The Chinese Zodiac

Introduction to the Chinese Zodiac The Chinese Zodiac consists of a 12-year cycle, each year of which is named after a different animal that imparts distinct characteristics to its year. Many Chinese believe that the year of a person's birth is the primary factor in determining that person's personality traits, physical and mental attributes and degree of success and happiness throughout his or her lifetime. It also shows your compatibility with people of the other signs. To learn about your Animal Sign, find the year of your birth among the 12 signs shown above and click on the Chinese character of your sign.

According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.

All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox's back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.

The Chinese Zodiac

Memoirs & Diaries of World War I

Many of the combatants of the First World War recorded the daily events of their experiences in the form of a diary. Some were subsequently published after the war and have become celebrated. Many more, however, remained tucked away in cupboard drawers for years, unpublished and unseen.

With the advent of the world wide web, an opportunity arose for the descendants of many survivors to publish fragments of diary entries for the education and interest of others. This section of the website brings together a collection of such pages.

Also featured within this section are personal narratives written by survivors who relate a given aspect of the war, be it trench conditions, or their part in a specific attack or action, as well as the testimony of such participants as nurses and chaplains.

Memoirs & Diaries

Guide about computer recycling and reuse

Computers are a main contributor to electronic waste (e-waste), which pose a major disposal issue because they are made up of various components that are toxic to the environment. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance estimates that 75% of obsolete electronics are currently being stored, which will one day result in a massive disposal issue for the country and the world. With continued innovations in technology, there is an increasing opportunity to recycle computers, limiting the number that end up in local landfills.

Guide about computer recycling and reuse

Ancient Art - Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, was the fertile river plain where civilization was born and where writing first appeared. Southern Mesopotamia was under the control of a series of kings from 3000 B.C. to the 6th century B.C. In its early history, Mesopotamia was a collection of agricultural city-states. These later gave way to centrally controlled empires which spread through conquest.

WATER!!!

Water ... worth more than gold and necessary for survival above all other resources on earth.

And yet, over one billion men, women, and children (more than four times the population of the United States and Canada combined) do not have safe water to drink and therefore cannot live a healthy life.

They are the innocent children and desperate families living in overcrowded urban ghettos, in refugee encampments, and in towns and villages too numerous to count in rural areas of developing countries. Here, less than 50% of the population have access to safe drinking water and only 25% have access to sanitary systems.

They are unfortunate victims of drought and ever-changing environmental conditions. When drought occurs, their countryside is transformed into an arid wasteland where every living thing seems to cry out for lack of water.

These precious people do not have enough water to grow and harvest food, enough water to keep their livestock alive, enough clean water to protect themselves and their children from hunger and disease.Simply put - they do not have enough water to live.

Global Water