Desiree

How are things in Thailand? Is this affecting you personally or is it business as usual?

I'm about to make a trip to Thailand. This makes me want to run out and buy a few phones to sell. I could almost pay for my trip.

This is one of the reasons I love Thailand, it's acceptance of all people. Transsexual Miss World contest aims to boost awareness Shimmering in a tight gold evening gown, a Japanese television host wept and called for greater tolerance as she was crowned the world's most beautiful transsexual at a pageant in Thailand. Haruna Ai,37, beat off stiff competition from 20 other glamorous contestants at the Miss International Queen 2009 who came to the Thai beach resort of Pattaya from as far as Brazil and the United States. "I am very,very, very happy," a tearful Ai told AFP minutes after the previous title holder carefully placed a faux-diamond tiara on her head. "I want contests like this to show everyone that they should love each other and live freely. The way of life in Japan is more traditional and transsexuals cannot live freely, but in Thailand they can do what they want," she said. More: http://news.malaysia...umentid=3681529

Salmon Salad With Blueberries Ingredients 3 ounce(s) fish, salmon fillet, wild-caught 2 cup(s) lettuce, mixed greens, packaged 1 cup(s) tomato(es), chopped 1/4 cup(s) blueberries, fresh or defrosted frozen 1/2 ounce(s) cheese, feta, crumbled, reduced-fat 1 tablespoon nuts, walnuts, chopped, raw 1/4 cup(s) beans, cannellini, no-salt-added, rinsed and drained 1/8 cup(s) onion(s), red, cut into 1/8 inch-thick slices separated into rings 2 tablespoon vinaigrette, raspberry walnut Preparation Heat pan over medium heat. Add salmon fillet, skin side down. Cook approximately 5-7 minutes, until fish is a light pink color.Add salmon to salad greens. Mix remaining ingredients. Eat immediately. About This Recipe Cook Time: 7 mins Total Time: 7 mins Quick Meal Contains Nuts Contains Dairy Nutrition Facts Number of Servings: 1 Amount Per Serving Calories: 422 Total Fat: 19 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 59 mg Sodium: 435 mg Total Carbohydrate: 37 g Dietary Fiber: 9 g Protein: 30 g Credit to JillianMichaels.com. I cooked this the other day and it was delicious. It was fast and easy if you have the ingredients, but the ingredients aren't hard to find if you don't have them.

It adds up quickly for active members. Nice site, by the way.

I hope my body holds up this well.

The comments on this thread have been almost as good as the media covering this the last couple of days and the video of what Dave said.

I didn't know that and we hope to travel to France next summer.

For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad By MICHELLE HIGGINS BETTERpack some cash on your next trip abroad. Americans are finding thattheir credit and bank cards aren’t as convenient as they once werewhile traveling overseas. The problem: American cards lack aspecial chip, now commonly used in many foreign countries, causing thecards to be rejected by some merchants and kiosks. That’s whatNancy Elkind, a lawyer from Denver, discovered in Paris when she wantedto use the popular Vélib’ bicycle rental system on a week long vacationwith her husband last spring. They tried to swipe various cards at therental kiosk, which doesn’t take cash, and all the cards were rejected. Then,thinking the problem might be with the kiosk and not their cards, theytried other Vélib’ locations around the city. But each time, theircards were not accepted. “We gave up, and kept walking aroundParis, commenting occasionally on how much fun it would be to do someexploring by bike,” Ms. Elkind said. The couple’s cards, whichrely on magnetic-stripe technology for transactions, lacked an embeddedmicroprocessor chip, which stores and processes data and is nowcommonly used in Europe. Such chip-based cards — commonly referred toas chip-and-PIN cards because users punch in a personal identificationnumber instead of signing for the purchase — offer an extra layer ofprotection against the theft of cardholder data and counterfeiting, andthey are designed to replace magnetic stripe technology and signaturepayments. The chip-and-PIN technology usually isn’t much of anissue when making purchases at a store, or paying for a meal in arestaurant, as most of those merchants still have credit card terminalsthat can read the magnetic stripes. Likewise, A.T.M.’s typicallyrecognize and accept many cards whether they have a chip or a magneticstripe. But American cardholders have had their cards rejected byautomated ticket kiosks at train stations, gas pumps, parking garagesand other places where there are no cashiers. The alternativesaren’t ideal. Carrying around a wad of cash is a throwback, not tomention a security concern, for many travelers trained over the yearsto use plastic for purchases abroad. And as more countries aroundthe world move to chip-and-PIN cards, it’s inevitable that Americanswill encounter more difficulties paying for things abroad. Twenty-twocountries, including much of Europe, Mexico, Brazil and Japan, haveadopted the technology, according to the Smart Card Alliance, anonprofit association that promotes chip cards. About 50 othercountries are in various stages of migrating to the technology in thenext two years, including China, India and most of Latin America,according to the association. In the last year, Canada beganrolling out chip-and-PIN cards and plans to stop accepting magneticstripe debit cards at A.T.M.’s after 2012 and at point-of-saleterminals after 2015. These governments like the cards becausethey reduce fraud. With an embedded microcontroller, large amounts ofdata can be stored on the card itself rather than in a centraldatabase, and counterfeiting such a card is difficult. But theUnited States banking industry has no immediate plans to adopt thetechnology. Part of the reason, experts say, is that fraud issueshaven’t been as prevalent here as in other countries. The expenseof converting the country to chip-and-PIN technology is also adeterrent. Javelin Strategy and Research, a consulting company for thefinancial services industry, has estimated the cost for the UnitedStates’ to migrate to the technology at $5.5 billion, mainly for newpayment terminals — an expense that neither retailers nor banks want toshoulder. Doug Johnson, vice president for risk management policyat the American Bankers Association, said that American banks wereconcerned about security but that there were no plans to move tochip-and-PIN cards. “There are a lot of hurdles,” he said, “both from acost standpoint as well as a network standpoint, we need to broach.” Itshould be noted that chip-and-PIN cards are different from the radiofrequency chip that some American credit cards now have, which allowscustomers to wave their card at a check-out scanner, instead ofphysically swiping it. Visa’s payWave cards and Expresspay cards from American Express are two examples. Butregardless of the technology used, merchants have a certain amount ofcontrol over what kinds of cards they accept. Vélib’, for example,accepts American Expresscards whether they have chip-and-PIN technology or not. But it doesn’taccept Visa or MasterCards unless they have the chip-and-PIN technology. CREDITcard issuers acknowledge the problems but offer few solutions at themoment. Randa N. Ghnaim, a spokeswoman for Visa, said the company wasworking with banks and merchants across Europe to ensure that theyaccept magnetic stripe cards in addition to chip-and-PINs. “Wehave heard of limited instances where merchants have refused to acceptVisa magnetic stripe cards, but by and large, the majority of Visacards are seamlessly accepted internationally,” she said. “It’s usuallya lack of understanding that could lead to any issues rather than anyissue related to the type of card a consumer may carry.” And atleast one company, Travelex, the global payment services company, saysit is working on a chip-and-PIN card for Americans that could be loadedwith up to 6,000 euros or £4,500 — about $9,000 or $7,400 at recentexchange rates. But that solution is still at least a year away. “It’s definitely something we’ve been hearing more and more of,” said Tracy Hammock, a senior vice president at Travelex. Fornow, though, there is little an American traveler can do besidesinsisting, if a cashier refuses your card, that the merchant swipe itanyway. Despite what the cashier thinks, the terminal may be able toread the magnetic strip and approve the purchase. Butrealistically, it’s not a huge problem, and there are ways to workaround it. You can still buy things like train tickets and subway cardsonline ahead of time, carry traveler’s checks or simply pack a lot ofcash. That’s what Hope Einstein, a retired financial analyst fromStamford, Conn., decided to do on a trip to Great Missenden, England,last month, after she encountered chip-and-PIN issues two years ago.Lucky she did. Ms. Einstein still wasn’t able to withdraw money fromA.T.M.’s. But this time, she wisely exchanged some dollars for poundsbefore leaving the United States. Recalling her first visit, she said, “It’s humbling to be walking around London with five bucks in your pocket.” Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/travel/04pracchip.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

A former student of mine came down with the swine flu. It hit her hard and fast. She was doing her pediatric residency, got very sick, developed something known as ARDS, and is now on a ventilator. I have to admit that this has shaken me a bit because I thought most of this was media hype, too. I guess when it hits someone you know, it makes you think twice.

Student punished for spaghetti beliefs Thursday, March 29, 2007 The Flying Spaghetti Monster A student has been suspended from school in America for coming to class dressed as a pirate. But the disciplinary action has provoked controversy – because the student says that the ban violates his rights, as the pirate costume is part of his religion. Bryan Killian says that he follows the Pastafarian religion, and that as a crucial part of his faith, he must wear 'full pirate regalia' as prescribed in the holy texts of Pastafarianism. The school, however, say that his pirate garb was disruptive. Pastafarians follow the Flying Spaghetti Monster (pictured), and believe that the world was created by the touch of his noodly appendage. Furthermore, they acknowledge pirates as being 'absolute divine beings', and stress that the worldwide decline in the number of pirates has directly led to global warming. A man in full pirate regalia Pastafarianism gained wide attention when its key prophet, Bobby Henderson, wrote to the Kansas School Board during the height of the controversy over 'Intelligent Design' being taught in science classes. His letter, also published on his website, demanded equal time be given to the teachings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as was given to ID and evolutionary theory. Since then, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has gained countless followers worldwide, although there are those who remain spagnostic. The school, in North Buncombe, North Carolina,remains adamant that their decision to suspend Killian for a day has nothing to do with his religion, and quite a lot to do with his repeated refusal to heed warnings against wearing pirate outfits. Link: http://www.metro.co....72&in_page_id=2

No, I didn't know that. Thanks for the link. Actually, it's .cc instead of .com. It also gives a video preview if available. Very nice.

I can't believe they'd even consider making someone pay to listen to a sample they are using to decide if they want the whole cd. I'm not too much of a download girl. I like having the hard copy with the artwork, so I buy the whole cd.