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There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents.

“When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

“Honey,” he said, “that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”

“Oh,” she said, “that’s the money I made from selling all the dolls.

LGM-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Peacekeeper was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. Each rocket could carry up to 10 re-entry vehicles, each with a nuclear warhead with the explosive power of up to 300 kilotons (twenty-five times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II).

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Sing in the shower.

Own a great stereo system.

If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

Keep secrets.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

Whistle.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Lend only those books you never care to see again.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

When playing games with children, let them win.

Be romantic.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters.

Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the caller’s.

Be a good loser.

Be a good winner.

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Keep it simple.

Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the one’s you did.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.

Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital, you need to only stay a few minutes.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

Become someone’s hero.

Marry only for love.

Count your blessings.

Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.

Wave at the children on a school bus.

Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

Don’t expect life to be fair.

POSTED: 2239 GMT (0639 HKT), January 9, 2007

• Milk in tea eliminates protective effect against heart disease, study finds
• Researchers compared health effects on 16 healthy women
• Tea is second only to water in worldwide consumption

LONDON, England (Reuters) — Drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke but only if milk is not added to the brew, German scientists said Tuesday.

Research has shown that tea improves blood flow and the ability of the arteries to relax but researchers at the Charite Hospital at the University of Berlin, Germany, found milk eliminates the protective effect against cardiovascular disease.

“The beneficial effects of drinking black tea are completely prevented by the addition of milk, said Dr. Verena Stangl, a cardiologist at the hospital.

“If you want to drink tea to have the beneficial health effects you have to drink it without milk. That is clearly shown by our experiments,” she told Reuters.
Continue reading “Study: Milk dilutes benefits of tea” →

Read the review

Know your needs and room before picking LCD or plasma
By Seán Captain The New York Times

Published: September 14, 2006

In the old days of digital television, a year or two ago, choices were simple. If the screen measured less than 37 inches diagonally, it would be a liquid crystal display panel. From about 37 to 50 inches, it would probably be a plasma panel. And larger sizes would be rear- or front-projection sets.

But as flat panels have grown, categories have blurred. For 60-inch, or 152- centimeter, screens, plasmas starting about $3,000 are an alternative to projection models starting about $2,000. A bigger rivalry exists between LCD and plasma panels of about 40 inches, where prices are virtually identical. For example, the most popular plasma from LG Electronics, the 42-inch 42PC3D, sells for $2,000; and its 42-inch LCD, the 42LC2D, sells for $2,100. (Model numbers and availability may differ slightly in Europe and Asia.) Continue reading “Plasma better or LCD?” →

Far Eastern Economic Review
March 2006

Last month, Jeremy Hurewitz met with the grand old man of Malaysian politics, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Wearing a pin proclaiming his desire for peace, Malaysia’s former prime minister spoke from his office in Putrajaya, the seat of the Malaysian government.

Jeremy Hurewitz: What are your thoughts on China’s rise? Do you see any threats from a powerful China?

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad: I think that China is bound to play a very important role in both East Asia and all the world. You cannot stop China. It is the sleeping lion who has now woken up. And his appetite is enormous. We have Chinese in this country [Malaysia], and we know that the Chinese are very dynamic, very intelligent, very skillful people, and when you consider that there are 1.3 billion Chinese in China, their ability to compete with the rest of the world is tremendous. Looking back, of course, China was industrialized long before Europe. They used to produce many goods, even if they didn’t then have the mass production techniques that they use today. They worked so fast that they could produce a lot of products which were used all over the world. They used to trade with us—textiles, stoneware, paper. Now they have adopted the techniques of the West: mass production, quality and innovation. That is the China of the future. And there is always the fear that this huge lion might gobble up the rest of the world. But we in Malaysia have had relations with China for over two thousand years. We have traded with China, but the Chinese have never colonized us. Even when they thought that we were not treating their people well we never had any of their warships come here in response. On the other hand, when the Europeans came here, specifically the Portuguese, some were arrested and detained by the Malacca government in 1509. Two years later a flotilla of ships came here and conquered Malacca. So the approach is quite different. We have been trading with China, India, the Arabs, the Persians and the Japanese for centuries. But the moment the Europeans came they think in terms of securing supply and monopolies. And basically they ended up conquering all their trading partners: Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam. They tried with China but it was too big. So we are familiar with the West.

JH: But is Malaysia threatened at all economically by China’s rise? For example, electronic components that were once sourced from Southeast Asia for assembly into consumer electronics in China, will likely—sooner or later—be made by China, and Malaysia will need to look elsewhere for its economic growth. How should Malaysia manage its relationship with China?

MM: A country’s development initially depends on their low-cost position: how willing the people are to accept low wages. As they develop their costs begin to rise as their people want to be more highly paid. Sometimes they become steadily less competitive. In the case of China this process will take a bit longer, much longer in fact. But even now we see on the eastern coast of China the costs and the wages of engineers are higher than Malaysia. They are actually beginning to invest in other countries. Maybe it’s in order to soft-pedal things, but if you look at the trade treaties between Malaysia and China, we are actually exporting electronic goods to China. Now supposing the Chinese become very rich, per capita income over a half century reaches that of the United States, they are going to be a very big market for us and we are sure to find something that they want which they cannot produce themselves. And certainly the number of tourists will increase tremendously. So there will be a change in terms of the character of our industry. But a rich China can be a useful market for us.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.