Cyber Super High-Way slower traffic keep right.



Updated: 10:01 a.m. CT Dec 29, 2006
BEIJING - China's population of Internet users has risen by 30 percent over the past year to 132 million, a state news agency said Friday.
The figure was up from 123 million at the end of June, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing the government's China Internet Network Information Center.
It said the number of Chinese customers with broadband access has grown to 52 million.

How many people have Internet in the US?


This Internet thingy they're all talking about: it looks like it's here to stay. In fact - and this will come as no surprise to you, dear reader - every day more people are surfing for longer.

The latest figures released by research company Nielsen/NetRatings suggest that Internet usage has risen by another 16 percent in the last twelve months.

As for Rosier's question - at the last count there are a reported 105,170,327 active web surfers in the US and 165,745,689 people in total who have access.

What about in the rest of the world?
Nielsen/NetRatings measure web activity in 21 countries. And according to their research, there are around 450 million surfers around the world. Not all of them are as termed 'active', but there are over 250 million people regularly surfing through cyberspace.

In the UK, 34,104,175 people are estimated to have Internet access. That's 57.2 percent of the entire population. And the 'active internet universe' - those who surf regularly - amounts to 21,799,637. On average, surfers in the UK now spend nearly 10 hours a month online. (Others estimate the numbers are slightly smaller, but there's no question that they are on the increase).

Why are the numbers increasing?
More and more people are coming online, especially in the home. (The numbers always jump in January as computers bought for Christmas get plugged in). If you've been surfing for years you may wonder how anyone manages without it... and that's increasingly what the 'newbies' must be feeling as well. The price of joining in is coming down, not just for buying the hardware but for spending time online. Flat-rate monthly tariffs and highspeed broadband access being more available, the whole experience is getting better, and people are spending more time online as a result.

And what do we do online?
According to Nielsen/NetRatings, these are the Top 10 web properties for May 2002 for UK surfers:
1. MSN (11,305,065 visitors)
2. Yahoo!
3. Microsoft
4. AOL Time Warner
5. Google
6. BBC
7. Wanadoo
8. British Telecom
9. Amazon
10. Ask Jeeves
[Theanswerbank must be there or thereabouts! - Ed.]

Lots of American sites there.
The USA still dominates the Internet, with the big players replicating their success with localised sites in country after country. The top five sites Stateside look familiar: Microsoft, AOL Time Warner, Yahoo!, Google and eBay. Sites like the BBC and BT might be huge in the UK, but don't make such an impact overseas.

France manages to relegate the usual suspects, Microsoft, Yahoo! etc, from the top of the tree in favour of homegrown portals like Wanadoo, Free and Vivendi Universal.

Elsewhere, a well-targeted or useful site can usurp the Americanisation of the web. The sixth most popular site in Norway is the Skattedirektoratet - that's the Tax Office's website. Likewise, the Australian Federal Government ranks 7th in Australia, but doesn't have much of an impact over here! Osuuspankki might sound exciting and even a bit rude, but actually it's a bank - and Finland's 10th most visited site.

What else are surfers clicking on?
There are plenty of topical or seasonal websites that do fantastically well for brief periods. The official Gareth Gates website surged to the top of the charts in March with 199,0000 visitors. It isn't so busy now.

Travel websites did well this spring with nearly 43 percent of all Web surfers accessing an online travel site in March. Maybe they were all hoping to book June holidays in a (futile) attempt to escape the World Cup.

I wondered when that would get a mention.
Not surprisingly, traffic to Fifa's Official World Cup site increased by 420 percent as the tournament kicked off. The servers have juddered and heaved under the weight of 106,736,781 page views in one day! With games kicking off during office hours for most of Europe and the Americas, all kinds of records look set to be smashed during the tournament, despite the lack of (official) streaming audio or video.

LOL! And you thought you might be alone! Happy New Year!

Things that warm your Heart

A job for Jackie
While munching on his lunch at a McDonald’s restaurant one day in Alton, Ill. (pop. 30,496), Jackie Morris noticed an elderly couple nearby and offered to take their trash to the waste can. “My parents and grandmother taught me to be polite to people,” explains Morris, who suffers from a mental illness and has cared for himself since his parents died in 2001. He didn’t realize anyone noticed his act of kindness until the restaurant’s general manager, Mike Bold, approached to ask if he worked for him. “I said, ‘No, but I’m looking for a job,’” Morris recalls. Bold told him to come back to the restaurant on Friday and they’d fill out the paperwork and, as Morris says, “the rest is history.” The 47-year-old has worked at McDonald’s for three years, sweeping floors, wiping down tables and making sure napkins, straws and lids are stocked on the condiment table.

“When Jackie called to tell me he’d gotten a job offer himself, I was surprised,” says Kelly Schillinger, his job coach at Challenge Unlimited, a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities find work. “But when he told me what he did that led to the job, it didn’t surprise me at all, because that’s just Jackie. That’s how he is. He’s a person with a good heart.”

The effects of Morris’ simple goodwill gesture didn’t stop there. Four McDonald’s operated by Bold’s family have since hired 15 other people served by Challenge Unlimited, and Bold has received regional and state awards for his willingness to hire people with disabilities. “It’s been a huge ripple effect,” Schillinger says. “It just shows how a simple act of kindness can affect other people’s lives. Because of Jackie and his kindness, a lot of other people have found jobs, too.
( Taken from American Profile )
Happy Hump day everyone!

Peace On earth and Goodwill To all Men



Monday, December 25, 2006
DO ALL THINGS WITH LOVE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love is the most important ingredient of life.
Your life echoes emptiness without it.
With it, your life vibrates meaning and warmth.
Love will shine through even in hardship.

You will find as you look back upon your life
that the moments that stand out,
the moments when you have really lived,
are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.

If you have it, you don't need to have anything else.
And if you don't have it, it doesn't much matter what else you have.

Treasure the love you receive above everything else.
It will survive long after your wealth and good health have vanished.
The way is not in the sky.
The way is in the heart.

Life in abundance comes only through great love.

Happy Holidays



THE DAILY GURU
Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Things are not always as they seem!


I remember as a child going to Birmingham Al. and was just amazed at all the tall buildings. I would stand there looking up and be just awe struck.

That same awe feeling came to me standing at the foot of the Sears tower in Chicago! Again many years ago seeing the Peabody Electric coal shovel. It was unbelievably large.

Recently I had the chance to see a real replica of the ship Nina. I must admit I was excited getting the chance to see this famous ship up close!




THE ORIGINAL NIÑA
The original Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria used by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage across the Atlantic were common trading vessels. The Santa Maria which Columbus never liked, ran aground and sank on Christmas Eve 1492 in Hispaniola (now Cap Haitien). She was a Nao, a type of cargo vessel. The Niña and Pinta were Caravels which were used by explorers during the Age of Discovery. The Pinta returned home and disappeared from History without a trace, but the Niña, now there's a woman with a past. The Niña was Columbus' favorite and for good reason. She was named Santa Clara after the patron saint of Moguer. A Spanish vessel in those days had an official religious name but was generally known by nickname, which might be a feminine form of her masters patronmyic, or of her home port. Santa Clara was always Niña, after her master-owner Juan Nino of Moguer. Vincente Yanez was her Captain on Columbus' First Voyage, and he later discovered the Amazon on an independent voyage. Built in the Ribera de Moguer, an estuary, now silted up, of the Rio Tinto, Niña made the entire First Voyage, bringing Columbus safely home. She accompanied the grand fleet of the Second Voyage to Hispaniola and Columbus selected her out of seventeen ships for his flagship on an exploratory voyage to Cuba, and purchased a half share in her. She was the only vessel in West Indian waters to survive the hurricane of 1495, and then brought back the Admiral and 120 passengers to Spain in 1496. She was then chartered for an unauthorized voyage to Rome, and was captured by a corsair when leaving the port of Cagliari, and brought to an anchor at Cape Pula, Sardinia where she was stripped of her arms and crew. The Captain, Alonso Medel, escaped with a few men, stole a boat, rowed back to Niña, cut her cables and made sail. She returned to Cadiz in time to sail for Hispaniola early in 1498, as advance guard of Columbus' Third Voyage. She was lying in Santo Domingo in 1500, and we last heard of her making a trading voyage to the Pearl Coast in 1501. The Niña logged at least 25,000 miles under Columbus' command. In 1988, an American engineer and maritime historian, John Patrick Sarsfield, began building what was to become the first truly, historically correct replica of a 15th Century Caravel. John had discovered a group of master shipbuilders in Bahia, Brazil who were still using design and construction techniques dating back to the 15th Century. It was in Valenca, Brazil, using only adzes, axes, hand saws, and chisels, in additiion to naturally-shaped timbers from the local forest, that the Sarsfield Niña was built. Jonathan Nance, a British maritime historian and main researcher for the project produced a sail plan for the ship, which represents the Niña as she would have appeared during the eight recorded busy years of her life following her departure from the Canary Islands in September 1492. In December 1991, the Niña left Brazil and sailed to Costa Rica on a 4000 mile unescorted maiden voyage to take part in the filming of 1492. Since then, the ship has visited over 300 ports in the U.S. She is the only 'sailing museum' which is continually 'discovering' new ports, while giving the public an opportunity to visit one of the greatest little ships in the world's history.


Up close and personal! This can't be true!...


People waiting their turn to board the Nina.



Wait a minute! Is that Her?



Yep it's Her!



I stood there amazed! I couldn't believe my eyes! I asked the tour guide how many came from Spain in that thing and he tried to act like he didn't hear me so I asked again and he said seventeen!

The only thing I could say was Golly where did they all fit?

"The Journey Starts With One Step"

ACTION IS REQUIRED IF YOU WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL


The only way to start to improve your life is to start.
Once you're sure you're on the right road
there is no need to plan your journey too far ahead.
Don't burden yourself with doubts and fears
as to the obstacles that may bar your progress.
You can only take one step at a time.

You don't need to know all the answers in advance.
Just maintain a clear idea of the goal you want to reach
and the answers will come in their own time.

If you can get up the courage to begin,
you'll have the courage to succeed.

It's the job you never start that takes the longest to finish.
Go after what you want and you'll get it.
Eighty percent of success is showing up! THE DAILY GURU

How many dreams have fallen by the way side for fear of taking that first step? We live in a fast paced world that will surely pass you by if you hesitate. Yet many of us were taught to analyze before taking the first step!

This is not wrong in itself if we proceed and not be afraid to try! By our very nature we are success, created in the image and likeness of all that ever was are will be! Each of us has a part of the whole yet we don't recognize our brothers and sisters as one of us!

We are the light to the world at large and have been commissioned to carry this light of ours to all the nations proclaiming you and I are ONE! We are part of the whole we call GOD in whom there is nothing else!

Fear of the first step is our doctrines and dogmas! We as people of the whole have used this and are using this to divide and sat us apart from each other. Wars have been and are being waged to keep us separated!

Can this be anything more than a few power hungry people who feel their way is the only way! Each of our religions of the world have a part of the truth! Must we continue to destroy each other over our differences?

The answer is in our desire to be different! We have yet to understand that love has many shades but all are part of the whole! Our first step must be in acceptance of our diversities and love one another as brothers and sisters of the ONE who made us all!

Where There's an Auto Show the Girls will be there to Show Them



China isn't building all those highways around Beijing--and in the rest of the country--for nothing. Economic growth in the country is putting more cars on the road and raising the profile of China's automakers around the world. One place to see the latest designs for Chinese consumers and for the export market is the Beijing Automotive Exhibition, which kicked off over the weekend.





Shanghai Volkswagen has revealed the Neeza concept car at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. The Neeza concept is a crossover between a sports coupé and an estate with an off-road appearance, and has been designed in China for China. The study combines Chinese and German design philosophies, signifying the future of new models from Shanghai Volkswagen. Produced with Chinese culture, tastes and requirements firmly in mind, it is a mix of traditional Chinese and modern European features.


The off-road look of the Neeza concept reflects the versatility of the model. The front of the concept features a grille and bumper design that is typically Volkswagen, yet traditional Chinese window engravings are incorporated into the grille design. The rear looks sporty, yet is also functional.

The Neeza concept offers a large, functional interior for both business and leisure purposes. The design is open with optimal comfort in mind, for example, the front seats swivel so passengers can face each other. Access to rear seating is simplified by rear doors which open towards the rear, while a large panoramic roof provides a bright interior.



The concept intentionally has neither a radio, navigation system nor other form of infotainment equipment. Instead a ‘Magic Box’ serves as an interface for radio and navigation systems, mobile phone, personal organiser and other devices.

The name Neeza originates from ‘Ne-zha’, the name of a famous and mystical figure from Chinese history who had magical weapons and fought evil spirits.

Source: Volkswagen




The Mazda Senku concept car, making its Chinese premiere, features a cutting-edge powertrain and oversize, electrically operated flying-wing doors--but don't call it a DeLorean. The gasoline-powered rotary engine is complemented by a hybrid electric unit, and solar panels provide recharging for the batteries. The name "Senku" is a Japanese term that means "pioneer," Mazda says.





The interior of the Senku--Mazda calls it a "prestigious environment"--is heavy on red, with clean lines and a clear disdain for backseat comfort. On-board cameras provide views of the outside world on three panels mounted above the dashboard; a display at the bottom of the instrument panel reports on the navigation, audio and air-conditioning systems. A touch screen inside the steering wheel is intended to provide easy control of the systems.


Also at the show was the Chevrolet WTCC Ultra concept, designed to deliver lots of torque and sporting a fiberglass and carbon-fiber exterior for light weight. Based on a rally car idea, it's a muscle car for the world market, Chevy says. The rubberized coating for the dashboard reportedly was modeled after the bat suit in the Batman movies.



Reading about the car show, one thing stood out like a sore thumb! The cars were made for the people and their culture! Sharp contrast to the American design for it's people!







The Big Three Ford, Chive and Charsler, just think how many Chines you could get in one of these!

Of course when you combine this with our 100mph expressways, hey who's worried about a gas shortage! Ah... yes the all American way!

You thought Fast food was getting better



bypass burger Friday, Dec. 1, 2006 in Tempe, Ariz. The waitresses at the restaurant, who wear minimal nurses attire, have angered a group of real Arizona nurses who say the servers demean their profession. (AP Photo/Matt York)

You thought the burger was the story! turns out that's just half the story. Local residents or up in arms over the uniforms and gestures of the employees.
You can read the whole story here, Cheers!

Sea side Manger



A woman applies finishing touches to a sand sculpture at Las Canteras beach in Spain's Canary Island of Gran Canaria December 5, 2006. REUTERS/Borja Suarez (SPAIN)

Our life is much like this sculpture, here today and gone tomorrow! Live each moment with love and excitement!

I Think I Missed something?


Let's see if I understand
how the world works lately...




If a man cuts his finger off
while slicing salami at work,



he blames the restaurant.


If you smoke three packs a day for
40 years and die of lung cancer,



your family blames the tobacco company.



If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving
home drunk, he blames the bartender.

If your grandchildren are brats without manners,



you blame television.


If your friend is shot by a deranged madman,



you blame the gun manufacturer.


And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit
and tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet,
and the passengers kill him instead,
the mother of the crazed deceased blames the airline.


I must have lived too long to
understand the world as it is anymore.


So, if I die while my old wrinkled ass
is parked in front of this computer,



I want all of you to blame Bill Gates...okay?

Aztec Bar and Grill

At the resort on Cocoa Beach

My Best friend Ray in front of the RESORT

They had a wonderful Mexican restaurant. The food was superb and the happy hour was special.... We enjoyed it so much that we had supper there three nights!

Any way thinking about our time at the beach and this outstanding Aztec Restaurant made me inquire more into the Aztec Nation...

Aztec picture writing.

Aztec were an American Indian people who ruled a mighty empire in Mexico during the 1400's and early 1500's. The Aztec had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. They built cities as large as any in Europe at that time. They also practiced a remarkable religion that affected every part of their lives. To worship their gods, the Aztec built towering temples, created huge sculptures, and held impressive ceremonies featuring bloody human sacrifices. Their empire was destroyed by the Spaniards, who conquered it in 1521. But the Aztec left a lasting mark on Mexican culture.

Amazing culture! However I don't think I would fit in! LOL! It appears their primary reason for going to war was to obtain prisoners far sacrifice!

Interesting reading go here if you would like to learn more about these fascinating Aztec people.

Our cold wave went through last night. Thirty degree lower than yesterday! Will drop to 28* tonight. Makes for a cool Xmas party.

Have a great weekend every one!