Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Curta Calculator

It's hard to find more desirable and satisfying (in a tactile sort of way) mechanical fetish item from the age of early computing...


For years Curta calculators enjoyed a cult status among collectors, and as recently as in 2003 they were featured in William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" book. However, I daresay, not featured enough. This marvel of mechanical engineering should be given more exposure, especially given the bizarre and spooky circumstances of its origin.




Entirely mechanical, no electricity or batteries involved.
- Designed by Curt Herzstark in 1938 and perfected inside a concentration camp.
- Considered to be the most efficient portable calculator (until electronic calculators came in the 70s)
- Simply a thing of beauty, stunning piece of engineering art.


Take this glorified pepper-grinder shape in your hand, set the multiple sliders and turn the computing handle - and this groovy gadget starts to make a wizzing, almost musical sound. There is no electricity, wires, or batteries! Just a sophisticated package of miniature cogs and parts, that is a joy to disassemble and put together again...

Generally an arithmometer with multiple cogs and stepped drum mechanism, there is however a lot to disassemble. See a poster of all the parts inside, available for purchase on this site (the most comprehensive we could find on the topic):
Perfected in a concentration camp, as a gift to Hitler!

Probably the weirdest story of invention ever told:

Working on this device saved the life of its inventor, and could've put "the ultimate computing weapon" into the hands of every Nazi army engineer... pretty much the stuff of nightmares.

"Herzstark was a prisoner at Buchenwald but the camp leaders were aware of his work and encouraged it. They apparently wanted to give the invention to the Fuehrer as a victory gift at the end of the war! Herzstark was given a drawing board and worked on the design day and night. The camp was liberated in April, 1945 by the Americans. Herzstark survived as did his revolutionary concept for a miniature calculator." (source: Bruce Flamm)


Disassembly of a mechanical marvel: It has 605 individual parts!

It must be very therapeutic and calming experience (you know how in the army they make soldiers to take apart and clean their guns, a repetitive ritual that calms down and reduces the chances of a shooting spree - I am being sarcastic here) Well, the antique calculator collectors are a cool bunch and not easily given to any angst - but they too, gladly, would spend hours taking apart this little calculating device. The best page showing the disassembly and wonderful innards of this device are located here. Here are only a few steps, highlighting the joy of this process:

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Nonito Donaire Begins to Throw His Weight Around


Donaire won the IBF Flyweight title from Vic Darchinyan with an electrifying one punch knockout in the fifth round.

The first thing that you notice about Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire is just how small he really is. At age 25, the IBF Flyweight titlist stands only a shade over 65 inches tall. His delicate hands, spindly fingers and tiny wrists look like they’d do well to crush a grape.

Maybe that’s what fooled Vic Darchinyan into thinking that he’d bowl right over little Nonito Donaire. Vic, never short on confidence, figured he’d turn out the “Flash’s” light, tear the kid up, knock him out and go on to win his 29th straight fight without a loss and keep the IBF title belt tightly strapped around his own waist.

But a funny thing happened in the fifth round of their July 2007 fight in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Harbor Yard Arena. Little Nonito Donaire, all 112 pounds of him, put all of his weight behind a hellacious shot that separated Vic Darchinyan from his senses, his aura of invincibility and his championship belt.

And just like that, little Nonito Donaire finally became known. And now he’s throwing his weight around. All 112 pounds of it.

On Saturday night in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Donaire hopes to make the second defense of his title a successful one when he’ll square off against South Africa’s Moruti “Babyface” Mthlane.

On Thursday afternoon Nonito spoke from the Top Rank offices in Las Vegas with a group of boxing writers on an international conference call. Donaire who is very well spoken has a youthful eagerness to his voice. He says he’s can’t wait for Saturday night.

“I went to the gym and started training early for this fight,” he proclaimed.

It’s his first fight under his new promotional deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank and his first fight as a husband since he married the beautiful Rachel Marcial in August.


Nonito was brilliant the last time out when he stopped Luis Maldonado to notch the first defense of his IBF Flyweight title.

In his previous fight, against Luis Maldonado at Foxwoods Resort & Casino last December, Donaire had some issues with making it down to the Flyweight limit because the Maldonado fight was put together on short notice by his former promoter Gary Shaw. Donaire shrunk himself down from 140 pounds all the way to 111 and it left him in a weakened state, but this time he says weight will not be an issue.

“We started our training camp early this time so that we wouldn't have the weight issue,” he said. “The last time around we had about a month for that fight; this time we had two months or more to get ready for it. So my weight is really good right now. I'm ready for this fight.”

Little is known about Mthlane, so Nonito says that he has prepared especially well so that he won’t be surprised when he gets in the ring on Saturday.

“Well, he has a style that he's always in shape,” said Nonito when asked what he knew about his South African opponent. “He's one dimensional. He fights fair, but he's really tough. He can take a punch. He can dish out a lot of punches and he throws a lot of punches. I haven't really, really seen him fight much, but one thing I know, this guy can be tough if you take him lightly. We've already come up with a game plan that if I throw out this punch and it lands, I know I can take him out.”

Those that have worked with Donaire and that have seen what he can do in the ring are very impressed with his abilities.

When he was still with Shaw, the promoter was as high on Donaire as he has been with any of his boxers. On the night he beat Maldonado at Foxwoods, Shaw told me:

“He is real, he’s as real as they come. He fights at 112 pounds; he’s a big 112. We would like to unify the titles if we can. Nonito is a fighter that I believe, and you can write down today’s date, that will be a champion at 112 pounds, he’ll be a world champion at 115 pounds and he’ll be a world champion at 118 pounds – for sure. He’s young, he’s fresh and he can really fight.”


Donaire hopes this belt is the first of many. Those that know him think he will win world titles in several weight divisions.

Donaire is managed by Cameron Dunkin who also manages Kelly Pavlik, among others. Dunkin has managed many lighter weight fighters throughout his managerial career and he feels that Donaire has what it takes to be every bit as good as some great names from the past.

“I managed Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Johnson, who was just a phenomenal fighter,” says Dunkin. “And Johnny Tapia also, you know, a lighter division fighter and Danny Romero - and they're all terrific fighters. Nonito can be as good as Mark Johnson.”

“He just has so much talent,” gushed Dunkin. “He is so fast. Kenny Adams, who I really admire and he's a great trainer. He said the other day when he brought over a sparring partner for Nonito, and he pulled me aside and said, ‘This guy,’ he goes, ‘I don't know where you got this guy. He's better than Corrales.’”

“But as a fighter, this kid can be so, so, so terrific,” continued Dunkin. “He's got speed, he's got power and he's huge for a flyweight. He'll be big at ‘18. He was knocking out ‘22 pounders when he weighed 115 pounds. I could just go on and on and on. This kid can be tremendous.”

But perhaps it’s little Nonito Donaire, “The Filipino Flash” who describes himself better than any manager or promoter ever could. His words are simple, straight and to the point. On a cold night in December, the night he knocked out Luis Maldonado at Foxwoods, Donaire told me:

“I’m no one-hit wonder, I’m here, I’m no flash in the pan.”

And he’s about to begin throwing his weight around.


October 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Killer Rig

SYSTEM SPECS
CASE- KANDALF LCS
MOTHERBOARD- ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME X38 CHIPSET THE LATEST DDR3 WITH NB ON WATER CPU & VIDEO CARDS
CPU-
INTEL QX9650 THE LATEST

12MB L2 Cache 3 GHz Clock Speed 1333 MHz Front Side Bus
CPU COOLER- THERMALTAKE WATER BLOCK

MEMORY- 4X1 CELL SHOCK DDR3 1800MHZ!!
HARD DRIVES 2X WD 150 RAPTORS IN RAID 0
DVD-RW- PHILIPS 20X DVD-RWS FAST!!!!
OPERATING SYSTEMS- VISTA ULTIMATE 64 BIT
CASE MODS- ADDITIONAL FANS FRONT & SIDE
POWER SUPPLY- 1000 WATT ULTRA X3 TONS OF POWER!!
VIDEO CARD- 2X 2900XT 1GIG MEMORY DDR4 DIAMOND VIPERS !!! on WATER
ADDITIONAL RADIATOR- REAR MOUNTED BLACK ICE RADIATOR W 2x120 FANS for extra cooling!!
OS
= VISTA 64 ULTIMATE INSTALLED & UPDATED &TWEAKED ORXP PRO



benchmarks




notice the coolers?



it uses QX9650 click for link....

A must have rig for a computer geek..


Saturday, October 18, 2008

Bernard Hopkins is One of the Special Ones


The ageless wonder is always in exquisite chape shape and always ready for another challenge - even at age 43.

Whether you love him or hate him, one thing you can be sure of is that Bernard Hopkins is one of the special personalities that make boxing is what it is.

Over the past decade the corporate suits that now call the shots in the sport have tried to wash away the grime from professional boxing. But try as they as they might, Bernard Hopkins is a constant thorn in their side and a constant reminder of what boxing used to be and what a real prizefighter truly is.

When Bernard Hopkins is gone, this game they call boxing will be a little less like old times.

Oh sure, he can get on your nerves. And as a boxing writer there have been times when I have asked him a question and by the time he was done answering the question - I had forgotten what I had asked him. He can wear you out with his rhetoric and with his mouth as much he wears out opponents with his fists.

But that’s what makes Bernard Hopkins – Bernard Hopkins.

I’ll always remember the many occasions that I have been afforded the opportunity to be within his inner circle for an afternoon. But there is one day in particular that sticks out in my mind.

We were at the International Boxing Hall of Fame on a June afternoon back in 1999.

It was before he made it really big. Before he was known as “B-Hop.” Before he felled Felix Trinidad in New York City like the terrorists felled the Twin Towers only two weeks before. Before he humiliated Oscar De La Hoya and made him writhe on the floor in open-mouthed agony. Before he became the pound-for-pound king of the entire sport. Before he became a partner in Golden Boy Promotions and before he went on to become the longest reigning middleweight champion in boxing history with a record that will likely never be broken - 20 successful defenses of the 160-pound crown.


Hopkins has always liked to talk and he is as deft in front of a microphone as he is when he is in front of an opponent.

On this day in 1999, Bernard Hopkins showed up in Canastota, New York and it was just he and his then trainer, the white-headed, toothpick chewing, Bouie Fischer. There was no entourage back then, no bodyguards and no pretensions.

He was simply Bernard Hopkins back then. Everybody knew his story of spending fifty-six dark months behind the tall walls of Graterford State Penitentiary. Everybody knew of his battles with the boxing promoters that he had summoned into courtrooms from Denver to Philadelphia to New York. Everybody knew of his rants against the establishment that he perceived to be keeping him down.

Everybody knew that he was an outspoken critic of the political crookedness within the sport that could make any straight arrow bend. Bernard Hopkins was the incorrigible, the truant that lived by his own set of rules and he was a sometimes bitter man that made you remember the hardened molds of Larry Holmes and Marvin Hagler.

But all along, Hopkins seemed to feel that if he talked loud enough and long enough that his life in boxing would take a turn for the better. Even then he alluded to what the future might hold for him.

“I always knew that I’d get another opportunity in life to redeem myself,” he told me on that afternoon as he and I and Angel Manfredy watched a video of him knocking out William ‘Bo’ James. “The boxing business can’t break my spirit and neither could the penitentiary.”

And then as he watched Bo James slowly unravel again before his eyes to become his third title defense victim, he asked me: “Did you see that bodyshot?”

I answered him that, “Yes, I did.”

“I was aiming for the liver. I always aim my punches. Let me make one thing clear to you,” he said. “Nothing I ever do in the ring is by accident. Everything has a purpose, every punch has a reason.”


Hopkins was brilliant against Antonio Tarver in June 2006 when he won a unanimous decision and recognition as the Light Heavyweight champion.

And let me tell you, when Bernard Hopkins looks right at you, I mean right at you, he doesn’t leave you much choice but to believe that what he says is the truth. He’ll also convince you that just as everything he does inside a boxing ring has a purpose – so to does everything he does outside the ring.

Watching him over the past 15 years has made me see that he is a man with a single-minded determination. He was a young 34 years old on that June day in 1999, but one look into his eyes then told you he was a man that had already lived a lifetime. And believe it or not, on that day, he told me his thoughts were about fighting Joe Calzaghe – a fight that wouldn’t actually happen for another nine years.

Looking back on what he said about Calzaghe then, it makes me understand that for Bernard Hopkins time is of no hindrance. He has no problem waiting and it’s like he says, “Prison will you give you all the patience in the world.”

So if it takes Bernard Hopkins a while to get where he wants to go, it doesn’t matter.

He spent nearly five years locked up in one of Pennsylvania’s toughest prisons, 10 years as middleweight champion and now he’s in his 20th year as a professional boxer. Here he is at age 43 getting ready to fight a 26-year-old middleweight champion destroyer named Kelly Pavlik and it’s a fight many give Hopkins a great chance to win. He is still a physical marvel that is capable of feats inside a boxing ring that most people half his age can’t even fathom.

“Age is just a number,” he says as he smiles and chuckles. And when he says it he reminds you of another happy-go-lucky ‘Old Man River’ in boxing trunks who went far into later life as a pugilist – Archie Moore.


In a boxing career that has spanned 20 years Hopkins has accomplished more than enough to ensure that he will be a first ballot hall of fame inductee.

But as much as he can be engaging and witty, Bernard Hopkins can be intimidating, too.

Quiz him on a topic that he doesn’t really want to talk about and he’ll look at you with those coal black eyes and with somewhat of a sinister sneer. All of a sudden you realize what it must have been like when he stood over unsuspecting victims in the back alleys and side streets of the Philadelphia ghetto demanding their money, their gold chains – or else.

I found that out on a May morning in 2006 in Las Vegas. We were in the media room at the MGM Grand Hotel and later that night Oscar De La Hoya would bounce Ricardo Mayorga off the canvas a few times before knocking him out in the sixth round.

But all Hopkins, who was dressed like a casual businessman in a blue blazer and a pair of jeans, wanted to talk about was what he was going to do to Antonio Tarver when he got him in the ring in another month. The very same ring that he will fight Pavlik in tonight.

I dared ask Hopkins what he would do should he lose to Tarver and he shot me a glare that, in all likelihood, I won’t ever forget. He thought for a second about his answer, which is rare for him.

“What makes you think that I could lose that fight?” he asked in an accusatory tone as he rose his chin and looked down his nose at me from across the table.

“What have you seen in me, in my career in boxing - in my life – that would ever lead you to the conclusion that Bernard Hopkins could lose to Antonio Tarver?”

I had to admit that I didn’t have an answer for that one. My eyes drifted downward, I just shook my head and didn’t say anything. Hopkins could see that I had gotten the message to back off a little bit.


Hopkins is an intense individual that will challenge fighters and writers.

And sure enough, a month later, Hopkins put on a boxing clinic and totally befuddled Tarver over twelve tortuous rounds to claim a clear unanimous decision, and as he said, “I accomplished something even my hero ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson couldn’t do – win the light heavyweight championship of the world.”

In spending some time around Bernard Hopkins over the years I’ve learned that no matter what happens when he steps through the ropes tonight in Atlantic City - the one thing you can be sure of is that you are watching an old master at work – inside the ring and out.

Everything has a purpose.

And you can be sure that Bernard Hopkins is one of the special ones.


October 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Folder Lock for USB


For USB user that want their files protected from virus and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information in case of your USB loss, this application is for you. I have using the folder lock 5.7.3 version and it is very fast usefull and secured. You can fast protect your files, vault it, encrypt it, scramble it, name it you have it. Seldom application like it.


" This is a superb piece of software that does exactly what it claims to do. It is safe and above all fast. I would recommend this program to anyone with sensitive data that can't be bothered with slow encryption programs."



What is Folder Lock?



Folder Lock® is a fast data encryption and password protection software for Windows. It can simultaneously encrypt, lock and password protect your files, folders, drives, USB drives and even CD/DVD-RW.

Folder Lock creates encrypted storages called 'Lockers'. You can keep as many of your private files & folders in your Locker and password protect it with a single click. You can transfer, secure and backup these Lockers. Lockers are portable, you can keep them in USB Flash Drives, CD/DVD (R-RW), & notebooks or transfer them via email or upload. Lockers are even undeletable on the computer where Folder Lock is installed.

You can treat Lockers just as you would treat them in physical world. Each user can have their own Lockers. However, a single user can create multiple Lockers with different passwords as well. With Folder Lock, you can choose either to encrypt using 256-bit AES on-the-fly encryption or lock files, folders and drives anywhere on your computer. Each Locker can contain your encrypted files as well as your personal list of locked items.

Furthermore, Folder Lock's options like hack attempt monitoring, stealth mode, data shredding, history cleaning & auto protection can enhance data security beyond anything ever achieved. In addition, a locker's delete, move and rename are password protected to prevent data loss.

Folder Lock is Windows Vista / 2003 / XP / 2000 compatible and is the most downloaded File Security program in the market today.


Download Here:

For 8.7.5 trial version and purchase it if you want it.

NEWEST VERSION 8.75. If you have no money to spend for and need the application. Post ur email and glad to share to you my full and legal version with key.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Klitschko Makes Samuel Peter Blink


Vitali Klitschko made a triumphant return to the ring after nearly four years away and reclaimed the WBC heavyweight title he once held from Nigeria's Samuel Peter.

Spend enough time around this game they call boxing and you can sometimes figure out who is going to win a fight just by watching two fighters when they are in the same room with each other.

If you were paying attention on Friday afternoon when challenger Vitali Klitschko and WBC heavyweight belt-holder Samuel Peter faced off during the official weigh-in ceremony for their title fight there was a cue that tipped you off as to who the winner was going to be.

Klitschko, an oak tree of a man who stands a towering 6'7" tall, stared downward into Peter's eyes, who stands just a shade over six feet in height. Each man looked intently at the other in an effort to gain some sort of psychological edge. Without blinking, each of them tried to hold the gaze.

This boxing ritual has always reminded me of a game that my younger sister and I used to play when we were kids. We called the game 'make you blink' as we would stare into each other's eyes in a contest to see who could hold the stare the longest before one of us burst into laughter - or blinked.

Well, during Friday afternoon's weigh-in ceremony it was Samuel Peter that lost the game. He stared into Klitschko's eyes for only a moment before he lost the more serious version of 'make you blink' and turned away from the big Ukrainian. It proved to be a harbinger of things to come and if you're a keen watcher of such things you knew that once Peter blinked - the game was all but over.

Vitali Klitschko seemed to know as much, too. And as he confidently climbed the steps into the ring at Berlin's O2 World Arena in Germany in front of 12,000 fans on Saturday night, it was as though he hadn't been away from the game for exactly 1,400 days as he fought with extreme confidence and supreme skills.


Klitschko and Peter hit the scales and weighed-in on Friday afternoon. It was just before this picture was taken that the two engaged in a stare down.

Klitschko, a former WBC and WBO heavyweight titlist, put on a performance on Saturday night that was one for the ages as he completely dominated Peter from the sound of the first bell. The 37-year-old Ukrainian dished out a consistent patter of long range left jabs and right hands to the head that kept Peter off balance and at long distance - and occasionally 'Big Sam' teetered under the shots.

Klitschko, 247, used the same successful mix of deft movement, stinging jabs and persistent right hands that led him to a record of 35-2 (34)KO's to stop the bloated, exhausted and hapless Peter, 253 1/2, as the Nigerian decided to stay on his stool after eight rounds rather than face a certain knockout loss.

"Our fight started weeks ago, it's a psychological battle," said Klitschko earlier in the week.

"I noticed that Peter was getting more nervous everyday. At one of the press conferences, he almost completely lost his nerve. He was almost taking off and I was ready for to punch him. Then he literally ran away from me. He was really on the edge and he could barely look me in the eye. And you know what they say, the eyes are the mirror to the soul.”

During another press gathering a few days earlier, Klitschko began the mind games when he grabbed Peter's WBC title belt from him. The Nigerian quickly snatched it back from Vitali's clutches and stormed off the stage in a stern-faced huff.

After the fight on Saturday, Klitschko said, "It wasn't an easy fight, it wasn't easy preparation. I've had so many injuries, but now I am fit and healthy. I have my skills and I can't lose my skills. If I am fit and healthy I can show a good performance."

The now three-time titlist went on to add, "If you want very much, have big will and support from your team, family and my brother, I can do anything."


The Klitschkos celebrate and show off their hardware. It is the first time in boxing history that brothers have held the heavyweight titles simultaneously.

Klitschko's victory means that he and his younger brother Wladimir are now both world heavyweight titlists at the same time, thus realizing their boyhood dream.

Wladimir, the IBF/WBO titlist, watched the fight from ringside and immediately after Peter signified he had quit, an emotional Wladimir joined Vitali for the celebration in the ring. Wladimir, who became a boxer because of his older brother, has always looked up to his elder sibling. Wladimir also holds a win over Peter from 2005, although his was a much closer decision victory in which he was knocked down three times.

However, in a sad blow for boxing fans the titles the brothers currently hold will never be unified as both have publicly stated they will never fight each other because of a promise they made to their mother that they would never square off in the ring.

Vitali, who was positively beaming after the one-sided victory said, "It was a good performance and I made our dream for us to be world champions at the same time. We have one more belt in the Klitschko family."

It was the second loss suffered by Peter whose record drops to 30-2 (23)KO's with both losses coming at the hands of the Klitschko brothers.

Klitschko never seemed to have any doubts that he would be victorious and for months he has been telling anybody that would listen that he was certain of victory.

In the days before the fight, a relaxed Vitali told a pool of reporters that asked him about his mental ploys with the mercurial Peter what he was trying to accomplish.

"What happens here is just a show," answered a clearly amused Klitschko. "The real fight is in the ring."

Maybe so, but he had done a lot of work in the days leading up to his return to make the real fight a little easier.


October 2008

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

BARCODES OF CHINA PRODUCT


I received an email detailing how to determine a product was made from china. At first it was convincing but later i read also that it was not reliable after all. It was advisable not to rely on barcode alone..Product made of china repack somewhere will have different barcode. Barcode will be that of the country it was registered or repack..Please read below for better understanding.

Excerpts from Email..
"Dear friends,

The whole world is now wary of imported products, esp from China, in light of the melamine-tainted milk powders. To differentiate which product is made in Taiwan or China, look at the first 3 digits of the product's barcode--- the numbers 690 / 691 / 692 are MADE IN CHINA. 471 is Made in Taiwan .

It is our human right to know this information. Since the government and related departments are not educating the public, therefore we have to watch out for ourselves.

Nowadays, businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "made in china", so they don't show from which country it is made. By looking at the barcode, you will know from the first 3 digits if 690-692-- then it is made in China, or
00 ~ 09 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 - JAPAN
50 - UK

Email source: Jinkie of qcstyro.com


But read this one disclaiming this and decide for yourself what to believe.

"
Barcodes not guide to product origin

SENIOR technician Chan Chee Kong, 54, found himself scrutinising food-product barcodes after reading an e-mail he recently received.

The e-mail claimed that consumers would be able to differentiate between Taiwan- and China-produced food by decoding the first three digits of the 13-digit European Article Number (EAN) barcode usually found on packaging.

The EAN-13 barcode is defined by global-standards organisation GS1, which administers barcodes for retail goods in about 140 member countries. EAN is a superset of the Universal Product Code - the world's first barcode symbology.

The latter was formally established in 1973. Singapore got its assigned GS1 prefix back in 1986 or 1987, according to a local GS1 spokesman. China's assigned GS1 prefixes are 690, 691 and 692, while Taiwan's is 471.

The e-mail went on to exhort its recipients to avoid food products with China- assigned barcodes, referring to the recent scandal surrounding tainted China-made food products.

Mr Chan found out that, contrary to what the e-mail said, his Chinese cooking wines bore the Singapore-assigned prefix 888, despite being labelled as a product of China.

He told my paper that he also discovered Malaysian products that appeared to have been re-packaged in Singapore had the '888' barcode on their labels.

So, while it is true that each country does have a unique three-digit prefix, it does not reflect the origin of its contents.

This is stated in bold on the GS1 website: "GS1 prefixes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product."

It added that the prefixes indicate only the locations from which companies apply for the barcode. In other words, a company that registers its barcode in Singapore will carry the '888' prefix on its products, even if they were manufactured elsewhere.

A spokesman for the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said that the agency does not have any regulation pertaining to barcodes on food packaging.

However, Singapore's food regulations do require that basic information - such as a list of ingredients, the name and address of the manufacturer or importer, and the country of origin - be declared on food labels in English.


Source: achchan@sph.com.sg-asiaonedigital

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Big Floyd Spreads His Wings and Flies to England


Floyd Mayweather, Sr. and Ricky Hatton (background) will begin working together right away in Hatton's hometown of Manchester, England.

Floyd Mayweather, Sr. touched down at the airport in drizzly Manchester, England on Friday morning. The outspoken trainer is there, of course, to train Ricky Hatton for his November 22nd fight with Paulie Malignaggi that will take place at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

The world's first industrialized city is an unlikely place to find "Big Floyd" - as he likes to refer to himself. It's not the wind-whipped streets of his birthplace of Grand Rapids, Michigan nor anything at all like his current home among the lively action and bright lights of Las Vegas.

Mayweather, who is perpetually engaging and always has a little something on his mind, was weary after the long transatlantic flight. When reached by cell phone he was still getting his luggage together in the airport, yet he was anxious to let everybody know how things were getting along so far.

"I heard it rains a lot, quite a bit here, and the weather is kind of dreary," commented Floyd. "But I seen when I was comin' in, there was a lot of greenery, which is good, you know. But it don't seem like it's as alive as Las Vegas."

'Big Floyd' of course, is the estranged father to the man he refers to as "Little Floyd" his son, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who of course was the man that wrecked Ricky Hatton's undefeated record and sent him back to England with a one-way ticket stamped 'damaged goods.'

Mayweather, Sr. is now taking the place of trainer Billy Graham who had worked with Hatton since Manchester's favorite son was an aspiring amateur. But after Hatton's last fight in May, a shaky decision win against Juan Lazcano, Graham and Hatton parted company.


Hatton the night he beat Juan Lazcano in May. Although he won, Hatton walked a fine line. Not long after this, Hatton's long-time trainer, Billy Graham, was fired.

After considering several potential candidates to take over the training reigns, Hatton and his father/manager, Ray, decided upon Mayweather, Sr.

And so, after a lifetime spent barnstorming around the United States as a fighter and trainer, the grizzled Mayweather finds himself 'across the pond' as the saying goes.

"I'm excited to be training Ricky," said Floyd on the rainy, gray morning. "I'm excited to see the place. I haven't had the opportunity to come here...since about '82. And I never did take the opportunity to look around. Now I'm here and I've got a chance to feel it out. It looks like there's a lot of nice peoples here....so, we'll see."

'Big Floyd' says he will make big changes to Hatton's aggressive, come ahead, defense-be-damned style. And as usual, he didn't mince words when he was asked for his thoughts on Billy Graham's training methods as they applied to Hatton.

"I'll be honest with you. I think Ricky's been fightin' on his own for a long time, since day one, that's what I think," said Mayweather. "I don't see...I don't see nuthin' smart, slick or clever that he's been doin'. That's why my son did what he did. But what I'm tryin' to say is that he can definitely be a much better fighter than what he is."

As Mayweather made his way through the airport he was greeted by several people who recognized him and knew why he made his way to Manchester on this October morning. His style inside the ring (and some would say outside) is much different than what the often reserved people of England are accustomed to seeing.

But like a seasoned prizefighter getting used to fighting in a different town, Mayweather was eager to get the butterflies out, get the lay of the land and get down to the business at hand.


Hatton is a happy-go-lucky character in the gym so it remains to be seen how he and Mayweather, known as a strict disciplinarian, will mesh.

Mayweather claims he wants to reverse engineer Hatton's style and implement some of his well known defensive tactics. However, he must remain mindful that Hatton, not a pugilistic neophyte, has won world titles in two weight divisions while only losing one fight out of 45 in a professional career that has lasted eleven years.

To a large degree, Hatton's natural, busy, aggressive (some would say mauling) style is his primary asset. If Mayweather tinkers with that engine too much it could prove disastrous as many have a very difficult time in seeing Hatton transformed into a slick, defensive fighter that will take the time to look before he leaps.

Mayweather's task will be especially difficult since he and Ricky only have seven weeks to work together. However, the short time they will have in order get Hatton to a point where Floyd will be satisfied didn't seem to phase him in the least.

"I'm a colorful type of guy," said Floyd, in a vast understatement. "I do my thing better than anybody else, so, what can I say?"


Mayweather, Sr. is pictured here with perhaps his most famous client, none other than 'The Golden Boy' himself, Oscar De La Hoya.

As Mayweather slowly found his way through the Manchester airport with the phone pressed to his ear, he drifted into somewhat of a melancholy mood. Perhaps it was beginning to sink in that he was half a world away from all that he knows and that what he must do to make Hatton be what he will want him to be, is a huge undertaking.

As we talked, 'Big Floyd' seemed to realize, almost all of a sudden, that in the words of an old Jerry Reed song; 'We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.'

His attention began to wander off from our conversation.

But right before he hung up, Floyd summoned the water from that old well of confidence that has seen him persevere through a life that has not always been kind. By any measure, his has been a life of survival. He made it through nine and a half competitive rounds with 'Sugar' Ray Leonard in 1978, was once shot in the leg by his brother-in-law, spent a stint in the joint for dealing cocaine and now has managed to reincarnate himself as one of the most sought after trainers in all of boxing.

"Let me tell you something, man," he said. "I'm the best there is at what I do. I've forgotten more about all this stuff than anybody else will ever know. We'll be ready...we'll be ready."

And with that, 'Big Floyd', as he likes to refer to himself, was off to see the England that he missed in 1982.


October 2008