Sunday, January 8, 2017

DRONE Helicopters

Drone helicopters are increasing in popularity every single year, mainly because of the advances in technology that makes them so appealing but also because they are hitting the market by storm so are freely available. Most drone helicopters are quadrotors, which means that they are lifted and kept up by four separate rotors although you can get some that vary from this. For this reason, many of the designs are known as ‘quadcopters’ which is an amalgamation of the two. 
English: Aeryon Scout UAV system with its cont...
Aeryon Scout UAV system with its controller, missions and support cases (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These devices normally use two different sets of propellers; one set of two will go clockwise with the other set going counter-clockwise. This keeps the device stable when in the air and able to quickly change direction in all conditions. Due to the success of the drones, production actually begun on a larger scale version of the quadcopters but ultimately ended in failure. At first, many people believed that a helicopter would benefit from the counteracting rotors instead of the front rotor and the rear vertical rotor (which actually produces little lift and therefore little help to the taking-off process). Many test vehicles appeared around the world in the early to mid-1900s and were, at first, a success and were many of the early vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. However, this soon came to an end after many problems including poor and inconsistent performance. Improvement was thought to have been made a few years later only to suffer again as the workload of the pilot became too heavy. 

With advancements in technology in recent years, quadcopters have benefitted hugely from additions such as cameras, GPS as well as better and more efficient designs that now allow the user to use the drone inside and outside. These devices are now small and lightweight making it easier to carry around as well as fly. Quadcopters have also been used for research into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as a result of their efficiency. 

Quadcopters are often cheaper than original remote control helicopters because of their size and their lower cost of production. They are also known for causing less damage because they have smaller blades meaning that they produce less kinetic energy. The risk of any damage can also be further diminished with the addition of rotor protection that is available that will not affect the performance of the drone.



It was at the beginning of the twentieth century in 1907 that the first product of this idea came to light when Louis Breguet designed and built a four-rotor helicopter. Though it only flew a few feet from the ground a couple of times, it is widely seen as the first product of its type. It would take over ten years for somebody else to follow up on Breguet’s hard work when a French helicopter designer built a number of different aircraft. One of which was made up of four rotors and up to eight propellers (which included many clockwise but also counter-clockwise). This device started with small flights but could stay in the air for several minutes by 1923. This was seen as a success thus being the catalyst for all future four-rotor vehicles. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

BONSAI Plant Care

Bonsai plants are very similar to Bonsai trees in so far as if you give them a lot of care and attention and keep them healthy you will get a beautiful miniature plant in return. There are many different varieties of plant that you can use to create Bonsai plants. Some plants require very precise care routines to maintain a healthy and aesthetically pleasing plant, but regardless of what breed of plant you are using there are some basic guidelines to follow that will keep your plant in condition. All of these tips will be dependant on the type of plant you buy but are meant as rough guides only.

Crassula ovata presented as an indoor bonsai
Crassula ovata presented as an indoor bonsai (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Temperature.

Indoor Bonsai plants will need protection from the elements during cold weather because many of them are tropical or subtropical plants. The singly most effective form of protection is bringing them indoors. However, if you are planting your Bonsai outdoors you should plant them somewhere where they are protected from wintry conditions. Alternatively it does a plant a lot of good if you put them out for some warm weather when the risk of frost is gone completely. The humidity indoors can cause dehydration of Bonsai plants, which is the biggest killer of these timid plants.

Watering.

It is important to water Bonsai early in the day before the temperature lowers in the evening. The type of plant you have will determine the watering regime you need to undertake. How much moisture the plant needs is a very important factor and you should always water the soil as thoroughly as possible to ensure that all the roots get a good watering.


Light.

Because the sun is at it’s brightest and strongest between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. you should try as far as possible to keep your Bonsai out of the sunlight between these hours. It is also important to remember that electrical items around the house give off a very humid heat that can damage not only the leaves of you Bonsai but can also dehydrate your plants or trees and eventually kill them. It’s also important to alter your watering schedule to meet the demands of increased light, heat and humidity.


You can use fertilizers to help the growth of your Bonsai plants, but it’s best to use mild ones that only contain trace elements. Trees are usually fed during the growing season to help with their growth and shouldn’t be used in either plants or trees during dormant growth periods.




Monday, December 26, 2016

Beginning WINE Tasting

Wine really does deserve some serious attention if you ask me, it’s a lot more than just a drink. It is for this reason that I find it very strange that there is no defined tasting procedure which has a universal acceptance. It is common that the majority of wine tasters follow their own set out plan when tasting and this will vary from person to person. Most of these steps, whilst having their place in the vineyards would be frowned upon at the dining table, they involve a set of steps which to the layperson would appear quite ridiculous. The difference can be akin to that of a persons preference to a particular style or genre of music. 


A demonstration of smelling the aromas and bou...
A demonstration of smelling the aromas and bouquet of wine in the glass as part of wine tasting 
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The world of critical wine tasting is a comparison between a real standard and the wine in question, drinking wine with a meal is greatly different to this and the wine is undoubtedly intended as an accompaniment to the meal and as a “refreshment”. Although there is no doubting the eccentric activities of a wine taster at a dinner party are perhaps not required it is worth admiring and appreciating the great talent and concentration that goes into the true appreciation of wine. From an outsiders view, these strange and sometimes occult like tastings may seem a little over complicated but with a true desire and ability to focus ones attention it is quickly possible to begin to understand and appreciate wine in a more full sense. For the basics of wine tasting we are undoubtedly in debt to the likes of Clarke and Goulden.

Where possible it is advised that you should rinse your mouth clean before tasting a wine, but obviously in a dinner party setting this is not always possible nor desired. I would however, recommend that the beginner use this method, it clears the palette and allows the wine taster to become more familiar with the basic characteristics of the wine being tasted (if in doubt, borrow from the experts!). A more experienced taster will more quickly be able to get the basic qualities of a wine and will often omit this step. Many consider that rinsing with water in this way detracts from the wine and affects palette because the water alters the sensitivity of the tongue and therefore adds a further complication in the whole process. During a long session of tasting it is quite possible that the mouth can become fatigued and therefore this instance lends itself to a revitalization with water.



Wines are best tasted in tulip shaped glasses, with the exception being sparkling wines which require a fluted glass (the elongated type you often see unused in display cabinets!). These style of glasses enhance the sparkling wines natural effervescence. If you don’t have the correct glasses (or enough if you’re having friends round) you can always loan them from a friend. It is important when comparing wines that each glass is filled to the same level (about a third full is the normal) this allows the taster to hold the glass at a steep angle to allow for a nice observation of the colour and clarity but also allows for a nice vigorous swirl of the wine which in turn releases the aromatics in the wine. At dinner party’s it’s also a useful tool when showing off, but beware there is always someone at the party who knows more about wine than you, so credit your fellow guests with some intelligence!





Saturday, December 24, 2016

FAMILY HISTORY Search – A Beginner’s Guide

Searching for one’s family history and constructing the family tree is not as hard as it used to be. In the past, the tedious process begins by interviewing so many people, some of which may have unreliable memories.

Photo: Wikipedia
With the advent of the Internet, one can now use a number of tools and databases to dig your facts and dates. Most people make it a point to make the Internet their first stop in mining for information about their ancestors.

However, things are not that simple. There is no single database yet where you can find all the information about your ancestors and download them.

You need therefore how to use the many tools and databases available. More important, you must also explore other places aside from the Internet and be able to piece together your family history.

The following is a rough road map you need in your search.

Obituaries

Obituary notices are good places where you have a load of information on the family –spouses, siblings, parents, in-laws, even cousins dead or alive. They are also concrete leads to living relatives who are reliable sources of more information.

Death Indexes

Due to money and privacy issues, not all death records are available online. Those that are available are maintained by volunteer or official sources. If you are looking for American ancestors, the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) contains records since 1962. You may try a Google search for a death record specifying counties and states where they lived.

Cemetery databases

Thanks to the volunteers who personally gathered burial data from thousands of cemeteries in the past, we have online cemetery burial records now. Other public cemeteries also have their own burial transcripts already. You can do your search using your family’s surname, the cemetery, and the location in your favorite search engine. RootsWeb is one good source for links to online cemetery databases.

Census records

Many countries now have their census records available online. In the US, the most recent is from the year 1930. Working back through the years, you can start tracing your family roots and add a few generations to your family history records.


Specific locations


Depending on the country or countries you are led into, the next stop would be WorldGenWeb. From here, there will be concrete links to specific locations. Newspaper reports, biographies, or other records specific to your family or ancestor may be had. Other researchers sometimes leave their own posts for the benefit of others.

Online libraries

Using the specific localities you discovered, you can then visit historical or genealogical societies around (http://genealogy.about.com/od/libraries/). Look for “genealogy” or “family history” links. From these, you can search for more resources and other pertinent records.

Message Boards

Message boards, groups and other organizations that have links to your surnames and interests may bring in some other pieces of information not found in other traditional places. However, these groups (Yahoo or Google groups) have to be searched manually and may require membership before you can dig into their archives.

Other related resources

Based on your materials, you can then go forward and check out other specific resources based on your ancestors’ interests or occupation: military service, schools, church, fraternities, civic organizations, etc. You might discover a surprise cache of information.



Related family trees

Many family trees are also published online. Before incorporating those related to yours, bear in mind that these family histories might be incomplete and worse, maybe incorrect. Verify their sources in case they conflict with yours.

Subscription sites

These are the last recourse sites in case your records are still incomplete. They all require a subscription for unlimited access, though. Some sites, however, charge on a pay-per-download basis. They may have some free trial offers that you can use to check out how extensive their databases are.

Other tips

One good habit to develop in researching is to log everything you find – the sites and places where you had been, the information you found, the cross references you may discover and where they came from and lead to, etc. This will eliminate incidents where you are led back inadvertently to the same site.

Doing your family history search is usually fun and exciting. Sometimes, they can be an emotional journey. Having some kind of a road map takes away most of the tedious and boring details.



Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Arabian HORSE

The Arabian horse is an animal which has lived on the Arabian Peninsula for well over 2000 years. These horses were properly bred to demonstrate many traits which were attractive, such as strength, beauty, and endurance. Many experts on horses have concluded that Arabian horses are among the oldest breeds in the world.

Purebred Arabian stallion and one of the found...
Photo: Wikipedia

The Bedouins were a nomadic people who are given credit for first taming the Arabian horse. The Bedouins made every effort to protect the purity of these horses, and many could trace back the lineage of the horses they owned. During this time, it was critical to have a horse which was strong, fast, and courageous. It also had to be capable of surviving in the desert environment. The Bedouin tribes were constantly at war with other tribes in the region, and it was necessary to have a horse which could lead them into battle.

The Bedouins soon gained a reputation for breeding some of the most beautiful horses ever seen. Many people would trade horses with them, and they would get together and share the lineages of the horses which were traded. There are a number of different variations of Arabian horses, which are known as strains. These horses have a common ancestor and look. Some of these are Hadban, Kuhaylan, and Dahman.

 http://bit.ly/1Io82oG
The Arabian horse of one of the most well known breeds in the world. Their heads are shaped like wedges, and they have large eyes and a small muzzle. Arabian horses which have a concave shaped nose are highly prized. The neck of an Arabian horse should be arched, and their legs should be muscular and lean. Their coat should be shiny, and can be likened to silk. Despite this, Arabian horses are often not seen at the highest levels of  show jumping competitions, because it does not have a good bascule compared to other breeds.

Most Arabian horses have a coat which is grey or brown, and some horses also have black coats. Arabian horses with black coats were rare, because in the desert they would absorb heat, and this would be dangerous. Because the Arabian horse is so genetically pure, it is commonly used in enhancing the characteristics of other breeds of horses. Arabian horses have a good temperament, and this also makes them attractive to breeders.

Arabian horses have been used in professional horse competitions for a long time, and Arabian horse games are being held every year in which the horses and their owners can compete with each other.




Sunday, December 11, 2016

American INVENTIONS

The history of how America emerged as the premier superpower in the world is about more than just a great military or a homeland so rich in natural resources that we were able to become the breadbasket of the world.  There are many forces that combined in the American experiment that has made this country so great.  One of those great forces is the phenomenal inventive minds that have graced America virtually since its inception.  Starting with the powerful mind of Benjamin Franklin, the history of inventions that started in America and transformed the world is lengthy indeed.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


The computer has become so much a part of our lives that we forget that it was once invented.  The history of the development of this “futuristic” device is long and filled with genius.  The actual first prototypes of the computer were developed by the Defense Department, which is oddly the source of a lot of the great innovations in American history.  But it was the early PC developers including Steve Wozniac, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates that took the computer to the level of familiarity we know it to be now and made computers a part of our everyday lives.

Most world changing inventions have a profoundly positive influence on mankind’s quality of life.  But an invention that did not improve life but destroyed it is also an American invention that changed the world.  That invention, of course, is the Atomic Bomb.  Developed by the fabled “Manhattan Project”, this bomb changed everything about war, diplomacy and the way nations relate to one another.  And to find a positive amongst all the death the bombings in Japan brought about, that bomb may be one of the key elements that brought an end to a horrific war, World War II.  And in the long run, that is a conflict that the world breathed a sigh of relief when it came to an end.

There is a joke that makes its rounds frequently during political jesting that “Al Gore invented the internet.”  If he had invented it, he would be a world changing inventor for sure.  But it is not out of line to declare that America invented the internet.  Again, the original primitive retypes for what became our modern internet was the work of the American Defense Department as a measure to insure that America’s computer security was guarded by decentralizing the network.  From this simple goal, the vast World Wild Web has emerged that has transformed everything about how we look at communication, information and knowledge.  We have American ingenuity to thank for that.

But of the thousands of American inventions that have done so much in the fields of medicine, technology, research and communications, none can compare to an invention by a brilliant thinker by the name of Henry Ford.  That invention, obviously, is the automobile.  Just like with some of the other inventions we have talked about, we can hardly imagine a time where there was no such thing as an automobile.  



Mr. Ford’s amazing invention literally transformed society not just in America but around the world.  From it came the freeway system and an overhaul to how cities and towns are organized and linked together.  And while there are downsides to the widespread use of automobiles, it has been a huge leap forward for America and civilization as a whole.  And Mr. Ford, like any of the inventors we have talked about and thousands we have not, would see the betterment of mankind as their greatest calling.  America has hosted this great calling for centuries and will continue to produce brilliant inventors such as these for a long time to come.




Thursday, December 8, 2016

Pictures in the Sky - ASTRONOMY

One of the earliest activities we engaged in when we first got into astronomy is the same one we like to show our children just as soon as their excitement about the night sky begins to surface.  That is the fun of finding constellations.  But finding constellations and using them to navigate the sky is a discipline that goes back virtually to the dawn of man.  In fact, we have cave pictures to show that the more primitive of human societies could “see pictures” in the sky and ascribe to them significance.

The Big Dipper constellation, where Hubbard sa...
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Constellations also have been important in culture and navigation long before we had sophisticated systems of navigation.  Early explorers, particularly by sea, relied exclusively on the night sky to help them find their way to their destination.  In fact, when “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492” and “discovered” America, he could not have done it without astronomy and the help of navigation of the cosmos, much of which is made possible because of the important constellations.  

When learning to find the great constellations in the sky, we use the “find one, you found them all” system.  That is because the easiest constellation to find will guide us to the rest of them.  That constellation is The Big Dipper.  Look to the northern sky on a clear night and widen your field of vision from just focusing on one star and it will pretty much jump out at you.  In will look like a big kitchen pot or ladle, right side up in the fall, upside down in the spring.

When you have the big dipper under control, you can pretty easily find the North Star.  This is the star that those ancient sailors depended on the most to find their way to land.  Start with the far edge of the bowl of the Big Dipper, the side that is opposite the handle.  There are two stars that make up that side of the bowl.  So start at the bottom of the pot and mentally draw a line to the top star of the bowl.  These two stars are “pointing” to the North Star.  Just keep following that line, curving a bit with the sky and the bright star that you come to is the North Star.  You can impress your friends or family if you know the scientific name for this star is Polaris.

The North Star can then take you to The Little Dipper.  The key here is that Polaris is the tip of the handle of The Little Dipper and the bowl hangs down from the handle like it was hanging up in the kitchen.  Be patient with this one as the stars that make up The Little Dipper are dimmer than The Big Dipper.  But it pretty cool once you find it.

These are the obvious starting places but from The Little Dipper you can find the constellation known as “The Swan” or Cygnus.  Just use the same system you used to find The North Star but continue drawing that line that started in those pointer stars in the bowl of The Big Dipper.  Go about half as far as you went to find Polaris and you are there.  You will see a trapezoid of stars about as big as The Big Dipper.  This trapezoid forms the tail of The Swan.



That line that we are drawing from the pointer stars is our roadmap to another well known constellation which is Cassiopeia.  If you use that line and imagine you are directly under the two pointer stars, you will se a big “W” just off to the left of the line.  This is the constellation Cassiopeia, the wife of the king of Egypt, Cepheus, in Greek mythology.  There are so many more wonderful constellations to find and a good star map can continue your quest.

Like Cassiopeia, all of the constellations have wonderful stories and myths related to Greek culture.  It is just as fun to find the star clusters themselves as it is to enjoy the rich culture related to that constellation.  For all of the signs of the zodiac, for example, there is a related constellation in the sky.  So whether you are serious about astrology or not, its fun to find the constellation that relates to your “sign” (or that of your children) and be able to see how the ancients related to these pictures in the sky.