Blog Marco - Random Stuff

Random Facts and Figures

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 18:08:40 -0800

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Prevent Cancer: Wear a Burqini

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:20:14 -0700

Teaser:
Prevent Cancer: Wear a Burqini: modest swimsuit. With SPF 50+ you won't need Sunscreen.

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Join the latest craze! Instead of wearing a sexy bikini consider wearing a Burqini this Summer beach season. With in-built SPF50+ protection, this modest swimsuit for any lady, woman or girl, you won't need to worry about sunscreen. (except for the exposed facial part). Made with polyester, it is chlorine, water repellent and quick drying.

Aheda Zanetti is the Australian inventor of this modest swimsuit, humbly called a Burqini (a play on the word bikini). The leg and head covering polyester swimsuit was brought to market in 2003 and is highly controversial in many countries. The swimsuit was banned in most countries before being accepted. For example, the burqini was initially banned in the UK, The Netherlands Germany, Sweden and Austria before being approved. More recently, a 35-year-old French woman was banned from her local swimming pool after wearing the swimsuit. Business is booming for the burqini as Muslim and non-Muslim women seek a conservative approach in their swimwear.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:52:00 -0700

Teaser:
The seven deadly sins and their meanings: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride and Lust

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The Seven Deadly Sins, the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a list of the most objectionable vices which tend to destroy the life of grace and create eternal damnation that can only be absolved through Confession or be forgiven through the perfect contrition of the penitent.

The Lord, in the Book of Proverbs, specifically regards these as haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, a deceitful witness that uttereth lies and him that soweth discord among brethren.

The Epistle to the Galatians gave another list which also included the traditional seven sins. Pope Gregory I, in 590 AD, revised such but was consequently changed because the traits weren't collectively referred to by the Bible itself. The modern concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is linked to Evagrius Ponticus, a 4th century monk, who listed eight Latin evil thoughts which then gave birth to the modern concept of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Married Cousins - Is it Incest?!

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:54:36 -0700

Teaser:
Is it incest to marry your first cousin? Marriage to your cousin. Married Cousins.

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Is it incest to marry your first cousin? Why am I even writing and researching this? My inquiries all started with this unusual question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire where the hosts asks: "Which of these famous people was never married to his first cousin?" Is that even legal? Did you know household names such as Edgar Allan Poe, HG Wells, Charles Darwin, Johann Bach, Jerry Lee Lewis, Igor Stravinsky, John Adams and Albert Einstein have married their first cousins? (oh and perhaps most of Europe's royal family - but I think thats common knowledge) oh and also (Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, and his second cousin once removed, Regina Peruggi)... plenty more names...

Wikipedia, (the most reliable source for information on the internet today) *cough* (sarcastically said) says this about marriage between cousins:

Marriages and sexual relationships between cousins are viewed differently in many cultures, in both law and religion. In most countries, marriage between cousins is legal, though some religious and cultural restrictions exist in these same nations. Many jurisdictions in the United States and the Netherlands follow a more restrictive doctrine and legally prohibit such marriages as incestuous. Whereas in some countries in the east, eastern Europe and some other places, the marriage between first cousins is allowed. Consanguineous unions remain preferential in North Africa, the Middle East and large parts of Asia, with marriage between first cousins particularly popular. Communities such as the Dhund Abbasi of Pakistan clearly prefer marriages between cousins as they ensure purity of the descent line, provide intimate knowledge of the spouses, and ensure that patrimony will not pass into the hands of "outsiders".

Robots and Bears Will Take Over the World

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:21:10 -0700

Teaser:
Weekend Reading: Robots and Bears will take over the world

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I have the mother of all conspiracy theories... The robots and the bears are quietly planning their conquest for world domination. The bears have been busy examining bikes and learning how to cycle. While robots are advancing so fast... Where am I coming up with all these weird and crazy ideas?

There were two articles of interest in my weekend reading: "Bear-Proof Can Is Pop-Top Picnic for a Crafty Thief" and "Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man".

Be Afraid... Be very afraid... the robots are soon going to be taking over the world... complete with Skynet and Terminator...

Cash for Clunkers 2009 Bill

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:43:12 -0700

Teaser:
Cars.Gov the New Cash for Clunkers Website has launched here are some cash for clunkers bill details

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Cars.Gov the new cash for clunkers website was launched last Monday. The government website offers information on how the process of trading an older vehicle for a more-efficient model will work, and urges customers to call dealers to see if they will register for the program. Last Thursday, US Congress sent the $1-billion Cash for Clunkers 2009 bill to President Barack Obama for his signature. The Cash for Clunkers program should put $3,500 to $4,500 in the pockets of about 250,000 people trading in older gas guzzlers for new, more environmentally friendly cars.

Cash for Clunkers 2009 – Car Allowance Rebate System

The cash for clunkers program is supposed to help get old cars off the road and replace them with newer more safer, fuel efficient vehicles. Here are the rules:

Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
You don’t need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase

The US Government would send you up to $4,500 to the selling dealer IF YOU Trade in a car that — this is a key point — has been registered and in use for at least a year, and has a federal combined city/highway fuel-economy rating of 18 or fewer miles per gallon. And then you Buy a new car, priced at $45,000 or less and rated at least 4 mpg better than the old one (gets a $3,500 voucher). If the new one gets at least 10 mpg better, you get the full $4,500.

What Does "Take With a Pinch of Salt" mean?

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:52:00 -0700

Teaser:
Learn the meaning of "Take With a Pinch of Salt".

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I was reading a few forums about learning about "money making" schemes and gurus and one forum member advised to take their advice "with a pinch of salt." To take (advice) with a pinch of salt means: to listen to a story or an explanation with considerable doubt or to take a story and not completely believing in it and refusing to believe it is completely true. Where does this idiom come from? In Pliny’s Naturalis Historia, 77 A.D. he writes:

After the defeat of that mighty monarch, Mithridates, Gnaeus Pompeius found in his private cabinet a recipe for an antidote in his own handwriting; it was to the following effect: Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.

More recently, John Trapp wrote in "Commentary on the Old and New Testaments", 1647:

"This is to be taken with a grain of salt."

Motivational Poster: Sexy Butt

Sun, 24 May 2009 01:38:42 -0700

Teaser:
Motivational Poster: Sexy Butt or Sexy Heels

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There are plenty of spoof motivational posters out there, some websites even claim to have 53,000 of them! But a "good" one is a rarity, most are unfunny, crude, rude and tacky. This motivational poster makes you look twice. (!) Is it a Sexy Butt or are they a pair of sexy heels?

Blasphemy - YMCA

Wed, 20 May 2009 17:00:00 -0700

Teaser:
Blasphemy - Bunch of hoons posing in YMCA with a painting of Jesus on the cross

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Blasphemy - "A ticket to Hell Has Never been funnier" - YMCA

A Joke Relating to Money

Wed, 13 May 2009 14:41:34 -0700

Teaser:
Here's a joke relating to Money and Death

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I don't usually repost jokes but here's a goodie about what a widowed wife did with her husbands money.

There was a man who worked all of his life and saved all of his money. He was a real miser when it came to his money. He loved money more than just about anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I wanna take my money to the afterlife."

So he got his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him.

Well, one day he died. He was stretched out in the casket, the wife was sitting there in black next to her closest friend. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!"

She had a shoe box with her, she came over with the box and placed it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down and rolled it away. Her friend said, "I hope you weren't crazy enough to put all that money in the casket."

High Tension Leads

Tue, 12 May 2009 03:00:56 -0700

Teaser:
And the Problem was High Tension Leads: 1989 Holden Apollo aka a rebadged Toyota Camry had Attitude Problems

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I had my car tuned up last month. And now the car started playing up. The car is a 1989 Holden Apollo aka a rebadged Toyota Camry. The car is actually going to celebrate its 20th birthday on the 20th of October this year! Anyway, the car started to have "attitude problems" a week ago. When in neutral, the car would sputter as if it were dying. Other days it would run really smoothly. Then if the car was in a bad mood, when you're cruising, it would suddenly have difficulty in changing gears. I thought the transmission was gone. But the problem was with the high tension leads.

I brought in the car for the mechanic to check. For I know nothing about what's under the hood. I mean, I know that you need to maintain the oil levels and other lubricants under there - the air filters etc. I know the engine runs the car through valves etc... but I don't have the knowledge to diagnose the problem. Anyway - it wasn't the transmission - but the High tension leads were cracked. What are in High Tesion leads? High Tension Leads use a spiral wound stainless steel over ferrite coated Kevlar inner conductor with 2600C Silicone on Silicone insulating sleeves. High Temperature resistance 2600C silicone spark plug boots are combined with EPDM distributor and coil boots with 304 stainless terminals. They basically connect the spark plugs to the engine so the fuel can ignite in the valve. With the cracked Ignition leads, the engine was only running on a couple of valves, so it was struggling to switch gears and perhaps strugling to stay "alive" - hence the sputtering. If you have a problem with your car - and you live in South-Western Sydney, give Frank from Ultimate Auto Electrical & Mechanical Repairs a call on 9753 5355 (Cnr Bibbys Place and Bonnyrigg Avenue - 47 Bonnyrigg Avenue, Bonnyrigg) - I recommend it - tell him Marco sent you.

Tutorial: How to Solve a KenKen Puzzle

Mon, 11 May 2009 18:19:35 -0700

Teaser:
Tutorial: Learn How to Solve a KenKen Puzzle

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After the Sudoku Fun from yesterday, I decided to try the next upcoming "craze": KenKen. First of all why is it called KenKen? "'KEN' means wisdom in Japanese. KenKen means "wisdom squared," but you'll also gain some square wisdom as you solve our puzzle blocks!". If you want to learn more you can go visit the official website here: KenKen HQ.

KenKen Rules in Solving a Puzzle

For a 3x3 puzzle, fill in with numbers 1-3.
For a 4x4 puzzle, fill in with numbers 1-4.
For a 5x5 puzzle, fill in with numbers 1-5.
For a 6x6 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-6.
For a 7x7 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-7.
For a 8x8 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-8.
For a 9x9 puzzle, fill in with the numbers 1-9.

Do not repeat a number in any row or column.
The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated.
Cages with just one box should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.
A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

My First Try At Solving a Sudoku Puzzle

Sun, 10 May 2009 22:30:58 -0700

Teaser:
I never did catch on the Sudoku craze. Here's my first try at playing Sudoku

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I knew that Sudoku was a craze a few years ago. I didn't know the rules of the game until today and have not tried a puzzle ever. I played my first game on the miniclip Sudoku page. I completed the puzzle in 17 minutes and 57 seconds. If you are into the facsinating world of mathematics you may want to read this. However there is a new puzzle craze out there called KenKen

Sudoku (数独 ,sūdoku?)is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 boxes (also called blocks or regions) contains the digits from 1 to 9 only one time each. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid.

Completed puzzles are usually a type of Latin square with an additional constraint on the contents of individual regions. Leonhard Euler is sometimes incorrectly cited as the source of the puzzle, based on his related work with Latin squares. The modern puzzle was invented by an American architect, Howard Garns, in 1979 and published by Dell Magazines under the name "Numbers in Place." It was popularized in 1986 by the Japanese puzzle company Nikoli, under the name Sudoku, meaning single number.[6] It became an international hit in 2005.

Schadenfreude - Delight in Another Person's Misfortune

Sun, 10 May 2009 20:19:53 -0700

Teaser:
Schadenfreude - delight in another person's misfortune

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Schadenfreude - delight in another person's misfortune: there's a word for everything isn't there?! Usage: "The explosion in productivity, transparency, community and knowledge has been accompanied by largely unfettered pettiness, vituperation and schadenfreude." (from this opinion piece)

According to Wikipedia: Schadenfreude (IPA: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏ̯də]) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. The word referring to this emotion has been borrowed from German by the English language and is sometimes also used as a loanword by other languages. Philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno defined schadenfreude as “largely unanticipated delight in the suffering of another which is cognized as trivial and/or appropriate.

Tae Kwon Do One Step Sparring

Sun, 10 May 2009 14:56:07 -0700

I was surfing around and I stumbled on a bunch of Tae Kwon Do (TKD) videos on YouTube. Some comments to some of the videos said that the moves in one step sparring are robotic, not fluid and therefore unrealistic. The commenter also said that "You would never survive in a real fight if you relied on those moves as your defense." And another: "Not good. The practioners are WAY too far apart to make this effective training. In sparring or, God forbid, a real fight, the person will try to attack from too far a distance or have no experience in defending a real attack." When I used to train in TKD - I had the same thoughts in my mind, and so did the other students. We used to joke around about how funny and unrealistic the movements are. But in reality, this exercise trains your overall technique and discipline. One step sparring is done repetitively - and eventually it becomes second nature. So if ever the moment arises that you need to execute a move, you wouldn't even think it - you'll just act out the best move for that circumstance.