The Last Laugh: Parental Pranks for April 1
August 31, 2008
The exact origin of April Fool’s Day is uncertain, but popular belief is that it began in France with the adoption of a new calendar. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar (still in use today) replaced the long-standing Julian calendar and New Year’s celebrations were moved from April 1 to January 1.
People who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1 were labeled "fools" and often ridiculed. This harassment evolved over time, and now "All Fool’s Day" is practised in many parts of the world with each country celebrating it in their own special way.
In Scotland, "Taily Day" lasts 48 hours and is devoted to pranks involving the buttocks. The Scots are rumoured to have invented the "Kick Me" sign.
In France, children exclaim "Poisson d’Avril" (April fish) when playing a prank, referring to a young fish which is easily caught.
In Rome, the "Festival of Hilaria" is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day".
While children relish tricking us on this special day, why let them have all the fun. Here are some ways for you to trick them:
How to Invest in Antique, Vintage, or Modern Jewelry
August 30, 2008
As Antique Jewelry is ‘Really’ based on the ‘Collectability’ and Style of an item, it is hard for clients to appreciate the ‘Craft’ involved in Handmade work, as they only see the Gold value or Diamond Value fluctuate over the years.
If Gold goes up or the older something gets, the value increases, right?
No. Not always. It depends…
Antiques and Collectables are a ’subjective’ thing too. Supply and Demand plays an important part in the ways we Invest.
Good quality is always going to be good quality.
Just because something is ‘OLD’ doesn’t make it worth a lot of money. A hundred year old bucket, is still an old bucket - right? Unless it has ‘Historical’ significance, of course.
Take these for example:
Antique Stickpins in Gold or Silver.
Do they have all the right qualifications. Maybe? They are made of precious metal, may be adorned with gemstones and could be stamped and dated to be more than one hundred years old.
But are they ‘Valuable’ - ‘Collectable’ - Are they worth Investing in?
To some people yes, but in general terms they have NOT been the great Antique Investment we would wish for.
Joseph Brant and The Hegelian Dialectic
August 29, 2008
I admit I am only able to provide guesses as to the nature of how the elites might convene or make known to each other the nature of shared interests at different times. I have traveled in some circles where some of these people are present and I may have overheard a few things from others who work for them but it is pure guesswork in the final analysis. The Jacobin Scottish era shows us that Hume, Carlyle and Gibbon where checking with each other and following a plan to minimize the lesser nobles or keep them in the dark. Who did these people report to in the Stuart Royal camp? Bonnie Prince Charlie was opposed by his own general when the French did not send troops as promised so we can wonder if the people like William of Hesse and the De Medicis who appear together shortly after this were involved. Clearly Robespierre fomented a Revolution they needed in order to cleanse over-indulgences of the Royals in France. I am pretty sure that the Hegelian Dialectic borne of the top-down Platonic ideology was a factor. They were playing many sides and some very high personages were left out of the loop.
Have You Read Your Digital Camera Manual?
August 28, 2008
Have you read the manual that came with your digital camera? If not you are in good company, the majority of digital camera owners never get past the *Basic Operations* section.
If you didn*t read the manual why not? Was it the obscure photographic terms? The numerous cross references ? The complicated diagrams? The myriad uses for each dial and button? The convoluted English? Maybe all of the above. The fact is that most digital camera manuals are neither user friendly nor written with beginners in mind. If you aren*t already familiar with photographic terms then White Balance, AE Lock, AF Illuminator, and so on, aren*t much help and it can seem like very hard work to figure it all out.
But if you haven*t read the manual you aren*t getting the most from your digital camera. Digital cameras are loaded with options that let you do really cool things. If all you do is point and shoot you are missing out on a whole lot of fun and some great photos.
How to Clean Your Jewelry at Home or Work
August 27, 2008
It looks like a million dollars but after a couple of months it doesn’t have the same ‘Sparkle’ or look it once had (a bit like me really).
So what are we to do?
The first thing is to make sure it is SAFE to be cleaned!
Naturally, delicate items should be best left to a professional Jeweler to clean. BUT Opals, Pearls and Emeralds are very susceptible to damage in a Jewelers Ultrasonic cleaning tank, as it can loosen pearls from their mounts and breakdown Opal and Emerald quite easily.
SOLUTION: Clean them yourself! BUT VERY GENTLY.
Make up a solution of Washing up liquid (Clean of course, not after doing the Sunday dishes) and use an old Toothbrush and carefully clean around the mount, using the bristles of the brush to get into the setting and CLEAN BEHIND THE STONES.
But beware as too much pressure could ‘Pop’ the stone out of it’s setting, so if in doubt - take it out (of the bowl I mean).
Yet even this has a good point. If you lost it somewhere other than the washing process, not only would you probably never find it, you’d be very annoyed at me for suggesting such a thing in the first place.
Fireplace Decorating Tips for Easter: Give Your Rooms Natural Focal Point an Easter Look
August 27, 2008
Sure you decorate your fireplace and mantel for the winter holidays, but don’t forget this important focal point in your room as Spring approaches. Here are some nearly-instant ideas for springtime and Easter fireplace decorating:
Daffodils in crystal or glass vases on each end of your mantel bespeak the coming of Spring. Tie a wired chiffon ribbon in a soft spring hue in a bow around each vase for a nice touch.
March a line of fluffy chicks across your mantel. Five or more chicks, whether stuffed toys, porcelain hens, or craft store chickens, make a cute display.
And speaking of stuffed toys, now is a great time to find those old stuffed bunnies and ducks and turn them into mantel ornaments. Add Easter grass, and scatter decorated eggs along the mantel to keep them company.
Tie wired gingham-checked ribbons into bows, and attach them to the edge of your mantel. Let the ends of each bow hang down various lengths from one to three feet. At the end of each ribbon, open a plastic egg, tape the ribbon’s end inside the egg, and force the egg shut. This creates a set of eggs dangling at different heights.
Are Your Airbrush Products Selling? If So, Here Are 3 Ways To Further Skyrocket Sales!
August 26, 2008
One of the biggest challenges faced by airbrush artists are proof of what you say is true! The potential customer is going to find it hard to believe you. Whether it is, if you can do the work, whether they think you are charging them too much, or it is simply that you are artistic, potential customers are going to find it hard to trust you.
Ask satisfied customers to leave a Testimonial
If you can convince the customer to trust you, then it will be easier for you to make money airbrushing. So how do you get a potential customer to trust you? Well the most powerful way to get them to trust you is by testimonials. There is limit as to what you can say about yourself, without looking too arrogant! But when someone else says it, or if you prove yourself by "demonstration", making money is yours for the taking, and, it will be on your terms. So when customers buy from you, get them to write about the service you have given.
Use Stuff Ins to increase sales
Rules for Writing Poetry
August 25, 2008
You’ve been writing poetry since that first assignment in your high school writing class. You know the rules about writing poetry, right? Are there rules? Well, if you frequent the poetry forums across the Internet as much as I do, you’d find that there are a lot of amateur poets who adamantly declare that there are no rules for writing poetry and if someone even suggests reading poetry or books on poetry, many of the amateur poets will throw up a defensive front. My opinion seems to swing fervently toward the opposition. You have to know the rules before you break them; at least that’s what I always say.
I know that writing a sonnet in iambic pentameter is an art that has been buried in the tombs of the renaissance, but understanding it, along with the numerous other dying closed forms of poetry, is a powerful tool when writing that prosy contemporary piece. Being a great poet demands an intricate understanding of the way in which language works its edges into a reader’s conscience. A poem is a mosaic of sounds, syncopations, and images. All of the little fragments of a poem must work together in a unified fashion to culminate in something refreshing and new.
Wildlife Scouting Cameras
August 24, 2008
For years I wondered how big the bucks were that were roaming our property in the dark of night. After all, I knew that monster bucks had to be eluding me during the daylight hours only to roam the woods at night. In an attempt to reveal these mysterious nocturnal monsters I purchased a scouting camera in 1996.
After a couple of years of using the camera I was very disappointed. The camera worked fine and we had many pictures of deer, but they were the same does and spike bucks that I was seeing during the day. Something must be wrong; I knew that there had to be big bucks stalking the hillsides at night. After all, everyone always said “you know there is a big one in there somewhere”.
After many rolls of film and an equal number of anxious trips to retrieve developed pictures, I came to realize that there simply were not any mystical trophy bucks roaming our property.
This scouting camera was the proof that I needed to convince myself that the problem was not nocturnal deer but it was actually a deer management problem.
Valentines Day Rapport
August 23, 2008
How to develop and heighten rapport on Valentines Day beyond your wildest dreams!
With Valentines day on the doorstep for another year here is way of enhancing those romantic occasions. In thinking about something pertinent to Valentines, I thought I would write about a topic that fascinates me; developing rapport.
Fundamental techniques in NLP show people how to do physical things like match and mirror body language, which I think is fairly well documented these days. I had a local newspaper advertising salesman come along to my centre recently to talk about advertising and I was amazed at how blatantly and obviously he mirrored every movement I made. It verged on being uncomfortable! If you are going to match and mirror, you can match body language with more subtlety.
You do not have to copy every crossing of the arms with a crossing of the arms yourself. You can intimate a crossing movement with your fingers much more gently. You can also then look at matching the speed and rhythm of speech, match the rate of breathing and general tempo of that person.
