Superbugs Kills Babies In A Leading Hospital

University College Hospital has one of the UK’s most excellent neonatal units, but, currently is under the attack by superbugs.

Because of the superbug increase in the neonatal unit, at least three newborn infants have died and 12 babies are reported to be infected.

The babies were three months old and were undergoing treatment in the contemporary intensive care unit of the hospital.

According to the minutes of the meeting at the hospital held on August 10, the number of babies infected with gram-negative bacteria has amplified the risk level and the hospital is on a ‘heightened level of concern’.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in association with the hospital authorities is looking into the entire matter.

A Spokesperson of HPA said that HPA is monitoring the situation and providing essential information on infection control and possible antibiotic treatments.

Doctors say that the majority of the superbugs are resistant to all antibiotics and the resistance level are increasing day-by-day. Some medical experts consider that in the coming days these bugs will be difficult to get rid of and will cause a ‘medical apocalypse’.

The neonatal unit is undergoing a ‘deep clean’ presently and the hospital officials have stopped taking more cases.

Crop Threatening Oriental Fruit Flies Found In Pinellas

The discovery of two tiny fruit flies in Safety Harbor has sparked a big reaction from state agriculture officials. That's because two Oriental fruit flies were found in an ensnare in Safety Harbor.

The find is significant because officials call the Oriental fruit fly "one of the most solemn of the world's fruit fly pests." They say it attacks more than 100 dissimilar fruits, including citrus, apples, guava, mango, tomatoes and peppers.

The Florida Department of Agriculture has launched a trapping program in an 81 square mile area nearby where the fruit flies were found. Officials there say if pesticides are essential, they alert the public beforehand as to when and where they will be applied. Investiagtors are currently looking into how the two flies got into Florida.

More Letting Go...

kmbrco wrote this in the comments today:

Last Friday I stood with my sisters, by my mother's side as she "let go". Her battle with cancer over. Her fate accepted.

Not so easy on this side of the spiritual plane. It hurts so much.

And in the aftermath, the need to let go of so many other things. Little hurts and burdens from years past...childhood, sisterhood, our father's death 7 years ago. All sisters having such different personalities and ways of dealing with life. 

Every little thing seems huge, and then so small at the same time.

All I know is that she is gone. She is no longer in pain. And that I will long to see her face and hear her voice for the rest of my life.

In the meantime, we have to let go and go on living.

"Every little thing seems huge, and then so small at the same time."  Ain't it the truth.  


When does the release come, I wonder.  From grief, from guilt, from resentment.  Not too long ago I drove by the house where one of my high school science teachers used to live.  One time he really treated me like crap in high school; I can barely remember for what now, but when I go by that house, I immediately get angry. 


And that, my friends, is what they call crazy. 


A spiritual director once told me, maybe we're wrong to think about forgiveness as something we do.  Because so often what we discover is how totally unable we are to accomplish it. 


Maybe we should think about forgiveness instead as something God does.  And our job is not to make it happen, but just to try and stay out of the way so his grace can flow, however it will.   


And maybe grief, guilt are the same way.  Maybe the crazy thing is to think that we ourselves will ever "get over" the loss of our loved ones, or let go. Maybe the best we can do is allow that pain we feel to not curl up like armadillo but let our pain run roughshod over us for a while and see what God does with it. 


That's a lot of maybes... life: a rather inexact science. 

Hang in there, kmbrco.

SureSmile®

Here is a nice video that gives some great information about SureSmile®!

Tuesday's Training

Ok so I know I promised to share with you all my fun surprise that I got in the mail today..but I have decided to start a weekly template for certain days..how does this sound "What to wear Wednesdays" I thought it would be a fun way to do weekly updates on fun fashions and trends that I find throughout the week..so that being said you will all have to wait on more day to see/ hear about the surprise!

So not that I will always rhyme with my days but I did want to update you all on training, so hey here it is: Tuesday's Training!



Plus fun/ scary fact of the day, the MCM marathon is in EXACTLY 2 months!!!!!

I will be the first to say, training is not for the un-dedicated or easily peer-pressured person, I have found that I am needing to be more dedicated and committed to this training then ever before.. especially with football season coming up, thank goodness the games fall on a Saturday after my long runs ;)

But as of now training is going well I have done one 16 miler and one 17 miler and have an 18 miler this Saturday! I have found that my long runs almost seem to be easier than my shorter ones I do after work on the weekdays, I guess I sike myself up so much on Friday nights to prepare for the Saturday mornings!

This past weekend I ventured out with the "really-early morningers" and we started at 6am, which means waking up at 5:30am..at first I hated it and wanted to crawl right back into bed, but once I got out there it was amazing, so nice to be done with everything an hour earlier, plus the heat was so much more manageable! Definitely think I am going to stick with the early risers from now on!

I am also pumped about racing my first half marathon, I will be running the International Freedom Day race on 9/11, it is taking place in Washington DC and although I am a little scared for the actual race I am definitely excited!

The Rocks Markets (Theme Day: Open Air Markets)

The Rocks Markets are held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This view is down Argyle Street to Circular Quay. A Farmers' Market is held in this section on a Friday with food stalls and freshly prepared takeaway food. On Saturday and Sunday the markets also extend into Playfair Street and George Street. The weekend market features everything from food to art, fashion, jewellery, cosmetics and homewares.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of this theme day

Click here to view all participants of Outdoor Wednesday

Creators of Tintumon dumber than their creation :D

Hey,

  This is a link I came across, about Tintumon. ( Tintumon is a Mallu counterpart of Sardarji ).

It roughly translates as :

 Do you want a patent for Tintumon? If you do, sms TINTU #space# A to 56776.


If you DONT WANT a patent for Tintumon, sms TINTU #space#   B to 56776. (!!!)

Eat, Pray, Love and Let Go Of...

The great thing about a good film is the passageways it can lead your mind down.

I saw "Eat, Pray, Love" today, the new Julia Roberts film based on the super-multi-amazing bestselling book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert (who I always want to call Sara Gilbert or Elizabeth Mitchell.  urk.)  It's the story of the year after Ms. Gilbert's divorce, and the journey she took to Italy, India and finally Bali to rediscover life, forgive herself and move on.

The film's gotten an "eh" to "hmm" reception, but I highly recommend it for anyone traveling the spiritual road.  Some amazing moments, particularly in the middle section, about getting through the guilt and self-recrimination after you've hurt someone deeply.   And some of the acting is just outstanding.

Personally, I found the film drew (threw?) me back to the last month of move-in to Los Angeles.  Every time I move, I spend a lot of time trying to simplify, throwing things away, organizing, etc.  Especially throwing away.  In fact, both as I pack and after I arrive I try my very best to FREAKING LET GO.

And this go round was particularly hard, a lot more time spent wrestling than I would have cared for, and with no clear sense on my part as to why.  

So I'm walking out of EPL and the thought comes: maybe you've been stuck in this seemingly endless loop because you're trying to throw away the wrong things. Maybe, this time around it's not so much certain objects you have to let go of but ---

And that's where the thought trailed off.  Hate when that happens.

It's always good to pray for freedom.  And to eat ice cream.

  

LG Launches The World’s Thinnest 3D OLED TV

Today at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, LG has debuted the world’s thinnest OLED (organic light emitting diode) TV, measuring just 2.9mm, according to Crave Asia. The thin OLED sets have been around while the 2007 introduction of the Sony XEL-1, but the LG model has the added advantage of 3D playback.

There is a catch though. No official price has been given so far for the set, but it will likely be expensive. Jaw droppingly luxurious. The Chaebol 15-inch EL9500 OLED is on sale currently in the U.S. For $2,500.

Boom In China Wheat Market After Australian Deregulation

China, the world's largest grain producer, has shown an amplified interest in Australian wheat.

In the nine months to the end of June, Australian wheat exports to China were triple the sales made in the prior financial year (2008-09).

Commodity analyst Malcolm Bartholomaeus says deregulation of wheat exports has played a main role.

"Under the old arrangements, it would emerge that AWB used to deal with either just one government-backed industry or a very minute number of entities," he says.

"So now I think a larger number of mills can come straight into the Australian market and buy what they need in any smaller bulk parcels or in the container market."

dot-tel-domain.tel with new look

Link:
http://dot-tel-domain.tel/

Enjoy!

The Pizzazz of Granite Countertops!

Beautiful New Granite Countertops - An Extended Breakfast Bar with Decorative Corbels

I recently had the pleasure of helping my neighbors, Jim and Carolyn, select granite countertops for their lovely home here in Jacksonville, Florida. They were tired of the neutral-colored Corian they currently had and wanted something with pizzazz in their kitchen which would hold up to daily use.

They had done their research and learned that granite is affordable, is available in hundreds of colors, does not harbor bacteria, is hard to scratch, and is resistant to burn marks from hot objects. 

Old Corian Countertops

Another Look at the Former Corian Countertops

Off we went to my local granite supplier. Carolyn and Jim were amazed at all of the choices in the showroom. However, they were fortunate to find two beautiful related slabs of Mascarello granite with lots of yellow color and mica (shiny silver minerals) in them in the warehouse section. Jim at first was hesitant but Carolyn knew right away that she loved them.

The couple wanted to extend their breakfast bar and have the granite installed almost up to their electrical outlets.  They wanted a rounded edge.  Their installer did a beautiful job complying with their wishes and even included a much nicer stainless steel sink.  Upon completion of the installation, he sealed the granite to preserve the color and clarity of the stone.  Carolyn and Jim will need to repeat this process once a year and have been instructed to clean their granite with mild soap and water and to immediately wipe up any spills because granite can stain.

A Beautiful Piece of Mascarello Granite

Why is granite so strong and colorful?  Why is each slab so unique? Granite is a natural stone product that was formed as a result of the Earth cooling during its early stages of formation. It is one of the hardest types of rock and is crystalline in nature. Crystalline grains fit together very tightly forming granite. Granite is composed of different minerals but quartz and feldspar are always components. These substances were pressed together over millions of years under immense pressure. The quartz and feldspar are the lighter colors, the whites and pinks that we see when we look at a piece of granite. The darker colors are produced by a variety of other minerals such as black mica or amphibole.

Beautiful Veins of Color in this Granite and a New Stainless Steel Sink Included

Granite, composed of larger crystals, was formed nearer to the Earth’s core where it cooled more slowly. This granite is usually lighter in color. Granite which was formed closer to the surface of the Earth cooled more quickly and consequently is usually a much darker color and a much stronger stone. The regions where granite is predominantly found are Brazil, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and the Scandinavian countries.

Granite is Installed Almost up to the Electrical Outlets

Now that you know the "scoop" on granite, give me a call  at 904-553-0366 to learn about incorporating this beautiful product in your kitchen or bathroom.  There are also many other countertop options available.

Resources - "How Granite is Formed" by April Starr at http://www.helium.com/ and http://www.-natural-stone-interiors.com/

Why dottel?: Reach me, the exact me you were looking for!

If I had a nickel for every time I've missed an opportunity to get to know a good looking woman on a train because my email is hard to spell or my phone number is too long and random to remember, like the situation in this video, I'd be only slightly richer at this point in my life. In all seriousness though, there is real value in controlling your online identity and providing one easy to remember/shortened mechanism for people to interact with the data that you want them to interact with online. This is the entire premise behind the .tel top-level-domain (TLD) available to everyone via Telnic. A little background as to why this is significant for me. You see the unfortunate thing is this; I have a doppelgänger that lives in South Dakota. I'm quite positive he's not my evil twin however when it comes to sorting out our identities on the Internet things get a little confusing. The "other" Brent Kastner looks similar, likes technology, is a photographer, and loves to waterski. All similar activities that one could mistake for my activities. He also owns brentkastner.com; how that happened I'll never know. This is precisely what I like about .tel. With .tel I can assemble all of the stuff that is "mine" into one page about me along with my picture, bio, interests, and contact info. This in turn will get picked up and indexed by search engines; hopefully above his. Check and Mate other Brent Kastner; we meet again!

Some details about my experience with it:

In the span of about an hour yesterday I set up http://brentk.tel for my personal contact information and ramblings and http://brentkastner.tel for my professional contact information and business affiliations. I registered my domains with name.com and used the .tel profile management tool to add relevant information about me into each domain. Just like creating a regular domain on the Internet I did still need to wait about 24 hours before the DNS changes propagated to DNS servers in my area, but as of this morning it's all up and running fine.

The above is cool, no question about it. What really blew my hair back about this though was the seamless integration of my brentk.tel domain with google apps! In about another 30 minutes I have mail, chat, voice, docs, and calendaring (to name a few apps) for me and up to 50 people that want a @brentk.tel address... For FREE! For me, this takes the capabilities of the .tel concept to the next level of cool. Now I can confidently use a google voice phone number (that isn't my actual cell phone number) as my "global" contact me phone number. I can screen calls, emails, chats, etc all through my .tel email account hosted on google without fear of exposing myself to unwanted spam, cold calls, etc.

Now, the next time I'm on a train I can confidently give brentk.tel for my contact info. She'll be totally impressed! I think I'll order some business cards, plain white, with just brentk.tel on it. Think of this for a moment. Introductions can now be part intro, part research project :).

My wishlist for additional capabilities:

1.) I think it would be great to have a twitter widget that links with my account on my .tel page subject to the same privacy profiling that .tel does so well now. I'd like to show in real-time whats happening in my world as I update it.
2.) It would be awesome if friending features could be integrated with friending in say LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning networks, etc? I'd really appreciate an integrated friends management approach vs. having to maintain a new separate list of friends.
3.) I'd like people without .tel accounts to request to see my information. See point 2, even telfriends is a bit weak in this regard.
4.) I'd like to be able to hang a blog off of blog.brentk.tel, create html content, or do other basic website related stuff here. Envision a day when I don't need any personal site at all, just the stuff contained here.
5.) I'd like to be able to "share" articles, websites, documents, anything available on the web via ShareThis, AddThis, or other sharing platforms directly to my .tel page

--
~Brent Kastner

.

Business cards with Dot Tel name:



Latest business cards with dot tel name arrived from http://goodprint.co.uk. Nice quality and service, as usual.

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EMMYs = Mad Men Love!

Ok so I am not sure if I have informed you all of my deep obsession with Mad Men! I got into this show a year or so ago and have pretty much gotten everyone that is close to me also obsessed with the show! I own some of the seasons and have watched every episode probably more than once!

So yes you can say I may of been some-what excited with the results of last nights Emmys!

I know, I know this wasn't a huge surprise for the Emmy world but hey they are much deserved and after 4 seasons the show continues to shock their audience weekly, plus the fashion and style is incomparable with any other show that is running these days!

Personally I was a huge fan of January Jones, she was rocking the a-symmetrical bob like no other, plus as much as people hated on her dress I thought she did a great job pulling it off..plus it was really one of the only "more-daring" outfits of the night!

Here is a great picture of the 3 fabulous ladies!


By the way did anyone else see, Christina Hendrick's husband (shocker) but they seemed adorable!

I will also give a quick shout-out to Glee, they also won some great Emmys, and I am also a fan!
And I absolutely loved lea Michele's look last night! I thought she looked absolutely perfect in her navy gown (which by the way..wow was Navy the color of the Emmys 2010!) loved it!



That's it for this Monday! I did have a fun surprise come in the mail today! I will post pictures tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!!

Ali's Wedding

Bridal Luncheon:

Rehersal Dinner:

Gettin' Ready at the Church:

SUCH a fun picture:

Kento & I after the wedding:

MR. & MRS. BLANCHETTE!

We rode a double decker from the wedding to the reception:

At the reception:

a LOT of fun was had by all!

The Rocks, Rawson Institute for Seamen

This view of the Rawson Institute for Seamen, formerly the Mariner's Church, at The Rocks is from Circuar Quay West. The original Mariners' Church building in George Stret was designed by John Bibb in the Victorian Free Classical style in temple form and built in 1859. Alterations were designed by William Kent in Federation Free Classical style in 1909. A new chapel was built in the Inter-War Mediterranean or Romanesque style In 1927. The Bethel Union, which built the original church was involved in missionary activity among seamen. They leased the Mariners' Church to the Missions to Seamen in 1835, creating a mission for neglected seamen. The complex included accomodation, a hall for concerts and dining, smoking rooms, a library and a gymnasium. The two organisations combined functions and after Sir Henry Rawson instigated extensions which were carried out in 1910, the complex was renamed The Rawson Institute for Seamen. These days the complex is a gallery.

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday

Indonesian Volcano Erupts Again For Second Time

Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Monday erupted for a second time, forcing more than 20,000 people to stay in evacuation centres, officials said.

The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre said Sinabung’s second eruption occurred at 6:30 am (2330 GMT Sunday), belching a editorial of smoke up to 2,000 metres into the sky.

The 2,451-metre-high volcano erupted for the first time in more than four centuries early Sunday, prompting the migration of thousands of residents from its slopes.

Sunday’s eruption came only hours after the local government permitted residents to return to their homes, assuring them that the volcano was not dangerous.

The Sinabung volcano, located about 1,300 kilometres north-west of Jakarta, has been seen heating up since late Thursday, causing people living on the slopes to run away.

The number of refugees had reached 21,054 people by Sunday morning, said Jhonson Tarigan, a Karo district public relations official.

“The number is probable to increase if the situation gets worse,” Jhonson said.

Vulcanologists upgraded Sinabung’s danger status to the top level minutes before Sunday’s eruption, and revised its position from a dormant to an active volcano.

“Previously, there was no important activity at the Mount Sinabung volcano, so the monitoring did not take priority since the 1600s,” Surono, the head of the directorate who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said on Sunday.

He recommended the residents stay at the evacuation centres until further notice.

Besides ordering the evacuations, experts also warned residents to wear face masks alongside the volcano’s ash and told people living along rivers to watch out for possible lava-induced floods.

Indonesia has the maximum density of volcanoes in the world with about 500 in the “Belt of Fire” in the 5,000-kilometre-long archipelago nation. Nearly 130 are active and 68 are scheduled as dangerous.

New World Record Likely To Be Created At World Bog Championships

A NEW WORLD record time is thought to have been set at this year’s World Bog Snorkelling Championships in Powys.

Dan Morgan, from Brecon, completed the event at Llanwrtyd Wells in 1 minute 30.06 seconds, beating last year’s record of 1 min 38.15 seconds.

The official time will be established by organisers later today.

Up to 140 people from across the world were opposing at the annual event, where contestants have to avoid conventional swimming strokes to get through the 60 yard trenches, using only flippers to push through the mud and water.

Hundreds of people visited the site at 1pm to cheer on the contestants, who took part in a number of diverse categories, from juniors and men and women, to fancy dress

Organizers said they predicted that a new record might be set after the bogs were cleared of remains for the first time in a decade.

Where are you women leaders?

When one beautiful woman clad in Bikini is making waves, another woman for wearing bikini was afflicted with 40 lashes in another part of the world. What a contrast!

With all such disparities even in 2010, we are talking about women's lib and their role in the world's economy and politics.

I would urge you to read the following two stories published in Times of India today.

Singer Katy Perry (centre) performs on NBC’s ‘Today’ show in New York’s Rockefeller Center .












"Miss Universe designer got 40 lashes for wearing skirt as teenager"
Read full story:

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Simplicity

I'll start off by saying that naturally I am a very on-the-go kinda of girl..always feel like I must be doing things, and usually more than just a few things.. but I also am one that has learned the importance of simplicity theres a true beauty to doing nothing!

In today's world and especially in America there is a stigma to always be multi-tasking, no matter where you are or what your doing you should be juggling at least 5 or more items..and if your not usually looked down upon, but why? What has happened to our society and appreciating the simplicity of life? What happened to stop and smell the roses..smart phones?

As I said above I am a sucker for the go, go, go and the never ending to do list..but I have found through life that if you cant stop and appreciate the quiet then you can simply get rushed through life without noticing or remembering what you did last week..

So put down your cell phone, turn off your laptop and go outside and take a walk, or sit on your patio with a glass of wine and do nothing..you'll realize its ok do to nothing for awhile! It can actually be quite refreshing!

Well thats all for now..as I have been laying around my house doing nothing all day..as lazy as I feel..I couldn't of asked for a better day!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, Emmy's tonight...

The Rocks, police station

This building on the corner of George Street and Argyle Street at The Rocks became the police station in 1998. The Rocks local area command police station was a replacement for the small police station located opposite in George Street and another in Phillip Street. I took this photo a few months ago before construction work began for the extensions to The Museum of Contemporary Art next door on George Street extending behind this building to Argyle Street and leading down to Circular Quay.

How to spice up your Dot Tel domain:

Here are the available templates, from which you can select:
















How to set colours for the header and background for Dot Tel domains, using the .tel control panel:

When you are at your controll panel, respectively, dashboard, you go top left and click on the card "Design", and go from there. It is self explaining...

Which brings you up this controll panel:








Select a colour space number (1, 2 or 3):

The colour customising mini panel, that will pop up, looks like this:





In the vertical colour bar, you select a basic colour, for aditional fine tuning:

Then (within the left window) you place the cross on the ring, and move the ring to the right area, that brings up the colour you wish to have. Your selected colour then shows in one of the two small windows, top right within the small controll panel. --> Save your colour choice, with the "save" button, bottom, right side.




To add a logo, you must go back to the main control panel.







However, there are two tutorials. One in french, and another one in German (which will be continued):



1.) http://www.toutpointtel.fr/index.php...mode-d-emploi/



2.)

http://www.tel-blog.de/domaingestalt...reigeschaltet/

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And this is what is possible to create, within the limits...:

An Example of a Beautifully Designed Dot Tel Domain

We are all aware of the major design shortcomings of Dot Tel Domains. I, for example, will not use anything but the single colour Retro template. However, this Dot Tel Domain organictea.tel, is an excellent example of what can be achieved. It's the best one I have seen yet. Click on the image to see it full size. I like the attention to detail, the rouge on the girls face is the same colour as part of the template. 10/10!