The Pool Shark

Our new generation's swimming wonder boy, Michael Phelps. His coach of 12 years recognized his potential earlier on and said he'll make it to Sydney 2000. Although he finished 5th on the finals, five months later, he became the sport's youngest male world-record holder when he claimed the 200m fly mark. He then won 6 gold and 2 bronze medals in Athens 2004. For Beijing 2008, he won eight gold medals and broke the record of Mark Spitz's single games record for gold medals in Munich 1972. Phelps swam 17 times over nine days and broke the world record in four of his five individual swims.

At first glance, Phelps might look like a typical swimmer. But several of his physical characteristics seem genetically tailored for swimming. His 6-foot-7-inch wingspan is three inches longer than his height, providing him with unusual reach. His torso is long compared to his legs, enabling him to ride high on the water. And his flexible ankles, combined with size-14 feet, allow for a powerful kick. Add to that more than a decade of high-intensity training, and you get one of the fastest swimmers in history.

Whether he retires tomorrow or joins London 2012, it's no contest, Michael Phelps is the greatest olympian. All his fans, including myself, will be following his career until he retires. This guy is indeed a bullet underwater. His matches are so exciting and it's hard not to hold your breath until he touches the end wall of the pool. His fire, his intensity, his passion for swimming is what inspires me more to watch the sport.

Can a Relationship Recover from Infedelity?

The hardest part to a relationship comes at the end when it is over. The beginning is wonderful and full of excitement and freshness. It is very alluring and the goodwill that is created can carry a relationship through hard times. However, newness fades and the relationship stales. Many times when everything else has been tried, thoughts of ending the relationship come into play. How do you know it is time to move on? Being realistic about your feelings is the first step.You need to assess your wants and needs to see if they have changed. Then look at your partner and assess him or her, as he or she is, and evaluate whether they fit into the grander scheme of your life. While your life should be lived in the present and each day made as special as it can be, it is not wise to ignore what the future may bring. If you are being abused, hurt, cheated on, or lied to then chances are the relationship will not survive.

If the issue has been brought up repeatedly, and remains unresolved, then your own happiness must become paramount. The connection you have with your partner should never include one of a degrading and insulting nature. Think about the future you are creating. Consider the extra burden you are carrying in dealing with your partners' behavior. Is he a shameless flirt? Is she bossy and demanding? Insecurity and lack of confidence can lead to problems down the road. Relationships are not about control and manipulation. When those factors enter into the relationship, and cannot be removed, it is time to end it. Do you truly enjoy each others company? Do you find yourself relieved whenever you part company? If a sense of relief occurs within you at your partners leaving, then this is a large sign that should not be ignored. Relationships need communication and closeness to survive.

If you're finding yourself wishing your partner were gone more than you wish they were there, the end is near. Evaluate your role in maintaining the relationship. Relationships are a two-way street. Each person has to be involved in giving and taking. When one person takes more and does not reciprocate, the relationship begins to wane. Equal participation and reciprocation in a relationship is imperative to its survival. Does your partner show by actions that you are still important? As they say, actions speak louder than words. Your partners actions may change over time, but the attentiveness in their actions should not change. If your partner continually forgets to call, or ignores your calls, you have to ask yourself if this is acceptable to you. If not, then decisions will need to be made. Do you feel accepted and appreciated? What can really be said in response to this question?

If you are not feeling appreciated and you have discussed it with your partner and nothing changes, Move On. Each person has to assess why he or she is in the relationship and how much mistreatment he or she is willing to accept in that relationship. Eventually, continued neglect between partners will result in hard feelings and a hurtful end to the relationship. Keep in mind that this assessment should be made after one feels they have made all the attempts necessary to revive the relationship. It's when the good memories are stripped from you because the truth changes the perspective that hurts. The cheating doesn't hurt - it's the loss of the dream, the loss of faith, the loss of trust - it's seeing someone you love in a light that makes you hate what they've done...and the duality of holding the love and the hate in the same place in your heart at the same time. Hating someone actually hurts less than saying, "I don't love you anymore." Saying that hurts less than saying, "I trusted you and now I don't."

I have a friend I speak to about the philosophical things in life...a friend I do not always agree with, but whom I respect his opinion, even when different than mine. I spoke to this friend this morning about trust. He said we don’t need to know the whole truth to make decisions - effectively, when you know someone has cheated on you, you just needed to make the decisions based on the information you have - cut your losses and move forward.
To my friend, I mentioned something about learning from my mistakes. He asked me what my mistake was. I said, "Trusting again." He told me that trusting wasn't a mistake, that you have to go into every relationship and extend the trust, no matter the risk. The mistake would have been not trusting. He's right. (and I don't admit that to him often), but he is right. You can't come at a perspective when someone has cheated on you and ask, "What did I do wrong."

There is nothing you did so wrong that warrants someone cheating on you. If the relationship is bad, if you did do something wrong, then the other person has the right to talk to you, to confront you, or if worse comes to worst, to leave you...but he or she doesn't have the right to cheat. Cheating is the cheater's mistake - not yours. You did nothing wrong that deserve you having been cheated on. Even if you made mistakes in the relationship, even if you withheld intimacy, even if you and your partner fought constantly, there is nothing that justifies cheating - period. Nothing. The other party can leave, break it off, ask for a divorce, or do any number of other things in response to a relationship gone bad, but cheating is never an acceptable solution. But the question I have to ask is - can you recover from the cheating - yes. Can you recover from the loss of trust and ever be able to extend it - to "allow without fear" ever again? I don't think so, at least not to that person. But one cannot judge other people by the mistakes that the people from our past have made.

That isn't fair. Barbara De Angelis was once quoted as saying, “If he cheats once, get help. If he cheats twice get out.” Not bad advice, really, because sometimes one can make a mistake and realize all they stood to lose in choosing to cheat. When that happens, if the party who cheated realizes this, makes amends, and comes back together to the relationship with total honesty, that relationship could actually become stronger than it was before, because they will realize just what they stood to lose and will do everything in their power not to lose it again. However, if the cheater cheats again, then it’s time to let go and move on to better relationships. There can be no trust without faithfulness, no trust without lies, no trust without cheating, and where there is not trust, there is no chance to “allow without fear” again.

Diet Myth

Myth #1 Dieting Alone is Enough to Loose Weight

While you can loose weight by dieting alone, it really isn't the right approach. You should
be concentrating on having a diet that is rich in healthy foods that provide your body
with all the nutrients it needs. Healthy foods tend to be low in calories, so this can lead to
weight loss. Think of any weight you loose as an added bonus to providing your body with
the food it needs to run properly. This approach can help keep you from loosing
motivation in your quest to lighten up.

Myth #2 Certain Foods Can Slow or Speed up Metabolism

I'll make this simple: it just doesn't happen. Additionally, dieting does not get rid of the
fat that is most dangerous of all. That is the fat that is located inside of you, around your
internal organs. The only way to lower you internal fat levels is through exercise. This is
why people who aren't over weight still need to exercise. You can have lots of fat on
the inside even if you appear slim on the outside.

Myth #3 Weight Loss Shakes Help You Loose Weight

There is nothing special in weight loss drinks. They are not magical potions that somehow
make the pounds come off faster or easier. Weight loss can only happen when you
create a calorie deficit. That means your body needs to burn more calories in a day
than you eat in food. When this happens, the body taps into its stores of fat to get
energy and you loose weight. If you eat two 300 calorie shakes a day along with a 500
calorie meal that is 1100 calories. If that is less than you were eating before, you'll
probably loose weight. It doesn't matter where those 1100 calories come from. If you
eat 1100 calories of shakes or fries or apples a day you'll loose weight. Don't
waste your money on diet shakes.

Myth #4 You Can Loose Lots of Weight

Quickly with Fad Diets, Pills, or Patches Please don't ever, ever fall into the trap of
fad diets. It will only be a huge waste of your time and money. No matter how good
the offer sounds, it isn't true. The body just does not work the way fad diet companies
want you to think. Weight gain happens slowly and thus weight loss must happen
slowly as well. There is no way to cut corners.

Myth #5 You Can't Eat Chocolate

It is so unfair that people continue to think you can't eat chocolate when you want to
loose weight. Technically, there isn't anything you can't eat during weight loss.
The key is to keep everything in moderation. Perhaps you should avoid high calorie foods
that you know you'll eat too much of. Otherwise, if you really want some cheese
puffs, have a couple. Just don't eat half the bag.

Like I said, there are no ways to cut corners when it comes to weight loss. It takes hard work, and it takes time.

"Miracle Pills?"

If you want to lose weight, the answer is always simple: eat right and move more. Its what doctors and scientific studies have always endorsed. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or energy to go through a rigorous exercise program, and the results (10 pounds a month) can be frustrating. All work, and you did not even drop a dress size? That`s what make slimming products like diet pills so enticing: no stress, no fuss, instant result, too.

Many diet pills are very effective( based on my own experience), clinically proven and manufactured by respected pharmaceuticals. But there`s something to keep in mind: No matter how good a diet pill is they re design to be taken with the guidance of a doctor, trained to weigh the possible side effects against your medical history. When you take it on your own, just talking to your friends and swore "its work on me!" you immediately put yourself on risk. Some dangers include pulmonary problems, liver failure, and heart damage. Side effects can vary depending on your medical history.

Here are some of the diet pills :



REDUCTIL

Maker: Abbott
Cost: 124 per capsule
Dosage: Initial starting dose is one 10 mg-capsule per day
Side Effects: Insomnia, constipation, dry mouth and
small increase in blood pressure.





XENICAL

Maker: Glaxo Smith Kline
Cost: 900 for a box of 30
Dosage: 1-2 capsule before meals
Side effects: known to cause excess gas, oily discharge
and loose stools.









XANDO

Maker: Reborn
Cost: 3,600 for a box of 60
Dosage: 1-2 capsule right before meal (maximum of 6 cap. per day)
Side effects: gas and bloating

Reality of Our Life

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods, and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce,fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it does not cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.