How Piano Lessons Benefit Young Children
January 29, 2008
Piano lessons provide a wide range of benefits to young children. Here are my "Top Five."
1. Piano lessons help preserve and develop children’s natural creative abilities. The best analogy of how children learn through music that I’ve found is from Donald Kroodsma’s book "The Singing Life of Birds." Every songbird can be identified by the unique song it sings, but a baby bird has to be taught by its parents to sing the family song. Baby birds, like humans, just ‘babble’ at first. Mother birds sing the family song over and over to the baby birds as they try to repeat it back. At first, the baby birds are only able to sing back one or two notes, but they gradually learn to sing the whole song. And birds with two voice boxes even learn to sing their own harmony parts! Once baby birds learn the family song, they can start developing their very own songs. Similarly, I encourage students to compose their own music after developing needed skills. In my experience, young children in piano are a lot like baby songbirds!
Three Poems: Phantom of the Rocks; Lady from Lima & Bell Ringer of de Copan
January 29, 2008
Phantom of the Rocks
[Huancayo, Peru]
Night falls deep
Upon the traveler!
Low, over the Andes
By Huancayo-;
They know a legend,
Not of this earth,
Where evil lurks
(Over Palla-Huarcuan!…)
"The Phantom of the Rocks";
Should you pass thru there,
At night-be aware:
Expect not to return!…
Note: There is a rock in the form of an Indian Maiden; this is considered the evil spirit of the area. #657 5/13/05
Lady from Lima
[Dona Ana-1668 AD]
Dona Ana-but twenty-nine
Years old- Ruled Lima, Peru, with
Diamonds and gold. Haunted with pride and
Nobility? She dressed in splendor
For all to see! And pardoned a friar
Who was quite thirsty!
#659 5/2005
Bell Ringer: de Copan
In the cathedral de Copan the Bell Ringer was a boy- and his only job
(to my knowledge was), was to the ring the bells? in the town-let of the cathedral.
It so happened that (one night
around dusk) , the lad, with mortal anguish, inspired madness-in the
delirium
of the moment: rang the bells like Holy Hell!!
Metal Garden Furniture
January 28, 2008
Since Victorian times metal garden furniture has become a popular way to decorate gardens. In fact, since this furniture can easily last for many years with the proper maintenance, some people are still using pieces in their gardens that were made in the Victorian era. Metal garden furniture adds both a classic style and durability, which demand that it should be considered as the preferred choice of garden furniture.
The options range from modern lightweight aluminum to the more traditional iron and it should be possible to obtain the perfect piece of metal garden furniture for your garden. A few metal chairs and a bistro table are a classic addition to even the smallest patio or terrace area. These furniture pieces are often light and therefore fairly portable, so they can be utilized in many areas of the garden. This means you can take advantage of the changes going on in your garden, whether on a daily basis or over the seasons.
Care for Your Dogs Ears
January 28, 2008
I have had Goldens and Black Labs for many years, and they are well known for ear conditions. But remember, no matter how efficient you are in caring for your dog’s ears, serious conditions may still arise. Also, beware when your dog flaps its ears too much; this can cause a hematoma, which I will discuss a little further on. My Golden had to be operated for this.
Regular inspection of your dog’s Ears
By performing ear inspections you will be able to detect problems early. Use both your eyes and your nose. A small flashlight will assist you in seeing problems. I have "smelled out" more serious problems using my nose. This method can detect ear infections early. Normally a dog’s ears shouldn’t smell foul in any way. A dark waxy discharge this may be a sign of ear mites. A pus-like discharge along with a foul smell this is a sign of a bacterial infection. Allergies are also known to cause a foul smell in your dog’s ears. My Golden had very sensitive ears. If something feels wrong, make sure you have your Veterinarian check it right away. Have your Vet show you what to look for, and how to look for potential problems! My Vet is an amazing teacher and he is always willing to show me things. What dogs are more susceptible to ear problems?
Hydroponics - A Novel Blessing of Science
January 28, 2008
Hydroponics - A Novel Blessing of Science
by: Paul MacIver
The term hydroponics stands for the technique of cultivating plants in a nutrient solution rather than in soil. It’s a novel technique of growing plants in water which contains dissolved nutrients. This technique is also known as indoor gardening, aquiculture and tank farming.
Studies have proved the fact that plant roots are able to absorb the nutrients from the water even without soil. The new technique hydroponics is based on the concept that plants can be grown without any soil at all.
Professor Gericke of the University of California, Davis, is considered the father of hydroponics. Professor Gericke, in 1929, proved his invention by growing tomato plants in water to a quite remarkable size. The Professor coined the name hydroponics for the culture of plants in water.
Almost any plant can be made to grow through hydroponics. Today, the new techniques of hydroponics gardening and hydroponics farming are becoming popular.
Benefits of Hydroponics:
Hydroponics is a very useful technique when there is scarcity of land, and it is growing extremely beneficial and profitable to farmers. The positive aspects of hydroponics are listed below.
Extreme Research: 10 Snappy Rules For Success
January 28, 2008
So you want to learn to research well, and not waste any time. Let’s do it. Here are a few NECESSARY preliminary points.
First, adopt an aggressive I-am-taking-over-this-place mindset.
2. Develop a system for executing the research process. By creating your own rules to follow systematically, you really speed things up. Don’t have one? No worries. You can use mine. I happen to have “research animal” stamped on my forehead.
3. Follow the rules. You can tweek them to suit your own style after a couple of runs with this method. But these make for great training wheels.
4. Before going into battle, always ready your weapons.
Do not go near a library or desk to start research unless and until everything you will need sits neatly arranged all about you for quick access. This one is your call. I use 2 or 3 pens and a pad of paper to scratch out notes and thoughts, and a pack of index cards for especially important notes. Then come the highlighters. In college, I used to work the highlighters until they overheated.
A Reference Guide for Symphysodon Aequifasciatus (Discus)
January 27, 2008
This is general information on Discus, a member of the family Cichlidae. Although certainly not a complete reference guide, it will give those interested some background information on this exotic fish…
Symphysodon aequifasciatus (Discus)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes
) Order: Perciformes (perch-like fish)
Family: Cichlidae
Scientific Name: Symphysodon aequifasciatus
Other Scientific Name(s): Symphysodon aequifasciata, Symphysodon discus aequifasciata, Symphysodon aequifasciatus aequifasciatus, Symphysodon discus tarzoo, Symphysodon aequifasciata axelrodi, Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi
Common Name: Discus
Range: South America: Brazil, Peru. Found on Amazon and Solimoes rivers of Brazil, from the lower Rio Putumayo-Ica and from Benjamin Constant to Belém. Has been introduced to the Rio Nanay in Peru.
Diet: Carnivorous. Frozen foods preferred, but will accept flake foods. Particularly like red bloodworms, but feeding "live" food is not recommended. Red worms, etc, should only be fed to discus once every other day. Beware of parasites or bacteria in the discus tank from live foods!
Temperament: Timid of strangers. Easily frightened, unless placed in a high traffic area. Can be very friendly to aquarist, oft-times eating out of the hand. If given a place to hide, they will tend to do so.
A Mode of Transportation
January 27, 2008
Great writing transports one vicariously to realms that the reader would not otherwise experience.
One of these areas is physical: ancient, modern, or futuristic. A great writer can bring the past into the present and make the reader experience the culture, the locale, the people of the time. Jean Auel’s great novels come to mind.
Another region is the pschological realm: Again great writing conveys us into the minds of characters giving us a better understanding of our motives, our passions, our wants, and our needs. Crime and Punishment is a good example.
Then there is the sociological realm where great writing gets the reader involved in the world of crime, or romance, or poverty, or wealth, and many other social situations, problems and solutions. Charles Dickens was such a writer.
The cultural region is another area where great writing has an impact, particularly authors from other ethnicities that help us to understand the mores and viewpoints that are different.
Finally we enter the political sphere. Here again, great writing points out the good and bad of different ideologies, political parties, governments. It introduces us to the search for power and influence, the good and the bad, the acceptable and the unacceptable.
Basic Discus Fish Care
January 27, 2008
Are you thinking about getting some discus then and want to know a little about them. Have you been to the aquatics and seen some lovely colourful discus in there show tanks. A lot of people will tell you that discus are only for advanced fish keepers but in my experience they are easy to keep as long as you follow some basic rules.
First of all, discus require clean water free of chlorine and heavy metals. You may be best to invest in a water purifying unit. Make sure the water is on the soft and acidic side. pH between 6.0 and 7.5 with a general hardness between 5 and 15. Now is you want to been them these will have to be lower.
The water should be well filtered but slow moving and be heated at around 82 ? 86F.
Another point to cover is that discus are best suited to large deep aquariums as they commonly grow to around 6 or 7 inch. They prefer to be in shoals of no less than 6 when they are growing up.
Companion Planting
January 27, 2008
If you look closely at the natural landscape, you’ll never see a large area populated by a single species. Why then would it make sense to plant a single crop in a field or in a section of your garden? It doesn’t. Companion planting makes a lot of sense.
Single crops may be easier to harvest, especially for commercial purposes, but the plants and the land both suffer for it. Farmers have learned that rotating their crops and allowing fields to "rest" with plants that can be turned back into the soil can lessen their dependence on fertilizers. That is only part of the solution to a healthy ecosystem and successful crop production.
In nature plants constantly seek out symbiotic relationships with other plants and animals around them. We are only beginning to understand the workings of these relationships. Companion planting attempts to provide a more natural environment that will help your plants thrive.
Native Americans throughout the western hemisphere were practicing companion planting when the Europeans landed. Maize (corn), squash and beans were referred to as "The Three Sisters" among many of the eastern nations when the first colonists arrived. In this situation the corn provides support for the beans and the squash suppresses weeds and keeps the soil cool and moist by virtue of it’s large leaves. This was the elementary school explanation and probably the first and last time most people gave companion planting much thought.
