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Ekati Spirit Diamond Sets New Record {Luxist}
Feb 20th 2011 12:55AM Another interesting factoid about diamonds: they have to make the trip from high temperature and pressure deep down to the surface at high speed, otherwise they disintegrate back to graphite in the high temperature alone, thus they are found in kimberlite 'pipes'.
Similarly they lose half of their value like a new car when you carry them out of the store. Some guy got his revenge writing a book to this effect when his engagement fell through and he tried to return a ring. Chatted-up/harassed a sales lady at a De Beers store in Dallas asking about return policy and yes that is the policy excepting for trading up... concerns about the stone being 'soiled' or stained; can they be? are De Beers diamonds that fragile? Reminds me of the ubiquitous Oriental Rug Merchant going out of business sales after 40 years or the owner's heart attack. Rugs going for ten cents on the dollar; can't they find a comerchant to pay eleven cents on the dollar just to float the reputation of their product?
And 'synthetic' diamonds are chemically-structurally identical: one giant single molecule four happy holes filled by four happy electrons on each tetrahedral side, De Beers (I have read) invests alot to tell the difference, mischievous Chinese chemists may catch up leaving the lone cachet of a diamond being sentimental as in worn by an ancestor, or from its origin like owning a meteorite. They are carbon; overpriced as gold may be I'd go with that for safety. Diamonds being carbon could wind up a hollow brittle vessel easily 'soiled or stained'.
Should you eat at American chain restaurants when you travel? {Gadling}
Jan 29th 2011 9:35PM Only time I've gotten sick overseas was the Samauri Burger at a McDonalds in Thailand. Mayonaise happens1
NOW Sues Hooters {Lemondrop}
Dec 22nd 2010 6:56AM My late sister Karen, wih a couple of elementary school aged kiddos, once got us reservations at a hopelessly overbooked fine dining establishment; by lamenting to the sympathetic matron and fellow mother, that if we couldn't get seated there, we were being taken to Hooters. She was a sly one. I was beginning to lOOk forward to our plan: B.
New "crumpled" city maps for tourists {Gadling}
Dec 2nd 2010 9:58PM Lots of Americans (baby-boomers) know how much a Gram is, and a 'Kilo'. Kudos for your particular innocence on these matters.
Science / Armpit-check (do-figures-make-sense check NASA) Lesson: A Gram is about the weight of a paper dollar bill. 28 grams plus a smidgen; as in the number of days in the month of February, make up an ounce. The Kilogram is about two lbs.
These are rule of thumb approximations; should you be caught with contraband in Taiwan Airport the fudge factors could make you the difference between life worse then death, and death.
Asperger's Can Aid The Workplace {AOL Jobs}
Mar 18th 2010 2:20PM PPPPP To "20" (Berta Snow) with 28 yr old stay at home daughter: What is she doing on the computer? Is it a closed loop? Noninteractive games - solitaire on the compute? Or might there be a kernel of something to work with there? I have a nephew (Hi Ryan and Happy XX Birthday/Ides of March if you're reading this) on the cusp of similar issues. All of us who love you are doing the best we can which 'may not be enough'. I ask myself "what would Karen Do?" (his mom, my best friend and late sister) and don't know if there is a working answer.
PPPP It's been suggested I have some features of asperger's related to birth anoxia and faced a lot of the same bumps and catastrophes described by others. At the onset I have to explain to a superior that what may sound like arguing is just me trying to get my footing back under me, where complex instructions or expectations or 'changes' are involved: I'll never succeed at being invisible/white bread/The WhiteHouse kitchen staff; I may be your lightning rod. Sorting out the question: Is it a matter of who's right? as opposed to what's right? can be problematic socially. I'm well worth the investment if that can work. NASA as a model: an astronaut would want me on their team; how middle managers cope pretty well defines where an organization is headed, in my experience. GET AWAY IN TIME!!! when things aren't working, is my life lesson to pass on to others. I've managed to get my feet back underneath me as a substitute teacher. GET AWAY IN TIME!!! is an easy option, 'blame the sub'/not being supported: No Problem! Me Gone! Bye Bye - Sort that out amongst yourselves. I have alot of empathy for the 'people who don't fit'; most teenagers by definition, seeking just where they fit, and lots of experiential coping skills dealing with bullying/adversity.
Financial skills can erode before dementia is even suspected {WalletPop}
Nov 30th 2009 1:14PM STUFFED MAILBOX: "THEEER'S YER CLUE!!!": Number 12 comment about scammer's feeding frenzy once they find a 'live one' is where I come in. My Mom was a Guidance Counselor with an MA still smart socially, an avid reader and definitely not Alzheimer's. Before she remarried at 70 she had testing to be responsible and to make sure about that. She did take a big hit from microbubbles in the heart lung machine used during bypass surgery. Which; based on my grandmother's similar early demise, has added decade(s) to her life. But there was some kind of limbic emotional system disconnect that resulted in this constant 'moaning of the damned' where she almost unawares made low monologue of "I am so sick, I can't do anything" and all other negativistic. Which disappears, bright and cheery like it was never there and is appropriate when addressed. With further deterioration and/or training from my sister to be more positive, this has changed to going "Uh Hugh, Uh Hugh ...". During the worst of a hit by late-diagnosed C. Diff. (an intestinal bacterial toxicity that closed down one organ system after the next), we optimistically called this sign of life 'purring' as it continued while her brain had the sense to 'get out of Dodge' with microvascular shut down. In and out hospice, Mom has earned the sobriquet 'The energizer bunny'
'Stupid and greedy': my take; our family's take, on anyone who would respond to these GRQ/lottery/Nigerian-Widow schemes would never have described our Mom. Bull Headed and Determined would be a good descriptor and a real plus in her continued survival and in being The Mother (as in the mother of all battles) fighter for us kids and especially her students as a Jr Hi Guidance Counselor. This trait seems to be a thing the scammers have a skill at wrangling with compromised elders. Her first hit was in Florida with a financial advisor (R) using the Morgan Stanly letterhead. 'R' had very serious 'boundary issues' and Morgan Stanley in trial disclaimed all responsibility for diligence confirming it's representative's credentials: e.g. Elder Abusers get your letterheads at Morgan_Stanley.CON ! The boom of the 90s covered this and 'R' Got Poor Quick with the bust. Finances, like sex to that point, were private matters except odd occcasional allusions to leaving us some real inheritance. Mom's desperate call to me about pouring in more cash to save herself was like your first hint of trouble; being asked by your own chaste inhibited mother, if she had done something to deserve that sexual assault. Since then she has become a legend at her independent living community for an FBI visit about $10,000 in a case they were investigating; again the first we heard of it. We chide her good naturedly as a reminder, but still find 'offers' being squirreled away. Every day there is another couple to half-dozen of these in her mail box. One even got her phone number and I matter of factly asked the cost of delivering their UPS million dollar package; then announced if I could trace that call, I would bury him alive, upside down, probably take a 2 or 3 hours to die, no one would ever know what happened to him, he would simply 'disappear'; Meet a bad bad end. Didn't know I had that bluff in me. Like Sigorny Weaver defending her 'kid' against the alien mother's spawn with "Come On You Bitch!" Contact addresses for two of today's 'spawn' include: Sweepstakes Clearinghouse sm, 1555 Regal Row Dallas Texas 75247-3662. and Little Shelter PO Box 490970, Lawrenceville, GA 30049-0051. Some venders are understanding about elder abuse issues; American Mint (not US Gov related) was kind, professional, and did respond to a call to remove Mom from their mailing list.
Why Do Women All Seem to Want Taller Men? {Personal Articles}
Feb 13th 2009 9:08PM At 5'0" as a male this is definitrely an issue for me. I am just plain not a 'menue item' to 98% of American ladies. On Match.com I got 2 replies from anyone I would choose in as many years. A Thai ladyfriend suggested I belong in parts of the world with protein deficiencies. Got onto a Filipine Heart site, and the instant massages are coming in like autumn leaves falling.
