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I bet you have probably owned one of these at some point in your life. I bet if you look around, almost everyone has one. In fact, some people own more than one at a given time. What am I talking about? In Australia we refer to them as mobile phones. In other parts of the world they are known as cell phones. Whatever name you know them by, I'm sure you're very familiar of their use (if you haven't heard or use a mobile/cell phone, I'm not sure where you have been all this time or what your situation is...but honestly, if you go into one of the major cities in the world, I can guarantee that you will see these little devices everywhere!)


They come in different styles to represent who you are, with matching accessories, different colours and even your personalized ring tones to choose from! In Australia, you even have a wide variety of payment plans to choose from, or just opt to pay as you go (pre-paid but you must buy the phone outright). A new model with new whiz bang features seem to come out every few weeks from the many different companies out there, trying to sell you the latest and best ever cell phone with camera, radio, ability to surf the net, gps, personal organiser, etc...and some models now have those special touch phone features like apple's iphone or the htc's touch phone. Literally, the market is just saturated with many cell phone models that are out there for sale and at different price ranges.

Which one do you have and why did you choose that particular mobile/cell phone? As for myself, I ended up getting a htc touch phone last christmas as it came with an organiser (which I needed). I was impressed with the touch technology it possessed, to allow me to navigate through my screens and menus. I have seen and did do some research on apple's iphone; unfortunately with all the bureaucratic issues between apple's iphone and one of our biggest telecommunications company here, (eg: contractual obligations, network access issues)...it turned me off from getting one at the time.

The cell phone was invented 35 years ago by Martin Cooper. He was a general manager for the systems division at Motorola and had an interest in embedded wireless devices. In an interview with the SMH newspaper on March 28th, 2008 Mr Cooper said that, "While the popularity of mobile phones has skyrocketed, with more than 3 billion people owning cell phones now compared with only 300,000 in 1984...he sees much more room for wireless in industries ranging from health care to power."

Although recent studies have proven to be inconclusive, in terms of any links between mobile/cell phones and cancer (in particular, brain tumors); a recent article published three days ago (July 24th, 2008) in the SMH newspaper wrote about how the head of a prominent cancer research institute (from the University of Pittsburgh) Dr. Ronald B. Herberman has warned that everyone should not be complacent when using their cell phone because of the electromagnetic radiation that is emitted. This is of particular concern in young children, as their brains are still developing. Eventhough, a lot of worldwide studies in this area have not found a link between cancer and cellular phone usage, Dr. Herberman argues that because it takes a very long time for science and a conclusive study in this area to come to a resolution, we should act now and should only use our cell phones for emergency use only.

I believe this is sound advise. I mean, when cigarettes were first sold and used by people it was glamorised and shown to be a really cool thing to take up. It has taken many years, but now Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in the UK are urging the public to give up smoking, as research studies can now prove that the habit is linked to at least 14 different types of cancer which cause around 70,000 deaths every year.

Like I have said at the beginning of this post, many of us probably own one or two and know a lot of our families and friends that also own and use a cell phone; and our reliance of this device and technology has been increasing of late, so please use it wisely. Only use it for emergency or for short periods of time. Being proactive and promoting prevention is much more sensible than waiting for scientific research to prove whether or not cell phones is linked to cancer.

Sydney, Australia is recently experiencing a large number of young visitors for World Youth Day 2008. Pope Benedict XVI landed in Australia yesterday for the festivities and ceremonies that will kick off tomorrow. This marks the fourth Papal visit to Australia.


Australia was chosen as the site of the 2008 World Youth Day celebrations and announced by Pope Benedict XVI during the conclusion of the 2005 World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, Germany.

There has been significant criticism of the 2008 World Youth Day due to the quarter of a billion dollar funding arrangement from the Commonwealth and New South Wales State Governments. Both the Commonwealth and New South Wales State Governments have stated that the revenue generated by World Youth Day will offset these costs. Catholic schools and community centres have been kind enough to provide accomodation for the young group of people who are visiting Sydney. The NSW government have been busy trying to sort out the logistics, transportation and security issues, but so far everything seems to be going to plan.

World Youth Day was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1984, that would bring together millions of young people on pilgrimage to Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Oceania.

According to Wikipedia, the idea behind World Youth Day, stemmed from Pope John Paul II's experience with his young friends in Srodowisko and their exploration of the personal and vocational dynamics of adolescence and young adulthood. Srodowisko saw youth groups evolve into networks of intellectual conversation. Both youngsters and intellectuals got involved in vacation excursions.


We (Sydney siders) have been warned that there may be delays in public transportation, so we have a few choices to make during this period. We either take a break, work from home or stay away from the city during this hectic time. Luckily for us (or unlucky) we actually live very close to work but also a walking distance from the Sydney CBD. We are starting to see a lot of young pilgrims walking about in our already busy city.

Simon and I walked through Darling Harbour in Sydney on the weekend and took some photos of the preparation and impending celebrations in the coming days. You can see some of the photographs I've taken against this post.

Networking

One news report stated that networking is an important part of getting the pilgrims to World Youth Day 2008. On hearing this, it actually got me thinking about the concept of networking and it's application in our daily lives, business and on the internet.

1. Purpose of Networking - Some people network to gain new friends or new business opportunities. On the internet, you may be involved in social networking to obtain or share knowledge with like-minded people, to promote your business/brand, or simply to make new friends. Why do you network with other people?

2. Networking Benefits - By getting to know other people, you may find some that are extremely helpful and a great support system to have. They may add content to your blog/website, promote your product or idea and are generally good allies to bounce off ideas or share information with. When you meet people like these, don't take them for granted. Like any relationship it's a two-way street, so always maintain a sense of professionalism and respect for each other. If one party is constantly giving, while the other is constantly taking, it will certainly destroy that networking relationship. Try to be fair and balance with how you both approach things. Have you found some great people you are currently networking with?

3. Places to Network - In life, people can network through mutual friends, work, religious affliations, at sporting events, clubs, pubs, or just about anywhere where you may start up a conversation. Through the internet there are many social media sites you can join up with, you have all heard of many of them before so I will not mention them on this post. Depending on what it is you wish to achieve will define the type of social networking site that will work for you. If you want to promote your website/blog or just who you are, I've found that visiting regularly sites of interest and leaving quality and constructive comments or participating in the forums can help get you noticed. What has worked for you?

4. Creating a list of Friends - These days a lot of people have their own list of friends or are on someone's list of friends. This is great, provided that you are on a list with a group of like-minded people who share your ideas and understand the areas you are interested in. There's nothing like getting a shout on Digg (from a friend) about a new 'hot sports car' if you're interested in saving the environment. Therefore, find a list or group of people where you have a common ground. You do not need to agree on the same thing or like exactly the same thing, but having the same basic fundamental view of certain concepts will certainly help. Do you have a small or big list of friends? How effective is it?

Now look around, start networking with those around you and find a connection. You might be surprised with what you find out, what you may learn and what opportunities it may open up for you.

The Air Car uses compressed air to push its engine's pistons. Take a look at the video for more info.
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