Powerful women

13 most powerful women in Britain

In comparison to the number of men working in Britain, there are clearly not an equal number of women working within this country. Furthermore of those women who do work, only a minority of them are actually asian, which is why when I come across articles like this, it makes a nice change.

Changes in the school curriculum

ARTICLE:

Twitter may join primary curriculum

Primary school pupils could be taught to master Twitter and Wikipedia instead of learning about history, it has been reported.

Former Ofsted chief Sir Jim Rose will present recommendations for revamping the primary curriculum to ministers next month. His interim report in December said that primary age children need a greater understanding of information technology and Sir Jim's proposals may say children should be familiar with blogging, podcasts, Wikipedia and Twitter by the time they go to secondary school.

Under the proposals, schools will no longer be required to teach Victorian history or the Second World War but can still opt to include them, The Guardian reported. Children will be expected to be able to place historical events which they have studied in date order under the new proposals.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "Sir Jim Rose's report has not been completed let alone published yet - but we are already getting stories about dropping this or removing that from the curriculum.

"The bottom line is that we are working with experts to free up the curriculum in a way that teachers have asked us to do but British history has, and always will be, a core part of education in this country. Of course pupils in primary school will learn about major periods including the Romans, the Tudors and the Victorians and will be taught to understand a broad chronology of major events in this country and the wider world."

Ministers will formally respond to Sir Jim's proposals when they are published next month. Sir Jim has said his aim is to create "a primary curriculum which is challenging and constantly enriches children's understanding, where they can apply knowledge and skills learnt in one subject to better understand another".

Hmm… good thing or a bad thing?

And now I know why…

ARTICLE:

Laser eye clinics ‘underplay risks’

Leading laser eye clinics are potentially endangering people's sight by underplaying risks and pushing customers into treatment, it has been claimed.
Optical Express, Optimax and Ultralase gave poor patient advice and encouraged customers to spend more during consultations, a panel of experts said.
The chains also 'played down' the risk of long-term complications, which can include permanently poor night vision or even loss of sight.
And in almost half of their undercover consultations, Which? researchers were not warned they would probably need glasses when they were older.
The consumer group said about 80 per cent of people seeking laser eye surgery used the three high street chains. But of the 18 clinics visited, more than half gave unsatisfactory advice.
'Clinics must give accurate information and ensure customers are fully aware of the risks, the benefits and the likely price tag,' said Which? editor Martyn Hocking.
Steve Schallhorn, of Optical Express, said: 'This is poorly researched and very misleading.
'It does not do justice to the quality and calibre of care we provide.'

Damn, now I know why I didn’t feel comfortable with my laser eye consultation. Just been reading some comments from people who’ve had eye surgery and I’ll tell ya, it don’t sound too good! I guess I should really trust my gut instinct a bit more :)

Medics ‘can mend a broken heart’

For all those jokes that everyone makes ;)

ARTICLE:

Scientists have found it is possible to mend a broken heart.

US researchers studied 70 patients with "broken heart syndrome", a recognised condition linked to stressful or emotional events. All these patients recovered, most after being given aspirin or heart drugs, even though 20% were deemed critically ill. The American Journal of Cardiology study says the condition is probably caused by a surge in stress hormones.

Broken heart syndrome, known medically as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, was first described by Japanese researchers in the early 1990s. Even though symptoms mimic those of a heart attack such as chest pain and shortness of breath, broken heart syndrome does appear to be temporary and completely reversible - if treated quickly. The patients studied by the researchers from two hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island were diagnosed with broken heart syndrome between July 2004 and April 2008.

Spring breaks
Around 67% of patients had been exposed to some sort of physical or emotional distress - such as bad news about a family member, a domestic argument, severe physical illness or a car accident - just before the onset of symptoms. Six patients presented with heart-induced shock and three had abnormal heart rhythms which required emergency treatment. Two-thirds of the patients - almost all post-menopausal women - had experienced a very stressful physical or emotional event just before arriving at the hospital with heart attack-like symptoms.

Overall, the majority of those in the registry were prescribed aspirin or heart drugs such as, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and statins while in hospital. Even though a fifth were critically ill and required emergency treatment to keep them alive, all the patients survived the first 48 hours and experienced a full recovery. The researchers also discovered that, unlike heart attacks which tend to occur in winter, broken heart syndrome cases tend to occur in the spring and summer months.

'Rarely fatal'
Dr Richard Regnante from the Miriam Hospital, who led the research, said this seasonal pattern could help understand the condition.

"Some believe it is simply a form of a heart attack that 'aborts' itself early and therefore doesn't leave any permanent heart muscle damage. Others say that the syndrome has nothing to do with the coronary arteries and is simply a problem with the heart muscle. Since the seasonal pattern of broken heart syndrome that we observed is opposite of what it seen with heart attack patients, our findings suggest - but certainly do not prove - the latter theory may be correct."

He added that the study could help heart specialists and A&E doctors manage patients with the condition. "Although there is much we're still learning about broken heart syndrome, we do know that it is rarely fatal as long as patients are fully supported with medications, respirators and other critical devices in the first 48 hours." Dr Regnante and his team are now recruiting patients with broken heart syndrome for a new study which will use ultrasound images to look at whether the condition causes internal damage to the heart.

June Davison, a spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation, said: "There does seem to be an association between this condition and a very stressful event. "But not enough people have been affected to provide hard evidence of what happens and what actually causes it. However people do seem to make a full recovery."

Satellite navigation systems

My cousin Sara would love this story! Man + Sat Nav = Bad things may happen!!! Having flashbacks to our Alton Towers trip and a few of my journeys to Manchester, lol.

ARTICLE:

Driver makes a sat-gaffe
A motorist who drove through a fence and ended up teetering on a 30m (100ft) cliff after following his sat-nav has been charged with careless driving.
Robert Jones plunged down a near-vertical footpath and narrowly escaped a fatal drop in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
'It kept insisting the path was a road even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it,' said Mr Jones, from Doncaster, who drives for a living.
It took a recovery team nine hours to pull his BMW to safety – before he was ticked off by police.

Bad sat nav - wondering if the "common sense" setting was switched off? :P

Love at first sight

ARTICLE:

Love at first sight takes 8.2 seconds

The time needed for a man to fall in love at first sight is just 8.2 seconds, according to scientists.
The longer a man looks at a woman when they meet for the first time, the more interested they are, reports The Daily Telegraph.

If his gaze lasts for longer than 8.2 seconds, he could already be in love, but if it's just around four seconds he might not be that impressed.
However women let their eyes linger on men for the same length of time regardless of whether or not they fancied them.
Researchers used hidden cameras and secretly tracked the eye movements of 115 students as they spoke to actors and actresses.
They were then asked to rate their conversation partner's attractiveness.
The journal Archives of Sexual Behavior reported that the men looked into the eyes of actresses they considered beautiful for an average of 8.2 seconds, but that dropped to 4.5 seconds when gazing at those they found less attractive.
The female students, however, looked at the actors for the same length of time.
The researchers believe that men use eye contact to seek out mates, while women are more wary of attracting unwanted attention.

Bilal

Bilal: Playing on the playstation… “Baj I have question”
Me: Typing up some work for uni…“Sure go ahead”
Bilal: “Ok. You know how olive oil is made for olives, sunflower oil is made from sunflowers seeds and…”
Me: Interrupt him talking as this could go on forever…“Yep, I get your point. So what?”
Bilal: *He grins* “So what’s baby oil made from then?”

Cheeky git.

Mother loses fight for her sons

On the train this morning, I was reading about a British mother who has lost custody of her sons. Marnie Pearce has two sons (Laith,7 and Ziad, 4) with her Egyptian ex-husband Ihab El Labban. Her ex-husband accused Marnie of cheating on him and so she was jailed for 90 days last month in Dubai. Despite protesting her innocence, Marnie fears that’s she won’t be able to see her sons again till they turn 18. As she has served a sentence, she will not be allowed to live in Dubai anymore or return to the country. Also because she was found guilty of adultery in Dubai, this makes her an unfit mother as well… apparently. Quite depressing really – I think it’s unfair to keep a mother away from her children especially at such a young age. Not exactly painting the asian culture in a great light!

The Apprentice 2009

Sir Alan Sugar with his sidekicks Nick and Margaret

It’s been a bit of wait but it is back! And it’s compulsory viewing for me as always, lol. 16 brand new contestants ready to fight their way to secure the top job with Sir Alan Sugar.

Even before the show began filming, one of the male contestants “bottled it” as Sir Alan would say. It was said that the missing member didn’t want to leave his young family behind, which is fine except that he decided this at the last minute. I think that was selfish on his part as his place could have been used for someone else who was more committed and deserving of the opportunity. Looking through this year’s contestants, there is no one that really stands out for me. It’s probably because there are so many of them to begin with but hopefully we’ll get to know them better as the series gets underway. It’s good to see Adrian Chiles back doing the exit interviews on “The Apprentice: you’re fired” programme straight after each new episode. Always funny!

Looking forward to next episode :)

Last.fm

Last.fm - a sort of Facebook type site that is for music and I just recently joined it. I like it as I get to listen to a lot of different songs, which I wouldn't necessarily buy. So I joined and created my own library and playlists etc.

As I find total silence a bit strange, I tend to have some kind of background noise - usually some music playing quietly. Recently I went to take a break and when I returned I found this message on my laptop screen...

Eaten by a bear - totally plausible (!) Loving your humor Last.fm :)

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world

Doodling

Today I cleaned, ironed, baked, bought gifts, even went shopping (to evil Ikea!) – most of those things I usually do. The difference being my brother decided to help seen as it mother’s day today. In previous posts I’ve mentioned how close I am to my mum and what influence she has on my life – I couldn’t imagine my life without her and I’m not afraid to admit that she is actually one of my best friends. I feel truly blessed :)

Jade Goody

I heard that Jade Goody passed away in her sleep this morning - ironically on mother’s day of all days. The passing of someone is always sad but I think a lot of people felt a connection with Jade due to her well publicised battle with cancer. Initially quite a few people thought Jade’s illness was a publicity stunt to win back public support after her infamous race row on Big Brother. I don’t think anyone could imagine what was to come. When her cancer was diagnosed as terminal, part of me still thought that’s she would make be miraculously cured.

Cervical cancer is one of the more treatable cancers so it’s frightening to think that Jade’s wasn’t picked up on earlier via her cervical smears. The minimum age for cervical smears was originally for women in their early 20’s. However specialists thought that this could be put back further as the incidence of cancer increased with age thus it was not likely to occur in the early 20’s. Therefore to test women at a younger age was a waste of time and money. Smears are not something that women look forward – it’s a hassle, embarrassing, uncomfortable and women often miss appointments. In the last few months of her life, Jade raised awareness for cervical cancer and there has been a rise in the number of women going for smears. If they save lives, then it’s a good thing and should be available to all.

People also accused Jade of going overboard with the media coverage when perhaps she should have spent her last few months in private. Personally I think good on Jade for raising awareness for cervical cancer. She was honest about using the media to gain money. The same money that would be used to secure her children’s future, something that would be at the forefront of any mother’s mind put in that position. It’s a shame that she won’t be around to see them grow up. Sad times for Jade’s family, may her soul rest in peace.

Childhood flashback

Whilst searching for something on Google, this animation caught my eye. I think it’s called a Google doodle. Not sure if I made that up but it has a nice ring to it, lol. Anyway the “doodle” definitely brought back some memories of my childhood and books that I used to read as a child – “The Hungry Caterpillar”. Just wanted to share :)

Facebook Quizzes

The quizzes on FB are great fun if you’re really bored or just want to switch off for a bit, lol. Some of my quiz results are shown below complete with original spelling mistakes, lol. In my defence, I needed a distraction… and no I didn’t do them all at once!

What type of person do you attract?
You attract geeks!
Your stunning intellect and love of sci-fi and video games allures the geeks like nothing else. Maybe it is the sparkle in your eye that makes them want to text you, who knows. Geeks make good partners, but tend to be argumentative. If you are a TRUE geek magnet, you will know if that was spelled correctly, and actually care. If it is a bad-boy/bad-girl you are seeking, you are barking up the wrong tree, unless they are just 'bad' behind a PS2 console.

What kind of guy will you fall for?
You would fall for the gentleman
Keep an eye out for your love at your next formal or field trip to the opera. Watch out for bad boys who walk on the inside of the curb and don't hold the door for you, and you'll end up with the guy who's suave, sophisticated, and classy through-and-through.

What's the letter of the first name for the person you will spend the rest of your life with?
M

This person is a must have whose refreshing, classy, down to earth, loving, smart and cultural. Time and patience will be required for this person but rewards are worth the wait. Your destiny lies in your ability to trust faith.

What kind of bride will you be?
You Will Be a Traditional Bride!
You're the type of girl who is feminine, old fashioned, and totally traditional. You've been dreaming of your wedding day since you were young And you can't wait to be a princess in your big white gown. It's likely that you'll have a big family wedding and take your husband's name While a huge affair will be fun, just don't go all Bridezilla about the color of your napkins!

What Is Your Future Life?
Here is your life
You live in a mansion. You'll make $900,000 a year. You own a limo. Your job will be either a doctor or scientist. Your husband/wife will be lazy, spoiled, attractive and social. You'll only have one kid. You'll die at forty because of alcohol. Yes, you'll make it to heaven!

What kind of teacher would you be?
Cool Teacher
A cool teacher knows when its time for jokes and when its time for work. Has their own set of rules to give order to the class. This kind of teacher cares about you passing just to save them from filling out all that paperwork.

What career will you most suit in?
The bustling bee!
You are fit and full of energy. Do something which involves a lot of social work and running up and down. You have what is called commitment to your job, and with that you can be the the best person to cal up to. Your active career might be a wish for a lot of people around you!

What Occupation/Job should you pursue?
Medical Profession (Nurse/Doctor/Paramedic)
You will become a well respected medical practioner helping to save lives!

What Job Should I Have?
Doctor
Your compassion and determination make you a good candidate for being a doctor. You seem to have the smarts required and you don't crack under pressure.

What does your birth month say about you?
FEBRUARY!!!

Abstract thoughts
Loves reality and abstract
Intelligent and clever
Changing personality
Attractive and Sexy
Temperamental
Quiet, shy and humble
Honest and loyal
Determined to reach goals
Loves freedom
Rebellious when restricted
Loves aggressiveness
Too sensitive and easily hurt
Gets angry really easily but does not show it
Dislike unnecessary things
Loves making friends but rarely shows it
Daring and stubborn
Ambitious
Realizing dreams and hopes
Sharp
Loves entertainment and leisure
Romantic on the inside not outside
Superstitious and ludicrous
Spendthrift
Tries to learn to show emotions

Which zodiac sign are you most compatible with?
Cancer

You are most compatible with CANCER! I'm sure most of your friends are Cancerians! Together you're going to rock! Cancerians are serious, caring, sensitive people with complex psyches. This is a sign that dislikes taking unneccessary risks. They are able to identify with the situations of others because of the keenness of their imaginations. Their sharp ears and talent for mimicry can sometimes give them success on the stage, though their tendency to be emotional may make them overact. A wounded Cancerian is not an easy person to deal with. Given the opportunity at the right time, people of this sign cope remarkably well with fame, fortune, and responsibility. Money and a sense of security play an important part in the Cancerian scheme of life. Though careful with money they are kind, generous and thoughtful.

What type of girl are you?
The Girl Everyone Loves To Be Around
Your the type of girl that cares about everyone and excepts aol diffrent personality's. You love making new friends and would NEVER hurt the one's you have. Your a very social person who often hangs around many types of people. Your honest and trustworthy and your friends can always trust your instincts.

What Kind of Smile Do You Have?
I have a Friendly Smile
You love everyone and they love you back. You are a true people person and have the smile to show it. Your smile, as well as your personality, is genuine and sweet, open and cheerful. You will often find yourself being confided in and you will never be short of friends. You are also quite optimistic and have a great sense of humor and a caring personality.

What do people see in your eyes?
Happiness

When people look into your eyes they see the fun bubbly person you are. Your eyes are like little rainbows of happiness bottled up :)

What makes you different from others?
Ur personality
ur really unique......PeRsOn lik r very less in this world........ur really special and u value everyone.....n everything..n thts wht makes u special n unique....ur a very gud person.....u sTaNd oUt fOr uR SeLf........uR AlWaYzZ RiTe.......n uR ReAlLy UnIqUe....uR FrIenDzZ LoVeZz u....sTaY SaMe...u rOcKzZzZ

The one word that best describes your personality!
Kind!

Your kind heart and sweet nature makes you a very caring friend and your friends really enjoy being with you!

What is your true personality?
Just Right, Sweetness
You're perfect, stay just the way you are!!! Don't change a thing!!!

What's Your Best Quality?
Out-Going

Your best quality is out-going! People like you because you are fun to be around and no one ever knows what you will do next. Also you are not afraid to say or do whatever you want.

How childish are you?
Caught in the middle
Though you have grown up, but still have a heart of a child. However, sometimes you act very wisely. You are moderate.

Right Brain vs. Left Brain Creativity Test
Left brained
Left brained are logical and detailed oriented. They are good with words and language. Left brainers have excellent memory skills and are good with order/pattern perception.

What's your country?
Ireland

You are strong, confident, and proud

How Pakistani are you???
I'm the loveable desi!!!
You're the kind of Pakistani person everyone loves to know and hang out with. While you are clearly both knowledgable and proud of your culture and heritage, you know when to chill out and go with the flow when the time is right. While it may not appear so on the surface, your love for Pakistan runs deep and will surely surface when needed - but for now, rock on!

How Pakistani are you?
First Class!
Pakistan zindabaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad! Your zabardast score means you are a proper style Pakistani and proud of it too, well done! In keeping with your character, you may now wish to perfrom a bhangra dance and eat ladoo. Enjoy!

Which friend’s character are you?
Chandler Bing
You are extremely witty and sarcastic. You have the ability to liven any situation by cracking jokes. You have more direction then most of your friends when it comes to your career. You might hate the phrase, "Oh My God..."

What Scrubs Character are you?
J.D.
You are a nerd who seeks out the approval of others and only wants what he can't have. You spend your free time daydreaming about the strangest of things. Can I get an apple tini, easy on the tini.

Who is your celebrity husband?
Zac Efron
You're into the kind of guy who is hot. But don't let his beauty fool you. Zac is a very smart, passionate, all around good guy as well! He loves to act, sing and dance. He also enjoys picnic dates on his dock by the sunset. whether he is acting or not, it never seems to change that about himself!

Which friend’s character are you?
Rachel

Your RACHEL!!! your very rich and very spoilt.... your very popular and have a fantastic sense of fashion!!! you fall in love easily but your heart break just as hard. you are very funny and have a loyal friendship.

Alcoholism

After smoking, alcohol kills more people in Britain than any other drug. Many people drink socially but the problem is when that balance gets skewed and tips over into alcohol dependency. A report in the British Medical Journal stated that the incidence of liver disease is higher in doctors than in the general population. Often a feature in news, it is a cause for concern with many people stating it is the basis of social decay in society. So what is that drives people to drink in such excess? Many people state anxiety or depression as the cause and how hard it is to regain control again. But is there miraculous cure out there for people with alcohol dependency issues?

I was reading an article about a US cardiologist; Dr Olivier Ameisen who spent a decade addicted to alcohol but managed to ‘cure’ himself by taking the pharmaceutical drug, Baclofen commonly used as a muscle relaxant. By self prescribing, he initially started off on low dose and found that the drug relived his anxiety and stopped his craving for alcohol. He gradually upped his dosage and once he felt that he was stable, started decreasing the dosage and is now stable at 50mg a day – with no relapse. Dr Ameisen bravely admitted his problems and his findings in a medical paper back in 2004 and now trials for Baclofen are being conducted in the US, France, Glasgow and Switzerland.

How it works –
Dr Ameisen’s hypothesis states that alcoholism is linked to deficiencies in GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) - an equivalent of the brain’s natural Valium. GHB relaxes the system but a lack of GHB can cause anxiety, insomnia, muscular tension and depression. To relieve these symptoms people turn to drugs and alcohol but end up becoming addicted to them.

Mechanism of action - GABA receptors

When a person is deficient in GHB, the alcohol or drugs taken will block the GABA receptors thus alleviating the symptoms by copying the relaxant effects of GABA. Once the drug or alcohol clears the system, the symptoms return and so people become addicted in an effort to prevent the symptoms from reoccurring. GABA has two receptors that it can bind to GABA A and GABA B. Baclofen works by stimulating the GABA B receptor, which only GHB can do and not the drugs/alcohol. Most medications work on GABA A receptors, but it seems that it is the GABA B receptor that holds the key for curing alcohol dependency.

Many clinical trials will be required to prove the effects of Baclofen, but in my mind there are some questions that remain unanswered. Is it right to substitute a person’s dependency on alcohol to them becoming dependent on a drug instead? Furthermore will alcoholics see Baclofen as a miracle cure to solve all their problems rather than working through their issues?

It's square root day

Err woohoo?! lol. Yep that's right, people actually celebrate this :) http://is.gd/mCQ6

And if reading that is making you sleepy then feel free to doze away...

http://www.majagan.com/ This website made me chuckle especially the pillow section for working late. It also made quite few people turn my way and join in with my giggling, lol. I love it when people are creative and like looking through the things they come up with. Yet sometimes people love inventing solutions to problems that perhaps weren’t really there to begin with. Plus it’s entertaining when stuff like this appears on Dragon’s Den, which is always a good watch! :)

Relationships

I met up with a old friend recently to get some help with statistics and SPSS. I mean I’m pretty ok with my statistics but if you friend happens to be a maths teacher then why the hell not? Plus I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up. To sum up our meeting - well I did learn some new stuff but inevitably we kinda drifted off maths onto other topics, lol. Between my friend and I, I think I’m more of listener whilst she’s more of a talker so I did what I do best :)

I listened to my friend explain how she met her hubby (via a matchmaking relative), how they liked each other and fell in love, how they graduated and got jobs (she’s a maths teacher and he’s a web developer), how they got married (huge wedding where I learnt some interesting things, see previous post on desi weddings), how they both made compromises in their marriage to get along and where they are now at this moment in time. I wasn’t seeking advice… just listening whilst she shared her worries with me. I guess everyone needs to let off some steam sometimes.

Anyhow I continued listening to her, hmm’s and uh huh’s in all the right places, whilst doodling away on the paper that was meant for the stats work, lol. As I left our table for a short while to get a refill on my drink, I turned over the paper I was drawing on for no particular reason. I think curiosity must have got the better of her because when I returned I saw her looking through the loose sheets. Fine by me except she was marking my drawings out of 10 as she looked over them, lol! As I reached our table, in true teacher style she proceeded to tell me off for not paying attention in class! I pointed out that had I not been paying attention then I wouldn’t have been able to produce the following doodles. We both laughed at what I had done…

Doodle 1. Her life before she met hubby. All good men were married… or gay. Her words, not mine, lol.

Doodle 2. Match making auntie was at a disadvantage as they all gained a reputation but she was the only one without money.

Doodle 3. Her husband is obsessed with new gadgets and technology. You name it, he’s got it, lol. She laughed about how he has more of a relationship his laptop than with her at times.

I was going to scan them but my handwriting is not something I want to share, lol. The doodles actually paint quite a glum picture. Can I point out that they are both happily married but explained how sometimes married life can have its’ fair share of trying times. I even showed her hubby the doodles when he came to pick her up. He thought they were funny too and added his own um… interesting additions - another reason why I couldn’t scan them, lol.