THE MINDREADER ICEBREAKER An Easy and Clever Card Trick

This activity helping trainees focus on how to use learning tools, using the flashy card trick at the beginning of a seminar also sets the mood for creative teaching and the intentional learning that follows. This icebreaker is useful for training programs in which the participants don't all know each other, such as public seminars. It is also useful for on-site programs in which "participants come in acting like they know it all already". Starting a seminar this way focuses attention clearly on the seminar leader and smoothes the transition into learning. KINDS OF SKILLS TARGETED The card trick reminds the ...

Why Barack Hussein Obama II is so popular in your country?

After a working visit to Barack Obama and give farewell after elected as president of the United States, a Representative Ambassador from one of the countries in Asia were interviewed by a journalist from the United States. However, because of difficulty using the English language, the journalist asked him in the language of the country's ambassador "In a survey conducted in your country, Barack Obama became one of the most popular, while your own country does not have any relationship with the historical Barack Obama. How do you explain it?", A journalist start in question. Representative Ambassador then explain the answer ...

Why Homeschool?

Most parents spend at least a portion of their time educating their children at home-even those who enroll their children in conventional or public schools. Common is the snapshot of a preschooler perched upon a loved one's lap for story time. Happy is the child skipping along a nature trail stopping to gaze into a cricket's eye. Usually these vignettes evoke warm feelings, but how often do we think about the learning that is being done in these scenes? Your middle school child has outgrown your lap, and may be more interested in exploring a crater on Mars than ...

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

3/4 cup Mint chocolate chips; melted 1/2 cup Margarine; softened 2 tsp Vanilla 2 Egg whites; whipped 1 3/4 cup Unbleached flour 3/4 cup Mint chocolate chips 1/2 cup Granulated sugar 1/2 cup Brown sugar 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1/4 tsp Salt Preheat oven at 350. Melt 3/4 cups chocolate chips, in a saucepan over lowest heat. When chips begin to melt, remove from heat; stir. Return to heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, combine melted chocolate chips, margarine, vanilla, and egg whites. In another mixing bowl, combine flour, remaining chcocolate chips, sugars, baking soda, and salt ...

Mango Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1 cup granulated sugar, divided 9 large egg yolks 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced In a medium heavy−bottom saucepan, combine the milk, cream and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Bring just to a scald. Meanwhile, put the remaining sugar (3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons) and the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk just to blend. While gently whisking the yolks, drizzle the hot cream mixture into them so that they are gradually warmed up. Return the mixture to the saucepan and set over medium−low heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon (making sure that ...

Burnt Caramel Ice Cream

1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup hot water, divided 4 eggs 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 cups heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Heat granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the water in a large skillet on medium high heat until the sugar melts and boils, stirring occasionally. Boil until mixture is a dark brown; remove from heat. Gradually stir in remaining 3/4 cup water. Cool to room temperature and set aside. Beat eggs in a medium bowl until thick and lemon colored; gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Stir in cream and vanilla extract; stir in the caramel mixture. Chill. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers directions. Source: Ice Cream ...

When a Tea Is Not a Tea

True tea is that which comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. If it does not come from the plant I endearingly call "Cami," it isn't technically tea. It's like Champagne in that respect-in order to be called "Champagne," wine has to come from the Champagne area of France. If it comes from anywhere else, it is technically referred to as "sparkling wine." Similarly, if a beverage does not come from the Camellia sinensis plant, it cannot be called a "tea"-even though most of the world refers to any hot beverage that looks like, smells like, or tastes like tea-as ...

The Four Teas of Camellia Sinensis - Black Tea

Of the four tea types, black tea is allowed to oxidize the longest and is known for its beautiful red color and light sweet taste. (The Chinese call it red tea because the actual tea liquid is red; westerners call it black tea because the tea leaves used to brew it are usually black.) This process produces a hearty, deep, rich flavor. Black tea contains the most caffeine, but still has only about half the amount of a regular cup of coffee. About 75 percent of the tea produced worldwide is black tea; it is the type of tea ...

The Four Teas of Camellia Sinensis - White Tea

White tea, which has always been revered as the "Tea of Royals," is the most delicate and least processed tea in the world. White tea, named for the hao, or the white hair on the bud or baby leaf, is known for its mild flavor and natural sweetness. It is made from young leaves that have undergone no oxidation. The production of authentic white tea is restricted to a limited geographical area in southeastern China's Fujian province. In fact, it wasn't until the 1990s that white tea was introduced to the Western world. It possesses the least caffeine of all ...

The Four Teas of Camellia Sinensis - Oolong Tea

Oolong tea, referred to as the Champagne of teas, is a semioxidized whole-leaf tea, which retains all of the nutrients and natural healing factors contained in unfermented green tea, but without the raw, grassy taste. It falls somewhere between green and black tea, with complex flavor and aroma. The leaves go through a very brief fermentation process, which eliminates harsh irritants from the raw tea and creates thesubtle fragrances and flavors that distinguish this tea from all other varieties. Oolong legend tells us Wu Liang (who lived during the Ming Dynasty in China, around 1400 AD), a tea farmer, went ...

The Four Teas of Camellia Sinensis - Green Tea

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), production and preparation of tea changed throughout China. Even then, people were looking for convenience; a new form of tea emerged as a result of people wanting more and more tea without having to take the time to brew the leaves. The tea leaves were picked and quickly steamed to preserve their color and fresh character. After steaming, the leaves were dried. The finished ta was then ground into fine powders that were whisked in wide bowls. The resulting beverage resembled what we know of today as instant tea-you mixed the tea powder ...

Definition and Components of Need Assessment - A Trainer’s Guidance

A needs assessment is a systematic study or survey of an organization for the purpose of making recommendations, and is often employed in performance consulting to get to the cause of a performance problem. Thus typically, a needs assessment consists of a survey plus recommendations. Although the term "needs assessment" itself can refer to bald-faced promotions ("We'll do a needs assessment for your department and show you how our solution will meet all your performance needs") or simple order-taking questionnaires ("What off-the-shelf courses are needed to train our employees on the new system?"), we shall use it here to ...

Need Assessment Phases – Trainer’s Guidance

The three phases of carrying out a needs assessment are design, deployment, and reporting, as follows: I. Design: The Five Methods of Data Gathering The five general methods for gathering data about a business, a specific need, or a performance problem, are: Direct Observation. This consists of simply looking about with a trained and focused eye-the "environmental scan" that "believes what it sees, not what it hears." Often overlooked, direct observation is often a valuable method for gathering information for a needs analysis. Without a cool-eyed look at "the facts," prescribing solutions will accomplish little. A good needs assessor is also a ...

Do All Kids Have Out-of-the-Box Potential? You Bet They Do!

In most cases, our concern is for our child's well-being; we want our children to be well liked, to feel they're part of a team, and, dare I say it-popular. We justify these feelings by thinking that the mainstream kid integrates better into the community and therefore will interact more effectively, make a stronger contribution, and ultimately be more successful than the child who thinks as a unique individual. In many cases, mainstream kids do assimilate more smoothly and easily into social situations and their own personal neighborhoods, but often it is the children with out-of-the-box characteristics, who have ...

Gudeg: Jackfruit Recipe from Ancient City - Yogyakarta

Material: 1 kg jackfruit. Not too young and not too mature. Cut it in pieces with rectangular-shaped box. About 5x5x10cm12 boiled eggs with no eggshell 1000 cc of coconut water Curry leaves (daun salam-Indonesia) 8 - 10 sheets Galangal (Lengkuas-Indonesia) 5 - 8 slices, ½ x 8cm in slices lengthwise Palm sugar (gula merah-Indonesia) 200 grams, in fine slices 2000 cc of milk coconut Mashed ingredients: 12 grains of red onion 12 cloves garlic 1 tsp coriander 2 tablespoon salt How to Make: Stage I Use a big pan with a thick layer as it will take a long time to dry out the water. ...

The Benefits of Job Rotations

They keep bright and energetic employees engaged and make their work more interesting. Often great employees are also smart employees. The deadly dullness of doing the same thing month after month, especially if you are very good at it, can be painfully boring for quick minds. After a refreshing stint on another job, the employee may find a renewed interest in her or his duties. They offer new opportunities within the same department or company. After all, employees are going to leave you sometime. It's better to retain them somewhere in the organization than to lose them completely. They increase the ...

Classes of Bread Wheat

Of the types of bread wheat grown here in the United States, 5 primary classifications are of major importance: hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, soft red winter wheat, hard white wheat, and soft white wheat. Hardness, growing season, and color are the three criteria used to draw the distinctions among these classes. Hard and soft refer not only to the actual hardness of kernel of wheat (i.e., how hard it is to chew) but more specifically to the kernel's protein content: The hardest wheats genetically contain more protein and fewer starch granules. Hard wheats contain a layer ...

Elements of self-esteem

My reading and observations have led me to the conclusion that there are seven main elements that form the foundation for social and emotional health, which thereby lead to high self-esteem. I believe that the interaction is reciprocal - high levels of self-esteem will enable the consolidation and growth of these seven elements. With the right support and environment, the seeds of these elements sown in childhood should continue to grow and, hopefully, to flourish through adulthood. Self-knowledge Developing a sense of security in terms of a strong sense of self: an understanding of who ‘I' am and where I fit ...

Our Child Self-Esteem – The Foundation of Learning

What is self-esteem? How does it develop? What happens when self-esteem is low? These questions have been addressed in numerous research articles and self-help books over the last 20 years or so, reflecting the recognition that self-esteem is a primary factor in the building and maintenance of social and emotional well-being. A child who has a healthy level of self-esteem is more likely to achieve at her full potential and form successful relationships than the child who suffers from acute feelings of lack of self-worth. Self-esteem is about feeling lovable and feeling competent. If you have been drawn to this ...

Sales Force

A company's sales force consists of its staff of salespeople. The role of the sales force depends to a large extent on whether a company is selling directly to consumers or to other businesses. In consumer sales, the sales force is typically concerned simply with taking and closing orders. These salespeople are not responsible for creating demand for the product, since demand for the product has already been created by advertising and promotion. They may provide the consumer with some product information, but individuals involved in consumer sales are often not concerned with maintaining long-term customer relationships.Examples of consumer ...

NABLUS The largest West Bank city

Nablus is 30 miles north of Jerusalem in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Known in the Bible as Shechem, it was the home of Jacob, Jacob's well, and the tomb of Joseph; it was the place of Jeroboam's rebellion and, as chief city of Samaria, became his capital of the kingdom of Israel. It was rebuilt and renamed Neapolis (from which the name Nablus derives) by the Roman emperor Vespasian, suffered damage in the Crusades, and became part of the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat and dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, it became ...

The importance of thinking the future: Setting post-retirement

For the most productive people at this time, retirement is a gift in the future which is the price of all efforts made so far. Mentions retirement will bring imagination to the activities that will enliven and beatify. Conducting tours, enjoy the summer holidays, gardening, spending time with grandchildren, playing golf every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and begin to make a secret recipe from the cookbook might be one of the desires of your retirement future. Finally we will be free to enjoy every bit of personal Gratification we have postponed the day since our first parents said, "If ...

Gudeg: an inherited recipe from the ancient city of Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta. This is a city in central Java, Indonesia. A place with a traditional Javanese atmosphere, very down to earth. Located in this city will take you to see how an ancestor's wisdom is embedded on every side of Yogyakarta through a small kingdom, sultanate of Yogyakarta. This Tradition is well maintained and easy to find as day-to-day life of the people of Yogyakarta. Start from the household life, socializing, communication ways, to the existing building. Do not forget, the special food delicacy from Yogyakarta, Gudeg. In Javanese culture, mostly in almost any food has a sweet taste and arouse ...

Hopeless Genie of the lamp

One night, while walking along the California coast, a man finds an old lamp placed on a stone. When he took and rubs it, Genie suddenly appears. "Good, that's enough!" Genie is rage. "This is the fourth time this month people annoying me! I'm so angry until I will only grant one request instead of three! So keep it quick! Tell what you wish, and don't throw away my time all day long!" He thinks quickly, and then said, "Yah, I always dreamed to go to Hawaii, but I fear flying, and I tend to be seasick on the boat. What ...

Vegas

There's a guy who lives in Ohio. One morning, he hears a voice in his head. The voice says, "Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas." He ignores the voice. Later in the day, he hears the voice again. "Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas." Again, he ignores the voice. Soon he hears the voice every minute of the day. "Quit your job, sell your house, take all your money, and go to Las Vegas." He can't take it anymore. He believes the voice. He quits his job, sells his ...

Rayon

The development of rayon as a synthetic fiber that could be used in textiles grew out of work on the electric light by Joseph Swan (1828-1914) in Britain. Swan developed a carbon filament lamp and a process to make nitrocellulose fibers for lamp filaments. Swan worked on a filament lightbulb from 1845 to 1878, successfully producing a lamp with a filament in the later year. Swan kept seeking a better filament and introduced his squirting process for nitrocellulose filaments in 1883. In his process, nitrocellulose was forced through small holes after an acetic acid bath. In 1889, Comte Hilare de ...

Hearing Trouble

A man goes to Ear specialist doctor and wants an advice, "I think my wife's hearing is not as good as it used to be. What should I do, doc?" The doctor replies, "Ok. You can try this test to make sure. When your wife is in the kitchen and doing dishes, stand sixteen feet behind her and ask her a question or ask her anything to answer you, if she doesn't respond keep moving closer asking the question until she hears you." Then, that man goes home and sees his wife preparing dinner. He stands sixteen feet behind her and ...

What is stress?

‘Stress' is a word which is rarely clearly understood and there is no single definition of the term. It means different things to different people. Indeed, almost anything anyone can think of, pleasant or unpleasant, has been described as a source of stress, such as getting married, being made redundant, getting older, getting a job, too much or toolittle work, solitary confinement or exposure to excessive noise. Stress can be defined in many ways, thus: The common response to attack (Selye, 1936); Any influence that disturbs the natural equilibrium of the living body; Some taxation of the body's resources in order to respond ...

Braille

Louis Braille (1809-1852) developed the system of braille writing for the blind. He was born with sight but was accidentally blinded in one eye at age 3 and lost the vision in his other eye by age 5. Attending a school for the blind, he learned of a system of embossed symbols, known as sonography or night writing, invented by a French army officer for nighttime communication among soldiers in the field. Braille had already learned a more complex system of embossed type that was very difficult, and he soon began to experiment with a more readily understood system. ...

Start Breast Feeding

For the first few days after birth mom's breasts produce a special food called colostrum, which looks like rich creamy milk and is sometimes quite yellow in colour. This contains all the food your baby needs, as well as antibodies, which pass your own resistance to certain infections on to your baby. Your breasts may become very large and heavy for a while and may feel uncomfortable, or even painful, at first. Milk may pour out from your nipples and you may feel more relaxed wearing breast pads. Change them frequently, and avoid those with plastic backs. Or you can ...

papier-mâché

In 1772, Henry Clay, a craftsman in Birmingham, England, improved on an ancient plastic material that had come to Europe by way of Persia (now known as Iran). He used a method of building up paper panels on boards of wood, then impregnating the paper panels with varnish to produce a substance that could be planed, sawed, or doweled. The paper he used was largely made up of cotton fibers, and his resulting papier-mâché was therefore very strong. Clay held the British patent on the material until 1802, and his process was widely pirated by other manufacturers in the Birmingham ...

An Invitation

Celluloid

Celluloid was the first true plastic invented, although other artificial materials, such as papier-mâché, had preceded it. Celluloid was first developed in 1856 by a British chemist, Alexander Parkes (1813-1890), a professor of natural science at Birmingham University, who named the material parkesine. Parkes mixed nitrocellulose (also known as guncotton) with camphor, producing a hard, flexible, and transparent material. After attempting to market parkesine, his firm went bankrupt. But in 1868, John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920), an American inventor, attempted to win a $10,000 prize offered by the New York company of Phelan and Collender for a substitute for ivory to ...

Laser Disc

David Paul Gregg envisioned and patented an optical disc for recording a video record, conceiving the idea in 1958 and receiving patents on the process in 1961 and 1969. He was employed at the time at Westrex Corporation in Hollywood, California. The system he developed was acquired by MCA, which produced the first consumer optical disc player in 1978. Later, Pioneer trademarked the term LaserDisc. The technology was superseded in 1997 by the introduction of the digital versatile disc or DVD, also trademarked by Pioneer. These and otheroptical and laser disc devices are manufactured under license from the Gregg ...

Selling Tractor

"I haven't sold one tractor all month," a tractor salesman tells his friend. "That's nothing compared to my problem," his buddy replies. "I was milking my cow when its tail whips around and hits me in the forehead, so I grabbed some string and tied its tail up to the rafters. Then I go back to milk it and it kicks me in the head with its right hind leg, so I grab some rope and tie its one leg up to the rafters. I go back to try and milk it again when it kicks me in the head ...

Ice Cream

The ancient Romans flavored ice with fruit and honey, and Marco Polo (1254-1324) brought several recipes for flavored ice from the Far East to Italy, where it caught on in the 15th and 16th centuries. Water ice and sherbet shops sprang up in France in the 17th century. In the late 18th century, cream was added to water ices at shops in Paris. Ice cream was popular in the American colonies and the early republic. The hand-cranked ice-cream maker was invented in 1846 by Nancy Johnson in New Jersey, and the first known commercial ice-cream factory was established in ...

Accident

A woman gets a call from the hospital. The doctor at the hospital says, "Mrs. Smith, it's about your husband. He's been in a terrible car accident." Mrs. Smith says, "Ohmigod. What happened?" The doctor says, "Well, I've got good news, and bad news." Mrs. Smith says, "Give me the bad news first." The doctor says, "Well, your husband suffered extensive injuries and will take years to recuperate. He broke both of his arms, among other things, so for at least a year you'll have to spoon-feed him, bathe him, and even wipe his ass for him." Mrs. Smith says, "My God, that's awful. What's ...

Condom

The origin of the condom and the term for it are a bit of a mystery, probably compounded by the fact that such items could not be discussed in polite company in the 19th and early 20th centuries. According to one legend, a Dr. Condom sometime during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685) in Britain provided a sheath for contraceptive purposes to the monarch, who wished to limit the number of illegitimate children he might father. No contemporary documented records have surfaced to demonstrate that there was such a doctor in reality. However, the Italian physician Gabriel Fallopio (or ...

Guillotine

During the French Revolution and the Terror that followed, the new government executed tens of thousands of members of the former ruling classes. In 1792 Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814) invented an improved version of an ancient execution machine that was vigorously employed during the rule of the Jacobins from 1793 to 1794. The French government and other governments adopted the method of execution widely through the 19th century. A weighted blade, raised between two upright posts, would be released to descend to sever the head of the victim. Dr. Guillotin had intended the device to provide a more humane ...

Avogadro’s law

Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) proposed a hypothesis in 1811 that since has been proven and is now known as Avogadro's law. He suggested that equal volumes of all gases, under the same pressure and the same temperature conditions, contain the same number of molecules. Avogadro was born in Turin, Italy, practiced law, and studied physics and mathematics. His hypothesis was published in French: Essai d'une manière de determiner les masses relatives des molecules élémentaires des corps, et les proportions selon lequelles elles entrent dans les combinaisons. At first his work was not accepted, but his theory was later reintroduced, publicized, and demonstrated ...