not disappoint the Malaysians who turned up to support her. “Wow! I am glad the tournament is finally over,” said Nicol, who won the title last year in Hong Kong. “It was a good tournament and the final was great. I have to thank Natalie for that. It was a great crowd here. Everyone is here supporting us in the final. This win is also very special because my parents are here.” Long rallies were played from the start in the first game. But Nicol made many errors and found herself trailing 0-6. She only managed to secure a point before Grinham sealed the game. Nicol found her rhythm midway through the second game when the score was tied 4-4. Then Grinham made the errors, hitting the ball out when leading 7-5. Nicol won the game when she was awarded a stroke in her favour at game point. Error crept into Nicol’s game again as she hit the ball out for seven consecutive times to trail 0-7. She tried to force her way back into the game but failed to save it. In the fourth game, Nicol led 6-2 but Grinham tried her best to end the match. The Australian hit a series of winners to bring the score to 5-7. But Nicol stepped up the pace to force a decider. It was all Nicol in the fifth game. She led 6-1 and never looked back to seal the match 9-2. A disappointed Grinham felt that she tried her best but it was just not enough to prevent Nicol from claiming the title. Nicol’s efforts in the championship were worth US$17,000 while Natalie received US$11,500. Nicol’s next assignment will be the Doha Asian Games.

Taken from "The Star" at http://thestar.com.my

A Disappointing English Performance

The England rugby union team succumbed to their 7th defeat in eight games when the went down to South Africa on Saturday. The Springboks triumphed 25-14. As expected, All-Blacks cruised past the Welsh team 45-10 in Cardiff, while France narrowly defeated Argentina 27-26. In other matches, the Wallabies overcame Scotland 44-15 and Canada went down to Italy 25-41.

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H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G !

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. Malaysians do not celebrate this day per se. But the religious portion of the Malaysian population do offer their thanks, especially to their Creator all the time. Some, especially Muslims, do it daily without fail. To be grateful for even the smallest of things is important in life as the opposite attitude can work against our sense of satisfaction. Remember, as you have your delicious meal, there are people who starve to their deaths this very moment. Remember, when you complain about your cramped apartments or smallish dwellings, there are people everywhere without a roof over their heads. Remember that by reading this blog of mine, there are millions who had lost their vision. Remember that as you surf now, millions do not have internet access. And finally, the fact that you are currently breathing this very second is the GREATEST gift of all. The gift of life and living! So, be thankful for whatever you have, or don't have.

Current Top Scorers

English Premiership (Current leaders : Manchester United)

Drogba (Chelsea) 8
Kanu (Portsmouth) 8
Rooney (Man Utd) 7
Bent D (Charlton) 6
Doyle (Reading) 6
Henry (Arsenal) 6
Johnson (Everton) 6
Cahill (Everton) 5
Kuyt (Liverpool) 5
Lampard (Chelsea) 5

Spanish La Liga (Current Leaders : Barcelona)

Milito (Zaragoza) 9
Kanoute (Seville) 9
Nistelroy (R. Madrid) 8
Ronaldinho (Barcelona) 8
Forlan (Villarreal) 5
Villa (Valencia) 5
Morientes (Valencia) 5

Italian Serie A (Current Leaders : Inter Milan)

Rigano (Messina) 9
Amauri (Palermo) 6
Corini (Palermo) 6
Budan (Parma) 6
Bianchi (Reggina) 6
Iaquinta (Udinese) 6

German Bundesliga (Current Leaders : Schalke 04)

Gomez (Stuttgart) 9
Pantelic (Hertha B.) 8
Makaay (B. Munich) 7
Diego (W. Bremen) 6
Altintop (Schalke) 6
Klose (W. Bremen) 6
Gekas (Bochum) 6

Dutch Eradivise (Current Leaders : PSV Eindhoven)

Alves (Heerenveen) 10
N'Kufo (FC Twente) 9
Koevermans (AZ) 9
Lazovic (Vitesse) 9
Farfan (PSV) 9
Sneijder (Ajax) 8
Perez (Ajax) 7

French Ligue (Current Leaders : Lyon)

Dindane (Lens) 7
Bangoura (Le Mans) 7
Pagis (Marseille) 6
Feindouno (Etienne) 6
Odemwingie (Lille) 6
Pauleta (Paris S.G.) 6

Liverpool Are Through

Yes, Liverpool has made it into the next stage of the Champions League as expected. After yesterday's round of matches, ten clubs have booked their places in the knockout stages of the Champions League. On Tuesday, Celtic qualified for the knockout stages for the first time under this format of the competition with a home win against Manchester United. And on Wednesday, Chelsea joined the Bhoys and Liverpool in the next round, with only Arsenal and Manchester United needing at least a point in their final group game to make it a quintet of British teams in the last 16. Liverpool overcame PSV Eindhoven 2-0 at Anfield courtesy of goals by Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch. Come on Reds, let's repeat our Instanbul success!

The Day The President Was Assassinated

Today, 43 years ago on that fateful day in Dallas, USA, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a hitman. Although I was not born then, and only learnt about JFK's tragic demise many, many years later, I am sure many Americans could not forget this history-making tragedy. Some were even present at the parade where JFK got his last ride. The hitman? Lee Harvey Oswald. At 43, JFK was the youngest man ever elected president (Clinton was 46) and he embodied vigor and vitality. To see him shot down in his prime made Americans feel defenseless. Life in America during those four days came to a virtual halt as a nation sat, immobilized, glued to the TV. A collective sense of disbelief was made worse by the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. The whole American population wanted answers; they needed reassurance. They got neither. The funeral of the slain JFK was a masterpiece of decorum. It had just the right combination of pomp and personal. A state funeral thrown by a grieving family led by the stalwart brother and the dignified widow. In the space of four days during November of 1963, JFK transcended from being merely an American president to the more mythical position of King of Camelot. May he rest in peace.

It Really Is A Shame For You To Keep Working That Job, When So Many People Are Doing This - Jim Daniels

This may sound a bit harsh, but it's a fact...

Deep inside every human being (OK, maybe just under the surface) is a truly lazy bum who wishes they were rich enough to never have to work again. Maybe not "Bill Gates rich", but comfortable enough to do whatever they want every day. No job, no debt, no worries. You know... financially independent. In fact, this is a life-long goal of many people. "Retirement" is the word that career people use.

Come On, Admit It...

You've bought a lottery ticket or two in your day, (I have too!) with the hope of making some easy money. Not just big money, but "quit your job" money. And unless you won the big one, you'll buy another ticket or two in your lifetime. It's human nature. Hey, why not take an occasional stab at early retirement. That's why you see so many get rich quick schemes in your mailbox and in your email. Because millions of people would rather stay home every day instead of going to work. The one that still makes me chuckle is the letter from that guy who claims he made $286,000 by sending a chain letter to 100 people. It seems he was earning a good living as a lawyer but gave up his practice when the chain letter money started rolling in. Now he spends his days at the race track. Ah, the life of luxury.

If only it were that easy.

The sad fact is, nobody is getting rich with chain letters. And only one in every 180 million people will ever hit the big one in the lottery. So unless you have a huge inheritance coming your way when Uncle Joe kicks the bucket, that leaves only one way to become financially independent -- you have to do it on your own. But how in the world does someone accomplish that monumental feat?

The Old "Flawed" 20th Century Plan...

Well, in the previous century, a small percentage of people did it with something called a career and life savings. You know the idea, work a job for 35 years or so, scrimp and save along the way and retire around age 65 with a nice nest egg. Although this was pretty much a universally accepted plan for wealth during the 1900's, there was a problem many people never discussed... a little matter called life expectancy. Even near the end of the 20th century, between 1980 and 1998, when the world's average life expectancy soared... people lived only to the ripe old age of 67 years. You do the math. That's right, that leaves a whopping 2 years to reap the rewards of all that hard work and saving.

If you ask me, that's not a good plan at all.

What good is a life savings if you have so very little life left to enjoy it? Now maybe you're thinking... "Hey, that's not a bad plan now. After all, at start of the 21st century, life expectancies are reaching some 77 years. That's 12 years of retirement. Maybe I could retire a little early and live a little longer."

Wrong!

That plan is actually getting worse. Here's why...

If you think that the ideal path to financial security looks like this...

Go to school, graduate, get a good job for a good company, save for retirement, retire comfortably, travel and enjoy your golden years...

...you may be in for a big surprise -- a surprise that happens when it's already too late.

The surprise is this.... a mere 5% of people following that path ever achieve a comfortable, financially independent retirement.

Isn't that a shocking number?

That leaves a full 95% of well-intentioned, hard working people relying on government assistance, inadequate pensions, family members, or worse -- having to keep working -- just to make ends meet. I don't know about you, but I'd like to enjoy my golden years - not just make ends meet. Heck, I'd like to enjoy my entire life for that matter. Why wait until the golden years? And I can't do that if I'm slaving away for "the man" five or more days a week, hoping I won't be too old or sick to enjoy those last few years at the end. So ten years ago I decided to do something about it.

The New 21st Century Plan...

I was fed up with working my butt off and still struggling to make ends meet. So I decided to try something new. I figured I could always go back to my life of jobs if my plan did not work. I was dumbfounded when I was able to leave my last job that very same year. Today I'll share with you, the plan that made it happen. (Again, I'm going to give you this information, so relax and keep reading.) Though I did not have a name for my plan back then, I now call it...

The New Age Work at Home Plan:

"Internet-Based Financial Independence in 10 Simple Steps"

You see, now I'm that lazy bum I always wanted to be. OK, maybe I'm not that lazy, but I expend my energy where I want to. I use it to play with my kids. I travel with my family. I play golf a few times a week. I'm able to live the life I want because I make a comfortable living from home, using the Internet. How comfortable? While I do not want to hype this site up with wild income claims, you can take a quick peek at a report I just ran at my shopping cart. It shows you what my monthly income looked like during 2005, from just ONE of my sites...

CLICK HERE NOW TO CONTINUE

DRINKING COFFEE - The Myths Versus The Facts

Setting the Record Straight on Caffeine and Health

For thousands of years people have enjoyed foods and beverages containing caffeine. Despite its proven safety, common myths about the health effects of caffeine are persistent. Misunderstanding is sometimes passed along by friends, family, the news media, and even healthcare professionals, leaving many people confused and wary about caffeine consumption. Extensive scientific research regarding the potential health effects of caffeine has been conducted. The overwhelming scientific evidence on caffeine demonstrates that moderate daily caffeine consumption (about 300 milligrams per day) is safe. And, as with almost everything in the human diet, moderation is key.

Test Your Caffeine Knowledge

Myth #1 :

Caffeine causes dehydration.

Fact:

Caffeine-containing beverages contribute to an individual’s daily total water intake. Although caffeine is a mild diuretic, the urinary output effects attributed to caffeine have been exaggerated. In fact, urinary output is usually offset by the liquid consumed. Research now shows that coffee, tea, and other caffeine-containing beverages do not negatively affect indicators of hydration in those who are accustomed to consuming caffeine.

Myth #2 :

Caffeine is addictive.

Fact:

Moderate caffeine consumption is safe and caffeine should not be classified with addictive substances. People who say they are “addicted” to caffeine tend to use the term loosely, like saying they are “addicted” to running, work, or television as an important or enjoyable part of their routine. Some caffeine-sensitive individuals may experience mild, temporary effects, including headache, restlessness, and irritability, when their daily intake is quickly and substantially altered. Medical experts agree that any discomfort caused by the abrupt cessation of caffeine consumption can be avoided by progressively decreasing intake over a few days.

Myth #3 :

Caffeine causes hyperactivity in children.

Fact:

Although children metabolize caffeine faster than adults, pound for pound, children are no more sensitive to caffeine than adults. Studies have shown that caffeine, when it is consumed in moderation by children, has no adverse effects on activity levels or attention spans.

Myth #4 :

Caffeine consumption causes osteoporosis.

Fact:

Research has shown that caffeine intake is not a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, particularly in women who consume adequate calcium. It has been shown that caffeine consumption causes a slight and temporary rise in the level of calcium excretion leading to speculation that the use of caffeine could compromise bone health. Yet, studies demonstrate that adequate calcium consumption offsets the potential effect of caffeine on bone health. Given the current evidence, an adequate calcium intake, especially during adolescent years coupled with vitamin D and weight-bearing physical activity, is the best nutritional insurance for healthy and strong bones.

Myth #5 :

Caffeine consumption is linked to fibrocystic breast disease.

Fact:

Research has shown that caffeine intake is not related to the development of fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), a condition of benign fibrous lumps in the breast. The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs and the National Cancer Institute has published reports stating that there is no association between caffeine intake and the incidence of FBD. Therefore it may be unnecessary for healthcare providers to routinely counsel otherwise healthy women with FBD to refrain from caffeine consumption.

Myth #6:

Caffeine has been linked to cancer.

Fact:

Extensive research has shown no association between caffeine consumption and the development of any cancer. Both the American Cancer Society and the National Research Council of the National Academies report there is no convincing evidence linking caffeine to any type of cancer.

Myth #7 :

Caffeine consumption is unhealthful for pregnant women.

Fact:

Health professional organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that pregnant women limit consumption to the caffeine equivalent of that in 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day. Research suggests that caffeine consumption has little or no effect on the reported time to conceive. Furthermore, caffeine consumption is not a risk factor for infertility. Researchers have also concluded that moderate caffeine consumption is not associated with an increased risk for spontaneous abortion associated with moderate caffeine consumption.

In conclusion, the scientific evidence supports the safety of caffeine when it is consumed in moderation. So, the next time you hear one of these myths perpetuated, take the time to set the record straight!