Jimmy Kimmel is F*cking Ben Affleck

So hilarious!!! Just watch.

It started when Sarah guested previously and showed Jimmy this -> Sarah and Matt

Cheaper international calls

What’s the cheapest way to call my family overseas on my cell phone? There are a couple of options here, including a new one that should be intriguing for frequent overseas callers.

You’ve probably realized that calling overseas from a cell phone is a real drain on the wallet. For example, it costs $1.49 per minute to call Colombia on a Verizon Wireless cell phone. On AT&T, it’s $2.19.

But if you’ve had the foresight to sign up for their international calling plans for $3.99 monthly, the cost is 20 cents or 17 cents a minute, respectively.

That’s still expensive. You could get lower prices by getting a calling card, but beware of gotchas like connection fees, weekly fees and billing in five-minute chunks.

Outright fraud is also rampant in the calling-card industry: A study released by the Hispanic Institute in December found that the average card only delivers 60 percent of the promised minutes.

With that in mind, it’s worth looking at a new technology that you could call a “high-tech” update on the calling card, except the principle is really quite simple. It was pioneered by a Swedish company, Rebtel Networks AB, in 2006, but a couple of competitors, like California-based Jajah Inc., have started offering similar services.

You can sign up with one of these companies on its Web site. You enter your own cell phone number and the numbers you want to call overseas. For each one, the Web site gives you a domestic number. (If you don’t have access to the Web, you can call the main local access numbers of these services.) On the other hand a company called Onesuite.com already has a hybrid service which combined regular online phone card account with Voip access so you get to enjoy best of both worlds and accounts are accessible over the web.

Sooner or later, overseas calls will be dirt cheap (if its not already) and most calls will go through Internet lines one way or the other but for the meantime hold on to that landline of yours.

Lindsay Lohan like it naked

Lindsay Lohan is as popular as ever.

The 21-year-old starlet and her fans overwhelmed New York magazine's Web site and readers complained of not being able to load its pages, which contained nude photos of Lohan posing as Marilyn Monroe.

The photos resemble those taken of Monroe in her mid-30s. Lohan posed in a blond wig for the same photographer who shot the famous Monroe pictures. In the collection, Lohan sports translucent scarves, a veil, diamonds, dramatic eyeliner, freckles, and little else.

Bert Stern shot the photos at the Hotel Bel-Air, the site of his 1962 photo session with Monroe. The location, props, and photographer may be the same, but Lohan's, uh, attributes aren't quite the same. Lohan's measurements weren't included in the captions, but she cuts more of a V-shaped figure, rather than Monroe's legendary full-figured hourglass shape.

That didn't stop the photo spread, titled, "Lindsay Lohan as Marilyn Monroe in 'The Last Sitting,' " from burning up the tubes and servers at New York on Monday.

The magazine also dished out a little companion piece titled "La Internet Reacts to La Lohan." And, of course, there are reactions to the reaction piece.

"Certainly, many were awed: This Website spent much of yesterday groaning under the weight of sweaty fingers," the magazine explained. "People magazine called Bert Stern's photo shoot Lohan's 'greatest role to date.' Defamer predicted that 'this tastefully titillating homage to Marilyn Monroe's "Last Sitting" is poised to sit alongside Drew Barrymore's role in Poison Ivy in the pantheon of greatest breast-baring comebacks of all-time.' "

By Wednesday, New York's site and the pictures loaded, handling all the interest in the original spread, the accompanying features, and any other articles readers wanted to access this week. No word on whether that reflects more on the competence of New York's IT pros or decreased traffic.

Activity seemed strong on celebrity gossip site TMZ, where more than 300 people commented on the post, "Lindsay Likes It Naked." In keeping with the site's tradition, the majority of the comments are unflattering and anonymous. The rest of the pics can be found here, here, here, and here.

$1 Billion house

A $1 billion house?

What would you do if your net worth were $22 billion? If you were Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, you might build yourself the world's most expensive home. As designed by Chicago architecture firm Perkins + Will, the in-progress glass-tower is estimated at $1 billion and is known to feature, at the least, a health club, multiple "safe" rooms, 3 helipads, 168 parking spaces and require 600 servants to maintain, and physically, the structure stands at 27 stories, or 570 feet tall.

Mukesh Ambani is forbes 14th richest man in the world and 2nd richest Indian.

Bestbuy? I don't think so.

Don’t dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she’s doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store’s own extended warranty.Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year. Best Buy accepted the machine for repair and said it would be ready in two to six weeks. But six weeks passed and the computer wasn’t ready. After three months of ruthlessly hounding the company, Best Buy finally admitted it couldn’t find the machine.

Ultimately, Best Buy offered to pay her $900 for losing the machine… as a gift card. She countered that it had originally cost over $1,100, not to mention all her data that was now gone for good. She demanded $2,100, and Best Buy simply ignored her.

At this point, Campbell was made aware that all her personal data on the machine could lead to a major identity theft issue, though Best Buy never filed their legally required notice that she was at risk. That was the last straw, and she filed suit for $54 million, representing herself. Best Buy has since upped its offer to a total of $4,100 if she withdraws the case. She says she doesn’t expect to win, but wants to go to court anyway to force Best Buy to explain how her laptop was lost.I have to agree that $54 million seems wildly optimistic, but it’s amazing to hear how smug Best Buy has been throughout this process. Lowball, “go-away” offers that don’t even value property properly, much less the value of the data inside it, are frankly embarrassing, and good for Campbell for making an issue out of it… even if she doesn’t ultimately prevail. I hope there would be more Campbells around.

GrandCentral invites for free

I got 3 more GrandCentral invites left and I'm gonna give it to the first 3 people who reply on this post. Just give your email address and I'll send you the invite.

All I ask is to come back on this blog and offer 3 invites also. I'm just returning the favor because I also asked for an invite and someone sent me an GrandCentral invitation email.

Snacks to help you sleep at night

Last week I featured here in my blog things/food to avoid to get a healthy sleep at night. This time let tell you what food/snacks to eat to help you sleep at night.

Let me start with one of the best natural sedatives which is tryptophan, an amino acid component of many plant and animal proteins.

Tryptophan is one of the ingredients necessary for the body to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter best known for creating feelings of calm, and for making you sleepy.

However, the trick is to combine foods that have some tryptophan with ample carbohydrate. That’s because in order for insomnia-busting tryptophan to work, it has to make its way to the brain.

Unfortunately, all amino acids compete for transport to the brain. When you add carbs, they cause the release of insulin, which takes the competing amino acids and incorporates them into muscle…but leaves tryptophan alone, so it can make its way to the brain, be converted to serotonin, and cause sleepiness.

Serotonin-producing bedtime snacks should be no more than 200 calories and should be eaten at least 30 minutes prior to bed.

Here are a few great ideas:

Bedtime Snacks for Adults

--6-8 oz container of non-fat, flavored yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons low-fat granola cereal
--Sliced apple with 1-2 teaspoons natural peanut butter
--3 cups low-fat popcorn – sprinkled with optional 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Bedtime Snacks for Teens

--One cup healthy cereal with skim milk
--Low-fat granola bar
--Scoop of vanilla or strawberry low-fat ice cream

Bedtime Snacks for Children

--1/2 cup low-fat vanilla pudding
--1/2 banana with 1-2 teaspoons peanut butter
--One cup skim milk with a bunch of grapes (or other fruit)

Hotel Dirty Little Secrets

Do you think by checking in to those known hotel names you will get top notch service? Think again. Watch the clip and tell me if you ever gonna drink again from those hotel glasses.

Why most workouts don't work

Did you know the average health club exerciser quits after just six months for one of the following reasons:

1. Not Enough Time
2. Not Seeing Results

Sadly, most people become frustrated and quit exercising before they see any real results. But it's not surprising given the common mistakes many people make with their training programs. Are you making these workout mistakes?

Common Reasons Your Workouts Don't Work

All Quantity, No Quality
Take a look around the gym (if you haven't quit going yet) and see how many people are really getting a quality workout. I'm always amazed by how many people are wandering aimlessly, walking leisurely on a treadmill while reading a book, lifting weights so light that not one hair moves out of place, or simply look bored. A lot of exercisers head to the gym out of habit, and as if on automatic pilot, put in some time and head back to work
or home. If you are one of these people, ask yourself, "What do I want to get out of this?" If you want serious results, you need to do serious exercise. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it and have fun. But it does means you need to focus on what you are doing and increase the quality of every movement. Once you start exercising with a real purpose and pushing both your aerobic capacity and your strength you will find your workouts take half the time and give better results.

Overestimating Your Exercise
Most exercisers are far too generous with estimates of exercise intensity and time, weight lifted and the frequency of their workouts. To avoid overestimating it's helpful to keep an exercise log and track these items. Additionally, many people mistakingly believe that if they exercise at a moderate pace for 30 minutes they have burned lots and lots of calories and fat. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. While exercise does burn calories over time and consistent exercise is one of the best ways to lose weight and keep it off, it's hard to lose body fat through exercise alone. Which brings us to the next mistake. . .

Underestimating Your Eating
Many people are in denial about the foods they eat and especially the quantity consumed. If you really want to lose weight you need to be honest with yourself about what you put into your mouth and how that helps or hinders your weight loss goals. To get real with yourself, write it down. Tracking what you eat in a food diary will help you break the cycle of food denial. (Besides, you are the only one who needs to know).

Doing the Wrong Type of Workout
Where did you learn your current exercise routine? Watching others at the gym (who are exercising incorrectly)? From your friends, coworkers, the web, tv, newspaper, the latest research findings, or perhaps your 5th grade gym teacher? What you are doing for exercise directly determines the results you will get. To learn what you should do, there is no better place to start then by writing down your goals and then working with a professional trainer to design the right workout to meet those goals. Haphazard exercise will provide haphazard results.

Never Changing Your Workout
When you do the same thing day after day, you get very good at it. In exercise this is called the principle of adaptation. It basically means that we become very efficient by doing the same exercise over and over. This is great for sports performance, but not that great for weight lose, strength increases or physical fitness progression. If you always do the same workout for the same amount of time you will eventually hit a plateau where you fail to see any additional change. One way of overcoming this plateau is to modify your workouts every few weeks or months. You can change the type of exercise you do, the length, the amount of weight lifted or the number or reps. This is why professional athletes change their program during the off-season.

Using Incorrect Form or Technique
Learning the right way to exercise is essential to getting results. Form does matter, especially when doing any strength training exercise. Incorrect form or technique also sets you up for potential injuries, pain and soreness. To learn proper technique, there is no better place to start than with a personal trainer or coach.

Setting Unrealistic Goals
So, what are your goals? Are they realistic for you? If your goal is to be the next Lance Armstrong, and you only have 30 minutes a day to train, or wanting to lose 25 pounds in a month, well, how realistic is that? Again, it comes back to being honest with yourself about your abilities, your level of commitment and your lifestyle. We need to set appropriate goals that start from where we are and progress at an attainable pass or we are sure to get frustrated and quit.

Measuring the Wrong Results
Many people think their workout isn't working because they don't measure the right things. Looking for proof in a scale is often a set-up for disappointment because some new exercisers build muscle and lose fat, but the scale doesn't provide information about body composition. Better ways to measure your fitness progress include tracking your heart rate at a given pace, measuring the distance you can cover in a certain amount of time, tracking the amount of weight you can lift, or even writing down how you feel -- physically -- at the end of each day. Many of the benefits from exercise are subtle and not visible by looking into the mirror, but things such as cholesterol level, blood pressure, and the ease with which you can do daily chores are every bit as motivating -- if you monitor them.


By Elizabeth Quinn, About.com

Bentley goes diesel power

Given the enthusiastic response to its Audi R8 V12 TDI concept not to mention its diesel-powered dominance of prototype endurance racing in the Le Mans and American Le Mans series, it hardly comes as a surprise to learn that the Volkswagen Group is mulling over a diesel engine for its rarefied Bentley range.

Similar to Rolls-Royce, which is also considering such an engine for its forthcoming RR4 model, the Bentley seems a wholly logical recipient for a low-revving, torque-rich diesel engine, now that now that advanced engine-management and emission-control systems have consigned the noisy, foul-smelling diesel to history.

Although either VW's existing 5.0-liter V-10 TDI or Audi's under-development 6.0-liter V-12 TDI would seem a fine starting point, Bentley insists they're both too big to fit beneath the hood of the Continental Flying Spur (pictured above). We're skeptical about that, however, as the V-10 manages to fit just fine in the Flying Spur's corporate cousin, the VW Phaeton, and the new 6.0-liter, 60-degree diesel V-12 is a scant 1.22 inches longer than Bentley's current 6.0-liter gasoline W-12. Besides, if Audi engineers can shoehorn the twin-turbo V-12 into the R8, dropping the engine into a large Bentley sedan should be a cinch. Somehow, we think that once the brand's loyal clientele decide they're willing to pay for the ability to traverse 800 miles on a tank of fuel (not to mention a vastly more torque), Bentley will make it happen.

China, Taiwan and HongKong cheap calling rates

My favorite calling card company Onesuite.com recently dropped their rates for calling China, Taiwan and Hongkong for the whole month of February, in time for Chinese New year celebrations. Long distance rates are lowered from 2.2 cents per minute to 1.8 cents per minute to China and from 3 cents per minute to 1.9 cents per minute to Taiwan.

Gone are the days where everyone talks hurriedly when talking on an overseas call. Competition from small and medium calling card companies like Onesuite makes consumer happy and big players trying to re asses their positions.

Now everyone can enjoy calling their love ones with the reduced rates for as low as 1.8 cents per minute. Got to enjoy these low rates while it last and if anyone is interested and wants an additional 5% bonus on sign up amount and first recharge then sign up under here for Onesuite promo.

Edison Chen scandal reached Hollywood

Edison Chen, a popular singer, actor and TV host in Asia, was hoping American audiences would discover him when Christopher Nolan’s newest installment in the Batman series, “The Dark Knight” is released in the United States sometime later this year.

Instead, Americans are getting their first taste of this young Hong Kong actor via one of the largest sex scandals to hit the Hong Kong/Chinese film scene in recent memory.

The scandal, now known as the “Edison Chen Incident,” exploded when digital photographs showing Chen apparently performing sexual acts with other Hong Kong celebrities, Bobo Chan and Gillian Chung, turned up on prominent Hong Kong Internet bulletin boards systems (BBS) and celebrity blogs.

The episode not only raises important questions about privacy and censorship, it is arguably the former British colony’s biggest scandal in years and has secured a place on newspaper front pages every day since it broke a couple of weeks ago.

Laptop repair gone wrong
In the days after the release of the photos, Hong Kong police investigating the case tracked the source of the photos to a computer service center where Chen had taken his laptop for repairs. Police arrested eight employees of the service center in connection with the photo release since the discovery, and announced that they believed over 1,300 racy photos of celebrities had been stolen.

In places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, where the hunger for celebrity news is ravenous and invasive, the daily leak of new images has kept the story on the tabloids’ front pages, alongside breathless updates on the stars and ongoing legal proceedings.

While the tabloid buzz has currently settled on the stars already exposed in the photos, much of the discussion on Chinese and Hong Kong blogs has been speculation over which other actresses and musicians will be implicated. Rumors of a tawdry video showing Chen’s onetime girlfriend, Maggie Q., who Americans may know from Mission Impossible III, Live Free or Die Hard, has kept hundreds of thousands of Chinese netizens glued to online forums and chat sites waiting for updates.

Hong Kong singer Gillian Chung, left, told the press she was “naive and silly” after racy photos that showed her partially nude with Edison Chen were widely circulated on the Internet.

Police handling and privacy rights
Outside of the realm of the gossip reporting, an interesting debate over Internet rights and the Hong Kong police’s handling of the scandal has emerged. Concerns over the police’s ability to deal with cyber crimes first arose when they were forced to make an embarrassing retraction after new photos mysteriously appeared on Feb. 7 – a day after the police had confidently announced that the probable source of the leak had been caught.

Furthermore, the police have been under fire from both Hong Kong civil liberties groups and legislators after Commissioner of Police Tang King-Shing declared, incorrectly, that even the mere possession of the tawdry photos could be illegal and grounds for arrest.

Shing’s words proved to be inflammatory as netizens nervously wondered whether the police would indeed arrest or punish the tens of thousands of people who had already downloaded or seen the images.

Shing’s interview even sparked an angry protest led by prominent Hong Kong lawmaker and activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-Hung outside of police headquarters in Wan Chai. The protestors accused the police commissioner of fear-mongering and demanded he clarify his statements.

The seeming ham-handed handling of the case has left the police on the defensive as they now find themselves having to allay public fears about privacy and a perception of selectiveness in investigating high-profile Internet pornography cases more rigorously than others.

The latter problem can be fixed in the short-term through a recommitment to investigating and prosecuting cyber crimes. However, concerns over privacy and government regulation of the Internet will certainly, for better or for worse, draw eerie comparisons to the regulations that currently rule just across the border in mainland China.

Star’s image battered
Meanwhile, Chen, who had developed a large teenage girl fan base in Asia through his singing and acting roles, now finds himself at the center of a nasty public backlash against his carefully cultivated image.

There has been a growing public perception both in the local blogs and many public forums that whether or not these images were made consensually, Chen took advantage of the girls he appeared with.

While he has since issued a public statement via a YouTube video posted on his website (Chen has been in Canada since the scandal broke), it would seem that the damage has already been done. Since the images were leaked, Chen has been dumped from what was to be a soon to be released Stephen Chow (Kung-Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) film.

While the Hong Kong glitterati have had their fair share of sex scandals, none of them compare in terms of the speed and voraciousness of coverage. It will be interesting to see if Chen can ride out the negative publicity engulfing him, and whether he can parlay it to jumpstart an ailing career, a la U.S. celebrities Paris Hilton and Tommie Lee who were caught in similarly compromising positions.

11 tips in effective blog writing

Here are 11 tips in effective blog writing I gathered from the net.

1. Make your opinion known
2. Link like crazy
3. Write less
4. 250 Words is enough
5. Make Headlines snappy
6. Write with passion
7. Include Bullet point lists
8. Edit your post
9. Make your posts easy to scan
10. Be consistent with your style
11. Litter the post with keywords

1. Make your opinion known
People like blogs, they like blogs because they are written by people and not corporations. People want to know what people think, crazy as it sounds they want to know what you think. Tell them exactly what you think using the least amount of words possible.

2. Link like crazy.
Support your post with links to other web pages that are contextual to your post.

3. Write Less
Give the maximum amount of information with the least amount of words. Time is finite and people are infinitely busy. Blast your knowledge into the reader at the speed of sound.

4. 250 is enough
A long post is easier to forget and harder to get into. A short post is the opposite.

5. Make Headlines snappy
Contain your whole argument in your headline. Check out National newspapers to see how they do it.

6. Write with Passion
People could easily tell if your post is interesting usually on the first sentence alone.

7. Include bullet point lists
We all love lists, it structures the info in an easily digestible format.

8. Edit your post
Good writing is in the editing. Before you hit the submit button, re-read your post and cut out the stuff that you don’t need.

9. Make your posts easy to scan
Every few paragraphs insert a sub heading. Make sentences and headlines short and to the point.

10. Be consistent with your style
People like to know what to expect, once you have settled on a style for your audience stick to it.

11. Litter the post with Keywords.
Think about what keywords people would use to search for your post and include them in the body text and headers. make sure the keyword placement is natural and does not seem out of place.

6 dead in another campus shooting in Northern Illinois

DEKALB, Ill. - A former student dressed in black walked onto the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire on a packed science class Thursday, killing five students, wounding 16 and setting off a panicked stampede before committing suicide.

Police say they have no motive for the rapid-fire assault, carried out by the gunman who fired indiscriminately into the crowd with a shotgun and two handguns as students dove to the floor and ran toward the exit. At least two of the wounded were hospitalized in critical condition.

“I kept thinking, ‘Oh God, he’s going to shoot me. Oh God, I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead,’” said Desiree Smith, a senior journalism major who dropped to the floor near the back of the auditorium.

“People were crawling on each other, trampling each other,” she said. “As I got near the door, I got up and I started running.”

University President John Peters said four students died at the scene, including the gunman, and the other two died at a hospital. The teacher, a graduate student, was wounded but was expected to recover.

Peters said the gunman was a former graduate student in sociology at NIU, but was not currently enrolled at the 25,000-student campus about 65 miles west of Chicago.

“It appears he may have been a student somewhere else,” University Police Chief Donald Grady said.

Witnesses said the skinny gunman, dressed in black and wearing a stocking cap, emerged from behind a screen on the stage of 200-seat Cole Hall and opened fire just as the class was about to end around 3 p.m.

Officials said 162 students were registered for the class but it was unknown how many were there Thursday.

Lauren Carr said she was sitting in the third row when she saw the shooter walk through a door on the right-hand side of the stage, pointing a gun straight ahead.

“I personally Army-crawled halfway up the aisle,” said Carr, a 20-year-old sophomore. “I said I could get up and run or I could die here.”

She said a student in front of her was bleeding, “but he just kept running.”

“I heard this girl scream, ‘Run, he’s reloading the gun.’”

Student Jerry Santoni was in a back row when he saw the gunman enter a service door to the stage.

“I saw him shoot one round at the teacher,” he said. “After that, I proceeded to get down as fast as I could.”

Santoni dived down, hitting his head the seat in front of him, leaving a knot about half the size of a pingpong ball on his forehead.

Seventeen victims were brought to nearby Kishwaukee Community Hospital, where one died, according to spokeswoman Theresa Komitas. One male was transferred in critical condition and died at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, an official said.

Minutes after the shooting erupted, students phoned each other and sent text messages even before school officials could warn them, many said. The school Web site announced a possible gunman on campus within 20 minutes of the shots and locked down the campus, part of a new security plan created after a student at Virginia Tech killed 32 people last year.

“This is a tragedy, but from all indications we did everything we could when we found out,” Peters said.

Michael Gentile was meeting with two of his students directly beneath the lecture hall when the shootings happened. He could hear the chaos a few feet above his head.

“The shotgun blast must have been so loud,” said Gentile, a 27-year-old media studies instructor. “It sounded like something was dropping down the stairs… We had no idea what this was.”

Then, shorter, sharper noises he recognized as handgun shots.

“There was a pretty quick succession … just pow, pow, pow,” said Gentile, who didn’t leave his office for about 90 minutes. He used a surveillance camera just outside his office to confirm that the people knocking on his door were police.

George Gaynor, a senior geography student, who was in Cole Hall when the shooting happened, told the student newspaper the Northern Star that the shooter was “a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on.”

He described the scene immediately following the incident as terrifying and chaotic.

“Some girl got hit in the eye, a guy got hit in the leg,” Gaynor said outside just minutes after the shooting occurred. “It was like five minutes before class ended too.”

Witnesses said the young man carried a shotgun and a pistol. Student Edward Robinson told WLS that the gunman appeared to target students in one part of the lecture hall.

“It was almost like he knew who he wanted to shoot,” Robinson said. “He knew who and where he wanted to be firing at.”

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms sent 15 agents to the scene, according to spokesman Thomas Ahern. He said information about the weapons involved would be sent to the ATF’s national database in Washington and given urgent priority. The FBI also was assisting.

All classes were canceled Thursday night and the campus was closed on Friday. Students were urged to call their parents “as soon as possible” and were offered counseling at any residence hall, according to the school Web site.

The school was closed for one day during final exam week in December after campus police found threats, including racial slurs and references to shootings earlier in the year at Virginia Tech, scrawled on a bathroom wall in a dormitory. Police determined after an investigation that there was no imminent threat and the campus was reopened. Peters said he knew of no connection between that incident and Thursday’s attack. Peters said he knew of no connection between that incident and Thursday’s attack.

The shooting was the fourth at a U.S. school within a week.

On Feb. 8, a woman shot two fellow students to death before committing suicide at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge. In Memphis, Tenn., a 17-year-old is accused of shooting and critically wounding a fellow student Monday during a high school gym class, and the 15-year-old victim of a shooting at an Oxnard, Calif., junior high school has been declared brain dead.

By CARYN ROUSSEAU and DEANNA BELLANDI, Associated Press Writer

Cheap ways to call long distance

Well because of the nature of my job, making long distance and international calls are quite norm for me for many years now. I exclusively use phone cards to save but lately the quality is getting from bad to worse. I found a couple of good ones with nice rates and better quality but the minutes randomly disappear for no reason at all so I thought of making a complaint but theres a problem...there is no support number.

A close friend of mine told me about the phone card she's using and referred me (we both got bonus minutes for the referral) to Onesuite. I signed up using Paypal (you can also use Mastercard or Visa) and bought $20 ($10, $15, $20, $30 are available too) of credits and in minutes I was connected to my friend in India. Rates are very good in all countries and some (about 2 dozens or so) have their own access numbers, meaning you can use your account while...say in India, China or U.K.

Onesuite is rich in features like Zipdial where you don't need to type in your PIN and Rapidial (onesuite online phonebook) make calling so much easier and save time too. Onesuite also added VoIP in their products and their service are now more accessible than ever. Now you can make voip calls on your computer and if you are techie enough you can use ATA device and use Onesuite Broadband services without the need for computer.

Disappearing minutes are now a thing of the past because in Onesuite you can check your account history online and in real time. Calls, phone numbers, date and time of calls are just a few of information you can see and confirm unlike over the counter phone cards where you won't know if the minutes you consumed is correct. Now no more wild guessing plus you could always phone their toll free 24/7 live customer support for any Onesuite related inquiry.

So if you want to save on your calls (who doesn't) and get a reliable long distance service, check out Onesuite.com and get 5% bonus when you sign up plus another 5% bonus on your first recharge.

Yahoo rejects Microsoft's offer

Yahoo Inc.'s rejection of Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid left investors guessing the next move in a tense mating dance that may hatch a more imposing challenger to Google Inc. or disintegrate into a bruising brawl.

The rebuff, formally announced early Monday, wasn't a surprise because Yahoo had leaked its intention over the weekend.

As expected, Yahoo's board unanimously decided to spurn Microsoft after concluding the offer -- originally worth $44.6 billion or $31 per share -- "substantially undervalues" one of the Internet's prized franchises. The cash-and stock deal is now valued at about $40 billion, or $28.91 per share because of a drop in Microsoft's market value.

But Yahoo didn't raise antitrust concerns about the proposed deal and included language that seemed to invite a higher offer from Microsoft, the world's largest software maker.

"The board of directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders," Yahoo said in a statement.

Microsoft, though, didn't seem inclined to raise the bid Monday, releasing a statement describing its current bid as "full and fair."

Calling Yahoo's decision "unfortunate," Microsoft didn't back off from its quest either. "Based on conversations with stakeholders of both companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a transaction is in the best interests of all parties," the Redmond, Wash.-based company said.

Microsoft also emphasized it's prepared to "pursue all necessary steps" to get the deal done, raising the prospect that it could take the bid directly to Yahoo shareholders with a so-called "exchange offer" or escalate the acrimony even further by trying to oust Yahoo's 10-member board later this year.

Things to avoid to sleep soundly at night

Can’t imagine why the sleep gods had it in for you? Think about what you ate the night before. Any of the following–much less a combo platter–can leave your body on uneasy street for hours.

1. Spicy Foods Garlic, chilies, cayenne, and other intense spices are yummy going down but can keep you up with heartburn or indigestion. Avoid MSG too, as it can trigger dreams that are a bit too vivid. At some point or another, it happens to everyone: You can’t sleep. When you finally drop off, the alarm buzzes a microsecond later. Then you can’t get up. And then it gets worse: When you finally drag yourself out of bed, you look like you-know-what.

2. A Big Dinner An overtaxed digestive system takes hours to settle down and there’s nothing restful about that. When sleep’s critical, make lunch your largest meal and enjoy a light 500-calorie dinner early in the evening.

3. Raucous Veggies Eat those good-for-you-but-gassy foods–beans, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts–in the middle of the day. A tankful of gas can keep anyone up at night.

4. Speed Eating Relax and enjoy meals to avoid swallowing air, another common cause of midnight tummy trouble.

5. Nightcaps Alcohol may make you drowsy at first but later on it disturbs sleep patterns and leads to awakenings and restlessness. A 4-ounce glass of wine with dinner won’t hurt, as long as it’s not within two hours of bedtime.

6. Coffee after breakfast Caffeine can linger in your body for as long as 12 hours. So if you’re often wide-eyed at bedtime, make sure you’re caffeine-clean for at least 12 hours. (Skip tea, chocolate, cola, or other caffeine culprits too.) Still watching the clock at 2 a.m.? Wean yourself off even morning java, then stay caffeine-free for two weeks. If you definitely sleep better, you have your answer: Caffeine is not your friend. If the results are mixed then try adding back a cup or two of coffee or tea in the morning and watch what happens, but if sleeplessness comes back, cut it out.

Getting 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night doesn’t just make your eyes bright, your skin happy, and your mind sharp, it can also make you look 5 years younger.

A million miles on a truck!

After the Volvo and Saab, now it was Frank Oresnik's trusty Chevy Silverado pickup truck — he calls it "the old girl" — passed the 1 million-mile mark with a camera crew filming the event and a public-radio audience listening in. "I can't tell you how much fun it was," he said. "It was really humbling, all this interest."

Recent news stories told how Oresnik had just 1,200 miles to go before reaching the milestone in the 1991 Chevrolet Silverado that he bought with 41,000 miles on it in 1996 and used in his business, distributing seafood and steaks in the upper Midwest.

At the time, he was getting his latest oil change — the kind of regular maintenance he credits with helping to keep the truck going so long.

He said he's had the truck's oil changed more than 300 times. It's had so many changes that the oil pan drain plug had to be rethreaded several times, he said, and "you never hear of that."

He passed the million-mile mark Friday in southeastern Wisconsin while on his way back home to Catawba, located in the north in Price County, about an hour west of Rhinelander. He was on County Highway V southeast of Fond du Lac.

On hand was a film crew from Chevrolet's public relations and advertising company, and he was speaking live to Robert Siegel, host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

A news crew from CBS had been with him earlier in the day.

"I wont say it was relief ... it was exhilarating," Oresnik said later during a stop in Gresham where he has one of his longtime customers. "This truck has been so dependable over the years." Now that it's made history, the truck could be headed back to the automaker or Shell Oil. Oresnik said there's been some interested in GM or Shell Oil buying it.

Now let me try that with my good ol' Sentra

2008 WRC Calendar

Here's the official schedule for 2008. Mexico is back for another year and Turkey is getting an event in '08.

2008 FIA World Rally Championship Calendar

24 - 27 January - 76th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo
8 - 10 February - Uddeholm Swedish Rally
28 Feb - 2 - March Rally Mexico
27 - 30 March - Rally Argentina
24 - 27 April - Jordan Rally WRC
16 - 18 May - Rallye d'Italia-Sardegna
29 May - 1 June - BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally
13 - 15 June - Rally of Turkey
31 July - 3 August - Neste Oil Rally Finland
15 - 17 August - ADAC Rallye Deutschland
28 - 31 August - Rally New Zealand
2 - 5 October - Rallye de España
10 - 12 October - Rallye de France - Tour de Corse
24 - 26 October - Rally Japan
28 - 30 November - Wales Rally GB

Shaq can't take the Heat goes to Sun

Phoenix Suns became Shaquille O'neal 4th NBA team after Orlando, Los Angeles and Miami. Shaq Daddy was traded by Miami. In the trade the Suns would receive O'Neal and the Heat would receive All-Star forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks.

Last week it was Pau Gasol to the Lakers team and almost everyone says it was brilliant move by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.

In a mistaken attempt to try and stay ahead of the Lakers, Kerr traded away all-star forward Shawn Marion for broken-down Shaquille O’Neal.

The Big Diesel is out of gas, has several flats and is leaking oil at an alarming rate.

The slow O’Neal just doesn’t fit in the Suns’ high-octane, uptempo offense. Shaq doesn't fit offensively with the Suns. He can't run anymore. He can't shoot. He still was groaning about his touches in Miami, and you think he's going to accept life as the fourth, maybe fifth, option at times? There's little evidence to suggest Shaq simply will embrace the role of defensive stopper that the Suns so desperately want of him.

By the time O’Neal lumbers across halfcourt on offense, the other four Suns will be heading back to play defense. On the other hand the Suns would miss Marion skills and offensive contribution.

Most of all, Shaq can't stay on the floor. He is broken down. He will be 36 next month. He is always hurt now. He has been meeting constantly with doctors this season, MRI after MRI on his hip. His knees still struggle to carry those 340 pounds on his bones. Shaq's spirit was built to endure forever, but his body is a different story.

The Suns are hoping a chance to play for a contender will motivate him to do his rehab and keep his weight down, but even that is wishful thinking. Listen, Shaq had one title left in him. Pat Riley squeezed it out of him. It's over. He doesn't bring Grant Hill's desperation to be a champion. Shaq has been there, done that four times, and you wonder how much that lure even drives him anymore.

I think the Suns could forget getting that elusive NBA title.

Force India rolls out its first F1 car

Force India, India's entry in the 2008 Formula One World Championship, unveiled its car and team colours for the upcoming season, which begins in Melbourne on March 16.

Calling it a "red letter day in the history of Indian motorsport", Force India owner and liquor baron Vijay Mallya unveiled the new car and the team's three drivers dressed in the team colours of white, tungsten, gold and red at a ceremony at the historic Gateway of India in South Mumbai.

The car, called VJM01, is expected to have its first run during the next test session of the team to be held in Barcelona from February 25 to 27.

The team, formerly the Spyker, had earlier expressed reservations on the car's aerodynamics ahead of the upcoming season.

However, Mallya said a tie-up with aviation majors EADS and Airbus Industrie, through his airline Kingfisher, had aided them in the development of this technical aspect.

"It is time to say confidently that Force India Formula One will make steady progress moving forward."

Mallya presented the team's drivers, Giancarlo Fisichell and Adrian Sutil, and test driver Vitantoniio Liuzzi and commended them on their contribution in the car's development.

Force India had recently tested their car in the Barcelona and Jerez circuits in Spain, where Fisichella recorded the fourth fastest timing during testing.

Mallay maintained the team would have a podium finish in the first Formula One race expected to be held in 2010.

The unveiling of the car had its share of glamour with celebrities including actors Lara Dutta, Shilpa Shamita Shetty and Sameera Reddy present for the function.

The Year of the Rat

The Year Of The Rat

1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020

People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

I missed my best friend who went back to China to attend an important family matters. It will take a while before she can come back but fortunately theres the internet for emails and pictures and chat. But hearing the other person's voice is really different, good thing calls are also cheaper nowadays (just 1.8 cents per minute with Onesuite.com) compared a few years back. I will give her a call later to catch up with old times.

For the mean time let me greet everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!