Pencegahan Osteoporosis

Mengingat demikian besar dampak kesehatan yang dapat ditimbulkan oleh osteoporosis, maka perlu upaya-upaya untuk mencegahnya. Berikut ini disampaikan beberapa upaya ampuh untuk mencegah osteoporosis.

1. Konsumsi kalsium yang cukup
Untuk mencukupi kebutuhan kalsium, perlu diperhatikan produk pangan yang disantap. Salah satu sumber kalsium yang cukup baik adalah susu. Dua gelas susu sehari, sudah dapat memenuhi kebutuhan tubuh akan kalsium. Dari dua gelas susu (500 ml) akan diperoleh 1.250 mg kalsium. Perolehan kalsium tersebut sudah melebihi kebutuhan kalsium orang dewasa yaitu 800-1.000 mg/hari. Sumber kalsium lainnya adalah ikan (terutama yang dimakan beserta tulangnya), daging, unggas, telur, sayuran, buah-buahan dan kacang-kacangan

2. Berhati-hatilah menggunakan obat
Beberapa jenis obat ternyata dapat mengganggu kinerja tulang. Salah satu contohnya adalah obat kortikosteroid yang dapat menekan kerja hormon pengatur pembentukan tulang. Contoh lain adalah antasida, obat pencahar, cholestiramine, obat diuretik, anti-gout dan beberapa jenis obat anti-rematik. Obat-obatan tersebut memiliki efek mengganggu penyerapan kalsium.
Obat antasida yang umum dikenal sebagai obat anti sakit maag dapat menghambat penyerapan kalsium. Penghambatan dipicu oleh magnesium dan aluminium hidroksida yang mampu mengikat kalsium dan mengubahnya menjadi bentukan baru yang sulit diserap. Obat cholesteramine yang lazim digunakan untuk mengikat asam empedu agar terjadi penurunan kolesterol darah, juga dapat menurunkan kadar kalsium tubuh akibat pembuangan melalui urin.

3. Batasi penggunaan garam
Garam dapur (NaCl) terdiri dari unsur natrium (Na) dan klorida (Cl). Konsumsi natrium (sodium) yang berlebih, baik yang berasal dari garam dapur maupun monosodium glutamat (MSG) dapat berdampak buruk terhadap kesehatan. Selain memiliki efek hipertensi,natrium juga berpotensi untuk menghilangkan kalsium dari tubuh. Natrium akan mengeluarkan kalsium dari tubuh melalui urin. Cara menghindari kehilangan kalsium akibat natrium adalah dengan membatasi konsumsinya. Sebaiknya hindari makanan-makanan tinggi natrium dan makanan awetan yang menggunakan garam sebagai pengawet.

4. Cukupi konsumsi vitamin D
Vitamin D diketahui mampu memelihara kesehatan tulang dengan cara meningkatkan penyerapan kalsium dari sistem pencernaan, serta mengurangi pembuangannya dari ginjal. Kebutuhan vitamin D normal per hari adalah 400 IU. Dalam bentuk non-aktif, vitamin D banyak terdapat di bawah kulit. Vitamin D akan menjadi aktif dan berfungsi apabila terpapar sinar matahari pagi yang banyak mengandung ultraviolet. Terpapar sinar matahari sekitar 20 menit per hari, minimal 3 kali seminggu sudah cukup untuk membantu produksi vitamin D. Jadi, apabila kita cukup terpapar sinar matahari, maka tidak perlu takut kekurangan vitamin D.

5. Aktif berolah raga
Penurunan aktivitas fisik pada usia lanjut dapat menurunkan massa tulang. Oleh karena itu olah raga aktif secara rutin merupakan bentuk antisipasi terhadap penurunan massa tulang. Adapun bentuk olah raga yang sesuai bagi seseorang yang sudah lanjut usia adalah yang minim benturan seperti aerobik low impact, jalan kaki, bersepeda atau berenang. Aspek yang harus diperhatikan adalah intensitas, waktu, dan frekuensi olahraga. Kecukupan intensitas diukur dengan menghitung denyut nadi. Denyut nadi normal berkisar antara 70-80 denyut per menit. Waktu berolah raga disarankan 20-40 menit per latihan, sedangkan untuk frekuensi idealnya adalah 3-4 hari per minggu.

6. Bantu dengan obat
Dalam dunia kedokteran mulai banyak dikembangkan berbagai obat pencegah osteoporosis. Jenis obat tersebut di antaranya adalah estrogen, kalsitonin, biophosphonat, dan testosteron. Estrogen merupakan hormon yang menurun jumlahnya dalam tubuh apabila wanita mengalami menopause. Hal ini ditengarai sebagai penyebab osteoporosis utama pada wanita. Obat berisi hormon estrogen yang diberikan pada wanita pasca menopause diharapkan dapat mencegah osteoporosis.
Kalsitonin merupakan zat yang mengaktifkan kerja sel osteoblast (pembentuk tulang) dan menekan kinerja sel osteoclast (pengurai tulang), sehingga pembongkaran kalsium tulang dapat ditekan dan osteoporosis dapat terhindarkan. Demikian pula halnya dengan obat biophosphonat yang dapat menekan sel osteoclast.

How to Prevent Liver Damage (Bagaimana Mencegah Kerusakan Hati)

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to the "schedule." Because:

• Kita harus mencegah hal ini tanpa perlu tambahan biaya. Kita hanya perlu mengadopsi pola hidup dan pola makan sehari-hari yang sehat. Mempertahankan pola makan dan kondisi waktu yang baik sangat penting bagi tubuh kita dalam menyerap dan menghilangkan zat kimia yang tidak diperlukan sesuai "jadwal". Alasannya:
  

Evening at 9 - 11pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary / toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on her health.

• Pk 21.00-23.00: waktu untuk membatasi zat yang tidak diperlukan/toksik/zat beracun (detoksifikasi) dari sistem kekebalan (kelenjar limfa). Waktu ini harus diluangkan dengan relaksasi atau mendengarkan musik. Jika dalam waktu ini seorang ibu rumah tangga sedang dalam keadaan tidak rileks seperti mencuci piring atau mengawasi anak-anak mengerjakan PR, ini akan berakibat buruk pada kesehatannya.
  

Evening at 11pm- 1am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

• Pk 23.00-01.00: waktu untuk proses detoksifikasi dalam hati, dan idealnya harus dilakukan dalam keadaan tidur nyenyak.
  

Early morning 1 - 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

• Dini hari pk 01.00-03.00: waktu proses detoksifikasi pada empedu, idealnya juga dilakukan dalam keadaan tidur nyenyak.
  

Early morning 3 - 5am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

• Pagi pk 03.00-05.00: waktu detoksifikasi pada paru-paru. Penderita batuk terkadang mengalami batuk berat pada saat ini. Karena proses detoksifikasi telah mencapai tahap pernafasan, tidak perlu meminum obat batuk agar tidak mengganggu proses pembuangan zat beracun.
  

Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

• Pagi pk 05.00-07.00: waktu detoksifikasi pada usus, anda harus mengosongkan perut.
  

Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9-10 am rather than no meal at all.

• Pagi pk 07.00-09.00: penyerapan gizi pada usus kecil, anda harus sarapan pada saat ini. Bagi mereka yang sakit, sarapan harus lebih awal yaitu sebelum pk 06.30. Sarapan sebelum pk 07.30 sangat bermanfaat bagi yang ingin tetap sehat. Mereka yang tidak sarapan harus merubah pola makannya, dan masih lebih baik sarapan telat sampai pk 09.00-10.00 daripada tidak makan sama sekali.
  

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

• Tidur terlalu larut dan bangun terlalu siang akan mengganggu proses pembuangan zat-zat kimia yang tidak diperlukan. Di samping itu, antara tengah malam sampai pk 04.00 pagi adalah waktu bagi sumsum tulang untuk memproduksi darah. Oleh karena itu, tidurlah dengan nyenyak dan jangan tidur terlalu larut.
  

[ Widyaningrum S. ~ from various sources ]

The Main Causes of Lver Damage (Penyebab Utama Kerusakan Hati)

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.

• Tidur terlalu larut dan bangun terlalu siang adalah penyebab utama.
  

2. Not urinating in the morning.

• Tidak buang air kecil di pagi hari.
  

3. Too much eating.

• Makan terlalu banyak.

4. Skipping breakfast.

• Tidak sarapan.

5. Consuming too much medication.

• Mengonsumsi terlalu banyak obat.

6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.

• Mengonsumsi terlalu banyak zat pengawet, zat tambahan, pewarna makanan, dan pemanis buatan.

7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

• Mengonsumsi minyak goreng yang tidak sehat. Kurangi sebanyak mungkin minyak ketika menggoreng, termasuk minyak goreng terbaik seperti zaitun. Jangan konsumsi gorengan saat letih, kecuali jika badan sedang sangat fit.

8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

• Mengonsumsi makanan mentah (atau terlalu matang) juga menambah kerja liver. Sayuran harus dimakan mentah atau dimasak 3-5 bagian. Sayuran yang digoreng harus dihabiskan sekaligus, tidak boleh disimpan.

[ Widyaningrum S. ~ from various sources ]

Brain Damaging Habits (Kebiasaan Yang Merusak Otak)

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

• Tidak sarapan.
• Mereka yang tidak sarapan akan memiliki tingkat gula darah yang rendah. Ini menyebabkan kekurangan pasokan gizi yang menyebabkan kemunduran otak.
  

2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

• Makan terlalu kenyang.
  
• Ini menyebabkan mengerasnya pembuluh otak yang menurunkan kekuatan otak.
  

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

• Merokok.
  
• Ini menyebabkan penyusutan otak dan dapat berakibat Alzheimer.
  

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

• Konsumsi gula berlebihan.
• Terlalu banyak gula mengganggu penyerapan protein dan gizi yang menyebabkan gizi buruk dan mengganggu perkembangan otak.
  

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

• Polusi udara.
• Otak adalah pemasok oksigen terbesar dalam tubuh kita. Menghirup udara terpolusi menurunkan pasokan oksigen ke otak, yang menyebabkan penurunan efisiensi otak.
  

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

• Kurang tidur.
• Tidur membuat otak kita istirahat. Kurang tidur dalam jangka waktu lama mempercepat matinya sel-sel otak.
  

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

• Tidur dengan kepala tertutup.
• Tidur dengan kepala tertutup meningkatkan konsentrasi karbon dioksida yang dapat menyebabkan efek merusak otak.
  

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

• Bekerja selagi sakit.
• Bekerja keras atau belajar selama sakit dapat menurunkan efektivitas otak selain merusak otak.
  

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

• Kurang stimulasi pikiran.
  
• Berpikir adalah cara terbaik untuk melatih otak kita, dan kurangnya stimulasi pikiran dapat menyebabkan penyusutan otak.
  

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

• Jarang berbicara.
• Percakapan intelektual akan mendorong efisiensi otak.
  

[ Widyaningrum S. ~ from various sources ]

Getting Rid of the Headers Already Sent Error in PHP

The "Headers Already Sent" error is incredibly common, usually looks like this :

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/myaccount/public_html/globals.php:42) in /home/myaccount/public_html/index.php on line 198

To get rid of this, you can try one of the following tips :

• replace the header('location:page.php') with <script>window.location='page.php'</script>
  
• remove all blank spaces before the phrase header('location:page.php')
  Blank spaces includes html tags, press of enter, or just a single press of spacebar.
• remove all white space before or after the opening and closing PHP tags.

Twitter Launches Verified Accounts

[ written by Pete Cashmore ]

Twitter launched the first phase of its Verified Accounts program moments ago, meaning that celebrities, musicians, athletes, actors, public officials and public agencies on the service can now display a “verified account” button on their Twitter pages. For instance, visiting Twitter.com/mashable, you’ll see that I am indeed the real Pete Cashmore. Likewise, Twitter celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Oprah now carry the button. Those wishing to apply for verified status can visit the verified accounts help page, which explains:

With this feature, you can easily see which accounts we know are ‘real’ and authentic. That means we’ve been in contact with the person or entity the account is representing and verified that it is approved. (This does not mean we have verified who, exactly, is writing the tweets.)

This also does not mean that accounts without the ‘Verified Account’ badge are fake. The vast majority of accounts on the system are not impersonators, and we don’t have the ability to check 100% of them. For now, we’ve only verified a handful of accounts to help with cases of mistaken identity or impersonation.

The feature has been a long time coming, and many celebrities will jump on the opportunity to prove their legitimacy. It’ll also solve the entrenched problem of celebrity impersonations, which are confusing for users and unwelcome by those being impersonated. Businesses, however, will have to wait: the feature has not been rolled out to corporate entities yet.

Freezing Karma on Plurk

Going to vacation or not plurking for a long time? Of course your karma will be down.
To avoid this, try using karma freeze. You will only lost 1 point of your karma.

Follow this step :
1. Go to "My Account"
2. Seek for "Karma vacation mode (freeze karma)"
3. Check the box with "I confirm I will lose 1 karma point on enabling karma vacation"
4. Click "TURN IT ON"

The Difference Between Twitter and Plurk (2)

Continuing my post before, now why is Twitter better?

1. Simplicity.

Twitter may lack some features that Plurk has, but as a result, Twitter is very simple.

To draw a comparison, think of commenting on a blog and how it compares to posting on a forum. Commenting on a blog is usually easier.

As with anything, once you get used to Plurk, it isn't difficult to use. But the learning curve is greater with Plurk than it is with Twitter. I'm a technical person, so I sit and learn stuff if I want to, but not everyone is technical.

2. More people use it.

A lot of people are on Twitter. OK, so if you have a lot of people on your list, that's a lot to read, but I doubt anyone is going to sit for a long time reading every tweet. It's like trying to read every blog post. Too much new stuff is being said for you to keep up with everything.

I've noticed a lot of Twitter users who follow thousands of people. On Plurk that's not as common. Usually, people follow 100-200 people. In theory, I'd prefer not to follow more than that on Twitter, but if you can interact with a massive community of users - why not? Even if most of them don't seem to talk back... maybe I'm just boring. Of course, if they all talked back, I'd be in trouble!

3. It's less of a time-drain.

I'm sure people find ways to use up loads of time on both Twitter and Plurk. And I'm sure we all have days when there just isn't that much we want to reply to. It goes in peaks and troughs.

Either way, I've found that Plurk can be much more of a time-drain than Twitter. It's like a web forum in that respect. Discussions can go on and on for a long time, which is fun, but then you look at your watch... oops, another hour just passed. Whereas on Twitter, it seems easier to hop on, chat for a bit, reply to a few people, then log off.

Maybe it's just me, but Twitter seems like a place to go if you have something specific to say, while Plurk is a good way to have a conversation and watch how different people interact. Depending on my mood, both are fine with me. I'm sure they foster a totally different style of usage though, because while I switch between the two from one day to the next, it's rare that I have a day when I use both services excessively. It's usually one or the other. (Fickle, aren't I?)

4. You get an email notification when you get a direct message.

Now this is just good sense. There are so many blogs, forums and social networks that we can't be expected to check all of them daily. For some time, I've relied on notification emails to tell me when I have a new message or some other "activity" to check in on.

Then again, these notifications have a tendency to fill up your inbox in a relatively short space of time. Using filters in Gmail can help to organise things a bit better, but if I'm just filtering stuff and not reading it, wouldn't it be better to stop it at the source?

I do find it useful to get an email when someone sends me a direct message on Twitter. Plurk doesn't provide this functionality. However, if I'm on Twitter anyway, the email usually comes after I've read the message. Maybe this would seem more beneficial if I didn't have my email open all the time!

5. Old discussions don't keep getting bumped up.

On Twitter, the messages may come through faster than you can read them, but it's not all bad - the tweets you don't want to read will be scrolled off pretty quickly.

Plurk is nice for reminding you when a discussion has new replies, but some discussions just refuse to die. Still, that's what the "mute" feature is for.

Endless "re-tweets" can get annoying too. If this becomes a problem, it's probably best to look at changing who you follow. Some people just talk too much. Present company excluded.

6. As tweets are separated, search engines index them all.

As far as I can tell, each individual tweet is indexed by search engines (unless your timeline is private). On Plurk, the discussion can be indexed, but not the individual replies.

Is this really a benefit? Well, it depends on your tweeting habits. Let's say someone asks for details of which content management systems other people use and like. If the people replying are really good at writing short reviews, just one tweet could very quickly tell a potential user if the system is for them. Of course, the usefulness of the tweet depends heavily on how it's written.

On Plurk, as the discussion is indexed, you'd be able to see all of the replies within the context of the original question. This may sound better until you realise that a lot of people may well be saying the same thing. If 90 people say "use WordPress" and only 10 people suggest alternatives with reasons as to why, that's a lot of "noise" you have to sift through to find the more interesting comments. On Twitter, if you didn't search for WordPress, you wouldn't find those comments at all.

The Plurk would give you a good idea of how many people recommend WordPress, but let's face it, even 90/100 positive responses is only a majority out of the people who you know and who posted a reply. Their needs may be totally different to yours.

7. Greater visibility when replying to someone.

Replying on Twitter by using @username means your reply will be more visible to the other person. On Plurk, you can do the same thing and it links the username automatically - but there doesn't seem to be much point, as there's no way to keep track of replies. You can see the Plurks where you've responded, but not the Plurks where someone's addressed you by username.

A private Plurk might work, but that's a private message, and private Plurks are easier to miss than a direct message on Twitter. One-to-one private Plurks are grouped with all the other private Plurks - there's no "inbox" - so this method isn't ideal. Plurk needs an inbox!

8. Fewer quirks/bugs.

Plurk isn't that buggy, and Twitter has had its fair share of downtime. But I've found a few recurring bugs in Plurk that only go away when you refresh the page. Other users have reported the same issues so I know it's not just me. A couple of bugs in Plurk that I can think of:

• When clicking on one Plurk then clicking a second one while the first is still opening, somehow the Plurks get broken into two pieces and you can't click anything anymore.

• Replies show up twice, or not at all - this seems to come and go, but it's a major pain when it "comes"!

Twitter is simpler (see #1) so it seems to suffer from a lot less bugs.

9. Things don't change around as much.

I actually don't mind change, so the lack of new stuff at Twitter frustrates me. But I am probably in the minority on that one. Most (read: non-technical) people get confused and frustrated when things change around all the time.

On Plurk, it does get confusing when they change whether clicking to view the new responses takes you to the oldest one or the newest one. I seem to recall this went back and forth a couple of times, which was REALLY confusing. Just when you get used to a change - it changes again!

And while I do like most of the changes included at Plurk, the "ding" when a new Plurk appears has to be one of the most annoying changes I've ever come across.

Sometimes, sitting still isn't a bad thing. People keep signing up for Twitter even though they don't have all the features that Plurk has. It would be nice to have a few changes, but invariably they will lead to confusion and bugs.

10. The lack of karma.

On Plurk, karma increases as you participate more - to a point. Too much Plurking can decrease your karma. And not enough Plurking can do the same.

This is absurd. Surely by not using the service you're already getting a penalty in the sense that people are not seeing your comments? The same goes for not writing new blog posts for an extended period of time - people may just give up on your blog. That should be enough of a penalty.

I like that Plurk karma gives you things such as extra smilies and more customisation options, but penalising people for doing other things is just going to encourage people to Plurk for the sake of it.

Twitter doesn't have karma, so it doesn't suffer from the problems associated with it.

So which is better?
It depends on what you want to do. I use both sites, but I prefer Plurk. I like that I am more likely to find someone on Twitter than Plurk, but Plurk has more of a community-feel.

Even with sites like TwiTip saying you shouldn't only use Twitter for announcing new posts, I just don't find Twitter comes close to Plurk when you want to have a conversation with a few people over a number of comments.

For me, community is about groups and how multiple people interact - it's not all about how one person interacts with loads of others. Twitter seems difficult to keep up with even when I follow less than 200 people. Plurk is fun.

[ toptenblogtips.com ]

The Difference Between Twitter and Plurk (1)

First, some background info:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and code workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? (From the Twitter FAQ)

Plurk is a really snazzy site that allows you to showcase the events that make up your life, and follow the events of the people that matter to you, in deliciously digestible short messages called plurks. (From the Plurk FAQ)

Now - why is Plurk better?
1. There's more of a "group" feel.
Arguably, both sites foster communication between different people, but I'd definitely give Plurk the edge here.

Let's say I ask a question, and several people reply. The key difference with Twitter is that the other people don't see the other replies, whereas on Plurk they do. This means you're not just asking questions that encourage people to reply to YOU. You're encouraging a proper discussion where people can reply first to you, but also to each other.

Anyone who enjoys using a blogging forum or a chat room should definitely give Plurk a try. Chatting on Plurk is like going to a bar with some friends, whereas chatting on Twitter is like sitting in a meeting with people who make you feel a bit uncomfortable.

2. Discussions can go on for more than a few minutes.
Sometimes you ask a question and people aren't around to reply to it, or you post during a busy period and other comments get in the way. However, some of the people who read your comments may only keep up with a few people, so they will reply - though not always immediately.

The good thing about Plurk is you can reply to a message from the day before and everyone will be able to see what you were talking about in the first place. This keeps the comments in context and can stimulate some more "meaty" discussions (not just those relating to meat pie). Or, people can take your comments out of context and make jokes. It's a lot harder to do that on Twitter.

3. It's easier to find new friends.
On Plurk, as the discussions are contained in boxes rather than split out as individual comments, you're much more likely to find others who share the same views as you than you would on Twitter.

If a friend starts a discussion, you may get into a discussion with one of their friends. You may then add them as a friend. This just doesn't seem to happen on Twitter. There may be more people on Twitter, but how are you going to find them?

4. There's more space on the timeline.
For the hardcore Twitter user, the Plurk timeline takes a bit of getting used to, but it works well. Instead of a busy period causing every comment to vanish off the first page every time you refresh the page, several discussions can be stacked in the same time period. This is a huge benefit if you like to engage in multiple discussions at a time.

Also, to view older Plurks, you can just scroll back in time instead of waiting for previous pages to load. Moving to another page in Twitter often seems to take a while, whereas scrolling in Plurk is quicker. Even if it does take a while to scroll through all those Plurks...

5. You press Enter to complete a Plurk.
From my own experience and from the comments of other users, the web version of Twitter is not that great, but it seems everyone's happy to use all the third party applications instead. What I don't understand is this - if the basic interface isn't that great, how are ordinary people - non-techies - getting through the door?

In the web version of Twitter (i.e. via Twitter.com) you type your message and click Update (although I guess you can use the tab key). In Plurk you just press Enter. For a service that revolves around short messages, doesn't it make sense that it's as quick to add a comment as possible? Although, I can see why you might want to slow a few people down...

6. More formatting options.
Some people say simple is best, but come on, bold and italic text is hardly going over the top. Twitter allows plain text and links, nothing more. (I don't include the "@" replies, Plurk does those too, they're still links.)

Plurk... well, it doesn't have a lot of options, but you can do italic *like this* and bold **like this**, though the asterisks show up too. However, a really nice touch is the way you can create a hyperlink by including the link here (and the clickable text in parentheses). Sorry Twitter, you just can't match that one. You really should though. It's good to have options.

7. Smilies.
Again, there are people who will say that smilies are not really necessary, but I have seen people say this and then go all out with the smilies on Plurk or a web forum. Admittedly, a comment that only contains a smiley face isn't much on its own, but is it any worse than "lol" or "nice post"?

8. My Plurks/Responded.
These two little tabs provide quick access to the Plurks you created (i.e. your discussions, not your replies), and all the Plurks you've responded to. More importantly, all of the replies to those discussions will be grouped together. Ah, I do like organisation!

9. Private discussions.
Twitter allows the use of Direct Messages for one-to-one messaging. Plurk allows the same - just write a private Plurk to one person.

But Plurk also allows private discussions. You can create a discussion for some or all of your friends, which is a lot better than locking down your entire timeline (the only option in Twitter that comes close). Sometimes, you just don't want to say it in public.

10. Better profile editing options.
I know what you're thinking. People will mess up their profiles as they do on MySpace. Well, perhaps a few people have, but I've seen some truly wonderful Plurk profiles. You have much more scope for personalising your profile and you can use CSS if you wish.

Twitter, on the other hand, only allows you to add a background image. OK, so it might "do the job" for a number of people (I've seen a lot of well-known bloggers doing this), but guess what - it's totally inaccessible, and it won't be picked up by search engines. Time for a rethink, perhaps?

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