Beside shooting blood everywhere and doing quests for others, talking to monsters that I’ll never find in real life ... I found this game interesting for surviving ( although are lot’s of topics to be covered ).
A difference from Wikipedia ( you only have content ) this game kind of force you to read about topics / ideas / concepts ( learning without knowing it )
Idea of the game: Win credits for solving questions and use the credits to post your own questions for other users to solve!
Take a look around you can find the concept useful for you.
]]>For instance with the rising fuel costs and global warming issues in the news every day I kept an open mind, where most people have not.
I had a gentlemen walk into my office and said one thing to me and I quote” Sir my Car is picking up a 40% increase in mileage for just pennies”
This really caught my attention !
He gave me a website to view right then and it’s funny I opened it right in front of him http://www.soldmycartobuygas.com/ when I viewed the site, something like I said came over me, I asked him will this also lower Toxic Emissions and he replied yes it will over 16 %.
I then said to him how can I try some of this, he said order it right from the site, so I did.
Now that was 14 months ago and now at the age of 45 I sold my trucking company and am now fully retired making more money in one week than most people make in three months, CRAZY !!! and all from sharing the product and showing others how to use this one of a kind product just like he did.
Crazy how it happened, most people are so beat down and skeptical that they can never see more than 1 ft in front of them at all times.
1-616-835-1773
McDonald’s, others pull tomatoes over salmonella
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago
McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and other U.S. chains have halted sales of some raw tomatoes as federal health officials work to trace the source of a multistate salmonella food poisoning outbreak.
Burger King, Outback Steakhouse and Taco Bell were among other restaurants voluntarily withdrawing tomatoes from their menus, following federal recommendations that consumers avoid red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries.
McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest hamburger chain, stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches as a precaution until the source of the bacterial infection is known, according to a statement Monday from spokeswoman Danya Proud. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company will continue serving grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety, she said.
The source of the tomatoes responsible for the illnesses in at least 16 states has not been pinpointed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said at least 23 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak, federal officials said.
Also not associated with the outbreak are raw Roma, red plum and round red tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico.
Salmonella is a bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.
The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers in New Mexico and Texas as early as June 3 about the outbreak. The agency expanded its warning during the weekend and chains began voluntarily removing many red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes from their shelves in response.
The FDA is investigating the source of the outbreak, agency spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings said.
“We are working hard and fast on this one and hope to have something as quickly as possible,” Rawlings said Monday.
Rawlings said the FDA’s “traceback” investigations typically look at similarities in illnesses reported to the CDC by state health officials. Investigators work backward to find the source of the contaminated product.
]]>115-year-old Woman’s Brain in Tip-Top Shape
115-year-old Woman’s Brain in Tip-Top Shape
LiveScience Staff
LiveScience.comMon Jun 9, 11:46 AM ET
A Dutch woman who reached 115 years of age and remained mentally sharp throughout life also had a healthy brain when she died, a new study finds.
The woman’s brain showed almost no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease. The finding suggests Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are not inevitable, as had been suspected.
“Our observations suggest that, in contrast to general belief, the limits of human cognitive function may extend far beyond the range that is currently enjoyed by most individuals,” said lead researcher Gert Holstege, a neuroscientist at the University Medical Center Groningen, in The Netherlands.
The results are detailed in the August issue of the journal Neurobiology of Aging.
At age 82, the Dutch woman made arrangements to donate her body to science after death. She contacted Holstege when she reached age 111, worried that her body was too old to be useful for research or teaching purposes. The neuroscientists reassured her that, contrary to her belief, they were particularly interested due to her age.
“She was very enthusiastic about her being important for science,” Holstege and his colleagues write in the journal article.
Neurological and psychological examinations were performed when the centenarian was 112 and 113 years old. The results were essentially normal, with no signs of dementia or problems with memory or attention. Her mental performance was above average for adults aged 60 to 75.
When the woman died at age 115, her body was donated to science. Holstege’s team found no signs of narrowing of the arteries, called atherosclerosis, and very few brain abnormalities. In fact, the number of brain cells was similar to that expected in healthy people between 60 and 80 years old.
The woman’s brain showed little or no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease. The neuroscientists found almost no deposits of so-called beta-amyloid, which are characteristic in Alzheimer’s brains. The other abnormalities present, including “neurofibrillary tangles,” were very mild, and would not have caused significant mental impairment.
Currently, there are more than 80,000 Americans 100 years of age or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number is expected to rise to more than 580,000 centenarians by 2040.
A recent study of a man who lived to age 114 found a combination of genes and lifestyle play a role in longevity, though the long-life recipe is far from clear.
As the number of people living to age 100 and beyond continues to increase, the researchers say, deterioration of the brain is not inevitable.
]]>
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — As if sky-high gasoline prices weren’t frustrating enough, many owners of thirsty SUVs, pickups and motor homes who use a credit card at the pump are being blocked from getting a full tank.
That’s because many station operators have a $75 limit on Visa (V) or MasterCard (MA) transactions at the pump.
If motorists hit the limit, they must do a second transaction at the pump to finish filling. Another solution, though inconvenient: Go see the attendant to have the card swiped inside. But this information often is not on the pump, and it can be aggravating even if it is, so customers are venting their ire.
“It’s frustrating to them, and they let us know,” says Tom Robinson, president of Rotten Robbie, a 34-station chain based in Northern California. “There’s always an adjective associated with the pump, and it’s like ‘stupid’ or worse.”
Station owners say they simply are passing through policies of Visa and MasterCard, which won’t reimburse them more than $75 per transaction at the pump if there’s a disputed charge or a fraudulent card is used.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Phoenix | New Mexico | Midwest | SUVs | Northern California | Visa | MasterCard | Bruce | National Association of Convenience Stores | Jeff Lenard | Tom Robinson
The card issuers say they aren’t the bad guys.
“It’s the merchants’ decision to limit purchases,” says Visa spokesman Paul Wilke. He adds: “Customers always have the option of paying with the card at the cash register” where its policy differs from the pump.
The $75 limit “ensures merchants and customers are protected from fraud,” says MasterCard spokesman Tristan Jordan.
Visa and MasterCard have no immediate plans to go higher. “It’s something we always look at,” Wilke says.
Visa raised its pump limit from $50 in April, but $75 isn’t keeping up with gas prices. At $4 a gallon, $75 buys 183/4 gallons. A 2008 Toyota Sequoia SUV’s tank holds more than 26 gallons, a Chevy Avalanche sport pickup totes up to 311/2 gallons, and a 33-foot or longer Winnebago Adventurer RV hauls 75 gallons.
“It’s a little hassle because you can’t just pump and get on your way,” says Phoenix retiree Fay Iles, who says she and husband Bruce found a station coming back from New Mexico that still had a $50 limit.
Tulsa-based QuikTrip, which runs stations across the Midwest, raised its pump limit to $100. But Vice President Paula Cotten says there are many customers, especially small-business owners, who want more.
Station owners say they don’t like the limits. If customers reswipe their card to fill up, it forces retailers to pay the card issuers more transaction fees. If they drive off without a full tank, the station lost revenue.
“Retailers … are frustrated, if not downright angry,” says Jeff Lenard, vice president of the National Association of Convenience Stores. Customers “come in and scream at the poor guy behind the counter.”
]]>washingtonpost.com
The Federal Communications Commission postponed next week’s vote on whether to auction unused airwaves that would offer free wireless Internet connections.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin decided to pull his proposal from the June 12 meeting agenda to give the panel more time to review the idea and allow more comments from the public. Wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless say the plan might interfere with other networks.
Martin’s plan calls for the FCC to sell 25 megahertz of airwaves and require the buyer to use some of that spectrum to provide a free broadband service.
]]>Truck-drivers union close to new contract
By JACK KATZANEK
The Press-Enterprise
Union negotiators who represent the truck drivers who deliver new vehicles to dealerships say they’re close to a new contract with most of the country’s largest trucking companies.
But the negotiations have been difficult in an industry that has been hampered by high fuel prices and a public that is buying fewer American-made vehicles. Two of the companies that make up a consortium that negotiates as a group have filed for bankruptcy in the last two years.
Several hundred workers are employed at companies that have depots in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Car haulers pick up new vehicles at factories and rail yards.
The deal with the union and the National Automobile Transporters Labor Division, which negotiates for 11 companies, expired Sunday.
Earlier this week the Teamsters authorized a strike against one company, Allen Park, Mich.-based Performance Transportation Services, after the company withdrew from the negotiating consortium and received approval from a bankruptcy court judge to cut wages 15 percent. PTS has a facility in Carson.
Teamsters spokesman Galen Munroe declined to comment beyond a statement appearing on the union’s Web site earlier this week that reported progress in the negotiations. The talks are “on track to reach a tentative carhaul agreement when talks resume next week in Cleveland.”
A spokesman for the trucking companies did not return calls seeking comment.
Randy Cammack, secretary-treasurer of Rialto-based Teamsters Local 63, confirmed it’s been a slow pace, but the two sides are close.
“It’s difficult because the auto industry is in trouble,” Cammack said. “The prospect of their being able to sell more America cars than they are right now is not good.”
Cammack said future negotiations with other trucking companies are likely to be difficult because of fuel prices, but it’s rising health care costs that are taking a bite out of contract packages. That might mean workers won’t see big gains in wages and pensions, he said.
“The car haulers are looking for more flexibility,” Cammack said. “They’re looking to find money in any part of the agreement they can. Our guys have been pretty reasonable, but we’re not going to give away the store. We’re saying, hey, there are some ways you can manage the business better.”
The current economic conditions could create some intense scenarios in future labor negotiations. There are about 350,000 public- and private-sector workers in Southern California whose labor contracts expire this year, said Kent Wong, director of the Center for Labor Research and Education at UCLA.
“Clearly there are challenges facing people in the trucking and airlines industries,” Wong said. “It’s taking a huge toll on the workers themselves.”
According to the Bureau of National Affairs, which tracks specialized news for business and government, the average salary increase in collective bargaining deals this year is down from the first five months of 2007, but only slightly, from a 3.6 percent increase in the first year of a contract to 3.5 percent.
George Howard, who practices employment law for the San Diego office of Jones Day, said the weak economy means it’s not a great environment for any employees, and unions negotiating contracts don’t have much leverage.
“What unions might want is shorter contracts, hoping the economy will turn around,” Howard said. “And employers might want to lock in longer deals.”
Howard said the Teamsters have some clout in these talks because transporting cars is a specialty job and drivers can’t be easily replaced.
“You’re not going to put someone behind the wheel with eight or 10 cars behind you and expect him or her to drive it,” Howard said.
]]>The hit History channel reality series Ice Road Truckers is returning for a second season. Ice Road Truckers 2 will premiere on Sunday, June 8 at 9 PM ET/PT. In addition to following many of the same truckers from the first season, the second season will introduce some brand new drivers.
Returning truckers include Hugh Rowland, Rick Yemm, Drew Sherwood and Alex Debogorski. However, this season Hugh is no longer the boss of Rick and Drew. New truckers will include Erik Refrine and field supervisor Jerry Dusdal.
The series follows the truckers as the haul equipment and supplies to remote Arctic outposts. The truckers travel down the winter ice road that runs over the frozen Arctic Ocean and the Mackenzie River. Even though technology has changed the Arctic Circle to a degree, the native people are still rich in tradition.
As the truckers drive on the ice road that winds along the Mackenzie River, they will deal with Arctic storms, extreme polar conditions, and temperatures as low as -60. While last season there were some narrow land bridges, this season the truckers will face ice all the way.
]]>Companies offering free gas to attract business
By DINESH RAMDE, AP Business Writer
Sun Jun 8, 2:19 PM ET
Two magic words are turning consumers’ heads lately. Not “Get rich” or “Lose weight.” Try “Free gas.” Businesses from banks and hotels to golf-club makers and blood-donation centers are offering promotions that involve free gas — generating more attention and goodwill from price-stunned drivers than traditional promotions might deliver.
For example, Callaway Golf Co. is giving away gas cards worth as much as $100 with the sale of certain drivers. Guests who book three nights through hotels.com will get $50 gas cards. And TCF Bank, based in Wayzata, Minn., is giving $50 gas cards to customers who open checking accounts.
The trend will grow in the short-term as more businesses jump on the free-gas bandwagon, predicts Baohong Sun, a marketing professor at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.
“A lot of companies, when they make decisions they don’t think independently,” Sun said. “They’ll jump into whatever their competitors are doing, so more companies are likely to mimic this strategy.”
She expects the trend will fade by summer’s end.
Some companies, such as sporting-goods makers, don’t have obvious ties to gas prices. But others, such as hotels, have found that guests who arrive by car are especially seduced by the idea of a free fill-up.
Doug Symes, 48, knew he wanted to plan a summer vacation in Wisconsin Dells, a tourist hotspot in south-central Wisconsin. He debated staying at one of two resorts, and his decision was clinched when he heard that one, the Kalahari Waterpark Resort, offered a promotion that includes a free $40 gas card.
“The gas card wasn’t the only thing but it definitely helped the decision,” said Symes, whose hometown of Burnsville, Minn., is about a 225-mile drive from the Dells. “Gas is on everybody’s mind, so it does get your attention.”
Most promotions have been under way for only a week or two, not enough time for companies to gauge how effective they have been.
Reservations at Kalahari are up 5 percent this summer over last year, general manager John Chastan said.
“It’s hard to tell how much of that is because of the gas card, but in general we’re doing pretty good,” he said.
But why use gas cards at all? Why not just take $50 off the product price — or offer customers cash instead?
In theory, shoppers should react equally to a $50 discount and a $50 gas card. But buying decisions aren’t always driven by logic, said Suzanne Shu, a marketing professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
“The more the purchase feels discretionary, like staying at a luxury hotel, the more the gas cards have impact because people can use them to justify something they might not do otherwise,” she said.
Also, people mentally allocate money toward certain expenses — so when an expense decreases the additional windfall seems even more satisfying, Shu said.
Sun, the Carnegie Mellon professor, said gas promotions make the most sense when combined with products associated with driving. That might be why Chrysler LLC introduced an offer to subsidize customers’ gas purchases for three years, with buyers paying $2.99 per gallon and Chrysler covering the rest.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas reached $4 Sunday, according to AAA. Oil prices settled at a record $138.54 per barrel Friday after rising more than $16 in just two days on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Summer promotions are nothing new to the Northern Ohio Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross. Blood donations can drop 20 percent in summer months as high school and college students scatter, so this year the group is offering summer donors the chance to win a gas card. The prizes are one $3,000 gas card and five $500 cards.
After the blood center’s promotion launched this week, donations rose 6 percent over the same period last year — although the number of days available for comparison is small and it’s not certain the increase is due only to the raffle. But organizers say the early numbers are encouraging.
Even so, those two words might not retain their magic for long.
While consumers will always need gas, marketing experts say motorists will eventually tune out free-gas promotions if too many businesses offer them. Also, as the price rises far enough past the emotionally charged $4 threshold, people will again learn to accept the cost.
So take advantage of the deals while companies still see value in offering them, Shu said.
“I would say this type of promotion will only be effective in the short run,” she said. “People will pay attention until they readapt to prices and then it won’t be such a big deal anymore.”
]]>Gas taxes set to rise in some states
By SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jun 8, 2:50 PM ET
All of the talk among political candidates about a federal gas tax holiday to offset soaring prices at the pump misses a critical fact: state taxes are, for the most part, even more costly for drivers.
And in some states, gas taxes are rising even higher, with a handful set to jump at the height of the summer driving season.
The average state sales tax on gasoline is 28.6 cents a gallon, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That’s a dime more than the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents a gallon.
And while the federal rate hasn’t increased since 1997, the amount drivers pay in state taxes can jump every year — or even every day — inching up as the price does.
The national average price rose Sunday to $4 for a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, though, drivers in many parts of the country have already been paying well above that price for some time. Gas prices are expected to keep climbing, putting greater pressure on consumers, businesses and state legislators.
Some lawmakers have talked about providing relief by suspending the gas tax, but few proposals have gone anywhere. States rely on gas tax dollars to build and repair infrastructure. With many roads and bridges crumbling, elected officials are reluctant to give that money up.
Some warn that cutting the tax revenue — even temporarily — can deepen the woes.
“There’s a need here and if we don’t take care of it will only get worse,” said Patrick Natale, executive director the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The roughly three dozen states that use only a flat tax on gas may face declining revenues as motorists pinched by high fuel prices try to drive less.
In the dozen or so states where the tax is tied, at least in part, to the price at the pump, the skyrocketing of gas prices has meant an unexpected windfall.
California, which has the highest gas tax in the nation according to a survey by the American Petroleum Institute, would rake in $5 billion this year if the price at the pump remains at $4 a gallon. That’s more than double the $2.1 billion the state took in gasoline tax revenue in 2003, state revenue officials said.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has said he supports a temporary halt of federal gasoline tax. His Democratic rival Barack Obama calls such a proposal a gimmick.
Still, some states have considered rolling back their state gasoline tax.
So far, only Georgia has moved to provide relief. Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order halting what would have been a state tax increase of 2.9 cents per gallon beginning in July, just as many families were hitting the road for summer vacation.
Perdue, who suspended the entire Georgia tax on gasoline for a month in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, said it’s unfair for the state to reap a tax windfall on the back of cash-strapped residents.
“Frankly, I don’t think we can justify raising taxes on gasoline in a time of economic stress for many families,” the Republican governor said.
But the largesse has a cost: he’s forfeiting roughly $80 million at a time when the state is facing a $1 billion shortfall in transportation projects.
Officials in Florida, New York and Missouri also have proposed gas tax holidays but they have yet to gain traction, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Others are moving in the opposite direction.
Minnesota’s needs for infrastructure repair were highlighted by a bridge collapse last year that left 13 people dead. State lawmakers summoned enough votes to override a gubernatorial veto and boost the gasoline tax by 8 1/2 cents over five years.
In Connecticut, the gross receipts tax on gasoline entering the state will rise to 7.5 percent from 7 percent on July 1. That tax on wholesalers is expected to be passed along to consumers.
Florida, North Carolina and West Virginia, Kentucky and Maine are also seeing gas tax increases this year. Nebraska could see a gas tax hike as well, state officials there said.
In California, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, the amount drivers pay in sales tax has been rising with the overall price of gas.
Adding to the problem, critics say, are the complex tax formulas some states use that automatically adjust for things like the price of gas or the consumer price index.
States should increase taxes for gasoline through their legislatures, not complicated formulas, said Phil Kerpen, director of policy for the Washington-based anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity.
“When you set tax increase on autopilot it takes away all accountability,” Kerpen said.
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