24 February, 2010

Canada beats Russia 7-3 after 50 years in Olympic history

Wow..... what a histroy made? Canadian boys were outstanding in nets.

The best of Canadian hockey was on display in this victory for the ages against the world’s No. 1 ranked team from Russia: Passion. Heart. Hunger. Will. The Canadians came at the Russians like a Tsunami. Canada didn’t just beat Russia in this Olympic quarter-final, they humiliated them 7-3, hung one of the most embarrassing defeats on Russia in its Olympic history.

Alex Ovechkin, targeted at every turn, and especially pounded early by Rick Nash and Shea Weber, looked bewildered, looked like he wished he were somewhere else. Skating around with the fin protruding from the back of his pants, Ovie cruised around like a harmless sea creature afloat in Vancouver’s False Creek. To paraphrase Pedro Martinez, the Canadians whipped No. 8 like they were his daddy. One Weber hit broke Ovie’s stick. Subsequent hits broke his spirit.

In either case it was a sweet victory.....Now we are in to Semi's. Bring it on ..................

23 February, 2010

Happy Birthday - Ravi

Our son turns big 10 today and we are very very proud of him.

"Happy Birthday" and Many Many Happy Returns of the Day Baby...God! time flies and he is growing so fast....God bless you my son.

22 February, 2010

General Interesting Facts

  • No piece of normal-size paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.
  • Blueberry juice boosts memory
  • When cats are happy or pleased, they sqeeze their eyes shut
  • Each year, about 500,000 detectable earthquakes occur in the world. About 100,000 of those can be felt and about 100 of them cause damage.
  • Reno - Nevada has the highest rate of alcoholism in the U.S., Provo - Utah, the lowest.
  • 80% of all pictures on the internet are of naked women
  • 250 to 300 million cell phones are being used in the U.S.
  • During good sex, endorphines are released, which are powerful painkillers. So headaches are in fact a bad excuse not to have sex
  • The shrimp's heart is in its head
  • According to a Kinsey survey, 75% of men ejaculate within three minutes after penetration
  • It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open
  • In the US, Americans eat about 18 acres of pizza a day
  • The skin of the average woman weighs 3 kilograms, while that of the average man weighs 5 kilograms
  • Dutch, on average are the tallest people
  • Kissing is healthier than shaking hands
  • There are no cemeteries in San Francisco, CA
  • Married men tip better than unmarried men
  • India never invaded any country in her history
  • 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
  • Natural pearls melt in vinegar
  • Licorice (or liquorice) and avocado are among the food that sets the mood for love making
  • An olive tree can live up to 1500 years
  • Cleopatra married two of her brothers
  • Buttermilk does not contain any butter
  • Before toilet paper was invented, French royalty wiped their bottoms with fine linen
  • The earth is about 6,588,000,000,000,000,000 tons in weight
  • A goldfish has a memory span of about 3 seconds
  • There are 86,400 seconds in day
  • The parachute was invented by DiVinci in 1515
  • Ants never sleep
  • The human brain is 80% water
  • On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag
  • No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple
  • Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot
  • If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white
  • The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law that stated you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb
  • 'Jedi' is an official religion in Australia with over 70,000 followers
  • Church of England has apologized to Charles Darwin 200 years after his birth
  • Chewing gum while peeling onions will reduce your tears
  • Dalmatians are born without spots
  • Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right while women’s shirts have the buttons on the left
  • Roosters have to extend their necks in order to crow
  • Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room
  • Armadillos have four babies at a time and they are always all the same sex
  • In 2009 one of eight newly married couples in the US met online
  • There are about 540,000 words in the English language and growing
  • Gamblers mostly don't see any clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos
  • If you are right handed, you will tend to chew food on your right side. If you are left handed, you likely to chew food on your left side
  • The bedroom is the most common place for sex and the car is second
  • Humans and bonobo monkeys (pygmy chimpanzee) are the only species who have face-to-face sex
  • Everyday, 15 billion cigarettes are smoked worldwide
  • Hugo Boss designed some of the Nazi SS uniforms
  • Any free moving liquid in outer space will form itself into a sphere, because of its surface tension
  • A snail can slide over a razor blade without being hurt by producing slime that helps it slide harmlessly
  • Worldwide, there are approximately 100 million acts of sexual intercourse each day
  • Women blink nearly twice as much as men
  • The human heart beats over 100,000 times a day
  • Human fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails
  • The French tickler was invented by a Tibetan monk
  • Studies have proven that it is harder to tell a convincing lie to someone you find sexually attractive
  • Onions have no flavor, only a smell
  • Red wine will spoil if exposed to light; hence tinted bottles
  • One quarter of the bones in the human body is in the feet
  • Dogs and cats, like humans, are either right or left handed (paw).
  • Polar bears with white, fluffy fur actually have black skin
  • Sharks lay the biggest eggs in the world
  • The blue whale can produce the loudest sound of any animal. At 188 decibels, the noise can be detected over 800 kilometres away
  • The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers in the US
  • The eyes of the chameleon can move independently. It can see in two different directions at the same time
  • The total weight of skin for an average adult human is 6 pounds.
  • The world record for time without sleep is 264 hours ( ~11 days) by Randy Gardner in 1965
  • Cold showers stimulate your sex drive
  • Coffee beans aren't beans; they are fruit pits
  • Among older men, vanilla is the most erotic smell
  • A pound of potato chips costs 200 times more than a pound of raw potatoes
  • Lima beans contain cyanide
  • Fortune cookies were actually invented in America (not China), in 1918, by Charles Jung
  • If you put a raisin in a fresh glass of champagne, it will rise and fall continuously
  • Caffeine is on the International Olympic Committee list of prohibited substances
  • Some in Japan bath in coffee grounds that were fermented with pineapple pulp to improve their skin and reduce wrinkles
  • Some kinds of frogs can be frozen solid then thawed, and continue living
  • February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon
  • In Korea and other East Asian countries, the age of the person is counted from conception and not physical birth
  • Dogs have about 10 vocal sounds; cats have over 100
  • The people in Bali only have one of four names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut
  • There are more pyramids in Peru than in Egypt
  • The Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt holds a constant temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit
  • The state official motto of Alaska is " North to the Future"
  • People who chase after rare birds are called twitchers
  • In ancient Egypt, priests plucked every hair from their bodies
  • Orgies were originally religious events. They were originally offerings to the gods
  • 2,520 can be divided by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 without having a fractional leftover
  • It is unknown if odd perfect numbers exist
  • A perfect number is a number whose divisors add up to itself such as 28: 1+2+4+7+14=28
  • Human eye detects 10 million colors
  • The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king (shah) is dead (mat)."
  • Kissing helps prevent tooth decay
  • One California law states that sunshine is guaranteed to all people
  • Moderate dancing burns 250 to 300 calories an hour
  • Your thumb is the same length as your nose
  • Butterflies smell with their feet
  • Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village"
  • A pregnant goldfish is called a twit
  • In Germany, an official approval is needed before a new born is named.
  • Infants spend more time dreaming than adults do
  • Impotence is grounds for divorce in 26 U.S. states
  • 5% of the world population lives in the US but 22% of the world's prisons population are held in the US.
  • All swans in England are the property of the queen or king
  • The first product to have a bar code scanned was Wrigley's gum.
  • Earth is the only planet not named after a pagan God.
  • A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.
  • In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her cheating adulterous husband but she may only do so with her bare hands.
  • The new 787 Boeing was revealed on 7/8/07 or July 8th, 07.
  • Adding a drop of olive oil and lemon juice to an ice cube then running it over your face gives you better results than some expensive skin care products.
  • 250 to 300 million cell phones are being used in the U.S
  • You will weigh less if you weigh yourself when the moon is full
  • Honeybees never sleep
  •  5% of the world population lives in the US but 22% of the world's prisons population are held in the US
  • 80% of all pictures on the internet are of naked women
  • Horses can't vomit and pigs can't look up in the sky
  • San Jose was the original capital of California
  • Most lipstick have fish scales
  • In Arizona it is illegal to have more than two dildos in one house
  • Black olives contain on average 10 to 30% more oil than green olives
  • Cats are the most popular pets in the United States
  • The oldest dog died at the age of 29
  • Tamiflu's main natural ingredient is Chinese star anise
  • Not only the fur of the tiger is striped but also its skin
  • The Germans tried to copy Coca-Cola and came up with the drink Fanta.
  • Every day is about 55 billionths of a second longer than the day before it
  • Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
  • The largest potato was grown in Lebanon by Khalil Semhat near Tyre. The spud was 11.3 kilos (24.9 pounds)
  • Footprints of astronauts who landed on the moon should last at least 10 million years since the moon has no atmosphere.
  • The national orchestra of Monaco (a nation in Europe) has more individuals than its army.
  • Earthworms have five hearts
  • The Himalayan gogi berry contains, weight for weight, more iron than steak, more beta carotene than carrots, more vitamin C than oranges.
  • Fingerprints of koalas are similar (in pattern, shape and size) to the fingerprints of humans
  • Genetically-engineered babies were born first in 2001.
  • If an Amish man has a beard, he is married.
  • Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
  • Pope Pius II wrote an erotic book "Historia de duobos amantibus" in 1444.
  • SCUBA divers cannot pass gas at depths of 33 feet or below
  • Pele has always hated his nickname, which he says sounds like "baby-talk in Portuguese".
  • As of 2006, 200 million blogs were left without updates
  • Two phone books with their pages interlaced require more than 8000 pounds of pressure to separte.
  • Urban birds have developed a short, fast "rap style" of singing, different from their rural counterparts.
  • The lion costume in the film Wizard of Oz was made from real lions.
  • Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight.
  • The Pope's been known to wear red Prada shoes.
  • Donald Rumsfeld was both the youngest and the oldest defense secretary in US history.
  • Coco Chanel started the trend for sun tans in 1923 when she got accidentally burnt on a cruise.
  • Up to 25% of hospital keyboards carry the MRSA infection.
  • In ancient Greece, children of wealthy families were dipped in olive oil at birth to keep them hairless throughout their lives.
  • Ghandi didn't allow his wife to take penicillin to save her life from pneumonia but took quinine to save himself from malaria.
  • Sex workers (Prostitutes) in Roman times charged the equivalent price of eight glasses of red wine.
  • As of 2006, more than one in eight people in the United States show signs of addiction to the internet.
  • More than 90% of plane crashes have survivors.
  • The Mona Lisa used to hang on the wall of Napoleon’s bedroom.
  • Barbie's full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.
  • Eating a packet of crisps a day is equivalent to drinking five liters of cooking oil a year.
  • Plant seeds that have been stored for more than 200 years can be coaxed into new life.
  • For every 10 successful attempts to climb Mount Everest there is one fatality. (As of 2006)
  • Watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children
  • Forty-one percent of English women have punched or kicked their partners, according to a study.
  • The more panels a football has - and therefore the more seams - the easier it is to control in the air.
  • Music can help reduce chronic pain by more than 20% and can alleviate depression by up to 25%.
  • Modern teenagers are better behaved than their counterparts of 20 years ago, showing "less problematic behavior" involving sex, drugs and drink.
  • Britain is still paying off debts that predate the Napoleonic wars because it's cheaper to do so than buy back the bonds on which they are based.
  • In Bhutan government policy is based on Gross National Happiness; thus most street advertising is banned, as are tobacco and plastic bags.
  • The best-value consumer purchase in terms of the price and usage is an electric kettle.
  • Camel's milk, which is widely drunk in Arab countries, has 10 times more iron than cow's milk.
  • Iceland has the highest concentration of broadband users in the world.
  • Native Hawaiian women were not allowed to cook.
  • The age limit for marriage in France was, until recently, 15 for girls, but 18 for boys. The age for girls was raised to 18 in 2006.
  • The brain is soft and gelatinous - its consistency is something between jelly and cooked pasta.
  • The Himalayas cover one-tenth of the Earth's surface.
  • A "lost world" exists in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of hitherto unknown animal and plant species.
  • The two most famous actors who portrayed the “Marlboro Man” in the cigarette ads died of lung cancer.
  • All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn't like being seen wearing them in public.
  • The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. It was the fashion in Renaissance Florence to shave them off.
  • Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
  • The first known marketer of the flushing toilet was Thomas Crapper.
  • The average bed is home to over 6 billion dust mites.
  • The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
  • The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.
  • The average American consumes 1.2 pounds of spider eggs a year and eat 2.5 pounds of insect parts a year. (This fact and the one prior to it have been judged as urban legends by many)
  • Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do. (Makes you think about ambidextrous people) This fact is based on a study that had errors in it, thus it might not be a fact.
  • Its impossible to smoke oneself to death with weed. You won't be able to retain enough motor control and consciousness to do so after such a large amount.
  • Every drop of seawater contains approximately 1 billion gold atoms.
  • The US national anthem actually has four verses, but everyone just knows the first one. When the whole anthem is sung, the third verse is usually omitted.
  • The first Computer was ENIAC, short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, unveiled on February 14, 1946 (Thanks D.B. of AU)
  • The total combined weight of the worlds ant population is heavier than the weight of the human population.
  • Just about 3 people are born every second, and about 1.3333 people die every second. The result is about a 2 and 2/3 net increase of people every second. Almost 10 people more live on this Earth now, than before you finished reading this.
  • Happy Birthday (the song) is copyrighted.
  • The number of people alive on earth right now is higher than the number of all the people that have died. Ever.
  • Men with a certain rare medical condition can breastfeed babies
  • There is a rare condition called Exploding Head Syndrome which you have probably never heard of.
  • In some (maybe all) Asian countries, the family name is written first and the individual name written second
  • Abe Lincoln bought 50 cents worth of cocaine in 1860
  • A German World War II submarine was sunk due to malfunction of the toilet.
  • Washington State has the longest single beach in the United States.Long Beach, WA
  • The largest living thing on the face of the Earth is a mushroom underground in Oregon, it measures three and a half miles in diameter.
  • The town of Los Angeles, California, was originally named "El Pueblo la Nuestra Senora de Reina de los Angeles de la Porciuncula"
  • 9 out of 10 people believe Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.This isn't true; Joseph Swan did.
  • Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.
  • The Population of the world can live within the state boundaries of Texas.
  • Plastic lawn flamingos outnumber real flamingos in the U.S.A.
  • Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel with over 50,000 words, none of which containing the letter "e."
  • Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is not considered an insult! Despite the expensive food, tipping is welcome as in any other country.
  • The largest pumpkin weighed 377 pounds.
  • The largest cabbage weighed 144 pounds.
  • Pinocchio was made of pine.
  • Alfred Hitchcock had no belly button for it was eliminated during surgery.
  • A quarter has 119 grooves around the edge.
  • A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
  • Cranberry Jell-0 is the only kind that contains real fruit.
  • The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
  • Maine is the toothpick capital of the world.
  • New Jersey has a spoon museum with over 5,400 spoons from almost all the states.
  • There was once a town in West Virginia called "6."
  • Napoleon made his battle plans in a sandbox.
  • Roman Emperor Caligula made his horse a senator.
  • The green stuff on the occasional freak potato chip is chlorophyll.
  • Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon with his left foot first.
  • There are 333 toilet paper squares on a toilet paper roll.
  • The Eiffel Tower has 2,500,000 rivets in it.
  • "Jaws" is the most common name for a goldfish.
  • On an average work day, a typist's fingers travel 12.6 miles.
  • Every minute in the U.S. six people turn 17.
  • Ten tons of space dust falls on the Earth every day.
  • On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day.
  • Blue and white are the most common school colors.
  • Swimming pools in Phoenix, Arizona, pick up 20 pounds of dust a year.
  • In a normal lifetime an American will eat 200 pounds of peanuts and 10,000 pounds of meat.
  • A new book is published every 13 minutes in America.
  • America's best selling ice cream flavor is vanilla.
  • Every year the sun loses 360 million tons.
  • Because of Animal Crackers, many kids until they reach the age of ten, believe a bear is as tall as a giraffe.
  • The Gulf Stream could carry a message in a bottle at an average of 4 miles per hour.
  • The bulls-eye on a dartboard must be 5 feet 8 inches off the ground.
  • The doorbell was invented in 1831.
  • The electric shaver was patented on November 6, 1928.
  • Japan is the largest exporter of frog's legs.
  • There are seven points on the Statue of Liberty's crown.
  • Napoleon was terrified of cats.
  • The first Lifesaver flavor was peppermint.
  • The typical American eats 263 eggs a year.
  • The parking meter was invented by C.C. Magee in 1935 in North Dakota.
  • The oldest known vegetable is the pea.
  • Jack is the most common name in nursery rhymes.
  • The avocado has the most calories of any fruit.
  • The first zoo in the USA was in Philadelphia.
  • France has the highest per capita consumption of cheese.
  • The snake can see through its eye lids when its eyes are closed
  • A notch in a tree will remain the same distance from the ground as the tree grows
  • Europeans in the Middle Ages used to call coffee the "Arabic Wine"
  • Honeybees have hair on their eyes
  • The shortest English word that contains the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F is "feedback."
  • The state of California raises the most turkeys out of all of the states.
  • George Washington Carver invented peanut butter.
  • Iceland was the first country to legalize abortion in 1935.
  • The dumbest domesticated animal is the turkey.
  • Russia has the most movie theaters in the world.
  • The most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday.
  • The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps.
  • The mongoose was barred live entry into the U.S. in 1902.
  • Goldfish swallowing started at Harvard in 1939.
  • Dry fish food can make goldfish constipated.
  • The stall closest to the door in a bathroom is the cleanest, because it is the least used.
  • Toilet paper was invented in 1857.
  • Alaska could hold the 21 smallest States.
  • If you put a raisin in a glass of champagne, it will keep floating to the top and sinking to the bottom.
  • Kermit the Frog is left-handed.
  • The car in the foreground on the back of a $10 bill is a 1925 Hupmobile.
  • If you can see a rainbow you must have your back to the sun.
  • It's rumored that sucking on a copper penny will cause a breathalyzer to read 0. Myth Busters on the Discovery Channel proved this wrong.
  • The ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, should always be written as QE2. QEII is the actual queen.
  • The correct response to the Irish greeting, "Top of the morning to you," is "and the rest of the day to yourself."
  • Ohio is listed as the 17th state in the U.S., but technically it is Number 47. Until August 7, 1953, Congress forgot to vote on a resolution to admit Ohio to the Union.
  • The pet ferret was domesticated more than 500 years before the house cat.
  • The most common speed limit sign in the United States is 25 m.p.h.
  • At any one time, there are 100 million phone conversations going on in the United States.
  • The world's record for continuous pogo stick jumping is 41 hours.
  • You can make edible cheese from the milk of 24 different mammals.
  • Sir Isaac Newton, who invented Calculus, had trouble with names to the point where he would forget his brothers' names.
  • In medieval Thailand, they had moveable type printing presses. The type was made from baked oxen dung.
  • By law, employees do not have to wash hands after sneezing.
  • The average American consumes enough caffeine in one year to kill a horse.
  • More American workers (18%) call sick on Friday than any other day of the week. Tuesday has the lowest percent of absenteeism (11%).
  • Enough beer is poured every Saturday across America to fill the Orange Bowl.
  • A newborn expels its own body weight in waste every 60 hours.
  • Whales die if their echo system fails.
  • Florida's beaches lose 20 million cubic yards of sand annually.
  • Naturalists use marshmallows to lure alligators out of swamps.
  • It takes a ton of water to make a pound of refined sugar.
  • Cacao, the main ingredient of chocolate is the most pest-ridden tree in the jungle.
  • weevils are more resistant to poisons in the morning than at night.
  • In deep space most lubricants will disappear.
  • America once issued a 5-cent bill.
  • The average person can live 11 days without water.
  • There are 35 million digestive glands in the stomach.
  • In 1800 on 50 cities on earth had a population of more than 100,000.
  • More steel in the US is used to make bottle caps than to manufacture automobile bodies.
  • Before 1850 golf balls were made of leather and stuffed with feathers.
  • Clocks made before 1687 had only one hand, and hour hand.
  • The motto of the American people, "In God We Trust," was not adopted as the national slogan until 1956.
  • More Americans have died in automobile accidents than have died in all the wars ever fought by the United States.
  • The ampersand (&) was once a letter of the English alphabet.
  • There are more than 40,000 characters in Chinese script.
  • The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time television was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
  • Coca-Cola was originally green.
  • Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. treasury.
  • The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters (I was thankfully corrected by a friend: The Hawai'ian alphabet has 13 letters, A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, W, ' (which is called an okina).
  • Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
  • The amount American Airlines saved in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class: $40,000.
  • City with the most Rolls Royces per capita: Hong Kong.
  • State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska.
  • Percentage of Africa that is wilderness--28%. Percentage of North America that is wilderness--38%.
  • Average number of days a German goes without washing his underwear: 7.
  • Percentage of American men who say they would marry the same woman if they had it to do all over again: 80%.
  • Percentage of American women who say they'd marry the same man: 50%.
  • Cost of raising a medium size dog to the age of 11: $6,400.
  • Average people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000.
  • Average lifespan of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
  • The only President to win a Pulitzer Prize: John Kennedy for "Profiles in Courage."
  • The youngest Pope was 11 years old.
  • Iceland consumes more Coca-Cola per capita than any other nation.
  • The main library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
  • Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history. Spades--King David, Clubs--Alexander the Great, Hearts--Charlemagne and Diamonds--Julius Caesar.
  • Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. The last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
  • The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
  • Titanic was running at 22 knots when she hit the iceberg
  • The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; '7' was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. 'UP' indicated the direction of the bubbles
  • Because radio waves travel at 186,000 miles per second and sound waves saunter at 700 miles per hour, a broadcast voice can be heard sooner 13,000 miles away than it can be heard at the back of the room in which it originated
  • Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know your there
  • The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep
  • It has been recommended by dentists that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet (two meters) away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush!
  • In ancient Rome it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose
  • It is possible to drown and not die. Technically the term 'drowning' refers to the process of taking water into the lungs, not to death caused by that process.
  • The first known heart medicine was discovered in an English garden. In 1799, physician John Ferriar noted the effect of dried leaves of the common foxglove plant, digitalis purpurea, on heart action. Still used in heart medications, digitalis slows the pulse and increases the force of heart contractions and the amount of b lood pumped per heartbeat.
  • Dry cereal for breakfast was invented by John Henry Kellogg at the turn of the century
  • Diet Coke was only invented in 1982.
  • Methane gas can often be seen bubbling up from the bottom of ponds. It is produced by the decomposition of dead plants and animals in the mud.
  • Henry Ford produced the model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest to dry.
  • At - 40 degrees Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing.
  • One million Americans, about 3,000 each day, take up smoking each year. Most of them are children.
  • In 1933, Mickey Mouse, an animated cartoon character, received 800,000 fan letters.
  • There are only four words in the English language which end in '-dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
  • If you attempted to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all.
  • Less than 3% of Nestlé's sales are for chocolate.
  • The average person will spend two weeks over their lifetime waiting for the traffic light to change
  • More than 2500 left handed people are killed every year from using right handed products
  • It is estimated that at any one time, 0.7% of the world's population are drunk
  • Less than one per cent of the 500 Chinese cities have clean air, respiratory disease is China's leading cause of death.
  • The number of cars on the planet is increasing three times faster than the population growth
  • The X's that people sometimes put at the end of letters or notes to mean a kiss, actually started back in the 1000's when Lords would sign their names at the end of documents to other important people. It was originally a cross that they would kiss after signing to signify that they were faithful to God and their King. Over the years though, it slanted into the X
  • Nova Scotia is Latin for 'New Scotland.'
  • "Naked" means to be unprotected. "Nude" means unclothed
  • Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower', because in the time when al original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case stored smaller, 'lower case' letters
  • In the 40's, the Bich pen was changed to Bic for fear that Americans would pronounce it 'Bitch.'

21 February, 2010

Team Canada falls to U.S in Hockey (Canada 3 vs USA 5)

The U.S. defeated the uptight Canadians 5-3 on the final day of the preliminary round. The loss means that Canada will have to play a qualification game on Tuesday against one of the tournament’s lesser lights and, if the Canadians emerge from that outing, they will have to get back at it on Wednesday against a well-rested team in the quarter-finals.
 
The U.S. team prepared for the game on Saturday evening with a team dinner at a downtown restaurant. The coaching staff surprised the players with the "This is your time speech" from Little Herbie. Five-year-old Nashville area kid Josh Sacco has become a YouTube sensation with his Herb Brooks imitation from the movie Miracle.

The U.S. was all over Canada on the opening shift and defenceman Brian Rafalski scored when his shot deflected off the stick of Crosby. It was the first time Canada had fallen behind in the Olympic tournament.

The U.S. not only was the quicker team through 40 minutes, it was the more physical bunch, too. The U.S. defence did a good job moving the puck up to the speedy forwards, while Canada was sloppy in its puck movement.

Good Luck Canada in the next game

GO CANADA GO........................GO CANADA GO..............GO..

19 February, 2010

Shaw tests ultra-fast internet speeds - Fiber Deployment test may starts as early as April

Shaw says it plans to start testing its one-gigabit internet speeds in April. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Cable provider Shaw Communications says it is testing ultra-fast broadband, with potential download speeds up to one gigabit per second.

That speed is 10 times faster than the highest-end connections now available and more than 100 times faster than what many Canadians have.

"This is game-changing technology," Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said in a statement. "We are on the leading edge of change with this trial — bringing blazing speeds and new network capabilities that will give us a springboard for future possibilities."

Shaw currently offers download speeds up to 100 megabits per second in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The service isn't cheap, though, costing $150 a month. In Japan, 160-megabit connections sell for around $60 a month while 120-megabit speeds can be had in parts of Europe for about $100.

Shaw's pricing is in line with that found in the United States. Both Canada and the United States have been criticized recently for a lack of competition in broadband, which has resulted in slower speeds and higher prices than those found in other parts of the world.

A recent international broadband study by Harvard University found that Canada ranked 22nd out of 30 countries after availability, speeds and pricing were accounted for.

18 February, 2010

CANCER Cell Killer fruit - Guyabano/Labana

"A MIRACULOUS natural cancer cell killer, 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy." That was how the forwarded e-mail described the fruits of sour sop or graviola (more popularly known here as guyabano or labana).

"What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells," the e-mail said. "It does not harm healthy cells!" In addition, it "effectively targets and kills malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer."

According to the email I received,  a research has been conducted and showed that the extracts from guyabano can "attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss."

It also "protects your immune system and avoids deadly infections; feels stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment; and boosts your energy and improves your outlook on life."

One wonders: Why are people not aware of this fact? The e-mail explained: "It's because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale."

16 February, 2010

Canadian households sinking further into debt as per recent study.

OTTAWA — Although the recession may technically be over in Canada, many households sank even further into debt in 2009, creating the highest debt-to-income ratio ever seen in Canada, according to The Vanier Institute of the Family's annual assessment on the Current State of Canadian Family Finances released Tuesday.

The study showed the average Canadian household debt climbed to $96,100, creating a debt-to-income ratio of 145 per cent in 2009, the highest it has ever been. "Under this scenario, some 1.3 million households could have a vulnerable or dangerously high debt service load by 2011," the report stated.

"The effects of this recession will test the resilience of many Canadian families. While the stock market may be up, the improvement for families will lag behind in terms of employment, increases in income, and a return of net worth," Clarence Lochhead, the Institute's executive director said in a statement.

The Institute's report also indicated 59 per cent of respondents said they would be in trouble if their paycheque was delayed by even a week, even though 70 per cent of women with young children and a working spouse said they were working outside the home.

Personal debt is an increasing problem, according to the study, with a 50 per cent increase in mortgages running 90 days or more in arrears in 2009 compared to a year before. The number of credit card holders who were behind at least three months in their payments was up 40 per cent during the same period.

The report also indicated that there was likely a housing bubble, as housing prices in October and November 2009 increased to about $340,000, or five times the average after-tax incomes of Canadian households. The long-term average is 3.7 times. The report warned "higher interest rates, changes in mortgage terms and the realization that current prices are unsustainable may cause the bubble to burst."

It seems that Ottawa is also concerned about the level of debt Canadian households are carrying on their mortgages. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a news conference Tuesday that Ottawa would require all borrowers meet standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, even if the buyer wants a variable rate mortgage. Other rule changes unveiled could affect people looking to refinance their mortgages, including lowering the maximum amount that can be withdrawn to 90 per cent from 95 per cent — and place a 20 per cent minimum down payment for government-backed mortgage insurance on non-owner-occupied properties.

15 February, 2010

Vancouver 2010 MEDAL Table

Canada gets it's first GOLD medal on home soil in Moguls Ski by Alex Bilodeau

"The party is just starting for Canada," said Bilodeau, who dedicated his triumph to his older brother, who has cerebral palsy. "My brother is my inspiration.

"This is too good to be true."

Speaking of his 26.75-point run, he said: Everything was perfect. I just let it happen. I just let it go."

13 February, 2010

Olympic Games - Canadian Past - Recent history proves that Canadians has done better and better in every games and this one will be no different.

2006 Torino - 24 Canadian Medals

A half-century after the Cortina d'Ampezzo experience, the Olympics returned to Italy. In celebration, organizers wanted to ensure the Games dazzled on the world stage, and no expense was spared.

2002 Salt Lake City - 17 Canadian Medals

Scandal occurred well before the torch ever landed in Utah. A few months prior to the Games, a local television reporter discovered that multiple International Olympic Committee members sold their votes during the bid process.

1998 Nagano - 15 Canadian Medals

A return to Japan for a second time, and, as in Calgary a decade earlier, the weather played havoc with the skiing events. The usual suspects - Germany, Norway, Russia - finished atop the medal standings while Canada finished fifth with its best total ever.

1994 Lillehammer - 13 Canadian Medals

Two years after the Albertville closed, the event reappeared and returned to Norway. The Games did not suffer from the quick turnaround as they were widely considered to be the most successful Winter Olympics in history.

1992 Albertville - 7 Canadian Medals

The French closed a chapter in Olympic history as it was the final year the Winter and Summer Games would be hosted in the same year. The change presented a way for the Winter Games to climb out of the shadow of the more high-profile Summer Olympics.

1988 Calgary - 5 Canadian Medals

Canada got a crack at hosting its first Winter Games, and despite some unusually warm weather, the Alberta city came through with more than its share of breathtaking performances and heartwarming - as well as heartbreaking - stories.

1984 Sarajevo - 4 Canadian Medals

The Bosnian capital was virtually unknown on the global stage when competition landed in the Balkans for the first time. Organizers took full advantage of the opportunity, constructing state-of-the-art sports facilities in hopes of gaining international exposure for the socialist nation of Yugoslavia.

1980 Lake Placid - 2 Canadian Medals

American-Soviet relations were as chilly as ever at the start of the 1980s when the Winter Olympics returned to this small New York town nestled in the Adirondacks. The Cold War raged on as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to American disapproval.

1976 Innsbruck - 3 Canadian Medals

The face of Winter Olympic history would look different if the original plans for the Games came to fruition. Denver initially earned the right to host the event with with a plan to celebrate the state of Colorado's 100th birthday and America's bicentennial.

1972 Sapporo - 1 Canadian Medal

Scandal and controversy gripped the Games months before competition began. Two debates arose, each surrounding the ever-evolving definition of an amateur athlete. This time the huffing and puffing was about what constitutes an amateur athlete.

1968 Grenoble - 3 Canadian Medals

A lavish opening ceremony. Star-making performances. The French city was a surprise choice to host the event but it's where the movement truly came of age - an era that saw the first decentralized Olympics, with events taking place throughout the Dauphine region.

1964 Innsbruck - 3 Canadian Medals

"Simple Games - Back to Reason." This was the motto based on a pledge to stage the Games according to the principles of athleticism and sportsmanship. Despite concerted efforts to return to simplicity and modesty, the IOC introduced a new level of complexity and global attention.

1960 Squaw Valley - 4 Canadian Medals

An unlikely destination to hold such a spectacle, the ski resort town in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains had only one chairlift, two rope tows and a lodge for 50 guests. But it still manged to beat out highly favoured Innsbruck, Austria.

1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo - 3 Canadian Medals

The third time proved to be a charm for the Italian region. The northeastern mountain resort had been selected to host the 1944 Winter Games, which were cancelled because of the Second World War. Another bid failed in 1952 when the Games went to Oslo.

1952 Oslo - 2 Canadian Medals

This was the first Scandinavian country to host the Games. The Norwegians were the powers in winter sports, leading the medal count four of the previous five times, yet the city was denied the Games in 1940 and 1944.

1948 St. Moritz - 3 Canadian Medals

They were heralded as an emblem of new world peace and good will, but organizers, athletes and fans couldn't escape the after-effects of a bloody global conflict that had caused the cancellation of the Games in 1940 and 1944.

1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen - 1 Canadian Medal

Adolf Hitler presided over the opening ceremony, which was held in the twin Bavarian towns three years before the start of the Second World War. The political climate in Germany and the Nazis' odious racial ideology cast a pall over the entire competition.

1932 Lake Placid - 7 Canadian Medals

While extreme weather hut the Games, it was the economic climate that did the most damage. The Great Depression, the worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world, provided a less-than-ideal setting for an international sports extravaganza.

1928 St. Moritz - 1 Canadian Medal

This one the first of two occasions this city would hold the Olympics - the second being in 1948. It marked the ascension of figure skating star Sonja Henie and included German athletes for the first time since the First World War.

1924 Chamonix - 1 Canadian Medal

These Games were preceded by 30 years of hand-wringing and debate. But the event, held in the picturesque spa town, were a resounding success and paved the way for future Olympics.

12 February, 2010

Olympic luger killed during practice run in Whistler

Georgian (Russia) luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was rushed to hospital after a life-threatening crash on Friday at the Whistler Sliding Centre during a training run, was going roughly at 140km/h at the time of the crash.

Look at the video of fatality - God bless his sole....Video Footage

10 February, 2010

Fiber Broadband for home users might be a step closer then one can imagine - Another one of Google's next big idea

Google is launching experimental fibre broadband networks in several U.S. cities in an effort to push high-speed internet development.

The networks, which will be available to between 50,000 and 500,000 people "at a competitive price," will offer connection speeds up of up to one gigabit per second, or more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, Google said.

"Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make internet access better and faster for everyone," said product managers Minnie Ingersoll and James Kelly on the company's blog.

"Network providers are making real progress to expand and improve high-speed internet access, but there's still more to be done. We don't think we have all the answers — but through our trial, we hope to make a meaningful contribution to the shared goal of delivering faster and better internet for everyone."

Google said it will announce the targeted communities later this year after taking requests from state, county and city officials.

"What Google is putting on the table here is so beyond what the typical North American consumer is used to. It could dramatically reshape the industry," he said.

Such an experiment will be unlikely in Canada, however. Google likely has dark fibre in Canada to serve its capacity needs here, but any attempt to provide telecommunications services would run into legal problems. Restrictions require any infrastructure-owning telecom service provider to be majority Canadian owned and controlled.

Jacob Glick, Google's policy counsel in Canada, said he didn't "see why not" the company couldn't try the experiment here if the ownership restrictions weren't in place.

Geist said Google's experiment is likely to add further pressure on the federal government to lift the foreign ownership restrictions.

08 February, 2010

Know your country - Canada Facts

http://www.canadafacts.org/
http://www.vec.ca/english/2/canada-facts.cfm
http://m.randomhistory.com/2009/01/15_canada.html

Canadian tax info

http://www.taxes.ca/info/dates-deadlines.php
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu/TGTG_T-e.html
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/5000-g/README.html

Tax tips for students

http://cga-ontario.org/Publications/Information_Booklets/Tax_Tips_For_Students.aspx

2009 personal tax calculator

http://www.ey.com/CA/en/Services/Tax/Tax-Calculators-2009-Personal-Tax

Tax saving tips from EVELYN JACKS

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Essential-Tax-Facts-Edition-Ace-Evelyn-Jacks/9781897526323-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Evelyn+Jacks%2527

Sierrasil 14 Joint Formula -

rraSil Joint Formula is comprised of 65 macro, trace and ultra trace minerals. SierraSil is named from the Sierra Mountains, where the SierraSil mineral complex was found, and also for the primary type of minerals - silicates - that it contains.

SierraSil is a fine, blonde or golden powder composed of highly absorbable trace minerals with clay properties. These naturally occurring minerals were created by volcanic and geothermal activity in high Sierra mountains. They have powerful cartilage-protecting properties not found anywhere else.

Sierrasil helps in many joint related pains....like Chronic joint pain, Arthritis...Try this and it might help.


commonly confusing Q - What is Vitamin and why is it so important?

Some answers can be found from here...

http://health.howstuffworks.com/multivitamins-good-for-me.htm

http://health.learninginfo.org/index.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/vitamins_and_calcium_supplements/article.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_2_33/ai_97177918/

Winter Olympics 2010 - At the Games - Things To Remember Before You Leave Home

1.Plan your trip ahead of time so you don’t miss the start of a competition. As there is no spectator parking at any Olympic venue, public transportation is the best way to go. Don’t forget to reserve your seat on the Olympic bus network for Whistler and Cypress Mountain events.

Arrive early — give yourself plenty of time to get to your seats and get settled. Gates open two hours before the start of competition at city venues and three hours before the start of competition at Whistler and Cypress Mountain venues. Gates open four hours prior to the start of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

2.Make sure you have your tickets with you and that you’re carrying valid tickets, for the correct venue, session, date and time. Treat your tickets like cash; lost or stolen tickets will not be replaced or refunded.

3.Bring a Visa card or cash (Canadian currency) as these are the only accepted payment methods at the venues.

4.Learn what you can and cannot bring into the venue. See Entering the Venue

5.Be prepared for sun, snow and rain. Wear appropriate clothing and bring sunscreen and sunglasses.

What to Bring

■Carry small bags only as there is limited space within the venue seating and no bag-check area.

■Check the prohibited and restricted items listed to make sure you’re not carrying anything that will be confiscated.

Do not bring food or beverages from home.

These can be purchased at concession stands within the venues.

Prepare for the security screening.

Avoid taking large bags to the venues. If you are unsure of what you can and cannot bring with you, check the prohibited and restricted items list.


Remember, once you enter a venue you will not be able to leave and re-enter. Make sure you have everything you’ll need during your event.

What to Wear

Weather in Vancouver and Whistler can be unpredictable and can change very quickly.

At mountain venues, you may be outside for extended periods of time with limited or no access to shelter. You may be required to walk on slippery, snow-covered slopes so it is a good idea to wear well-insulated winter boots with good traction.

City venues can also be quite cold, so dress appropriately and be prepared to be in a chilly environment for several hours.

It’s easy to remember what to wear: think C-O-L-D.
■Cover your head, neck and face since most heat loss occurs from these areas. Wear a hat, scarf and gloves or mittens, and remember to put on lip protection.

■Overexertion can make you sweat, making your clothes damp or wet. This could cause you to become chilled more quickly. Dress in layers so you can remove them as needed, before you begin to perspire.

■Layer clothing to protect yourself against wind and cold. Start with a close-fitting inner layer that allows sweat to escape. The second, insulating layer should be loose and warm. The outer layer should be windproof and waterproof.

■Dry. Wear waterproof clothing and insulated, waterproof boots and gloves. Ensure they are not too tight as this could decrease circulation to your hands and feet, increasing your risk of frostbite.

Whistler - host city of 2010 Olympics at a glance

New Orleans - Celebrates Super Bowl 44 - Winning City

Telus Agrees to settle with Wi-Lan.

Telus Corp. has agreed to settle a patent lawsuit against technology licensing company Wi-LAN Inc. that was first disclosed in January.

In the letter of intent signed by both companies, Telus has agreed to sell to Wi-LAN any rights it may have had on the disputed patents, which originate in both Canada and the United States. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The companies have not specified what the patents are. Wi-LAN first announced the lawsuit in January, noting the claim was filed in April 2009.

05 February, 2010

Brilliant App by Google - Google GOGGLES

DAVE Wireless becomes Mobilicity. Announces Spring 2010 launch

Competition is going to heat up even more in the Canadian wireless space as Dave Wireless (now Mobilicity) prepares to launch in the Toronto market this spring 2010.

Copy of a press release

Wiarton Willie isn’t the only sign of spring in Canada this Groundhog Day. Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc. (DAVE Wireless) today announced it will launch its service in Toronto this spring.

Chairman John Bitove and President Dave Dobbin also revealed the company’s go-to-market consumer brand name is Mobilicity – incorporating the mobile carrier’s focus on simplicity for city-based customers.

In addition to offering simple, value-packed unlimited plans, Mobilicity will feature an outstanding lineup of reliable, name-brand handsets from leading manufacturers, like Research In Motion (BlackBerry) and Nokia – without any contracts that lock customers into service plans.

“Mobilicity will kick the value equation up a notch this spring,” said Dobbin, reaffirming the company’s commitment to bringing down the cost of wireless. “If you live and work in one of our cities and you’re looking for the best wireless deal around, you’re going to love Mobilicity.”

Last year, according to Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada had the third-highest wireless rates in the developed world, citing medium-usage average costs of $500 US a year, compared to the Netherlands, which at $131 US, had the lowest average rates.

Mobilicity: My phone. My city. My way.

All aspects of the new corporate identity were designed to bring a “refreshingly simple” narrative to life, said Sara Moore, vice president, marketing. “Mobilicity will stand for a simple, straightforward, customer-friendly way of doing business. Our clean brand design and crisp colours clearly convey that,” she explained.

The corporate identity was created by Verse Group, an award-winning design firm whose principals have also established successful corporate identities for RBC and Microsoft.

Mobilicity will roll-out its service in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa later this year. The company can now be accessed on the Internet at www.Mobilicity.ca.

About Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc. (DAVE Wireless)

DAVE Wireless is a Canadian wireless carrier, which will operate under the Mobilicity brand name. The company is led by Obelysk, a diversified Canadian holding company, and Quadrangle Capital Partners, a global investor in the telecommunications and media sectors with more than $3 billion of capital under management. Following the Canadian wireless spectrum auction, DAVE Wireless holds licenses which cover more than half of Canada’s population in 10 of the 13 largest markets including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

SKYPE- Will soon to be available on iPhone - May be death of voice plans?

With the recent revelation that Skype will soon be available over iPhone cellular connections, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end for voice plan contracts.

In a video released this week, David Ponsford,head of Skype’s iPhone team, said that they are working on a calling service that will deliver CD-quality sounds and free Skype-to-Skype calls between users and will be delivering it “real soon”. Further, Skype will offer significantly cheaper rates for calls made to landlines and mobiles, offering unlimited calling at a rate of about $40 per year.

The longstanding issue with Skype and other VoIP operators offering customers a reliable phone service using the phone’s data connection is that cellphone carriers, who offer restrictive voice-plan contracts as their means of making money, are left out to dry.

To quiet the complaints coming from the cellphone sector, Apple prevented app developers from creating call services that used the device’s 3G Internet connection, instead allowing them only to use the devices sub-par Wi-Fi connection. The restriction, of course, was meant to retain consumer need for cellphone carriers to provide clear, more reliable reception than Wi-Fi based call services. But it looks like those days are quickly coming to an end.

Following increased scrutiny from US regulators over anti-competitive practices, AT&T—the sole US iPhone provider—pledged late last year to remove the burdensome restriction and this past week they followed up on that promise, clearing the way for customers to ditch their voice plan subscriptions in favour of just a data plan.

Skype warned, however, that while it’s 3G-enabled app will be made available globally, cellphone carriers may still choose to restrict the service. Apple is requiring Skype and other Internet calling services to warn customers that their cellular provider may prohibit use of such features.

Enter the Canadian iPhone distributors!

In response to the announcement of Skype being made available for iPhone customers, both Bell and Telus have followed AT&T’s lead—sort of—by removing all restrictions on call services such as Skype accessing the 3G network. The twist, however, is that both companies have stated that Canadian iPhone customers will still be required to purchase voice plans, whether they use them or not. Rogers, which has distributed the iPhone in Canada for several years, was unavailable for comment.

It seems inevitable that these Canadian companies will follow the path of their American counterparts—eventually—and so we may soon be saying goodbye to restrictive contracts for good. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

Roger's Phone subscribers - Please read this - your phone bill may go up from March 1st 2010

Look at this article I found on the telecom blog - Feb 5th 2010

http://www.thetelecomblog.com/2010/02/05/i-just-received-a-12-fee-increase-on-my-rogers-phone-bill-this-is-bullshit/

Grater Vancouver Traffic Cameras

http://www.gvrd.com/traffic/

http://www.gvrd.com/transportation/index.html - BC Transportation links

02 February, 2010

New 911 technology introduced in Vancouver - Emergency cell phone calls to be tracked within 300 metres

An emergency cellphone call in southwest B.C. can be tracked to within 300 metres or less under new 911 technology required across the country by today by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The so-called Wireless Phase 11 technology enables the regional emergency communication centre to plot the latitude and longitude coordinates of a 911 call on a computerized map.

However the technology does not pinpoint a caller's exact location or an exact address. “Callers themselves still remain the best source of information and they should always be prepared to provide their exact location themselves,” Doug Watson, E-Comm's vice president of operations, stated in a news release.

The E-Comm centre have been working with the Wireless Phase 11 technology for a few months, Ms. Robertson also said. The communication centre wanted its staff well trained well before the Olympics, she said, referring to the Winter Games that open on Feb. 12.

Previously, the emergency centre could only locate the nearest cell tower to a 911 tower. But cell towers are several kilometers apart and the locations were of little use to emergency services.

The CRTC gave mobile network operators until February to upgrade technology to enable 911 dispatchers to pinpoint locations of emergency cellphone calls. In the next stage of the CRTC-mandated upgrade, new technology will be introduced that enables mid-call location updates from callers in moving vehicles and from out-of-country cell phone users

Obama - 3.6 T$ Budget Scraps Manned Lunar Missions

The U.S. space agency's ambitious plan to put astronauts back on the moon has been cancelled in the Obama administration's proposed 2011 federal budget. The $3.6 trillion spending plan for the U.S. government was submitted to Congress on Feb. 1.

NASA's budget would actually increase by $6 billion over the next five years under the plan. But that amount falls far short of what it would need to support the estimated $81 billion Constellation program, aimed at returning astronauts to the moon by 2020. The costly program has been fraught with budget overruns and delayed by technical challenges with the design and testing of NASA's new Aeries 1 launch vehicle.

Cuts could boost private interest in public space agency

At a Feb. 1 news briefing, NASA administrator and former astronaut Charles Bolden said the new budget reflects a more sustainable and ambitious path to manned space exploration. He said NASA will focus on developing innovative space faring technologies and systems in partnership with the private sector. "We intend to blaze a new trail of discovery and development. We will facilitate the growth of new commercial industries and we will expand our understanding of the earth, our solar system and the universe beyond," Bolden says.

2010 will see the final five U.S. space shuttle missions.

That would mean the private sector would take over getting astronauts into low-earth orbit. Responding to questions about whether the industry is up to the task, Britton Alexander, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, says the private sector has a long and successful history with NASA. It's the same industry that has been doing it for NASA for the last 5 years," he says. "So it's really a change in how they contract for those services and vehicles," Alexander says. He adds that NASA will set the requirements and, "oversee vehicle safety and the process before putting astronauts on top."

A commitment to expand research conducted in space

Bolden confirmed that 2010 will see the final five U.S. space shuttle missions and he renewed his agency's commitment to more fully use the International Space Station. "We're going to address practical medical questions about astronaut bone density and the effects of radiation, how we can reach destinations sooner to mitigate the effects on space travelers of long journeys," he says. NASA will also support a broad array of biological, materials and combustion research aboard the space station