Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Warer? Water?
That means that solid ice weighs less than liquid water. Because it weighs less, your ice cubes just naturally float on top of the water. Ice floats on top of the oceans or lakes too. That means that our rivers, lakes and oceans freeze from the TOP down. And THAT is why fish can go right on swimming beneath the ice.
Water is the most peculiar liquid on earth. When the temperature drops below freezing water turns into something hard, like ice -- or something soft, like a snowflake.
Put a pot of water on a stove and as you increase the heat it begins to bubble, then it turns into clouds.
But water doesn't have to boil before it turns into a cloud. Water on a lake, water on top of the ocean, water just naturally leaps off into the sky to form big, fluffy clouds. This process is called EVAPORATION. Isn't that amazing? Sometimes water leaps into the sky so fast that it takes frogs and fish up into the sky with it. Some people claim they have seen it rain cats and dogs. What do you think?
Long, long ago before people had dryers they hung their clothes out on the line to dry. If the temperature dropped the clothes might freeze solid. But the wet clothes would dry out eventually because the water is so peculiar that the water in the clothes would still evaporate even though it had turned into ice.
As the air in the sky changes temperature it squeezes the water out of the clouds and it falls back to the earth. This process is called CONDENSATION.
You can see condensation at work right in your own dining room. Just put ice in a glass and set it out on the table. Because the ice makes the glass cold while the air around it is warm you will see water sucked right out of the warm air and turn into big drops of water that drip down the sides of the glass.
When crystals of frost catch the light from the sun they can sparkle like a thousand tiny rainbows. Have you ever wondered where frost comes from? Frost forms on windows and things when water changes directly from a gas to a solid form.
Here's an experiment to shsow you another peculiarity of water: Fill a glass as FULL of water as you can get it without letting the water run over. Now, begin putting wooden toothpicks into the water, one at a time. How many toothpicks can you put in before the glass runs over? Would you believe ten? Would you believe a hundred? Would you believe a thousand? Because water molecules like to stick together on the surface you can put more than a hundred toothpicks into a glass of water without it running over if you put them in carefully. Go slowly and see how many toothpicks YOU can put in!
Here's another experiment. Take a piece of cotton string two feet long. Put one end into a bowl of water and tie the other end up one foot or more above the bowl. Water will climb all the way to the top of the string. If you drop the other end of the string onto the table it will drain all of the water out of the bowl. That's peculiar, huh?
Have you seen pictures of trees in school that show human faces on trees? The face is pictured in the trunk and way up the tree above the ground. Well, if you think about it, trees are standing upside down and their heads are stuck in the ground so they can tell the roots where to grow. Trees absorb moisture through their roots and send it all the way up to the topmost leaf waving in the air. How do they get moisture all the way up there? Just like you did with the piece of string. Isn't water wonderful?
MORE, click Title
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Family Camping Vacations
Imagine showing your children waterfalls no other eye has seen, clouds so heavy with dripping snow they can't lift off the mountain cap. Where is land left with this rare legacy? Much of it can be found in famous places like Yellowstone, Tetons, the Black Hills, though it is disappearing fast, but some of the land out west is emptying too as progress calls man to commerce ports. And, all around the world there are clarion calls of nature so broad and wild as they were centuries ago. Destinations like Africa, Asia, Europe and South America offer a wonderful variety of adventure tours on horseback.
Though comparatively little known to Americans, the British and particularly the French have highly developed the riding tour concept in many parts of the world. In many locations in the United States rights-of-way for horses have been lost, but many still exist in other countries. This kind of vacation is not for everyone, but if your heart has missed a beat as you thought of mountains crunching into skies so blue they were black then you really do need to click on the title, and explore this concept more thoroughly.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Christmas Customs From The Past
From The Past
Written By
William Francis Dawson
Set For the web by
Lin Stone
ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED!
In the third quarter of the nineteenth century,
it fell to my lot to write an article on Christmas,
its customs and festivities.
And, although I sought in vain for a chronological account of the festival, I discovered many interesting details of its observances
dispersed in the works of various authors; and, while I found that some of its greater celebrations marked important epochs in our national history,
I saw, also, that the successive celebrations of Christmas during nineteen centuries were important links in the chain of historical Christian evidences.
I became enamoured of the subject,
for, in addition to historical interest,
there is the charm of its legendary lore,
its picturesque customs,
and popular games.
It seemed to me that the origin and hallowed associations of Christmas, its ancient customs and festivities, and the important part it has played in history combine to make it a most fascinating subject.
I resolved, therefore,
to collect materials for a larger work on Christmas.
Henceforth,
I became a snapper-up of everything relating to Christmastide, utilised every opportunity of searching libraries,
bookstalls,
and catalogues of books
in different parts of the country,
and, subsequently,
as a Reader of the British Museum Library,
had access to that vast storehouse
of literary and historical treasures.
Soon after commencing the work,
I realised that I had entered
a very spacious field of research,
and that,
having to deal with the accumulated materials
of nineteen centuries,
a large amount of labour would be involved,
and some years must elapse before,
even if circumstances proved favourable,
I could hope to see the end of my task.
Still, I went on with the work,
for I felt that a complete account of Christmas,
ancient and modern,
at home and abroad,
would prove generally acceptable,
for while the historical events and legendary lore
would interest students and antiquaries,
the holiday sports and popular celebrations
would be no less attractive to general readers.
At home,
at sea,
in many distant lands,
This Kingly Feast
Without a rival stands!
The love of story-telling seems to be ingrained in human nature. Travellers tell of vari-coloured races sitting round their watch fires reciting deeds of the past; and letters from colonists show how, even amidst forest-clearing, they have beguiled their evening hours by telling or reading stories as they sat in the glow of their camp fires.
And in old England there is the same love of tales and stories. One of the chief delights of Christmastide is to sit in the united family circle and hear, tell, or read about the quaint habits and picturesque customs of Christmas in the olden time; and one of the purposes of CHRISTMAS is to furnish the retailer of Christmas wares with suitable things for re-filling his pack.
From the vast store of materials collected it is not possible to do more than make a selection. How far I have succeeded in setting forth the subject in a way suited to the diversity of tastes among readers I must leave to their judgment and indulgence; but I have this satisfaction, that the gems of literature it contains are very rich indeed; and I acknowledge my great indebtedness to numerous writers of different periods whose references to Christmas and its time-honoured customs are quoted.
I have to acknowledge the courtesy of Mr. Henry Jewitt, Mr. E. Wiseman, Messrs. Harper, and Messrs. Cassell & Co., in allowing their illustrations to appear in this work.
My aim is neither critical nor apologetic, but historical and pictorial: it is not to say what might or ought to have been, but to set forth from extant records what has actually taken place: to give an account of the origin and hallowed associations of Christmas, and to depict, by pen and pencil, the important historical events and interesting festivities of Christmastide during nineteen centuries.
With materials collected from different parts of the world, and from writings both ancient and modern, I have endeavoured to give in the present work a chronological account of the celebrations and observances of Christmas from the birth of Christ to the end of the nineteenth century; but, in a few instances, the subject-matter has been allowed to take precedence of the chronological arrangement.
Here will be found accounts of primitive celebrations of the Nativity, ecclesiastical decisions fixing the date of Christmas, the connection of Christmas with the festivals of the ancients, Christmas in times of persecution, early celebrations in Britain, stately Christmas meetings of the Saxon, Danish, and Norman kings of England; Christmas during the wars of the Roses, Royal Christmases under the Tudors, the Stuarts and the Kings and Queens of Modern England; Christmas at the Colleges and the Inns of Court; Entertainments of the nobility and gentry, and popular festivities; accounts of Christmas celebrations in different parts of Europe, in America and Canada, in the sultry lands of Africa and the ice-bound Arctic coasts, in India and China, at the Antipodes, in Australia and New Zealand, and in the Islands of the Pacific; in short, throughout the civilised world.
In looking at the celebrations of Christmas, at different periods and in different places, I have observed that, whatever views men hold respecting Christ, they all agree that His Advent is to be hailed with joy, and the nearer the forms of festivity have approximated to the teaching of Him who is celebrated the more real has been the joy of those who have taken part in the celebrations.
The descriptions of the festivities and customs of different periods are given, as far as possible, on the authority of contemporary authors, or writers who have special knowledge of those periods, and the most reliable authorities have been consulted for facts and dates, great care being taken to make the work as accurate and trustworthy as possible. I sincerely wish that all who read it may find as much pleasure in its perusal as I have had in its compilation.
William Francis Dawson.
Come read the Christmas Customs From The Past.
Click on the title.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Write A Whole Book, Even If You Can't Write A Word
THREE ways to write a whole book when you can't write a word. All three ways are legal! Let's start out with the way Isaac Asimov did it – you can be the EDITOR, and publish the book under your name. Now, that isn't the ONLY way that Issac produced his constant stream of books. But the fact remains, he did use this method and it did work. Editor,, that means you collect the writings of two or more writers and assemble them into a new work.
Anthologies are a good example of this, like THE BEST TOLD TALES OF TASD -- by Whomver U. Are. Science Fiction anthologies and short stories anthologies are the best known models but you can also do something like BEST CARTOONS OF 2007, or whatever. If you are assembling current work into an anthology you MUST contact the authors and writers and ask their permission to include their work.
However, if the work you are assembling is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN you don't even have to contact the author, writer or artist. All you need is a good title that will UNIFY the work so that the reader will know what to expect when opening up Your Book. #2,, You can also use current, FREE articles to assemble a book under your name. We are talking thousands and thousands of articles with the authors BEGGING YOU to use them.
Where do you find them? That part is easy too. Go to http://www.talewins.com/poster.htm and take your pick. The producer even tells you which sources are the best. All you have to do is pick out a topic, then pick out the best articles to fit inside your book. Will there be any readers? Actually, yes. LOTS of them. Unfortunately, there is a sticking point. THESE AUTHORS don't want you to SELL your book, they want you to give it away.
Why do they care? Because they are smart enough to know a free book gets more distribution!
Distribution is exactly what they are after.
So, is there a way YOU make money handing out a FREE BOOK?
Actually, that is pretty easy to do. All you need to do is insert ADVERTISING inside the book in appropriate places. What is appropriate?
NICE. UNCROWDED, CUTE maybe?
Let's say your book is centered on the topic of working at home and you want to use an ad for The New Age Work at Home Plan. You can put the ad (that kind of looks like a book cover) on the right hand side – or the left – and when readers click on the book cover they are taken to the sales page for that book. When sales are made you earn up to $50
Another way I insert the advertising so it looks nice is to sandwich it between two pieces, or in natural breaks. Not only does this make your advertising visible, it also breaks up the pattern of the page and makes it easier to read as it gives the new owner a chance to stop for a breath or two before traveling on.
This whole book is yours for free. The download site is:
http://www.talewins.com/Browzer/without.pdf
Download the book to your desktop so you can find it again, and again. Pass it on to your friends, family, and customers.
Thank you.