Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How to Make Your Own Battery-Powered Gadget Chargers

With a few AA batteries and $5 worth of parts, anybody can cobble together an emergency cell phone charger. Here's how to do it, and how to extend your charger-building skills to work on digital cameras, laptops and even power tools.

There’s no magic to a cell phone charger. It’s really little more than a plastic-wrapped strip of copper wire designed to deliver power (stepped down in voltage and converted to DC, of course) from an outlet to your phone battery.

So if an emergency strikes and you find yourself without either your charger or a working wall outlet, it’s really pretty easy to MacGyver together a contraption that uses AA batteries to quickly give your phone enough juice to make a few emergency calls. The whole process, which is a lot like a miniature version of jump-starting a car, takes minutes and uses parts that can be found at Radio Shack for less than $5.

To do it yourself, you’ll need the following: a few AA batteries, a four-AA-battery tray, a metal paper clip and two alligator clips. That’s it, and the finished product should be able to charge just about any phone (with the notable exception of the iPhone, which does not have an easily removable battery) if you find yourself in the wilderness or waiting out a power outage.

Check the voltage

The first step is to check the voltage on your phone battery. Most clock in at about 3.7 volts, but you should pop it out of the phone and read the fine print to see for sure. This information will let you calculate how many AA batteries you need. The key is to use enough to barely exceed the phone battery’s voltage. Employ fewer and you won’t be producing enough juice to charge the battery, but hook up too many and you could burn out the whole thing. AA batteries are 1.5 volts each, so charging a 3.7-volt battery requires combining three of them for a total of 4.5 volts.

AP IMPACT: Statisticians reject global cooling

Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book. Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.

The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs?

In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.

"If you look at the data and sort of cherry-pick a micro-trend within a bigger trend, that technique is particularly suspect," said John Grego, a professor of statistics at the University of South Carolina.

Yet the idea that things are cooling has been repeated in opinion columns, a BBC news story posted on the Drudge Report and in a new book by the authors of the best-seller "Freakonomics." Last week, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that only 57 percent of Americans now believe there is strong scientific evidence for global warming, down from 77 percent in 2006.

Global warming skeptics base their claims on an unusually hot year in 1998. Since then, they say, temperatures have dropped — thus, a cooling trend. But it's not that simple.

Since 1998, temperatures have dipped, soared, fallen again and are now rising once more. Records kept by the British meteorological office and satellite data used by climate skeptics still show 1998 as the hottest year. However, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA show 2005 has topped 1998. Published peer-reviewed scientific research generally cites temperatures measured by ground sensors, which are from NOAA, NASA and the British, more than the satellite data.

The recent Internet chatter about cooling led NOAA's climate data center to re-examine its temperature data. It found no cooling trend.

"The last 10 years are the warmest 10-year period of the modern record," said NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt. "Even if you analyze the trend during that 10 years, the trend is actually positive, which means warming."

The AP sent expert statisticians NOAA's year-to-year ground temperature changes over 130 years and the 30 years of satellite-measured temperatures preferred by skeptics and gathered by scientists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Statisticians who analyzed the data found a distinct decades-long upward trend in the numbers, but could not find a significant drop in the past 10 years in either data set. The ups and downs during the last decade repeat random variability in data as far back as 1880.

Saying there's a downward trend since 1998 is not scientifically legitimate, said David Peterson, a retired Duke University statistics professor and one of those analyzing the numbers.

Identifying a downward trend is a case of "people coming at the data with preconceived notions," said Peterson, author of the book "Why Did They Do That? An Introduction to Forensic Decision Analysis."

One prominent skeptic said that to find the cooling trend, the 30 years of satellite temperatures must be used. The satellite data tends to be cooler than the ground data. And key is making sure 1998 is part of the trend, he added.

It's what happens within the past 10 years or so, not the overall average, that counts, contends Don Easterbrook, a Western Washington University geology professor and global warming skeptic.

"I don't argue with you that the 10-year average for the past 10 years is higher than the previous 10 years," said Easterbrook, who has self-published some of his research. "We started the cooling trend after 1998. You're going to get a different line depending on which year you choose.

"Should not the actual temperature be higher now than it was in 1998?" Easterbrook asked. "We can play the numbers games."

That's the problem, some of the statisticians said.

Grego produced three charts to show how choosing a starting date can alter perceptions. Using the skeptics' satellite data beginning in 1998, there is a "mild downward trend," he said. But doing that is "deceptive."

The trend disappears if the analysis starts in 1997. And it trends upward if you begin in 1999, he said.

Apart from the conflicting data analyses is the eyebrow-raising new book title from Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, "Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance."

A line in the book says: "Then there's this little-discussed fact about global warming: While the drumbeat of doom has grown louder over the past several years, the average global temperature during that time has in fact decreased."

That led to a sharp rebuke from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which said the book mischaracterizes climate science with "distorted statistics."

Levitt, a University of Chicago economist, said he does not believe there is a cooling trend. He said the line was just an attempt to note the irony of a cool couple of years at a time of intense discussion of global warming. Levitt said he did not do any statistical analysis of temperatures, but "eyeballed" the numbers and noticed 2005 was hotter than the last couple of years. Levitt said the "cooling" reference in the book title refers more to ideas about trying to cool the Earth artificially.

Statisticians say that in sizing up climate change, it's important to look at moving averages of about 10 years. They compare the average of 1999-2008 to the average of 2000-2009. In all data sets, 10-year moving averages have been higher in the last five years than in any previous years.

"To talk about global cooling at the end of the hottest decade the planet has experienced in many thousands of years is ridiculous," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford.

Ben Santer, a climate scientist at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Lab, called it "a concerted strategy to obfuscate and generate confusion in the minds of the public and policymakers" ahead of international climate talks in December in Copenhagen.

President Barack Obama weighed in on the topic Friday at MIT. He said some opponents "make cynical claims that contradict the overwhelming scientific evidence when it comes to climate change — claims whose only purpose is to defeat or delay the change that we know is necessary."

Earlier this year, climate scientists in two peer-reviewed publications statistically analyzed recent years' temperatures against claims of cooling and found them not valid.

Not all skeptical scientists make the flat-out cooling argument.

"It pretty much depends on when you start," wrote John Christy, the Alabama atmospheric scientist who collects the satellite data that skeptics use. He said in an e-mail that looking back 31 years, temperatures have gone up nearly three-quarters of a degree Fahrenheit (four-tenths of a degree Celsius). The last dozen years have been flat, and temperatures over the last eight years have declined a bit, he wrote.

Oceans, which take longer to heat up and longer to cool, greatly influence short-term weather, causing temperatures to rise and fall temporarily on top of the overall steady warming trend, scientists say. The biggest example of that is El Nino.

El Nino, a temporary warming of part of the Pacific Ocean, usually spikes global temperatures, scientists say. The two recent warm years, both 1998 and 2005, were El Nino years. The flip side of El Nino is La Nina, which lowers temperatures. A La Nina bloomed last year and temperatures slipped a bit, but 2008 was still the ninth hottest in 130 years of NOAA records.

Of the 10 hottest years recorded by NOAA, eight have occurred since 2000, and after this year it will be nine because this year is on track to be the sixth-warmest on record.

The current El Nino is forecast to get stronger, probably pushing global temperatures even higher next year, scientists say. NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt predicts 2010 may break a record, so a cooling trend "will be never talked about again."

Sunday, October 25, 2009

FRUIT

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD. Let's say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so.

In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

So please eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before your meals! You have heard people complaining - every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats up, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet etc - actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat!

Graying hair, balding, nervous outburst, and dark circles under the eyes all these will not happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.

There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruits, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans. Don't even drink juice that has been heated up. Don't eat cooked fruits because you don't get the nutrients at all. You only get to taste. Cooking destroys all the vitamins.

But eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body. Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look!

KIWI: Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E & fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

APPLE: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE : Sweetest medicine. Taking 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C & Potassium.

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene; this is good for your eyes.

Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer! Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup,warm water or warm beer after a me al.

A serious note about heart attacks HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE': (THIS IS NOT A JOKE!) Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurti ng.. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack . Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive...

Housing: Best Recovery Bets

1. San Francisco
Median home price: $675,000
Value lost since 2006: 25.7%
Forecast gain by 2011*: 4.8%

The San Francisco metro area has seen its home values drop by a quarter, and the city still has some pain to work through. The city's median home price is expected fall another 8.3% by June 2010.

After that, however, the market there may come roaring back: Fiserv predicts a 14.3% gain between June 2010 and June 2011. Averaged out, that means a 4.8% gain over the next two years.

One reason for the sharp comeback is that much of the area's excess inventory will have been sold. It's already dropped by nearly in half over the past year.

The recovery will be delayed, though, as the area -- particularly Oakland and the East Bay -- works through its foreclosure problems. During the first six months of 2009, one of every 52 homes had at least one foreclosure filing.

The good news, according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic, is that core city neighborhoods don't have nearly as many foreclosures as those out on the fringe. The steady demand in those communities will serve as a base as other neighborhoods rebuild.


2. Seattle
Median home price: $371,000
Value lost since 2006: 15.2%
Forecast gain by 2011*: 3.8%

Seattle has become a world-class city with a diverse, vibrant economy. As a home to manufacturers such as Boeing and software providers such as Microsoft, the job market has held up better than average, with a current unemployment rate of 8.8%.

Home prices had a softer landing as well, dropping just 15.2% over the past three years, about half the national average. However, prices do tend to be volatile, according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic. The lack of available land for development is one reason for that volatility, as are political restrictions on growth.

After another modest price decline of 2.3% in the next eight months, the market should begin to turn up. Between June 2010 and June 2011, the city should see a gain of 6.2%. Averaged out, that means a 3.8% gain over the next two years*.

And while that may not sound all that robust for those jaded by the annual double-digit returns recorded during the boom, that performance will be one of the best of any large city during that period.


3. Pittsburgh
Median home price: $122,000
Value lost since 2006: 0.8%
Forecast gain by 2011*: 2.2%


Pittsburgh's main problem has been a brain drain. The metro area has been losing residents for years: Its population shrank 3% since the 2000 census, and the core city of Pittsburgh has lost almost half its population over the past 50 years. But that worked in Pittsburgh's favor when it came to real estate. There was no shortage of housing during the boom years, which helped keep a heavy lid on housing prices. Homebuyers never had to resort to exotic mortgages just to buy a starter place.

There are few barriers to entry for homebuyers here, according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American CoreLogic. As a result, Pittsburgh's foreclosure rate has been running at about half the national average.

Meanwhile, the area's economy has transitioned from steel to services, finance, bio-med, health care and other more sustainable industries. This diversification has enabled the area to muddle through the recession with less angst than many other places. "It's where we would like to see Detroit go through over the next decade," said Fleming. The unemployment rate for the metro area is a modest 7.9%.

Once the national recovery begins in earnest, the housing market should start to record moderate gains. Fiserv predicts a home price rise of 0.5% by June 2010 followed by a 1.7% increase in the following 12 months. Averaged out, that means a 2.2% gain over the next two years.*

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Lose your job, keep your home

Few words sting like the ones that inform you that you're being laid off — especially today, with jobs so hard to come by. If you're a homeowner, the blow of a job loss can be even worse.

In households with more than one wage earner, halving the monthly income can severely stretch a budget. And in households where there's one breadwinner, having zero income can be devastating. A rainy-day fund helps, but it's important to craft a plan early about how you're going to get through the rough patch.

More people are facing this nightmare today: While the volume of subprime mortgages headed to foreclosure is falling, the volume of prime, fixed-rate mortgages defaulting is on the rise, according to statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"If you don't have the prescribed three to six months income in the bank (now eight to 12 months due to how long it takes to replace that job), you're really in deep trouble with some troubling decisions to make," said Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, in an e-mail. The NFCC is a national, nonprofit credit-counseling network.

媽媽和張叔叔在樓上的房間

電話鈴聲響﹐小女孩接起電話聽筒....  


男人﹕“喂﹐小娃兒﹐我是爸爸﹐媽媽在哪兒﹖”


小女孩﹕“媽媽和張叔叔在樓上的房間。”


男人有點生氣地說﹕“哪個張叔叔﹖我們家不認識叫張叔叔的人啊﹗”

 
小女孩﹕“有啊﹐每次你上班後就來找媽媽的張叔叔啊。”


過了不久﹐男人沉住氣冷靜地說﹕“小娃兒﹐我們來玩個游戲好不好。”


小女孩興奮地說﹕“好哇﹗”


男人﹕“你先去樓上的房間﹐然後大聲喊 "爸爸回來啦﹗"過後再來聽電話。”



小女孩照著做了﹐不久聽到一陣慘叫﹐

小女孩跟著聽電話.....  


男人﹕“媽媽怎麼了﹖”


小女孩﹕“媽媽聽到你回來後﹐就衝出房間﹐不小心從樓梯跌下來﹐現在不動了。”


男人有點滿意地接著問﹕“哪.....張叔叔呢﹖”


小女孩﹕“我看到他從房間的窗口跳下游泳池﹐可是他好像忘記爸爸前天為了清理游泳池已把水放了﹐現在他躺在游泳池底﹐也不動了。”


男人沉默了一陣子.................“游.......游泳池﹖.........請問這裡號碼是不是***********﹖”  


小女孩﹕“不是。”


男人﹕“噢﹐抱歉﹐打錯電話。”

冷笑话!!!来看下吧!!谢谢!!

1)9对6说:倒什么立?小心脑充血呀!

2)兵对丘说:你看看,战争有多残酷,你两条腿都被炸断了吧!活该。。。。

3)三对王说:你看吧,都叫你不要每次表演吞剑了咯,现在剑拿不出来了吧!!!哈哈哈。。。

4)大对爽说:只有四道题目,你怎么全都打错了呀!!!

5)鸟对鸦说:你真的以为我怕你有牙齿吗?哼!!!