TECH HABITS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE-3. Work Faster and More Efficiently Without a Mouse

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Streamline your computer work by teaching yourself keyboard shortcuts for your common actions, such as Ctrl-S to save, Ctrl-T to open a new tab in Firefox, and Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V to copy and paste (see our list of additional shortcuts).


Then, become a keyboard master with the help of a keyboard launcher such as the free Launchy (Windows) or Quicksilver (Mac). You can start programs, open documents, and even do advanced actions such as resizing images and moving files without moving your hands from the keyboard.
You can also assign key combinations that automatically type out common phrases--such as user names, passwords, addresses, and e-mail signatures--with utilities like TypeItIn (Windows) or TypeIt4Me (Mac OS X).Thanks To
PcWorld

TECH HABITS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE-2. Schedule Automatic Hard-Drive Backups, Locally and Remotely

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Schedule Automatic Hard-Drive Backups, Locally and Remotely

Have you ever lost all your computer work in one fell swoop,all your documents,audio,pictures and irreplaceable audio files?.Well worry no more there is a solution at hand, read on.


Backing up your critical files is as exciting as purchasing home insurance, but just as important, too. Don't risk losing your irreplaceable digital photos by making empty promises to yourself to burn a couple of DVDs every few months. Instead, set up software and services to do the job for you while you concentrate on more-exciting projects.


First, save yourself from an "OMG my hard drive crashed!" catastrophe with a top backup program. Or get started now with a free copy of SyncBackSE, and schedule regular backup jobs to your external FireWire drive, thumb drive, or network drive. (If you have FTP-server access, SyncBack can back up to that as well.)

Of course, local backup isn't enough. To protect your data against fire, lightning, theft, or other disasters, you want to back up your data to a remote server over the Internet. Both Carbonite and Mozy Home offer affordable unlimited server space and utilities that quietly back up your data in the background while you work
Additional Stuff courtesy of PC world

TECH HABITS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE-1. Telecommute by Remotely Controlling Your Office Computer

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Artwork By Chip Taylor.

Well, I have made this compilation of tips to help you become more efficient at maximizing your time, while improving and increasing efficiency with your computer in our increasingly technical,gadget filled world enjoy while you learn.

Technology is supposed to make life easier, but it doesn't seem that way when you're struggling to wrangle 289 new e-mail messages, dealing with a hard-drive crash, or suddenly realizing that you left an important file on the office computer. Thankfully, plenty of tools can help. We'll tell you which ones are worth trying, and we'll also suggest some practices that you can incorporate into your workday to use tech tools more effectively and efficiently.

1. Telecommute by Remotely Controlling Your Office Computer

You can work from home--but use the computer in your office--through remote control software such as LogMeIn (free version available) or TightVNC (free). You can view the remote computer full screen, launch and close programs, read e-mail, copy and paste text between PCs, and access any files you left behind. Save money on gas, claim home equipment on your taxes, and convince your boss that you'll be more productive without leaving your house.Even the iPhone has some VNC clients, such as Mocha VNC and Teleport.

If you don't need full remote control but you do require access to your office or home files, set up Microsoft's free file-syncing tool, FolderShare. Your files will always be up-to-date, no matter where you're working or where you last updated them.

Courtesy of pcworld

Person Of The Year 2008-Barack Obama

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Obama At Occidental College 1980,Photo By Lisa Jack Time Magazine

Well good people we saw it coming. Barack Obama being declared by Time Magazine as the 2008 person of the year. This accolade goes out the man who transformeed a simple sentence,combination of words like"yes we can",to a mantra,a rallying call for change.A man intent on not only changing the U.S.A ,where he is the interim C.E.O pending confirmation on January 20th to be POTUS 44th, but also keen on changing the world.

Time Cover December 2008.

He held an exhaustive interview with the Time Magazine reporter and the reports was titled ,Six Degrees Of Barack Obama, where he spoke about and elucidated his vision for America and for the world here are some notable excerpts and insights into the mind of America's 44th President

"It is not clear that the economy's bottomed out,"

Obama sits down on one of the mesh chairs and launches into a spoken tour of his world of woes. It's a mind-boggling journey, although he shows no signs of being boggled — unless you count the increasingly prevalent salt in his salt-and-pepper hair. By now we are all accustomed to that Obi-Wan Kenobi calm, though we may never entirely understand it. In a soothing monotone, he highlights the scariest hairpin turns on his itinerary, the ones that combine difficulty with danger plus a jolt of existential risk.

"It is not clear that the economy's bottomed out," he begins, understatedly. (The morning newspaper trumpets the worst unemployment spike in more than 30 years.) "And so even if we take a whole host of the right steps in terms of the economy, two years from now it may not have fully recovered." That worries him. Also Afghanistan: "We're going to have to make a series of not just military but also diplomatic moves that fully enlist Pakistan as an ally in that region, that lessen tensions between India and Pakistan, and then get everybody focused on rooting out militancy in a terrain, a territory, that is very tough — and in an enormous country that is one of the poorest and least developed in the world. So that, I think, is going to be a very tough situation.

"And then the third thing that keeps me up at night is the issue of nuclear proliferation," Obama continues, sailing on through the horribles. "And then the final thing, just to round out my Happy List, is climate change. All the indicators are that this is happening faster than even the most pessimistic scientists were anticipating a couple of years ago."

Well we can only wish our man the best of luck as he attempts to bring change to the world, and if you ask me if he can pull it off?, my answer offcourse is Yes He Can.

To Read the full article click here

Past The Vanguard.

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Past The Vanguard

Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.
~Thomas Carlyle, Heroes and Hero-Worship

 

Journalists Protesting Against The Draconian Bill.[photo by standard]

I am writing this while being very aghast at what is happening to our beloved country, Kenya. Rreason being , this story about our Honorable Members of Parliament passing the media bill hurriedly and in such a rush , with barely the required quorum present in Parliament. Well word on the street is , that they did this as some form of payback to our journalist’s ,for their consistent bashing of their (M.P’s) intention to remain eternally untaxed. They (M.P’s) want to remain untaxed at the expense of the common mwananchi.


In essence they want to remain in that exclusive cabal of “wenye inchi”, I.e. owners of the Republic ,while the poor man in Busia, Karachuonyo and Wundanyi toils donkey -like in an effort to buy some flour (Unga) the price of which has tripled in the past twelve months, for his Two wives and eleven kids. This is patently immoral to say the least, for them to divert attention from their tax dodging agenda by instead putting pressure, by blackmailing the fourth estate to toe their draconian line by sponsoring this bill. We must resist this attempt to sneak back repression and suppression of press freedom through the back door of this flawed and hurried legislation via parliament.

“So Mr. President Show leadership by leading from the front , Do not assent to this bill.”

We call on all patriots to resist these attempts with all the fiber of their Being. Memories of the raid on the Standard Group’s offices and printing press raid are still to vivid and fresh in our minds, for us to allow this this recur. Considering the fact that, the issue of some Mamluks in the form of the “Artur” Twins has never been resolved to date. We don’t want the floodgates to be opened so that all and sundry , who have real ,or perceived beef with the scribes, using this law to curtail press and media freedom by gagging and persecuting the messengers under a fundamentally flawed piece of legistlation.

My humble submission is that since we are but a fledgling democracy, we need to have a free press so that we can keep our democracy vibrant and nurture and grow it to the benefit of all citizens of this Great republic of Kenya. So Mr President Show leadership by leading from the front ,Do not assent to this bill. For if you do , you would have by one fell swoop taken us back to 1990 or worse still 1952. We are counting on you Sir.

Finally Jason Calacanis Unveils Mahalo Answers Beta.

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Well what can I say ladies and gentlemen,finally Mahalo Answers is out.For the past couple of hours i have been trying it out suffice to say i have a 106 points I am yellow belt,having viewed over sixty pages in the past six hours.

The whole concept is very innovative a person posts a question in the various grouped categories e.g science and mathematics,humor,legal you name it.You then choose to answer with the top menu having the following options,open questions,offering tip,popular ,answered and undecided.

You pick (like I did)the questions with the highest amount of tips in mahalo dollars,where 1 mahalo ($m) dollar is equivalent to 1 Us ($)dollar.The tips were generally in the region of 1$m to 10$m.So you pick the question and you proceed to answer it,you give a write up,embed a video,photo or audio to support your answer and provide links(optional)then you hit the submit button.

If your answer is chosen as THE answer your mahalo dollars go to your account,when your account reaches 40 mahalo dollars,you can redeem your money via paypal,minus 25 % which effectively goes to the house or is the commission charged by mahalo answers.i.e goes to Jason's pocket.It is fun considering that Jason himself is out there posting questions and earning himself some good Mahalo loot.

Small wonder then that he is the Top Member earning as of 7:00 GMT,Wednesday,December of 2008,56 Mahalo dollars,1421 points and a purple belt.I guess it's out of courtesy because the man created the damn thing.Anyhow it is fun all around with people earning some real money. I am determined to get to green belt (140 points to go) before sundown and earn me some real mahalo dollars to boot.

To get into the action click here and to find out exactly what mahalo is,the first human powered search engine click here.
In the meantime let me play, i will keep all of you posted on developments mahalo side.

Now Obama Kenyan Folk's Under Goverment Gag Order.

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Kenya: Govt Gags Obama Family


Nairobi — The government has blocked Kenyan members of President-elect Barrack Obama's extended family from talking to the media.

Family members will have to ask permission from government before issuing making any statement concerning Obama.

The government will also vet all those seeking information about the family.

"We are doing this because we want to ensure better flow of information.

The government has decided that you should inform its officers who will be based here if you want to address the media," Athman Said, an Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Heritage, told the Obama family in Kogelo yesterday.

A proposed Obama Cultural Home comprising of a museum, a gallery, a library and a leadership centre will be put up in Kogelo, Said told the family. A cultural officer, Dorcas Obege, will be assigned to Kogelo to vet visitors and others seeking information about the family.


Said, who was leading a delegation from the Department of Culture, said the government had set aside Sh30 million to upgrade the proposed Obama cultural home.

Athman said his department was liaising with the United States government to have both published and un-published materials by President-elect Obama on display at the proposed library. The government was also planning to produce a video of Mama Sarah Obama, the President elect's step-grandmother, telling the history of the Obama family.

The government has graded all the roads leading to Kogelo and set up a police station within the home to protect the Obama family after there was an attempted robbery.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company has also connected power to what used to be a sleepy village. The value of land has doubled in the last few months and several investors are understood to be planning to build hotels in the area to provide for the many tourists who are expected to visit Kogelo on what will be known as the Presidential Heritage Tourism Circuit.

Heritage minister William Ole Ntimama confirmed that the government had decided to make Obama's fathers home in Kogelo , Siaya district into a national heritage site.

"This is a great opportunity to open up the western tourism circuit and we have asked Treasury to find us some money so that we can roll out a number of projects that will make this a truly memorable cultural site," said Ntimama.

He however expressed surprise at the veto on the family talking to the media. "I am not aware of that ban because my officers have not told me about it. It will be surprising if they have done that because it is not right. The Obama family should be allowed to say whatever they want to without any bureaucracy," said Ntimama.

The location of the proposed heritage centre has caused a row in the family with some Obama relatives from Kendu Bay insisting it should be built at Kanyadhiang which was Obama Senior's ancestral home before the family moved to Kogelo.

The family made the claims last week to Gender and Culture Minister Esther Mirugi who unveiled a signpost showing where the museum will be built in Kogelo.
Additional Reporting By Nairobistar

Husband Learns The Hard Way.

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 A Kenyan Story: Errant Buru Buru Husband Learns His Lesson The Hard Way

Some stories are just too strange to be fiction and the one you are about to read falls neatly into this category.

This long suffering Kenyan wife knew her husband well and especially his promiscuity, but stayed in the marriage for the sake of her children. She did this at great risk to her life because we all know that these days, a husbands' infidelity can cost a wife their life though the dreaded Aids (okay, even a wife's infidelity can, but those cases are somewhat extremely rare.)

The couple moved into this new neighborhood and as usual the husband started playing his "games". It did not matter that the focus of his attention was a married woman whose husband traveled a lot. The woman lived right next door to them.

Luckily the young woman struck a friendship with the errant husband's wife (let us call the errant man "Jogoo").

Jogoo knew about the friendship and that is why he was a little surprised when the woman suddenly started softening towards his advances. To the extent where she invited him for a night of passionate lovemaking, as long as he followed her instructions to the letter. Jogoo could not believe his ears and at first thought that the woman was joking. But he soon realized that she was dead serious. He brushed aside any doubts he may have had by telling himself that most women found him irresistible.

The day of his "hot" date could not come soon enough but finally it arrived and Jogoo was in very high spirits the whole of that day, really looking forward with all his heart to the panned activities of the night. Of all his "conquests", this one had to be the most major. The young neighbors wife was extremely attractive and was now his wife's best friend. Meaning that she desired him so much that she was prepared to risk her friendship with his wife – what a turn on, Jogoo thought to himself. He decided to while the hours away having a few drinks at the nearby "local." His instructions were clear. He was to come in after midnight when chances of the woman's husband showing up unexpectedly were virtually nil. He had also been told not to switch on any lights (you never know which nosy neighbor would spot him, and tell his wife).

He kept himself amused flirting with the huge pot-bellied bar maid who obviously enjoyed his advances immensely. But then he was really no longer interested in her having already enjoyed her favors within a day or two of moving into the neighborhood.

Finally he glanced at his watch and noted that it was a minute or so to midnight. He hurriedly swallowed his last beer and left the bar almost running. He passed his own house and noted that all the lights were off, meaning that his wife had already gone to bed.

He went in through the back and found the key under the mat just as he had been told. Once inside, he locked the door behind him and tiptoed upstairs into his neighbor's bedroom.

She was waiting for him. The first thing that hit him as he entered the bedroom was her perfume. Very feminine but it also smelt like wild flowers. What followed was a night of wild lovemaking with the neighbor's wife. He fell into an exhausted sleep and by the time he woke up the sun was already shining through the still-drawn curtains. Events of the night came flooding back and he turned around with a wide smile to face his neighbor's wife with the thought being intimate one last time. Instead he got the shock of his life.

Lying there right next to him, eyes open and looking straight at him was his dear wife!!

His wife congratulated him for displaying a passion that she had never known him for. Jogoo was too shocked to say anything.

Apparently the two wives had decided to teach him a lesson and to carry out an experiment that proved what psychologists have always been saying – that sex is really in the mind. They had switched places and Jogoo's own wife had worn her friend's night dress and used her perfume and waited eagerly for her own errant husband, who had not recognized her in the dark bedroom and amazingly during the entire long night of lovemaking

Thanks To Chris

Escalade 2008-The Cadillac Of Your Dreams.

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Here are the statistics for the latest Cadillac Escalade 2008 for those carphiles who might be interested in buying one.
Or Alternatively just for you to enjoy the beauty that is Automotive Engineering..Check this out Good People,The prices are Starting at $64,485 (Kshs 5,029,830)*Standard.
Escalade All Wheel Drive.


Standard
* Gen IV 6.2L Vortec V8 VVT with E85 capability**, Hydra-Matic 6L80 heavy-duty 6-speed automatic transmission with Driver Shift Control, 403 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque

Standard
* Full-time All-Wheel Drive with single-speed open differential transfer case

Standard
* StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation

Standard
* All-speed traction control

Standard
* Road-Sensing Suspension

Standard
* DVD Navigation System¥

Standard
* Rearview Camera

Standard
* Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist

Standard
* Premium Bose® 5.1 Cabin Surround® Sound System with CD/DVD player and in-dash 6-disc CD changer

Standard
* Tri-zone automatic electronic climate control

INTERIOR







Adaptive Remote Start

Standard
Includes 2 remote transmitters, remote start, climate-control system and heated seat activation.
Adjustable Pedals

Standard
Power adjustable, with memory
Air Bags*

Standard
Dual-stage driver and front passenger, front-impact, and Automatic Occupant Sensing System.

Standard
Head curtain side air bags with rollover protection for all passenger rows*. When the second stage frontal air bags deploy during a severe frontal impact, the head curtain side air bags will also deploy for extra protection from secondary and tertiary impact
Audio and Video Systems

Standard
Premium Bose® 5.1 Cabin Surround® Sound System, AudioPilot® noise compensation technology; and 10 speakers equalized to Escalade's interior

Standard
Steering-wheel audio controls

Standard
Independent rear-seat audio controls with two earphone jacks (earphones not included)

Standard
XM Radio;** with included 3-month trial, features over 170 digital-quality channels coast to coast including 69 commercial free music channels over 5,000 live sports broadcasts, the best in news, talk, comedy, and instant traffic and weather for 21 major markets, plus artist and song title display

Standard
XM NavTraffic¥
Bluetooth® for Phone Interface¥¥

Standard
Hands-free calling for personal, portable cell phones
Climate Control

Standard
Tri-zone automatic electronic climate control with individual settings for driver, front passenger and rear seating area
Consoles

Standard
Dual-lid center floor console with large storage compartments and 4 cupholders, overhead console with reading lamps and Universal Home Remote
Driver Information Center (DIC)

Standard
Large 4-line DIC has up to 46 driver information messages, including tire pressure monitor, trip odometer and fuel information such as range, fuel used and average economy. All readouts are displayed in English, French or Spanish. The DIC is the control center to personalize the vehicle with features such as remote door locking and unlocking feedback, headlamp delay, perimeter lighting, seat position recall, alarm warning and outside mirror curbview settings.
DVD Navigation System#

Standard
Full-featured 8" diagonal touch-screen DVD Navigation System#; provides easy-to-use top slot for map disc, menu-driven operation plus voice recognition; provides turn-by-turn instructions and voice prompts for directions (limited detailed routing); 6-disc DVD/CD and MP3; uses a single DVD for the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Entertainment System

Available
In-dash DVD with roof-mounted flip-down 8" diagonal screen, two, 2-channel wireless headphones, auxiliary audio/video jacks, remote game plug-in
Instrument Panel

Standard
Analog clock and gauges
Keyless Access

Standard
Keyless Access
OnStar##

Standard
Standard one-year Directions & Connections® Plan includes: OnStar Turn-by-Turn Navigation§ with eNav§ and Destination Download; Services such as Automatic Air Bag Deployment Response, Automatic Crash Response, Remote Door Unlock§§, Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance^, OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics^^; Emergency Services; Roadside Assistance; Information & Convenience Services by which an OnStar Advisor can provide restaurant recommendations, make hotel reservations and give directory information; and OnStar Hands-Free Calling***, a built-in feature of OnStar that lets you make and receive voice-activated calls.
Rearview Camera

Standard
Automatic operation when vehicle is put in reverse
Safety Belts, Front Pretensioner, 360º Activation

Standard
Lap and shoulder belts in all seating positions

Standard
Front seat belt pretensioners activate with impact detection from all sides of the vehicle
Seating

Standard
Front seats with leather seating surfaces, independent heated seatbacks and cushions with 3 heat settings, 14-way power adjusting including 4-way power lumbar, memory setting for 2 drivers

Package
Heated and cooled front seats
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)



Standard
Second-row bucket seats with leather seating surfaces and heated cushions; reclining; adjustable head restraints; seats fold and tumble

Available
Second-row bench seating with leather seating surfaces and heated cushions (outboard), 60/40 split-folding seats, adjustable head restraints (outboard), folding center armrest with storage area

Package
Power-release, fold-and-tumble second-row seat, available with either bucket or bench second-row seats
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)

Standard
3-passenger third-row seating with leather-appointed seating surfaces; 50/50 split-bench seats adjust individually and can be folded, tumbled forward or totally removed
Steering Wheel

Standard
Power adjustable steering column; color-keyed leather trim; authentic wood accent

Package
Heated steering wheel
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)
Steering Wheel Controls

Standard
Audio system, cruise control, OnStar, Hands-Free Calling button
Sunroof

AvailablePackage
Power, tilt-sliding with express open/close and sunshade
(Also included in the Ultra Luxury Collection)
Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Standard
Includes individual sensors with specific pressures displayed in Driver Information Center
Universal Home Remote

Standard
3-channel programmable
Windows

Standard
Driver and front windows express-up and -down

EXTERIOR

Lighting System

Standard
Xenon High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps and halogen fog lamps

Standard
Perimeter lighting including mirror-mounted puddle lamp

Package
IntelliBeam headlamps with automatic high-/low-beam switching
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)
Mirrors

Standard
Exterior rearview, heated, power-adjustable, power-folding, curbview assistance, LED turn signal indicators, puddle lamps and automatic dimming driver's side
Power Liftgate

Standard
Open/close; with remote control
Side Blind Zone Alert*

Package
Side Blind Zone Alert* notifies you with visual cues in the side mirrors if it detects a vehicle entering into your blind spots
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)
Rainsense Windshield Wipers

Standard
Automatic activation
Roof Rack

Standard
Luggage rack
Running Boards

Standard
Integrated

Package
Power-adjustable running boards
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)
Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist

Standard
With LED indicator light and audible warning
Vehicle Theft Deterrent

Standard
PASS-Key III+
Wheels and Tires

Standard
18" 7-spoke aluminum machined finish with P265/65R18 blackwall touring tires

Available
18" 7-spoke chromed aluminum with P265/65R18 blackwall touring tires

Package
22" 7-spoke chromed aluminum with P285/45R22 blackwall performance touring tires
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)**

POWER TRAIN AND CHASIS

Brakes

Standard
4-wheel discs, Anti-lock Braking System, twin-piston front calipers
Drivetrain

Standard
All-wheel-drive system with single-speed open differential transfer case, 40/60 front/rear torque split and full-time operation
Engine

Standard
Gen IV 6.2L Vortec V8 VVT: 403 hp at 5,700 rpm and 417 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm with E85 capability*
Frame

Standard
All-welded fully boxed ladder-type
Level Control

Standard
Automatic electronic rear level control system
Magnetic Ride Control**

Package
Coil-over shock-front/5-link rear with magneto-rheological fluid-filled shocks and computer-controlled real-time damping
(Included and only available with Ultra Luxury Collection)
Rear Locking Differential

Standard
Rear locking differential
Road-Sensing Suspension

Standard
Coil-over-shock front/5-link rear with bi-modal monotube shocks and computer-controlled real-time damping
(18" tire and wheels only)
StabiliTrak with Rollover Mitigation

Standard
Computer-controlled, 4-channel electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation
Steering

Standard
Power rack-and-pinion
Traction Control

Standard
All-speed traction control with brake and engine intervention
Trailering

Standard
Heavy-Duty Trailering Package
Transmission

Standard
Hydra-Matic 6L80 heavy-duty 6-speed automatic transmission with electronically controlled shifts plus Driver Shift Control manual mode and tow/haul mode
For More Information Visit The Official Cadillac Site Here

NASA Space Craft Detects Buried Glaciers on Mars

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NASA Space Craft Detects Buried Glaciers on Mars

	Artist concept of glacier on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL Larger view

PASADENA, Calif. – NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the Red Planet.



Scientists analyzed data from the spacecraft’s ground-penetrating radar and report in the Nov. 21 issue of the journal Science that buried glaciers extend for dozens of miles from edges of mountains or cliffs. A layer of rocky debris blanketing the ice may have preserved the underground glaciers as remnants from an ice sheet that covered middle latitudes during a past ice age. This discovery is similar to massive ice glaciers that have been detected under rocky coverings in Antarctica.

"Altogether, these glaciers almost certainly represent the largest reservoir of water ice on Mars that is not in the polar caps," said John W. Holt of the University of Texas at Austin, who is lead author of the report. "Just one of the features we examined is three times larger than the city of Los Angeles and up to one-half-mile thick. And there are many more. In addition to their scientific value, they could be a source of water to support future exploration of Mars."

Scientists have been puzzled by what are known as aprons – gently sloping areas containing rocky deposits at the bases of taller geographical features – since NASA's Viking orbiters first observed them on the Martian surface in the 1970s. One theory has been that the aprons are flows of rocky debris lubricated by a small amount of ice. Now, the shallow radar instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided scientists an answer to this Martian puzzle.

"These results are the smoking gun pointing to the presence of large amounts of water ice at these latitudes," said Ali Safaeinili, a shallow-radar instruments team member with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Radar echoes received by the spacecraft indicated radio waves pass through the aprons and reflect off a deeper surface below without significant loss in strength. That is expected if the apron areas are composed of thick ice under a relatively thin covering. The radar does not detect reflections from the interior of these deposits as would occur if they contained significant rock debris. The apparent velocity of radio waves passing through the apron is consistent with a composition of water ice.

Scientists developed the shallow radar instrument for the orbiter to examine these mid-latitude geographical features and layered deposits at the Martian poles. The Italian Space Agency provided the instrument.

"We developed the instrument so it could operate on this kind of terrain," said Roberto Seu, leader of the instrument science team at the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy. "It is now a priority to observe other examples of these aprons to determine whether they are also ice."

Holt and 11 co-authors report the buried glaciers lie in the Hellas Basin region of Mars' southern hemisphere. The radar also has detected similar-appearing aprons extending from cliffs in the northern hemisphere.

"There's an even larger volume of water ice in the northern deposits," said JPL geologist Jeffrey J. Plaut, who will be publishing results about these deposits in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters. "The fact these features are in the same latitude bands, about 35 to 60 degrees in both hemispheres, points to a climate-driven mechanism for explaining how they got there."

The rocky debris blanket topping the glaciers apparently has protected the ice from vaporizing, which would happen if it were exposed to the atmosphere at these latitudes.

"A key question is, how did the ice get there in the first place?" said James W. Head of Brown University, Providence, R.I. "The tilt of Mars' spin axis sometimes gets much greater than it is now. Climate modeling tells us ice sheets could cover mid-latitude regions of Mars during those high-tilt periods. The buried glaciers make sense as preserved fragments from an ice age millions of years ago. On Earth, such buried glacial ice in Antarctica preserves the record of traces of ancient organisms and past climate history."

Courtesy Of Nasa

8 Types Of Blog Posts One Can Write,To Increase Traffic.

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This post was guest blogged by Jamie Harrop, a blogger of five years who at Jamie Harrop Dot Com writes about blogging, life as a young entrepreneur, self improvement and travel.

Writers block is a problem for all bloggers. Novice or pro. Young or old. Every blogger has to overcome a lack of ideas and motivation at some point. After years of blogging, I’ve found that by having a set of easy to write content fillers my blog can have fresh content as often as I like. Here are eight types of blog post I consider when I’m struggling to find the inspiration for an authority post.

Poll

As I’ve previously spoken about in guest posts here, polls are fantastic content fillers and are also very useful for your readers. They provide a new depth of interaction and have the ability to share useful facts and figures in an easy to interpret format. They’re also very easy to setup. If you’re struggling for poll ideas, you’ll find plenty of bloggers who have started posts titled “Suggest a Poll Idea”. Even John did this not too long ago and you, his readers, came up with some great ideas. Find a few of these types of post and you’ll be flooded with new poll ideas. Read my previous guest post, How to Bring Interactivity to Your Blog to find out more about polls and how to set them up.

Comment Awards

Each week, make a point of awarding the person who wrote the best comment on your blog for that week. Maybe even reward more than one person if you’ve received several excellent comments. Go through all the comments of the week, pick out the best, copy the comment(s) in to the comments award post and link back to the commentators blog. By doing so, you get to post something useful to fill in another post slot, the awardees get a link back and are made to feel cared about, and other readers are given something to work towards next week.

Maybe you could also make a point of linking to all your first time commentators. Quite often commentators will write one comment and then leave. By linking to their blogs, you’ll be able to bring them back to your blog and convert more of them to subscribers.

Blog Goal Setting

Try to set goals for your blog each month, then publish these in a blog post. I do this, and I do so for two reasons:

1. To keep me accountable. If my readers see I’m struggling to meet the goals I set out, they’re able to give me a virtual kick up the rear.
2. To fill in another post slot while I’m struggling with writers block

Each month, take the time to publish two or three goals. Maybe you’ll set a financial goal. Or a subscriber goal. Or like me, a goal to write X amount of guest posts during the month. Whatever your goals, make them measurable (attach an amount or a date. “X number of guest posts by X date”) and make them achievable. There’s nothing more satisfying than achieving your goals. I recently set myself a subscriber goal with a timeframe to achieve it “by the end of December”. I actually achieved the goal in the first week of December which gave me a huge boost of confidence and motivation. As much as your goals are about helping you improve your blog, they’re also about giving you confidence and motivation. They can’t do this unless you meet and surpass them.

Link Love

It’s the classic blogging filler post. Over the course of the week, as you read your RSS feeds, take note of the posts that you enjoy most. By the end of the week you’ll have a good list of useful links for your readers.


When doing link love posts, try to provide a mix of links to blogs whose authors you know are already a subscriber at your blog, and those you know are not subscribers. By linking to those not subscribed, you’re enticing potential subscribers to your blog. And of course, by linking to blogs of your subscribers, you’re keeping your current readers happy and interested.

Thank all Your Commentators

Can you imagine John trying to link to everybody who ever wrote a comment on his blog? Rather him than me. But if your blog isn’t home to 40,000 subscribers you may well be able to, over the course of a month and piece by piece, link out to every single person who has ever taken the time to write on your blog. I’ve done it once, and yes, it was a lot of work, but the rewards were amazing. I saw lots of old friends come back to my blog who had once been subscribed but since moved on, or who once blogged but no longer did. It was like a school reunion from my first days of blogging.

But it wasn’t all hugs and kisses. I also gained many new subscribers. To get more work, companies send letters to past and present customers to tell them the company is still there and still cares. You can get new subscribers in the same way.

Niche News

If you’re in a niche where new products and tools are continually released, you’ll never be short of news to write about on those days of writers block. The pro bloggers will often be the first ones to break the news as they receive the emails from the book authors or tool developers, so make sure you subscribe to large blogs.

Of course, try not to post too much news. Blog readers are looking for an opinion and a voice, as opposed to just another blogger talking about the same thing as everybody else. It’s rare I write about niche news, but if I do I try to keep it to just a few items each month.

Reviews


Book reviews. Tool reviews. Ebook reviews. Blog reviews. They’re all great content fillers and, done well, can be very valuable for your readers. You don’t have to be sent a free copy and asked by the author in order to do a review. Find that old blogging book or self improvement book and write a review. You’re not talking about something new and testing. You’re just giving your opinion, which is easy even on a day of low motivation and writers block.

Interview

Email one blogger a week with a set of four questions, then publish their answers in a post, including some of your own thoughts as you touch on the points the interviewee spoke about.

Readers love interviews. Interviewees love interviews because of the exposure. And you should love interviews too, as they’re easy to conduct and publish.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a super-power of blogging in order to conduct interviews. Pro bloggers are not a higher form of person who look down on new bloggers. They’re human, just like you. There’s absolutely no reason why a new blogger can’t and shouldn’t email a pro blogger with their four interesting questions.

So How Much Time Can You Fill?

Let’s imagine for a moment you use all eight of these ideas in one particular month.

Poll - You create one poll a week, so during the month you’ve filled four post slots
Poll Results - Of course, you also want to publish the results each poll and include some analysis and opinion. So that’s another four slots during the month.
Comment Awards - Once a week you give your commentators some virtual blogging love, so that’s another four slots.
Goal Setting - Once a month you set your goals. But half way through the month you’re readers are keeping you accountable by asking how you’re getting on, so you post an update. That’s two slots.
Link Love - There’s more than enough posts in the blogosphere to do a weekly link love post, so that’s another four post slots filled.
Thanking all Your Commentators - You’re not going to do it every month, but you decide to do it this month. That’s one slot.
Niche News - Assuming, in an attempt to keep news to a minimum, you decide to write one news piece each week. That’s four slots a month.
Reviews - You might do one review each month, so that’s another slot taken.
Interviews - Bloggers can often take time to get their answers to you, so you might do one interview every two weeks. That’s two slots a month.

With all that in mind, you could potentially fill 26 slots of your monthly blogging schedule with these types of posts. Assuming you’ve made a decision to post once per day (one slot per day), that means you could, in theory, post 26 times in the month with very little effort.

Now, I’m not saying you should do this. After all, readers want opinion and thought-provoking content, but you could quite easily use 15-20 slots a month for filler posts while providing 5-10 killer, authoritative blog posts.

Blogging doesn’t seem so hard after all, right? :)
Thanks To John Choo

Blog Monetization -Traffic Secrets 2.0

Custom Search

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is the master work of Internet marketing legend, John Reese. I had the pleasure of meeting John Reese in Orlando during IZEA Fest and I have to tell you, he is the real deal. In Internet marketing, John Reese is known as the man who made $1 million in 24 hours. How he did it really isn’t that hard to explain - he drove a ton of traffic to a sales page. What might be hard to explain is how he drove that ton of traffic. This is what Traffic Secrets 2.0 reveals.

It’s All About Targeted Traffic

Traffic is the foundation of all successful sites. Doesn’t matter if you’re a blog or e-commerce site, you need traffic if you want to make money. The more traffic you have, the more money you make. John Reese knows how to drive traffic. That’s why he makes so much.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is an update to the original Traffic Secrets, a home-study course that John released in August 2004 that changed the Internet Marketing industry forever. The landmark course became one of the fastest-selling training courses in the history of the Internet and went on to create a massive amount of success stories from those that applied the methods it taught.

A lot has changed in four years. With the advent of social media marketing, video marketing, content syndication, search engine backdoors, widgets, etc., John felt it was time to give Traffic Secrets a complete updating. Traffic Secrets 2.0 is the result of listening to customer feedback from the original course, and taking into account all of the new opportunities and changes to the Internet during the past four years.

The finished product is simple HUGE. As you can see from the above photo, Sally can pretty much be hidden behind two Traffic Secrets 2.0 packages.

Inside Traffic Secrets 2.0

Traffic Secrets 2.0

The content of Traffic Secrets 2.0 can be quite overwhelming. There’s 12 interactive CD-ROMs, two bonus CD-ROMs, a 387 page training guide, a workbook and a bunch of step-by-step action blueprints.

I thought it would take me a month to go though all of it but it turns out the course is an interactive learning system. The 12 CD-ROMs connect to a special Web-based learning platform to minimize time and maximum traffic. The 387 page training guide is really a transcript of what was said on the CR-ROMs. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to (that was a relief!). Here’s a video of one of the CD-Rom interface menus.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 was designed from the ground-up to be a training course that was truly step-by-step. Every single action step is shown to you and the course is designed to help you track your progress. When you purchase Traffic Secrets 2.0, you get a special online action tracker account that’s connected to the CD-Rom learning platform. You’ll always be one-click away from knowing what the next step is. You can even add notes to your action tracker account.


Free Lifetime Coaching

Traffic Secrets 2.0 customers have access to a private coaching & mastermind community online. If you need help with any part of the course, just log online and get the help you from John Reese himself, his staff or from other owners of the course. John understands that networking is a big part of success. The private community goes beyond just getting help or sharing traffic-generation ideas. There’s also the opportunity to partner with others in the community for joint ventures.

You get free access to this community for the life of the product. There are no set-up fees or automatic monthly billing. It’s 100% free with your purchase of Traffic Secrets 2.0.

Free Lifetime Updates

The Internet doesn’t stand still. Things change and they can change really fast. When you get your copy of Traffic Secrets 2.0 you’ll receive free lifetime updates to the course. If anything is added to the course, you’ll get it free. If anything is modified or tweaked, you’ll get it free. Traffic Secrets 2.0 could be the only traffic-generation course you’ll ever need to buy.

Buying Traffic Secrets 2.0 also gives you the original Traffic Secrets for free. If you weren’t around when the original Traffic Secrets course was being sold, you will have free access to download a Digital Version of the entire original course. The original course covers some things not covered in the new version. So you’ll want to have access to it.

How Much Does This Baby Cost?

The original Traffic Secrets sold for $997. Traffic Secrets 2.0 is bigger and more powerful than the original. So you would expect 2.0 to cost more, right? Well, that’s not the case. Traffic Secrets 2.0 (which includes the original Traffic Secrets) can be yours for only $397. This is a really remarkable price considering the amount of information and access to resources the course opens you up to.

Is it possible for you to find all the information contained in Traffic Secrets 2.0 for free on the Internet? It might, but you’ll spend months, maybe years, doing it. Time is money. How much is your time worth?

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is backed by a 45 days no questions asked money back guarantee. If at anytime during those 45 days you want to return it, simply do so and John Reese will give you all your money back. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Want to Win Traffic Secrets 2.0?

While I think $397 is an absolute steal for Traffic Secrets 2.0, some will find the price of admission too high - they would love the course but simply don’t have the funds to invest yet. If that’s you, then I may be able to help out. John Reese sent me two copies of Traffic Secrets 2.0 - one for me and one to give away to a reader.

To enter, you need to help me win the Best of 604 contest by voting for me in the Best Personal Blog category. I am going up against a lot of strong blogs and really need your help. Voting ends on Thursday December 11th at 12:00PM PST. If you haven’t voted yet, please do so now!

If I win, one of you will be winning Traffic Secrets 2.0! OK, even if I don’t win, I will be giving Traffic Secrets 2.0 to a reader. But please go vote for me anyway. For those who don’t want to wait to win Traffic Secrets 2.0, feel free to buy it. If you win it, you can always return the one you bought to John Reese for a refund.
Thanks To JohnChow Blog

7th Wonder Wildebeeste Migration In The Maasai Mara

                                    Wildebeest Migration - The Migration Made Simple

Wildebeest location updates (see below) and a month by month guide to lodges and camps giving you the best opportunity to witness the east Africa’s wildebeest migration.

The endless plains of east Africa are the setting for the world’s greatest wildlife spectacle - the 1.5 million animal ungulate (wildebeest) migration. From the vast Serengeti plains to the champagne colored hills of Kenya’s Masai Mara over 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra and gazelle, relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators, migrate in a clockwise fashion over 1,800 miles each year in search of rain ripened grass.

There is no real beginning or end to a wildebeest's journey. Its life is an endless pilgrimage, a constant search for food and water. The only beginning is at the moment of birth. An estimated 400,000 wildebeest calves are born during a six week period early each year - usually between late January and mid-March.

As of September 1, 2008: The Wildebeest herds are currently in the northern areas of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and in Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve. Wildebeest have been crossing the Mara River daily. Guests staying at the Governor's Camps in the Mara and at Migration Camp in the Serengeti have been seeing hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra daily.

As of November 1, 2008: October continued a trend of cool mornings and warm days in Kenya's Masai Mara. The migrating herds of wildebeest and zebra have grazed the Mara grasses right down. The northern and central areas of the Serengeti have received some very heavy rain showers and the herds have followed their noses in search of lush, green grass. The end of the month was marked by large river crossings as wildebeest and zebra left the Mara on their long trek down south. The herds now stretch from Lobo through the Tagora plains area to central Seronera area and down to Naabi Hill. It is common to receive patches of wet weather in the Serengeti towards the end of the dry season (in October), so the rain may just be this and not an early onset of the short rains. If this is the case, it will dry out rapidly and the wildebeest will head back north until they feel the real rains start.

The Migratory Path (see chart below)

December, January, Feburary, March: The Serengeti National Park / Ngorongoro Conservation Area is arguably the most impressive wildlife sanctuary in the world. During the months December through March the seemingly unending plains of the southern Serengeti and the Conservation Area are inhabited by enormous herds of wildebeest and zebra. The great herds graze on rain ripened grass. We feel this is the best time to visit the Serengeti.


In the calving season (late January through mid March when over 80% of the wildebeest give birth over a period of a few weeks) the herds concentrate at the Ndutu and Salei plains (Southern Serengeti / Ngorongoro Conservation Area) attracting the attention of predators like lion, cheetah and hyena.

During this period the migration is best observed from a luxury mobile camp in the Ndutu / Naabi area or from Ndutu Safari Lodge.

April, May: During the months April and May the depleted plains are unable to sustain the endless herds. The migration, sweeping west and north, moves from the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti / Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the long grass plains and woodland of the Serengeti’s western Corridor, almost to Lake Victoria.

This period is during the long rains and is considered off season for wildlife viewing in east Africa as roads are often impassable. Ndutu Safari Lodge, Kusini Camp and the Serengeti Serena Lodge are fine for wildlife viewing during this time. So are campsites in the Ndutu/Naabi area.

June: By the end of May the wildebeest have exhausted the Western Corridor’s best pastures and the herds must move further north. Entering the Lamai Wedge and the Mara Triangle breeding occurs May through June.

This is a transitional period between the rains and the dry season. Faru Faru River Lodge, Sasakwa Hill Lodge, Sabora Plains Tented Camp, Grumeti River Camp, Migration Camp, and Kirawira Camp are good options for viewing the migration at this time. Seronera and Moru area campsites are best.

July, August, September, October: By July the countless herds have amassed along the swollen Mara River - a final barrier from the short sweet grasses of the Masai Mara. Sometimes the crossing place they have chosen is shallow allowing the majority of animals to pass safely. In other areas the waters boil with drowning wildebeest and slashing crocodiles. Please note that the vast majority of travelers do not witness the wildebeest crossing of the Mara as the timing and duration varies widely each year - in years of little rain very few wildebeest cross the Mara River into Kenya.

Between July and October the wildebeest reside in the Mara. We recommend Governor's Il Moran Tented Camp as the leading safari camp in the Masai Mara. Other tented camps include Governor's Main Camp, Little Governor’s Camp, and Bataluer Camp. Tanzanian lodges recommended during this time include Faru Faru River Lodge, Sasakwa Hill Lodge, Sabora Plains Tented Camp, Grumeti River Camp, Migration Camp and Kirawira Camp. Kirawira and Moru area campsites are best.

November: The arrival of the short rains call the migration southward. During the short rains of November the wildebeest migration is best viewed from Klein’s Camp. Campsites in the Lobo area are best.

As November ends the migration is making its way back to the southern Serengeti and early in the year they once again give birth. The circle of life is complete.

*Note - the migration is a natural event and the timing varies month by month; year by year.
Courtesy Of Ultimate Africa Safaris