The World's First Artificial Heart

This is the world's first total artificial heart. 

Surgeons Domingo Liotta and Denton Cooley placed it into Haskell Carp's chest on April 4, 1969 in Houston. They removed it 64 hours later when a donor heart became available. 

But the heart did what it was supposed to do, explained Judy Chelnick, an associate curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The patient did not live long, but not because the manmade heart malfunctioned. It worked just fine, laying the stage for many later variations.  

The piece of medical history is now stored in a formaldehyde solution in a cabinet behind the scenes at the museum. 

More pictures of the heart:

Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook) is colorblind (FACT)

Facebook is blue because founder Mark Zuckerberg is colorblind. 

Zuckerberg is red-green colorblind, which means that the best color he can see is blue! We’re sure that it’s no coincidence that blue is the hue chosen to dominate the color palette of his ultra popular social networking website. 

Another Fact.

The worst epidemic of all time was the Black Death – a plague carried by fleas that live on rats– which killed 75 million people in Europe and Asia between 1347 and 1351.

Horrible and Fun Facts

Here is the 1st fact for today;

Flies eat by vomiting up something they have eaten previously so that the chemicals in their vomit can start to dissolve the new meal. When it is sloppy, they suck it all up again. That is why it is really a bad idea to eat anything a fly's been sitting on!

"Deal with it"

Music Friday

Every Friday I will post videos from different artists, so here is The Glitch Mob

If you are into electronic, you will love them

Arnold Schwarzenegger signs bill reducing offense for marijuana possession

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday signed into law a bill that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The bill reduces simple possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Currently, small-time pot possession is “semi-decriminalized” in California. There is no possible jail sentence and a maximum $100 fine.

But because possession is a misdemeanor, people caught with pot are “arrested,” even if that means only they are served a notice to appear, and they must appear before a court. In a signing statement, Schwarzenegger said he opposed decriminalization for personal use and threw in a gratuitous jab at Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative, but that the state couldn’t afford the status quo.

California NORML director Dale Gieringer said that “Governor Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,”

The New Law will take effect from 1st January 2011.

Life After Downsizing

You worked in your field as a professional for over 20 years putting in long nights and weekends. Of course, you heard the rumblings that the company wasn't doing so well, but management assured you there was nothing to worry about. Then out of the blue - layoffs!

Suddenly you find yourself working as a cashier at Target. Somehow you didn't picture your pre-retirement years this way but you have a family that is counting on you for paying the bills and the all important medical insurance.

Now there is nothing wrong with working at Target - it's an honest job with good benefits. It's just that after 20 years of experience and extensive education, you hadn't envisioned spending your pre retirement years customers if they want ten percent off their order by opening a store credit card.

After tirelessly applying for every job that you are qualified for and some you are even overqualified for and visiting every job board online, it's hard to keep your spirits up.
But it's important to keep a positive outlook. I know, easier said than done but you do have a lot to be positive about, don't you? Sure you may have financial trouble but everyone you love is healthy and there are worse things than working at Target.

You see, it's all about the attitude so you've got to think of downsizing as an opportunity. Perhaps you will now find a better job or make that career change you have been thinking about or even start your own business. Don't view yourself as a victim since this will only foster a bad attitude. Having a positive outlook will help you present yourself better in interviews - no one wants to hire someone who is bitter and depressed.

You know you have the right stuff or you wouldn't have lasted as long and gone as far in your former career. You just need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and tap into that energy again.

So for now, picture your job as a cashier, or delivering papers in the morning or whatever you have to do to make ends meet as temporary. Sure, this isn't what you pictured yourself doing at this time of your life but at least your house wasn't torn apart by a tsunami or hurricane. Put things into perspective and you will see how lucky you are to be given this new opportunity.

Once you view your job as temporary you can start to use it for your advancement. Think of it as an opportunity to network with people you would have never had the opportunity to cross paths. Maybe your next customer could be a business owner that you've been attempting to get an interview with.

There really is life after downsizing and while your current situation may be less than idea, it may actually force you into a new opportunity that you really love.