The Problem with Most Christmas Gift Lists

In your search for the perfect Christmas gift idea for friends and family, you might be finding it to be an overwhelming task. After all, you need to be a mind reader to figure out what everybody really wants. Christmas shouldn't be a stressful time of year, so why not choose a simple and popular solution?Gift Cards - The Solution

In a recent survey, gift cards (otherwise known as certificates) were the number one choice for a Christmas present in 67% of the people surveyed. The main reason cited was that they had received presents that were not suitable and that they would like to choose their own. Also, in the year that the survey was conducted, 9 out of 10 American families either purchased or received a gift certificate and that over $100 billion had been spent on these certificates that year. Teens have embraced this idea more than any other demographic segment, with over 98% having received or purchased one. The average amount spent was approximately $50.Whether it is a Christmas gift for him or her, you never have to worry if they will like it. They are sure to find a unique Christmas gift for themselves. You can even personalize them by including them in a Christmas greeting card. If you purchase one online, you will often be given the choice of sending it by mail, email or printing it on your computer. It's the perfect idea for men, women, girls, boys and even babies. These are also great for Christmas stocking stuffers and if you are looking for a cheap Christmas gift you can decide how much you want to spend.Be Careful Which One You Buy

Not all cards are created equal. Some have an exorbitant fee to just purchase one. These include those issued by most bank and credit card companies. These fees can be as high $15! It gets worse. There are also monthly maintenance fees which are nothing more than the companies jargon for monthly profit fees. These monthly fees eat away at the card's value until sometimes, there's nothing left. If that doesn't erode the entire purchase value then the expiry date will. In some cases the expiry is as short as 6 months.Be sure you find a certificate with no fees and no expiry date!Choose a Card that Offers Great Selection Online

The other problem you might encounter, is that some certificates only give the recipient access to one type of product at one store. In the same survey, it was found that one of the major reasons why people didn't use their gift cards was that they didn't have the time to go to the store or they couldn't find anything to buy that they liked. For example, what if you bought someone a certificate from an electronics store but what they really needed was some new clothes? Online stores are the best choice since they can shop from their computer and have it shipped to their home.The Amazon Gift Card - The Best Choice

This card has everything you are looking for. As far as my family Christmas list goes, I give my daughter the Amazon gift card as a Christmas present every year and she loves it because it has no fees, no expiry date, millions of products, and hundreds of categories to choose from. Kid's love the excitement of online shopping! Amazon is the largest and most trusted online retailer in the world and I always feel safe knowing that if there are any problems, they will always take care of it.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adele Blanc-Sec)

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Almost anyone who has been to Ireland on vacation will tell

you that vacationing in the "Emerald Isle" is an unforgettable

experience. There is something about the friendliness of the

people, the haunting beauty of the land, and the incredible

history that makes you want to return again and again.

I found myself in that situation in the summer of 2000, as

finally, after several years of failed attempts to return to

Ireland (I had gone there in 1994), five of us decided to go

for a 10-day trip. We decided to go in May, 2001, which gave

us more than enough time to plan a route.One day, while looking at a map, I noticed a small town

called Dunmore East on a strip of land jutting into the ocean

south of Waterford. I was intrigued by this place and

envisioned a weathered old hamlet that was

quintessentially Irish. This, I hoped, would be one town in

which we would definitely stay.We almost never made it to Dunmore East, thanks to a

bizarre series of events. On the way out of Dublin (where we

had stayed the first night), one of our cars suffered a

blowout, and soon our two cars were hopelessly separated.

We returned to the B&B in Dublin, hoping our two friends

would get in touch. The next morning we heard from them,

and were once again on our way, but we had lost a day. We

quickly passed through the Wicklow Mountains and, after

what seemed like an eternity, we pulled into Waterford and

continued along the winding road toward Dunmore East.

After ten miles of driving through rolling farmland and

windswept ridges, we finally saw houses and lights in the

distance. We pulled into Dunmore East just as the sun was

setting behind us. Coming down the hill into town, we saw

the ocean in front of us. This was indeed a spectacular

location.Our B&B was on the main street overlooking the harbor. It

was foggy, and we could just make out the green cliffs that

formed the harbor. Down the hill from the B&B was an inn

and a pub on the water. Winding lanes, a church and old

cemetery, a park, and thatched-roof houses all added a

unique charm to the village.Seaside villages can often have an eerie, surreal

atmosphere to them at dusk, and Dunmore East was no

exception. The combination of waning light and

ever-increasing fog caused the town to take on a haunting

look. Across the street from the B&B, there was a small park

with a memorial overlooking the cliffs and the harbor. A

single streetlight just added to the incredible scene. I must

have taken a half roll of film at that spot, trying to get the

perfect picture of a truly unique place.While in the pub at the mouth of the harbor, we met friendly

locals and European tourists. Like the owners of the B&B,

they were surprised that Americans would know about

Dunmore East. They said that the town tends to cater to

Europeans, and that people from the U.S. are rarely found

here. Ironically, one of the owners of the B&B was a New

Jersey native who fell in love with the village.Dunmore East is the type of place where you park your car

upon arriving, and do not use it until you leave. It is a very

walkable town, with everything being within a 1-square-mile

radius. I spent the afternoon of our second day there doing

just that, and discovered places in town that people in cars

would clearly miss. For instance, there was a sprawling

park with benches, paths down to the rocky coast, and

grassy areas for lying in the sun. There was also a winding

road that ended up at a small beach called (I believe),

"Ladies View." It was a pristine place with views of the

harbor, driftwood along the beach, and salt spray in the air.

I continued my walk along a coastal road, and soon found

myself walking into a business district. I had accidentally

discovered "downtown" Dunmore East! Apparently, we were

staying in the harbor part of town, which we had mistaken

for the village itself. The center of town was very charming,

with several old shops, a few pubs, and some more

winding lanes.On our second and final night in Dunmore East, we ended

up eating at one of the pubs in the center of town. After

dinner, we walked back to the B&B through the mist and fog,

wishing that we could stay a few more nights. But alas, we

had to move on, and though we found some terrific places

in the next several days, nothing beat this little seaside

village south of Waterford.

Compound nouns are nouns that have been created by joining two words together.There are three types.- Joined (input / bathroom / waterpark)

- Open (post office / real estate / night watchman)

- Hyphenated (mother-in-law / jack-in-the-box)When you are teaching compound nouns to your students it makes sense to spend the bulk of your time exploring the joined kind.This is because open ones are easy to understand. They are really just commonly used adjective noun pairs.In turn, hyphenated ones are rare. It is usually enough to introduce them and show a few examples.With that in mind, here are some joined compound noun lesson ideas!1. Write a mix of simple words on the board and ask your students to use them to create as many compound nouns as they can. Try these words - air back side hand bed death watch bed ear ache farm yard hand foot step hair line cut half way home made. After a few minutes ask four or five students to suggest other words to add to the list.2. Focus on one word and see how many different endings you can find. For example: earache, eardrum, earlobe, earmarked, earmuff, earphone, earring, earshot.A fun way to get younger students to come up with the answers is to offer cloze sentences that can only be answered with a compound noun that starts with word. For example: I have a very bad ear_____. A bad ear infection can cause the ear_____ to burst. I have an ear_____ that is pierced with two earrings. I have ear______ the page I want you to read.Other good starting words are earth, grand, hand and head. A dictionary is a quick way to look up all the possible combinations.3. Challenge your students to think of 100 compound nouns by the end of the week.This works well if they have a page titled "100 Compound Nouns". They can start by ruling 4 or 5 columns and writing the numbers 1 to 100. This can be done each day as a class activity or as homework. A dictionary is a great resource for this activity.This could be extended the following week by asking each student to contribute to a class collection. The words could be written on cards and pinned to a notice board or written on a large piece of cardboard. Setting a goal of 300 or more words can help to motivate the students.This extension activity could also be a great small group task for those self-motivated students that thrive on challenges.

Halloween is held on October 31st which is the last day of the Celtic calender.

2. The Halloween custom has evolved from the ancient Celts belief that the border between this world and "the Otherworld" becomes thin on All-Hallows-Eve. People wore costumes to disguise themselves and avoid harm.

3. The day after Halloween is called All Saints Day. Christians dedicate this day to all those saints who don't have a special day of their own.

4. All hallows is another way to say all saints. All-Hallows-Eve means the night before All-Saints Day.

5. The first evidence of the use of the word Halloween comes from Scotland in the early 16th century. It was slang for All-Hallows-Eve.

6. The colours orange and black represent Halloween because orange is the colour of pumpkins (and autumn) and black is associated with death.

7. The tradition of carving a jack o' lantern started in the United Kingdom. They were carved on All Hallows Eve and left on the door step to ward off evil spirits.

8. The original jack o' lanterns were carved from a swede or a turnip.

9. Jack o' lanterns were named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs.

10. Carving gourds into elaborately decorated lanterns dates back thousands of years to Africa. They were intentionally brought to the New World via prehistoric migration through Asia.

11. A record for the most simultaneously lit jack o' lanterns was set on October 21, 2006 when 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns were simultaneously lit on Boston Common.

12. The world's largest jack o' lantern was carved from the world's largest pumpkin (at the time) on October 31, 2005 in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania, United States by Scott Cully. The pumpkin weighed 1,469 lb (666.33 kg),

13. Today the record for the world's largest pumpkin is held by Nick and Kristy Harp whose pumpkin weighed in at 1,725 lbs (782.45 kg).

14. Trick-or-treating is the Halloween custom where children dressed in costume go door to door asking for candy with the question, "trick or treat?" The "trick" is a (usually idle) threat to perform mischief on the home-owners or their property if no treat is given.

15. Many people believe, trick or treating evolved from the Middle Ages custom of giving freshly baked soul cakes to children who went door to door on All-Hallows-Eve offering prayers.

16. It was believed that each soul cake eaten represented a soul being freed from purgatory.

17. In Sweden, children dress up as witches and go trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter).

18. In Northern Germany, Norway and Southern Denmark children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year's Eve in a tradition called"Rummelpott".

19. In Scotland, children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform tricks for the households they go to. This normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a funny poem.

20. For a number of years (in the late 19th century and early 20th century) Halloween in the U.S became synonymous with vandalism.

21. In 1912, Boy Scout clubs and other community organisations came together to encourage a safe Halloween celebration. School posters at this time called for a "Sane Halloween".

22. In an effort to prevent damage to their properties, householders began to offer children treats if they promised not to play "tricks".

23. By the end of the 1930's trick or treating had become widespread.

24. Research done by the U.S National Confectioners association in 2005 revealed that 80% of adults and 93% of children went trick or treating on Halloween.

25. The first screen depiction of Trick or Treating was in Disney's cartoon, "Trick or Treating". In this cartoon Huey, Duey and Louie try to trick their Uncle, Donald Duck into giving them candy.

26. In 1964 a New York housewife annoyed by Halloween started giving out packages of inedible objects to children whom she believed were too old to be trick-or-treating. The packages contained items such as steel wool, dog biscuits and ant buttons (which were clearly labelled with the word "poison"). Though nobody was injured, she was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to endangering children.

27. In 1970, the New York Times published an article that claimed that "those Halloween goodies that children collect this weekend on their rounds of 'trick or treating' may bring them more horror than happiness". It provided examples of potential tamperings. The examples were speculative but led to a ground swell of fear.

28. By the 1980s, US and Canadian parents fear that trick or treating children could eat compromised candy reached a peak. In 1985, an ABC News/Washington Post poll that found 60% of parents feared that their children would be injured or killed because of Halloween candy sabotage.

29. Apart from one incident-actually an act of premeditated murder by a trick-or-treater's father-there have been no recorded incidents of malicious and deliberate tampering of candy during Halloween.

30. In 1970, a 5-year-old boy from the Detroit area found and ate heroin his uncle had stashed. The boy died following a four day coma. The family attempted to protect the uncle by claiming the drug had been sprinkled in the child's Halloween candy.

31. In 2008, candy was found with metal shavings and metal blades embedded in it. The candy was Pokemon Valentine's Day lollipops purchased from a Dollar General store in Polk County, Florida. The candy was determined to have been manufactured in China with faulty equipment.

32. In the U.S, Halloween accounts for 25% of the year's candy sales.

33. In the U.S, nearly $2 billion is spent each year on Halloween candy.

34. Candy corn is the most popular Halloween candy.

35. Candy corn was created by the U.S Wunderlee Candy company in the 1880's.

36. Snickers bars are the most popular candy bar sold on Halloween.

37. Snickers bars were created in 1930 by the Mars family. They named it after their family horse.

38. Research conducted by the U.S National Retail Federation found that in 2005 - 53% of Americans bought a Halloween costume, spending an average of $38.

39. The first mass produced Halloween costumes appeared in the 1930's in the U.S.

40. Originally Halloween costumes were scary characters like vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches and devils.

41. Today, Halloween costumes are often inspired by science fiction, television, cinema, cartoons and pop culture.

42. According to the U.S National Retail Federation the most popular Halloween costume themes for adults are, in order: witch, pirate, vampire, cat, and clown.

43. In 2009, the most popular Halloween character for Adults and Children was Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

44. In 1966, The TV series Batman was so popular, a fabric company issued patterns for costumes.

45. Apple bobbing is a traditional Halloween game. The game is played by filling a tub or a large basin with water and putting apples in the water. Because apples are less dense than water, they will float. Players then try to catch one with their teeth.

46. Apple bobbing is becoming less popular, possibly because more and more people regard it as unsanitary.

47. Girls who place the apple they bobbed under their pillows are said to dream of their future lover.

48. On 19 February, 2008, New Yorker, Ashrita Furman, bobbed 33 apples in one minute to establish a world record.

49. Agatha Christie's mystery novel, "Hallowe'en Party" is about a girl who is drowned in an apple-bobbing tub.

50. New York City hosts the United States' largest Halloween celebration, known as The Village Halloween Parade. The evening parade attracts over two million spectators and participants.

The Tourist

"The Tourist" revolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path. Against the breathtaking backdrop of Venice, Frank pursues a potential romance but soon finds himself the pursued as he and Elise are caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.

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When Geeks Go Outside

One of the coolest things about camping for me is the toys. Over time, I've ridden trail bikes, driven four-wheel drives, camped in storms, camped in remote areas, camped on mountains and camped by the beach. I can't think of a trip where a gadget of some type hasn't been involved. Gadgets make life easier, cooler and definitely more fun.

 

Think you're too tough? Think again!

Now I know there are those "man vs. wild" type campers out there that complain that you don't need fancy gadgets when you go camping. However look at Bear Grylls, the original "man vs. wild", does he not have a very cool survival knife? If you've ever seen those things in the shop you'll discover it's got about 5 different gadgets built in. Camping gadgets are not only fun and cool, I'd go as far as saying they are "essential".If you've done any camping at all you've probably used a GPS a million times, you've probably lit a fire without matches, you've probably cooked or eaten using titanium materials and you've probably used a LED head lamp. We probably don't consider these to be gadgets, but they are!

 

Geeky and I know it

I'm not ashamed to say that I spend a good 70 - 80 hours a week consuming the internet, working in my super geeky business, gaming, and generally obsessing over all things online. While I consider my self a geek and spend an enormous amount of time online, I also love getting outside.While I obviously take all my "i" devices camping, I also love taking an assortment of cool gear as well. Here's just a sample of the geeky gadgets I take camping:Wind up LED torch - Yep never need batteries, ever! Wind up technology and LED technology gets better every year. With current technology you simply never need to buy batteries.

Solar recharger - Everyone's "i" device runs out of steam except me! Yes Solar has scope to improve however 4 - 6 hours in the sun will fully change most "i" devices

Titanium cooking and eating gear - Super lightweight and incredibly strong, nothing beats titanium if you're a geek.

Night vision mono scope - Because it's just cool to see what's running around out there. I don't use a super expensive "special forces" version just a basic mono scope to have some fun.

Survival knife - For everything from surviving a zombie apocalypse to cutting up an apple.

Portable coffee brewing machine! - Geeks need their fuel right!There is an impressive array of cool camping toys and gadgets to head out into the bush with. Look around next time your camping; you wont be the only one taking technology outside!