Minneapolis Furnished Apartments gets a facelife.

By on May 19, 2012

Fantastico has been installed on all of our servers, including the Minneapolis Furnished Apartments website. Besides adding a plethora of easily installable applications, users can now install two pieces of blogging software with just a few clicks: b2 and pMachine Free. Of course, we will continue to do custom installations of your other favorite blog and photo software (GreyMatter, MovableType, Gallery, etc) for free upon request.

With a few clicks Fantastico will install the latest versions of: PHP-Nuke, Post-Nuke, phpWebsite, Xoops, b2, pMachine Free, CS Live Help, PHP Support Tickets, Support Services Manager, phpBB2, Invision Power Board, OS Commerce, 4images Gallery, PHPauction, PHProjekt, phpLinks, Moodle, Noah’s Classifieds, PHPlist, and WebCalendar.

To access Fantastico simply login to your control panel and select the Fantastico icon. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this or require assistance. Otherwise, enjoy!
Dev: RSS Feed
Posted by Jace Herring on November 14, 2003

As suggested by this guy, an RSS Feed has been added to the news blog for those of you that prefer to use a newsreader.

Dont have a newsreader? For Mac OS X users I recommend NetNewsWire, for Windows users I recommend FeedDemon, and for Linux I’d go with the simple, yet functional, Liferea.
Upgrade: PHP 4.3.4

This entry is filed under Tech and tagged , , , , .

How Do Dolphins Sleep?

By on April 3, 2012

Despite dolphins being hugely interesting and intelligent creatures, one of the most common questions asked about them is also one of the most basic. How do dolphins sleep? We shall seek to answer that question right now.

As far as we know, dolphins sleep in two ways. One, they swim gently while half sleeping and two, they rest completely either horizontally or vertically in the water. The idea that they would drown if they stopped swimming doesn’t apply to adult dolphins. [fort myers dolphin tours]

Swimming gently while sleeping is similar to napping. We think that half of their brain goes to sleep while the other half functions. They sleep with one eye closed and generally swim beside another dolphin. We think the awake side of the brain also watches for predators and signals when oxygen is needed.

Research indicates that dolphins have a voluntary respiratory system, meaning their brain has to consciously remind the dolphin to breathe. Human breathing is controlled by the subconscious, which is how we can breathe while in deep sleep. It seems that the awake side of the brain reminds the dolphin to surface for oxygen.

Also, dolphins seem to have a much higher tolerance for CO2 than humans. Our system warns us very quickly because we have very little tolerance. It seems dolphins can take much more of the gas before suffering damage. This means their system can hold more CO2, and take fewer breaths than us before suffering ill effects.

Studies have shown an active dolphin will take around 10 breaths per minute while awake. Asleep, that number falls to between 3 and 7, depending on the age and condition of the mammal.

Young dolphins sleep while on the move and are towed by their mothers while they rest. It’s important for the young not to overtire as it leaves them weak an susceptible to predators and infection. A mother of a young dolphin cannot stop swimming until the young has enough buoyancy to float on their own.

Like us, dolphins sleep mainly at night, but only for a couple of hours at a time. They seem to wake when fish or squid are rising to capitalize on the abundance of food.

Resting gently while sleeping deeper is referred to as “logging” as they look like logs in the water. This is when dolphins seems to get their deep sleep. It isn’t known whether they enter REM sleep or an equivalent like humans. It is essential for us to regularly reach this state, and it is currently unknown whether dolphins need it too.

The cases of dolphins drowning are very few. The young are particularly at risk, especially after birth. If they aren’t birthed near the surface, they may never begin breathing at all. We think it is the contact with the air that begins respiration, and this needs to happen right away.

Many mammals will only sleep for a couple of hours at a time as this minimizes risk. Allowing only half the brain to sleep is an essential survival tool for all mammals, but especially for those with a voluntary respiratory system.

This entry is filed under Wildlife.

Riki Gi Tan

By on February 24, 2012

Riki Gi Tan means “Power, Technique, Discipline”. It is a traditional Karate style formed from a blend of Shotokan and Goju-Ryu Karate. Riki Gi Tan uses Kata, principles and technique from both these parent styles. From Goju-Ryu comes the circular, flowing blocks and Kata such as Saifa, Seiunchin and Sepai. Taken from Shotokan are powerful blocks, strikes and Kata including the Heian, Bassai, Empi and Kanku series. Many of Riki Gi Tans strikes, blocks and kicks are used in both Shotokan and Goju-Ryu. Riki Gi Tan began in 1999, founded by Sensei Alan Bess, and aims to teach traditional technique with an emphasis on power, technique and discipline.

Sensei Alan Bess started teaching karate in 1994 for a Shotokan, Goju-Ryu based club. In 1998 his instructor went to the U.K at which time Sensei Alan moved on to a Shotokan club were he was offered another teaching position. This prompted him to teach for himself, and Riki Gi Tan Karate was formed. It is important to Sensei Alan that we maintain a high level of Karate and discipline but at the same time make sure that everyone enjoys themselves.

We give our students opportunities to compete in tournaments. Tournaments are a regular event for anyone who is interested. Ranging from local to international for those who qualify. All of our students that compete do very well so much so that we have World Title holders as well as national titles and state titles. Tournaments are about putting what you learn in class into practice and this is something that our students do very well. This gives them confidence and pride in what they are learning. We also do Koshiki fighting for anyone that is interested.

The grading system we use is a fairly extensive one having to pass 10 levels to achieve a black belt. How quickly you grade is up to you and how much work you put into your training. If you hold a grade in another style, it will be considered and you will be graded according to your ability. We hold a grading 3 times a year and most people will attend each grading for the first 4 or 5 levels. Within a couple of weeks of becoming a member you will receive A Grading Manual, which has what you are required to do for each level in it.

This is a copy of our grading Certificate. Each time you grade you will receive one of these along with the relevant colour belt at the end of the grading. Once earning the rank of Black Belt you will receive an A3 framed certificate and a Black Belt embroidered with your name and club. You will receive this at the end of your grading. We also have an end of year awards night, which is at a end of year break-up BBQ at the home of Sensei Alan and his wife, Lee. Each instructor nominates students for a range of awards for which they will receive a trophy or certificate.

1 Family member $10.00
3 Family* members $20.00

*Family being maximum 2 adults
** All Prices are accurate as of 25th Feb 2006

Download & print application form now

This entry is filed under Uncategorized.

How Does the Diplomatic Immunity Law Work?

By on January 13, 2012

We have all seen it in the movies, a criminal character is caught by police and the only words out of his mouth is “diplomatic immunity.” The cops put down their guns and sigh in resignation. So what is diplomatic immunity, and how does it work within our law?

The public at large perceive diplomatic immunity as a get out of jail free card. We see incidents in the news of diplomats caught up in nefarious activities or in compromising situations and then seemingly avoid the legal process that would inevitably follow if it were one of us.

While it may seem unfair on the surface, the agreement between governments is there to smooth foreign relations and to offer our overseas personnel the same protections. It isn’t used as an excuse to misbehave and avoid the law. It is used to provide a framework within which we can secure our people while working abroad.

So What is Diplomatic Immunity?

Diplomatic immunity protects the location of a diplomatic mission from search. Diplomatic personnel are immune from criminal prosecution as well as most civil lawsuits in the host country.

In return, the diplomatic personnel must respect the laws and regulations of their host country. It isn’t a get out of jail free card. It can be revoked at any time, and the government of the diplomat can choose to cooperate in any prosecution of their staff if the case is compelling enough.

If a diplomat breaks the law, the home country can revoke a diplomat’s immunity and allow the host country to prosecute. Most countries are reluctant to take this step though. Diplomats most often face disciplinary or legal proceedings at home instead. This is often carried out with the agreement of the host country, to ensure some kind of justice prevails.

The Reality

Despite what the media would like us to believe, diplomatic immunity is rarely invoked. The diplomatic community is usually a very well behaved one, and few instances of crime is ever discovered or reported.

According to government statistics, diplomatic immunity has only been invoked 147 times in the last 6 years. Most of these were for minor offenses, mainly shoplifting. So while the diplomatic community is generally a wealthy one, they have somewhat sticky fingers.

It is apparently extremely rare that diplomatic immunity is used in more serious cases. Or it’s kept secret when it happens. The most serious incidents seem to be in financial cases. The accounts if diplomatic personnel are covered under the legal immunity, so it can be difficult for creditors to pursue debtors if they have this legal status.

So while Hollywood loves to spin a yarn, the reality of any given situation isn’t always as it is portrayed. The legal status of a diplomat may be protected from the full might of the law, but it isn’t without its own punishments.

The US has agreements with most countries that allows for punishments for individuals in their own jurisdictions, and this agreement allows for our own people to face justice here too.

This entry is filed under Laws.

The Demand On The Housing and Apartment Market

By on September 26, 2011

The demand for housing is different depending on several factors like the median income followed by the available credit, buyers preferences, investor preferences, and cost of all aspects involved. It stands to reason that an area experiencing an economic boom will have more that are looking for housing, either to buy or rent. Other considerations have to take into account the size of the families (number of children), the age of the family, US citizens or immigrates. Plus factors that will directly impact the demand in an area are also the number of divorces, deaths, marriages, double income homes, etc.

All these things will depend on the actual demand of the Beverly Hills furnished apartments or Denver Apartments market in any area. One thing is certain, people will need a place to live. But determining if it’s an area that would be an investors dream (where the need for rental property is high) or for the home owners (better neighborhoods, more affluent lifestyles, etc.) helps to know what type of housing is needed and wanted.

The level of income in any area really determines fully the housing market. If an area has a good economy, the level of income is higher, housing demands would be more for home owners. This would be a good area for investors who want to develop residential areas to sell. Or for individual buyers to claim their homes. Real estate in these areas tend to be more valued. The occasional investor may hit upon a few rental properties, but this would be more for the owners.

Investors do well to look in areas where rental properties are desired. Areas where there may be young families just starting out. Areas where the jobs aren’t top-end, but more so people will be working and moving on after a time. Or areas high in immigration, where the demand is great for immediate housing, but the resources aren’t available for these to buy.

This entry is filed under Real Estate.

jQuery geographical data autocompleter in Rails

By on September 12, 2011

In Wadomo, we enforce writting reusable code when possible. This means that we can use it in our future projects, but also that all the developers out there can use it and improve it at the same time. Win-win situation that has been the base for the open source community since the early days.

A common problem that arises within web projects is how to save geographical data about our users. We always like to know where users are located, so we can target them with more localized information and recommendations.

Our goal was to easily add this information in our views, and to be able to have an autocomplete field with all the cities in the world with just one html tag, simple and clean.

Long time ago, we used to create big, annoying and unmaintainable relational tables in our databases, trying to solve this problem. Now, we can use some of the online services that companies like Google or Yahoo offers. After testing some of these services, we decided to use Yahoo Geo and we are very pleased about the obtained results.

To make our life easier, we have developed a Ruby on Rails plugin, and of course you can use it too! This plugin will include jQuery in your project (if you haven’t done it yet) so please make sure that you are not using Prototype, because it could create conflicts with your code.

The first thing that you have to do is register yourself in Yahoo Geo for an API_KEY. After that, you’re ready to install our plugin.

Using a console, go to your rails app dir and type:

script/plugin install git://github.com/wadomo/geo_yahoo.git

Now, check if  you have included the default javascript files in your layout. If don’t, include this line in your views layaout:

<%= javascript_include_tag :defaults %>

The last thing, is add your API_KEY in your config/environment.rb file. Be sure that you include this line just before the last “end” of the file.

ENV['YAHOO_API'] = “yourapikeyhere”

That’s it! You’ve got it!

This entry is filed under Tech.

The Many Advantages of Using Lanyards

By on August 17, 2011

There are a number of different advantages to using lanyards. A lanyard is anything used to secure something to something else, but they are also much more than that. They used to be ropes or other lines to secure ships to the dock, keep cavalry soldiers from losing their weapons or equipment while riding, and for keeping things like axes and hatchets from flying out of the hand of the person using it.

This is just the start of the many advantages and uses that Lanyards have. There are a number of uses for lanyards for camping, as an example. A lanyard can secure equipment or tools that you frequently use to the outside of a back pack, so they are handy but out of the way. You can use neck lanyards to hold a compass, so you always know where you are. A neck lanyard can hold a fire starter, close to your body so it is always dry, and ready to use. They can be used to keep a lantern high on a post, or to keep axes and other equipment close at hand at a campsite but out of the way.

A lanyard also has other advantages. In law enforcement, a lanyard is often used to keep an officer’s badge out and handy, around their neck. This is important, especially if they are presented with a situation that requires them to identify themselves, and still keep their hands free for holding a gun, flashlight, or a combination of the two. A badge lanyard can hold the badge in place, in a location that is easily seen without interfering with the officer.

Lanyards are also valuable tools at sporting events, concerts and conventions. Having one around the neck can be used to display identification, whether it is security badge, or even to keep track of people who have tickets. If you use a lanyard to hold your ticket around your neck, you don’t have to keep taking it out of your pocket, or risking it being stolen be some one else. Lanyards are also widely used at meetings and conventions, in order to identify employees, speakers, and other people. This way, a person doesn’t have to constantly be saying their name, or the company they work for.

Lanyards have many advantages around the home or office. They can be used to keep a person’s glasses from falling off, or to keep scissors or other tools close at hand, without having to hold them all the time. At the office, they can keep pens or pencils from disappearing, or be used to hold onto paper clips and such. This way, commonly used items, those that are constantly being misplaced, can be at hand, and easy to use.

Just about anything can be classified as a lanyard. A bungee cord, a chain that connects your keys or wallet to your belt, the loop on a camera or cell phone can be classified as a lanyard.

You can buy a number of different styles of lanyards. Some companies use lanyards to advertise their products and services with the company name or logo permanently printed on the material. These advertising gimmicks can be purchased in bulk, from a number of different resources. They can also be advantageous for schools and other organizations for inexpensive fund raising projects.

This entry is filed under Lanyards and tagged , , , .

Suggested Reading

By on July 14, 2011

Books About Africa
for information and enjoyment

Historical

Ayittey, George B.N. – Africa Unchained—Blueprint for Africa’s Future
2005, Current Analysis

Diamond, Jared – Guns, Germs & Steel
1999 The World as it developed

Hochschild, Adam – King Leopold’s Ghost
1999, “A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa”

Mandela, Nelson – Long Walk to Freedom
Autobiographical, 1994, South Africa

Parkenham, Thomas – Scramble for Africa
1991 Africa and Europe, 1876 to 1912

Personal Experience and Report

Burgess, Alan – Daylight Must Come
Biographical 1975, D R Congo

Cotlow, Lewis – Zanzabuku (Dangerous Safari)
1956, East Africa

Easterly, William: The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest have Done so Much Ill and so Little Good
2006, A very readable insiders view of the workings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund with a helpful critique of their misguided and unsuccessful efforts.

Kyemba, Henry – A State of Blood
1974, Uganda, Idi Amin

Maathai, Wangari: Unbowed
2006, The Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2004 writes of her efforts to involve thousands of women in planting millions of trees in the Green Belt Movement. Her chief opposition came from her own Kenyan government and she realized the importance of building democratic processes. Every activist who dreams of establishing democracies in the developing countries should read this book. The message is that it must be done on the inside. It can’t be done by outsiders. It would be well for this book to be read by every American woman. It is on a par with Nelson Mandela’s autobiography.

Nazer, Mende & Lewis, Damien – Slave, My True Story
2003, Contemporary, Sudan

Owens, Mark & Delia – Cry of the Kalahari
1984, Botswana

Theroux, Paul – Dark Star Safari
2003, Overland from Cairo to Capetown

Van der Post, Lauren – Lost World of the Kalahari
Botswana, the San or Bushmen, A Classic, 1958

Novels

Kingsolver, Barbara – The Poisonwood Bible
1999 D.R. Congo

Paton, Alan Paton – Cry the Beloved Country
1948, South Africa and Apartheid

Smith, Alex. McCall: The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, 1998
also: . . . . . . . . . . . Tears of the Giraffe, 2000
The first 2 books of a delightful and popular series taking place in Botswana. The 8th in the series “The Good Husband of Zebra Drive” has been released in April of 2007.

** To receive a thumbnail sketch of any of the above books, refer to the author of these games. See the contact page of this website.

This entry is filed under Main.

Game Map of AfricaWelcome to Travel-by-Games

By on July 14, 2011

Game Map of AfricaWelcome to Travel-by-Games

Introducing a unique geography card game patterned
after the famous games of Authors and Go Fish:

Go Travel: Africa

Learn about the fascinating continent of Africa while enjoying the company of family and friends. Not a quiz game! All of our games can be enjoyed by all generations—whatever their beginning level of knowledge.

Travel-by-Games 52 colorful cards, each displaying the map of one African country with a few basic geographic features, original photos, and replicas of stamps. There are 13 color-coded regional groups. The object of the game is to draw and exchange cards with other players to make complete sets of 4 countries of one region. Read more!

Learn about our other new games. Check out our additional resources. Thank you for visiting! Your feedback is welcome.

This entry is filed under Main.