A decade or more ago it was common to see a hand-made sign on the back window of the car ahead saying “Running In”. The car was being driven more slowly than usual, and the sign told you that the driver wouldn’t mind you overtaking them. You don’t see the signs any more, but is “breaking [more...]
Base jumping is an extreme form of parachuting where, instead of jumping out of an aircraft, you jump from a fixed object such as a telecommunications tower, a cliff, a bridge, or a building. Base jumping is much more dangerous than regular skydiving, for several reasons: The limited height gives much less time to get the parachute [more...]
Here are two good sources for you to help you research the Scottish connections in your family tree. The first is The Scotsman archive. The archive provides every issue of the paper from 1817-1950. A whopping 600,000 pages. The newspaper is printed in Edinburgh. In this archive, each paper provides a broad review of Scottish, British [more...]
Palenque is an ancient Maya city in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It has some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-reliefs the Maya ever produced. It was first occupied around 100 BC and flourished at its peak from about 600 to 700 AD. During the 8th century, the city came under increasing [more...]
When you plan a South Carolina vacation, it can include everything from South Carolina beaches, golf vacations, palm tree shaded gardens and mountain solitude. Many people planning South Carolina vacations begin in Charleston. This city is home to the Charleston Harbor and is the center of much of South Carolina’s cultural life. Columbia, the state [more...]
It’s easy to lose the stylus from a touchscreen device such as a mobile phone, internet tablet or PDA. What can you use as a replacement? It needs to be pointed enough to activate a precise location on the screen, yet soft enough that it won’t scratch the screen. One possibility is to take some soft [more...]
France is full of attractive cafés where you can sit and watch the world go by. They may be in a small town square, or on a busy avenue in Paris. They may look out on trees, or a crowded shopping area. But before you can really enjoy their relaxed charm, you need to know [more...]
Rhode Island is not just for the summer. Events, fairs, festivals, and concerts are taking place year round. For people who have not spent a lot of time in the Ocean State, the first images that one thinks of may be of Newport’s fabulous Gilded-Age mansions, 12-meter yachting, and its famed jazz, folk, and classical [more...]
Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State and was so named for its role in the Revolutionary War. It was the geographic center of the thirteen original colonies. Today it is the center of a great vacation experience. From Philadelphia, the birthplace of American Independence and home of the Liberty Bell to Pittsburgh, where two rivers meet [more...]
You may remember that a few years ago there was much attention given to the bird or avian flu — it was seen a potential source of a worldwide pandemic. But now the pandemic threat isn’t a bird flu, but a swine flu. So the question naturally arises: What is the difference between them? The [more...]
The first outbreak of the Spanish Flu was noted in March 1918 in the Fort Riley military base in Kansas, although it’s possible that it had broken out earlier in the Far East, or even the previous year in Tibet or Austria. However, it was August 1918 when a more virulent mutation of this swine flu [more...]
The two drugs which have been stock-piled by governments across the world in preparation for a possible flu pandemic are known by their trade names Relenza and Tamiflu, and it is indeed those which are being recommended for the current swine influenza breakout. The World Health Organisation is reporting that “national and the local authorities [more...]
The transmission of influenza such as swine flu can be greatly reduced by taking certain precautions: Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Use soap and warm water, or an alcohol-based sanitizer. Tip: many people don’t wash their thumbs properly! Be fastidious about covering your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze. If you use a tissue, [more...]
A strong immune system is your best protection against virulent strains of flu and other viruses. When viruses strike a large geographic area and rise to pandemic proportions, vaccines cannot be relied on to protect an entire population. Viruses can also mutate rapidly and become resistant to existing antiviral drugs and vaccines. Keeping your immune system [more...]
Today’s movie cinema format comprises a large chunk of previews and advertisements, followed by the main feature. But it wasn’t always like that. In the past there were three common formats: “shorts plus main feature”, “double feature” and “continuous screening”. “Continuous screening” was used for “blockbusters” where the cinema was expecting to operate near full capacity. [more...]
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis, also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis and completed in 550 BC at Ephesus. Only foundations, which are in a rather swampy hole, and some sculptural fragments remains from the temple. Artemis was [more...]
Ephesus was an ancient city on the west coast of Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League and was famed for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The area of Ephesus was inhabited during the Early Stone Age about 6000 BC. The city [more...]
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin. Hamburg was founded in 810 by Charlemagne and earned its place in history by becoming the most strategic port in the Hanseatic League. Bombing by the Allies during the Second World War caused many civilian casualties, created a devastated city as well as destroyed harbor areas. Since [more...]
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth. Coincidentally — or did God just plan things that way so we mortals could enjoy the beauty? — the moon has essentially the same apparent diameter as the sun (it’s much smaller but also much closer), so when the moon and [more...]
In a 1929 interview, Albert Einstein said: If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music… I do know that I get most joy in life out of my violin. And indeed he was an [more...]