MySpace, Facebook a danger to our children?

Recently parents at an Australian private school received a notice from the principal advising them that incidents of cyber bullying at the school had been discovered. The letter went on to warn parents that they should closely monitor the online activities of their children and stop them from joining social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. Is this sound advice or unnecessarily alarmist?
MySpace, Facebook a danger to our children?

25 Easy Ways to Fit in 10 Minutes of Exercise

Experts recommend working out 45 minutes to an hour a day (30 minutes for beginners) for weight loss and fitness. But if you're like most women, you don't always have a block of 30 to 60 minutes a day to devote exclusively to doing your workouts.
25 Easy Ways to Fit in 10 Minutes of Exercise

Is it healthier to be fit and fat—Or lazy and thin?

Are you a thin couch potato? Think that because you're slim, you don't have to work out? Wrong.
Is it healthier to be fit and fat—Or lazy and thin?

Strictly No Photography

Features user-submitted photos taken in all the places where photography is strictly off-limits. Concerts, museums, classified government installations, etc
Strictly No Photography

The 5 Myths of Positive Mental Attitude

Okay, so there’s no myth that I am a positive person, or at least striving to be one. However, I am aware that I’m not positive all the time. I am continuously working to become conscientious of my choices, thoughts and reactions. I frequently get asked about positive thinking, and I wanted to first clear up some points of confusion.
The 5 Myths of Positive Mental Attitude

Negative Calorie Foods: 15 Foods That Actually Burn More Calories Than They Contain

No, we’re not advocating the battle to see how few calories you can consume each day or promoting crash diets in any form or function; however, if you’re a snack-o-holic who can’t stop munching and crunching in between meals, try snacking on one of these negative calorie foods instead of gobbling down a cupcake or big bag of chips.
Negative Calorie Foods: 15 Foods That Actually Burn More Calories Than They Contain

I'll be so happy once I'm thin. Or rich. Or successful. Or engaged. Right?

Kate Harding makes several interesting arguments, but her key point is the tendency for people to think, “When I’m thin, I’ll be different. I’ll be more adventurous, or more sociable, or happier in my relationship.” Her message: No, you won’t. You’ll still be yourself.
I'll be so happy once I'm thin. Or rich. Or successful. Or engaged. Right?

What we learn from the dying

My first day of medical school was a series of inspirational talks. The tone, set by the anesthesiologist who led off, was lighthearted. His subject was "Everything you will ever need to know about medicine." This turned out to be just three things, which he had us all recite: Air goes in and out. Blood goes round and round. Oxygen is good. Just keep these in mind, he said, and you'll be okay.
What we learn from the dying

Tip of the Week: Leave Your Desk Messy «

Spend too much time worrying about getting your desk perfectly clean and your work perfectly excellent and you might put yourself at risk for psychological problems.
Tip of the Week: Leave Your Desk Messy «

May I take your order?

It was a night like any other - people inviting us out to a steakhouse. We get there, we are seated in a private room. All was well. Niceties aside, we prepare to order. I ask my wife what I should get. She says, “Go ahead and look at the menu - it’s in English.”
“Oh Really?”
May I take your order?

New Words on the Block: Back When "Movies" Were Young

When we think about new additions to the English lexicon such as locavore or tase (or other candidates for the New Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year), it’s easy to forget that some of our most common vocabulary items were once awkward newcomers, like transfer students desperately trying to fit in with the other kids in class.
New Words on the Block: Back When "Movies" Were Young

Cool Tool: BookGem

Reader-diners know the pain of trying to balance a thick book and a meal without losing your page or spilling food.
Cool Tool: BookGem

Google Releases Chart Image Generator

Google released a chart generator service they are calling the Google Chart API. Usage is quite straightforward: you link to an image in the form of a parameterized URL.
Google Releases Chart Image Generator

Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age

As we age, it becomes harder and harder to recall names, dates—even where we put down our keys. Although we may fear the onset of Alzheimer's, chances are, our recollective powers have dulled simply because we're getting older—and our brains, like our bodies, are no longer in tip-top shape.
Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age

Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Mar 2007

Grey water was being used by more than half (55%) of all Australian households in 2007, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Grey water was the second most common source of water after mains/town water. Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of households using grey water, at 72% and 63% respectively.
Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Mar 2007

Try Honey for Children's Coughs

A teaspoon of honey before bed seems to calm children's coughs and help them sleep better, according to a new study that relied on parents' reports of their children's symptoms.
Try Honey for Children's Coughs

Feature: The 20 Best iPod Utilities

With a new generation of iPods on the market this holiday season, your reliable old iPod may not seem as shiny as it once did. But with the help of third party applications and utilities, you can unlock tons of useful functionality you never knew was there and revive that aging iPod so it doesn't look quite so bad next to its successors. Whether new or old, the following 20 iPod utilities can help you get the most from your iPod.
Feature: The 20 Best iPod Utilities

Google Reveals Fast-Growing Search Terms of 2007

Not to be confused with Google Zeitgeist’s year-end top searches, which has yet to be released, Google revealed today a list of the “fast rising U.S. search terms” for 2007. Marissa Mayer, VP of Search & User Experience at Google, made an appearance Tuesday morning at NBC’s “Today Show”, where she revealed, not surprisingly, that the “iPhone” was number one on the list. Within the past 24 hours, Google has also released year-end search trends for various countries throughout the world, including Australia.
Google Reveals Fast-Growing Search Terms of 2007

To My Great-Great-Grandchildren: Hows Your Climate?

Simon Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia, contributed one of the “100-Year Letters” over at DeSmogBlog.com that I mentioned in Science Times this week.
That project is one of various efforts to find more engaging ways to tell the climate story, which sprawls across time and geography and relates to every life decision, from turning off the lights to pulling a lever in a voting booth to choosing a vocation.
To My Great-Great-Grandchildren: Hows Your Climate?

Lose that belly boys, eat red meat

A new study conducted by Australia's Commonwealth Science and Inductrial Research Organization has found that overweight and obese men can strip inches off their waist-line and lose weight effectively and safely on a high protein red meat diet. In fact, a balanced red meat diet was found to be better for tightening the belt buckle than a balanced carb diet.
Lose that belly boys, eat red meat