4 Sure Signs He Likes You

We have all heard countless times about how frustrated men get that women are so hard to read or understand. Well, we women know that men can be just as hard to figure out. This is especially true if you have your eye on a certain someone but aren’t sure whether he likes you back.

Trying to get a romantic relationship started is hard enough even if you know exactly how the other person feels. It is even harder when you are in the dark about his real feelings and intentions.

It is impossible to read his mind, but you can get the inside scoop on the common signs that he will show you that indicate he likes you. Here are 4 sure signs he likes you:

1. He makes it a point to be near you at often as possible

Physical attraction between man and woman is animal and very physical. At its most basic level, attraction is based on the human need to reproduce. Nature dictates that we can only reproduce with those with whom we are physically close. If the guy you have a crush on makes it a point to be around you as often as possible, this is a sure sign he likes you. It doesn’t matter exactly what he is doing when he is near you, by the way: even if he is not paying any direct attention to you, if he is nearby often, count this as a sign that he has a crush on you.

2. He often touches you innocently

Attraction and love go hand-in-hand, and attraction is often expressed through touching. The act of touching can be a proxy, or substitute, for the act of making love. Light touches on the back, shoulder, hair, or hands - even if they seem accidental - are excellent indicators that romantic feelings are present.

3. He tries to get a reaction out of you

If you are on speaking terms with the man you like (such as if he is a co-worker), take it as a sign that he likes you if he is constantly trying to get a reaction out of you. This could be anything from taking little verbal jabs, kidding with you, or complimenting you. Anything he does, really, to get you to express some sort of emotion toward him is a sign of this kind of behavior.

4. He kids and lightly makes fun of you

A common tactic that men use to indirectly show they care is to make fun of a woman, ever so lightly and in an inoffensive manner. While this sounds like something straight out of the third grade, it is a behavior that typically extends well into adulthood. This type of indirect sign of affection is common with men who are not yet at that stage of relationship with the woman they like.

If the guy you like is showing you one or more of these signs, take it as a huge compliment; it probably means he likes you. Now is your chance to take the next steps and figure out how to really get his attention.

I Need to Get Rid of My Fat, But How? Lose Weight Quickly With the Right Diet.

I know I need to get rid of all my excess pounds, but how? Lose weight quickly with a healthy balanced diet and moderate exercise. It is really that simple, the problem is, most of us want a miracle and that is simply not going to happen. The fat came with time and unfortunately it is going to go with time! Do not lose heart though; there are ways to speed up the process if you are willing to put in that little extra effort.

1. Start with a healthy balanced diet:

Very important: if you are saying “I need to get rid of my fat,” you have to eat healthy and you have to eat enough. This is the problem with all the fad diets, you eat too little and lose mostly water and muscle instead of fat. As soon as you start eating normal again, the water comes back and so does the weight except for the precious muscle you lost. The muscle you lose with a fad diet is one of the biggest problems that results in yo-yo dieting. With less muscle to burn energy, your metabolism slows down and you gain weight much easier than before you went onto the fad diet!

If you go onto the correct diet on the other hand, that will not happen and the weight loss will be real. With the correct diet you will not only lose water but you will burn fat. This is very important as going wrong here can really cost you in the future. Do not fall for a diet that makes you eat very little or mostly one kind of food. Most of all, stay away from those liquid diets. I do not mean healthy meal replacement shakes, I mean those “soups” that you can eat in unlimited quantities, but you still starve all day!

For a normal healthy eating plan you will eat ordinary, everyday foods that are easily available. There is not need to eat expensive “special” meals and bars. You can do very well on the food you normally buy. Get a diet that gives you a choice and lets you choose the food you prefer and that are readily available. It is better for your health and it is better for your pocket!

There are many diets out there, choose a good one, stick to it and you will have success.

2. Moderate exercise:

Here is where you can almost make the miracle happen. With moderate exercise you can speed up the process considerably. Take note though, “Moderate” exercise! No good will come of it if you go overboard. You’ll burn muscle once again and it will be counter productive. For the best fat burning exercise you need to exercise at 60% of your maximum heart rate for about forty minutes, three to four times a week. Doing more will not burn more fat.

To work out what your maximum heart rate is, take 220 minus your age. Now you can work out your optimal heart rate for fat burning take 60% of that. Now you have your maximum heart rate to work the most efficiently. For example, if you were 42 years old, the formula would look like this. 220-42= 178. And now you get 60% of the 178 and that is 107. Divide that by 6 and you have a 10 second count if you are checking your heart rate manually. If the machine gives you your heart rate you can work harder or slow down as needed to maintain the fat burning zone.

So, these are the basics if you are saying “I have to get rid of my fat, but how?” Lose weight quickly with a combination of the correct diet and healthy moderate exercise.

Car with 5-year-old inside sinks in Utah river

SALT LAKE CITY - Crews on Saturday were using sonar to search the bottom of the Colorado River after a car plunged 60 feet into a canyon and sank in the icy river, trapping a 5-year-old girl inside.

The 60-year-old driver, Evelyn M. Maestas of Mancos, Colo., and her 11-year-old adopted daughter, Tori, were able to escape through a broken window and get out of the river after their car went off the road Friday, officials said. They told authorities they saw Maestas' granddaughter, 5-year-old Danica, still inside the sinking car.

Crews were walking along the shore and using the sonar technology, which provides underwater images of the river bottom, but the bottom of the murky water is strewn with large boulders, Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, a Utah Highway Patrol spokesman, told The Associated Press.

"We're having a hard time looking through all the nooks and crannies," Nigbur said Saturday. "The Colorado River is also very dirty and you can't see a thing."

He also said crews didn't know if the car sank quickly or had enough air to help it move farther down the river.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Darrel Mecham said Evelyn and Tori Maestas suffered from hypothermia and were taken to the hospital. Their condition was not immediately available Saturday.

Iraq: Oil prices may drag budget lower

BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament pushed back voting Saturday on this year's budget and could be forced to make further cuts because of falling oil prices.

The latest delay in trying to ratify the current $64 billion budget proposal highlights the financial squeeze facing Iraq as declining oil revenues cut into reconstruction plans such as new roads and improved utilities — which the Shiite-led government hopes to use as showcases in national elections later this year.

The pinch has also brought calls by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for proposals to diversify Iraq's oil-dependent economy with expansion of agriculture and other trade. But Iraq's plans for this year have been dragged down along with the price of oil, which is now less than $45 a barrel after hitting highs last summer of $150 a barrel.

A Sunni lawmaker, Ayad al-Samarraie, predicted the budget will face more trimming after several previous cuts from its original $79 billion. The current budget is based on a $50 a barrel projection.

"We don't expect that oil will reach this price," said al-Samarraie, a member of the chamber's financial committee.

He urged lawmakers to take a comprehensive look at all spending, suggesting that more money go to electricity and other public projects at the expense of deeper cuts in other areas.

Difficult decisions over security
Shatha al-Mousawi, the Shiite member of the finance committee, called for possible sharp reductions in the National Security Adviser office, which was established shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. She said it has 377 employees and suggested cutting it to just 16.

"The studies and reports show that the falling oil prices will continue for two or three years," she said.

It was unclear when the budget could eventually come for a vote.

Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command, told The Associated Press that the budget crisis would force Iraq to make some very difficult decisions about how to grow its security forces.

"They are many, many hard decisions that they are going to have to make," he said.

He said U.S. military advisers have been making recommendations to the Iraqi security officials on possible ways to deal with the shrunken budget. An example, Helmick said, could be reducing the number of Abrams tanks sought by Iraqi forces.

He said essential services such as Iraqi police and military payroll, electricity and water could not be cut.

War crimes trial set for mid-April
In Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi forces arrested 11 suspected insurgents including the so-called "oil minister" of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, a purported political faction linked to al-Qaida in Iraq.

An Interior Ministry statement said Ali Mahmoud Mohammed and 10 other suspected insurgents were arrested in a raid in a Diyala village. No other details were given.

An al-Qaida front group announced the formation of an "Islamic Cabinet" in April 2007 in a bid to challenge the Iraqi government. The Cabinet purportedly includes the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq as "war minister."

Iraqi authorities accuse Mohammed of hijacking oil tanker trucks, kidnapping and killing the drivers and blowing up oil pipelines.

In Baghdad, the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal said a mid-April trial date is planned for the first war crimes trial of Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion.

Two members of Saddam's former Baath Party are accused of executing two British soldiers taken captive by a mob in southern Iraq in 2003. The exact trial date has not been set, said Aref al-Shaheen, the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal, which was set up to hear the cases against members of Saddam's regime.

The trials of Saddam and others have been under charges of crimes against humanity.

"It is the first case of war crimes ... The two wounded soldiers were killed instead of given medical treatment," said al-Shaheen.

At least 15 U.S. troops died in Iraq in February, including 12 who were killed in combat, according to an Associated Press tally. That compared with nine U.S. combat deaths in January.

A report from Iraq's Interior and Health ministries said 211 civilians were killed and 437 wounded in February — compared with 138 killed and 303 wounded in January. The figures were given by officials from the ministries who spoke in condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Leaving Iraq: U.S. plans taking shape

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military map in Iraq in early 2010: Marines are leaving the western desert, Army units are in the former British zone in the south and the overall mission is coalescing around air and logistics hubs in central and northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, commanders will be shifting their attention to helping Iraqi forces take full control of their own security.

The Pentagon has not released the full details of President Barack Obama's plan to end America's combat role in Iraq by Aug. 31 of next year, but the broad contours are taking shape.

Statements from military officials, U.S. government reports and interviews by The Associated Press with Iraqi and U.S. planners offer a wide-angle view of the expected American formation in Iraq when the pullout quickens early next year.

Between 35,000 and 50,000 soldiers are expected to remain in a transition period before all troops must leave by the end of 2011 under a joint pact. In his speech Friday, Obama outlined the roles ahead.

"Training, equipping, and advising Iraqi security forces as long as they remain nonsectarian; conducting targeted counterterrorism missions, and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq," he said at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

There should be little immediate change in the American presence in 2009.

The bulk of the current 138,000 U.S. troops are expected to remain until Iraq's national elections scheduled for late this year. Maintaining security for the balloting is considered a top priority by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and other high-ranking Pentagon officials.

Then the pullout will accelerate.

W. Castello / AP

Plans to shift Marines to Afghanistan
The first significant shift could be with the 22,000 Marines in Anbar province, a broad wedge of western desert where insurgents once held sway over key cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi.

The Marines have already tested exit routes through Jordan with plans for a full-scale exodus during the "2010 calendar year," said Terry Moores, deputy assistant chief of staff for logistics for Marine Corps Central Command.

The Marines could possibly leave a small contingent, but expect to turn over military duties to the Army.

The early exit from Anbar carries two important messages.

It's part of Washington's shift of military focus to Afghanistan. Obama plans to send 17,000 more soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to join 38,000 already fighting a strengthening Taliban-led insurgency.

Anbar also represents a critical turning point of the nearly six-year-old Iraq war. A U.S.-directed effort in late 2006 began to recruit and fund tribal leaders to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups — which were eventually uprooted in Anbar and began to lose their hold in and around Baghdad.

In the south, the U.S. Army is making plans to fill the void left by the departure this spring of 4,000 British troops based outside Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq and a hub of the nation's southern oil fields.

Odierno has said a division headquarters — about 1,000 personnel — plus an undetermined number of troops would be sent to Basra. The transition is expected to begin in late March, and it's likely a U.S. force will remain around Basra until the final pullout in 2011.

Basra is a proving ground for Iraq's ability to handle security on its own. Iraq launched an offensive last year that — with U.S. help — crippled Shiite militia control in parts of the city. But the small British contingent has largely stayed out of direct security operations, leaving it mostly to Iraqi commanders.

Potential trouble spots in northern Iraq
During a tour of Basra on Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said some military personnel will remain to train Iraq's navy, but the primary British goal is humanitarian aid and development.

"We will focus upon cultural, economic and educational topics," he told Basra Gov. Mohammed al-Waili.

Northern Iraq, meanwhile, poses the greatest uncertainties for the Pentagon.

Mosul — Iraq's third-biggest city — remains one of the last havens for al-Qaida in Iraq, and its streets are among the most dangerous in the country.

On Tuesday, two Iraqi police opened fire during a U.S. military inspection of an Iraqi security unit in Mosul, killing one American soldier and an interpreter. The attack deepened worries of possible infiltration of security forces in the Mosul area.

U.S. combat support for Iraqis is likely to continue — and perhaps expand — in the coming 18 months. It then could become high on the agenda for the counterterrorism missions, which could include ground forces and aerial surveillance.

U.S. troop strength in the Mosul area is relatively light, but there is a U.S. base on the city's edge.

Obama left open the option for more extensive U.S. military backup if needed.

"There will surely be difficult periods and tactical adjustments," he said. "But our enemies should be left with no doubt: This plan gives our military the forces and the flexibility they need to support our Iraqi partners and to succeed."

The northern city of Kirkuk is another potential trouble spot. Tensions between Kurds and Sunni Arabs over control of the city — and center of the northern oil fields — show no signs of easing.

Training and advising the Iraqi military
Two bases north of Baghdad will likely take more prominent roles next year.

Balad Air Base, home to more than 20,000 U.S. forces, provides air power, logistics and counterterrorism support as well as training for Iraqi security forces. Its location — 50 miles north of Baghdad — offers a rich vantage point for intelligence gathering and analysis across the entire north and specific areas such as the Iranian border.

Another major U.S. air and logistics base in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, sits next to Iraq's new supply and logistics hub.

The two sites would be a natural centerpiece for U.S. training and advising of the Iraqi military, Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, the deputy commanding general at Multi-National Security Transition Command, told the AP recently.

Salazar said the Taji National Supply Depot was designed by the Iraqis to be the "top end" of the supply and logistics chain for its security forces.

In Baghdad, the U.S. military is already making changes in anticipation of the first step of the withdrawal timetable: U.S. forces out of major cities by June.

The United States has handed over the Green Zone to the Iraqi government, closed forward operating bases and combat outposts in the city or turned them into smaller stations where U.S. troops work alongside Iraqi security forces.

The Trouble with VoIP

Although VoIP is being marketed as the next big universal solution, it is not without its share of problems. The promoters of VoIP originally said that the new VoIP service was going to save money in the long run but companies claim that added layers of management and security are needed for VoIP. As with any new form of technology, while it may seem new and original in its design at first, it always comes with a fair portion of VoIP trouble.

Hacking Trouble on VoIP

VoIP is said to be very susceptible to hacking; it is much easier to hack into than a traditional phone line. Like any data, it is susceptible to denial of services as well as viruses that can ruin and corrupt hardware and software. There is also the issue that VoIP users are very susceptible to spam, receiving voicemails for advertisements for such products as Viagra, cheap mortgages and adult related content. This leads on to the issue that expensive filtering devises will have to be purchased to get rid of these unnecessary extras so that consumers are not bothered by them. Not all VoIP devices come with such devices.

Critics are saying that spam on the internet with VoIP can become common, it being as simple as pressing a button to send a large VoIP customer recipient list an audio file containing a telemarketer message. This has been names as SPIT – Spam over Internet Technology, and is very common on the internet today, and has been the trouble of email users since the internet began.

Security

Since VoIP is internet based, it is no more secure than email and so as more people use it, security issues will become more common because those who seemingly enjoy annoying people will get enjoyment from doing so in a new medium over the internet. This spells complete VoIP trouble.

Echo and other VoIP Trouble

Echo is a major VoIP trouble issue. There is said to be a large amount of echo when a call is made from VoIP to PSTN (public switched telephone network). Calls are also said to drop at any time without warning and peoples voices are said to be fuzzy. There is also a major issue relating to 911 and emergency services. If a server is disconnected without warning with no other form of communication available, and a person needs to contact emergency services, this could cause despair and trouble. The VoIP servers have been known to be unpredictable which could lead to human or financial loss in the worst case scenario.

Understanding the VoIP System

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is a new technology that is basically replacing the regular telephone system. The technology used in this VoIP system works by routing voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network.

VoIP is a revolutionary technology that absolutely has the power and potential to completely rework the world’s phone systems. Major carriers such as AT&T are already setting up VoIP calling plans in several different markets around the world.

How it Works

The VoIP system is quite simply the transmission of voice traffic over IP-based networks, and IP, or Internet Protocol, was originally designed for data networking. However the success of IP in becoming a world standard for data networking has led to its adoption to voice networking.

Functionality

The functionality of the VoIP system is truly incredible, as it is able to facilitate many tasks that may be more difficult to achieve using traditional networks. For instance, with the VoIP system you are able to transmit more than one telephone call down the same broadband-connected telephone line, which makes VoIP a very simple way to add an extra telephone line to your home or office.

Also, with the VoIP system you are able to secure the system with existing off-the-shelf protocols, such as Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol, and in turn the system is location independent, and only an Internet connection is needed in order to get a connection to a VoIP provider.

Financial Advantages

There are many advantages that you can receive from using VoIP systems, most of which involve finances. You can save a great deal of money by using VoIP services rather than your regular telephone services.

Most consumers pay a flat monthly fee for local telephone calls and then are charged additional fees for extra services and for long-distance calling. VoIP calls, however, can be placed across the Internet, and most Internet connections are charged using a flat monthly fee structure as well.

By using this Internet connection for traffic and voice calls, consumers are able to get rid of one of these monthly payments. To top that, VoIP plans do not charge a per-minute fee for any long-distance calls.

Good Bye Land Lines

VoIP offers many advantages over circuit switching, and the general public is quickly becoming aware of this. VoIP systems and services are actually becoming so popular that it is believed they will entirely replace regular phone systems within the next few years.