Loudoun Investigator

Todd wanted to win the upcoming U.S. Cycling Race in Belgium, and he was prepared to do anything to give himself an edge – except take drugs. He asked for advice from a veteran bicycling racer. “Drink lots of caffeine carry coffee during the race,” he was told. “It’ll give you a kick.”

During the race, Todd gulped flasks of strong coffee. But he didn’t race well and had to stop often to urinate. Caffeine often acts as a diuretic, causing the body to eliminate water. He also ended up with other side effects from all that caffeine: an upset stomach, a bad headache, and body shakes.

He didn’t sleep well for a couple nights.

Many people, …

Seventeen-year-old Tito lived in Miami, a good guy except that sometimes he had a big mouth. At a basketball game one evening he got angry over a foul call and swore at another player. Then he threw a punch. The other boy rushed to his car, grabbed his gun, and pumped bullets until Tito lay dead on the ground. Tito’s murderer was a quiet, well-thought-of honor student who was planning to go to college in a few months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls violence a public health epidemic that kills 1 million people each year. But it’s not an epidemic to be cured in laboratories or government offices. Young people have a stake …

Snoring may seem like nothing more than mild irritation, but if your snoring is caused by sleep apnea, it can lead to even greater medical complications that can pose serious risks to your health – even greater than the risk of your spouse smothering you in the night with a pillow. According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, people with severe sleep apnea are over 40{ea3f49c8ebf14f7c870341597977c2c9ff9f4663336e3f9966d9f2be64c01a30} more likely to die early than their peers.

While it’s important to remember that just because you snore does not automatically mean you have sleep apnea, the risks associated with sleep apnea are considerable enough that it is in your best interest to consult your doctor and find out for sure. And if you feel as if consulting with a doctor is too expensive, then perhaps a snoring mouthpiece such as the SnoreRX may help.

Here are some of the major problems caused by sleep apnea-related snoring: Read the rest of this entry »

There are a lot of data recovery service providers, and some of them offer cheap recovery services, while others cost quite a lot. But these cheap providers are often enough for your situation, so why pay that extra money to the expensive ones for the same results? However, not all cheap ones actually offer good services so you have to research them on the internet before hiring them to recover your lost files or damaged hard drive. To do this, there is no better way than from data recovery reviews online and reading their previous customers regarding the quality of their service.

A good cheap data recovery service is Hard Disk Recovery Services. Their specialty is emergency …

If you are a the quest to find the right snoring device, Good Morning Snore Solution is a good option for you. Aside from the fact that it is efficient and safe, it is also capable of providing long term comfort. Anyone can easily adjust to it because it is not the usual anti-snoring device that uses mandibular advancement technique. It is a tongue retainer that ensures your tongue does not fall back into your throat. The Good Morning Snore Solution has been clinically proven to be safe for long term use. There is no need to trim it because it has been designed to fit all mouth sizes.

Some are also worried about discomfort that it …

I remember one birthday party I went to. I must have been 7 or 8 years old. Everybody was jumping around and singing, and there were presents everywhere. I was so excited, and I guess I got out of control. Next thing I knew I had spilled soda and knocked presents all over the floor. The other kids started making fun of me, saying I was always like that. I felt crummy.”

Ken, now 14, didn’t get diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) until two years ago. He used to be in trouble with teachers, had fights with other kids, and his grades were lousy. “School definitely wasn’t my favorite place to be.”

Ken’s story is …

After dancing at her best friend’s daughter’s wedding, Ruth Weiser returns to her table and cuts into the charbroiled steak in front of her. Still breathing hard from the vigorous dancing, she literally bites off more than she can chew. The color drains from her face as she gasps for air, a chunk of meat lodged in her throat…

“Chicago Hope”? “ER”?

No, this is really happening! And fortunately for Ruth, help is immediate. Alan Brand, a guest at the wedding and an experienced emergency medical technician (EMT), sees Ruth’s distress, her face turning pale blue. He grabs her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist just above the navel. He presses his fist, with …

Dell Computer launched an all-out attack on the server market last week with its introduction of a new Pentium Pro-based server line. In an aggressive speech, CEO Michael Dell said the company would offer Pentium Pro-based products at “half the cost of existing single-Pentium servers,” adding, “The time is right.”

With key competitor Compaq Computer announcing server price cuts days after the announcement, analysts agree that an era of tough competition is dawning for the server market.

Mr. Dell stated that thanks to the “convergence of Pentium Pro and Windows NT,” Dell had an opportunity to “strike heavily at the high cost of proprietary technology” and offer “technology leadership.” According to Mr. Dell, his company’s direct sales model permits substantial savings over traditional channel sales, in part through lower margins in disk and memory components. When asked whether he thought these actions might begin a server price war, he responded, “I certainly hope so.”

Dell’s first generation of products includes the Dell PowerEdge 2100, priced from $3,799 with a 180MHz Pentium Pro Processor, 32MB of system memory, a 2GB disk drive and an 8x CD-ROM. The PowerEdge 2100 may also be configured with a 200MHz processor. The company also announced plans to ship the dual-processor Dell PowerEdge 4100 in November, with the quad-capable PowerEdge 6100 to be introduced at a later date.

Meanwhile, primary competitor Compaq lowered prices on several entry-level server models a scant two days after the Dell announcement, with ProSignia and ProLiant Pentium-based servers cut by up to 14 percent and certain server options cut by up to 29 percent. For example, an entry-level ProSignia 300 Model 2100, equipped with a 90MHz Pentium processor, is now priced at $2,799, a reduction of 14 percent, while a dual-capable ProLiant 1500T Model 2100 with a 133MHz processor was cut by 4 percent to a price of $6,799. Compaq holds a major share of the low-end server market and is considered the one to beat by many analysts.

A Compaq spokesman said the decision to drop prices was made some time before the Dell announcement, and primarily reflected lower prices in memory and other components. However, he added, “Dell is a competitor that we take very seriously.” While the spokesman said that Compaq was “not seeing people in the mainstream area interested in the Pentium Pros at this (entry-level) price point.” He stated that Compaq “will be offering a competitive product in the near future.”

The spokesman notably refused to address Mr. Dell’s price/performance claims, stating “it’s really an apples-to-oranges comparison” and said that Compaq offered Pentium servers at a similar price point, with its lowest-priced servers beginning from approximately $1,888. He added that Compaq believed its R&D and service and integration efforts, along with partnerships with many key business application providers, gave its products added value.

Analysts agree that Dell’s entry into the server market is a sign of major changes hitting the server market. Dean McCarron, a principal with Mercury Research, stated that while Dell “probably can’t change the market all by themselves,” the move can be seen as “heralding in the new era of commoditized servers.” Mr. McCarron explained that as Windows NT and Intel processors increasingly penetrated the server space, servers could become a commodity product, similar to desktops, with similarly low margins. Norm Bogen, an analyst with In-Stat, agreed, stating that many of the large server companies, including Compaq, “had room to move” in their pricing.

The server market may not yet be as cut-throat as the desktop sector has become. As Mr. Bogen noted, “it’s not just a price issue,” with integration capability and service and support still a critical part of the server market. Mr. McCarron also stated that while “the box can’t be selling for $2,000 more,” companies like Compaq could offer value-add features like installation programs justifying higher prices.

The amazing thing about these servers is despite their advanced age, many are being used even now much after Compaq has become HP and Dell has long since retired those initial Pentium models.

“These servers are pretty rock solid and still in use in a lot of places,” says Garry Linden, data recovery engineer at Hard Drive Recovery Group. “We find that the ProLiant and PowerEdge servers tend to last at least 10 years, and while the servers from the 1990s aren’t typically in use, some are still alive and kicking.”

So, although the lifespan of these servers can be beyond 10 years (according to Serverfault.com), Linden recommends that companies still using the old PowerEdge and ProLiant servers have a solid data recovery plan in place. With the length of time many of these servers are expected to perform, the hard drive stacks will tend to fail, which can result in major organizational disruptions. He points to the popularity of HDRG’s HP/Compaq Proliant and Dell PowerEdge data recovery guides, which are visited daily by companies with server issues related to these models. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a two-part quiz for you:

What’s the most popular snack food in the United States?

What’s the number-one drink of choice among teens?

The answers probably won’t surprise you. “Potato chips and soda,” says Ann Svendsen, Director of Nutrition Services at Duval County Public Schools. “And it’s not diet soda they’re drinking; they choose regular soda – with caffeine and sugar. In fact, a lot of our young people have potato chips and soda for breakfast,” she added.

Many teens think if they eat less food, they won’t gain weight, says Svendsen. “They look at the single can of soda and the small bag of chips and say, ‘But I’m not eating very much!’ They …

Athletic shoes can do more than look good. The right pair can help you run faster, jump higher, and save your knees from injury.

But with hundreds of styles to choose from, how do you know which ones are right for your sport and your feet?

Matching the Shoe to the Sport

In every sport, your shoes should provide good cushioning, flexibility, and stability. But some activities require more cushioning than flexibility, while other sports demand just the opposite. Read the rest of this entry »