Many towns and cities around the world are stuck in a time warp because of their lack of funding to catch up with modern times; others simply don’t want their home towns to be overtaken with modern developments and are perfectly happy with their current way of living.

This article will look at where some of these towns and cities can be found and how you can get there, should you feel the need to go back to the fifties.

Pacifica (near San Francisco)

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While you may not have come across this coastal town before it is very close to one of the most famous cities in America, San Francisco. Just twelve miles south of this major city lies a small community, worth no more than a million dollars, in the small, time warped town of Pacifica.

Steep hills dotted with ranch houses surrounded by vast amounts of open space make this a perfect place to visit if you love a good hike. The constant high winds are great if you enjoy surfing and don’t mind dodging a bit of rubbish, which is a common feature in the town, due to the lack of funding to hire street cleaners.

This is one of those towns that cannot afford to catch up with modern times and wouldn’t do so even if they could. This was made very clear when a big developer came into town and offered to build them a main street / down town area, which they don’t currently have, and was voted against, by sixty five per cent of the population.

If you want to get in and around Pacifica you will need a car due to the lack of public transport and hills with fifteen to twenty per cent gradients, which makes cycling almost impossible.

Dawlish in Devon, England

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Dawlish offers stunning coastal views and amazing beaches, but is sadly way behind the times.

Some local residence feel that this coastal town is on its way back in time, rather than trying to catch up to the modern times. The old style shop fronts, the houses and the amusements on the seafront make it clear that this town is well and truly stuck in a time warp.

Local residents feel that if they we’re to update the town it would lose its character and charm, which is what makes it different to other towns in the area.

If you want to visit this town for a traditional, bucket and spade, family holiday then you can get there by bus and train from almost anywhere in the UK. If travelling by car from London or the North you can head south down the M5 to junction thirty at Exeter and follow the signs for Dawlish.

The Isle of Wight

Not a town or city but a county, one of the biggest islands of England, located just a couple of miles off the south coast.

Well known for its natural beauty and its popular holiday resorts, the Isle of  Wight is still stuck in the 1950′s.

Brownen Maddox, a writer for The Times newspaper, wrote an article about her experiences after visiting the island with her mother and her seven year old daughter.

One of the first comments in her article said, “Stuck in the 1950s, the Isle of Wight is a textbook example of the problems facing an area needing regeneration”

She went on to describe how the roads we’re “shockingly bad”, as do many other people who visit the island, the type of roads you do not expect to see in today’s modern times.

The Isle of  Wight is very easy to get to from Southsea by hovercraft, and lots of ferries running throughout the day from Southampton, Portsmouth and Lymington.

There are hundreds of time-warp towns from around the world and this article by HotelClub.com pulls out some of the highlights. If you are looking to enjoy these towns to the full, keep an eye out for hotel deals in the area and plan ahead.

Editor’s Note: This article is written by Mirijam Rosenast from Zurich/Switzerland. She’s not only a power mom, she is also a freak for all the weird, geek, and unusual stuff (kidding). You can find more information at her website and twitter.

If you would like to start writing here, you can find more details and sign-up info over this page.
24 Wonderful Facts About Butterflies

We all know them but we all don’t know them. Butterflies. Honestly what do you know apart from knowing that they are pretty to look at? Yeah, I came up with nothing too… Or worse, with things that are not even correct. So I did a little research and wrote down the 24 most amazing  and astonishing facts that I found about butterflies. Most surprised I was by the fact that it is not the butterflies that make silk cocoons but the moths. And I was also cobsmacked that butterflies can taste with their feet. Isn’t that incredible?
The fabulous pictures in this post are from the very talented ‘amateur’ photographer Caroline. She is a dear friend and has a great photography blog with amazing nature pictures. Go check her pics out and show her some photo love!
And now on to the wondrous butterfly facts:

1. Butterflies – and moths – belong to the order Leptidoptera. This is derived from the Greek term for ‘scale-wing’.
   
2. There are approximately 28,000 different types of butterfly species worldwide, most of which can be found in the tropics.
   
3. The name ‘Butterfly’ was first coined to describe the Yellow Brimstone Butterfly, a variety commonly seen across Europe. It was actually known as ‘Butter-colored Fly’ and that later became ‘Butterfly’.
4. Butterflies taste food by standing on it. This is because their taste sensors are found in their feet.
   
5. Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches. The Queen Alexandra’s bird wing from the island of New Guinea is the largest butterfly and the smallest on record is the Western Pygmy blue Butterfly.
   
6. Butterflies and insects have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. This protects the insect and keeps water inside their bodies so they don’t dry out. This means butterflies are related to crabs and lobsters! Because those sea creatures, also have skeletons on the outside of their bodies. They’re arthropods: insects, crustaceans, millipedes, centipedes and arachnids.
   
7. The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour.
   
8. Some Butterflies like the Monarch are toxic and after a bird has eaten it once it is definitely a reminder NOT to eat another one, for the milkweed that the Monarch eats as a caterpillar has a toxic effect when the butterfly is ingested.
   
9. Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.
10. Female butterflies usually are bigger and live longer than male butterflies.
    
11. Butterflies can’t hear, but they can feel vibration which works best when hiding from predators.
    
12. Some species of butterflies, like the Red Admiral, actually prefer feeding on rotting fruit and animal dung!
    
13. The wings of Butterflies are actually transparent. The vivid colors are due to overlapping bright scales. Have you heard the ‘fact’ that you will kill a butterfly if you touch its wings? That is fiction, you will not hurt a butterfly if you touch it, although you might rub off some of the colorful scales of its wings. Of course they are very delicate creatures and should not be touched.
14. Butterflies weigh as little as two rose petals.
    
15. Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators…..next to bees.
    
16. Some butterfly communicate with each other using sound, such as making noises with their wings, but most female butterflies release pheromones (like a perfume) into the air. The male butterflies of many species can detect the pheromones from as far away as 2 kilometers.
    
17. Butterflies smell with their antennae.
18. Contrary to popular belief, most butterflies do not spin cocoons. Most butterflies form a chrysalis instead, which is a hard protective shield. It is mostly moths which spin cocoons.
    
19. Butterflies breathe through a complicated structure of tubes (called tracheae and tracheoles) and air sacs. Oxygen is pulled into the body through openings in their abdomens called spiracles.
    
20. Overwintering species of larvae avoid freezing by producing glycerol. A kind of antifreeze.
    
21. Some butterflies never eat as adults because they don’t have mouths. They live on the energy they stored as caterpillars.
22. Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.
    
23. Most butterflies have pretty patterns on their wings. These designs are intended for camouflage purposes, so the predators, like birds, either can’t make out the Butterflies in the trees or bushes or are scared off into thinking them to be some other larger creature.
    
24. A butterfly has compound eyes: each eye is made up of about 6,000 tiny parts called lenses, which let in light.
    

Conclusion: Maybe after reading this post we all look at butterflies with more knowledge. But nature is a mistery and we will never solve the whole puzzle. This could mean we should just sit back more and enjoy the incredible colours of the butterflies instead of seeking to know it all.

Cars and film go together like Salma Hayek in a bikini, Megan Fox alive and that girl from Fast and the Furious in a ’67 Mustang. It’s part of our culture. We want to see muscle cars ragged through the gears until the valves jump up through the bonnet and do a little dance, we want to see half naked girls inside cars doing things that half naked girls do inside cars and we want to see hard men with bald heads pretend to know how to drive like F1 drivers. Here’s the hottest cars ever featured in film.

Chevrolet Camaro

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Ahhh, good old Bumblebee – where would we be without him? The first Transformers film redefined how hot we all thought Megan Fox was. Seriously, in fear of sounding a little sexist, how hot did she look in that film? Right, back to Bumblebee – sorry about that. The specially designed Chevrolet Camaro – dubbed Bumblebee – became an iconic car within the film thanks to its starring role and vibrant paint job.

Not only did the car kick ass – remember, it was a Transformer and Transformers kick ass – but it also won our hero the girl – who was Megan Fox. Damn you Bumblebee!

All the cars from The Fast and the Furious

It’s probably fitting to mention The Fast and the Furious franchise, as the latest edition, The Fast Five, is currently available for your viewing pleasure. The first film, however, was the pick of the bunch for cars. Seriously, watch the film, there isn’t a storyline. It’s just Paul Walker pouting a lot, Vin Diesel flexing a lot and the two combined driving lots of exotic cars – or in other words, a proper film!

Who needs heartfelt storylines that push the boundaries of emotional rapture? Just get in your V8 and drive, sonny! The pick of the bunch has to be Walker’s Mitsubishi Eclipse, which aside from being green, was also extremely fast and made the girls fancy Mr. Walker even more. Great.

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TVR Tuscan

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If you’re a motoring fan, the years of 1999, 2000 and 2001 were just automotive porn. We were treated to car movies that were so cool even the cool side of the pillow couldn’t compete. One of the best films from that era was Swordfish. Starring John Travolta, a young Hugh Jackman and the extremely sexy Halle Berry, the film looked so achingly cool that you wanted to become a computer hacker even if it meant going to prison.

They used the fabulous TVR Tuscan for the main car chase scene, which not only immortalized the Tuscan as one of the coolest British cars ever made, but also actually gave Travolta some street cred – what a car.

Gone in 60 Seconds

Another film from the early 2000s, Gone in 60 Seconds is a cult classic that revolves around the premise of Memphis Raines (Nicholas Cage) needing to steal 50 cars in one night to save his brother from impending death. There’s car porn throughout the film, but the best one has to be 1969 Shelby Mustang GT500 – aka Eleanor.

Has any car looked that cool before? No, it’s not. The noise, the looks and the performance just create an appeal that few other cars can replicate. And with Nick Cage actually doing a stellar job of the acting, it just results in a proper petrolheads’ film.

Bad Boys

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The original Bad Boys film featured Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as a likely double-act who acted brilliantly in combining humor and I’ll-kick-your-ass-if-you-look-at-me-wrong intimidation. The real star of the show, however, was the black Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 that Will drove.

If menace, power and stealth could be encapsulating into a car, the 964 Turbo featured in Bad Boys would be the example. Its amazing engine note just added even more petrolhead porn to a film that was already famous for its great car scenes.

Starsky and Hutch

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A Ford Torino, at first glance, doesn’t seem like a very cool car – it looks more like something your Nan would drive to church. But don’t be fooled, because all you need to do is paint it candy red, give it a white stripe and only allow cool, 70’s cops to drive it, and then you’ve got an iconic American muscle car that gets respect wherever it goes.

If you’ve never seen the original Starsky and Hutch and you’re under 25, you may be more interested in the 2004 interpretation that starred Ben Stiller and Snoop Dogg, but for anyone over 25, stick to the original.

Ronin

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What do you get when you combine a green Audi S8, Robert DeNiro, that guy who’s foreign but is always in really cool films and a great location? You get the epitome of cool, the daddy of acting and the film of the year. Ronin has become a cult hit for petrolheads across the globe.

It’s the Audi S8 that manages to take everyone’s attention, however, as it marked the start to the great run of properly cool Audis that came in the early 2000s.

The Dukes of Hazzard

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Driving an orange ’69 Dodge Charger named General Lee may hint to your fellow peers that you’ve been eating too much strong cheese at night, but despite the dodgy name and questionable paintjob, the car still manages to stay iconic – even today.

A lot of us think of Jessica Simpson’s music video for ‘These Boots are made for Walkin’ when someone mentions the Dukes of Hazzard – if you don’t know why, watch the video. But the film itself is still full of young, hormonal fun, and the General Lee easily manages to steal the show.

Mad Max

Most Australian petrolheads know that Eric Bana is a Ford Falcon man, and so it seems is Mel Gibson. The 1979 Australian-made film, Mad Max, gave Gibson one of his earliest hits, but for us, it’s the Falcon that won our hearts.

The reason? Well, it’s quite simple really – JUST LOOK AT THE ENGINE! It’s popping out of the bonnet! So, by using our combined petrolhead IQ, we can conclude that this Falcon is one of the finest machines ever made.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Whether you think Pierce Brosnan was a good James Bond or not is irrelevant, because of one key aspect to all of his films – the cars. The period between 1995 and 2004 (when Brosnan was Bond) gave us some of the most ludicrous plots, sexy women and incredible car porn ever seen in the franchise.

One of the best of the bunch was the BMW 750Li in Tomorrow Never Dies. The Li variant of the 7-series range featured some power than god, more luxury than any saloon in that price range and more gadgets than Q’s briefcase. Without this car, we may have all been directed towards Bronsnan’s questionably Bond performance. Thanks BMW.

The World is not Enough

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Another Pierce Brosnan Bond film and another incredible BMW – did the German marque have a deal going on? Hmmm. Anyway, The World is not Enough gave us another impossible plot that was about as believable as the rise of Gandhi, but most importantly, it gave us the BMW Z8.

The Z8, in truth, flopped like a fat man on a diving board, but the car looked so cool in this film it made every petrolhead want one – just not enough to hand over the pennies.

Death Race

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You’ve got to applaud Jason Statham; he’s made a career out of being as British as a bulldog and by being good at jumping and seducing women. His acting skills are close to non-existent but nobody notices because a lot of his films involve some of the finest moving sex shows on the planet.

The cars in a Statham film are paramount to its success, and the Shelby Mustang GT500 in Death Race certainly delivered its promise. With more modifications than a car from Need for Speed: Underground, the Mustang was as menacing as Statham himself. If you’ve got a spare 1hr and half, little expectation for acting and a love for cars, Death Race is the film for you.

This is a guest post on behalf of Netcars a specialist used cars search engine in the UK.

The Craziest Coupon Codes Ever For At Home Skin Care

Skin care is often the best time to use the craziest coupon codes. Redeeming these codes can give consumers great products at low prices. This makes it possible to get the necessary products for healthy skin.

Boutique skin care is often expensive, and the best code is 50% off. This offer makes it possible to get high end beauty for half off. Shoppers who use these offers can quickly stock up on beauty products.

For the ultimate in savings, offers of 75% or more off are the best. These deals may apply to a particular item as a limited time purchase. Beauty lovers often use these steep discounts to stock up on products.

Get Samples And Free Gifts By Using Coupon Codes

Free gifts with purchase offers give shoppers more for less on orders. A similar item, or new product by that brand may be offered for free. This gives consumers an added bonus for items they plan to purchase.

Sample specials are another type of the craziest coupon codes offered. Samples may be a gift set, or a selection of makeup or body care. These give customers a chance to try out the items before purchasing.

These offers are among the best and craziest available to shoppers. When redeeming them, consumers are asked to select their samples. Once selected, they will be shipped at no extra charge with orders.

The Coolest Coupon Codes For Wedding Planning

Wedding planning is an ideal time to find discounts and specials. Gifts for the bridesmaids and groomsmen can be expensive for many. Finding a 60% or more off coupon can lower this cost dramatically.

For those looking at wedding invitations, a discount offer is ideal. A combination free shipping and percentage off saves brides money. The percentage off on minimum orders can give them more flexibility.

When possible, many brides combine purchases to get bigger savings. This can make it possible to get more of their necessary items. For many, this is important in order to stay within their budget.

Give Cars And Trucks New Life With Coupon Codes

Trucks can get a lift for less when using lift kit offers online. Lift kit offers of 64% off or more are perfect for any truck lover. Combining this deal with free shipping makes the savings even better.

Exhausts and mufflers are another opportunity to use a coupon offer. Combination specials of 62% off and free shipping lower the price. Select brands may be listed for this type of promotional special.

Other deals may include free shipping and discounts on common items. These may be combined, or used for later purchases on car parts. These offers are ideal for anyone on a budget needing car parts.

The Coolest Coupon Codes For Aspiring Musicians

Those interested in musical instruments often look for discounts. This can help to lower the cost when purchasing a first guitar. Other instruments or equipment may also be eligible for the discounts.

One of the biggest deals for guitars is an 80% off sale on items. This type of offer makes it easy to get a quality guitar for less. Many of the select items are high quality and suitable for beginners.

DJ equipment is another popular choice for big discount coupons. Offers of 65% off or more on items makes it easy to get started. This is one of the craziest coupon codes available for a DJ to use.

The coupon scoop provides coupon codes for many different businesses online. Visit us to find coupons that will save you money.

There was a time when female characters were most frequently relegated to the role of damsel in distress in action films and television. It was rare to come across a female character with a physically strong role.

Even today it is a struggle for female actors to get strong action roles, but there are a few gems out there. These women are emotionally strong and confident, but they can also kick butt . They know their crafts well and let the men who work with them know they are not just pretty faces or little girls in need of rescuing.

If you take a quick look around the web, there are plenty of references to past shows with obviously tough female characters. Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Connor (from Terminator), Wonder Woman, and many others who knew how to handle their weapons of choice in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. But a new generation of action heroines have emerged, and this list is a tribute to those who may have been overlooked.

1. Nikita from “Nikita”

The name is not new, nor is the premise for the plot. La Femme Nikita is world-renowned assassin with a serious chip on her shoulder. CW’s remake has revived Nikita in the form of Hong Kong action star Maggie Q, once handpicked by action legend Jackie Chan. Her character Nikita is soft-spoken but does not mince words. She has been to hell and back and is ready to take down the organization that turned her into the killing machine she is today.

Nikita can kill you with her hands, her super long legs, a knife, a sword, a handgun, and assault rifle, a homemade bomb, and probably even a computer virus. Her tactical IQ is off the charts, and her amazing ability to escape impossible situations borders on A-Team status.

2. Bo from “Lost Girl”

If you are not Canadian, you probably have not even heard of Lost Girl, but if you can watch it online, it is a worth a look. The man character is Bo, a woman with a very healthy appetite. She belongs to an evolutionary group called FAE, who live secretly among humans. She is a succubus, someone who feeds off humans by sucking their life force.

Despite the obvious problems with her biological need to feed, Bo is more or less a hero who manages to take on the darkest creatures and still save the day. While her preferred kill move is to suck energy right out of your mouth, Bo can also get you with her fists, any makeshift weapon that happens to be lying around, or her sharp wits.

3. Olivia Dunham from “Fringe”

Fringe is a bone chilling look into the paranormal world of fringe science, which deals with teleportation, mind control, parallel universes, spontaneous combustion, and strange little bald men who stand around and take notes. Olivia Dunham is an FBI agent with some serious issues in her past. All of it would make a lesser woman vulnerable and maybe even insane, but Olivia channels it into her work.

Do not let her soft voice fool you, Olivia will shoot first and ask questions later. She can escape from just about any predicament through conventional or extraordinary means. She also has some of the smartest sidekicks in the history of television.

4. Kate Beckett from “Castle”

Kate Beckett has a bit of an attitude due to her rather tragic past, but she still manages to crack a joke here and there in the midst of crime fighting. She is strong on two accounts: first, for catching bad guys and kicking butt, and second, for putting up with her tag-along writer sidekick Rick Castle.

Detective Beckett carries a standard police-issued sidearm and is not afraid to use it. She can also take a peep down in hand-to-hand combat, all while wearing high-heeled boots.

5. Sarah Walker from “Chuck”

Chuck Bartowski is probably the biggest wimp in the history of wimpiness, but he is very smart, like a computer. Fortunately for him, he has CIA agent Sarah Walker to protect his government-issued super brain. Sarah had a hard life before becoming an agent, and she regularly takes out that frustration on bad guys.

As a trained operative, Sarah can take down a mark with everything from C4 to a ballpoint pen. Whether dressed in combat gear or a night gown, Sarah Walker is always ready for action.

6. Fiona from “Burn Notice”

Unlike the others on the list, Fiona is technically a sidekick, the ex-girlfriend from Michael Weston’s past, but Michael did not have an ordinary past. As a former IRA demolitions expert and gun runner, Fiona is not the kind of woman you want to dump. Fortunately for Michael, she’s with the good guys.

Fiona prefers to watch things blow up, but since she has knowledge of just about every kind of weapon you can imagine, you cannot assume you will be safe with her even if she’s only holding a shoe. She gets angry fast, but her heart is usually in the right place.

Who is Your Favorite?

This list only goes to six, but there are other tough female characters on TV these days. Who are your favorites, and what are their weapons of choice?

Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer and editor of All Blogs Considered. His heroes are the UK dedicated hosting specialists at 34SP.com.

Game cancellations are to games fans what the destruction of Alderaan is to a Jedi. But despite the great disturbance in the force that results, and the millions of screaming voices that echo throughout the forums in the wake of a cancellation, games are usually axed for very good reasons. Not every great idea makes a great game, and the money that it takes to develop and publish a game isn’t always worth it. However, there are some games that, regardless of their resulting quality, would have done the world a favour by being released.

Sonic X-Treme

Arguably, the entire history of console gaming hinges on the failure of this game. Whilst the price of the hardware was a major factor, the SEGA Saturn died a premature death because it lacked a ‘killer-app’. In the mid 90s, that meant Sonic, even as games consoles matured away from the mascot craze of the early decade. However, internal studio politics meant that the SEGA technical institute, the American half of team behind 90s Sonic development, were cut adrift with little support and outright opposition from the Japanese team.

Sonic X-Treme’s failure to ship meant no significant Sonic title on the Saturn. SEGA filled in with a remake of the terrible Sonic 3D, the terrible racing game Sonic R and the terribly habit-forming Sonic Jam collection of Sonic’s original Mega Drive hits. SEGA left hardware manufacturing with the Dreamcast, and the Sonic franchise has had an image problem ever since. Because of this compendium of decline, Sonic X-Treme should have been released. Though if we’re honest, any game featuring a playable character named ‘Tiara Boobowski’ probably wouldn’t have set the world alight.

Chrono Break

In the view of some, the noughties were all downhill for Squaresoft. The unexciting Final Fantasy movie necessitated a merger with Enix that seemed to turn the company into a machine that generated Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy spin-offs that appeared to have little to do with the philosophies and design of the core games. The ‘main series’ plodded through the decade whilst the new company began to create direct sequels, having avoided them for the best part of two decades. Meanwhile, the company seemed reluctant to nature its other properties, despite their success in the past. Few Mana games, no Vagrant Story 2 and a premature end to the emerging Chrono series.

Chrono Trigger was one of the SNES’ most important titles (and saw a popular re-release on the DS) and Chrono Cross was a technologically significant footnote to the original Playstation’s life. So when trademark filings by Squaresoft for something called Chrono Break were discovered in late 2001, there was plenty of excitement to go round. We’ve never heard anything more than this, and the original trademark has long since expired (though it runs until the end of the year in the EU and midway through next year in Japan). But I think Japanese Role Playing Game fans out there would sell their souls quite readily for whatever ideas were floating around when this one was registered.

Starcraft Ghost

Variety is the spice of life, yet since the mid 1990s Blizzard Entertainment have done quite well out of releasing Real Time Strategy and Role Playing titles. Action-adventure pays the rent at most other game developers, but Blizzard have curiously resisted. Starcraft II did plenty well on its own, despite 12 years of Starcraft drought, but there isn’t a gamer alive who doesn’t wish that this stealth-action game hadn’t been around in the interim.

Yes, it’s not ‘canceled’, but ‘indefinitely postponed’. It’s just that, in the world of video game development these things are one and the same.

Thief Modern

This one sort of stretches the definition of ‘cancelled’. The truth is that this Thief reboot was cancelled after only about two months in production, and only because of the destruction of the Ion Storm studio. Details about a modern remake of this classic Steampunk First Person Sneaker emerged a little later: it transplanted the characters of the first game to a modern setting, swapping Garrett’s cloak and dagger for a hoodie and… well, they never got that far.

How would it have been received? Any series with a hardcore following that goes in such a drastic new direction would have had its work cut out. Reactions to the eventual Thief 4’s announcement were lukewarm over little more than a stylised title that read ‘Thi4f’. Yet there is also a feeling that a fourth game continuing on from the original’s neat trilogy was unnecessary. Personally, the idea of a contemporary Thief game sounds a little more than intriguing: how much more resonant would a game about thieving be when you’re stealing from wealthy bankers and politicians instead of barons and magicians? One wonders how Ion Storm would have sailed that particular sea of controversy though.

Steph Wood is a blogger who writes on behalf of Splash Direct, a UK based company who’ll fix you up with a nice wall hung toilet while you wait in fear of the next big cancellation.

Birthdays are a must for celebrating whether it is a product or person. Don’t let any of these marvelous milestones pass you by without having some fun.

1. The iPod took the world by storm in 2001, and has been going strong ever since. It really put Apple brand into the mind of the consumer, and was the first “good” portable music device since the Walkman. With the popularity of playing music on your phone the iPod has taken a bit of a hit lately. Don’t worry though, I’m sure Steve Jobs still has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep the iPod relevant.

2. Nintendo’s Mario Bros. franchise is one of the most successful video game series in history. It put Nintendo on the map, and made it a giant in the gaming industry. The original game that started it all came out in 1983, making it 28 years old this year!

3. The popular sport known as Soccer has been around since as early as the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It’s had many forms over the years, and it’s hard to put a definitive date on the beloved sport. We decided to go with 1863, which was when The FA (Football Association) first started up. The game got its first comprehensive set of rules around that time, and is now celebrating its 148th birthday on October 26th of this year.

4. Peanuts have been around a long time, but Peanut Butter as we know it today has only been around since 1884. This tasty treat celebrates its 127th birthday this year, making it one of the oldest on our list.

5. The Lord of the Rings movie franchise was started in 2001 by director Peter Jackson. There were a few earlier takes on the famous books, but none were as successful as Jackson’s vision. The trilogy will have its 10th anniversary this year, and I’m sure there will be some merchandise to commemorate the occasion coming our way in the near future.

6. Whether you smoke, or just need to start a fire; there is only one windproof lighter that’s known around the world. That lighter is the classic Zippo. The company was started in 1932, and the first lighter was produced a year later. The popularity of this classic lighter has never wavered, and 79 years later; it’s just as relevant as it was in 1932.

7. Everyone knows about Nintendo, but some people may have forgotten about a little hedgehog that loved to collect rings. Sega introduced Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 as its official mascot. He never quite lived up to the Mario brothers, but was still very popular in his day. The little blue guy will turn 20 this year, and even though Sega isn’t a force to be reckoned with anymore, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of this hedgehog.

8. The origin of the first pencil is a bit sketchy (pun intended) to track down. Sometime before 1565, a massive deposit of graphite was found in England, and locals immediately noticed it was excellent for marking sheep. The first real “holder” for the graphite was string or sheepskin, which was wrapped around the graphite for stability. Going with the 1565 date, The Pencil will be around 446 years old this year. This makes the pencil the oldest (and most useful) item on our list.

9. If you’ve ever seen the famous “swoosh” symbol, you automatically know it’s Nike. Nike is one of the most famous sports brands in the world, and they were first established in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports. They officially became Nike in 1978, and have done very well to say the least. Nike will celebrate its 33rd birthday this year, along with celebrating taking in around 20 billion dollars a year… Wow!

10. Purina has been feeding animals since 1894, when found William H. Danforth began the company under the name Purina Mills. It’s one of the most famous brands in the world, and they continue to churn out the “the chow” to this day.

11. The Android OS is still relatively new, but it’s slowly taking over the mobile market. Android Inc. was founded in 2003, and was purchased by the giant known as Google in 2005. It will technically be 8 years old this year, but has gained the majority of its following over the past two years.

12. The name “Madden” is synonymous with football. The popular sports game had its first release in 1988, and was called “John Madden Football.” The 2nd version came out in 1990, and it has been released annually ever since. The name was officially changed to Madden NFL in 1993, when EA Sports got the rights to use actually NFL teams & players.

13. The tradition known as Father’s Day was first observed in Fairmont, West Virginia in July of 1908. Over the years many politicians, and presidents like Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, and Lyndon B. Johnson tried to get the holiday some national recognition. It wasn’t made a permanent National Holiday in the U.S. until 1972, when Richard Nixon finally got it signed into a law.

14. Skateboarding has been around a bit longer than most people think. It got its start sometime in the 40s or 50s when surfers were looking for a way to pass the time when the waves were dull. It’s seen many changes over the years, and today there are over 20 million skateboarders worldwide!

15. The Xbox first got its start in 2001, and it was Microsoft’s first entry into the gaming console market. They released the system to compete with the very successful Ps2, GameCube, and Dreamcast. It was discontinued in 2006, but really just upgraded to a bigger, badder version known as the Xbox 360.

This article has bee put together with the help of Prezzybox.com – Whether it’s a gadget, toy or just a useful item, Prezzybox stock a huge range of birthday gifts for all ages.

Editor’s Note: This article is written by LeoW who is a Social Media enthusiast with an extra large sized addiction to Twitter.  He constantly on the lookout for the best Twitter Tips and Tools to share. He also blog about it at the Buffer blog every week.. You can find him and drop a line at his twitter.

If you would like to start writing here, you can find more details and sign-up info over this page.

Twitter’s user base continues to sky-rocket. It’s most recent figures reveal that it now stands at 225 Million registered users, adding around 16 million every month.

To put it more descriptively, Twitter is adding 2 LinkedIn entries every year.

In order to make the most of this powerful network I want to tell you about a new Twitter App that will help you to tweet at a consistent rate, yet without overwhelming your followers with too much information. It is Buffer.

How does the App work?

Using Buffer is very simple, all you do is add tweets to your Buffer and in return the App spreads those tweets out over the course of the day for you.

How does it help me to use Twitter’s full Power?

When using Buffer I find it very simple to add lots of tweets at once, yet I don’t flood my followers with all those tweets. This allows me to add all the great articles I read during my morning routine for example to my Buffer. Instead of hitting the tweet button too often and putting my Twitter account on a blast, Buffer spreads them out nicely and your followers can catch up with your tweets one at a time.

Buffer creates a consistency in my Twitter stream and helps you to tweet in a more frequent, yet timely manner.

What makes Buffer “Killer”?

What I like best about Buffer is that it comes with browser extensions for Chrome, Safari or Firefox. This means I can add tweets into my Buffer from any page I am reading, by simply giving it one click on the Buffer icon. Filling up my Buffer from wherever I am truly made me fall in love with Buffer.

How do I get started?

Step 1.) Adding Tweets to your Buffer

After you have created your account, adding tweets to your Buffer becomes super simple. Whenever you are on a page you find interesting, hit the Buffer icon. This is what happens after I click it by reading one of Ruhani’s posts:

Add tweets via a browser extension

Step 2.) Measure the impact of your Tweets

Now that you have sent a few Tweets via Buffer, you receive detailed analytics about the impact you have made. You will see how many Clicks, Retweets and Reach your Tweets achieved. Here is some information of my recent Tweets:

Get Clicks, Retweets and Reach of your Buffered tweets

Step 3.) Adjust your Timing

By default Buffer will send out your Tweets at Peak times during the day. Of course you can always go back to your Settings and change these fixed daily tweeting times. You can add more, delete some or change them for your needs. Here are mine

Adjust your timing for better impact

How is Buffer different to the rest?

You might know of similar Apps, which allow you to pre-write and schedule Tweets. My experience was that Buffer is quite different to others like  Hootsuite, Social Oomph or Tweetdeck scheduling for example. Here are the main differences:

• You don’t schedule each tweet individually, since you simply add to Buffer.
• You are able to do this really quickly from any page you are reading, by using a browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
• Buffer provides you with  full analytics for your buffered tweets to track the number of Clicks, Retweets, Avatars of who retweeted you and Reach of your Tweets.

What is not so great about Buffer?

One thing I don’t like very much is that Buffer currently hasn’t got a mobile version available for me to use. I believe that adding tweets to my Buffer from my cell could make my life even easier still. I hope this is coming.

Summary:

Using Buffer has given me a chance to step up my Twitter game and keep my followers posted even when I am too busy to be around. This makes me recommend this service to anyone who believes that he or she really wants to make the most of Twitter in the future.

What are your thoughts on Buffer? Would love to discuss them with you below.

Editor’s Note: This article is written by Aline Hanle. Aline is a “Quantum Catalyst”. She has the ability to feel and define the obstacles that lie within her client preventing him/her to experience his/her greatness. Her Energy-Empath gift is one part of her uniqueness along with her highly positive attitude about life and her rare respect for humankind. You can find more information at her website and twitter.

If you would like to start writing here, you can find more details and sign-up info over this page.

For the past 10 years, Life coaching has opened the world of personal development by giving new tools & new processes to open the mind to better understand itself.

The latest path has led many to realize the amazing power that lies in inviting the mind to play in order to learn.

Here are 6 great games worth playing experiencing and sharing…

The Cosmic Compass Oracle Game

The Cosmic Compass Game is an innovative tool that helps you get clarity about your Life. The game answers any questions that you have. Whether you are wondering about a personal or a professional situation, The Compass provides you with a map that takes you from your question to your answer in an amazing journey to self-discovery! Fun and revelations guarantee!

Create an extraordinary Life, Unveil your Life Purpose, Re-design your path, Unleash your potential, Discover your greatness, Develop your Intuition, Reveal your Genius, Uncover your power & more in one box!!

[Link to the Game]

The Success and Me Game

The Success and Me Game™ is a lively and down-to-earth experience that helps participants get clear on what “success” looks like, on their own terms. The game engages participants in a deeply self-reflective yet playful facilitated group process that guides them to discover their personal success vision: one that illuminates, focuses and inspires their endeavors and enables them to live lives of purpose and fulfillment.

[Link to the Game]

The Triplium Game

The Triplium cards will not necessary give you answers, although sometimes they will confirm strongly your own vision, but one thing is sure is that they will provide you with great dynamic clues that will bring you to discover your own truth.

[Link to the Game]

The Khi Game

The KHI is a small book that gives you insight and lets you listen to the sound echoing from your soul. The KHI brings you in contact with the other dimension instantly. HORO SCOPE opening up the scope of your inner vision, not a prediction but a source of inspiration and inner truth.

[Link to the Game]

The Transformation Game

Just as life is filled with this rich variety of experience, so is the Transformation Game®, a fun and complex board game which offers a playful yet substantial way of understanding and transforming key issues in your life. It can be played at varying levels of intensity, from a light-hearted way of gaining insight into yourself, to a tool to help solve problems, clarify important personal issues, or creatively enhance relationships.

[Link to the Game]

The Sark’s Creative Dream game

We all have creative dreams. But life often gets in the pathways of those dreams. The Creative Dream Game is a FUN and insightful way to release those dreams* and clear the pathways to understanding.

Played with a group of friends or individually, the random effects of chance are enhanced through card play with subjects like “Time,” “Permission,” and “Gifts.”

Open up the windows of discovery with friends, family, or on your own…and experience the power of Creative Dreams.

[Link to the Game]

*Use responsibly. Side effects may include vents beyond your wildest dreams, grand illusions, and a joyous perspective on life.

This is one of the most interesting article i found it on the MensHealth Magazine. Here are something for the guys that they should understand that What she really wants from you. Forgive me for the language which is not suitable for ages under 18. but this article requires it to be in it's original form.

Universal truths that all men should… but don't understand

Here are the Things She Wishes that You Knew 

1. Saying "I love you" immediately before, during, or following sex doesn't count.

2. Real men drive stick shift.

3. I will leave if you lie.

4. You are cute in raglan-sleeved T-shirts (two-toned baseball undershirts).

5. I'm convinced I'm pregnant and obsess about it for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours before my period, even when I have no rational reason to think so.

6. I love it when you hug me from behind and whisper in my ear.

7. "Fine" is never an appropriate response when I ask you how I look.

8. Most of the time when I fantasize, it's about you.

9. I'm terrified of becoming my mother, even though I admire her.

10. I get turned on simply seeing that I have an e-mail from you.

11. I expect you to call me.

12. Only rock stars are allowed to wear leather pants.

13. I'm scared of losing my independence.

14. I'm more forgiving of you than I really should be.

15. Oral sex is your get-out-of-the-doghouse-free card. Manolo Blahnik shoes also do the trick. 

16. You did something bad. I seem cool with it. I'm not.

17. If I'm not having sex with you,

I'm… a. …having a fat day.

b. …not feeling "connected" to you.

c. …blackmailing you to get something I want.

18. Shoes determine whether you're fashionable or not.

19. I own a Debbie Gibson CD, and I'm not afraid to use it.

20. When I compare my flabby tummy to a kangaroo pouch, say nothing.

21. A man I love plans the occasional fancy-schmancy dress-up date and impromptu weekend getaways, and he buys my favorite candy in advance when we're just going to the movies.

22. You look hot in hooded clothing items.

23. You should never tell me what to do.

24. If I slept over, you owe me breakfast. 

25. My breasts love much licking and sucking.

26. If you ask me out directly, I will say yes. 

27. I'm very impressed when you ask for my advice.

28. I'm unimpressed with a man who doesn't take the lead.

29. When in doubt, go with the shirt that matches your eye color.

30. I want to be Madonna.

31. Women get urinary-tract infections easily, so watch (and wash) your fingers. 

32. I'm in heaven when you hold my hand.

33. You're sexy when you're shaving, fixing things, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, driving, eating a peach, holding a baby.

34. I need to hear how you feel about me. Often. Tell me now.

35. Surprises, especially gifts for moi = more loving.

36. I want to be the best thing that ever happened to you–and for you to recognize this.

37. If I'm not feeling loved, I will start looking….

38. Discussion of ex-gf's and ex-bf's should be avoided at all times.

39. I like it when you tell me what you're thinking, even if you don't know yourself.

40. Celebrating our anniversary, even if it's only been a few months, earns major bonus points.

41. I love it when you're sweaty.

42. It's best to consult your gal pals for gift ideas.

43. A lady should always be greeted with kisses.

44. I like porn.

45. I love holding your bum in the palms of my hands.

46. Even nice girls like hushed dirty talk in public.

47. It's cheating as soon as you're doing something with her that you wouldn't want me to see, hear, read…

48. For the record: I'd rather you break up with me than cheat.

49. I remember everything about our relationship.

50. You should know all this and more with-out my telling you.

Even more added by one of my loyal Reader

1. Chivalry is not dead. Opening and closing doors, pulling out a chair for her…remember all those things you did when dating? Still scores a lot of brownie points!
2. Although some men have issues with this point, holding a women’s belonging, i.e., purse, shows her you feel confident in your masculinity.
3. A romantic picnic that you prepared on the livingroom floor with candles will melt her heart.
4. Remembering her favorites, whether she went into specifics or casually mentioned…type of flower, artist, clior, book, foods, restaurant, etc.
5. Don’t direct your frustration or anger at her if you had a tough day. Too much of it, over time, will push her away. Rather talk to her like a friend.
6. Women love to see her man engaged with other people in public. Shows another side of him.
7. When at a party, an occasional sign to let her know he’s thinking of her.
8. Something about a man in sunglasses is hot!
9. Cooking for a woman (or at least attempting to) wins big brownie points!
10. Kissing her most self-conscious part of her body will melt her heart.

What is your take on this? Share your thoughts.