Hereunder is a list of minor holidays and occasions in the United States. Some of them are virtually unknown, and others are quite obscure.
April Fools’ Day – (April 1): the day for practical jokes (only before noon in the UK). Its origins are obscure, but it bears a similarity to an ancient Roman festival for the goddess of nature.
Arbor Day – (last Friday in April): devoted to trees and their preservation. It is held on December 22 everywhere else in the world.
Armed Forces Day – (third Sunday in May): a day to honour the US armed forces.
Citizenship Day – (September 17): replaced Constitution Day in 1952 by presidential proclamation.
Daylight-Saving Time: was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, but became the Uniform Time Act in 1966. It is not observed in Hawaii, the Eastern Time Zone of Indiana, most of Arizona (except on the Navajo Reservation), American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
Election Day – (Tuesday after the first Monday in November): presidential elections are held in years divisible by four and elections for all members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate in years evenly divisible by two.
Fathers’ Day – (third Sunday in June): was first observed in West Virginia in 1908, but this uniquely American holiday was not made official until 1972.
Flag Day – (June 14): was first observed in 1877, which was the centenary of the adoption of the modern design. Truman approved the Flag Day Bill in 1949.
Groundhog Day – (February 2): on this day the groundhog looks out of his burrow. If he sees his own shadow there will be six weeks of Winter to follow, otherwise Spring is just around the corner.
Halloween – (October 31): All Hallow’s Eve is the day before the feast of All Saints. It began as a pagan custom honouring the dead and a celebration of Autumn. ‘Trick or Treat’ is purely American with no historical foundation.
Kwanzaa – is a secular celebration by African-Americans to commemorate their African heritage. It commences on Dec.26th when a candle in a candelabrum is lit every day for seven days. It was first observed by Maulana Karenga in 1966.
Mothers’ Day – (second Sunday in May): was thought of by Anne M. Jarvis of Philadelphia as a way for children to pay homage to their mothers. It received presidential proclamation in 1914.
National Maritime Day – (May 22): was initiated in 1935 to commemorate the SS Savannah’s first successful transatlantic voyage by a steamship in 1819. It is also a day of remembrance of merchant mariners who died in defense of their country.
National Teachers’ Day – (Tuesday of the first full week in May): is when pupils are meant to honour the teaching profession.
St. Patrick’s Day – (March 17): has been borrowed from Ireland where it is their national saint’s day.
St. Valentine’s Day – (February 14): was originally to honour two saints martyred by Emperor Claudius (214 – 270), but has been devoted to lovers since the Middle Ages.
Susan B. Anthony Day – (February 15): Anthony (1820 – 1906) worked for women’s rights and suffrage.
United Nations’ Day – (October 24): commemorates the endorsement of the UN Charter in 1945 by the then five permanent members of the Security Council.
If you are interested in executive items, please look at our web site on Choosing an Executive Briefcase.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Dec 21st, 2011. Comment. 
For most individuals, purchasing a hot tub spa, also known as a gazebo, a hot spa or a Jacuzzi, is a first time event. This makes it quite a daunting undertaking, because they are not cheap and there are numerous variables.
You have to do research on the different types of jets, the power of the pump that is best for you, the location, whether to install a deck around it or not et cetera, et cetera. In this piece, we will take a look at a few of these points to make buying a hot tub easier for you.
The first thing to think about is size. This usually depends on two items: where you are going to put the hot tub and how many individuals are going to be using it at a time. If you are hoping to put it above the ground floor inside your home, you will have to check the weight of the spa while it is full of water and people to see whether your floor will take that weight without reinforcement. If the climate is decent where you live, the garden is the best place to put it.
The next deliberation is price. There is a vast choice of hot tubs and a wide span of prices too. If you find that the price of a new hot tub is just out of your range, what about purchasing a second hand one?
There is rather a large second hand market in Jacuzzis because hotels, health spas and some home owners have to renew their models. You might be lucky enough to find quite a luxurious second hand model for less than the price of a new cheap one. Enquire at a local installer’s for details.
The next thing is the material that the actual tub is made from. This is not inevitably the same as the housing or cabinet that goes around the tub. Traditional-style hot tubs are made from local hardwoods such as cedar, oak, redwood or teak, but they are heavy and leak a little.
Contemporary materials used are a mixture of plastic and fibreglass moulded into comfortable seating arrangements. They are lighter and do not leak (or should not).
Then you can think about the housing. Is the hot tub going to stand on its own somewhere or is it going to be built in? if you are going to build it in, what are you going to build it into? A deck? Hardwood, softwood, concrete and tiles?
Then there is the routine maintenance of the tub. This is not difficult but it is essential, so if you are building your tub into something, remember that you will have to have access to certain parts of it. Read the instruction manual of the tub that you buy to learn which parts will require maintenance and cleaning.
Usually, this involves cleaning the jets, adding chemicals to the water, renewing filters and maybe renewing a seal on the pump, which could be assigned to an engineer in an annual service contract.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with second hand hot tubs. If you would like to know more, please visit our site at Hot Springs Spa Parts
Filed under Uncategorized by on Dec 16th, 2011. Comment.
After my first night out in Pattaya, Thailand, when I met a lady on a blind date organized by one of my best friends, I sat up in bed and I thought about the details of the night before. We had begun in The Pig and Whistle, where I was residing on Soi 7.
The Pig is a lovely, quiet, tranquil, air-conditioned oasis of serenity in a street, which is one of the most raucous, loudest and busiest streets in Pattaya.
We ventured outside into the soi (lane) and into a torrent of people not dissimilar to that of a queue heading for a football match, except that all the women were dressed in skimpy clothes. We had called into one of those outdoor bars, where my friend had a surprise awaiting me.
His girlfriend of a time, whom I knew nothing of and a friend of hers who wished to meet up with me. The four of us had stayed there an hour before walking the thirty metres to Beach Road.
The traffic is one-way on Beach Road, so we took a Baht Taxi North (a pick-up truck) going with the flow and got off two or three kilometres further on just before Walking Street, which is the most famous street in Pattaya.
We had gone into a complex of bars and sat in one at random. It was only then that I realized that the bars were all set out surrounding a Muay Thai boxing ring, where the fighting was uninterrupted and free, although foreigners are expected to give a prize to the winner of each bout of 20-100 Baht ($1-$3).
We stayed there an hour and moved on to Walking Street to have something to eat. We dined at a seafood specialist restaurant which has a pier or jetty as its dining area. The food was fantastic and the mood was romantic with the moon reflecting on the sea and the atmospheric lighting.
I don’t think that I had a chance in reality, I fell for my gorgeous date that night and I saw her each day for the remainder of my 30 days vacation. We had a brilliant time and when I had to go, I resolved to find out if I could settle in Thailand.
I went home and calculated, that if I was careful and a few things fell in my favour, I would most likely have enough money to live there for ten years.
Six weeks later, I went back to Thailand and Joy was waiting for me at the airport. Nothing had changed between us and we took a bus to visit her family in northern Thailand.
We slept in a room that her brother had given up for us and everybody made me feel very welcome. Joy’s family live in a traditional teak home built on stilts and everybody lived and slept in one space in the traditional way, with the exception of Joy’s brother, who had built an extension, because he was eager to get married soon.
I really like that village and still live there now, seven years on. Joy and I are married and have our own home – a traditional, European, concrete-block bungalow not five metres from Joy’s mum, who is a fantastic mother-in-law.
Her family seem to understand what a big step it was for me to come here alone and are determined to be there for me, if I require help, like my own family in Wales would be. The job at hand is learning Thai as no one else in the village, except for my wife, can speak English.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of subjects , but is at present concerned with Yoga Holidays and Yoga Retreats. If you want to know more about our Travel Blog, click a link.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 28th, 2011. Comment.
There are more than 3,500 species of the mosquito and they have been around for over 30 million years. The word mosquito comes from the Spanish and Portuguese word for little fly. They are similar to crane flies and chironomid flies. Mosquitoes are a member of the Culicidae family, which means midge or gnat.
Both males and females feed on nectar and plant juices, but in some species, the female has to feed on humans, because she needs the nutrients protein and iron to help her produce eggs. The females? feeding on humans causes many contagious diseases that has an effect on millions of humans every year.
The adult female lays her eggs in standing water. This could be a lake, bucket of water, a puddle, and in some cases, a few droplets in a leaf.
The mosquito is a holometabolous insect. This means that it will go through four stages which are outlined here:
The first stage is the larvae. This is the recently hatched stage of various insects that differ considerably from the adult.
The next stage is known as the pupa. This is a non-feeding time that takes place between the larvae and the adult stages.
The pupa floats on the water and the adult mosquito will emerge from the pupa at this time. The adult mosquito lives between four and eight weeks.
The mosquito has three senses. They are chemical, visual, and heat. There are certain things that attract a mosquito to a person.
Carbon dioxide and lactic acid appeal to a mosquito. These are found in warm blooded mammals and birds. Regular breathing puts out these sorts of gases. Some sweat will also put off these gases.
Garments that contrast with the background will attract a mosquito also. Heat is easily detected by a mosquito.
Mosquitoes can be found in a cool spot during the day whilst it is hot. If they are disturbed, they will bite during this time. They are more active while it is cooler.
Mosquitoes are known to infect humans with many kinds of diseases. They carry viruses and parasites from human to human. Some common viral illnesses are malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, and Chikungunya.
It is estimated that more than two million people die from these illnesses every year. It has been found that most of these illnesses are carried by ?elderly? females.
There are numerous products on the market to help avoid mosquito bites and chancing acquiring a deadly infection. Many of these products contain DEET. It is highly recommended. DEET can also be applied full strength, but 20-50% is normally strong enough.
Some of the brand name insect repellents are: Off, Cutter, White Mountain, and Repel. There are also candles, wipes, nets, traps, and foggers obtainable on the market. There are also organic repellents on the market. You can also create your own repellent.
Smoke from campfires and mud or clay assists stop mosquitoes from biting. Some herbs, such as Rosemary, will also keep mosquitoes away.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is currently involved with finding a home remededy for mosquito bites. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Getting Rid of Mosquito Bites.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 19th, 2011. Comment.
The resurgence of the numbers of bed bugs during the last fifteen years has been blamed on the higher number of people going on long-haul vacations and the increased amount of immigration from Asia and Africa..
It is not that some people carry the bed bugs home on their bodies, but bedbugs may have laid eggs in the travellers’ garments or the bed bugs might have taken refuge in the suitcases.
In this fashion they are carried home, and being very hardy to temperature variations they prosper in their new home country. If the carriers are on vacation, then the bed bugs could easily become unloaded into the hotel. This is how bed bugs can become dispersed unknowingly by humans.
You see, bed bugs do not flourish in a filthy environment necessarily. Bed bugs do not mind whether you dropped a bit of potato on the floor last week and did not sweep it up. They do not feed on what we like, even if they are hungry. They just eat blood.
If you are like this, then you will attract mice or rats, cockroaches and ants, but not bed bugs. It is a mistake to think that bedbugs like dirt and rubbish. They most likely prefer it fairly clean actually, but they do need to have cracks and crevices to hide in, but there are lots of those in most rooms.
They like to wriggle behind the skirtings and other woodwork. They also like broken plaster, peeling wall paper and torn mattresses. Because they are so flat, they can get into virtually any gap.
This means that any hotel can become infested with bedbugs, the Ritz, the Carlton, Holiday Inn – any of them.
This is the problem for us. If it was merely run-down, dirty hotels that had bed bugs, we could circumvent them, but you simply should not judge a book by its cover.
There are methods of checking your room though. Look out for small bugs that look a bit like an apple seed. Look in the seams of the chairs and check the mattress, if there are any tears in it, have it swapped.
You can also experiment by lying on the bed to warm it up and then throw back the bed clothes swiftly. You might spot a couple of fleet-footed insects running for cover. They are bedbugs.
Obviously, the first thing you have to do is tell the hotel manager. If you are not satisfied that he or she is taking you seriously, move or / and ring the environmental health department of the local council.
Whether you discover bedbugs or not, they still may be there to hitch a ride home with you, so spray or dust your suitcase with a powerful pesticide before you travel home and to be really secure, have your clothes dry cleaned, because bedbugs cannot survive temperatures over 45c.
If you cannot organize this on the last day of your holiday, make certain you do it after you arrive home, but make certain that you do not give any insects you have brought with you a opportunity to get out and reproduce.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several subjects, but is at present concerned with the Dust Mite Pillow Cover.. If you would like to know more, visit our website at Bed Infestation.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 17th, 2011. Comment.
If you have a swimming pool, you have to be aware of the safety aspects regarding that pool. There is no counter-argument, that is one of the legal responsibilities of an owner of a swimming pool . You are going to get people coming around who cannot swim; people who have eaten or drunken too much and should not swim; children and skinny-dipping teenage intruders and you have to provide a safe environment in which to swim for all or them or decline access.
The first area of swimming pool safety to tackle is the denial of access and the easiest way of doing this is the assembly of a security fence. It will deny access to passing children, interlopers and friends who came around to see you on the off-chance when you were not in.
There are thousands of drownings by misadventure in backyard swimming pools each year – most of them are children and drunks, who would still be alive today, if the pool had been locked up.
If you have your own children who cannot swim, get them taught as soon as you can and drill some safety routines into them. For example, they must never get in the pool without an adult supervising them and they must always wear flotation devices, which means that you should always have flotation devices on hand.
You will require waist rings, arm bands and life jackets. Those for use in a swimming pool by children are not expensive and can be inflatable. It is also a good idea to have some boards of styrofoam floating about just in case someone gets tired unexpectedly.
Make certain that there is always a capable swimmer on hand who knows basic First Aid, especially artificial respiration with particular reference to drowning. In fact, why not take the whole family down to the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade and all get your life-savers certificate? The least you should have is a proper life belt – ocean-going – on a rope that is long enough to reach anywhere in your pool and tie off the loose end.
It might be possible to get away with not having a security fence, if you use an above ground swimming pool, but you will have to check with the local authorities on that one. You will also have to take away the access ladders while it is not in use. Forgetting to do so could equate to criminal negligence if anyone were to drown in your pool.
Swimming pool safety is primarily about saving lives but it is also about the peace of mind of the owner of the swimming pool. If someone were to drown in your pool and you knew that you had not done everything within your power to prevent it, you would almost certainly carry that burden of guilt with you for the rest of your life, particularly if it was a child and even more so if it was your child or the child of one of your guests.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on various subjects, but is now involved with Plus Size Bikinis. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Swimwear for Big Busts.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 14th, 2011. Comment.
There is no question that Formula One racing is a gripping motor sport for those interested in cars, speed, engineering and design. The design of these Formula One cars is crucial to the speed that the car will travel at, and it is also imperative for the safety of the driver.
For this second reason, there are strict design rules applying to all cars in this motor sport and any car that does not abide by the rules is banned from taking part in the races. It is uncommon for car designers to infringe these rules because the price of driving in a race and the benefits from doing well are massive.
Having said that, Formula One car racing teams push the design features of their cars up to the limit. The key to gaining maximum speed and maximum fuel efficiency is having as aerodynamic a design as possible. These cars are as well designed as any fighter jet, but the foremost difference is that fighter jets are meant to leave the ground whereas cars are not.
Therefore, another vital part of the design is creating down force to keep the tyres firmly on the ground. It is important for a number of reasons for the tyres to have a decent grip on the track. Without this grip or traction, the car cannot accelerate, but without it they cannot stop either. Therefore down force and tyres are a major factor in speed and safety.
The brakes are extraordinary as well as you can imagine. They are basically the same as those used in stock road cars, yet the components are rather extraordinary. because they have to work and remain working at high speeds, this means that they develop high temperatures.
Ordinary metal would buckle or even melt, so high quality carbon fibre composite disk brakes are utilized instead in conjunction with brake pads of special composites which are frequently extremely secret. There are a lot of jealously guarded secrets in the designs of modern Formula One racing cars.
The foremost part of a racing car is the monocoque, which is the section that holds the engine and the driver. The car’s suspension is also mounted on the monocoque so it is clear that it has to be very strong. This strength is normally gained by constructing it from carbon fibre.There are also many safety features built into the monocoque for the benefit of the driver.
The engine has to be light-weight, efficient and powerful, which is a very tall order indeed. There is now also an FIA regulation that the engine has to last for more than one race weekend. Engine failure is the foremost cause of pulling out of a Formula One race early. The gearbox suffers just as much in a fast race. Another rule states that all gearboxes have to be manual – no automatic gearboxes. This adds to the wear and tear.
The suspension is manually adjustable so that it can be fine-tuned to every race track and the conditions existing on a race track at any given time. The suspension is not there for the comfort of the driver but to raise the chances of the car winning.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with how to compare tyre prices. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Car Tyres For Sale.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 13th, 2011. Comment.
In order to find out which GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation system (also known as sat nav) is right for you, you first have to be clear on what you want to get out of the device. Will you be using your GPS auto navigation system solely in your car or will you be wanting to use it to go cycling, hiking or boating? Another question is, whether you already own a laptop or palm computer or not.
There are dedicated GPS auto navigation systems for every situation and some are versatile enough to cover a couple of uses. The best systems are those that are dedicated to doing just one job. In this category, you have the stand-alone vehicular GPS navigation systems. These are either cut into the dashboard or mounted on it or sometimes even onto the windshield.
One good tip, if you are purchasing a new car on finance is to have the sat nav installed by a third party or to pay the garage cash for the sat nav and its installation. If you have the price of the GPS auto navigation system put on the finance contract, you will end up paying a great deal more for it.
On the other hand, you could install the device yourself. I do not mean that you should cut holes in your instrument panel yourself, but you can buy mounting kits that use powerful transparent rubber suckers. They will hold the screen securely, as long as you check them from time to time to make sure that the suckers are still holding.
You can get just as good a service from a GPS navigation system running on your laptop and the screen will almost certainly be larger that the average sat nav screen too. Your laptop will run off batteries or an in-car adapter and the software will run within the laptop.
This is an outstanding alternative if you already own a laptop or were thinking of getting one. The laptop will perform its normal tasks as a computer and double as a navigation aid with the additional bonus that you do not have to leave it in the car as another excuse for a thief to break in.
The cheapest alternative in the portable sat nav market is the portable or hand-held device. However, the screens can be rather small and the directions may be given either in pictures or by voice, not all hand-held sat nav systems present both alternatives at the same time.
If you want a GPS auto navigation system but you are finding them a bit expensive, you could always wait a while, because prices are dropping all the time. You could also check out online stores such as Amazon and eBay.
Remember, that the worst thing you can do if you are thinking about costs, is to put the cost of the sat nav on the car finance deal. If you really want a stand-alone GPS auto navigation system installed by an expert, take your car to a garage after you have bought it. Otherwise, run the software on your laptop and sit that on the seat next to you.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with Hybrid Electric Engines. If you want to know more please go to our site at New Hybrid Vehicles.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Nov 13th, 2011. Comment.
Choosing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro can be a big undertaking. The following are a number of guidelines for those people who choose to do this.
Have Shoes or boots that contain Shoe inserts Before going on the climb, get your boots broken in You need to know some thing concerning your training nevertheless. It does not matter the length of time you have trained; you will still be definitely sore. A good pair of carved shoe inserts will likely support your toes.They’ll also aid in preventing the signs of a long hike. It’s really a decent idea to position cast insoles in your boots before the hike.
Ensure that you actually are Geared up
The gear you will need don’t have to be ordered.The aid can easily rent you what is desired. Several items you may possibly rent out are gaiters, walking poles, along with a comfortable down jacket. Bring clothing from capris to a weighty jacket. You can be in a variety of varying weather conditions.
Do Remember Your Diamox
Height disease can impact any person, not merely due to the person’s age group or the person’s health. This medication can assist you when you’re consuming the pills either on day two or day three. Though you really don’t feel sickly, simply take the medicine. But one actually frustrating as well as bothersome problem from the drugs is repeated peeing. Before heading to your bed, put important things such as a flashlight, clothes, sneakers, along with some toilet tissue where you can obtain it very quickly. When the right time comes, you really don’t prefer to squander treasured moments interested in these types of items.
Take some Black-jack cards
These won’t be something which you might consider, but they are a good idea. If the climbing is accomplished for the day, it is fun to be able to do. It will be something which will be entertaining for the group. Consider people who you may encompass in this card game. There can be the guide and her or his associate, the food preparer plus the assistant cook, and the porters. It’s a good way that you’ll be able to come to be familiar with each of them. In addition to studying several tricks using playing cards which can be done, you may switch accounts and also talk about different cultures.
Going Back Down
Arriving at the peak may be hard, but going down is usually as well. It’s tough to get to the very top, but returning down can definitely be hard too. Try to remember, you are accomplishing the mountaineering in five days but descending just in only two. Because your knee joints could be dry by now, this is destined to be painful. It’s a good idea to bring medicines that should help with swelling because they may help with the pain sensation lessening.
Don’t forget these points and you’ll have a great ascension to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
If you want to climb kilimanjaro you better be equipped for a big challenge. There are several factors you may need to consider when you find yourself getting ready to climb kilimanjaro.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Oct 9th, 2011. Comment.
It is a simple term – car stereo – but on the whole people pay more consideration to the car stereo system than they do to their home stereo. Many people are fairly happy with a run of the mill home stereo and will never talk about it in conversation, but the car stereo! Well, that is a another kettle of fish. Drivers want speakers in each door, sub-woofers front and back and a graphic equalizer.
Most modern cars come with some form of car stereo already fitted, but these can be quite rudimentary systems.
In the early days of auto audio systems, car stereos were not much more than smaller versions of indoor, home stereo set-ups. However, the environment was totally different and musical purists could tell that they were getting a bad deal. The speakers were too close together and the vibrations from the car?s engine rattled everything apart. Speakers were puny and frequently blew.
Enthusiasts started to demand better quality car stereo systems . The concept of a dedicated car stereo, if not yet the product itself was born.
Some vehicle manufacturers include their own, factory-installed brands of audio system. BMW falls into this category. All of BMW?s cars are supplied with a BMW car audio system. Many top car makers like to maintain this level of control over the quality of their vehicles.
Other car makers, like Mercedes, prefer to leave the design and technology of such secondary vehicular accessories to third parties like Blaupunkt.
Blaupunkt, a German company, takes this degree of responsibility very, very seriously. It is a massive mark of prestige that they have won the contract to provide car audio systems to businesses like Mercedes. This status gains them many more sales from people who desire the same quality that is linked with Mercedes luxury vehicles.
Most of the standard set-ups these days incorporate a multi-band radio and a CD player, which may or may not have a CD auto-changer in the boot of the car. The most up to date car audio systems may also have MP3 and Internet access. These newer stereo units typically allow the driver to plug in external media devices containing music or other files.
If you have an older car, you may want to improve your car stereo system to that of something that better suits your desires. This could be achieved by just changing the speakers or even adding further speakers.
However, you may think that it is easier or just better to just change the whole caboodle. There are many options regarding car stereos, but if you cannot perceive the difference then there is no real point.
After all, music should not be a distraction from the main reason for sitting in a vehicle in the first place, which is to get from A to B safely.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with Hybrid Electric Engines. If you want to know more please go to our site at New Hybrid Vehicles.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Oct 4th, 2011. Comment.