Brentwood International

Toyota Motor Corp. and a research body of the University of Tokyo have jointly developed a prototype for what many busy career people have been dreaming of for a long time: A hardworking robot that handles household chores. the robot cleans up rooms, smoothly puts away dishes from a dining table and picks up shirts and puts them in a washing machine. The 155-cm, 130-kg humanoid robot excels in the capacity to distinguish and perceive objects such as furniture and cleaning equipment, its developers said.

The robot also analyzes past failures and corrects its behavior patterns. It has been designed to help cope with the predicted labor shortage stemming from Japan's aging society and low birthrate. The developers said they will keep improving the robot and hope to start marketing it in around seven years.

The robot is equipped with two arms, five recognition cameras and laser sensors. It gets around on wheels.

A Leamington (Canada) man has fallen prey to international scam artists who strung him along for more than a year with the promise of millions in cash, but ultimately bilked him and his family of $150,000.John Rempel said he quit his truck driving job, lost friends, borrowed money and crossed the globe in pursuit of a non-existent inheritance, after he was contacted by e-mail in what is known as a Nigerian 419 scam. Rempel said he borrowed $55,000 from an uncle in Chihuahua, Mexico and his parents give him $60,000 on credit to cover fees for transferring $12.8 million into his name. His troubles began in July 2007. He said he got an e-mail from someone claiming to be a lawyer with a client named David Rempel who died in a 2005 bomb attack in London, England, and left behind $12.8 million.

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South Carolina Considering Profanity Ban!
State Senator Robert Ford is hoping to outlaw lewd language and is pushing for a bill that would prohibit profanity. Under the pre-filed bill, profanity could land you in jail for up to 5 years and/or cost you up to $5,000 in fines.

Which words are exactly considered profane is still unclear, but the bill does have a list of qualifications for profanity including words or actions that are lewd, vulgar or indecent in nature. the First Amendment is not absolute. You cannot say whatever you want whenever you want to. Courts will usually look at where the words were said and who heard them. Children are usually protected.

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Nashville voters cast ballots Thursday on a proposal that would make it the largest U.S. city to require all government business be done in English.Proponents say using one language would unite the city, but business leaders, academics and the city's mayor worry it could give the city a bad reputation. Similar measures have passed elsewhere. Exactly how much translation would be silenced if the measure passes is murky. While it requires that all government communication and publications be printed in English, it allows an exception for public health and safety. About 10 percent of Nashville's nearly 600,000 people speak a language other than English in their homes, according to census data. The city is 5 percent Hispanic and home to the nation's largest Kurdish community and refugees from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

If the measure passes, it will take effect within 10 days.

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Getting off on the wrong foot can doom a relationship before it begins, as we all know.

Now scientists have studied one reason why this is true. When a person makes a bad first impression, the negative feelings are harder to overcome than a betrayal that occurs after ties are established.

"First impressions matter when you want to build a lasting trust," said study researcher Robert Lount of Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. "If you get off on the wrong foot, the relationship may never be completely right again. It's easier to rebuild trust after a breach if you already have a strong relationship."

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hile putting on weight in general can have negative effects on your health, abdominal weight gain (visceral fat) is particularly unhealthy. Since visceral fat is buried deep in your abdomen, it may seem like a difficult target for spot reduction. But this fat is actually quite sensitive to exercise and calorie reduction.
Whole Grains Help You Lose Belly Fat.
A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition4 showed that a calorie-controlled diet rich in whole grains trimmed extra fat from the waistline of obese people.
"Cigarette Belly": Want a Flat Belly - Don’t Smoke
Typically smokers weigh less then non-smokers. This feeds the misconception that smoking makes them thin. But there is an increasing evidence that cigarette smoking increases abdominal accumulation of body fat.

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America is a nation built on ideals: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly. This however, does not condone douche bags who park their automobiles wherever they want.Yet, everyday across this great land, “Two Spot Parker” treats the mall parking lot like it was constructed in his honor. Not only is this incredibly annoying, it’s also offensive. Those lines were put there for a reason - to ensure as many people as possible can get discount socks, ab-crunchers and giant pretzels under one roof. To fuck with the parking lines, is to fuck with the U.S.of A and that ain’t OK.

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The inauguration of Barack Obama will not only bring about a wholesale turnover in the political leadership of the country but it will also unveil the newest in a long line of Presidential limos. According to Presidential vehicle experts, the new limo is a beast-like General Motors truck-based Cadillac that is so tough it's like a 'rolling tank with windows.'
Among the vehicle's main features are windows that are 5 inches thick, 19.5-inch Goodyear RHS tires (same as super tough trucks), and possibly even a lock safety mechanism that seals off the car like a bank vault in case of an emergency. Security expert Ken Lucci says rubber gaskets likely protect the car against chemical weapons and that the body will be made out of a tougher material than before. The most recent limo used by President Bush used some combination of a dual hardness steel, aluminum, titanium and even ceramics to break up possible projectiles. And there are usually steel overlaps that cover any gaps a door might leave.

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Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.

Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity.

"Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic," said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, a member of the study team.

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Test your own logic - complete our online test below (click on the Blue link) to get your ranking. Read the premises, and then specify whether or not the arguments are valid or invalid. Then press the "submit" button to get your results.

Question 1.
a) All ducks quack.
b) Donald is a duck.

Conclusion
Therefore: Donald quacks.

Valid Invalid

Take the LOGIC TEST here