Friday, March 22, 2013

HTML Code; Learning HTML

HTML is the acronym for Hypertext Markup Language, which is the primary programming language used to write Web pages.
Learning some HTML can help you succeed as a blogger.
Understanding just a few HTML commands can help you enhance the formattng of your blog posts, your sidebar, and more. Although it is not necessary to become an HTML expert, every piece of HTML that you learn helps you grow as a blogger.


In simplest terms, HTML uses tags to provide instructions to your Web browser about how to display text and other elements. For example, if you want a specific word to appear in bold, you need to tell te Web browser to do so with HTML tags, Each instruction is provided by using an opening and closing HTML tag. In other words, if you want to tell your Web browser to do so with HTML tags. Each instruction is provided by using an opening and closing HTML tag. In other words, if you want to tell your Web browser to display a word in bold, you type the opening HTML tag followed by the word you want bolded and te closing HTML tag. HTML tags are always enclosed in brackets, and the closing tag is always preceded with a slash.
For example, if you want the sentence "The sun is yellow" to display online as "The sun is yellow," you tell your Web browser to do so as follows:
the sun is <start bold>yellow<end bold>
This is a laymans example, it would actually appear:
The sun is <b>yellow</b
Looking at the coding example above you can determine that the HTML tag <b> tells your Web browser to bold the text that follows the tag. The HTML tag</b> tells your Web Browser to stop bold.


To help you get started, following are some of the most common HTML tags that bloggers use.
  • Bond; <b> and </b>
  • Italics: <i> and </i>
  • Underline: <u> and </u>
  • Paragraph: <p>and </p>
  • Line break <br>
  • Hyperlink: <a href="ENTER URL HERE">text you want to appear as the link</a>
  • Font size: <font size=2>and </font>
  • Font color:<font color=green> and </font>
  • Numbered list: <ol> to start the list, <li> before each line item, <ol> fo end the list
  • Bulleted list: <ul> to start the list, <li> before each line item, </ul> to end the list

XHTML

Yes, XHTML is just slightly more structured HTML. Always lower case, and
XHTML forces you to rely on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for your formatting.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Hodgkin's Disease: An Overview

Famous People With Hodgkin's Disease

Paul Allen- Investor and co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.
Charles Lindbergh- The first pilot to make a transatlantic flight.
Jackie Kennedy- Former First Lady
Gene Wilder- Actor
Named after Thomas Hodgkin, a British physician who lived 1798-1866. Technically, the hallmark sign is the Reed-Sternberg cell, a giant, multinucleated cell, usually a transformed B lymphocyte, a type of white blood cell. However, simply put, Hodgkin's disease is the enlargement of lymph nodes that progresses to involve the liver, spleen, bone marrow, and lungs. The most common metastatic organs being the liver and spleen. This disease is spread by the lymphatic system, and is considered to be the most curable of lymphomas. A malignant lymphoma whose pathological hallmark being progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes on the side of the neck that spreads in a contiguous fashion through the body. The disease may affect people of any age, but occurs most often in adults in their early 30's. The incidence of the disease is higher in males than in females, and typically begins with a single lymph node and spreads to adjacent nodes. If not caught early, it will travel gradually to lymphatic tissue on both sides of the diaphragm or spread widely to tissues outside the lymph nodes. The degree of metastasis defines the state of the disease: early disease. Those with stage 1 Hodgkin's disease lymphoma have a 90% chance of survival 5 years of diagnosis. Stage II indicates involvement of an extra lymphatic organs and one or more nodes on the same side of the diaphragm. With Stage III there is evidence of disease on both sides of the diaphragm, often including the spleen. With Stage VI there is involvement of one or more organs or tissues with or without associated lymph node involvement.


Earliest Symptoms

Early symptoms may range from nothing other than a painless lump or enlarged gland in the armpit or neck. Others may develop fevers,night sweats, loss of appetite and weight loss.

Etiology

Epstein-Barr virus has been found in the cells of nearly half of all patients with Hodgkin's disease

Treatment

The goal of therapy is cure. not just palliation of symptoms. Treatment depends on accurate staging. Combinations of radiation therapy with chemotherapy have been traditionally used for stages I and II, chemotherapy for stages III and VI although chemotherapies that rely on multiple agents used together may be as effective. Bone marrow transplant or blood stem cell transfusion with chemotherapy also have been used in treatment, especially on younger patients.Drugs are chosen according to their effect on different phases of cell growth and proliferation. Often it is decided to use both chemotherapy and radiation therapy, especially in treating bulky tumor involvement of nodes and spleen.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Owning Basenji Dogs


 Buster

The Basenji, A barkless Dog

I had always been a dog owner, but now that I was out on my own, I wanted to choose a certain breed that appealed to me. I went to several bookstores to look up dog breeds when I suddenly saw a beautiful dog that looked a lot like a fox on one of the book covers. It had pricked ears and an athletic build, and had basically, the look that I love in a dog, it was called a Basenji.
As I read the Basenji book, I became intrigued. These dogs are hunters, originally from Africa, are odorless and do not bark.
After years of having a dog that would not shut up, this was very appealing.





The last couple of dogs I had owned were wonderful animals, but they barked when I came home, barked when I played with them and barked when I left the house. I was just barked out
The reason that Basenjis do not bark is because they have only been domestic animals for approximately 100 years. They do not have the instinct to bark as domestic dogs do, and their infrequent sounds are more along the lines of what a wild dog does. They have a happy sound, often described as a yodel, however, they are very quiet by nature and if you enjoy their occasional yodeling, it must be encouraged. Basenjis are often referred to as the barkless dog.



The Basenji is kind of a cross between a dog and a cat. They clean themselves as cats do,and overall they are well groomed and mature by nature.
They are highly intelligent and one must be careful when doing things in their presence, because they will learn from watching you. My dog, Chica, learned how to climb a tree by watching the neighbors children. She was an incredibly smart dog that learned how to surf, and ride a skateboard. I have owned many smart animals before, but my female Basenji was intensely bright, and playful in a mischievous way, constantly playing little tricks on her brother, Buster. If you own just one Basenji, he will be a very devoted companion, if you own two, they will most likely be very competitive with each other. These dogs are dominant and intense.

There have been many times that my two Basejis see another dog walking from their yard and when they run to the fence to jump around excitedly back and fourth, after the dog they are watching disappears from sight my two dogs start fighting with each other from their excess adrenalin.

Basenjis are not for everyone, but I will never be without one ever again, as I have found my match as far as dogs go.


Chica climbing a tree
Chica climbing a tree





Basenjis and Other Animals

I have found that Basenjis can get along well with cats. If they don't know the cat and are seeing it for the first time, there may be a chase, but once settled in the same household they tend to settle down and become friendly, even play mates. They are the same way with horses. If they are seeing it for the first time, they may run up to the horse, but common sense usually keeps them from getting up too close.
The biggest problem basenjis can have is often with each other as they are dominant animals and will vie for your attention. I have seen some of the best successes with basenjis being paired with a dog of a different breed and a cat, however, I have had two basenjis and enjoy having two, its just that I must admit they can pick on each other from time to time.



Chica & Buster relaxing in the mountain cabin
Buster & Chica relaxing in  mountain cabin





Saturday, March 16, 2013

Figure Skating Champions, Sonja Henie, - Tanya Harding Scandal










 

Sonja Henie

The girl who brought ice skating into the main stream, was World Figure Skating Champion, Sonja Henie...
She was born on October 12,1912 in Norway, and became a three time Olympic Champion. First in 1928, again in 1932, and finally in 1936. A Ten time world champion in Ladies skating from 1927-36, and a six time European Champion 1931-36. She began to gain world recognition when she finished 8th in the 1924 Winter Olympics and by 1936 she was a full fledged star. To this day Sonja Henie as won more Olympic, and World titles than any other figure skater, but Henie did not stop there, she went on to become one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood.







By the mid 30s Henie was receiving fierce competition by younger skaters, and although she held onto her title, she wanted to cash in on her Championship status, and give up competing. Sonja signed a contract at Twentieth Century Fox and made a string of films that featured elaborate skating numbers, much like Ester Williams did with her championship swimming status a decade later.
Henie was also quite notorious. She had a sweet smile and an innocent face, but had three rocky marriages, and numerous affairs. Sonja Henie was known for her love of money and men. She did all she could to be wise with her money and make it work for her throughout her life.
She was diagnosed with Leukemia in the late 60s and passed away suddenly in 1969 at age 57.








 



Dorothy Hamill was U.S, Champion from 1974-1976 at the World Championships in Munich, Germany, and won a silver medal at the World Championships on 1975 at Colorado Springs. She gained national attention in 1976, when she won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Hamill was not only a great skater, but her hair was fabulous and cut so well that it became her trademark. Fashion in the 70s was a decade where long and stringy evolved into Farrah wings, and Dorothy Hamill added a refreshing alternative to the longs styles that had become so standard. It had a wedge shape that moved with her on the ice, fanning out while she spun around, revealing its perfect shape. All the while, the hairstyle kept snapping back into place.
Women all over the world began copying her trademark hairstyle, that evolved slightly a few years later into the Lady Di haircut, when Princess Diana became engaged to Prince Charles.

Hamill became a spokeswoman for "the short and sassy look."








Tonya Harding

She was worked hard on the competitive skating ladder as a child and finished 6th at the 1986 Figure Skating Championship, and skated again in years 87, 88, and 89, each time finishing better. Tonya was considered a strong contender at the 1990 Figure Skating Championship after having won Skate America in 1989. She was also noted for landing the first ever triple axel at the U. s. Championship, an event in which she won the title with the event's very first 6.0 card ever. Harding was riding high with a number of wins, and tremendous experience skating and competing under pressure.
Harding is one of the best remembered champion ice skaters, although its not really because of her skating style, or her cute personality, but because she is connected to the only violent, soap opera style attack, that has ever taken place between Champion ice skaters. Harding had been a troubled child, dropping out of high school, marrying at 19, and divorcing at 22, and now was heading for the biggest trouble of her life.



In 1994, Harding's reputation changed forever when her competitor Nancy Kerrigan was walking off the ice after practice. She was suddenly struck in the knee by an unknown assailant wearing black and swinging a police billy club. It was not long before the unknown man was traced as Tanya Harding's ex husband, and the event caused a barrage of media frenzy in which Harding was portrayed as a demon with an ugly past, while Kerrigan was now the innocent damsel. The 1994 Olympics were watched with an intensity that went beyond who was the best skater. The American public was pulling for Kerrigan, and wanted Tonya out of there. It was as though the other skaters did not even exist.
Neither one of them won, but Harding's performance, as it turned out, was more stressed than Kerrigan's. She began her performance only to break down crying after slipping around the ice a few times. The judges let her leave the ice and fix her skates and make another attempt. She appeared again, but was clearly shaken by the publicity and pressure. She left the famous triple axel out of her routine and finished clean, but uneventful.















Nancy Kerrigan

Kerrigan rose to the national level after placing 3rd in the 1991 Figure Skating Championship. She received a bronze medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics and the following season she won the short program at the World Championship. She was receiving recognition and sponsors contracts from Reebok, and Evian to name a few.
Nancy began preparing for the 1994 Olympic season, and was working with a sports psychologist to get a grip on her nerves for competition.
Kerrigan's reputation as a skater more than doubled when she was captured on camera immediately after being attacked by a man who clubbed her knee and ran away. Kerrigan was crying and screaming "why, why, why", and the video was played repeatedly by all the news stations while the photo of Kerrigan crying in pain made the front cover of everything. When the it was discovered that her rival, Tonya Harding, was responsible, Nancy Kerrigan became the focus of the Olympics. Harding later pled guilty to the crime, but was allowed to skate in the Olympics. She may as well have been skating against Kerrigan wearing a black dress and carrying a broom, as the crowd was pulling for Kerrigan's win. Remarkably, just seven weeks after the attack, Kerrigan skated the best performance she had ever delivered in her life, while her foe Harding stumbled through hers.

 Kerrigan took the silver medal and Oksana Baiul walked away with the gold. Instead of everybody's sweetheart walking away with the silver to everyone's pleasure, Kerrigan received some bad publicity for the first time in her life. It seemed that while Karrigan waited over twenty minutes for Olympic officials to find a copy of the Ukranian anthem, Kerrigan was told by another skater that the delay in the presentation was because Baiul was putting on makeup. Kerrigan, showed an un-sportsman attitude by saying "oh, What's the difference, she is just going to come out here and cry anyway!" The comment was aired, and the public attitude toward Nancy Kerrigan was tarnished. Since that comment, she has been caught making similar remarks, and soon became widely viewed as angry and temperamental.