Rice

Rice is an excellent source of energy, especially energy-giving carbohydrates, which are used in the body for brain performance, physical activity, bodily functions and everyday growth and repair.

After carbohydrate, protein is the second most abundant constituent of rice. When compared to that of other grains, rice protein is considered one of the highest quality proteins.

Rice is low in fat and cholesterol free.

Rice contains negligible amounts of sodium, with less than 5mg sodium per 100g serve. It is therefore a super food for those who need to watch their salt intake.

Both white and brown varieties of rice contain essential vitamins and minerals, including B-group vitamins (e.g. thiamin, niacin) zinc and phosphorus. Brown rice contains more nutrients and fibre than white rice since it retains the bran and germ, where many of the vitamins and minerals are found.

The bran layer of brown rice provides valuable dietary fibre. One cup (160g) of cooked brown rice contains around 2.4g of dietary fibre, which equates to 8% of an average man’s daily fibre needs and 9.6% of an average woman’s daily fibre needs.

Rice is gluten free and the most non-allergenic of all grains.

To retain nutrients, do not rinse rice under water before or after cooking.

Brown rice contains natural oils in the bran, so it has a shorter shelf life than white rice.  It’s best to refrigerate or freeze brown rice to extend its shelf life.

Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Illustrator: Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz)

Cover artist: Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz)

Country:United Kingdom

Language: English

Series Weekly: 30 April 1859 – 26 November 1859

Genre: Novel, Historical, Social criticism

Publisher London: Chapman & Hall

Publication date: 1859

Media type: Print (Serial, Hardback, and Paperback)

A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set inLondon and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature.

The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period.

It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events. The most notable are Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Carton is a dissipated British barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay’s wife.

The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly installments in Dickens’ new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. From April 1859 to November 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers. Dickens’ previous novels had appeared only as monthly installments.

The first weekly installment of A Tale of Two Cities ran in the first issue of All the Year Round on 30 April 1859. The last ran thirty weeks later, on 26 November.

Thailand

Capital: Bangkok, population 8 million

Major Cities:  Nonthaburi, population 265,000  Pak Kret, population 175,000  Hat Yai, population 158,000  Chiang Mai, population 146,000

Government: Thailand is a constitutional monarchy under the beloved king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has reigned since 1946. King Bhumibol is the world’s longest-serving head of state. Thailand’s current Prime Minister is Yingluck Shinawatra, who assumed office as the first ever female in that role on August 5, 2011.

Language: Thailand’s official language is Thai, a tonal language from the Tai-Kadai family of East Asia. Thai has a unique alphabet derived from the Khmer script, which is itself descended from the Brahmic Indian writing system. Written Thai first appeared around 1292 A.D.

Population: Thailand’s estimated population as of 2007 was 63,038,247. The population density is 317 people per square mile.   The vast majority are ethnic Thais, who make up about 80% of the population. There is also a large ethnic Chinese minority, comprising about 14% of the population. Unlike the Chinese in many neighboring Southeast Asian countries, the Sino-Thai are well-integrated into their communities. Other ethnic minorities include the Malay, Khmer, Mon, and Vietnamese. Northern Thailand also is home to small mountain tribes such as the Hmong, Karen, and Mein, with a total population of less than 800,000.

Religion: Thailand is a deeply spiritual country, with 95% of the population belonging to the Theravada branch of Buddhism. Visitors will see gold-spired Buddhist stupas scattered all across the country.   Muslims, mostly of Malay origin, make up 4.5% of the population. They are located primarily in the far south of the country, in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla Chumphon.   Thailand also hosts tiny populations of Sikhs, Hindus, Christians (mostly Catholics), and Jews.

Geography: Thailand covers 514,000 square kilometers (198,000 square miles) at the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

The Thai coastline stretches for 3,219 km along both the Gulf of Thailand on the Pacific side, and the Andaman Sea on the Indian Ocean side. The west coast was devastated by the Southeast Asian tsunami in December of 2004, which swept across the Indian Ocean from its epicenter off Indonesia.   The highest point in Thailand is Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters (8,415 feet). The lowest point is the Gulf of Thailand, at sea level.

Climate: Thailand’s weather is ruled by the tropical monsoons, with a rainy season from June through October, and a dry season beginning in November. Average annual temperatures are a high of 38° C (100° F), with a low of 19° C (66° F). The mountains of northern Thailand tend to be much cooler and somewhat drier than the central plain and coastal regions.

Economy: Thailand’s “Tiger Economy” was humbled by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, when the GDP growth rate plummeted from +9% in 1996 to -10% in 1998. Since then, Thailand has recovered well, with growth at a manageable 4-7%.

The Thai economy depends mainly on automotive and electronics manufacturing exports (19%), financial services (9%), and tourism (6%). About half of the workforce is employed in the agriculture sector, and Thailand is the world’s top exporter of rice. The country also exports processed foods like frozen shrimp, canned pineapple, and canned tuna.

Thailand’s currency is the baht.

WHAT IS Email ?

Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson invented internet based email in late 1971. Under ARPAnet several major innovations occurred: email (or electronic mail), the ability to send simple messages to another person across the network (1971).

Ray Tomlinson worked as a computer engineer for Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN), the company hired by the United States Defense Department to build the first Internet in 1968.

Ray Tomlinson was experimenting with a popular program he wrote called SNDMSG that the ARPANET programmers and researchers were using on the network computers (Digital PDP-10s) to leave messages for each other.

SNDMSG was a “local” electronic message program. You could only leave messages on the computer that you were using for other persons using that computer to read.

Tomlinson used a file transfer protocol that he was working on called CYPNET to adapt the SNDMSG program so it could send electronic messages to any computer on the ARPANET network.

The @ Symbol

Ray Tomlinson chose the @ symbol to tell which user was “at” what computer. The @ goes in between the user’s login name and the name of his/her host computer.

First Email

The first email was sent between two computers that were actually sitting besides each other. However, the ARPANET network was used as the connection between the two. The first email message was “QWERTYUIOP”.

Ray Tomlinson is quoted as saying he invented email,”Mostly because it seemed like a neat idea.” No one was asking for email.

Smoking

Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with approximately 1 trillion being sold from country to country each year. At a global take of more than $400 billion, it’s one of the world’s largest industries.

 The nicotine content in several major brands is reportedly on the rise. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Health Department revealed that between 1997 and 2005 the amount of nicotine in Camel, Newport, and Doral cigarettes may have increased by as much as 11 percent.

Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and 43 known carcinogens.

Urea, a chemical compound that is a major component in urine, is used to add “flavor” to cigarettes.

The ‘Cork Tip’ filter was originally invented in 1925 by Hungarian inventor Boris Aivaz, who patented the process of making the cigarette filter from crepe paper. All kinds of filters were tested, although ‘cork’ is unlikely to have been one of them.

In most countries around the world, the legal age for the purchase of tobacco products is now 18, raised from 16, while in Japan the age minimum is 20 years old.

Contrary to popular social belief, it is NOT illegal to smoke tobacco products at any age. Parents are within the law to allow minors to smoke, and minors are within the law to smoke tobacco products freely. However, the SALE of tobacco products is highly regulated with legal legislation.

Smoking bans in many parts of the world have been employed as a means to stop smokers smoking in public. As a result, many social businesses have claimed a significant drop in the number of people who go out to pubs, bars and restaurants.

Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 14 years of their life due to smoking. This however does not necessarily mean that a smoker will die young – and they may still live out a ‘normal’ lifespan.

Cigarettes can contain more than 4,000 ingredients, which, when burned, can also produce over 200 ‘compound’ chemicals. Many of these ‘compounds’ have been linked to lung damage.

Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.

Sugar approximates to roughly 20% of a cigarette, and many diabetics are unaware of this secret sugar intake. Also, the effect of burning sugar is unknown.

‘Lite’ cigarettes are produced by infusing tobacco with CO2 and superheating it until the tobacco ‘puffs up’ like expanding foam. The expanded tobacco then fills the same paper tube as ‘regular’ tobacco.

Smokers draw on ‘lite’ and menthol cigarettes harder (on average) than regular cigarettes; causing the same overall levels of tar and nicotine to be consumed.

Marina Bay Sands

Address:10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956

Opening date

Grand opening – 15th Febuary 2011

Official opening – 23 June 2010

Preview opening – 27 April 2010

No. of rooms: 2,561

Permanent shows: Disney’s The Lion King

Signature attractions:

Sands SkyPark, The Shoppes atMarina Bay Sands, The Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Bay Floral, MarinaBay Club, MarinaBay Sands Art Path, ArtScienceMuseum and Wonder Full

Notable restaurants :

CUT, DB Bistro Moderne, SavoySingapore, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine, SANTI, Waku Ghin, Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza, Hide Yamamoto, Rasapura Masters, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Chinois by Susur Lee

Casino type: Land-Based

Owner: Las Vegas Sands Corp

Website: marinabaysands.com

Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort frontingMarina Bay in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion, including cost of the prime land.

With the casino complete, the resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m2) convention-exhibition centre, the 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m2), The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum, two large theatres, seven “celebrity chef” restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world’s largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.

The complex is topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67m.

The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe Safdie Architects. The local architect of record was AedasSingapore, and engineering was provided by Arup and Parsons Brinkerhoff (MEP). The main contractor was Ssangyong Engineering and Construction.

Originally set to open in 2009, Las Vegas Sands faced delays caused by escalating costs of material and labour shortages from the onset. The severe global financial crisis also pressured the company to delay its projects elsewhere to complete the integrated resort.

Although Marina Bay Sands has been compared on scale and development costs to MGM’s CityCenter, the latter is a mixed-use development, with condominium properties (comprising three of the seven main structures) being sold off.

The resort was officially opened with a two-day celebration on 23 June 2010 at 3.18 pm, after a partial opening (which included the casino) on 27 April 2010.

The SkyPark opened a day later on 24 June 2010. The theatres were completed in time for the first performance by Riverdance on 30 November 2010.

The indoor skating rink, which uses artificial ice, opened to a performance by Michelle Kwan on 18 December 2010. TheArtScience Museum opened to the public and the debut of a 13-minute light, laser and water spectacle called Wonder Full on 19 February 2011 marked the full completion of the entire Integrated Resort.

The grand opening of Marina Bay Sands was held on 17 February 2011. It also marked the opening of the seven celebrity chef restaurants. The highly-anticipated Broadway musical The Lion King debuted on 3 March 2011.

The last portion of the Marina Bay Sands, the floating pavilions, were finally opened to the public when the two tenants (Louis Vuitton and Pangaea Club) opened on 18 September 2011 and 22 September 2011 respectively.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola’s original formula included extracts of the African kola nut and coca leaves, both strong stimulants. It was one of those patent medicines sold in the 1800′s that actually contained traces of use “spent coca leaves“.

It also stopped advertising Coca-Cola as a cure for headaches and other ills. Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games began their association in the Summer of 1928.

In Africa, during WWII, when German forces over ran allied bases stocked with Coke, they would strap Coke bottles wrapped in towels to their aircraft wings, fly around for a short time, then land  and enjoy ice cold Coca Cola’s.

When WWII began, the company’s use of sugar in the manufacturing of syrup for civilian consumption was restricted to 50% of its pre-war average due to rationing.

The rationing ended in August, 1947. If all the Coca-Cola ever produced to this point were to gush from “Old Faithful” at its normal rate of 15,000 gallons every hour, the geyser would flow continually for over 1,685 years.

Another way of putting that fact—if the geyser had been continually erupting since 313 A.D., it would just be running out about now.

In Brazil, a local bottler makes 3-day trips up the Amazon River to deliver Coca-Cola to remote locations. The slogan “Good to the Last Drop” was first used by the Coca-Cola Company in 1908. It later became the slogan for Maxwell House coffee.

Cuba and Panama were the first two countries to bottle Coca-Cola outside of the U.S. Coca-Cola trucks travel over 1,000,000 miles a day to supply consumers with soft drinks.

The greater Mexico City bottler produces the greatest volume of any Coca-Cola bottler on the globe. Coca-Cola was first shipped in used whiskey kegs and barrels, but they were painted red to give them a distinctive mark. The color red has been associated with the product ever since.

It took 58 years–until 1944–to sell the first billion gallons of Coca-Cola syrup. Today, that billion gallon mark falls approximately every 7-1/2 months.

Coca-Cola products are now sold in approximately 200 countries and their logo is written in over 80 languages.

Coca-Cola is the world’s most recognizable trademark—recognized by 94% of the world’s population! If all the vending machines in the United States were stacked one ontop another, the pile would be over 450 miles high.

The consumption of Coca-Cola Classic in the U.S. exceeds each of the following: bottled water, juices, powdered drinks, wine and distilled spirits.

There are 7,000 Coca-Cola products consumed worldwide every single second.

More than 5 billion bottles of Coca-Cola were consumed by military personnel during WWII In 1943, an American soldier stationed in Italy received 2 bottles of Coca-Cola sent from home. He raffled them off at 25 cents a shot and made over $4,000 for charity.

In 1886, sales of Coca-Cola averaged 9 drinks a day. That first year, John Pemberton sold only 25 gallons of syrup. For his efforts, he grossed $50.00 and spent $73.96 in advertising.

Diet Coke is known as Coca-Cola Light in most countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. It is the most popular diet cola worldwide.

The first outdoor sign advertising Coca-Cola still exists. It was originally painted in 1894 and is located in Cartersville, Georgia.

By the 1950′s, automobile service stations sold more Coca-Cola than they did motor oil.

In July, 1985, Coca-Cola became the first soft drink to be enjoyed in outer space…on the Space Shuttle Challenger. A special company-developed space-can was used.

Asa Candler, owner of Coca-Cola from 1891-1919, later became mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.