Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service launched in February 2004, owned and operated by Facebook,  As of September 2012, Facebook has over one billion active users,more than half of them using Facebook on a mobile device.Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends".
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and eventually to anyone aged 13 and over. However, according to a May 2011 Consumer Reports survey, there are 7.5 million children under 13 with accounts and 5 million under 10, violating the site's terms of service.

A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social networking service by worldwide monthly active users.Entertainment Weekly included the site on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?" Critics, such as Facebook Detox state that Facebook has turned into a national obsession in the United States, resulting in vast amounts of time lost and encouraging narcissism. Quantcast estimates Facebook has 138.9 million monthly unique U.S. visitors in May 2011. According to Social Media Today, in April 2010 an estimated 41.6% of the U.S. population had a Facebook account. Nevertheless, Facebook's market growth started to stall in some regions, with the site losing 7 million active users in the United States and Canada in May 2011.

The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by some university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other. Facebook allows any users who declare themselves to be at least 13 years old to become registered users of the site.

Tress The Forgotten 

TREES are on the front lines of our changing climate. And when the oldest trees in the world suddenly start dying, it’s time to pay attention.

We have underestimated the importance of trees. They are not merely pleasant sources of shade but a potentially major answer to some of our most pressing environmental problems. We take them for granted, but they are a near miracle. In a bit of natural alchemy called photosynthesis, for example, trees turn one of the seemingly most insubstantial things of all sunlight into food for insects, wildlife and people, and use it to create shade, beauty and wood for fuel, furniture and homes. For all of that, the unbroken forest that once covered much of the continent is now shot through with holes.

Humans have cut down the biggest and best trees and left the runts behind. What does that mean for the genetic fitness of our forests? No one knows for sure, for trees and forests are poorly understood on almost all levels. 

Without trees, our urban communities are hotter in summer, colder in winter and dirtier year round. Trees make cities livable: They cool us with shade, protect us from wind, filter pollutants, control flooding and soil erosion, provide homes for wildlife and a green respite from stress. Dying and neglected street trees signal a neighborhood in decline. Lush tree canopies mean higher property values.

Gone With The Wind

Gone with the Wind is a novel written by Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. It is often placed in the literary sub-genre of the historical romance novel. However, it has been argued the novel is a "near miss" and does not fit the romance genre, making it simply a historical novel.

The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. It depicts the experiences of Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to come out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's March to the Sea.

Margaret Mitchell began writing Gone with the Wind in 1926 to pass the time while recovering from an auto-crash injury that refused to heal. In April 1935, Harold Latham of Macmillan, an editor who was looking for new fiction, read what she had written and saw that it could be a best-seller. After Latham agreed to publish the book, Mitchell worked for another six months checking the historical references, and rewrote the opening chapter several times. Mitchell and her husband John Marsh, a copy editor by trade, edited the final version of the novel. Mitchell wrote the book's final moments first, and then wrote the events that led up to it. 

Olympian Gods

In Greek Mythology, the twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon , were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, residing atop a mythical Mount Olympus. The Olympians gained their supremacy in the Great War in which Zeus led his siblings to victory over the Titans.

There are twelve Olympian gods in the Greek Mythology.

(1) Zeus - He overthrew his Father Cronus to become the supreme ruler of the gods. He was lord of the sky, the rain god and the cloud gatherer. His weapon was a thunderbolt which he hurls at those who displease him. He was married to Hera but, was famous for his many affairs.

  (2)Poseidon -  the brother of Zeus. Poseidon was a son of Cronus and Rhea. Like his brothers and sisters except for Zeus, Poseidon was swallowed by his father.He was the lord of the sea. He was widely worshiped by seamen. He married Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus. His weapon was a trident, which could shake the earth, and shatter any object. He was second only to Zeus in power among the gods.

(3)Hades - the brother of Zeus. He was made lord of the underworld, ruling over the dead. He was a greedy god who was greatly concerned with increasing his subjects. Those whose calling increase the number of dead were seen favorably by him. He was also the god of wealth, due to the precious metals mined from the earth. He had a helmet that made him invisible. He rarely left the underworld.

 (4)Hera - was Zeus' wife and sister. She was raised by the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was the protector of marriage and takes special care of married women.Most stories concerning Hera have to do with her jealous revenge for Zeus' infidelities. Her sacred animals were the cow and the peacock. Her favourite city was Argos.

 (5)Ares - the son of Zeus and Hera. He was disliked by both parents. He was the god of war. He is considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a coward. When caught in an act of adultery with Aphrodite, her husband Hephaestus was able publicly ridicule him. His bird was the vulture. His animal was the dog.

(6)Athena - the daughter of Zeus. She sprang full grown in armor from his forehead, thus has no mother. She was fierce and brave in battle but, only fights to protect the state and home from outside enemies. She was the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture.

(7) Apollo - the son of Zeus and Leto. His twin sister was Artemis. He was the god of music, playing a golden lyre. He was the god of the archer, far shooting with a silver bow. The god of healing who taught man medicine. The god of light. The god of truth, who cannot speak a lie.

(8) Aphrodite - the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts, she had a magical girdle that compelled anyone she wished to desire her. in many of the myths involving her, is characterized as vain, ill-tempered and easily offended.

(9) Hermes - the son of Zeus and Maia. He was Zeus' messenger. He was the fastest of the gods. He wore winged sandals, a winged hat, and carried a magic wand. He was the god of boundaries and of the travellers who cross them, literature and poets, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general, of liars, and of the cunning of thieves.

(10) Artemis - was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Her twin brother was Apollo. She was the lady of the wild things. She was the huntsman of the gods. She was the protector of the young. Like Apollo, she hunted with silver arrows.

(11) Hephaestus - was the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes, it was said that Hera alone produced him and that he had no father. He was the only god to be physically ugly. He was also lame. He was the god of fire and the forge.

(12) Hestia - Zeus' sister. She was a virgin goddess. She was the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the house around which a new born child was carried before it was received into the family.

Smoking at Young Age May Raise MS Risk

Hi guys , i was searching on the internet and I found one interesting topic I think to myself that , may help some of our friends  (those who smoke)
Study Shows Higher Risk of Multiple Sclerosis for Smokers Who Start Smoking Habit Early

 Youngsters who start smoking before age 17 may be putting themselves at increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis, a new study suggests.

Researchers studied 87 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who were among more than 30,000 people who took part in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey.

The people were divided into three groups: nonsmokers, early smokers who started before age 17, and late smokers who started in 17 or later.

The people who started smoking before age 17 were 2.7 times more likely than nonsmokers to develop multiple sclerosis, the researchers say.

People who started smoking at 17 or later did not show an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis compared to nonsmokers, according to the researchers.

About 32% of the MS patients were early smokers, compared to 19% of the people who didn't develop the disease, the researchers say.

"Studies show that environmental factors play a prominent role in multiple sclerosis," says study researcher Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "Early smoking is an environmental factor that can be avoided."

The study findings took into account sex, race, age, marital status, education, income level, and region.

The researchers say limited studies in the past also have suggested smoking as a risk factor for MS.

Their findings are to be presented April 25-May 2 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle.

And also I can add this , some health effects of smoking among young people 

• Smoking hurts young people's physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance—even among young people trained in competitive running.(1) On average, someone who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day lives 7 years less than someone who never smoked.

• The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers.

• Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For most smoking-related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke.

• Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don't smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don't smoke.

• Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint.

• Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.
  
  

Caterpillar

The history of Caterpillar started with it’s founding in 1925. After WWI, its first European base, the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Ltd, was set up in Great Britain. This was the first of a long series of expansion in Europe and abroad to help manage foreign exchange shortages, tariffs, import controls and better serve customers around the world. In 1931, the company created a separate engine sales group to market diesel engines to other equipment manufacturers. This group was replaced in 1953 with a separate sales an marketing division to better serve the needs of a broad range of engine customers. Engine sales now account for approximately one-third of the company's total sales and revenue. In 1963 the United States company signed a joint venture with the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Caterpillar has managed to develop engines designed specifically for various applications, achieving considerable international success and widening its commercial horizons. Since 1985, the Caterpillar range of products has been widely diversified to meet the needs of a great variety of clients. Caterpillar has become one of the most impressive industrial giants on the international engine panorama. Working on different fronts, Caterpil