Year 2012

There has been some speculations about the year 2012. Some are saying, it's gonna be the end of the world, while others think there will  be a tragic event that will lead to mass death. But what is it really about? Who started all these? Well, here are some facts that I would like to share with you.

Who started it?

Zecharia Sitchin, a self-proclaimed ancient languages scholar  and an author of books promoting an explanation for human origins, wrote a book entitled "The 12th Planet". He theorized that there is an extra planet which was called Nibiru. He claims that Nibiru passes through our solar system every 3600 years. The followers of Sitchin’s ideas also refer to Nibiru as “Planet X”, the name given to a planet that is allegedly located within our solar system but beyond Pluto. Adherents to the “returning Planet X hypothesis” believe the return of this wandering planet will bring cataclysmic consequences to earth which they say will happen on December 21, 2012.

However, Sitchin's speculations are entirely discounted by professional scientists, historians, and archaeologists, who note many problems with his translations of ancient texts and with his understanding of physics.
 

How did it all started?

The announcement, on July 30th 2005, that a new celestial body has been discovered made media news around the world and the reports written in the headline --“Astronomers Claim Discovery of 10th Planet.The announcement by a Caltech astronomer, Michael Brown, said that he and two colleagues, scanning the heavens in 2003, found a celestial body (designated 2003-UB-313) that they now realize might be larger than Pluto (the ninth planet) and thus qualify as the 10th planet in our solar system. Lacking many vital data except that it orbits the Sun at a very steep angle to the ecliptic (the orbital plane of Earth and other planets) and is now about 9 billion miles from us, the discovery’s announcement was explained as prompted by concern that a computer hacker, a “rogue astronomer”, or a team of Spanish astronomers claiming to have found such a body (that they designated 2003-EL-61) would pre-empt the Brown team.

So where are we heading?

Well, we have heard a lot about doomsday. If you may recall, the same thing was said about Y2K, and yet, we still exist. Why would we worry about things that are beyond our control? Why don't we focus on things that are in our hands --like making sure that we live a life pleasing to our God so we're assured that even it happens, we will end up in good hands. :-)

Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on Oprah

Following an outpouring of audience response from his guesting on Monday, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson returns to the Oprah show on Friday, October 16. Appearing live, Tyson will take questions from the studio audience and speak about the overwhelming reaction he’s had from his first interview. Plus, more than ten years after their controversial bout, Tyson will reunite with Evander Holyfield on the Oprah show stage. Their appearance together on the Oprah stage this Friday will mark the first time Tyson and Holyfield have spoken face-to-face since their infamous 1997 incident.

Many can still recall that at the third round during Mike Tyson's fight against Evander Holyfield, he bit Holyfield twice, once in each ear. He wasn then disqualified and condemned by the media.

Their appearance in Oprah Winfrey show will surely be looking forward by many.

Global Handwashing Day

October 15 is Global Handwashing Day.  The driving theme is children and schools, and the main objectives of this global celebration are as follows:

• Foster and support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in each country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.

Although people around the world definitely wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions. More handwashing with soap means lower rates of infectious disease: Clean Hands Save Lives!

This event is initiated in 2008 by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap, Global Handwashing Day is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies and individuals around the globe.

Get involved through this site.

Clean hands will definitely help in preventing many diseases including H1N1. For more information on health tips, read my article Stay Away from this and Live.

Mike Tyson with Oprah

Mike Tyson had become very emotional when interviewed in Oprah. He said he was devastated when her four-year old daughter, Exodus died in May this year. He said he doesn't want to know how it happened and who is to be blamed. According to Tyson, after his experience from the rehab, he started being accountable for anything that happens in his life.

During his emotional interview, Tyson found himself lost for words and tearful, as he tried recalling the horrific event in his life.

Tyson acknowledge that he had a problem with his temper before which lead him to a lot of trouble. He also became an alcoholic and drug addict and after his coach and surrogate father Cus D'Amato died in 1985. He said he was not prepared for life and had lost interest to fight.

Obama, Nobel Prize Winner

Everybody has reacted when American president Barrack Obama was awarded a Noble Peace Prize. Some are saying it is a mockery of the award which was formerly given to people who have really done something to promote peace in different parts of the world. We can recall that people who were awarded by the Nobel committee includes Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Mother Theresa.

Obama is the third president who was awarded with a Nobel peace prize.

Well, Different people have conflicting opinions in this even. As the ongoing debate on the heatens up, a social networking site, Twitter crashed on Friday. But, don't worry it was resolved after a while while the issue continued.

On a final note, Obama has indeed plan and hope to promote peace to different countries, but at this point in time, considering that he is new in the office and has not proven anything yet, do you think he really deserves to be given this award?

Google Barcode logo

I thought something is wrong with internet connection, when I saw that Google's usual colorful logo is replaced by this:

Then, I realized this is another Google's doodle! Well, here's what I found out: Today Google is celebrating the 57 anniversary of the first barcode patent.

On October 7, 1952, inventors Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver were granted the first patent for their invention. The only difference between the bar code we know today and the one Woodland and Silver invented was that it was comprised of a series of concentric circles, not the 59 black-and-white vertical lines synonymous with the current design.

Well, today is indeed worth celebrating realizing the significance of barcode in our life! Think of the check out counters, libraries and bookshops, ATM cards and smart cards - they all get this inspiration from the original barcode! Awesome, isn't it?

Well, speaking of Google's logo, which one did you like most?

Top 7 Useful Websites for Bloggers

A key to improving your blog is knowing these two things:

1. how you rank out of all the existing websites.
2. knowing which characteristic of your website you need to improve.  
   

Here are some websites that will help you check and monitor your blog's progress:

1.http://www.websitegrader.com - will evaluate your website based on two factors: your On-page and Off-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You will then be able to see what you need to improve in your blog through the grade and recommendations given. To improve your pagerank. please read my article Improve your pagerank.

2. http://www.alexa.com/ -Alexa will measure your website's popularity by displaying your alexa traffic rank. It will also tell you your blog's traffick rank in a specific country based on your majority of visitors.

3. Gostats.com -This site will give you a detailed report on your blog's traffic. It will tell you which country your visitors are coming from, which website referred to your own and the search phrases they used to find your blog.

4.Shoutmix.com - Visitors liked to be able to leave a mark in your site. Shoutbox is one way of  let your visitors "shout" at you.Just sign up for an account and be able to get the code for your shoutbox!

5.www.digg.com - To make your article accessible to more people, digg it! It will be another way of leading traffic into your blog.

6.Facebook - This site is a channel to inform your friends of your recent articles that they might be interested in. You will be able to generate a big traffic if they find your blog interesting.

7.Twitter -This will give your site a free advertisement channel so other visitors will see it and eventually visit your site.

That's all for now...More websites to follow.