Top 8 Fuels of the Future  

Thursday, November 22, 2007


1. Hydrogen
Like the new BMW TV ads say, their still-unavailable Hydrogen 7 is "ready for the world… when the world is ready." But progress on California's "hydrogen highway" hasn't quite hit the numbers supporters hoped it would. Fuel-cell technology has alternately been a darling of Wall Street and Detroit for almost a decade now, but we've yet to see many hydrogen-powered vehicles in the wild. The technology seems like an environmentalist's wet dream (literally), with hydrogen bonding with oxygen to produce power and water — and no greenhouse-gas emissions to speak of. But building a new series of hydrogen power stations hasn't been as easy as once thought, and people still think "Hindenberg" when they think "hydrogen," although it seems to be a safe enough technology that transit authorities uses hundreds of hydrogen-powered buses to move us around urban centers. Still, hydrogen's ultimate downfall may be battery technologies and other clean fuels that could overtake it before it has the chance to get wide adoption.

2. Biofuels
This is a fractious bunch of youngsters, with fraternal twins biodiesel and corn-based ethanol trying to keep its younger sibling — cellulosic ethanol — from hogging the family photos. Enormous amounts of capital have flowed into developing both biodiesel (Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is funding the biggest biodiesel refinery in the country in Washington State) and corn-based ethanol (Sun Microsystems founder and venture capital Vinod Khosla has made big bets in this space). Converting vehicles and power plants to these renewable fuels that act and burn like fossil fuels has certainly made much headway. Heck, you could be burning an ethanol blend in your car right now and not even know it, and installing conversion kits for biodiesel makes putting on new spinning rims look tough.

3. Solar
Solar is probably the sexiest of the renewables, what with its black shiny arrays, tilting half-interested at Old Sol. Between tax breaks to install solar panels and new sleeker technology that makes your neighbors want to say "cool roof, man," solar is beginning to take off. Thin-film technology — allowing you to bend the silicon components into more flexible shapes — and increases in solar-cell efficiency mean you can install solar in the Northeast more viably. And momentum is there among legislators as well. In Colorado, the state has passed a "renewable portfolio standard," meaning that not only do utilities need to produce a great deal of renewable energy in the coming decades or face penalties, but they also have to buy a portion of that renewable energy from its customers with solar roofs.

4. Wind
Windmills have come a long way from Kansas farm country and being Don Quixote's nemesis. Wind power first took off — as did many renewable energy sources — in the late '70s and early '80s with the last spike in the price of oil. But after that it stalled until fairly recently. With many states forcing utilities into renewable energy production, this has spurred great technological advances in wind power, and now wind projects are installed or planned in almost every state. The era of having your own windmill, and going "off the grid," is also back, with personal household models costing under $20,000, assuming you have forgiving neighbors. And efficiencies in technology mean you don't need a hurricane to generate a lot of power. But wind's popularity has also created a bottleneck — estimates are that you'll be waiting longer for a wind turbine (about 18 months) than you will for a black Prius.

5. Batteries
They're not really a fuel, but they're the "universal solvent" to our current rate of use of fossil fuels. Technically, we still burn more dinosaur soup making electricity for buildings than on the road, but all those cars and trucks we sit in use energy in other ways, too. They require gas stations everywhere, and that means yet more trucks to haul three grades of gas and Cinnabons to highway rest stops across the country. But new battery technology will last longer and charge more quickly, making it possible to burn the right fuel in the right place, rather than transporting the wrong fuel all over the place. So maybe as you drive from Seattle to Boston, you'll top up your electric or hybrid car with tidal power in Seattle, wind power in Colorado, cellulosic ethanol in Nebraska, biogasoline in Illinois and biomass to carry you into Boston.

6. Tides
Think about how it feels to have someone chucking a bucket of water in your face, then multiply that by several hundred million, and you get an idea of the energy going untapped around our coastlines every day. Test facilities for harnessing tidal power in Canada's Bay of Fundy have been around since the '70s, and San Francisco will be putting in a high-tech tidal plant at the Golden Gate soon. There are certainly environmental concerns around tidal power, since these projects usually involve some kind of plant at the narrow mouth of a bay or inlet, where the water is moving fastest and most violently, meaning it's not so great for the fish or birds nearby. But the future of ocean power is wave technology, where floating platforms and buoys, dozens of miles offshore, harvest the energy of wave motion. Think of an upside-down yo-yo, except your finger is an anchor at the bottom of the ocean, and the spinning spool floats on the surface. As each wave passes, the yo-yo gets pulled up, and pulls your finger… or a turbine.

7. Garbage
Meet the newest member of the energy family: last year's trash. While incinerators haven't really been widespread since the '60s because of pollution concerns, companies like American Combustion are working on the next generation of burning, like their PyreJet. It combines a long-range supersonic oxygen jet and focused carbon injection — essentially a jet engine — to reduce last night's Dominos, a year's worth of Sports Illustrateds you didn't get a chance to read and that old blow-up doll into valuable energy for everyone. Now there's always an answer to, "Who would want that?" when you're at someone else's house.

. Nuclear Fusion
Like that kid in eighth grade who tried to be really cool but annoyed everyone, the nuclear industry has been talking a lot lately, telling everyone at recess about how their emissions "carbon-free." True, but wind power doesn't need to go around the lunchroom calling itself "plutonium-239-free," so quit being a punk or I'll be seeing you after school by the monkey bars at Three Mile Island, and don't tell your homeroom teacher. But if the opposite of hate is love, then the opposite of fission is fusion, and while it's not exactly around the corner, it holds out a lot of promise. Yes, it's the energy choice of the Sun itself, but simply put, in fusion, two lighter atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus. In doing so, it releases a few megatons of energy, ideally producing a waste product more benign, though not harmless, compared to its fissile brother. A European test plant managed to produce an output of 16 megawatts of electricity using fusion (about as much as a coal plant), but only for a few seconds. New test facilities are planned, so who knows? The atom may be our pal after all.

— Trevor Curwin
source-http://blog.scifi.com

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Ebook (Adsense Empire)  

Tuesday, November 6, 2007





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The top 10 languages spoken in the world  

Monday, November 5, 2007

10. French -- Number of speakers: 129 million
Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken in tons of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Haiti. Oh, and France too. We're actually very lucky that French is so popular, because without it, we might have been stuck with Dutch Toast, Dutch Fries, and Dutch kissing (ew!).
To say "hello" in French, say "Bonjour" (bone-JOOR).

9. Malay—Indonesian Number of speakers: 159 million
Malay-Indonesian is spoken - surprise - in Malaysia and Indonesia. Actually, we kinda fudged the numbers on this one because there are many dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they're all pretty much based on the same root language, which makes it the ninth most-spoken in the world.Indonesia is a fascinating place; a nation made up of over 13,000 islands it is the sixth most populated country in the world. Malaysia borders on two of the larger parts of Indonesia (including the island of Borneo), and is mostly known for its capital city of Kuala Lumpur.To say "hello" in Indonesian, say "Selamat pagi" (se-LA-maht PA-gee).


8. Portuguese -- Number of speakers: 191 million
Think of Portuguese as the little language that could. In the 12th Century, Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over the world with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator . . . could you imagine if a guy named "Prince Henry the Navigator" became a florist?) Because Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the language established itself all over the world, especially in Brazil (where it's the national language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.
To say "hello" in Portuguese, say "Bom dia" (bohn DEE-ah).

7. Bengali -- Number of speakers: 211 million
In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people, just about everybody speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India (where the population is growing so fast, just breathing the air can get you pregnant), the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than most people would expect.
To say "hello" in Bengali, say "Ei Je" (EYE-jay).

6. Arabic -- Number of speakers: 246 million
Arabic, one of the world's oldest languages, is spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Furthermore, because Arabic is the language of the Koran, millions of Moslems in other countries speak Arabic as well. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in fact, that in 1974 it was made the sixth official language of the United Nations.
To say "hello" in Arabic, say "Al salaam a'alaykum" (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom) .

5. Russian -- Number of speakers: 277 million
Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov Smirnoff are among the millions of Russian speakers out there. Sure, we used to think of them as our Commie enemies. Now we think of them as our Commie friends. One of the six languages in the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother Country, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. (to name just a few places).
To say "hello" in Russian, say "Zdravstvuite" (ZDRAST-vet- yah).

4. Spanish -- Number of speakers: 392 million
Aside from all of those kids who take it in high school, Spanish is spoken in just about every South American and Central American country, not to mention Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. There is a particular interest in Spanish in the U.S., as many English words are borrowed from the language, including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and taco grande supreme.
To say "hello" in Spanish, say "Hola" (OH-la).

3. Hindustani -- Number of speakers: 497 million
Hindustani is the primary language of India's crowded population, and it encompasses a huge number of dialects (of which the most commonly spoken is Hindi). While many predict that the population of India will soon surpass that of China, the prominence of English in India prevents Hindustani from surpassing the most popular language in the world. If you're interested in learning a little Hindi, there's a very easy way: rent an Indian movie. The film industry in India is the most prolific in the world, making thousands of action/romance/ musicals every year.
To say "hello" in Hindustani, say "Namaste" (Nah-MAH-stay) .

2. English -- Number of speakers: 508 million
While English doesn't have the most speakers, it is the official language of more countries than any other language. Its speakers hail from all around the world, including the U.S., Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada. We'd tell you more about English, but you probably feel pretty comfortable with the language already. Let's just move on to the most popular language in the world.
To say "hello" in English, say "What's up, freak?" (watz-UP-freek) .

1. Mandarin -- Number of speakers: 1 billion+
Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken language on the planet is based in the most populated country on the planet, China. Beating second-place English by a 2 to 1 ratio, but don't let that lull you into thinking that Mandarin is easy to learn. Speaking Mandarin can be really tough, because each word can be pronounced in four ways (or "tones"), and a beginner will invariably have trouble distinguishing one tone from another. But if over a billion people could do it, so could you. Try saying hello!
To say "hello" in Mandarin, say "Ni hao" (Nee HaOW). ("Hao" is pronounced as one syllable, but the tone requires that you let your voice drop midway, and then raise it again at the end.)

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5 Secrets of getting your man to open up  

By: Lisa Cris

I don’t know what he’s thinking because he never tells me what is going on. Sound familiar? In a recent poll, 42 per cent of the respondents said that they have a hard time getting their partner to share his feelings. When that happens, she feels shut out and he feels misunderstood. But, the fact is men desperately need to unburden themselves. Under the right conditions, they’ll talk all night long. So what’s they’ll talk all night long. So what’s the secret to getting him to share?
Here are some Secrets that I have seen at Online Dating Guide/Expert.

SECRET 1: Real men fear rejection
It’s true. Most men feel that women are very critical of them, and they worry that if they do open up, someone’s going to laugh at them, leaving them rejected and humiliated. It’s important for women to realize that a man’s ego and sense of identity are generally more fragile than hers and more easily threatened. That is especially so when he’s in an intimate relationship: He craves acknowledgment and feedback that he’s pleased you.
Not judging your partner means allowing him to say what is on his mind, and simply being willing to hear it. This does not mean that you don’t have an opinion. In order to open up, he has to feel truly accepted for who he is, not for who you may want him to be.

SECRET 2: Reveal yourself as well
There must be mutual disclosure between partners. Everybody has problems, fears and skeletons in the closet. Many guys think, “if share this, she’ll leave me.” You have to show that this is not the case by revealing something about yourself that shows you have as much trust in him as he has in you. When he starts to open up, listen to what he is saying, then take a step beyond and offer something positive in return. After he tells you something personal, say something like, “Well, that’s not so bad, I’ve done worse.” Let him know you’re on his team, that he is not alone with his experience.
It’s amazing how many men feel tremendously alone. Not only have they been trained for silence, taught that it is unmanly to express what they are going through, they usually don’t get feedback from the guys in their world. So, your honest and positive feedback is vital.

SECRET 3: Let Go of the Past
Have you ever had a “discussion” with your partner that ended up turning into a litany of past grievances, the things he did wrong, the ways he hurt you and what he woes you now? It happens at some point in nearly every relationship, but the fact remains that men cringe when they feel this coming. When a man fears that his words will later be distorted, misunderstood and thrown back at him, it is impossible for him to open up. And the only way to move beyond this communication trap is to realize that whatever happened in the past, whatever he did or said, you were involved as well. All relationships are dances. No one is entirely good and no one entirely bad. The ability to forgive may be just as simple as realizing that what was true a year ago about him (and about your self as well) may not be true now. Stay focused in the present.

SECRET 4: Become a solid listener
Is it even possible to have honest relationships? The assumption is that everybody’s going to be honest. The truth is, few people are. And the main reason that people are dishonest is that the consequences are too big. Many men feel that women want and need to be lied to because they can’t take the truth. In fact, women demand certain responses from men and feel devastated if they don’t get them. Then they’re surprised when he shuts down and doesn’t talk.
If you’re ready to break out of this unrealistic rut, it’s time to ask yourself three things. How much of the truth you can tolerate? How much do you really want? Do you want your man to be a fantasy figure for you, or are you willing to allow him to become real?

SECRET 5: Be true to yourself
How can we be true to another if we aren’t true to ourselves? The best way to help a man open is simply to be open yourself, be natural, be real and exude an atmosphere of warmth and acceptance. Be true to yourself and you will find that it is contagious. They will communicate openly and naturally, not with a fixed agenda, not to manipulate or control.


Article Source: http://www.Article-Hut.com - Article Submission Service

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Free Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic  

Saturday, November 3, 2007

1) Comment on Blogs
Look for large traffic Blogs in your niche, visit them and leave your comments on their blogs posts. You may use blog search engine like www.blogsearchengine.com, www.google.com/blogsearch and www.searchengineblog.com to find blogs in your niche.

2) Submit Articles
Write articles that are related to your blog and submit them to popular article directories such as ezinearticles.com, Isnare.com, Articledashboard.com, Articlealley.com and goarticle.com. Quality articles may drive you a lot of free targeted traffic.

3) Participate in Community Forums
Use google to search for forums that are related to your blog. Look for forums that has over 10,000 members and read the rules of the forums to see whether you can promote your blogs and websites in your signature. Join forums that allow you to add a link to your blog in the signature and start participating in discussion. You can ask questions, answer other members questions and post your articles, ideas and thought in the forums.

4) Submit Your Blog to Directories
This isn't working to me but some bloggers claim that they gain a good amount of traffic from their listings in directories.

5) Post Often
You can lose traffic if you seldom update you blog, try to make it at least 5 posts per week. This not only will maintain your traffic but possibly attract more readers.

6) Write about Blogging
Write helpful and quality articles related to blogging can attract other bloggers link to your articles and gain may be truckload of free traffic.

7) Post Breaking News
If your found a breaking news of your niche very earlier, post it to your blog. It may give your blog's traffic a boost.

8) Social Bookmarking
Bookmark you blog posts in the large social bookmarking sites like Netscape.com, Digg.com, Simply and Reddit.com.

9) Run a Contest
Start a contest on your blog. Think about the prizes that people really want. It will create a viral effect and bring in new visitors.

10) On-page Optimization
Make sure your blog's title tag and description tag contain your targeted keywords. When you have posted plenty of quality blog post and done a lot of blog promotion, don't be surprise to see your blog ranks top 10 in Google and get free search engine traffic daily.

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Top 10 skin care tips  

Healthy skin is really one of the most important ingredients for beauty-enhancement. This article on skin care tips is an effort to bring the 10 best skin care tips to you. The list of skin care tips has been restricted to 10 because anything more that that would not only be difficult to remember, but also shadow the more important skin care tips. So let’s see what these top ten skin care tips are:

* Knowing your skin type is one of the most important skin care tip. This is important because not every skin care product suits everyone. In fact, all the skin care products specify the type of skin they cater too.

* ‘Drink a lot of water’. This will not keep your skin moist but will help in overall upkeep of your health (and in turn your skin). It might seem a bit awkward to some, however, this is an important skin care tip.

* Cleanse your skin regularly (1-2 times everyday). A very effective skin care tip that helps in getting rid of the dirt and other harsh elements from your skin. Cleansing is especially important when you have been out of your house (and hence exposed to pollutants, dust etc). This skin care tip also advocates the use of Luke warm water for cleansing (hot and cold water, both, cause damage to your skin)

* Be gentle, after all it’s your skin. Don’t scrub/exfoliate too hard or too often. Similarly, don’t apply too much or too many skin care products. A must-to-follow skin care tip.

* Keep your skin moist at all times. This is one of the most important skin care tip. Don’t let your skin get dry. Dryness causes the outer layer of your skin to break, leading to a rough and unattractive appearance. Use moisturisers/ emollients. Moisturisers work best when applied while the skin is still damp.

* Avoid the use of soap on your face. Soap should only be used from below the neck. A small but important skin care tip.

* Use sunscreen to protect yourself from sun’s harmful UV radiations. You can use day-time moisturisers that have sunscreen built into them. Use them even when it’s cloudy. UV radiations are known to cause skin cancer, so follow this skin care tip without fail.

* A bit of exercise and good sleep are essential too, not just for skin care but for your health as a whole. Lack of sleep can lead to formation of wrinkles below your eyes and lack of exercise can cause your skin to slack. Moreover, exercise and sleep also help in beating stress. So besides being a skin care tip, this is also a health care tip.

* Treat skin dilemmas with care. This skin care tip is about not ignoring any skin dilemmas. Consult your dermatologist before you go on to use a skin care product (lest you do end up harming your skin even more).

* Beat the stress. The harmful effects of stress are known to everyone, however, sometimes stating the obvious is essential too (and hence this skin care tip found its place here). Yes, stress harms skin too. So, take a break or indulge in a warm bubble bath or just get good sleep

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Japanese Super Toilets With Control Panel  



Our next stop will be Japan, where we will investigate the language of cleanliness. The Japanese have a fascination with cleanliness – separating their living spaces into “clean” and “unclean” areas – and this naturally results in a culture obsessed with toilets. (Seeing that my most popular posts have dealt with man marble injuries and truck nuts, I thought that the subject of toilets may satisfy you need for “potty humor”).

Wikipedia describes the culture of cleanliness in Japan quite well:


In Japan, being clean is very important, and some Japanese words for 'clean' can be used to describe beauty. The word kirei (??, ???) can be defined as "pretty, beautiful; clean; pure; orderly."

Perhaps this explains the popularity of the Japan-based company Toto, the world’s largest manufacturer of toilets. Toto not only produces the largest number of toilets worldwide, they’re also responsible for the world’s most advanced toilets, known as Washlets (???????) in Japan.

For example, the Toto s400, pictured above, includes cleansing water jets with adjustable water temperature, adjustable temperature air blowers, air purifiers (for the benefit of bystanders), an auto open and close heated seat, and a remote control panel that looks like the cockpit of the space shuttle. Some even play the first few tunes of Op. 62 Nr. 6 Frühlingslied by Felix Mendelssohn to relax your…mind.

Now, I agree that cleanliness is next to Godliness. But Holy Crap! Ahem…seems like holy crap is something you would want to flush down one of those things. And I’d be afraid I would push the wrong button and blast my nubblies off into outer space. In fact, in Britain, an advanced “Super Toilet” did recently blow itself to pieces due to an electrical malfunction. Talk about explosive diarrhea…

Seriously, it looks like you can order pizza and withdraw money from that control panel. Japanese people will soon be able to live their entire life from a sitting position. I mean it’s pretty neat and all that an entire Culture of Crappers has emerged in Japan, but I just don’t get the Japanese language of cleanliness.

Can you help me translate?

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