Hugh Jackman’s self-imposed booze ban

Hugh Jackman refused to drink while filming 'The Wolverine'. 
The hard-working actor was so committed to his role in James Mangold's superhero movie that he wouldn't even let one drop of beer touch his lips during the shoot, shunning everyone's attempts to get him to relax.
Asked what Hugh was like to work with, his personal trainer Michael Ryan said: 'He is the most dedicated and hardworking student I've ever had. He was constantly trying to better himself. Even if it was 5 or 6 am, he never missed a session. 
'His competitive nature is very strong. And he's very demanding with himself, he refused to slack. One day I said to him, 'Come on Hugh, you can have just one beer', but he refused. I ordered one though, and he made fun of me!'
The 45-year-old actor - who has recently been treated for skin cancer on his face - also gave up all his favourite calorific treats during filming, and was working 'day and night' to tone up his buff body.
Michael added in an interview with French website Eurosport.com: 'Two months before the film, we increased the weights training and the length of his workouts. We were training both morning and night. 
'He was constantly checking his vitals and weight. He was also very careful about what he ate: less sugar, no alcohol... But he was allowed protein shakes flavoured with chocolate and coffee

Future acquisitions: PIA presents case for leasing 10 planes before ECC nod

PIA will present the proposal to lease the aircraft before the ECC, which has already released Rs12.7 billion out of a Rs16 billion package announced for the airline. DESIGN: TALHA KHAN

KARACHI: 

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has emphasised that it needs to lease 10 aircraft to prop up revenues and cut financial loss, ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting set to approve the plan.

PIA’s board of directors has already approved acquisition of six Airbus-320 and four A-319 aircraft on dry lease from General Electric Capital Leasing Services. The aircraft will start joining the fleet for six years from April 2014.

“This is part of government’s initiative to revive the airline,” said Syed Muhammad Ali Gardezi, the aviation secretary who is also the acting chairman of PIA, while addressing a press conference at the PIA head office on Friday. “We have to go to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for the money.”

In coming days, PIA will present the proposal to lease the aircraft before the ECC, which has already released Rs12.7 billion out of a Rs16 billion package announced for the airline. The remaining Rs3.3 billion was earmarked for the new generation aircraft.

These 10 aircraft are in addition to the four, which PIA has recently inducted on wet lease.

Gardezi, who was flanked by Managing Director Captain Junaid Yunus, said high fuel cost has been eating into revenues because PIA’s existing fleet largely includes older aircraft.

“We are targeting to take monthly revenues to Rs12-13 billion from current Rs7.7 billion,” he said.

PIA is on track to end one of the worst periods in its history. It posted a loss of Rs31.9 billion in the nine months to September 2013. It also marked a 12% slide in revenues as the airline could not fly required number of planes.

Managing Director Yunus reiterated that his management has been trying to lease the planes for months. “That is the reason we had to bring in aircraft on wet lease to meet immediate shortage during next quarter.”

PIA should have acquired fuel-efficient smaller planes by now, he said. “It’s all about vision. We have to plan not for next year but for 10 to 15 years. Unfortunately, we have been late. There will be no delivery of new A-320s until 2020,” he added. The aircraft joining the PIA fleet on dry lease are six years old.

The bosses were all praise for the Way Forward Committee, a group of former and serving employees that also includes representatives from labour unions. The committee has been suggesting to the management how to cut operational cost.

“So far, there has been a saving of Rs43.5 million on fuel, which could go up to Rs5 billion once the plan is implemented completely,” said Yunus. “Around Rs168 million has been saved in catering cost.”

Perhaps the biggest cut in expenditure came from the efficient management of crew layovers as the airline slashed bill payments for 7,700 stopovers over the past few months. “This has saved Rs221 million,” Yunus said.

Gardezi’s silence

It was unusually embarrassing for the aviation secretary when a journalist pointed out that Gardezi’s relatives and unqualified employees are being promoted under his tenure.

Captain Syed Hamid Abbas Gardezi, who looked after airport services, has been made Director Safety Management without any prior experience. As he was elevated, former director Captain Adnan Haris was demoted to the post of general manager.

PIA is even mulling over changing its rules to accommodate another of secretary’s relative, Saqlain Gardezi, who doesn’t want to move out of Lahore, but being a Group 9 officer he has to report to the head office in Karachi.

First Officer Chakkar Ali Shah, an active Pakistan Airlines Pilots Association (Palpa) member, has been given the complicated office of general manager fuel and also made brand manager. He is only an intermediate, something which Yunus confirmed during the press conference.

Gardezi remained silent and passed on the queries to Yunus who said all these officials are capable.

Jennifer Lawrence: Fame has ruined my private life

Jennifer Lawrence says fame has ruined her personal life.
The 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' star claims her high-profile acting career has robbed her of her freedom and she regrets not being able to hang out in coffee shops any more without fans hounding her.
She told Spanish website Mujerhoy.com: 'My personal life is now ruined. I've had to create a new one and get used to this new life. It's hard and it takes time, but I'm sure I will get it.
'I'm just mourning my old life. I miss that. I don't want to forget what it's like going to a coffee shop and people looking at me like a normal person. A part of me can't get used to it and it makes me sad.'
The 23-year-old actress - who landed an Oscar earlier this year for her performance in 'Silver Linings Playbook' - is best known for her portrayal as selfless heroine Katniss Everdeen in 'The Hunger Games' franchise, and she admits to feeling just as uncomfortable as her alter-ego when she was first thrust into the spotlight.
Jennifer explained: 'It is funny how she and I have made this trip together from the beginning. In the first movie they force her to wear make-up, wear dresses and people talk about things that she doesn't understand. 
'I know exactly how she feels ... I experienced the same thing. This can be a very weird world, but after a while, you're not afraid anymore and you can handle it.'

David Beckham: I’m glad I had kids young

David Beckham is glad he had children at a young age. 
The 38-year-old star is pleased he and wife Victoria - who have kids Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 12, Cruz, nine, and two-year-old Harper - didn't wait around to have children because they have been able to share in his success at soccer clubs Manchester United and Real Madrid over the years. 
David - who has won 19 major trophies in four countries throughout his career - said: 'I wanted to have children and boys that could live my career with me - and they did. 
'The fact that they've been at Manchester United when I've won trophies and lifted them with me. The fact that they've been with me in Madrid...
'The good thing about having my children at such a young age is they lived through my career with me and that's one of the things I always wanted in life.
'The reason I work so hard and I want to achieve so much is for my children.'
The retired soccer player has had an illustrious career on an off the pitch since starring in the United youth team in 1992, but he still finds it 'embarrassing' to talk about an initiation ceremony he had to do during his early career in which he had to perform a sex act while looking at a picture of United legend Clayton Blackmore. 
He added to Metro newspaper: 'Everyone had an initiation that you had to go through on the youth team, that was one of the most uncomfortable ones!
'The fact that I had to look at Clayton Blackmore's calendar and do certain things, while looking at Clayton Blackmore...
'It was embarrassing to talk about!'
David was so disgusted by his and other 'degrading' initiation ceremonies that went on at the club he managed to put a stop to them when he was a senior player, and he is still 'very proud' of ending the humiliating acts.
He told The Sun newspaper: 'There were a lot of initiations which went on through our youth team and reserve team era. We kind of put a stop to it, which we are very proud of.
'They were embarrassing, it was degrading. But it was part of growing up at that point

Did You Know That Fingers Prune Underwater Not Because Of

source: reddit.com

It’s a temporary skin condition in which the epidermal layers on the top of your fingers become very wrinkly. Scientists impute this peculiar human response to prolonged exposure of water to simple evolutionary reasons. When our toes and fingers wrinkle they provide us with the elaborate ability to better take hold of objects in wet conditions. It also improves our traction when walking on wet floors.

In other previous explanations of this phenomenon in the past, scientists referred its existence to a special chemical compound called keratin. When in contact with water, keratin causes the skin to expand which ultimately results in the wrinkling of larger skin area. Usually, the tips of the fingers and toes wrinkle first because it is where the biggest amount of keratin cells is situated.

Drone guarantees: PM should sign written accord with US, says PTI MNA

Participants at various rallies reiterated their resolve to not let K-P soil be used for NATO supplies. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

PESHAWAR: 

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Sajid Nawaz said the nation will stand by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif if he reaches a written agreement with the United States (US) stipulating the latter will not disrupt peace talks in the future.

Speaking at a rally at Ring Road in Hayatabad, Nawaz said the sit-ins are meant to portray a strong message to global powers: do not disrupt the possible peace deal with Taliban. “A jirga is needed to initiate peace talks, but it comes with its own sets of rules. One of them is that any move threatening to derail the process should be thwarted,” Nawaz said.

Among others, PTI’s Azam Swati also visited the sit-in and came down hard on Punjab’s law minister Rana Sanaullah. Swati called him a ‘US representative in Pakistan’ and added K-P soil will not be used to supply goods to Nato troops until drone attacks are stopped.

Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan termed the November 1 drone attack ‘a plot to disrupt possible peace talks’ with the Taliban. After the strike in Hangu on November 21, Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan questioned the sincerity of the US towards Pakistan and claimed America does not want peace in the country.

Starting November 23, PTI and its coalition partners in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government took to the streets to block Nato supply lines. However, the supply still continues through Chaman in Balochistan.

Since then, PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad’s (AJI) activists have staged sit-ins at two different locations: Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway Interchange and Hayatabad Toll Plaza.

One suspected Nato container has been sent back so far because the driver failed to prove the truck was intended only for transit trade to Afghanistan.

Anti-drone strikes

The Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) demanded the Pakistan government put an end to drone attacks in the country and halt the Nato supply once and for all, at a protest called by them in Peshawar on Friday.

The US wants to take revenge for its defeat in Afghanistan by attacking Pakistani land, said Ghazi Inamullah from the Jamaat-ud-Dawa at the rally. He added recent drone attacks revealed the US could attack Pakistan wherever and whenever it wanted.

Inamullah suggested Pakistan should distance itself from the US war in Afghanistan, and demanded the expulsion of the US ambassador from the country along with the return of his counterpart.

Desperately seeking speedy internet: Pakistan ranks 172 globally in download speed

The large, dark circles show regions where download speeds are highest. Screengrab from netindex.com

Looking for fast internet in Pakistan? Well, you may just have to travel a little further afield than you think.

According to a recent report by Net Index, Goth Fazal, a little outside of the Sindh city of Nawabshah and near the Pakistan-India border, boasts the fastest download speeds in Pakistan, edging out major cities such as Lahore and Karachi on the list.

Net Index is owned by Ookla, a broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications company.

According to the data, which was compiled from 1,535 unique IPs in the region, Goth Fazal offers download speed of 2.96 Megabits per second (Mbps), while the national average is 2.31 Mbps, which puts Pakistan at a ranking of 172 out of 186 internationally.

It must be noted though that IPs do not always correspond with their exact location in Pakistan.

Pakistan though fares better than some countries in terms of average internet speeds including Egypt, Cuba, Afghanistan and Equatorial Guinea. However, it pales in comparison to regional countries like India, ranked 130, and Bangladesh, ranked 166.

The top three countries are Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, who boast download speeds of 58.57 Mbps, 40.43 Mbps and 37.52 Mbps respectively.

In the uploading speed index there was better news as Pakistan fares slightly better with a rank of 162 and an average upload speed of 1.10 Mbps.

For the quality index, there was insufficient data and Pakistan, among many other countries, was not included in the list.

Methodology

The report is compiled from millions of internet speed tests and for Pakistan alone, tests from 1,812,486 unique IPs were taken.

Internet users

During his keynote address at Connect Asia Pacific Summit 2013 in Bangkok earlier this month, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stated that Pakistan’s telecom infrastructure comprises 9.8 million internet users, 15.7 million mobile internet users and 2.8 million broadband subscribers.

He also spoke of the government’s commitment to accelerate digitisation of the country. This in turn would enable socio-economic development, create a knowledge-based economy and promote economic growth, he said.