Ostegunean King Yellowman-en kontzertua egon zen Bilboko Kafe Antzokian. Bertara gerturatu ginen irratikide pare bat eta jamaikar abeslari albinoari elkarrizketa bat egitea lortu genuen. Aste honetan izango duzue entzungai elkarrizketa asteleheneko Dub At The Controls eta osteguneko Babylon Sutan reggae irratsaioetan. Ez zazue galdu!!

Miss Hall had been teaching within my school for a couple of years and had a reputation for being one of the best and strictest in the school so when I found out that I was going to be in her class for history in my 4th year I knew that I would have to be really careful not to come to her attention as I have a really cheeky streak in me. Even though I was thinking of it in my first class with Miss Hall my innate temperament came to the fore when she asked me a question and I gave her a very sarcastic response. Momentarily anger flashed across Miss Hall’s face and I knew that I was in trouble.

‘You will return to this classroom at the end of the day Kenneth’ Miss Hall says calmly giving me a couple of periods to consider my fate.

‘Well I see the reports that you are a cheeky and impertinent young man are true Kenneth. I will not tolerate any pupil talking to me like that and I have no doubt that you have heard my reputation as the strictest teacher in the school. I am about to demonstrate that this reputation is justified and I hope that one application of the tawse will be sufficient to teach you not to push me but if it is not then it will be repeated until such time as you do learn the lesson. You will now assume the position and will receive three strokes on each palm’ Miss Hall says calmly as I am standing in front of her and it is her calmness that frightens me the most.

Miss Hall certainly wasn’t the first teacher to tawse me so I knew exactly the position that I had to take up and I didn’t want to give her any excuse to add to the six that I was already getting. I extended my arms straight out in front of me and rested my left hand on top of the right one watching while Miss Hall pulled the tawse from her desk drawer. It looked worryingly thick and barely bent when she held it out straight. It was a three-tailed tawse and these always seemed to be worse than two-tailed ones for some reason. Miss Hall walked round her desk and turned me round so that I was facing her and it was then that I realised she was almost as tall as me. I watched Miss Hall take the tawse up and over her shoulder before she brought it down sharply across my left hand. I hear the splat as the tawse contacts my hand and it tries to push my arms down but they are braced tightly enough that it doesn’t happen. For a fraction of a second I don’t feel a thing but then the pain hits me like a crashing wave. I grit my teeth and screw my eyes shut to try and stop Miss Hall from seeing the effect that it had had on me but she was experienced enough to know that it had gotten through to me.

I opened my eyes again just in time to see the tawse being rested over Miss Hall’s shoulder again and again it was brought down sharply onto my palm. This time there was not even a fraction of a seconds respite from the pain because it coursed straight through me from the moment the tawse landed. I reacted in exactly the same way to this stroke but after the third one to my left hand I gave a yelp because it was even harder and when I looked down at my hand I saw just how red it was.

‘Change hands Kenneth’ Miss Hall instructed and I did it. My left hand felt like it was three times its normal size as the left one sat on top of it and this meant that I could feel it throbbing as if it had its own heart beat. I look into Miss Hall’s face as she is about to deliver the first stroke to my right hand and there is a look of concentrated determination on her face. Her focus is on my palm until just after the stroke lands with a splat and then she looks up into my face seeing my reaction. As I open my eyes again I think that I can see a ghost of a smile on Miss Hall’s face and this remains as she completes the tawsing with another two devastating strokes. It was easily the hardest tawsing that I had received from any teacher and it made me truly fear a repeat dose because it would be more than three to each hand.

‘As I said Kenneth I hope this punishment will have been sufficiently severe that I don’t have to repeat it’ Miss Hall says as she is replacing the tawse on the desk.

‘I hope that you won’t have to repeat it Miss Hall’ I say sincerely for probably the first time in my life. Through the year Miss Hall did have to tawse me a couple of times but this was far less than in most of my other classes and she also proved herself to be a brilliant teacher so I respected and responded very well to her. I didn’t take history in my 5th year because I was intending to take it in my 6th and final year. During my 5th year corporal punishment was banned and this had a very negative effect on my behaviour because lines and detentions didn’t have anything like the same effect on me. Despite this decline in my behaviour I still did really well in my exams so had a free choice in the subjects that I took in my final year and history was one of these and Miss Hall made sure that she was teaching the class that I was in. I still had a deep level of respect for Miss Hall and she is still a very strict teacher but without the very real and direct threat of the tawse behind her I acted up a bit more. I was still better in Miss Hall’s class than I was in the others where the bad points in my character began to dominate my good points. Having received unconditional offers from my first and second choice universities had definitely not helped this because it meant I didn’t have to worry about my exam results. Early on in the year Miss Hall kept me behind at the end of the day to talk to me about my behaviour although in reality it was more a case of her talking at me.

‘You are one of the more intelligent boys in this school yet you seem intent on wasting your ability through laziness, complacency and an astonishing arrogance’ Miss Hall says as she is perched on the edge of her desk looking intently at me from a few feet away. I start to respond to this accusation.

‘You will not interrupt me Kenneth’ Miss Hall says and I put on a surly expression, ‘and you will not look at me like that either Kenneth’ she continues and the tone of her voice tells me that she means it.

‘Although you were a challenge to teach two years ago it was a very nice challenge but now you are just an ignorant little brat who thinks they are better than the school. You never prepare for lessons preferring to rely on your intelligence so that you can bluff your way through things and I know for a fact that you play truant regularly but because the school does not want to be seen as having a problem it will not take any action against you for this. One of the reasons why you used to be such a nice challenge to teach was because you are a wonderful debater but now instead of using these skills you are just plainly argumentative and you seem to pick arguments purely for fun’ I have not enjoyed hearing any of this because deep down I know that it is true which hurts but I start to open my mouth to defend myself since I don’t want to admit the failings. Miss Hall’s look cuts me dead in my tracks.

‘I have seen you out and about with your girlfriend and your older sister and with both of these people you are the perfect gentleman but here in school you are anything but the perfect gentleman. Here you are rude, insolent, cruel and sometimes wicked towards boys and girls and even towards the teachers where you are also utterly disobedient. This behaviour is utterly intolerable and there must be something more to it than simply the fact that teachers can no longer belt you so what do you have to say for yourself Kenneth?’ Miss Hall finally concludes the lecture. I sit silently for a minute or two taking in everything that Miss Hall has said and trying to devise an appropriate answer.

‘If my behaviour was that bad then surely the school would have done something about it’ I start unconvincingly.

‘You know as well as I do Kenneth that your behaviour is that bad and the only reason the school hasn’t done anything about it is because it is trying to save its reputation as the best school in the area so to suspend or expel a pupil takes something very major’ Miss Hall answers seeing through my attack, ‘so I suggest that you start again Kenneth and be honest this time’ she concludes sharply.

‘As you yourself said Miss Hall I am an intelligent boy, and thank you for the compliment, but this means that I find the work that is expected of me very easy and when things are too easy for me I get bored and when I’m bored I would tend to be very fractious so causing trouble is a way of relieving my boredom particularly because I know that the school isn’t going to suspend or throw me out. It is true to say that when teachers could belt me it was the best way of motivating me and keeping me out of trouble but even then as you may know you were the teacher who got the best out of me as I fully respected you and you challenged me in class whereas most other teachers let me get on with things. I am sorry for the trouble that I have caused and I honestly do want to improve but I’m not sure how it is going to happen’ I answer having realised that Miss Hall will see through any attempt to lie to her or even partially hide the truth.

‘Thank you Kenneth for answering me honestly and I suspected that your problems may stem from laziness but I can see that your explanation of boredom is more accurate. Surely however you want to get into university next year so will have to do well in the exams to get there?’ Miss Hall asks.

‘Yes I am going to university next year but my results were good enough last year that I have been given unconditional offers by my first and second choice universities so I don’t have any pressure from that side’ I answer and there is a look of surprise on Miss Hall’s face at this.

‘In that case Kenneth I am going to have to find another way in which to motivate you. I would like your permission to speak to your parents privately’ Miss Hall says.

‘I have no problem with you speaking to my parents privately Miss Hall however you would find it more useful to speak to my older sister and my girlfriend as they have a lot more influence over me than my parents’ I answer.

‘In that case I will speak to them instead so please give me their mobile numbers so that I can get in touch’ Miss Hall says and I hand over the numbers. Alison, my girlfriend, is a couple of years older than me and she had decided not to go off to university because a good job offer had come up in one of the local banks. Emma, my sister, is four years older than me and she is now training to be an accountant and neither of them tolerates any misbehaviour from me although it is only Emma that punishes me corporally if I misbehave. Alison simply has to use a tone of voice to indicate her displeasure and I modify my behaviour because I never want to upset her.

‘I want you to think very carefully about what I have said Kenneth and I will see you at the end of the week to discuss how I am going to bring about the improvement in your behaviour that you want to happen’ Miss Hall says before dismissing me and all the way home I am thinking about what has been said to me and going through my behaviour since last year picking out lots of examples of everything that Miss Hall has said. By the time I get home I am very angry with myself so it is almost a relief when Alison phones that evening and asks me to come round to see her.

‘Once you start wasting your talent like you are you will never get it back so your behaviour and attitude must improve from this moment forward’ Alison says as soon as I am in the flat taking me completely by surprise so Miss Hall has obviously talked to her already. Shortly afterwards there is a call on my mobile phone and I look at it to see that it’s Emma that is calling so I let it go to my voicemail knowing that I wasn’t going to like what Emma was saying. After this abrupt start to my evening with Alison she uses all of her charm and subtlety to probe my mind and I had soon admitted to her that everything Miss Hall had told her was true. I also told her that when Miss Hall had been lecturing me I had known that it was true but had not wanted to admit and Alison tells me that at least now that I’ve admitted there is a problem we can work on solving it.

‘I’ve seen you with Emma and like Miss Hall I’ve never seen you being anything other than a perfect gentleman with her, like you are with me, so what is it about her that inspires this in you which none of the teachers seems to be able to replicate?’ Alison asks.

‘I guess it is because I fear, respect and love Emma that I behave around her and if I don’t she has no hesitation in giving me a hard spanking to modify my behaviour’ I answer.

‘I want to know everything that happens when Emma punishes you and I also want to know what it is about me that inspires you to be a perfect gentleman?’ Alison continues.

‘With you Alison it is something psychological that inspires good behaviour on my part because I know from the tone of your voice if I have displeased you and this makes me feel absolutely terrible so I never want to do it and if I do then I will try to modify my behaviour so that it doesn’t happen again. As for what happens when I am with Emma then it is very simple. I am given one warning look if I do something to displease or disobey her and if this doesn’t change my behaviour then the next time she swats my bottom with her hand irrespective of where we are at that moment. This tells me that whenever we reach a private space I will be going over her lap for a hard, bare bottomed spanking. Should I be stupid enough to continue upsetting her then the punishment increases in intensity with each offence starting with her hairbrush then a wooden paddle. A tawse and cane are used if I upset her still further and if I still don’t learn then Emma uses everything on me until I am truly repentant. Only once has Emma had to go this far with me and that was last summer when she was looking after me when my parents were on holiday and I persisted in refusing to tell her where I had been during the day because I’d been spending it with you instead of studying. By the end of the punishment I had told Emma what she wanted to know and I could feel it whenever I sat down for four days afterwards. Despite this I still love Emma deeply as a sister’ I answer.

‘Remember what I have said about your behaviour Ken’ Alison says as she is giving me a kiss on the cheek as I’m going home for the night.

‘Little brother there is something we need to discuss. You will call me as soon as you get home tonight’ was Emma’s message which I checked as I was walking home and when I got in I called Emma from my mobile.

‘I had a call from Miss Hall, one of your teachers, earlier this evening after you have given her my number which was a good first step. Miss Hall gave me a disgraceful report on your behaviour over the last year. Is this behaviour going to change Ken?’ Emma asks although it really wasn’t a question as there is only one possible answer.

‘Yes Emma I want to change this behaviour which is why I gave Miss Hall your number’ I answered.

‘Well let me just say that if your behaviour does not improve then I will tan your behind so hard that you will not be able to sit comfortably for a month!’ Emma answers before ending the call. I know that she means it and equally importantly I know that she will have absolutely no second thoughts if she has to do it. I was called to Miss Hall’s room at the end of the day on Friday and she told me that the second meeting would take place at 7.30pm at her house instead of in school. I didn’t think anything of this at the time and took the address when it was handed to me. My parents are used to me going out at the weekend so there are no questions when I leave at 7pm.

I am greeted by the frightening sight of Miss Hall sitting on the sofa flanked by Emma and Alison. Alison explained what I had said to her about why I behaved so well around her and Emma including the fact that it was respect, fear and love that drove this obedience. Emma then said that I had told her that I wanted to improve my behaviour before outlining the threat she had made to me if I didn’t improve.

‘Well Kenneth it seems like you have admitted your faults to yourself and genuinely do want to improve your behaviour. I have discussed this situation with both Alison and Emma and we have decided upon a solution that will provide you with the necessary fear and motivation to improve. As you will know I am no longer allowed to belt you at school however this restriction does not apply to Emma and I believe that because you told me to contact her you actually realise that you need to receive corporal punishment for these sins and therefore you are likely to agree to me punishing you outside of school as well. Therefore I will be keeping a weekly report on your behaviour and once a week you will be called to account and punished by Emma in front of us for these offences. Do you agree to this and do you also agree that I can join Emma in punishing you as a result of this offence?’ Miss Hall asked.

‘Yes Miss Hall I agree to this approach and I also agree to you punishing me alongside Emma as a result of this report’ I answer because even if I hadn’t agreed Emma would have punished me anyway.

‘Very well your first punishment will now take place’ Miss Hall says.

I actually passed the physics test, even though I really don’t get what Im doing. Im bored. Tried to do some work for school, didn’t go so well. Been so freakin dizzy since music class! (which was around 3pm). It’s really hard playing base guitar when your dizzy… messed up the beat several times because of it. :S

Jag like rock, alternative, nu metal, pop(maybe some i guess..) och metal;
Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Senses Fail, Paramore, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, Jason Mraz, Pink, 30 Seconds to Mars, Three Days Grace, Neverstore, Hilary Duff, Fort Minor, Dixie Chicks, Renegade Five, Gyllene Tider, Colbie Caillat, Dead by April, The All-American Rejects, Nickelback, Kelly Clarkson, Per Gessle, Katy Perry, The Killers, Vertical Horizon, Busta Rhymes Ft. Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine, 3OH!3, Lazee, Metro Station, Rage Against the Machine, Escape the Fate, Green Day, Taylor Swift, Foolsgarden, H.I.M, Sugarcult, Dave Days, 3 Doors Down, Fort Minor Feat. Lupe Fiasco & Holly Brook, Midnight Hour, Savage Garden, Fort Minor Feat. Sixx John, Limp Bizkit, Daniel Powter, Dead by Sunrise, Bare Naked Ladies, Vanessa Carlton.

Check out your music taste @ http://www.lastfm.se/user/CeceAnn (OBS, SWEDISH!)

“I ara anem a rebre a les entitats que han volgut acompanyar-nos en este dia tant i tant especial”. És el moment, és l’avís que ens toca desfilar, és el nostre moment de glòria.

Per això, hem estat tot el cap de setmana sense anar a cap lloc, sense poder eixir en tot el cap de setmana, i és que els presidents que volem acompanyar a les nostres Falleres Majors perquè visiten a les seus homologues de les comissions veïnes, en un no res estem preparats, agafem les insígnies, els regals, i ja, però… elles.

Des de ja i, fins al febrer més o menys, les nostres FM’s estaran pendents de pentinar-se, de pintar-se, de col·locar-se el millor vestit, manteletes, arracades i mil coses més, que fan començar el protocol d’empolaine més de dues hores abans de la cita i, això si tenim sort i la falla en qüestió és puntual.

Jo, en la meua trajectòria he anat com a presidents, com a vicepresident a algunes presentacions, altres com a pare de la Fallereta en qüestió i hi ha de tot, unes que reben als convidats abans de sopar, altres després, uns que et conviden a cantar l’himne, altres que et criden després, quan les iaies ja s’han anat a canviar les xiquetes i no t’aplaudeix ni l’apuntador, que ja està fent-se una cerveseta. En fi, hi ha de tot cultivat les terres del senyor, però el que està clar és que siga com siga, les teues màximes representants estaran del tot espectaculars per brillar en la constel·lació d’estreles que volen acompanyar a la seua amiga de fatigues, encara que siga per enguany.

La importància que done cada comissió, començant pels organitzadors de l’acte, fins a l’últim actor de la presentació, serà la seua identitat com a comissió i s’avalua pel protagonisme que donen a cada part de l’acte de l’Exaltació i una part som les falles convidades, o no?

Així, si el temps des de que et criden fins que tornem al cotxe no és superior ni a un 5 % del temps total que has dedicat a preparar-te, et quedaràs en cara de peix, o no? En realitat, tot el que passe de 3 minuts, 3 minuts de glòria, serà mel, mel de romer!!

Un faller que parla, opina i no te la veu massa fina.

Interviewed and then accompanied Dirtee Stank’s Smurfie Syco for a day around his ends in Wood Green, before reaching Kiss with DJ MK.

Pics and interview to come, but check out in this vid in the mean time:

I’m the pesky snapper getting in the way of the camera Big up Smurfie who is promoting like a madman right now. Follow him @smurfiesyco.

If you need press coverage, contact me here

Dzisiejsze metro – strona 13:

Myśleliście, że Euzebiusz Smolarek jest bezrobotny? Nieprawda! Właśnie strzelił trzydzieści goli dla Newcastle United, zdobył z Melbourne Victory Puchar Australii, a dosłownie kilka dni temu odebrał nagrodę dla króla strzelców belgijskiej Jupiler League. – Jestem bardzo zadowolony, że zdobyłem to trofeum – stwierdził Polak na konferencji prasowej

Byłym napastnikiem naszej reprezentacji zachwycają się menedżerowie z całego świata. – Zatrudniłem Smolarka, bo to świetny piłkarz. Krótko po podpisaniu kontraktu strzelił dla mojej drużyny 19 bramek. Został królem strzelców i trafił do “jedenastki” sezonu. W kolejnym wystarczyło mu kilka spotkań, by zanotować 13 trafień. I wtedy sprzedałem go do Bari za 8,5 miliona euro – zachwala szef belgijskiego klubu KV Mechelen.

- Ebi Smolarek jest fantastyczny. Sam wygrał mi mistrzostwo Anglii, strzelając trzydzieści goli i jeszcze było mu mało – rozpływa się nad umiejętnościami Polaka menedżer z angielskiego Lancashire. – W Legii ładuje bramy jak szalony – potwierdza na stronie kibiców warszawskiego klubu jego boss Peter. – Też chcę go mieć! Pół świata się o niego bije i do mnie nie chce przyjść. Co robić? – narzeka Foo, również szef Legii.

Tak głośno o Smolarku nie było już dawno. W reklamie skierowanej do wszystkich menedżerów świata, którą zamieścił portal Losonderkids.com, czytamy: “Smolarek to zawodnik o wątpliwej reputacji, znany z krnąbrnej postawy i chciwej natury. Wydaje się, że jego czas już minął i na pewno nie zrobi prawdziwej kariery. Ale ty możesz to zmienić! Weź go do klubu. Ma tak niezwykłą umiejętność wykańczania akcji z zimną krwią, że na pewno zrobi ci się gorąco, jak będziesz przeglądał rubrykę z liczbą strzelonych przez niego goli”.

Jak to się stało, że z dnia na dzień na punkcie Smolarka oszalał cały świat? Przecież jeszcze niedawno słyszeliśmy, że nie mógł znaleźć sobie klubu, bez skutku pukając do bram HSV Hamburg, CSKA Sofia, a nawet Polonii Bytom. Odpowiedź jest prosta. Ebi króluje w świecie wirtualnym, w którym miliony użytkowników gry Football Manager 2010, takich jak Fudge, Anonim z Lancashire, Peter i Foo, za pomocą komputera zmieniają się w menedżerów piłkarskich. I pracę zaczynają od zatrudnienia Polaka.

- Smolarek w grze, tak samo jak w rzeczywistości, nie ma klubu. Dlatego menedżer, który kompletuje sobie drużynę, może go wziąć za darmo. A drugiego zawodnika “za friko” z takimi parametrami i statystykami po prostu w grze nie ma – tłumaczy fenomen wirtualnego Ebiego Rafał Kowalewski z oficjalnej polskiej strony gry – Cmrev.com.

Kowalewski wspomina, że w poprzednich edycjach na takiej samej zasadzie rządził były reprezentant Polski, Wojciech Kowalczyk, a ostatnio były gracz m.in. Interu i Milanu, Nigeryjczyk Taribo West.

Kto odpowiada za ich ponadprzeciętne umiejętności? Specjalni researcherzy, których na zasadzie wolontariatu zatrudniają twórcy gry. – Postać Smolarka powstała dobrych kilka lat temu w Holandii, kiedy grał jeszcze w Feyenoordzie. Potem była co roku aktualizowana. Ostatnio prawdopodobnie przez researchera z Hiszpanii, bo ostatnim klubem Ebiego był hiszpański Racing Santander. Ktoś uznał, że jest bardzo dobry, biorąc pod uwagę chociażby jego wyniki w reprezentacji – tłumaczy Kowalewski.

A jak rzeczywistość wirtualna ma się do tej prawdziwej? Mariusz Piekarski, rzeczywisty menedżer piłkarski:

- Smolarek wymiata? Niemożliwe. To tylko gra, jego popularność w świecie wirtualnym w żaden sposób nie przekłada się na możliwości sprzedaży tego zawodnika w świecie realnym – mówi człowiek, który kiedyś sprowadził do Polski Rogera Guerreiro.

Nie mam pytań ;D

[ Every Weds from 3-5pm CST, Bavu's Revue airs on KAZI 88.7 FM

The voice and soul of Austin streams online 24/7/365 ]

NOV 25, 2009 PLAYLIST
COMMON – INHALE
ZION I – LE, LE, LE
MAYER HAWTHORNE – MAYBE SO, MAYB ENO
MOJOE – EVERY TEAR
ERIC ROBERSON – THE POWER THAT KISSES HOLD

JANET JACKSON – MAKE ME
ANGELA JOHNSON – BETTER
ESTELLE FEAT CEE-LO – PRETTY PLEASE
MOJOE – DIRTY GENES
STRANGE FRUIT PROJECT – SEPIA TONE
YAHZARAH – THE TICKLER (DADDY GO FASTER)
WAYNA – MY LOVE
TJE AUSTIN – I’M LEFT BEHIND

D-MADNESS – TAKE ONE
ODDISEE – WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED (INSTRUMENTAL)

CHOKLATE – THE TEA
LECRAE – DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE
DAMIAN MARLEY – IN 2 DEEP
DAMIAN MARLEY – ONE LOAF OF BREAD
HEAVY D & THE BOYZ – DELILAH
SHAGGY – BONAFIDE GIRL

D. BLACK FEAT VITAMIN D – KEEP GOING
KAM MOYE – LET’S BE HONEST
ANTHONY DAVID – SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
ROBIN THICKE – SIDESTEP
ANTHONY HAMILTON – SOUL MUSIC
PPP FEAT KARMA STEWART – ON A CLOUD
CHERYL LYNN – SHAKE IT UP

NICKNACK – FIGHTING FACTS

NOV 18, 2009 PLAYLIST
DAVE HOLLISTER – ONE WOMAN MAN
JOHN LEGEND – EVERYBODY KNOWS
TJE AUSTIN – LEFT BEHIND
ALICIA KEYS – DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING
MAXWELL – PHOENIX RISE
ODDISEE – WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED (INSTRUMENTAL)
N’DAMBI – WORLD IS A BEAT
RYAN LESLIE – YOU’RE NOT MY GIRL

ERIC ROBERSON – THE NEWNESS
FAITH EVANS – FAITHFUL (INTERLUDE)
FAITH EVANS – FAITHFULLY
TEEDRA MOSES FEAT JADAKISS – YOU’LL NEVER FIND (A BETTER WOMAN)
CHOKLATE – SUNS OUT
ERIC B. & RAKIM – ERIC B. IS PRESIDENT

BIZ MARKIE – MAKE THE MUSIC WITH YOUR MOUTH BIZ
K-SOLO – YOUR MOMS IN MY BUSINESS
KAM MOYE – LET’S BE HONEST
THE GUUD – 30 DAYS
DEM SOUTHERNFOLKZ – SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO
D-MADNESS FEAT YADIRA BROWN – PLENTY

TEISHA MARIE – MORE IMPORTANT
EARTH, WIND & FIRE – LIBERATION (INSTRUMENTAL)
VOHN BEATZ – YOU ARE LOOKING OVER US
D-KUTZ – I AIN’T COCKY, I’M JUST CONFIDENT
ERYKAH BADU – SOLDIER

GOD’S GIFT (DORA ROBINSON) – CONFLICT OF LOVE

Dyan and I have been going out with each other since the end of our first year at university and we discovered early on that we are both into corporal punishment with Dyan as the giver. We have played together regularly since this discovery but this has always been in private but I know that Dyan wants to administer a spanking in public as she’s given me a few playful swats when we are out but she seems scared to ask me to do this probably because she doesn’t know whether I would want other people to know about this side of me. I would definitely be happy for Dyan to spank me in public so I decide that I will have to set up a situation where she gets the chance to do it if she wants and luckily it proves very easy to do.

Dyan and I are both in the final year of our degrees and most of our flat from first year have remained good friends so we are celebrating together after our final exam with a picnic in one of the local parks. Six out of the eight of us from our first year flat are sitting round and the only reason all eight of us aren’t there is because two of them were international students who were only over for a year but I was still in contact with both of them by email. Paul was the only other lad in the group and just like me he was going out with one of the girls. We have bottles of champagne chilling in the pond and are having great fun drinking and talking now that the stress of the exams has passed.

Normally I don’t have to be naughty to get a spanking from Dyan but this will be the best way of bringing about the public spanking that we both crave. Having been going out with Dyan for a couple of years I know all of the buttons that I can push to wind her up and as we are sitting round I start to push these. Dyan knows that I am teasing her but she doesn’t know why so she shoots me a couple of warning looks as if saying to me, ‘take one more step and you are in deep trouble’. I stopped for a minute or two before starting again and without warning Dyan reached across to me and pulled me across her knee. A few smacks landed on my bottom and a hush descended on the group but Dyan was now in her spanking mode so she ignored the fact that we had an audience and continued with the spanking. Without a care for the audience Dyan bared my bottom and continued the spanking getting harder all the time.

‘Spank him harder Dyan he deserves it’ the other girls in the group say as I put up a play of struggling against Dyan’s grip. Dyan responded to this encouragement and it became the longest and hardest spanking that I’d ever had from her but I was really enjoying it so I didn’t want it to stop but sooner or later it had to stop. With a hard flurry of smacks to my bottom and legs Dyan brought the spanking to a close and she covered up my bottom before releasing her grip on my arm and legs.

‘Oh you should have left his bottom bare so that we could see it’ a couple of the girls say as I am kneeling beside Dyan.

‘No he would probably enjoy that too much’ Dyan answers with a grin on her face. I become very attentive and affectionate towards Dyan after the spanking and she realises at that moment that I have been deliberately playing with her so that I could get a spanking.

‘You are a surprisingly effective brat Ken but you’d better be careful from now on because I’ve got the taste for spanking you in public so nowhere will you be safe’ Dyan whispers in my ear as we are heading to the college bar that evening.

An unauthorized, unothodox, but concise history of mobile telecommunications.

Starting with the initial AM based systems of the twenties, to the technical breakthroughs of FM, SPC and the microprocessor all the way to the cellular concept, personal communications, Long Term Evolution and beyond.

Stay tuned for this piecemeal treatment of one of the most exciting and useful technologies that ever hit the planet.

From the FMS Global News Desk of Jeanne Hambleton

Courtesy of the National Sleep Foundation  November 23, 2009

Sleep deprivation can have an enormous impact on your health and happiness. Apparently, it can also affect your ability to make split-second decisions, according to a recent study in the journal SLEEP. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin split 49 West Point cadets into two groups, 21 of whom were deprived of sleep and 28 of whom were well-rested, and tested them on tasks that require quick decisions. According to the study, participants in each group performed the tasks twice, separated by a 24-hour period. Cadets who were sleep-deprived between testing periods saw their accuracy decline by 2.4 percent, and cadets who were well-rested between testing periods improved by 4.3 percent. W. Todd Maddox, one of the researchers, told HealthDay that the type of thinking tested in this study is “critical in situations when soldiers need to make split-second decisions based about whether a potential target is an enemy soldier, a civilian or one of their own.” While people vary in their need for sleep, experts agree that for most adults the amount needed to feel one’s best is somewhere between seven and nine hours per night.

SLEEP STEALERS

More often than not, you have a pretty good idea of what is keeping you awake at night — from the cat scratching at your bedroom door to the snoring partner next to you. But not all “sleep stealers” are obvious. Here are some big sleep stealers that could be keeping you up at night and you may not know it.

Psychological Factors Stress is considered by most sleep experts to be the number one cause of short-term sleeping difficulties. You are not going to solve all your problems while sitting in bed at night, so give it a rest and get some rest.

Lifestyle Stressors Without realizing it, you may be doing things during the day or night that can work against getting a good night’s sleep. These include drinking alcohol or beverages containing caffeine in the afternoon or evening, exercising close to bedtime, following an irregular morning and night time schedule, and working or doing other mentally intense activities right before or after getting into bed.

Medications In addition, certain medications such as decongestants, steroids and some medicines for high blood pressure, asthma, or depression can cause sleeping difficulties as a side effect.

FATIGUE & EXCESSIVE SLEEPINESS

Do you find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning? Do you sometimes feel sleepy while watching television or driving? If so, you may be one of the millions of Americans who suffer from excessive sleepiness, a condition that can significantly reduce quality of life, decrease productivity and interfere with relationships. Most people feel tired occasionally, but excessive sleepiness that persists is neither normal nor healthy.

CAUSES:

One of the primary causes of excessive sleepiness is self-imposed sleep deprivation. In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, sleep loss may occur as a result of economic or societal pressures. People may skimp on sleep in hopes of getting more done, and widespread access to technology makes it possible to stay busy (at the computer, for example) around the clock. By some estimates, people now sleep about 20 percent less than they did a century ago.

Working at night and sleeping during the day can also cause excessive sleepiness. Some people are able to adjust to such a schedule. However, others may never overcome the body’s natural tendency to be awake during the day and asleep at night. A similar phenomenon occurs with jet lag, in which the body is “out of sync” with the natural environment. In general, symptoms of jet lag increase with the number of time zones crossed. That is, someone flying from Beijing to San Francisco is more likely to suffer worse jet lag than someone flying from San Francisco to New York.

Excessive sleepiness is also linked with a number of primary sleep disorders. For example, sleep disordered breathing (SDB), which includes snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is often associated with excessive sleepiness. Because SDB may result in frequent interruptions during sleep, it can lead to abnormal sleepiness during waking hours no matter how many hours a person actually spent in bed.

Insomnia is another main cause of perceived daytime sleepiness or fatigue. Insomnia symptoms may include difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and/or waking up still tired as well as daytime impairments such as excessive sleepiness, cognitive deficits (e.g., concentration and memory problems), fatigue, and irritability.

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by disabling sleepiness. Most patients begin to experience symptoms in their teens or 20s, but symptoms may appear in younger children or older adults. Narcolepsy is also recognized by insomnia at bedtime, sudden sleep attacks, cataplexy (sudden muscular weakness), hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and a strong urge to move them.  People who suffer from RLS may mistake the problem for insomnia since RLS symptoms are usually worse at night, leading to insomnia at night and excessive sleepiness during the day.

The good news is that these sleep disorders can be easily diagnosed and effectively treated. If you have excessive daytime sleepiness and/or feel you may suffer from a sleep disorder, talk to a healthcare professional about the problem as soon as possible.

Excessive sleepiness may also be caused by a variety of physical and mental illnesses as well as some medications.  If you suffer from a medical condition and you are experiencing excessive sleepiness, talk to your healthcare professional about the problem.  In many cases, properly treating the medical condition may alleviate sleepiness. In other cases, sleepiness must be treated independently.

POLL DATA:

Excessive sleepiness is not just a matter of feeling lousy – it can also affect mood, relationships, work, and quality of life.  According to the results of NSF’s 2008 Sleep in America poll:

36 percent of American drive drowsy or fall asleep while driving

29 percent of Americans fall asleep or become very sleepy at work

20 percent have lost interest in sex because they are too sleepy

14  percent report having to miss family events, work functions, and leisure activities in the past month due to sleepiness.

Each of these consequences can have an enormous impact on an individual’s health and happiness.

One of the most serious risks associated with excessive sleepiness is drowsy driving.  NSF’s 2008 poll revealed that a whopping 36 percent of American adults have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving.  Sleepiness and driving do not mix.  If you feel sleepy, you should not drive. Visit drowsydriving.org. to learn how to prevent a drowsy driving-related crash.

There are several tools used to evaluate a person for excessive sleepiness.  An individual’s personal report of how they feel is also important in characterizing a sleepiness problem.  Interviewing a person’s bed partner or those sleeping nearby is also helpful in identifying things that occur during sleep (e.g., snoring and breathing pauses during sleep).

Special questionnaires developed specifically to provide insight regarding daytime sleepiness (these include the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Stanford Sleepiness Scale). Sleep diaries may also be helpful in assessing and evaluating sleepiness as well as any underlying factors.

Additionally, there are several tests that may be employed when a sleep disorder such as SDB or narcolepsy is suspected.  Such tests may include an overnight sleep study or “polysomnogram,” and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT).

TREATMENT:

Once a cause for excessive sleepiness is determined, there are generally a range of treatment options available to patients, including behavioral and pharmacological (drug) therapies.  For example, if the primary cause of sleepiness is OSA, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or an oral appliance may be prescribed. If excessive sleepiness persists in OSA patients using CPAP or is the result of narcolepsy, approved medications may be appropriate. For sleepiness caused by voluntary sleep deprivation or poor sleep habits, treatment will center on adopting behavioral measures to make getting adequate sleep a top priority.

COPING:

Although everyone should employ all the elements of good sleep hygiene, this is particularly important for anyone with excessive sleepiness.  These are behaviors and habits that can promote healthy sleep, which helps improve alertness during the day.  They include:

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, even on the weekends

Developing a regular, relaxing bedtime routine

Using your bedroom only for sleep and sex; if you do this, you will strengthen the  association between bed and sleep

Create a sleep environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and slightly cool

Removing all work materials, televisions, phones, and other distractions from the bedroom

Avoiding caffeine in the second half of the day

Limiting alcohol – it can disturb sleep

For some people with excessive sleepiness, adopting healthy sleep habits is enough to resolve the problem.

People vary in their need for sleep, but experts agree that for most adults the amount needed to feel one’s best is somewhere between seven and nine hours per night.  Teens and young adults usually need nine hours of sleep or more per night.  If you suffer from excessive sleepiness that persists for more than three weeks despite allowing adequate time for sleep, discuss the problem with your healthcare professional.

GERD AND SLEEP

GERD, also known as acid reflux, is an acronym that stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is a chronic illness that affects 5-7% of the world population and is associated with serious medical complications if untreated. GERD is the 3rd most common gastrointestinal disorder in the U.S. Most patients with GERD also experience nighttime heartburn, which is more bothersome. And according to the 2001 NSF Sleep in America poll, adults in America who experience nighttime heartburn are more likely to report having symptoms of sleep problems/disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness and restless legs syndrome than those who don’t have night time heartburn.

GERD describes a backflow of acid from the stomach into the esophagus. Most patients with GERD experience an increase in the severity of symptoms (usually heartburn or coughing and choking) while sleeping or attempting to sleep. If the acid backs up as far as the throat and larynx, the sleeper will wake up coughing and choking. If the acid only backs up as far as the esophagus the symptom is usually experienced as heartburn.

Most people refer to GERD as heartburn, although you can have it without heartburn. Sometimes GERD can cause serious complications including inflammation of the esophagus from stomach acid that causes bleeding or ulcers. In a relatively small number of patients, GERD has been reported to result in a condition called Barrett’s esophagus, which over time can lead to cancer. Also, studies have shown that asthma, chronic cough, and pulmonary fibrosis may be aggravated or even caused by GERD.

GERD is common and may be frequently overlooked in children. It can cause repeated vomiting, coughing, and other respiratory problems. Talk to your child’s doctor if the problem occurs regularly and causes discomfort.

No one knows why people get GERD but factors that may contribute to it include:

age, diet, alcohol use, obesity, pregnancy, smoking.

Also, certain foods can be associated with reflux events, including:

citrus fruits, chocolate, drinks with caffeine, fatty and fried foods, garlic and onions,

mint flavorings, spicy foods, tomato-based foods, like spaghetti sauce, chili, and pizza.

GERD affects people of all ages, ethnicities and cultures and tends to run in families.

SYMPTOMS:

The most frequently reported symptoms of GERD are:

Heartburn

Acid regurgitation

Inflammation of the gums

Erosion of the enamel of the teeth

Bad breath

Belching

Chronic sore throat

Some patients with GERD experience no symptoms at all. Because of the wide range of symptoms associated with GERD and the need to distinguish it from heart-related problems, the number of medical visits and tests needed to diagnose or rule out the disease tends to be quite high.

TREATMENT:

GERD is a recurrent and chronic disease that does not resolve itself. If you are diagnosed with GERD, there are several methods of treatment which your doctor will discuss with you including behavioral modifications, medications, surgery, or a combination of methods. Over-the-counter medications may provide temporary relief but will not prevent symptoms from recurring.

The lifestyle changes you can make to minimize GERD include avoiding fats, onions, chocolate and alcohol. Losing weight may also help alleviate GERD symptoms.

Because of the association between GERD and sleep apnea, people with nighttime GERD symptoms should be screening for sleep apnea.

COPING:

These lifestyle modifications should help minimize reflux:

Avoid lying down after a large meal

Eat smaller meals and maintain an upright, relaxed posture

Avoid fats, onions, chocolate and alcohol

Avoid potassium supplements

Always swallow medication in the upright position and wash it down with lots of water.

POLL DATA:

GERD is the 3rd most common gastrointestinal disorder in the US and one of the leading causes of disturbed sleep among people between the ages of 45 and 64, according to the 2002 NSF Sleep in America poll. Reviewed by William C. Orr, Ph.D.

CAFFEINE AND SLEEP

Caffeine has been called the most popular drug in the world. It is found naturally in over 60 plants including the coffee bean, tea leaf, kola nut and cacao pod. All over the world people consume caffeine on a daily basis in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, some soft drinks, and some drugs.

Because caffeine is a stimulant, most people use it after waking up in the morning or to remain alert during the day. While it is important to note that caffeine cannot replace sleep, it can temporarily make us feel more alert by blocking sleep-inducing chemicals in the brain and increasing adrenaline production.

There is no nutritional need for caffeine in the diet. Moderate caffeine intake, however, is not associated with any recognized health risk. Three 8 oz. cups of coffee (250 milligrams of caffeine) per day is considered a moderate amount of caffeine. Six or more 8 oz. cups of coffee per day is considered excessive intake of caffeine.

Caffeine enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine and can have a stimulating effect as soon as 15 minutes after it is consumed. Once in the body, caffeine will persist for several hours: it takes about 6 hours for one half of the caffeine to be eliminated. There are numerous studies to support the idea that caffeine causes physical dependence. If you suspect that you or someone you know is dependent on to caffeine, the best test is to eliminate it and look for signs of withdrawal, such as headache, fatigue and muscle pain.

Although caffeine is safe to consume in moderation, it is not recommended for children. It may negatively affect a child’s nutrition by replacing nutrient-dense foods such as milk. A child may also eat less because caffeine acts as an appetite suppressant. Caffeine can be safely eliminated from a child’s diet since there is no nutritional requirement for it.

Although the FDA does not advise against women who are pregnant or nursing to eliminate caffeine from the diet, many experts recommend limiting the amount consumed during that time to one or two 8 oz. servings per day.

SYMPTOMS:

Caffeine is a stimulant. In moderate doses, it can:

Increase alertness

Reduce fine motor coordination

Cause insomnia

Cause headaches, nervousness and dizziness

It has also been known to result in:

Anxiety

Irritability

Rapid heartbeat

Excessive urination

Sleep disturbance

A “caffeine crash” once the effects wear off.

TREATMENT:

If the conditions listed under “symptoms” occur, discontinue the use of caffeine. These effects are more likely to occur if caffeine is consumed in large doses. Children and women who are nursing or pregnant should avoid caffeine. People who are taking any prescription medication should talk to their doctors before consuming caffeine.

Knowing the caffeine content of your food and drinks can help you keep caffeine intake at a healthy level so you can still reap the benefits of a good night’s sleep.

COPING:

In order to sleep better at night and reduce daytime sleepiness, try practicing the following sleep tips:

Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule including weekends

Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as taking a bath or listening to music

Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool

Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows

Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex

Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime

Exercise regularly but avoid it a few hours before bedtime

Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime

Don’t smoke — not only is it a major health risk it can lead to poor sleep

Avoid alcohol close to bedtime; it can lead to disrupted sleep later in the night.

POLL DATA:

According to the 2001 Sleep in America poll, 43% of Americans are “very likely” to use caffeinated beverages to combat daytime sleepiness.

Reviewed by: Greg Belenky, M.D.

DIET, EXERCISE AND SLEEP

For years your doctor, your mom and your friend who goes to the gym multiple times a week have probably been telling you to eat better and exercise more. It is all you hear on television, in the newspapers and on talk radio. New doctors and dieticians usher in new diets, new fads, and so you’ve made some lifestyle changes – cutting back on your fat and sweets intake, and doing some cardiovascular exercise a few days a week. Despite all this, you still feel burned out, can’t drop those extra pounds, and don’t have the energy to greet each day with enthusiasm. What are you missing?

THE THIRD PIECE OF THE PUZZLE: SLEEP

Though the exact mechanisms of how sleep works, how sleep rejuvenates the body and mind is still mysterious, one thing sleep specialists and scientists do know is that adequate sleep is necessary for healthy functioning. Research shows that all mammals need sleep, and that sleep regulates mood and is related to learning and memory functions. Not only will getting your zzzs help you perform on a test, learn a new skill or help you stay on task, but it may also be a critical factor in your health, weight and energy level.

SLEEP PROBLEMS AND OBESITY: INTERACTING EPIDEMICS

An estimated 18 million Americans have sleep apnea, a sleep-related breathing disorder that leads individuals to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep. Not only does sleep apnea seriously affect one’s quality of sleep, but it can also lead to health risks such as stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure and excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea is often associated with people who are overweight – weight gain leads to compromised respiratory function when an individual’s trunk and neck area increase from weight gain.

These interacting problems of weight gain and sleep apnea make it difficult to help oneself off the slippery slope of health problems. From a behavioral perspective, those suffering from sleep apnea may be less motivated to diet or exercise – daytime sleepiness lowers their energy levels and makes it difficult to commit to an exercise and/or diet program which would improve both their weight and sleep apnea.

Unfortunately, losing a significant amount of weight in a healthy manner can be very difficult, so Richard Simon, MD recommends treating sleep apnea first: “Unfortunately, we do not have great treatments for obesity that have long-term success rates of much greater than 5–10%,” Simon says. “Thus I prefer to start therapy with [continue positive airway pressure] (70% success rate) and then add exercise (probably less than a 50% success rate). People feel restored when they are effectively treated for sleep apnea and are more willing to start exercising then.”

Sleep deprivation may also inhibit one’s ability to lose weight – even while exercising and eating well! A 1999 study at the University of Chicago showed that restricting sleep to just 4 hours per night for a week brought healthy young adults to the point that some had the glucose and insulin characteristics of diabetics. Such sleep restriction may have been a bit extreme, but it is also not altogether uncommon in our society and is a pattern deemed the “royal route to obesity” by Eve Van Cauter, PhD, who conducted the Chicago study.

GETTING IN SHAPE: HOW SLEEP AND EXERCISE DO A BODY GOOD

Though research shows that exercise is certainly good for one’s body and health, properly timing exercise is necessary to maximize the beneficial effects. For example, a good workout can make you more alert, speed up your metabolism and energize you for the day ahead, but exercise right before bedtime can lead to a poor night’s sleep.

All the jumping jacks in the world would not make up for a night of tossing and turning! Sleep experts recommend exercising at least three hours before bedtime, and the best time is usually late afternoon. Exercising at this time is beneficial because body temperature is related to sleep. Body temperatures rise during exercise and take as long as 6 hours to begin to drop. Because cooler body temperatures are associated with sleep onset, it’s important to allow the body time to cool off before sleep.

DIET AND SLEEP: A HEALTHY HELPING OF THE RIGHT STUFF

Are you someone who needs a fresh cup of java to coax you out of bed in the morning? Or perhaps you prefer an afternoon jolt from the cola vending machine? Or maybe you are more the candy bar type – in any case, you are not alone. In a 24/7 culture, cups of coffee, cans of soda and candy bars are staples of everyday consumers. For some, the day cannot begin without a cup of Starbucks and for many students today no study break is complete without a can of Coke. How did caffeine become the drug (and food) of choice?

In fact, lack of sleep creates a vicious cycle – the more tired you are, the more caffeine you will consume to stay awake during the day; but the more caffeine you consume, the harder it will be to fall asleep at night. Not only are foods and drinks high in caffeine likely to keep you up at night, but they are also usually replete with sugar or artificial sugar and not much else. When a healthy snack such as a carrot or granola bar is replaced with a can of Mountain Dew, you are at higher risk for putting on weight and it becomes harder to sustain energy for a longer period of time.

Food is also related to sleep by appetite and metabolism. Research by Dr. Van Cauter shows that people who do not get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase. This link between appetite and sleep provides further evidence that sleep and obesity are linked. To top it off, the psychological manifestations of fatigue, sleep and hunger are similar. Thus, when you are feeling sleepy you might feel like you need to head for the fridge instead of bed.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS: HOW DIET, SLEEP AND EXERCISE AFFECT YOU

By now you probably realize that health is complex – if one part of the body system suffers, you are likely to see consequences in other areas of your life. Though diet and exercise are critical components of healthy lifestyles, it is also important to remember that sleep is inherently linked with how we eat (and how much), how we exercise (and whether or not we lose weight), and how we function on a daily basis. Getting the proper amount of sleep each night is necessary to face the world with your best foot forward. Sleep will help you on the road to good fitness, good eating and good health.

NAPPING

More than 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods throughout the day. Humans are part of the minority of monophasic sleepers, meaning that our days are divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulness. It is not clear that this is the natural sleep pattern of humans. Young children and elderly persons nap, for example, and napping is a very important aspect of many cultures.

As a nation, the United States appears to be becoming more and more sleep deprived. And it may be our busy lifestyle that keeps us from napping. While naps do not necessarily make up for inadequate or poor quality nighttime sleep, a short nap of 20-30 minutes can help to improve mood, alertness and performance. Nappers are in good company: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush are known to have valued an afternoon nap.

TYPES:

Naps can be typed in three different ways:

Planned napping (also called preparatory napping) involves taking a nap before you actually get sleepy. You may use this technique when you know that you will be up later than your normal bed time or as a mechanism to ward off getting tired earlier.

Emergency napping occurs when you are suddenly very tired and cannot continue with the activity you were originally engaged in. This type of nap can be used to combat drowsy driving or fatigue while using heavy and dangerous machinery.

Habitual napping is practiced when a person takes a nap at the same time each day. Young children may fall asleep at about the same time each afternoon or an adult might take a short nap after lunch each day.

TIPS:

A short nap is usually recommended (20-30 minutes) for short-term alertness. This type of nap provides significant benefit for improved alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering with nighttime sleep.

Your surroundings can greatly impact your ability to fall asleep. Make sure that you have a restful place to lie down and that the temperature in the room is comfortable. Try to limit the amount of noise heard and the extent of the light filtering in. While some studies have shown that just spending time in bed can be beneficial, it is better to try to catch some zzz’s.

If you take a nap too late in the day, it might affect your nighttime sleep patterns and make it difficult to fall asleep at your regular bedtime. If you try to take it too early in the day, your body may not be ready for more sleep.

BENEFITS:

Naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%.

Naps can increase alertness in the period directly following the nap and may extend alertness a few hours later in the day. Scheduled napping has also been prescribed for those who are affected by narcolepsy. Napping has psychological benefits. A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation.

Most people are aware that driving while sleepy is extremely dangerous. Still, many drivers press on when they feel drowsy in spite of the risks, putting themselves and others in harm’s way. While getting a full night’s sleep before driving is the ideal, taking a short nap before driving can reduce a person’s risk of having a drowsy driving crash. Sleep experts also recommend that if you feel drowsy when driving, you should immediately pull over to a rest area, drink a caffeinated beverage and take a 20-minute nap.

Shift work, which means working a schedule that deviates from the typical “9 to 5″ hours, may cause fatigue and performance impairments, especially for night shift workers. In a 2006 study, researchers at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center affiliated with St. John’s Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s Hospital in suburban St. Louis, MO, looked at the effectiveness of taking naps and consuming caffeine to cope with sleepiness during the night shift. They found that both naps and caffeine improved alertness and performance among night shift workers and that the combination of naps and caffeine had the most beneficial effect.

James K. Walsh, PhD, one of the researchers who conducted the study, explains, “Because of the body’s propensity for sleep at night, being alert and productive on the night shift can be challenging, even if you’ve had enough daytime sleep.” “Napping before work combined with consuming caffeine while on the job is an effective strategy for remaining alert on the night shift.”

NEGATIVE EFFECTS:

In spite of these benefits, napping is not always the best option for everyone. For example, some people have trouble sleeping any place other than their own bed, making a nap at the office or anywhere else unlikely. Other people simply have trouble sleeping in the daytime; it could be that certain individuals are more sensitive to the midday dip than others – those who are may feel sleepier and have an easier time napping. Here are some other negative effects:

Naps can leave people with sleep inertia, especially when they last more than 10-20 minutes. Sleep inertia is defined as the feeling of grogginess and disorientation that can come with awakening from a deep sleep. While this state usually only lasts for a few minutes to a half-hour, it can be detrimental to those who must perform immediately after waking from a napping period. Post-nap impairment and disorientation is more severe, and can last longer, in people who are sleep deprived or nap for longer periods.

Napping can also have a negative effect on other sleeping periods. A long nap or a nap taken too late in the day may adversely affect the length and quality of night time sleep. If you have trouble sleeping at night, a nap will only amplify problems.

One study has indicated that napping is associated with increased risk of heart failure in people already at risk.

STIGMAS:

While research has shown that napping is a beneficial way to relieve tiredness, it still has stigmas associated with it. Napping indicates laziness, a lack of ambition, and low standards. Napping is only for children, the sick and the elderly. Though the above statements are false, many segments of the public may still need to be educated on the benefits of napping.

A recent study in the research journal Sleep examined the benefits of naps of various lengths and no naps. The results showed that a 10-minute nap produced the most benefit in terms of reduced sleepiness and improved cognitive performance. A nap lasting 30 minutes or longer is more likely to be accompanied by sleep inertia, which is the period of grogginess that sometimes follows sleep.

By now you are probably thinking about ways to incorporate naps into your daily routine. Keep in mind that getting enough sleep on regular basis is the best way to stay alert and feel your best. But when fatigue sets in, a quick nap can do wonders for your mental and physical stamina.

…ends…

Dusan Sekic aka Duca is a producer of electronic music from Belgrade, Serbia.

His story began at his age of 12 when he started going to Belgrade techno events and clubbing soon became his way of life. Since his first party he has had a little doubt about what he wanted to do in his life. Around that time he began collecting his first music making gear and started creating some loops and melodies of his own.

Year 2004 was the turning point for this young artist as he finally made his debut release. He dabbled into everything – from acid trance through techno to goa trance – only to reach progressive house and techno, which are the genres he is most into these days. At 2007 he made contact with renowned label Tribal Vision Records, soon became one of their artists and in September 2008 released there his debut album entitled After Dark. The album was an instant success and Duca became well-known name on the progressive and techno scene.

During the last couple of years he has released a big amount of singles and EPs on number of top progressive/techno labels such as Flow / Flow Vinyl, Iboga, Spiral Trax, Lo Kik and many others. He has performed worldwide with his live and DJ sets, including countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Israel, Czech Republic, Germany or Switzerland. He has been much honored to be part of Sao Paulo’s Virada Cultural line-up and considers this festival to be the pinnacle of his career.

Duca – Pure.Fm Radio Mix

From the  FMS Global News Desk of Jeanne Hambleton

Courtesy of ProHealth

Copyright © 2009 ProHealth, Inc.

Rumor on the ProHealth Message Boards has it that Viral Immune Pathology Diagnostics (VIP Dx) in Reno, Nevada (www.redlabsusa.com), will soon make available a test kit for the XMRV virus – the retrovirus which most of the world knows by now is thought to be a biomarker for a large proportion of chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients.

According to the buzz, ME/CFS patients and their physicians will be able to order VIP Dx kits as soon as pricing is established – and that was due to be Friday, Oct 16, according to a ProHealth ME/CFS Message Board user who has already arranged to receive a kit when they become available for shipment. According to her, “They send it to you by FedEx and you have to have a Dr. sign off and take it to a lab. [VIP Dx] pays for it to be sent back.”

This cannot  be offered in Europe. As of Oct 14, a Co-Cure listserv poster reported that Marguerite Ross, Director of Marketing & Client Relations at VIP Dx, indicated to him “we cannot offer the test in Europe because of the time difference and temperature changes the sample would experience,[which would render it]unsuitable for analysis.” In the same communication, she stated “the test will be available in the USA in about 3-4 weeks as it is undergoing final validation and licensing.”

According to the initial news on the VIP Dx test – posted Oct 9 on the CFS Warrior blog (http://cfswarrior.blogspot.com), there is “a PCR test for the XMRV virus itself. Another test kit recommended by Dr. Paul Cheney is the NKCP & LYEA test… If you want to be tested call the lab at 775-351-1890 and they will ship out a kit to you. Your doctor has to sign off, then take it to a local lab to get the test done and then it gets shipped overnight back to VIP Labs. It takes about two weeks to get the results. The woman I spoke to was very nice. They are swamped with calls but expected it.”

VIP Dx is the new name of the former REDLABS USA, launched years ago with the assistance of Belgium-based ME/CFS researcher Dr. Kenny De Meirleir, who has no financial interest in the venture. It was named after De Meirleir’s own R.E.D. Laboratories, a biotechnology company in Belgium focused on “developing clinical diagnostic tests and therapies for chronic immune diseases.” VIP Dx is located geographically near the Whittemore-Peterson Institute, which is part of the University of Nevada, Reno. VIP’s medical director – Dr. Vincent Lombardi, PhD – was recently hired from the UN-Reno School of Medicine, and reportedly played a role in the WPI testing.

Test Availability from Whittemore-Peterson?

Meanwhile, according to the XMRV FAQ at the WPI website, “The WPI has developed a blood test for the detection of XMRV. The test is currently undergoing clinical evaluation and validation. We hope to have a clinical test available to the public within the year.”

NEWS FROM  http://www.redlabsusa.com/  states:

LATEST NEWS: XMRV TESTING

VIP Dx 5625 Fox Avenue, Suite 369  Reno, NV 89506  Phone: (775) 351-1890  Fax: (775) 682-851 E-mail: info@vipdx.com 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (PST)

Press Releases

October 23, 2009, Reno, Nevada

It is with great pleasure that Viral Immune Pathology Diagnostics (VIP Dx) announces the introduction of its family of diagnostic tests for the Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-like Virus for XMRV associated neurological disease (XAND).

XMRV is a gamma retrovirus and replicates in dividing cells. Low-level latent infections are best detected in activated, dividing cells; to activate a latent virus takes additional cell culture. Productive infections are more easily detected without special treatment of the specimen.

Each XAND specimen must have an XAND acceptance code on the test requisition. The XAND acceptance code is assigned by our staff and will arrive on the test requisition in your specimen kit. Specimens sent without the appropriate acceptance code may result in the delay or inability to perform the diagnostic test. The diagnostic tests available for XAND* are as follows:

XAND by PCR for XMRV active infection: Test Code XAND ($400)

XAND1 by virus culture for XMRV latent infection: Test Code XND1 ($500)

XAND2 by PCR for XMRV active infection and virus culture for latent infection: Test Code XND2 ($650)

We are accepting XAND tests on Tuesdays and Fridays only due to the incubation period required for proper analysis. Therefore, you must have your blood drawn on Monday or Thursday and ship immediately back to us by priority overnight FedEx for receipt by us on Tuesday or Friday.

For XAND testing you must use the coded test requisition provided with your kit. Refer to the updated specimen guidelines in the right column of the test requisition for proper blood draw.

No special preparation is required for specimens; ship specimens at ambient (room) temperature. Specimens must be received within 24 hours for proper analysis. Collection and shipping instructions are included in each kit along with all required specimen tubes. The return clinical envelope and overnight airbill are also included.

To order you test kit, please e-mail your full name, address and telephone number toinfo@vipdx.com. There is a 4-6 week back order. VIP Dx is committed to having everyone tested who wants to be tested. Please accept our sincere apology for any delays. We thank you for your support and patience.

Please visit our website at www.vipdx.com for more information on VIP Dx and our tests.

Please visit Whittemore Peterson Institute for FAQ on the XMRV virus at www.wpinstitute.org.  On behalf of the VIP Dx team, we thank you for your continued support.

* The XAND tests were developed and their performance characteristics were determined and validated by VIP Dx. These tests have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for diagnostic purposes. Medical expertise is required for XAND test interpretation.

….ends…..

$99.99

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I ended up buying a record at a Wilco show over the summer, so I needed a record player. The cheapest one I could find was this Crosley Rochester for about $100 at Target.

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It pretty much gets the job done. For only $100 you get an am/fm radio, a CD player, a tape deck, and a record player. Pretty nice. But when you try to do so much, it’s hard not to botch it in one way or another.

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The sound quality is pretty nice. It looks like there are speakers all around this thing, in the front and on the sides, and as far as I can tell, it really does. The only problem with sound quality comes in with AM radio. I listen to AM radio from time to time and when I do, it’s hit and miss. The antenna wire thing that it comes with doesn’t really deliver. KXLU is MIA on the radio, which is bummer city., but besides that, you’re pretty much set.

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Since it is a manual interface, I can’t digitally store radio stations, so when I listen to FM I have to spin to each station, looking for a good song. Luckily, I’ve all but given up on FM radio, so no big deal here.

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The CD’s work fine and listening to an LP is easy-breezy. Also, it has a MP3 jack, so that’s pretty cool, too.

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The only issue I really have with this machine is the way it plays my cassettes.

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So, the good thing about cassettes is that you can rewind and fast forward and record and stuff like that, right? Well not if you’ve got this guy. You can only play. You put the tape in, select “tape” on the format option, then it just starts playing, and it won’t stop until the tape is done on that side. You can’t fast forward through songs or rewind to hear one again.

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If you want to hear the same song twice you need to turn the tape over, listen to the other side for like…2 minutes or however long the original song was, then turn it over and listen.

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Why? How hard would it have been to add these functions? How can you even call this a tape deck? It’s like buying a car and then finding out you can’t put it in reverse or buying a TV and finding out you can only watch so many channels. Rewind and fast forward are inherent features to a tape deck. This is a crime against humanity.

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I looked online to see other people’s reviews and it looks like the turntable loses speed after some use (some report it slowing down and/or not working before a month of ownership. I haven’t had this problem). Some people say tape decks get stuck, other people say the CD’s won’t play. So I guess I’m kind of a lucky buyer in this case.

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I haven’t had any of these problems, but it looks like they’re serious, and it looks like they’re common. If you just want a record player, it does the trick, or at least it has for me. Just keep your receipt to be safe, and keep your eye on the turntable speed.

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I’m giving the Crosley a C+. It’s a good record player, MP3 player, and CD player, but it actually lies to the consumer about its cassette playing ability.

I attended my first Night of the Cane event last night and had an excellent time. Night of the Cane is an event organised by The Firm and earlier in this year I attended their Burn’s Night event which was also excellent. It was excellent to catch up with some good friends and to chat to some new people. I watched a couple of the very interesting workshops but the highlight of the night for me was definitely participating and watching the caning competition. All of the competitors had put a lot of thought and effort into their entries.

I had entered the competition with Miss Hunter and it was Miss Hunter that had the idea for our entry and she put a lot of effort into developing it for which I was very grateful. As we were waiting to be called up onto the stage to compete I felt a little nervous both about the caning but also because I wanted to put on a good performance for the audience. Miss Hunter’s idea was based on the Countdown quiz show. I selected a set of vowels and consonants which were then put onto a board and as the music from the show was played Miss Hunter delivered her six strokes of the cane. This caning left me nicely warmed up for later on in the evening when Miss Hunter was able to give me another 24 strokes of the cane before Nicole Switch gave me a further six strokes of the cane. We didn’t win but I really enjoyed taking part in the competition.

…og jeg er FM-holiker. Jeg har ikke spilt på tre måneder.

Misbruket begynte i 1993, med Championship Manager på Amiga. I begynnelsen trodde jeg at jeg kunne kontrollere det.

Bare et par timer i dag og. Det går bra.

Jeg var ung, så nattesøvnen var ikke noe stort problem. Jeg kunne alltids ta en kjapp lur rett etter skoletid og vente med leksene.

Så fort en ny versjon var i butikkene, løp jeg. Jeg klarte meg ikke uten siste oppdatering og nye funksjoner. Og ja, dette spillet kjøpes!

Etter noen år, endret jeg innkjøpspolitikken noe. Jeg prøvde å skjule avhengigheten ved å gi meg selv årets utgave til jul, med hilsen fra Julenissen. Denne strategien fungerte perfekt, og ingen fattet mistanke til at jeg hadde et problem.

Jeg fikk samboer og etter hvert kone, og da fikk jeg mer hjelp til å skjule misbruket, helt uten å jobbe for det. Den bedre halvdelen begynte nemlig å gi meg siste utgave av FM til jul! Dermed slapp jeg unna den dårlige samvittigheten også. Det var jo ikke min skyld at hun ville være snill!

Etter hvert ble det barn også, noe som førte til mindre spilletid. Det var nok til det bedre for familien, men jeg har ikke klart å holde meg helt unna, og det har blitt mer periodemisbruk.

Når jeg nå har klart å holde meg unna i 3 måneder, merker jeg suget igjen. I tillegg nærmer det seg jul. FM 2010 er i butikkene, og jeg har siklet på det en stund. Jeg har til og med kjøpt andre spill for å prøve å erstatte hungeren etter FM, men det er ingen ting som varer særlig lenge.

Jeg tror jeg trenger en sponsor. Hva gjør jeg om jeg får det jul i år og? Skal jeg be om å ikke få det? Men det er jo så deilig…

Launched in 1983, the successor of the FE had a relatively short sales career, but a long legacy. It can be argued that the Nikon FM3a, sold from 2001 to 2006, is much more a descendant of the FE2 than of the FM2.

Nikon FE2 - The titanium blade shutter was the most advanced at the time of the camera's launch, with a top speed of 1/4000 sec and a flash sync speed of 1/250 sec.

In 1977, a few years after Olympus initiated the compact SLR revolution, Nikon presented the FM. Like the Olympus OM-1, the FM was a compact semi automatic camera with a mechanical shutter, which could be equipped with a motor drive. But contrarily to the OM-1, which still relied on a CdS light metering system and on mercury batteries, the FM used modern gallium photo diodes and silver oxyde batteries. It also benefited from a vertical blade metallic shutter, and the exposure metering was relying on 3 LEDs instead of the more conventional match needle arrangement of the OM-1. Solidly built and reliable, the FM was very successful commercially, and the ancestor of a large family of models whose production only stopped in 2006.

The FE from 1978 is the automatic exposure version of the FM. It looks very similar to the FM, but instead of LEDs, it uses two needles to show the shutter speed selected by the photographer (semi-auto mode) and by the automatic exposure system (aperture priority auto mode). In 1982, the FM became the FM2, receiving a new mechanic shutter with titanium blades, which could reach 1/4000 sec and had a flash synchro speed of 1/200 sec.

One year later, the FE2 was launched. Its titanium shutter is an improved and electronic version of the FM2’s, with a X synchro speed now reaching to 1/250 sec. The FE2 also benefits from a modern on the film (OTF) flash metering system (that the FM2 never got). The FM/FE range of products was extended the following year with the presentation of the Nikon FA, which added matrix metering (a world premiere), a programmed exposure mode and trade the brass prism cover of the FM/FE models for a polycarbonate one. Both FE2 and FA were discontinued in 1988. The FM2 lived longer, and was ultimately replaced by the FM3a, which merged the mechanical shutter of the FM2 with the electronics of the FE2.

Using the FE2 as an every day camera

Reasonably light and compact, the Nikon FE2 is very solidly built, and very nicely finished. Compared to a previous generation model like the FM, the FE2 has smoother commands. The viewfinder is typical from a pre-high eye point construction – the enlargement factor is high (0.86) for a good focusing precision, but the frame coverage is limited (93%), and the eye point is very short (14mm), which could be an issue for photographers wearing glasses. Even with thin glasses, it’s impossible to see 100% of the image projected on the focusing screen without having to move one’s eye ball right to left and left to right: you only perceive 90% of the focusing screen when you look straight into the viewfinder, which compounded with the rather limited frame coverage, ensures that you’ll have a wide safety margin on both sides of your prints.

Nikon FE2 / Olympus OM-1n - The FE2 is larger, but not significantly.

The determination of the exposure is very conventional for a camera of its generation, with a center weighted measurement provided by two silicon photodiodes. In automatic mode, a needle indicates the speed selected by the exposure system of the camera on a large scale at the left of the viewfinder. The photographer has multiple ways to override the automatism: he can memorize the exposure (pushing the self timer lever towards the lens), apply a correction factor on the film speed selector (from -2 up to +2EV), or switch to semi-auto mode. In this case, a second needle – larger and transparent – appears in the viewfinder, showing the shutter speed selected by the photographer. In a very simple matching needle arrangement, the photographer just has to align the meter needle with shutter speed needle. The shutter speed knob is much smoother than on the FM (in the FE2 the shutter is controlled electronically), and surprisingly the camera is more pleasant to use in semi-auto mode than the FM. No wonder that Nikon derived the exposure control system of the FM3a from the FE2’s and not from FM’s.

A very clean Nikon FE2 with the MF-12 data back - All the commands are grouped on the top plate - with the exception of the depth of field preview and the exposure lock levers, located at the right of the lens mount. A very simple and efficient layout.

Conclusion Powered by two easy to find LR44 silver oxyde batteries, the camera also operates without battery at a speed of 1/250sec. Compatible with any AI, AIs and AF lenses, it’s still perfectly usable today. Less rugged than its FM and FM2 cousins (it has an electronic shutter and a potentially more fragile match needle metering system), it is more pleasant to use and can respond efficiently to a larger variety of photography opportunities. Like the FA and the FM3a, but unlike the FM2, the FE2 benefits from a modern through the lens (on the film or OTF) flash metering system, compatible with the flash units currently sold by Nikon.

Nikon FE2 with the MF-12 back. The MF-12 back was designed for the FM/FE cameras, which did not have internal synchronization contacts for a data back inside the film chamber. Hence the need for an external synchronization cord. The FE2 could also use the MF-16 data back, which did not need the external sync cord.

Its automatic exposure system is very easy to override, and does not get in the way. The matching needle system in the viewfinder is very informative, easier to read in the sun light than the LEDs of the FG, and than the small LCD display of the FA. With the F3, the FE2 is probably the most usable Nikon camera of the early eighties. How much for a Nikon FE2? The Nikon FE2 is a very good automatic exposure film camera, and its reputation has obviously an impact on its price. Specialized retailers like KEH sell it between $130 (Bargain) and $270 (Top Condition). As usual, prices are a bit lower on eBay, but the FE2 does not seem to sell for less than $100, with peaks up to $180 for very nice items.

There are few alternatives to the FE2: the more recent FM3a is much more expensive (typically from $400 up to $700) and the FE, with its modest shutter and no OTF flash metering, is far more primitive and more difficult to recommend.

More about the FE2

Photography in Malaysia

Tree trunk - Along the Nickajack Creek - Smyrna, GA (Nikon FE2, Nikon 50mm lens, Kodak CN400 film.

Oct 16, 2009 – YEH at Phillip Lim Seoul Fashion Week S/S 2010 Oct 16, 2009

Oct 31, 2009 – YEH FM

November 3, 2009 – YEH at Hogan Shop Opening

Realizado nas segundas quarta-feiras de cada mês, na Iracema FM 104,9 –  desde 2007, apresentado pela Secretária de Educação Simone Campelo. O programa Educação sem fronteiras tem como objetivo a interação familia/escola e o ultimo aconteceu dia 04/11/2009 e teve como tema: O que caracteriza a família hoje e a  função da escola de educação infantil (Fonte: Resvista Pátio – fevereiro/abril-2009).

O Programa conta com informações, palestras, interação direta com a família através de perguntas e questionamento ao vivo.

Eddie Kim here…

I’m posting three videos I’d like for yall to check out.
But before you see them, please know that:

COME TO OUR SHOW….SKETCHCOMEDYSHOW.com on Friday Dec 4..and Sat Dec 5.

TICKETS ARE GOING FAST!! You can buy them at http://www.projektnewspeak.com |  http://www.sketchcomedyshow.com

All of the following people have been involved, performed, or came to our show:
Halloween Bash 09 Concert at Club Nokia…hung out with Kaba Modern, David Choi, C.S. Lee from Dexter, Sung Kang, DJ Rocky Rock, and more.

Here I’m learning a dance lesson from the EXQUISITELY HOT Cindy Minowa of Kaba Modern

and you gotta check out this video from MyNinja! which has Pigeon John and our friends the Far*East Movement!!!

SO COME TO OUR SHOW….SKETCHCOMEDYSHOW.com on Friday Dec 4..and Sat Dec 5.

TICKETS ARE GOING FAST!! You can buy them at http://www.projektnewspeak.com |  http://www.sketchcomedyshow.com

Incepand din data de 16.11.2009 puteti achizitiona SETURI CADOU SPECIALE PENTRU SARBATORILE DE IARNA. Sunt disponibile in oferta:

-seturi cadou pentru femei si barbati codurile S05; S33; S81; S171; S52; S134 si S64,care sunt alcatuite din produse cu aceeasi aroma (parfum 30 ml/apa de parfum 50 ml + gel de dus 200 ml + deodorant roll-on 50 ml + cutie speciala pentru sarbatorile de iarna ).

-seturi cadou pentru femei si barbati codurile S21 si S135, care contin (parfum cod 21/apa de parfum cod135+ gel de dus cod 21g/135g + deodorant roll-on unisex + cutie speciala pentru sarbatorile de iarna).

- seturi cadou pentru copii S88 si S90,care contin ( gel de dus cod 88g/90g + balsam corp cod 88b + apa toaleta cod 89 + cutie speciala pentru sarbatorile de iarna)

Preturile si numarul de puncte le puteti afla din lista de preturi si puncte, dupa logare. Oferta este valabila in limita stocului disponibil.

Incepand din data de 17.11.2009, in functie de valoarea punctelor acumulate pe o factura, veti primi CADOURI SPECIALE DE LA FM, astfel:

Promotia este valabila in limita stocului disponibil. OBS. Pentru aceasta promotie nu sa iau in considerare punctele pentru care se acorda mapa gratuita la inscriere.