Happy Encounters: Toronto Becomes First City To Mandate Green Roofs

In this world of concrete, utilising the many available rooftops to build a green environment is just what we need.

Summer is just around the corner, and for those who live in big cities, that means spring warmth will soon give way to searing heat. Green roofs can help regulate city temperatures, giving people, and the electrical grid, a much needed break.

Toronto is the first city in North America with a bylaw that requires roofs to be green. And we're not talking about paint. A green roof, also known as a living roof, uses various hardy plants to create a barrier between the sun's rays and the tiles or shingles of the roof. The plants love the sun, and the building (and its inhabitants) enjoy more comfortable indoor temperatures as a result.

Toronto's new legislation will require all residential, commercial and institutional buildings over 2,000 square meters to have between 20 and 60 percent living roofs. Although it's been in place since early 2010, the bylaw will apply to new industrial development as of April 30, 2012. While this is the first city-wide mandate involving green roofs, Toronto's decision follow's in the footsteps of other cities, like Chicago and New York.

Under the direction of Mayor Richard Daley the city of Chicago put a 38,800 square foot green roof on a 12 story skyscraper in 2000. Twelve years later, that building now saves $5000 annually on utility bills, and Chicago boasts 7 million square feet of green roof space. New York has followed suit, and since planting a green roof on the Con Edison Learning Centre in Queens, the buildings managers have seen a 34 percent reduction of heat loss in winter, and reduced summer heat gain by 84 percent.

But lower utility bills aren't the only benefit of planting a living roof. In addition to cooling down the city, green roofs create cleaner air, cleaner water, and provide a peaceful oasis for people, birds and insects in an otherwise polluted, concrete and asphalt-covered environment.

Happy Encounters: Oil Pulling - Natural Remedy for Healthier Teeth and Detox Your Body

What is Oil Pulling?
Oil Pulling is a safe, simple, cheap and gentle ‘do it yourself home remedy’ that cures and prevents diseases and extends your healthy life.  It involves rinsing the mouth with 1 tablespoon (10ml) of oil for 15 to 20 minutes and spitting it out. You can use either sunflower oil or sesame oil, both of which are usually used for cooking and readily available in the home.

This simple therapy is completely harmless as you do not take any medicines - even the oil you use is spit out after OP. By helping the body get rid of toxins that have accumulated, Oil Pulling promotes self healing from within.

Oil Pulling has been mentioned in the ancient texts of Ayurveda. A similar process was also published at a conference of the “All Ukrainische Union, “of the oncologists (Specialists for tumor diseases) and bacteriologists,  by Dr.med. Karach. Over the years, this simple therapy helped cure diseases of thousands of people around the world.

Benefits of Oil Pulling

OP is a safe, simple, cheap and gentle ‘do it yourself home remedy’ a divine gift to suffering humanity for all diseases. It cures and prevents diseases and extends your healthy life and requires no specialized training. You can start practice immediately, in the comfort of home and continue practice through out life with benefit.

Benefits to family and society: OP cures and prevents diseases, keeps you and your family healthy, happy, more productive and saves time, unproductive effort, suffering/troubles and money. It minimizes your dependence on doctors, diagnostics, drugs etc and connected hassles. Prevention of sickness is good, not only for you personally but also for the family, society, your organization and the country.

Benefits to organization: OP reduces sickness, absenteeism, increases productivity,minimizes expenditure and directly contributes to profit in the balance sheet. This can be verified in any organization on those employees prone and of proven illness.

Benefits to society, state and country: OP improves overall health, reduces sickness and suffering, minimises the load on public and private health care systems and increases availability of medical facilities and drugs to deserving cases. A healthy nation is invariably a wealthy nation.

Click here to find out more on Oil Pulling.

Happy Encounters: Wallet with $10,000 Left on Laguna Beach Park Bench Returned to Owner

Would you do the same if you found $10,000 in a park?

Wallet with $10,000 Left on Laguna Beach Park Bench Returned to Owner

A restaurateur from south Florida who just moved to Orange County got a taste of Southern California kindness when someone returned his lost wallet and the $10,000 it contained.

The man mistakenly left the cash-stuffed wallet on a beach bench Saturday in Laguna Beach. He had withdrawn the hefty amount to pay a contractor for renovating a new restaurant that he plans to open on Pacific Coast Highway, according to police.

He went for a walk near Main Beach and sat down on the bench at about 1:15 p.m., but forgot to take his wallet when he left. A passer-by found the wallet and handed it to lifeguards, police said.

"When the lifeguards opened the wallet, they see all that cash in it and  call the police," Lt. Jason Kravetz said.

The wallet contained a Florida driver's license, so officers began searching online for a phone number. They found a cell phone number and called the owner.

The man was "shocked" when he found all the money was still in the wallet, Kravetz said. He told police he was simply distracted and forgot about the wallet when he left the park bench.

Quote of the Day: You are my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

from it is what it is

Happy Encounters: World Happiness Report indicated that Denmark is the world's happiest country

Want to know where is the happiest place to live in?  UN has recently issued the World Happiness Report, and Denmark tops it all.  Read on to find out more of which are the top 20 happiest countries in the world.

(From NY Daily News) If cheery locals are the thing that you look for on holiday, Scandinavia is the place to go to, a new report has suggested.

The World Happiness Report, released this week by the United Nations, took a look at the mood in countries around the world to determine which ones were the most content with their lot.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nordic countries -- with a healthy work/life belance, top-notch healthcare and schools and high average incomes -- came at the top of the list, with Denmark reaching the coveted top place.

Finland came in second spot, Norway in third and the Netherlands -- the highest non-Nordic nation to make the list, was placed fourth, just above Canada in fifth place.

But does a happy country necessarily mean a warm welcome? Well, comparing the results of the UN survey to previous studies suggest that it might -- the Netherlands has previously been recognized as among the most friendly European nations to tourists, while Canada and Australia (both among the ten happiest countries) have also been lauded by HSBC for their friendliness to expats.

Unsurprisingly, there is also a correlation with wealth -- the ten happiest places are all developed nations -- although it was by no means universal.

Germany, the richest country in Europe, came a relatively low 30th place, while Japan ranked 44th and South Korea managed 56th.

At the bottom of the table came several African nations where life is undeniably hard, including Sierra Leone and Togo.

The world's happiest countries

1. Denmark

2. Finland

3. Norway

4. Netherlands

5. Canada

6. Switzerland

7. Sweden

8. New Zealand

9. Australia

10. Ireland

11. USA

12. Costa Rica

13. Austria

14. Israel

15. Belgium

16. Luxembourg

17. United Arab Emirates

18. United Kingdom

19. Venezuela

20. Iceland

Happy Encounters: Chocolate Helps Slimming

For those who loves chocolate and are worried of getting fat, here's some good news for you! Check out what this 'article' has to say on how chocolate may help keep people slim.

People who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner, new research suggests.

The findings come from a study of nearly 1,000 US people that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity.

It found those who ate chocolate a few times a week were, on average, slimmer than those who ate it occasionally.

Even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favour weight loss rather than fat synthesis, scientists believe.

Despite boosting calorie intake, regular chocolate consumption was related to lower BMI in the study, which is published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The link remained even when other factors, like how much exercise individuals did, were taken into account.

And it appears it is how often you eat chocolate that is important, rather than how much of it you eat. The study found no link with quantity consumed.

According to the researchers, there is only one chance in a hundred that their findings could be explained by chance alone.

But the findings only suggest a link - not proof that one factor causes the other.

Lead author Dr Beatrice Golomb, from the University of California at San Diego, said: "Our findings appear to add to a body of information suggesting that the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining their ultimate impact on weight."

This is not the first time scientists have suggested that chocolate may be healthy for us.

Other studies have claimed chocolate may be good for the heart.

Consumption of certain types of chocolate has been linked to some favourable changes in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol level.

And chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, does contain antioxidants which can help to mop up harmful free radicals - unstable chemicals that can damage our cells.

Dr Golomb and her team believe that antioxidant compounds, called catechins, can improve lean muscle mass and reduce weight - at least studies in rodents would suggest this might be so.

Happy Song of the Day: Dream Big by Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband

Dream Big - by Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes
'Cause better days are sure to come
And when you smile be sure to smile wide
Don't let them know that they have won
And when you walk, walk with pride
Don't show the hurt inside
Because the pain will soon be gone

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way

Happy Encounters: Child Falls Asleep While Skiing

This is such a funny video of a child falling asleep while skiing!

(From The Telegraph) Despite the sunshine and fresh air, the tired little skier, named Cody, appears to nod off on the slopes still standing in his ski boots.

As he totters forwards and back, then side to side, the sleepy child is propped up by his rigid footwear.

Cody's snooze comes to an abrupt end when an inquisitive child upset the balance with a prod to the sleeper's skis.