Sonic The Hedgehog - The Official Game of Speed

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The future of interactive gaming is driven by sound compression innovation, spatialization, broadband internet connection and the virtual rich experience of live music. Sonic the Hedgehog was categorized in the action/ adventure genre. The game was developed by Ugi Naka at Sega in Japan. Its definitive impression focuses on speed. Sonic moves too quickly. The players sometimes find self not able to perceived its environment. Playing it will, most of the time, makes you feel dizzy. The video game was released in 1991 which was like an overnight success. Sonic first became popular in the United Kingdom then United States. The like an example of a reverse import, its popularity spread back to Japan. Sega claimed that this game alone was responsible for moving millions of systems among the general community. Sonic the Hedgehog sales exceeded those of Mario and Nintendo and it is turning 17 this year. Its characters were associated from film and literatures. Sonic the Hedgehog was identified as a contemporary icon which made it so popular and successful.

The blue Hedgehog description

He moves in dashing and rolling. Actually it was all basic movements and interactions like walk, run, jump and attack. Sega Sonic fights in a different style. It involves rescue and protecting measures. It is nor just plain termination of virtual lives. Every one wants to be a hero sometimes even in a virtual game. This just gave players the satisfaction of becoming one. Well Sonic the Hedgehog does not like being idle too. When left unattended for a few seconds, it taps the screen hopefully to get back the player's attention. He will definitely stand up and look at you while tapping his foot. The game was indeed a high speed action platformer. As we all know platform games like Sonic influenced players to use their skills to be able to cunningly move through various levels which involve a fair bit of action. He's fuzzy, he's funny and he does have an attitude.

The emotional impact of playing Sonic

A good game knows what the players are thinking and looks over their shoulders every step of the way. The designer's craft made players feel like they are in control. The emotional experience was significantly sculpted as the game progresses. The trick was made by giving players the confidence that they have all the resources needed to meet those challenges. Then the challenges were sent to confront the players. The idea is to make them feel they have the ability to run with great speed, shoot bull's eye, jump higher and feeling smart while in control. The space, the character and the soundtrack makes you every bit of yourself feels invincible. Everything in the game gives you a good sense of effortless control. Any will get hooked with this high speed game and noting else seemed to matter after that. You will be amazed how far technology and fun can possibly indulge people to playing Sonic.

Press start to play Sonic

Grab the controls and start running as fast as you can from loop to loop. Collect gold coins with that good burst of speed. Then aim to send all obstacles scattering. The task is very simple. The only thing that you have to learn to do well is covering speed. You run, you jump, collect goodies and you avoid the bad ones. Simple instruction for a super speed Sonic: press space bar to jump and use the left or right arrow keys to move around. For the great spindash or spin and jump, just hold the arrow key and press the space bar. Be sure to cut your fingernails first just to make sure you're not breaking any when you start to play the Sonic. And never hit any obstacles while running. You are only allowed to hit it while you are spinning.

How did Sonic the Hedgehog cover his speed in terms of actual gross sales?

Video games could make you millions in a day better and bigger than movies. The pie chart shows that Sega has penetrated 45% US and 66% of the European market. Sonic was listed as one of Sega's biggest achievement. Records showed that Sonic the Hedgehog had estimated revenue of $893,654 out of the estimated 178,731 units sold from approximately 96 games tracked as of 07/11/07.

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Source by Travis Ludlow

How Does Each of the Rudraksha Ratna Work For You?

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Rudraksh is very important in Hindu religion. The fruit is known as Rudraksha, and so is the tree. The tree is very often found in the hilly regions of Nepal, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra and also Burma. The fruit is brown and sore in taste. But Rudraksha is known for its magnificent spiritual values. And benefits for mind and the body are also numerous.

On adorning a Rudraksh, a tremendous power is invoked, so one can fight diseases and also improve the overall health. The body's constitutions are strengthened, so blood impurities are all removed and body substance strengthened.

Some of the ailments for which the Rudraksha becomes a must are headaches, cough, paralysis, blood pressure, heart diseases and also maternity problems. The personality becomes calm and charming.

Astrologers also stand by the power of Rudraksha, and as one wears the Rudraksha, one is empowered to get over the sins from previous life. The blessings of Lord Rudra are attained on wearing Rudraksha, and such is the strength that it can even infuse life into a man who is impious.

Moreover in modern astrology, the Rudraksha Ratna very often is used to get over the malefic effect of a planet as per a person's birth chart. In Astrology, there are twenty seven constellations and each has a control over one of the nine planets. And each of the constellations is controlled by a corresponding Rudraksha. The rudraksha always receives energy from the particular planet and thus acts as a reservoir of energy, and also an emitter of energy. Alternately, the Rudraksha Ratna has been known to be greatly helpful for meditation.

Let us now know about some of the most basic Rudrakshas:

1. Ek Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

The Ek mukhi Rudraksha is often considered as the most auspicious gift of nature to the mankind - this is the rarest among all mukhis.

This is very often considered as the king of Rudraksha beads, and is signified by pure consciousness of Lord ParamShiva.

The one Mukh signifies that there is one seed and one compartment, hence the shape is similar to that of an eye, and it is not round.

BENEFITS:

But the Ek mukhi Rudraksha or the single faceted Rudraksha Ratna is associated with a great divine significance. Most importantly, this symbolizes a link between the earth and the heavens, between the consciousness of an individual and the ultimate consciousness, and also the link between man and God.

Both, material and spiritual benefits are attained. Wish fulfillment, being the ideal bead for meditation, destruction of sins from previous birth and also acting as a tool for achieving Moksha are some of the key benefits of adorning an Ek mukhi Rudraksha. Alternately, the Ek mukhi Rudraksa cures migraines, depression, anxiety, neurotic disorders and brings peace of mind. This Rudraksha controls the Sahasrara Chakra to bring clarity to the mind and also build a connection with God.

ADORNING THE EK MUKHI RUDRAKSHA:

The Ek mukhi Rudraksha should be adorned on a Monday while chanting the Mantras 'Om Namah Shivaya' or 'Om Hreem Namah'.

2. 7 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

The seven Mukhi Rudraksha is the symbol of Goddess Mahalaxmi, who is the Goddess of purity.

The Goddess is often presented as bestowing coins of prosperity, while she is seated on a giant Lotus. Elephants shower her with water from both sides, and this symbolizes that one must live in the present and let the old memories flow.

Goddess Mahalaxmi is symbolic of letting go of the hassles of everyday life and forming one's own environment. Alternately, the planet which is associated with the seven Mukhi Rudraksha is Venus. Venus is the planet of love and money.

BENEFITS:

By wearing a Rudraksha which has 7 facets, a person finds name, fame and abundance.

As one adorns the 7 Mukhi Rudraksha, one finds prosperity, happiness and contentment, while miseries and bad luck depart. Similarly, one is able to get over afflictions of planet Venus. Relationships find abundance and harmony, while peace of mind is achieved.

With the seven Mukhi Rudraksha, businessmen and public administrators find greater success in their fields. The wearer becomes positive and the sufferings disappear.

The Rudraksha Ratna which is seven Mukhi has benefits on health as well and is the ideal Rudraksha for diabetes, or disorders related with pancreas, adrenal gland or liver.

ADORNING THE SEVEN MUKHI RUDRAKSHA:

The seven Mukhi Rudraksha must be adorned while chanting the mantra 'Om Hum Namah'.

3. 8 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

The eight Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna is ruled by Lord Ganesha, who is the Vighnaharta or the remover of obstacles. Lord Ganesha signifies supreme devotion to parents.

With the eight Mukhi Rudraksha ratna, the wearer comes across wisdom and finds support and stability in his life. Fear of failure in all undertakings is lost and one is better empowered to face challenges in life.

The Rudraksha Ratna with eight facets is ruled by Lord Ketu, who is also expressed as the celestial snake which causes obstacles in one's life. With the eight Mukhi, negative effects of the planet Ketu are nullified. So vices associated with miseries, lethargy and low energy is lost. Alternately, the Rudraksha works towards imparting willpower, stability and success to the wearer.

In particular, it is ideal for those involved with intellectual work, writers and educationalists. For businessmen and servicemen, it is highly beneficial as one overcomes obstacles in life. One comes across virtues of positivity and contentment.

Health wise too, the eight mukhi rudraksha allows one to get over ailments of legs and bones, so one gets relief from arthritis. Mental lethargy is lost and the person becomes more active. The musculoskeletal system performs better as well.

The eight Mukhi Rudraksha must be worn on a Monday while chanting the Mantra 'Om Hoom Namah'.

4. 9 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

Goddess Navdurga rules the nine Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna, and the Rudraksha Ratna is believed to possess within itself the power of Nava Durga, or all nine Devis. So the wearer finds both Bhoga and Moksha in the world.

With the bead, one comes across material as well as spiritual benefits.

The ruling planet of Rudraksha Ratna with nine facets is Lord Rahu and with this, one overcomes the malefic effects of Rahu. The bead is particularly useful for anyone who has a weak Rahu in his kundali.

BENEFITS:

As one adorns the nine mukhi Rudraksha, he remains free from fears of ghosts and evil, and wins over enemies as well. The connection with Goddess Durga is enhanced - one finds power and destroys sins and worries. Malefic effects of the planet Rahu are overcome.

With blessings of Shakti, the supreme mother, the wearer becomes brave and finds courage, name and fame. Health wise, the nervous system performs better and one gets over neurotic diseases, fear, phobia, hallucinations etc.

ADORNING THE NINE MUKHI RUDRAKSHA RATNA:

The nine faceted rudraksha must be worn on a Monday while chanting the mantra 'Om Hreem Hoom Namah'.

5. 10 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

The 10 Mukhi Rudraksha is the Rudraksha of Lord Krishna, who is the 8th Avtaar of Lord Narayana himself.

And being a 10 Mukhi Rudraksha, this is associated with all planets. On adorning this Rudraksha Ratna, you come to realize that you are being offered protection from all of the 10 directions.

So this is really the ideal Rudraksha Ratna to find protection from negative effects of planets and all negative energies. Just like Lord Sri Krishna, the 10 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna serves as the protector of all beings.

BENEFITS:

Wear the 10 Muki Rudraksha Ratna to find the blessings of Lord Sri Krishna, and find protection from evils like spirits, ghosts and black magic. With the Rudraksha with 10 facets, life becomes joyful while fears are released, and one finds the power to create.

Find a connection with Lord Krishna; you'd be blessed with joy, happiness and fruitful relationships. Going for a Rudraksha Ratna with 10 facets would ensure that you find success in court cases, land deals and get over debts and losses.

Health wise, the Rudraksha Ratna with 10 facets lets you get over anxiety, worries, back pain and psychic attacks. It's the best Rudraksha Ratna for a weak heart.

The right day to adorn the 10 Mukhi Rudraksha ratna is on a Monday while chanting the Mantra 'Om Hreem Namah Namah'.

6. 11 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

It is the 11 Rudras that rule the Ekadash Rudraksh, which is also known as the 11 Mukhi Rudraksha.

The ruling deity for the Rudraksha with 11 facets is Lord Hanuman. The wearer comes across spiritual and material wealth as the inner guru is awakened from within. The 11 Mukhi Rudraksha is the best for aid with deep meditation, and the wearer finds awareness, a consciousness which is divine and also wisdom and right judgment. With the Ekadash Rudraksha, malefic effects of all planets are pacified and the Rudraksha is a powerful protection against accidental death.

BENEFITS:

This increases concentration, memory and creativity, and the wearer finds self confidence. The wearer has a powerful vocabulary and the Rudraksha Ratna is ideal for someone preparing for competitive exams. The wearer stays witty, bold, expressive and intelligent.

Health wise, the Rudraksha Ratna with 11 facets allows one to get over asthma and all respiratory disorders, including bronchitis and hay fever. Immunity is enhanced and functioning of thyroid gland is regulated. The wearer finds protection from heart problems, diabetes, blood pressure, body pain, liver diseases, backache, and chronic alcoholism.

ADORNING THE 11 MUKHI RUDRAKSHA RATNA

The Rudraksha should preferably be touched on a Shivling and adorned while chanting the mantra 'Om Hreem Hum Namah'.

7. 12 Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna:

It is Lord Surya that the Rudraksha Ratna with 12 facets symbolises. While Sun is the giver of life, it also controls the conscious mind.

With the power of the Sun, the mind understands the truth of Here and Now, and that the maximum potential lies only in the present. With the Rudraksha, one could do sadhana on the same.

With the Sun, one finds the power of self realization and gets over dependencies. Be it physical or mental. The wearer's personality shines like the Sun.

BENEFITS:

With the Twelve Mukhi Rudraksha Ratna, the wearer finds radiance, luster and brilliance, and also youthfulness and vitality. One is then possessed with sight and power of timely action, while one gets over negative influence and afflictions of the Sun.

The wearer is fearless and powerful. His actions are based on his knowledge. It makes him confident and low self respect is released, while physical, mental and emotional power is boosted.

Health wise, functioning of digestive system improves, pancreas, liver ailments, indigestion and diabetes.

In particular, the Rudraksha Ratna with 12 facets is particularly beneficial for businessmen, households, politicians, managers, leaders and public administrators.

ADORNING A 12 MUKHI RUDRAKSHA:

The 12 Mukhi Rudraksha should be adorned on a Monday while chanting the mantra 'Sri Suryaye Namah'.

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Source by Harshad Jethra

Lifetime of a Cellular Phone Battery

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In the modern world people cannot live without cell phones. We need to be aware about the types of batteries that are available for the cell phones. Each type of battery is different.

Initially, the nickel cadmium (Nacl) batteries were used. They were least expensive and hence affordable. The disadvantage was that it had to be fully discharged and recharged every time it was charged. It had also the 'memory effect'. After this came the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. They were also affordable and less prone to the 'memory effect'. It had to be completely discharged and recharged after the twentieth cycle. The latest batteries are the Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries which are more expensive than the earlier models. They do not have to be discharged and recharged. They are not affected by the 'memory effect'. After this came the Lithium Polymer batteries. This is the latest technology. Compared to the earlier models the lithium battery cell phones are lighter, sleeker and far superior.

The storage or capacity of the battery is said to be the talktime and standby time of the phone. This is said to be in milli-amp hours (mAh). The lifetime of a cell phone battery depends on how we handle the cell phone. There are certain rules to be followed. The cell phone batteries should not be overcharged, as it will damage the phone. The battery generally gets charged in about three to four hours. The cell phone should be kept mostly on ringtone mode than on vibration mode. The vibration mode will drain more of its battery. The light that we see when we switch on the phone (which goes off after a few seconds) should be set as low as possible. A digital phone has in the digital mode hundred to two hundred hours stand by time, while in the analog mode it is only thirty to fifty hours. This makes a great difference. So if you are in an analog area switch off your phone, as it is more strenuous on your battery.

Take good care of your phone. Do not hit it or throw it down, as it is harmful for the phone. The metal contacts between the battery and the phone should be clean. When removing the battery turn off the phone as it is good for the battery. Avoid exposure to sunlight. If the phone is left in the dashboard of the car it will unnecessarily drain the battery and the capacity of the battery will be reduced.

Cell phone batteries generally have a long life and are maintenance free. The batteries should not be kept with coins, keys or other metal objects that will short circuit the battery poles. When the batteries are not being used they should be taken out of the cellphone and kept uncharged in a cool, dry and dark place. If the cellphone does not work, it is best to take it to an authorized dealer. It is not good to disassemble a battery. When the phone is not used, the battery will automatically discharge itself, in a few months. Although original batteries and chargers are expensive, it is good to use them. They will make the batteries last longer.

Extreme temperatures affect batteries. Do not expose to heat or cold. So, do not leave them in sunlight. The lifetime of batteries is calculated in 'cycles'. The general lifetime would be a minimum of about three hundred cycles. This might happen in a year or maximum two years. The efficiency will decrease and the batteries would have to be changed. So for batteries, there is really no standby time and talktime, it is the lifetime that is measured in 'charge cycles'.

Take good care of your cellphone and the batteries will definitely last for a longer period of time.

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Source by Kevin Moshayedi

That Pesky Crack

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The Liberty Bell is a revered symbol, but its fascinating saga is little known by those who cherish it. Strangely the crack that rendered it useless for utilitarian purposes is now as sacred as the bell itself.

The State House Bell - as the Liberty Bell was known for its first 100 years - cracked the first time it was struck to hear the tone. It was recast, cracked, repaired, cracked and finally retired to symbolic duty.

Upon the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges for his Pennsylvania colony, the State Assembly ordered a bell for the State House.

An order for a one-ton bell, suitably inscribed, was ordered from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry at London in November 1751. Isaac Norris, Assembly Speaker, asked the colony's agent in London, Robert Charles, to buy a bell:

"Let the Bell be cast by the best Workmen and examined carefully before it is shipped with the following words well shaped in large letters round the vizt, 'By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania for the State House in the city of Philada. 1752' - and underneath - 'Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the inhabitants thereof, Levit. XXV/10.'"

The full verse in Leviticus reads: "Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

It should be understood that the proclamation of liberty meant by the Assembly was that conferred by Penn for his colony -- not a forecast of rebellion by 13 colonies a quarter-century later.

The bell was cast by master founder Tom Lester. He followed the instructions carefully, even the misspelling of Pennsylvania. Whitechapel charged 150 Pounds 13 Shillings 8 pence, which included insurance and shipping.

Adventures of the bell, following its casting, is compiled here from the consensus of reliable historians. Principally they are John Paige's "Special History of the Liberty Bell;" David Kimble's "Story of the Liberty Bell;" and E.M. Halliday's "Whose Fault Was It?"

The bell arrived in August 1752 on the snow (type of sailing ship) Hibernia captained by William Child. Norris dashed off a letter to Charles in London: "The Bell is come ashore & in good order. We have not yet try'd the sound."

Several days later, the bell was set up on a cradle in the foreyard - now Independence Square - of the State House to be tested. On the first stroke of the clapper, the bell cracked. Norris described the incident in another letter to Charles:

"I gave information that our Bell was generally liked & appvd of, but in a few days after my writing, I had the Mortification to hear that it was cracked by a stroke of the clapper without any other violence as it was hung up to try the sound."

Recast

The State House superintendents decided to send the bell back to England on Capt. Richard Budden's ship the Myrillia for recasting. However, he could not find room for the bell and left it on the dock.

Two local foundry men, John Pass and John Stow, were hired to recast the bell. They knew that the ideal bronze alloy for a large bell was 77 percent copper and 23 percent tin. They reasoned, correctly, that Whitechapel had put in too much tin. This improved tone but increased brittleness.

Pass and Stow made a clay cast of Bell-1 - adding their names and changing the date to 1753. They melted the bell, added one and a half ounces of copper per pound of bronze and recast the object in four stages over a 48-hour period.

Bell-2 remained solid after repeated blows with a hammer but had a dull sound. Nevertheless, the bell was hoisted into the State House belfry. A feast was held April 17, 1753, to mark the event.

When the bell was rung, town people hooted. It had no "ring." Norris wrote: "They (Assembly) were so teized (teased) by witticisms of the town that they .... will be very soon ready to make a second essay."

Pass and Stow recast the bell again - tossing in a few silver coins "to sweeten the tone." The result was deemed acceptable but not entirely satisfactory.

Norris wrote Charles in London: "We got our new Bell recast here, and it has been used some time. Tho some are of the opinion it will do, I own I do not like it." Nevertheless Bell-3 was hoisted into place - destined to be a famous icon for a new nation yet to come.

The New York Mercury, under Philadelphia date line June 11, 1753, reported: "Last week was raised and fix'd in the Pennsylvania Statehouse Steeple, the new great Bell weighing 2080 pounds- cast by Pass and Stow."

The Assembly ordered a "sister" (duplicate) bell from Whitechapel to replace Bell-3. When it arrived, everyone agreed it sounded no better. The sister bell was hung in a cupola on the State House roof and attached to clocks at each end of the building to ring time. Bell-3 was kept in place.

Bells Hidden

Bell-3 joined all other town bells July 8, 1776, to peal the public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The British won the Battle of Brandywine in September and were advancing toward Philadelphia. All the bells in town were taken down and hustled 60 miles north to Northampton (Allentown) to prevent the British from capturing the metal and converting it to cannons.

Col. Benjamin Flowers was put in charge. He enlisted scores of farmers who had brought produce to Philadelphia. Col. William Polk and 200 North Carolina and Virginia cavalry escorted the caravan. The State House Bell was loaded onto the wagon of John Jacob Mickley of Northampton.

At Bethlehem (Quakertown), Mickley's wagon broke down. The State House Bell was transferred to a wagon driven by Frederick Leaser who carried it on to Northampton.

A diary entry of the Moravian Church of Bethlehem on Sept. 24, 1777, records the accident. "The bells from Philadelphia brought in wagons. The wagon with the State House bell broke down here, so it had to be unloaded. The other bells went on."

All the bells arrived safely the next day at Northampton and were stored in the cellar of the Zion Reformed Church until the British left Philadelphia a year later.

The State House bell was not re-hung since the steeple was in disrepair. Instead, the bell was stored in a munitions shed adjacent to the State House for seven years until the steeple was repaired.

Philadelphia bought a new bell for the clocks in 1821. The State House was renovated in 1828. Its two identical Whitechapel bells were offered for sale. No one would buy them because of the cost of moving.

State House Bell (3) was replaced with a new Wilbank bell and moved to a cradle within the State House where it was rung on special occasions. City officials transferred the Sister Bell and one of the clocks -- on permanent loan -- to Olde St. Augustine Catholic Church.

St. Augustine was burned by an anti-Catholic mob in May 1844. The over-heated Sister Bell fell to the ground and broke into many pieces. These were gathered and recast into a smaller bell that hangs today at Villanova University.

Cracked Again

The Old State House Bell-3 - now indoors -- cracked slightly while being tolled during the funeral procession for Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. The crack widened when rung on several other occasions.

As George Washington's birthday anniversary approached in 1846, the Common Council requested the "Independence Bell" be repaired for ringing on Feb. 22.

Bell Ringer Henry Stone machined the crack into a half-inch slot 24 inches long and inserted two, copper rivets to prevent the two edges of the crack from rubbing together. The filings were collected and cast into a small bell.

Analysis of the filings revealed the Liberty Bell still has too much tin - 24 percent instead of the ideal 23 percent -- despite the addition of copper and silver by Pass and Stow.

While tolling on the Washington anniversary, the Liberty Bell was irreparably damaged - as reported by the Philadelphia Public Ledger:

"The old Independence Bell rang its last clear note on Monday last in honor of the birthday of Washington and now hangs in the great, city steeple irreparably cracked and dumb.

"It had been cracked before but was set in order for that day by having the edges of the fracture filed so as not to vibrate against each other.

"It gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon. Then it received a sort of compound fracture in a zig-zag direction through one of its [slotted] sides [to the top of the bell]. This put it completely out of tune and left it a mere wreck of what it was."

Whitechapel in 1945 offered to melt down and recast the bell with a dash more tin, but the offer was politely declined. The slot-formerly-crack is too firmly entrenched in American history.

Today

During the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration, the Liberty Bell was moved to an outdoor pavilion in the foreyard of Independence Hall. There, visiting Americans can visit the relict any time.

May 18, 2003

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Source by Lindsey Williams

Forex Mastery Reviews - Learn Forex Trading the Right Way

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The search for high quality Forex trading courses and systems is often a frustrating one. There are many systems and courses which look good on the surface but are anything but good in reality. To find a good one you often need to go through several low quality systems.

I believe that Forex Mastery is a system that will not disappoint you. In fact, I found it to be one of the most high quality systems that I ever had a chance to go through.

First of all, the program has information which is actually new. Many trading courses and systems are simple rehashed material (if not outright stolen information) that won't really give you any edge in the market place. While achieving perfect or complete knowledge of the market is impossible, what you can and should aspire to is an advantage over other traders. I believe that Forex Mastery provides such an advantage.

This advantage comes from the Bias and Key numbers this system uses. These are special and proprietary support and resistance levels which are continually updated for each currency pair. These help you place high probability trades and secure a greater profit potential. This is part of that edge I was referring to.

The Bias and Key numbers are explained in a 5 part course which you can access online at any time. The course is relatively simple and easy to follow. I also like the fact that it's not long or tedious. The guys from Forex Mastery did not try to fill up their tutorials with useless stuff to make them look better or more knowledgeable.

But this system has more than just a course. It also has various unique software tools which help you trade more efficiently, quickly, and easily.

One of these software programs is the M3 Forex Navigator which helps you put the Bias and Key numbers into action. I like how this software makes it easy to find solid entry points across multiple time frames. This is part of what makes Forex Mastery a system that can be used by traders of all styles: day traders, position traders, end of day traders, and swing traders.

The other software is called Market Scanner. This is a nifty tool which is a sort of dashboard of the upcoming trades the market may be cooking up for you. You won't need to pore over charts 24/7. Just use this tool and you will be able to get into the market when the moment is right without too much hassle.

Yes, this system is not too cheap. However, the price actually limits the number of traders that will be using it, securing you that edge. In addition, this system is just worth it, in my opinion.

If you're looking for a high quality course. This is the real deal.

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Source by John J. Drummond

SEO Vanity Metrics to Steer Clear From (and Which Metrics to Track Instead)

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Good businesses understand the value of collecting data.

More information provides valuable insight and reveals hidden opportunities your business may have otherwise overlooked. By looking at key metrics, you can assess whether to continue or cease a campaign altogether. The reality is that not all data is helpful.

In fact, certain types of data can be downright counterproductive by giving false impressions. For example, a new advertising campaign may result in a ton of new traffic to your site. But further analysis may reveal that the campaign generated little results. What ends up happening is that attention is diverted away from the metrics that actually matter.

Focusing solely on these metrics is not only shortsighted but also dangerous. This is essentially what vanity metrics are-They look good on paper but carry very little value.

What Are Vanity Metrics?

You know the feeling.

You launch a new campaign and watch in satisfaction as traffic figures spike.

So then you decide to invest even more into the campaign. Traffic continues to increase but when you start to dig deeper into your analytics, you notice that those pageviews had no impact on revenue. So what you might end up with is data that looks like the following:

It ultimately comes down to one thing: Does this metric help you make better marketing decisions? For example, by comparing conversions from different traffic sources you'll be able to identify which generates a better return. You can then use that information when deciding where to allocate your resources.

If you can't honestly answer that question, then what you have is a vanity metric.

Entrepreneur Eric Reis and author of The Lean Startup was one of the first to coin the term. Here is what he says about vanity metrics:

"The only metrics that entrepreneurs should invest energy in collecting are those that help them make decisions. Unfortunately, the majority of data available in off-the-shelf analytics packages are what I call Vanity Metrics. They might make you feel good, but they don't offer clear guidance for what to do."

It's easy to get caught up in figures like pageviews. If you notice an increase in traffic, you might assume that a campaign is successful. But these kinds of metrics ultimately distract you from the bigger picture.

Here we look at some of the more common SEO vanity metrics to steer clear from and what to track instead.

1. Pageviews

Pageviews is the most common metric by far.

In fact, it's one of the first things webmasters see right from their Google Analytics dashboard. But as we have seen, looking at this metric creates the illusion of a successful campaign. The increase in traffic looks great but not all visitors are equal and traffic doesn't always correlate to increased revenue.

Traffic source is another important consideration.

A study by commerce software developer ATG found that search engines are the preferred method of finding new products. In contrast, a small percentage of respondents indicated that they discover new products on social networking sites.

It's for this reason that search tends to convert better than other channels. Search engine users are actively searching for a product or service. Compare this to an individual who is simply browsing on their Facebook feed or interacting with their friends. The latter is less likely to convert.

Traffic figures alone don't reveal the full picture. It's far better to measure how those pageviews translate in terms of sales and new subscribers.

The same also applies for paid traffic channels such as AdWords. Instead of strictly looking at traffic figures, look at how those visitors are interacting on your pages. View our AdWords guide for a detailed look at why conversion rate matters.

2. Social Media Shares

Social media usage has seen explosive growth over the past decade. The most popular network by far according to data from Pew Research Center is Facebook with over a billion active users:

Many businesses have seen since jumped on the social bandwagon. But vanity metrics such as Likes and Retweets are often used to measure the success of new content.

Just like how traffic doesn't necessarily show the performance of a new campaign, the same is true for social shares. Likes and Retweets simply can't tell you how users interact or feel about your brand. In fact, a blog post could have a thousand shares but still produce little in terms of conversions while a blog post with only a few shares could end up being wildly successful.

More social shares don't always correlate with higher engagement or conversions. And focusing only on these metrics distracts from the bigger picture.

Don't simply chase more Likes and Retweets for your content. Instead, seek out more actionable metrics that tell you how your posts on social media are performing. These might include comments, visits back to your site, conversions, and new signups.

Digging into these figures can help you better assess the effectiveness of your social media effort.

3. Social Media Followers

Having at least a Facebook or Twitter profile is a must in today's increasingly connected world. These platforms allow you to engage with your target audience and grow your following. Simply focusing on the number of followers that your channels have though can be rather misleading.

Let's say your Facebook page has thousands of followers.

It's certainly an impressive metric. But that number by itself is rather meaningless and doesn't paint the full picture.

How many of those followers are actually visiting your page? How many are clicking through to your site to make a purchase? How many are interacting with your posts? These are the metrics that you should be tracking.

Having thousands of Facebook followers doesn't necessarily mean that your posts will reach them. In fact, according to an analysis by Social@Oglivy, organic reach for the average Facebook Page has seen a significant decline over the last few years and could be as low as 2% for larger pages.

The data shows that even with a massive following, only a very small percentage of them is exposed to your posts which translates to fewer interactions on your channel.

Instead of focusing strictly on the number of followers, a better approach is to look at metrics such as purchase and email signups. That way you can better assess how much of an impact your social media channel really has on your business.

4. Keyword Rankings

Another vanity metric that is all too common is keyword rankings.

Rankings are certainly important. After all, visibility for prime keywords means reaching new prospects right when they are ready to buy. But simply judging the effectiveness of an SEO campaign by this metric alone is rather shortsighted.

The reason is simply because rankings don't always correlate with more traffic or sales.

You could be ranking number one for tons of keywords but those rankings may not necessarily translate to more revenue. What matters then is the intention behind a search and what those visitors do on your pages.

These are the questions to ask yourself to get more value out of the keywords you're tracking:

How many conversions (e.g. sales, signups, etc.) is this keyword generating?

What is the average value of customers that come from specific keywords?

Is there enough targeted traffic to make ranking for this keyword worthwhile?

Rankings are still a good metric to assess an SEO campaign but they shouldn't be the primary focus. Your efforts would be better spent by tracking the value that certain keywords are delivering to your bottom line.

5. Number of Backlinks

Backlink quantity is another vanity metric that could actually be harmful to your SEO campaign.

Links still carry a good deal of weight in terms of rankings as they remain one of the primary factors that Google uses to assess authority. What matters though is the relevance of the link. A link from an industry related site carries far weight than a link from a spammy source. Referring domains is another important factor.

An analysis from Backlinko found a strong correlation between unique referring domains and search engine rankings.

Those in the top positions had links from more diverse sources.

Link building still clearly matters to rank for competitive keywords. But backlink quantity is a dangerous metric to measure. If you focus solely on increasing the number of links to your pages, you site could get hit by a ranking penalty thanks to the Panda update.

A better approach then is to think about the value that certain links bring. For example, if you use guest posting to build links to your pages, the metrics you should really be tracking is the value that those links are delivering to your site (e.g. sales, signups, etc.). The links that contribute to your bottom line are the ones you should be focusing more on.

Conclusion

Not all data is valuable.

Certain metrics such as the ones described here don't reveal the bigger picture. Seeing an increase in traffic may lead you to conclude that a particular campaign was a success. But digging deeper into your analytics may reveal poor conversions from that traffic source. Steer clear from vanity metrics and turn your attention to actionable metrics that affect your bottom line such as conversions, new signups, and user engagement.

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Source by Roy Dopaishi

Change A Tire - It's Starting To Seem Like Rocket Science!

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Flat tires can be a stressful and scary situation, especially if one occurs while driving. The article below outlines helpful tips for drivers in regards to tire maintenance, tire changing steps, and post-flat information.

The most important thing a driver can do is know their vehicle and know the most common mileage for tire rotations, tire inflations, and when to get new tires altogether. According to vehicle websites, the recommended mileage for tire rotations is between every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. This can be done with each oil change. However, in the vehicle owner's handbook, your manufacturer will give you their recommended mileage intervals which the driver should try to follow. Tire pressure directly correlates with the gas mileage you will get and is important to pay close attention to for safety reasons as well. With low tire pressure, the car's weight may not be spread evenly on the treads, causing extra wear to certain parts of the tire. Performance and safety are affected, as is the overall handling of your vehicle. Tire pressure is so significant to your vehicle's performance and reaction to dangerous situations that Edmunds.com states that soon, the government "is going to require that tire-pressure monitoring systems be standard in all new vehicles, and 30 percent happens to be the maximum amount that it feels is safe to allow for under-inflation." It is recommended to check your tire pressure at least once a month and also pay attention to uneven wear patterns on your tires.

Tire treads are also important to check frequently before your tires have no traction left. Traction is necessary for winter driving, driving in rainy conditions, off-road situations, and for safe stops and starts. To check your tread depth, you should purchase either an inexpensive gauge or do the infamous "penny test." To check it with the penny, stick the coin upside-down in the middle and the outside tread grooves. If you can see Lincoln's entire head, it is time for new tires. Not sure if you are doing these checks correctly? Remember, these are preventative services that your repair shop will do quickly to keep your vehicle and you safe. Likewise, keeping tabs on the condition of your tires and knowing which ones to use for winter driving make a huge difference in how your vehicle will react should you need to make an accident avoidance maneuver. Preventative maintenance is the best way to cure any major car problems. Service your vehicle regularly and be sure your repair shop checks for those minor issues ahead of time. These preventative maintenance checks should be done with each oil change at quite frequent intervals and should include looking at things like your breaks, battery and cables, tire inflation and condition, exhaust, all fluids, and lights.

The most important thing is very simply to get to know your car. How many of us even look at our tires? They are just a part of the car - you walk around and jump in day after day. Many issues with tires may not be noticeable without bending over, spinning the tire, and taking a close look, but some are. Be sure to make an appointment for service if you feel anything odd when driving. Even more than just when driving, be sure to get to know your vehicle by reading the manual. Many people forget about reading this significant tool and it ends up in the glove box with other paperwork, receipts, napkins, and maps. Know what the recommended mileage intervals are, know where important items are located in your vehicle for maintenance or emergencies, and know what the lights mean on your dashboard.

So how does one change a tire? Again, before you get into this situation, know where all of the tools are to change the tire - don't just assume that it's all in the trunk because if you have a newer vehicle, truck, or SUV, they probably aren't in the trunk at all. Be sure you know where the spare tire is and its capabilities, and the jack to go along with it, the lugnut wrench, a flashlights, and lights or flares. First, set aside an hour on a nice day and take out all of the necessary tools and lay them out. Check to ensure that everything is in good shape and is present. Second, put the car in park and set the emergency break. Park on flat ground and block the wheels with a rock or piece of wood no matter what. Verify that you have working flares and prepare to remove the tire. Then, with the lugnut wrench, remove the hubcap from the tire. Simply loosen the lugnuts that are holding the wheel in place. About ½ turn clockwise should do the trick. Do not completely remove the lugnuts before jacking up your car so the tire does not drop off and injure you. Next, jack the vehicle far enough off the ground so that a new, fully inflated tire will fit easily under the car. Then, remove the lugnuts from the tire. Be sure to keep track of them. Remove the tire and get it out of your way. Lift on the spare tire. Align the holes before attempting the placement. Make sure the air valve is facing out towards you. Then, replace the lugnuts you have set aside using your lugnut wrench. Most instructions tell you to tighten them in a star pattern to keep the tire from hanging off. Lastly, slowly lower the car using the jack. Once is has been lowered, finish tightening the lugnuts on the spare tire. Be sure to know the limitations of the spare tire and know where you will get it replaced.

Practice meets preparation. While these instructions may actually not sound all that difficult, they can be when you find yourself in the stressful situation. The best way to get around this is to practice at your home in your driveway. Have a teen or a new driver? Know someone who could benefit by practicing with you? Spend some time taking the tires on and off before you find yourself on the side of the highway trying it for the first time. You will stay much calmer and do a more efficient job if you know what to do beforehand. There may be issues that arise for those changing a tire. Newer vehicles using cast aluminum wheels may have oxidation causing them to stick with other metal parts, making them extremely difficult to remove from the car. Oxidation is what happens when oxygen reacts with the metal over time. If this is the case, remove the hubcaps and apply some anti-seize while wiping off the oxidized metal.

The highway is perhaps the most dangerous place to find yourself changing a flat tire. Stay calm and carefully pull over if you feel a problem with a tire. Be sure to pull off to the side of the road at a flat area with plenty of room to work, especially if the tire is on the driver's side. Be sure to keep emergency equipments like cones, flares, a jack, reflective clothing, and a flashlight in your trunk. Put on your hazard lights to let other drivers know you're pulled off, and stay aware of where you are working at all times, as well as where you are placing any lugnuts or tires while working. These will keep you and other drivers safe from any debris in the roadways.

Again, the best way to prevent such a dangerous scenario is by knowing your vehicle's recommended mileage intervals and checks, keeping track of tire inflation and condition, and being prepared by keeping all of the mentioned emergency tools for changing a tire as well as the skills and know-how in doing so.

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Source by B. Palmer

How Blockchain Can Re-Invent the Global Supply Chain

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After it emerged in 2008, the technology behind the world's most notorious crypto-currency, Bitcoin, held court on the fringes, attracting attention mostly from startups and the financial services sector. However, it has recently started to receive a lot of attention as companies gradually realize it could be valuable for many other things besides tracking payments.

Simply put, a blockchain is a distributed ledger that sorts transactions into blocks. Each block is chained to the one before it, using sophisticated math, all the way back to the first transaction. Entries are permanent, transparent, and searchable, which makes it possible for community members to view transaction histories in their entirety. Each update constitutes a new "block", added to the end of the "chain" - a structure that makes it difficult for anyone to modify the records at a later stage. The ledger allows information to be recorded and shared between large groups of unrelated companies and all members must collectively validate any updates - which is in everyone's interest.

To date, much attention and money has been spent on financial applications for the technology. However, an equally promising test case lies with global supply chain relationships, whose complexity and diversity of interests pose exactly the kinds of challenges this technology seeks to address.

A simple application of the blockchain paradigm to the supply chain could be to register the transfer of goods on the ledger, as transactions would identify the parties involved, as well as the price, date, location, quality and state of the product and any other information that would be relevant to managing the supply chain. The cryptography-based and immutable nature of the transactions would make it nearly impossible to compromise the ledger.

Now, a slew of startups and corporations are deploying blockchain to re-invent their global supply chain and run their businesses more efficiently:

1. For Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, the challenge is not tracking the familiar rectangular shipping containers that sail the world aboard cargo ships. Instead, it is circumnavigating the mountains of paperwork associated with each container. A single container can require stamps and approvals from as many as 30 parties, including customs, tax officials and health authorities, spread across 200 or more interactions. While containers can be loaded on a ship in a matter of minutes, a container can be held up at port for days because a piece of paper goes missing, while the goods inside spoil. The cost of moving and keeping track of all this paperwork often equals the cost of physically moving the container around the world. The system is also rife with fraud as the valuable bill of lading can be tampered with, or copied, letting criminals siphon off goods or circulate counterfeit products, leading to billions of dollars in maritime fraud each year.

Last summer, Maersk has sought cooperation from customs authorities, freight forwarders and the producers that fill the containers. It began running its first trials of a new digital shipping ledger with these partners, for shipping routes between Rotterdam and Newark. After signing off on a document, the customs authorities could immediately upload a copy of it, with a digital signature, so that everyone else involved - including Maersk itself and other government authorities - could see that it was complete. If there were disputes later, everyone could go back to the record and be confident that no one had altered it in the meantime. The cryptography involved also makes it hard for the virtual signatures to be forged.

The second test tracked all of the paperwork related to a container of flowers moving from the Port of Mombasa, in Kenya, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. As both trials went well, Maersk followed up by tracking containers with pineapples from Colombia, and mandarin oranges from California.

2. Like most merchants, Wal-Mart, struggles to identify and remove food that needs to be recalled. When a customer becomes ill, it can take weeks to identify the product, shipment and vendor. To remedy this, it announced last year that it would start using blockchain to record and log the origins of produce - crucial data from a single receipt, including suppliers, details on how and where food was grown and who inspected it. The database extends information from the pallet to the individual package.

This gives it the ability to immediately find where a tainted product came from in a mater of minutes versus days, as well as capture other important attributes to make an informed decision around food flow.

Wal-Mart, has already completed two pilot programmes - moving pork from Chinese farms to Chinese stores, and produce from Latin America to the United States - and is now confident a finished version can be put together within a few years.

3. BHP relies on vendors at nearly every stage in the mining process, contracting with geologists and shipping companies to collect samples and conduct analyses that drive business decisions involving multiple parties distributed across continents. Those vendors typically keep track of rock and fluid samples and analyses with emails and spreadsheets. A lost file can cause big and expensive headaches since the samples help the company decide where to drill new wells.

BHP's solution, which started this year, is use blockchain to record movements of wellbore rock and fluid samples and better secure the real-time data that is generated during delivery. Decentralized file storage, multi-party data acquisition and immutability as well as immediate accessibility are all aspects that will enhance its supply chain.

BHP has now required its vendors to use an app to collect live data - with a dashboard and options on what to do that are very streamlined to their respective jobs. A technician taking a specimen can attach data such as collection time, a lab researcher can add reports, and all will be immediately visible to everyone who has access. No more lost samples or frantic messages. While certain elements of the process are the same, the new system is expected to drive internal efficiencies while allowing BHP to work more effectively with its partners.

For now, in most first deployments, blockchain is running parallel with companies' current systems - often older databases or spreadsheets like Microsoft's Excel. The hardest part will be to create new business models. Deploying blockchain enterprise-wide means companies will often have to scrap their existing business processes and start from scratch. An endeavor not for the faint hearted.

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Source by Christelle Espinasse

Gangotri - The Origin of Sacred River Ganga

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Ganga, the sacred river for the Hindu's is believed to be the embodiment of Goddess Ganga, the daughter of Heaven and Gangotri is the spot where this river comes into contact with the earth. The heavenly presence of the tall mountains and gushing streams make the ethereal beauty of this small town a very special experience. Situated in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, Gangotri is one of the four holy spots of Chardham Yatra that covers four of the holiest spots in the Devbhumi (Land of God). Mythological connection speaks of a beautiful story of Ganga who manifested herself in the form of a river in order to wash away the sins of King Bhagirath and his ancestors and to reduce the destructive power of her divine fall into the earth; Lord Shiva received her into his tresses.

This connection surely explains the fact that the whole Himalayan region in this part of Uttarakhand is scattered with many significant shrines of Lord Shiva. Bhagirath, grand son of King Sagar is believed to have performed sever penance to bring down Ganga so that she could cleanse away the ashes of his ancestors who were killed by sage Kapil's rage. Thus, Ganga and the land blessed by its presence is said to possess cleansing prowess.

The temples worth visiting near the area are Vishwanath temple, Ekadash Rudra temple, Gyaneshwar temple and Kuteti Devi Temple. Every year, during the 'Magh Mela' during Makar Sankranti (January) Uttarkashi is flooded with devotees who toil on to take a holy dip in Ganga.

Besides its religious importance, Gangotri is famous for its challenging Gangotri glacier that is a rafter's ultimate challenge. The road up to the glacier is also trekked by hikers. The trek ends at a scenic spot called Nandanvan known for its serene meadows. However, the trek is a challenging task because of the high altitude. But, for the enthusiastic hikers there is an option to polish trekking skills in the form of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.

For nature lovers, Gangotri has many interesting spots carefully tuck away from the concrete life. Kedar Tal just 18 kilometers away is a magnificent lake and the mighty Thalaiyasagar peak peepes out of its abode at its backdrop. Often used as base camp for trekkers, this lake area is Gangotri's most beautiful spot. At the same distance there also lies Gaumukh, the muzzle of the Gangotri Glacier, the exact source of the Ganges. This spot is also considered sacred by the Hindus.

The religious importance of the place however demands expansion of this small town and accommodation facilities are gradually increasing. This has made travelling to Gangotri much easier now a day. The small town does not have much entertainment to offer since the tranquility of the hills is supposed to sooth our minds the most uncomplicated way. One can collect ancient coins from the local market which is the best souvenir. This sacred town does not permit alcoholic indulgences and non vegetarian food is also not allowed inside the town premises. The best season to visit Gangotri is the summer months.

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Source by Manoj Singh Roy

Forex Mastery 2.0 Review - Does Gary Albrecht's System Work?

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Forex trading is all about knowing when to get into the market and when to get out. The Forex Mastery 2.0 system, created by Gary Albrecht and others, does exactly that, tell you when to enter trades and when to exit them.

While most technical analysis traders use some sort of indicators or a combination of some to show them where to go into the market and when to get out of it, Forex Mastery 2.0 uses a set of proprietary support and resistance levels known as Bias and Key numbers to help traders make high probability trading decisions.

The Bias and Key numbers are advanced levels which are continually updated according to market conditions. They are actually calculated, behind the scenes of the Forex Mastery software, based on several indicators based on the research made by Gary Albrecht and his team.

Once you have the Bias and Key numbers in hand, you can use them regardless of your trading style: scalping, day trading, swing trading, and so on. Naturally, this is a technical trading system so if you only trade according to fundamental data, this isn't for you.

Some of the good things about Forex Mastery 2.0 include the following:

1. It's an exclusive system - this is partly due to it not being a cheap system so some traders just don't want to invest in it. Also, the number of copies is usually limited.

2. It has been carefully tested, tweaked, and tested again in an effort to make it as accurate and profit driven as possible.

3. It has several built in software tools that make it very simple and easy to work with it. These tools include the M3 Market scanner dashboard software and the M3 Forex navigator program. The navigator is especially important as it provides an easy to understand visual image of your entry and exit points.

The one thing that may be missing from Forex Mastery 2.0 is an in depth assessment of Forex trading psychology on a personal level and how traders can make themselves more mentally fit to handle the pressure and tension of the market. This is something that most systems don't deal with and it's a shame.

However, other than that, this is a system that has numerous positive testimonials and reviews and with this new edition is likely to continue helping traders place high probability trades time and time again with speed and ease.

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Source by John J. Drummond

Forex Brilliance Review - Does This Automated Online Forex Trading System Really Work?

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Does the new automated online Forex trading system really work? There are more and more people starting to talk about it, from the novices to the most experienced of traders. It has certainly drawn a lot of attention to it, especially after the owners first released a Trend Dashboard indicator that was available for free and made a lot of people money as well.

All in all, FX Brilliance is a combination of 4 different trading robots that each work very differently. They trade 4 different currency pairs, which are the GBP/USD, EUR/USD, USD/JPY and also the USD/CHF.

1. Can The Forex Brilliance Software Work Profitably in the Long Run?

Most trading software work on the basis of using an equal pip take profit and stop loss level because this will mean that the software only needs to make more than 50% winning trades to be profitable. However, FX Brilliance is capable of achieving more than 80% winning trades, therefore its stop loss of 50 pips and take profit of 30 pips still means that the robot is capable of generating long term profits as can be seen from its past 6 year trading statement.

2. How Exactly Does the Forex Brilliance Software Work to Make Money for you Automatically?

One of its most powerful tools is actually the trending indicator. It automates the use of the indicator and also combines the power of this indicator with sound money management rules to profit automatically. By using 4 different types of analysis technology, the robot is able to identify short term price trends very accurately through the analysis of different time frames and currency pairs. So far, this indicator is one of the more accurate and timely indicators that I am continuing to make use of.

3. My Experience with Using the Forex Brilliance Automated Trading Software

This tool helps me to trade with much more confidence as compared to before when I had to continually worry about my trades and had to get my negative emotions involved.

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Source by William Barnes

A Short History of the Jukebox

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It is not certain where the term 'jukebox' comes from, but it has been suggested that it comes from the American South where bars playing jazz and blues were called 'jook joints'. The name 'Jukebox' was not commercially adopted until 1937, before then they were referred to as phonographs.

Although Thomas Edison developed a coin-operated phonograph in the late 19th century, the automatic record player was not introduced until 1906 and it was not until the 1920s, when electronically recorded records became available that we saw the kind of jukeboxes that we would recognise. The newly developed changer system was able to pick out the records, play them on the turntable and then return them to their holding place.

The early jukeboxes would have been found in the speakeasies during the Prohibition, they were heavy veneered cabinets with fabric-covered speakers. By the late 1930s they had become quite flashy, with light-up, dome-topped cabinets in bright colours and plastic would have been used for the first time. The models of this period would have been around until about 1948 and they are considered to be part of the golden age of the jukebox.

How did they become so popular?

Part of the popularity of jukeboxes can be laid down to World War II and the fact that the US armed forces took their American music with them wherever they went and left a trail of jukeboxes wherever they had been stationed. With the advent of the rock 'n' roll craze in the 1950s the demand for jukeboxes went through the roof and companies such asWurlitzer ande Seeberg exported their machines worldwide.

As the technology advanced jukeboxes were able to store up to 100 discs and the cabinet designs became more and more elaborate, heavily influenced by the 1950s American motor car and its bodywork. The look was sleek, streamlined with flashy chrome fins, dashboard style consoles, gleaming bumpers and glass windscreens. The age of the jukebox had arrived.

The Main Manufacturers of Jukeboxes

There were five main manufacturers of jukeboxes throughout the 20th century:

AMI started production in 1909 as the National Automatic Music Co. They had designed a mechanism that allowed music rolls to be selected and this was first used in automatic player pianos and then adapted for record selection in jukeboxes, the first of which was produced in 1927. This mechanism was the first that could play both sides of ten records - it was used for the next thirty years. The company was re-named Automatic Musical Instrument Company (AMI) after World War II. During the 1950s licensed manufacturing agreements created BAL-AMI, which was the largest British manufacturer of jukeboxes in the 1950s and 1960s. It's 1957 Model H jukebox was heavily influenced by popular automobile styles of the time, complete with chrome bumpers and tail fins.

Seeburg was one of the first manufacturers to have a multi-select jukebox. In 1949 it developed a mechanism that could play both sides of fifty records and it was so reliable that few other manufacturers could compete. Seeburg introduced the M100B in 1950 - it was the first jukebox that could play 45rpm records and this was followed by the V200, the first 200-select jukebox. They continued manufacturing jukeboxes throughout the 1970s and 1980s until they were bought by Seeburg Satellite Broadcasting.

Wurlitzer is the one everyone will have heard of and that is the name we think of when someone mentions a jukebox. They were initially known for their large theatre organs and they then went on to produce highly decorative, illuminated jukeboxes that played 78rpm records and they dominated the market during the 1940s. Through their use of wood, veneer, chrome, plastic, coloured lighting and animation the jukebox was as entertaining as the music it played. With the onset of the 45rpm record in the early 1950s Wurlitzer lost a great deal of market share and as demand faded so did the Wurlitzer name and they finally went out of business in the 1970s.

Rock-Ola was founded in 1927 by David C Rockola, they manufactured coin-operated scales and pinball games. In 1939 they introduced the successful Luxury Lightup series of jukeboxes, followed by the Magic Glow range in the late 1940s. The company was sold to businessman Glenn Streeter in the early 1990s and he revived the brand and again made Rock-Ola one of the leading jukebox manufacturers in the US.

NSM was founded in Germany in 1952 and was quick to conquer the European jukebox industry. It was successful into the Nineties with its CD mechanism and miniature, wall-mounted jukeboxes.

Why did Jukeboxes go out of Fashion?

The popularity of the jukebox began to decline in the 1960s when diners were replaced by fast food chains and jukeboxes were replaced by television sets. Also, teenagers began listening at home to long-playing records and transistor radios.

However, with the current interest in anything vintage and the timeless appeal of rock 'n' roll there has been a revival in the interest in jukeboxes and they have become very collectable. You can have them adapted to play your own music, you should contact a major jukebox dealer to arrange this. If you buy a vintage jukebox that needs restoration you should get a qualified restorer to do this for you.

If you are interested in collecting jukeboxes, they are not cheap. While at the lower end you might get one for around 1,000 a classic Wurlitzer can cost anything between 6,000 and 10,000.

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Source by Marion Aston

The A-Z of Fundraising Ideas For Sports Tours

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Participating in a sports tour can be costly depending on the destination, mode of travel and the inevitable social activities. For that reason it never hurts to bring the cost of a sports tour down a little more to ensure that money is not an issue for any team member. Fundraising can also be a great teambuilding exercise because everyone in your sports club is working together to raise money for your sports tour.

Every player and supporter in your sports club has individual talents, skills and abilities. Have a brainstorming session to find out what they are and put them to good use for your fundraising activities. Unusual events often work best to attract sponsors and publicity, so be creative!

To get started put together a fundraising plan, set an achievable target and make sure you have FUN whilst fundraising!

A

Aerobics marathon, afternoon tea party, auction of promises, activities day, assault course

B

Bad hair day, BBQ, barn dance, bingo night, blind date, back to school party, bake sale, baked bean bath challenge, book sale, boot sale, board games evening, boat race, bottle stall, bus pull, bag packing at a local supermarket, baby competition (pour over baby photos of the entire team!)

C

Cashback sites (collect cashback for online purchases), Casino night, clothes swap, caption competition, climb the stairs, car boot sale, car wash, chess competition, carol singing, coffee morning, cookie / cake bake, computer games marathon, car treasure hunt, concert, cover a distance with coins, craft fair, cheese and wine evening

D

Dance marathon, darts competition, dinner dance, disco, dog walking, drawing competition, duck race, dunking booth, dry cornflakes (who finishes the bowl first?)

E

Easter egg hunt, exhibitions, expert talk

F

Face painting, fairs, fetes, fancy dress party, fancy dress football, fashion show, film show, fireworks party, foam party, football tournament, fun day, fun run

G

Game shows (re-enact a popular TV show), golf day, garden party, go-karting, guess the height / weight / amount / name, gardening (offer a service), greeting cards, guest speaker, give up chocolates / sweets / alcohol / something else, girl's pamper night in

H

Halloween party, head shave, hole in one, hook a duck, horse race night, hair plaiting, hat day

I

Ice-skating, international food dinner party, It's a knockout event, ice-cream sale, ice-cream dare (how much can you eat in one minute?)

J

Job week (small jobs are undertaken for payment), juggling competition, jumble sale, judo competition

K

Karaoke, keep fit marathon, kite flying, kiss chase, knobbly knees competition, knitting, kit sale / auction (special number, kit in club colours for sponsors and kids etc.)

L

Line dancing, ladies night (everyone dresses up as a 'lady'), lottery, lucky dip, limbo dancing, leg waxing for men, letter day / party (base your activities, dress code and food around a specific letter from the alphabet), lunch money (everyone brings lunch from home and donates lunch money)

M

Magic show, marathon, mufti day, murder mystery dinner, music quiz, mouse race, mad make-up day, makeover party, Movember moustaches

N

Nature trail, New Year's party, name the _____ (get people to pay to suggest a name)

O

Online donation request, Obstacle course, odd clothes day, open garden day, opera night

P

Paintball, parachute jump, pet show, plant sale, promises auction, pop concert, pub games evening, puppet show, pool competition, photo competition, pram dash, picnic

Q

Quiz night

R

Races, raffles, rambles, recipe book, record breaking attempt, radio controlled car racing, rock and roll night

S

Speed dating event, shoe shining, slave auction, sausage sizzle, slide evening, swear box, sports day, scavenger hunt, spelling bee, sponsored silence, sing along, skydiving, sponge throwing, swim-a-thon, snail racing, sweep stake, stop smoking, shocking sock/tie/playing shirt day, scratch cards (order online)

T

Talent competition, tea party, teddy bears picnic, tombola, three legged race, treasure hunt, tug of war, top hats and tiaras party

U

Underwear as outerwear day, uniform day, University Challenge

V

Valentines Ball, Valentine Roses, variety show, vampire party, vicars and tarts party

W

Water games, welly throwing competition, wacky races, wheelbarrow racing, wine tasting evening, window cleaning, white water rafting, wig party, white elephant sale

X

Xmas ball / bazaar / card sale / panto

Y

Yacht race, yoga marathon, yo-yo competition

Z

Zoo trips, zodiac readings, zombie party

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Source by Nellie R

Chocolate Tycoon iPhone Game Review

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A beautifully elaborated version of the Serve, Cook and Collect genre of games. Diner Dash lovers will absolutely adore Chocolate Tycoon.

The Story

Cocoteenie, an amateur chocolate chef embarks on a quest to save Choco Choco village from the tyrannical King Choco. By improving her skills and equipment one tiny step at a time, Cocoteenie plans to eventually create a masterpiece that will water the very mouth of King Choco and convince him to abandon his evil ways!

Game Play

Gameplay in Chocolate Tycoon is separated into 2 parts, Day and Night. During the day, your chocolate shop opens for business and you are taken to a mini action game where you make and sell your chocolates.

To the right of the screen is a box divided into nine smaller squares. In each, a random ingredient, Cocoa, Milk or Dark chocolate spawns. Tapping on each ingredient adds it into your mixing bowl which you use to make your chocolates. Depending on components of the mixture, either White, Milk or Dark chocolates will be produced.

Each type of chocolate has a special mix that once met, will produce higher quality chocolates of gold. These are then ready to be sold to customers who appear in your shop. Prompt service to a customer will increase chances for a variety of item drops like 'Time limit' increase, 'Customer patience' modifier or even small presents which you can open for a mystery gift!

Additional equipment are available for purchase using the coins that will be awarded to you after each level ends.You will also need to purchase ingredients for running your business as well as pay taxes at the end of each month.

When night comes, you get to do marketing, customer service, learn new recipes and make investments to further improve sales and the quality of your chocolates. This adds a brilliant edge to the RPG portion of the game as you get to interact with many characters of the village. A customer list which lists a character's likes and dislikes as well as his/her friendship strength with you is also available.

A unique feature of this game is designing your own chocolate. Not just adding bits and pieces of fruit or nut to your chocolate, which is also available, but actually drawing lines, creating specific shapes and personalizing your very own design. I personally find this really cool.

After creating or buying ready-made designs, you'll need to learn to make them. The learning process in this game is in fact, another mini-game where you tilt your phone in version directions that your 'Choki' (more on Choki below) needs to go. Completing the route within the given time limit successfully commits this design to memory. Using a particular recipe for a length of time increases your skill in making it as indicted by the level of the recipe.

Remember the 3 little creatures under your boxes during Shop hours that swallow your ingredients to product chocolates? Those are Chokies and they hatch from eggs that you obtain as gifts or from mating Chokies.

There are several quality of eggs like the common rotten eggs to rare golden eggs and even rarer special eggs. Each egg has a duration on it indicating the time it takes to hatch into a Choki. Chokies have important abilities that will help you in your game and naturally, the rarer a Choki is, the stronger the ability it has. Chokies can also gain experience and levels which awards several benefits like increasing the speeds at which it produces chocolates.

It is truly impressive how detailed this game is with this many avenues to explore and nurture.

Graphics

Chocolate Tycoon is crafted with an adorable environment and characters that are almost impossible to dislike. Its cartoon art is visually appealing and fits its genre exceeding well. What I especially loved about it was how the 2D buildings and characters were shown as standing cardboard pieces that were left in different rows to give a sense of 3D to the player.

Game interface and User-friendliness

Chocolate Tycoon uses a clean and simple interface which is really easy to use. Tapping on an icon once lights it up and gives it a title while double tapping it executes the command. Showing the name of an icon without actually having to tap it first could be an improvement but there really isn't anything else I minded about it.

Sound

There are only 2 soundtracks as far as I could tell but they were beautifully crafted to suit the game's theme and the enormous variety of sound effects had a pretty good impact on the game in my opinion.

Verdict

Chocolate Tycoon adds enormous amounts of content and gameplay to the usual serve, cook and collect action genre. While this is a compulsory addition for a Diner Dash lover, it is also a great place to start for players who have never tried a hand in this genre.

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Source by Aldric Chang

Forex Morning Trade - A Breakthrough in Time-Saving Investment

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Investment is something that has to be done with intense calculations and proper inquiries before you can figure out the best stock to invest in. Forex trading is a great hassle, especially for beginners who are not familiar with the actual know-how of market workings. The actual dealers, investors and daily scalpers are the ones that pass their time in fear, greed, hope and restlessness, watching the market dash up and down; having all eyes on the trading screen to note any changes and update their investments accordingly. But the class working in other fields does not have the required time to stay glued to the screens and monitor all trading activity, to which Forex Morning Trade is a superb alternative to get a good return on what you spend.

Forex Morning Trade offers an excellent advantage to its users as it claims to provide you with constant profits throughout the month just by spending a maximum of 10 minutes of their valuable time with their program everyday in the morning. Sounds fallacious, doesn't it? 10 minutes? Is this a joke or what (that's your feeling)? User reviews show a 90% approval of this technique where well-interpreted charts and other trading platforms show exactly how wonderful or awful it can be to open trade that particular morning in total span of 10 minutes.

The robo-program runs with the help of mechanical technology where trade updates are punched in automatically every morning and you're just required to 'spend' (not 'waste') 10 minutes of your time to see if the conditions are not conflicting each other; if the program shows the stock trains meeting each other, that is indeed a perfect morning to open trade. The man who founded and implemented this idea, Mark Fric, claims that nowhere in the market will you get such a unique system of results where a consistent return is guaranteed every month just by clicking your way through the stock charts for 10 minutes everyday. What the Forex Morning Trade scheme actually does is that it calculates a profit target or a stop loss automatically in accordance with Forex rules and your morning is not wasted with you monitoring charts for hours, applying formulas, and calculating your trade position. If your morning's 10 minutes get you to see something worth investing, you get on with the ordering; there's no need to waste the whole day figuring out how the market will advance and have your heart racing every time you see the stock values on the screen.

With Forex Morning Trade's features such as two weeks of real market training, comprehensible user interface, and recommended decisional choices, this scheme is tempting to both the professional and the newbie traders. Although the idea has been praised much, criticisms have also arrived saying that the system is a total flop and no trading psychology has been explained. Some news has also reached ears that the software often gives outdated information and only 10-minute procedures are explained; there's no real guarantee of constant profits as Mark claims. Email support and responses of beginner queries often arrive quite late. These can be rumors spread by competing groups but it's always better to be safe then sorry.

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Source by Peter Hill

Cat Behavior Problems

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Is Cat Discipline Possible?

People often ask me if training cats is really possible. Cats are intelligent animals and will learn new behavior much faster than you think. Many people find it hard to believe that cat discipline is possible but despite their independent nature it is possible to train a cat that a particular behaviour is bad. All it takes is some patience and consistency in their training. So try it and don't give up.

Cats are not humans

It is important to remember that cats are not human beings they think using their own logic and instincts. Your Ragdoll cat probably sees you as another large cat and will communicate with you accordingly.

Violence will not work

A cat will not understand the use of violence as a form of discipline and so will not associate it with their bad behaviour. The only thing this will do is make them afraid of you. Hitting your Ragdoll cat is not a good form of punishment for bad behaviour, the following methods are kinder ways to effectively discipline your Ragdoll cat:

The 'Face Push' Technique

For times when you are near your cat when behaving badly 'The Face Push' technique should be used. It consists of a GENTLE but firm push back on your cat's face accompanied by a stern 'NO' command. This is a strong message to cats and used consistently will teach him that a particular behaviour is bad.

The Squirt Gun

When your ragdoll cat is further away and needs reprimanding a squirt gun filled with water and a dash of vinegar is a great tool. Just a quick squirt in the face with a stern 'NO' command is enough to stop them in their tracks.

The Rattle Bottle

If the above techniques are not practical a small can or plastic bottle partly filled with pebbles or coins when shaken or dropped along with the 'NO' command can provide a great deterrent from bad behavior. Avoid over use of this technique to prevent your Ragdoll cat from becoming desensitised to its affect.

Being consistent with these methods will soon teach your Ragdoll cat which behaviour is good and which is unacceptable.

Problems with aggression

Aggression problems in cats is not as common as it is for dogs but for many reasons cats can develop an aggression problem and you must address this as early as possible to avoid impacting the problem with wrong treatment from you the owner. There are different types of aggression in cats and below are the most common:

Play Aggression

Play aggression is the most common form of cat aggression and is usually your cat playing rough. This is almost always because they have been taught to play like this from when they were kittens; this is called 'conditioned aggression'.

Conditioned Aggression

As explained above if you have this problem then it was conditioned into your Ragdoll cat from when it was a kitten. To avoid doing this when rearing kittens always divert aggressive play onto toys and other objects like string on the end of a stick. This will help to distance the aggression from you. If necessary use a squirt gun to stop the wrong behavior along with the usual 'NO' command.

Pain Aggression

If the aggression problem suddenly appears for no apparent reason it could be caused by pain. Your cat has no way of telling you if it has a medical condition and is in pain so biting or scratching you could be your cats way of either getting your attention or protecting itself. If it continues you should consult your veterinary surgeon to discover if there is a medical problem, which needs treatment.

When your ragdoll cat jumps on the table

This problem is common in cats if they are not taught otherwise. A squirt in the face with the squirt gun or a drop of the rattle bottle along with the 'NO' command may be all that is required to deter your cat from jumping up but you must be consistent so that your Ragdoll cat knows why they are being punished.

As mentioned above it is not that difficult to have a cat that is well behaved and knows his boundaries if the above techniques are used consistently.

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Source by Drew Pilton

Do You Listen to Network Financial Networks While You Trade? You Shouldn't

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I have an open microphone policy in my trade room, which allows trading room members to interact with me during the cash trading session. It is not unusual to be speaking with a room member and hear a financial network blaring in the background. It is my belief that trading while listening to financial news can be very detrimental to your trading success. These networks typically trot out individuals to assess current market conditions and make prognostications on various aspects of trading and investing.

But there is a distinct problem with gaining trading information from a network. They all have an agenda which you may or may not complement your trading. In addition to having an agenda which is usually based upon the political affiliation the network cultivates, many of these guys are merely speculating on possible outcomes of the daily market activity. What good is that?

To be a profitable trader it is essential that you make your own chart analysis and initiate trades based on that analysis. In the short term, only chart analysis is an acceptable method of trading along with a dash of real-time indicators. There is no question that a television "talking head" can predict short-term price movement.

Today was a great example of why your analysis is far more valuable than the network trading brain trusts. I often listen to one or more financial networks before the trading begins because I am interested in the stock issues that affect the NASDAQ. There was a general consensus among this morning's panelists that the NQ was going to make a new high in the morning session.

Guess what? The morning NQ action was to the downside, not the upside. The market did not make the slightest attempt to rally but stayed in a degrading continuation channel and spent a good deal of the time testing new lows. So much for television prognostication. It is usually just generic speculation that often coincides with stock issues in the speakers portfolio. Even worse, there is a good chance it may be simple speculation about what could happen.

Another great example of misinformation these "talking heads" spread is pre-market projections based upon the overnight futures direction. In my experience, because the futures prices are down overnight indicates only a slight correlation to what the cash session traders have planned for the day. So next to year hear, "the overnight futures price action indicate the market will move to the downside" you can generally discard the information as folly. The overnight traders and the cash session traders are two distinct groups and frequently have different goals and motivations.

In summary, I listen to music or just enjoy the silence while I trade and trading off of advice given by "experts" can cause you (or me) to have a directional bias. A day where you have a bias of dubious distinction is the recipe for trading disaster. Do yourself a favor and forego the "experts" and make your own trading decisions based on what you see developing on the chart.

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Source by David S. Adams

Uplifting Experience

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Lefteris Stefanoudakis, a big name in Greek weightlifting in the Seventies who competed at the Munich and Montreal Olympics, would love to have been part of an Athens Games but he is happy to have left the daily hardships of top competition behind him.

The training for up to 12 hours a day brought its rewards, including a gold medal in the Mediterranean Championships and several national records. But it also came with the constant threat of injury, always watching your diet and frequent trips to the sauna before an event to make your weight category - that was before you had even stepped on to the podium. And that's not all.

"The sport has as much to do with the power of the mind than the body," says Lefteris, a stocky character who looks good for his 54 years and who still works out "for fun". "During a lift I was concentrating so hard that you could have hammered a nail into my arm and I would not have felt a thing." And judging by the facial expressions in his faded black-and-white competition photographs on the walls of his cramped office showing him in various vein-popping poses, I can believe it.

That mental stress is sure to be even greater for this summer's Greek athletes, given the high expectations of the home crowd, says Lefteris.

"The Greek's will be under great pressure to perform. Having said that, everyone seems to be under pressure to succeed these days because of the reliance on sponsorship. When we went to the Olympics we had a great sense of achievement because we had paid for everything ourselves - our kit and equipment and travel expenses to events. "

And even though Lefteris returned home without a medal, he was happy to bask in the simple honor of heading the athletes' parade during the opening ceremony.

"I couldn't believe it when the Greek team was asked to lead the athletes around the stadium because of our country Olympic heritage," said Lefteris. "It was an emotional moment because Greece is such a small national and we were ahead of the likes of America and the Soviet Union. It was one of the proudest moments of my career.

"It was great to be among so many similar-minded people from all over the world, especially for me coming from a small Cretan village. Everyone was smiling and hugging and we even exchanged small gifts.

"I remember in Montreal, there were crowds of supporters outside the stadium waiting to invite us into their homes to eat," he says. "Unfortunately, that sort of thing is unlikely happen this time because of the terrorist threat. Security will be so tight that I doubt any of the athletes will get a chance to see the real Greece."

Of course, terrorism is not a modern-day phenomenon and the killing of 11 Israeli athletes in Munich after an Arab group calling itself Black September broke into Olympic Village and the took them hostage shook the world. It also left its mark on Lefteris.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I turned on the television," he says. "The day before we were on a bus with the Israeli weightlifters returning from training. We were chatting to them about their progress then they got off the bus and said goodbye. We never saw them again. That was the worst moment of my career and forced me to put a lot of things into perspective. "

It may have accounted for his disappointing 18th position overall. But the tragedy seemed to bring people closer together, forcing them to forget their differences rather than put up barriers. It also sparked Lefteris's close friendship with a German security guard, whose father had been among the occupying force in his home village of Polemarhi, west of Hania.

"Every day we went to the athletes restaurant, where a security guard checked our ID cards at the door," says Lefteris. "One day this guard, seeing that I was Greek, asked where I was from. When I told him I was from Crete, he was interested to know where exactly because his father had served there during the Second World War. him, it turned out that his father used to show cine films at my father's kafenion.

"So we hugged and became good friends. But it still didn't stop him sending me back to my room the next day when I forgot my pass. I respected him for that, especially after what had happened with families."

A year after disappointing results in Montreal, Lefteris quit to concentrate on helping the next generation of Greek weightlifters. Ever conscious of the support he had been given as a youngster, he wanted to repay his sport in kind.

For him it had all started at the age of 13 after a game of football in the Hania stadium - about a 100-meter dash from his sports shop Stefan Athlitika - when he was transfixed by a room full of muscular weightlifters working out in a side room.

"I said to myself, 'I can do that' and after talking my way inside, proved it by lifting 55kg," says Lefteris. "They asked me to join them in Athens the following week at the junior championships, which I did and I carried off the Greek record."

From then on he was hooked, even making his own weights out of cement. But he fees the Olympics is likely to be a great opportunity missed to ensure Greece's future stars never have to skimp on equipment like he had to.

"Sport should be pushed in schools because the education it provides is more than just physical," add Lefteris. "However, I fear that after the Olympics the country won't have any money to take advantage of any increased interest. It seems the Olympics these days is more about tourism and than about sport."

So Lefteris has no intention of boosting the Athens tourist economy this summer. He intends to follow the fortunes of today's Greek weightlifting heroes Pyrros Dimas and Kakhi Kakiasvilis, who are both bidding for their fourth Olympic gold medals, from the giant TV screen in his shop. Drop in if you are passing, if only ensure yourself that even in Hania, the Olympic spirit is still very much alive.

1896 AND ALL THAT. ..

Ten things you didn't know about Athens' last Olympics Games.

1. The First Modern Olympiad opened in Athens on April 6, but only after a rich local architect donated one million drachma to restore the 330BC Panathenaic Stadium when the Greek government were unable to finance a new one.

2. The 245 competitors, more than half of them Greek and all male as women were not allowed to compete, came from just 14 nations. The first Olympic champion for more than 1,500 years was American James Connolly, who won the triple jump.

3. Winners were presented with a SILVER medal and an olive crown, while runners-up received bronze medals and a laurel crown. Third-placed competitors received nothing.

4. Athletes competed as individuals rather than for their country. And some, like Oxford student John Boland, went to Greece as a spectator and return as an Olympic tennis champion - despite playing in ordinary leather-soled shoes.

5. German athlete Carl Schumann kept himself busy. His gymnastic endeavors earned him victories in the individual horse vault as well as in the horizontal bar and parallel bar team events. But while he missed out on the medals in the long jump, triple jump, shot put and weightlifting, he carried off the top prize in the Greco-Roman wrestling.

6. Greek shepherd Spyridon Louis won the marathon, beating his 16 co-competitors by more than seven minutes wearing shoes given to him by his fellow villagers. Apart from his medal and olive crown, he also won free meals from an Athens restaurants and free shaves from a patriotic barber until his death in 1940.

7. Britain's Launceston Elliott won two medals in the weightlifting, coming first in the one-hand lift with a weight of 71kg and second in the two-hand lift with 111.5kg.

8. In the rope climbing, Greek Nikos Andriakopoulos took first place after being the only person to reach the top of the rope, which was not surprising since competitors could use only their hands and had to leave their legs extended.

9. In 1896 there were no worries about the Olympic Pool - because there wasn't one. Swimmers were dumped in the sea in temperatures of 13 degree C off the port of Piraeus and had to make their way to shore. Hungarian Alfred Hajos, who despite winning the 100m and 1,200m freestyle events, said afterwards that during the races he was more interested in staying alive that a desire to win.

10. Eight of the ten competitors in 100km track cycling event failed to complete the required 300 laps after complaining of dizziness.

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Source by Debra Coin