West Virginia truly is “Wild and Wonderful” as their slogan says. West Virginia offers spectacular mountains, swirling rivers, and scenic countryside, a welcome change of pace from the pressures of everyday life. You’ll find friendly cities full of fun and nightlife. From wild to tame, from fancy resorts to rustic retreats, West Virginia truly has [more...]
It’s hard to imagine that people can get too hot in England, the cold damp land of moist green landscapes, but incredibly it does happen and it causes hundreds of deaths each year. Most of these deaths are not from heatstroke, but are deaths from other conditions aggravated by effects of the heat such as [more...]
You will find rain forests, beaches and tide pools, fantascic scenery, volcanoes, wildlife, glaciers, mountains, deserts, wilderness, trout-filled lakes, and wild rivers. The outdoor recreational opportunities are nearly endless, from sportfishing and whale watching to whitewater rafting and mountain climbing. There is fun, adventure, and challenge out there for everybody. For the non-adventure traveler, cities [more...]
The National Anthem of the United States is “The Star Spangled Banner.” The lyrics are from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by Royal Navy ships during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key never meant for it to become a song, [more...]
Orlando is a city in the state of Florida. It was incorporated in July 1875, and as a city in 1885. When one thinks of Orlando, one of the first things to come to mind, is Theme Parks. The Orlando area is home to Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld [more...]
Anatolia is the Asiatic portion of modern Turkey, extending from the Bosporus and Aegean coast eastward to the borders Russia, Iran, and Iraq. The Greeks and later the Romans referred to western Anatolia as “Asia.” While Anatolia is the home of Catalhuyuk, which may be the oldest city in the world, and later to colonies [more...]
“Virginia Is For Lovers.” Ok, now that we have the official slogan out of the way, we can find what else Virginia is for. However, Virginia ‘is’ a history lover’s dream, once a part of the Cherokee lands and even played a role in the invention of iced tea. A visitor may walk in the [more...]
It’s generally unwise to re-freeze frozen food that has thawed. If it’s hot where you live, how do you stop frozen food from thawing on the way home from the store? Each of these tips helps to keep the food cold for a little longer. Taken together, they may be enough to get the food [more...]
Michael Jackson (1958-2009) was a singer and entertainer. His performances, whether on video or on stage, featured energetic and dramatic dance moves—and not just the “Moonwalk”. The choreography to Smooth Criminal (YouTube) includes a move where Michael Jackson and his dancers tilt their bodies forwards in a gravity-defying moment. It looks as though they should [more...]
The Brady Bunch was a saccharine-sweet television series originally aired from 1969 to 1974. It featured a family formed by the marriage of a widowed architect (Mike Brady) to a previously-married Carol. Mike brought with him three sons—Greg, Peter and Bobby—while Carol brought three daughters—Marcia, Jan and Cindy. Add a live-in maid (Alice) and a [more...]
Many people yearn to see large African animals in the wild—and many African countries have game reserves where elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes and lions roam free. But there’s a catch—how to avoid the risk of contracting malaria? Malaria is a dangeous and sometimes life-threatening disease. The cause of the disease is a parasite of the [more...]
Vermont, the Green Mountain State, is not only a great place for a weekender, but an extended holiday as well. Visitors to Vermont receive a cozy, old-fashioned welcome at lodgings from small Bed & Breakfasts to major resorts with spas and other luxuries. Have a go at skiing or snowboarding on one of the many [more...]
At first glance it seems obvious that slapping DRM on commercial music and video will stop people from copying the content, and will increase the profit of the content distributors. But a more careful analysis shows that this is unlikely to be the case. The apparent DRM profit (i.e. the extra profit due to DRM [more...]
The United States Central Intelligence Agency (the CIA), was created in 1947 to provide senior US policymakers with information related to national security. The CIA collects information (“intelligence”), correlates it in relation to national security, and disseminates it appropriately. Here’s what the CIA says about itself on its Kids’ Page: The CIA is an independent [more...]
Perhaps surprisingly, book cover illustrations don’t go back very far. Not so long ago, before the 1820s, books were usually sold without any cover. Just a stack of unbound printed sheets. You would then go to a bookbinder and commission a binding and cover. Books were expensive, and the additional cost of a hand-crafted binding [more...]
Although Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest national park in Costa Rica (less than 700 hectares or 1,700 acres), it is also one of the most visited. And it’s no wonder: The park is home to a rain forest, monkeys galore, parrots, toucans, iguanas, sloths and other wildlife and the type of beaches that [more...]
La Marcha Real (“The Royal March”) is Spain’s National Anehem and one of the few national anthems which have no official lyrics. But things are changing. The Spanish national anthem was written in 1761 by an unknown composer and only had lyrics during the reign of King Alfonso XIII and when Franco was in power. [more...]
Spain is a lively and democratic country that stretches from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Portugal, France, Andorra, Gibraltar and—perhaps surprisingly—Morocco (which adjoins the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla). Like France, Spain has two coasts: a Mediterranean coast to the southeast and an Atlantic coast on the Bay of Biscay [more...]
It seems everyone is talking about green jobs. Countries around the world are moving toward developing greener technologies and individuals are striving to move into green careers. But what is a green job, exactly? How can one transition from a traditional job to a “greener” one? Green jobs are generally focused around aspects of social [more...]
The Anthem of the European Union is ‘Ode to Joy’ (German original title: “Ode an die Freude”) and is referred to by both the European Union and the Council of Europe, as simply the ‘European Anthem.’ The member nations of the European Union are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, [more...]