29-1-2012 Birthday Dinner at Lone Star Restsurant, Newmarket

Went out with the family to have my birthday dinner on 29-1-2012.

Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition warms up the UK for the movie

As trekkies dust off their costumes and prepare them for the long wait in line for the premiere of J.J. Abrams' reboot, Nokia are offering something to help them accessorize - Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition. It will come preloaded with Trek-related content like a phaser app, which will definitely help fend of people with lightsabre applications. The Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition will be available in the usual color versions - red, blue and black/silver. Remember now, red uniforms are for tactical/engineering, blue are for science officers and silver… Okay, here our treknoledge betrays us. Other content that will come preloaded with the Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition includes Trek wallpapers, screensavers and exclusive ringtones including "Phazer Shot", "Red Alert" and "Kelvin Communicator". Nokia 5800 Star Trek edition will be available in the UK starting May 1st for free with a 25-pounds-a-month contract with either Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile or Orange. It's just in time for the movie, which opens on the 8th of May. Another interesting 5800-related piece of news today is that the phone will launch with Nokia's Comes With Music service in Brazil. During the first month after the launch, it will be available only through Brazilian operator TIM. There's heavy accent placed on Brazilian artists with several domestic labels signed up to deliver content. The phone will be offered for 399 Brazil reais (181 US dollars) with an unlimited data plan. Some promotion-related perks offered by TIM include two months of free download of content and free access to the Internet and email. Nokia 5800 Comes With Music is available in Brazilian stores starting today and everyone who preordered from the online store should get theirs by the end of the week.

The Force is strong for Jedi police! UK, England

Eight police officers serving with Scotland's largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity forms, it has emerged.

Strathclyde Police said the officers and two of its civilian staff claimed to follow the faith, which features in the Star Wars movies.

The details were obtained in a Freedom of Information request by Jane's Police Review.
Strathclyde was the only force in the UK to admit it had Jedi officers.

In the Star Wars films, Jedi Knights such as Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda use the Force to battle the evil Darth Vader, who has strayed to the dark side.

Jane's Police Review editor Chris Herbert, who requested the information, said: "The Force appears to be strong in Strathclyde Police with their Jedi police officers and staff.

"Far from living a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, some members of the noble Jedi order have now chosen Glasgow and its surrounding streets as their home."

Provided voluntarily

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police confirmed: "At the time of the request, 10 (eight police officers and two police staff) had recorded their religion as Jedi."
She added that the force monitored "six strands of diversity" - age, disability, gender, race religion and belief, and sexual orientation.

The force said the information was provided voluntarily and securely stored.
About 390,000 people listed their religion as Jedi in the 2001 Census for England and Wales. In Scotland the figure was a reported 14,000.

The Office for National Statistics did not recognise it as a separate category, and incorporated followers of Jedi with the atheists.

Last year, brothers Barney and Daniel Jones founded the UK Church of the Jedi - which offered sermons on the Force, light sabre training, and meditation techniques.
Strathclyde Police employs 8,200 police officers and 2,800 civilian staff.

Force Trainer Toy Uses Your Brainwaves to Imitate Yoda-Like Telekinesis (David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand)

Here's one of the most interesting tech toys that have recently emerged from the toy crafting laboratories of Uncle Milton Industries. The Force Trainer is special both because of its affiliation to the Star Wars universe, and because of the innovative technology it uses.

The device has a headset that translates the intensity of your brainwaves into what looks like Force telekinesis powers. If you are strong in the Brainwave Force, you will see a ball move upwards inside a 10-inch tall tube. Just don't try to imagine Darth Vader using the Force Trainer, or the entire thing will be a little too ludicrous, even to veteran fans of the SW franchise. You will have to shed about $100 from your money mound if you want to try out your Jedi potential.

The Force Trainer's brainwave-based system is, in fact, a modified version of similar devices normally used for EEG medical testing. The more you focus on the sphere, the more it will rise, which is cool, even without the Star Wars wrapping. Now, don't you go and picture a brainwave flow emitted by your noggin and delicately nudging the “training sphere.” The ball is actually pushed by a volume of air released when the device detects a certain quantifiable amount of brainwaves from the user.

The creators of the toy probably know they've got a sweet deal going on here, but they still slapped on some Star Wars-like sound effects for good measure - which will probably become boring after a while. Hopefully, there will also be an option for turning them off. After all, a true Jedi needs absolute concentration, disregarding trivial annoyances. Do you really think Obi-Wan Kenobi paid any attention to the musical score, despite its coolness?

Anyway, it's still a little strange to see this kind of technology just waltzing in people's homes. Strange, but also encouraging, in the big picture.

Top 10 Worst Celebrity Plastic Surgery for 2008 (David Lim, Auckland, New Zealand, GDI)

This year’s list of the Worst Celebrity Plastic Surgery is dominated by celebrities with atrocious trout pouts who otherwise may look good, but should really stay away from the plastic surgeon’s office.

1. Priscilla Presley—Although Priscilla was amongst several of Hollywood’s elite who received bad Botox, she overdid the plastic surgery long ago, leaving her with a bizarre rather than beautiful look. She has likely had a blepharoplasty, browlift, rhinoplasty, cheek implants, as well as laser skin procedures, chemical peels, and dermabrasion and lip injections. See Make Me Heal’s story on Priscilla Presley’s plastic surgery.

2. Jordan – Although the British glamour model is on her way to looking good, with her breast reduction indicating that she recognizes the error of her ways, she is still too overdone to be considered an example of good plastic surgery. See Make Me Heal’s story on Jordan’s plastic surgery.

3. Courtney Love—Love’s love of plastic surgery has left with her botched lips, a too done nose, and has also been the subject of many rumors involving over-invasive liposuction and gastric bypass. See Make Me Heal’s story on Courtney Love’s plastic surgery.

4. Lara Flynn Boyle—Lara has one of the worst trout pouts in Hollywood, rendering her nearly unrecognizable. She has too much collagen and facial filler as well as possible cheek implants or fat grafts that make her face look stretched. See Make Me Heal’s story on Lara Flynn Boyles’ plastic surgery.

5. Donatella Versace—As a designer, Donatella seems to have grown too comfortable with needles, as she has been the victim of too many plastic surgeons injections. Donatella’s face is overinflated with fillers in her cheeks and lips, while her chest holds some of the hardest and most uncomfortable breast implants imaginable.

6. Carrot Top—The comedian seems to have become one of his prop skits, as he has more fake parts than real. Beyond the obvious use of steroids, the eccentric redhead also has overused Botox and may have had a browlift in addition to laser treatments, and chemical peels. See Make Me Heal’s story on Carrot Top’s plastic surgery.

7. Tara Reid –The American Pie actress continues to dominate the worst lipo list. In addition, Tara has also had breast implants placed, which left her with misshapen nipples. See Make Me Heal’s story on Tara Reid’s plastic surgery.

8. Thierry Mugler – Thierry is better known for his awful looking alter ego Manfred than for his work as a designer. Beyond following the Carrot Top workout regime of steroids, Thierry may also be the victim of a bad nose job and Botox overload. See Make Me Heal’s story on Thierry Mugler’s plastic surgery.

9. Chloe Lattanzi—Her mom, Olivia Newton John may have made our list of best plastic surgery, but young Chloe is a plastic surgery victim for sure. From her botched breast augmentation to her overblown lips and overload of dermal fillers, Botox, cheek implants and rhinoplasty, Chloe has clearly spent too much time under the knife. See Make Me Heal’s story on Chloe Lattanzi’s plastic surgery.

10. Phoebe Price—Although she has no official title, actress or otherwise, Phoebe Price appears on red carpets from Hollywood to Cannes. Striking not only for her flame-colored mane, but also for her obvious plastic surgery, Phoebe is an essential for our list. Phoebe has the trout pout and breast augmentation of many in Hollywood, along with facial injectables and the requisite nose job, but she doesn’t seem to have the resume. See Make Me Heal’s story on Phoebe Price’s plastic surgery.

Seeking a passport to a new life (China, Chinese, Passport, Citizenship, Migration)

By Jennifer Pak BBC News, Beijing

Many Chinese people were outraged by Gong Li's decision
One of China's most famous actresses has been accused of being unpatriotic after becoming a Singaporean citizen.

Some say Gong Li, star of the film Memoirs of a Geisha, has turned her back on her Chinese fans.
But the actress is not the only Chinese citizen to seek another country's passport.
They do it for convenience, to improve job prospects and as a safety net.
Despite China's increasing economic and political power, a Chinese passport is still seen as restrictive by many of its citizens.

Gong Li, whose husband is from Singapore, is just one of many film stars who have given up their Chinese passport.

According to news reports, Hong Kong film star Jet Li holds US citizenship. And Zhang Ziyi, the star of kung fu movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, holds a Hong Kong residency card.

Gong Li's passport switch led to a commentary in the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper.
"We should think about why our laws, our system and cultural society have churned out so many of these so-called 'super citizens', people who live in China but their hearts are set on being a citizen in another country," it said.

'Still Chinese'

Kong Ting, who was born in China but is now a US citizen, is not surprised that Gong Li switched to a Singaporean passport.

I feel safer when I come back to China and I say certain things that the Chinese government doesn't like Kong Ting"A lot of times when Chinese do things it's for practical reasons, to make life easier and for more financial gain," she said Ms Kong, 36, has lived in the US for 15 years, and became an American citizen two years ago to make travelling to other countries easier. "I don't think getting a US citizenship makes me feel any less Chinese," she said.

With the exception of a few dozen south-east Asian and African countries, Chinese passport holders need to apply for visas in advance to go abroad which are sometimes difficult to get.
Most ordinary Chinese can only go abroad by joining tour groups, sometimes at very high costs.
Some tour companies reportedly charge up to 50,000 yuan ($7,300:£4,880) as a deposit to go to Japan.

This acts as a deterrent for people who are thinking of not returning to China after the trip.
Another reason Ms Kong wanted an American passport was for security reasons.
"Maybe I feel safer when I come back to China and I say certain things that the Chinese government doesn't like," she said. "They can't really hold it against me."

Tax reasons

Wu Hao, from Sichuan Province, has studied and worked in the US, and soon hopes to get his hands on a US passport.

A new passport can bring new freedoms for former Chinese citizensHe said as a student, getting a US passport was the ultimate goal in life.

"For my generation and older, we wanted a foreign passport so bad," said the 36-year-old.
"We grew up in an environment when China was not secure, when things changed so fast in China. Everyone just wanted to get out as soon as we could back in those days," he said.
Mr Wu moved back to China four years ago.

He will be eligible for an American passport in a few years time, but a small part of him hesitates about trading in his Chinese passport.

"I wonder if I really want to abandon my Chinese identity. I don't know," he added.
Mr Wu said many of his friends are much more practical about citizenship.
"I have a friend who recently gave up his American green card status in order not to pay US tax," said Mr Wu.

"A lot of Chinese friends I know who make a decent or relatively high salary in China, they're considering alternatives, trying to evade tax," he said.

Mr Wu said people who were outraged by Gong Li's switch to Singaporean citizenship are blowing it out of proportion. "If they got the chance [to get a foreign passport] they would immediately jump on it."