Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Parera (born June 3, 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player, who has won five Grand Slam singles titles. He has won the French Open in four consecutive years (2005–08), and Wimbledon in 2008. He is currently ranked world number two, a position he has held for a record 156 consecutive weeks. As of July 28, 2008, Nadal is currently on a 28-match winning streak, winning five tournaments during this time, including the French Open and Wimbledon.

From April 2005 to May 2007, Nadal won a record 81 consecutive clay court matches before being defeated by Roger Federer in the 2007 Hamburg Masters final. This is the longest winning streak of any male player on a single surface in the open era. Nadal is undefeated at the French Open, having won all 28 matches and four single titles he has played. These achievements have led some to regard Nadal as the greatest clay-court player in the history of the sport.

Nadal has a storied rivalry with Roger Federer, most notably for defeating the world number one at the French Open in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, so far denying Federer a Career Grand Slam. At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Nadal defeated Federer in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins, with Nadal becoming the first player since Björn Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. He is also only the second male Spaniard to win the Wimbledon title and the first in 42 years.

Born in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain on June 3, 1986, Rafael Nadal Parera began playing tennis at the age of five with his uncle Toni. Encouraged by the promise spry Rafael (or "Rafa," as his fans and countrymen call him) showed, Toni began training his nephew on the courts.

Before Rafael was even 10 years old, it was clear the boy had a future in tennis. His uncle became his coach and he began serious training, quickly capturing Spanish and European junior events. In 2002, at the age of 15, he won his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) match, becoming only the ninth player in the Open Era to win an ATP game before his 16th birthday. Playing mostly Futures events, the young Spaniard compiled a 37-3 record and won six titles in his homeland.

The next year, Nadal had his breakthrough season, as he had successful runs on both the ATP and Challenger circuits. The run included his first semifinal appearance in an ATP event, as well as his first Wimbledon appearance, where he made it to the 3rd round. To top off 2003, he won his first doubles ATP title in Umag, and took home the Newcomer of the Year Award.

While 2004 marked the year he won his first ATP title (at the Idea Prokom Open) and beat a top-ranked opponent (Roger Federer), it was his 2005 summer run that proved he was among the tennis tour's best. In winning nine singles titles, including an incredible victory at Roland Garros, Nadal rose to a no. 2 ranking in the world, behind only Federer. At only 19 years old, this clay-court specialist has bested himself year after year since joining the ATP tour, and he looks to conquer tennis time and again in Grand Slam events to come.

Birthday

Birthday or B'days is the name given to the date of the anniversary of a person's birth. People in many cultures celebrate this anniversary. In some languages, the word for birthday literally translates as "anniversary". Birthdays are traditionally marked by celebrations including a birthday party or, in some particular cases, a rite of transition.

It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the non-Christian cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia, and was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays.Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it was distribution widely and its influence was spead throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity.

The celebration of birthdays is not universal. In the Christian world, some communities do not celebrate Birthdays. For instance, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate them, because their origins are pagan and the festivities are contrary to Christian practice, along with some of the festive customs associated with Christmas and Easter.Orthodox Christianity prefer celebrations of name days. Some communities may celebrate both naming days and birthdays, as is the norm among Catholics in many communities in the Hispanic world.

The Jewish perspective on birthday celebrations is disputed by various rabbis.In the Hebrew Bible, the one single mention of a celebration being held in commemoration of someone's day of birth is for the Pharoah.The bar mitzvah of 13 year old Jewish boys, or bat mitzvah for 12 year old girls, is perhaps the only Jewish celebration undertaken in conjunction with a birthday, however, the essence of the celebration is entirely religious in origin (the attainment of religious maturity according to Jewish law) not secular, despite modern celebrations where the secular "birthday" elements predominate. With or without the "birthday" celebration, the child still automatically attains his or her bar or bat mitzvah, and its celebration may be any date following his 13th or her 12th year anniversary of birth.

The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented, the number of candles signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it is may make a silent wish and then blow out the candles. It is also customary for the person celebrating their birthday to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake.Birthday cakes date back as far as the Middle Ages when the English would conceal symbolic items such as gold coins, rings and thimbles inside their cakes.Each item was associated with a prediction. For example, a person finding a gold coin in a birthday cake would supposedly become wealthy; a person discovering a thimble would never marry.Sometimes special candles are substituted for the many individual candles in the shape of a numeral. For example, on the fifth birthday, there may be one candle on the cake in the shape of the numeral five, and on the fiftieth birthday there may be two candles on the cake, one in the shape of the numeral five followed by the other in the shape of the number zero.

In addition to parties, it is often common for people to receive gifts on their birthdays. There are also traditions of surprise parties.In addition to parties, it is often common for people to receive gifts on their birthdays. There are also traditions of surprise parties., it is expected of the person celebrating their birthday to treat their party guests instead; this varies depending on the local culture and may involve party gifts or other gestures.

In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the honored person celebrating a birthday. The Happy Birthday song tune is thoughtto be the most frequently sung melody in the world. Similar songs exist in other languages such as "Lang zal hij/zij leven" in Dutch, "Õnne soovime Sul" in Estonian, "Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück" in German, "Que los cumplas feliz" or "Feliz cumpleaños a tí" in Spanish, "Parabéns a você" in Portuguese, "Sto lat" in Polish, "Lá Bhreithlá Shona Duit" in Irish, "Joyeux Anniversaire" in French, "Tanti Auguri a te" in Italian and "Iyi ki dogdun, Mutlu Yillar Sana" in Turkish.

In some Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries such as France, Hungary, or Greece, it is common to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'.This is celebrated in much the same way as a birthday, but is held on the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday person; the difference being that one may look up a person's name day in a calendar, or easily remember common name days (for example, John or Mary); however in pious traditions, the two were often made to concur by giving a newborn the name of a saint celebrated on its birthday, or even the name of a feast, for example, Noel or Pascal (French for Christmas and "of Easter").

People born on February 29, which occurs only during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).People born on February 29, which occurs only during leap years, often celebrate their birthday in other years on February 28, or March 1 (the first day they have, measured in whole years, a new age).

A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30 PM will record their birthdate as one day before Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and those born in the Line Islands will record their birthdate one day after UTC. They will apparently be born two days apart, while some of the apparently older ones may be younger in hours. Those who live in different time zones from their birth often exclusively celebrate their birthdays at the local time zone. In addition, the intervention of Daylight Saving Time can result in a case where a baby born second being recorded as having been born up to an hour before their predecessor

More Deadly Bomb Blasts Rock India

A day after serial bombings in India's high-tech hub, Bangalore, there have been numerous blasts in Ahmedabad, western India's commercial and cultural capital. Authorities report at least 29 people are dead and more than 100 injured there following 16 separate explosions in and around the capital of the state of Gujarat.

As investigators in Bangalore were seeking clues amid the debris from a series of low intensity explosions there, a similar group of blasts hit another Indian city Saturday evening.

The latest target: the capital of the state of Gujarat. While only one person died in the Bangalore bombings, the number of dead and injured in Ahmedabad is much higher. Authorities say the explosive devices were placed in lunch canisters on bicycles which were parked at crowded markets. One bomb also exploded at a trauma center where some of the injured had been taken.

Television stations say just before the first blast in Ahmedabad they had received a 14-page long e-mail warning of an attack from a group calling itself "Indian Mujahedin." The little-known group has previously claimed responsibility for bomb blasts in other cities.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil says whatever resources are needed to render aid and investigate the attacks will be committed.

The cabinet minister says whether it is Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or Ahmedabad the government will not play the blame game because to do that will not help the people.

His comments are a reference to the finger-pointing between the national and state governments over accusations they are not doing enough to prevent such attacks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for Indians to "maintain communal harmony." The fear is if radical Islamic groups are blamed for the bomb blasts that Hindu activists may attack minority Muslims in retaliation.

Gujarat is especially sensitive because six years ago more than 1,000 people died there during rioting between Hindus and Muslims which threw the entire state into chaos for weeks.

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STOP DRINKING AND DRIVING....LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

Driving under the influence of alcohol (driving while intoxicated, drunk driving, drinking and driving, drink-driving) or other drugs, is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and even a bicycle, boat or horse in some jurisdictions) after having consumed alcohol, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is a crime or offence in most countries around the world. Driving under the influence of alcohol legally is known as Buzz Driving. Anti-drunk-driving advertising campaigns In most international jurisdictions, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be heavily fined. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Historically, guilt was established by observed driving symptoms, such as weaving; administering field sobriety tests, such as a walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds; and the arresting officer's subjective opinion of impairment. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first per se law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually supplemented the earlier purely judgmental ones. Limits for chemical tests are specific for blood alcohol concentration or concentration of alcohol in breath. With the advent of a scientific test for blood alcohol content (BAC), enforcement regimes moved to pinning culpability for the offense to strict liability based on driving while having more than a prescribed amount of blood alcohol, although this does not preclude the simutaneous existence of the older subjective tests. BAC is most conveniently measured as a simple percent of alcohol in the blood by weight. It does not depend on any units of measurement. In Europe it is usually expressed as milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. However, 100 milliliters of blood weighs essentially the same as 100 milliliters of water, which weighs precisely 100 grams. Thus, for all practical purposes, this is the same as the simple dimensionless BAC measured as a percent. Since 2002 it has been illegal in all 50 US states to drive with a BAC that is 0.08% or higher. The validity of the testing equipment/methods and mathematical relationships for the measurement of breath and blood alcohol have been criticized. Driving while consuming alcohol may be illegal within a jurisdiction. In some it is illegal for an open container of an alcoholic beverage to be in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle or in some specific area of that compartment. The German model serves to reduce the number of accidents by identifying unfit drivers and removing them from traffic until their fitness to drive has been established again. The Medical Psychological Assessment (MPA) works for a prognosis of the fitness for drive in future, has an interdisciplinary basic approach and offers the chance of individual rehabilitation to the offender. A breathalyzer is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample. "Breathalyzer" is the brand name of a series of models made by one manufacturer of these instruments (originally Smith and Wesson, later it was sold to National Draeger), but has become a genericized trademark for all such instruments. In Canada, a preliminary non-evidentiary screening device can be approved by Parliament as an approved screening device and an evidentiary breath instrument can be similarly designated as an approved instrument. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a "Conforming Products List" of breath alcohol devices approved for evidentiary use, as well as for preliminary screening use.

Allow Your Own Inner Light to Guide You

There comes a time when you must stand alone.

You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.

You must be willing to make sacrifices.

You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved.

Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.

There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.

Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.

Be confident enough that you won't settle for a compromise just to get by.

Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.

Don't stand in someone else's shadow when it's your sunlight that should lead the way.