social outcast

'Invisible man' Lin Bolin to wow the world | Travel News | News.com.au

A HUMAN chameleon who disappears into his surroundings is set to amaze the world with an art exhibition.

Liu Bolin, a young Beijing-based artist, has become know as the “invisible man” due to his ability to use his own body as an art material.

The 36-year-old chameleon paints himself, appearing to blend in with the backdrop.

Gallery Picture: See Lin Bolin's amazing images

Pictures show him barely visible among his surroundings, including bulldozers, flags, buildings and signs.

A perfectionist, Mr Bolin often works on a single photograph for up to 10 hours, surprising many passer-bys when he finally moves.

Mr Bolin said his inspiration came from feeling like a social outcast.

"Some people call me the invisible man, but for me it's what is not seen in a picture which is really what tells the story,” Mr Bolin told the UK’s Telegraph.
Related Coverage
"I experienced the dark side of society, without social relations, and had a feeling that no one cared about me, I felt myself unnecessary in this world.

Mr Liu says his work is also a protest against the government, who shut down his art studio in 2005.

The YU Gallery in Paris will be hosting a Liu Bolin one-man show during October.

His exhibition has gone on display in countries around the world including China, Paris and New York.

The symptothermal method

BBC NEWS | Health | Natural contraception 'effective'

A natural family planning method is as effective as the contraceptive pill, German research suggests.

The symptothermal method (STM) assesses fertility levels during the monthly cycle by measuring body temperature, and observing cervical secretions.

The Human Reproduction study found using STM correctly led to a rate of 0.4 pregnancies per 100 women per year.

UK experts said natural family planning was effective - provided it was taught properly and carried out correctly.

A University of Heidelberg team assessed STM in a study of 900 women.

The lowest pregnancy rate was found among women who abstained from sex during their most fertile period, as defined by STM.


SYMPTOTHERMAL METHOD
Start of fertile period:
The first fertile day is when the woman first identifies either: 1) first appearance or change of appearance of cervical secretion, or 2) the sixth day of the cycle.
After 12 cycles, this second guideline is replaced by a calculation that subtracts seven days from the earliest day to show a temperature rise in the preceding 12 cycles.
End of fertile period:
The fertile phase ends after the woman has identified: 1) the evening of the third day after the cervical secretion peak day, and 2) the evening when the woman measures the third higher temperature reading, with all three being higher than the previous six readings and the last one being 0.2 degrees Celsius higher than the previous six.

Among those who used a barrier method during this time, such as a condom, the pregnancy rate rose to 0.6 pregnancies per 100 women per year.

Even among those women who had unprotected sex during the fertile period, the pregnancy rate was only 7.5 pregnancies per 100 women per year - around a quarter of the rate one would usually expect.

The researchers believe this was because the women probably only had unprotected sex around the boundaries of their most fertile period.

For a contraceptive method to be rated as highly effective it should lead to less than one pregnancy per 100 women per year when used correctly.

Effective alternative

Lead researcher Dr Petra Frank-Herrmann said: "We maintain that the effectiveness of STM is comparable to the effectiveness of modern contraceptive methods such as oral contraceptives, and is an effective and acceptable method of family planning."


CHANGE IN CERVICAL SECRETION
The amount of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone varies in the menstrual cycle, which alters the quantity and the consistency of cervical mucus
Just before ovulation the secretions become clearer, wetter, stretchy and slippery, like raw egg white

STM is governed by a precise set of rules, which do take some time to learn.

Some studies have suggested that a woman's libido is higher during her fertile period, and this could be one of the reasons why natural family planning methods have had a reputation for being less effective than other methods of family planning.

However, Prof Frank-Herrmann said: "There are studies that suggest that this is only the case for a small proportion of women, and that, in fact, women also identify other parts of their cycle with increased sexual desire."

Toni Belfield, of the Family Planning Association (FPA), said: "Natural family planning when taught properly and carried out correctly is a highly effective method of family planning.

"Research has always shown that combining two or more fertility indicators is more effective than relying on a single fertility indicator.

"FPA has always provided full information about natural family planning as this is an important contraceptive choice for women to know about and use."

ADD

Self-Help for Adult Add / Adhd: Managing Symptoms and Getting Focused

Remember: What you pay attention to grows. The things we neglect tend to die. If you're paying attention to your weaknesses, then your weaknesses are going to grow. That's why it's so important to pay attention to what you do well. You "grow" your strengths and talents by focusing on the things you do well.

egalitarian nation

Opinion | News.com.au

Definitely I agree with the view that Australia is the most egalitarian nation. Been there for 3 years.

We are the most egalitarian nation on earth. It is the best aspect of our culture. We take everyone as we find them and we don't like or encourage bigheads.

If we happen to see the PM on the street, we don't call him "Prime Minister", we call him Kevin, and heaven help him if he insists on any honorific other than "mate".

Let's hope it stays that way.

Overseas, things are already way out of hand. Google Suri Cruise and you get 1,680,000 hits.

Creepy websites contain nothing but hundreds of pictures of her.

facebook is sued of sharing too much personal info

Facebook sued for being too popular | News | News.com.au

* Facebook sued in US courts
* Users angry about losing privacy
* Facebook says it's up for a fight

FIVE Facebook users are suing the social network for doing what made it an online superstar - letting members share aspects of their lives on the web.

A lawsuit filed yesterday in a southern California court accuses Facebook of being a data-mining operation that does not deliver on promises to give users strict control of data uploaded to profile pages.

Facebook has dismissed the lawsuit as being without merit and promised a legal battle. The suit asks for unspecified cash damages.

One of the parties to the suit is a woman who joined Facebook in an early phase when membership was limited to the college crowd.

Then-Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 as a way for college friends to remain connected as their lives grew apart.

The suit accuses Facebook of betraying the woman by evolving into an open social network that now claims more than 250 million members worldwide.
Related Coverage

* Sony: PS3 drops in size, price
* Facebook testing Twitter-like versionAustralian IT, 13 Aug 2009
* Users don't rate Facebook's latest lookNEWS.com.au, 14 Mar 2009
* Facebook update a risky moveCourier Mail, 11 Mar 2009
* Facelift for FacebookAustralian IT, 5 Mar 2009
* Reader's Comments: Please don't leave, says FacebookNEWS.com.au,

Your Say

I was opposed to face book for a while, and YES I think being careful with the service is important. But this is just another example of people not taking responsibility for themsel...

(Read More)
Helen Rath of Wagga Wagga

Other plaintiffs named in the suit are identified as a photographer and an actress who contend Facebook is wrongly sharing pictures posted on their profile pages.

The remaining plaintiffs are young boys that the suit charges should not have been permitted by Facebook to join or post images or comments. Facebook requires members to be ages 13 or older but there is no viable tool to confirm ages of those creating accounts.

One plaintiff is an 11-year-old boy who joined Facebook and then posted that he had swine flu and uploaded pictures or videos of "partially-clothed" children swimming, according to the lawsuit.

Facebook has steadfastly maintained that its members own information they post to profile pages and control who gets to see it.

Facebook has repeatedly revised its terms of service to appease privacy concerns of users while allowing for the technical side of running a social networking service.

Last month, Facebook announced it is testing a tiered level of privacy options including "all of your friends, your friends and people in your school or work networks and friends of friends".

There is also an option to publicly share with everyone on the web in what is being seen as an effort by Facebook to compete with the hot micro-blogging service Twitter.