History of Internet

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7 Power Skills that Build Strong Relationships

A strong, healthy relationship is one in which the partners show respect and kindness toward each other. The relationship forms a rewarding and enduring bond of trust and support. Here are seven power skills by Steve Brunkhorst that will help you form stronger alliances and bring more closeness, authenticity and trust to your relationships.

1. Relax Optimistically

If you are comfortable around others, they will feel comfortable around you. If you appear nervous, others will sense it and withdraw. If you are meeting someone for the first time, brighten up as if you've rediscovered a long-lost friend. A smile will always be the most powerful builder of rapport. Communicating with relaxed optimism, energy and enthusiasm will provide a strong foundation for lasting relationships.

2. Listen Deeply

Powerful listening goes beyond hearing words and messages; it connects us emotionally with our communication partner. Listen to what the person is not saying as well as to what he or she is saying. Focus intently and listen to the messages conveyed behind and between words.

Listen also with your eyes and heart. Notice facial expressions and body postures, but see beneath the surface of visible behaviors. Feel the range of emotions conveyed by tone of voice and rhythm of speech. Discern what the person wants you to hear and also what they want you to feel.

3. Feel Empathetically

Empathy is the foundation of good two-way communication. Being empathetic is seeing from another person's perspective regardless of your opinion or belief. Treat their mistakes as you would want them to treat your mistakes. Let the individual know that you are concerned with the mistake, and that you still respect them as a person. Share their excitement in times of victory, and offer encouragement in times of difficulty. Genuine feelings of empathy will strengthen the bond of trust.

4. Respond Carefully

Choose emotions and words wisely. Measure your emotions according to the person's moods and needs. Words can build or destroy trust. They differ in shades of meaning, intensity, and impact. What did you learn when listening deeply to the other individual? Reflect your interpretation of the person's message back to them. Validate your understanding of their message.

Compliment the person for the wisdom and insights they've shared with you. This shows appreciation and encourages further dialogs with the individual. A response can be encouraging or discouraging. If you consider in advance the impact of your emotions and words, you will create a positive impact on your relationships.

5. Synchronize Cooperatively

When people synchronize their watches, they insure that their individual actions will occur on time to produce an intended outcome. Relationships require ongoing cooperative action to survive and thrive.

As relationships mature, the needs and values of the individuals and relationship will change. Career relationships will require the flexibility to meet changing schedules and new project goals. Cooperative actions provide synchrony and build trusting alliances. They are part of the give and take that empowers strong, enduring relationships.

6. Act Authentically

Acting authentically means acting with integrity. It means living in harmony with your values. Be yourself when you are with someone else. Drop acts that create false appearances and false security.

When you act authentically, you are honest with yourself and others. You say what you will do, and do what you say. Ask for what you want in all areas of your relationships. Be clear about what you will tolerate. Find out what your relationship partners want also. Being authentic creates mutual trust and respect.

7. Acknowledge Generously

Look for and accentuate the positive qualities in others. Humbly acknowledge the difference that people make to your life. Validate them by expressing your appreciation for their life and their contributions. If you let someone know that they are valuable and special, they will not forget you. Showing gratitude and encouragement by words and actions will strengthen the bonds of any relationship.

Don't forget to acknowledge your most important relationship: the relationship with yourself. Acknowledge your own qualities, and put those qualities into action. You cannot form a stronger relationship with others than you have with yourself. You will attract the qualities in others that are already within you.

Ask yourself: What thoughts and behaviors will attract the kind of relationships I desire? What is one action I could take today that would empower my current relationships?

Write down all the qualities or behaviors that you desire for your relationships. Select the power skills that will attract those qualities. Keep a journal of the actions you take and the progress you make. By turning these skills into lifelong habits, you will build relationships that are healthy, strong and mutually rewarding.

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Top 14 websites for students

If you want to a see a blank look on students’ faces, ask them about the Dewey Decimal library classification system. For better or for worse, the Internet has become the alternative to a library card catalog for browsing and locating resources. But how do you navigate that system, and how can you trust what you read on the web?

"Frankly, this is my main concern, along with stumbling onto inappropriate material," admits Bonnie Marks, a mother of two. "Just because someone publishes something on their home page, it doesn't make it gospel—many kids don't know this."

Learning how to find the information you need on the Internet, and how to evaluate and appropriately use the information you find, can be challenging for both parents and students. The following is a look at some of the most comprehensive—and reliable—educational websites a student can bookmark and use to research school projects and homework assignments.

Web literacy and general reference

Information Literacy

All students—no matter what age—need help navigating and evaluating the ever-growing store of information available on the web. This University of Idaho site is an information literacy primer that will quickly turn any half-hearted or random searcher into a savvy Internet detective. It guides students through a series of modules that teach them how to distinguish different kinds of information on the Internet, search for and select research topics, search databases and other collections, locate and cite sources, and evaluate the sources they find.

ipl2
A merger of the Internet Public Library and the Librarians' Internet Index, this site is a comprehensive source of "information you can trust." Thousands of volunteer library and information science professionals created and maintain the site’s reference collections—sets of links to websites on U. S. presidents, author biographies, museums, research and writing, literary criticism, and many more topics. The Ask an ipl2 Librarian reference service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, provides individualized help finding authoritative, free online sources for specific topics.

Refdesk
Checking facts in Internet sources is one of the key ways to evaluate them, and Refdesk.com, which stands for "reference desk," simplifies this essential step. Since 1995, Refdesk.com has served as a one-click springboard to many of the web's top dictionaries, encyclopedias, calculators, atlases, news headlines, and search engines. The site also includes a handy Homework Helper section (under the Help and Advice column on the lower right of the page) that provides help in all subjects to students in every grade.

Fact Monster
For younger students who are not quite ready to navigate Refdesk, Fact Monster from Information Please is the tool to use. The Reference Desk on this site features a layout that is designed for easy fact-finding and includes timelines and an almanac, atlas, dictionary, and encyclopedia, as well as a Homework Center. Students can also search by visually identified topics or by typing in keywords. Check out fun features such as Biographies of the Presidents, the Geography Hall of Fame, and the Tallest Buildings Slideshow.


Microsoft Download Center
Consider the Microsoft Download Center your ultimate file repository. It links to tens of thousands of downloadable free or shareware programs. These include updates, utilities, applications, and extras for Windows, Macintosh, and other platforms; Internet tools; security essentials; developer resources; mobile devices; and, of course, computer games. You can search for what you need alphabetically, by product family, by download category, or by typing in a keyword. The Microsoft Worldwide Downloads site enables you to download files in more than 80 different languages.

Microsoft Student Experience
This site is the cool place for the technology leaders of the future. It offers student resources, helps students stay connected through its newsletters and technology clubs, and provides a career portal and Students-to-Business program. The links to scholarship competitions and to TechStudent—a site for website builders, designers, and software developers in training—encourage creativity and skill development. The Student Experience site also links to DreamSpark, which enables students not only to download professional software such as Microsoft Visual Studio, SQL Server, Visual C++ Express Edition, and Robotics Developer Studio for free but provides free training for using these tools as well.


English and history

FreeTranslation
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Perfect for language studies, this handy website automatically converts text from one language into another, such as English to Simplified Chinese or French to English. You can type and paste up to 10,000 characters (about 1,800 words) into the search window and then select the desired language. Or cut and paste a web URL to convert the entire site.

Project Gutenberg
As every parent and student knows, books that are required reading are not always available, or if they are, students may misplace their copy before they finish the assignment. Project Gutenberg to the rescue. This site enables you to download more than 30,000 free electronic books to read on your computer, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader, or other portable device in a variety of file formats. You can search by title and author or browse their collection of classic works, many of which are available in audio editions as well.

Internet History Sourcebook Project
This site, sponsored by Fordham University and edited by Paul Halsall, provides older students with access to a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use. It includes collections of primary sources in ancient, medieval, and modern history, as well as history of science, women's history, African history, and others.

Novelguide.com
The web's answer to those black- and yellow-striped Cliff Notes is Novelguide.com, a reliable and free source for literary analysis of classic and contemporary books such as Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground. The site offers character profiles, metaphor and theme analysis, and author biographies.

Shakespeare Online
This website can be filed in the "where was this when I was a kid?" category. On this aptly named site, visitors can read every play or poem from the world's most celebrated writer and, more importantly, make some sense of his works with free analysis, Old English language translations, and famous quotes.


Math and science

Math.com
This site provides help in a number of mathematics-related subjects, including basic grade-school math, calculus, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and statistics. Practice exercises are automatically graded—and this free site also features a glossary, calculators, homework tips, math games, and lesson plans for teachers.

Science Made Simple
Science classes—including the ubiquitous science project—aren't as easy for some to grasp as they are for others. At Science Made Simple, elementary and middle school students can get detailed answers to many science questions, read current news articles related to science, get ideas on school projects, and take advantage of unit conversion tables. Users can also find out if their school's textbooks pass the test.

HowStuffWorks
Ever wanted to know why earthquakes happen? How CD burners work? What the sun is made of? These questions, and many others related to computers/electronics, automobiles, science, entertainment, and people, are all answered at this award-winning website. Simply type a query into the search window or peruse the topics by category. Extras include free newsletters, surveys, and printable versions of all answers.

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Top 10 worst earth quakes of history

Natural disasters cannot be avoided anyway. Earthquakes are one of them, starting with a simple shake, make round the earth a barren land with no life around. There is a huge history of earthquakes in the earth’s diary, starting with the age of Adam (A.S.). See the top 10 list of worst earth quakes in the history starting from number 10 below:

10- The Great Kanto Earthquake 1923

This earthquake happened on the main island of Japan called Honshu on September 1, 1923. This earthquake measured up to a 8.3 on the Richter Scale, about 3.6 Gigatons of force. The earthquake also managed to move a 93-ton statue of Great Buddha in Kamakura two feet. About 100,000-142,000 deaths occurred. Researchers later found out that the death toll was near 105,000. When the earthquake occurred, people were having lunch with fires to cook food. Some of the deaths were caused by the fires that broke out during the tremor. The fires also spread rapidly, due to a typhoon near the area. In one case, 38,000 people were instantly incinerated in Downtown Tokyo. The fires also caught the Emperors Palace, but the Prince was not harmed. It took two full days to put out the fires.

9- The Ashgabat Earthquake 1948
Ashgabat earthquake memorial

On October 5, 1948, a 7.3, 100 Mega-ton earthquake hit near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, which was the Soviet Union back then. The earthquake caused extreme damage to Ashgabat and surrounding areas like Darrah Gaz, Iran. Multiple sources say that the death toll was around 10,000, but later releases in 1988 estimate the the death toll was above 110,000. Even later, in 2007, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan release a startling fact. The report estimated that over 176,000 people die during the earthquake. The earthquake killed future dictator Saparmurat Niyazov’s mother and the rest of his family, leaving him an orphan.

8- The Hokkaido Earthquake

Some time in June, a 7.3, 100 Mega-ton Earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan. Hokkaido is just on of the many island off the coast of Japan, although Hokkaido is almost half the size of Japan. This earthquake caused over 137,000 deaths and leaving multiple areas damaged or destroyed.

7- The Ardabil Earthquake 1997

This earthquake was the second earliest, seventh deadliest earthquake in world history. Ardabil, Iran was hit by this earthquake on March 23, 893. Approximate deaths tally up to 150,000 and the damage caused was over $25 Million.

6- The Damghan Earthquake 856
The earliest record breaking earthquake (December 22, 856) with a magnitude of 8.0,1 Gigaton of power. The earthquake hit the capitol of Iran at that time, Damghan. The tremors could also be felt throughout other areas surrounding Damghan. 200,000 people were killed and surrounding areas were completely destroyed. Even though Damghan got the worst of the earthquake, Bustam, a surrounding town, was completely leveled.

5- The Indian Ocean Earthquake 2004

Even though the earthquake did not happen on land, the damage was still massive. The earthquake hit the Indian Ocean underwater on December 26, 2004. The magnitude of this earthquake was above a 9.1, over 32 Gigatonsof power! This seismic activity was the second highest magnitude ever recorded, but had the longest duration of tremors. More than 5 tsunamis hit bordering coastlines of the Indian Sea. More than 225,000 people were killer or drowned in these series of tsunamis. Over $7 Billion dollars worth of rescue and damage was done during those 8.3-10 minutes, and this is only halfway to the number one deadliest earthquake in history.

4- The Aleppo Earthquake 1138

In norther Syria, in the town of Aleppo, a 8.5, 2.8 Gigaton earthquake shook the earth. The earthquake first started on October 11, 1138. A nearby church fell in on itself, killing 600 guards and citizens. The total death toll was 230,000. Many towns near this tremor were completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt. The city itself was also completely destroyed.

3- The Haiyuan Earthquake 1920

240,000 people were killed on the December 16, 1920 earthquake that hit Haiyuan County, Ningxia. The Richter Scale recorded this earthquake as a 7.8, 700 Megatons, but is still being discussed. Chinese Geologists believe that the earthquake could have been a 8.5, 5.6 Gigatons, instead of a 7.8. This earthquake was felt for over 125 miles and the aftershocks lasted over 3 years. It was also called the 1920 Gansu Earthquake because Ningxia was a part of Gansu when the earthquake occurred.

2- The Tangshan Earthquake 1976

On July 28, 1976, the “Great” Tangshan Earthquake struck Tangshan, Hebei. This shock was believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century. The Chinese Government said that 655,000 people were killed, but latest research has believed that the toll was not as much, only 255,000, compared to the 655,000. The earthquake only lasted 10 seconds, but the magnetude made up for the short time. Seismographs recorded this earthquake as a 8.2 in some areas, a 2.2 Gigaton earthquake. The earthquake struck very early in the morning, when people were asleep. This left very little time to react to this earthquake. Tangshan was believed to be a region with very low risk of earthquakes, so the buildings were not to be made earthquake-proof. The earthquake was 4 miles long by 5 miles wide, leaving a massive area crumbled. The total damage was nearly 10 billion yuan, or $1.3 billion.

1- The Shaanxi Earthquake 1556

You’ve gotten through all the boring stuff. Now comes the big one. This earthquake started in Shaanxi, China, and devestated an area over 520 miles! More than 20 meter deep crevices were made during this earthquake.More than 97 countries were shaken by this enourmous earthquake. A staggering 830,000 people died during this massive tremor. Over 60% of some country’s population were killed. The cost of this earthquake cannot be written in todays terms, becuase it is so large. This earthquake was only an 8 on the Richter Scale, only 1 Gigaton.

Random Fact:

The largest magnitude of an earthquake was a 9.5, a massive 178 Gigatons of power! That is over 1,000 atom bombs going off at the same time! The earthquake was the 1960 Valdivia Earthquake. The earthquake was felt in Valdivia, Chile and surrounding areas as far as Hawii. Over 435 miles of sea seperated Hawii and Chile. Only 6,000 died thankfully, even though this was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Less than $1 billion dollars worth of damage was done.

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Gratitude Is Absolutely The Way To Bring More Into Your Life

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How to tell if a Mirror is Two Way or Not - No Space, Leave the Place

A two-way (2 way) mirror is glass which, on one side, provides a reflection, but on the other side, functions as a window. It is used to observe people so that they are not aware that they are being watched, or who is watching them. Two-way mirrors (also known as one-way, transparent, and observation mirrors) are common in police stations or psychological institutions, but there are other, less obvious settings where people worry about being watched, such as dressing rooms and workplaces. If you are concerned about a particular mirror, here's how to tell if there's someone looking on the other side.

Steps

1. Observe how the mirror is installed. A normal mirror is hung against the wall, but an observation mirror is set into the wall. If the wall is behind the mirror, it's probably a normal mirror.
2. Turn off the lights and hold a flashlight or even a small personal flashlight to the mirror. If it is a two-way mirror, the room on the other side will be illuminated.
3. Press your eyes against the mirror and cup them with your hands, creating a dark "tunnel" to block out the light. When you do so, the light in the observation room will be brighter than the light on your side of the mirror, and you should be able to see something beyond the glass.
4. Tap on the surface of the mirror with your knuckle. A normal mirror will produce a dull sound because it is placed in front of a wall. A two-way mirror, however, will produce an open, hollow, and reverberating sound, because there is an open space on the other side.
5. Observe the Room Behind: Try to look for any signs of a room or space behind the mirror. If the mirror is mounted on a wall with no space for a room, it's likely a regular mirror. However, if there appears to be a room or area behind the mirror, it may be two-way.
6. Check for Observation Devices: Examine the edges of the mirror for any signs of observation devices like cameras or microphones. Two-way mirrors may be used in conjunction with surveillance equipment.

Tips

1. The "fingernail" test most commonly associated with identifying two-way mirrors is not as reliable as any of the methods above. It can be performed by putting your fingernail against the mirror. If there is NO gap between your nail and the reflection, you are touching a first-surface mirror. These are quite expensive and would not be installed under ordinary circumstances. Not all observation mirrors are first-surface mirrors, and not all first-surface mirrors are observation mirrors. Also known as half-silvered mirrors, two-way mirrors or observation mirrors work equally well when illuminated from either side. What matters is which side has the greater illumination not which side is silvered. There is also no reason an observation mirror can't be surface mounted on a wall just like a real mirror. It need not be mounted in the wall like a window.
2. Many places, such as gas stations will use one-way metal mirrors because glass mirrors can be destroyed by users.

Warnings

• No test for a two-way mirror is foolproof. There only needs to be a very small opening in the wall for a hidden camera with a fisheye lens, and there won't be any giveaway illumination on the other side, or any hollow sound, or anything to see with your cupped hands. Even if the mirror is a normal one, there are many other places to hide observation devices. Also keep in mind that most people have no desire to go through the risk, trouble and effort to spy. Exceptions include the proprietors of retail establishments, who often use surveillance technology in order to hold down employee theft as well as shoplifting, and numerous government agencies.
  

You can check this also;

Do you know how to determine if a mirror is 2-way or Not? A policewoman who travels all over the US and
Gives seminars and techniques for businesswomen to pass this on.

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, Changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure
That the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall Is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (I.e.,
They can see you, but you can't see them)? There have Been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in
Female changing rooms. It is very difficult to Positively identify the surface by looking at it.

So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty? What type of mirror we are looking at?

Just conduct this simple test:
Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there
Is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the Nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.

MIRROR  IMAGE

However, if your Fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE! IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR!

2 - WAY GLASS  IMAGE

"No Space, Leave the Place" So remember, every time. If you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything.

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