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maandag 8 december 2008

San Diego F 18 jet crash

(pic:wikipedia)

"When I first heard the noise, I thought it was a gunshot," said Costa, 54, who lives about two blocks from the crash site.

"I could see black smoke going up. Then we heard a secondary blast. Flames were shooting as high as the light pole," Costa told The Associated Press.

Costa's son Dean felt the house vibrate. He made his way close to the crash site and saw two houses on fire and several cars explode.

"It was just crazy," said Dean Costa, 22. "There was debris everywhere."

vrijdag 5 december 2008

PalmZ Micro Plane ->Geeky Christmas gifts!

Air battles at the office, anyone ?

Perform amazing aerobatics in your own living room with this miniature indoor aeroplane with a slow fly design feature for small indoor environment control.

The PalmZ is ready-to-fly straight out the box thanks to its single powerful micro motor and geared pusher prop. These are very easy to fly and because they are made of durable materials they can withstand even the most brutal crashes.



Wingspan approximately 8" and 7 1/4" long. Its two-channel super wide infra-red controller gives great manoeuvrability for flights of 5 minutes or more.

Easy and convenient recharging process to the built-in Li-Poly batteries through the transmitter in just 15 minutes. Small enough to hold in your hand, it is made from soft, lightweight polypropylene foam. Transmitter: 4 X AA size batteries required


-
This is the ultimate christmas present!

donderdag 27 november 2008

InLinks paid links service sparks debate

Chris Crum |
Staff Writer WebProNews

And the Gloves Come Off...

Quite a storm of debate has erupted over a new service called
InLinks - essentially a paid text link service that allegedly
makes it hard for Google (and other search engines) to detect them.
And mouths of Internet marketers begin to salivate.

The debate has basically turned into Matt Cutts vs. the "Yeah,
let's stick it to Google" crowd. .As far as I can tell, this
started with TechCrunch reporting on InLinks, which prompted Matt
Cutts to send them an email from which the following is a sample:

Google has been very clear that selling such links that pass
PageRank is a violation of our quality guidelines. Other search
engines have said similar things. The Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) has also given unambiguous guidance on this subject in the
recent PDF where
they said "Consumers who endorse and recommend products on their
blogs or other sites for consideration should do so within the
boundaries set forth in the FTC Guides Concerning Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and the FTC's
guidance on word of mouth marketing," as well as "To date, in
response to this concern, the FTC has advised that search engines
need to disclose clearly and conspicuously if the ranking or other
presentation of search results is a function of paid placement,
and, similarly, that consumers who are paid to engage in word-of-
mouth marketing must disclose that fact to recipients of their
messages.


From Inlinks :

Blogger Benefits



  • Ads that are easy on the eyes. Sell in content ads without the annoying pop up!


  • Predictable revenue. Get paid a flat rate per month per ad sold.


  • Full editorial control. Approve or deny ads as they are sold or allow us to control.


  • Blog friendly. Install our simple plugin and we take care of the rest. Just sit back and collect your monthly earnings.


_
Plugins are available for MovableType, Wordpress and Drupal

my opinion:
as long as it ain't down, it's up, Sparky.

dinsdag 25 november 2008

Spam@$200 a piece : Facebook

Friday, (21-11-08) federal Judge Jeremy Fogel awarded Facebook $873 million in damages against Adam Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital. According to the social network, it is the largest award ever under the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM).

According to Max Kelly, Facebook’s director of security, the company doesn’t expect to ever collect the money but believes it will be a powerful deterent to anyone who messes with the company or its users.




According to the complaint, Guerbuez sent more than 4 million spam messages to Facebook users between March and April. He allegedly did so by stealing Facebook users' logon details using phishing messages and through data obtained from third parties. He then allegedly bombarded Facebook users' message posting pages, or "walls," with messages from the hijacked accounts of spam recipients' Facebook friends.

The sleazy messages could be viewed by anyone viewing an affected Facebook profile, and appeared to be endorsed by the account owner and the friend who posted it.

"The spam promoted numerous products and Web sites that, on information and belief, are offensive and embarrassing," the complaint explains. "The products marketed by these spam messages included marijuana, male enhancement pills and sexually oriented material."

earthtimes.org

zondag 23 november 2008

Woops

I was programming a mini-site that spawns about 90.000 pages out of the blue, and to test it I put it on a subdomain on a server. I was just starting to normalize the database and program the functions layer, adding some MooTools Ajax stuff and it's starting to look good.

At some point I check the SeoQuake stats bar and I suddenly see "3 indexed pages" and I go "****". I used search engine friendly url rewrites with a domain database table tag as category but as my data is all test-data, half of the tags don't match so if GoogleBot decides to go for it, I get 90.000 screwed up pages full of old incorrect data in the Google index with the wrong urls.

Like /sex/news.google.com/

I don't think Google will appreciate that :) So I put the entire on Disallow in robots.txt, I heard that works. I hope so, otherwise I had better erase the subdomain.

dinsdag 18 november 2008

the Sarah Palin Doodles

TNR senior editor Noam Scheiber says :

Toward the end of our interview, Chase brought out a box of odds and ends she'd saved from that campaign and emptied it onto her kitchen table. Buried in the pile of material were various pictures, mailings, correspondences, newspaper clippings--and this page of doodling. Chase didn't remember a ton about it, but did tell me it had been written on the back of a budget document, which (she seemed to think) had been distributed at a Wasilla city council meeting.




Chase is the person who gave me the doodle sheet and she had this to say about its origins:

That [the doodles] was the first document she [Palin] gave me when she first came over and talked to me about managing her campaign. She wanted me to turn it into a poster. It was like, "Uh-uh. This is like a circus ad." There was so much in it. What I did was sit down with her and I pulled out different components. And we--I told her we needed to brainstorm the total campaign. We needed a slogan, we needed to devise the look, the image. We needed all of that information. We sat down and started talking from that point. That’s where we came up with "energetic, positive, determined." I developed actually a few different types of pieces. I would take, for example, "You would be my boss" and we'd have a postcard. Essentially, this [the doodles] is all she had. She walked over, handed it to me ... a "flyer" was what she called it. It was like: "Uh-uh. No way. It wouldn’t be effective."


Chase then e-mailed Noam Scheiber later in the night--after some more digging--to append the following:

There were two initial documents--Sarah's draft flyer layout [the doodles] and this two page document--that Sarah brought over to me when I agreed to work on her campaign.

source : The New Republic

maandag 17 november 2008

Earthquake rocks San Diego, Palomar

A M4.1 earthquake occurred at 4:35AM this morning, located 10 miles north of the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. This event was felt by those near the epicentral region, and as far away as Orange County to the north, Riverside/San Bernardino Counties to the north and northeast, and San Diego to the south.






A microearthquake (magnitude 1.0) freaked me out 4:40 AM today. I was peacefully asleep until I heard a few seconds of rumble as loud as an airplane (like the passenger planes taking off that is heard inside an airport). Then immediately afterwards my bed shook once from the left side to right. David thought that something heavy brushed up against the house, but I thought it was more like an airplane crash that hit our street and vibrated the ground.


Read more on tracy-miller.blogspot.com : earthquake in san diego county



wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov

From: NOAA/NWS/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
Subject: Tsunami Information Statement issued 11/17/2008 at 4:38AM PST

At 4:36 AM Pacific Standard Time on November 17, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 4.2 occurred 55 miles/89 Km northeast of San Diego, California.

The magnitude is such that a tsunami WILL NOT be generated. This will be the only WCATWC message issued for this event.

The location and magnitude are based on preliminary information. Further information will be issued by the United States Geological Survey or the appropriate regional seismic network.

zaterdag 15 november 2008

deCODE me retail dna test

Never before has it been so easy to learn how scientific knowledge about ancestry, disease risk and the inheritance of physical traits applies to you and your genome. Your guide on this journey is deCODE genetics, one of the most trusted names in human gene discovery.

deCODE.me



For about $1000, deCODE will scan my genome for genetic markers linked to such killers as heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer and Alzheimer’s. All that’s required is for me to order a kit, swab the inside of my cheek, drop the swab into the mail, wait a few weeks and then log on to decodeme.com to view my results.
deCODEyou.com


NBC Nightly News on deCODE genetics





Dr. Robert Superko - How a deCODE genetic test helped




from the deCode blog :

your health, genetics and genetic tests



With a simple swab from the inside of your cheek, deCODE genetics can scan your DNA, map your markers and assess your risk of developing 29 common diseases. Edward Weinman, self-described hypochondriac, wonders if he should look too closely at his possible future.


...and what do clients say ?
But is it really a good idea for a hypochondriac like myself to know my own DNA? What if I discover that I have a high risk of heart disease? Will I soon be hauling myself off to the ER complaining of chest pains? Until recently, my view is that it would have been better to live and hope for the best rather than discover I have a high probability of developing a fatal condition. Ignorance is bliss.

...I exercise like a banshee. However, despite all the hours logged in the gym, I’ve taken more than one trip to the ER because of chest pains. I’ve had EKGs, stress tests, even a CT angiogram which all revealed that my heart was strong. The cause of my chest pains: stomach ulcers and, later, anxiety. But that helpless feeling of lying in the ER as doctors connect EKG leads to my chest sometimes returns. I worry about my health more than most 41-year-olds. So maybe a genetic test is exactly what I need to put my mind at rest.

Yes, I want to arm myself with as much information as possible in order to fight what might be coming, or at least prepare for what might await me on the horizon."




Q: how about a cure for the common cold ?

vrijdag 14 november 2008

23 and me - frequently asked questions


1. What is 23andMe?







23andMe is a web-based service that helps customers read and understand their DNA. Customers submit a small saliva sample that is processed using a custom DNA chip. The resulting data is then presented on a secure website using interactive tools that offer information about ancestry, inherited traits and disease risk.

2. How much does it cost?



$399 per person, plus shipping and handling.

3. Can I order it for my family?



Yes. You can order as many kits as you need for your family to the same shipping address.

4. What countries do you ship to?



The United States, Canada and most countries in Europe.



5. How can I give the Personal Genome Service as a gift?



Simply enter your credit card and billing information in our online store, but list the shipping address of your gift recipient(s). You will need to provide names of all the people to whom you wish to give genotyping services. Each saliva collection kit that we ship will be clearly labeled with the name of the person for whom it is designated. Detailed instructions regarding the sample collection process and 23andMe account creation will be included, along with consent forms that must be read and signed by each customer.

What information will other users see when I share with them?



When you invite another 23andMe user to share profiles, you will be able to compare yourself with them using some of our features but not others. Sharing is two-way, so you and the other user will both be able to see the same information in each other's accounts. When inviting someone to share, you can choose between two levels as described below:

Basic Sharing:

  • Compare your genetic similarities in Genetic Comparisons under Genome Labs.

  • See each other's haplogroups in Maternal & Paternal Ancestry.

  • Trace your genes with family members in Family Inheritance under Ancestry.

  • Compare your similarities to the populations in Global Similarity under Ancestry.

  • See each other's patterns of chromosome origins in Ancestry Painting.



Extended Sharing:

  • Everything in the Basic Sharing level, plus...

  • Compare your data in most Health and Traits topics



You will not, in either level, be able to:

  • Search the other person's raw data.

  • Download the other person's raw data.

  • Share your data or see the other person's data in opt-in Health and Traits topics such as Parkinson's Disease.




How does genome sharing work?



If you've been genotyped through our service, you can share your genome with other 23andMe users and compare yourself with them using our various features.

To share with someone, simply ask them for their 23andMe username. If they have chosen to make themselves searchable on 23andMe, you can also search for them by name or e-mail address. Then invite them using the "Share Your Genome" button on the Genome Sharing page, and they will get an e-mail prompting them to log in to their account to accept the invitation. Either party can stop sharing at any time by clicking on the "Stop Sharing" link. If you do not wish to receive invitations from other users, set the Privacy Option on your Account Settings page.

You can share with other users at different levels, which are explained here.

As with any online account, please remember that the person with whom you are sharing may provide access to their account to other people. For example, if you share with a friend, their spouse may also have access to the account and would be able to see your genome.

Also note that 23andMe cannot verify that customer-chosen usernames represent actual identities. Before sharing, you may want to independently verify that you are sharing with the person you intended, for example by calling them on the phone.

Can I use the saliva collection kit for infants and toddlers?



The saliva kit 23andme provide for participation in their service is not optimized for children under three years of age. If you are purchasing a kit for an infant or toddler, it may be difficult to obtain the required amount of saliva.


Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is U.S. federal legislation that protects Americans from discrimination (in health insurance and employment decisions) on the basis of genetic information. It was signed into law this year, May, 2008 by President Bush.



Click here
for more information on 23 and me

donderdag 13 november 2008

Celente predicts riots and US revolution

Celente of Trends Research Institute, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as “The Panic of 2008


We are going to see economic times the likes of which no living person has seen





“We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.

“America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” said Celente, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.

There will be a revolution in this country,” he said. “It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen.

The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.

It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.

We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension.”





my opinion :

Some would love for America to collapse, the Americans are facing a decade of tedious (credit-card) payments. Proclaim a revolution, pretend you're a completely new country and the debts are not yours at all and have your hysteric revolution. Weasels are us.

woensdag 12 november 2008

One Flu over the Google's nest

After the anthrax-scare, Google-Flu

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), has announced grants of more than $14 million to support partners working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.

Google.org's Predict and Prevent initiative is supporting efforts to identify hot spots where diseases may emerge, detect new pathogens circulating in animal and human populations, and respond to outbreaks before they become global crises. Several new lethal infectious diseases crop up every year. Examples include the well-known killers, HIV/AIDS, bird flu, and SARS, as well as drug-resistant strains of ancient scourges malaria and tuberculosis. Three-quarters of new diseases are zoonoses, meaning they've jumped from animals to humans.

"Business as usual won't prevent the next AIDS or SARS. The teams we're funding today are on the frontiers of digital and genetic early detection technology. We hope that their work, with partners across environmental, animal, and human health boundaries, will help solve centuries-old problems and save millions of lives," said Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org.

Mountain View, Calif. (October 21, 2008)


Flu Trends



By tracking the popularity of certain Google search queries, our engineers have discovered that we can accurately estimate the level of flu in each state, in near real time. Today Google.org launched a tool, Flu Trends, that makes this information accessible to all.

While traditional flu tracking systems take 1-2 weeks to collect and release data, Google search queries can be automatically counted immediately. During the last flu season, we shared our preliminary results with the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the Influenza Division at CDC, and together we saw that our search-based flu estimates had a consistently strong correlation with real CDC flu data.

Flu affects millions, and kills hundreds of thousands every year. Early detection is critical to helping health officials respond more quickly and save lives. Flu Trends can help serve as an early-warning system for outbreaks of influenza.

November 11, 2008

To learn more, check out the Official Google Blog and www.google.org/flutrends.

Flu Preparedness Checklist

Flu Preparedness Checklist

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), CDC, and health experts ask
individuals to stock up on foods and other necessities, improve health, and plan ahead for how they will care for themselves and family members during a flu pandemic.

Stock Up:
Store nonperishable foods, bottled water, over-the-counter drugs, health supplies, and other necessities.HHS recommends having a 2-week supply, but stocking up can take place over time. These supplies can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages.

Items to have on hand for an extended stay at home: (For additional ideas and suggestions, consult your local
Red Cross chapter).

Examples of food and nonperishables


  • Ready-to-eat canned meats, fish, fruits, vegetables,
    beans, and soups

  • Protein or fruit bars
  • Dry cereal or granola

  • Peanut butter or nuts

  • Dried fruit

  • Crackers

  • Canned juices

  • Bottled water

  • Canned or jarred baby food and formula

  • Pet food

  • Other nonperishable foods



Examples of medical, health, and emergency supplies

  • Prescribed medical supplies, such as glucose and
    blood-pressure monitoring equipment

  • Soap and water, or alcohol-based (60%–95%) hand
    wash

  • Medicines for fever, such as acetaminophen or
    ibuprofen

  • Thermometer

  • Antidiarrheal medication

  • Vitamins

  • Fluids with electrolytes

  • Cleansing agent/soap

  • Flashlight

  • Batteries

  • Portable radio

  • Manual can opener

The Flu : A Guide for your childrens parents

What is the flu?
The flu (influenza) is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs that is caused by influenza virus. The flu can spread from person to person. Most people with flu are sick for about a week, but then feel better. However, some people (especially young children, pregnant women, older people, and people with chronic health problems) can get very sick and some can die.

What are the symptoms of the flu?
Most people with the flu feel tired and have fever (usually high), headache, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and sore muscles. Some people, especially children, may also have stomach problems and diarrhea. Cough can last two or more weeks.

How does the flu spread?
People that have the flu usually cough, sneeze, and have a runny nose. This makes droplets with virus in them. Other people can get the flu by breathing in these droplets, getting them in their nose or mouth, or touching contaminated surfaces.

How long can a sick person spread the flu to others?
Healthy adults may be able to spread the flu from 1 day before getting sick to up to 5 days after getting sick. This can be longer in children and in people who don’t fight disease as well (people with weakened immune systems).

How can I protect my child from the flu?
A flu vaccine is the best way to protect against the flu. CDC recommends that all children from the ages of 6 months up to their 19th birthday get a flu vaccine every fall or winter (children getting a vaccine for the first time need two doses).
Flu shots can be given to children 6 months and older.
A nasal-spray vaccine can be given to healthy children 2 years and older (children under 5 years old who have had wheezing in the past year or any child with chronic health problems should get the flu shot).
You can protect your child by getting a flu vaccine for yourself too. Also encourage your child’s close contacts to get a flu vaccine. This is very important if your child is younger than 5 or has a chronic health problem like asthma (breathing disease) or diabetes (high blood sugar levels).


Is there medicine to treat the flu?

There are antiviral drugs for children 1 year and older that can make your child feel better and get better sooner. But these drugs need to be approved by a doctor. They should be started during the first 2 days that your child is sick for them to work best. Your doctor can discuss with you if these drugs are right for your child.


What Can YOU Do?


How else can I protect my child against flu?


Take time to get a flu vaccine and get your child vaccinated too.
Take everyday steps to prevent the spread of germs. This includes:


  • Clean your hands often and cover your coughs and sneezes

  • Tell your child to:


    • Stay away from people who are sick

    • Clean hands often

    • Keep hands away from face

    • Cover coughs and sneezes to protect others (it’s best to use a tissue).



What should I use for hand cleaning?
Washing hands with soap and water (for as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice) will help protect your child from many different germs. When soap and water are not available, wipes or gels with alcohol in them can be used (the gels should be rubbed into your hands until they are dry).

What can I do if my child gets sick?
Consult your doctor and make sure your child gets plenty of rest and drinks a lot of fluids. If your child is older than 2 years, you can buy medicine (over-the-counter) without a prescription that might make your child feel better. Be careful with these medicines and follow the instructions on the package. But never give aspirin or medicine that has aspirin in it to children or teenagers who may have the flu.


    What if my child seems very sick?
    Call or take your child to a doctor right away if your child:

    • has a high fever or fever that lasts a long time

    • has trouble breathing or breathes fast

    • has skin that looks blue

    • is not drinking enough

    • seems confused, will not wake up, does not want to be held, or has seizures (uncontrolled shaking)

    • gets better but then worse again

    • has other conditions (like heart or lung disease, diabetes) that get worse


    Can my child go to school if he or she is sick?
    No. Your child should stay home to rest and to avoid giving the flu to other children.


    Should my child go to school if other children are sick?

    It is not unusual for some children in school to get sick during the winter months. If many children get sick, it is up to you to decide whether to send your child to school. You might want to check with your doctor, especially if your child has other health problems.

    When can my child go back to school after having the flu?

    Keep your child home from school until his or her temperature has been normal for 24 hours. Remind your child to cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing, to protect others (you may want to send some tissue and wipes or gels with alcohol in them to school with your child).

    Influenza usually starts suddenly and may include the following symptoms:


    • Fever (usually high)

    • Headache

    • Tiredness

    • Cough

    • Sore throat

    • Runny or stuffy nose

    • Body aches

    • Diarrhea and vomiting



    Having these symptoms does not always mean that you have the flu. Many different illnesses, including the common cold, can have similar symptoms.

    Diagnosing the Flu

    It is very difficult to distinguish the flu from other infections on the basis of symptoms alone. A doctor's exam may be needed to tell whether you have developed the flu or a complication of the flu. There are tests that can determine if you have the flu as long you are tested within the first 2 or 3 days of illness.

    If you develop flu-like symptoms and are concerned about your illness, especially if are at high risk for complications of the flu, you should consult your healthcare provider. Those at high risk for complications include people 65 years or older, people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), pregnant women, and young children.


    Know the Risks from the Flu


    In some people, the flu can cause serious complications, including bacterial pneumonia, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes. Children and adults may develop sinus problems and ear infections.

    People May Have Different Reactions to the Flu

    The flu can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to death. Although most healthy people recover from the flu without complications, some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), are at high risk for serious complications from the flu.

    Know How the Flu Spreads

    The flu usually spreads from person to person in respiratory droplets when people who are infected cough or sneeze. People occasionally may become infected by touching something with influenza virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes.

    Healthy adults may be able to infect others 1 day before getting symptoms and up to 5 days after getting sick. Therefore, it is possible to give someone the flu before you know you are sick as well as while you are sick.


    Best Protection against the Flu: Vaccination


    The single best way to protect yourself and others against influenza is to get a flu vaccination each year. Two kinds of flu vaccine are available in the United States:

  • The "flu shot" — an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease).

  • The nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “live attenuated influenza vaccine” or FluMist®). LAIV (FluMist®) is approved for use in healthy* people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant.


Yearly flu vaccination should begin in September or as soon as vaccine is available and continue throughout the influenza season, into December, January, and beyond. This is because the timing and duration of influenza seasons vary. While influenza outbreaks can happen as early as October, most of the time influenza activity peaks in January or later.
Related Information

Antiviral drugs are available to treat and prevent the flu. For more about treating the flu with antiviral drugs, see Influenza Antiviral Drugs.

Antiviral Drugs for Seasonal Flu



What are flu antiviral drugs?


Flu antiviral drugs are drugs that decrease the ability of flu viruses to reproduce. While getting a flu vaccine each year is the best way to protect you from the flu, antiviral drugs can be used as a second line of defense to treat the flu or to prevent flu infection.

What are the treatment benefits of flu antiviral drugs?


For treatment, antiviral drugs should be started within 2 days after becoming sick. When used this way, these drugs can reduce the severity of flu symptoms and shorten the time you are sick by 1 or 2 days. They also may make you less contagious to other people.


How effective are antiviral drugs at preventing the flu?


When used to prevent the flu, antiviral drugs are about 70% to 90% effective. It’s important to remember that flu antiviral drugs are not a substitute for getting a flu vaccine.

What flu antiviral drugs does CDC recommend for use in the United States for the 2008-09 season?

CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend that oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu®) or zanamavir (brand name Relenza®) should be used for the treatment and prevention of flu in the United States this season. Although amantadine and rimantadine (two other influenza antiviral drugs) also are FDA-approved for treatment or prevention of influenza, these two drugs are NOT recommended for use in the United States during the 2008-09 flu season because recent flu viruses are resistant to these drugs. When viruses are resistant to drugs, the drugs don’t work or don’t work as well.


Who should take antiviral drugs for flu?


CDC has provided guidelines for health care professionals on the use of antiviral drugs (see Information for Health Care Professionals: Using Antiviral Agents for Seasonal Influenza). In general, antiviral drugs can be offered to anyone who wants to avoid and/or treat the flu, people who are at high risk of serious flu-related complications may benefit most from these drugs. Also, close contacts of people with the flu who are at high risk of serious flu-related complications may benefit from antiviral drugs to protect them from getting sick.

How can I get an antiviral drug for flu?

Antiviral drugs must be prescribed by a health care professional.

How long should antiviral drugs be taken?

The length of time antiviral drugs should be taken depends on how they are being used. To prevent flu, antiviral drugs should be taken for as long as flu viruses are circulating in a given setting. To treat flu, oseltamivir and zanamivir are taken for 5 days. See Treatment & Prevention: Influenza Antiviral Drugs for more information.

What side effects can occur with flu antiviral drugs?

Side effects differ for each drug. If an antiviral drug has been prescribed for you, ask your doctor to explain how to use the drug and any possible side effects. Health care professionals prescribing flu antiviral drugs should alert patients about adverse events that can occur. For more information about side effects, see Antiviral Drugs: Summary of Side Effects.


Can flu antiviral drugs help with other illnesses such as the common cold?


No. Flu antiviral drugs only work against flu viruses. They will not help reduce symptoms from the common cold or any other flu-like illnesses caused by viruses other than flu viruses. Many other viruses cause winter illnesses besides the flu.

Can people who are not in a high-risk group receive antiviral drugs?

Yes. Consult with your doctor to determine if you should take antiviral drugs this season.

Can antiviral drugs be helpful for people unable to take the flu vaccine?

Yes. CDC and ACIP recommend use of antiviral drugs for people allergic to eggs (which can cause them to have an allergic reaction to the vaccine) or for people who previously have encountered complications from Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) associated with influenza vaccination. In addition, taking antiviral drugs may be recommended among persons that may not have a good immune response to the flu vaccine.

Should people use antiviral drugs before or after receiving the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) called FluMist®?


LAIV is one of two types of flu vaccine. It is given as a nasal spray and contains weakened, live virus. Flu antiviral drugs taken from 48 hours before through 2 weeks after getting LAIV can lower or prevent the vaccinated person from responding to the vaccine and the person may not get immune protection from the vaccine.

Antiviral drugs can be taken with the inactivated (i.e. killed) flu vaccine.

Can antiviral drugs be given even if a person is not tested for flu or if a flu test does not indicate that they have influenza?

Yes. For individual patients, influenza testing is not required for antiviral drugs to be prescribed. Testing is done based on health care provider recommendations.

Tests are available that can test for flu viruses in as little as 30 minutes or less. Flu testing can be used to rapidly confirm the flu as the cause of outbreaks. However, results from these rapid tests are not 100% accurate; the test may indicate that a person does not have influenza even though they really do have the flu. So, other information in addition to influenza test results, if done, need to be factored into decisions about using antiviral drugs. One consideration will be information about influenza circulating in the community in general.
What are Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) and Relenza® (zanamivir)?

Tamiflu® and Relenza® are chemically related antiviral drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors that fight against both influenza A and B viruses.

Oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu ®) is approved to both treat and prevent flu in people one year of age and older.

Zanamivir (brand name Relenza ®) is approved to treat flu in people 7 years and older and to prevent flu in people 5 years and older.

What are the possible side effects of Tamiflu® (oseltamivir)?

Tamiflu® has been in use since 1999. The most common side effects are nausea and vomiting which usually happen in the first 2 days of treatment. Taking Tamiflu® with food can reduce the chance of getting these side effects. On November 13, 2006, a new precaution about Tamiflu® was added. The precaution warns that people with the flu, mostly children, may be at an increased risk of self-injury and confusion shortly after taking Tamiflu® and should be closely monitored for signs of unusual behavior. This precaution was added after the FDA received post marketing reports (mostly from Japan) about persons (primarily among children and adolescents) who had purposefully injured themselves or been delirious while using Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) to treat influenza. The reports appear to be uncommon. For more information, visit the Food & Drug Administration's MedWatch page.

What should be done if complications while taking Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) occur?

Contact a health care professional immediately if someone taking Tamiflu® shows any signs of unusual behavior.

What are the possible side effects of Relenza® (zanamivir)?

Relenza® has been in use since 1999. The most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, sinusitis, runny or stuffy nose, bronchitis, cough, headache, dizziness, and ear, nose and throat infections. Some persons, mostly those who already had a chronic lung disease such as asthma, have reported serious breathing problems such as wheezing or shortness of breath after taking Relenza® (zanamivir). In rare cases, people have had an allergic reaction to the drug, including rashes and edema (a build up of fluid in body-tissue) of the face and throat.


Who is at risk for complications from Relenza® (zanamivir)?


Persons with chronic lung diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are not recommended to use Relenza® (zanamivir), as some patients have reported difficulty breathing after inhaling the drug.

What should be done if complications while taking Relenza® (zanamivir) occur?

If you have side effects while taking Relenza® (zanamivir) talk to your health care provider immediately.


Can influenza antiviral drugs be used in pregnant women?


Oseltamivir and zanamivir are both "Pregnancy Category C" medications, indicating that no studies have been conducted to assess the safety of these drugs for pregnant women. Because of the unknown effects of these drugs on pregnant women and their unborn children, these two drugs should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the unborn child. Physicians considering using one of these drugs in a pregnant woman should consult that drug package insert.

Transmit Now gigs agenda

Transmit now Live






Download Transmit Now EP at eMusic
or visit Transmit Now at Myspace.

upcoming gigs





























































































12.nov.200820:00

The Loud House Selma, Alabama








13.nov.2008 20:00


High Note/Rock-N-Horse Birmingham, Alabama









14.nov.2008 20:00

Murphy’s Memphis, Tennessee









15.nov.2008 20:00

The Coup Clarksville, Tennessee









18.nov.2008 22:00

SoHo Bar and Grill Columbus, Georgia









20.nov.2008 22:00

Cadillac II Warner Robins, Georgia









21.nov.2008 21:00

The Social Orlando, Florida









06.dec.2008 13:00

The Buzz Bake Sale w/ Anberlin, Avenged Sevenfold, and More! West Palm Beach, Florida









10.dec.2008 20:00

Lake Wood Bar and Grill Dallas, Texas









11.dec.2008 20:00

Red 7 Austin, Texas









12.dec.2008 20:00

Foozies Houston, Texas









09.jan.2009 20:00

Thrillz Palm Coast









14.feb.2009 19:45

PK Yonge Performing Arts Center Gainesville, Florida




Transmit now Ep Review :



Produced and Mixed by Pete Thornton (Paramore, Shinedown, Between the Trees) with additional production by Brooks Paschal, former vocalist for Tooth n Nail act Sullivan, Transmit Now’s debut EP screams out of the speakers, lodging itself firmly in your eardrums with in your face drums, soaring guitar leads and hooks, hooks and more hooks!

Transmit Now's debut EP may seem as though it has risen from obscurity to prominence overnight! However rest assured the songs that make up their debut EP have been retooled and re-crafted over the years to form a perfect blend of Alternative Pop Rock.

The ability to attract such a hot shot production team like Thornton and Paschal speaks volumes of the bands songwriting ability, and with the solid 'Thumbs Up' from radio Program Directors across the country and their recent feature on the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, as cliche as it may sound... The sky is the limit for Transmit Now!

Track listing : Transmit Now EP [2008]:

  • 01.Wish You Well

  • 02.Everything's Alright

  • 03.Tarantism (Let's Go Out Tonight)

  • 04.She Likes It

  • 05.Looking Up

Christmas Present Geek Zombies

An alternative Christmas present the Geeks came up with :

What happens when you take old broken plush toys and bury them in the woods by the light of the full moon while whistling the theme song from "Halloween"? Keep your teddy bears under close guard tonight because undead plush have come back from hell to walk the earth.


Cuddle-Up with the UnDead



The Dismember-Me Plush Zombie begs to be torn limb from limb. After all he is a decaying re-animated corpse turned into irresistible cuddly plush. Rip off an arm... he doesn't mind. Tear him in half.. he'll barely notice. Pull off his legs... Steal his brain... now you've really done it.



Product Features

  • Plush Zombie can be ripped apart in various ways

  • All limbs and head are removable and interchangeable

  • Torso can be pulled apart to reveal intestines

  • Zombie holds a tiny plush brain snack in his right hand

  • 12" in Length

  • Exclusive product designed and manufactured by ThinkGeek

  • Choking Hazard - Small Parts. Not suitable for Children under 3 years. This is an Adult toy.



Price: $12.99

dinsdag 11 november 2008

An ocean of glass

It is truly amazing that the meticulous work of a father/son team, more than 150 years ago, can still appear to be contemporary. Someone who has never heard of these perfect 19th century models of glass could easily be fooled into thinking that they are modern solutions for the sea-life displays of museums. I certainly was, and I couldn’t be happier to realize that surprises can still await me at one of Curious Expeditions’ favorite places in the world, a natural history museum.

Leopold Blaschka was fascinated with the popular new field of natural history, and took this fascination to his glassmaking studio. With an illustrated natural history book by his side, he began to fashion delicate models of flowers out of glass. These first models were so extraordinarily beautiful and unique, they quickly developed a reputation, and Leopold began to receive commissions. His first commission was 100 glass models of an aristocrat’s orchid collection.

It was around this time that natural history museums truly began to bloom all over the world. And thus began a long career of making models of the difficult to taxidermy sea-life for museums. Eventually, Leopold’s son, Rudolf, joined him in the workshop, where they worked together without assistants.

At first, the sea-life was modeled on illustrations and memories of seeing the creatures in the wild, but as the pair became wealthier, they were able to work from live specimens, kept in an aquarium in their home. The catalogue of their work consists of over 700 pieces.

the ocean of glass flickr photos are stunning

maandag 10 november 2008

The Stanford Caterpillar Epidemic Ate My Black Hat

Damnedest thing happened, I left my hat somewhere and I went to check out in Google what had became of it, Google gets you anything you want these days, whatever you're looking for. Appears someone put on that black hat, and it ended up in America, the folk there were having a Caterpillar Epidemic, and them beasties ate it.

Big holes in it, you could see straight through it. Don't believe it ? They got pictures on Flickr of the caterpillar beasties, real fat ones of the Stanford Caterpillar Epidemic (a historic epidemic over at Stanford, they're still writing about it).

I honestly don't what makes that caterpillar likes that black hat so much, but apparently they do. Them professors, with all them years of experience with the caterpillar, even published a number of authoritative pieces on the stanford caterpillar epidemic. They might know why that caterpillar likes black hats.

Anyways, I told 'em to get me a new one, now usually them students are poor but over there at Stanford they have Citibank who give them students at Stanford cheap loans, they got money enough. Now first they bought me a black cat, "a " ? I said, "black HAT". Goes to show, you can buy anything there. So thanks to Google and Citibank, I now got a Caterpillar proof Stanford black hat. Damnedest thing, I tell you.

donderdag 30 oktober 2008

medical+geography


Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze!: Oxford's Guide to Buying ...

The photo atlas was a great introduction but as I became more serious about geography I needed a more complex atlas. With many atlases out there sorting through all them was a bit of a hassle. I was notified by Oxford University Press ...
Geographic Travels with Catholicgauze!: Oxford's Guide to Buying ... (catholicgauze.blogspot.com)


Doctor and Patient: Medical Student Burnout and the Challenge to ...

Doctor and Patient: Medical Student Burnout and the Challenge to Patient Care. 10.30.08 @ Health. Students, just like doctors, need to take care of themselves in order to take care of patients. (…) ...
Doctor and Patient: Medical Student Burnout and the Challenge to ... (feedme.blogsite.org)


News : Comedian Is a Serious Contender : AMERICAS : Sensations ...

Chairman Bill Gates has awarded 104 grants, each for $100000, in a bid to inject entrepreneurial boldness and risk-taking into the often staid world of medical research. News source: www.washingtonpost.com Geography: Americas Category: ...
News : Comedian Is a Serious Contender : AMERICAS : Sensations ... (news-rten.tis-www.com.ua)

woensdag 29 oktober 2008

Fanlistings

What Is TheFanlistings.org (TFL)



TheFanlistings.org is a web directory OF fanlistings. They were the first web community (opened in 2000), and are also the largest (nearing 50,000 fanlistings). While sharing the fanlisting concept with other communities, TheFanlistings.org are proud to hold these two titles.

TheFanlistings.org aren't 'officially sponsored' in any way, so fanlistings listed there aren't the 'official' fanlisting of a subject. Their site is not a business - their directory is updated and run by volunteers.

How Do You Get Started?



If you want to join fanlistings, head over to the Listed Fanlistings section - all the TFL fanlistings that TFL has listed currently are found here.

Most fanlistings will have the following sections:

  • About

  • Join

  • Codes

  • Rules

  • Members

  • Extras



"About" usually gives a brief bio of the site. "Join" will usually contain a join form where you can sign up. You need to give your name and country. Most fanlistings also require an e-mail address so they can contact you (e.g., if the fanlisting moves). EVERYTHING else is optional. "Codes" will contain a range of buttons (e.g., 50x50, 75x50, 88x31, 100x35 and 100x50) which you can download and upload to your website, then use to link back to the fanlisting. The "Members" list will contain all the fanlisting members, and "Extras" contain miscellaneous items.


Come and show that you're a fan too!



Beautiful Century: You have been appointed Chicken Inspector




Beautiful Century


trismegistos links : Fanlistings

vrijdag 24 oktober 2008

X-rays emitted from ordinary Scotch tape

Scotch Tape Power might be harnessed for making inexpensive X-ray machines

NEW YORK - Two weeks after a Nobel Prize highlighted theoretical work on subatomic particles, physicists are announcing a startling discovery about a much more familiar form of matter: Scotch tape.

It turns out that if you peel the popular adhesive tape off its roll in a vacuum chamber, it emits X-rays. The researchers even made an X-ray image of one of their fingers.

More than 50 years ago, some Russian scientists reported evidence of X-rays from peeling sticky tape off glass. But the new work demonstrates that you can get a lot of X-rays, a study co-author says. "We were very surprised," said Juan Escobar. "The power you could get from just peeling tape was enormous."

Escobar, a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, reports the work with UCLA colleagues in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

He suggests that with some refinements, the process might be harnessed for making inexpensive X-ray machines for paramedics or for places where electricity is expensive or hard to get. After all, you could peel tape or do something similar in such machines with just human power, like cranking. The researchers and UCLA have applied for a patent covering such devices.

In the new work, a machine peeled ordinary Scotch tape off a roll in a vacuum chamber at about 1.2 inches per second. Rapid pulses of X-rays, each about a billionth of a second long, emerged from very close to where the tape was coming off the roll.

That's where electrons jumped from the roll to the sticky underside of the tape that was being pulled away, a journey of about two-thousandths of an inch, Escobar said. When those electrons struck the sticky side they slowed down, and that slowing made them emit X-rays.

So is this a health hazard for unsuspecting tape-peelers? Escobar noted that no X-rays are produced in the presence of air. You need to work in a vacuum — not an everyday situation.

_
found it searching on "christmas present" :)

donderdag 23 oktober 2008

christmas present - the ghost

The Ghost of Christmas Present was the second of the three spirits after the visitation by Jacob Marley that haunted the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, in order to prompt him to repent.

It transported him around the city, showing him scenes of festivity and also deprivation that were happening as they watched. Among those they visited were Scrooge's nephew, and the family of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. The spirit also shares a vision of Tiny Tim's crutch, carefully preserved by the fireplace. Scrooge asks if Tim will die; the Ghost, quick to use Scrooge's past unkind comments against him, suggests "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population" — reflecting Scrooge's earlier comment to two charitable solicitors. Scrooge is disgusted at his own words and is concerned for Tiny Tim and his family.

The spirit also reveals to Scrooge two emaciated children, clinging to his robes, and names the boy as Ignorance and the girl as Want. The spirit warns Scrooge, "Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.", underscoring the book's social message.

The Ghost of Christmas Present states that he has had "more than eighteen hundred" brothers. He will only exist on Earth for a single year's Christmas holidays. As he shows Scrooge scenes during the entire twelve days of the Christmas holidays, he grows older and he disappears at the stroke of midnight on Twelfth Night.

christmas+present


Need an Easy Christmas Present?

Yes, the project I am posting today would make a easy but wonderful Christmas present. If you are like me, I am looking for some ways to save on Christmas spending this year. After all, it is not all about the presents it is about HIM. ...
Need an Easy Christmas Present? (emptynestfulllife.blogspot.com)


FO: Jenny's Socks (Christmas Present #3)

Some of my floormates helped me with my photo shoot for this FO. Mullica (from down the hall) has tiny feet like Jenny (my cousin), so she modeled while Ian (the red head in the back) and my roomie, Marcella (that crazy in the middle), ...
FO: Jenny's Socks (Christmas Present #3) (deathbyknitting.blogspot.com)


Avoiding dull Christmas gifts

Even if you really want to see a particular horror movie DON’T buy it as a Christmas present for someone who gets scared easily just so you can ask to borrow it and be guaranteed an affirmative response. Mental scarring is not an ...
Avoiding dull Christmas gifts (www.buyagiftblog.co.uk)

Randomized+Things


trismegistos links : Randomized+Things


Asian American Frustration

And you’re all at war where nobody got to pick sides - teams were just randomized - and they don’t even realize they’re not pulling their fair end in a battle they don’t even know is being fought, lest another ignorant conscience be ...
Asian American Frustration (www.estarla.com)


Review: Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (PS2)

The problem with this is that everything but the swim and bite buttons are locked, so you can’t do most of the things you’d do in game. Also, attacking your opponent has a chance to teleport you 100 meters away in a random direction. ...
Review: Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (PS2) (diehardgamefan.com)


Bonafide 2.1

Evidently I randomized oversealously and came back around to the first possibility. oO Gigi is wearing a blue suit and a stupid amount of hair. A brief interlude for sibling comraderie. & this is what Gigi looks like under all of that ...
Bonafide 2.1 (simmytizzy.livejournal.com)

dinsdag 21 oktober 2008

kapel evenementen heiloo blog is weer online

De kapel evenementen blog van de evenementen van Onze Lieve Vrouw Ter Nood kapel te Heiloo is weer online.

De host werd drie weken terug van het net gehaald door de ISP (was een gratis subdomein, leuk om even alles uit te proberen) maar dat beviel iedereen wel, dus had ik even met ma gesproken en hebben we een eigen domein naam geregeld, kapel.org. Die staat voorlopig op mijn server account bij futureweb in belgie.

Ik had dat opgemerkt op DigitalPoint, de vorige site kwam binnen op plaats 5 en zat na een week op nummer 1 voor kapel evenementen en die bleef daar netjes staan. Dus ma vertelde iedereen gewoon 'google maar op kapel evenementen' en dan kwamen ze altijd op haar blog terecht want die stond altijd nummer 1 :)

Nou staat die site nog geindexeerd op nummer een, dus moeten we nu concurreren met die site om de eerste plek in google, da's wel grappig.

Ik had bijna gewed dat ik deze in een keer op nummer 1 lanceer maar dat gaat niet lukken, al staat deze wel al na 3 uur ingericht op het net :) Nog even een linkje bloggen op blogspot dan is 'ie morgenmiddag gecrawld !

woensdag 8 oktober 2008

Let us pray to Google for site acceptance

Dear Aunty Google
Thou who art in the Datacenters
Hallowed be thy Serp
Thy kingdom cometh from afar
Thy webmaster guidelines prevaileth
Blessed art thou amongst the Search Engines
And blessed be thy Blogspot

If it would please thee so kindly accept this site: sound district into your Indexes. The sound disctrict community is active and growing strong everyday, so let us all join today to discuss music, networking and more, and may thy Serp guide the masses there.

maandag 6 oktober 2008

index my ****ing page

Google are demonizing my single page subdomain. No matter what I do Google refuse to index the page, by now that one page has 80 backlinks and is listed in yahoo and msn, but Google still will not index the page.

It's a genuine toolpage where you can fill in a sitemap url and it shows the pagerank of every url. Nice tool, the only one of it's kind on the net.

So this is yet another attempt to *finally* get Google to index the damn page.

A while back some used wildcard subdomains and made sites with myriads of subdomains with a only a page linking back to the main domain, which gained an enormous pagerank in no time. Until Google put a filter on that sort of things or something.
Maybe if I remove the link to the main domain google finally index the thing.

First I go try this, then I go try that and keep what works for me.



update 06-10
okay,
it worked,
page indexed.
halleluja blogspot,
brilliant for stuffing pages up the Google indices.

donderdag 2 oktober 2008

Men%26%23039%3Bs+Health


trismegistos links : Men%26%23039%3Bs+Health


300 Workout for Men's Health Magazine

Back in February of 2007 a hot new workout hit the Men's Health magazine scene called the 300 workout. It was put together by a trainer named Mark Twight and was prepared for the actors who played the Spartan warriors in the movie, ...
300 Workout for Men's Health Magazine (turbulencetraining.blogspot.com)


Internet Bingo & Gaming in Broad – a Risky Commerce?

... or know somebody who might, obtain help immediately. It is not meaning destroying your life over a game. honestly. Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/men's-health-articles/internet-bingo-gaming-in-broad-a-risky-commerce-586236.html ...
Internet Bingo & Gaming in Broad – a Risky Commerce? (mens-health-advice.blogspot.com)


The Luxury Accommodation of Cape Town

... of pristine properties available for rental or ownership. Remember, as long as the mountain is in view, it?sa safe buy. Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/men's-health-articles/the-luxury-accommodation-of-cape-town-586241.html.
The Luxury Accommodation of Cape Town (mens-health-advice.blogspot.com)

maandag 29 september 2008

the seo supremacy

my cut and paste content blog on loopbaanadvies over at wordpress.com went to PR4 yesterday from zilch.

It has 30 pages and 20 backlinks :)

I am gonna do that again with a blog on php xml rpc.

I actually want a remote control blog-farm to wire the sixapart blog-pipe into, and spawn enormous amounts of pages with nice content and links. 40.000 posts a day, maybe 2.000 are usable based on a last test of the pipe. That's still a half a million pages a year, more than enough to develop a brutal seo tool.

I am gonna cram all the interim results on that blog, hopefully as side effect i'll get a nice PR3 wordpress.com blog.

Keep you posted ;)

zaterdag 27 september 2008

Seo tips and tricks

I saw on 7search that last month in the SEO keyword niche the term "seo tip" is the most sought after search term. Their search volumes match google's volumes so they are for real one of the best keyword research pages on the net, and free. (That in itself is worth a 'seo tip of the month' article)

seo tip of the month



I wrote a post on my main blog called 'seo tricks', but I decided to rewrite it so now it contains the keywords 'seo tip' in stead of 'seo trick'.

As there are 16.000 searches each month on seo tip and none on seo trick, intelligence says 'rephrase the post keys' and increase the match on an existing search pattern, especially if the post isnt' about the main site keywords.

relevance to search



Google check logical pattern matches. To gain a maximum relevance to a search pattern in google offer a clear on-site and off-site path to your content :

on-site optimization



If your content is a piece on [keyword], then make sure the following items contain literally the text [keyword] :

URL domain and filename
META description
META keywords
Headlines H1, H2
Text

Offer your content to Google that way and google can drill down in a straight line to your content on that [keyword[, then you'll score the full 100% match.

Like any normal book, if the cover mentions [keyword] I go look and see a chapther on [keyword], then in the chapter I see a headline on [keyword] with a bold text [keyword], then I can find what I want in one go.

off-site optimization



The same way you offer a 'path' inside the domain, offer it from the outside, make sure the file that has the content gets some links with the keywords in the anchor pointing to the page.

Put a support article or review in a blog and submit these pages to Google or Yahoo. The spiders come crawl, follow the link and go straight for the content. Don't forget to add the 'title' attribute to the link ;)

If for instance I write a page "seo trick" on my main blog, I'd write some support pages on secondary blogs and make sure the entire network logically points to the page I want to be the 'winning proposal' for the search engine result page. Too bad I didnt put 'tips' in the url, but hey, one learns along the way.

gaining relevance by assigning it



I sometimes wonder if offering links off the page (even if on 'nofollow') to related content makes the page more relevant to a search as estimated by Google.

If so, that would imply Google value both the path in and out of the page and you'd gain relevance by assigning it to other resources. If a user Google send to your site do not find what they are looking for, they can click to a site you judged as relevant, an expert author opinion has an enormous added value when you are looking for something.

I'm still not sure about that as ranking factor for relevance to a search pattern.

capitalizing on other's efforts



Judo and other martial arts indicate the path to victory is using your oppoents efforts. Even though they might be against you, if you learn to use them to your advantage you are always stronger. If you can gain relevance to a search pattern by a mere link to a full resource, you capitalize on others efforts, which is the superior way to achieve.

I saw a brilliant example of that on seobook.com which rank front page on 'anchor title attribute value'. It only has a link on a page with that as anchor text, pointing to a webmaster forum thread about the value of a link title attribute.

As Google follow the links, the seobook.com page is marked as 'relevant' and as the site page has a higher rank, it ranks way above the webmaster-forum thread in google on the result page, without even having one actual line of content on it.

Interesting.



If you write from multiple indexed blogs, you can 'force' Google's hand a bit and have the spiders find your content.

donderdag 25 september 2008

magpie rss demo

Magpie takes a naive, and inclusive approach. Absolutely non-validating, as long as the RSS feed is well formed, Magpie will cheerfully parse new, and never before seen tags in your RSS feeds.

This makes it very simple support the varied versions of RSS simply, but forces the consumer of a RSS feed to be cognizant of how it is structured.(at least if you want to do something fancy)

Magpie parses a RSS feed into a simple object, with 4 fields: channel, items, image, and textinput.




I found an online demo at scripps of the MagPie Rss parser, just fill in your url and press the "parse rss" button and it returns the entire structure and content of the feed. Then you can see what your rss feed actually looks like.

dinsdag 23 september 2008

PressMark delicious social bookmarking clone

Well I installed Pligg but it just don't have what you want a nice backend like wordpress so what do I come across : an article on Pressmark, a social bookmarking Wordpress fork (free, open source, easy ;) Ha !

PressMark delicious clone is a highly customized version of the popular WordPress cms system that functions as a social bookmarking site like del.icio.us. Delicious clone scripts like GetBoo and Scuttle have been in existence for a while but neither of these systems can offer the security or expandability of a WordPress based system. PressMark is a simple social bookmarking solution and is ideal for beginners.


hub : Pressmark Social Bookmarking using Wordpress

popuri.us: check your site popularity stats

I came across this one in a serp : popuri.us


A tool to check at-a-glance the link popularity of any site based on its ranking (Google PageRank, Alexa Rank, Technorati etc.), social bookmarks (del.icio.us, etc), subscribers (Bloglines, etc) and more!


by Juan Xavier Larrea from Ecuador.

...and he does offer widgets, these nice flashy statboxes y'all so love... (he could use some help with the alexa ranks...)

how about this blog then ? woops, depressing...

zaterdag 20 september 2008

Qassia : cool tool

Qassia, the most amazing resource ever. Wanna join Qassia? All you need to do is click on "Sign Up".

Qassia is fantastic because you get credit for sharing your intelligence. The more credit you earn, the better your websites will rank. And you get a backlink to your website for every intel you add - only Qassia gives you unlimited quality backlinks.

Last but not least, Qassia also has the best ad revenue sharing system on the Internet, so in effect you get paid for promoting your websites. Qassia rocks!

The more people join Qassia, the more everyone will benefit, so give Qassia a spin. Signing up takes less than a minute, so you've got nothing to lose. See ya around!


So what's Qassia about ?



The concept of the site is interesting. I get brownie points for anyone that registers through my profile, and can earn some more adding content and reviewing other content added. The total brownie points decides my rank in the site.

The strong point : I can add content of other domains with a backlink to their resource through my profile so I can blog reviews through it (and possibly sell backlinks, although your content is reviewed)

why doesn't it rock ?



It's shortsighted. For a step beyond Digg it works fine, but they miss the mark. If you slightly changed the concept and added an 'exchange market' to transfer brownie points between profiles, and had it list content on multiple domains (where your brownie points decide what pagerank class domain you are listed on) you'd have one killer seo tool.

donderdag 18 september 2008

Seeding starvation

...when L. Paul Bremer III left his position as Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator to “transfer sovereignty,” he also left behind 100 deadly orders to govern Iraq. Order 81, which included “Patent, Industrial Design, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety,” prohibited Iraqis from reusing seeds of “new” plant varieties patented under the law. Think about that for a second . . .

What that order means is that seeds from those “new” varieties cannot be saved for reuse, at least not without paying a royalty to its “manufacturer,” whether it’s Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, or any of the other genetically-modifying seed giants. This could easily bankrupt farmers and contribute vastly to massive food shortages and starvation.

This law amended Iraq’s original patent law of 1970. Until it is revised or cancelled by a new Iraqi government, it is legally binding under the hawkish wing of the colonizing CPA. Historically, the Iraqi constitution prohibited private ownership of biological resources. Yet this US-stamped patent law does just that. It introduces a plan for monopoly rights over seeds, if you can believe it.

...

Iraqi farmers can’t save seeds to replant any of the varieties registered under the PVP provisions in the new pick-your-pocket (PYP) patent law. Thus, it deprives them of what they and farmers around the world justly claim as their life-given right -- to save and replant seeds.

Also, once these plants get into the agro-growth cycle, there is no recall from any possible genetic pollution. So even if you never used the seeds, and the wind simply blew them onto your land, you (1) owe the breeder a royalty and (2) if anything’s wrong with the GM seed, it’s your problem or the world’s problem.

...



Mass death of Sheep from grazing GE cotton field


At least 1 820 sheep were reported dead after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops; the symptoms and post-mortem findings strongly suggest they died from severe toxicity.

This was uncovered in a preliminary investigation conducted by civil society organisations in just four villages in India. The actual problem is likely to be much greater.

This is the second instance of GE-plants killing animals feeding upon it. In both this case, and that of cows killed as described above, the plants were genetically manipulated with a gene producing the insect toxin of Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt).

The serious thing about this is that the same toxin-producing gene is found in some GE-foods intended for human consumption, including GE-maize (for example Syngenta Bt11 Maize) and GE-potatoes (recently offered to Russia).



India: the Monsanto scam:
...
Most farmers complained that spurious seeds were mixed with MECH-12 and
184.It is speculated that the spurious seeds are the old MECH-162 seeds
which had performed particularly badly and was rejected by farmers.

Local agricultural scientists confirm that Mahyco-Monsanto is mixing their old
seeds with new lots. Because of their very poor performance, these varieties
are not in demand resulting in large amounts of left over seeds. These
apparently are being mixed with other varieties and sold to the farmers of the
region

Farmers observed that the roots of MECH-12, 184 began to dry after 75 days
and the plants died even before one proper picking could be taken.
...

The Gene Campaign research team observed that there are agents operating
in villages, who encourage farmers to cultivate Bt. cotton. These agents are
local people who are offered cash incentives by seed agents to promote the
Monsanto cotton but usually do not grow it themselves. For instance, Mr.
Hanuman Reddy in Gundrapally village of Nekkonda block, Warangal,
motivated the farmers of his village to grow MECH-12 though he himself
refrained from doping so.

These agents spread rumors that the Monsanto seeds are in great demand
and will not be available unless they are booked ahead for the next year. The
local scientists say this is to boost the flagging sales of the Monsanto varieties.

Cotton breeders of the region complain that their conventional varieties are not
being promoted despite being economical and good performers; they complain
that the State Agricultural Department machinery is pushing Bt cotton.

Local scientists and farmers confirm the observation that the State Agriculture
department scientists who are collecting data on Bt cotton performance, are
fudging data to show better performance. For example, 4 is made into 14
quintals yield and figures are similarly concocted to show reduced pesticide
use.
...

secret codes (how to hack a captcha)

I noticed one post on 'codes' contain the term 'secret codes' and attracts a lot of traffic... want some real secret codes ? How to hack a Captcha : blackhat programs !

Even if you don't use that sort of backlink generating tricks, it is still a worth while read. If you have a good virus-scanner and malware remover, go find the Bag of Goodies....

I personally strongly discourage you to do bad things :)

webmaistro number one!

no one will ever compete on the term webmaistro,
nevertheless webmaistro now has global serp domination.

It does not mean much, but webmaistro.blogspot.com and maistro.com are easily linked and a few backlinks never hurt anyone (unless they are bad neigborhood backlinks).

(Remind me to add a link to my new domain, maistro.com, to the auto-posting routine.)

And technorati seems to like the blog, it gives lots of backlinks.

Sometimes it is like the gimmick with the glass and the low frequency vibes, you do something that really don't seem to make any difference, but the power is in repeating the action, rythmically, all the little impulses build up to one big pulse, a vibe, strong enough to shatter the glass.

Give it some time...

dinsdag 16 september 2008

I own maistro...

Well okay, as said it is done,
I am now the proud owner of maistro.com,
apparently usa banks dont have IBAN transfers, so I thought that was gonna be a big problem but that was easier done than said, I had get one of them moneybrokers.com accounts and use an iDEAL transfer (dutch banks support it and you can transfer funds from your bank account to moneybrokers.com instantly and transfer it on anywhere in 10 seconds flat.

A friend of mine already mentioned iDEAL once but as I dont have money I hadn't gotten around to checking it out.

I don't have a full fledged account with mysql so I put some small flat file cms on it.

Now I am gonna ponder on what to with the domain. It ain't a bad domain name, maistro.com, it's short, and most people know it, and some would love a domain called 'maistro'.

www.elmaistrotransmission.com/ (spanish car crew)
www.maistro.gr/ (hotels in greece)
www.dataharmony.com/products/maistro.html (it crew)
...a texan carribean restaurant
...a northrop grumman division has a product out called maistro

plenty of maistro's out there...

zondag 14 september 2008

cool stuff with page elements

Attach data from classnames to an element using $().data()

At DailyStrength, we're working on an abstract way to attach a Javascript behavior (popping a modal, sliding in a form) to objects -- journals, comments, etc. -- being displayed on the site. We wanted to attach some information to the objects by putting their type and ID in classnames.

(rebecca murphey)


Thanks, nice code-snippet.

zaterdag 13 september 2008

Link building

Link building plays an important part in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of any website. Links are a crucial criteria in search engine algorithms, and your website’s rankings for various keywords depend to a certain extent on the link popularity of your website.

Link exchange with websites in your area of business also helps you attract more targeted audience to your website and thus increase sales. And moreover link building campaign is cost effective compared to other forms of advertising and results can be tracked easily.

One of my favorites is the 'editorial/review', where you write a rather elaborate comment on someone's work, and try to get a trackback to one of their pages, and if they accept it and the page does rank, some if it goes your way. ompare the value of a link to the effort you spend acquiring it. The estimated value of a link from a PR3 page is $9,-/month, $100,-/year.