You’ve probably heard the saying, “As American as baseball, mom and apple pie.” Well, the original author of that famous phrase left something out. Chocolate is all-American too. So as you celebrate Thanksgiving over a meal with friends and family this year, take a moment to consider how chocolate has helped to shape the American experience for more than three centuries.

People tend to associate chocolate with European culture, yet the confection’s roots are actually a whole lot deeper in the Americas. The trees that grow the cacao beans, ultimately made into chocolate, actually originated in the tropical regions of the Americas. Chocolate didn’t find its way to Europe until Christopher Columbus brought the cacao bean back to Spain from his “New World” adventure. So, to eat and drink chocolate is to share a common connection throughout American history from before the Revolutionary War into the 21st century. (Read more)

Every week the media comes out with a new story of another amateur or professional athlete using steroids. For athletes and health fanatics it seems they are willing to do whatever they believe is necessary to get results, and ignore the risk involved in using illegal substances.

According to studies and research, using anabolic steroids merely inflates your muscles (hence the term "juiced") and does not provide permanent results. There are also several harmful side effects of steroid use, like diabetes, rage, aggression, uncontrollable mood-swings and significant changes to body systems that are not natural to the user's gender.

Several years ago, a widely respected and still used natural supplement Endothil CR entered the market. Dr. David Summers, the creator of Endothil CR, says that body builders and athletes are using this product instead of steroids to build and sustain strength and muscle mass.(Read more)

Scientists in Japan have identified a gene variant that may be linked to narcolepsy -- a condition marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, impaired vision and muscle weakness.

It occurs in 1 out of 2,500 individuals in the United States and Europe, but is at least 4 times more frequent in Japanese.

The researchers analyzed the genomes, or DNA, of 222 narcoleptic Japanese and 389 others who did not have that condition, and one gene variant occurred with significant frequency among those with narcolepsy, they wrote in a paper published in Nature Genetics. (Read more)

Are you one of the millions of frustrated taxpayers who cannot afford to pay their IRS tax debt? If you fail to pay your taxes the IRS can garnish your wages, place a levy against your home, seize your assets or level even more serious penalties. Time is not on your side and the longer you wait the more problems will grow. If you find yourself in this predicament, a tax professional can assist in negotiating an abatement of your penalties. (Read more)

Driving intoxicated is not only dangerous, but getting caught can come with a hefty price tag. In 2006, intoxicated drivers contributed to 32 percent of traffic fatalities, or 13,470 deaths. By taking some precautions, you can avoid a costly DUI and stay safe on the road.

A BAC of .08 percent is now considered legally intoxicated in all 50 states. If you're caught driving at or above this level, you'll get arrested and handed a heavy fine. But that's only the start. For years afterward you'll have to deal with increased insurance rates, legal bills, licensing fees and other court appointed expenses. After it's all said and done, costs go well into the five figures. (Read more)

Keep Kids Looking Great on a Budget

How much will you spend on new clothes this fall? According to the U.S. Census, Americans spent $7.5 billion on back-to-school shopping in 2007, or roughly $140 per child. With prices everywhere on the rise in today’s economy, Americans are looking for ways to get more for their money from brand names they know and trust.

Shopping for back-to-school clothes is a proverbial tug-of-war between parents and their kids. Parents want great value from outfits that will last throughout the school year, while kids mostly just want to look “cool.” (Read more)

After eight hours of sleep, our bodies feel refreshed, but dehydration and low sugar levels from hours of not eating can leave us dragging. That’s why eating breakfast is such an important part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Even if your mornings are rushed, there are easy ways to make sure you get your breakfast and enjoy it. (Read more)

A model poses in a room of the Alcatraz hotel in the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern September 19, 2008. The hotel, built in a former prison from 1867 today offers a total of 57 rooms, with original carceral beds, lattice bars and pass-throughs in the heavy steel doors. Guests can sleep in convict uniform pyjamas and enjoy their drinks in the 'Behind Bars' ('Hinter Gittern') bar.

It may be hard to wrap your mind around the nearly $50 billion experts say identity theft cost Americans in 2007. Until it happens to you . . . and you find yourself losing thousands of dollars and as much as 40 hours of your life trying to rectify matters.

While identity theft still happens in traditional ways - unshredded financial documents pilfered from the trash or checks stolen from the mailbox - ID thieves know the big bucks come from online avenues. Criminals are increasingly using high-tech tools to steal identities online, including spyware, adware, malware, viruses and phishing.(Read more)

PC maker Hewlett-Packard says it plans to slash nearly 25,000 jobs from its work force over the next three years as it integrates its newly acquired technology services company Electronic Data Systems into its operations. Nearly half of the cuts will affect U.S. jobs. (Read more)

Viruses, Trojan horses, adware and spyware can wreak havoc on your computer and make you wish it had simply crashed. Some computer users believe their computer is automatically protected when it's not, while others feel anti-virus software is an unnecessary expense. Without protection, what can viruses and spyware do to your computer?

A virus is malicious software attached to real software programs. For example, a virus may be programmed to attach to a word processing software. Every time you run the program, the virus runs too. It can attach to other programs and cause significant damage. Some viruses come as e-mail attachments. When you open the attachment, you expose yourself to the virus. (Read more)

It was a busy time for pole dancers in Amsterdam at the weekend.

While the red light district's troupe were gyrating as usual, a host of girls from Albania to Spain flew in to compete for the European pole dance championship title.

Wearing sportswear reminiscent of Olympic gymnasts rather than skimpy leotards, girls performed gravity-defying dance routines based around two 6-metre poles -- one rotating, one fixed. (Read more)

Woodworkers and do-it-yourselfers have been using electric routers for nearly 100 years. They are great for shaping edges in wood or plowing out mortises for hinge installation -- and many home improvement enthusiasts have purchased a router specifically for one of these purposes. Unfortunately, after that first job is done many routers end up in storage seldom to be used again.

The router is probably the most underutilized tool in the average home workshop, according to Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, a manufacturer and retailer of router tables and accessories. When attached to a router table, however, a router can become a do-it-yourselfer’s most versatile instrument. (Read more).

A new museum devoted to the pop supergroup ABBA will not open as planned next year, although organizers say the project will definitely still go ahead.

It won't be possible to open the ABBA museum in Stockholm in 2009.

A 100-year-old waterfront building was being renovated for the four-level, 6,500-metre museum, and in a separate release, the organizers said it was not certain the originally planned site will be used. (Read more)

Nicole Kidman was named the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood in the second annual list of least bankable stars by U.S. magazine Forbes, taking the top slot from fellow Australian Russell Crowe. (Read more)

Could this be true? Flying saucer seen by many. (Watch video)

And experts claim it is the real thing.

Restaurants have one major purpose: to stuff you with as much food as they possibly can. If they do that, they achieve their primary business goal, which is to lighten your wallet.

But while they’re doing that, they’re also using their best marketing tricks, craftiest numerical switcheroos, and most dastardly dietary stratagems to swap unhealthy, cheap ingredients for more expensive, wholesome ones. The result: bloated bottom lines — for their budgets, and for their customers. But we don’t want to let that happen to you, which is why we’ve spent the last two years researching all the ways restaurants try to sabotage your food choices. (Read more)

A lot of us are out there watching what we eat and exercising, but still not making a dent in our bellies and body weight. There are a few things we are probably not doing, or doing too much of, that would mean major improvements in our health. (Read More)

Few things that you can do besides eating well and exercising that will expedite your physical transformation. (Click here to read more)

Losing weight and changing one’s eating and fitness lifestyle is hard work -- that’s a given -- but maintaining a weight loss is even harder. There's no longer the challenge of juggling numbers or the reward of seeing them drop, and keeping up the enthusiasm and dedication necessary to stay at the weight that you worked hard to get to doesn't come easy. (FULL ARTICLE)

My sister Liza ("Inday") is a mentor and a person to look up to (picture in left features me & her from our younger sister's wedding last June). She is smart, hardworker, focused and fun. She is very talented and gifted. She wins on every competition she joins and she is very humble. She is successful and has a wonderful family. She lives in one of the cities in the southern state of the US now with her family. I see her and her family from time to time and the last time I saw them was almost 3 months ago in the Philippines. Happy birthday to you sis. Missed you.