While reading an interesting article by Porter Stansberry I came across this quote

The central truth of economics is scarcity. There can never be enough of anything to satisfy everyone. The central truth of politics is patronage: promising to give everything to everyone. Paper money is the bridge between economics and politics.

Which is very interesting as it reflects the state of the Western Economies, especially the USA and UK… At this time Gold is soaring in price as people look for a safe haven…

This Movember I’ve decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer. My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. One man dies every hour from the disease in the UK. This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

To help, you can either: – Click this link http://www.justgiving.com/cookhamrugby and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account . 

The Prostate Cancer Charity will use the money raised by Movember for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected, and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer.

This has to be one really cool toy.

Here are a series of interesting graphs that explain various aspects of our lives….

My mother sent me this piece as we used to watch Captain Kangaroo on tv as children growing up in the US.

Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76 , which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27 ) His death reminded me of the following story.

Some people have been a bit offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3 and 4-star generals at Arlington National Cemetery His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service  (USMC). Nothing else.  Here’s  a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys? Well, following is the amazing answer: 
I always liked Lee Marvin, but didn’t know the extent of his Corps experiences.

In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces often in rear echelon posts where they were carefully protected, only to  be trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond promotions,  Lee Marvin was a genuine hero.  He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima . There is only one higher Naval award…  the Medal Of  Honor!

If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery. 
Dialog from "The Tonight Show with  Johnny Carson": His guest was Lee Marvin…  John ny said, "Lee, I’ll bet a lot of people are  unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima ..and that during the course of that  action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded."

"Yeah, yeah… I got shot square in the bottom and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi. Bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys getting shot hauling you down. But, Johnny, at Iwo ,  I served under the bravest man I ever knew… We both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and  get the hell off the beach..  Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion because his men’s safety  was more important than his own life.

That Sergeant and I have been lifelong friends. When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Sergeant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me, lying on my belly on the litter and said, "Where’d they get you Lee?" "Well Bob…. if you make it home before me, tell Mom to sell the outhouse!"

Johnny, I’m not lying,  Sergeant Keeshan was the bravest man I ever knew. 
The Sergeant’s name is Bob Keeshan. You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo."

On another note, there was this wimpy little man (who passed away) on PBS,  gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect  of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in  Vietnam  with over twenty-five confirmed  kills to his name.  He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps.  He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat

After the war Mr. Rogers  became an ordained Presbyterian minister. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life… He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm..

America’s real heroes don’t flaunt what they did; they quietly go about their day-to-day lives, doing what they do best.  They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy. 
Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst. 
Often, they are the ones you’d least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened.

Take the time to thank anyone that has fought for our freedom. With encouragement they could be the next Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.

This is a sedated 2 month old tiger cub found in luggage at Banbkok airport.  A woman was trying to smuggle it out of the country on a flight to Iran…..

The full story can be found on the WWF site here.

By any stretch of the imagination this is just wrong!

by Porter Stansberry

I’d like to make you a business offer.
Seriously. This is a real offer. In fact, you really can’t turn me down, as you’ll come to understand in a moment…
Here’s the deal. You’re going to start a business or expand the one you’ve got now. It doesn’t really matter what you do or what you’re going to do. I’ll partner with you no matter what business you’re in – as long as it’s legal.

But I can’t give you any capital – you have to come up with that on your own. I won’t give you any labor – that’s definitely up to you. What I will do, however, is demand you follow all sorts of rules about what products and services you can offer, how much (and how often) you pay your employees, and where and when you’re allowed to operate your business. That’s my role in the affair: to tell you what to do.

Now in return for my rules, I’m going to take roughly half of whatever you make in the business each year. Half seems fair, doesn’t it? I think so. Of course, that’s half of your profits.

You’re also going to have to pay me about 12% of whatever you decide to pay your employees because you’ve got to cover my expenses for promulgating all of the rules about who you can employ, when, where, and how. Come on, you’re my partner. It’s only "fair."
Now… after you’ve put your hard-earned savings at risk to start this business, and after you’ve worked hard at it for a few decades (paying me my 50% or a bit more along the way each year), you might decide you’d like to cash out – to finally live the good life.

Whether or not this is "fair" – some people never can afford to retire – is a different argument. As your partner, I’m happy for you to sell whenever you’d like… because our agreement says, if you sell, you have to pay me an additional 20% of whatever the capitalized value of the business is at that time.

I know… I know… you put up all the original capital. You took all the risks. You put in all of the labor. That’s all true. But I’ve done my part, too. I’ve collected 50% of the profits each year. And I’ve always come up with more rules for you to follow each year. Therefore, I deserve another, final 20% slice of the business.

Oh… and one more thing…
Even after you’ve sold the business and paid all of my fees… I’d recommend buying lots of life insurance. You see, even after you’ve been retired for years, when you die, you’ll have to pay me 50% of whatever your estate is worth.

After all, I’ve got lots of partners and not all of them are as successful as you and your family. We don’t think it’s "fair" for your kids to have such a big advantage. But if you buy enough life insurance, you can finance this expense for your children.

All in all, if you’re a very successful entrepreneur… if you’re one of the rare, lucky, and hard-working people who can create a new company, employ lots of people, and satisfy the public… you’ll end up paying me more than 75% of your income over your life. Thanks so much.

I’m sure you’ll think my offer is reasonable and happily partner with me… but it doesn’t really matter how you feel about it because if you ever try to stiff me – or cheat me on any of my fees or rules – I’ll break down your door in the middle of the night, threaten you and your family with heavy, automatic weapons, and throw you in jail.

That’s how civil society is supposed to work, right? This is Amerika, isn’t it?
That’s the offer Amerika gives its entrepreneurs. And the idiots in Washington wonder why there are no new jobs…

This link shows the development of the International Space Station over time…. Http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm

It is amazing to see how it has grown and to think that it is only as big as a 747.

I have just been passed a note to check out this link: www.linkedin.com/in/brentspiller.

Why would you put someone with the name Brent Spiller in the role of Major Incident manager at an oil company that sell Brent Crude Oil……

His link has a blog and a lot of detail, there are obviously people out there with lots of time on their hands….

I spotted this fuel cell technology and was impressed by the claim of having the same amount of energy as 1000 AA batteries.

The device is called the MiniPAK and is a palm-size universal portable power charger and power extender for ANY electronic device requiring up to 2W of power.

The fuel cartridge used in the MiniPak called HydroSTIK has a battery-like form factor and contains a special metal alloy that allows hydrogen to be stored in a solid-state, as part of the metal alloy matrix inside the cartridge.

There is also a refueling unit called the HydroFILL  which is a small-scale home hydrogen station that allows consumers or retailers/distributors to refill solid state canisters in a simple way, using water and electricity as only input. By adding water, and plugging the HydroFILL into a electrical wall-socket (or a solar panel), consumers can generate hydrogen and store it in a solid form automatically in HydroSTIK cartridges. Once full, the battery-like "solid-state"HydroSTIKs can be unplugged from the HydroFILL and placed into the MiniPak (or other fuel cell devices) to deliver power via a USB port.

So it will not be long until we are using solar panels to create the power to recharge our Hydrogen recharging units….