CTOKOS Blog

If we go to war with China the first thing they will do is knock out as many of our satellites as possible. Many secret SPY satellites in the Military will be safe now up there and there equipment in their UAVs, ground vehicles and command and control centers because they have special Anti-Jamming GPS systems with bleeding edge top of the line and state of the art counter measure technologies. You are probably thinking to yourself who thinks of this stuff anyways? Well you know men and there toys and when the US Military wants something no matter how seemingly impossible someone will find a way.

This time that someone was a little company Harris Corp that has about $3 billion in annual sales and over 12,600 employees as of yesterday and they have teamed up with another little company; The Boeing Company, maybe you have heard of them. Harris Corp will provide to the net-centric battlespace smart munitions anti-jam technologies. This means no one gets away and no smart bombs go astray and that our enemies have only one option before meeting their maker and that is to pray.

Now you are probably saying to yourself, “Hey self, that would be cool in my SUV!” Just think never lose an XM Radio connection or have to worry about interference on your urban assault vehicles GPS. Indeed that would be cool and it will inevitably become standard equipment on all in-car system by 2010 through the gracious gifts of transfer technologies or hand me down research from the US of A. Never a lost signal or missed tune, you got to love it. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

After the initial euphoria of love gets over, lovers start thinking about what troubles them. For example, your partner may always be coming late to meet you. you never told him/her about that till now. You feel that now you must tell, because you cannot bear waiting every time.

You are troubled by a habit of your darling. But that was always ignored in the initial euphoria of knowing each other and developing relationship. You want to point out about that habit now.

You are facing a problem at your work place. You have kept that problem away from your sweetheart. Now you feel that you need his/her support to fight that problem. These are few examples of what happens in the second phase of love. How to discuss such issues with your beloved and whether they will affect your relationship?

When love matures a little, it is time to find out about how much both of you are ready to support each other and what is the quality of love that you share. If the love is only skin deep, a small problem will take it away and that is good. Otherwise you might have continued in a relationship that would have been of no use to you. If the love is strong, discussing personal issues and problems will bring you closer to each other.

Many of us hesitate to discuss any problem. They don’t want the love to get affected at any cost. But is that love or a pretension of love? If you truly love each other, you must be open with each other. Why live in a make believe world? A close relationship demands that both of you talk about and help each other at all times. If that does not happen, love is of no use and should be discarded. After all you are searching for a partner, who will be with you through thick and thin and vice-versa. Test your Love Relationship to find out the strength of your love. Many Internet Websites are offering tests and quizzes. Look at few of them and begin your test to find out about your strength of love.

CD Mohatta writes advice and articles on Love, Marriage and Dating This website is a guide on dating, love, relationship, romance, marriage, and break ups. He also writes for ecards and online greetings, screensavers and desktop wallpapers. You can have his writings on your desktop with free desktop wallpapers. These are static wallpapers which can be your computer desktop background all the time. Read the messages and get inspired all day. He also writes content for Tests and Quiz on Dating, Personality and Love.

Each week we receive many emails from people wanting to know about magickal powers such as clairvoyance, levitation, telekinesis and telepathy. They want to know whether this kind of magick is real and, more importantly, how to do it!

Since it’s become such a popular topic, inspired by movies like Harry Potter and shows like Charmed, we thought it might to time to shed some light on this topic. To answer the first question, are such magickal powers and abilities real? In other words, is it possible to do these types of things in this world at this time? The answer is yes! Absolutely. In fact, you’ll find that the masters of many different traditions, such as Aikido or Buddhism, can and do levitate. There are also many popular clairvoyants and telepaths, such as the well-known medical intuitive Louise Hay. And, many Tai Chi masters have telekinetic abilities (meaning they can move objects without touching them).

The second question, of course, is how you can develop these abilities for yourself. There are, of course, many paths to mastering these abilities. At the foundation of all these paths, though, is an understanding of the four elements of magick: air, fire, water and earth. One of the basic tenets of magickal studies is that everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of these four elements, and if you understand and know how to work with these elements, you can understand (and create) anything you desire.

That’s why four element magick is the first area of study for our apprentices - it is at the heart of everything in the Universe, including magickal powers and abilities. For instance, you can develop clairvoyance and telepathy, which is access to knowledge not available to the five senses, by developing and working with your water element. Water, being the language of Spirit, allows you to access almost any information (or emotions) at a Spiritual level. Another ability, levitation, is the result of increasing your air element and decreasing your earth element. And telekinesis is the ability to channel your fire energy toward a specific object. For instance, we teach our students to begin using their telekinetic ability by throwing firebolts at a candle flame. They know they have begun to develop that ability when they can make the flame jump and split by pointing their finger at it.

Beyond the development of these psychic or magickal abilities, however, the four elements help us develop and follow our birth visions, listen to our Spirit guidance, and generally live more creative and peaceful lives. By understanding the basic “makeup” and laws that drive our Universe, we can learn to go with the flow rather than swim upstream. This is the true benefit of four element magick. Is the development of magickal abilities great fun? Absolutely! It’s useful, too, for self-defense, personal power and more. But it’s also the beginning of a deep understanding of the driving forces of life. It’s a strong first step onto the path of direct knowledge and spiritual scientism. When the shamans were kicked out of the tribe centuries ago, the world lost access to such direct knowledge. Now we need the shamans more than ever, and we invite you to step on this path by studying the four elements of magick!

Stephanie Yeh, co-founder of the Esoteric School of Shamanism and Magic (http://www.shamanschool.com), helps clients use magical and shamanic techniques to manifest their desires. Stephanie has created several online and video classes to make this information more accessible. She also helps others learn to create abundant health and wealth with spiritual and practical resources through her site, Prosperity Abounds (http://www.prosperity-abounds.com).

Weddings as we know is where a bride and groom stands at the altar taking their vows pledging undying love for each other but not all countries do the same as we. Worldwide country cultures and beliefs differ greatly in the way they celebrate their wedding night.

Did you know that after a marriage has taken place some couples wedding night never goes according to plan due to all the activities concocted up by friends and family in a quest to upset the newlyweds plans of becoming one in the marital suite as early as they would like.

In the US it is habitual after the reception for the couple to jump into the vehicle that waits to take them on honeymoon only to find that the rear end of the car is fully geared up with rattling tin cans.

Tradition for the Gaelic culture is where close friends and family set out to delay the couple consummating their marriage in a fun sort of way. In the good old days the married couple would spend their wedding night in a hay barn. Close lady friends of the bride would dress her for bed and would invite every male species who attended the wedding to kiss her goodnight. What they did in the old days to add fun to the night would be things of disturbance making it hard for the groom to meet up with his new wife. When the couple finally come together noises would bellow from outside the barn with its (peephole) thus adding further embarrassment to the newlyweds.

It is just a matter of time when the alcohol kicks in sending the pranksters to sleep. Is it any wonder why in those days the honeymoon destination was kept a secret.

Other Celtic Scottish rituals performed on the wedding night was the sprinkling of water onto the bed which was considered to bring good luck.

Inhabitants of Germany and France uphold similar traditions where their disturbances on the wedding night are called Chiverie. The US spell it Shivaree, they also cause havoc by decorating the bridal suite with balloons or laying food all over the bed just for fun. A love in surrounded by crumbs is not very romantic.

They say when in Rome do as the Romans do but whatever you do dont fall as it is seen as bad luck if the bride takes a tumble on entering the newly weds first home. After the roman wedding all male friends of the married couple would carry the bride over the threshold. But times have changed where the groom has the pleasure, in saying that; he may need to ask for assistance if his bride is the size of Bessie Bunter.

In western Africa, (Benin), virginity is valued highly. The brides mother compensates her with money if still untouched by man on her wedding night! This may sound alarming but the sheets are checked for blood smears the next morning after the wedding night. I did say things were done differently in other countries and this just happens to be the custom in Benin. Sometimes the sheets were flown like flags from the window to show that the daughter never gave into temptation submitting her body to any other.

A Chinese wedding night consists of beautifully designed candles shaped like a phoenix and dragon to force away evil spirits. Wine is drunk from goblets tied together with a scarlet red sash while at the same time the newlyweds have their arms intertwined. It is now when the bride is handed half-raw dumplings which denotes prosperity.

Wait for it no ration on passion for brides from Marquesasian (Polynesia) who are expected to have sex with all the male guests - Heaven for bid if the numbers are great - the groom finally gets to sleep with his bride last. Depending on the number of male guests surely this could go on for quite some time but at the end of the day I suppose the wait will be worthwhile because it is the groom who gets to sleep with her for the rest of his life.

Sun glasses are useful. They aren’t just to look cool, but protect the eyes from UV rays as well as keep the glare away from the eyes to protect vision. Sun glasses are widely available and offer many styles and designs. There are many manufactures from high end designers to no name, inexpensive models. While there are many to choose from, sunglasses should fit the face comfortably and enable the user to see in all directions.

There are several brands of sun glasses that stand out as dependable, fashionable, and with great protection. One of these brands is Oakley Sun Glasses. Oakley sun glasses are offered in many styles. There are models to enable sportsman the best comfort while staying in place even in the harshest extremes as when skiing or running. They also offer sun glasses for different face shapes to create a fashionable look for the consumer.

Sun glasses are widely available. They are available in department stores, malls, even in sun glass hut at the mall, which is a sun glass specialty store offering a wide range of choices to the consumer. Sun glasses are also available on their manufactures websites as well. Also, you can find discount or wholesale sun glasses all over the internet. To find the best sun glasses for you and your face, the best way is to just try some on! Make it fun and find sunglasses that will protect your eyes from the sun and the sun’s glare. Sun glasses should be fun and be able to offer the user protection as well as style.

About the author:

Mike Yeager
Publisher
http://www.my-sunglasses-4me.com/

African-American families are joining the ranks of homeschoolers by the thousands. Read why.
It’s 7:30 on a typical Monday morning and thousands of African-American children are not headed to the bus stop or being dropped off at school, but rather, they are headed to their kitchen table or to their in-home classroom. These children are home schooled and today there are more African-American home schooling families than ever. In fact, African-American families are joining the ever-growing home school community at an increasing rate for a variety of reasons and my family is one of them.

My husband and I decided that home education would be the greatest way to educate our daughters who are now four and two. Home education, in our opinion, affords the greatest amount of educational freedom and intellectual exploration. Even at such young ages, being able to learn at an individualized pace in a loving and supportive environment is most ideal.

In addition to the advantages of individualized attention and educational freedom, home schooling also allows my husband and me to teach our daughters cultural relevance and self-importance. This is vitally important, not only to my family, but to most African-American home schooling families across the country. In fact, African-American homeschoolers, although becoming home educators for a variety of reasons, look to provide a culturally uplifting education for their children.

As the Director and cofounder of two home schooling organizations, I have learned some things that are most common among African-American homeschoolers. For example, I have learned that those who choose to home school do so for a variety of reasons and I have also learned that those who are truly committed to home schooling create a thriving home education environment for their children. I have also gleaned that home schooling is not conducive to all families and that there are some challenges within the African-American community that render home schooling difficult, but not impossible. Here, I will discuss the trends in African-American home schooling from my vantage point as a home schooling leader.

One of the principle reasons why African-Americans home school is due to the lack of cultural resources and African heritage books, curricula and lessons provided in public and private schools. This coupled with cultural misconceptions, especially for African-American boys, and the lack of cultural equality taught in textbooks drives many African-American families to provide this on their own. Many African-American families go to extra lengths to provide quality African-American positive books and lessons to their home schooling curricula. These families, therefore, capitalize on the opportunity to provide an education for their children where African-Americans, Africans as well as the African Diaspora are viewed as active participants in all subjects and not simply as inactive bystanders. Families also oftentimes supplement multicultural lessons with field trips to local African-American museums and historic sites.

In addition to cultural reasons, African-American families are choosing to home school for several other reasons. Across the country, percentages reveal that the majority of African-American children attend public schools, but regardless of race, socioeconomic status or location in America, families across the board are speaking out about the lack of quality education, school violence, teacher apathy and anti-religious attitudes in public education. African-American families share and echo these concerns, but additionally, they choose to home school to remedy, on an individual basis, the achievement gap that plagues the African-American community. Many families sincerely believe that the only way that their child can successfully overcome the achievement gap is to teach them at home under their direct supervision.

Parents believe that their individualized attention working in conjunction with lessons tailored to their child’s abilities will foster better-educated children. Although there are no definitive statistics that account for the educational progress of African-American home schooled children, families claim that home schooling has opened educational exploration, intellectual stimulation and understanding in ways that traditional schools are not able to replicate.

Although families attest that home schooling has dramatically improved their children’s educational abilities, not all families have been successful homeschoolers. One of the most prominent reasons behind the failure of home schooling for some families is due to the lack of African-American support groups on the local level. As a home school leader, I believe that in order for families to home school well, they must have access to local support foundations in order for the children to feel that they have home school peers. The lack of support groups in the African-American home schooling community, therefore, is one area that needs immediate attention. In additon to that, not all parents are cut out to be homeschoolers. Some parents may find that they do not have thr time or will not provide the dedication that home schooling demands. In these cases, traditional school in addition to supplementary work is recommended.

In addition to the lack of support groups, some families find that their child needs the traditional school structure and environment in order to thrive educationally. Recognizing this, these parents tend to supplement their child’s schoolwork with outside curricula and lesson plans.

While home schooling appears to be an approachable educational alternative for many families, there are inherent challenges within the African-American community that render home schooling difficult, but not impossible. The national African-American community has a higher percentage of single parent, dual income and grandparent-led households. While home schooling ideally would suit the traditional “Mom at home”, “Dad at work” family dynamic, non-traditional families are finding creative ways to home school their children well. Although home schooling may prove too difficult for some nontraditional families, others are finding that home schooling is the only educational alternative that they are willing to consider and they are finding the means to educate their children at home irregardless of family status.

Home schooling across the country and in most neighborhoods is growing by leaps and bounds and it looks as if more families, especially African-American families, will join the home schooling movement in America each year. I am extremely excited about where home schooling is going in the African-American community and I feel truly privileged to be an active part of it. I sincerely believe that home schooling will produce bright and eager-to-learn young adults ready to take on the world and improve our communities.

About the Author

Jennifer James, a writer and home school mother of 2, is the Director of the National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance. She has been featured on Fox News.com and BET Nightly News. In her role as a home school leader, Jennifer has also been interviewed by Reuters, The Christian Science Monitor, the Korean Broadcasting System and the Monthly Magazine World Report.

If you could start again and create something new and fresh, how would that feel?
I’ve recently been making changes in my own life that have got me thinking about how necessary it is to let go of old self-programming in order to move on, and how reluctant we can be to actually do that. When I succeed in viewing my life as freshly made from this moment on, it’s incredibly liberating and exciting; just imagine for a minute that the slate has been wiped clean and whatever restrictions you believed that you had to live with have disappeared….you have the chance to reinvent yourself, to behave in new and more dynamic ways, to see yourself and others differently. What new choices and possibilities open up for you as you think about this?

Now obviously we are the products of our upbringing and experiences in life so far, and I’m not trying to suggest that those experiences can be removed from our consciousness - but we can make gradual changes based on the new ways that we choose to see ourselves. As Louise Hay says, the point of power is always in the present moment. Isn’t that a great thought? I enjoy taking a deep breath as I read those words, and really feeling in my body the sense of freedom that the concept evokes.

No matter what our health, relationships, career etc have been like in the past, we have in this moment the power to think, feel and react differently. It is never too late, no matter how big a rut we may feel we’ve sunk into!

Changing our thoughts will change our feelings, and that in turn will change our behaviour. Soon we’ll be acting in new ways that resonate with who we wish to be in our lives. Remember that negative self talk can and probably will have built up over years, and it will take time to challenge and alter those beliefs. It’s not enough to simply replace the negative thought with a positive one (though that will help); you need to examine where the thought came from and challenge it. You can do this by asking yourself these questions:

From where did this thought originate? [Perhaps a specific incident in your past initiated it, or it was fed to you by a family member or friend. It is a label, not who you are.]

What are the costs to me of continuing to believe this thought?

What are the hidden ‘payoffs’ of continuing to believe this thought?

How will I benefit from releasing this thought from my consciousness? [Make the reasons compelling enough, and you’ll shift!]

You have a choice then, the next time the thought comes up; whether or not to entertain it: by bringing the negativity out into the open and examining the underlying causes of it, you free yourself to see things differently. Remember, you may have believed it in the past, but you’re now able to move on. You can be encouraging to yourself instead.

Another great way to release yourself from past beliefs is to try this ‘new start’ exercise: if you could reinvent yourself from scratch, who would you become? What character would you be playing in life? Imagine that you’re writing a story or directing a play, in which you’re the main character: describe and define this person. What would they be like, their personality? What would they do? Who would they mix with, and what experiences would they choose to have? Fill in as many details as you can, and have fun with it!

This is a good exercise to do, as it allows you the freedom to express yourself and see yourself differently without the past holding you back. The last one that I’ll suggest today is an exercise that I’ve mentioned before, where you write yourself a letter from the future, imagining that what you wish for has come true. Write to yourself describing the developments that have taken place (a good time-frame is anywhere from six months to two years ahead). Doing this allows you to be hopeful about your future, and encouraging to yourself, and putting your words down on paper is always a great step forwards towards the life you want to be leading.

About the Author

Sarah is a business and life-design coach, working with individuals, entrepreneurs and independent professionals to support them to create more business and profitability, while designing a balanced, fulfilling and fun life.

Flowers are great gifts for practically any occasion, but there are some basic rules of flower etiquette. With the popularity of ordering flower delivery online, some buyers may not get the sound advice they’d get from a local florist. This guide presents the real meaning behind different flower types, and when they are best used.

Red Roses:
Red roses are always a great gift for a lover for practically any occasion or for no occasion at all. Indeed the power of “I love you” behind long stemmed red roses given to a significant other is a winner for any occasion, and is especially powerful when given for no occasion at all. The red rose signifies “romantic love”, so it may be a bit much in some cases. However, most will find that red roses are a consistent winner.

Yellow Roses:
Yellow roses are the flower of friendship. They are a perfect gift for a co-worker or sibling. However, they might be too timid to express romantic interest. They do not express the romanticism of the red rose.

Pink Roses:
Pink roses are the flowers of secret love. They are a perfect medium between the friendship of a yellow rose, and the romantic love of the red rose. They express a secret love, and should not be mistaken purely as a friendship gift like the yellow rose.

White Roses:
White roses are the flowers of innocent love. They are ideal for family members and family occasions, even funerals.

Carnations:
Carnations are the flower of fascination. They are an ideal flower to give to a romantic interest that has not yet blossomed into a relationship.

Orchids:
Orchids are the flowers of love and beauty. They can be given for practically any occasion to practically anybody. Orchids are universally appealing flowers that do not carry significant meaning for most occasions.

Daisy:
Daisies are the flowers of loyal love. They are a perfect flower to give to a mother on Mother’s Day, or for any occasion. Picking Daisies for Mom practically goes along with Apple Pie.

Lily:
The Lily is the flower of purity and sweetness. It is an ideal flower to give to a niece or daughter.

Chrysanthemum:
The Chrysanthemum is a flower of friendship, so it will go well on any occasion, but may not be ideal for expressing romantic interest.

Flowers are great gifts, and it is difficult to do too much wrong when getting flowers for anybody. But if you follow the etiquette noted above, you will be able to express yourself better with flowers.

http://www.cheapflowerdelivery.info

About the Author

Rex Ryan maintains the website:

http://www.cheapflowerdelivery.info

Camping outdoors has received huge recognition over years to be an alternative from your typical demanding life. Taking some days away from frantic timetable offers much fun and amusement selection than any other vacation idea. If you are planning to have a camping break this autumn then it is important that you try and find the best of camping tools to carry with for the utmost comfortable camping experience. Get camping equipment uk at Sportswear-Equipment.com.

Outdoor camping equipment usually come in the shape of camping tables camping kits camping clothing to name a few. As the camping places chosen are often varied so are the camping tools that are needed for certain jobs. A large number of people prefer to go camping in the plains, whilst some prefer to go in the mountain areas, some in fields and some in woods. This means that the camping tools used will depend on the place you have chosen to camp in.

To enjoy the fun and excitement fully, it is key to carry camping stuff that you will need during your camping holiday. There are some hikers & campers who love to camp and discover the most extreme parts of the world. Hence the camping needs differ from person to person.

As a result before going camping outdoors it is essential that you acquire the things that you will need. To locate the best camping gear it is better to locate a cheap camping equipment e-retailer & request the things you desire to carry along. The light weight tents, transportable camping stoves, handy weightless chairs, disposable utensils, sleeping bags, hiking shoes light fabric weightless clothes & other camping accessories can be obtained online at the most discount rates. It is crucial to carry camping gear that is light so as to give you as much freedom while trekking and hiking.

Numerous forms of camping accessories are not cheap to procure and can be paid for only when you have a huge budget. So you should make a list of items that you cannot do without while camping. Depending upon how frequently you go for camping, renting camping equipment is a great choice. Or else if you are a camping freak then having a stock of your own camping gear is worth. Have a superb camping experience this year by keeping all your camping wishes toned up.

Related topics of interest include: F1 Merchandise & Cheap Toys.

Down by the Darkside Inside the breezeway Where my thoughts are all turned inside With no words I could say Why my heart just could not feel What my eyes could never see All the lies seemed so real All the things I should be Though I know I never was Was it all because I was walking down by the Darkside Yeah, I was down by the Darkside Down by the Darkside Where it seems all the fools live I was hanging out there at a low tide I had come there to forgive To forgive myself for my own soul’s burning And for the way it’s always been Cuz I was just never learning Just remembering where and when Through all the good and the bad times And all the whiskey, drugs and rhymes Rolling fast into the Darkside Yeah, I was down by the Darkside Down by the Darkside Where the street lights never shine Where the girls love a fast ride And all live on money, sex and wine You can stand here and listen to their chatter And all the stories they tell Pretending nothing really matters And then end their sentences with “Oh well” So I have my palace down in this place And a P.O. Box in case I loose the race Cause I’m a king down by the Darkside Yeah, I was down by the Darkside Down by the Darkside The marriage party is full with laughter Where the idiot and his new bride Will drown themselve with “Happy Ever Afters” But like a buzzard the blind groom flies On an endless tyrade Strewn with all his broken-hearted lies Across the living hell he has made Was it meant to be all that it was Or was it only just because They held their wedding down by the Darkside Yeah, I was down by the Darkside

http://www.originalpoetry.com/down-by-the-darkside