Have a heart: 20-40 age group is at high risk

When it comes to heart diseases, the thirties, it seems, are the new fifties. If the typical heart patient until five years back was in his five years back was in his mid-fifties, doctors say this no longer holds true. Now, the man with blockages in his heart is most probably in the 30-39 age group and with another health complication such as diabetes or hypertension.

The Saffolalife Study 2009, covering 8,469 people, found that 49.1% Indians were at high risk for developing heart diseases. On the eve of World Heart Day, the multi-city survey found that this bunch’s vital heart statistic — the ratio of total cholesterol and good cholesterol (called HDL) — is too high at 4.5 to be termed healthy. The American Heart Association holds the ideal ratio between total cholesterol and HDL is 3.3. The survey also found most men in the 30-39 age group fell in the high risk category.
Men from Mumbai and Chennai were worst off (with a high risk ratio of 49.6% and 53.8% respectively) as compared to men in Kolkata and Delhi (32% and 29.7% respectively). The survey attributed the difference in the risk rates for Mumbai’s men to longer commuting time, long working hours, unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity and erratic eating schedules. Others had better lifestyle habits.
According to Dr Shashank Joshi, endocrinologist with Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, who was associated with the survey, “The survey only underlines what we are seeing now — abnormal cholesteral and trigylcerides in the younger age group. In fact, the 20-40 age group is the new vulnerable group as far as heart disease goes.’’ He blames the high levels of stress and disrupted sleep patterns for the development.
Dr N O Bansal, who heads the cardiology department of J J Hospital in Byculla, says, “There is no more denying the fact that as compared to a Caucasian youngster, the Indian youngster is more prone to heart diseases.’’ It is a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors, he says. Stating that the “younger phase’’ of heart diseases was apparent about five years back, he says his department — a referral center for the entire state — gets men under 30 as well.
Cardiologist Dr Manjeet Juneja, who consults at Wockhardt Hospital, Mulund, says heart diseases are happening 15 years too early for most people because of “preventable causes’’. He recalls a 23-year-old brought to the hospital from Nashik. “The boy was tense about admission to an MBA course and smoked a cigarette 30 minutes before collapsing,’’ says Dr Juneja. He was managed with medicines alone.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

          Stone Cold Steve Austin (3:16)

Steve Austin (born Steven Anderson on December 18, 1964, later Steven Williams),better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler. Austin wrestled for several well-known wrestling promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and most famously, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which later became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. In the late 1990s, Austin gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a disrespectful, beer-drinking antihero who routinely defied his boss, Vince McMahon. This defiance was often shown by Austin flipping McMahon off and incapacitating him with the Stone Cold Stunner, his finishing move.

Austin had his first starring film role as Jack Conrad in the 2007 thriller The Condemned. He will next star as "Dan Paine" in "The Expendables" for director/star Sylvester Stallone. Austin recently wrapped production on "Damage," a hard-edged, bare-knuckles fight film that focuses on the tough choices people make in times of recession. The film is the first in a multi-picture deal between Austin, Nasser Entertainment, and Caliber Media. Austin also recently signed a television development deal with Original Media and Caliber Media.
Austin has won the WWF Championship six times, the 1996 King of the Ring, and the 1997, 1998 and 2001 Royal Rumbles, and is the only man in WWE history to win the Royal Rumble three times. He is widely regarded as the biggest star in the history of professional wrestling, and has been described as such by prominent industry figures such as Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman and Ric Flair.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Match Schedule

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 Match Schedule

Group A                    Group B


1 Australia                 2 South Africa

4 India                       3 New Zealand

5 Pakistan                  6 Sri Lanka

8 West Indies             7 England


Day Date The Wanderers Centurion

1 Tue 22 Sept SA v SL D/N

2 Wed 23 Sep Pakistan v WI D/N

3 Thu 24 Sept SA v NZ D

4 Fri 25 Sept SL v England D/N

5 Sat 26 Sept WI v Australia D India v Pakistan D/N

6 Sun 27 Sept NZ v SL D SA v England D/N

7 Mon 28 Sept Australia v India D/N

8 Tue 29 Sept England v NZ D/N

9 Wed 30 Sept India v WI D/N Australia v Pakistan D

10 Thu 1 Oct

11 Fri 2 Oct A1 V B2 D/N

12 Sat 3 Oct B1 v A2 D/N

13 Sun 4 Oct

14 Mon 5 Oct Final D/N



Day games start at 0930

Day/Night games start at 1430

'Facebook makes you sharper but Twitter makes you thicker'

Twitter and texting affect memory capacity

Sudoku, games and Facebook 'better for memory'
 
FACEBOOK makes you sharper but Twitter makes you thicker, a psychologist has said.

The social networking site boosts a part of intelligence that is vital to success in life, while tweeting away may have the opposite effect.
Keeping up to date with Facebook may have the same effect as playing video war games and solving Sudoku, said Dr Tracy Alloway of Scotland's University of Stirling.
It hones the ability to remember information and to use it, known as "working memory".
At a job interview, a candidate will use working memory to match answers to questions in the best way.
Dr Alloway has studied working memory and believes it to be far more important to success and happiness than IQ.
Video games that involved planning and strategy, such as those from the Total War series, might also train working memory, Dr Alloway told the UK's Daily Telegraph.
"I'm not saying they're good for your socialisation skills, but they do make you use your working memory," she said.
"You're keeping track of past actions and mapping the actions you're going to take."

Sudoku also stretched the working memory, as did keeping up with friends on Facebook, she said.
But text messaging, micro-blogging on Twitter and watching YouTube were likely to weaken "working memory".
"On Twitter you receive an endless stream of information, but it's also very succinct," Dr Alloway said.
"You don't have to process that information. Your attention span is being reduced and you're not engaging your brain and improving nerve connections."
She said there was evidence linking TV viewing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, while extensive texting was associated with lower IQ scores.

Emma Watson (Harry Potter star) flies into university

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  Harry Potter star in chopper landing
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  Watson in literature and geology classes

DESPITE the Harry Potter actress's pleas to remain "anonymous" as she starts her first term at the prestigious Brown University in Rhode Island, she made a less than low-key entrance.

One student on campus said: "We couldn't believe the Harry Potter girl got a chopper in. I mean, my parents just drove me over from New York state - but I guess she's had to come a long way, anyway. 

"I've not spoken to her yet, but word around campus is she's pretty normal and OK, I haven't seen any of her films, so I don't know too much about her."
Despite her grand entrance, 19-year-old Emma looked much more relaxed over the weekend as she hung out with her fellow freshmen on the campus lawns, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and denim hot pants.
Emma - who has also previously modelled for Vogue magazine and Chanel - has enrolled in an English literature course at the university and attended her "orientation day" on Friday. She is also believed to be taking a geology class for her first semester.Emma has previously said she wants her university experience to be as "normal" as possible, despite starring in some of the biggest grossing films of all time.

She said: "I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I'm doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity.
"I want to be normal, I want to do college properly, like everyone else. As long as I don't walk in and see, like, Harry Potter posters everywhere, I'll be fine."

Laing(recipes)

Laing

Ingredients


40 taro root leaves (dahon ng gabi), chopped

1/2 lb. pork, chopped

1/2 lb. shrimp, chopped

1 t. ginger, finely chopped

Siling labuyo(whole chili pepper) to taste

2 T bagoong to taste

3 cups coconut milk

1/2 cup water

Preparation

Place taro root leaves on the bottom of cooking pot. Put pork, shrimp, ginger, coconut milk and water on top and let boil until pork is tender.

Add bagoong and siling labuyo. Stir well.

Crush siling labuyo, if desired spicier dish. Let cook for another 5 minutes.

Dhoni is world’s top earning cricketer

BOTH LOOKING FOR FEW MORE SPONSERS

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the richest international cricketer with an annual earning of $10 million, according to Forbes.

The Forbes said that Dhoni earns $8 million in endorsements, from the brands like Reebok, General Electric and Pepsi, and the rest from his cricket salary and fees. Among all Indian athletes and entertainers, Dhoni’s total of 17 corporate sponsors is second only to Bollywood star and co-owner of the Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is in the second place in the list of The World’s Top-Earning Cricketers. Tendulkar, known to fans as Little Master, is considered among the greatest batsman in cricket history.

Now in the twilight of his career, he’s one of five Indian Premier League (IPL) players who have been bestowed “icon” status, meaning he automatically receives a paycheck 15 percent larger than his highest paid teammate. Tendulkar’s $1.1 million salary from the Mumbai Indians helped push his total earnings to $8 million over the last 12 months.

The Kings XI Punjab’s captain and dashing left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh is the third highest paid cricketer. He has earned just over $1 million from the team and another $4 million from endorsements, primarily from Reebok and Fiat.

Andhra CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy feared dead

Andhra CM YSR Reddy missing: Complete Coverage




The chopper took off at 8.45 am for Chittoor and was scheduled to arrive at 10.45 am. Earlier reports suggested that the chopper had landed in the middle of thick forest, said to be affected by the Maoist activities.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) sources said the chopper went off the radar due to heavy rains. The helicopter lost contact with Air Traffic Controller at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad and since then there has not been any contact with the Chief Minister.

There has been no contact with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, whose helicopter has been missing since 9:30 am after he took off from Hyderabad Wednesday monring, Home Ministry sources said earlier. "There has been no contact established with the helicopter," sources in the ministry said. Helicopters involved in the search had been called back due to bad weather but foot search will continue. 600 CRPF jawans were deployed for the search operation.

Massive search operations were launched with seven Air Force helicopters and 5000 CRPF personnel pressed to find the Chief Minister and others aboard the chopper.

Search operations were aborted because of bad weather in the area, which in any case is a challenge due to dense forest. The area is said to be infested with Naxals and Tigers.

The air-search operations began at 6.00 to 6.30 on Thursday morning and there are reports of YSR's chopper being located. There is no news of survivors yet.

Gadget of the Year 08 - Touch screen Mobiles

Touchscreen Phone of the Year - iPhone 3G




It’s not really something to think about. When you’re discussing touchscreen mobiles the first name to pop into your head is the Apple iPhone. What it lacks in features, it more than makes up in functionality. The truly remarkable feature is its touch screen, from the smooth accelerometer to the multi-touch feature for pinching in and out of pages and images for zooming, to an intuitive ambient light sensor to save battery power, the iPhone is a technological marvel. The large 3.5 inch display sports a 320 x 480 pixel resolution and makes watching videos a real treat. The iPod like audio player is also one of its better features as well as the addition of internal GPS receiver and of course Wi-Fi capabilities that was prevalent in the first gen model too. It’s still has a few bugs that hopefully will be ironed out over time, but this is definitely still our choice for the years best touchscreen mobile handset.

Runner Up - Samsung F480




The F480 TouchWiz is equipped with a 2.8 inch TFT touch screen display sporting a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. The typical Samsung OS is accentuated by the total touchscreen UI so using a stylus would a rare occurrence. Not unlike the iPhone the F480 also makes use of what I like to call ‘flip’ technology for scrolling though the gallery or viewing one image at a time. You need but to swipe your hand across the screen to move from one image to the next. To add to its appeal it also has a 5 megapixel camera with features like anti-shake and face detection. Support for Stereo Bluetooth and microSD cards for external memory are also available.

Value - LG KP500




The KP500 Cookie is one of the cheapest if not the cheapest totally touchscreen handset available on the market. It employs a lot of functionality with good looks, just like the iPhone. With the choice of a decently designed on screen QWERTY keypad for typing or a normal mobile keypad and handwriting recognition tossed in, the Cookie is even more enticing. The 3 megapixel camera is loaded with is non-autofocus but that doesn’t really matter. This handset is designed for multimedia with plenty of editors for video and images. It also uses ‘flip’ technology for browsing through images or even for switching between the two unique desktops. You’ll again hardly ever require the use of the stylus, so this is our choice of the best value totally touchscreen handset. With price tag of just Rs 13,990 you can’t go wrong.

You’re probably wondering why isn’t the Xperia or the new Nokia 5800 or even the HTC touch HD included? The reason is because the 5800 and HD haven’t hit the shelves yet and we haven’t finished reviewing the Xperia hence we can’t really justify it as a years best. But stay tuned for more on the Gadget of the Year – Mobiles when we cover the best all round handset.

Fisichella puts Force India on pole

FORMULA ONE / Toyota's Trulli on P2 as Button (14th) and Hamilton (12th) struggle




SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS: Giancarlo Fisichella gave Force India an astonishing first pole position while Formula One championship leader Jenson Button qualified only 14th for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
While Force India has yet to score a point in 29 races, the 36-year-old from Rome has been first on the grid thrice before - he last started on pole with Renault in Malaysia in 2006.
Fisichella's teammate Adrian Sutil qualified 11th.
''It's amazing. It's fantastic. I'm so happy about that... I didn't expect that result,'' said the Italian, who side-stepped a suggestion that his car might be fuelled lighter than those behind him.
''This is one of my favourite circuits... But I didn't expect to be on pole. We made a big step forward from the last race,'' he added.
Toyota's Jarno Trulli made it an all-Italian front row, with German Nick Heidfeld third for struggling BMW-Sauber.
Brawn GP's Button failed to make it into the top 10 for the first time this season and will have a fight on his hands to come away with any points on Sunday while teammate and closest title rival Rubens Barrichello, who is 18 points adrift with six races remaining after winning the previous race in Valencia last weekend, qualified fourth.
Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, third and fourth in the standings respectively, filled the ninth and eighth places on the grid.
Ferrari's Badoer last
Italian Luca Badoer's days as stand-in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa looked numbered when the 38-year-old spun into the gravel and qualified last for the second race in a row. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen starts sixth.
Fisichella has already made clear that he would love to take Badoer's place.
''It's a dream for a driver in Formula One to drive for Ferrari, especially for an Italian driver like me... but I'm just concentrating on Force India and the race tomorrow,'' he told a news conference. ''For sure, my result is something incredible. It's a great day, but I want to do the best and just concentrate on the race tomorrow.''
While Force India was the quickest of the Mercedes-powered teams, McLaren endured a nightmare afternoon at a circuit that has favoured it heavily in the past. World champion Lewis Hamilton qualified 12th with Finnish teammate Heikki Kovalainen 15th.
The qualifying results: 1. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India-Mercedes) 1 min 46.308 secs, 2. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:46.395, 3. Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:46.500, 4. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn-Mercedes) 1:46.513, 5. Robert Kubica (BMW-Sauber) 1:46.586, 6. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:46.633, 7. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1:46.677, 8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 1:46.761, 9. Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 1:46.788, 10. Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) 1:47.362, 11. Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) 1:45.119, 12. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:45.122, 13. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:45.136, 14. Jenson Button (Brawn-Mercedes) 1:45.251, 15. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:45.259, 16. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:45.951, 17. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:46.032, 18. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams-Toyota) 1:46.307, 19. Romain Grosjean (Renault) 1:46.359, 20. Luca Badoer (Ferrari) 1:46.957.

Nokia May Enter Netbook Market

The world's top mobile phone maker, Nokia is "actively looking at the netbook market to see what kind of opportunity is there."

Till now, the market has seen major personal computer makers turning their attention to the mobile phone business in their efforts to diversify their product offering and launch devices that fetch higher margins. Dell recently joined other PC makers including HP, Acer and Asustek Computer to come up with its own hi-end mobile devices. Now we're beginning to see the trend reverse as the world's largest cell phone maker, Nokia is "actively looking at the netbook market to see what kind of opportunity is there."
"The PC and the mobile will continue to come closer and merge. A lot of opportunity can be seen in this converged area. We at Nokia are actively looking at this converged market ... We are looking at the netbook market to see what kind of opportunity is there," The Economic Times quoted Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, global CEO, Nokia as saying.

Nokia chief also sees a lot of opportunity in the Indian market with the roll-out of the third-generation mobile services. "3G will open up a lot of opportunity," he said.

Contrary to the general perception that India is a market for only low-end phones, Kallasvuo said, "Our recently launched two high-end mobile phones -- N-97 and E-75 -- have been doing extremely well, and we are overwhelmed with the response."