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Chinese Lunar Calendar

January 12th, 2010 Owen Jones No comments

Prior to their adoption of the Western solar calendar scheme, the Chinese almost wholly followed their own lunar calendar for determining the times of planting and harvesting and festival days. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old method still serves as the basis for determining many seasonal holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been accepted by the people of China.

However, this does not only happen in China, it also happens in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.

A lunar month is determined by measuring the period of time needed for the moon to finish its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a full eleven days shorter than its solar counterpart. This difference is made up every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.

The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions characterized by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the annual cycle of agricultural work.

The Chinese calendar - very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars in that it attempts to have its years coincide with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.

For example, an average year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one needs to make a number of astronomical calculations.

First of all, you have to determine the dates for the new moons. In these cases, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.

The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to dump them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Gregorian calendar. Anyone who sought to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often differs from local custom in Third World countries.

The government desires to trade on the International markets, but the ordinary family in the country can not. So, the government adopted the Gregorian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for example but no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for instance in Muslim countries.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Franklin planner pages. If you have an interest in calendars, organizers or promotional calendars, please go over to our website now at Promotional Desk Calendars

Brighten Retirement Do’s Up With Retirement Jokes

January 11th, 2010 Colin Jones No comments

Most people approach retirement with a gloomy face. They accept retirement as if it is giving into the hands of fate and the debilitation of the body. So, it is very important to help the retiree understand that retirement is something to be accepted since it is an inevitable stage in life. But how can you achieve that? Its not so difficult: just poke fun at retirement. Retirement jokes, like the ones made in speeches are popular. However, speeches tend to become emotional to the point where everyone in the room is in a state of gloom and sympathy. But one can raise the level of the mood with retirement jokes (without insulting the retiree, of course).

Examples: In addition to talking about the wonderful moments the speaker has shared with the retiree, he/she can add something that will lighten up the atmosphere. One could give a tombstone slab, which has the inscription in advance on it. If you’re a friend, you may also make a joke by calling the retiree grandfather whenever the retiree speaks to you, as in “OK, grandfather”. This can also help lighten the mood. But dont overdo it, of course.

Another gag that might help is a wig in an unusual color like pink or purple. A follow up item to that joke might be that he may need a wig in the near future. If he declines it, say: Okay, then wear a paper bag instead when you go bald. Always be prepared when a joke falls flat. So keep those backup jokes ready! Believe it or not, some agencies write and sell personalized retirement speeches with witty jokes built in after understanding the personality and interests of the retiree. These companies usually add jokes about the retirees profession. If one cannot find enough retirement jokes, a visit to a bookstore can help a great deal.

There are joke books that cover a wide range of topics, only one of which is retirement. A little search on this or that will help inspire the reader if he/she isnt a natural comedian. These can also be great retirement gifts as well, helping the retiree have a good laugh on one of those boring Monday afternoons. There are also a lot of websites on the net that provide a lot of jokes and free retirement e-books. The e-books that are available range from the 150 Best Things Said about Retirement to Retirement Wisdoms You Wont Get from your Trust Managerr.

Conclusion: You have a lot of leeway when telling jokes at a retirement party. If you know someone who is approaching retirement, you can first send an email or two which has retirement quotations like retirement is when everyday is Saturday and retirement: goodbye tension, hello pension!. It is a good gesture and gives the impression that you understand what the future retiree is facing.

Again, keep the retiree (future or not) at ease as much as you can. Make him/her contemplate retirement with a smile and not with a sigh as much as you can. And when the retirement party does come, adopt the same light-hearted approach, telling jokes here and there and doing some gags like the ones said above. Not only will the retiree feel less wary about retirement, he/she will focus more on the people who kept him happy on that bitter-sweet day, especially the one who gave him that weird pink wig.

If you or anyone you know is nearing Retirement, just paste our website at Retirement

Auto Accident Settlement - 3 Things You Need to Think About When Settling From an Auto Accident

January 10th, 2010 Jessica L Lawson No comments

Are you attempting to get an auto accident settlement? We are going to peek at 3 things you need to think about when settling from an accident in this article.

If you have been hurt in an accident then you should obtain what you deserve, no matter who you are and what level of life you might come from. The auto accident settlement that you have coming is what you should acquire. Just because you have been a victim of a irresponsible driver or if some other accident has caused you to become harmed.

Now we are going to chat about 3 things you need to think about when settling from an accident.

Number 1 - Was It Really The Other Person’s fault?

If you have already been told by the investigation that it was the other person’s responsibility then you do not need to think on this but if you haven’t you may want to consider this. Even if it is said that it was not the responsibility of the other person and you do not agree with this finding then you might consider having it looked at again.

Number 2 - Do You Need A Attorney?

After you have proved it was the other person’s fault they may try to settle with you. They might offer you some quick money. The option of fast cash might sound great but seriously, think about it… would you rather acquire some sort of money and then it be over or would you rather acquire what you really deserve to acquire out of your hurt and suffering?

Number 3 - How Much Do You Deserve?

That takes us to the next query, how much do you warrant to acquire from the auto accident settlement? There are many various factors that may decide how much you deserve and this is why you may need a attorney to help you decide what you should do.

Are you attempting to get an auto accident settlement ? Go to http://www.AutoAccidentSettlement.net for more information.

Food - Preparing And Storing It - A few Handy Tips

January 10th, 2010 Owen Jones No comments

In these times of superior alertness of the shortages in the world and the recent economic problems in the whole world, but especially in the wealthy Western countries, which are the powerhouses of most Third World countries’ expansion, people are more aware of waste. It is a sin again to throw away food, like it was 50 years ago.

This can only be a good thing although it is a shame that it took an international financial crisis to make us remember the lesson. These days, waste of any kind is greeted with public disapproval and so it is at home too. Most people spend a very high percentage of their outgoings on food and so anyone who wants to cut back, has to first look to this quarter to make a saving.

However, saving does not necessarily mean ‘not buying’, it can and should mean ‘not throwing away’. In other words, prepare your food and do not let your food go off. Preparation and storage are the key words. With that thought in mind, here are a few of my tips for preparing and storing food correctly.

Bread - tons of bread is wasted every day, because it has gone stale or mouldy and yet it is totally needless. Keep your bread in the deep freezer and not in the bread bin. A whole loaf will slice frozen with the proper knife and sliced bread will come away slice by slice. There is no need to defrost as it only takes a minute or two at room temperature.

Bananas - most people understand that banana skins turn black if kept in the fridge, but most people do not know that bananas can be frozen solid. Yes, the skins will still go black, but the fruit will be undamaged.

Cake - to stop cake from going stale, store it in a tin with an apple. The moisture in the apple will stop the cake from going hard.

Watercress - to keep watercress from wilting, store it upside down in water, that is stalks up.

Salt - salt often gets damp, particularly if stored in a steamy kitchen without sufficient ventilation, but you do not have to worry about that if you put two or three grains of rice in the salt cellar. They will soak up the moisture before the salt.

Cereal - stop cereal from going soft by resealing the bag with a few clothes pegs. Your cereal will last weeks more.

Jam - boiling jam produces a scum which has to be skimmed off and thrown away. This wastes jam, goodness and flavour. However, if you whisk a knob of butter into the mixture at the last moment the scum will not appear, saving time and goodness.

Funnel - you always seem to need a funnel when you do not have one. Then you vow to get a funnel for the next time. Do not bother. Just cut the top nine inches off a plastic bottle of cola. It makes an ideal throw-away funnel. Some of the larger bottles even have a handle on them which is even better.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with researching the programmable crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots