DNA paternity testing kit goes on sale for 30 dollars

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A swab, a consent form, an envelope and a waiting period of three to five business days is all there is to settling paternity issues with the test kit that went on sale Wednesday at some US drug stores.

Identigene, which runs a DNA testing laboratory, said its DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit went on sale at the 4,363 Rite Aid drug stores throughout the United States, except New York.

The swab in the kit is used to collect a saliva sample, to be mailed to the Identigene laboratory for an analysis that costs additional 119 dollars.

It takes three to five business days to get the test results, which are delivered by mail, email, or online through a secured Web service.

The paternity test kit is already a hit in California, Washington and Oregon states, where they have been selling on a trial basis since November, Identigene said.

"Demand has been very strong, store sales are brisk and Identigene has been inundated with questions regarding the product’s availability," it said in a statement.

Test kit buyers include women who want to know the identity of father of their child — or unborn child — as well as people looking for their parents.

Sold without prescription, the paternity kits are not allowed as evidence in court, where more precise and costly DNA tests are required.

The Breakup Test: 5 Questions to Ask Before Giving ‘Em the Boot

By Elina Furman

Is it better to be the breaker-upper or the dumpee? With so much attention being paid to those poor people dumped every year, no one ever takes time to think about what it’s like to be the dumper. Hardly an enviable position, the decision to break up with someone can breed feelings of guilt, paralysis and depression.

Question 1: Has There Been a Major Change in My Life?

Question 2: What’s My Happiness Ratio?

Question 3: Is He/She Abusive?

Question 4: Have I Expressed My Frustration?

Question 5: Am I Willing to Work at It?

Arm Yourself With a First-Rate Resume

Your resume has only a few seconds to impress - or to end up in the trash.

A strong resume needs a solid foundation, and no amount of trickery can mask poor organization. Start with these basics.

Contact Information: List your contact information at the top of the resume. Include your full name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. If you have a personal Web site, include the URL only if the site shows off your skills or applies to your career goals.

Objective: The objectives section gives recruiters an immediate sense of who you are and what you’re looking for, without forcing them to wade through the entire resume. If you decide to include an objective, stress what you’ll add to the company, not what you’re looking to take away.

Experience: List your experience chronologically, with your most recent job first. If your latest experience wasn’t the most impressive, arrange your list by importance. Include the company name, location, your title and dates of employment. Also, give a brief description of  your accomplishments.

Remember these tips:

·         Emphasize your most important responsibilities even if they weren’t your primary duties.

·         Use active voice. Strong sentences are those in which a subject performs an action (active voice) as opposed to an action being performed on the subject (passive voice). "I planned an event," creates a stronger impression than "An event was planned by me."

·         Impress employers with cause-effect relationships and tangible results. Quantify your achievements with percentages and numbers like "increased enrollment 20 percent" and "supervised three-person staff."

·         Use descriptions to highlight your sense of initiative. Paint yourself as a "go-getter" with strong verbs like "proposed," "launched" and "managed."

Skills/Interests: Today’s workers are more tech-savvy than ever, so make sure you mention your technical and computer skills. List programming languages, software programs and operating systems you’ve used as well as certifications you have. Don’t forget "soft skills" like foreign languages and public speaking.

Always include memberships in professional organizations, because it shows you’re serious about your career. Mentioning your interests is optional. Listing activities and hobbies can portray you as a well- rounded person, but it can raise eyebrows, too. Be careful what you list. (You should probably keep your passion for professional wrestling to yourself.)

Education: List your most recent education first and work backward. State your degree, major, minor, dates of attendance and the school’s name and location. You may also want to add your GPA (if 3.0 or higher).

References: Don’t waste valuable space on references. Employers assume you’ll provide them upon request.

Finishing Touches

·         Create several versions of your resume, each tailored to the type of position you’re applying for. Writing multiple resumes can be time-consuming, but it’s a small price to pay for the job you want.

·         If you’re applying for a specific job, research the position and company. Pay attention to the job requirements, and highlight your qualifications as they reflect the hiring company’s needs.

·         Be concise. Stick to one page. Make sure every word is meaningful.

·         Choose fonts that are easy-to-read, clean and consistent. Don’t use non-traditional or overly creative fonts.

·         Read, edit and re-read your resume to make sure it’s well written, clear and typo-free. Do it again. Then, ask your friends and family to do the same.

·         If you use an online resume, consider saving a text (".txt") version that will look good on any computer. Send your resume as an attached file and also paste the text into the body of the e-mail just to be safe. Online resumes should also include plenty of keywords, since they may be searched.

With some self-evaluation, careful organization and savvy choice of words, your resume will rise to the top of the pile on any recruiter’s desktop.

From Yahoo Hotjobs Career Tools section

Will There Be Peace On Earth?

Many of us would probably look at the here and now as troubled times. If you don’t see them as troubled, then perhaps a little bit scary and controversial. After all, there are wars in many places, inner city turmoil, corruption and let’s not forget the potential havoc of global warming… those few issues combined can lead us to wonder if the US, and for that matter the world, will ever see quieter, more peaceful times.

ANGEL OF PROBLEM SOLVED!

From time to time we all experience
things in our lives, problems and
challenges that we wish would just go
away! It may appear that no matter
what you do, the situation will only
get worse before there is any hope of
it getting any better. This angel (not
me, he3! a real angel!) has come to
you today to bring you most welcome
news! The problem or challenge you
have feared/fretted over has already
been solved for you. It may seem to
you that the problem is well and
firmly still in place, but this is
because you are not seeing the bigger
picture. God does see the bigger
picture and has the solution already
in place, the problem is dissolving
even as you are reading these words.

It can take a leap of faith to trust
in what this Angel is saying to you
right now. To support you in this
process of trusting and believing,
this Angel asks you to stop for a
moment right now. Take a deep breath
and release it slowly. Lean back in
your chair and feel her arms
supporting the weight of your body.
Feel her hands moving over your brow,
soothing and relaxing your mind.
Continue to breathe deeply until you
feel calm and at peace within
yourself. Now, only as you feel calm
and at peace, think of your problem
and say "Peace be with you", opening
your heart and allowing the love
within to flow to it. As you do this,
you notice that suddenly you feel ever
so much better! As you continue to
relax and say to yourself the
words "peace be with you" you feel the
energy round your problem is
dissolving and flowing away from you.
Stay with this feeling for as long as
you can, asking this Angel to support
you in really feeling and believing
it. There! Problem solved!

What this Angel has just helped you to
understand is that everything is
vibration. When your vibration is
flowing on a high, positive level, you
are able to attract more positive
things, people and events into your
life. When your energy has been
flowing downward or you have been
worrying about a potential situation
or event happening, that too brings
your level of vibration down and you
have become a "match" to what ever you
are fearing or concerned about. If you
really listen to this Angel within
yourself, you will hear her saying
over and over again that all
problems/challenges/lessons come with
a safety net and a Divine solution.
What allows the Divine solution to
manifest is being willing to open your
heart and mind to the truth that such
a thing exists and is waiting for you
to allow it to manifest for you.

You may feel that you have made
mistakes or done things in your life
that you need to be "punished" for.
Because of this you may feel that you
don’t deserve a Divine solution for
this problem. This Angel seeks to help
you understand that being a soul in
physical expression, you do not always
see the larger picture and thus you
and others sometimes make mistakes due
to fear or lack of vision. Punishing
you or others for mistakes you and
they have made does not heal the fear.
It does not allow for expanded vision
that will help you and them to make
better choices in the present and
future. What does create healing and
help you to get on the "right track"
is forgiveness. Forgive yourself, know
that you have done the best you knew
how at the time the action was taken
and let it go. This Angel suggests
that for the next several days you
work with the following affirmation: I
love and forgive myself. I love and
forgive others. It is healed.

There is no problem or challenge too
great for God to handle for you and
indeed, it already has been! Nothing
is more powerful than God! Nothing is
more powerful than Love! In seeking to
allow this problem to be healed, you
are also in the process of healing
feelings of separation from God. As
you allow this knowledge to grow
within you, you shall find that
everything in your life becomes much
more enjoyable and fun. Problems large
and small simply don’t find their way
to you as easily as before. In fact,
you are likely to have a run of many
days without noticing them at all.
When you know deep within that there
is a solution to everything, a
solution that is based on love and
compassion, then there is no room for
that which we see as "problems".
Something can’t be a problem once
there is a solution to it.

The most important thing you can do
for yourself this day is to affirm
that you are loving and lovable, that
you deserve Divine solutions and that
such a solution is manifesting for you
right this minute. There is nothing
more you need do other than to follow
your own inner guidance, ask for this
Angel’s help in allowing yourself to
accept the solution and focus your
mind and energy on something that
feels better to you. The better you
feel the higher your vibration. The
higher your vibration, the more
positive life experience you shall
have!

Stress-Free Christmas

   Preparing for Christmas can fray your nerves. Here are tips to de-stress your Christmas:

• Get organized and plan your days. This is easier said than done, but making a list of jobs (e.g. shopping for gifts) that need to be done can help a lot. For Christmas day, decide what time you are going to eat and work backwards from that.
• Recognize when something is done or finished, and feel good about it.
• Let other members of the family know how stressed you are feeling. Delegate some of the tasks.
• Try not to keep saying "yes" to everything’s that’s asked of you. This only builds up stress levels. It’s fine to say no sometimes.
• Take a break- even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Browse through a magazine or just close your eyes and listen to some relaxing music. It is important to take time to re-charge your energy levels.
• Try some breathing exercises. These can be done at any time and are helpful if you are feeling panicky.
• Don’t set yourself unrealistic targets and deadlines. This will only make you feel irritable and adds to the pressure tenfold. Pace yourself throughout Christmas.
• If you have small children who need occupying while you are busy, give them something to do, like watching Christmas movies, or making greeting cards.
• If Christmas is an emotional time for you, if you’ve lost relatives or friends, or have family abroad, try to think about the happy moments. A call or an email can fill in the gap.
• Don’t drink too much! It will spoil Christmas for you and everyone else!

From Sun-Star Thursday November 29, 2007 page B3 (live! section)

380M ‘lifestyle’ deaths

   International health experts unveiled a master plan that they said could avert at least 36 million premature deaths worldwide from "lifestyle" diseases by 2015.

   Without concerted efforts, they said, some 388 million people around the globe - 80% of them in poorer nations - will die over the next decade from non-communicable diseases that are now reaching epidemic proportions.

   Cardiovascular condiotions, diabetes, lung disease and some cancers together account for 44% of premature deaths, or twice as many as from all infectious diseases combined, according to World Health Organization figures. Most of the diseases targeted by the initiative could be averted by changing behavior and access to known drug treatments. The top culprits are smoking, sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Longer life spans also play a role in some of the diseases.

   Recommendations. But 17 million of the deaths that could be averted through the recommended measures would be among people under 70 years old. The recommendations include:

• Raising th e"political priority" of chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) and promoting healthy lifestyles.
• Strengthening regulations to discourage consumtion of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy foods.
• Developing codes to monitor responsible conduct in the food, beverage and restaurant industries.
• Studies that explore th elinks between CNCDs, poverty, and urbanization.
• Redistributing health care resources based on burden of diseases.
• Putting a big emphasis on prevention.

from Sun-Star newspaper Nov 28, 2007; Wed (Fit Section) page B2

Fittip: buying athletic shoes

   Properly fitted athletic shoes are an essential part of every workout. But finding the right shoe could be a challenge. Here are some guidelines from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

   Because feet swell with activity, always try on athletic shoes later in the day or after a workout.

• Try on shoes with the same type of socks that you use to work out.
• Make sure you can easily wiggle your toes when the shoes are laced up, and that your heel doesn’t slip as you walk.
• Try walking or running a few steps in the store to be sure the shoes are comfortable. You should not have to "break in" athletic shoes.
• Always fully lace shoes when trying them on, as you would to work out.
• Buy a shoe specific to the sport or exercise that you perform.

from Sun-Star newspaper Nov 28, 2007; Wed (Fit Section) Page B2

from Sun-Star, Wed; Nov 28, 2007 (Fit Section) page B2

Good night’s sleep key to keen memory

Grandma really knows best. A new study proves that "early to bed" makes a boy not only wise, but also gives him good memory.

Scientists are finding new evidence that a good night’s rest plays a crucial role in cementing memories formed during the day. One new study has identified a brain region involved, along with the hippocampus, in creating memories of the day’s activities during sleep.

Another study suggests melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating our day-night cycle, or "circadian rhythm," acts to suppress the formation of new memories as bedtime nears, perhaps in an effort to give memories made earlier in the day a chance to be prepared for long-term storage.

Another inspiring text messages from my friend, who sends me these stuffs often and a lot! here they are:

God knows your secret longings. He knows your silent tears and even within the shadows , HIS hand is in your fears. Just trust HIM for GOD holds your every tomorrow.

                                              ————————-

DAILY PRAYER: Whatever plans we have in mind, Lord, we surrender them to You. We will do the best we can. But in the end, let Your will be done. Amen.

                                              ————————–

Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.

                                              ————————–

I wake up today smiling as I remember I have a good friend. I hope many years from now, I would still wake up smiling for the same good reason that I have you..

                                              ————————–

When we get hurt, it is one way God is telling us that not all that’s painful is bad or wrong. We get hurt so we’d never hurt others the way we were hurt.

                                              ————————–

Those who thank God even in trials, turns burdens into blessings. Every disappointment in life can be a stepping stone to GREATER things.

                                              ————————–

What’s meant to be will always find a way and if ever you’ve found that way, do something to make it happen.. Never let it go coz not all thats meant to be will always turn into reality…

                                               ————————–

—Nice! Aren’t they?—