Curious G's blog

There are many ways to "catch a cheater." Most people cheat when their partner is out of town or traveling. If you suspect your partner may be cheating, you could tell your partner you’re leaving for the weekend and then wait and watch. You could use a computer key logger to track your partner’s internet use. You could set your partner up by placing a fake profile on-line and see if he takes the bait. If you’re partner is computer savvy and you don’t feel secure installing a key logger, keyhost.com offers an external attachment for $89. A (hidden) voice activated digital tape recorder will allow you to hear all of your partner’s phone and in-car conversations. Or you could always just hire a private detective.  Read More »

There's been a lot of talk lately about the exploitation of immigrant workers.  Many propose cracking down on employers that hire illegal immigrants as a way to solve the immigration problem.  But how do you crack down on those employers?  One way is through the court system:

Take the story of Mimin Mintarsh.  She's an Indonesian native, who was apparently smuggled into the US and brought to work as a cleaning woman at the home of a wealthy banker in Pasadena, California.  She was forced to work 14 hour days cleaning, cooking and doing other jobs around the house.  Mintarsh filed a lawsuit against her employer, alleging violations of varous labor laws.  She is seeking compensatory damages of 1.3 million and unspecified punitive damages.  A jury awarded Mintarsh more than $830,000 last Thursday in compensatory damages.  The jury is still deciding whether to award her puntive damages.

In the U.S., President’s Day, Vetarans Day, King’s Birthday, Cesar Chavez Day and Labor Day are recognized as official holidays, but not May Day. What’s the deal? It’s ironic that while May Day began in America, its now mostly celebrated outside the U.S.

Here’s a bit of history: The first May Day, in 1886, was a call for an eight-hour workday by the workers in many American cities; it is now mostly associated with the incident at Haymarket Square, where a bomb thrown by an unknown person at a labor rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square killed one policeman.  Read More »

I read in USA Today that more than half of Americans say they'd rather lose their jobs than get fat. 58% of women and 54% of men say they'd rather be unemployed than gain 75 pounds. And 63% of women and 55% of men say they'd rather be poor with no extra pounds to lose than rich and substantially overweight.

What’s the logic behind this? Is it because our society is so obsessed with physical appearance that people would rather be destitute than have a few extra pounds? Is it because people think it's easier to get a job when you’re thin? Or is it that most people feel it's just really hard to lose weight? I mean 75 extra pounds is a lot, I admit..but how far are people willing to go to be slim? Would you take a 10% pay cut if you were guaranteed to lose 30 pounds?

Some women who take birth control pills experience uncomfortable side effects, such as breakthrough bleeding, spotting, weight gain and mood swings. 

Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO, which has apparently been on the market for a couple of years, delivers a lower amount of estrogen—25 mcg (compared to 35 mcg in Ortho Tri Cyclen). This low level of estrogen was developed to help minimize the occurrence of nuisance side effects, such as breakthrough bleeding and spotting.  Read More »

Internet dating certainly has its pros and cons.  Ask anyone who has tried it and you'll probably get a horror story or two.  But this one is the most shocking and sad story I've heard: 

In January, 2001, a 16-year-old Israeli boy's trip to visit his online Palestinian love ended tragically when his body was found riddled with bullets.

Ophir Rakhum, from the coastal town of Ashkelon, Israel, had been having an online affair with an older Palestinian girl from the West Bank town of Ramallah.  After the two had been emailing for a while, the girl suggested they meet in person, promising him "a good time."  So Ophir took a bus to Ramallah.  When he arrived at the rondezvous spot, he was met by several young men, who shot him to death.  Read More »

It's no joke! Scientists at Rice Univeristy have found that the smell of fear-induced sweat sharpens the performance of people under pressure. The researchers gathered armpit sweat (using a gauze) from some men who watched a horror movie and some who watched a neutral movie.  Then they asked a group of women to smell the sweat as they were taking language comprehension tests.  The women who smelled the fear induced sweat did much better on the exams than those who smelled the calm men or who smelled no sweat at all.  So, next time you're nervously taking an exam and someone asks why you're smelling your own armpit..tell them to bugger off!

The annual Coachella Valley Musical Festival is set to take place this coming weekend, April 29 and 30th and some concert goers users are wondering whether they will be allowed to bring in their medication.....