Shooting Stars

Posted by Simon on September 27, 2009 under Free eBooks, It Is Believable, This Really Makes You Think . . ., You should Try this | 2 Comments to Read

If you are a serious astronomy fanatic like a lot of us are, you can probably remember that one event in childhood that started you along this exciting hobby. It might have been that first time you looked through a telescope. But for many of us, it was that first time we saw a rain of fire from the sky that we eventually came to know as a meteoroid shower.

At the time when you see the first one, it’s easy to remember the movie “war of the worlds” or some other fantastic image of aliens entering our atmosphere in droves to take over the planet. But with some guidance and explanation of what was going on, we eventually learned that these showers were not at all threatening or any kind of invasion. For the most part meteoroid showers are harmless, part of nature and very fun to watch.

So what are these strange lights in the sky? Are they aliens invading from Mars? Are the comets coming to start the next ice age? Or perhaps asteroids burning up as they enter the earths atmosphere. The answer to the above questions is no to the first and “yes and no” to the other two.

A meteoroid is actually a small piece of space rubble, usually dust or small rocks that come from either a comet or the break up of an asteroid in space and that eventually plummets toward the earth. We say “toward the earth” because the lights you see are the friction of the atmosphere burning up those small space tidbits and creating a spectacular show for all of us as they do so. A particularly exciting moment to witness is when a meteoroid breaks up or explodes on entry. A meteoroid that explodes is called bolides.

There are some interesting details about the life of a meteoroid that make the viewing of shooting stars even more fun. To be seen, a meteoroid only needs to weigh as little as a millionth of a gram. But the thing that makes them so spectacular to see is the tremendous speeds they reach as they enter the atmosphere. Before burning up, a meteoroid will reach between 11 and 74 kilometers per second which is 100 times faster than a speeding bullet.

We tend to think of t seeing a shooting star as a freak event and we associate it with superstition (hence, wish on a lucky star). But there are actually thousands of them every year so it really isn’t that rare to see one. In fact, scientists tell us that over 200,000 tons of space matter enters the atmosphere each year and burns up on entry.

Comets are a big source of meteoroids because of the nature of those long tails. A large amount of dust, ice and other space debris gets caught up in a comet’s tail as it moves toward the sun. Then as the comet moves away from the sun in its orbit, tons of this matter is thrown off into space to disperse. As the Earth moves in its routine orbit around the sun, it often crosses through clouds of this discarded matter which becomes one of those “meteor showers” that are so popular for viewing.

These showers of shooting stars are pretty easy for astronomers to predict so you can get into position to see the excitement at just the right time of night and be looking at the right area of the night sky. Usually the astronomy magazine or site will give you a general time and location to be ready to look when the meteoroids start to fall.

Now keep in mind, this is a phenomenon of nature, so it may not observe the time table exactly. Also note that there is a notation system for where the meteoroid shower will occur based on what constellation is its backdrop. The section of the sky to focus on for the show is called the “radiant” because that is where the entering meteoroids begin to glow or radiate. The radiant is named for the constellation it is nearest too. So if the meteor shower is going to occur in the constellation of Leo, then its radiant will be called Leonid. This will help you decipher the listing of asteroid showers in the publications.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Simon is typically a normal laid back guy who just can’t sit still and has a curiosity that runs wild. His mind is constantly churning, thinking of material to write and what would be the best subject. Be certain, if nothing else to subscribe to the RSS feed from the blog page or to be certain you do not miss nothing new subscribe to his weekly newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE or if you just want to sent Simon a note then Email Simon.. It is a known fact that there is nothing so well researched or diverse than what you read here in this blog so certainly be sure to stay tuned for much more. Good Day!

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Become Your Own PC Repairer

Posted by Simon on September 20, 2009 under Free eBooks, This Really Makes You Think . . ., You should Try this | Be the First to Comment

If you are like me, you have probably owned quite a few personal computers. You are sure to have had the occasional problem, and rushed the machine off to the repair shop. At the time, the cost of repairs may have seemed a bit high in proportion to the original cost of the machine, and you might not have been quite sure what was actually done.
You can learn to do your own diagnosis and repair work. It is worth while knowing what is going on inside the box, even if you do not do the work yourself. With a good understanding of the likely causes of the hardware problems, you can be a lot more confident that the repairs carried out were reasonable and necessary.
To begin with, a good source of technical information is necessary. You can always ask at your local electronics shop, but if you really don’t know what you are talking about, the embarrassment can be a big turn off. There is an excellent book available called ‘Upgrading and Repairing PCs’ written by Scott Mueller. This is the most complete and most readable ‘how-to’ book I have found, and if you only buy one book on the subject, Scott’s is the one to get you hands on.
The next step is to choose a few projects to get familiar with the hardware. The best way to begin building up your skills is to pull a computer completely apart, and then put it back together. If it still works after that, then you have made a pretty good start. At this stage, you may be thinking ‘hang on a minute, I paid a lot of money for my system – No way am I going to risk messing with that baby’.
No, as a beginner, you definitely should not. You can get hold of some old computers to tear apart and rebuild. Old computers are seen as worthless, and you will find Pentium 1 and 2 machines being discarded as rubbish, even though they are still in good working order. Even a Pentium 3 can be bought very cheaply, and most of these are pretty good performers. A word of warning – be careful how widely you spread the news of you new interest in old computers. You will be surprised how many 486s and older are sitting in cartons in garages and basements; your friends and family will really be delighted to give you an amazing collection of electronic junk.
Get familiar with the various parts, and how they fit together. Learn to identify the different styles of processor chip, RAM, disk drives and other components.
As always, safety is paramount. The computer components themselves operate at low voltages, but you still have the mains strength voltage coming into the back of the computer. Always power off and unplug when you are working on the computer, and be suspicious of any signs of overheating or of burning smells. Enjoy your tinkering.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Simon is typically a normal laid back guy who just can’t sit still and has a curiosity that runs wild. His mind is constantly churning, thinking of material to write and what would be the best subject. Be certain, if nothing else to subscribe to the RSS feed from the blog page or to be certain you do not miss nothing new subscribe to his weekly newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE or if you just want to sent Simon a note then Email Simon.. It is a known fact that there is nothing so well researched or diverse than what you read here in this blog so certainly be sure to stay tuned for much more. Good Day!

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CELL PHONES

Posted by simon on under Free eBooks, I am Reall Poor!, It Is Believable, You should Try this | Be the First to Comment

The amazing technology cell phones have these days is surprisingly growing and developing.

Cell phones started out as an idea for a mobile phone that can be used from a car, within a given range. This was happening back in 1947. Since then, their purpose was achieved and greatly exceeded.

The mane comes from the word cellular combined with the normally used word, phone. Cellular because their whole technology is based on cells of signal. Each cell has as a centre a transmitter that assures the mobility and the great range, almost worldwide, of mobile phones. These transmitters are placed in such a way so that they can form a network with absolutely no uncovered spaces. Not all portions have been covered, but the civilized and populated locations all have mobile phone operators and coverage.

Nowadays, mobile phones try to include as many technological areas as possible. There is no cell phone out there that is only a cell phone. From watching TV to playing games, taking pictures and making movies, from real music to color display, they have it all. Some phones even have Windows from mobile on them, just like PCs. Others can actually compete with game consoles like Nintendo because they are kind of a miniature game console themselves.

The extreme competition out there makes developers want to achieve more and more with their phones. Japan has always been a pioneer in the cell phone industry, they had TV and camera phones long before they appeared in America and Europe. Japanese manufactures and worldwide producers try every day to come up with new things for a cell phone, following a fixed goal: the perfect phone that can stand for all multimedia and communication devices out here, a phone that combines everything from communication to utility and work.

So, in the near future the cell phone might offer us a great surprise. How knows, they may try and develop some kind of holographic graphics. No matter what the next step is, the industry is certainly improving every minute, even as we speak and cell phones have a bright future ahead of them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Simon is typically a normal laid back guy who just can’t sit still and has a curiosity that runs wild. His mind is constantly churning, thinking of material to write and what would be the best subject. Be certain, if nothing else to subscribe to the RSS feed from the blog page or to be certain you do not miss nothing new subscribe to his weekly newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE or if you just want to sent Simon a note then Email Simon.. It is a known fact that there is nothing so well researched or diverse than what you read here in this blog so certainly be sure to stay tuned for much more. Good Day!

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The Extraterrestrials Will Not Call

Posted by simon on September 13, 2009 under Free eBooks, I am Reall Poor!, It Is Believable, This Really Makes You Think . . ., You Should Be Afraid | 3 Comments to Read

The Earth is unique within our solar system. It is the only planet with intelligent life and it has features which suggest that planetary situations similar to ours are quite rare.
Earth falls within what is usually called the life corridor of our sun, which lies within distances ranging from about the orbit of Venus to about the orbit of Mars. Mercury is too hot ever to support life, and the gravity and coldness of the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn Uranus and Neptune) preclude life from arising on them.
Neither Mars nor Venus has produced intelligent life. Mars appears to be too small to hold an atmosphere, and Venus, while about the right size, suffers from a runaway greenhouse effect totally inimical to life.
The gas giants mentioned above do seem to protect the Earth from excessive impact from comets, stray asteroids and the like. Remember Schumacher-Levy 9, the String-of-Pearls comet that impacted Jupiter in 1994? Have no doubt had it impacted the Earth none of us would be here today.
Earth has other special qualities. Firstly, it wobbles. The gentle rocking motion of the Earth during its orbit around the sun gives us our seasons. Secondly, our Moon is the largest satellite in proportion to the size of its planet in our solar system. Large, and relatively close by, the moon gives us our generous tides.
The regular tidal and seasonal rhythms are in my view most likely to give the kind of selection pressures and opportunities to promote the arrival of the earliest life forms capable of emerging from the seas, the first amphibians. If life does not make it to land, then there will be no communicative intelligent life.
As we all know, the Earth has vast oceans of liquid water. Liquid water does function to sustain life, and arguably to allow life to originate in the first place, but it does serve another purpose. Much has been written lately about the problems associated with the greenhouse effect, caused by atmospheric gases absorbing radiation in the infrared band, and causing the Earth to warm unacceptably. We do, however, need some of this effect. With no greenhouse effect at all we would freeze. Water vapour in the atmosphere supplies that necessary level of greenhouse gas to keep the Earth’s surface temperatures liveable. We not only need liquid water, but plenty of it.
Time scales are another problem. We have no information on the survival time for civilisations such as our own, except that we seem to be doing our best to provide some statistical data on that point.
We do know we have had some forms of life here for more than 3 billion years, but we have been here less than a quarter of a million years, and about 100 years with radio communications. We and other intelligent life forms may arrive, flourish and die with no opportunity to contact one another.
We will not be chatting with the Extraterrestrials.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Simon Lalonde is a fanatic blogger who has been in internet marketing for over 5 years and yet is constantly learnig more and more of which he shares in his blogging and news letters. If you want to subscribe to Simons weekly newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE or if you just want to sent Simon a note then Email Simon.
Stay tuned for a wide varity of information and be sure to select the RSS feed so that you do not miss anything.
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XM versus SIRIUS

Posted by Simon on September 6, 2009 under Free eBooks, It Is Believable, Kindle eBooks, This Really Makes You Think . . . | Read the First Comment

The idea of America’s biggest two satellite-radio joining forces has been up in the air for almost four years. Although XM had a year’s start, Sirius came back on the market, eventually with both companies sharing the market in half. So, what’s to choose? XM or Sirius?
First thing’s first. XM and Sirius are based on the same principle, each of them providing music, news, sports, etc. on their channels, but, every service has its ups and downs so we will try to discuss it in this present article. A careful analysis shows that XM Satellite Radio provides a total of 136 streams, where two are premium channels (Playboy and High Voltage), twenty-one are traffic and weather based channels and nine are sport-dedicated ones. On the other hand, Sirius offers a total of 119 streams, the premium streams not being available. Let’s take a closer look now on two – music and news – of the categories that the two major satellites are battling.
Music streams comparison
The number of music streams that both services offer is pretty much the same: 65 on Sirius and 68 on XM Satellite Radio but the difference is not in the number, but in the music genres that the radios offer.
Music – Decades
XM is the absolute champion in providing the music by decades because you can listen to the 40’s music, service not available on Sirius. Still, you can listen to the 90’s hits together with the current hits on Sirius Satellite Radio, which is an interesting feature.
Music – Country
“Ride’ em cowboy!”. Even if you’re not a cowboy, you can listen to country-related songs on both Satellites. Classic country or country hits are to be heard as well as alternative country or country mixes, the last two features being available only on Sirius Satellite Radio. Regarding the number of streams that both Satellites offer, XM offers a total of five streams and Sirius offers four, the champion in this category being XM due to the quality and the quantity of music being played.
Music – Rock
If you are looking for sex, drogs, and rock and roll, Sirius and XM Satellite Radios can only offer you rock and roll, on a number of 14 streams on XM and 15 streams on Sirius. The rock subgenres are to be found in a large number on the stations, overall each service being very strong in this category.
Music – Dance and Latin
If you want to boogie, you can do that on both Satellites, listening to one of the six streams provided by Sirius or four streams provided by XM. Be careful though, because you can become a clubber maniac! And if you’re strong enough, the Latin pop stream, Mexicana and tropical music streams can really drive you crazy. XM Satellite Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio offer three streams.
Music – Other genres
Regarding other genres, both satellites really look up to their prestige, offering hours of hours of music, from Classical to Jazz, even Urban (Sirius feature). Both stations offer high quality tunes, making it worth all the money.
News Streams Comparison
Let’s skip to another interesting topic, news. CNN, FOX, CNBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC and many more news stations are being offered for listening in different languages. The number of streams is again near-by, XM offering a number of 11 news streams, not like Sirius, which offers 13.
Bottom line
It’s pretty hard to say which station is better, XM and Sirius being tied musically but in news and sports, Sirius holding the edge. To make a little joke, if you are a fan of Stern go with Sirius, if you like Q&A go XM. Anyway, it’s hard to say which one is better, but, what can I say is that both Satellites are worth paying for.
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