BEDTIME FEARS...

For kids, feeling scared or worried at bedtime is one of the main reasons for having trouble falling asleep. A kid might be afraid of the dark or might not like being alone. If a kid has a good imagination, he or she might hear noises at night and fear the worst — when it's just the family cat walking down the hall.

As you get older, these fears usually fade. Until they do, make sure your room makes you feel relaxed and peaceful. Look around your room from your bed. Are there things you can see from bed that make you feel good? If not, add some. Display some family photos or other pictures that make you happy. You might even create a mobile to hang over your bed.

A TRUE DOG STORY...

I would like to let it be known quite a few facts about my wonderful canines. I own 7 of them, and though it may seem like too many, for me it is not. I own a wonderful Feist (Rat Terrier or Teddy Roosevelt Terrier), all of which is 12 inches high, 15 pounds. She was christened Coca Cola for the color of her coat. Her back is dark brown, almost black, while her head and the tops of her legs is a 'fizzy' color. Her neck is splashed with white as are her belly and legs. Her long tail has a white tip. She is already 6 years old and is starting to get a few gray hairs.

Being a terrier, she loves to hunt animals including cats and chickens-much to the dismay of my grandparents. C.C., as we call her, is agile and quick, making her an excellent ratter. She also is a great squirrel dog. Every now and then, she tries to run up the tree and actually gets halfway up. She has also been seen catching rabbits and moles which plagued our garden until she arrived. She even chases the small herd of deer that live on our farm.
Now for the other adult dog. Jodee is an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie/Red Heeler mix. She may sound like a Heinz 57 but she is actually very pretty and unusual. Her coat is red merle. It is like a very red brown with black specks and spots. Even her eyes have a red tint to them, not like C.C.'s dark brown ones. She is 22 inches tall and around 45-50 pounds. She is a mere 3 years old compared to the veteran, C.C. Compared to C.C., the outgoing, sometimes aggressive Feist, Jodee is quiet, shy, and conservative. When I first acquired her, she was about 8 or 9 months old. She was extremely frightened but I pulled her out of some of her shyness.

When she was younger, she had a lot of her herding instinct. Quite often I would catch her chasing the horses, trying her best to make them go where she wanted them. I did not have any smaller animals that she could be trained to control easier so she has not been trained to herd. C.C. decided that she would interfere with Jodee's herding abilities and my efforts by teaching her all about being a hunting dog. She taught her how to chase chickens, how to tree squirrels, how to chase deer, and how to dig up armadillos. Now, Jodee thinks that she is an overgrown Feist.
Though she still occasionally chases the horses, it is only because her instincts still have a strong spark in them. I did have another Feist, a male named Snoopy. He was C.C.'s mate and he also contributed to Jodee's training, except he helped me train her to work agility.
Jodee had 13 beautiful puppies, C.C. four. Jodee's puppies looked like hounds in their body style but they had the blue and red merle coloring of Jodee. We have given away all of them except four. C.C. had two tan puppies, a black one, and a brindle one. We gave each of them away too except for one. That is why I own 7 dogs

DON'T LET THE NEXT OIL SPILLAGE BE A POLAR BEAR KILLER...

Oil is still flowing into the Gulf of Mexico -- and wildlife is still dying.

And now Big Oil wants to drill in the Arctic, in prime polar bear habitat: across nearly 30 million acres of Alaska’s Chukchi Sea!

This dirty deal was cut in the final days of the Bush Administration: $2.6 BILLION in oil leases that could lead to an unstoppable oil spill in a fragile environment that is home to HALF of America’s remaining polar bears.

The Obama Administration has put oil company plans on hold for only six months. But polar bears need more time -- and more protection!

That’s why NRDC is fighting in federal court to get the oil leases canceled and prevent a potential catastrophe. But this fight could take years! That’s why your steady support as an NRDC Monthly Pledge Partner is so urgently needed right now -- so we can defend our environment in the most effective way possible.

10 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY TWICE...

Follow some of these tips, and you could cut your shopping bills by as much as 50%!

1) Designer clothes

Why pay rip-off prices for a new piece of designer clothing? Instead, simply head to a ‘swishing’ party and swap any designer clothes you currently own with like-minded fashionistas. Check out swishing.org for details of swishing events near you, or swap them online via Posh Swaps and BigWardrobe. Alternatively, invite some friends round to yours and host your own clothes swapping party!

2) Electrical goods

You may worry that if you buy electrical goods secondhand, they won’t work. But did you know several well-known high street retailers sell their reconditioned electrical goods online, complete with limited warranties? For example:

• the Comet Clearance auction website specialises in refurbished kitchen appliances
• the Tesco Outlet on eBay sells everything from refurbished digital cameras to televisions
• Argos Clearance Bargains sells a wide range of refurbished electrical goods including laptops and DIY tools
• whilst MPB Photographic sells high-end used digital camera equipment.

Just remember to research such websites first using search engines, to pick up any bad reviews.

3) Self-assembly furniture

Why bother buying furniture from Ikea and Homebase when community freebie sites such as Freegle and SnaffleUp often offer the items you want, pre-assembled, for free? You can even post ‘wanted’ notices asking for specific items. Alternatively, find out where regular house clearance auctions are held in your local area, and bag some bargains that way.

4) Cars

Everyone knows the price of a brand new car depreciates the moment you drive it out of the showroom. As long as you know how to buy a good value used car, it shouldn’t depreciate too much and your car insurance should be reduced as a result. Follow these tips to pick up a bargain at a car auction and read up on what to check before you buy.

5) Books

As long as you can read the words on the page, a book is exactly the same whether you buy it new or secondhand. So stop buying books! Either head down to your local library, or if you hate the hassle of returning your books, swap them instead for free. Read Where to get free books for more information.

6) Software  Instead of buying software, get it for free online. Here are some alternatives to the big brands:

7) Property

If you buy a newly-built property, you’re likely to pay what’s known as a ‘new-build’ premium. In other words, it’s worth more because it’s all shiny and new – but the moment you move in, it falls in value. Plus, developers often give discounts to buyers if they can’t sell the entire block – which means an identical property to the one you buy may be sold soon after yours at a lower price. Also, if you buy in an area with lots of space for other new build developments, you may be surrounded by a building site before too long, and local buyers may prefer newer properties to yours. Read The true value of new build property to find out more.

8) Sports equipment

The world is full of people who try, and fail, to take up a new sport, despite their best intentions. That’s a fact. Many of them end up selling the equipment they bought at knockdown prices on gumtree, vivastreet, eBay or even for free on Freegle and Snaffleup. Most have hardly been used at all.

9) Blu-ray DVDs

Everyone knows it’s much cheaper to buy a CD, DVD or computer game secondhand – the big concern is whether the disc is scratched. However, bear in mind there are lots of ways to fix a scratched CD and blu-ray DVDs are particularly hard to scratch. Swap them via xhangemy.co.uk or swapshop.co.uk, or buy them from musicmagpie.com.

10) Pedigree pets

Why pay hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds for a pedigree pet when you can rescue one for a fraction of the cost? If you’re set on a pedigree cat, for example, there are loads of pedigree cat rescue centres around the country for specific breeds, while the Kennel Club allows you to search for a pedigree rescue dog by breed

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

SOLAR STORM AND YOU...

Biggest Flare ever known. 

November 4th 2003 saw the most powerful Solar flare eruption (see animation below) on record. This measured a colossal X 28 on the Solar Richter scale. For those unaquainted with the magnitude of Solar Flares it may be difficult to comprehend the extreme force of such an explosion which is the largest ever recorded in the Solar System. 

Like earthquake of 25 on the Richter scale.

Although the two scales cannot be satisfactorily compared this explosion if transferred to the earthquake scale would be something like an earthquake of around 15 on the Richter scale. In other words an out of category event the like of which has never been seen or experienced. 

    Not entirely Earth directed.

Fortunately for our planet most of the debris from the explosion was not entirely Earth directed but a glancing blow from the flare did bring displays of the Northern Lights several days later. However this is nothing to what would have happened if the flare had been targeted directly towards Earth. What is certain is that this particular Solar explosion broke all records and is an event without precedence in living memory

        October cluster.

This spate of extreme Solar activity began towards the end of October 2003 with a series of massive Solar eruptions. The largest of these measured X 18 on the Solar flare scale ( see pic below) A cluster of other X flare explosions within a matter of days made this one of the greatest periods of Solar activity on record. However this was nothing compared to the November explosion which is the biggest and most violent event the Solar System has produced within recorded memory. 

                                      

  Effects.

The precise effects of this solar bombardment are hard to determine. The short term aftermath usually involves disruption of all forms of electronic communication with a severe threat to all space satellites and telecommunications. Long term the effects are not easy to categorise but we believe these include highly disturbed weather patterns with a greatly increased risk of earthquakes and volcanic eruption in vulnerable locations.

    Physical emotional and social consequences.

Eruptions of this nature are also sure to have intense medical and emotional consequences. Some time ago, a Russian study confirmed that Solar eruptions do result in a greatly increased incidence of strokes and heart attacks. Emotionally the effects are of widely fluctuating feelings that at worst can result in broken relationships, despair and depression. On a larger scale our research clearly shows that Solar activity has the potential to trigger general social unrest even to the point of inciting wars, riots, revolutions, and a deteriorating state of International harmony. 

                            Major risk.

But could a Solar flare actually destroy all life on the Earth. Unfortunately the answer is yes. Although the Sun is remarkably stable it does go through phases of increased activity. We are currently exiting one such phase where Solar activity was again at the peak of its 11 year cycle. What is remarkable about the October 2003 activity is that it sprung from a period when the Sun was expected to be relatively calm. This shows how little we know about the Sun and experts warn that a lethal flare explosion could conceivably erupt at any moment. The fact that one has not done so for many thousands of years is reassuring, but offers no comfort for long term security. Perhaps the most sobering realisation of all is that there is absolutely nothing we could do to stop such a flare.

          The causes.

But just what causes Solar flares? Here we still have a lot to learn, but from our very own research we at NASCA believe major Solar flares are directly linked to other celestial phenomenon such as planetary alignments. For instance this current spate of Solar activity has occurred at a time when the Sun is ringed with aligned planets. To us this is not a coincidence, and it is our belief that once these aligning planets disperse to less influential positions then Solar activity will once again return to normal levels. The risk remains however that perhaps one day an alignment will arise capable of triggering a Solar Armaggeddon against which we shall have no defence at all.