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Kings of the Dead Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died, he became Osiris, king of the dead. The new pharaoh became Horus, god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. This cycle was symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun. Some part of a dead pharaoh's spirit, called his ka, was

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PYRAMIDS FACTS

Kings of the Dead

Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died, he became Osiris, king of the dead. The new pharaoh became Horus, god of the heavens and protector of the sun god. This cycle was symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun.

Some part of a dead pharaoh's spirit, called his ka, was believed to remain with his body. And it was thought that if the corpse did not have proper care, the former pharaoh would not be able to carry out his new duties as king of the dead. If this happened, the cycle would be broken and disaster would befall Egypt.

To prevent such a catastrophe, each dead pharaoh was mummified, which preserved his body. Everything the king would need in his afterlife was provided in his grave—vessels made of clay, stone, and gold, furniture, food, even doll-like representations of servants, known as ushabti. His body would continue to receive food offerings long after his death.


Tombs Fit for Kings

To shelter and safeguard the part of a pharaoh's soul that remained with his corpse, Egyptians built massive tombs—but not always pyramids.

Before the pyramids, tombs were carved into bedrock and topped by flat-roofed structures called mastabas. Mounds of dirt, in turn, sometimes topped the structures.

The pyramid shape of later tombs could have come from these mounds. More likely, Egyptian pyramids were modeled on a sacred, pointed stone called the benben. The benben symbolized the rays of the sun; ancient texts claimed that pharaohs reached the heavens via sunbeams.

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How to make money with facebook?

With the release of its new platform, Facebook’s recent endeavor in social media presents a unique opportunity for marketers, developers and businesses to tap into the social network’s young, active, and viral crowd.

However, over the past few weeks there has been a rising concern among developers to uncover ways to monetize their Facebook applications. The curse of instant online success is that you can no longer sustain expensive servers to support hundreds and thousands (or even millions) of Facebook users. The question: how can the developers of Facebook apps actually make money? We don’t have all the answers yet, but here are 5 suggestions:

1. SELL. Develop applications solely for the purpose of selling them to interested parties. Several applications have already been acquired in this fashion; the most recent example is that of Mozes’ purchase of TextMe.

2. DEVELOP. An indirect source of funds: develop applications under contract for third parties. A number of companies have been posting contract jobs over at the Facebook’s developer forums. There exists a large gap in the supply and demand of available Facebook application developers; as a result, finding potential clients to charge reasonable rates should not be a hassle.

3. ADVERTISING. Use advertisements, cross-promotion schemes and affiliate marketing. It is not feasible to use Google Adsense for this since Facebook does not allow JavaScript embedding. Adsense may be embedded through iFrames, which despite being popular among Facebook developers, is against Google’s TOS. Affiliate marketing is a great alternative to advertisements; my own source of income on Facebook is generated through Amazon’s affiliate marketing.

4. MICROPAYMENTS. Sell services within Facebook through micro-payment transactions. PayPal payments made for accessing premium services could potentially yield reasonable income depending on the application’s purpose, size, and prospective users.

5. GET INVESTMENT. If you think you have something big on your hands and lack the funds to scale it, apply for investment through Bay Partners and others who have expressed interest in funding Facebook apps. This would be the likely course of action for a startup with plans to expand globally within and beyond Facebook.

——————
Facebook has a huge active community. It is reported that of the 29 million active users, about half log in each day. This is a rarity among Web 2.0 companies (comparatively, Google Videos has about 3% active users). If Facebook can convince its users to shell out $1 to send those silly virtual “gift” images to each other, then surely a clever developer or startup can find other approaches to earning money from a Facebook application that do not involve just drowning their users in ads.
Due to the pace of innovation over the web, it is imperative that companies jump on opportunities like these as they turn up. LinkedIn and Bebo are expected to release their own set of developer APIs as well; I personally cannot wait to be among the first to tap into that opportunity. I advise others to start planning as well.

This post is written by Jawad Shuaib, developer of Shuzak, a social network for geeks. He also built the “Favorite Books” Facebook application.

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Create a Fake and Harmless Virus - wikiHow

Create a Fake and Harmless Virus - wikiHow

Step 1: Acknowledge and comprehend the WARNINGS!

Step 2: Run "\WINDOWS\notepad.exe" by clicking Start>All Programs>Accessories>Notepad, or by entering notepad in the Run dialog (hold down the WINDOWS+R keys).

Step 3: Copy and paste the batch script of the "virus" into the open notepad.

Step 4: Click the File>Save As... menu item to save the script.

Step 5: Select a location to save the script, e.g.: %HomePath%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\..this will automatically run the script when the user logs in.

Step 6: Select to Save as type: All Files

Step 7: Be creative with the file name. Replace the .txt extension with .bat or .cmd and the language will be interpreted upon clicking.

Step 8: Click Save and close notepad.


Note: if you saved to the Startup folder, you will have to boot into Safe mode and manually remove the script.

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How to Stop Hackers | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/how_2104687_stop-hackers.html


How to Stop Hackers


1)Use anti-virus software and keep it current. Installing an anti-virus program can keep viruses and other nasty programs out of your computer. Trojans allow hackers to take control of your computer and send spam and other harmful programs. Should you get one, a good anti-virus program knows how to quarantine and delete it without letting it cause damage.

2)Activate a firewall. Many people use software or hardware firewalls to prevent hackers from gaining access to their files through ports or other points of entry. Windows comes with a firewall, which you can find out how to set up by going to the control panel and clicking on "Windows Firewall."

3)Keep track of system events. Check your system log often to find out what your computer is doing. If you're getting notices about any programs you don't remember starting or installing, then be alert. Watch out for any Warning types and TCP/IP messages.

4)Make sure your operating system is up to date. Windows updates are crucial to protecting your computer from recently discovered security holes. Updating stops hackers from exploiting these vulnerabilities.

5)Install patches when they arrive. When hackers discover a new way to enter your computer, its usually through a common program such as Adobe Acrobat. Stop hackers by installing security fixes and patches when they become available, as many of these are developed to fix security issues.

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How to Keep Safe on Facebook - wikiHow

How to Keep Safe on Facebook - wikiHow


How to Keep Safe on Facebook


These steps can help you seperate the good people from the bad ones.
1)Set the security settings on your profile to "Only my friends." By doing this, you will be able to have control who has access to your information and pictures. For certain pictures, you can also select certain friends that you do or do not want them to see.


2)Be sure to set your privacy settings.Always monitor pictures that other people put of you and tag you on. You can see the tagged pictures of you by going to your profile and under your profile picture it should say "Photos of You" and the number of tagged pictures. Click on that, and look through the pictures. You should be able to untag any unappealing photos of you, but people still have the ability to see it. Don't hesitate for a second to "untag" yourself from pictures that you do not approve of. Simply click "remove tag" next to the name in the list of people in the picture. Also if you think that the particular picture could put you in a compromising situation, consult whoever put it up and ask him or her to remove it immediately. If they are your so called pals they should comply with your request.



3)Do not post pictures of yourself under the influence of any type of substance. This refers to pictures such as: Dancing-on-the-bar pictures or candid shots of the last time you got hammered with your pals on happy hour. Don't be caught with drugs, especially if you're underage because anyone can just print out the picture and show it to your parents or principal.
4Be cautious of the statuses, photos, videos, etc. you post if your coworkers, colleagues, or even your boss is friends with you. If possible, avoid sending out or accepting friend requests from
those who know you from work, especially your boss. Granting them full access to view your personal life will only have negative effects on your job.

5)Avoid putting your phone number, mailing address, children's or pet's names in your profile. People often use words such as pet's names or numbers as passwords, so it is not recommended to publish them on-line.
6)Never post information regarding an upcoming vacation or trip as your status. Doing so is just asking for your house to be robbed. If you must post photos and every detail of your two-week trip to France, do so after you return home, not before or during your vacation.

7)Change your password every so often. Don't make your password something obvious such as your birthday or mothers maiden name. Try to have at least one capital letter, one lowercase letter, two numbers, and a symbol. The longer and more complicated the password, the safer you are from getting your account hacked. Always remember to log out after you're finished with Facebook, especially on a shared computer.
8Don't confuse Facebook with an on-line dating site. The purpose of Facebook is to connect you with people you know. Making you profile public means you're sharing your information with everyone, even though you don't know them, a risk that you wouldn't want to take.

9)Be careful who you friend. Don't friend anyone out of your state/country unless you know them pretty well. Only friend people you know. You can add mutual friends that you don't know if you want to, though not recommended. Only friend people that you at least know their favorite color, siblings name, pets name, or something like that. Make sure they are the correct person by looking through their pictures. If they are not familiar, then remove them as a friend by getting to your friend list. Block anyone that seems to threaten or harass you.

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How to Attract Positive People Into Your Life ~ Some Great Tips on Law of Attraction

Author: Leon

Have you heard of the word called “aura”? We all have it! It’s our life energy that glows outward from within us. At any time, each of us is always transmitting positive or negative energy. This energy is picked up by others and respond likewise. This theory is known as the law of attraction.

When you’re transmitting positive aura, you’re attracting like-minded positive people. When positive people come together, they tend to have positive desires, take positive actions and produce positive results. Positive people encourage and support one another.

Negative people, on the other hand, will do just the opposite. They tend to have negative thinking, take negative actions and produce negative results. Negative people will always tell you that you can’t achieve your goals, and that they’re too hard or unreachable.

So, how do you know if you’re having a positive or negative aura?

The answer is simple. If your thoughts are constantly bombarded by negative phrases such as “I can’t do it”, “Life’s suck!”, “I can’t succeed”, etc. then you’re attracting negativity and will end up having negative aura.

Believe it or not, the universe and people around you will respond to your aura. If you have negative aura, you’ll attract negative people. On the other hand, if you have positive aura, you’ll attract positive people.

If you find yourself focusing on negative things, it’s time to make a change. Maybe your parents were role models of criticism instead of encouragement, or maybe you’ve always surrounded yourself with negative friends. Whatever the reason, there’s no use to dwell on it, learn from it and treat it as your past.

Make an effort to associate with positive people.

Here are some tips to help you attract positive people into your life:

1. Look for positive qualities in other people. All of us have good as well as bad qualities. Focus more of your attention on positive qualities in others even though it’s far easier to see someone’s faults before seeing their goodness. So start challenging yourself today to look only for a person’s good qualities.

2. Be conscious of your own good qualities and use them. Always make effort to project your positive qualities to others. Doing so can help boost your self-esteem and influence others to respond with their positive qualities as well.

3. Refrain from judging. When you judge others, you tend to produce negative energy and this will attract more of the same back to you. Again, always give more attention to the goodness in others.

4. Value others’ opinions. Positive energy is open-minded. Listen to all points of view and do your best to understand them, regardless of how different from your own they are.

5. Revel in the success and happiness of others. Positive people are pleased and excited when they see others’ success. They will pick up on the successful traits and use them as a motivator. On the other hand, negative energy is jealous of others’ success and happiness.

6. Set goals and have dreams in your life. Each day, do the things that will move you closer to your goals. Embrace your joy every step of the way as you achieve your goals.

Like it or not, we all have negative thoughts and emotions, don’t be afraid to admit it as we’re all human and it’s a human nature to have negative thoughts and emotions. The key is not to dwell on them.

Follow and use the tips above and become a positive person today, it will help you attract more positive people into your life. The more positive people you associate with, the more joy and fulfillment you’ll feel in your life.

Here is a great resource you should check it out....

"The 11 Forgotten Laws That Make The Law of Attraction An Unbreakable Force”

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-of-attraction-articles/how-to-attract-positive-people-into-your-life-some-great-tips-on-law-of-attraction-772488.html

About the Author

Go and download our brand new FREE report "Power of Positive Thinking" at our self improvement blog. This little report will help you improve your thinking and make you a more happy person.

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6 Step Process for Breaking Free From Emotional Traps and Addictions

Author: Becca Kline

Addiction. That's a heavy word, but I do want to devote a short article to the subject because I think it is worth a quick look. When I say addiction, I don't just mean traditional addiction to chemical substances like alcohol or other mind altering drugs. Research has found that some of the most addictive and indeed most powerful substances on the planet are, in fact, produced by our own bodies – in our brains. They are the chemicals that govern our emotions and our emotional reactions to different stimuli. I'm talking about emotional addictions.

You've probably heard of endorphins, which are the "feel good" peptides. This was a buzzword that was all the rage in the 80s when the fitness craze first started. Endorphins are the body's natural pain killer and can have an opiate effect on us, inducing a feeling of "well-being". This hype led to the terminology "runner's high", which refers to that great feeling people can achieve when they repeatedly do strenuous exercise.

Now, that's all very well but you may be asking what it has to do with the context of this article. And the answer is this: just as you can become addicted to "fitness" because it gives you that "lift" that you associate with the release of endorphins, you can, in fact, become addicted to ANY chemical release in your body that is a hormonal reaction to stimuli - whether it's associated with a "positive" emotion or a "negative" emotion. And when I say "addicted", I really do mean addicted, physically. Those natural chemicals that are produced in your glands will lock onto the cells of your body and alter their performance and structure in the same way that any synthetic drug does.

The significance of this fact is simply that you can become addicted to a negative thought cycle or pattern of behavior and seek to repeat thoughts and actions that will cause a release of those chemicals in your brain – even if it doesn't feel "good". The cells of your body will crave the chemicals and you will feel compelled to induce a peptide release, which will give your body its "fix". This is why people can become entrenched in negative thought cycles which can be associated with feelings of "victim-hood", "shame", "guilt", "blame", "powerlessness", "overwhelmed-ness" or any other state.

Have you ever known someone who was always the "victim"? In the little things in life as well as the big, they were always being done some injustice? And they have a wealth of stories in their repertoire of instances where life was unfair? That's a pretty easy example and you can probably think of other, better examples – like someone who feels inferior no matter what, or someone who is always jilted by the opposite sex. From the outside looking in, it seems easy to see that their attitude is the foundation for their experience and they therefore seem almost driven to find ways of repeating and reaffirming those experiences.

I write all of this only to say that if you feel you are caught in a negative thought cycle or pattern, be it guilt, blame, anger or whatever else, you may be dealing with a chemical issue as well as an emotional one. Take stock of where you are and ask yourself if you might be caught in a chronic pattern, which is not serving you. If you find that you are repeatedly experiencing strong, unpleasant emotions or spiraling thought cycles over which you have little or no control, there is a good chance that you are dealing with an emotional addiction. The rule of thumb is, if you can't control it, you are addicted to it.

The good news is that you CAN break free from any negative pattern or cycle that has you entrenched. It will take some work, but it is definitely worth it! It is the only path to true freedom and empowerment. Recognition and ownership (taking personal responsibility for it) is the first and hardest step. Here is a list of things that I have found are crucial steps for breaking free of patterns. These are elements I have discovered based on personal experience:

1. STOP making excuses. As justified as you may be for allowing yourself to give place to blame, anger or whatever other emotion you are trying to break free from, you must take personal responsibility for your own reaction. When you find yourself saying, "I don't want to give in to anger (for example), BUT...", stop yourself. Don't allow yourself to make it ok on this occasion because this time it really is justified. Justified or not, giving in is giving your power away. Instead say, "That person or circumstance may be idiotic but thankfully I am bigger than that and I am calling my own shots." Get your power back.

2. FIND a new thought or belief that can replace the old, disempowering belief. You may need to introspect or meditate on this one for a time before you find something that will work. It needs to be something that will ring true for you. If you look closely at the core belief behind the negative emotion you are trying to release, there will generally be a fear attached to it. For example, if you are caught in a cycle of anger and rage, investigate the scenarios that call that anger forth in you and ask yourself what fear lies beneath the anger. It may be a fear of being abandoned or of feeling inferior. If you are caught in a victimhood cycle, it may be that you are afraid of being powerless and unable to take care of yourself or get what you need. Only you can know, but it will take some soul-searching to get behind it. Once you feel you have pinpointed the fear, talk yourself through it and establish a new belief based on the opposite premise. For example, if you suffer from feelings of inferiority, you can talk yourself through a new belief: "The truth is, others can only make me feel inferior if I allow myself to feel inferior, but in reality there is no such thing. I am neither inferior nor superior to anyone; nor is anyone inferior or superior to me. We all have good and bad in us; strengths and weaknesses. Right now I choose to focus on my strengths." Make up a short affirmation that summarizes the new thought. For example, "We ALL have strengths and weaknesses but I choose to focus on my strengths." Repeat this new affirmation to yourself many times a day. I have a list of affirmations that I made up and I say them ALL THE TIME. I've said them so often that they practically run on automatic pilot in my brain now - almost like a song you can't stop singing over and over.

3. AS SOON AS you realize you are spiraling down that familiar but unwanted path - and in the beginning that may not be until and hour or even a day later - STOP and force yourself to replace the old, familiar thought pattern with your new belief. Repeat it to yourself over and over. I can tell you that in the beginning, this will cause an inner dialogue of struggle because your brain will keep going back to the old thought pattern and tell you that the new belief is untrue based on your past experience. You won't be able to help it because it is a deeply entrenched habit. Keep going back to the new belief. Do it again and again, every time you catch yourself engaging in the old thought pattern. It may seem like a tennis match in the beginning and you may feel like you're going a bit mad, having this internal argument with yourself. Don't give in. Just keep doing it, no matter what. You will simply have to persevere and "willpower" your way through this. That's how breaking free of any addiction is. It's worth it!

4. DISTRACT yourself if you find the above process (internal argument) going on for too long or you are unable to let go. Put on your favorite music or movie or go to a place you love to be and just GET YOUR MIND OFF OF IT. The worst thing you can do is to continue in the negative thought cycle. So if you can't seem to turn the locomotion of thought around, just think about something else - something good or funny, something that takes your mind off of it.

5. DO NOT beat yourself up for falling into the old pattern. This will only lead to further negative downward spiral. It's ok that you can't let go of the old pattern within 2 minutes, 2 days, weeks, months or whatever. When you have a setback, as soon as you become conscious of what's going on, STOP the negative thought cycle and set your intention to getting back on track. Just let it go

6. CELEBRATE when you feel you are making progress - no matter how small the progress! Give yourself some sort of reward for your success. In the beginning, it may be that you reward yourself simply for being able to distract yourself and let the thoughts go. That's fine. In the beginning, that IS progress! Find a way to recognize and acknowledge every little improvement because that is your proof that you CAN do it and it will set you up for going further next time. It is a matter of convincing yourself that the new belief IS true. It will fuel the flames of self-improvement and self-empowerment as you prove to yourself that you can get your power back and be deliberate and intentional in the way you live your life!

I will warn you that if you are caught in a negative pattern of behavior that is a duo - that is, with someone in particular where you play your part and the other plays his (or hers) - it will require extra effort to break yourself free because the other party most likely has his own addiction going on. He will therefore try very hard to keep you in your pattern so you can continue to give each other your "fix". When you take stock of your emotional repertoire to pinpoint negative emotional addictions, try to ascertain at the same time if there is a co-dependent relationship going on. If so, prepare yourself for the fact that the other will fight to keep you feeding the addiction. Whenever the unhealthy interaction between you kicks off, you will need to find a way to get out so that you can centre yourself and get on track.

Try to remember that "fixing the other guy's addiction" is NOT your responsibility, it's HIS. It won't really serve you to try and tell him to sort out his addiction or to try and fix both yours and his at the same time. Trying to fix someone else's experience can only end in frustration and tears. Only he can choose to get out of any emotional trap that he may have and he will have to come to his own realization and conclusion about that. Your job is YOU and your own self-empowerment. The best that you can offer anyone else is your own example of being empowered and living deliberately. When they see it, they will want some for themselves!

I hope you have found this article useful. Please leave a comment on my blog at http://www.change-your-paradigm.com/ to let me know if this has helped or make a suggestion about something you want me to write about. For now, I wish you peace and joy.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/6-step-process-for-breaking-free-from-emotional-traps-and-addictions-4053116.html

About the Author

Becca Kline is a freelance writer, blogger and platinum level expert author. Contributing to several niches including autism spectrum, parenting, personal development, personal empowerment and spiritual growth, her primary intention is to inspire others to grow beyond their current paradigm and reach their highest potential, one step at a time.

Becca's professional background spans 3 countries (and languages) and includes over 20 years in finance, operations and marketing with several large international companies. Skilled in personnel management, motivation, training and process improvement, Becca has developed and run a number of training programs for employees on a variety of topics and processes.

Privately, Becca is raising two magnificent sons with Asperger's Syndrome (autism spectrum disorders). Putting her knowledge and skills in personal motivation to use, she has developed unique and powerful techniques and processes for unlocking the potential of these extraordinary individuals.

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Personal Development for An Impressive Personality

Author: Stephen Campbell

In order to develop a lively personality, an important aspect is attractiveness and the most important would be quality that is known as inner charisma or charm. Charm is the personality that comes from within. This is most often known as 'Personal Magnetism' and what the movie makers and big companies look for is personal magnetism or the inner charm. This is not a defined property but is far more imperative than physical beauty. But when both the personalities are combined the blend is irresistible. Inner



Charm can be developed in any individual, just like how you learn everything. Anyhow, it requires a lot of self-discipline and constant study. Some of the characteristics that we can adopt from great people are friendliness, interest in people, courteousness, kindness towards all, self confidence and vitality. There are also a few most important requirement that are required to develop a impressive attitude like maintaining a good health, being king to everyone, good character, honesty in all ways, not being selfish, being obedient to principles and ideals, being clean from both body and mind, being truth, being religious, being loyal and having good habits. Involving these characteristics in you would help you develop an impressive personality.



Personal development



Personality is the psychological behavior that affects the way of living and is handled by the way we interact with people around us and the situation that are related with them. We often hear people say that 'he has a hot tempered personality' or 'he has a cool personality'. Both of the personalities describe the person's communication with people around and the handling power of various situations. The personality for any normal person is decided on three important factors that are the situations a person handle, inheritance of the genes and the environment.



So, talking about inheritance of genes means that the genes that we inherit from our parents and that play a major role in one's personality development. The environment is also important as the personality is developed according to the culture and the living styles. The third main factor for its development is the situations we handle. Regardless of the other two factors for its development, the way we handle situations in a developed or a well educated manner counts a lot.



In-Home Personality Training



Anyone would agree with the point that staying fit is the most important aspect of having an impressive personality. After all, staying fit also has a number of benefits. There are various ways to stay fit and if you have a gym near your dwelling, then you just have to plan out the time. You can also join a gym or can even call the trainer for in-house personal training. An in-house personal training is generally carried out by people who cannot manage their daily schedule for exercise and visit the gym or physical training instructor. The other options could be that you attend a dance class for staying fit and in shape. Staying in shape would also be a part of personal development.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/personal-development-for-an-impressive-personality-246749.html

About the Author

Stephen C Campbell is a Master NLP Practitioner, personal coach who runs Self Development programs and a free membership site. http://www.you-can-be.com/members

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How to Make Pencils

A pencil can be any writing instrument that uses solid pigment as opposed to a pen which uses a liquid medium for marking. The word pencil comes from the Latin term pencillus meaning "little tail" which was originally used to describe any fine, pointed brush. The modern pencil was first made in 1795 and the manufacturing process remains basically the same today. The following steps will assist you making your own pencils.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 1

   Use a fairly soft wood so the pencil can be easily sharpened. The most popular pencil wood comes from the cedar trees in northern California, especially trees that are 150 to 200 years old.

2. 2

   Cut a solid block of wood into slats that are half the thickness of the pencils to be made. Stain the slats and cut grooves to hold the leads on 1 side.

3. 3

   Prepare the "leads." Fine graphite and clay is mixed together and shaped into long thin sticks, which are then fired in a kiln. Elemental lead has not actually been used in pencils since 1564 when pure graphite deposits were discovered in England.

4. 4

   Place the prepared leads into the grooves, place a second identical slat on top of the first and bond the 2 halves together. Mill the resulting "pencil sandwich" into the desired shape and separate the individual pencils.

5. 5

   Paint the pencil with a non-poisonous lacquer. Crimp a ferrule to hold the eraser on 1 end and crimp the eraser into the ferrule.

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World-Mysteries.com presents Ajanta and Ellora caves including Kailasa Temple

Kailasa Temple near Ajanta and Ellora

Introduction

The Kailasa or the Kailasanatha, is the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora. This is designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, but it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens.[8] INitially the temple was covereed with white plaster thus even more increasing the similarity to snow covered Mount Kailash.

Ellora (Marathi: वेरूळ) is an archaeological site, 30 km (19 mi) from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta (Kannada: ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕೂಟ) rulers. Well-known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site.[1] Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock cut temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

Other Interesting Stories

Ajanta Caves (Ajiṇṭhā; Devanagari: अजिंठा लेणी) in Maharashtra, India are 28 - 30 rock-cut cave monuments created during the first century BCE and 5th century AD, containing paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art[1] and universal pictorial art. The caves are located just outside the village of Ajinṭhā in Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 30' by E. long. 75 deg. 40'). Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The scale at which the work was undertaken is enormous. It covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 1.5 times high, and it entailed removing 200,000 tonnes of rock. It is believed to have taken 7,000 labourers 150 years to complete the project.

The rear wall of its excavated courtyard 276 feet (84 m) 154 feet (47 m) is 100 ft (33 m) high. The temple proper is 164 feet (50 m) deep, 109 feet (33 m) wide, and 98 feet (30 m) high.

Kailasa Temple, cave #16 at Ellora, India
Full resolution‎ (1,280 × 960 pixels, file size: 545 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

It consists of a gateway, antechamber, assembly hall, sanctuary and tower. Virtually every surface is lavishly embellished with symbols and figures from the puranas (sacred Sanskrit poems). The temple is connected to the gallery wall by a bridge.

Described as Cave 16, the Kailasa Temple is considered
the pinnacle of Indian rock-cut architecture

The gigantic, 8th century Kailasa Temple at Ellora, Cave 16,
was chiselled from solid stone. Click for bigger image

Kailasa Temple, cave #16 at Ellora, India
Dramatic sculptures fill the courtyard and the main temple, which is in the center.
It must have been quite a spectacular sight when it was covered with white plaster and elaborately painted.

Kailasa Temple, cave #16 at Ellora, India
© Courtney Milne

Unlike other caves at Ajanta and Ellora, Kailasa temple has a huge courtyard that is open to the sky,
surrounded by a wall of galleries several stories high.

The Kailasa temple is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men's minds, hearts, and hands work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal.

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The Ajanta and Ellora Caves

Ajanta Caves

Ajanta (more properly Ajujnthi), a village in the erstwhile dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad in India and now in Buldhana district in the state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 32' by E. long. 75 deg. 48') is celebrated for its cave hermitages and halls.
Located 99-km from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Ajanta encompasses 29 rock-cut rooms created between 200 BC and AD 650using rudimentary hand tools. Most are viharas (living quarters), while four are chaityas (temples).

Ajanta Caves
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The Ajanta caves were discovered in the 19th century by a group of British officers on a tiger hunt.

Ajanta began as a religious enclave for Buddhist monks and scholars more than 2,000 years ago. It is believed that, originally, itinerant monks sought shelter in natural grottos during monsoons and began decorating them with religious motifs to help pass the rainy season. They used earlier wooden structures as models for their work. As the grottos were developed and expanded, they became permanent monasteries, housing perhaps 200 residents.

The artisans responsible for Ajanta did not just hack holes in the cliff, though. They carefully excavated, carving stairs, benches, screens, columns, sculptures, and other furnishings and decorations as they went, so that these elements remained attached to the resulting floors, ceilings and walls.

They also painted patterns and pictures, employing pigments derived from natural, water soluble substances. Their achievements would seem incredible if executed under ideal circumstances, yet they worked only by the light of oil lamps and what little sunshine penetrated cave entrances.

The seventh century abandonment of these masterpieces is a mystery. Perhaps the Buddhists suffered religious persecution. Or perhaps the isolation of the caves made it difficult for the monks to collect sufficient alms for survival.

Some sources suggest that remnants of the Ajanta colony relocated to Ellora, a site closer to an important caravan route. There, another series of handcrafted caves chronologically begins where the Ajanta caves end.

Ellora Caves

Near Ellora , village in E central Maharashtra state, India, extending more than 1.6 km on a hill, are 34 rock and cave temples(5th–13th century).

Located about 30 Kilometres from Aurangabad, Ellora caves are known for the genius of their sculptors. It is generally believed that these caves were constructed by the sculptors who moved on from Ajanta. This cave complex is multicultural, as the caves here provide a mix of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religions. The Buddhist caves came first, about 200 BC - 600 AD followed by the Hindu 500 - 900 AD and Jain 800 - 1000 AD.

Cave 30: Chota (small) Kailasa Temple, Ellora

Of the 34 caves chiselled into the sloping side of the low hill at Ellora, 12 (dating from AD 600 to 800) are Buddhist (one chaitya, the rest viharas), 17 are Hindu (AD 600 to 900), and 5 are Jain (AD 800 to 1100).

As the dates indicate, some caves were fashioned simultaneously - maybe as a form of religious competition. At the time, Buddhism was declining in India and Hinduism regaining ground, so representatives of both were eager to impress potential followers.

Although Ellora has more caves than Ajanta, the rooms generally are smaller and simpler (with exception of Kailasa Temple).

Visiting Ajanta and Ellora

One of India's greatest architectural treasures, the Kailasa temple attracts thousands of tourists annually.
Today, both Ajanta and Ellora are maintained by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation. The sites are open daily from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., with guides available for hire. Visitors pay a small admission fee to enter the Ajanta site and extra to attendants for lighting cave details. Entry is free to all caves at Ellora except the Kailasa Temple.

A good base from which to visit Ajanta and Ellora is Aurangabad, serviced daily by Indian Airlines and East West Airlines flights from Mumbai (Bombay). The city has a variety of accommodations, ranging from a youth hostel to five-star hotels.

At least a three-night stay in Aurangabad is advised, because Ajanta
(100 kilometres northeast by road) requires a full-day excursion and Ellora
(30 kilometres northwest) a half-day.

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World Mysteries - Mystic Places - Stonehenge

World Mysteries - Mystic Places - Stonehenge

Introduction

Stonehenge is a megalithic monument on the Salisbury Plain in Southern England, composed mainly of thirty upright stones (sarsens, each over ten feet tall and weighing 26 tons), aligned in a circle, with thirty lintels (6 tons each) perched horizontally atop the sarsens in a continuous circle. There is also an inner circle composed of similar stones, also constructed in post-and-lintel fashion.

Stonehenge Megaliths

In the 1940s and 1950s, Richard John Copland Atkinson proposed that construction occurred in three phases, which he labelled Stonehenge I, II, IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc. This sequence has recently been revised inArchaeological Report (10) published by English Heritage [ Phase I (2950-2900 BCE) ].

Image courtesy of the GoogleEarth [ http://earth.google.com ]

Constructed without the use of draft animals and shaped by stone tools,
Stonehenge was erected many miles from the quarry from which the stones came.
It is an amazing feat of engineering, and many stories, both old ones and retellings, frequently name Merlin as this engineer. This is due largely to one Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis), a historian of the 12th century, who wrote a book titled The History and Topography of Ireland.

Stonehenge satellite photo curtsey of © Space Imaging LLC

Stonehenge satellite photo curtsey of © Space Imaging LLC

Gerald called Stonehenge "The Giant's Dance," because he had heard stories that giants brought the stones from Africa to Ireland, and built the monument (by some accounts on Mount Kildare, and by others "at Ophela, near the castle of Nas" (O'Meara, ). Later, Gerald said, Aurelius Ambrosius, king of the Britons, had Merlin bring the stones to Britain.

However, the archaeological evidence at Stonehenge simply does not support an Arthurian date of construction. The archaeology points to a construction date between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago (more than likely, several construction dates over this time). Stonehenge is angled such that on the equinoxes and the solstices, the sun rising over the horizon appears to be perfectly placed between gaps in the megaliths. This is doubtless not an accident, and probably contributed to the stories of its mysterious origins.

Photo Courtesy of © Martin Gray

Photo Courtesy of © Martin Gray

Stonehenge: Eclipse Computer?

Plan of Stonehenge with the Aubrey holes, the Heel Stone, and the Station Stones 91, 92, 93, 94 marked (image from Rodney Castleden The Making of Stonehenge.London and New York: Routledge, 1993. p. 30)

Gerald Hawkins, a Professor of Astronomy, concluded that Stonehenge was a sophisticated astronomical observatory designed to predict eclipses (Stonehenge Decoded). The positioning of the stones provides a wealth of information, as does the choice of the site itself. If you can see the alignment, general relationship, and the use of these stones then you will know the reason for the construction. The author, and other astronomers, discovered the 56-year cycle of eclipses by decoding Stonehenge!
The movement of stones once each year from an initial fixed position allows to predict accurately every important lunar event for hundreds of years. This computer would need resetting about once every 300 years by advancing the stones by one space. Mankind generally used the cycle of the moon as a unit of timekeeping.

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The following material was adapted from ECLIPSE by Bryan Brewer

Every year on the first day of summer, the Sun rises at a point that is farther north than on any other day of the year. At the ruins of Stonehenge in England, this solstice sunrise appears on the horizon in direct alignment with the massive heel stone. This is the most outstanding feature of this ancient monument, built during the same era as the Great Pyramid of Egypt. There is little doubt that the builders of Stonehenge used it to mark this special day as the beginning of each year. By counting the number of days between these annual alignments, they could determine the length of the year. This could serve as a practical calendar to mark holidays and seasonal festivals and to ensure the timely planting and harvesting of crops.

But to predict eclipses, knowledge of two other cycles is required. One of these -- the length of the lunar month -- is easily determined. It is simply the number of days between one full Moon and the next. This cycle of 29-1/2 days is marked at Stonehenge by two rings of 29 and 30 holes, which together average 29-1/2. The other cycle, however, is of an altogether different character: it is a cycle of rotation of two invisible points in space. The evidence shows that the builders of Stonehenge probably discovered this cycle and could have used it to predict eclipses.

These two invisible points in space are called the lunar nodes (from the Latin for "knot"). They are the points where the Moon's orbit, which is tilted at a slight angle, intersects the plane of the Earth's orbit. It would have taken many decades of watching countless risings and settings of the Moon to figure out the cycle of the lunar nodes. This information -- which must have been passed on from generation to generation -- is preserved at Stonehenge. All the Moon alignments necessary for determining this cycle are marked by massive stones.

Who were these people who observed this subtle cycle even before the first metal tools were used by humankind? Some have suggested that Stonehenge was built by Druids, but we don't really know much about the builders. We do know that the actual motions of the Sun and the Moon are reflected in the structure of Stonehenge, and we can reason how it may have been used to keep track of these cycles. The number of stones or holes in the ground in the various rings around Stonehenge each represents a certain number of days or years in the cycles. By moving markers (such as stones) around a ring in time with the cycles, the positions of the Sun and Moon -- and the two invisible points -- can be tracked. (The details of this method are explained in Chapter 2 of the book ECLIPSE, by Bryan Brewer.)

An eclipse can occur only when the Sun is close to being aligned with a node. By using Stonehenge to keep track of the position of the Sun and the nodes, these "danger periods" for eclipses can be predicted. A new (or full) Moon appearing during one of these periods would call for a special vigil to see if the solar (or lunar) eclipse would be visible from Stonehenge. A total solar eclipse would be a rarity. But the law of averages confirms that either a partial solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse can be seen (weather permitting) from the same point on the Earth about once every year.

Why would eclipses have been so important to the ancient people of Stonehenge? Perhaps they considered the darkening of the Sun or the Moon a fearsome event -- a celestial omen of doom or disaster. Many cultures have interpreted eclipses this way. But the sophistication of the astronomy of Stonehenge suggests that the builders had something different in mind. Their understanding of the solar and lunar cycles must have led to a high regard for the cosmic order. Eclipses may have been seen as affirmations of the regularity of these cycles. Or perhaps the unseen lunar nodes formed an element of their religion as invisible gods capable of eclipsing the brightest objects in the heavens.

The idea that Stonehenge may have been a center for some kind of worship has occurred to many. It is not hard to imagine Stone Age people gathering at a "sacred place" at "sacred times" (such as solstices, equinoxes, and eclipses) to reaffirm their religious beliefs through ritual practices. British antiquarian Dr. William Stukeley, who in 1740 was the first to note the summer solstice alignment at Stonehenge, advanced the notion that the monument was built by Druids to worship the serpent. He claimed that Stonehenge and similar stone circles had been serpent temples, which he called "Dracontia." Could this serpent symbolism be related to eclipses? Recall that the key to eclipses is the position of the lunar nodes. The length of time for the Moon to return to a node (about 27.2 days) astronomers call the draconic month. (Draco is the Latin word for "serpent" or "dragon.) Perhaps the mythical serpents of Stonehenge and the legendary dragon that eats the Sun are symbols of the same thing: the invisible presence in time and space that eclipses the Sun and the Moon.

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World-Mysteries.com

World-Mysteries.com

A Link between Egypt and Americas?

According to the official view there was no contact between the Old World and the New World before Columbus. Yet numerous similarities have been found that suggest a link between Egypt and the Americas:

• Both have huge pyramids, aligned to the cardinal points

• Both have structures built with megalithic stones and extremely fine joints

• Both exhibit intriguing bumps on many unfinished stone blocks (Picture 1)

• Both employed a unique style of construction using "L" shaped corners

• Both use the same style of metal clamps to hold the huge stones in place

• Both used the process of mummification to preserve and honor their dead

These compelling similarities suggest that both ancient cultures were influenced by a sophisticated common source.

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