~ All About VOLCANOES ~

• Volcanoes are like giant safety valves that release the pressure that builds up inside the Earth
• They are Earth's natural way of cooling off
• Over half of the world's volcanoes arise in a belt around the Pacific Ocean called the 'Ring of Fire'. Indonesia has the most volcanoes
• Mount Vesuvius Italy is said to be the world's most dangerous volcano because of the population of three million people living nearby
• The most famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius happened in AD 79 that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killed 10,000 to 25,000 people. Due to the volcanic ash, the bodies of the town residents were well preserved, found just as they fell
• According to the Smithsonian Institute, 1,415 volcanoes have erupted in the past 10,000 years, with the most active being Mount Etna and Mount Stromboli in Italy, and the volcanoes of Hawaii
• There are around 25 major volcanic eruptions on land every year and thousands of minor ones, many of which take place under the sea. Active volcanoes are those that may erupt at any time. Dormant(sleeping) volcanoes have not erupted for centuries but may still do so. Extinct volcanoes are no longer likely to erupt
• Entire ecosystems can be altered by a volcano eruption. In some cases, eruptions have been beneficial. In areas with imbalanced ecosystems, volcanoes have helped restore balance and give them a chance to start anew
• Without volcanoes, we would not have Hawaii! Volcanoes erupting from the bottom of the ocean are able to create new islands. In 1963, an undersea volcano created one of Earth's newest islands, Surtsey Island, off the coast of Iceland
• Volcanoes have been erupting since shortly after Earth was formed. They are still erupting today. Some eruptions are quiet. Others are violently explosive.
• Lava is extremey hot. Temperatures can reach between 650 and 1600 degrees Celsius (that is, between 1202 and 2912 degrees Fahrenheit).
• On the main island of Hawaii, an active volcano is taller than Mt. Everest if you measure from the ocean floor
• During volcanic eruptions, lightning storms are common. The name "volcano" has its origin from the name of Vulcan, a god of fire in Roman mythology
• In Africa, Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai erupts black lava, which turns white when it cools - an unusual phenomenon
• The 1883 eruption of Krakatau in Indonesia is thought to have released 200 megatons of energy, the equivalent of 15,000 nuclear bombs. Even though the island was uninhabited, the eruption killed 36,000 people from burning ash showers and huge tsunamis. It generated the loudest sound historically reported.

~ CITIES IN DANGER ~

'Our crazy weather patterns are not a coincidence. As the ozone things temperature rise, experts are scrambling to analyse what effects are taking place and what is being done. Find out what is going on around the world and how they are adapting to the change':

1) A SALTY AFFAIR

Effect: In a Bangladesh village, water levels from the Bay of Bengal is rising and making its way into water supplies, polluting the once clear freshwater rivers with tiny white crystals. As a result paddy farms in the village are suffering, producing poor quality rice that does not sell.

Solution: Unable to put up with poor rice sales, farmers are making use of the salty water by turning to shrimp farming instead. However, shrimp farming requires less labour hence contributing to unemployment.

2) GOING UNDERWATER

Effect: With sea levels rising as much as 59cm by 2100, most parts of the Maldives that are merely 0.9m above sea level, are expected to be fully submerged by water within 25 years. Already, a few islands have been evacuated.

Solution: Homeless islanders have relocated to a rectangular artificial island named Hulhumale atop an underwater reef. So far, it also includes an airport and tiny Club Med. By its completion in 2020, about 150,000 people will set up homes there as their tiny country sinks. In the long run however, the government is looking to buy land in Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

3) DESERT ON THE LOOSE

Effect: In 2007, UN reported that one third of the Earth's population would fall victim to desertification - the spreading of sand. With the Sahara expanding 48km annually, large areas have been overtaken by sand. In Iran, a sand storm buried 124 villages while in Kazakhstan, more than 80 per cent of their cropland have been affected.

Solution: Currently, there are proposals to build a 6000km wall out of solidified sand across the Sahara. Other preventative measures include planting trees to form a green belt ala the Great Wall of China.

~ EARTH: POPULATION ZERO ( LIFE AFTER PEOPLE ) ~

If the earth's population of 6.7 ( and counting) dissapeared all at once fine day, nature is whera the party would be at. With our plundering, pillaging, over-consuming and over-developing ways, the most dominant species on Earth is also the most demanding of its resources. So if we all vanished into thin air, leaving nature well and truly alone, it would eventually reclaim the planet and return to its glory days of green. But these flora and fauna would first have to deal with the mess we leave behind. There are some of the things scientists predict would happen to Earth once humans are no longer habitants:

• With no one to turn on the light, artificial light would no longer blaze the night sky. Light pollution will no longer taint the atmosphere
• Power stations would not be fuelled, and with no power, nothing runs - factories, machines, water pumps, sewage treatment plants, etc. Wind turbines and solar power plants that also produce power will eventually die out with no one to maintain them
• Without water pumps, subways and streets would flood. In colder climates, freezing and thawing would split cements
• In the absence of pollution, weeds and creepers would consume cities
• No more pollutants from cars and factories. Some pollutants already in the atmosphere will wash out in weeks. Some, such as chlorofluorocarbons, dioxines and pesticide DDT, take longer to break down. Our biggest headache, carbon dioxide, will eventually be absorbed by the ocean to its full capacity in about a thousand years. But 15 per cent of CO2 will remain in the atmosphere, influencing the climate for more than 1000 years after humans stop emitting it
• Lightning will set paper-filled offices on fire after lightning rods have rusted away. The concrete ruins of these structures, however, will remain for thousands of years, just like the ruins of ancient civilizations that we've discovered in our time
• Steel bank vaults could last for eons with our paper money and gold bars in it. Certain common plastic might remain intact for hundreds of thousands of years and may not break down until microbes evolved the ability to consume them.
• Nuclear waste currently in long-term storage will last thousands of years without supervision, by which time its radioactivity would have dropped drastically. Active reactors, however, might leak, catch fire and melt down, releasing huge amounts of radiation. But as witnessed around Chernobyl, where nature quickly bounced back, the effects of radiation might not be so dreadful
• Some ecosystems may never return to the way they were before humans interfered, because they have become locked into a new state
• Domesticated, artificially selected and inbred animals and plants will evolve back to the way their feral ancestors were through random breeding. No more cute little poodles running around
• Most endangered species will rebound once they get their habitat back. But some on the brink of extinction won't survive without human protection as they lack the genetic diversity and the ecological critical mass they need to recover
• The rat population, though not endangered, would dissapear as it would be deprived of human garbage. Cockroaches will too. as they thrive in warm buildings
• Fish populations will gradually recover from drastic overfishing. Corals and other bottom-dwelling organisms on deep water reefs will gradually regrow
• After a few million years, almost every trace of our present dominance would vanish completely

~ How to Make a Mummy ~

STEP 1

=> The body is placed on a flat surface and is cut at the abdomen. The lungs, liver, intestines and stomach are removed to be mummified separately. The heart, believed to contain the person's essence and intelligence, is left in the body.

STEP 2

=> The brain, believed to have no purpose except to accelerate the decomposition process, is removed by first breaking the thin bone that separates the crnial and nasal cavities. A hooked rod is inserted and used to stir the brain tissue until it liquefies so that it can be drained out through the nose.

STEP 3

=> The cranial cavity is then swabbed with linen and hot resin is used to seal it.

STEP 4

=> The body is washed inside and out with water and palm wine, and packed with the internal organs in a special salt called natron for 40 days to dry out the body.

STEP 5

=> The body and organs are wrapped in linen strips ans sealed with resin. Amulets to protect the body are placed in the wrappings. The mummified body is now ready for burial. The entire process takes 70 days.

~THE SKINNY ON WEIGHT LOSS~

1) Have Breakfast

• Breakfast makes you smarter. A good breakfast replenishes your body and blood sugar levels, giving your brain the kick-start it need to concentrate better, think faster and think longer. You will also feel more nourished and satisfied making you less likely to snack or eat extra for the rest of the day.

2) Get A Good Night's Sleep

• Getting enough snooze time may be the best diet secret of all! Research shows those who sleep less than five hours a night are 70 per cent more likely to be obese. Sleep loss affects hormone levels in your body, making you think that you are hungry. It also affects your metabolism making it difficult to maintain weight loss.

3) Learn To Love Water

• Drinking water may play a role in the regulation of your metabolism, your body's calorie-burning engine. If you become dehydrated, your metabolism slow down, meaning you won't burn as many calories as normal while at rest. In addition, ample water may reduce appetite and control food intake by making you feel full.

4) Breathe To De-Stress

• Stress causes you to hold your breath, take shallow breaths or hyperventilate causing further stress to the body. It also increases the level of cortisol, which slows down the metabolism and makes you crave fatty, salty and sugary foods! So the next time you feel stressed, instead of going for food remeber to breathe.

5) Eat All Your Meals

• Many think that skipping meals will help in weight loss, but in reality, you might end up putting on weight. Your body needs a constant flow of energy and nutrients to increase your metablism and burn fat. If you make a habit of skipping meals, your body will think that you are starving and your metabolism will slow down to conserve energy! Remember that regular meal and snack times will help to maintain the optimal metabolism for weight loss.

6) Healthy Eating-Out Options

• When eating out, look for steamed, boiled, baked, grill or roasted foods on the menu. When in doubt, just opt for salad, no matter how boring your date thinks of you!

7) Drink Smart

• When it comes to choosing a beverage, don't drink soda--whether it's sugared or diet soda. It'll put weight on you, dehydrate you and deplete the minerals from your system. Instead, go for sparkling water, ices teas, green tea and white tea, which have been shown to burn more at and up to 78 more calories per day.

8) Cook At Home

• It takes more time, but preparing a dish at home rather than picking up a pre-made version not only saves you money, but it also ensures your dish is healthier because you dictate the amount of oil or salt it contains. Best of all, this guarantees no hidden preservatives.

9) Get Rid Of Junk Food

• You can't eat if it's not there, so rid your home, office and car of food that are't nutritious or that will cause you to overeat. Replace problem foods with healthy choices, like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meats and poultry, and low-fat dairy products.

10) How Much To Eat?

• Just avoid portions that are larger than your fist. Anything more than that is too much!

~PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR CAR~

Many women have a tendency to sit around in their cars and go through their shopping purchases instead of driving off immediately. These women make easy targets for car thieves--they either risk getting their cars hijacked or being kidnap victim. Here are some pointers to keep in mind if you want to keep yourself and your car safe:

• Do not leave valuables like your laptop or handphone visible in the vehicle
• Do not leave your bags on the passenger seat of your vehicle while driving
• If you have a flat tyre in an area that does not seem safe, try to keep driving until you reach a safer location
• Be careful while getting into your car. Look out for suspicious characters lurking nearby.
• Install theft-deterrent devices such as clutch and gear locks as well as an alarm in your vehicle

~THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE STRANDED OR LOST DIRECTION IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE~

1) In An Emergency

• Remain calm
• Assess your situation and gather further information of your surroundings
• Ensure that you are out of harm's way
• Attend to injuries and most importantly, try to stop any bleeding (by elevating the wound above the heart and applying pressure with a clean cloth) as this could cause you to go into shock
• Establish if your basic needs are met (heat,water,food) and identify what needs to be done next by asking yourself the following: "Do i have enough supply of drinking water and food, how can i get in touch with someone for help and do i need to build a shelter?"
• Make sleep and rest a priority if you're lost or stranded. Sleep deprivation can severely affect the ability to think rationally and survive in the wild

2) Shelter Building

• Widowmakers: Avoid building your shelter near dead trees or hazards that could fall on it
• Water: Stick close to a source of drinking water
• Wigglies: Stay well away from any spiders, snakes or ants as they could be venomous
• Weather: Pick a site that is protected from rain, sun and wind
• Wood: Don't underestimate how much firewood you need. Get five times the amount you think is needed and keep it burning through the night. Consider wind directions when measuring the distance between your shelter and fire.

3) Building A Fire

• Find a rocky or sandy area near your shelter to build the fire
• Search for smaller pieces of kindling such as twigs, dry bark, dry leaves or paper as well as larger pieces of dry wood. Place your kindling in a small pile resembling a tepee shape
• If you don't have matches, flint or a lighter, you can use a magnifying glass to focus the sun's rays on the kindling so it catches fire. Once the kindling is alight, slowly place the larger pieces of wood in the fire

4) Finding Your Way Out

• Do sign up for a navigation course that will teach you how to read maps and invest in a compass before you attempt any serious trekking or outdoor trip
• Don't walk in circles. Most people tend to do so when they're lost. We often unconsciously move to the right so keep check on yourself to ensure you're walking straight. A good strategy is to move in alternating directions (sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left) around obstacles in your path
• If you don't have a compass and are lost in the night, you can use the stars as a guide. Locate the pole star on the Big Dipper constellation and you will be facing north
• Try signalling for help if no one is around. The safest method is by creating a fire because smoke is easily spotted during the day and flames at night. A signal mirror is also a very effective method. When the sun is up, flash the mirror along the horizon regardless of whether a plane is in view

Leaving On A Jet Plane

A Couple of Things We Need to Do Before We Go:

1) Key in the number of your airline company and the hotel in which you will be staying at into your mobile phone.

2) Inform a relative or your neighbour that you will be away for a number of days so they can keep an eye out on your house. Also, make sure to tell them where you will be and leave a number where they can reach you in case of an emergency.

3) Install a sensor light that you can program to turn on or off at specific times during the day. This gives the impression that someone is in an would most likely put robbers off.

4) Cancel your newspaper subscription for the duration you will be away. A small pile on your front yard is a good sign that your house is empty, making it a prime target for robbery.

5) Depending on where you're headed to, you might need to get vaccinated or take malaria tablets. If you're not confident drinking tap water, drink bottled water only. Diarrhoea is the last thing you want!

6) Make sure you're insured for the duration of your holiday.

7) Ensure your mobile phone is activated for use abroad... but check the rates of international roaming calls or your phone bill could match the cost of your holiday!

8) Clean your fridge and get rid of anything that'll expire before you're due to be back.

9) Depending on how long you're going to be away, you may want to pay your
bills in advance so you don't incur late fee charges.

10) Call your credit card company to inform them that you will be using your card overseas during the dates you will be away. Some credit card companies will automatically cancel cards that are used overseas for security purposes.

Tips for Healthy Diet & Better Nutrition

1) Eat enough calories but not too many.
~Maintain a balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don't eat more food than your body uses. The average recommended daily allowance is 2,000 calories, but this depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity.
2) Eat a wide variety of foods.
~Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.
3) Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods.
~In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.
4) Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.
~Foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol. Try to get fresh, local produce.
5) Drink more water.
~Our bodies are about 75% water. It is a vital part of a healthy diet. Water helps flush our systems, especially the kidneys and bladder, of waste products and toxins. A majority of Americans go through life dehydrated.
6) Limit sugary foods, salt, and refined-grain products.
~Sugar is added to a vast array of foods. In a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can increase your weight by 16 pounds. See suggestions below for limiting salt and substituting whole grains for refined grains.
7) Don’t be the food police.
~You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart – even if those French fries aren’t!
8) Get moving.
~A healthy diet improves your energy and feelings of well-being while reducing your risk of many diseases. Adding regular physical activity and exercise will make any healthy eating plan work even better.
9) One step at a time.
~Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time.

Resort VS. Convention Hotels

Resort Hotel
- people visit for relaxation, recreation or entertainment
- example: golf, tennis, swimming, skiing, snowmobile, snow boarding, horseback riding, hiking, boating, fishing and canoeing facilities
- destination resort: medical and dental clinics, combination of many hotels, shops, restaurants, church service, fitness center, public library, museum, movie theatre
- For example: Whistler Resort, British Columbia, Canada

Convention Hotel
- caters to large groups, usually in the downtown area of major cities and can accommodate as many as 5000 guests
- high-tech conference areas with media centers - audio and video recoring capabilities
- in-house tv channels that can broadcast to all sleeping rooms and meeting facilities, satellite uplink and downlink capabilities for people who cannot attend the conference in person
- may have 3-6 person audiovisual staff (expert and highest quality)

Barriers to Tourism Acceptance

Barriers :
- increases in many different types of crime
- introduction or increase of undesireable activities such as prositution, gambling or drunkeness
- increases in air, water, land and noise pollution
- increases in congestion at swimming areas, shopping centers, restaurants, parks and roadways
- proliferation of 'tacky' souvenirs based on local arts and crafts
- building of racial tension, especially where obvious differences exist between guests and their hosts
- increases in cost of food, rent, transportation and labor
- increases in cost of police and fire protection, sewage and water and possibly airports
- changes in the work force, such as an increase of workers in low-paid, menial jobs characteristics of many hotels and restaurants
- decline in cultural pride
- lowering of the overall community's feeling of happiness asa result of serving those who have more
- upheaval of the community's status quo with the 'feast or famine' experiences of seasonal tourism

Social Problems Created by Tourism

Congestion/crowding:

- traffic congestion is a major problem, especially on routes to and from the seaside and large attractions

- for example: parking once the tourist has arrived at the destination is an additional problem as once car parks are full, roadside will be used

Local Community:

- tourist demand for water supplies for example in Goa, India, one hotel uses as much water as five local villages

- pressure is created on local health services to cater for tourist's ailments instead of local needs

- shops sell souvenirs instead of products needed by locals for example foodstuffs and prices ae inflated as a result

- crime such as burglary may increase as a result of tourism

Other socio-cultural effects may include clash of values:

- visitors may bring in 'taboo' clture for example drinking, sexual acts and increase the introduction of prositution,gambling and drugs

- local may lose sight of their unique culture, tradition, religion and lifestyle

- consumption behaviour change in choice of food for example imported goods are seen as superior to their own local items results in rejection of local goods

Migration:

- more people move to the tourism and developed destination area resulting to a more crowded environment

The 6 Travel Experience Phases

Phase 1: Anticipating a Trip

~ imagination and enthusiasm develop. The trip may never actually occur, but still conributes to one's happiness through anticipation. The studying of maps, brochures, or travel-related articles helps to build the anticipation

Phase 2: Planning a Trip

~ gathering supplies and equipment, getting airline tickets, hotel reservations, passports, packing, physical training, especially if the motivation is sports participation or similar activity

Phase 3: Initial Travel to the Site

~ This is one of the important parts in the trip planning stage. Once the tourist arrives they will take things a little slower and enjoys the surroundings

Phase 4: Participation

~ although the trip may be relatively short, such as driving to Kota Kinabalu for the Dragon Boat Race the drive to Kota Kinabalu may take a full day and the game may take only 3-4 hours, one can be full satisfied if they are able to participate or witness the events

Phase 5: Returning

~ this is the gearing-down when we get our minds back on what needs to be done at home or at the job. It can become an experience independent of the participation phase. Taking alternate routes often enhances the whole experience when care is taken to plan activities different from those planned for the initial travel phase

Phase 6: Recollecting Joys and Follies

~ Participation is relieved through pictures, stories and memories. At times, the experience develops new significance and gains embellishments during the recollection phase

Understanding Tourism

What is Tourism?

~ a temporary short term of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work, and their activities during their stay at those destinations

~ it has to be at least at least 50km away from your home origin

~ should be more than a day but less than a year

~ for various purposes not including daily communting to and from work

~ the mix of interdependent businesses that directly or indirectly serves the travelling public

~ also, a journey which is taken in 1 day called 'excursion'