UGR News. A study carried out by researchers from the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, found that 100% of Spaniards analyzed had at least one kind of persistent organic compound (POC´s), substances internationally classified as potentially harmful to one’s health, in their bodies. These substances enter the body trough food, water or even air. All of them tend to accumulate in human adipose tissue and easily enter into the organism through the aforementioned mediums.

The study, conceived by Juan Pedro Arrebola Moreno and directed by professors Piedad Martín Olmedo, Nicolás Olea Serrano and Mariana F. Fernández Cabrera, measured the contamination levels of some persistent organic compounds (POC’s) in a sample of the adult population from two areas, an urban one (Granada capital city) and a semi-rural one (Motril), and intended to find the determining factors associated with such levels: diet, lifestyle, activities or residence.

A total of 387 adults, from both sexes, were volunteers for surgeries in hospitals taking part in the study (Santa Ana de Motril and San Cecilio de Granada hospital). Once the volunteers had given consent, a sample of their human adipose tissue (fat) was taken during surgery and they answered a questionnaire about their place of residence, lifestyle, eating habits and activities throughout their life.

Read more --> 100% of people carry at least one type of pesticide from the air, water or food in their bodies

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With PowerDVD 6 users have comprehensive easy-to-use mouse and keyboard controls for enjoying DVDs. Two new features provide fun ways to enjoy audio: Audio Equalizer Presets adds atmospheric effects to movie or music playback, and Audio Pitch Scaling enhances music while playing Karaoke discs. Other features include: Parental Controls, Dual Subtitles, closed captioning support, angle switching, and Video Bookmarks, among many others.
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Expandability options including a Mobility Pack allowing road warriors save battery power while watching DVDs via a notebook, and MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) Pack for playing video files compressed using this next-generation DVD standard.
...and more!

Download it now --> CyberLink PowerDVD v7.0 Build 3613 Deluxe

The most full-featured Internet power tool on the market, Opera includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. And because we know that our users have different needs, you can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse.

Download it now --> Opera v9.50 Build 9721 Beta

1. First connect your iPod to your computer and fire up iTunes. Then make sure the box “enabling disk use” is ticked. This is extremely important otherwise you won’t be able to move any files on there. Then close down iTunes.

2. Download the program installation wizard and install. Make sure your iPod is still plugged into your computer as the program installation wizard will automatically detect your iPod presence and install everything directly there.

3. One important thing to remember during installation is that you will be asked if you want to make the Wikipedia your “default system” on your iPod. This means that when you switch on your iPod each time, do you want to see your music menu or the Wikipedia menu? I recommend you say no to making Wikipedia the default view.

4. When the installation is complete, eject your iPod from your computer.

5. Now is the time to see if the installation worked. You need to reboot your iPod which you achieve by holding down the play button and the menu button together at the same time for 5 seconds. You will then see the Apple logo which is the iPod re-booting. When you see the Apple logo, press down the re-wind button for 5 seconds and this kicks in the new Wikipedia section of your iPod.

6. If everything looks OK, you now need to download the huge 1.7 GB Wikipedia file. When it is downloaded, go to your iPod folder on your PC, specifically to “data\encyclopodia\library\” and place the file in there.

7. Again, eject and re-boot the iPod, use the rewind button to go to your Wikipedia section and see if the Wikipedia file works properly.

Read some extra pointers --> How to Install Wikipedia on Your iPod

Those MP3 and AAC files that you've ripped from your CD collection are still "unauthorized copies" in the eyes of the recording industry. In a brief filed late last week, the RIAA said that the MP3 files on a PC owned by a file-sharing defendant who had admitted to ripping them himself were "unauthorized copies."

Atlantic v. Howell is a bit unusual because the defendants, husband and wife Jeffrey and Pamela Howell, are defending themselves against the recording industry's lawsuit without the benefit of a lawyer. They were sued by the RIAA in August 2006 after an investigator from SafeNet discovered evidence of file-sharing over the KaZaA network.

The Howells have denied any copyright infringement on their part. In their response to the RIAA's lawsuit, they said that the MP3 files on their PC are and "always have been" for private use. "The files in question are for transfer to portable devices, that is legal for 'fair use,'" reads their response.

Read more --> RIAA: Those CD rips of yours are still "unauthorized"

Give me a second while I pick my jaw up from off the floor.

The photo above is from a raid in Mexico on the mansion of a very successful drug lord. They seized $205 million dollars in cash along with a bunch of drugs and guns.

Great Flying Spaghetti Monster!

You could get all Scrooge McDuck with that kind of money. At the very least I think I would have slept on it a night or two a week. Who ever said ‘Crime Doesn’t Pay’ obviously hasn’t seen the balance sheet of your average drug cartel.

Vote Now on the Top 25 Sexiest Female Athletes of 2007 --> Vote Now


These girls can out-run you, out-swim you; shut you down in a game of full-court b-ball, ski faster and jump higher than you ever will. They have physical prowess in their respective sport, and unlike 99% of the other girls in their league are incredibly nice to look at!

Without further ado, here are the Top 25 Sexiest Female Athletes of 2007. Check out each girl’s gallery and vote in the poll for your top choice.

Thanks to the holiday season, Xbox 360 worldwide sales have reached 17.7 million units. Last we heard about Xbox 360 sales was back in October when Microsoft reported they've sold 13.4 million units and its gaming division profited for the first time.

Microsoft also mentioned that Halo 3 has sold over 8.1 million copies since its September 25th debut and Mass Effect has sold over 1.6 million copies since its release on November 20th. We last heard about sales for the two games early last month, when it was reported that Halo 3 sold 5 million copies and Mass Effect reached over 1 million copies.

In addition to the two big titles, November NPD data reports that the Xbox 360 has a record-high software attach rate of 6.9.

Due to the surplus sales of the Xbox 360 this holiday, Xbox Live suffered from problems and inpromptu downtimes. But what do you expect for introducing waves of new Xbox 360s to Xbox Live every waking moment?

Source --> Xbox 360 sales hit 17.7M

Andrew Olmsted, who also posted here as G'Kar, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Andy gave me a post to publish in the event of his death; the last revisions to it were made in July.

Andy was a wonderful person: decent, honorable, generous, principled, courageous, sweet, and very funny. The world has a horrible hole in it that nothing can fill. I'm glad Andy -- generous as always -- wrote something for me to publish now, since I have no words at all. Beyond: Andy, I will miss you.

My thoughts are with his wife, his parents, and his brother and sister.

What follows is Andy's post: a bit here; the rest below the fold. [UPDATE: I'm adding links to Andy's last post at his Rocky Mountain News blogs, from about a week ago, where friends and family are expressing support in comments; to an article from yesterday that I believe is about his death; and to a post he wrote on his reasons for going to Iraq last June.

Source --> Top Military Blogger Dies In Iraq; Read His Final Post

Read his last post --> Military Blogger last post

Orbit Downloader is a great speed, super light,easy-to-use free download manager. It is based on p2p and multi-source downloading technology and supports HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, MMS and RTSP protocols. Using Orbit Downloader, you can almost download everything online with 500% faster speed, like youtube video, rapidshare files, flash and streaming media etc. Anyway, Orbit Downloader is an indispendsable tool for download acceleration and management.



Changes in Orbit Downloader V2.5.1 ( Jan 3,2008):
* Improvement: make Youtube video download more smoothly
* Change: retry times to 99 by default per download
* Fix: files can not be created when file names contain special characters
* Fix: a bug may cause downloaded file name error
* Fix: connections stalled in rare cases
* Fix: a bug may clear downloading and completed list in rare cases

Download it now --> Orbit Downloader 2.5.1

Now Me Personally i think McCain should not win for the simple fact the Bush has already sacrificed thousands of innocent lives to finish his fathers work as he has stated previously and heres the link to this statement: Bush's Statement

At a campaign stop in New Hampshire with booster Holy Joe Lieberman, Republican presidential contender John McCain shows that he has his finger on the pulse of the national mood (2/3 of New Hampshire citizens poll that they want the troops home now) by telling potential voters that he’d like to stay in Iraq for 100 years.

Q: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years — ” (cut off by McCain)

McCain: “Make it a hundred.”

Q: “Is that …” (cut off)

McCain: “We’ve been in South Korea … we’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea 50 years or so. That would be fine with me. As long as Americans …”

Q: [tries to say something]

McCain: “As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. That’s fine with me, I hope that would be fine with you, if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where Al Qaeda is training and equipping and recruiting and motivating people every single day.


Source --> John McCain: Let’s Stay In Iraq For “100 Years”!

Curtis James Jackson III, aka 50 Cent has been a drug dealer, he’s been shot, he’s a hugely successful artist - selling over 20 million albums - and he even has his own label, G-Unit Records.

Thirty minutes before getting up on stage at a club in Oslo, 50 Cent gave an interview with Pål Nordseth. Most of the interview was spent with him denying using cocaine on live TV in Zagreb.

Pål asked 50 Cent: “How are G-Unit Records doing in these times of file-sharing?

“Not so good.” he responded. “The advances in technology impacts everyone, and we all must adapt. Most of all hip-hop, a style of music dependent upon a youthful audience. This market consists of individuals embracing innovations faster than the fans of classical and jazz music.”

Read more --> 50 Cent: File-Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Artists, Industry Should Adapt

Will Smith is angry over celebrity gossip Web site articles that he said misinterpreted a recent remark he made in a Scottish newspaper about Adolf Hitler.

In a story published Saturday in the Daily Record, Smith was quoted saying: "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'let me do the most evil thing I can do today.' I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good.' "

The quote was preceded by the writer's observation: "Remarkably, Will believes everyone is basically good."

Over the weekend, dozens of celebrity gossip Web sites posted articles about the comment, many saying that Smith believed that Hitler was a "good" person.

"It is an awful and disgusting lie," Smith said in a statement Monday provided by his publicist. "It speaks to the dangerous power of an ignorant person with a pen. I am incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such ludicrous misinterpretation."

"Adolf Hitler was a vile, heinous vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet," read the statement.

Source --> Will Smith angry over Hitler comment interpretation

Oil has traded at $100 a barrel for the first time.

Violence in Nigeria, Algeria and Pakistan, the weak US dollar and the threat of cold weather have all raised prices after the new year break.

Light sweet crude rose $4.02 to $100 a barrel in New York, prompting a drop in shares and a surge in gold prices.

There are concerns that the high price of oil will stoke inflation at a time when many central banks are trying to cut interest rates to stimulate growth.

US shares had already been hit on Wednesday by figures showing that the manufacturing sector was contracting.

Read more --> Oil price at record $100 a barrel

Japanese paper Yomiuri is reporting that Panasonic will unveil a 150-inch plasma to show the world who has the biggest flatscreen manufacturing capability. That above is the photo of the now second-place 103-inch plasma as big as a queen-sized bed. (Sharp has the current title of biggest at 108-inches). If your mcmansion isn't big enough to fit it, don't even bother inquiring about the price.

Source --> Yomiuri

Hello,

Today we begin a new chapter in the history of phpBB. After five years, over 200,000 lines of new and altered code, and many a long night phpBB Group is very proud to announce the release of phpBB3 "Olympus".

phpBB has changed considerably since work on its second major release began. People have come and gone but this day would not have been reached without the hard work and dedication of all our group members, past and present. The phpBB community, all of you, also deserve a large pat on the back for continuing to support this project. Whether it be through writing mods, creating new themes, spreading the word or simply using phpBB to build new communities, our thanks to you too.

So again we say with great pride and many thanks to all those who've helped us reach this point - enjoy phpBB3.

Thank you.

Source --> phpBB3 Gold Released

1. Inspect your antifreeze while your engine is cold by using a tester to check the mixture for its freeze point. A 50/50 ratio means 50% distilled water and 50% antifreeze, which is sufficient in most climates, except in extreme cold.

2. Have your charging system checked for free at any Advance Auto Parts store. Cold weather starts make the vehicle battery work much harder and getting stranded in the cold is no fun!

3. Change your oil and oil filter. Clean, high quality engine oil goes a long way in protecting the motor in cold start situations. Use the oil recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

4. Visually inspect all lights; marker bulbs, tail lights, third level brake lights, especially headlights and driving lights. Daylight savings time requires bulbs to work longer hours.

5. Tire Tread condition; check it yourself, or have it checked. Winter driving requires good traction in snow and ice. Quality tire tread sheds the snow, ice and road grime more quickly, providing better traction for improved safety. Check your tire pressure regularly, especially in colder temperatures. Follow the recommended PSI found on the driver’s side door post for maximum traction.

6 Visibility is key to your safety; make sure that your wiper blades are in top condition, to fully clear your windshield, and back window if the vehicle is equipped. Road salt and slush can jeopardize visibility. Use washer fluid containing de-icer and Rain-X Treatment on windows to avoid the chiseling of ice early in the morning.

7. Inspect your engine’s belts and hoses. Cracked, frayed or worn out rubber won’t stand up to temperature extremes. Don’t get stranded on your next trip because of a $10.00 belt or hose!

8. Replace the Cabin Air Filter if the vehicle is equipped. Outside contaminants from Fall and Summer driving are stranded in the cabin air filter and running the heater on “high” in the extreme cold only sends the micro-particles deeper into the vehicle.

9. Protect your vehicle’s paint. Rain, snow and salt are extremely tough on paint. A tough coating of quality car wax will add another barrier in-between road grime and your vehicle’s paint.

10. Last but not least, prepare a roadside emergency kit including a flashlight with fresh batteries, a blanket, food bars, water bottles, cell phone, jumper cables, flares, Fix-a-Flat, HELP Sign, and a first aid kit.

1. Lower your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Increase your air conditioner thermostat by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in summer
3. Lower your thermostat by 2 degrees Fahrenheit in winter
4. Wash your clothes in cold water
5. Air dry your clothes during summer (and in winter in a sunlit room)
6. Turn off unneeded lights
7. Unplug the extra fridge in the garage
8. Insulate your hot water heater

Here are a few more, gleaned from other sources:

1. Wash dishes by hand rather than in the dishwasher (although some new dishwashers are more efficient)
2. Turn off and unplug unused appliances that have a stand-by function
3. Take shorter showers
4. Turn your thermostat down when you go out in winter
5. Turn your air conditioning thermostat up when you go out in summer
6. Turn your winter thermostat down when you go to bed (and use your winter-weight bedding)
7. Close your blinds/curtains to provide extra insulation
8. Turn the TV off when you’re not watching it

Happy saving (your cash and the planet)!

Source --> 16 Ways to Save Energy for Free

DIY Peg Mini-Gun - The best home videos are here

Very easy Do It Yourself peg mini-gun. It takes just few minutes to make. The average shooting range is about 5 meters. Do NOT shoot in living creatures!

A Brooklyn baby was mauled to death Thursday by his family's pet Doberman pinscher as the boy's grandmother looked on helplessly, police said.

Eight-month-old Andrew Stein was lying on a blanket on the living room floor of his family's Windsor Terrace apartment when the dog pounced and clamped its jaws around his tiny head, neighbors said.

Andrew's grandmother, who was baby-sitting, tried to get the dog, Maccabee, off the baby, but it wouldn't let go, neighbors said.

Read More --> Pet Doberman kills Brooklyn infant