What's on man's mind?

Men are more likely to think of sex when they meet a woman for the first time, according to a study that says high sexual rating is closely tied to physical attractiveness.

Maurice Levesque and other researchers studied 43 men and women and found that when a man and woman meet for the first time, men may be more likely to think about sex, reported the online edition of a health magazine.

Levesque worked on the study while at the University of Connecticut and now works in the psychology department of North Carolinas Elon University. First, participants completed surveys designed to gauge masculinity and femininity about themselves. Then researchers paired men and women who didn't know each other. Each pair sat at a table for two and chatted for five minutes.

Afterwards, the pairs spilit up. "But before going their separate ways, they completed surveys about their partner and their brief conversation. Men rated their female partner as more sexual, particularly if they found her attractive, than the women who rated their male partner," the researchers said.

Spice up your MARRIAGE!

When complacency sets in and passion and romance fly out of the window, staying married can be a boring exercise. Re-ignite the sparks, pull up your socks, talk, touch and get cosy to revitalise your relationship.

Agree to disagree: Bottling everything up and not having arguments for fear of disturbing the peace might actually put a dampener on the marriage and cause so much hidden resentment that you stop communicating. Define lies and boundaries for spats and go all guns blazing into one. And yes, the sex after an argument is always better.

Schedule time together: It may be a minimum of 20 minutes a day just talking to each other, but it would be an investment in your tomorrow with this individual. You have to spend time to keep your marriage in shape. Invest in a romantic date together, arrange for occasional romantic surprises, have common interests and hobbies you can share. A couple that enjoys at least one activity together like travelling or theatre has an advantage over a couple, which has no activities they can share together.

Be vulnerable with each other: Don't be afraid to show your soft side to your spouse. Keeping up defences is not conducive to a healthy relationship. Express your feelings, however trifling they might seem, to connect with each other.

Try to learn something new about the other person everyday: You never know, even after years of being married to the same person, they might just surprise you.

Be adventurous: Visit a new place, stay at a different hotel than the one you normally stay at. Explore a town together. Eat at a different restaurant, eat a different cuisine, try a new activity, attend a new event, watch a movie together and discuss it later. The bottom line is doing new things together will infuse newness into your relationship.

TO PA, WITH LOVE!

It's still not too late to pick up a gift for your dad. A few ideas...

At the risk of being too general, Dad seem to be happy with just about anything you give them. He may never use the gift, or remember the actual gift, but they seem to appreciate getting the gift. Gifts for a father are ritual, something regal to accept. These gifts are appreciated without showing exuberant emotion. This ultra cool manner of gift acceptance is not pre-meditated it's just natural and not to be interpreted as he did not like your gift.

You can get your father an extra special gift that he can really enjoy by simply digging a little into a combination of his interest, history, your relationship with your father and his basic needs.

Here are some guidelines or questions you may want to ask yourself.

Think about what he might like to do if he had the spare time to do it. His interests are one of the best places to find the appropriate gift ideas.

It could be a car perfume, classic DVDs, CDs, tool box, just about anything he enjoyed at any point of time.

Find out or try to remember what were his dreams when he was a young man. Figure out a gift related to those early dreams, unachieved or achieved. Acknowledge that you will know him well and that you want to share in his dreams.

Finally his needs. Look for gifts that are practical. Things he needs that might make his life more enjoyable. Items like chair massagers or warmers. Good quality clothing that he might have selected for himself. Don't make him too old a man, be a little respectful to find gifts that emphasis his strengths.

It is only appropriate to give a very ostentatious gift when it is truly an item that a father has wanted his whole life and it is being given with genuine love. Large gifts of this type are good to give as a family group gift then everyone feels part of this special gift.

A hot date or daddy material?

How women spot a potential father

WOMEN LOOKING for a long term relationship like men who like children - and they can tell which guys might be interested in becoming fathers just by looking at their faces. Those are among the findings of a study of college students published wednesday in a British scientific journal.

"This study suggests that women are picking up on facial clues that are perhaps related to paternal qualities. The more they perceived the men as liking kids, the more likely they could see having a longer-term relationship."

Experts said evolution has apparently programmed women to recognize men who might be interested in propagating the species by raising a family. The study wasn't all bad news for men not interested in settling down. Moreover women can look at men's faces and figure out which of them have the highest testosterone levels. Those men - rated the most masculine by the women - turn out to be just the kind of guys they would want for a fling.

Women make very good use of any information they get from a man's face, a study revealed. In the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, researchers look at a group of 39 men, ages 18 to 33, at the University of Chicago. Each man was shown 10 pairs of photographs and silhouettes, one of an adult and other of an infant, and asked to rate their preferences. Meanwhile, their saliva was tested to determine testosterone level. Photographs of the men's faces were then shown to 29 women, ages 18 to 20, at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

The women were asked to rate the men on four qualities: "likes children," "masculine," "physically attractive," and "kind." Then they were asked to rate how attractive they found each man for short term and long term romance.

The study found women did well at rating men on their interest in babies, and those they rated masculine generally had higher testosterone levels than the others. For example, the men who indicated they liked children the most were rated as above average in liking children by 20 of the 29 women. The men who showed no interest in children were correctly rated as below average in that category by 19 of the women.

The higher the women rated the men for masculinity, the higher they were rated as potential short-term romantic partners. The higher they rated men for their interest in children, the higher they were rated for long term romance.

The features that research has suggested denote high testosterone levels include a prominent jaw and a heavy beard. The findings came as no surprise to those in the business of studying human behavior - and love.

Surprise pecks & hugs, that's all

Little surprises
"Darling, I picked up a new pair of khakis for you" or "Sweetie, I got a babysitter for tonight so we can see a flick" definitely are the kind of surprises that men want. When you spring, little surprises on them - whether it's buying them a sweet gift or recording their favourite songs they feel loved.

Unexpected touches
They pop out of the shower in the morning, and as you shuffle past them, you hit them with a peck on the back of the neck. While coffee is pretty good, your gentle peck is really the best part of walking up. Yes it's true - the slightest touch from you can bring your man to his knees in mid-sentence.

Ego stroking
Guys often feel the need to be the provider, the man of the house, and whether they've succeeded in hanging a shelf or grilling a mean T-bone, they are in heaven when you give us that "you did a great job" peck on the cheek. More than anything, your man wants to feel as if he's your hero.

Veg time
Guys crave for do-nothing moments only after work. They absolutely love it when you understand the bizzare behaviour and leave them to their own devices as they pound peanuts and watch the game on the occasional Sunday or alphabetise their CDs after dinner.

Fashion Policing
Why do men want to wear their 10-year-old T-shirt at times? Because they think it's cool and irreverent. Little do they realise that it makes them look like crap. As much as they hate to admit it, they desparately need your fashion help.

You dressing sexy, mostly
Your guy thinks you are the sexiest, most beautiful woman on the planet. The fact is that they feel pretty cool when it's obvious that they've scored the hotest babe in the room.