Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
World’s smallest mom expects her third child
Stacey Herald, 35, is just 2ft 4 ins tall, and her new son will already be half her size when he’s born. Dcotors from Kentucky in the US told her that becoming pregnant could kill her. But herself and her 9ins-tall husband, a trainee priest, insist that their children are a gift from god.
She said: “We didn’t plan to have more than two kids, we just think that they’re a great gift to the world, and when I look at them I see Will and I feel so full of love, it’s tough not to want more.”
She suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes brittle bones and underdeveloped lungs, which means she failed to grow. This condition forces her to use a wheelchair.
She said: ”It broke my heart that I couldn’t have kids”. All my life my parents had told me that I could do anything. Then there were these doctors telling me that we couldn’t be a complete family. It really hurt.”
Eight months later, the couple were thrilled to discover that Stacey was pregnant and they decided to go ahead even though family and doctors begged them to reconsider.
Stacey Herald, 35, is just 2ft 4 ins tall, and her new son will already be half her size when he’s born. Dcotors from Kentucky in the US told her that becoming pregnant could kill her. But herself and her 9ins-tall husband, a trainee priest, insist that their children are a gift from god.
“We didn’t plan to have more than two kids, we just think that they’re a great gift to the world, and when I look at them I see Will and I feel so full of love, it’s tough not to want more.”
Mrs Herald admitted that being pregnant in “uncomfortable”. She said: ”It’s getting tougher and tougher to move.
“At the moment because I’m getting really big again I can’t hold my youngest daughter because my belly gets in the way and I can’t get my arms around her.”
World’s Oldest Animals

Jonathan the tortoise and Mischief the cat may have hit the headlines for their longevity, but there are plenty of other creatures giving them a run for their money in the age stakes. This photo of a tortoise was taken on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The tortoise, named Jonathan, still lives there today. He may be the world’s oldest living animal. A spokesman for the island’s tourist board said Jonathan is owned by the St Helena government and lives in the specially built plantation on the governor’s land. He said: “Jonathan is the sole survivor of three tortoises that arrived on St Helena Island in 1882. “He was already mature when he arrived and was at least 50-years-old. “Therefore his minimum age is 176-years-old. He is the oldest inhabitant on St Helena and is claimed to be the oldest living tortoise in the
world.

Icelandic scientists have found a 400-year-old clam, nearly twice as old as any other animal in history.The clam — a qahog or, technically, Arctica islandica — spent those centuries in the frigid Atlantic waters off Iceland’s north coast. As the press release notes, “When this animal was a juvenile, King James I replaced Queen Elizabeth I as English monarch, Shakespeare was writing his greatest plays Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth and Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for espousing the view that the Sun rather than the Earth was the centre of the universe.”

Rabbit: Fourteen-year-old George, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the US, was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year. The average life expectancy of a rabbit is six to eight years, making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos.

Cat: Spike, a ginger and white tom, died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001 – making him the world’s oldest cat. He was bought for two shillings and sixpence in London’s Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died atthe age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog. Spike’s owners, from Bridport in Devon, used to put aloe vera gel into his cat food.

Spider: The world’s oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the Theraphosidae family, which lived up to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid was captured in Mexico in 1935.

Dog: At 29, black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September. She was bought from an RSPCA sanctuary 26 years ago and lived out her long life in Derbyshire.

Guinea Pig: The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years, but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.

Monkey: Bueno, a black spider monkey, died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world’s eldest monkey. She lived a “stress-free” life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi, 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years.
Goldfish: Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age of 43 after being won a funfair in Doncaster in 1956. As he aged, his scales faded from orange to silver but his owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then.
Miniature Room inside a PC
PC Case modding is really hot right now and modders are going out of their way trying to come up with the most original designs. The man behind this miniature room is definitely on the right track.
eaturing a sofa, armchairs, coffee table and even a working lamp, this miniature room seems created especially for the little guys in The Borrowers movie. And accessories like the gumball machine and the New York Times newspaper make it look like a real home. Let’s just hope he decides to keep the side panel open, or the inhabitants could melt to death.
It seems East-European modders are on a roll these days, you might remember other cool works like the Wall-e case mod or the Cooker Computer that also came from that area.




Monday, October 12, 2009
World’s 14 Highest Mountain Peaks in the World
14. Shishapangma is a mountain entirely located within China (in central Tibet) and the name means “crest above the grassy plains” in Tibetan language. Highest peak on Shishapangma is 8,013 metres (26,289 ft).
13. Gasherbrum II (also known as K4) is located on the Pakistan-China border and is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas. It reaches up to 8,035 metres (26,362 ft).
12. Broad Peak (also known as K3) is part of the same Gasherbrum massif, and is just 8km away from the renowned K2. Faichan Kangri as the locals call it, elevates up to 8,047 metres(26,401 ft)
11. Gasherbrum I (also known as the K5) is located in the Karakoram region of the Himalayas in the same Gasherbrum massif. The Hidden Peak as climbers call it, translates from rgasha and means “beautiful mountain”. Maximum elevation is at 8,080 metres (26,509 ft).
10. Annapurna is series of peaks in the Himalayas with the highest reaching 8,091 m (26,538 ft). The peak that refers to the goddess of fertility and agriculture in Hinduism, is part of a 7,629 sq. km conservation area (first and largest) in Nepal. Some say that’s the deadliest mountain of them all, with a fatality rate of 40%.
9. Nanga Parbat, which means the Naked Mountain in Urdu, it’s also known as the Killer Mountain mainly for the extremely serious climb where lots of climbers died in the first half of the twentieth century. The highest elevation is 8,126 metres (26,660 ft).
8. Manaslu, the highest peak in the Gorkha district is located in the the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, with a lot of long ridges, valley glaciers and a steepy scenery. Highest peak is at 8,163 metres (26,781 ft).
7. Dhaulagiri – the White Mountain – is part of a a subrange of the Himalayas (Dhaulagiri Himal) which lies northwest of Pokhara in the north central Nepal. Highest peak is at 8,167 metres (26,795 ft).
6. Cho Oyu – the Turquoise Goddess – lies 20 km west of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, on the Chinese and Nepalese border. It’s not a very steep peak and most climbers consider it one of the easiest to ascend on even though it elevates up to 8,201 metres (26,906 ft).
5. Makalu is an isolated peak located 22km east of Mount Everest, that has the shape of a four-sided pyramid. Considered one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb, because of its steep pitches and knife-edged ridges that go up to 8,462 metres (27,762 ft).
4. Lhotse is best known (for professional climbers) for its direct connection or proximity to Mount Everest via the South Col and the fact that its tremendous south face is the steepest face of this size in the world : rises 3.2 km (1.98 mi) in only 2.25 km (1.4 mi) of horizontal distance. Maximum elevation is 8,516 metres (27,940 ft).
3. Kangchenjunga – “The Five Treasures of Snows” – is the third largest mountain in the world and consists of five peaks with four of them, above 8,450 m high. Buttressed by great ridges roughly from the east to the west and from north to south, the large massif of Kangchenjunga is formed as a giant ‘X’. Highest elevation is at 8,586 metres (28,169 ft).
2. K2 is located in the Northern part of Pakistan and is part of the Karakoram segment in the Himalayan range. Famous for its nickname (if we can call it that way) – the Savage Mountain – it’s famous for the fact that out of four people who try to climb on K2, one of them dies trying. It’s the second deadliest mountain in the world. Highest elevation is 8,611
metres (28,251 ft).
1. Mount Everest is officially the highest mountain in the world, with its highest peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea levels. Climbing on the Everest is not that hard, but that doesn’t mean anyone can do it. Specialized help is needed and that doesn’t come in cheap, not to mention the gear needed. 210 died while trying to climb the Everest, most of them in the “death zone” where the conditions are extremely critical (the amount of oxygen cannot sustain human life).





































