Not A Doubt

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Find the Hottest Call Girls in the City

London is the most outstanding place in the world for sightseeing and of course for seductive chicks. The attraction of the escorts that live in the city really makes it the greatest place to book yourself a dainty escort. The call girl market in the city is highly competitive and this makes the escorts who work in the industry try and be as elegant as they can at all times. The alluring escort females come in a variety of nationalities including English and the call girls work most days either in a hotel or the escorts will come to your home.

Escorts in London offer romance to their punters and will spend one hour at a time with the escort for exchange of a fee. The fees for London call girls range from one hundred and thirty pounds per hour to 400 pounds per hour. The booking does not include any taxi expenses or extras such as dinner or bowling. The escorts with Lucy Bond are stuning, the hot escorts are hand selected by the escort firm and have been picked for their intelligence. Add a hint of luxury into your love life and hire an escort from Lucy Bond Escort Agency.

The business is new to the UK capital and have great value fees available for new punters. The stunning escorts from the escort business are all experienced and offer in calls at their house and out calls in your house.

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Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Reality of Industry Associations

In the United States price collusion and predatory pricing are illegal. Yet if you look out to industry associations you often see groups of businesses beginning together and discussing pricing, sales strategies and method of operations. One could say this is price-fixing. Worse off agencies like the Federal Trade Commission often side with businesses in industry associations to work with them in self policing policies. One would suppose that this helps the Federal Trade Commission watch over an industry without spending much time or costs in enforcement.

Unfortunately, for the consumer these industry associations often attack their own; that is to say the industry association and its members will go after the newcomer entrepreneur who comes into the industry gangbusters with low prices. Such a competitive upstart company will make waves in the industry and thus be a target of the association. The association working along with the government agency such as the Federal Trade Commission simply has to have its lawyers who generally are working pro bono as they are already on staff at one of the industry associations members companies turn the Company in on trumped up charges of some rule or regulation.

About the only thing that the Federal Trade Commission is good for use to use to attack your competing companies. You see if the government attacks them, then they are out of the way for you to charge higher prices and continue the collusion with those in the industry association. It’s all perfectly legal, except for one thing the Federal Trade Commission who was sworn to uphold truth, justice in the American way is enjoined whether knowingly or not in the price collusion scheme. If the Federal Trade Commission does so unknowingly then they are stupid. If they do it knowingly they’re breaking the law. Either way this is not a good thing for consumers, the taxpayer or the American public. Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Day Tour in Rome

Purpose of this article is to introduce hidden treasures and places in Rome unknown to the mass but enchanting for their beauty and historical value; advises and reviews on Hotels in Rome.

Planning an Itinerary to Rome can be difficult if you are unsure of what to visit: sometimes it’s better to take a Rome Tour. This article gives some insight to some must places of the Eternal City.
Must see places in Rome:

Piazza della Repubblica
The exedra of the great Imperial baths is the perspective backdrop to the 19th century and modern Rome

Piazza del Quirinale
At the top of the hill that was inhabited by the popes, and then by kings. A mosaical panorama of the rooftops of Rome, among history and legends.

San Giovanni in Laterano
The Piazza and the basilica, a place of connection for the modern city, which encircles the area of the Cathedral of Rome. From the foundation of the basilica to the restoration of Borromini for the Anno Santo 1650. many artistic masterpieces and a cloister of unexpected quit and beauty.

Citt del Vaticano
A State within a State, a city whithin a city. This is the small but precious Vatican Sate. The piazza is like a symbolic embrace to Christians, an enormous concave circle whih has welcomed the faithful for centuries with the same emphasis carried out by the Popes of the Baroque.

Our fully-furnished apartments are the best alternative to standard Rome hotel accommodation, and located in prime spots and close to the monuments and to the underground.

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Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

How To Take Care Of Your Little Angels?

Angelfish have been popular for a long time, and new strains are still being developed. Wild-caught fish are also widely available. Angelfish are cichlids, which mean they can be aggressive, territorial, and predatory. They also have some demanding requirements for space, water conditions, and diet.

Angelfish require space to establish and hold a territory. You can keep one Angelfish in a relatively small aquarium, but they will do a lot better in a group of five or more in bigger tank. You should provide 10 gallons of water for one adult Angelfish.
If you consider keeping Angelfish, locally bred fish are a good choice. They are usually already acclimated to your tap water, and probably are available at your local fish store.

There is a growing number of “basement breeders” all over the country, who bring their fish to the store for sale. This will save you a lot of time and money if you are just starting with Angelfish.

Wild-caught fish are harder to get acclimated to different water conditions. It has to happen very slowly, and at first the conditions should be close to their natural water conditions; slightly acidic, and relatively soft. Water temperature must be maintained between 78 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit for all Angelfish regardless of their origin. They don’t like to get “chilled”; they will suffer and get sick in too cool water.

There are no special requirements for filters, as long as the water stays clean. The only thing to think about is that the water is not flowing too fast. Angelfish are not happy where salmon would be. Thirty percent of the water should be changed at least every two weeks. Also vacuum the bottom to keep it clean and aerated, since Angelfish will not mix the substrate. One option is to keep some bottom dwellers with Angels.

Angelfish generally accept all kinds of food. They are omnivorous, which means they eat meat and plant food. You can offer pellets, flakes, frozen blood worms and brine shrimp, and so on. Avoid too fatty meat to protect the liver from getting cirrhosis. It is a good habit to feed Angelfish two or three times a day a with small amount instead of single large meal. This will prevent digestive problems.

Angelfish can be good community fish. They do need to have appropriate tank mates for everything to work out. Some small fish may end up on the menu, like Neon Tetras, and slower fish may have difficulty to get enough food. Avoid very small fish and choose tank mates with similar temperament, and water condition requirements. Some Angel fish strains have very long fins and tails, which some other species keep nipping.

If you are interested in breeding Angelfish, you will need a second tank to separate the breeding pair from the rest of the community, or to rear the fry. It would be best to get at least 3 to 5 Angels to be sure you get one female and one male. Sometimes you may find a pair of adults for sale, which have already spawned. Angels will form a pair after courtship display, and will aggressively guard the chosen spawning spot. This is usually some kind of vertical surface, a big leaf or tubing for example. Spawning takes about an hour. Both parents keep fanning the eggs for three days until they hatch. The fry will stay attached to the surface for about five days and then start swimming on their own. By this time the fry has used most of its yolk, and needs to be fed for the first time. You can offer newly hatched brine shrimp. It’s wiggling will stimulate the fry to eat better than flake food will, which can be offered crushed.

Parents will take care of the fry, but if any wander away; they will get on the menu of the other fish. This can be prevented by moving the fry to a separate tank. If the fry is well fed and the tank is kept clean, the fry will grow very fast. Then you can start asking from your local fish stores if they would be interested in having your little Angels for sale. Happy fish keeping.

More information about aqurium fish, aquarium plants, aquarium decoration, aquarium filters, and salt water aquariums at http://aquariuminfosite.com

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Friday, August 22nd, 2008

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Dunn is a personal and professional development coach, specializing in emotional intelligence, strengths, and life balance. Visit her on the web at http://www.susandunn.cc.

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Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Forex and Some Important Facts about Bollinger Bands.

Forex trading is nowadays one of the most looked after occupation for many persons of all ages around the world. This is due to its great advantages over other capital markets and its high profitability potential; among these advantages you will find that is extremely easy to access a trading platform from the best forex broker firms thanks to the internet; and also you will notice that Forex has a high liquidity along with a high leverage.

But having a good broker firm and great trading platform is only one part of what you need in order to make your forex trading career a winning and profitable one. You need to have the right knowledge and techniques in order to forecast with the best accuracy what the market will do next. One of the techniques used to predict the Forex market behavior is that based on Bollinger Bands.

These Bollinger Bands are what is called a technical trading tool and they are widely used in the capital markets (including Forex) and were created by John Bollinger in the early 1980s. These bands technique was formulated based on the need for adaptive trading bands and the discovery that the volatility of the markets was a dynamic phenomena, not a static one as was widely believed at the time.

Bollinger Bands consist of a chart of three curves drawn in relation to currency pairs prices. The band situated in the middle is a measure of the intermediate-term trend and is usually a simple moving average, that serves as the base for the upper and lower bands. The interval between the upper, lower and the middle bands is determined by the volatility of the market, typically the standard deviation of the same data that were used for the moving average. The default parameter is 20 periods and two standard deviations above and below the middle band; of course this may be adjusted to suit your needs.

In short, the purpose of Bollinger Bands is to provide a relative definition of high and low price. By definition prices are considered high when touching the upper band and low when they touch the lower band. This relative definition can be used by the Forex trader to compare price actions and as a very useful indicator when the purpose of the trader is to arrive at rigorous buy and sell decisions.

Adrian Pablo is a Forex freelance writer with articles published in a number of places. Get a free report on Fibonacci Trading and learn more about the world of forex trading , visit:

www.1-forex.com

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Saturday, August 16th, 2008

How to Save Laptop Battery Power When You Really Need it

You’ve got a five-hour flight from Los Angeles to New York City, and one battery in your laptop. You’ve got work to do, DVDs to watch, and games to play. How are you going to get that battery to last? Well, hidden inside (and outside) your computer are lots of tricks to help you.

Dimming Your Screen

Your screen and hard drive use up more battery power than any other parts of your computer. You can dim down your screen to a point where your eyes still feel comfortable but you also save energy. On most laptops, you first dim the screen by holding down the “Fn” key (go ahead and find it because you may never have used it before). Then you look for a key on your laptop that either has a picture of a sun or a half-moon. (On my Sony Vaio that key happens to be F5.) If you find it, go ahead and hit it while still holding down the Fn key. A brightness adjustment box should show up on your screen. If you can’t find a key with a sun or half-moon on it, try hitting your various arrow keys while holding down Fn, to see if that works.

Turning Off Your Screen Altogether

If dimming your screen is good for saving battery life, turning it off when you’re not using it is even better. To turn off your screen, we’re going to have to go into some settings in the Control Panel. You’ll soon see these settings are not only good for turning off screens; they perform a whole host of battery saving functions.

Click on Start, then on Control Panel. If your Control Panel is shown in the “Category View,” click first on Performance and Maintenance, then on Power Options. If your Control Panel is in Classic View, simply click on the Power Options icon. Next click on the Power Schemes Tab. Underneath where it says Running on Batteries and across from where it says Turn Off Monitor, choose how quickly you’d like your monitor to shut off when you’re not actively using it.

That Power Options Properties box we just opened brings us to a whole host of other enticing options we can employ on our cross-country flight!

Choosing a Power Scheme

Windows XP offers two Power Schemes appropriate for laptops on the go. These are Portable/Laptop and Max Battery. They can both be chosen in the Power Schemes tab of the Power Options Properties box. Both power schemes conserve battery power. But Portable laptop adjusts what it conserves to the amount of power you need at the time, while Max Battery is much less flexible. It keeps your computer at a very low constant power rate no matter what you may be doing. So if you are planning on watching a DVD on that flight, which uses a lot of battery power, I don’t recommend using the Max Battery power scheme. It might not give you enough power.

Each power scheme also has its own settings for when the monitor and hard disks should be turned off. Remember that both are huge energy hogs, and that both the monitor and hard disk remain on longer under Portable/Laptop than they do under Max Battery.

The power scheme you choose also determines how long the computer will wait to go into Standby mode or Hibernate after remaining idle. Standby conserves energy because it turns off your hard disk and monitor. However, whatever you were working on at the time stays in memory (RAM) instead of being saved safely to your hard drive. The upside of Standby, though, is that when you press any key your computer will come out of the mode rather quickly.

Hibernation saves even more energy because it saves your work to the hard drive and then shuts your computer down almost all the way. Inherently, of course, this means it takes the computer longer to wake up to its normal state, but when everything does come back on, it looks the same as before. To switch your computer to Standby mode manually, click on Start, then on Turn off Computer, then on Standby. To make your computer Hibernate manually, click on Start and Turn off Computer again, but this time hold down the Shift key down afterward. The Standby key switches to “Hibernate.” Click it and your computer will go into Hibernation mode.

Creating Your Own Profiles

Maybe you don’t like the two power saving choices Windows gives you. Maybe you want to create custom ones to suit your own needs. You can do that! I created one for “Long Plane Rides.” I adjusted the settings in the Power Options Properties box. For instance, I indicated I wanted my monitor to turn off after only 2 minutes of idle time, and my hard disks after 3 minutes. Then I clicked on Save As, named my profile, and clicked OK. Now maybe the battery will last even longer on the flight.

Let’s go through some other choices in the Power Options Properties box. Under the Alarm tab, you can check boxes to either be alerted when your battery is low and/or when your battery is critical. You can even use the slider to make your own determination of just what is low and what is critical. Then you can click on Alarm Action to tell your computer to, for instance, sound an alarm or go into Standby mode when those moments are reached.

Under the Advanced tab, you can choose what you want your laptop to do when you close the lid. You can choose it to go into Standby mode, Hibernation, or even do nothing if you wish. You can also choose what you’d like the computer to do when you hit the power button.

If you’re interested in using your laptop’s Hibernation feature you should check the box under the Hibernation tab that says Enable Hibernation.

Turn Off Wireless Network Card

Your wireless card can also be a drain on your battery’s resources, so disable it if you don’t need it. (You don’t need it obviously on a plane, for instance.) If your laptop has a wireless card, simply take it out. If your laptop has wireless built-in, you can disable it in Windows XP by clicking on Start and going to your Control Panel. In Category View, click on Network and Internet Connections, then Network Connections. In Classic View, simply click on Network Connections. Once you’re there, right click on the wireless connection you’re using, and click on Disable. You can also disable your wireless network card through the Device Manager. Right click on My Computer and left click on Properties. Click on the Hardware tab and then the Device Manager button. Next, click on the small black cross next to where it says Network Adapters. Locate your wireless network adapter, right click on it, and left click on Disable.

You can also left click on Properties instead (after you right click on your network adapter), click on the Power Management tab, and check the box that says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.”

Some newer laptops with the Intel Mobile Pentium® chip have a button somewhere on the laptop itself, for instance on the front, to enable you to easily turn your wireless on or off. You may have to check your laptop’s manual to find out if you have a button and if so, where it is.

CPU Throttling

The Intel Mobile Pentium® laptops also sport a feature known as CPU Throttling (and named SpeedStep by Intel), that actually slows down your processor when you’re running on the battery. When you’re plugged into your AC, your processor runs full speed ahead. But when you unplug that cord, it shifts into a lower gear. A processor running at a lower speed and using less voltage saves your battery even that much more juice.

So now you have a number of tools to implement in order to save your computer’s precious battery power. But maybe instead on that next long distance flight, you might want to think ahead and book a seat with a power outlet. 

©2006 by Kara Glover

Feel free to reprint this article in newsletters and on
websites, with resource box included. If you use this
article, please send a brief message to let me know where
it appeared: kara3334@yahoo.com

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Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Wireless USB Vs. Bluetooth

USB is currently the industry standard
If you spend any amount of time on a computer chances are that you have used a USB device, such as a mouse or a keyboard. There are currently more than 2 billion USB devices in use around the world.

Cables can be a mess
When USB first became popular (around the year 2000) everybody loved the technology and embraced it. It was so easy to use and offered inter-compatibility with virtually every PC. As we became increasingly more reliant on USB for most of the devices that connected to our system the nest of cables behind the average computer continued to grow.

Enter Bluetooth
Bluetooth was released a couple of years following the initial release of USB and grew in popularity because it offered computer users a way to connect precious devices to the computer without worrying about the tangle of wires behind the computer and the inevitable “creative” wiring options required to connect two computers and printers located across the room.

Bluetooth took off in Europe and Asia
Bluetooth has become very popular in Europe and Asia. Not only is Bluetooth popular with computer users, but also cell phone users looking for a way to use a hands-free headset without worrying about hauling around another wire. For some reason the technology became very popular abroad, but many US computer and cell phone users had security concerns about the technology or were unimpressed with its relatively low speed for data-intensive applications.

We are on the verge of a revolution in connectivity
Wireless USB offers the convenience of Bluetooth with the security and seamless integration of current USB technology. In addition, the first release of Wireless USB (aka WUSB) will allow you to use legacy USB devices wirelessly. Here’s how it will work - you will plug a Wireless USB dongle into your desktop or laptop and then plug the Wireless USB hub into an external power supply - this could range from a few feet to several meters away. Then you could plug your USB devices into the Wireless USB hub and use them as if they were attached directly to your computer. This would be especially useful for a printer, scanner or any other device you might want to share with local computers but not necessarily over a network.

Differences between Bluetooth and Wireless USB
The most obvious difference between Bluetooth and Wireless USB is the speed - empirically you will generally always see speeds less than 1 Mbps with Bluetooth. Wireless USB, on the other hand, is rated for 480 Mbps at 5 meters. Both technologies are slower at further distances, but Wireless USB should always be faster than Bluetooth. Another obvious difference between Bluetooth and Wireless USB is security - Bluetooth devices are highly susceptible to signal-hijacking wheras the security standard for WUSB is very strict and should result in a much more secure connection - this is very important for any application which may require the transfer of sensitive data or information.

Time frame on Wireless USB
Wireless USB dongles and hubs are currently in production and should be available for purchase in the first quarter of 2006. A few manufacturers have already received approval from the FCC and other stanards organizations.

Is Wireless USB right for you
If you can hold off a couple of months to try out a really cool wireless technology I highly recommend that you consider WUSB. It may take some time to refine the protocols and iron out a few bugs in the design but the wait should be well worth it.

Preston Wily is a product development manager for Sewell Direct, an online retailer of hard-to-find USB adapters. Sewell Direct is currently establishing relationships with manufacturers of Wireless USB peripherals and devices and plans to offer these products as soon as they are available.

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Monday, August 11th, 2008

Hello from Ottawa: The Canadian War Museum and Its Special Exhibit Weapons of Mass Dissemination

Anybody who knows me and my personal family background knows that I absolutely abhor violence and war. War and conflict has existed all throughout human history and it has often baffled me that even in this day and age, in our supposedly advanced civilizations, we still haven’t found more peaceful ways of coexisting.

My trip to Ottawa this past weekend has been very exciting, entertaining and enjoyable, yet I felt the impulse to add a more serious stop to my itinerary and I decided to explore the new Canadian War Museum and it’s special exhibition: “Propaganda: Weapons of Mass Dissemination”.

The new Canadian War Museum opened in May of 2005 in a brand-new building on the banks of the Ottawa River, about 7 minutes west of downtown Ottawa by taxi or bus. Its mandate is to “Educate. Preserve. Remember” and the Museum focuses strictly on Canada’s role in various armed conflicts throughout history.
The new museum building is an interesting story in itself. Designed by Raymond Moriyama of Moriyama & Teshima Architects, the innovative design of the Museum is based on the theme of “regeneration”, which not only alludes to the impact of war on the land, but also Nature’s ability to regenerate itself and recover from the devastation of human conflict.

In tune with natural regeneration, energy-efficient construction techniques and recycled materials were used in the construction of the building. The roof is covered by low-maintenance native, self-seeding grasses, and river water is used in its cooling system. Recycled copper panels from the roof of the Library of Parliament were used as cladding in parts of the interior of the building.

The building is an unusual structure, low-lying with jagged edges and angular, trapezoidal lines. When you enter inside there is a large central hall that connects both the south and north entrance. The building has a raw, fragmentary and unfinished quality to it, and the materials used include galvanized steel, concrete, wood, hard surfaces and strong, deep colour. It is not a comfortable, harmonic place, and it is not intended to be.

An immense seven-meter high audio visual presentation of the Museum’s content provides a glimpse of what is to come inside the main exhibition areas. Several features of the building deserve to be highlighted:

- the Museum features Morse Code windows in both English and French, reading “Lest We Forget” on the north peak, and other windows spell out the Museum’s initials “CWM”.

- Every November 11, at 11 am, and only on this day and at this hour, the sun shines through the window of the Museum’s Memorial Hall and illuminates the only artifact in this space: the headstone of Canada’s Unknown Soldier.
The window illuminating the headstone of Canada’s Unknown Soldier
The Museum is very large and its total collection has about 500,000 artifacts. The total artifacts on display in the Canadian Experience Galleries is 2,167 and there are 135 featured audiovisual productions. 2,000 graphic images reside inside the Museum.

The layout of the Museum is complex and interwoven, creating a rich, multi-sensory, multi-media visitor experience. It houses 4 Permanent Exhibitions:

This exhibition explores warfare from pre-contact Canada to the Battle of Batoche in 1885. This section looks at the technology and equipment of early First Peoples. A major highlight in this section is the Battle of the Plains of Abraham of 1759 where New France was conquered and Quebec became a part of Canada. Amazingly this battle only lasted half an hour, 30 minutes that changed Canada.

Another section in this area illustrates the War of 1812, when Canada was attacked by the United States and government buildings in the City of York (now Toronto) were burnt down by the Americans. In retaliation British Canadian militia marched all the way to Washington and burned the American’s official buildings which had to be whitewashed, therefore the term “White House”.

Different outcomes of two consecutive rebellions in 1870 and 1885 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan illustrate the key difference of new technologies: while the first rebellion was successful, the second uprising was quelled easily due to the introduction of the railroads, which allowed for rapid troop deployment, better training of the government troops and the introduction of the telegraph which allowed for rapid communication. Other technological innovations of this era included the Gatlin gun which was capable of 800 shots a minute, the first automatic weapon.
This gallery explores Canada’s military involvements overseas. It looks at the South African War (also known as the Boer War, from 1899 to 1902), and the Second World War from 1914 to 1918.

A significant technological development during the South African War include rifles that could fire accurately at a distance of up to 800 m. British soldiers, who had earlier been wearing red tunics, had to switch to camouflage uniforms due to the increased reach of modern weapons. The time of traditional British formation battles was over.

Canada’s land forces were among the most effective during World War I and an important section is dedicated to the critical battle of Vimy Ridge. My tour guide Eric mentioned that the First World War was initially a very popular war and that after the declaration of war in July of 1914, Canadian soldiers even expected to be home by Christmas. 1 of 8 Canadian men joined the war and interestingly, conjugal consent was required to enlist for married men.

Support for the war dwindled as time went on and as people learned about the devastating effects of trench warfare which are illustrated effectively in the Museum. An interesting social side note is that in order to enact conscription, i.e. mandatory military service, the Canadian government extended a limited voting right to women in 1917, but only to women whose sons and husbands were fighting in the First World War. These women would logically vote in favour of the existing government as they wanted to send support to their husbands and sons fighting in the war. General voting rights were not extended to all women until 1919.

A powerful exhibit includes an outright scene of devastation that shows a recreated landscape after a devastating battle where all surrounding structures have been destroyed and soldiers are lying dead face-down in the mud of the battlefield.

My guide Eric also enlightened me on the Halifax explosion of 1917 when two ships collided in the Halifax harbour and one carried huge amounts of ammunition. This event represents the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb and much of Halifax was levelled.

Another exhibit displays gas masks used during World War I. When German soldiers used poison gas for the first time, French and British forces broke their own lines to escape, while a chemist on the front lines of the Canadian army realized that chances of survival could be increased by putting something humid on one’s face. As a result Canadians held their grounds in the face of gas attacks, contrary to the French and British counterparts.
World War I also saw many technological innovations such as artillery canons and water-cooled machine guns. As a result of this heavy equipment, soldiers became less mobile and trench warfare came into being.

This gallery explores Canada’s role in fighting dictatorships overseas during the Second World War. Canada contributed one of the largest armies in the world, on land, at sea and in the air in addition to providing important industrial and logistical support. A key artifact in this section is one of the last remaining parade cars of Adolf Hitler, an armour-plated black Mercedes convertible with bullet-proof windows, apparently the only one of its kind in existence in a public museum.

My guide also pointed out the Wasp flamethrower which could generate flames of 90 m in length. To give you an idea of the size of these flames: the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament Buidlings is 92 m high, so this was indeed amazing firepower.

Particularly interesting exhibits from this era include a battlefield surgery kit that illustrates how primitive medical equipment and techniques were at this time. Another highlight is the pigsuit, a full body suit for pigs that was intended to investigate the protective capabilities of uniforms under wartime conditions. Pigs were used for this purpose as they have very similar genetic makeup to human beings.
This section of the Museum looks at the tenuous peace during the post-WWII Period where Canadian forces participated in a Cold War against the Soviet Bloc. During this era, Canada also took on a leading role as an international peacekeeping nation, a role from which Canada derives great pride.

The post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s was an era of great paranoia. A machine called an “electro-psychometer” (similar to a lie detector) was employed to determine the sexual orientation of civil servants. In this very conservative era homosexuality was a taboo and it was assumed knowledge of that fact could be used against an individual and force this person to collaborate with the enemy. The government intended to protect itself and subjected hundreds of civil servants to tests on this notoriously unreliable device, also referred to as the “fruit machine”.
One of the exhibits also explains the origin of the notion of modern peacekeeping, brought to life in 1956 by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, who received a Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions in 1957.

To me one of the most amazing exhibits in this area is a controversial painting depicting a Canadian soldier abusing and killing a civilian victim during a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. My guide indicated that many people in the Canadian military did not appreciate that this painting was being displayed, and in many countries this kind of unflattering depiction of a member of a national army would have been censored. It truly speaks to Canada’s openness and honesty that this picture was included in the exhibition as a testament to the devastating and dehumanizing effects of war.

Regeneration Hall:
This section was not part of the original concept of the building, it was added by the architect himself. Through a narrow window one can see the Peace Tower, and any slight change in position will make this view disappear. This is a symbolic metaphor for how difficult peace is to achieve and how easily we lose sight of it. Plaster statues in Regeneration Hall were created by the same artist who created the Vimy Memorial. The eerie sound in this portion of the building is the recording of the wind that used to come through the steel girders before the roof was put on. A tour of war veterans came through Regeneration Hall, heard this strange sound of the wind and they were very moved by it. The museum officials decided to record the sound and run it continuously.
One of the world’s best collections of military vehicles and artillery are exhibited in the LeBreton Gallery. Furthermore, it features an important collection of uniforms, medals and other artifacts.
In addition to these permanent exhibitions and commemorative places, the Canadian War Museum houses special exhibitions. One of the main reasons I went to visit this museum was to see an exhibition called Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War.

The psychological aspects of warfare, and in particular the tools and techniques of propanda to mobilize and incite the general population to participate in war have always fascinated me. I could have spent hours in this part of the Museum alone, and this collection has been one of the most fascinating exhibitions I have visited in my entire lifetime.
The term “propaganda” itself is defined as the “organized dissemination of information to influence thouths, beliefs, feelings and actions”.

The exhibition was originally developed by the Wolfsonian-Florida International University and highlights visual propaganda tools used in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Holland. Propaganda posters date back to the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Spanish Civil War.

Numerous colourful posters from different countries illustrate the powerful impact of war-time propaganda and its powerful impact on the masses. Emotional headlines, bright colours and strong symbolism evoke powerful feelings fear, anger, pride and patriotism.
Here are a few examples of how nations engaged in war use propaganda posters:

- to exhort men, and even women and members of different ethnic groups to join the army [”There is still a space for you in the Waffen SS”]
- to promote the purchase of war bonds [”I buy bonds and I build bombs”]
- to increase production and output of military equipment
- to reduce the civilian onsumption of tobacco products so soldiers can enjoy smoking
- to plant seeds and vegetables to create oil for the hungering masses
- to portray the enemy in the most negative way, using unflattering and threatening images
- to warn the population of “careless talk” implying that foreign spies could pick up important information and use it against the nation
- to instruct soldiers and the population in the use of protective equipment such as gas masks

In addition to the posters from the Wolfsonian - Florida International University, the Canadian War Museum has added a Canadian component to add to this exhibition. The development of propaganda in Canada is featured in the form of posters from the Museum’s collections, footage from the National Film Board, as well as special hands-on programming. Screenings of NFB propaganda films, creative workshops and a popular speaker series round out the programming on the topic of mass media and propaganda.
My two hours at the Canadian War Museum definitely weren’t enough, I was just able to get a cursory glance at the permanent exhibitions and this most fascinating special exhibition on wartime propaganda. It is one of the most impactful museums I have ever visited, and the combination of the layout and design with the artifacts on display have given me an excellent overview of Canada’s role in local and international conflicts.

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons”.
The story with photos is published at Travel Stories and Photos (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/ottawa_war_museum.htm)

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Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Will Smaller Manufacturers Be Forced out of the Gaming Laptop Market Too

Not so long a go it seemed like laptops for gaming were only attainable from select retailers and they were usually custom built. Before the small number of sales alleviated by the profit margins. These were the notebook computers you dreamed of but were out of your reach. They the the latest technology and basically the best laptop computers. They probably weren’t best sellers though because I reckon us people buy laptop computers that we can effortlessly afford. The future for gaming notebook computers is now seen by the big brands as an amazing opportunity for them.

Compared to the smaller resellers these companies are aware that they can generate even more cash. With notebooks being perceived like consumer electronics this is an excellent profit channel for them. Additionally they are aware they can persuade people to buy laptop computers like these more easily than small system builders. In my view this would seriously hurt smaller companies if they do not differentiate their unique proposition. This formerly premium technology is simply going to be aimed at everyone now. People just feel tons more confident making a big purchase from a well known name.

Amazingly, the laptops they’re making are a few of the best laptop computers to date. This is one opportunity the smaller retailers should utilise to their advantage. The custom made feature is a major bonus to the customer. Generally this kind of purchaser is well versed in the tech specs and can effortlessly evaluate configurations. For a few buyers specs and statistics are more important than design. This would be pretty advantageous from the customers standpoint. In the end it will force prices down even more and make the newest technology even more affordable for everyone. Even though I say that, I’m not really certain of my predictions. New laptop computers are continuously being released and these new systems always demand high prices. Greater competition usually induces improved products at cheaper prices so the times ahead must be great.

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