Breaking the Wishbone for Luck

Breaking the Wishbone for Luck

The tradition of pulling apart the wishbone, or clavicle, may be as much as 2,500 years old. Ancient Etruscans in what is now Italy kept chickens in their temples to aid priests in interpreting signs of the future. When one of the sacred birds died, the collarbone was dried and saved. Believers would stroke the bone and then make a wish.

The ancient Romans, who came to live in Italy after the Etruscans, believed chickens had special powers. When sacred chicken bones from the temple became scarce, the people began breaking the collarbone of the chicken in half to create more 
bones for others.

The Romans carried the custom with them when they conquered the British Isles. The British were the first to believe good luck would come to the person left with the head of the bone still attached, or the “lucky break.” 

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Thanksgiving Day 28-11-2013

Thanksgiving Day 28-11-2013

Source: The First Thanksgiving 1621

http://loc.gov/pictures/item/2001699850/

Throughout history, people have given thanks - sometimes in joyful celebration, often in solemn, even prayerful, ceremony. The United States, over hundreds of years, has come to observe a national holiday for giving thanks. Thanksgiving: family and friends, crisp fall weather, orange and gold leaves, football, turkey, pumpkin pie.

A legendary Thanksgiving celebration was held in 1621. The  terrible winter of the previous year had been difficult for the Pilgrims. Many of the Pilgrims had died because of illness and lack of shelter. The Thanksgiving celebration was held after the Pilgrims had their first harvest-after they had gathered their first crops.

The writings of the Pilgrims tell us that about 140 people attended the three-day celebration. Ninety of the people were  Wampanoag men. About 50 people were Pilgrims. Only four of the Pilgrims at the party were women. The feast was held outside because the Pilgrims did not have a building large enough to hold so many people.

The Pilgrims were thankful for the harvest and for the help of the Wampanoag in teaching them to grow crops in America. Without their help, the Pilgrims would have had little to eat. The menu for the first Thanksgiving included venison, or deer meat, and  fowl, which included ducks, geese, and turkeys. Sea bass, cod fish, cornmeal, 
fruits and vegetables were also served.  

Games were played, and singing and dancing were also part of the celebration. Praises were given  to God for the harvest and for the Pilgrims that survived the harsh winter.

Thanksgiving in America is now celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Families prepare a meal similar to the meal prepared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag 400 years ago. It is a time for counting the blessings received during the year and for spending time with family and friends.  

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A Reptile of Many Talents

A Reptile of Many Talents

1. Chameleons are lizards, and lizards are reptiles, like snakes, crocodiles, and tortoises. There are about 4,000 kinds of lizards altogether, including around 120 different chameleons. Just over half of all the types of chameleons come from Madagascar, a big island off the east coast of Africa. Most of the others live in mainland Africa. 

2. What animal has feet like a parrot, can see in more than one direction at a time, and has a tongue that can move with incredible speed? It’s not a bird. It’s not a frog. It’s a chameleon.

3. Some lizards eat bananas-chameleons don’t. Some lizards walk upside down on the ceiling-chameleons can’t. There’s even a lizard that glides from tree to tree-a chameleon certainly wouldn’t do that! But of all the different kinds of lizards,  chameleons are the best. 

4. It’s not that they’re all that big. The biggest is only about the size of a small cat. It’s called Oustalet’s chameleon and it lives in Madagascar. They can be really, really small, though. The smallest one could balance happily on your little finger. It’s called the Dwarf Brookesia, and it lives in Madagascar too.  

5. And I suppose you wouldn’t exactly call many of them beautiful. Their skin is wrinkly and bumpy, and they’ve got big bulgy eyes, while lots of them have the most ridiculous noses! 

6. Their mouths are pretty odd, too. They turn down at the corners, which is why chameleons always look grumpy. Actually, they don’t just look grumpy. They are grumpy. So if two chameleons bump into each other, things can get pretty lively. There’s lots of puffing and hissing - and sometimes, there’s a real fight. And that’s when chameleons do what they’re famous for - they change color. A chameleon will fight only with the same kind of chameleon as itself. 

7. Lots of people think chameleons change color to match their surroundings. They don’t! They change color when they’re angry, or when they’re too cold or too hot, or when they’re sick. And there are some sorts of chameleons that hardly change color at all. 

8. A chameleon’s feet are shaped like pincers for holding onto branches tightly. 

9. As a rule, though, chameleons don’t bump into one another all that often. I suppose it wouldn’t be fair to call them lazy, but they certainly don’t move any more than they have to. And when they do, it’s almost always incredibly slowly. Sometimes they stop completely in midstep, as if they’ve forgotten what they’re supposed to be doing. But if you look closely, you’ll see that they’re actually carefully peering about. 

10. Most of a chameleon’s eye is covered in skin, like the rest of its body.

11. Now, peering about is something chameleons are rather good at. That’s because their eyes can move separately from each other, unlike our eyes, which always move together. So while one eye is looking back over the chameleon’s shoulder, the other one is scanning the branches ahead. As soon as it spots something tasty, the chameleon fixes both eyes on its prey and begins to creep forward - even more slowly than usual. Then it opens its mouth just a crack, and . . . 

12. Out shoots this amazingly long tongue with a sticky tip at the end, like a piece of well-chewed chewing gum. thwap! 

13. There’s a tiny peephole in the middle that the chameleon sees through. 

14. Chameleons feed on all sorts of creepy crawlies. The big ones also eat small birds, mice, and even other chameleons. 

15. Then the tongue flies back, and there’s a lot of chomping and chewing, and perhaps a few bits of insect leg fluttering to the ground. And after that the chameleon just sits there for an hour or two, doing nothing at all, looking quite exhausted ( and still grumpy) after all that hard work. 

16. Most lizards gulp their food down without chewing it, but chameleons grind everything up thoroughly! 

17. If you’ve ever looked closely at a chameleon’s toes, you’ll see they have parrot-like feet. Each foot has five toes grouped as two together on the outside and three together on the inside. 

18. They have extremely long tongues, sometimes even longer than their body length.

19. Most chameleons are found in Africa, but a few species have been found other places around the world, including Asia, India, and the United States. 

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Some Amazing Facts

Some Amazing Facts

 Source: http://thumbpress.com/20-mind-blowing-facts-you-probably-didnt-know/

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Fun facts about Pomeranian dogs

Fun facts about Pomeranian dogs

The Pomeranian is one of they toy breeds and weighs between 3 and 7 pounds (there are larger poms, and although not to the breed standard, they still make wonderful loving pets!). Intelligent and vivacious, these little dogs will steal your heart, but don't let them get away with too much as they must be properly trained or they will become too demanding. With proper care your Pom can live to about 15 years old.

1. Did you know the Pomeranian was once a much larger dog that weighed around 35 pounds? A cousin to the spitz type dogs, this pampered lap dog once called the arctic home.

2. Bred down to it's tiny size over the centuries, the Pomeranian became popular in the late 1800's when Queen Victorian brought a 12 pound Pom back from Italy. This vivacious little dog soon became a favourite of European royalty and was bred to be even smaller until it reached the average of 5 pounds.

3. Historically, the Pomeranian has been fancied by many famous Europeans.Michelangelo had a little Pom that sat on a silk pillow and watched him while he painted the Sistine Chapel. Martin Luther, the great church leader had one of these little dogs that he mentioned often in his work. Mozart had a Pomeranian that he dedicated an Aria to and Chopin composed the Valse des Petits Chiens for his girlfriends Pom.

4. Originated from Pomerania, Germany. The Pomeranian breed was created with selective breeding. Originating from the spitz group of dogs that were used as sled dogs in Iceland. Pomeranians were bred to be smaller and have beautiful coats.

5. Pomeranians come in different colors. They can be black, white, brown, red, orange, blue and parti colored. The parti-colored has a calico type of pattern.

6. Pomeranians make excellent guard dogs. They are very alert and will warn you if anyone is outside.

7. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese .  A Pomeranian survived the sinking of the Titanic! This dog belonged to Miss Margaret Hays (in lifeboat 7). Miss Hays survived as well.

8. Theodore Roosevelt owned a Pomeranian. President Roosevelt called his Pomeranian"Gem".

9. Recognized as official dog breed in U.S. in 1900 Pomeranians were recognized in 1900 and had their first dog show in the United States in 1911.

10. Pomeranians have a double coat. They have an undercoat that is very dense and the outer coat is long and straight. The best brush to use on them is a wire slick brush to get the undercoat as well.

11. Pomeranians are highly intelligent and extroverted. They crave a lot of attention and constant love from the owner. They seem to be one-owner dogs and are very loyal. Not recommended for young children because they are too small and may be hurt by the child.

12. Pomeranians have been in numerous movies. Including: To Die For with Nicole Kidman, Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carey, Harlem Nights with Robin givens, X-files with Scully and Cadillac Man with Fran Drescher.

13. There are many famous people who love Pomeranians. Some of the famous figures who are or have been Pomeranian owners include Sharon Osbourne, Elvis Presley, Leann Rimes, Fran Drescher, Nicole Richie, Rihanna, Maria Sharapova, Geri Halliwell, P. Diddy, Samantha Mamba, Bill Cosby, Mozart, Paris Hilton, Kate Hudson, Isaac Newton and Michelangelo. Queen Victoria had six Pomeranians which were named Marco, Gona, Sacha, Fluffy, Beppo and Turi.

14. Pomeranians are used for rescue missions and operations whenever a smaller breed of dog is needed. Their ancestors were used by the Nordic people as sled pulling dogs and reindeer herders. Of course, these early Pomeranians were much larger than our present day Poms.

15. Luxating Patellas or a knee that slips out of place is common in Pomeranians and in some cases this may require surgery. Many Poms suffer from hypothyroidism which can cause other problems and should be checked by your vet. Some Poms lose patches of hair as they grow older. This usually starts at the back and moves forward. If your Pom sounds like he is coughing then he may have a collapsing trachea which is not uncommon in this breed. An xray can determine if this is the problem and medication can be given to reduce coughing. Tooth loss and bacteria build up is a problem in Pomeranians as well as other small dogs. 

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Uses of Neodymium Magnets

Uses of Neodymium Magnets

Nickel plated neodymium magnet on a bracket from a hard drive.

The magnets in your possession are some of the most powerful magnets in the world.  They are made out of a neodymium-iron-boron material, or Nd2Fe14B, of which iron is the main component.  Their field strength has been measured at 12.5 kiloGauss, or 1.25 Tesla (tens of thousands of times stronger than the earth’s magnetic field).  Their incredible strength makes them a constant source of wonder as well as ideal demonstrators of the force of magnetism in traditional, and some not so traditional, experiments.  As you may already know, these are not ordinary magnets and cannot be handled as such.

Here is just some of the uses that neodymium magnets have been put to:

  Repairing my fridge seal. Put a couple inside the plastic of the seal and it holds the door shut beautifully

  Experimenting with cathode ray tubes (TV's and computer monitors)

  Hold directions to my motorbike petrol tank so they don't come off at speed

  Removing parts from a punch press, safely. 

  Cleaning up debris in a machining workshop.  

  Hanging wet clothes to tent poles or parts of a caravan 

  Levitation 

  Tie clip 

  Violin mute. Put small discs on each side of the bridge to add mass and quiet the violin.

  Slot car traction

  Holding down a car cover 

  Pulling dents out of vehicles. 

  Attaching tracking devices to motor vehicles.  

  Jewellery clasps 

  Hanging fairy lights  

  Re-magnetising alnico (Aluminium-Nickel-Cobalt) magnets.  

  Hanging tapestries in a warehouse.

  Magic illusion tricks 

  With 1 magnet and a ball bearing I remove dents from brass musical instruments.  

  Holding all the lathe tools to the lathe 

  Magnetic stirring device  

  Bike light generator  

  Christmas presents! 

  Wind power alternator  

  Alleviate joint pain - magnetic therapy 

  Hold a small vice down  

  Welding  

  Picking up nails/screws/needles 

  School projects and demonstrations 

  Hold lines and tape on steel boat hull.  

  Collecting nails or bits of barbed wire from pasture  

  Oil filter in my motorbike  

  Guitar pickups  

  Attaching tools securely to my car 

  Holding the roof down on my shed 

  Holding safety shield on machine tools 

  Holding trailer lights on towed vehicle.  

  Picking keys out of storm drains! 

  Retrieving an antique shotgun from a well. 

  Treasure hunting  

  Loudspeakers  

  Cleaning up the oil in go-cart racing engines. Glue them inside!  

  Used to create great ear, nose, lip rings and therefore avoid piercing. 

  Car Top advertising signs  

  Stud finder in walls  

  Holding vehicle number plates to the car 

  Holding sheet metal together for welding 

  Dampening for seismograph  

  Door latches on a tree-house  

  Hold down a tarpaulin 

  Hanging tools in sheds and garages 

  Door catches for cupboards and ward robes. 

  Cleaning fish tank glass from the outside  

  Holding a set of house keys securely in a car.  

  For the darkroom: to secure metal developing tank parts, reels, etc. To lock down metal wash tank doors instead of sticky bolt locks.  

  Motor experiments  

  Water Conditioning 

  Magic tricks 

  Erasing tapes  

  Remove metal debris from a well 

  Homemade alternator  

  Movement of paramagnetic beads for bio-medical applications  

  Erasing credit card data 

  Erasing hotel door key cards 

  Cleaning plastics granulate for moulding.  

  Holding a vehicle glove box closed 

  Finger Print collection and processing 

  Shirt fastenings instead of buttons or studs 

  Holding curtains to a caravan 

  Holding curtains to a narrowboat 

  Geocaching 

  Door closures for high end furniture 

  Swarf removal from converyor belts 

  Cleaning fish tanks 

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Common Computer Terms

Common Computer Terms

Boot: The act of starting up a computer.

Byte: One character (eight bits of data).

Cracker.  The preferred term to refer to a computer criminal who penetrates a  computer program to steal information or damage the program in some way.

Crash. A malfunction in hardware or software that keeps a computer from functioning.  

Cut and paste. To move a block of text from one place to another.

Cursor: The blinking vertical or horizontal line that indicates where text is being typed.

CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read-Only Memory

CD-R/CD-RW: CD-Recordable/CD-Re-Writeable.  Disc drives that create (or burn) new CDs.

CPU: Central Processing Unit.  The computer's electronic brain.

Crash: A hardware or software failure.

CRC Error:  These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of too much resuming.

Cybrarian. The electronic equivalent of a librarian.  A person who makes a career of  online research and data retrieval.

Dialog Box: A window that asks a question or requests the user to make a choice.

Drive: A device that spins disks or tapes in order to read and write data; for example, a hard drive, floppy drive, or CD-ROM drive. Each drive has an assigned letter. The “C” Drive is the hard drive (information is stored in the computer). The “A” drive holds the floppy disk (information is stored in the floppy).  The “D” Drive is the CD-ROM drive.

Download: The act of retrieving data from another computer.  

Upload: The act of sending data to another computer.

DVD: Also called DVD-ROM. Digital Versatile Disk Read-Only Memory.

File: Any form of digital data that's saved to a disk.

Filename extension: The last three characters of a file or folder name, appearing after a period (dot). For example, DOC is the filename extension of MyLetter.DOC.

Floppy Disk:  The standard removable storage device used with computers.  The floppy disk goes in the “A” Drive.

Icon: A small drawing that represents a program, command, data file, service,  function, or website.

Hacker.  A dedicated computer programmer. The term hacker is sometimes used erroneously to refer to a computer criminal who penetrates and damages a computer program.  The preferred term for a computer criminal is cracker.

Hardware: The electronic, electrical, and mechanical components that make up a computer.

Hypertext markup language (HTML). The formatting language used to establish the appearance of a Web page.

Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).  The protocol used on the World Wide Web that permits Web clients (Web browsers to communicate with Web servers.  This protocol allows programmers to embed hyperlinks in Web documents using hypertext markup language.

Kilobyte.  A measurement of the storage capacity of a computer.  One kilobyte represents 1024 bytes.  Kilobyte may be abbreviated K or KB; however, KB is the clearer abbreviation since K also stands for the metric prefix kilo (meaning 1000).

Maximize:  Expanding an open window to fill the screen by clicking the maximize button.

Megabyte.  A measurement of the  storage capacity of a computer.  One megabyte represents more than 1 million bytes.  Megabyte may be abbreviated M or MB; however, MB is clearer since M also stands for the metric prefix mega (meaning 1 million).

Minimize: Shrinking an open window by clicking the minimize button.

Mouse: The standard pointing device used with computers.

Mouse potato.  A person who sits glued to a computer screen in the same way that a couch potato sits glued to a TV screen.

Mouse elbow.  A repetitive strain injury similar to tennis that  is caused by repeatedly using a mouse.

Open: To activate a program or data file.

Operating System:  The main program that controls your PC (personal computer).(Windows 95, 98, ME, XP ,Windows7,Windows 8 )

Pointer: The arrow that moves when the mouse is jostled.

Port:  Input/output receptacles which enable your PC to  connect  to other hardware resources,  such as a keyboard, printer, mouse,  and so on.

RAM: Random Access Memory. The computer's temporary memory. It is used when you are running a program or creating something. RAM is erased when you turn your computer off.

Software:  Programs that run in a computer, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, database, web browser, or e-mail system.

Shouting.  The use of all capital letters in e-mail.

USB:  Universal Serial Bus. The standard input/output port for connecting devices to computers.

Virus.  A piece of computer code designed as a prank or malicious act to spread from one computer to another by attacking itself to other programs.  Some viruses simply cause a humorous message to appear on the screen, some cause minor glitches, and some cause serious damage to a computer’s memory or disks.

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Fungus facts

Fungus facts

1. Fungi are in a group all of their own and are neither plants nor animals. The main difference between plants and fungi is that fungi lack chlorophyll (green matter).

2. This means that they can’t make their own food from sunlight through the process of photosynthesis. Instead, like animals, they must obtain food from other organisms. 

3. The cell walls of many fungi contain chitin (a product also found in insect exoskeletons).

4. Plants use starch to store energy, but fungi are more like animals because they store their energy as glycogen. 

5. Generally, all we see of a fungus is the fruiting body. They are an important food source for animals. Over 30 Australian mammal species are known to eat them and some rely on them for survival. 

6. The rest of the fungus -the equivalent of the trunk and branches -is hidden from view. A vast network of extremely fine, hair-like filaments thread their way through soil, wood and leaf litter, breaking it down and feeding on the nutrients.

7. These nutrient-gathering filaments (the ‘roots’) are called hyphae. They are usually thinner than a cobweb and are often invisible. The mass of hyphae is known as the mycelium.

8. Fungi reproduce by releasing huge numbers of spores.  A field mushroom releases spores at the rate of 200 million an hour, adding up to billions during its short life. Giant puffballs produce 15 trillion spores from each fruiting body.

9. Spores are extremely small, with little food reserves to sustain them. They die quickly and very few survive. However, being so small and light, they can travel huge distances and colonise vast areas. 

10. Spores are mostly distributed by wind. But in the rainforest, the spores of many fungi are eaten and dispersed by animals. Truffles are a delicious delicacy for Northern Bettongs and other mammals. 

11. They may stick to the feet of insects (such as fungus gnats). Flies are attracted to the spore-saturated slime of the Bridal Veil fungus.

12. While the heat and enzymes in the guts of animals will kill the spores of many fungi, those designed to be dispersed this way are unaffected -and may even have their germination chances increased.

13. Fungi are either saprophytic (they feed on dead plant and animal material ), parasitic (they feed off a living host) or symbiotic (they share a mutually beneficial relationship with another organism).

14. Saprophytic fungi release enzymes to soften the dead plant or animal. These enzymes speed up the process of decomposition and help the fungi to digest their food externally. Afterwards the fungi reabsorb the products, including the nutrients.

15. Without fungi, dead plant material such as leaves, twigs and logs would pile up on the forest floor to form a massive heap as high as the canopy. 

16. Fungi are fantastic recyclers. They break down this dead plant material and free up the nutrients, making them available to other living organisms in the forest. 

17. Fungi are responsible for the release of 85% of the carbon within a forest, while bacteria and animals break down the remaining 15%.

18. Without the fungi’s excellent recycling service, those nutrients would be locked up in ever increasing piles of natural rubbish, soil fertility would steadily decline, and plant growth would be restricted. 

19. Parasitic fungi are often harmful to the host plants, and cause major damage in rainforests.

20. Symbiotic fungi send their hyphae to penetrate the roots of a plant. The plant produces carbohydrates through the process of photosynthesis, and the fungus feeds on these carbohydrates. In return, the fungus acts as an extension of the plant’s root system, because its hyphae spread further and into tinier spaces than the plant’s roots are able to. They collect vital resources such as water, phosphorus and trace elements which are fed back into the host plant. The two organisms join forces to live efficiently.

21.  Symbiotic fungi also protect the host plants from fungal diseases. They attack invading fungi or simply leave no room for them to move in. A plant which is well fed by mycorrhizae is also better able to resist disease.

22. Mycorrhizal fungi play an extremely important role in the ecosystem where there are nutrient-poor soils. Some plants cannot live without them. Some orchids can’t germinate and grow without mycorrhizal fungi.

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EARTHWORM FACTS

EARTHWORM FACTS

1. The smallest earthworm is less than an inch

2. The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa and measured 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.

3. An earthworm has a brain, five hearts, and “breathes” through its skin

4. An earthworm produces its own weight in casts everyday

5. There are over 1 million earthworms in one acre of soil

6. Earthworms can burrow as deep as fifteen feet.

7. Earthworms are 82% protein and are a food source for many people around the world.

8. Eating earthworms can reduce cholesterol, as the basic essential oil of earthworms is Omega 3 fatty acids.

9. An earthworm can grow only so long.  A well-fed adult will depend on what kind of worm it is, how many segments it has, how old it is and how well fed it is.

10. A worm has no arms, legs or eyes.

11. There are approximately 2,700 different kinds of earthworms.

12. Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favorable temperature.  If they don’t have these things, they go somewhere else.

13. In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms.

14. Charles Darwin spent 39 years studying earthworms more than 100 years ago.

15. Worms are cold-blooded animals.

16. If a worm’s skin dries out, it will die.

17. Worms can eat their weight each day.

18. Fishermen use them as bait.

19. Earthworms are like farmers because they plow the soil.  Earthworms plow the soil by  continually  moving around in it creating channels where roots can grow.  Then as they create the channels, they mix the nutrients they produce with the soil to help make the top level of the soil more fertile.

20. Earthworms make plant nutrients by digesting food, yard, and garden waste along with  other items and grinding it all together in their gizzard.  After it is ground, it passes into the intestines and is broken down even further.

21. Earthworms don’t have teeth, yet they are still able to swallow food, yard, and garden waste along with other items.  This is really surprising since earthworms are able to eat their weight in food, yard, and garden waste each day.

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Amazing Facts About Cats!

Amazing Facts About Cats!

1. Most people like cats because they are very loving and playful friends.

2. There are many types of cats, and all look very different, and have very different personalities.

3. Most cats usually weigh between 5.5 -16 pounds, but some can weigh up to 25 pounds!

4. Cats are healthiest and safest when kept indoors. Cats who live inside can live up to 20 years longer than cats who go outside.

5. Sadly, there are more cats than there are homes for them. Adopting a cat from a shelter instead of buying one from a pet store or breeder gives a needy cat a loving home.

6. More than 100,000 cats are killed each year just for dissection in biology classrooms across the country. Many of the cats killed for dissection were once someone’s pets.There are so many great things you can do to learn about cats instead of dissecting them.

7. Keep your cat(s) indoors. She’ll be safer and happier.

8. Make sure that your cat is spayed or neutered.

9. Cats have a natural dislike of sweet tasting foods because they are so well evolved as carnivores that they cannot digest sugars very well, they convert fats instead.

10. Thanks to their very powerful hind legs and flexible spine, cats are noted for their ability to leap long distances, often as much as six times their entire length.

11. Cats are able to “always” land on their feet because they have a very flexible spine, enabling them to orient their bodies aided by a balancing organ in their inner ears.

12. The whiskers of a cat are devices for indirectly feeling the immediate environment. When something touches a whisker it is sensed by special cells surrounding its root.

13. Cats have tongues covered in sharp hair-like points called papillae. They are used to Scrape blood and flesh from bones, and for raking their fin while cleaning themselves.

14. Purring is most obviously used to express pleasure, but Cats are known to purr when they are ill or injured, suggesting that it comforts them during times of stress.

15. Cats’ fur has two layers. There is a layer of guard hairs which keep the cat clean, as well as a dense underfur to insulate against hot or cold conditions.

16. The reason why cats rub their faces and tails against objects, including pet owners, is the fact that they are leaving traces of their own scent as territorial markers.

17. Cats have large pupils to let as much light in as possible at night A pet cat’s eyes are only slightly smaller than ours, yet it can see six times better than a human in the dark.

18. Keeping cool can be a real problem for cats. They can only sweat from their paws because oftheir dense filr, so they will lie in shade and pant to avoid overheating.

19. Cats have short rnuzzles because they rely more heavily on their senses of vision and hearing while hunting, rather than their sense of smell.

20. The pads of a Cat’s paws are so sensitive to temperature that they quickly locate warm spots to sit.

21. The traditional way for diagnosing illness in a cat, is to check its nose. It is cold and noticeably wet, then it may have a chill, cold, or even eat flu.

22. The belly of a cat is its most vulnerable area. By rolling over and exposing its belly, a cat is therefore displaying a. great deal of trust towards a person.

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Animal fun facts

Animal fun facts

1. Cats have excellent vision which helps them as expert hunters. They are usually very quiet when pursuing their prey.

2.  Only big cats roar.  Little cats purr.

3.  The largest wild cat is the Siberian Tiger from head to tail they can measure more than 10 feet and weigh more than 600 pounds.

4.  Cats have hairy tails and rough tongues that they use to clean their fur.

5.  There are about 230 species of primates.

6.  Monkeys and apes have families or larger groups called ‘troops,’ and often behave like people.

7..  Primates have developed behaviors that let them live almost anywhere from the semi-desert areas of Africa to the cold mountains of Asia.

8.  Monkeys and apes have hands that can grab. They have eyes that face forward allowing them to see precise distances.

9.  Birds are the only animals on earth to have feathers which grow out of their skin.

10.  Wing feathers help birds fly, tail feathers help them turn, and they also help to control a bird’s body temperature.

11.  Birds migrate great distances every year in response to changes in their environment and weather.

12.  Scientists believe that birds may have evolved from dinosaurs.

13.  Birds use their beaks to do the important jobs of collecting food and eating.

14.  Almost half of all mammal  species are rodents.

15.  There are over 1700 different kinds of rodents including squirrels,  mice and meerkats.

16.  Rodents are nature’s collectors,  foresters and builders.

17.  The smallest rodent is a Pygmy Mouse of Central America which is only 1 inch long and weighs only 7 grams.

18.  Pigs, boars, hippos, camels, deer, giraffes, antelopes and many other hoofed animals all have a horny hoof on each toe which is used for gripping the ground.

19.  The tallest hoofed mammal is the giraffe which can be 19 feet tall.

20.  The heaviest hoofed animal is the African Hippopotamus which can weigh about 10000 pounds.

21.  Studies have shown that pigs are as smart as dogs they’ve been taught to fetch, sit and do many of the tricks that dogs can do.

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Chuck Norris Jokes

Chuck Norris Jokes

1. Chuck Norris's apartment pays him a thousand dollars on the first of every month.  It's never been late.

2.  Chuck Norris once killed an African elephant by flossing his teeth.

3. Chuck Norris's bed is a tarp spread between four peeled Redwoods.  Contrary to what you might expect, he did not scare the bark off the trees, there just isn't any more room to carve notches for all the women he's had sex with.

4. Mel Gibson wasn't drunk when he called that police officer, "Sugar Tits."  He thought he was Chuck Norris.

5.  Chuck Norris drank an imported beer, once.  Just kidding.

6. Chuck Norris sends more porn stars to the dentist than anyone.

7.  Chuck Norris knows the world is overpopulated, but killing people makes him want to f*ck.

8. Chuck Norris got into Harvard by throwing wolverines at the Admissions Office.  He was also a wiz at the Common Application.

9.  Suicide bombers are not afraid of Chuck Norris.  Any more.

10.  A blind man once stepped on Chuck Norris' shoe. Chuck replied, "Don't you know who I am? I'm Chuck Norris!" The mere mention of his name cured this man blindness. Sadly the first, last, and only thing this man ever saw, was a fatal roundhouse delivered by Chuck Norris.

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World Television Day - November 21

World Television Day - November 21

Television, or TV for short, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with or without accompanying sound.
Do you ever stop to think about your television? Well, there is a special day to do this. World Television Day started on November 21, 1998.  The United Nations General  Assembly  decided  there should  be  a day to commemorate one of the most revolutionary inventions ever. This date is when the first World Television Forum was held, in 1996. The purpose of this day is to encourage countries to exchange
TV programmes  that  focus on peace and culture. The UN hopes to encourage greater international understanding. The UN also believes that making high quality television shows leads to a well-informed and better-educated public. It also hopes to promote freedom, equal rights and democracy. Television can focus everybody’s attention on the most important issues, including economic and social developments.

Television is one of today’s most powerful communications media which can enhance information exchange as well as mutual understanding between different cultures. Television  is one of the most influential forms of media  in history. We grow up with  it.  Babies learn language from it.  It shapes our ideas and is a
window on the whole world. Television sets first started appearing  in people’s homes in the 1930s. There was only one channel back then and it was in black and white.  Today, we have multi-channel TVs that broadcast programmes live all over the world. We watch wars, floods, presidential inaugurations and sports finals as they happen.  Not everything about TV is good.  Many people blame it for obesity in children,  a  breakdown in family communication and an obsession with celebrity. No one knows what the future of television will be. Maybe computers will replace them.

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Story of a Famous dog in Japan - Hachiko

Story of a Famous dog in Japan - Hachiko

Hachiko

One tale about a dog known by virtually everyone in Japan is that of Hachiko, an Akita inu(Great Japanese Dog). This true story is the most famous of all dog stories and has become a kind of modern legend, relayed from one generation to another and also finding its way into books, movies, and television dramas. Not only does it demonstrate the deep bond that can be formed between humans and dogs, it shows the essence of the temperament of a Japanese dog: loyalty and devotion. The legend of Hachi continues to tug at the heartstrings of Japanese people even today.

In the early 1920s, when a certain Eisaburo Ueno, professor at the Department of Agriculture at the Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) and resident of Shibuya, west central Tokyo, became the owner of an Akita inu puppy. The puppy came from Odate in Akita Prefecture, which was wellknown for producing fine Akita dogs. Born  in late November in 1923, the puppy was delivered to Professor Ueno on January 10 the following year.  Professor Ueno, who had always been a keen dog lover, named him Hachi and lavished him with love and affection. The puppy grew up to become a fine Akita inn, 64 centimeters (about 25 inches) tall, weighing 41 kilograms (90 pounds), with a sickle tail that curled to the left and a fine coat of light yellow fur.

Shibuya railway station

Hachiko took to Professor Ueno extremely well, and when the professor set off to Shibuya station in the mornings, usually at around nine A.M., either to go to the Department of Agriculture at the Imperial University or the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's laboratory in Nishigahara, Hachiko always went with him.  After seeing his master off at the station, Hachiko would return home, and then in the evening at about six P.M. he would again set off to Shibuya station and wait by the ticket gate for his master to appear.  This became Hachiko's daily routine. The sight of the two of them setting out for the station in me morning and coming home together at night made a deep impression on all the passersby.

However, Hachiko's happy life as the pet of Professor Ueno was cut short by a very sad event, just one year and four months later.  On May 21,1925, Professor Ueno suffered a sudden stroke during a faculty meeting and died. On realizing that his erstwhile master no longer lived in the old home in Shibuya, Hachiko went every day to Shibuya station in the same way as he always had, and waited for him to come home. Every day he would go and look for the figure of Professor Ueno among the returning commuters, leaving only when pangs of hunger forced him to. And he did this day after day, year in and year out.

Statue of Hachiko at Shibuya railway station

Hachiko eventually started to be noticed by people as he turned up every day at Shibuya station. in 1948 a bronze statue of Hachiko was made by Takeshi Ando, son of the original sculptor, and reinstated in a ceremony on August 15. This is the statue that still stands today at Shibuya station and is an extremely famous and popular rendezvous spot. Hachiko's sudden fame made little difference to his life, however, which continued in exactly the same way as before.

Every day he set out for Shibuya station and waited there for Professor Ueno to come home. In 1929 Hachiko contracted a severe case of mange, which nearly killed him. Due to his years spent on the street, he was thin and battle-scarred from fights with other dogs. One of his ears no longer stood up straight, and he was altogether a wretched figure, nothing like the proud, strong creature he had once been.  He could have been mistaken for any old mongrel.As Hachiko grew old, he became very weak and suffered badly from heartworms. Eventually, at the age of thirteen, in the early hours of March 8,1935, he breathed his last in a Shibuya side street. The total length of time he had waited, pining for his master, was nine years and ten months.

Hachiko's grave

 Hachiko's death made the front pages of major Japanese newspapers, and many people were heartbroken at the news. His bones were buried in a corner of Professor Ueno's burial plot, so he was finally reunited with the master for whom he had pined for so many years.

Stuffed figure Hachiko's coat

 His coat was preserved, and a stuffed figure of Hachiko can still been seen in the National Science Museum at Ueno.

The story of Hachiko has become etched in Japanese people's hearts, and it is certainly a most touching tale of the strong bond between a dog and his master and the boundless devotion of which Akita are capable.

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Different kinds of Malware

Different kinds of Malware

Malware is a big problem today. Everyday thousands of innocent people are getting infected by different types of malware.  The most common types of malware today are viruses, worms and Trojans. The reason we will use Windows is because malware is very rare in Linux and Mac computers. 

Definitions 
1.  Viruses - Viruses cannot spread without the help of us humans. They are like parasites because they need a host to attach themselves to. The host is usually a legitimate looking program or file. Once this program is launched, the virus is executed and infects other files on your computer. Viruses can be very destructive. They can do damage to your computer hardware, software and files. Viruses are spread through the sharing of files and are many times sent within emails via attachments.

2.  Worms - A worm is a malicious program that can replicate itself onto other computers on a network. Unlike a virus, worms don’t need a human to be able to spread and infect systems. Once it infects a system, it uses that system to send out other copies of itself to other random systems attempting to infect them.

3.  Trojan Horse - A trojan horse is a malicious program that can be used to do silly things to a system like changing its desktop, mess with the user interface, and take control of your mouse. It can also be used for some serious things like accessing your data, erasing your files, stealing your passwords, and capturing your keystrokes.

4.  Logic Bombs - Logic bombs are usually pieces of code that are programmed into a program that lie dormant until a certain time or until a user does a certain action which causes it to be executed. When it is triggered it performs a certain function that the program wasn’t intended to do.

5.  Bacteria - Bacteria make many copies of themselves and eventually end up taking up all of the computers recourses such as all of its processor power, memory and disk space. This results in the legitimate user losing access to those resources.

6.  Blended Threats - Blended threats combine all of the characteristics of the above and use them along with system vulnerabilities to spread and infect machines.

Countermeasures 
There are a couple things you can do to prevent yourself from being infected by the malware discussed above.
1.  Make sure you have good and up-to-date anti-virus software installed on your computer. Also if there is an automatic update option on your antivirus software, make sure it is enabled. 
2.  Make sure you have a firewall installed on your computer and make sure that it is actually enabled. Firewalls protect against unauthorized inbound and outbound connections. 
Take care of your system.

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SPEED UP WEB BROWSING WITH GOOGLE DNS

SPEED UP WEB BROWSING WITH GOOGLE  DNS 

There's a simple way you can get to Web sites faster, and it won't cost  you a penny.  You can hack the way your PC uses the Domain Name System (DNS), the technology underlying all  Web browsing. It's far simpler to do than you might imagine, as you'll see in this article.

Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings.

Configuring your computer to use Google DNS servers instead of your ISP’s is a simple change that works in all versions of Windows:
1.  Click on the Start Button and type in ncpa.cpl and hit Enter.  In Windows XP, click on the Start Button, click Run and then type in ncpa.cpl. In Windows 8, type ncpa.cpl from the Start Screen and make sure you are running as administrator.
2.  Right click on your active network connection that you use to connect to the Internet and select Properties.
3.  On the Networking / General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (version 4 on Windows Vista, 7 and 8) and hit Properties.

4.  On the properties screen, select Use the following DNS server addresses and then type in 8.8.8.8 in the preferred and 8.8.4.4 in the alternate boxes.

5.  Hit OK twice and you are finished.  

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Son Doong - the world’s largest cave

Son Doong - the world’s largest cave

The world’s largest cave , called Son Doong, is in a remote jungle area of  Vietnam. Son Doong means “mountain river cave”. 

The huge cave is in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, which includes one of the largest karst regions in the world. Karst regions are mostly made up of limestone, a type of rock that can dissolve in water. Caves in limestone are formed over millions of years by underground rivers, streams and dripping water.

There are many caves and grottoes in the national park. Grottoes are smaller caves or chambers leading from larger caves and passageways. So far, 20 cave systems have been fully explored in the park, a total length of 70 kilometers. One, called Phong Nha, has unusual rock formations that have been given names such as the “Buddha” or the “Lion”.

A local man discovered the entrance to the Son Doong cave in 1991. However, no one dared go inside because of the strong wind and loud noise coming out of it.

A team of explorers from Britain traveled to Vietnam to investigate the cave in 2009. They found out that a large underground river, which flows through part of the cave, was the cause of both the wind and noise.   

Using special laser measuring devices, they found that in some places the Son Doong cave is around 150 meters wide and 200 meters high. A 40-story building could fit inside it.

Son Doong is nearly nine kilometers long. In one part there is a lake over 200 meters deep. In several places the roof has collapsed, letting sunlight in. 

Before the discovery of Son Doong, the Deer Cave in Malaysia was thought to be the largest in the world. It’s two kilometers long, 100 meters high and 90 meters wide. 

Do make a visit.
Image source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Doong_cave

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