Nerd News

So, depending on which hotels in Miami we check into, I might not be able to blog for a while. Of course, if the hotel has FREE (and I emphasize on free), I might be able to log in and post a couple of news worthy stories a bit.

We'll be visiting Miami to get some sun on our pale skins but what I would be really looking forward to is scuba diving. I heard there are a lot of shipwrecks in Miami worth looking into. We're a bit undecided on the hotel we're going to stay. Not so much as we can't find an affordable hotel since traveltoday.com already gave us a good list but more on because we don't know which sights we'd like to see.

I'm already settled on just going to the beach and some dive sites but my companions are keen on seeing some local attractions. Anyways, we'll see how it goes.

According to a recent study, obese persons between the ages of 20-55 were more likely to get severe headaches or migraines. The study further found that thirty-seven percent of obese women reported experiencing severe headaches compared to 29 percent of non-obese women while for men, 20 percent reported having them compared to 16 percent who were not obese.

The survey was done on 22,000 people. The researchers say that the next thing they might look into is if people lose weight, then they might scientifically prove that it helps headaches.

Via: Reuters

So, what's the price of having 2 inches of sewage in your living room? $60,000 according to a news report. The city of Omaha paid out 60 Grand for sewer damage that reached an Omaha ranch home last April. That was a record payment for sewer damage and is 10 times more the average settlement for average sewer backups. But the price may be justified since according to the city sewer maintenance manager, it was one of the most severe backups he has seen in a while.

But that doesn't mean neglecting to clean up your drains might serve you well. The city only pays for damage when sewer lines backup on city property. When there's sewage backup happens in your property and spills out unto the streets, it's your turn to pay up and if the damage is severe, it might as well be your turn to pay up 60 grand.

Remember the Mars Rover Spirit deployed five years ago to study the Martian surface? The mission was originally planned for 90 days but thanks to quality engineering, both the Spirit and its twin, the Opportunity, have been exploring the Martian surface for five years. Spirit is powered by solar panels which allows it to drive, operate its robotic arm, and communicate with its handlers back on Earth. The rover was only generating around 210 watts of energy but after getting a clean up from some Martian winds, some of the dust that covered its solar panels were removed and the rover is now capable of generating an additional 30 watts of energy.

Hopefully, Spirit won't encounter any dust storm that might cover its solar panels again.

Read full story from: Yahoo News

As most of you know, a large number of not a lot of insurance providers cover your prescription lenses or frames. In fact, according to New York Times, only 17 percent of employers provide for a vision plan, a drop of 3 percent from the 20 percent figures in 2006. Since most of us, “nerds” are the ones needing glasses, the tips from New York Times might be able to help us lower our cost for prescription glasses or contact lenses.

If you're already wearing glasses, the good news is that you don't have to get your eyes checked every year, contrary to what I used to think. We can just visit our ophthalmologist every two to three years. As for the frames and lenses, we really don't need all that high tech coating or designer glasses. If you really want to save on your lens and frames, we can ask our eye doctors for our prescription and shop around retail stores to find the best discounts.

However, still according to the New York Times article, some of the cheapest eyeglass frames can be found on the net. Websites such as framesdirect.com and ZenniOptical.com are only two of the websites that offer cheap eyeglasses. With ZenniOptical, their eyeglasses can be as low as $8! I found this eyeglass on their website which I really liked since it doesn't look like it only costs $8. For $8, fashion conscious geeks can now mix and match their eyeglass colors with their clothes.

All in all, it was a very helpful article. In these troubled times, who doesn't want an $8 glasses, right?

Though I'm not really uptodate with all the news about mobile phones, I've recently read about this new mobile phone that Samsung has unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. If like me, you don't know what the Mobile World Congress is, it's like an annual event for mobile phone manufacturers to show off their latest technology when it comes to mobile phones.

Well, Samsung's new mobile phone is called the Samsung i8910 or Samsung Omnia HD. Why the HD? Because it has a large AMOLED capacitive touchscreen that truly looks like a small HDTV. When you look at the device's screen, you get clear and sharp images from whatever angle, just like an HDTV. Another thing why it's called "HD" is that it's able to capture 720p HD videos on its 8 megapixel camera. Pretty cool feature.

Wow, mobile phones really have come so far. What will they think of next?

Well, good news for small business owners. The Stimulus bill or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has provided for $730 billion to the Small Business Association so that the latter can make changes to their lending and investment programs as well as reach more small businesses that need help. The breakdown of the $730 million includes: $375 million to increase SBA's guarantee shares to 90 percent for certain loans as well as reduce fees, $255 million to be used for new loan programs to help small businesses, $30 million so that SBA can expand their Microloan program, $20 million to upgrade SBA's technology system to streamline their lending and oversight processes, $15 million so that SBA can expand their Surety Bond guarantee program, $25 million so that SBA can hire new staff for new programs, and $10 million for the Inspector General.

This is certainly a welcome news for small business owners who know that they can benefit from small business loans
in order to expand their business. Aside from expanding, small businesses can also use these small business loans for new systems such as accepting credit card payments in order to cater to more people. Plus, accepting credit card would help jump start spending again.

Small business owners are hopeful that SBA's new program will help solve their money problems and expand their company as well as create new jobs.

Well, it's nice to know that software developers for the iPhone are making useful apps rather than concentrating on making the latest mobile games for the iPhone. Take this Kidney Calculator made by DaVita Inc. DaVita's Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) calculator, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch, can measure a person's kidney function.

DaVita's kideny calculator takes into consideration a person's age, gender, race, and serum creatinine level in order to compute a person's remaining kidney function. GFR is considered by many nephrologists to be the best measure to calculate a person's kidney function. The DaVita GFR calculator is available at Apple's iTunes App Store for 99 cents.

Now if only we have similar useful applications made for the Mac instead of just the usual mac games and tower games being developed by software developers, then our doctors would have an easier time curing and diagnosing diseases.

Increasing unemployment rate, adjustable mortgage rates, and a receding economy, these are the things that threaten homeowners anew. With no signs of the recession easing, some homeowners may be the victim of loan modification fraud.

Loan modification lets homeowners renegotiate their mortgage so that their interest payments may be reduced, get their principal balance reduced, or decrease their interest rates. Because of this, unscrupulous companies are setting up shop as loan modification companies, collecting upfront fees when they shouldn't be collected.

Loanmodificationclub.com is a new website launched to teach people how to do their own modification, thus saving them any fees and avoiding loan modification scams.

Nerds good with math may find JournalGazette's article about refinancing your mortgage loans. Interest rates on mortgage loans are dropping and a lot of people are considering to refinance but a lot of people are also saying that you should stay put. So which is it? Like what journalgazette said, there are a lot of things to consider before you should refinance your loan.

Before refinancing, consider: the fees you have to pay, the current mortgage rate, your equity on your current loan, how long you're planning on staying in your current home, whether you have a fixed or adjustable mortgage rate, and your current lender.

Math hasn't always been one of my good points so head on over to Journal Gazette's article to have a better idea.

A study of more than 13,000 people revealed that exposure to alcohol advertisements and marketing, even if not directed at young people, may lead to more underage drinking and lead to increased alcohol rehabilitation in young people. The study is the first of its kind to analyze the effects of advertising, sporting events, music videos, product placements, and depictions of drinking in various media, and is funded by the Alcohol and Education Research Council.

Around seven studies were conducted and one study found that for each additional hour of TV, the risk of starting to drink is increased by nine percent in a span of 18 months, while another study found that every additional hour in popular movies which depicts alcohol use, there's a fifteen percent chance of trying alcohol 13 to 26 months later.

The good news is that counter-advertising, parenting programmes, increase in price of alcohol and limiting the availability to young people may help in limiting young people from consuming alcoholic beverages.

If you ever visited your dentist and had a chance to taste those tooth decay disclosing tablets, you know how unpleasant is its taste. Well, if that's the only thing keeping you away from visiting your dentist, this new tool to uncover tooth decay may make your visit more pleasant.

The product called Inspektor TC, is a toothbrush sized product and has a blue light on its tip. You have to shine the blue light around the mouth and wear yellow glasses with a red filter to be able to see plaque and tooth decay.

The device will able able to let users detect early stage plaque so that they can be able to concentrate on these areas when brushing.

Rising unemployment, worsening global financial crisis, rising inflation, tight credit policies...is this really the right time to build a home?

Well, the answer would depend on your financial capacity. If you've just lost a job, the obvious answer would be no. Spending on your home is not a good idea especially if you're job hunting. You should save your savings for the more important stuff like paying your bills, your mortgage/rent, and everyday necessities.

However, if you're in a stable job, putting off building your own home may not be a good idea. It's the right time to invest in your home. If you're waiting for real property to rise so that your home can have more value--don't. If you already have the money to rebuild your home, it's not a good idea to just let it sleep in the bank considering that savings interest rates are very low. The stock market is still not stable enough to invest your savings so why don't you just put it somewhere you know you'll be able to enjoy--your home.

Besides, there are home builders that have slashed their prices in order to attract more customers so you can find probably find a good deal somewhere. Schumacher homes is one such builder. You can find Schumacher Homes Information over at Squidoo.

A discovery made by Brown researchers of a structure in the brain called Fragile X granule, may be a target for a potential new treatment for autism and mental retardation.

Autism is caused by a number of genetic factors, the researchers study focused on the Fragile X protein which if mutated, can lead to the Fragile X Syndrome and can cause mental retardation often accompanied by autism.

The researchers' discovery is important since in order to treat the diseases, they have to be able to target the defective elements.

You can read more about their research here

Speaking of chat rooms, I've come upon this news about how a man called police to avert the suicide of his chat room friend. Jesse Coltrane, who lives in New Jersey, a was exchanging instant messages and phone calls with an 18 year old California teenager he met online.

Coltrane said that the two talked mostly about music but their conversation on Monday was totally different as the boy said he was thinking of doing something that a would hurt a lot of people. Coltrane guessed suicide and the boy affirmed this. Coltrane was trying to stop the boy but his messages weren't going through as he watched on his webcam as the boy took a razor and started cutting his wrists. Coltrane immediately logged off and called the Sacramento police. With the boy's name and number, the police were able to track him down. Fortunately, the boy decided not to go through with the attempt and the police saw the razor marks on his wrists and decided to take him to the hospital. The family had no clue of the almost tragedy when the police arrived.

So I guess that you can still find a good soul in chat rooms. Just be sure that you visit localized chat rooms like the Local Chat City so that you can be able to connect with people from your specific
location.

R1Soft, the developer of the continuous Data Protection technology, and famous for its R1Soft Backup for webhosts and datahosts, will showcase at the Government Technology Conference, their low cost but high performance server backup software. R1Soft's next generation backup technology aims to reduce the backup operations on busy servers while replicating and synchronizing Windows and Linux Servers.

R1Soft's Backup Technology is used in some Los Angeles dedicated server, catering to big, multinational companies who have important data to store. Their technology is available directly to the government. R1Soft's low cost software comes as a good news in the midst of the global economic crisis considering that multinational companies and Government's need for backing up important data, never rests.

What used to be an innocent way to meet new friends, potential lovers, or just share common interests, the chat room's reputation has been marred over the years by news stories of scandals, sex, and other illegal activities.

It's really a shame since some of my good friends who are happily married now have met on chat rooms. Now, some of the chat rooms you'll visit are full of talk about sex. Well, for those on the conservative side, there are niched chatrooms you can find on the Internet. In fact, I've come upon a Christian Chat room and other chat rooms wherein you can share your specific interests.

So maybe once chatrooms become more niched, it's reputation will soon be cleaned up.