Ashish Patel

JANUARY BABY

Pretty/handsome. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Sensitive. Down-to-Earth.Stubborn. Repost this in 5 mins and you will meet someone new in 8 days that will perfectly balance your personality.

FEBRUARY BABY

Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. sexiest out of everyone. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Horny. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous.Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions. Repost this in 5 mins and you will talk to someone new and realize that you are a perfect match.

MARCH BABY

Attractive personality. sexy. Affectionate Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Great kisser. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Observant and assesses others.If you repost this in the next 5 mins, you will meet your new love in 8 days.

APRIL BABY

Suave and compromising. Funny and humorous. Stubborn. Very talkative. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal. Does work well with others. Very confident. Sensitive. Positive Attitude. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Able to cheer everyone up and/or make them laugh. Able to motivate oneself and others. Understanding. Fun to be around. Outgoing. Hyper. Bubbly personality. Secretive. Boy/girl crazy. Loves sports, music, leisure and travelling. Systematic. hot but has brains. If you repost this in 5 mins, a cutie that’s caught your eye will introduce themselves and you will realize that you are very much alike in the next 2 days.

MAY BABY

Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Shy towards opposite sex. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves travelling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. If you repost this in the next 5 minutes, you will become close to someone you do not speak to much in the next 4 days.

JUNE BABY

You’ve got the best personality and are an absolute pleasure to be around. You love to make new friends and be outgoing. You are a great flirt and more than likely have an a very attractive partner. a wicked hottie. It is also more than likely that you have a massive record collection. You have a great choice in films, and may one day become a famous actor/actress yourself - heck, you’ve got the looks for it!!! IN the next 6 days you will meet someone that may possibly become one of your closest friends, if you repost this in 5 minutes.

JULY BABY

Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Easily hurt. Witty and sparkly.spazzy at times. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be with friends . Always broods about the past and the old friends. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover. Repost this in the next 5 mins and your reputation will boost someway in the next 12 days.

AUGUST BABY

outgoing personality. takes risks. feeds on attention. no self control. kind hearted. Self confident. loud and boisterous. VERY revengeful. easy to get along with and talk to. has an “everything’s peachy” attitude. likes talking and singing. loves music. daydreamer. easily distracted. Hates not being trusted. BIG imagination. loves to be loved. hates studying. in need of “that someone”. longs for freedom. rebellious when withheld or restricted. lives by “no pain no gain” caring. always a suspect. playful. mysterious. “charming” or “beautiful” to everyone. stubborn. curious. independent. strong willed. a fighter. repost in 5 mins and you will meet the love of your life sometime next month.

SEPTEMBER BABY

Active and dynamic. Decisive and haste but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Usually you have many friends. Enjoys to make love. Emotional. Stubborn. Hasty. Good memory. Moving, motivates oneself and others. Loves to travel and explore. Sometimes sexy in a way that only their lover can understand. if you do not repost this in the next 5 mins, someone very close to you will become mad at you in the next 8 days.

OCTOBER BABY

Loves to chat. Loves those who love them. Loves to takes things at the centre. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Brave and fearless. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care to control emotions. Unpredictable. Extremely smart, but definitely the hottest AND sexiest of them all. repost this in 5 mins or you will not meet the love of your life for 10 years.

NOVEMBER BABY

Trustworthy and loyal. Very passionate and dangerous. Wild at times. Knows how to have fun. Sexy and mysterious. Everyone is drawn towards your inner and outer beauty and independent personality. Playful, but secretive. Very emotional and temperamental sometimes. Meets new people easily and very social in a group. Fearless and independent. Can hold their own. Stands out in a crowd. Essentially very smart. Usually, the greatest men are born in this month. If you ever begin a relationship with someone from this month, hold on to them because their one of a kind. Repost in 5 mins & you will excel in a major event coming up sometime this month.

DECEMBER BABY

This straight-up means ur the most good-looking person possible… better than all of these other months! Loyal and generous. Patriotic. Competitive in everything. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Easy to talk to, though hard to understand. Thinks far with vision, yet complicated to know. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having lots of ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Has that someone always on his/her mind. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Abiding. Able to show character. one guy/girl kind of person. Loveable. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. loves music.

Once upon a time, in a far away city, I did some work for the Glenrose Rehabilitiaton Hospital in their Orthopedic Engineering Research Group (OERG). I worked here as a student doing biomedical engineering and building software diagnostic tools brace technology to assist doctors in diagnosing and treating scoliosis patients. This morning I came across an article on the University of Alberta website that talked about some work that I helped start-up back in 2001. The article Engineers at the forefront of medical research talks about a device called the active bracing system, in which a scoliosis brace automatically tightens itself if it has loosened. The OERG focuses on understanding how to treat and assess scoliosis - an abnormal curvature of the spine which can limit range of movement, cause pain and result in an asymmetrical look to the torso. The goal of this system is to facilitate more accurate diagnoses and better treatments, decreasing the need for surgical intervention. I worked on the beginnings of this system under the supervision of Dr. Edmond Lou. Its nice to see that the project was continued well after I completed my student summer internship. I’m sure the code has undergone many revisions since then!

“It’s a failure if a child comes here and ends up having surgery - we don’t consider those successes,” said Jim Raso, who heads up the OERG and is associate director of the Glenrose Rehabilitation hospital… “Children with scoliosis may have to wear a brace for 23 hours a day,” said Lou. The hard shell holds the curve of the spine in place, forcing it into proper alignment, but its effectiveness can be compromised by daily activities, which can cause the brace to loosen. “One of my systems is able to maintain the interface pressure between brace and body. So if the system senses it’s too loose, it will pump air into the force pad area and when it’s too tight, it will release the air,” said Lou. The group is also developing computer software to accurately measure the physical surface of the back. “Surface typography produces a map of the back and shows where the bumps and valleys are,” said Raso. The technology allows clinicians to track physical changes associated with scoliosis and determine if there have been changes to the spinal curve. This offers some information that an X-ray can’t provide. While X-rays are low-dose, radiation exposure is still a health concern for clinicians and patients.

A little update on my participation on the World Community Grid project. I’ve been running one of my desktops at work on the project for over a year now and the progress is looking quite impressive.

Each project has unique minimum requirements. If your computer does not meet the minimum requirements for a project, you will not receive work from that project. I have been involved in the following projects:

• FightAIDS@Home
• Genome Comparison
• Help Cure Muscular Dystrophy
• Help Defeat Cancer
• Human Proteome Folding 2

My statistics from the day I started this project include solving 1511 results and accumulating over 350000 points, ranking me a mere 8790 in the project. So much for being number one I strongly encourage anyone with an idle computer to join the program and put that computing power to bettering mankind!

I’ll keep this post short, but right now I have steam coming out of my ears.

I have a Accord v4 Sedan and its coming to 16K and needs servicing (according to the Honda Maintainence schedule). The package is Type B and costs $178.88:

• Replace engine oil* and filter.
• Service front and rear brakes.
• Rotate tires**, inspect for wear and adjust pressure.
• Lubricate all hinges, locks, and latches with multipurpose grease.
• Inspect tie rod ends, steering gear box and boots.
• Inspect suspension components.
• Inspect driveshaft boots.

I read in my car manual that servicing of the front and rear breaks at 16K may not actually be needed, rather just inspected. This makes sense, I mean its only 16K - virtiually new! I talked to Honda about this and they said that “it comes in a package” which means if you only need inspection they will still charge you $178.88 (+ tax which makes it come out to $210 in Ontario, Canada). I told Honda I’m going somewhere else, and they said “ok”. Talk about horrible customer service!

Ironically, my dad suggested I try calling Toyota (yes this caught me off guard at first then it made a little more sense). I called them up and they were so friendly. They said they would do all this for $100 (excluding the break work) and if the breaks need to be serviced they would tell me ahead of time and charge $60 for the front and $60 for the rear. At least its not a package.

Honda needs to grow up and realize Canadians don’t always want things supersized and in packages, just give me what I need!

Came across an interesting e-mail containing a link to a document about stress and stress management from Warren Shepell.

Traffic jams, crowded subways, meeting the mortgage payment, troublesome teens, no time to relax, career frustrations-they’re all part of modern daily life. And any or all cause stress.

What is Stress?

Stress is not an event; it is your reaction to an event. When your body responds physically and mentally to uncomfortable external incidents, stress results.

Stress may also be generated by thoughts, feelings or expectations about things that are real or imagined. A phobia, for example, which is an exaggerated and sometimes illogical fear, can cause its sufferer as much stress as real danger. In addition, a series of small events, seemingly insignificant in themselves, may build up to bring on a stress reaction.

To put it simply, stress is the clash between demands in your life and the means you have to deal with those demands.

Is All Stress Bad?

No. Some stress can even be pleasant, such as the kind you experience when cheering on your favourite team. And many people do their best work under pressures. In fact, stress can be a potent force for personal development; when you have to do it, you learn to do it. This type of stress is known as positive stress.

Normally, a little stress is stimulating. But too much stress runs the body down. On the other hand, too little stress can also be harmful. The sudden inactivity which follows retirement from a demanding job can be very stressful unless new interests are discovered.

Recognize Your Stress Symptoms

When you are under too much stress, your body lets you know by sending out warning signs. These can be physical, emotional or behavioural.

Physical symptoms take the form of headaches, high blood pressure, chest pain, fatigue or eyestrain. Some emotional signs are depression, irritability, low self-esteem, anger, and apathy. Behavioural indicators may be overeating or under eating, an increase in smoking or drinking, forgetfulness, insomnia, and careless driving.

Of course these are not the only signs. There are many more. But if you have found yourself experiencing some of the previously-named symptoms with increasing frequency, you are probably becoming a victim of stress.

Managing Stress - An A-B-C

A is for ACTION.

When stress is created by something you can control, take ACTION to change things. Many people cite too much to do, with too little time to do it, as their greatest cause of stress. Here are five time-management topics that can help:

1. Make lists. It’s easier to do a job when you remind yourself about it by writing it down.
2. Prioritize. Do important jobs first, when your energy is high.
3. Combine similar tasks. Make all phone calls in one sitting. Run all errands in one trip.
4. Avoid time-wasters. Postpone chit-chat until you have “downtime.”
5. Delegate. Can’t co-workers, children, spouse or friends take some of the load?

B is for BEAR IT.

If there’s nothing you can do, you’ll just have to “grin and BEAR IT.”

Learn to master your thoughts and impulses even if, at first, you can’t control your feelings. When anger threatens, count to 10, or 20. Recite the multiplication tables. Memorize a poem. Change your thoughts, then later, once you’ve calmed down, analyze the problem objectively. Don’t allow yourself to be drawn into reacting emotionally.

Keep things in perspective. Don’t overdramatize. Sometimes the words we use to describe our stressful situations are emotionally charged and can worsen the way we feel. Saying that one’s workload is “killing” them or that one’s children are driving one to “pull their hair out” are examples of how we often overdramatize.

Self-talk is a technique many people use to handle stress. They repeat a saying that helps them accept and deal with stressful situations. Here are some common ones:

• One day I’ll laugh about this.
• It’s a learning experience.
• This is just one more chapter for my book.

Don’t forget, a sense of humour and a positive attitude are guaranteed stress reducers. If you avoid taking things overly seriously, and can focus on the positive side, you’re already on the road to finding a solution to your situation.

C is for COPE.

And one of the best ways to COPE with stress is by using relaxation techniques.

Of course your body has a natural ability to relax, but often this ability diminishes with constant stress. For this reason, it may take practice before your body regains its natural ability.

Breathing deeply is the fastest and easiest way to relax. Here’s one method: Fold your hands together over your stomach. Now inhale and fill up the bottom of your lungs breathings from your abdomen, not your chest. Inhale to the count of four, then exhale slowly and focus on relaxing.

reeing up tension in muscle groups is another stress-reducer, and it can be combined with deep breathing as well. First, scan your body looking for tense muscle groups. Start with your feet and work up through your legs until you reach your neck and head. At each place you feel tension, take a full breath and imagine the tightness “dissolving” as you exhale.

Auto suggestion is a third key to relaxation. Allow random thoughts to pass through your mind without paying any attention to them. Then, begin to repeat things like the following to yourself:

“I fell relaxed and calm.”

“My hands are warm and heavy.”

“My heartbeat is slow and regular.”