harado | Friendster Girls
* Female, 18, Single
* Interested In: Friends
* Member Since: Jul 2007
* Location: Phoenix, OR
* harado's URL: Read More!
harado | Friendster Girls
harado | Friendster Girls
* Female, 18, Single
* Interested In: Friends
* Member Since: Jul 2007
* Location: Phoenix, OR
* harado's URL: Read More!
Sexy Reon Kadena | Friendster Girls
Sexy Reon Kadena | Friendster Girls
* Female, 22, It's complicated TM
* Interested In: Friends
* Member Since: Jan 2008
* Location: 日本国 (Japan)
* Hometown: Osaka
* Company: Asian Angel Honeys, Jav Angel
* Reon Kadena's URL: Read More!
Whitney Leigh has made my day
Shadow Hare and Dark Guardian ... just two of the masked men and women seeking to fight for justice and the American way.
It's certainly not a bird, or a speeding bullet, or a plane. It looks more like a guy in a silly lycra outfit.
Wearing masks and the full superhero get-up, a band of "real life superheroes" are patrolling the world's cities trying to clean up the streets.
So claim the comic book-like crime-fighters, a loose association of costumed do-gooders who say they are taking up the fight for justice for ordinary people.
Boasting names like Dark Guardian, Citizen Prime, and Green Scorpion, the mainly US-based characters say they need to wear outfits to protect their identities from the evil-doers they attack.
Most have MySpace pages where they reveal the philosophy of their superheroism.
Florida superhero Amazonia wrote why she was prompted to strap on the black Zorro-like mask and defend her city, Ocala:
"I finally had enough of seeing the gangs terrorizing the downtown section of my city. They would mug, beat and otherwise harass senior citizens and women.
"So I took up the mantle of Firebird and set out to do what I could to help others."
Many of the superheroes say they are armed with weapons such as stun guns, which can be legally carried in the US.
"Shadow Hare", a 1.7 metre, slight-of-stature 21-year-old Cincinnati resident who carries handcuffs, a stun-gun and pepper spray, boasts: "I've stopped many evil doers ... such as drug dealers, muggers, rapists, and crazy hobos with pipes."
Many of the superheroes' good deeds are of a civic nature - such as volunteering with charities or feeding the homeless.
But some make more bolder claims of actual crime-fighting.
Shadow Hare said he dislocated his shoulder two years ago while helping a woman who was being attacked.
He also said he was working with a San Diego-based superhero called Mr Extreme to "track down a rapist".
On his MySpace page, Dark Guardian writes of the moment he saw two men with baseball bats waiting to beat someone up outside their house late at night.
"I park across the street from them. I wait and watch them. I make sure they see me so they know someone is watching, soon after they leave.
"I didn't have to go and fight two guys with bats to stop a crime. I just made my presence known and they decided to stop what they were trying to do."
On another occasion he writes of confronting a deranged man trashing a store.
"I stood in front of him and made sure everyone got out of the store. I tried talking him down. The store had already called the cops.
"Once the police came he cooperated and was hauled away. If he came at me or anyone else this story would end differently and I would have been in court myself because I had my knife at the ready.
"Glad it ended the way it did."
Some superheroes also formed together under different banners to tackle crimes in unison, such as the Allegiance of Heroes.
One such group, titled the Justice Society Of Justice, claims to offer "twice the JUSTICE as the leading competitors!" Read More!Reon Kadena American Girls Pictures
TV host Josh Gates displays a sample showing what appears to be a footprint found in Nepal’s Khumbu region, where Mount Everest is located. The tracks will be analyzed as part of an investigation into tales about the legendary mountain Yeti, Gates told reporters in Katmandu on Friday.
Tales by sherpa porters and guides about the wild and hairy creatures lurking in the Himalayas have seized the imagination of mountain climbers going to Mount Everest since the 1920s. Several teams have searched for it and some have even claimed to have discovered footprints. But no reputable investigator has actually seen the creature, nor has it been scientifically established that the Yeti exists.
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Sakurako Kaoru American
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in his first act after being sworn in this morning.
The Kyoto Protocol is a pact agreed by governments at a 1997 UN conference in Kyoto, Japan, to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by developed countries to at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. A total of 174 nations have ratified the pact.
Read More!Hotta Yukia American Girls pic
- Electric Alloy Mesh Concept, using a seamless Shape Memory Alloy mesh to generate voltage-controlled mechanical counter-pressure. Pressure would be distributed by a viscous thermal-regulating gel layer. The gel layer moderated the high temperature of the SMA later and protected the body against impacts the skin directly, wicking away perspiration and absorbing body heat.
- Thermal Gel Suit Concept, using "smart" polymer gels which expanded at a threshold temperature to create mechanical counter-pressure. The smart gel was trapped in a quilted layer beneath a stretchless restraint layer. The restraint layer prevented outward expansion of the gel, directing the pressure inwards against the body.
- Electric Gel Suit , using "smart polymer gels which expanded in an electric field to create mechanical counter-pressure. The smart gel was trapped in a quilted layer, between metallized fabric layers, beneath a stretchless restraint layer. Opposite charges applied to the metallized layers produced a small electric field sufficient to stimulated the expanding smart gel.
- Stretch Alloy Band Suit Concept using the super elastic properties of Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) to allow the suit's volume to expand enough for donning. Charge would then applied to the SMA band which pulled together the seam of a uni-directional stretch fabric layer, which was able to stretch longitudinally in order to allow flexion at the joints.
- Electric Alloy Zipper Suits using shape memory alloy strips to aid and control the application of mechanical counter pressure while manually zipping together seams in a uni-directional stretch fabric layer.
- Electric Alloy Remote Zipper Suit concept, as the previous concept, but instead of being zipped manually, tightened all at once by digital controls at the shoulders. This system assured uniformity of mechanical counter-pressure and ease of operation.
- Absorb concept, which would collect perspiration in a removable component within the suit, either a highly absorptive fabric layer similar to long underwear, or desiccant packs at critical locations.
- Vent-to-Atmosphere concept, which controlled perspiration by venting moisture directly to the outside environment. A selective, semi-permeable organic layer closest to the skin allowed perspiration to pass through at a moderate rate. Subsequent layers of the suit, including the mechanical counter-pressure layer, were also semi-permeable. The openings in the membranes were large enough to allow the suit to breath, but small enough to prevent unwanted fluid loss.
- Transport concept, using a layer of tiny tubes to channel perspiration away from the body to a remote collection point. These tubes might be manufactured or perhaps organic such as the aquaporin network in plant membranes. A partial vacuum at the collection end might moved perspiration through the tubes, or perhaps work would be done by tiny piezoelectric pumps powered by energy harvested from body motion.
Battles ~ 'Tonto' Girls Pictures
Taarik Furmie jokes that he's the Santa Claus of the internet.
As a seller of toys and games, Christmas is Mr Furmie's busiest time of year.
He's run off his feet checking stock, sending off orders, comparing the competitiveness of his prices and making sure his accounts are in order.
And he does it all without leaving the comfort of his home in Casula, in Sydney's western suburbs.
Mr Furmie is one of a growing number of Australians who are making a full-time living selling goods on internet site eBay.
In September this year, there were more than 17,500 Australians who used eBay as their primary or only source of income.
Another 94,000 eBay sellers had considered quitting their day jobs to sell full-time on the trading website.
Since it began in 1999, eBay has significantly changed the way Australians shop and opened self-employment opportunities for those who thought they'd always be bound to a nine-to-five desk job.
Mr Furmie worked in IT when his wife started selling old toys and games their children no longer used.
Soon, she was buying goods from second hand stores and garage sales and re-selling them for a profit on eBay.
When she had her third child, Mr Furmie took over the hobby and it flourished.
Four years ago, he left his job to focus full time on his toy business. He also moved from secondhand to new toys and games, sourced through local suppliers and manufacturers.
Now he competes with major department stores and has set up his own business name, Treasure Planet Toys.
"You will find that you are generally getting better prices on eBay, because I don't have the overheads that they (department stores) do," he told AAP.
"You find that a lot of people, especially today with the stress of modern day life, people are finding less time to get to the shop and when they do get there it's stressful.
"If you can sit in front of a computer and find the same item (and) it's going to be delivered to your door, you save yourself two hours and frustration."
Mr Furmie is coy about how much he makes, but says it's better than his previous job, although much of the money goes back into growing the business.
He is classed as an eBay PowerSeller - sellers who average a minimum of $2,000 in sales per month, over three consecutive months. Titanium PowerSellers - the top level - earn $300,000 a month.
Mr Furmie teaches people how to sell on eBay in an eight-hour course conducted at people's homes, but some institutes are now offering lessons on how to make the most of the trading site.
The Council of Adult Education (CAE) now has a one-day course, Buying and Selling Goods Through eBay, which teaches how to "make money and find that elusive item".
Victorians are some of Australia's biggest eBay users.
A national survey last month found residents of Springvale, in Melbourne's southeast, were the country's biggest online traders, buying and selling at an average of $274 per member.
Second place was taken by nearby Dandenong, which averaged $173 per member.
Dandenong resident Rebecca Wilkin is an eBay convert.
The 28-year-old buys and sells goods on the website, particularly clothes and baby goods.
She recently decked out her daughter's nursery with brand new furniture for $500, including cot, change table and rocking chair.
"I do research before I buy anything, either at the shop or online as to how much the retail price is," she said.
"Nine times out of 10 I find I can get a really good bargain on eBay."
Ms Wilkin believes Dandenong and Springvale topped the national trading figures because of their low socio-economic demographic.
"Dandenong is predominantly a low-income area and you do find you get more for your money, if you know what you're looking for," she said.
"You've really got to make your money go further and you can get a bit of spare cash by selling things you don't need any more."
Ms Wilkin also thinks the language barrier could be a factor, as many migrants live in Dandenong and Springvale.
Consumer trends expert Bernard Salt, of KPMG, said many of the top-ranking eBay suburbs across the nation had high levels of migrant populations.
Three quarters of Springvale's 18,000 residents speak a language other than English at home.
"Perhaps Australia's newest residents prefer to buy their goods on eBay rather than have to negotiate the language barriers of traditional shopping centres," he said.
Leigh, of Boronia in Melbourne's outer east, says he'll never visit a chain store again.
He buys clothes on eBay for half what he'd pay in a shop and they're delivered to his door.
He also sells items he has lying around his house that he no longer wants.
He has sold an old Australian Airlines watch for $35 and T-shirts from car shows for $70-$80.
As a car collector and restorer, he also finds eBay useful for sourcing and selling cars and car parts.
"I've got a set of wheels lying around that you could take to the wreckers, but I'll put them on eBay. People are looking for stuff like that all the time," he said.
"If I want something cheap I will see if it's on eBay first. It's definitely a good money saver."
Leigh bought an XP Falcon Coup for $5,500 in Western Australia and a F150 pick-up truck from Queensland for $11,000.
Potential eBay buyers are warned to do their homework before they buy.
That includes checking the feedback on the seller and always using the PayPal facility.
"The majority of people on eBay are there to do the right thing, but you can lose money if you just don't take precautions," Mr Furmie said.
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Pretty baby Australian Girls Pictures
Tall, gorgeous and sexy" - and still only a child. A new book aims to put girls straight about looking good, writes Natasha Hughes.
Think back to your school days when your hair was too flat or unblonde, your legs never quite brown or long enough and a pimple had the power to rule your every thought and movement for the length of time it reared its ugly head. Most of the time, teenage girls feel they look pretty hideous. The irony is that the rest of womanhood is frantically trying to look like teenagers: they're so fresh and firm.
But you can't tell them that. Teenage girls are obsessive about their looks. And they're getting a heavier message than we ever did. "They feel like they have to be tall, gorgeous and sexy at 11," says Melbourne writer and cartoonist Kaz Cooke. "They get hit by so many messages all saying, 'You're not good enough,' but, of course, they are. People do tend to dismiss the concerns of girls as trivial, but today they don't just need to be pretty, they need to be sexual. It's quite scary."
Cooke's book Girl Stuff (Viking, $39.95), is aimed, she says, at countering the hard-sell girls receive.
"The only information they really get about beauty comes from magazines, but I say, if you do what the magazines tell you to do, you'll spend $300 and look like a mad vampire. Have fun with it instead - play with make-up. If you want."
Cooke says magazines for girls suggest anything put on the face has to be corrective. "They list the 'eight essentials' when there are no essentials for teenagers except perhaps sunscreen and a lip balm. Most girls see advertising as a source of information. On TV they don't see anyone without make-up."
The book, which covers other issues such as work and friends, quotes from girls who responded to Cooke's website survey.
The book also takes a strong line that experienced make-up users may question. "Primer is invented simply to sell more make-up. A waste of time and money," writes Cooke. But we're not her target readership, though, as Cooke sees it, we'll be the ones buying it to give at Christmas.
Regardless of whether we do, teenage girls will continue to disregard facts such as smoking and sun exposure causing wrinkles. But, maybe at 30, they won't lament, as we feel we're entitled to, that "no one told me".
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