Saint Valentine Story
by. Dolvin ≈ February 12, 2008 |
 Ancient Rome was not a thriving city with all amenities as it is today. When Rome was founded, there was wilderness all around and the dense jungles were natural habitats of fierce wild animals. One animal that particularly should be mentioned in this context is the wolf. Countryside, in the infant city of Rome, abounded with fierce wolves who made mince meat of any human daring to enter their territory. But the Romans had Lupercus who looked after the poor innocent shepherds and their flocks of sheep. So to honor the God who does so much for them all through the year, ancients Romans celebrated Lupercalia in mid February. There was a great feast and young people mixed freely with each other in the hopes of getting a suitable bride or groom for themselves. Therefore the association of spring and love in the minds of mankind sprung in the pagan days. Gradually with the passage of time and advent of a Christian society, love took on another dimension and meaning. If Lupercalia encouraged eroticism, then Valentine celebration is about more tender higher love which glorifies in sacrifices. There are many versions of Saint Valentine story and it is easy to get confused. There were at three Saint Valentines who may have or may not have anything to do with love. But the most accepted Saint Valentine story is about an ancient priest, St. Valentine.
He was chaste himself but that did not make him shun those who gave in to the most common failing (if it can be so called) of the human mind, love. Emperor Claudius II decreed that no young men should marry, as he realized that marriage and families made them reluctant to join the army. But how can the society move forward with so many unmarried people teeming with resentment and frustration?
St. Valentine performed secret marriage ceremonies in dungeons and other obscure places, with only the bride and groom apart from the priest present. Such activity obviously endeared him to the youth of the society, but the blow fell with Claudius coming to know of this practice. He was imprisoned before being beheaded on 14th February. There is a very tender story regarding the death of St. Valentine. The jailor’s daughter apparently fell in love with him and visited him everyday in jail. She was cured of her blindness by the saint, but whom destiny had decided to part, what can any mortal do? The bereft girl received a message from him signed “from your Valentine”, on the eve of his death. |
Category : General Info 
Comment : 2 Comment |
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Food Symbolism in Chinese New Year
by. Dolvin ≈ February 5, 2008 |
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2 days left before Chinese New Year 2008.. hoho.. ^^
Hmm... Chinese New Year is a time to gather with family, honor ancestors and celebrate with a big banquet that symbolizes prosperity in the New Year.
Most of the dishes served during Chinese New Year (also known as Spring Festival) are symbolic of something positive and hopeful.
Chicken and fish, for example, symbolize happiness and prosperity--especially when served whole. Dishes made with oranges represent wealth and good fortune because they are China's most plentiful fruit. - Noodles represent longevity: therefore, they should never be cut!
- Duck symbolizes fidelity, while eggs signify fertility.
Bean curd or tofu, however, is avoided because its white color suggests death and misfortune.
Dishes are also chosen based on homonyms--words that either are spelled the same or sound the same as other words. Fish (yu) is served because it sounds similar to the Chinese word for plenty; whole fish represents abundance. Turnips are cooked because their name (cai tou) also means "good luck."
Another popular Chinese New Year dish is jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. In some areas of China, coins are placed in the center of jiaozi. Whoever bites into one of these dumplings will have an exceptionally lucky year.
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Category : General Info
Comment : 1 Comment |
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Be careful what you focus for
by. Dolvin ≈ February 4, 2008 |
by Roni Yuzirman"You are what you focus on", that's what Joe Vitale meant in his book "The Attractor Factor". Your focus will become reality. The problem, what are we focusing at? Is it to a negative topic, or positive. Our subconsciousness sometimes tend to focus to negative things/ideas. If we focus to a negative thing, it will become a reality. We often did this unintentionally. It's either our nature, or influenced by our environment. An example: You are having problems starting your own business. You reasoned that this is because most of your time are already taken by your full-time office job. What will happen is your business will never take off, because you're focusing on a REASON which is stopping you from moving forward. When we're focusing on problem, instead of the solution, what will happen is the problem will add up. Focus to the reason, and the barrier will increase. Focus to our weakness, and we'll become weaker. That's the power of thought. The problem (or advantage) of our subconsciousness is that it's not able to differentiate between negative & positive things. To it, everything is positive. If you don't believe it, try this: I want you NOT to imagine an elephant. What will happen? You will still think about an elephant anyway. So we'll need to do the reverse. Focus to the positive things instead, and it shall be. When we're focusing on becoming rich, we will be. If we're focusing on living healthily, we will be. When we focus on loving, we will be loved. When we focus on giving, we will be receiving. Therefore we shall commit our focus to the positives : wealth, health, happiness, and so on. Unfortunately, there's one more obstacle - our environment. It tend to drive us to focus negatively. Starting from news on the media, TV, radio. How many positive news are we seeing daily? You can bet that the negative ones far outweigh the positive. So we'll need to leave those. Some of our friends also tend to be very negative. They're only complaining, gossiping, while doing nothing about it. We'll need to leave these people, and find new friends which will help our quest for success. Those who are positive, productive, and support each other. I have been pulled to these negative focus myself many times without me realizing it. When this happened, one after another will continue to pop up. After a while, it will start to affect us physically. Our body will feel weak and tired, while we're doing nothing. Too long, and it may fell ill. When this happened, I usually realized something is wrong, and started to focus on positive things to do. My mind soon becomes clear, and I feel energized again to start doing what I should be doing. So come on, let's focus positively. Befriend positive people. Read, hear, see things positively. Change the negative into positive. Read books which discusses opportunities, innovation, inspiration, and drives us to the solution. The glass is half full, and there's so much we can do about it. |
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Category : General Info
Comment : 1 Comment |
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Chinese New Year Horoscopes in 2008 - Year of the Rat
by. Dolvin ≈ February 1, 2008 |
 Chinese New Year Horoscopes - Year of the Rat Your Chinese New Year horoscope can define everything in your year, from job prospects and love life, to more specifics, such as where you should take your holidays and what color socks to wear. Hong Kongers, generally being a superstitious bunch, put a lot of stock in their Chinese New Year horoscopes, and often use them to plan the year ahead. Below is what the wise old men say is in store for each animal in the Year of the Rat. » Rat Being the year of the Rat, it’s action time for ambitious rodents. Rats will be tempted to cheat in both love and business to bring quick successes in 2008, however those that stay out of the sewer and show commitment will reap the rewards. Those that stay loyal will find themselves surrounded with friends, wealth and happiness. » Ox Rarely spectacular, but always steady, the Ox faces another year of hard work, but will be rewarded with prosperity and happiness. A year of choices can mean butting heads with those around you; however with 2009 set to bring the year of the Ox, bigger decisions should be locked away and dealt with next year. » Tiger Conflict stripes the road ahead for the big cat, both at home and work the Tiger can expect to find itself in plenty of arguments. Tiger’s should try and dig their claws into family and weather the storm, while focusing aggressive energy into more worthwhile projects. » Rabbit Rabbit’s will find themselves restless in 2008, but must try and resist the urge to hop away from problems. This is a good year for ringing the changes, and rabbits who switch careers or apartments will find themselves rewarded with prosperity. The lothario like Rabbit will also find 2008 fertile breeding ground for romantic entwinements. » Dragon The Dragon and the Rat are good buddies, and 2008 is the perfect year for Dragons to give their dreams wings. From the love of their life to that perfect job, Dragon’s should use the year to chase their desires with a fiery passion. Both romance and business are likely to prosper from a positive year and Dragon’s will find themselves surrounded with both new friends and opportunities. » Snake A blockbuster year for Snakes, who will be presented with a wealth of opportunities, both at work and play. Snakes should be quick to strike at new opportunities as success is all but guaranteed. » Horse Horses should stay in their stables in 2008, as the year is unlikely to bring anything but bad news. Now is not the time for new romances or risky business proposals, with both likely to fall at the first fence. Instead horses should stick with the familiar and sit back with family and friends and wait for better times. » Goat Goat’s are facing a potentially tough year and should hold back from making quick decisions, which could easily backfire. Instead, Goats should use 2008 to lay the foundations for future successes, listen to friends and families and do their homework for future projects. In better news, Goats are advised to expose themselves to new experiences, making it a good year for exotic breaks. » Monkey Monkeys will find their forest full of fruity opportunities in 2008, and will find both their careers and relationships prospering. With such a fruit bowl on offer, Monkeys should only pick the ripest opportunities, which may come later in the year. » Rooster While roosters will be bursting with energy in 2008, much of this energy will be will spent running around like a headless chicken. Rooster’s will find their energy causing trouble, meaning arguments with co-workers and those closer to home. The key to a successful 2008 is to act thoughtfully and calmly. » Dog Man’s best friend will find good fortune and new friendships this year, but they must crawl out their kennel to find them. Dogs need to be bold and confident, turning problems into opportunities. Romance could be a rocky road, and dogs need to believe in themselves to bring success in their lovelife. » Pig The successes and prosperity from 2007’s Year of the Pig will roll over into 2008, and Pig’s will find it easy to build on a successful year. Romance is on the cards, and wedding bells could well be in the air, while the pig’s piggybank should swell to new levels. |
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Category : General Info
Comment : 2 Comment |
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History of Air Conditioning
by. Dolvin ≈ January 31, 2008 |
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Air Conditioner... something that we can't live without.. I agree with that.. hihi.. 
coz.. these lately there is no air con in my office.. is so hot.. I can't think... can't concentrate... it's make me feel so uncomfortable there.. *sigh...
This.. I found the history of it... just some another inform that I found.. huehehehe...
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 Air Conditioner The idea of air conditioning started before a machine was created to produce the cooling effect desired. The first attempt at building an air conditioner was made by Dr. John Gorrie (1803-1855), an American physician, in Apalachicola, Florida. During his practice there in the 1830s, Dr. Gorrie creating an ice-making machine that essentially blew air over a bucket of ice for cooling hospital rooms of patients suffering from malaria and yellow fever.
In 1881, when President James Garfield was dying, naval engineers constructed a box-like structure containing cloths saturated with melted ice water, where a fan blew hot air overhead. This contraption was able to lower a room by 20 degrees Fahrenheit but consumed half a million pounds of ice in two months' time.
A close ancestor to the modern air conditioner units was first made in 1902 by an American engineer by the name of Willis Carrier. The machine at that time was called "Apparatus for Treating Air" and was built for the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Co. in Brooklyn, New York. Chilled coils were used in the machine to cool air and lower humidity to 55%, although the apparatus was made with enough precision that the humidity level desired was adjustable.
After the invention by Carrier, air conditioners began to bloom. They first hit the industrial buildings such as printing plants, textile mills, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and a few hospitals. The first air-conditioned home was that of Charles Gates, son of gambler John "Bet a Million" Gates, in Minneapolis in 1914. However, during the first wave of their installation, Carrier's air conditioner units were large, expensive, and dangerous due to the toxic ammonia that was used as coolant.
In 1922, Carrier had two breakthroughs - he replaced the ammonia with the benign coolant dielene and added a central compressor to reduce the size of the unit. The next advance was when Carrier sold his invention to movie-theater operators, with a notable debut in 1925 at the Rivoli on Broadway in New York City. In a short amount of time, air conditioners were installed in office buildings, department stores and railroad cars. The United States House of Representatives had air conditioners installed in 1928, with the Senate, White House and Supreme Court following suit in the years after. After World War II, window units air conditioners appeared, with sales escalating from 74,000 in 1948 to 1,045,000 in 1953.
Today, air conditioners have been said to be a partial cause for the changes in the South, and for most of us who have experienced its cooling benefits in times of searing heat waves, it is an invention that is hard to live without.
Source: Jones Jr., Malcolm. "Air Conditioning". Newsweek. Winter 1997 v130 n24-A p42(2).
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Category : General Info
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