Bright moon wipes out 2008 Leonid shower

Image Credit: NYC Comets

Unless you’re a diehard meteor enthusiast, you might decide to sit out the 2008 Leonid meteor shower.

The 2008 Leonids are expected to be at their best in the wee hours before dawn Monday morning, November 17. But the bright waning gibbous moon will wipe out all but the brightest Leonid meteors.

The Leonids are usually a modest shower, with about 10 to 15 meteors per hour. They’re named for the constellation Leo the Lion, because these meteors seem to fling themselves outward from the Lion’s mane. But the meteors actually originate in a comet.

Every November, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Bits and pieces left behind by this comet collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 70 kilometers – 45 miles – per second to streak the night with meteors. Comet Tempel-Tuttle orbits the sun in 33-year periods, and it releases fresh material every time it enters the inner solar system and nears the sun.

And this comet debris seems to stay clumped in a short section of the comet’s orbit. That’s why exceptional Leonid displays recur in cycles of about 33 years. The last great Leonid meteor shower was in 2001. [Source]

It’s 3 a.m. here and I did try to look at the Sky but I didn’t see any meteors falling down… hhhmm… Did you happen to see the this meteor shower?

Rancho Palos Verdes on Fire

Officials in Rancho Palos Verdes said a fire had burned about 10 acres and that 50 to 75 firefighters were battling the blaze.

The fire is off Hawthorne Boulevard, between City Hall and the Salvation Army’s 44-acre College for Officer Training.

It does not appear that any structures are threatened, Mayor Douglas W. Stern said. And it does not appear that the fire poses a great danger of spreading, as local fire officials have not put out any calls for outside assistance, he said.

[Source: Scott Gold of LA Times]

Child Obesity Seen as Warning of Heart Disease

NEW ORLEANS — A new study finds striking evidence that children who are obese or have high cholesterol show early warning signs of heart disease.

The study, presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans, found that the thickness of artery walls of children and teenagers who are obese or have high cholesterol resembled the thickness of artery walls of an average 45-year-old.

The study, which has not yet been published, was small, involving 70 children ages 6 to 19, and several experts said the results would need to be replicated to be considered conclusive. But they said the method used to measure artery wall thickness was considered a reliable indicator of heart disease risk, usually more reliable than cholesterol levels or other measures. The method, which uses ultrasound, has been applied to children in other studies in the last few years, but experts said this appeared to be the first time that results had been correlated to adults.

“I think this is a red flag,” said the lead author of the study, Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, a cardiologist and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine. “These kids are more similar to middle-aged adults.”

Scientists not involved in the study said the findings supported a growing body of research suggesting that childhood obesity in the United States was likely to result in heart disease as the children age.

“These findings are potentially consistent with predictions that obesity and its complications would result in cardiovascular disease becoming a pediatric illness,” said Dr. David Ludwig, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard, who was a co-author of a 2005 study predicting that obesity could shorten the average child’s lifespan by two to five years. “There are other indications that this might be the case, but much of that has been speculative, so this may well be significant hard data, which has been largely lacking. This is actually looking at the development of atherosclerosis, the process that we know will, if it is not dealt with, lead to heart attack or stroke.”

Childhood obesity is considered an epidemic in the United States, with about 16 percent of children ages 2 to 19 considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the number of new cases of childhood obesity appears to be leveling off, some experts say they are now seeing an increase in Type 2 diabetes in children, which they believe is a consequence of increased obesity.

The Kansas City study was one of several presented at the conference that looked at the link between childhood obesity and heart disease.

[More of the News…]

10 Year Old Girl’s Inspiring Story Opens Eyes at Glamour Awards

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The most talked about honoree of the 2008 Glamour Women of the Year awards was a small child of 10.  Nujood Ali, who flew all the way from her native Yemen for the ritzy Carnegie Hall gala, was married off by impoverished parents to a 30-year-old man who raped and abused her.

Her father, who drew an annual salary equivalent to $900, had 18 children and couldn’t afford to clothe and feed Ali so he gave her up for marriage. Though her older husband promised to wait years before becoming intimate with his child bride, he beat her and raped her on their wedding night. Ali had enough.

Taking a solo trip to a Yemen courthouse, she sat until a judge took notice and heard her pleas for help. After the lawyer linked her up with a human rights lawyer named Shada Nasser, the brave girl became the country’s first child bride to legally end her marriage with a divorce.

“I didn’t like my husband so my stepmother told me if I wasn’t happy, I should go to court,” Ali told The Daily News through a translator. “But no one was willing to take me. So I went on my own.”

Praise for the pint-sized hero was flowing from some of the biggest names at Monday night’s ceremony.

During her own acceptance speech, Senator Hillary Clinton told the audience, “one of the greatest women I have ever seen is Nujood. She set an example with her courage I hope will continue to challenge all of us.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The News, “I can’t wait to meet [Ali]. What an incredible story.  That’s going to be a great inspiration to talk to her.”

Glamour Editor in Chief Cindy Leive said, “how Nujood got the courage to do that at the age of nine, I’ll never know. Sometimes you feel like some people are born to change the world and when I met her,  I thought, ‘You’re one of them.’”

BY SEAN EVANS  of NYDailyNews

Where to Find the Best Place to Stay in Rome

Almost every day Rome is packed of visitors from all over the world for some various reasons either for business or leisure. Mostly people go there because of its religious pilgrimage and historical buildings. If you are one of the people who would be on a trip going to Rome, you would need a place to stay. It is a place where the tourist attractions are near and accessible.

So, If you’re looking for the best place to stay in Rome where you will be safe and secure, consider Rome Apartments. These Rome apartments are generally available for short stays as well as longer stays. The locations are all central and most of the flats are located in historic places. This kind of accommodation can also be a good way to save money if you travel with friends or family.  More and more people decide to go for an apartment rental in Rome. Bedding and linen are provided at no extra cost so you will not have to take extra luggage with yourself. Some of them are also provided with a washing machine and dishwasher. So, it is the perfect solution whether you decide to have a proper holiday home where you do your food shopping and eat in, or to use the house just to sleep in and have your life outside just like if you were staying in a hotel.

Fishing in the Country

I think this is along the riverside Avenida Cinco de Outbro, not quite sure about that but I’m quite sure it’s in Coloane, Macau. The reason I went to Coloane (alone) was to take some photos of St. Francis Xavier chapel. Infront of the Chapel was the river (I don’t know what it’s called hehehe). Then , I saw this Chinese man fishing along the river while listening to his li’l radio, I hurriedly capture a few photos of him (unnoticed).

Notice the bottle? *lol*

Where to Find Delicious Egg Tarts in Macau

One of the delicacies in Macau is their Portugese Egg Tarts, and they are oh so yummy. There’s this one particular store near Rua S. Paulo which I just cannot recall it’s name but you can see it at the photo above,  who sells Delicious Portugese Egg Tarts. I have tried at the other stores in Macau but theirs is more delicious. If you happen to visit Macau, don’t miss eating it, and of course visit the Saint Paul Ruins. I made a wish there and guess what? My simple wish did come true (LOL). By the way, the one who’s wearing a brown cap and jacket is none other me.

Be a Responsible Individual!

Photo taken along the High way of Lanang, Davao City.

If only our fellow countrymen would be responsible enough to throw their garbages and segragrate them properly, Our Place would be much better to look at and would drive more tourists to visit us. Please, Please be responsible enough to throw your garbage properly! Help Keep Our City Clean and make Davao City a more livable place to live with. Thank You!

By the way, I am not making a negative issue here about Davao, I actually LOVE my Hometown that’s why I want everyone to be aware of this trash problems that we do have.

Zenni on FOX News

Have you heard about the latest news online? Zenni Optical was on FOX news! Yeah,take a peep of the Zenni on Fox video. Zenni Optical is an online store that sells stylish prescription glasses, they have a huge selection of Great Eyeglasses For Less starting from $8 only !For more of Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni  visit their online store now.

Cloning From the Frozen Dead

Scientists Reportedly Clone Mice From Frozen Bodies, Expand Cloning Possibilities  

Scientists in Japan say they have successfully cloned a mouse from a body that had been frozen for 16 years, theoretically opening the door to a range of possibilities from preserving endangered animals, to resurrecting extinct animals to cloning Ted Williams. 

Scientists in Japan have claimed to successfully reared mice cloned frozen tissue without using cryopreservation tools currently available. The researchers are suggesting the technique could pave the way for cloning endangered or extinct animals that are frozen, but not cryogenically preserved.

The authors of the study made no bones about what they believe the implications of their work could be.

“It has been suggested that the ‘resurrection’ of frozen extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth, is impracticable, as no live cells are available, and the genomic material that remains is inevitably degraded,” wrote the authors in the Monday edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

But the researchers say they got around the dead tissue issue by adapting new fertilization techniques for damaged sperm into a cloning technique for damaged frozen tissue. The authors of the study concluded these “techniques could be used to ‘resurrect’ animals or maintain valuable genomic stocks from tissues frozen for prolonged periods without any cryopreservation.” [Source: ABCNEWS]