10 Codes and Ciphers

The need to conceal the meaning of important messages has existed for thousands of years. Over time, people have found increasingly complex ways of encoding their messages as the simpler ways are decoded with greater ease. Contrary to layman-speak, codes and ciphers are not synonymous. A code is where each word in a message is replaced with a code word or symbol, whereas a cipher is where each letter in a message is replaced with a cipher letter or symbol. In fact, when most people say “code,” they are actually referring to ciphers. Ancient scripts and languages have been understood using decoding and deciphering techniques, most famously the Rosetta Stone of Ancient Egypt. In fact, codes and ciphers have determined the outcome of politics and wars throughout history. There are thousands of types of hidden messages, but here we look at only ten as an overview. Several have examples for you to test yourself with.

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Steganography

Steganography is more ancient than codes and ciphers, and is the art of hidden writing. For example, a message might be written on paper, coated with wax, and swallowed to conceal it, only to be regurgitated later. Another way is to tattoo the message on the shaved head of a messenger and wait for the hair to regrow to cover up the ink. The best stenography uses innocent everyday objects to carry messages. A once-popular technique in England was to use a newspaper with tiny dots under letters on the front page indicating which ones should be read to spell out the message. Some people would spell out a message using the first letter of every word, or use invisible ink. Rival countries have shrunk writing down so that an entire page of text becomes the size of a pixel which is easily missed by prying eyes. Steganography is best used in conjunction with a code or cipher, as a hidden message always carries the risk of being found.

Variety Of Colors And Incredible Shape Of Beaks- Tropical Birds

Stretching almost fifty degrees of latitude from north to south, there is a territory with rich plant and animal life. Tropical birds are some of the most beautiful animals in the world, and some of them make wonderful family pets. These tropical bird species are found in the Rainforest, South America, Asia, Central America, and in other tropical climates throughout the world. Bird life in the tropics is varied. Here are birds in all the colors of the rainbow, birds of all sizes, shy birds and aggressive ones, birds of curious habits.

Hummingbirds

Top 10 Free Online Blogging Platforms

A blog is a great way to express your thoughts, create a web presence for your company and provide content to Internet users.

If you’re planning to create a blog, but don’t wish to get into the hassles of hosting, developing and deploying it yourself, consider creating a blog at any of the free blogging platforms mentioned below. Such services offer a plethora of features and generally come with both free as well as paid plans.

Let’s look at the top 10 most popular online blog-publishing services.

1. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is perhaps the most feature-rich blogging service out there. It uses the popular open source web software WordPress, and offers many features in its free version — traffic stats, anti-spam filters, SEO, gorgeous themes and more.

If you choose to use WordPress.com, you’ll be in good company, as many popular blogs — including CNN’s Political Ticker, People Magazine’s Style Watch and Flickr — are on this platform.

If you need more than what the free version offers, you can opt for their premium features that include custom domains, upgraded web hosting resources and more.

Whether you’re an expert blogger or a beginner, this ultimate blogging platform is a safe bet.

10 Extinct or Nearly Extinct Colors

The world we live in is a colorful place (except in our dreams, which are mostly black and white, which is odd when you stop to think about it). Though we are surrounded by color and new colors are invented all the time, some colors have completely disappeared from our lives, or are very rare, or are becoming extinct. This list is a sampling of some of those pigments or colors once found in nature, in consumer products, manufactured goods, building construction, etc.

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Automobile Colors

Ever drive down the road and notice most of the cars you see are colored in four colors (mostly black, white, silver, or gray)? Part of the reason why is resale value – people who want to resell their car later know they are far more likely to find a buyer if the car is one of these common colors. Though other colors are out there, (mostly brightly colored new small cars and new muscle cars), we have lost some of the variety of colors we used to see on cars.

Anyone who remembers car colors from before the 1990s, and especially car colors from the 1950s-1980s, remember there being a whole range of vibrant, sometimes weird colored cars on the road. Where did these cars and these wild and weird colors go? They didn’t go anywhere really, the colors (for the most part) still exist and some even get used today. An example of an almost extinct color that was invented for the automobile paint industry was Quinacridone Gold. Today it is all but extinct because the only manufacturer of this pigment discontinued it long ago and no one else makes it today. It is highly prized by some artists for use in watercolor and oil painting. What did change was paint technology itself, and how paints are applied to modern automobiles.

For sure, more eye-popping and vibrant-looking colors were used on cars in the 1950s-1970s (my older sister had a bright yellow 1975 Mercury Capri that screamed “canary!”) but the paint also looked different because of the way it sat on the car. It wasn’t just that there were different and more vibrant pigments, paints of that era mostly sat flat on the car. Modern paints seem to flow with the car, and appear different from different angles. Finishes were a lot more matte than today’s high glossy car finishes. The older paint colors also resulted from the use of acrylic lacquer and enamel paints. The acrylic lacquer paints allowed for high color pigmentation and were more glossy (though not as glossy as today’s paints). Problem was, they required the use of a lot of fast-drying solvents, which have widely been phased out of car paints because of their toxicological and environmental problems. These acrylic paints also became brittle and cracked when exposed to UV sunlight. The colors would fade over time. I had a bright red Saab 900 that, by the time I finally sold it almost fifteen years later, was the color of the pink you see in breast cancer awareness posters. Enamel paints were somewhat better than acrylic car paints, but still had quality problems.

Today, car manufacturers paint their vehicles with high-tech paints that need to meet tough environmental and durability testing requirements (they are far better at resisting chips, fading from sunlight, effects of road salt, etc.). They are more durable and give off almost translucent properties unimagined in the 1960s. Still, there was nothing like those old car colors of that era that are now relegated mostly to museums and car shows.

High Quality Wallpapers

Top 10 Vitamin Deficiencies

Until quite recently, the role vitamins play in good health was largely unknown. Explorers in the renaissance found that on ships where they ate salted meat and grain, a huge variety of diseases appeared that were cured by eating a more varied diet. People began to suspect the existence of vitamins, tiny substances which were needed to sustain good health. There have been several Nobel Prizes given to scientists who correctly identified specific vitamins, as they allowed thousands of people to avoid death from deficiencies simply by eating a certain food. Today vitamin deficiencies still occur in developing countries or in those who have restrictive diets, but centuries ago people lived in fear of these deadly deficiencies whose causes were unknown and seemed to affect people at random.

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Beriberi

Beriberi is a disease whose symptoms include weight loss, body weakness and pain, brain damage, irregular heart rate, heart failure, and death if left untreated. It was endemic in Asia for a long time. Strangely, Beriberi occurred almost exclusively amongst the richer members of society, and was unknown in the poor. Although recognized to be a nutritional deficiency, doctors were baffled as to why wealthy people with plentiful and clean food would fall victim to beriberi whereas the poor with limited food did not. As it turned out, beriberi is a deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) which is found in cereal grain husks. The rich had been washing their rice so well that they removed the husk with its vitamin B1, whereas the poor did not wash their food as well and consumed enough vitamin B1. White bread can also potentially cause beriberi, so today developed countries add extra vitamin B1 to it. Beriberi is now found mostly in alcoholics whose bodies become poor at absorbing vitamin B1.

10 Amazing Locations For Bungee Jumping

Free-falling from a tall structure while connected with a large elastic cord and seeing the ground getting closer and closer, that’s what bungee jumping is all about. The whole body gets filled with adrenaline and the experience is unique. Bungee jumping was first practiced as a rite of passage for the youths of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. Since the modern times, several records have been made and broken by bungee-jumpers world over. Obviously not everyone is prepared or wants to try it, but for those who are willing to test their limits we have chosen ten highest places for a thrilling jump.

10. Navajo Bridges, USA – 467 ft (142 m)

Horseshoe Bend, Arizona

Northern Arizona and southern Utah are abundant in scenic landscapes. Strong winds carrying fine desert sand and the mighty Colorado river erode the rocks in the region to create exquisite shapes and patterns. The region is popularly known as the Grand Circle and encompasses more than a dozen National Parks including Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and the Arches National Parks. Among them is a peculiar geological formation – the Horsehoe Bend.

Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona, in the United States. Tamed by the Glen Canyon Dam, the emerald-green Colorado River makes a gigantic bend more than a thousand feet below the overlook, swinging first to the east, then curving back to the west. The bend is locally known as "King Bend." It is located five miles (8.7 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about four miles or 6 km southwest of Page. Accessible via a ½-mile (0.8 km) hike from U.S. Route 89, it can be viewed from the steep cliff above. According to Google terrain maps, the overlook is 4,200 feet above sea level and the Colorado River is at 3,200 feet above sea level making it a breathtaking 1,000 foot drop.

Photo credit

The Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower

In 1929, a frustrated Florida’s Lower Keys’ fish lodge owner named Richter Clyde Perky decided that it was time to rid his holiday resort of mosquitoes. He figured out a smart, environmentally friendly and economical solution – introduce natural predators to the area – bats. His idea was to invest in a structure called a Bat Tower, the invention of a Texan ‘Bat Researcher’ by the name of Dr. Campbell who believed that the towers would provide an attractive home for bats to roost. The bats in return would eat the mosquitoes. Mr Perky installed the huge wooden Bat Tower at great cost and shipped in hundreds of bats from Texas and Cuba. Unfortunately, the Bat Tower never worked out the way he would have liked. As soon as the bats were released they flew away, never to return.

Out of 14 Bat Towers designed by Dr. Charles Campbell, only three are still standing today - the Perky Tower, one in Comfort, Texas, and one at the Shangri-La Gardens in Orange, Texas. At least one of the Texas towers has been internally reconstructed so that bats currently roost in it. The ruins of a fourth Campbell tower, in Temple Terrace, Florida, burned in 1979 and now consists of the concrete base and legs.

Since 1982, the Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower has been on the U.S. Register of Historic Places.

Photo credit

Aquatic Life Photos

50 amazing underwater life / beautiful wallpaper

10 Unique Ruined Forts and Castles

Some of the most popular tourist destinations in world are ancient forts, castles, and battlefields. It is fun to imagine what it was like to live during a time when people fought with swords, cannons, muskets, and bows. In the Middle Ages, leaders constructed massive fortifications to protect their people. Forts and castles signified power, wealth, and military capability. Some of the greatest minds in the history of warfare designed fortresses to withstand any attack. They were placed in strategic locations and used to defend important routes. In the last century, the expansion of modern weaponry has diminished the need for fortified structures. Today, countries use other means to protect their borders. This article will examine the history of ten unique ruined forts and castles.

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Biruaslum Cliff Fort

Biruaslum is a stack in the Barra Isles to the west of Vatersay, Scotland. A stack is a steep column of rock that is formed around sea coasts. Stacks can grow extremely high and Biruaslum reaches 72 meters (236 ft). Biruaslum is separated from Vatersay Island by a collection of steep cliffs on the eastern face. Sitting on the edge of the cliff is an ancient fort and well-constructed wall that is 2m wide and 3m high. The wall encloses a semi-circle and runs approximately 90 meters. The fortress is situated above a flat shelf and rocky gorge which separates it from Vatersay.

The ancient fort is most well preserved on the south-eastern end of Biruaslum. The structure extends away from the cliff and moves over the stack. The fortress holds the remains of a small oval stronghold which is located on the uphill side of the wall. The history of the fort remains unclear and historians are unsure who made it and for what purpose. The style of the structure appears to be from the Iron Age, but artifacts have been found from the Neolithic period. It has been determined that the Barra Isles have a long history. They have been featured in several Viking sagas and legends. It is difficult to visit the Biruaslum cliff fort, but charters to the islands can be organized by Barra Fishing Charters.

From Marriage To Bankruptcy- Most Expensive Divorce Settlements

Instability in a marriage can obviously lead to divorce, which in some cases is extremely expensive. It is easy to fall in love, since that has no price at all, but falling out of it can cost an arm and a leg. Divorce isn’t cheap. Many stories have reported that since the recession, couples can’t afford to divorce so they are holding out until times improve. But the rich and famous who aren’t troubled with money problems, are still setting record divorce settlements.

Rupert Murdoch’s divorce from Anna Murdoch, $1.7 billion

ANIMALS OF TRANSPARENT BODY

ANIMALS OF TRANSPARENT BODY

[1] GOBIES 

Mating Rituals- Top Animal Seducers

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they’re taught about “the birds and the bees,” but the actual birds, bees and others looking for love in the animal world are everything from picky and proud to brutal and bizarre. For these creatures, getting it on is not always about romance, but often in the name of survival. Find out who made the top 10 animal lovers list.

Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian devil, size of a small dog, became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world. The devil is capable of surprising speed and endurance, and can climb trees and swim across rivers. Devils are not monogamous, and theirreproductive process is very robust and competitive. Males fight one another for the females, and then guard their partners to prevent female infidelity. On top of having a mating call that could shatter glass, the Tasmanian devil also has a nasty temper and will throw down with anything that gets in its way — even a potential mate! Good thing this dalliance only lasts three days.

'Spiderman' Free-Climber

Don't let go! Heart-stopping moment 'Spiderman' free-climber dangles over 500ft cliff with no ropes

This is the heart-in-mouth moment a daredevil climber dangles over the edge of a 500ft cliff without any ropes.

Mich Kemeter is a world expert at free solo climbing, a discipline where participants forgo essential safety equipment in search of that extra adrenaline rush.

The 23-year-old was pictured in the Verdon National Park, France, by mountain adventure photographer Alexandre Buisse, who takes extra care not to put him off in case he falls to his death.

Newfangled dangle: Free-climber Mich Kemeter hangs over the edge of a 500ft cliff in the Verdon National Park, France, by the tips of his fingers without any ropes

Colored By Their Lunch- Pink Animals

The plant and animal kingdoms abound with bright colors, from the lush green of photosynthesizing plants to the bold black and orange stripes of tigers. Color plays a multitude of roles in the natural world, used to entice, to camouflage, or to warn other creatures. Colors signal harvest time, breeding conditions, and the change of seasons, from the first greens of spring to the brilliant reds and browns of the fall.  Plants, however, can produce a range of pigments, so many animals are colored by what they eat. Flamingos range in color from light pink, from eating crustaceans such as shrimp and prawns, to bright red, from eating spirulina and other types of algae. The color comes from carotene, the same substance that colors yams and cantaloupe. Pink pigs (and people) display beauty that’s only skin deep but when pink appears as an animal’s prime pigment the results can be strikingly beautiful… they don’t call it “shocking pink” for nothing! This proud posse of puce poseurs provides proof positive pink can be a perfectly pleasing pigment. Some of the most striking cases of pink colored animalsare collected below.

Pink Katydid

Real Life Seven Dwarfs

To the outside world, they may look different from everyone else.

But for the Johnston family, the only difference between them and everyone else is that they are a little smaller.

Amber and Trent Johnson, from Barnesville, Georgia, and their five children are the largest family of achondroplasia dwarfs, with a type of dwarfism that affects the extremities. 

From left: Sisters Elizabeth and Ana, husband Trent and wife Amber, brother Jonah and sister Emma, and Alex from South Korea

SUPPER MOON

May 4,2012 Supermoon 2012: Biggest full moon of the year

Photo of 2011 "Supermoon" captured in Puerto Rico (Carlos Gotay Martinez/Flickr)
(CNET) If you missed it last year the super perigee moon is back for an encore performance.

 

On Saturday the moon will be up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the other full moons of 2012according to NASA.

 

That's because it will reach perigeeits closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbitat 11:34 p.m. ET and become full just a minute later.

 

Super perigee moons happen about once a year on average but the moon of March 192011was nearly 250 miles closer than this week's moon prompting wild calamitous speculations.

 

When the moon is on the perigee side of its orbitit's about 31000 miles closer to Earth than the apogee side. The only effects expected are slightly higher tides and many beautiful photos.

 

The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower which is associated with Halley's comet will coincide with the coming perigee moon. Its light will likely dim all but the brightest meteors.

 

It should be a gorgeous display if the weather cooperates. The moon will appear largest and most dazzling when it's near the horizon as seen in this photo gallery showing last year's super moon.

 

So get your tripod outfigure out the best lunar exposure and snap away!

 

This story and Slideshow reported by CNET.

 

8 Photos
Saturday's super moon seen 'round the world (photos)
View the Full Gallery »

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57428066/supermoon-2012-biggest-full-moon-of-the-year/

World’s Most Beautiful Old-Time Typewriters

It is almost unbelievable how technology is changing fast our habits and the way how we live. Once, the good typewriter was a true fortune, it was also attractive toy and it was almost funny and interesting as computers are today.

Astrolabe – An Ancient Computer From The Past

They say it’s the oldest computer ever. Well, I wouldn’t actually say computer, but there may be some similarities. I’m talking about the astrolabe. It’s basically an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. It was mainly used to locate and predict the positions of the sun, the moon, planets, and stars. Visually it’s a golden and lovely instrument.

They work in a way where you  you input information and then you receive output, just like a computer, right? They are about 6 inch or more in diameter, and in the middle you can see how the sky is drawn with 20 stars. Finding the time of day or night, could be solved with the astrolabe as well as being able to find out what time the sun would rise and set.

It’s no wonder they couldn’t do without this magnificent instrument back in the acient days. It was used in Classical Antiquity, through the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and Renaissance for all these purposes, so you can say it was pretty popular. So this was the first computer, but what about the first calculators.

source

Completely Transparent House

10 Most Expensive Whiskies

Top 10 Most Expensive Whiskies

Grain, water, a wooden barrel and a little time. Whisky is a colorful character with an ever-changing spirit. The subject of literature, culture and folklore throughout the world, finicky booze-hounds have long paid a pretty penny for bottles of the most coveted casks. Pour a finger or two and hit the jump to drink in 10 bottles of whisky that truly break the bank.

Speediest Fish On The Planet

In a fishy recreation of House of the Flying Daggers, these pictures capture the break-neck 75mph speeds of one of the fastest hunts on the planet.
The images, captured by Reinhard Dirscherl, 47, from Germany, freeze in time the amazing techniques used by the planet's most rapid fish.
Atlantic Sailfish, caught on camera by Reinhard in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, can be seen in large groups darting in and out of schools of favourite prey sardines.

8 Most Common Health Mistakes to Avoid...

If health is lost than everything we do in our life is lost. All of us make little health mistakes that cause damage to our bodies in the long run - simply because we are unaware we are doing something wrong. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by many of us. Have a look at it and try to avoid it to have a healthy life.

1. Crossing The Legs

Although we may believe that this is the lady-like elegant way to sit, sitting this way cuts down circulation to your legs. If you don't want varicose veins to mar the beauty of your legs and compromise your health, uncross your legs every time you realize you have one knee on top of the other. The best way to sit is to simply place both legs together on the floor, balancing your weight equally. If you feel like changing position, instead of crossing your legs, simply move both legs together to one side. As an alternative, you could also consider crossing your legs loosely at the ankles. This is a classically elegant way to sit, and is far better for your legs and your health than sitting with your legs crossed at your knees.

15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee...

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a bitter, acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa. Green coffee or unroasted coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. But there are certain thing that you may still not know about coffee. So, here are 15 things that we feel is worth knowing about coffee.