MillionFace

About 17,000 of the state employees of Utah will be working 4 days a week with 10 hours per day. Does that sound great?

This is an experiment by the state of Utah to save utility costs of the office permises and the soaring gas costs for the employees. It’s an experiment which they’re doing. Will the rest of the states follow the suite? That is a good question. Better question will be: will Utah maintain it or revert to 5-day work-week after the experiment is over.

4-day work-week has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. It depends upon the person whose angle you’re looking it at from.

An employee working 10 hours per day for 4 days will most probably be happier, because he could spend more time with family, fun, etc (any non-work related stuff!).

A person whose business needs to be taken care of by the state employee may not like it, because for him now there are only four days to get the customer service. Think about only 4 days in the week to go to the social security office for whatever work you may have. The good thing is that the customer service could be for extended hours. Earlier it may have been from 8 am to 5 pm, now it could be from 8 am to 7 pm

Some may say that it will throw all your personal life into mess. There’s a saying: ‘work expands with time’. The notion of having one extra free day per week may not help you much. You get more chance to slag. Normally, you may go out (or not go out) and have fun for two full days and now you’ve 3 days to have fun, but you plan to rest for a day and have fun for the 2 remaining days

I don’t know, it just depends upon what kind of a person you are. If you can stand late hours in your office cube, then way to go. If you feel like jailed inside the office and the head droops after 4 pm, then …

It could happen that after a few days (or months) of working 10 hours a day, the workers try to squeeze it to 9.5 hours and then 9 hours and … you understand what I am saying [turn it into a 4 day, 8 hours work-week]!

Another bigger issue is the backlash. If the experiment is not successfully and/or economical for whatever reasons, there may be issues in reverting to a 5 day work-week; the ‘inertia factor’. Once the employees get used to working for 4 days, they would probably not want to go back to 5 days. Utah (or any other state who would also want to implement 4 days) should learn from the experience of some European countries where there’s already a 4-day work-week; and they’re trying to change it to 5 days but are facing a lot of resistance from the masses. Is Utah ready to face the tough brunt from the people (employees, etc) if the experiment does not go well? Only time can tell this.
Will other states follow Utah or not? Any opinions ???

He calls himself “The King of Bling”, Johnny Dang is Hip- Hop’s Crown Jeweler to the stars and no wonder he has come up with these custom designed Diamond Boxing Gloves. The base Price to own a pair just $20,500.00

Diamond Boxing Gloves can be customized in any colors and sizes (price may increase for other colors and/or size).

Product Information:
All Iced Out (Front and back) Diamond Boxing Gloves

Dimension
Approx: 3 inches high by 2.5 inches wide

Diamond Clarity
SI (approx: 45 cttw) 35 cttw of Black diamonds and 10 cttw of White.

Gold Type
10k (white, yellow or rose)
Approx: 70-80g

Prices for 18k, 22k and Platinum will depend on the market price when the order is placed.

Does Dolphin Kick really win races ?

Seemingly yes, Phelps has shown it when swimming freestyle he always stayed underwater longer than any of his competitors, but the question really is, did we learn it from Phelps or did he learn it from its history and perfect it, to take advantage of FINA’s rules governing the underwater portion of the race? so what’s all this sudden buzz about dolphin kick ?

IIT Kanpur alum and George Washington University researcher Rajat Mittal has spent the past five years studying Phelps and his dolphin kick - also known as the ‘Berkoff Blastoff’ after the Harvard backstroker who used it the first time at the Olympics 20 years ago.

It all began when Mittal, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, got involved in a US Navy project to study dolphins, thought to be the ultimate swimmers. ”We were asked to understand how fish swim so efficiently,” Mittal recalled in an interview Wednesday, ”and it seemed like a natural extension to apply this to human swimming.”

In collaboration with USA Swimming, Mittal and his colleagues began studying 50 American swimmers, eventually finding that of all of them, Phelps was able to use his body ”in a way that is very, very different from the other athletes…much closer to dolphins than we have seen for any other swimmer.”

And just how does he do that? Phelps is able to straighten his massive size 14 feet to a greater angle (about 15 degrees) than any other swimmer, to reduce resistance. ”Almost 90 percent of all the thrust is coming from the foot,” Mittal explained. ”And the flatter and bigger your foot is, you essentially have a bigger paddle. Michael’s foot size and the angle he generates with it plays a big role in his ability to swim very well.”

So never again laugh at someone with big, flat feet. There’s gold in them!

But foot-size isn’t the only reason behind the Phelps phenomenon. Studies show that his powerful lungs can hold out longer underwater than most swimmers, eliminating the splash and drag that would result if he surfaced early. ”If the body is moving on the surface, it creates waves,” Mittal explained. ”So if you can move underwater instead you can actually eliminate some resistance.”

The Harvard swimmer David Bergkoff figured this out first 20 years ago, using it effectively at the start and the turns to win four Olympic medals, even as other swimmers copied the technique. Swimming officials eventually imposed a limit of 15 meters underwater, a threshold Phelps exploits faster and better than anyone else.

So the crux of the story is if you want to haul gold like Michael Phelps, study Dolphins first and then Michael Phelps

Three things were always on the rise in India

Population: Over a Billion, second most populous country in the world
Cellphones: India is the world’s fastest-growing mobile telephone market with 270 million users according to the latest official figures, up 57 percent in just one year
AIDS:2.5 million people live with HIV in India.

High population density, low literacy levels and consequently low levels of awareness, has been the foremost reason for the most challenging public health problems ever faced in India. A country of over billion people out of which about 2.5 million people live with HIV in India.

To promote safe sex and tackle the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, BBC World Service Trust charity has come out with an innovative cellphone ringtone. The “condom a cappella” has been designed to break down Indians’ reluctance to discuss condom use and to make wearing a condom more acceptable.

The cellphone ringtone chants “condom, condom!”.It can be downloaded at condomcondom.org.

Organisers of the campaign, funded by the foundation set up by Microsoft mogul Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, hope the ringtone will become a craze among young Indians.

Radharani Mitra, creative director of the BBC World Service Trust has a great point “Ringtones have become such personal statements that a specially created condom ringtone seemed just the right way of combining a practical message with a fun approach,”

“The idea is to tackle the inhibitions and taboos that can be associated with condoms.”

Condom, Condom, Yes Papa

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Here is my hero Michael Phelps gracing the latest cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, posing with the record eight gold medals he won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The photo was inspired by former Olympic swimming champ Mark Spitz, who showed off the seven golds he won at the 1972 Munich Games. Besides Mark showing off one gold less he somehow had convinced the International Olympic Committee back then to give him his medals on gold chains

Meanwhile, Phelps is looking forward to taking some time off but has his eyes squarely set on the 2012 London Olympics, where he hopes to add to his current trove of 14 Olympic gold medals (he won six in at the 2004 Athens Games). In fact, Phelps will be traveling to London next week rather than stay in Beijing for the closing ceremonies.

“I am going to London to do the handover for the next Olympics and hopefully prepare myself the way I did for these Games and be ready to compete in London,” says Phelps. “There are some times I still want to hit before I retire, and I want to try some new events. That’s what’s keeping me going.”

Yeah, you seeing it right, “J-Lo” is finally making news after a long hibernation. Jennifer Lopez is training for the upcoming Nautica Malibu Triathlon. She is competing to raise money for Children’s Hospital of LA

Looking at the picture, she does look in shape and with the current plight of US athletes at the Beijing Olympics may be we can send her to 2012 London Olympics. Phew

I know I have been spending a little too much time on Micheal Phelps, but I just can’t seem to get over him, give me a week or so before his larger than life persona wanes from my subconscious self.

The ties between hip-hop music and competitive swimming at its highest level aren’t as tenuous as one might expect. But Michael Phelps has let it be known that he habitually listened to hip-hop while psyching himself up to race

Thirty years ago, after all, the original smash rap single, “Rapper’s Delight”, referenced water sports in the lyric, “After school I take a dip in the pool’.

According to a recent New York Times profile: “The music transforms him. His goofy grin dissolves into a glower, his eyes turn cold as ice. The hip-hop beats have a hypnotic effect on Phelps, who sometimes, after a race, is unable to recall the songs that locked him into his groove.”

Phelps has referenced the Miami-based rapper Rick Ross and New York’s preeminent hip-hop artist Jay-Z as two of the artists he prefers for motivation.Also Outkast, Young Jeezy and Lil’ Wayne are on heavy rotation on Phelps’ iPod as well.

The playlist that Phelps provided to Yahoo.com during his historic Olympic turn reads as follows.

1. “Overnight Celebrity” - Twista

2. “Burn” - Usher

3. “Roses” - Outkast

4. “Till I Collapse” - Eminem

5. “Smile” - G Unit

6. “A Milli” - Lil’ Wayne

7. “Hustlin” - Rick Ross

8. “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” - Jay-Z (featuring Lil Wayne)

9. “I Got What It Takes” - Young Jeezy

Once again, have fun Mike, enjoy that hip-hop music, texting with your buddies and wearing your cap backward

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?

Answer: “I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but  we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live  forever”

–Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA  contest. (On  September 17, 1994, Alabama’s Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss  America 1995.)

“Whenever  I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I  can’t help but cry. I mean I’d love to be skinny like that, but not  with all those flies and death and stuff.”
–Mariah Carey

“Smoking  kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very
important part of your  life,”
–Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal  anti-smoking campaign

“I’ve  never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body,”
–Winston Bennett, University  of Kentucky  basketball forward.

“Outside  of the killings, Washington  has one of the lowest crime rates in the country,”
–Mayor Marion Barry,  Washington,  DC.

“That  lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I’m  just the one to do it,”
–A  congressional candidate in Texas.

“Half  this game is ninety percent mental.”
–Philadelphia  Phillies manager, Danny Ozark

“It  isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in  our air and water that are doing it.”
–Al Gore,  Vice President

“I  love California.  I practically grew up in Phoenix.”
–Dan Quayle

“We’ve  got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need ?”
–Lee Iacocca

“The  word “genius” isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like  Norman  Einstein.” 
–Joe Theisman,  NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.

“We  don’t necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude
certain types of  people.”
–Colonel Gerald Wellman,  ROTC  Instrutor.

“Traditionally,  most of Australia’s imports come from overseas.”
–Keppel Enderbery

“Your  food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
–Department of Social Services, Greenville,  South  Carolina

“If  somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they  go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night.  And  the next morning, when they wake up dead, there’ll be a  record.”
–Mark S. Fowler,  FCC Chairman

10 TRUTHS BLACK AND HISPANIC PEOPLE KNOW, BUT WHITE PEOPLE WON’T ADMIT:

1. Elvis is dead.
2. Jesus was not white.
3. Rap music is here to stay.
4. Kissing your pet is not cute or clean.
5. Skinny does not equal sexy.
6. Thomas Jefferson had black children.
7. A 5 year old child is too big for a stroller.
8. N’SYNC will never hold a candle to the Jackson 5.
9. An occasional BUTT whooping helps a child stay in line.
10. Having your children curse you out in public is not normal.

10 TRUTHS WHITE AND BLACK PEOPLE KNOW, BUT HISPANIC PEOPLE WON’T ADMIT:

1. Hickey’s are not attractive.
2. Chicken is food, not a roommate.
3. Jesus is not a name for your son.
4. Your country’s flag is not a car decoration.
5. Maria is a name but not for every daughter.
6. “Jump out and run” is not in any insurance policies.
7. 10 people to a car is considered too many.
8. Buttoning just the top button of your shirt is a bad fashion statement.
9. Mami and Papi can’t possibly be the nickname of every person in your family.
10. Letting your children run wildly through the store is not normal.

10 TRUTHS WHITE AND HISPANIC PEOPLE KNOW, BUT BLACK PEOPLE WON’T ADMIT:

1. O.J. did it.
2. Tupac is dead.
3. Teeth should not be decorated.
4. Weddings should start on time.
5. Your pastor doesn’t know everything.
6. Jesse Jackson will never be President.
7. RED is not a Kool Aid flavor, it’s a color.
8. Church does not require expensive clothes.
9. Crown Royal bags are meant to be thrown away.
10. Your rims and sound system should not be worth more than your car.

A 27-year-old Egyptian woman has given birth to septuplets in the coastal city of Alexandria

Ghazala Khamis had to undergo a blood transfusion during her Caesarean section due to bleeding while delivering the babies.

The newborns, four boys and three girls, weigh between 3.2 pounds and 6.17 pounds and are in stable condition. They have been placed in incubators in four different hospitals that have special premature baby units.

Emad Darwish, director of the El-Shatbi Hospital said

“This is a very rare pregnancy — something I have never witnessed over my past 33 years in this profession told The Associated Press by phone from the hospital.

Darwish decided to carry out the Caesarean section at the end of Khamis’ eighth month of pregnancy due to the pressure on her kidneys.

The woman’s brother, Khamis Khamis, said even though his sister was trying to conceive more children so she could have a son, the family was astonished when they found out she would give birth to multiple babies.

Egypt’s health minister announced that the seven babies will receive free milk and diapers for two years.

I don’t know what is the the record for most record babies delivered at one go but this is the most I have read so far

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he’d told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan, 34, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. And all she had to cling to was her husband, Mark.

Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent again.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Susan, and fulfilled Mark’s need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task.

Soon, however, Mark realized the arrangement wasn’t working. Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile, so angry - how would she react? Just as he predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again.

“I’m blind!”, she responded bitterly. “How am I supposed to know where I am going? I feel like you’re abandoning me.”

Mark’s heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. He promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day.

He taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat.

Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus-riding companion, her husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, And his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday… Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt better. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying the fare to exit the bus, the driver said, “Boy, I sure do envy you.” Susan wasn’t sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year? Curious, she asked the driver, “Why do you say that you envy me?”

The driver responded, “It must feel good to be taken care of and protected like you are.” Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, and again asked, “What do you mean?”

The driver answered, “You know, every morning for the past week, a fine-looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you as you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches until you enter your office building.

Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady.” Tears of happiness poured down Susan’s cheeks. For although she couldn’t physically see him, she had always felt Mark’s presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn’t need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there is darkness.

Finally, the much awaited, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are marriage. In one of the biggest celebrity same-sex marriage since California legalized same-sex marriage, DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, wed Saturday night in an intimate ceremony at their Beverly Hills home.

Any guesses how the dog managed to break the pot !?