To millions of women it has been the great liberator over the past four decades, allowing them the freedom to control their fertility and their relationships. But the contraceptive Pill could also be responsible for skewing their hormones and attracting them to the “wrong” partner.
A study by British scientists suggests that taking the Pill can change a woman’s taste in men — to those who are genetically less compatible.
The research found that the Pill can alter the type of male scent that women find most attractive, which may in turn affect the kind of men they choose as partners. It suggests that the popular form of contraception — used by a quarter of British women aged between 16 and 50 — could have implications for fertility and relationship breakdowns.
The findings, from a team at the University of Liverpool, add to growing evidence that the hormones in the Pill influence the way that women assess male sexual attractiveness.
The Pill is thought to disrupt an instinctive mechanism that brings together people with complementary genes and immune systems. Such a couple, by passing on a wide-ranging set of immune system genes, increase their chances of having a healthy child that is not vulnerable to infection.
Couples with different genes are also less likely to experience fertility problems or miscarriages. Experts believe that women are naturally attracted to men with immune system genes different to their own because of their smell.
Commenting on the latest study, the researchers said that it could indicate that the Pill disrupts womenÂ’s ability to judge the genetic compatibility of men by means of their smell.
They said that this might not only impact on fertility and miscarriage risk, but could even contribute to the end of relationships as women who stop or start taking the Pill no longer find their boyfriend or husband so attractive.
Several previous studies have suggested that women tend to prefer the smell of men who are different from them in a cluster of genes called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which governs the immune system. Some of these studies have also found that this effect is not seen among Pill users.
The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, has now assessed the impact of Pill use in the same women, both before and after they began using oral contraception. A group of 97 women was tested, some of whom started taking the Pill during the course of the research. All had their MHC genes tested and were asked to sniff T-shirts worn in bed by men with different patterns of MHC genes.
Unlike some previous studies, the research did not find any preference for dissimilar MHC genes. However, when the women started taking the Pill their preferences shifted towards the scent of men with more similar genes to their own.
This suggests that Pill use has an effect on perceptions of scent attractiveness, even if there is no underlying female preference for similar or dissimilar MHC genes.
Craig Roberts, who led the study, said: “The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the Pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odours. Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems, but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the Pill, as odour perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.”
The research also found differences between women in relationships, who tended to prefer odours of men with different MHC genes, and single women, who tended to prefer the smell of MHC-similar men.
This could potentially indicate that if women are tempted to have an affair, they are more likely to choose a man with very different genes, to maximise the diversity of any offspring that they might have.
The scientists said that more work was needed to explain the way various studies have obtained different results on whether women naturally prefer men with different or similar MHC genes. They also cautioned that the importance of scent in human mating preferences remains uncertain.
The research backs up an earlier study of how womenÂ’s perceptions of partners can alter when taking the Pill. Psychologists from St Andrews and Stirling universities found that women on the Pill tend to prefer macho types with strong jaw lines and prominent cheekbones.
However, women who are not taking that form of contraception seem to be more likely to go for more sensitive types of men without traditionally masculine features.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/13/2008 09:59 ||
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#1
I've found that wimmen usually are rather put off by my smell, actually, they seem to flee it, and, for one, I am very glad to know it's the pill's fault! Boy, what a relief.
#2
And, thinking of it, I think the pill also make them believe, for some reason, that I'm fat and unattractive. God, what a poisonous chemical horror this is!
#3
As far as the genetics angle goes, no one seems to want to acknowledge that one of the unintended results of the medical community's triumph in the reduction of childhood mortality is that more and more of the gene pool which would have died are now around to reproduce many generations down the line. We've replaced natural selection with a man made environment which leads to children who do have less genes with natural immunity.
Smell, Huh? What the pill did was take the need to work at finding and keeping a good sperm donor and provider [both in the same package]. Contemporary supersizing of Social Security [beyond the 'supplement' it was originally intended to be] and throwing in Medicare and who needs responsible kids to take care of mom and pop in their old age? The pressure is off in finding that classical mate, until the environment which permits such behavior alters.
A man who fell asleep in a drunken stupor on the grass outside his home was horrified to find his embarrassment posted on the internet.
He had been drowning his sorrows over the death of a friend and collapsed after climbing out of a taxi. As he slept off his excesses, a car-mounted video camera passed by to record pictures of the street for Google's StreetView website.
Within days a photographic record of the neighbourhood and its unusual presence was available for worldwide viewing.
The new Google service has been at the centre of controversy over claims it represents a breach of privacy. But the latest victim, who gave his name only as 'Bill', is not planning an official complaint.
'I'm not too happy about it' said Bill. 'I mean, I wouldn't have been there in the state that I was in, but I wasn't really thinking there would be someone driving by with a video camera on the roof filming me, either,' Bill, 36, said from northern Australia, where he is working with a fishing company.
'What do you do when you lose a mate like that?' he said of his pal, with whom he had been planning a motorbike holiday around the island of Tasmania.
'I know what he would have done if I left - he would have partied, too. That's what I would've wanted him to do so that's what I did with some friends.'
Bill said he accepted he could not expect to have complete privacy in a public street, but he questioned whether his embarrassing moment should be broadcast over the internet.
Street View was launched in Australia last week and since then there have been a number of complaints about what has been captured on the video camera.
One woman who wrote to a Sydney newspaper said she was mortified after logging onto the site. 'Both my parents were pictured outside their house, but my dad passed away a month ago,' said Janice Creenaune. 'While recognising that Google-time is never real-time, the image renews the raw loss,' she said.
Another letter writer, Elizabeth Maher was, however, delighted. 'While others may have legitimate complaints about Google publishing pictures of their house, I was delighted to view ours, with me pictured hard at work in the garden, complete with broom and bucket, thereby dispelling any uncertainty as to who is the gardener in the family.'
A spokesman for Google Australia, Mr Rob Shilkin, said the company had taken significant steps to protect the privacy of individuals, including face-blurring and tools for people to flag sensitive imagery for removal.
Since Bill's case became known to Google Australia, his embarrassing sleep-in has been removed from the site.
Though I'm not sure if it's the artist or the museum that deserves the dunce cap:
A giant inflatable dog turd
The AFP reporter might also be eligible for getting the assignment in which he has to report on "a giant inflatable dog turd". Do they cover that at J-school?
by American artist Paul McCarthy blew away from an exhibition in the garden of a Swiss museum, bringing down a power line and breaking a greenhouse window before it landed again, the museum said Monday. The art work, titled "Complex S(expletive..)", is the size of a house.
Think about it. A dog turd. An inflatable dog turd. A giant inflatable dog turd. The size of a house. Installed as art. It was nice knowin' ya, Switzerland. Ye gods.
The wind carried it 200 metres (yards) from the Paul Klee Centre in Berne before it fell back to Earth in the grounds of a children's home, said museum director Juri Steiner. The inflatable turd broke the window at the children's home when it blew away on the night of July 31, Steiner said. The art work has a safety system which normally makes it deflate when there is a storm, but this did not work when it blew away.
#2
I was under the impression that artists had to sell art to make a living. Being cool and trendy is fine, but it doesn't pay very well. Who the hell would buy a giant inflatable dog turd?
#4
Most modern artists live from the State in one way or an another, the actual number of private people who buy their art is very, very limited, and tend to be distributed among a small group of wealthy collectors, IIUC.
#5
The really funny thing to me (and my family) is we often joke about sculptures outside of some nearby places (Providence airport, Boston Museum of Fine Arts) as looking like giant turds.
#1
This reminds me of a radio commercial I heard here in California for a spa that has "organic manicures and pedicures". My comment to my wife was "what the f is an 'organic' pedicure? Do they use wooden sticks to cut your nails or something?"
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/13/2008 20:28 Comments ||
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#4
Solar powered iced tea machines are big here in Georgia. We also use solar power to ripen green tomatoes. I recently purchased a new roof with architectural shingles that used solar power to seal. Does anyone know if there is a tax break or refund available on these technologies?
August is the wettest and often the muggiest month of the year. Yet, summer heat continues in short supply, continuing a trend that has dominated much of the 21st Century's opening decade. There have been only 162 days 90 degrees or warmer at Midway Airport over the period from 2000 to 2008. That's by far the fewest 90-degree temperatures in the opening nine years of any decade on record here since 1930.
This summer's highest reading to date has been just 91 degrees. That's unusual. Since 1928, only one year—2000—has failed to record a higher warm-season temperature by Aug. 13.
#1
We have had very cool weather here for the last 6 days. Lows near 50 and highs around 80. Is Al Gore back in Tennessee?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/13/2008 12:16 Comments ||
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#2
Is Al Gore back in Tennessee? I suspect he's out of state on vacation. When he turned out the lights in his TN palace, the temps in the entire state dropped several degrees.
#3
Not just Chicago. Here in SE Iowa, it's been pretty cool, too. I've even been able to take the Tsarevich to the local playground at high noon without worrying about overheating the little guy.
Toss in the fact that last winter was really snowy and cold, and global warming's looking better and better each day.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/13/2008 18:01 Comments ||
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#4
No, no, Swamp Blondie! Do not wish for global warming! It will mean the death of all of mankind, and possibly of all life on earth! It has never been warmer on Earth since, well, forever.
Ignore all those inconvenient truths about the Medieval Warm period, and the fact that we are coming out of a little ice age.
/sarcasm
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/13/2008 20:31 Comments ||
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Mogadishu - A small aircraft delivering khat from Kenya to Somalia crashed south of Mogadishu on Wednesday, killing all three crew members on board, an airport official and witnesses said.
"There was a lot of humidity in the airport area, the plane circled twice over the landing zone, eventually hit a telephone line two kilometres away and crashed," K-50 airport official Bashir Hasan said. "We rushed to the scene but unfortunately we couldn't find anybody alive. We collected the burnt remains of three people," he said, adding he believed two of the victims were Kenyans and the other an Arab national.
"We discovered the bodies of three men and they seem to be the crew of the plane," said Mohamed Abdullahi Nur, a khat trader.
Abdi Farah Moalim, another witness, was near the site of the crash and said he saw three charred bodies being retrieved from the wreckage.
Light aircrafts deliver khat, a mild narcotic leaf that is very popular in Somalia, every day at K-50 and other airstrips around Mogadishu.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Justice on Tuesday said that it has no information on news reports carried by local newspapers in the United Arab Emirates on the arrest of a Saudi judge by the Dubai police over possession of drugs, according to a statement carried by the official news agency SPA.
UAE's Khaleej Times on Monday quoted a Dubai police source as saying that a Saudi judge named Hamad Salim bin Naif, who served as head of an Islamic court, had been arrested in the Gulf emirate on charges of possessing and using drugs. The ministry, in its first official reaction to the report, said that "none of the judges affiliated to the justice ministry has the name mentioned in this report".
"The ministry stated that it has no information about the report published in the Emirati newspaper Khaleej Times and quoted by Agence France Presse and then Internet sites about the Dubai police's arrest of a Saudi judge," the official SPA news agency said.
According to the English-language Khaleej Times, the suspect confessed that he and his wife take drugs and said he brought the confiscated hashish from Saudi Arabia for their personal use.
Sharia courts in Saudi Arabia impose tough penalties for drug-related charges, and drug trafficking is punishable by death in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member, also imposes severe penalties for all drug-related offences. Four years in prison is the usual sentence for possession while trafficking carries the death penalty.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Saudi authorities arrested an imam -- Islamic preacher -- who is suspected of carrying out several burglaries, a press report said on Tuesday. "The Saudi man is suspected to have been involved in burgling several shops and engaging in some other illegal activities," a local police source told Arab News.
Authorities refused to name the imam from a mosque in the western city of Baha, pending an investigation, the English-language daily reported. But the paper quoted an unnamed source as saying that the man was a 33-year-old Saudi who also worked as a teacher in a local school.
Nasser Badran, the director of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for Baha province confirmed the imam's arrest and vowed to take the necessary action. "If the allegations against [the imam] are proved ... appropriate action would be taken," Badran told Arab News. Depending on the severity of the crime, punishment could range from a cut in the imam's monthly salary to jail time, Arab News said.
An imam that leads Friday prayers usually earns about 3,000 Saudi riyals (800 dollars) per month. Imams that do not lead Friday prayers earn roughly half of that amount.
The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Propagation and Guidance interviews all imams in the kingdom and conducts periodic inspection and assessments, the paper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Depending on the severity of the crime, punishment could range from a cut in the imam's monthly salary to jail time, Arab News said.
No chop-chop? Or is that reserved for lesser beings?
Posted by: john frum ||
08/13/2008 10:28 Comments ||
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#2
I read the title as Saudi imam arrested for buggery - that twitched the ol' surprise meter.
Extramarital relations made the husband so irate that he did not think about the consequences before making an attempt to force his wife to swallow acid. The acid-burned teenaged housewife from Narsingdi now feels more helpless as her stepfather, principal of a local madrasa, is keen on accepting compensation instead of taking legal steps.
With her lips, neck, breast and abdomen burned, Jannatul Ferdous, 18, of Noapara village in Madhabdi is now undergoing treatment at the One-Stop Crisis Centre (OCC) of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
A Fazil student of Rupganj Kanchan Fazil Madrasa, she was married off to distant cousin Abu Sufian, an honours second year student at Narsingdi Government College, on February 7, 2006.
Earlier, a love affair developed between them when Sufian came to live at their house as a lodging teacher. But he also had a relation with one of his classmates. "He was involved in that relation before our wedding," Jannatul told The Daily Star at DMCH, adding Sufian misbehaved with her whenever she raised the issue.
Her stepfather and uncle Moulana Abdul Hye, who married her widowed mother when she was three, learned about the extra-marital relation on August 3 and drove Sufian out of their house the same day.
"While I was sleeping around 1:00 that night, he came back secretly and called me out to a deserted corner of our house," Jannatul said while describing the horrific event. Holding both her hands tight, he tried to pour acid into her mouth, she said. "In the dark, I couldn't notice he had a small bottle in his hand."
As she forced to free her hands, Sufian failed to pour the acid into her mouth, but the spilling liquid burned her lips, neck, breast and abdomen. "I felt as if I caught fire and jumped into our pond," she said, adding Sufian disappeared immediately.
She went to a local hospital first on her own without wasting any time. The doctors referred her to DMCH where she was shifted the same day without any help from the family.
She met staffs at the OCC, a shelter home, legal aid and treatment centre, and got admission there and against her family's opinions, filed a case with Narsingdi police. "He was so infatuated with that girl that he didn't want our marriage to continue," she said affirming her resolve to continue with legal procedures.
But her family is trying to convince her to stop moving further with the case as Sufian's family has offered Tk 5 lakh in compensation to settle the matter.
"We've started investigation and talked with the victim on Saturday," Jasimuddin Sarker, officer-in-charge of Narsingdi Police Station, told The Daily Star, adding they have yet to arrest the culprit. "The victim's family is moving for mediation, but we won't stop our investigation."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Isn't adultery a serous crime in Bangladesh?
Seems to me that he'd be in deep sh*t.
Close to two million older people in England may be denied treatment because depression is wrongly seen as a natural part of getting older, says a charity.
Age Concern found over 65s seeking help were often fobbed off, misdiagnosed or given inappropriate treatment. Doctors may prescribe drugs when counselling would be more beneficial.
The charity Help the Aged said the government's upcoming Equality Bill should help address age discrimination within health services. Fewer than 10% of older people with clinical depression are referred to specialist mental health services compared with about 50% of younger adults with mental and emotional problems.
In some cases, GPs are unable to refer older people on to other parts of the NHS that could help them because of discriminatory rules excluding people over the age of 65. Overall, eight out of 10 older people with clinical depression do not get any treatment, Age Concern said.
The charity has launched a new campaign - Down, but not out - to improve the lives of older people with depression.
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "It is scandalous that hundreds of thousands of older people may be denied treatment because depression is wrongly seen as a natural part of getting older. Older people deserve better treatment - there should be no excuse for inaction."
Elizabeth McLennan, senior policy officer of fellow charity Help the Aged, said: "General Practitioners have a key role to play in more effectively pinpointing possible depression as patients present themselves.
"Care home staff and managers must also ensure their own knowledge of symptoms associated with depression is improved. The Government's upcoming Equality Bill should address some of these issues, but a timetable for action is vital to ensure this unfairness is tackled as a priority."
The little girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer was not considered attractive enough, the show's musical director has revealed. Pigtailed Lin Miaoke was selected to appear because of her cute appearance and did not sing a note, Chen Qigang, the general music designer of the ceremony, said in an interview with a state broadcaster aired Tuesday.
Photographs of Lin in a bright red party dress were published in newspapers and websites all over the world and the official China Daily hailed her as a rising star on Tuesday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
08/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Duh. There are no live performances in China, only lip-synching. I thought everyone knew this?
#4
Thought that was obvious watching it, good to have confirmation. Also, the fireworks display disproved itself without commentary because there were not smoke clouds after the explosions (baby was asleep so I missed the commentary). And IIUC they had the steven spielberg of china orchrastrating the opening ceremony. The chinese would like the rest of the world to be wowed, but even with 1.2 bln or however many people and money spent they still could not get everything right. What I would like to know is that if that big drum circle at the beginning the lights were supposed to flicker (even though I'm sure I will be told they were). Perhaps they filled the stadiums with all the 3 gorges dam refugees a la dnc homeless solution.
I keep in mind that this is a big pr stunt by prc even though I'm not supposed to think that and keep it in perspective - notice how they always had a china sign in the background during the womens gymnastic medly? Next we'll hear about diatary supplements made in china being laced with illegal enhancers - whoops sorry any Greeks out there.
In just a humanitarian view, it is disgusting to see such an extravigant buildup and display after such a brutal winter and earthquake but I guess with 1.2 bln what is 40,000?
Enjoy the olympics for what they represent, but keep the bs filters smog-free.
#5
btw, I thought the USA women gymnists did exceptional, minus a few mistakes in the final round. It was an event the chinese were tailor made to win and the USA stepped up and gave them a good run. I wonder what happened to russia and romania, 2 other great schools, never was really covered.
#6
...seems to be talk about the prc women gymnists being underage. We decide last night that they looked like they were around 12 years old. Physically they still had 'kid muscle', but in their eyes; that is how they were judging their environment.
Eating rats is the best way for rich and poor people to solve the global crisis of rising food prices, an Indian official said Wednesday as he unveiled his plan to put rodents on menus. Regular rat snacks would translate into fewer rodents eating precious grain stocks -- 50 percent of which are lost in the northeastern state of Bihar every year to the animals, said Vijay Prakash, secretary of the state's welfare department.
"This will help in mitigating the global food crisis. We are sure that it will work wonders," Prakash told AFP. "It will save half our grain, and will also reduce villagers' dependence on food stock."
"Rats on a stick! Rats on a stick! Git yer red-hot rats on a stick!"
Prakash's plan promotes consumption of rat meat in homes, street stalls, restaurants and even international five-star hotels. He said he was also holding talks with prestigious hotels outside India to encourage them to put rat meat on their menus, but admitted his scheme had to overcome public prejudice.
"The only issue is how people react to rat meat, but I think it will not be a problem," he said. "Some socially deprived people in Bihar have always consumed rat meat. If they can eat rats, why can't the rest of the people?" he said.
Members of the Mushar community and some other impoverished groups have traditionally eaten rats in India. "Rat meat will make up nutrition deficiencies among villagers, since rats are a major source of protein," Prakash said.
#1
Reminds me of a biography of a NORK defector I read. In a labour camp, he figured out how to catch and cook rats and was eating 30 or 40 a day.
He said the guards were terrified of him. They thought he was somekind of magician/sorcerer, because he was getting fat while everyone else in the camp was starving to death.
#12
King Rat was by James Clavell. You'll also find rats as food in the C. S. Forester Hornblower series. Does anyone here have the O'Brian cookbook?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
08/13/2008 21:00 Comments ||
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#13
You don't know how close that gets to the truth. When India closed down the reptile skin trade the local snake charmers took a major economic hit. Venom sales alone wasn't good enough to keep the tradition alive. So Ron Whittaker of crocodile fame had them start a rat catcher co-op. The snake charmer families got a steady income all the rats they could eat plus the 10's of kilos of rice and wheat the rats had stored. The farmers got their fields cleared of rats cheaper than baits. Ron got the surplus rats to feed his crocs. Mind you that these Indian rats tend to be around house cat size.
Posted by: bruce ||
08/13/2008 21:16 Comments ||
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#14
IIRC FOX or CNN > short montage on how the steady decline of US veterinarians skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of large/big animals had become a NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE for the US Army-DOD - THIS ARTICLE ON SERE TRNG as per EDIBLES ILLUSTRATES WHY.
WHAT CAVALRY HOSSES EAT-N-DRINK NATURALLY, etc. ON THE MOVE MATTERS TO THE LT PHYSICAL HEALTH AND BASE SURVIVAL OF TROOPERS + UNIT, ESPEC IN HIGH-STRESS SITUATIONS LIKE, OH I DUNNO, COMBAT!
#3
The problem is that wind turbines only produce between 10% and 20% of their capacity, but you need the infrastructure to support the rare occasions when they produce at peak capacity. So you need to build 5 to 10 times more transmission capacity. Which is why even if wind made economic sense at the point of generation, it's still a bad idea.
#5
AS has the right idea. We should be using wind power for off-grid applications that don't need on demand power. Two occur to me - desalination and heating shale oil deposits.
You need to talk to a chemical engineer, but the Haber process looks to me like it requires a continuous process, ie a continous power supply, which wind isn't.
#7
PR piece for the wind farm. Be interesting to see what they have to say in 3-5 years, after the warts are exposed. Can these operations survive without federal handouts?
#10
Does it even take a college freshman to tell them that if they double the voltage in their lines it will cut the amps in half? Then they could use very, very small lines if they wanted. P=I*V or if you need it V=I*R. There you go, now off to work.
#12
tipover, my father knows a company rep in Sacramento that tells him that it is a break even business, in a good year. The other 4 out of 5 years it is a subsidy situation.
#1
"We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer LimitsBig Brother The Apple Zone."
BTW, Steve, with power you've become the very parody of your own parody.
#2
Well that certainly limits the use of 2nd party software doesn't it? There should be a programming update that allows the user to turn that setting off. Or at least a hack if they wont do it.
#3
I'm sure the iPhone has a kill switch that makes the phone totally dead if pirated software or something else that Apple disapproves of is loaded up.
I'm not sure I see the attraction of this gizmo, but then I'm not a palm pilot/blackberry type either.
#4
Mr. Wife insisted on getting trailing daughter #1 an iPhone as her going-to-college gift. Despite having to get her a separate phone plan (we have a basic family plan not with AT&T), he figures it's worth her not having to keep track of a separate iPod, cell phone, day planner and calculator (and possibly camera), each of which is likely to wander off in a college dormitory. Also because the poor man wants one badly, but his company is not on the AT&T plan.
There is already a hack to use the iPhone with other carriers, so no doubt there will be one for this soon enough. But, I'll mention the kill switch risk to td#1, so she isn't tempted. Thanks, lotp!
#5
Despite having to get her a separate phone plan (we have a basic family plan not with AT&T), he figures it's worth her not having to keep track of a separate iPod, cell phone, day planner and calculator (and possibly camera), each of which is likely to wander off in a college dormitory.
You sent your daughter off to college with all that crap!? Dangit, when I went college all I got was a slide-rule and lousy vinyl pocket protector.
#6
She will go in mid-September, GDLotA9226, so no we haven't. ;-) My point was that all those things are included in the iPhone, which will stay in her purse, so she won't actually take those other things. It has a laser sword, too.
I went with school supplies left over from high school, including Daddy's old HP-something calculator and my clock-radio. I never did figure out how to use a slide rule properly, I'm afraid, but then I married an engineer instead of becoming one. :-D However, I had roommates who came to school with a stereo, television, SLR camera (I knew some art students), and so forth. Lots of their things wandered off over time.
But td #1 won a full scholarship plus a bribe from the university, and I had to pay for everything myself. What would you have taken beyond the pocket protector had you been paid to learn?
#7
What would you have taken beyond the pocket protector had you been paid to learn?
I'll have to ponder that. Back in the Dark Ages, we did not have all the neat gadgets that exist today. Had it been purchasable though, I'd have taken some coolness. ;-)
#9
But all the information, which is really the important thing, will be backed up on the laptop she bought with the bribe. And she'd have to buy the replacement iPhone with her own money, not her Daddy's, which will certainly teach her something useful.
#10
The going away to school iphone plan is rock solid TW. Ignore the naysayers. Your daughter will love it and will use it to send photos and other comms to stay connected with you. Rantburg even renders fairly well on mobile Safari (the iphone browser) so she can stay in touch with the world of affairs beyond the ivory tower.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
August is the wettest and often the muggiest month of the year. Yet, summer heat continues in short supply, continuing a trend that has dominated much of the 21st Century's opening decade. There have been only 162 days 90 degrees or warmer at Midway Airport over the period from 2000 to 2008. That's by far the fewest 90-degree temperatures in the opening nine years of any decade on record here since 1930.
Extramarital relations made the husband so irate that he did not think about the consequences before making an attempt to force his wife to swallow acid. The acid-burned teenaged housewife from Narsingdi now feels more helpless as her stepfather, principal of a local madrasa, is keen on accepting compensation instead of taking legal steps.
The little girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer was not considered attractive enough, the show's musical director has revealed. Pigtailed Lin Miaoke was selected to appear because of her cute appearance and did not sing a note, Chen Qigang, the general music designer of the ceremony, said in an interview with a state broadcaster aired Tuesday.
