Tuesday, January 31, 2006

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is very important in the world of international football, also known as soccer. The World Cup is contested by the men’s national football teams of FIFA member nations and is awarded every 4 years. There have been 17 tournaments held to date, but only 7 nations have won the World Cup Finals. The nation of Brazil holds the cup currently and have won the cup a total of 5 times making them the leading team. The next World Cup Finals will be held in Germany where Germany holds 3 titles.

In 1872 the first international football match was played between England and Scotland. It was called a demonstration sport and was played at the Olympics.

In 1909 the game was finally played for a trophy and was organized by Sir Thomas Lipton. That game is often referred to a the first World Cup. The title was won by West Auckland. In 1914 FIFA recognized the tournament as “world football for amateurs”. This how things led to the first intercontinental football competition in 1924 at the summer Olympics. Uruguay won the tournament.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Falling in love

Love is Not a Feeling. What? You exclaim, of course, love is a feeling. Yes, those are the physiological manifestations when one has the sensation of ‘falling in love.’ Falling in love and love are two different phenomena. Falling in love can be either a flash of emotions or a first step towards genuine love.

Falling in love is a strong instinctive attraction to a person. If it is mutual and both people work at their relationship; one day that euphoric experience called, ‘falling in love,’ can grow into genuine love.

Genuine love implies commitment and exercise of wisdom. The concern and commitment to another’s spiritual and emotional growth is the purest form of love. Genuine love transcends the matter of cathexis. It is easier—indeed, it is exhilarating—to love with cathexis and the euphoric feeling of love. However, it is possible to love without cathexis and without loving feelings, and it is in the fulfillment of this possibility that genuine and transcendent love is distinguished from simple cathexis. Genuine love is volitional rather than euphorically emotional. It can be difficult and painful to search for evidence of love in one’s actions, but because true love is an act of will that transcends ephemeral feelings of love or cathexis, it can be said, “Love is as love does.” Love and non-love, as good and evil, are objective and not purely subjective phenomena.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

About an african vacation

Africa is called the “Dark Continent” for its perceived mystery, but there is not a whole lot that is mysterious about a destination site like this. You should definitely at Africa vacation at the top of your travel itinerary.

Africa is probably the most diverse continent on the planet and a vacation there can hold just as much variety. It doesn't matter what you are seeking, an Africa vacation has it all.

When we think of Africa picture jungles and beautiful wild beasts and that is no doubt true. For an Africa vacation, I would suggest looking into safari adventures, which will take you to places that are so incredible that most people have only dreamed about them. Imagine saying elephants and lions in the wild; but that be exciting experience? In South Africa, you will find hotels and resort casinos that are every bit as nice as their Las Vegas counterparts. How about an Africa vacation that includes a first rate entertainment, exciting casino gambling, breathtaking beaches? In the north, beautiful beach resorts pepper the coastal Mediterranean as well as the Red Sea. This is the place where a vacation turns into a desert odyssey. It's vaguely reminiscent of Palm Springs, California, except with miles and miles of breathtakingly beautiful white sand beaches.

Africa has many wonderful island resorts on the Indian Ocean as well. An Africa vacation here could mean staying in a private bungalow at a small resort where delicious fresh fish is caught daily for lunch literally right outside your door.

Monday, January 23, 2006

LED Flashlights


A flashlight, which is called a torch in British Commonwealth countries, is a hand-held portable electric device which generates light. A conventional flashlight consists of an electric battery and incandescent light bulb.

With changes in technology and the rise of the age of semiconductors, flashlights also shifted from conventional light bulbs towards the use of LEDs. LEDs are light-emitting diodes (LEDs). By using proper material, these diodes can create lights of various colors.

LEDs have a high efficiency in term of power, up to 40LM/W, and they consume less power than normal lightbulbs. An LED flashlight needs less batteries than conventional flashlights. There are also batteryless flashlights which consist of an LED, a copper coil, a magnet, a rectifier and a capacitor. With the rotating magnet, a current is generated which is then stored in the capacitor. When the flashlight is started, the current stored in the capacitor will light up the LED.

Light emitting diodes are more durable. They have a longer lifetime. The expected lifetime for LEDs is nearly 10,000 hours. Unlike conventional flashlights, there is no delicate filament. Hence, LED flashlights can be used for many years. They can easily be used in rough and tough situations like mining. The energy wasted in terms of heat is also less than that of conventional flashlights.

LED technology is also useful in innovative flashlight designs like the headlamp. With the headlamp mounted on the helmet, the hands are free for work. The miners, firefighters, police and army find them very useful, as these flashlights can easily take more blows than conventional flash lights.

LED provides detailed information on LED, LED Flashlights, LED Displays, LED Light Bulbs and more.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Learn how to sell wine


The Internet has changed the landscape for so many industries. This is especially true for the wine market. The keys to selling wine you own are the conditions of the bottle, how was it stored, is it age worthy with possible upside and the price you are asking.


The best wines in the world all have one thing in common. They can be held for long periods of time. "Long" is subjective and will be different with each varietal. The wines that are in high price demand by collectors include:

· Top growth Bordeaux

· Vintage Port Wine

· Fine Italian Wine

· Barolo

· Brunello

· Amarone


Winecommune is good places to not only list your wine to sell, but get a gauge on the current prices for the wines you are considering to list. A good place to go is on wine message boards. Most of these boards have a buying and selling section. They are free to join and you should become an active poster to gain the trust of the other members. Members sell to each other and there is no transaction fee as it is all done privately.


Much of the wine sold online is in "Cult" or hard-to-get Wines. Wineries such as Screaming Eagle, Bryant Family and Harlan can sell for 2-3 times above their original bottle cost.


Properly storing wine, not only for the seller - but for the buyer is a key. There are many affordable temperature controlled storage units available up to high end wine cabinets. All in all, selling wine can be a profitable hobby. Having a true passion for wine will only help in your success. Don't treat it as just dollars and cents.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Benefits of online data storage


Most people do not realize it, but online data storage is indispensable to any computer user, serious or not. Online data storage serves as an extension of your computer’s hard drive and acts as an additional source of data storage, as a backup mechanism, and as a ‘scaring’ agent.


Benefits of online data storage


With online data storage backup, you can access you data wherever you are in the world. You don’t always need to lug your laptop around just to get your files. Simply log on to the online data storage site, access your account, and you can retrieve your data.


Online data storage sites also let you easily share files, photos and videos with your business associates, friends and family wherever they are. Simply choose the files you want to open for sharing, and the users you authorize can access the data.


Your internal hard drives are simply not enough. If your computer crashes and all your files are corrupted, you will never be able to get them back. Sure you can purchase an external drive for back-up, but what if you lose it? This is why online data storage is becoming more and more popular.


Bigger business with bulk data storage needs may require offsite data storage with real-time backup aside from regular online data storage.


Remember to choose a secure online data backup site. The site should provide secure and password protection functionality at the very least. Also, be sure to avail of the online data storage service that is right for the kind of data you are keeping. Basic storage and access is adequate for nonsensitive data, but you may need additional security functions such as encryption and two-factor authentication for more sensitive data.

Friday, January 13, 2006

The Education Loan: Is It Worth The Cost?

You cannot ignore the fact that the cost of a college education has soared through the roof. This threatens to make a higher education for pursuing a dream career an impossible task. Therefore, students and their parents are compelled to opt for education loans.

Student loans have become a part of life. This is no wonder, considering the facts and figures that clarify the earning potential of college graduates. There has been a series of nationwide surveys on student loans and their implications. The fact is that each college graduate ended up earning $1 million (according to the United States Census Bureau) more throughout his/her career than a high school graduate.

The Advantages

Many people are confused as to whether they will be ever able to repay their loans completely, given the high rates of interest on various student loans. However, the advantages of taking out a student loan may far outweigh the costs:

1. College educated people advance higher and faster in their careers.

2. The average earnings of the college educated are $2.1 million and this figure is $1.2 million for high school graduates. Still, considering one takes out a Federal Perkins Loan (current interest rate of 5% per year), and borrows the maximum amount permissible, which is $40,000, the total repayment you would make over a 10-year term would be somewhere close to $51,000.

3. Contrast this against average salaries of college graduates. A nursing job would get you $38,788; Chemical engineering $53,659.

4. Salaries are increasing steadily at a healthy pace from 11.2% for elementary school teachers to 5.3% for civil engineers and 2.1% for chemical engineers.

How does it all add up? Considering again the Federal Perkins Loan, which allows you to pay back the entire amount with interest in 10 years, it will take away 1 – 2 years of your starting salary but spread over a 10-year term. The monthly payment would not be over $430 for the whole term, while your salary keeps going up.

How Can You Plan Your College Education Loan?

Well, how can you plan for the loan? Before you decide on a loan amount, you need to assess your different options:

1. Grants and Scholarships: Grants and scholarships are referred to as free money, as they are not expected to be repaid. They fund education completely depending on certain criteria. In this case, you would hardly opt for loan if you have a choice.

2. Work-Study Programs: On- or-off-campus Federal programs let students work part-time to offset their expenses. Depending on your savings, your loan amount can be reduced up to 50%.

3. Tuition Payment Plans: Spreading out of tuition and fees eases the burden of a one-time payment for families who have discretionary income.

4. Home Equity Loans: This can possibly eliminate the necessity to take out a student loan.

5. Funding Through Assets: Through the sale of stocks and/or 401 (k) plans, families cab fund their children’s education in order that they reduce the student loan component.

With planned self-financing, you can strengthen your position to fund your higher education and reduce your student loan debt. By utilizing student loans to either partly or completely fund your education, you will ensure yourself a lifetime of income long after the loan is repaid.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions – Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.