Why flights taking more time than before
Thursday, 12 January 2017
Crack in Earth's magnetic field
Earth is such a habitable place, thanks in no small part to the vast magnetic field that surrounds our planet, shielding us from harsh solar winds and cosmic radiation.
But scientists have been investigating one of the most powerful geomagnetic storms in recent history, and they’ve discovered that our protective barrier isn’t as secure as we thought it was. Turns out, our magnetosphere has been cracked.
Researchers have been analysing data from the GRAPES-3 muon telescope in Ooty, India, which recorded a massive burst of galactic cosmic rays on 22 June 2015.
For 2 hours, Earth’s magnetosphere was being bombarded by these particles, which emit immensely high-energy radiation, and travel through space at nearly the speed of light.
These things are so powerful, they can easily penetrate the hull of a spacecraft, and Earth’s magnetic shield is our first line of defence against them.
About 40 hours before the June 22 event, a giant cloud of plasma was ejected from the Sun's corona (or outer atmosphere), and eventually struck the magnetosphere at speeds of about 2.5 million kilometres per hour.
That’s not exactly news, because at the time, it triggered a severe geomagnetic storm that was responsible for radio signal blackouts in many high latitude countries in North and South America.
It also resulted in a supercharged aurora borealis - which is created when charged particles from outer space reach Earth’s atmosphere.
But now researchers have finally realised the full extent of that relentless bombardment of cosmic rays.
A team from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in India performed numerous simulations based on the GRAPES-3 data from that day, and the results indicate that the magnetosphere had been temporarily cracked, and that’s why things went so haywire in our radio systems.
In fact, the team says the bombardment was so relentless, it caused a severe compression of the magnetosphere, forcing it to shrink from 11 to 4 times the radius of Earth.
The researchers suspect that the geomagnetic storm was powerful enough to actually 'reconfigure' our magnetic shield, prising open weak spots to let radiation and cosmic rays slip through.
"This vulnerability can occur when magnetised plasma from the Sun deforms Earth’s magnetic field, stretching its shape at the poles and diminishing its ability to deflect charged particles," Katherine Wright explains on the American Physical Society website.
The fact that this happened at all is a concern, say the researchers, because it suggests that our magnetic field is changing - or rather, weakening - in certain parts.
"The occurrence of this burst also implies a 2-hour weakening of Earth’s protective magnetic shield during this event," the researchers report.
"[This] indicates a transient weakening of Earth’s magnetic shield, and may hold clues for a better understanding of future superstorms that could cripple modern technological infrastructure on Earth, and endanger the lives of the astronauts in space."
So the good news is our magnetosphere was only temporarily cracked, but the bad news is that it can be cracked at all.
There's not a whole lot we can do about that, but the researchers hope that by continuing to search for these cracks as they happen - and in past events - we'll be better prepared to deal with the next time those cosmic rays burst through and wreak havoc.
Traits of perfect lover/husband/father
The qualities of a good husband are too many to list. Having a beneficial spouse not only makes your life better and more rewarding, but it enriches the lives of your children and even your extended family. It's hard to list everything that goes into a making a man a solid marital partner and father, but I've created a list of 25 qualities to note in your dates and potential mates.
You'll find few people with all these qualities. Even when a person has one of these traits, they might go overboard. People have different childhood experiences and different natures, so even if certain characteristics work for him, you might find them a little odd or off-putting. Long story short, nobody is perfect. Like those commercials about adopting kids, even if you or your spouse isn't perfect all the time, there's people out there who'd be happy to put up with your faults.
The Qualities of a Good HusbandA woman looking for a husband wants to shoot for perfection and settle for excellence, though, so here are 25 excellent qualities in a great husband. Make a mental checklist and see how many he matches up to. Hope he gets a check-mark by all twenty-five, but even if he doesn't, you want him to embody most of these ideas. Even if he matches up well on most of these, if he gets bad grades on a quality that's particularly important to you, he might not be Mr. Right.
The 25 Traits of a Good Husband
Good Self-Image - Look for a good self-image. If he has good self-esteem, you won't have to put up with constant crises of confidence, self-loathing, and defeatist behavior. I'm talking about a natural confidence and sense of self-worth, not an arrogant, cocky, overconfident personality. You'll find a fine line between a good self-image and a raging egomaniac, so watch out for the narcissist. This becomes apparent fairly early in the relationship, though.
Self-Control - Self-control and discipline makes itself known in so many ways. They use to call this trait "character". He doesn't do things "just because he can". He is disciplined, works towards a goal, and doesn't go for immediate self-gratification. Self-control helps him avoid temptation, addictions to everything from alcohol to pain pills to food, keeps him from saying hurtful things, and allows him to maintain his temper around you and the kids.
Hard Working - Every woman seems to date a charming loser at some point. When you're young, if that cute guy with the brilliant smile is a couch potato and only wants to play XBOX, it seems like no big deal. But when he's 40 and not-so-beautiful, he's just going to be an overgrown child. A woman might be accused of being "too materialistic" looking for a provider, but it doesn't matter whether this guy has money or not--it's finding a hard worker which really matters. Little affects the life of your children more.
Provider - Again, I'm not talking about finding a man who is independently wealthy or is a top-level executive. I'm talking about finding a man who takes pride in providing for his family. He's self-motivated, has a healthy degree of ambition, and has an idea how to go about providing for a family. From time immemorial, women have looked for men who provide a good future for them and their family. It's rational to look for that trait in a man. This is similar to the hard worker, but implies this man has a few skills (training, education, people skills) that allow him to provide for the family.
Handles Money Well - You may think I'm focusing too much on the material, but this is the last trait having to do with your budget. Notice how the man you're dating handles his money, taking into account he might be splurging to impress you. If this man is profligate with his spending, then no matter what you and he makes in income, you'll always have money issues. If this man is so frugal that you can say with honesty he's "cheap", then you might be arguing about money your whole lives--even if there's money in the bank. Find a man whose money habits match your own, because most marriage issues start over finances.
Trustworthy - Trust is a catch-all trait in a marriage, because you have to be able to trust this man to provide for the family, to treat you well, and to raise you children the proper way. In the end, everything comes down to trust. If you can't take a man at his word, then you live your entire life wondering what the next surprise is going to be. Many women view this kind of man to be a challenge or a mystery to be solved, but it usually means he's just a child in a man's body. Marry a man you can't trust and it's like building a home on the shifting sands.
Spontaneous - When I say he's trustworthy, I don't mean he's so predictable that he's boring. You want your husband to surprise you, but in positive ways. You also want a husband who doesn't mind being surprised every once in a while--in a good way. Spontaneity is how you keep your marriage fresh, especially in the bedroom. While that surprise vacation to Tahiti is nice, spontaneous acts in a marriage don't have to be that dramatic. A marriage is like a song with a monotonous beat. Even a slight change in the tempo breaks up the monotony. Hope you spouse understands the rhythms of romance.
Not Jealous - One way many couples create passion is through jealousy and suspicion. Real or suspected infidelities and constant rituals to prove their passion and love for each other is what quickens their romance. This is excitement build on negative actions and emotions, though. It's dramatic, but it's also draining. The jealous lover is going to inspire fights and heartache, and a woman might view this like the drama in her romance novels and chick flicks. It's doesn't work as smoothly in real life. Find a man with the confidence and trust (of you) not to get jealous all the time. Find ways to bring passion into the marriage in positive ways. The negative things are going to crop up anyway, so limit them as much as possible to those times when they can't be avoided. Don't go looking for trouble, because it's going to find you soon enough.
Open-Minded - The open-minded man can be rare, especially as the years move forward. Men tend to get set in their ways, so if you marry a man who is too opinionated, hard-headed, and close-minded at a young age, he's going to be obstinate and completely unyielding when he gets older. These things are a habit and habits tend to get worse. Find a man who is open-minded about the right things: who listens to your opinion on things, who's willing to admit when he's wrong, who's willing to forgive when you're wrong, and who is willing to give you room to be yourself and find your own identity in the marriage.
Willing to Listen - Married men often get to where they don't listen to their spouse. They tune them out. So if you are dating a man who won't listen to your opinion and hear what you're saying, don't marry him. Again, this is only going to get worse. It's easy for married couples to speak past one another. It's also one of the most frustrating things in the world for your husband to ignore you when you need to vent or when you just need a shoulder to cry on. Women need to talk about things at time, if nothing else to get some sympathy. If you have a man who listens, but doesn't want to understand or sympathize, your marriage is going to suffer for it. Find a man who's willing to listen and who doesn't think you're just something to be managed.
Admits When He's Wrong - The man who admits when he's wrong and who's willing to apologize (and mean it) is rare. People (including myself) like to believe we're right. We don't like to admit we're wrong. But if you have someone who is constitutionally unable to admit they are wrong under any circumstances, you're in for a very long and argumentative marriage. The only other option is to meekly agree with everything he says and believes, and that's no fun.
Forgiving - Another important skill is the ability to forgive. This requires a certain sense of mercy, a certain magnanimity, that many people don't have. This is one of my great weaknesses. I tend to believe in a sense of right and wrong, and when I feel like someone has personally wronged me (especially if I feel they have gone out of their way to wrong me), I tend to close myself off from ever forgiving them. That trait has cost me several relationships over the years, when I think some issue is put in the past, but I end up having too long a memory for my own good. Forgiveness is often couched in terms of religion, but whether you are spiritual or not, the ability to forgive your spouse their failings is important. Nobody is perfect, so if a person makes a real effort to improve and make penance, forgiving that person is essential.
Not Controlling - Many women complain about the controlling husband. She can't speak with other men. He wants to shut her off from friends or family. He doesn't want her to pursue any hobbies or pastimes, or watch any tv shows, that don't match his arbitrary approval. He asks where she wants to eat, then find fault with their suggestions. However far this goes, the wife ends up living life in a box. She's afraid to do anything or say anything of which he might disapprove, and therefore her options become fewer and fewer. Understand that controlling men tend to have a sense of inferiority that requires them to question loyalty and devotion, while confident men are willing to live with women who have strong opinions, a sense of self-worth, and individual lives. Another type of controlling man is the narcissist, but again, he wants you to subvert your needs and wants for his. Neither of these is healthy, so don't get into a marriage with a controlling man. You might convince yourself you'll be happy with him and nothing else, but people can't find happiness in others. Only when they are happy with themselves are they truly happy. A controlling man assures you'll never be happy with yourself.
Maturity - Most of the traits I've discussed so far have one thing in common--the man has a certain level of maturity. Jealous, controlling men or men who can't provide for their families are essentially children. You want a real man who's big enough and has enough perspective to be in a mature relationship. Mature people make sacrifices on behalf of their family and the people they love. They are dependable and have learned a little something (wisdom) for all their years on the Earth. Many teenagers fall into the trap of mimicking maturity by aping the adults they see (alcohol, drugs, sex), not realizing that those are outward displays of the mature life. A mature adult is someone who acts in a rational, loving, and giving fashion to those they love--often against their selfish instincts.
Kind and Gentle - You want your man to be kind and gentle. Women often like to feel secure by finding a man who is loud, aggressive, and masculine. It's nice to have a man who stands up for himself and defends his people from loud and aggressive behavior. But you want a man who is kind and gentle by his very nature. Live your life with an unkind, abusive man and you're living your life with terror. Some women find moments of solace in those marriages--exciting sex, the occasional kindness, the solace of the children--but they can never be truly fulfilled in a marriage with an unkind man. If he isn't kind and gentle, he probably won't be kind and gentle to your children, either. You don't want to put your children into a dangerous and degrading situation, so find a man who is gentle with you and the kids.
Loyal to the Family - Notice how a man acts around his family. If he's loyal to the family he was born with, he's more likely to be loyal to the family he creates. This isn't always the case--men can have an inflated sense of family and still see their wife as an outsider. But if he seems to have no sense of respect for his mother, his father, and his siblings, he probably won't be loyal and respectful to his wife and kids. Understand that some family units are just bad, and if you judge that it would be bad for him to maintain close ties with his family, you might cut him some slack in your evaluation. But understand that he's never known what a stable family unit is, so he may not know how to act when you provide him with the proper family environment. Men can grow beyond the childhood environment they were raised in, but it's tougher.
Good Communication Skills - See if your fiance can correct and not accuse those around him, especially children. Eventually, this is the man who is going to be training your children how to live and act around other people. Your children are going to be profoundly influenced by this man, so see if he has the communication skills to be a good father. Some fathers only criticize, berating their children and destroying their self-esteem. Your children can grow up learning to be defensive about everything, or to be open, honest, and truthful. Every day--every moment--is instruction for the young child. They take in more than we ever imagine. So make certain your man is going to communicate to his children the right way to live.
Good with Children - When he's around children, see how he behaves. While a man is likely to treat his children differently than he would others, the difference isn't going to be as stark as you think, most of the time. See if he likes children, is willing to play with children and give them his time, and if he is willing to talk to them as real people. A father has to be stern at times, but he also has to be a nurturing influence at times. The more he puts into the children, the better developed and more well-rounded they'll be. So if he makes a good uncle to his cousins, nieces, and nephews, then he's likely to make a pretty good father.
Considers Family Important - No matter what kind of family life he had as a child, test out his viewpoints on family in general and raising a family. A man who came from a loving family and feels like family is most important is best. But if you find a man who came from a broken home and a history of family acrimony, learn where he places the value in a family. You'll often find a man like this craves the kind of family life he never had, that building a loving family is the most important pursuit in his life. If he seems ambivalent about having a family, if he is adamant against having a family, or if he seems to have no opinion, that should raise red flags. Some of these men may learn the importance of family with age and wisdom, but they're a bad bet right now.
Protective of the Family - You'll want a father who has a guardian instinct with his family. You might think this goes without saying, but if a father isn't interested in protecting his wife and kids from the worst life has to offer, then he's not doing his duty to the family. Many people these days think a child has to grow up quickly or they view a child as the friend they never had, but a father can't be merely a child's friend. The father has to take the long view, to see that their sons and daughters have plenty of time to see the world for what it is, but right now needs to be protected from all the dangers out there. "Protection of the family" covers a lot of ground, though, from living in bad neighborhoods to having bad friends to being exposed to corrupting influences. Another part of protecting the family involves making sure a child gets a good education, so that child isn't open to the exploitation that often happens to the least educated among us.
Enjoys Spending Time with Family - Most people get married with the assumption they're going to build a family together. The marriage arrangement isn't going to work very well if the father doesn't enjoy spending time with the family and sharing in the child raising. In generations past, it was assumed the father would be the provider and the mother would be the nurturer--that should would (more or less) raise the kids. In the past couple of generations, it's assumed that Mom and Dad are going to share in each duty. If the father assumes he's going to make money while the mother is going to hold down a job, do the cooking and cleaning, and take care of the children, way too much of the burden falls on her. So you want a dad who's going to enjoy time spent on family activities. If he spends all his time at work or with his friends, he's not going to be much of a husband or a father.
Accepts the In-Laws - No matter how well the two of you get along, eventually he has to deal with the in-laws and they have to deal with him. On some level, he's going to have to accept the in-laws. Hopefully, he begins to feel like they are a part of his family and he develops real affection for them, whether it's as a friend relationship or a kind of true kinship. At the very least, he should learn to respect them and show them respect. Relations between the son-in-law and the girl's family are a two-way street, so if they make constant trouble or make it impossible for him to like, love, and respect them, be understanding. However the relationship with the family goes, the two of you need to see eye-to-eye. And even if things are difficult, but you want to maintain a family connection, he needs to accept your in-laws.
Treats His Parents Well - This is a double game. You'll have to accept and respect his family, as well. But even before you get to the wedding day, interactions with his family are important. See how well he treats his family--especially his parents--as a glimpse of how he might treat your parents. See if he respects the older generation. If he respects his parents, he's likely to respect yours, as long as they are reasonable and respectful in their turn. But if he consistently shows a casual disregard and disrespect for his own parents, he's got the lifelong habit of showing his elders a lack of respect. Again, this behavior may be colored by how they act and react, but I use "casual disregard" to mean he does this as an everyday operating procedure. See how he treats his parents and siblings when things are going well, when things are kind of tense, and when things aren't going so well. This is a preview of things to come.
Have Vision and Perspective - Even in the early 21st century, the man of the house tends to be the one with a vision for his family and the future of that family. Test to see whether your husband has a vision (hopes, dreams, plans) for your future together and the family that's to come. See if his plans and your plans coincide. You might have minor differences to sort out later, but you want to share a vision about the direction of your family. This might involve how many kids you each want (one, none, or six), where you want to live (city or country), what type of spiritual life you'll have, the type of education you want for your kids, and how you'll discipline your kids. Besides vision, see if he has perspective--if he's sober, rational, mature, and realistic in his approaches to marriage and parenting. If you have wildly different ideas about these things, you're setting yourselves up for decades of controversy.
Treats You Well - At the end of the day, perhaps the most important single factor in your marriage is whether he treats you well. Is he loving, respectful, helpful, and willing to share the burdens in a marriage? Does he listen to you, provide for your well being, defend you when you need defending, and give you sympathy when it's your turn to need support? In the end, does he try to make you content, joyful, and fulfilled? If your husband does, your life together should be contended, joyous, and fulfilling. You can work through problems, but you need to know that your husband is on your side.
Characteristics of a Successful Husband
I've probably left out something essential, but these 25 qualities of a good husband are a good start when you're trying to evaluate if he's the one. If you're a single man hoping to become good marriage material or a married man looking to improve his hubby skills, try to make these traits strengths of yours. Even if you consider these big weaknesses or you don't have the background to be a natural at any of these life skills, you're showing the desire to be a good husband. Skills can be learned and qualities improved, if you care enough to educate yourself.
Tips for happiness
You can make your life happier. It is a matter of choice.
It is your attitude that makes you feel happy or unhappy.
We meet various situations every day, and some of them may not contribute to happiness. However, we can choose to keep thinking about the unhappy events, and we can choose to refuse to think about them, and instead, think about and relish the happy moments.
All of us go through various situations and circumstances, but we do not have to let them influence our reactions and feelings.
If we let outer events influence our moods, we become their slaves. We lose our freedom. We let our happiness be determined by outer forces. On the other hand, we can free ourselves from outer influences. We can choose to be happy, and we can do a lot to add happiness to our lives.
What is happiness?
It is a feeling of inner peace and satisfaction. It is usually experienced, when there are no worries, fears or obsessing thoughts. This usually happens, when we do something we love to do, or when we get, win, gain, or achieve something that we value. It seems to be the outcome of positive events, but it actually comes from the inside, triggered by external events.
For most people, happiness seems fleeting and temporary, because they allow external circumstances to affect it. One of the best ways to keep it, is by gaining inner peace through daily meditation. As the mind becomes more peaceful, it becomes easier to choose the happiness habit.
Tips for Happiness in Daily Life:
1) Endeavor to change the way you look at things. Always look at the bright side. The mind might drag you to think about negativity and difficulties. Don't let it. Look at the good and positive side of every situation.
2) Think about solutions, not about problems.
3) Listen to relaxing, uplifting music.
4) Watch funny comedies that make you laugh.
5) Each day, devote some time to reading a few pages of an inspiring book or article.
6) Watch your thoughts. Whenever you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, start thinking of pleasant things.
7) Always look at what you have done and not at what you haven't.
Sometimes, you begin the day with the desire to accomplish several objectives. At the end of the day, you might feel frustrated and unhappy, because you haven't been able to do all of those things.
Look at what you have done, not at what you have not been able to do. Often, even if you have accomplished a lot during the day, you let yourself feel frustrated, because of some minor tasks you didn't accomplish.
Sometimes, you spend all day successfully carrying out many plans, but instead of feeling happy and satisfied, you look at what was not accomplished and feel unhappy. It is unfair toward yourself.
8) Each day do something good for yourself. It can be something small, such buying a book, eating something you love, watching your favorite program on TV, going to a movie, or just having a stroll on the beach.
9) Each day do at least one act to make others happy.
This can be a kind word, helping your colleagues, stopping your car at the crossroad to let people cross, giving your seat in a bus to someone else, or giving a small present to someone you love. The possibilities are infinite.
When you make someone happy, you become happy, and then people try to make you happy.
10) Always expect happiness.
11) Do not envy people who are happy. On the contrary, be happy for their happiness.
12) Associate with happy people, and try to learn from them to be happy. Remember, happiness is contagious.
13) Do your best to stay detached, when things do not proceed as intended and desired. Detachment will help you stay calm and control your moods and reactions. Detachment is not indifference. It is the acceptance of the good and the bad and staying balanced. Detachment has much to do with inner peace, and inner peace is conductive to happiness.
14) Smile more often.
Journo who broke the news of world war 2 dies
Clare Hollingworth, a British war correspondent who was the first to report the Nazi invasion of Poland that marked the beginning of World War II, died in Hong Kong on Tuesday. She was 105.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong announced her death, calling her a beloved member with a remarkable career including “the scoop of the century.”
A determined journalist who defied gender barriers and narrowly escaped death several times, Hollingworth spent much of her career on the front lines of major conflicts, including in the Middle East, North Africa and Vietnam, working for British newspapers. She lived her final four decades in Hong Kong after being one of the few Western journalists stationed in China in the 1970s.
She won major British journalism awards including a “What The Papers Say” lifetime achievement award and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Former British Prime Minister Ted Heath and former Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten were fans of Hollingworth, while various British generals wrote about her fondly.
The scoop that launched her career came in late August 1939, when she was a 27-year-old rookie reporter in southern Poland, barely a week into her job with Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
The border was closed to all but diplomatic vehicles, so she borrowed a British consulate official’s car to drive into German-occupied territory. She saw tanks, armoured cars and artillery massing.
She recounted in her autobiography that burlap screens beside the road, “constructed to hide the military vehicles, blew in the wind, thus I saw the battle deployment.”
“I guessed that the German Command was preparing to strike to the north of Katowice and its fortified lines and this, in fact, was exactly how they launched their invasion in the south.”
Returning to Poland, she filed her story, but her name was not on the byline – a common practice for newspapers in those days.
She scored another scoop when the Nazis launched their invasion three days later on Sept. 1.
Her first call was to the British Embassy in Warsaw, but the official she talked to didn’t believe her.
“‘Listen!’ I held the telephone out my bedroom window. The growing roar of tanks encircling Katowice was clearly audible,” she recounted in her autobiography. “‘Can’t you hear it?“’ She then called the Telegraph’s Warsaw correspondent, who dictated her story to London.
As the Nazis moved into Germany, Hollingworth scrambled to get out of Poland, sometimes sleeping in cars, eventually making her way to Romania.
Hollingworth was born Oct. 10, 1911, to a middle-class family in the village of Knighton in Leicestershire, England. Her father ran a boot factory founded by her grandfather. She took brief courses in Croatian at Zagreb University, international relations in Switzerland and Slavonic studies in London. She worked as a secretary and then at a British refugee charity in Poland while writing occasional articles about the looming war in Europe. Friends influenced her decision to focus on journalism rather than politics.
The Daily Telegraph’s editor gave her a job as a stringer and sent her to Poland, partly because of her work with refugees in that country, according to her great-nephew, Patrick Garrett.
During her five months with the charity, Hollingworth played an important role in helping an estimated 2,000-3,000 refugees who were trying to escape the Nazis flee to Britain by arranging visas for them, a fact that Garrett unearthed in research for his 2016 biography of his great-aunt, “Of Fortunes and War.”
Though she carved out a career in what was then a male-dominated field, Garrett said she looked back on her achievements matter-of-factly.
“She would never regard herself as a feminist,” said Garrett. She hated when women were given special treatment because it made women a “hassle,” which made it harder for other female journalists trying to cover wars, Garrett said.
“She thought that everyone should be treated the same. She hated it when women wasted time on makeup or getting their hair done,” Garrett said.
After the Polish invasion, Hollingworth covered the Romanian Revolution and hostilities in North Africa. When Allied forces captured Tripoli in 1943, British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery ordered her back to Cairo because he didn’t want women around. So she instead got herself accredited with U.S. forces in Algeria.
Later she reported on the fall of the Balkan states to communism, and on Cold War espionage, including the case of Kim Philby, a British journalist and Soviet double agent.
Hollingworth wrote for many publications in her career, including The Economist, the Manchester Guardian and the Daily Express.
Hollingworth was close to danger for decades. In 1946, she was standing 300 yards (meters) from the King David Hotel in Jerusalem when it was destroyed by a bomb planted by militant Zionists that killed nearly 100 people.
While covering the Algerian war for independence in 1962, Hollingworth defied members of a French far-right group who rounded up foreign journalists and threatened some of them with execution.
“I was extremely annoyed at this treatment and I told their commander in French, ‘Go away at once, monsieur, or I will have to hit you over the head with my shoe, which is all I have.”
The commander pushed her aside, grabbed another British journalist and dragged him out the front door of their hotel. Hollingworth led the other reporters outside in pursuit of their colleague, who was thrown to the ground. The gunmen released the safety catches on their guns and the reporters dove for cover, but they drove off without shooting.
Covering the Vietnam War, Hollingworth flew aboard U.S. military aircraft on supply runs and bombing missions.
Hollingworth became the Telegraph’s first resident China correspondent when the newspaper sent her to the capital then known as Peking in 1973, a year after U.S. President Richard Nixon’s landmark visit that eventually led to formal ties between the U.S. and China.
She moved to Hong Kong in 1981. She had intended to stay temporarily as she wrote a book about Mao Zedong, but decided to stay to watch the negotiations over Britain’s return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and never left.
Hollingworth wrote articles for the International Herald Tribune and Asian Wall Street Journal well into her old age. She was known for visiting the Foreign Correspondents’ Club every day, where her domestic helpers read newspapers to her because of her failing eyesight, and where friends and admirers helped her celebrate her 105th birthday with cake.
Start working out now or you may not
What do you do when you’re trying to start a new workout routine?
Maybe you’ve been training your entire life and just want a new exercise to keep things fresh. Or maybe you’re getting started with exercise for the first time and don’t know how to start working out. Either way, starting a new training routine is something we all deal with from time to time.
For example, I recently added sprint training to my workout routine. There’s just one problem: I’ve never done sprint training before.
In this post, I’ll outline the strategies I used to get started with a new workout routine and how you can use them to kickstart your own training.
Before we talk about how to get started, I wanted to let you know I researched and compiled science-backed ways to stick to good habits and stop procrastinating. Want to check out my insights? Download my free PDF guide “Transform Your Habits” here.
How to Start Working Out
Step one: decide what you want to be good at doing.
I’ve written previously about how important a sense of purpose can be, and that holds true for exercise and training as well.
The more specific you are about what you want to become good at doing, the easier it is for you to train for success. In my case, I want to become good at 400m sprints. That’s a clear goal and it helps provide direction to me in the process.
If you’re confused about how to start working out, then make a decision. It doesn’t even have to be the “best” decision. Just choose something that you want to become good at doing and start moving in that direction. There will be plenty of time for adjustments and optimization later.
Ask someone who has been there.
In the beginning, I had no idea what a typical sprint workout even looked like.
How did I find out? I asked people who did know. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask questions. Everybody is a beginner at some point. The people around you are your greatest asset.
I went to my strength and conditioning coach from college, my old teammates who had done sprint training, and a friend who ran track competitively. I asked each of them for suggestions and programs for 400m sprint training and for general sprinting tips.
My hope was that by asking five different people instead of just one, I would get a more well–rounded view. As expected, everyone pointed me towards different programs and routines.
While all of this different information might seem conflicting and confusing at first, it’s important for the next step.
Get the main idea, skip the details.
This is where most people give up and never get going with their new routine. (Don’t worry. It’s happened to me as well.)
Fitness is one of the worst industries if you’re looking for clear advice. It seems like everyone has a different way of doing things and they are all convinced that their way is the only way.
As a result, it’s easy to stress out over the details of a new workout routine. Should I do 5 sets or 6 sets? Program A says I should rest for 90 seconds, but Program B says I should rest for 60 seconds. This website says to workout on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, but my friend did it on Tuesday and Thursday. Which one is right?
Let’s all take a deep breath.
Here’s a little knowledge bomb for you: the details don’t matter in the beginning.
You’ll have plenty of time to figure out technique, rest periods, volume, training schedules, yada yada yada. When you’re starting a new workout routine, the only thing that matters is getting started. Get the main idea, stick to the schedule, and the details will begin to fall into place.
Here’s how I did it with my sprint training…
I read each of the resources and workout programs that my friends sent me. Then, I wrote down the common ideas from each program.
Here’s what they looked like…
•run sprints that range from 200m to 500m
•rest for 2 or 3 minutes between sets
•run between 3 to 6 sprints per workout
•do sprint workouts 2 or 3 times per week
Did I leave out a lot of details? Yes. But with the main ideas above, I could go to the track and get my first sprint workout done.
And in the beginning that’s the real goal: make it as simple as possible to get started.
Go slow.
Most of the time, when we decide to start a new workout routine it’s because we’re motivated to do it. It’s great to have motivation, but as I’ve mentioned before, it can be a double–edged sword.
Why? First, because motivation fluctuates. This means you can’t rely on it. That’s why you want to build good habits instead of getting motivated.
But secondly, motivation can fool you into biting off more than you can chew. (I wrote about why this is an issue, and how to avoid it, here.)
In the beginning, you want to start slow. Remember, the goal is to get in the habit of doing the workouts, not to do intense workouts.
Here’s how I started with my sprints…
The first workout, I did 3 sprints of 200m at 50% intensity. It was easy and slow. I was simply trying to get my body used to running again.
The second workout, I did 2 sprints of 400m with 3 minutes rest in between. Again, this wasn’t a particularly taxing workout.
In the beginning, you want the workouts to be easy. This is true for the first 3 or 4 weeks. Your only goal is to stick to the schedule and build the capacity to do the workout. Performance doesn’t matter.
It seems like this is the exact opposite of what most people do. The typical approach is to go from sitting on your couch to doing P90X for six days every week. With a switch like that, it’s no wonder that most people give up after a week.
Don’t miss workouts.
If I could summarize everything I’ve learned in 10 years of strength training it would come down to these three words: don’t miss workouts.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, here’s what our workout calendar usually looks like:
•Workout consistently for a month or two.
•Get sick. Miss multiple workouts. Spend the next month getting back in shape.
•Workout consistently for a month or two.
•Schedule changes. Life gets crazy. Miss multiple workouts. Spend the next month getting back in shape.
•Workout consistently for a month or two.
•Travel. Vacation. Time off. Miss multiple workouts. Spend the next month getting back in shape.
And on and on.
Now there’s nothing wrong with your schedule changing or taking vacation, but you need to have a system to make it as easy as possible to get back on track. This is especially true when you’re just getting started with a new workout routine.
When I started my pushup routine, I managed to get 17 consecutive workouts in before I missed a day. And I got right back on track after that one day off. In total, I’ve done 93 pushup workouts over the last 8 months.
The individual impact of each workout has been very small, but the cumulative impact of sticking to that schedule has been huge. (I’ve doubled the amount of pushups that I can do.) And it all comes down to not missing workouts.
I’m planning on applying this same strategy to my sprint workouts and I suggest you do the same.
Pick an Exercise and Get Started
There are more exercises in the world than I care to count, but I think you can list the important ones on two hands.
•Clean and Jerk
•Snatch
•Squat
•Deadlift
•Bench Press
•Pushups
•Pullups
•Sprints
Pick one that you would like to be good at and get started.
Remember, you don’t need to worry about the details in the beginning. Just get the main idea, start slow, and don’t miss workouts.
And now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to hit the track.
This kills viruses, fungus and bacteria instantly
Understanding the difference between bacteria, fungus and virus will help with the diagnosis
Plant diseases can be difficult to diagnose. So often, they display the same symptoms as plants that are perfectly healthy, except for stresses imposed upon them by our poor cultural practices. When a plant is diseased, it is because of a bacteria, fungus, or virus. A better understanding of each will help you diagnose and treat the problem if possible.
Bacteria
Not all bacteria are bad for plants and soil. In fact, most are beneficial, and there are millions! However, there are approximately 200 types of bacteria that cause diseases in plants. They are most active in warm and humid environments, so this is when you’ll see the most evidence of their presence.
There are several symptoms of bacterial infection. One is leaf spot. In this case, the bacteria that attacks the plants, produces a toxic chemical that kills the surrounding plant cells. The plant then reacts defensively by killing off the surrounding plant cells, thereby isolating the infected cells. In some cases, these dead cell areas drop out, creating what looks like “shot holes” in the leaves.
Bacteria can clog the plants ability to deliver water and nutrients to the rest of the plant. Eventually the plant begins to wilt or droop. This process can occur rapidly, and within one day, you can see a dramatic decline in your plants.
Other symptoms cause the plant tissue decline, such as in cankers and soft rot, which are sunken areas produced by dead plant tissue. In other cases, abnormal growth is the symptom, referred to as galls. Plants respond to these bacterial invasions by producing a rapid abundance of new cells. This is often evident is unusually large, misshapen growths somewhere on the plant or root.
Bacteria can spread in several ways, including insects, splashing water, other diseased plants, or tools. They enter plants through tiny openings either through damage, or cuts, but also through natural opens in the plant itself.
Once plants are affected, they can be difficult to control. Remove infected plants or parts immediately from the garden. Do not add these parts to your compost pile. Instead, destroy them. Once present, controls options are limited. Copper based sprays provide some help, but are not a cure. Bacteria are best controlled as a preventative measure, treating plants before damage is even present. Additionally, good cultural practices are always helpful. This includes sanitation of equipment, and removal of all plant debris.
Fungi
Like bacteria, many more fungi are actually good for the garden. But, unlike bacteria, there are thousands of fungi that are harmful to plants. For this reason, you are likely to encounter fungal problems most often. Because fungi are present in the soil and above ground symptoms of fungal attack can appear above and below ground. These include rotting or dead roots, or large swelling on roots below ground. At the soil level, new seedling stems can rot and flop over. Above the soil line, plants can display leaf spots, mildews (white or gray powdery patches on foliage), rusts, and wilts.
Fungal spores are very small and light, and can travel great distances through the air to infect other plants or trees. They are also spread by water, animals and insects, and people.
The best way to prevent fungi from attacking your plants is to buy disease resistant varieties whenever possible. Other ways include minimizing the amount of water contacting foliage. Water at the soil level and early in the day. This allows foliage to dry out quickly, should it become wet. It’s also helpful to provide good air circulation through proper spacing between plants, and pruning.
To control fungal outbreaks, as with bacteria, remove all infected plant parts, or plants. You may also choose to apply a fungicide. There are many products available for treatment, organically (copper, sulfur, and baking soda are common) or synthetically. These treatments are best at preventing the germination of new fungal spores, so applications before outbreaks occur will provide the most effective control.
Viruses
Even viruses on occasion can be beneficial, but for the most part, they are bad news in the garden. They can persist for many years, before they appear as a problem, and when they do, they often show up in one of a few primary ways. First, plant foliage may appear yellow, or they may appear as mosaic patches of yellow, light green, or white. Next, the plant may appear stunted. In addition, the plants are often misshapen or malformed. Specifically, the leaves may be rolled, or swollen or puckered, or they may be abnormally narrow.
Unlike bacteria and fungi, viruses are not spread by water or wind. Instead, they must physically enter the plant. One of the most common vectors of viruses are insects. Insects feed on infected plants and transmit the viruses to healthy plants when they feed again. Other ways include plant propagation, contact by humans, and infected seed.
Unfortunately, once infected, there are no chemical treatments for eliminating a virus. Once detected, you should remove all suspected plants. Although this can seem like drastic measures, it is the most effective way to reduce continued spread. It is difficult to prevent viruses from affecting your plants. Your best efforts will be to look for virus-resistant cultivars, provide physical barriers, such as floating row covers, or to actively eliminate vectoring pests from entering your garden.
Wednesday, 11 January 2017
We are made of stars
The theory that everyone and everything on Earth contains minuscule star particles dates back further than Moby's popular 2002 song "We Are All Made of Stars."
In the early 1980s, astronomer Carl Sagan hosted and narrated a 13-part television series called "Cosmos" that aired on PBS. On the show, Sagan thoroughly explained many science-related topics, including Earth's history, evolution, the origin of life and the solar system.
"We are a way for the universe to know itself. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff," Sagan famously stated in one episode.
His statement sums up the fact that the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen atoms in our bodies, as well as atoms of all other heavy elements, were created in previous generations of stars over 4.5 billion years ago. Because humans and every other animal as well as most of the matter on Earth contain these elements, we are literally made of star stuff, said Chris Impey, professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona.
"All organic matter containing carbon was produced originally in stars," Impey told Life's Little Mysteries. "The universe was originally hydrogen and helium, the carbon was made subsequently, over billions of years."
How star stuff got to Earth
When it has exhausted its supply of hydrogen, it can die in a violent explostion, called a nova. The explosion of a massive star, called a supernova, can be billions of times as bright as the Sun , according to "Supernova," (World Book, Inc., 2005). Such a stellar explosion throws a large cloud of dust and gas into space, with the amount and composition of the material expelled varying depending on the type of supernova.
A supernova reaches its peak brightness a few days after it first occurred, during which time it may outshine an entire galaxy of stars. The dead star then continues to shine intensely for several weeks before gradually fading from view, according to "Supernova."
The material from a supernova eventually disperses throughout interstellar space. The oldest stars almost exclusively consisted of hydrogen and helium, with oxygen and the rest of the heavy elements in the universe later coming from supernova explosions, according to "Cosmic Collisions: The Hubble Atlas of Merging Galaxies," (Springer, 2009).
"It's a well-tested theory," Impey said. "We know that stars make heavy elements, and late in their lives, they eject gas into the medium between stars so it can be part of subsequent stars and planets (and people)."
Cosmic connections
So, all life on Earth and the atoms in our bodies were created in the furnace of now-long-dead stars, he said.
In 2002, music artist Moby released "We Are All Made of Stars," explaining during a press interview that his lyrics were inspired by quantum physics. "On a basic quantum level, all the matter in the universe is essentially made up of stardust," he said.
More recently, Symphony of Science, an artistic project headed by John Boswell and designed to deliver scientific knowledge though musical remixes, released "We Are All Connected." The song features clip of Sagan's "We're made of star stuff" proclamation, created into a song with software program Auto-Tune .
Vitamin C kills cancerous cells
Vitamin C has a patchy history as a cancer therapy, but researchers at the University of Iowa believe that is because it has often been used in a way that guarantees failure.
Most vitamin C therapies involve taking the substance orally. However, the UI scientists have shown that giving vitamin C intravenously -- and bypassing normal gut metabolism and excretion pathways -- creates blood levels that are 100 -- 500 times higher than levels seen with oral ingestion. It is this super-high concentration in the blood that is crucial to vitamin C's ability to attack cancer cells.
Earlier work by UI redox biology expert Garry Buettner found that at these extremely high levels (in the millimolar range), vitamin C selectively kills cancer cells but not normal cells in the test tube and in mice. Physicians at UI Hospitals and Clinics are now testing the approach in clinical trials for pancreatic cancer and lung cancer that combine high-dose, intravenous vitamin C with standard chemotherapy or radiation. Earlier phase 1 trials indicated this treatment is safe and well-tolerated and hinted that the therapy improves patient outcomes. The current, larger trials aim to determine if the treatment improves survival.
In a new study, published recently in the December issue of the journal Redox Biology, Buettner and his colleagues have homed in on the biological details of how high-dose vitamin C (also known as ascorbate) kills cancer cells.
The study shows that vitamin C breaks down easily, generating hydrogen peroxide, a so-called reactive oxygen species that can damage tissue and DNA. The study also shows that tumor cells are much less capable of removing the damaging hydrogen peroxide than normal cells.
"In this paper we demonstrate that cancer cells are much less efficient in removing hydrogen peroxide than normal cells. Thus, cancer cells are much more prone to damage and death from a high amount of hydrogen peroxide," says Buettner, a professor of radiation oncology and a member of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. "This explains how the very, very high levels of vitamin C used in our clinical trials do not affect normal tissue, but can be damaging to tumor tissue."
Normal cells have several ways to remove hydrogen peroxide, keeping it at very low levels so it does not cause damage. The new study shows that an enzyme called catalase is the central route for removing hydrogen peroxide generated by decomposing vitamin C. The researchers discovered that cells with lower amounts of catalase activity were more susceptible to damage and death when they were exposed to high amounts of vitamin C.
Buettner says this fundamental information might help determine which cancers and which therapies could be improved by inclusion of high-dose ascorbate in the treatment.
"Our results suggest that cancers with low levels of catalase are likely to be the most responsive to high-dose vitamin C therapy, whereas cancers with relatively high levels of catalase may be the least responsive," he explains.
A future goal of the research is to develop methods to measure catalase levels in tumors.
Telescopes get modified to find aliens
A huge telescope in Chile is going to be modified so that it can look for aliens.
The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope will be altered so that it can better look for potentially inhabitable and inhabited planets in Alpha Centauri, the star system that is closest to Earth.
The modifications are part of a deal between the ESO and Breakthrough Starshot, a huge venture that eventually hopes to send tiny spacecraft deep into space, among other projects.
Starshot, which is backed by internet billionaire Yuri Milner and physicist Stephen Hawking, will provide funding to allow equipment on the Very Large Telescope that studies in the mid-infrared to be adapted to better detect faint planets, the ESO said in a statement on Monday.
The adaptation will have the effect of reducing bright stellar light that drowns out relatively dim planets, improving the chances of finding them, it said.
Larger telescopes planned for the 2020s – such as the ESO's own Extremely Large Telescope, current under construction in Chile – should provide researchers with more information on the number and nature of exoplanets.
The ESO is an intergovernmental astronomy organisation backed by 16 countries in Europe and South America and hosted in Chile.
