Yellow Pages Antarctica

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times. Whenever I feel rushed or find myself creating a sense of urgency, I pick up the fossil and caress its polished surface. It’s over 200 million years old. Suddenly, returning that phone call or meeting that self-imposed deadline doesn’t seem nearly as critical. My ancient arthropod reminds me that, in the scheme of things, this moment is indescribably insignificant. I find that remarkably comforting.

True story: I brought the fossil with me as a sort of visual aid for a presentation I was giving on sustainability at Intel. As I opened the car door in the Intel parking lot, the fossil slipped out of my bag. It crashed to the pavement, the asphalt shattering the tip of my favorite piece of history. I’m trying hard to avoid seeing any deep meaning in that disturbing little incident.

Anyway, I’ve been stroking that poor broken fossil a lot this week. I’m not freaking out about anything. I’ve just been spending some time thinking about time.

Is life a function of time, or is time a function of life?

This is worth spending a considerable amount of time (or life?) contemplating. For those of you in a hurry, I’ve got this short sound byte answer: It depends on what kind of scope you’re using.

My brother has worked for a nearby scope manufacturer for over twenty years, so my answer is colored by my familiarity with lenses and the way they magnify reality. You might come up with a response based on, say, your connection to compost. Or combustion engines. Or maybe blood cells. Me? I’m going with scopes.

I would say that time is a function of life whenever we are simply going through the motions of the day or looking at our accomplishments or failures over the course of our lives. We can divide periods of living into convenient packagesthat wondrous year in Miss Green’s first grade class, the bust-your-butt blur of college, the home-as-preschool phase, the years in the old house on Birch Street, and on and on. We use time. It allows us to keep things organized, both in our day planners and in our minds. It’s a helpful ordering mechanism.

It’s hard to get a grip on the enormity of time when we view it in appointments, lunch hours, and television time-slots. If we pull waaayyy back and look at it, then life becomes a function of time instead of the other way around.

We don’t tend to pay attention to any of that while getting ready for work in the morning. We don’t look at Time with a capital T. That’s because we’re looking through the lens of the microscope. Well, haul out the telescope. Take a look at gigantic periods of time. Consider unfathomable chunks of eternity.

We’ve been in the Cenozoic era for about 65 million years now. It started way back with the extinction of the last non-avian dinosaurs. The most recent Cenozoic period, the Quarternary, started a mere 1.8 million years ago, and has seen the development of humans from the very earliest use of tools and rudimentary language to the present flip-phone/camera/email devices that are all the rage today. That’s quite a progression.

I’m thinking we’ve sort of maxed out the Cenozoic era. It has served us well in many ways, but frankly, it’s getting a bit tired. Seeing as how humans were the ones to name the eras in the first place (that part is definitely time as a function of life), it’s perfectly reasonable that humans should declare when the next one is starting. It’s fairly arbitrary anyway. There’s certainly some wiggle roomat least a couple hundred thousand years.

Can we start the new one now? Please?

Here’s an idea-why not put a little thought into the next era? Instead of documenting the progress-or decline-of species, why not plug in a little intention and see where that takes us?

I wish I’d thought of that first, but I didn’t. Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme coined the term “Ecozoic era” in The Universe Story, and then Berry went on to talk about what that might look like in his book, The Great Work. He calls for a profoundly transformational approach to the Earth. Berry describes the Ecozoic era as one holding the promise of humans living in a mutually enhancing relationship with all life systems.

This sounds pretty groovy, but it’s not viewed as a Utopian concept. It’s a viable proposition.

The first steps have been taken to build the foundation for a realistic movement toward this new era. The Center for Ecozoic Studies is at the forefront, but a number of scholars of all stripes are coming together to do some planning. There’s not a gloom-and-doomer in the bunch. In fact, they are catapulted by hope and possibility. They take this work very seriously but embrace it joyfully.

We should, too. We humans have come a long way from pounding rocks in a cave. We’re perfectly capable of looking forward and envisioning an unprecedented era capitalizing on cooperation and awareness as guiding principles. We do it in the movies all the time. Why can’t we do it for real?

I’d like to propose that we consider utilizing the concept that life is a function of time. Let’s think about what it means to plan an era. The cave folks couldn’t imagine the world today. We have the advantage of the knowledge of history and a growing understanding of the forces that propel a planet through its evolutionary journey.

Like it or not, we have a certain responsibility to use these formidable frontal lobes. You don’t have to be a scientist to think about the future of the Earth. You’re human. Think about it because you CAN.

Look for fossil moments in your day to consider the universe, and grasp the opportunity to render yourself temporarily insignificant.

Just watch out for asphalt.

About the Author

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse. Her course, Massage Your Mind!: Defining Your Life Philosophy, has inspired thinkers in over 70 countries around the world. Her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, serves up a satisfying blend of clarity, comfort and comic relief. Both are available at http://www.massageyourmind.com.

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Therefore, it is a hard call to determine which form of alternative energy sources on which we should focus our resources available and further, especially effective global development. What is called ?intermittency? is a very important issue concerning the application of wind energy to replace significant amounts of alternative electrical production. But a sitka spruce is still better for blades of a wind turbine. After carving your blades, you can proceed to put them together. Hugh Piggott’s Windpower Workshop book is a great resource in attaching the blades.DC electricity which can be used to charge batteries which store the electrical energy or can also be fed into a grid interactive inverter for feeding power into the electricity grid. Wind power benefits?Wind power is a clean energy source that can be relied on for the long-term future. A wind turbine creates reliable, cost-effective, pollution free energy. It is affordable, clean and sustainable. In modern days, however, wind energy platforms are much more refined and used primarily for energy production. To get energy from wind, we must focus on a concept known as kinetic energy. Do to micro-climate situations, wind is produced fairly readily in a natural process. The sun heats the ground, but does so at different rates. In areas where the ground is heated faster, the air rises as temperatures go up. Air from cooler surrounding areas then rushes in to fill the gap. The cost is about $200 and often it’s much less than that. The key to these big savings lie in the simplicity of the designs coupled with the powerful efficiency of power generator. The popularity is also an interesting story. A Home wind power generator is an intimidating project that a lot of people wouldn’t build if it were free.

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Algebra is one of the most remarkable courses pupils study during their life. There are a lot of pupils who are doing algebra because they have difficulties being able to learn the subject area.

A lot of people are not even really sure what is involved in algebra but it is not awful as a lot of people think. Most principal algebra include finding least common multiple, factoring difference of cubes and reducing fractions .

When mathematics is leaned by pupils, particularly at college level it is very significant for them to apply some planning and also some persistence in learning mathematical concepts from easy to hard ones. There are a lot of college maths courses at beginning stage that are based around constructing a sound path for the road into advanced mathematics as they enable learning the fundamental skills that are required.

Who offers help?

There are a lot of different computer software packages that can be used to assist you with algebra and these include programs such as algebra tutors. It is also possible to get a math tutor if you are truly unsure about your algebra skills. The software programs are very good and will assist you with all aspects of algebra including radical equations, graphing radical inequalities, reducing fractions with different denominators and on master the basic and more complex topics of algebra.

If you start learning mathematics from the beginning, it is a good idea to do one of the beginning level courses of study as they will instruct you the very basics and build on that so that you are able to get up to the more complex stage of maths. The beginning courses also teach you the science of algebra through the use of a vast number of different models and methods so this is a good starting point for the beginner to algebra.

Why Virtual Tutors are Not Perfect?

The only problem with mathematics courses of study is that they sometimes do not follow matters in a very logical order and this particularly is the case when you are a pupil at high school. A lot of the pupils at school are really very ill-prepared for addressing algebra and they are not aware of the fundamentals of this notable arm of mathematics.

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As a matter of fact, your generator would be hooked up with the utility grid and this way, you might actually sell the additional power to the utility in case you produce more power than what you need. In case of a usual residential application, a residence is served concurrently by wind turbine, as well as local utility. In case the wind speeds get below the cut-in speed, then there would be no output from this turbine and the entire required power is bought from the utility. So many people are talking about the global warming these days but not many are actually doing something about it, you will not only save money by building your wind power system but you will be one that is actually doing something about the environment. Its also economically advantageous to invest in renewable energy. In earlier years these turbines were widely criticized for being too bulky and space consuming. With modern advances turbines can be installed right on your roof for an affordable price. Well, then this is the article can get you startedOne of the things that you will absolutely need to be sure of, is that where ever you plan on building your wind turbine, it is free of obstacles such as buildings and trees, for you do not want anything to interfere with the propellers. You want as much wind power as possible to ensure that you are getting the most out of your wind turbine. One of the greatest things about a wind turbine, is that you have the power to increase the strength of the wind that gets through to the propellers. All you need to do is raise the tower upwards. Many people are tempted to build their own turbine blades out of PVC pipe. This is unadvisable because PVC pipe is meant to be buried in the ground and direct sunlight degrades its integrity. You would need to paint it frequently to keep it protected from light. These homemade blades are also very weak and break at very low wind speeds.
Source: GE Wind Turbines

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Wind turbines are used for several reasons but the main reason is to generate energy from the wind. This may sound difficult but it is possible. You experience energy from the wind whenever someone runs past you quickly. A second after they pass you can feel the wind from them going by. This wind that you feel if produced in a great amount can be converted into energy. You may have seen the tall turbines standing in the fields when you drive by. There is the older classic model windmill that helped to crush grain when the windmill blades would turn, it would turn a mechanism inside which was attached to a device that would crush grain for flour. There are several different locations that are perfect for the wind power and depending on where they are as to how much energy they produce. OffShore Turbines can be placed offshore in order to produce energy from wind in the air and from the water. They don’t bother the view as much when they are out on the water and the noise that they make cannot be heard on land. The average wind speed is higher on the water because the water has less surface roughness and can use every part of energy from the wind. There are several different locations today that you might see wind turbines offshore and there are more building in the future. The one main complaint with people and turbines is the noise they make. It is constant and annoying to some. The other complaint is that they are tall and not pleasant to look at. While all of these are true the main reason for wind turbines is to find an alternative to using fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources to produce our power. When a tower is built offshore it may cost more money in the long run because the towers need to be higher so there will be no restrictions. Turbines access power through undersea cable which may use high voltage direct current. The sea salt may also cut down on the length of time these turbines stay in shape. Near Shore These turbines can be seen but not heard. They are on water so they can produce enough energy compared to being totally on the land. Because the sea shore lines are considered to be very windy due to the tides coming in and the wind on the water, it becomes the perfect location for a turbine. There are issues and concerns with how wildlife is using these towers and zones for their nesting and habitats. There is another concern that the shoreline wind farms are not in the best interests of those who wish to come to the shore line to visit. It becomes a sight to see and hear the generation of power through these wind mills. The size of the towers can be minimal but this causes controversy as well because the smaller the tower the lesser amount of energy to produce.

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Wind power is ample in locations with large, full ? scale, wind farms. Wind farms usually have huge electrical grids to serve a large population. Sometimes the wind farms are smaller for villages or small, rural areas. Wind energy is renewable, powerful, clean, environmentally sound, and it has the ability to mitigate the greenhouse effect. Wind is especially dependant upon the greenhouse effect of sorts when used as an alternative to electrical energy derived from fossil fuels. Many companies are now offering wind turbine generators for sale to the general public and they are being installed by city and country property owners on an ever increasing scale. Another alternative is to build your own wind turbine at a very substantial saving. It is possible for any farmer or home owner, whether located in city or country,to access this free form of electric power and so become completely independent of the power utility. It is not necessary to have continuous high winds. I want to answer your question in simple terms. Here is how wind power works…it all starts with the wind…duh right? The wind then rotates the blades of the windmill. This turning of the blades then turns a turbine inside the windmill apparatus, which then turns a shaft at the bottom of the windmill. This shaft then powers a generator, which produces the free electricity!This process is really simple, it actually probably doesn’t even need an explanation!Now, how can you get your own windmill to make great free electricity? It’s very easy and all that is needed are reliable home windmill instructions to follow.

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What Does It Mean By Algebra?

Maths has been one of the less popular subjects in American schools. While in other countries graduate children excel in mathematics, most of the standard high school age pupils in the United States scratch their heads when presented questions about converting fractions to decimals, converting measures and units, solving linear inequalities , or solving radical equations . It makes sense that this predicament is as broad as it is. Algebra is such a wide-encompassing array of various mathematical equations that it is easy for a pupil to get lost when asked to explain synthetic division or adding polynomials. For that matter, letters are heavily used for substituting the numbers when it comes to algebra. While this isn’t extremely complex in and of itself, it lends itself poorly to the ‘jump in and play’ aspect of some mathematics. Simply talking, if a individual is supposed to execute a certain algebraic task, he or she should be aware of the algebraic tasks that preceded it. This is to say that Algebra is a procedure that demands mastery of every step in order to advance. A pupil can’t hope for finding square root radicals and roots when he or she has not learned proportions and ratios, or converting measures and units.

Technological Breakthroughs:

Although this is nothing new, it seems that mathematics grades have dropped off even further in recent years. The fault can be attributed to many parties, but no solution will come out as a result of blame game. There have been only a fistful of outside help available for students to enhance maths skills when out of the classroom. What little software system or program there was, more geared towards assisting younger children grasp the constructs of arithmetic. Fortunately, the market for such a product has coincided with the technology necessary, permitting an influx of ‘algebra software system‘ or ‘algebra solver‘ programs that permit the mastery of algebra to anyone who is equipped with basic computer knowledge.

Algebra Solvers:

There are different algebra calculators available and they vary depending on for what they have been developed for. Some may offer such abilities as graphing a circle, or solving simultaneous equations, but may not have the programming needed for resolving exponential equations or adding exponents. The users are suggested to assess the algebra software system upon purchase, although virtually all these software systems advertise their features. The best bet for anybody who is interested in computer help for subtracting rational expressions or converting decimals to fractions; essentially, whatever specific requirement you would have, is to consult the World Wide Web and explore the product in question.

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After an exclusive research over the rationale behind the maximum school dropouts, a consistency was found in the answers of the majority of the participants pointing towards Algebra. It is well said, that just the knowledge of the instructor is not alone enough to grow interest in the study for the pupils. It’s the way; the subject matter is explained to its recipient which gives a lot for developing interest in the fields.

What is Algebra?

In short, algebra is a arm of mathematics that deal with letters in place of numbers in order to work out equations; therefore, algebraic equations can be viewed as a scale. The fundamental concepts of algebra includes real numbers, complex numbers, matrices and vectors.

The Different Areas

Generally, algebra spreads across many domains of mathematics. Some that are worth mentioning are Multiplying exponents, dividing exponents, Solving non-linear equations , Finding Greatest common factor or GCM, Multiplying, Adding, Subtracting fractions and many more.

If the above mentioned domains are already making you nervous, I hope that the definitions to follow will relieve your anxiousness and give real insight in to the subject.

Exponents is a notion that indicates multiplication of identical factors. Fractions on the other hand are used for expressing numbers that are pieces of a whole. Similarly there are other areas too in algebra which are scary by name but equally interesting by their definition and purpose. To put down a few more items - Mixed numbers, Quadratic formula, Graphing linear inequalities, solving compound in equalities, Factoring binomials, and Factoring polynomials; are all algebraic expressions.

Although you may find it puzzling to understand mixed numbers, but it will really interest you to note that they are none other than a form of fractions. Graphing linear inequalities states its function pretty distinctly by its name. Similarly there are many other algebraic areas which are really interesting to work with.

Finding a Tutor

If you are curious in understanding the world of algebraic expressions but do not have a private instructor to aid you in the operation, do not worry since online tutorials will come for your rescue. These tutorials stress the practicalities rather than the technicalities, demonstrating stable techniques. Algebraic helper software programs can assist you in the step-by-step process of figuring and working through maths problems in a systematic, step by step manner while supplying examples and explanations for all steps involved.

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We can say that Algebra is the heart of mathematics. An in depth knowledge of algebra and its basics is required before you could work on more complex mathematical problems. Deriving the answer for the product of 223 and 112 is quite easy if you use a calculating machine. However, in a case where you need to work around the exponential of 223 and logarithm of 112, you will surely need an algebraic software application. Graphing a circle will be easy for this given formula X ² + Y² = 4 but when it comes for an inequality like (X-2)² + (Y-4)² > 20 then it will be quite harder to plot the graph. In this situation algebra software applications can help you immensely since you only need to enter the inequality and graph will be plotted within a fraction of second. Such software packages can very easily resolve any kind of algebraic, arithmetical and radical expressions of any kind of difficulty.

Looking for Domain and Range of a Function

Although, working out the domain and range of a function such as Y = X² can be easily found by considering the number range on the X-Y plane, defining the domain and range of a log(tan 2x + sin 3x) = cosine^(-4)(2x) will be excessively difficult. But now you can solve such critical and complex problems with an algebra calculator without breaking sweat and you will also be getting all the steps as well

Coordinate Geometry

Now you can easily find the vertex and directrix and whether parabola opens up or down by just inserting the equation into algebra software. Addition, subtraction and multiplication of polynomials are quite deadening, since they involve lots of terms to manipulate. But algebra calculator will do this job in much less time and with 100% accuracy. Similarly, algebra calculators can save the trouble for you in calculating matrices of 33 or 44 order or its inverse matrices.

So, with the introduction of algebra software programs, the times where you feared the sight of indices, rational numbers or non-linear equations , comes to an end. If you could not stand geometry, you may even start liking it now thanks to the computerized algebra systems that will automatically plot everything you ever need.

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Mesotheliomahas a few primary symptoms. Pleural mesotheliomas main symptom is shortness of breath due to pleural effusion ” the accumulation of fluid in the pleura, or membrane, surrounding the lung. Another common symptomis chest pain due to the tumor invading the chest wall. Other symptoms may include weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats

The most common sign of patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, which begins in the abdomen, is the swelling of the abdomen because of fluid accumulation (ascites), bowel obstruction, and stomach pain.

It is key to understand that many of these symptoms may be caused by other conditions. But if you have experienced any of these symptoms and have had asbestos exposure, you should see your doctor.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is problematic to diagnose, because less serious conditions also cause similar symptoms. These symptoms include:

• Having trouble breathing
• Chest or lower back pains due to accumulated fluid in the pleura
• Running a temperature
• Nausea
• Raspy voice
• Having trouble swallowing
• Spitting up blood

Do not attempt self-diagnosis. Sufferers of the above symptoms should not panic, and should consult their doctor. A biopsy is the primary way the condition is confirmed. A pathologist takes a sample of tissue from the suspected area and examines it to return a highly accurate diagnosis. Biopsies are generally not painful.

A CT scan (Computer Tomography is an option if you dont want a biopsy. This is an X-ray procedure where a scanner takes many cross-sectional images as it rotates around the body. A patient might have to ingest a dye to help define the pictures. CT scans have the advantage of being non-invasive and easier, and they are considered an effective way of diagnosing the disease. Opinion is divided as to whether the scan is more or less cost-effective than a biopsy. If irregularities are detected, a biopsy may be needed on top of the CT scan to confirm whether or not the irregularity is a tumor, and if so, whether it is malignant or benign. Pleural mesothelioma can also be diagnosed by looking for cancer cells in a sample of fluid from the pleura.

Mesothelioma can also be screened and then diagnosed by any of these methods. Screening is when patients who may suspect they are at risk are tested for the condition without displaying any symptoms, to ensure they are not at risk to get the cancer or to catch the cancer early. Patients who have in their past inhaled asbestos, should be screened for mesothelioma.

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