Start a New Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is a unique American tradition that was officially set as a national day of celebration the 3rd Thursday of the month of November by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It is a day in which we celebrate the pilgrim's safe arrival to the new World.

While the celebration continues with some of the original theme of giving thanks, face it, for most of us, Thanksgiving is the start of the flurry of the holiday season, filled with extra duties, and endless errands and a never ending list of things that must be done. We are often stressed and exhausted as a result.

What if this Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season had a different outcome for you?

What if your Thanksgiving is the start of a season of renewal, restoration and a return to a time of magic and miracles instead?

This is very possible with a few soul and energy strategies. Here is the first step along with some ideas that I have used to help you start a new tradition for yourself.

Let's start with a personal promise that you will not allow yourself to be exhausted, over extended or depleted. That would be a road less traveled for most of us. Here is a tip that will change everything for you? Start the season with a soul strategy with a plan for appreciating, taking care and serving your needs before you take care of other people needs, expectations and requests.

Take some time to be self (full) sometimes seen as selfish. Not in the way that you forget about the needs of others but in but in the way in which you truly appreciateyourself. Take time out to serve your own needs.

Consider these words from Oprah, who does so much for others. She asks herself this question to guide her actions. "What can I do right now to serve MYSELF, THEN others?"

We forget that we have to drink from the well first in order to be able to serve others. Your soul's request is to fill up your own cup from the divine well of universal energy first.

What does this look like? Well it may be scheduling an extra massage a few days before the meal or going to lunch with a friend to share a few strategies and laughs.

Perhaps it is taking things off your list, hiring a house cleaner to come in for a few hours or asking your daughter- in- law to bring a few extra dishes.

It can also be giving away the need to be perfect and allow your meal to be less formal or the house to be not as clean as you normally would have. What if you spent time finding just the right poem to read at the dinner table or rented a fun movie for yourself after guests left that would be a treat for you to watch? These were a few things I have done that have worked well for me. So, brainstorm a few minutes and come up with a list and plan of your own. Then follow through on it.

Face it, for most of us, any focus on ourselves is frowned upon. But, taking care of ourselves extends beyond being selfish, it is soul-filled. Our culture doesn't teach that instead we are trained early on that we have value only when we serve others. But the truth is we can only give what we give to ourselves first. If we have value, appreciation, gratitude and thankfulness for our own lives we have plenty to share with others, without the well going dry.

Katherine Allen has emerged a leader in the soul-led spiritual mentoring in helping women over 40 to make transformational shifts with lasting results to design their lives from soul purpose and passion. She is uniquely qualified in both the intuitive arts and the sciences. She holds a BA in Art, Health and Sociology, a Professional Interior Design degree, certification in Feng Shui, shaman training with Lynn Andrews since 1990, certified yoga instructor and certified in the Courageous Coaching Method by Kendall Summerhawk, of IAWBC.org. She has an engaging, simple to understand approach in sharing how universal and big ideas can make an impact in our daily lives. Her no-nonsense, humorous and compassionate perspectives are a joy. Please visit Katherine's website at http://www.yoursoulbiz.com/ and read her blog at http://www.YourSoulBiz.com/blog

Chicago Joins President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge to Reduce Energy Use and Save Money

Chicago Joins President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge to Reduce Energy Use and Save Money | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Chicago Joins President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge to Reduce Energy Use and Save Money June 5, 2012 - 2:26pm Addthis NEWS MEDIA CONTACT(202) 586-4940

CHICAGO  – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel at an event in Chicago today to announce that the city is joining the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge, part of the initiative launched last year by President Obama to catalyze investment in commercial and industrial building energy upgrades and support new jobs across the country.  As a partner in this national initiative, Chicago is committing to reduce energy use by 20 percent across nearly 24 million square feet of public and private building space within the next five years. The Better Buildings Challenge supports the Obama Administration's  blueprint for an economy built to last, reducing energy costs in buildings – which last year consumed more than 40 percent of all the energy used by the U.S. economy – while boosting American competitiveness in the global clean energy race.

“Investments in energy efficiency are making the American economy more competitive by creating jobs, growing industries, reducing energy bills for families and businesses, and protecting our air and water,” said Secretary Chu. “By joining the Better Buildings Challenge, Chicago is not only leading by example, but is also better positioning the city in the global economy by saving millions in energy costs.”

At the event in Chicago, Secretary Chu and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made the announcement and highlighted the building owners in downtown Chicago that are stepping up to meet the Better Buildings Challenge.  Chicago plans to upgrade 10 million square feet of City-owned buildings and nearly 14 million square feet of privately owned buildings that have partnered with the City.  The City of Chicago and its partners will share their most successful energy-saving strategies and solutions so that others can follow.

The energy to operate the buildings in which we work, shop, and study costs the U.S. approximately $200 billion annually. By taking steps to be energy-efficient, buildings and manufacturing plants nationwide can reduce their energy use by more than 20 percent. The goal of the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge is to encourage building upgrades that will make America’s buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade, reducing energy costs for American businesses and local governments by more than $40 billion. 

The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative launched by President Obama in December 2011 that calls on chief executive officers, university presidents, and state and local leaders to reduce their portfolio-wide energy use by 20 percent by 2020 and to share the results of their energy reduction strategies. To date, the more than 60 organizations partnering with the Energy Department for the Better Buildings Challenge have committed to improve the energy efficiency of more than 1.6 billion square feet of building space, in addition to reducing energy waste across more than 300 manufacturing facilities and committing nearly $2 billion in energy efficiency financing.  For more information please visit the BetterBuildings Challenge website.  

Addthis Related Articles Chicago Joins Better Buildings Initiative Secretary Chu and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to Make Energy Efficiency Announcement City of Houston Joins Better Buildings Challenge, Partners with Energy Department to Reduce Energy Waste and Boost Efficiency What We Do For You Energy EconomyEnergy Economy InnovationInnovation Nuclear Security & SafetyNuclear Security & Safety Energy.gov Careers & InternshipsContact UsEmail Updates Popular Topics SavingsHeating & CoolingIndustrial Heating & CoolingSolarHome WeatherizationAppliances & ElectronicsAbout this siteWeb PoliciesPrivacyNo Fear ActInformation QualityOpen GovEnergy DepartmentBudget & PerformanceDirectives, Delegations & RequirementsFOIAInspector GeneralPrivacy ProgramSmall BusinessFederal GovernmentThe White HouseUSA.gov

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Room for One More, Australian Immigration

The Australian way of life was irrevocably changed by the large scale immigration of the post-war years. Although straining many of Australia's resources in such areas as food, housing and education, roads and transport, hospitals and social services, the benefits were innumerable.

Rapid economic and industrial development was possible because of the increased manpower available; political growth occurred to meet a wide range of needs, and Australia's export/import trade changed largely due to the interests and requirements of our migrant population. Socially, the Australian way of life became more colourful and vigorous - creating a larger Australian tolerance of ethnic differences - a direct result of the stimulus provided by many and varied cultures.

Australia's economic position changed rapidly during the early post-war immigration. Whether the migrants were displaced refugees; British families and ex-servicemen assisted with fare subsidies, or single men brought here to contribute their specific skills, all contributed to this post-war economic boom. Many early arrivals were building workers who quickly reduced the backlog of desperately needed residential and commercial building - and in turn created an ever-increasing demand for extra housing for their own families.

The next wave came to work in the rapidly growing area of heavy industry, like the steel works at Port Kembla; and Government projects, such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme - the immense hydroelectricity and irrigation complex. Others came to join the workforce in mines, timber mills and the ever-expanding manufacturing businesses springing to life to service these many and varied industries.

A notable change in these post-war years was the rapidly growing number of women in the workforce. Some European women worked because of necessity, others because of a burning ambition to 'make good' in this new country. At the same time, the number of Australian women in the work-force also increased rapidly, following women's involvement during the war years due to lack of manpower. After the war, many more women saw the benefits to be gained by the extra income, and chose the dual roles of motherhood and 'working woman'.

Fears that the immigration of many unskilled workers would lower the overall standard of Australian life, and create a 'lower working class' society, proved unwarranted. Instead, many Australians moved up into better paid 'white collar' jobs, due to the economic expansion. One of the negatives was the number of highly qualified workers who either had no papers from their own countries to prove their worth, following all the upheaval of war in Europe - or were let down by their poor grasp of English, making them sound ill-educated.

Politically, the effects of immigration were also felt. The formation of the Democratic Labor Party was a direct result of fears held by various nationalities from Europe of the potential for Communist take-over of the Australian Labor Party, as they had seen happen in their former countries. Many Trade Unions would also change and adapt to meet varied demands by overseas-born members, who often constituted up to 60% of an individual union.

Socially, Australia's traditional insular attitude has been reversed and truly enriched by its migrant population. One of the many positive effects has impacted our eating preferences. A broad range of European and Asian food items are now commonplace in most homes - Italian pizza, pasta and Parmesan cheese; German black breads, sausages, and sauerkraut; Polish salamis and dill pickles; Lebanese pita bread; Greek philo pastry; Chinese stir-fry vegetables, noodles and Soy sauce; Turkish shish-kebabs; Dutch, French and Scandinavian cheeses; Danish pastry; Swiss confectionery - the list is endless.

The variety of wines, and wine production itself, saw huge expansion, as well as a more discerning desire by Australians to appreciate and enjoy complimentary wines with meals, as well as for simply socializing. At the same time, restaurants providing cuisine from all around the globe, sidewalk cafes, and exotic nightclubs emerged in all cities and suburbs.

Entertainment is another area that has expanded and flourished due to our multi-cultural society. There are now many wonderful ethnic celebrations, enjoyed by all Australians. Here in South Australia, some particular favourites are - the German Schutzenfest, Greek Glendi, Cornish Kernewek Lowender, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra wine festivals, as well as Chinese New Year parades and celebrations. The Adelaide Festival of Arts provides a venue for a large range of folk music, dancing and song from all parts of our world. Ethnic radio stations, television channels, and newspapers and magazines inform, educate and enlighten us about differing attitudes and life-styles.

The most interesting effects are still evolving - in particular the effect of mixed marriages. Apart from the changes in attitudes of the couples themselves, their families and friends will also learn and grow from the exchange and intermingling of ideas, traditions and beliefs of the different cultures. And, in the children, the potential exists for whole-hearted tolerance and acceptance of all other races, because of the children's own mixed cultural heritage. This has certainly been my first-hand experience, as an Australian married to a Danish immigrant who arrived in Australia with his family in 1956. All of the attitudes in our immediate family have been altered and widened considerably by the combining of our cultures, and these effects have rippled outwards through our extended family, friends and acquaintances.

It is to be hoped that all Australians, (both old and new) follow their lead, and accept, appreciate and enjoy each others' individual contribution to our 'lucky' country.

© 2012 Christine Larsen All Rights Reserved Worldwide

The individual stories of Australia's immigrants are as varied as their nationalities. Perhaps you would like to the read about the background to just one immigrant family - mine by marriage -

Heroes?...They Didn't Think So

Obama Administration Announces Clean Coal Research Awards for Universities Across the Country

Obama Administration Announces Clean Coal Research Awards for Universities Across the Country | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome Obama Administration Announces Clean Coal Research Awards for Universities Across the Country June 6, 2012 - 12:18pm Addthis News Media Contact(202) 586-4940

WASHINGTON, D.C.— As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy, the Energy Department announced that nine universities have won awards for research projects that will continue to support innovation and development of clean coal technologies. The awards, which will leverage student-led teams across the country as they continue research and development of new technologies and materials that will advance clean coal energy production, are part of the Administration’s focus on ensuring we can rely on a broad range of energy sources as we move towards a clean energy economy.

“Advancing the development of clean coal technologies is an important part of President Obama’s strategy to develop every source of American energy and ensure the United States leads the world in the global clean energy race and continues to take advantage of domestic resources here at home,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.  “These university research projects will help build on extensive progressive made by this Administration to promote innovative technologies that help make coal-fired energy cleaner and more cost-competitive, while training the next generation of scientists and engineers in cutting-edge clean coal technologies.”

The projects announced today at the nine universities will each receive approximately $300,000 to spur the next generation of trained scientists and engineers from universities across the nation to focus on the development of high-temperature, high-pressure corrosion-resistant alloys, protective coatings, and structural materials for advanced coal-fired power plants and gas turbines. Research projects will also develop new processes and computational design methods to develop these materials, improve efficiency and reduce the costs of cleaner power generation systems. The Energy Department’s $2.7 million investment will be leveraged with additional funds from the universities to support $3.1 million in total projects.

Today’s awards are part of a more than $5 billion investment strategy by the Obama Administration in clean coal technologies and R&D. This strategy, which has attracted over $10 billion in additional private capital investment, is designed to accelerate commercial deployment of clean coal technologies – particularly carbon capture and storage (CCS) – and to position the United States as a leader in the global clean energy race.

Thanks in part to this strategy, the United States is currently leading the world in CCS technologies. In fact, last week, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in its semi-annual “Race to First” ranking of the world’s most advanced large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, announced that the United States was in first place. Topping the list was a project led by Pennsylvania-based Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. – an effort spurred by investments made by the Energy Department in 2010. 

This announcement shows growing momentum for CCS in the U.S. For example, earlier this year, CPS Energy of San Antonio – the largest municipally owned utility in the United States – signed the first agreement in the country to purchase low-carbon power from a commercial-scale coal-based power plant with carbon capture.  The Midland-Odessa- based project – the Texas Clean Energy Project – will be the cleanest coal power plant in the world when it becomes operational in 2015.

In addition, the Energy Department is leveraging investments in clean coal technologies to study and demonstrate ways to continue improving the economics of clean coal projects through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects.  With EOR, companies can use captured carbon to help develop marginal oil wells and further increase domestic oil production.

President Obama’s sustained all-out, all-of-the-above commitment to American energy also includes the safe and responsible production of our oil and natural gas alongside the development of clean, renewable American energy resources. Today, American oil production is at the highest level in eight years, and last year the U.S. relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. And over the past few years, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, with the U.S. reclaiming the position as the world’s leading investor in clean energy in 2011.

The projects selected for awards include:

Brown University (Providence, R.I.)Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.)Indiana University, in partnership with Purdue University and Praxair Surface Technologies (Indianapolis, Ind.)Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, Ill.)Texas Engineering Experiment Station (College Station, Texas)University of North Texas (Denton, Texas), in partnership with University of Idaho (Moscow, Idaho)University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)University of Toledo (Toledo, Ohio)

Complete project descriptions can be found HERE.

Addthis Related Articles U.S. and Italy Sign Agreement to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies DOE Announces Restructured FutureGen Approach to Demonstrate CCS Technology at Multiple Clean Coal Plants Adding “Utilization” to Carbon Capture and Storage What We Do For You Energy EconomyEnergy Economy InnovationInnovation Nuclear Security & SafetyNuclear Security & Safety Energy.gov Careers & InternshipsContact UsEmail Updates Popular Topics SavingsHeating & CoolingIndustrial Heating & CoolingSolarHome WeatherizationAppliances & ElectronicsAbout this siteWeb PoliciesPrivacyNo Fear ActInformation QualityOpen GovEnergy DepartmentBudget & PerformanceDirectives, Delegations & RequirementsFOIAInspector GeneralPrivacy ProgramSmall BusinessFederal GovernmentThe White HouseUSA.gov

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Belize: The Magnificent Booby Birds

The Red-Footed Booby is a species within the Pelican family that lives in tropical coastal areas. This Booby Bird is also found on tropical islands in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, excluding Africa's Atlantic side.

In Belize the Booby is most often found out on the Cayes, most notably Half Moon Caye, part of which, in 1928, was gazetted as a Crown Reserve Bird Sanctuary under the Crown Land Ordinance. The Crown Sanctuary Reserve was specifically dedicated to protecting the Red-Footed Booby Bird. The Crown Reserve was the first and still is the oldest area designated for the protection of wildlife in Belize.

Half Moon Caye is currently home to a colony of about 4,000 plus birds including the Booby Bird. Boobies like to nest in very large colonies among the orange-flowered Ziricote thicket. At the western end of Half Moon Caye one has a spectacular view of the Boobies from an observation deck.

The Booby mother will lay only one light blue egg in her nest, which is made from sticks. Using their feet both Booby parents will take turns incubating their eggs for about 44 to 46 days then the babies will learn to fly about 3 months after hatching. Boobies must use their feet to incubate their eggs as they do not have a brood patch. Mating Booby pairs may remain together over several seasons though they do not stay together for life.

The Boobies love of the Ziricote trees is not a one-sided relationship. The Booby colony actually supports the forest's stability with their droppings which the forest uses as fertilizer. This very unique relationship between Booby and Ziricote has and will continue to endure for many future years if it is left alone as nature intended.

The Booby has a very unique variety of color morphs, unlike other seabirds. The Boobies on Half Moon Caye are made up almost entirely of white-colored birds with some black markings on the tips of their wings. Elsewhere Boobies are a light brown and looking into the flock you may see a white-tailed brown morph or a Red-Footed Booby that is entirely brown. Despite plumage differences, all of these adults will have the same characteristic: red feet.

Being a coastal bird it is no surprise that Red-Footed Boobies eat fish. Like many fishing birds Boobies will dive into the ocean at high rates of speed from the air to catch prey in the water. Their diet has a main makeup of small fish and squid which will sometimes swim in large numbers close to the water's surface.

The Red-Footed Boobies in Belize are the smallest of all the nine Booby bird species in the world. There are three Booby bird species in Belize: the Masked, Red-Footed and the Blue-Footed Booby. The Red-Footed Booby is about 28 inches in length and has a wingspan of just over 3 feet. The Boobies' 3 foot wingspan makes them very powerful and agile fliers, however, they are known for clumsy takeoffs and landings.

A trip out to Half Moon Caye to see these magnificent birds will be an experience you will remember for the rest of your life!

Anthony Benjamin, an avid writer, world traveler and a great lover of nature. He would like for you to check-out his latest book: http://www.amazon.com/Belize-Wildlife-Barrier-Fishing-ebook/dp/B007E2SFNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336140932&sr=8-1

9 Essential Steps For iPhone App Development

Developing an iPhone app is not a big deal. No matter how complex an app maybe, the basic app development steps remain the same throughout. Given below are nine essential steps, using which you can develop basic iPhone apps. Let us take a look at them.

Think of a great concept: You must have a strong concept for the app you are going to build. For this, you must know the preferences of your target audience, and work on a concept that is likely to make an impact on them, when it takes the shape of an app.
Get a Mac: At present, iPhone development tools are available for Mac users exclusively. This leaves you with no other choice, but to work on Mac machines (if you don't have one). You can opt for a Mac mini, if you don't want to spend a lot of money on hardware.
Register yourself with Apple: In order to work with Mac based tools, you must register yourself as an Apple developer. All you need to do is visit Apple's official site, provide your information and agree to their terms and conditions. Once you are registered as an official Apple developer, you can develop any iPhone app and submit it on the iTunes store.
Download SDK and Xcode: As an official Apple developer, you can download the iPhone SDK(System Development Kit). iPhone SDK provides you documentation, sample codes and other helpful stuff to assist you in app development. Also, you must download Xcode, which is a full-featured IDE.
Learn Objective - C: It will be easy for you to learn (and possibly master) the Objective - C programming language for Cocoa. You can find many useful resources online and offline, to learn it. For e.g. you can go for various books, tutorials or approach your programmer friend to learn the programming language.
Code your app: The next step is to code your iPhone app with full dedication. Give it more than your 100% and adhere to the guidelines for app development provided by Apple. Also, do make it bug-free.
Test your app: Testing your app is the most important step. You must ensure that there are absolutely no bugs in your app. Also, test what your app lacks, in terms of meeting the stringent guidelines by Apple.
To test your app, you can use the iPhone Simulator, which comes with the SDK. You simply need to load your app in it and test your app as many times as you want. Alternatively, you can use beta-testing tools such as TestFlight for the same purpose.
Submit on iTunes and wait for approval: When you are satisfied with your app after testing it many times over, you can submit it on the iTunes and wait for approval. The approval process can be quite time consuming and thus, you need to be patient.

Make use of the steps given above and develop innovative iPhone apps for the App Store. Once your app has been approved on the iTunes Store, you can promote it full-fledged and see the money coming in.

For more details, Visit us at MyFirstiPhoneApp - A Custom iPhone Application Development Company.

Future Nano Tech Solution - Engine Compartment Oil and Grease Leak Stopping Compounds

Not long ago, I was talking to an airframe and power plant mechanic and he had to go out on his day off and take care of an oil leak that spooked one of the pilots during his preflight. It turned out that is it was a simple problem, and it was fixed right away, but if he hadn't gone out on his day off during the weekend, the aircraft would've been grounded. It turns out the oil leak was nothing too serious, but the pilot was unsure, and for his own safety, and the safety of the very expensive $6 million aircraft he chose to not fly it.

Okay so let's talk about this for second, because maybe some of these oil leaks should be fixing themselves. Back in the old days of the radial engines, there used to be a joke that if the airplane wasn't leaking oil, that was a really bad sign, and you shouldn't fly it. In other words, they weren't supposed to leak oil, but in the modern age, we want everything to work perfect all the time, and if oil is leaking, that is almost as if the human body is bleeding, and there is a problem somewhere, a problem which needs to be looked at. We can all understand that right?

Still, what if we had a future nano tech solution for this problem? Perhaps we could put nanoparticles at all the fittings, and along the hoses, it might be a coating of some type. When there was an oil leak all the nanoparticles would get together and swarm the leak to stop the bleeding so to speak? Right now, we have bioengineered blood which coagulates very quickly and seals up wounds for soldiers. This of course is applied by a human, perhaps a medic, self-medicating, or by one of the soldier's buddies on the battlefield. Perhaps in the future all of this could be done simultaneously from inside the uniform, but I digress.

It's not that the digression wasn't needed, or shouldn't have been stated however, because if we took that same theory of that obvious future innovation and applied it inside the cowling of an aircraft we could essentially do the same thing; self-healing oil leak fixing. Perhaps we should be thinking about this for pipelines, water lines, engines, and a host of other things. It makes sense, and future smart materials should be able to do this.

After all we have self-cleaning windows, and titanium dioxide which automatically cleans stainless steel kitchen equipment. It's not such a far-fetched idea. Therefore, I ask that you please consider all this and think on.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

The Key Benefits of Political Blogs

The most important aspect of choosing a news source to stay current on the news is: Are they reliable. Can you trust them? Do they tell you the truth and not just the news.

With the information age in full swing, we have many options for news, from social media, online videos, many thousands of news sites. But what are the best sources for news?

You'll need to cover a lot of ground quickly with the information and news that current media and talking heads provides. And it really is hard tell if the story you are reading is getting you not only the facts but to the core of the story as quickly as you can. With the information age upon us it is quit easily to get inundated with just that: information and really nothing that will get us where we need to go.

Political Blogs, when well chosen are a big help. There are many sides and many that may be based on your political position: Conservative? Liberal? Are you somewhere in between?

It is a good idea to get linked up via twitter, your phone or PDA with a major news source that is known for giving accurate information and top stories. A simple example: I know a friend that likes to hear about USA news from none other than the BBC, if you can believe that. NPR will get you connected to major 'behind the scenes' looks and views of common stories you may have heard about but not the whole story.

Then we have the blogs. What you'll get with these really are the true experts if you pick something sanctioned by Universities or connected to accurate news reporting sites, i.e. NPR who have access to experts in a field but just are not trying to sell ad space.

And going deeper into the trenches you'll find some niche blogs that really have a bone to pick or a serious issue at hand that they need to address. Even blogs that handle and cover up and coming movements as things are changing constantly today in the world of politics and current events.

It is with these blogs you can potentially get the briefs you need, the truth and an insight on any grass roots movements that may be in fact creating news rather that just reporting it.

And lastly with all of this, you can narrow things down to the stories (told truthfully) that really matter to you and not just to a newscaster or news media Company's income.

I sincerely hope this article helps you in finding the news you need and as efficiently as you can, as there is always two sides to every story and many stories at that. I have found picking the right twitter account to follow with a few other choice social media accounts got me started. Then searching online until things started lining up. Then it was a simple matter of book marking and subscribing to the appropriate sources. Thanks again for reading, good luck at staying informed.

You can find a lot of great information on political blogs and other similar political commentary sources. So do your research and bookmark your favorite blog news resource today.

How to Use SMTP Relay Service With Android Mobile Devices - Quick Guide in 4 Steps

If you want to send an email while travelling you may encounter a serious problem. While changing location you probably change a network which connects you to Internet. So if you try to use Outlook (or any other email client) to sent an email from some hot spot at the airport with your usual settings - you will most probably be blocked. SMTP relay service is a solution for that.

This simple guide will help you with exemplary setting up your android phone or tablet to work with SMTP service. You just need to have an account in one of available services. To learn more about the service and how to get it just follow the ling at the bottom of the article. There are a lot of SMTP relay services - just search Google for one of them.

So, if you have your account - let's get to the guide itself!

1. Adding a new email account in your phone.

Just go to your email app and add a new account. Probably you will have to put your email address registered on your chosen SMTP service and a password for your account. Then click on Manual setup.

2. Choose pop3 as an account type.

3. Incoming mail server settings.

You have to put some data about your email. Typically you can get them from your email service provider - for example your ISP. You will need your username, a password, a pop3 server address, a proper port number and security type. All of them should be checkable for you on your email service provider's site. But I've got a tip for you: ask Google this way: pop3 port settings site:[your email service provider domain]. For example type this query for AOL account into Google search: pop3 port settings site:aol.com. One of the few first pages should have your settings displayed!

4. Outgoing mail server settings.

This is the most important part. Usually you would also use the settings from you email service provider. But to be able to use all the goods of your new SMTP relay service account, we will use its SMTP server address as an outgoing mail server. Remember that you need to have an account first. There are also free options available, so you can test the usefulness of this. You need to check the address of SMTP server provided by your chosen SMTP relay service. Set this as an outgoing mail server. The port number should also be checked on your service providers site. There is a good chance however, that 2525 will do the job. In some cases it might be 25, 8025 or 587 also but probably 2525 will work just fine. Follow the link at the end of this guide for more details on this. As for the security type and Require sign-in part - check those also on your providers site. As a username and password you should probably type your account data.

And that's it. Now just add a name for your new account. Anywhere you are you will be able to send an email without being blocked. And you will not have to change this settings every time you change your location and a network you are connected to.

More info
This simple guide should be enough for you to set things up to work, but if you would like to get some more detailed guide with screenshots - here is the link for you: www.smtp2gohow2.com/how2/smtp2go-on-android-phone/.
Check it out to learn more.
To get some other great guides on using SMTP2GO, get your free SMTP2GO account or purchase one of the available plans, visit our home page: http://www.smtp2gohow2.com/