Traditional Hawaiian Canoe Set to Begin Round-the-World Adventure

The legendary Hawaiian canoe Hokulea is set to embark on a historic round-the-world trip setting out from Oahu. The double-hulled 3-sail vessel was built in the 1970’s using traditional Polynesian boat designs and has become an icon for Native Hawaiian culture. It will set out on what is planned to be a 3-year journey covering 47,000 miles with stops in as many as 85 ports on six continents.

The challenge will be daunting. The crew has been trained in part by Pius “Mau” Piailug, who is one of the very few people in the world to have specialized in the art of traditional Polynesian navigation. The crew will rely on only the wind to propel the 62-foot vessel and the stars and its rudder to guide it through the high seas of the southern hemisphere. Many of these navigational secrets were passed on orally to the apprentice, oddly enough in the form of song. Very little was written. These skills included the understanding of various stars and their motion and how they would set in the horizon and how the weather affected different parts of the ocean. The observation of the wildlife was also noted as to the migration of birds and their movements between the many South Pacific islands. The movements of the ocean and its currents together with cloud formations and their colors were pivotal as well.  All of these observations of nature provided the navigators with the only clues they would have to be able find their way.

Hokulea is not built with screws, nails, welded joints or any of the other more standard methods of holding components together. It is largely held together using rope and other elements that are consistent with the traditional art of canoe making. Many of the South Pacific islands had their own secrets for canoe and outrigger canoe construction and the different tribes of the islands were not always keen to share such secrets.

History has noted that threads of languages from as far away as Taiwan made their way to South Pacific islands such as Tonga and Samoa, which eventually found their way to Hawaii as well. This is a clear indication that the sailors at that time were able to develop tremendous navigational skills; and it is the use of these skills that the crew of the Hokulea plan to put on show for us to witness as they circulate the globe.

The Hokulea will be accompanied in its journey by a modern sister canoe called the Hikianalia, which will be equipped with modern technology that will be able to transmit around the world the progress of the Hokulea. The voyage will be documented for educational purposes so that students for all over the world will be able to witness this ancient navigational art together with the experiments that will be performed and the data that is collected.

Money is naturally a very important issue for such an undertaking. As much as $30 million will be needed for the 3 year voyage, much coming from corporate sponsors and private donations.

So let’s hope that we all are able to learn something new about the nearly lost art of Hawaiian and Polynesian canoe sailing. Bon Voyage!

The Spirit of Saint Louis Defines the Spirit of American Ingenuity

When Charles Lindberg became the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, many engineering challenges had to be considered but it was the ingenuity of Lindberg himself that came up with the solution to one of the final problems.

The Spirit of Saint Louis was a single engine plane built in 1927 and designed for the sole purpose of flying non-stop from New York to Paris, which until that time had never been done. Lindbergh was a highly skilled pilot and was determined to be the first to make the flight and he was very clear about what he thought the plane needed in order to make the historic flight.

The plane would need to carry a significant amount of fuel for the 3,600 mile flight, and to compensate for the heavy load of fuel it would need to do so without many essential components to reduce the overall weight. Some of these components that Lindbergh would do without included a radio, parachute, fuel gauges and navigation lights. The plane was also designed with an extended wingspan to improve its aerodynamic efficiency with the heavy fuel load, but apart from that the plane was actually very small. So small in fact that when it is viewed from the rafters in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC it seems similar in size to the small model planes that most young boys hang from the ceilings of their bedrooms.

The large quantity of fuel would need to be held in various tanks throughout the plane in order to distribute the weight. But the bulk of the fuel would be placed in a large tank and placed directly in front of where Lindbergh would sit throughout the flight. Lindbergh believed this was necessary in order to maintain a good center of gravity and, therefore, led to the creation of the most ingenious features of the plane.

With the large fuel tank placed directly in front of where Lindbergh would sit, and to maintain the best possible aerodynamic profile of the plane, Lindbergh decided that he didn’t need a front windscreen to be able to see forward. The plane would only have small windows to see out the sides and he could occasionally veer the plane from side to side to get a quick view of where he was headed. But landing the plane would be a problem if he couldn’t see forward.

There would only be one logical idea and that would be to install a periscope on one side of the plane that would allow Lindbergh to see forward and enable him to land, hopefully safely in Paris. The simple installation of the periscope permitted for all the other crucial design features to be included in the building of the plane and allowed Lindbergh to safely land the Spirit of Saint Louis at Le Bourget Field in Paris on May 20, 1927 from New York after 33.5 hours of flight.

All the air and space craft on display at the Museum have their stories and place in history, including the original Wright Brothers Flyer and the Apollo 11 command module, but none of these famous engineering creations exhibit American ingenuity more than the Spirit of Saint Louis.

Reference: http://blog.10dayads.com/the-spirit-of-saint-louis-defines-the-spirit-of-american-ingenuity/

Keys to Improve a Happy Marriage

There are countless ways in which a marriage becomes hot and then cold or exhilarating and then dull. It’s safe to say that we all want out marriages to be more hot and exhilarating than resemblances of the exact opposite.

It’s not that difficult to keep a new marriage hot and exhilarating when couples are motivated to put all their energy into developing their relationship and continue to explore new ways to keep it exciting. The problems have a tendency to occur when the products of a successful relationship keep getting in the way. These products can include children, financial worries, job choices, and anything else that alters the original foundation of a relationship.

When a relationship becomes cold or dull it doesn’t necessarily mean that the marriage is broken and destined for the scrapheap. It is frequently the product of forgetting the basic elements of what made the marriage great to begin with; the beautiful smile, the loving touch, the night out for pizza and a movie or the simple look into the other’s eye that meant that the happy ending was somewhere in sight.

Life presents growth, which in marriage when it comes in the form of children means that suddenly the priorities of the wife and the husband have gone to being the priorities of the mother and the father. The beautiful smile is now tired and more of a frown, the loving touch is a poke in the middle of the night to get up and change the diaper, the night out for pizza and a movie is spaghetti at the dinner table with cartoons in the background; and that look into the other’s eye? Well, just isn’t there.

No, of course you’re not going to get rid of the kids. They are your most cherished and loved creatures in your lives. Financial worries? Well yes, you bought the new car, but you needed it. The new monthly car payment on top of the house payment is taking a serious hit on the monthly budget and makes you feel that all you are doing is contributing to the wellbeing of others and not yourselves. You know that’s not true but it doesn’t exactly make you both feel very good. The new job you took had all the elements you desired to help further your career but your boss has now shown you his true colours and that he is nothing more than a complete jerk.

Is your other half to be blamed for all of this perceived misery? Of course not. You both are still deeply in love with each other and the choices you have made have all been made for the right reasons. You’re just letting them affect your happy marriage.

What to do?

Make time for yourselves. Forget about all the issues that are on the outside of the intimacy of your marriage and be in the moment with each other. Here’s the challenge, get a babysitter for the kids and go out on a date and see how much fun you can have with only $25 in your pocket. Ok, make if $50. It doesn’t matter. The point is to don’t let any factor stand in your way of having a laugh and getting that look back in your eyes.

Reference:  http://blog.10dayads.com/keys-to-improve-a-happy-marriage/

Food, Obesity, and the Forgotten Art of Cooking

There are those who live to eat, and there are others that eat to live. Far more of us fall into the former group but our abilities to prepare tasty yet healthy food is becoming a forgotten art.

Never before has the price of food been so cheap. Anywhere from fresh meats and vegetables to the raw ingredients that make up our daily diets have we seen the prices of food so cheap. In the 1930’s Americans paid up to twenty-five percent of their disposable income on food where today we spend a paltry ten percent. Nobody wants to spend more than they have to on anything and food is certainly no exception. Improved production techniques on American farms have increased the yields on everything from beef to poultry and from corn to soybeans and wheat, but not all of this has been good for our health. The use of pesticides and growth hormones have allowed yields to increase around the world but obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and other chronic illnesses is the price that Americans are now paying for such cheap food.

Cheap food means more food. The amount of food that we pile onto our plates is contributing to the fact that we are simply eating ourselves to death. People are exercising now more than ever but the advanced calorie intake is far outweighing anything that we are doing in the gym or at Pilates.

Fast food is another example of cheap over processed food. It may taste good and fit perfectly into our busy and hectic lives but the poor nutritional value and high calories of fast foods are contributing significantly to obesity and poor long-term health. It’s far too easy to pick up a pizza or bucket of chicken on the way home from work when you are tired and just want to put your feet up and relax. And ironically it is also probably cheaper than cooking at home.

But the main area where People have lost their way when it comes to food is in the kitchen. Our ability to take all of the wonderful ingredients that nature has to offer and produce delicious healthy food is becoming a lost art. It takes time to buy the fresh ingredients and obviously time in the kitchen to prepare our favorite recipes, and Americans, in general, have lost their way in the kitchen. In previous generations, before the onslaught of cheap fast food, most of our daily meals were made from scratch using raw unprocessed ingredients. Economic times were also different in that perhaps only one member of a middle class family had to work and the other could dedicate time end energy to preparing the daily family meals. Now with the shrinking middle class and all members of the family having to work to make ends meet, less and less time is being spent in the kitchen.

In order to take back control over what we eat and nourish our bodies with, People must re-discover the principles of cooking and the enjoyment that it brings. You may be tired from a long day at work but stopping by the local grocer on the way home and picking up your favorite fresh ingredients will bring you much more happiness, health and renewed energy.That glass of wine will taste better too.

References:
us.cnn.com/2014/05/23/health/cheap-food-obesity/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21237/abstract

10DayAds puts together some special benefits for buyers and sellers

Classifieds and free advertising websites have been around for a while; however there are not many points of distinction between most of these. Among the most routine issues being faced by both buyers and sellers on conventional classifieds websites are the suffocation of the website with obsolete posts and lack of anti-spamming features. Whereas obsolete posts pose problems for sellers who continue to get queries for products and stuff that are not available for sale anymore, buyers also waste a lot of time in making inquiries that are destined to not yield any result. Thankfully, 10DayAds.com emerges as an effective and new age classifieds website that makes the advertisements active for a period of 10 days. This keeps the ads on 10DayAds fairly updated and relevant for buyers. This fixed period approach doesn’t stonewall sellers in anyway, as they can take off their ads before the 10 day period and can also re-activate the ad if the product continues to be unsold or there’s more inventory with the seller to sell.

The success of an ad in attracting views largely depends on the manner in which the information is organized on the ad page. 10DayAds uses smartly laid out ad pages that the sellers have to populate with relevant content about the product being offered. 10DayAds also allows videos to be included in the product ad pages, which is a great way for sellers to communicate more details about the stuff they’re offering to buyers. Another important factor that strongly modulates the selling and purchasing experience of a classifieds website’s users is the effectiveness of the website’s anti-spamming features. 10DayAds does not allow any illegal product ads or multiple ads from spammers to get through, ensuring a safe and secure user experience.

Reference: http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Arts/10DayAds_puts_together_some_special_benefits_for_buyers_and_sellers_1491403.html