Titans of the sprints!

Jamaica. The emerging sprint titans! In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing China, Jamaica has given rise to a new crop of sprint champions. Previous sprint champions have largely been from the United States of America. Not to forget the odd Canadian. (Read Ben Johnson). In this year’s games Jamaica has stamped its dominance in the sprints. So much so that athletes from United States of America have almost been eclipsed. Usain Bolt the Olympic Gold medallist in the 100 meter and 200 meter races cast a very dark shadow on his competitors that we barely noticed them nor remember their names. This he did by not only bagging the gold in both events, but also by breaking the standing world records. He becomes the second man to win gold in both events in the same summer games. The only other man being Carl Lewis of the United States of America. Could the secret of his record breaking dash lie in the chicken nuggets he so loves? Is that a chicken dance he jigs after every deserved win?

Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown bagged the gold medals in the 100 meter and the 200 meter races respectively. The little known sprinters from this yam growing Caribbean Island of 2.8 million, have the world finally associating Jamaica with not only the Reggae genre of music they are famous for the world over but also with athletic sprints. The Jamaican sprints team are surely setting the bar to another level.

Jamaica first sent a team to the 1948 Olympics in London, their speciality being in the short races since. 60 years down the line, the athletic world ought to bow for the “fastest nation in the world.” As I write this article the Sprinting Jamaicans continue to assert their dominance. In the men’s 4 X 100 meter relay race, the Jamaicans bag the gold medal and with a new world record to boot!

Getting on the wagon!

The sun was a golden yellow peeping out of the horizon. There was promise of a sunny day. The July chill had spilled onto August. Today could be an exception. Not that any of that mattered to Tusk, his head was pounding, his tongue he felt was stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat ached. The pits of his stomach felt like someone had dropped hot lead on them. He swung his legs out of bed with a groan. What was the use of lying in bed yet he had been awake from four a.m. in the morning? He just could not sleep anymore. If he managed three hours a night he was thankful. He reached for a pack of cigarettes on his bedside table, with overwhelming nausea and blurred vision he knocked down his bedside reading lamp. The resounding crash tore into his brain, amplified by the debilitating effects of overindulging.

Recovering from the jolt of pain, he grabbed the cigarette pack. A single stick remained. Sighing with relief, he scanned the room searching for his pants on the littered floor. Then it hit him, he still had them on. Rummaging through his front pockets, he found it. His prized gold encrusted lighter. Shoving the cigarette with effort into his mouth, he flicked the lighter, the flame flickering because of his trembling hands, he finally had his cigarette lit. He started sucking into it like his life depended on it. After several puffs, the fog in his head started to clear. At least now, he could see through the haze that engulfed his world. On his hand, he became fixated on the lighter. How he prized and how hated it. He prized it because of its value and hated it because it reminded him of what he used be. It was the one thing that he truly and deeply cared for. And not because of its monetary value, he had all through his life shown disregard for anything fiscal. Money to Tusk was just a means, not an end.

Side Effects of Tattoo Removal

The year was 1997 and I was smitten. I was 19 years old and Trisha had my heart, or so I thought. Trisha was a dish who in the innocence of my youth I solemnly believed was my soul mate and possible partner for life. My pubescent years were dotted with irrationality and spontaneity. Encouraged into daring and to prove my undying love, I got me a tattoo on my chest. A dainty rose with the name Trisha underlying. As with most virgin love, Trisha and I never became. I still kept the tattoo nevertheless. But out of respect for the new special person in my life it had to go.

Getting a tattoo is comparatively easy, compared to tattoo removal. There are several procedures available for tattoo removal available currently on the market. The three main methods available are Laser, Fade Away and Surgical removals. All these three methods have side effects.

Laser tattoo removal employs the use of highly concentrated light pulses that break the ink into tiny fragments, which are then disposed by your body. It is done by several treatments. It costs from $250 to several thousands of dollars. Major side effects of this procedure besides financial setback, include pain, lack of complete pigment removal and damage to your skin causing blisters which are susceptible to infection and can lead to scarring. Although experts contend that the technology is advanced to the point where scarring is minimal, that is dependent on the situation.

Fade away tattoo removal employs the use creams and rubs used in combination that cause a reaction that breaks down the components of the ink, which are then disposed by the body. This tattoo removal procedure is the cheapest and the least painful of all procedures. A two month supply of most creams and rubs available in the market range from $125 to $200. Side effects include hyper-pigmentation (a darkening of the skin, treatable in most cases with current bleaching techniques) or hypo-pigmentation (a lightening of the skin, more difficult to treat), which is discoloration of the skin around the area of the tattoo. This procedure is not recommended for people with sensitive skin.

Surgical tattoo removal employs the use of surgery to rid the body area off the ink used. It does not guarantee complete removal. It is only used today in extreme cases where laser tattoo removal is not an option. This procedure is dependent on the surgeon’s fees. This tattoo removal method has the most side effects. Side effects include pain, scarring and risk of infection.

Writing online

I am a novice writer. I have always wanted to share my thoughts, ideas and views about what goes on around me. I ventured to explore what forums were available to me. What I was looking for was a medium that would be taken seriously and yet informal. I could not picture me armed with abstracts and manuscripts chasing down agents and publishers. Besides, where I come from the publishing industry is not much developed, and the majority of available publishing houses largely concentrate in churning out primary, secondary and tertiary school syllabus textbooks and related manuals. An absence of a reading culture does not help any aspiring or established writer’s lot. My kith and kin cannot be described as avid readers and those who actually do read, have a preference for anything but local material. When someone mentioned that I could have my content published on the internet, my interest in online publishing was thus piqued. I turned to the time tested and resourceful search engine Google to solicit for ways to go about getting me published and hopefully read.

My search revealed what was hitherto unknown to me, there were several websites that not only offered to have me published but there was also promise of payment. As I scoured the different sites, I was fuddled by the immense opportunities on offer. Most of the sites however required subscription or payment ranging from a couple of dollars to one hundred. The doubting bone in me cautioned of internet scams. I decided to stay clear off the websites that required initial payment before allowing access to their promised menu. With my goals defined, my foray into the array of websites on offer was now more focused. I stumbled upon a couple of websites that boasted credible content and no requisite advance payment and proceeded to join them. I started by writing a couple of abstracts in different topics of interest. It was exhilarating to see what I had penned published. It was even much more when a reader rated my published article and commented on the content. My dream and passion for writing was finally being realised.

Being new to online publishing and with the excitement of seeing my abstracts published, I sought to broaden my horizons. I had been to online forums with discussion boards but I had no idea what a blog was. This is a web log or online diary hosted on a specific sites. A blog can be used to maintain all the information one wishes to share with the world. You can post personal insights, news, reviews and even products. A blog allows you to post whatever information you have . Your information first goes to a blogger website and then it is automatically inserted into a template tailored for you. I discovered this outstanding site. It offered me the platform I was yearning for. The site is free, user friendly and their step by step guide to creating your blog is not at all stupefying. I highly rate it and recommend it to all beginners like me. It offers method in the madness that is the world wide web!

India has the world’s most richest people!

According to Forbes’ magazine annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, of the top 10 billionaires India has 4. Top on the list according to Forbes’ estimates is Warren Buffet with a whopping 62 billion dollars.

What stands out is that India has the most number of billionaires in the top ten. These include:

Lakshmi Mittal worth an estimated 45 billion dollars (steel)
Mukesh Ambani worth an estimated 43 billion dollars (petrochemicals)
Anil Ambani worth an estimated 42 billion dollars (Diversified)
K. P. Singh worth an estimated 30 billion dollars (Real Estate)

Lakshmi Mittal born in 1950 is a London based industrialist. The richest man in Europe started his career working in the family’s steel making business. In 1994 due to undisclosed family differences he branched out taking over the international operations of the Mittal family steel making business. The CEO of AncelorMittal, the world’s largest producer of steel is married and has two children. He is ranked the fourth richest man in the world, after Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates who this year was edged out from the number one position by his friend, investor Warren Buffet.

Mukesh Ambani born in 1957 is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries. He is credited with creating the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery in India. India’s first trillionaire is married and has three children. He is ranked the fifth riches man in the world. Closely followed by his younger brother Anil Ambani.

Anil Ambani the younger brother of Mukesh was born in 1959. He is the chairman of Reliance Communication, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital which were part of Reliance Industries before a well publicised split. He is married with two children. He is ranked the sixth richest man in the world.

Kushal Pal Singh born in 1931 is head of Delhi Land and Finance. A successful landlord, Delhi Land and Finance owns Asia’s largest private township. He is married with three children. He is ranked the eighth richest man in the world.

The combined estimated wealth of the four is 160 billion dollars. Continental north America has two billionaires Warren Buffet and Bill Gates with a combined wealth of 120 billion dollars. South America is represented by telecoms magnate Carlos Slim worth an estimated 60 billion dollars. Europe has a combined total of 86 billion dollars represented by Swede Ingvar Kamprad (31 billion dollars), Russian Oleg Deripaska (28 billion dollars) and German Karl Albrech (27 billion dollars)

Will it suffice to say when it comes to the super rich India has the super tigers of Asia? Nay, the world!