The Help Tabloid

HOBBITS AND LICE:

In late 2004 the media was all agog with the small hominids found on Flores Island where I had written about artifacts showing sea travel technology must have existed. I had argued with many people about the issue and their argument had some merit in that we had no proof of a connection to humans or the nearby Mungo Man. However, once we found these creatures which some researchers even think could be part chimpanzee the issue became clearly in my favor. I think the divergence of human lice proven through DNA technology going back 1.18 to 1.8 million years ago is even more telling and I look forward to the further research on pubic lice that might prove hominids cross-breeding. Here is one source for further review.

“It was astonishing and exciting enough to have discovered a new - and wholly unexpected - hominid species last week. The discovery of the partial skeletons of three-foot tall “hobbits” on the Indonesian island of Flores would have been front page news however old they were. But what made them really extraordinary was their age. They weren’t fossils. These were bones rotted to the consistency of blotting paper, less than 18,000 years old; and there are grounds for hoping that the creatures lived on into historical times. Some might even be alive in sufficiently remote island jungles today. The native legends about “Ebu Gogo” suggest that contact between Homo sapiens and Homo floresiensis took place within the last century on Flores.

The idea that our ancestors had contact with other human species is a profound and disturbing one. The whole term “human species” begs the question. If they are other species, can they really be what we mean by “human”? Human is a moral category as much as a biological one. That’s why it is such a useful weapon word in the debates about abortion. To call someone or something human is generally meant as praise, and implies that they should be treated as we treat ourselves.

This interpretation of “humanity” is not, of course, a necessarily human trait. It’s certainly not encoded in our genes. Most cultures, in most of history, have had no trouble in treating other human beings as domesticated animals or very much worse. But we, who speak English, call this process “dehumanisation”.

The skeletal fragments, and the legends from local people, make this story far more vivid than the other evidence for human encounters with other humanoid species. That shouldn’t obscure the fact that this is the second such story this autumn, and the first one is far more chilling.

The evidence there came from lice. As the parents of almost any school age girl will know, human lice are extraordinarily tenacious and well adapted to life on our scalps. They don’t survive for more than a few hours away from human flesh.

The war between lice and their hosts has continued for billions of years - there are species of louse adapted to almost every sort of primate and many species of birds. In humans, they infest our head, our clothes, and our bodily hair. Curiously, the body lice are the same species as head lice - although they behave quite differently, living in clothes, and coming in to feed on skin once or twice a day. Head lice live in hair and feed more often.

But it turns out that DNA analysis shows there are two distinct sub-species of head lice in humans. All over the world, except in western North America, they are the same. But there is a population of lice along the Pacific coast of North America which have been evolving separately from the rest of the world for about 1.8m years. The only way to make sense of this is to assume that their separate development took place on Homo erectus, who also split off from our hominid ancestors about that time ago.

So how could these lice have reached their present, wholly human hosts? It seems to me that this could only have happened through some act of primal genocide when Homo erectus met Homo sapiens somewhere in eastern Siberia. Lice can only travel between living bodies, or very freshly dead ones. If the transmission had been from living bodies, we would expect the same pattern in bodily lice. It isn’t there. Nor is there any trace of Homo erectus in our DNA. So the lice must have come from very fresh corpses and it is hard to suppose that they had died peacefully just before the intruders turned up.

The story of “Ebu Gogo” sounds more improving. According to local villagers, these creatures were around until about a century ago: three feet tall, hairy, and speechless, though they could imitate human speech, like parrots. The villagers tolerated them and even fed them, though they would only eat raw food, until they stole and ate a baby. They drove them from their cave with blazing bales of grass. Shortly thereafter, the villagers themselves moved off and western settlers arrived. The cave where the Ebu Gogo lived has not been found. But if it is - and scientists are looking - it might yield some extraordinary remains.

These wouldn’t be technological. Perhaps the saddest aspect of the whole story is the slow loss of technology it implies. Ebu Gogo seems to have been a descendent of Homo erectus, also known as Java man, who reached the island about 840,000 years ago. This was almost certainly something that required boats, which seem a pretty human-level technology.” (1)

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Soon to be featured with Philip Gardiner

I’ll do that When Pigs Fly! - End of argument.

Well, now Pigs Do Fly! Yes, you heard me right, there’s a site dedicated to when this miraculous event happens. After visiting it, you will probably think twice before throwing out that derisive salute to the fact that the recipient isn’t going to get what they want. This site opens up with “Who Let The Pigs Out”, pictures of pink, pig balloons and a brief history of why this site was created.

How many times have you heard the phrase “When Pigs Fly”? For me, way too many, for it was my dad’s favorite expression. How many times did I ask for something as a kid only to have my dad say, “Only When Pigs Fly”!

Well guess what?
Your Ship, or Pig, Has Come In!

That’s right folks, The Time is here! Pigs really do fly. Go ask for what you want and you will receive it!

What is it all about?
Hot-Air Balloons shaped like your favorite bacon product. Special shaped Hot-Air balloons come in many different shapes, sizes & colors. Ours just happens to be a pink pig standing over 100′ tall, 60′ wide and 80′ long. Yes, it’s pink, a pig and huge! When these pigs fly, everybody knows about it.

Pig Puns
There’s bad pig jokes like “that’s a lot of Ham to heat up!” covering how a hot-air balloon works. Quite simply, it utilizes the principle that hot air rises and cool are falls. Add that to a hot-air balloon shaped like a pig and nicknamed Ham-Let, they say that all you need to do is to get Ham-Let to the right cooking temperature, and he will lift off the ground and float through the sky.

And Even More Pig Puns

• What rolls in the mud and delivers pretty baskets? The Easter Piggy.

• What do you call a Laundromat for pigs? Hogwash
• Why did the three little pigs fall asleep every time Grandpa told stories? Because he was a boar.

They go on and on and on, but I could not. You get the idea though. These pig puns are well, piggish. I’m sure somebody, probably a pig, would find these funny.

They also have a Pig Store complete with Yield For Pigs signs for your car - yes, watch for flying pigs, tee-shirts, embroidered items and more which are actually quite cute. If you collect pigs, just like the truly strange or want to get past that famous brush off “When Pigs Fly”, this Internet stop can help you.

This site is cute, not extravagant, just cute. It looks like it was set-up by folks more into hot-air ballooning than website design. Its lack of slickness, though, makes it a silly and fun site to stop by. The idea is novel, and you can really say that at When Pigs Fly, the ham is truly airborne.

About The Author
Judith Brandy is a longtime writer and lover of science fiction and fantasy. A recent breast cancer survivor, her mission has become raising breast cancer awareness in a fun and non-threatening way in the science fiction and fantasy community as well as providing a haven for stressed-out fans everywhere. She runs a number of blogs as well as her main website, one of which is called Odd Blogz and Strange Websites.
http://www.sciencefictionbuzz.com or http://www.worlds-of-wonder.com/oddblogz/odd.html

Like many Americans, I am an avid coffee lover. My love for coffee is a part of my heritage, that is, from the German side. The German part of my family, both my grandmothers are German, are mad about coffee, and slurp it down, cup after cup, all day. My love for coffee came later, beginning two years ago. I discovered gourmet coffee, and the Arabica beans it comes from. No more crap from the can. Bye, bye went the several cups of tea I would consume.

Months ago it came to my attention that coffee farmers are not always paid a fair price for their crop. However, there are coffee companies, although they are no where near as large as whorebucks (oops, I meant Starbucks), that are deemed fair trade companies by the Fair Trade Federation. The FTF is an association of fair trade sellers, retailers, and producers who pay fair prices to farmers and wages workers in countries from economically disadvantaged countries. In other words, the partners in the FTF do not ‘rape’ coffee growers and workers.

Why is this important, important enough for me to write about it? When coffee growers are not paid a fair price for their coffee crop, they cannot, in turn, pay a fair wage to their workers. The cycle of poverty continues, spurred on by the buyers from wealthy Western countries. Much has been written and touted about the global world we live in. If part of the world suffers, it stands to reason that the rest of the world also suffers. The suffering may not be as wide-spread, virulent, or often as that in economically disadvantaged countries, but that could change in time unless the Western world, with America leading the way as the world’s cop (oops again, I meant superpower).

Even that aforementioned mega coffee company has a fair trade coffee, as does Gevalia. When corporations start to slowly catch on, it is imperative that consumers demand complete and total justice for farmers and workers worldwide. Justice, after all, can begin with a cup of joe.

Links to fair trade coffee companies:

www.cafecampesino.com

www.kalanicoffee.com

www.puravida.com

www.equalexchange.com

It seems we have to become aware of a new problem that is starting to invade our modern, industrial society, that being the problem of over stimulation. The Internet is an excellent tool but we have to remember that the mind is the most valuable tool imaginable. Some would argue that spirit or soul is of equal or more importance, I am not disagreeing with these people. The point that I am attempting to put forward for discussion is that although the Internet is an excellent new medium that can affect nearly all aspects of life in a positive way, like all things in existence it too has a shadow side. Over stimulation of the mind is a huge cloud in the blue sky of consciousness.

Have you ever sat at your desk searching through the Web for News information, then checking your emails with their accompanying attachments and links, and then doing general searches for random information? If you receive newsletters, or subscribe to blogs, you read these daily as well. The human mind is powerful, and scientists say that we only use an average of 10 % of it, but doesn’t that entail that we should be careful not to overload its present information processing capabilities?

I’ve read that in one New York Times newspaper there is more information to digest than one would have had to process in a whole lifetime of the Shakespearean era. With the advent of the Internet we have more access to knowledge and opinion than ever previously. We have to be cautious my friends. I personally have had to come to the realization that my spiritual, mental, physical and emotional health is of more importance than all other things in life. If I work too hard, or try to read too much, my mind starts to weigh down with all the thoughts that are produced with each and every tidbit of communication that I take in. After a while I sometimes feel like there is a giant cloud inside my mind and I no longer feel confident to do the daily activities that are required of me as a committed team player of our society.

So what’s the solution? Well, like all things in life solutions are often more simple than we could ever have hoped for. We just have to keep our eyes open to grasp the answers that are presented to us as opportunities everyday. Make a note when you are feeling bogged down and tired and think about how much information you have tried to compute in that moment. Give yourself time limits and a designated number of searches and downloads for a day. You can learn to take more breaks and find anecdotal means to sift through the information, or even block out all the stimuli in that break period.

Gardening, meditation, stretches, breathing exercises, tai chi, yoga, cooking, sports, music…all of these are options to undertake when you want to get away from the noise of too many ‘voices’.

The Internet is an awesome idea that has come to fruition. Like all tools and mediums of interaction it must be used mindfully, with care for the user as first priority. You would never use a power saw without gloves, boots, and ear and eye protection. You could lose a finger…you’ve heard the horror stories. Well the Internet hasn’t really been around long enough for too many stories to be circulating, and I think its negative effects could be more subtle than my example, but the case at hand is that we must be very careful how we interact with the world around us.

If we are all walking the streets with giant nebulous nimbus clouds in our minds, there is bound to be trouble.

Jesse S. Somer is an Internet writer who believes that the best ways to surf the Web are on the tiny ripples of a placid clear lake. http://www.m6.net

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is a term used to
describe the transmission of telephone calls using a data
network, rather than over traditional phone lines. It is a
simple concept, but one that is having a very significant impact
on the world of business communications.

VoIP is itself enabled by a much broader technological
evolution, namely the convergence of multiple forms of
communication, including voice, video and data, into a single
network. This transformation is creating a revolution in the way
communications works, and it has the potential to offer major
benefits to your business. It can help your company grow by
broadening your communications capabilities, it can save you
money on your telecommunications costs, and it can enable more
productivity, mobility and flexibility in your workforce.

Many small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) around the world
are already benefiting from the advantages of VoIP systems, many
of which are well suited to these kinds of organizations. Here
are some examples of why VoIP is making a major impact on
business communications for SMBs:

• It provides the ability to use an integrated voice and data
network at a lower cost than the separate parts. • It offers the
SMBs communications capabilities on a par with the largest of
companies. • It can open the door to new services and
applications that can drive additional revenue and help cope
with expansions in customer demand. • It can lead to increased
employee productivity by giving employees a more flexible means
of communicating and allowing more mobility, while increasing
the flow of information.

There are different ways for SMBs to take advantage of the
benefits from VoIP. An upgrade to an existing phone system, when
available, can allow VoIP communications between different
locations, without any major disruption to the infrastructure in
each office. Alternatively, a new VoIP system can be purchased
to replace an old phone switch and open up new capabilities. Yet
another option is to pay monthly for a Service Provider to
provide a hosted VoIP system, without buying any capital
equipment at all.

Small and medium sized businesses are often good candidates for
VoIP systems, and have represented a majority of the early
adopters of technology. While large companies have complex
networks, with a multitude of different phone systems that can
be difficult to integrate into a single converged network, small
companies’ networks are more straightforward, allowing an easier
transition to VoIP.

However, some companies have found that there are complexities
or difficulties that get in the way of them maximizing the
impact of the new technology. Lack of good advice, a
misconceived plan or a deployment by inexperienced personnel can
all led to problems.

The keys to a successful transition to a VoIP based network
start with a clear understanding of the business case behind it
and an implementation plan that best fits the company’s overall
objectives.

There are certain circumstances, however, where the technology
is likely to have a more significant impact than others. If your
company is in one or more of the following situations you will
tend to get a faster payback:

• expanding and need or likely to need larger offices • have a
significant percentage of employees that travel on business or
work full-time or part-time from home, using laptops • making
acquisitions and need to integrate with other business • have
international offices • have a growing volume of incoming calls
• have not replaced or upgraded their phone infrastructure in
the last 5 years • have a good penetration of Ethernet cabling
and have communications equipment that is less than 3 years old
• operate in an industry with dynamic competition where strong
customer service levels are essential

Overall, VoIP based phone systems offer great potential for
small companies and can help to keep costs under control while
growing a successful business.

Home improvement includes both major and minor changes that people make to their house. Some of these changes include painting walls, flooring, adding new fixtures to kitchen and bathrooms, installing heating and air conditioning systems, creating an additional room, and much more.

Many people go for do-it-yourself home repair and improvement. There are many books on do-it-yourself home improvement to help people renovate their house. Many people take the help of professionals.

Whether you go for do-it-yourself home improvement or you take the help of professionals, you will need money for home improvement. You may use your savings when you go for small house repair jobs. However, your savings might not be enough in case of a bigger home improvement project. In such a situation, you will have to avail a home improvement loan. Home improvement loans offer you a convenient way to renovate your house. You do not have to bother about paying a lump sum amount to the lender at the end of the loan period. Most of the home improvement loans are repaid by way of equal monthly installments over a period of time. The loan period can be adjusted according to your requirements. If you wish to pay small monthly installments, you may avail a loan with an extended loan period.

Home improvement is a good investment. It increases the resale value of your house. The interest that you pay on a home improvement loan is nullified by the increase in the value of your house. When you go for home improvement for the investment purpose, make sure that the amount you spend on home improvement does not exceed the increase in the value of your house.

Home improvement loans are of two types - secured and unsecured. Secured home improvement loans are low interest loans that require you to offer your property as collateral. You may use your house as collateral. If your property is already mortgaged, you may take out a remortgage to carry out home improvement. You may also avail a personal loan for home improvement. A personal loan may be availed for any reason. You do not need to cite any reason for availing a personal loan. You must consider all aspects of a home improvement loan before applying for such a loan.

For More Information on Home Improvement Loans you can visit http://www.cheap-home-improvement-loan.co.uk/

Sometimes, when we owe money, it seems like the bottom has
dropped from our glass. When it comes to debt relief and
repairing credit ratings, the road always seems uphill. One of
the best solutions for getting out of debt is finding a way to
pay off your bills. If you elect to go with a debt consolidation
program, then look for a program that will not charge you high
rates of interest, costly monthly fees, and so forth.

Some debt consolidation programs will apply the money you sent
each month to your debts, but will deduct a percentage of pay
for themselves. The debt consolidation programs that are
government structured are often better programs than the
ordinary companies that are not affiliated. Some debt
consolidation programs may be affiliated with religious
organizations, and these programs are often less pricey than
many other debt consolidation programs.

Anytime debtors put forth the effort to repay their debts, it
enhances their human needs immensely while reducing stress
levels. Debtors are like ordinary people; and most hate to be in
debt. However, hard times have knocked on their door and debt
consolidation is the only solution for relieving stress.

One of the best ways to relieve debts is to call your creditors,
explain your situation, and then pay off the agreed amount. Some
creditors will offer lower debt amounts or even write off your
balance owed; however, it is important that you become aware
that debts written off are subject to repay when the IRS and
taxes come your way.

Even the debts lowered may be subject to costly fees during the
tax invasion season. If you are fortunate to find a debt
consolidation program that will help you without charging
outrageous fees, then by all means consolidate your debts with
the program’s help.

Talbert Williams Debt-Free-America.com All rights reserved.

After you have your stomach stapling surgery your surgeon or doctor may have told you that you will lose weight at a fairly rapid pace. Many find that they lose their weight within the first year. The years after this may find them losing some weight, but it will mainly be their job to simply maintain the new body weight that they’ve achieved.

The stomach stapling surgery does come with many risks and complications. You could develop an infection. You could actually die. About one half to one percent of all stomach stapling patients die during or after the surgery. Plus there is the chance that you may need to have surgery at a later date in order to fix a complication that has come up. Sometimes the bands around the stomach slip or wear through the stomach lining. Sometimes the patients staples tear lose and need to be replaced.

Also due to your rapid weight loss after years of being obese you may find that your skin begins to hang down on your body. There may be a lot or a little bit of sagging skin depending of a variety of factors. Your speed of weight loss. Whether or not you are being very active. Your age can even affect this. If you are younger your skin will have an easier time shrinking and will thus shrink faster than if you are older.

Most people with loose skin will find that their skin shrinks back eventually though it may take up to a year. Sometimes it becomes very inconvinent and uncomfortable for people and they look into skin removal surgery.

Skin removal surgery is sometimes referred to as ‘body contouring’ or ‘body lift’ surgery and involves the removal of the excess skin hanging down from your body, which can leave scars but this is othen considered an easy trade.

Read more stomach stapling articles and stomach stapling surgery news or visit our stomach stapling site.

Dieting is not easy. It is not fun and can be extremely frustrating. Then why are more than 45 percent of women effectively dieting all the time?

For me, dieting has always been a “phase.” One day, I’ll wake up and be really
motivated to lose weight. I’ll proceed to join the latest fad diet bandwagon and
workout five times a week. That will last for about a month, maybe two, and then
I’m back to eating fast food and lying on the sofa watching Oprah.

Unfortunately, that seems to be all too similar for other women wanting to be
super-model slim. The media pushes an unnatural body type, making it difficult for
us to accept our natural beauty. Did you know that the average American woman is
5′4″ tall and weighs 140 pounds, compared to the average American model, who is
5′11″ tall and weighs 117 pounds? No wonder approximately 7 million girls and
women are struggling with an eating disorder.

Luckily, I have never been one of those women, unless you count feeling the need to
completely clean your plate of food as a disorder. When I was growing up, it was
instilled in my brain. We never ate until we were full; we would eat until we were
completely stuffed and about to pop. Buttered bread? Sure, why not! Dessert? Of
course!

Fortunately for me, I feel like I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel when it
comes to how to diet. Now, I’m not a dieting expert, but the truth is, the best way to
diet is to NOT diet. It’s all about changing your lifestyle. You can’t completely cut
out carbs, sugar or fat, but you can moderate your intake. Get your sugar from an
apple or banana instead of a candy bar, or your carbs from whole grain pasta
instead of a croissant. It’s all about choosing the right food to eat and sticking to it.
Sure, I love the occasional hamburger or chocolate shake, and I’ve learned that I
shouldn’t feel bad for that. If you deprive yourself of the things you love to eat, then
one day you’ll just go crazy and over-indulge in those things.

Exercising has to be the most important part of the lifestyle change. Fifty-nine
percent of adults do not engage in ANY exercise whatsoever, and only 26 percent of
those who do exercise, do it more than three times a week. My main problem with
exercise was that I would get bored with what I was doing. I’ve learned that you
can’t stick to one routine every time, and the best thing to do is to mix it up. One
day I’ll do the elliptical machine; the next I’ll take a yoga or Pilates class. Sometimes
even throwing something simple into your routine like going for a walk or jog is just
what you need to change it up. It’s also great having a workout buddy so that you
both can motivate each other to get out and stick to your exercise plans.

In the end, it all comes down to feeling good about yourself. If you want to know
more, a nutritional expert can help you develop a personal action plan for improving
your eating habits while keeping the fun in food. Personal trainers can also devise a
workout plan that is fit to what you want out of your workout while still keeping it
interesting. The most important advice I can give you is to stop thinking about how
you should go about loosing weight and get out there and do it!

Sarah Anne, a contributor of http://www.AlterMyLife.com

The American Heart Association recommends that you eat a variety of foods from the different food groups. In order for women to lose one to two pounds a week, they should consume between 1200 and 1500 calories a day.

Men should consume between 1500 and 1800 calories a day if they want to lose one to two pounds a week. Let’s examine the different food groups the American Heart Association suggests you consume.

Meat, Poultry, Fish - You should consume no more than 6 ounces of meat, poultry, and fish per day. Lean cuts of poultry and fish have fewer calories than fatty red meat, but you can find lean cuts of red meat in your supermarket.

Breads, Cereals, Starches - This food group includes bread, cereal, pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn. You can have six servings from this food group a day. A serving size is 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of cereal, and 1cup of rice, pasta, or to cup of starchy veggies.

So, if you eat Remember here, that whole grain is best. When you can, choose whole-grain bread, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta instead of their white counterparts that have been stripped of nutrients and fiber.

Vegetables and Fruits - Fruits and vegetables are essential parts of your diet because they contain a variety of vitamins and nutrients. You can have five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables.

A serving size is cup to 1 cup of cooked and raw vegetables, cup of fruit juice, or one medium piece of fruit. Aim to choose a variety of colors in your diet because they have different vitamins and minerals. Let’s examine the colors you should include in your diet every day.

Red - Red fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that help keep your heart and urinary tract healthy. They also help with your memory and lower your risk of some cancers. When it comes to red, choose from apples, cherries, strawberries, tomatoes, red peppers, and radishes, to name a few.

Yellow/Orange - Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants that keep your heart, vision, and immune system healthy. Some yellow and orange fruits and veggies include apricots, lemons, peaches, cantaloupe, yellow squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Green - Green fruits and vegetables help lower your risk of some cancers and keep your bones and teeth strong. Choose foods like green grapes, broccoli, avocados, spinach, green apples, and limes.

Blue/Purple - Blue and purple fruits and vegetables lower the risk of some cancers and keep your urinary tract healthy. They also help maintain your memory function. Some delicious blue and purple foods are blackberries, blueberries, raisins, plums, eggplant, and purple cabbage.

White - White foods promote your heart health, and if you already have healthy cholesterol, they’ll help maintain those levels. Bananas, pears, cauliflower, mushrooms, and garlic are tasty options you can fit into your meal plan.

Milk Products - If you love dairy products, the good news is that you can still eat them and lose weight. However, choose low-fat or fat-free products. They contain the same vitamins and minerals, taste good, and lower your cholesterol all at the same time.

Adults aged 19-50 should have three servings of milk products per day. A serving of dairy is 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat milk, 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat yogurt, 1 ounce of low-fat cheese (stay away from fat-free cheesesthey have too much sodium) or a cup of low-fat cottage cheese.

Fats - You should have no more than five servings of fats a day in the form of oil, nuts, seeds, olives, avocado, and mayonnaise.

Fat servings include one teaspoon of oil, three teaspoons of nuts or seeds, 5-10 olives, 1/8 of an avocado and two teaspoons of mayonnaise. If you love the taste of butter on your vegetables, use a fat-free imitation butter spray. It really doesn’t taste that much different.

For more related information visit: http://www.Hoodiaa.com - a site that offers product advice for coping with weight loss. Get professional knowledge on dealing with symptoms, side effects and improving your life!