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Chicago, Arlington House Youth Hostel, Friday, October 21, 6:05 am So here I am again, on another short excursion away from home. I’ve been awake for an hour already and decided the best thing is to get up and put my first impressions on paper. Since there is only a one hour time difference between Toronto and Chicago I decided yesterday I wasn’t even going to change my watch over. So when I came down this morning to use the free computer at the Arlington Youth Hostel in Chicago, I realized it’s not 7 am, but actually, only 6 am. Well, even better, that’ll give me more chance to explore. A trip to Chicago has been in the works for a while. I have been here twice before, once in 2001 with 3 of my friends, and once in April of 2003 to meet my friend Linda who I have known from back home in Austria since we are 10 years old. You realize you are getting old when you can say to someone that you have known them for 30 years… So Linda, who now lives in Indiana, and I decided to reunite in Ch

General Motors is going through a cataclysmic change, one that will certainly pull the company out of its current financial plight or result in bankruptcy, even the possible dissolution of the company. In a quest to right the listing ship, the company is divesting itself of several brands including its share of Isuzu, Fuji Heavy Industries [Subaru], and others. As far as its wholly-owned brands, speculation has been rife that one, two, maybe even three brands might be discontinued or sold. Two of the most talked-about makes for possible divestment are Hummer – the niche military-style SUV brand – and Saab – the Swedish automaker. Although both brands are currently fairly weak, GM has maintained that the two makes will not only survive but receive fresh product and backing. Let’s take a look at two of GM’s most vulnerable brands and what the company may have in store for each one. Saab — Saab enthusiasts have been highly disappointed ever since General Motors snapped up the Swedish aut

Workstations at the workplace are indispensable. Not only at offices but people of all age groups use computers at home too. If you are a person who sits on the computer for more than one hour a day then you must be aware of the pains in muscles and bones that make you restless most of the time. There is a need for ergonomic computer chairs that nurse our bodies while we work. What are these ergonomic computer chairs? Why should I purchase one? What are the features of an ergonomic computer chair? When we work at a computer for several hours a day pressure is built on our muscles and skeleton. Continuous pressure results in multiple muscle pains. Moreover, if ignored they can lead to repetitive stress injuries or carpal tunnel syndrome. All these pains and ailments are due to continuous tensing of muscles. Tension in muscles is caused due to bad postures we take during the course of the day. Thus, the need for ergonomic computer chairs arises. These chairs are built keeping user’s com

Well, here we are in February and many people are celebrating St. Valentines. It is a good time to think about love and relationships to put a bit of warmth in our lives after a long winter. Today, I would like to look at what love is. The English language only has one word for love and it is used interchangeably for almost everything. We can say I love my husband and I love Chocolate. Both are using the same word and it is only by the context that we can ascertain the difference. The Greeks, on the other hand, have four different words to describe love. Each word gives a different nuance to the word that helps us understand more fully what is being spoken of. I want to look with you at the four Greek words for love. These are: 1) Eros 2) Storge 3) Philia 4) Agape Eros: The first type of love we are all familiar with. Our English word Erotica is derived from this word. Sadly, some people never get passed this type of love and base their relationships purely on sexual attraction. This

Summer is here and so are the Fleas!  Amid the joy of seeing the arrival of Summer, your headache of having to deal with fleas is really not something that you would look forward to. Many people have deemed flea control as an uphill task and some has even thought that it is simply impossible to get rid of fleas or even to keep them under a tolerable level.  Is that really true? Well, not if you follow what I would call an integrated plan to flea control. The reason why many people failed in their attempts is that they just simply do not understand the whole life cycle of the fleas. It's not only fleas that you are dealing with. You have to be aware that killing off the adult fleas would not solve your problem. You have to deal with the problem as a whole and that means you have to deal with the eggs, the larva and the pupae from which the fleas are developed. Many people do not realize this and hence are complaining that is just a “mission impossible”. Your choice of a flea-contro