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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Getting along with colleagues helps you live longer...

Getting along with colleagues helps you live longer

Getting along with your fellow workers can significantly increase your lifespan, a university report has suggested.

Happy office environment
According to latest research friendly work environment and a positive relationship with your co-workers has long-term health benefits Photo: ALAMY
A friendly work environment and a positive relationship with your co-workers has long-term health benefits, according to the latest research.
Dr Sharon Toker of the Department of Organizational Behavior at Tel Aviv University's Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration says that employees who believe that they have the personal support of their peers at work are more likely to live a longer life.
"We spend most of our waking hours at work, and we don't have much time to meet our friends during the weekdays," explains Dr Toker. "Work should be a place where people can get necessary emotional support."
Dr Toker and her TAU colleagues Prof. Arie Shirom and Yasmin Alkaly, along with Orit Jacobson and Ran Balicer from Clalit Healthcare Services, followed the health records of 820 adults who worked an average of 8.8 hours a day through a two-decade period. Those who had reported having low social support at work were 2.4 times more likely to die sometime within those 20 years, says Dr Toker.
The study has been published in the journal Health Psychology.
The 820 study participants were drawn from adults aged 25 to 65. Researchers controlled for various psychological, behavioral or physiological risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and depression, and administered a questionnaire to participants, who were drawn from a wide variety of professional fields including finance, health care and manufacturing.
Researchers asked about employees' relationships with their supervisors, and also assessed the subjects' evaluation of their peer relationships at work, and whether their peers were friendly and approachable, a reflection of emotional and professional support. Dr Toker suspects that the perception of emotional support was the strongest indicator of future health.
During the course of the study, says Dr Toker, 53 participants died, most of whom had negligible social connections with their co-workers. A lack of emotional support at work led to a 140% increased risk of dying in the next twenty years compared to those who reported supportive co-workers, she concluded.
While building a supportive environment for employees may seem intuitive, Dr Toker says that many workplaces have lost their way. Despite open concept offices, many people use email rather than face-to-face communication, and social networking sites that may provide significant social connection are often blocked.
To make an office friendlier to health Dr Toker suggests coffee corners where people can congregate to sit and talk; informal social outings for staff members; an internal virtual social network similar to Facebook; or a peer-assistance program where employees can confidentially discuss stresses and personal problems that may affect their position at work anything that encourages employees to feel emotionally supported, she says.

Noel Coward telegram to Agatha Christie found in old bureau....


Telegram sent by Noel Coward to congratulate Agatha Christie on The Mousetrap found in back of old bureau

  • Coward: 'Much as it pains me, I really must congratulate you on breaking the long run record...'
  • Christie's play had beaten his Blithe Spirit, the previous record holder
Last updated at 8:29 PM on 5th August 2011
    A telegram from playwright Noel Coward and a bill for 'ladies' delicates' sent to author Agatha Christie more than half a century ago have been discovered - in the back of an old bureau.
Stunned furniture restorer Clive Payne, 46, was fixing up the valuable 18th century piece, bought at auction in 2006, when the two crumpled letters fell out.
Coward's telegram, sent from Bermuda and dated September 1957, congratulated the author on her play The Mousetrap breaking the record for the longest running West End show.
Long lost: The telegraph sent by Noel Coward to Agatha Christie more than half a century ago
Long lost: The telegraph sent by Noel Coward to Agatha Christie more than half a century ago
He signs off: 'All my good wishes, Noel Coward.' The valuable typed telegram was discovered alongside an old 1952 receipt for Agatha Christie's underwear - for £562 in today's money - inside the antique bureau.
Shocked Mr Payne told today how he unravelled the mystery.
He said: 'I opened the letter and I could not believe it when it was addressed to Agatha Christie.
'I was doubly amazed when I saw it was from Noel Coward. Then I opened the receipt as well - it is a bit strange knowing the intimate details of someone so well-known.
'As a restorer you probably only get this once in a career. It's fantastic.' 
Treasure trove: Agatha Christie's bureau where the telegram and receipt were found
Treasure trove: Agatha Christie's bureau where the telegram and receipt were found
The shimmering pine bureau, plastered in a thick walnut veneer, is believed to date from around 1710 and contains three secret drawers.
Author Christie bought the furniture piece in the 1950s and may have used it to pen many of her famous crime novels - including legendary detectives Miss Marple and Poirot.
The bureau was snapped up by an anonymous collector at auction in 2006, when part of the crime novelist's estate went up for sale from her home on the River Dart, Devon.
The secret collector - who still does not want to be identified - took the dilapidated bureau to be touched up by expert restorer Mr Payne, from Lechlade, Glos.
Prolific: Dame Agatha Christie (pictured here in March 1971) wrote more than 80 detective novels
Prolific: Dame Agatha Christie (pictured here in March 1971) wrote more than 80 detective novels
Mr Payne said: 'The bureau had been in my workshop for three or four years.
'A client had bought it in with lots of other furniture after buying it at auction.
'As part of the restoration process I needed to remove its back. The usual dirt and muck fell out, but also two pieces of paper.
He unfolded the paper and was amazed at what he saw.
The telegram congratulates Agatha Christie on her play The Mousetrap breaking the record for the longest running show in London's West End.
Noel Coward begrudgingly sent the note after Christie's play had beaten his own, Blithe Spirit, which had held the previous record.
The note reads: 'Dear Agatha Christie, much as it pains me I really must congratulate you on The Mousetrap breaking the long run record.
'All my good wishes, Noel Coward.' The other piece of paper turned out to be a receipt for model lingerie, housecoats and night wear from 1952 - addressed to a Mrs Mallowan from a shop in London.
It details a £24.13s.6d order. After a bit of research Mr Payne cracked the mystery - discovering that Christie's married name after her second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930.
Secret drawers: The receipt for Agatha Christie's underwear, found in the antique bureau
Secret drawers: The receipt for Agatha Christie's underwear, found in the antique bureau
The two valuable documents, which both now belong to the anonymous owner of the bureau, are not expected to be sold.
Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie's grandson, said the letter would have caused his grandmother much pleasure.
He said today: 'I'd have thought to have had acknowledgement of her achievements at The Mousetrap running so long would have pleased her very much.
Gracious: Noel Coward congratulated Agatha Christie on beating his record for the longest running show in London's West End
Gracious: Noel Coward congratulated Agatha Christie on beating his record for the longest running show in London's West End
'The opinion of her peers and fellow entertainers meant a lot to her.' P
rolific writer Christie penned more than 80 crime novels, featuring some of the country's best-loved fictional detectives, including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
She is widely regarded as the best-selling author of all time and was made a Dame five years before she died in 1976, aged 85.
The Torquay-born author is also known for her successful plays - including The Mousetrap.
The Mousetrap, a murder mystery, opened in London's West End in 1952 and became the longest running play on September 13, 1957.
Incredibly, it is still running today and has notched up more than 24,000 performances worldwide.
The play is also known for its twist ending, which the audience is asked not to reveal at the end of every performance.
English playwright Coward wrote more than 50 plays before his death in 1973.
Comic play Blithe Spirit - whose record was broken by The Mousetrap - notched up 1,997 performances after appearing in the West End in 1941.
Record breaking: The Mousetrap has notched up more than 24,000 performances worldwide
Record breaking: The Mousetrap has notched up more than 24,000 performances worldwide


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022837/Telegram-sent-Noel-Coward-Agatha-Christie-congratulating-The-Mousetrap-old-bureau.html#ixzz1UFxuCWad

Nudist club angered at plans to be overlooked by new building...


Naked anger over plans to build a tower block overlooking naturist club (surely they can’t be shy, can they?)

Last updated at 11:52 AM on 6th August 2011
    A nudist club with 300 members has been left fuming after a council approved plans for a tower block overlooking its grounds.
The White House Club in Whyteleafe, Surrey, boasts that its members can swim in the nude in its 50ft outdoor swimming pool, relax in its sauna, or play tennis on its two outdoor courts.
Naturists can also enjoy nude ping pong, basketball, badminton and bowls and take part in a range of events, including barbecues and sing-songs in the confines of the five acre club.
The cheek of it: A nudist club with 300 members has been left fuming after a council approved plans for a tower block overlooking its grounds (picture posed by models)
The cheek of it: A nudist club with 300 members has been left fuming after a council approved plans for a tower block overlooking its grounds (picture posed by models)
But the 'paradise' is now set to come to an end after the local council gave the green light to knock down a disused office block just 300 yards away and replace it with a five-storey block of flats.
Nudists are 'furious' with Tandridge District Council after its planning committee approved the 167-flat tower block, saying residents will be able to see them in the 'altogether' as they prance around in the buff.
    The club, which opened in 1933, has a membership ranging in age from two to 90 and counts nurses, teachers, electricians and an airline pilot in its ranks and had 10 bedrooms for residents to stay in.
    White House Club director David Mason, speaking after planning permission was granted this week, said that scores of members had complained to the council and that he was 'disappointed' with the decision.
    He said: ‘We're disappointed at the decision.
    The site: The White House Club in Whyteleafe, Surrey, (located by the red arrow) - and the five-storey tower block is to be constructed across the road (marked by white circle)
    The site: The White House Club in Whyteleafe, Surrey, (located by the red arrow) - and the five-storey tower block is to be constructed across the road (marked by white circle)
    ‘Our members playing tennis or standing in front of our clubhouse can be overlooked, especially when the screening trees' foliage is down.
    ‘We want to see measures put in which preclude overlooking, and protect our environment, which has been a haven of tranquillity and recreation for more than 70 years.’
    Naturist and mother-of-two Wendy, 33, from Croydon, added: ‘This is a lovely, relaxed place where the children and I can come and enjoy its privacy.
    ‘I would be concerned if an overlooking building attracted undesirable elements.’ 
    Another nudist, who did not want to be named, said she would 'not feel comfortable' being overlooked by so many people.
    The 26-year-old secretary said: ‘I certainly would not feel comfortable with people watching me swimming, sunbathing or playing tennis in the nude.
    ‘Not that I'm ashamed of my body, but I don't want any Tom, Dick or Harry staring at me from their windows.’
    Reconstruction: The site which is soon to be turned into a five-storey tower block
    Reconstruction: The site which is soon to be turned into a five-storey tower block
    The club's website states that it is a great place to 'unwind', adding: ‘Our beautiful naturist club is one of the nicest places to exercise, unwind and enjoy being naked in nature.
    ‘Whether you want to swim naked every morning or simply enjoy getting an all-over tan during a summer weekend, our club is there for all our members to enjoy.
    ‘The fun doesn't stop when winter comes - our pool is kept at 28C all year and is well used whatever the British weather brings.
    ‘Skinny-dipping in our 50ft swimming pool is reason enough to join the club, but other sports include tennis on our two full-size tennis courts and we have indoor and outdoor table tennis, an exercise room, a badminton court, a basketball hoop, a volleyball area and a picturesque and very popular Boules court.’ 
    The club even has a 'fully-stocked' bar, TV room and conservatory and regularly hosts gigs, poetry readings, concerts, dinner parties and sports days.
    Councillor Sakina Bradbury said this week: ‘Putting homes in must be better than what's there now.’
    As part of the plans the builders - Comer Homes - must include 40 affordable homes in the 167-flat block and building is expected to start in the next several months.


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023102/Naked-anger-plans-build-tower-block-overlooking-naturist-club.html#ixzz1UFwou4wU

    Friday, August 5, 2011

    At just 78 sq ft, is this the smallest flat in the US ?....


    Is this the smallest apartment in America? $800 a month 'shoebox studio' in Manhattan is just 78 square foot

    Last updated at 9:01 PM on 5th August 2011
    If you find your apartment a bit claustrophobic at times, spare a thought for this young New Yorker.
    Architect Luke Clark Tyler designs grand houses for clients from his tiny 78 square foot shoebox apartment.
    There is no space for a kitchen, or bathroom, and he had to build a bed from scratch because it is too narrow to fit full-sized ones inside.
    Scroll down for video
    Tiny: Mr Tyler works from home, even though the apartment is so small
    Tiny: Mr Tyler works from home, even though the apartment is so small
    The smallest? Mr Tyler's place is perhaps the tiniest apartment in America
    The smallest? Mr Tyler's place is perhaps the tiniest apartment in America
    Handy: Mr Tyler likes having such a small place - so he can rest his feet on the walls
    Handy: Mr Tyler likes having such a small place - so he can rest his feet on the walls
    The bed doubles as a sofa - and as a storage unit for clothes and odds and ends.
    With no kitchen, a microwave is hidden away with his shoes and a fridge is built into the desk at which he spends most of the day working.
      He keeps toiletries in his closet and shares a bathroom with three other apartments.
      Set in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, the location couldn't be better, which might explain why Mr Tyler spends so much on so little space.
      Proud: Mr Tyler shows off his closet/ toiletry cabinet/shoe rack/kitchen cuopboard
      Proud: Mr Tyler shows off his closet/ toiletry cabinet/shoe rack/kitchen cuopboard
      Crammed: The microwave sits next to the sneakers, beneath a printer, which is next to the cutlery and below his clothes
      Crammed: The microwave sits next to the sneakers, beneath a printer, which is next to the cutlery and below his clothes
      His rent is $800 a month, which is cheap for the area but extortionate considering the cost per square footage ratio.
      The average rental price per square foot in a studio is $72 but Mr Tyler is paying almost twice as much at $123.07.
      Mr Tyler, who downsized from a 96 square foot apartment, remains upbeat, seeing the apartment as conveniently snug, rather than constricting.
      Clever: The self-made sofa doubles as a bed to save space
      Clever: The self-made sofa doubles as a bed to save space
      Ingenious: The sofa, which doubles as a bed, triples as a storage unit!
      Ingenious: The sofa, which doubles as a bed, triples as a storage unit!
      Inconvenient: If Mr Tyler want running water, he has to use the bathroom he shares
      Inconvenient: If Mr Tyler want running water, he has to use the bathroom he shares
      Location: The apartment is set in the heart of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan
      Location: The apartment is set in the heart of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan
      'I just use it as an excuse not to buy an Ottoman because... I can just prop my feet right up on the wall,' he said.
      Mr Tyler, 27, keeps books, cutlery, plates, cleaning products, spices, a microwave, sneakers, clothes and his toothbrush in one small cupboard.
      Despite the limited supply of space, he still has a 'man drawer'.
      'Having lived in both the largest shelter in the South East as well as the largest slum in East Africa, I don’t think living small is a challenge,' he said.
      'So we can call it anything; a room, a hallway, a live-in-closet, but to me it’s just home.'

      Watch the video


      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022915/Is-smallest-apartment-America--800-month-shoebox-studio-Manhattan-just-78-sq-ft.html#ixzz1UDKxjnOn

      The Quirky Globe hits one-year-old...

      A year ago this month The Quirky Globe first hit the airwaves publishing unusual, off-the-wall and weird stories from news sources around the world. The numbers have steadily increased to where we have had a total number of 140,180 views over the last 12 months from virtually every country from around the world.
      Please continue to keep coming back to discover the next weird news story and pass the link to friends who might enjoy a smile during a hectic day. The Quirky Globe thanks you all.

      'Mr Bean' survives crashing his 240mph McLaren F1 into a tree...


      Rowan Atkinson escapes with a broken shoulder as 240mph supercar smashes into tree and bursts into flames

      Last updated at 10:01 PM on 5th August 2011
      AS Mr Bean, he always left chaos in his wake. 
      Now Rowan Atkinson has been involved in a real-life disaster, crashing his 240mph supercar as he drove home from work on a spoof spy movie.
      The comedy star lost control of his McLaren F1, careering across the carriageway and into a tree and a road sign before the £635,000 sports car burst into flames.
      Scroll down for video of Rowan Atkinson on Top Gear...
      Carted away: The supercar is taken from the crash site today. The Blackadder star crashed the McLaren once before, in 1999, when he was in collision with a Rover Metro in Lancashire
      Serious repair: The supercar, pictured being taken from the crash site, has suffered considerable damage to the rear carbon fibre bodywork
      Rescue: Emergency services rushed to the scene to check on Atkinson who managed to free himself from the wreck. The fire service confirmed that the car was in flames after it left the road
      Rescue: Emergency services rushed to the scene to check on Atkinson who managed to free himself from the wreck. The fire service confirmed that the car was in flames after it left the road
      He had managed to escape from the wreckage when the flames took hold in the engine bay.
      Atkinson was taken to hospital with a  fractured shoulder after the incident on Thursday evening. 
      He was discharged yesterday but left Peterborough City Hospital in a wheelchair and without comment. Onlookers said he was manoeuvred into the back of a Harley Street private ambulance and driven away.

      TOP GEAR FASTEST LAPS:

      Suzuki Liana (2002–2005)
      1:46.7 – Ellen MacArthur
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      1:45.83 – Jay Kay
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      1:45.9 – Brian Johnson
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      1:42.2 – Rowan Atkinson
      1:42.8 – John Bishop
      1:43.5 – Ross Noble
      The accident comes a month after the renowned ‘petrol head’ set the fastest time on a lap of the Top Gear track during the BBC motoring show’s ‘star in a reasonably priced car’ segment. 
      The incident on the A605 at Haddon in Cambridgeshire is the second time the comedian has crashed the F1, which he bought in 1997 following the success of his Mr Bean film. 
      In 1999 he ploughed the vehicle into the back of a Rover Metro in Lancashire, but the damage this time is likely to be rather more substantial. Pictures of the car taken before it was loaded on to a recovery truck show the sports car – the fastest road car in production when it was launched in 1992 – suffered extensive rear damage to its carbon fibre bodywork. 
      Atkinson’s agent Peter Bennett-Jones said his client had been driving to his Northamptonshire home after editing his latest film Johnny English Reborn, a sequel to the 2003 movie Johnny English, about a clumsy English spy which parodies the James Bond genre. 
      Mr Bennett-Jones said: ‘He is shaken but not stirred.
      ‘I think he was in pain and had some painkillers and stayed in hospital because obviously he didn’t have a car to get home. It is nothing more serious than that. He will be very rattled by the whole thing and I think he’ll want to keep as low profile as possible.’ 
      How the car measures up 
      Cambridgeshire police said no one else was involved in the crash, which forced the road to be closed for an hour while wreckage was cleared. 
      Atkinson was given a routine breath test at the scene which proved negative and no charges are likely to follow.
      He once said he ‘derives pleasure from  anything four-wheeled, from a go-kart to a Bentley’, and has owned a £125,000 Aston Martin Virage and a vintage Rolls-Royce. 
      Only 106 McLaren F1s were produced,  costing £635,000 when new and going from 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds.
      A spokesman for McLaren said the car would be taken to its headquarters in Woking, Surrey, to assess the damage.
      Comedy gold: Rowan Atkinson in his role as the hapless Mr Bean - who would have certainly being flustered by today's events
      Comedy gold: Rowan Atkinson in his role as the hapless Mr Bean - who would have certainly being flustered by today's events
      Smash: Rowan Atkinson's £650,000 McLaren F1 spun several times, smashed into a tree and ploughed into a road sign before catching fire on the opposite side of the carriageway
      Smash: Rowan Atkinson's £650,000 McLaren F1, seen in the aftermath of the crash. The car spun several times, smashed into a tree and ploughed into a road sign before catching fire on the opposite side of the carriageway
      Damage: Atkinson is said to have pulled himself free and was looked after by a passing motorist until emergency services arrived on the A605 near Peterborough
      [caption
      Accident: The front of the car was wrecked in a previous collision with the rear of a Rover Metro in Lancashire, in October 1999
      Accident: The front of the car was wrecked in a previous collision with a Rover Metro in Lancashire in October 1999
       


      Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022680/Rowan-Atkinson-cheats-death-240mph-supercar-bursts-flames-hitting-tree.html#ixzz1UBxY21YP