How Did Woman Live to 132?

Possibly the last person on the planet who knew the taste of the air in 1880 has died.

Antisa Khvichava, who claimed to be 132 years old, was enjoying her 47th year of retirement in Sachino, a remote village in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, when she passed away, according to a British newspaper, the Independent. If she was as old as she said, Khvichava would've been the oldest person to ever live.

Though a birth certificate and passport indicate Khvichava was born July 8, 1880, they are replacements of documents she had lost over the years, raising skepticism over her claim.

But science can't rule out her feat absolutely. If there's a maximum possible human age, it hasn't been found yet.

In 1798, the then-oldest verified person died at 103, according to the Gerontology Research Group. In 1997, France's Jeanne Calment, the current verified oldest, died at 122. [Infographic: Global Life Expectancy]

If Kvichava did, indeed, walk the Earth for well over a century, what did she do right?

Based on current science, the answer might be that, other than avoiding obvious physical threats, she didn't do much to earn her longevity.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University showed last year that, among a studied population of people older than 95, bad health habits such as smoking, drinking, poor diet and lack of exercise were about as common as in the general population, meaning their longevity seemed to be largely based on genes.

But this does not mean the general population should abandon healthy living and adopt a doctrine of genetic fatalism. Rather, that study and others suggest longevity outliers like Kvichava, a reported daily brandy drinker, have rare genetic protections that transcend unhealthy habits, propelling them into very old age in spite of lifestyle.

For people who aren't prepared to take a gamble that they're genetically predisposed to break 100 (the 2010 Census counted 53,364 centenarians in the United States), the famously abstemious and healthy-living Seventh-Day Adventists seem to hint at a practical regimen for increasing lifespan.

Studies by Dr. Gary Fraser, of Loma Linda University's school of medicine, and colleagues have linked the Seventh-Day Adventists' unusually long lives to exercise, a high incidence of vegetarianism, abstinence from smoking, and frequent consumption of nuts.

Superstitious seekers of longevity also have the option of moving to a place called Georgia. When Kvichava died, she passed the torch for the oldest living person to 116-year-old Besse Cooper in the United States' Georgia.

Cooper's birthday is verified to be Aug. 26, 1896.

How I “Made Money” for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

How I “Made Money”
for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
My recollections of my personal story behind
the redesigning of the Philippine bank notes and coins

by Romeo Castillo MananQuil
as told to Isa I. Palanca
(published in Celebrate magazine, Fall 2008, Toronto, Canada)

In 1982, while I was teaching at the UP College of Fine Arts, I received a phone call that led to a most important assignment in my life as an artist. I was asked to be a part of the team redesigning bank notes and coins for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, after an official saw a pencil portrait sketch I have done of Don Andres Soriano in a San Miguel Corporation. It was not difficult at all to say yes to the task. I was eager to be part of the numismatic history of my country and have my art on any one of the new notes or coins

The design work was divided among the artists. With the new 500-peso bill, I was asked to do a portrait of then President Ferdinand Marcos. I decided to render a casual and relaxed portrait of Marcos on one side of the bill, while the other would feature an illustration of the Batasang Pambansa. However, after we had finished the first new design, the team that had originally been given the task was dissolved and I found myself having to form a new team. Though this momentarily stalled the project, it also gave mme the opportunity to handpick 2 artists who with me would make history. The new team was made up of myself, Angel Cacnio, a fellow magazine illustrator and painter and Rafael Asuncion, my former creative director at J. Walter Thompson Co. where I trained as a student in advertising.

We divided the assignment, sharing the design work for all the new coins and bills. My 500-peso Marcos bill was to be joined by my redesign of the 5-peso and 1000-peso bills, while Cacnio took the lead on the 20 and 100-peso bills as Asuncion worked on the 10 and 50-peso bills. Each artist submitted designs based on the guidelines provided to us by the BSP Numismatic Committee, who then approved which were to be used on the coins. My rendering of Andres Bonifacio and of a coconut tree were to appear on the 2-peso decagonal coin, while the 10-centavo coin would feature my renderings of the Pygmy Goby and Francisco Baltasar. My Tamaraw shared tne 1-peso coin with Asuncion’s Jose Rizal while my Melchora Aquino was featured opposite Cacnio’s Waling-waling on the 5-centavo coin. Cacnio shared the design on the 50-centavo with Asuncion, his Marcelo del Pilar featured with Asuncion’s Philippine Eagle and on the 25-centavo, Cacnio’s Juan Luna joined Asuncion’s Philippine Butterfly. They also split the design on the 1-centavo coin; Cacnio contributing Lapu-lapu and Asuncion the Sea Shell on the reverse side. The 2-peso decagonal was launced in October 1983 and soon after the complete Flora and Fauna coin series was in earnest circulation.

Besides the design of the 500-peso bill, I also had the task of creating the designs for the 5-peso and 1000-peso bills. The prospect of a 1000-peso bill was certainly exciting for the Bangko Sentral as this was the premiere release of this denomination. Those who remember the 5-peso bill may still be familiar with the illustration of the occasion of the June 12, 1898 declaration of Philippine Independence. The republic’s first president – Gen. Emilio Agiunaldo waved the new flag of the Philippines from the balcony of his residence in Kawit, Cavite. While no known photograph of the occasion exists, the illustration I rendered for the bank note is perhaps the most familiar depiction of that most historic event. I relied heavily on history books, unpublished manuscripts, photographs of the military uniforms and fashions of the era to reconstruct the event and produce that scene. Although the 5-peso Aguinaldo bill has since been phased out and replaced by a coin, the illustration was reproduced for a commemorative 100,000-peso bank note to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the declaration of independence in 1898. That bill has the distincton of holding the Guinness world record for largest paper bill for a time.

The 500-peso Marcos bill was slated for production in late 1985. However, when a snap election was scheduled. The circulation of the newly printed bills was put on hold in deference to the law against electioneering as Marcos, whose image appeared on the new bank note was the incumbent running against Corazon Aquino. My 500-peso Marcos bill was never circulated and with the events that proceeded: the snap elections, the disputed victory of Marcos, the success of People’s Power in February 1986 and the instatement of Aquino as President, it perhaps seemed fitting that any vestiges of the overthrown government were thrown off. President Corazon Aquino soon ordered the redesign of the bill to honour her husband, Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino whose 1983 slaying became the catalyst for change and the new democracy’s rallying cry for the overthrow of Marcos. Though I was once again tasked with the redesign of the bill, my family’s move to Canda prevented me from taking on the assignment.

When I was asked to redesign the 1980’s series of Philippine bank notes and coins, I did not receive lucrative renumeration for the assignment. The value of the assignment lay more in the knowledge that my art would be accessible to virtually everyone in my home country who would use its currency. I feel honoured and privileged that Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike have seen my art and have been touched by my creative vision each time they look at one of my designs, an honour not many artists can claim. This is the real benefit, priceless and irreplaceable by no amount of money I will ever make in my lifetime.

Kobe Bryant "Brandon Roy was the toughest guy to guard in the league"

Timberwolf rising

ej afzelius

Once upon a time, Kobe Bryant said Brandon Roy was the toughest guy to guard in the league. Mamba specifically said, “..Roy has no weaknesses in his game.” In a league with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, a playing legend chose Roy.

Brando Roy (AP photo)

It may be easy to forget that statement of Kobe after Roy experienced severe knee problems, a season to forget, and eventually retired. Before all these troubles however, Brandon Roy was a man on a mission, trail-blazing past even the best of teams and leading Portland to the Playoffs twice. He was never the highest-scoring player in the league, or the most athletically gifted, but what Roy had he poured on the hard court. And whatever your problems with Kobe are, his work ethic and obsessiveness on and off the court are uncontested. Meaning loads and loads of tape-viewing sessions. Kobe doesn’t make an assessment until he’s absolutely sure about it. And after a few seasons of Roy tearing it up and playing against him, and of course countless hours watching tape, Kobe Bryant came to a conclusion. “…Roy has no weaknesses in his game.”

So let’s study that a bit more shall we. This statement was made in the John Thompson Show before the start of the ’10-’11 season of pain where everything went wrong for Roy. In 2008 to early 2010, Roy would play the best basketball of his life. In those years, he would average around 22 points, five assists and five rebounds a game. Let’s call those the big market stats, stuff that get even grammas off their seats. Then you look at the rest, and it gets even more interesting. Shooting at a .480 field goal percentage, Roy shot more efficiently than Kobe himself (.450). He also got a respectable one steal per game, shot a very high free throw percentage at over .800, and most importantly for someone who had a lot of control over the ball, only had two turnovers or less a game. LeBron, Durant, Rondo and Kobe all average nearly four turnovers a game.  

Some say Roy is like a Tim Duncan type, not the most athletically gifted, but very smart on the court. Based on his high shooting percentage and low turnover count, there is truth in that. It takes an intelligent basketball player to pick the best scoring spots on the floor, make the most efficient passes, and be fully aware of the opponent so as not to lose the rock. And even geniuses lose the ball quite a bit, just ask Steve Nash. Based on this and the extra four to six points the players mentioned above give to the other team on turnovers, Roy’s 22 points per game average comes out smelling like roses.

I’m an optimist, and friends have told me it comes at the cost of sounding naïve, but I love looking at the possibilities of this scenario. The upside is so high, and at what little cost to Minnesota? It’s not like they paid Roy an island of pretty cheer leaders and sprayed him with Axe. $10 million over two years, conservative for a player with a potential to deliver on so many aspects of the game, on and off the court. The hype itself is selling Wolves season tickets like hotcakes. Everyone expects this to be their best season since the peak of Garnett’s dominance. Even if it’s just Roy’s attitude and smarts that rub off on the players, the investment will have been worth it.

I, however, also understand the dangers here. Roy’s condition before he “retired” was no joke. The man could barely walk straight. Ten years ago, that knee was done. Roy’s retirement would’ve been permanent and fans would’ve been left to wonder at the what-ifs of it all. If he stayed on, we would have been an audience to possibly one of the worst potential injuries to grace our eyeballs. Ten years ago.

But the year is 2012, and that little-known therapy that turned Kobe’s legs into high-performance engines once more got a little renown. Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) reached Brandon Roy’s ear, and now here we are. It is unclear if Roy is still lacking cartilage in his knee, and one look at T-Mac last year and you’d be left wondering what PRP really did for him. Kobe is Kobe, and he was playing like a beast even before the therapy. Of course, we noticed his added explosiveness after so yes, it helps. But Roy’s condition was much worse than Kobe’s and even McGrady’s.  No amount of Mamba recommendation could make me forget the state Roy was in; hence the lingering doubt.

Now that that’s out of the way, Brandon Roy is going to blow our minds this year. Just blow it up! Again, call it naïve, but Minnesota coaches have to hold the man back now. He’s eager to perform, eager to teach his teammates, and eager to succeed. Most importantly, he’s feeling great. The way Brandon Roy talks these days? You could almost be fooled into thinking he’d score 52 over Phoenix again.

So what do I want to think about? Lacking cartilage, retirement and lingering doubt? No.

Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Roy.

Goosebumps.

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE

Let's say it's 6.15pm and you're going home (alone of course),
after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start exp

eriencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself..!!

NOW HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE..

Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.
However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.
A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

Rather than sharing jokes please.. contribute by Sharing this which can save a person's life!!!!

Cybercrime law: Yay or nay? - by Yahoo

The newly approved law aimed at combating cybercrimes has been met with mixed reactions from the public and private sectors.

The Cybercrime Prevention Act is a boon for local firms, particularly in the information technology sector, business groups said.

Other groups meanwhile warned that the new law threatens Filipinos' freedom of expression as well as freedom of information.

But what does the anti-cybercrime law mean for the ordinary Filipino netizen?

Most if not all of the offenses in the law are already crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code.

Commenting on the new law, Information and Communications Techonology Association of the Philippines (ITAP) President Dondi Mapa said: "It's not a matter of identifying new crimes but only recognizing that existing crimes now happen in a new environment."

The anti-cybercrime act itself notes under its declaration of policy that it is the state's mechanism to adopt "sufficient powers to effectively prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their detection, investigation, and prosecution."

The law categorizes cybercrimes into three: (1) offenses against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems; (2) computer-related; or (3) content-related offenses.

Illegal access to computer systems, illegal interception of data, data or system interference, as well as misuse or computer systems or data belong in the first category.

Also in the same group is "cyber-squatting," which involves the acquisition of a domain name "in bad faith to profit, mislead, destroy reputation, and deprive others from registering the same."

In case of businesses, these may include the use of a domain name "similar, identical, or confusingly similar" to registered trademarks.

But businesses are not the only targets of "cyber-squatters," as the law also covers the use of personal names "identical or in any way similar with the name of a person other than the registrant."

Computer-related offenses, meanwhile, include the input, alteration or deletion of any computer data with the intent of forgery, fraud or identity theft.

On the other hand, cybersex, defined under the law as the willful engagement in online sexual activities, is included in content-related offenses.

Child pornography is another content-related offense in the law.

The anti-cybercrime act notes that punishment to child pornography committed through a computer system will be one degree higher than the sanctions in the Anti-Child Pornography Act.

Also named a content-related offense is the sending of unsolicited communication which advertise or sell products or services.

Under the new law, firms may only send electronic messages if recipients who grant prior consent or to existing subscribers or customers for service announcements.

Otherwise, the messages should allow recipients to "opt out." The source and intention of the message should also not be disguised.

Meanwhile, the law broadens the coverage of libel to include those "committed through a computer system or any other similar means which may be devised in the future."

This means that online statements against the reputation of an individual or an entity may give rise to libel suits, as if they were published or broadcast.

Among the crimes enumerated in the law, the provision on libel is most hit.

Media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility said the inclusion of libel as an act punishable by imprisonment goes against a long-standing UN principle of decriminalizing libel.

"Libel as a criminal offense has been used by past administrations as well as local officials today to harass and intimidate journalists," it noted.

For his part, Senator Teofisto Guingona III called the law "a prior restraint on the principle of the freedom of expression and freedom of speech."

Although broadly welcoming the anti-cybercrime act, ITAP's Mapa meanwhile urged the government to be circumspect in drafting the new law's implementing rules.

"The implementation should be done with due process and without curtailing citizens' rights," Mapa said in a press briefing.

How to recognize a heart attack

Unhealthy lifestyles combined with a tonne of stress are making more and more people vulnerable to heart attacks. Here’s a low-down on signs and symptoms of a heart attack

Often people expect a heart attack to be dramatic like it is in the movies. But in reality — most often — that is not the case. This article thus spells out the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

What happens during a heart attack?

During a heart attack, the blood flow to the heart muscle is either reduced or completely stops. This typically happens because of a blood clot that is blocking an artery.
When the heart muscle does not get oxygen-rich blood, it ceases to work.

Some common heart attack symptoms:

• A heart attack often causes chest pain.
• There is a feeling of fullness or a clasping pain in the centre of the chest. Most victims describe the pain as akin to an elephant standing on the chest (extreme pain). It usually lasts for about 15 minutes.
• One also experiences shooting pain in the shoulders, neck, arm, back and sometimes even the teeth and jaw.
• One finds increasing episodes of chest pain.
• Prolonged pain in the upper abdomen.
• Shortness of breath.
• The victim might experience heavy sweating.
• Since the heart’s pumping action is severely impaired during a severe heart attack, the victim might lose his/her consciousness.
• Nausea and vomiting
• In rare cases, as in patients who are diabetic, the heart attack may not be very painful, and sometimes can even be entirely painless.

Photo from the Yahoo! Contributor Network

Other heart attack symptoms

The elderly, diabetics, people on steroids as well as women are less likely to have obvious symptoms like severe chest pain (as often seen in men). These are some symptoms they are likely to have:

• Pain in the abdomen
• Heart burn
• Sweaty skin
• Unusual tiredness
• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Nausea
• Tightness or pain in the neck, shoulder or upper back

Heart attack symptoms are not the same for all… 

Not everyone who has a heart attack has the same symptoms. Many a time, we also tend to ignore a heart attack thinking it might be mere abdominal discomfort due to gas pains or indigestion. If you have more than a few symptoms listed above, then you are likely to be having an attack. Get emergency help immediately.

What to do in case of a heart attack?

• Rush to a hospital: If you recognise that you or someone around is having a heart attack, get immediate medical help.
• Give Disprin (Asprin): As soon as you recognise it is an attack, crush a disprin, dissolve it in water and make the person drink it.
• Emergency numbers: Every office and home must keep a list of emergency numbers like that of an ambulance service, hospital.

 A heart attack is different from a cardiac arrest

Do not confuse a heart attack with cardiac arrest. In the case of a cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops. It occurs due to an electrical disturbance that obstructs the heart’s pumping function, which results in stopping blood flow to the rest of the body.

With inputs from Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy, a consultant interventional cardiologist with Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore 

Enrile-Trillanes rift worsens

• 
  Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Trillanes: 'My God, this guy is a fraud!' (Photo by Joseph Vidal, PRIB, NPPA Images)

After a word war that led to Senator Antonio Trillanes walking out on Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the two lawmakers are still spewing controversial comments.

"I'm going to bring this to the people and tell the people about this man, who he is, what kind of senator he is, what kind of a military officer he is, the hazard he is creating for this country," Enrile told reporters in an ambush interview Thursday.

Trillanes, meanwhile, has admitted spearheading moves to oust Enrile as Senate president.

"He has lost his moral authority to lead the Senate when he continued to collaborate with GMA," areport quoted Trillanes as saying.

The rift appears to be far from over too, with Enrile noting that he has "no time for a man like him [Trillanes]," when asked if a reconciliation is possible.

"It doesn't matter to me if I will be ousted today," added Enrile. "I don't care whether he's talking to anyone. He can go ahead and if he wants to elect himself as Senate President, by all means."

"Kung hindi dahil sa akin, nandoon pa rin siya, nabubulok sa Camp Crame," added Enrile, referring to Trillanes. who was locked under maximum security at the police camp after the Manila Peninsula siege in November 2009.

Where it all began

Enrile said he did not provoke Trillanes. He explained he was "quietly presiding then suddenly I was being attacked."

This, as Trillanes read a privilege speech informing the floor that he is leaving the Senate majority.[See full privilege speech here]

"Dahil nga narinig ko na magdedeliver siya ng privilege speech. Akala ko ang subject matter ng speech niya ay tungkol kay Secretary Del Rosario. I was going to confront him with that note. Marami 'yun. Isang envelope 'yung dokumento na 'yon. This guy is dangerous for the country,"

"I have been in government. This is the first time that a senator is talking to another country about a matter that is disputed," Enrile added.

Trillanes walks out on Enrile. (Photo by Joseph Vidal, PRIB, NPPA Images)

From CamSur to China

In his speech, Trillanes lambasted Enrile for purportedly being a "GMA lackey," specifically on the division of Camarines Sur.

"This is my first time to learn that the former President is interested in CamSur. I don't think that there is any senator here who knows that the former President is interested in the division of CamSur. This is strange information to us which makes me believe that Trillanes is lying and he is using this in order to cover his ass," Enrile said.

Enrile then hit Trillanes for working as a negotiator with China and for going on a supposedly unauthorized travel.

"Lahat ng senador, kahit magbibiyahe ka ng pribado, ay kailangan na may travel authority ka from the Senate President. Mula pa ng panahon ni Quezon 'yang reglamento pero hindi niya sinusunod 'yon. Ewan ko kung bakit sekreto 'yung biyahe niya sa Tsina," he said.

On Wednesday, Enrile, citing notes from Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady, said Trillanes told officials in Beijing that Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario no longer enjoys confidence of the Filipino people, and other supposed "falsehoods".

Miriam: We lose here

In a separate interview, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said the spat between government officials, including that of Trillanes and DFA Secretary Alberto del Rosario, is doing more harm than good for PH's battle for the disputed islands.

"That's error number one. Never show the enemy that you are breaking ranks! Always present a united front to the enemy no matter how bitter your bickering might be. It will always capitalize on that," Santiago said.