Preparing for college is something every single parent should do. Whether it be in providing your child with a fully paid tuition or if it is simply giving them all the help that they need to get the grades that they have to have to get in, all parents are preparing their child for college from the beginning. What should you be doing and how should you do it? Here are a few tips to help you to learn just what you need to know.
Tip One: Preparing for college often means preparing financially. If the kids are young, consider investing in college tuition plans. Some states can provide these for you or financial firms can. If the kids are older, help them to get the scholarships that are out there and help them to find the financial aid that they or you need. While you may be willing to take out a home equity loan for their education, it may be smarter to look towards other options instead.
Tip Two: Preparing for college academically. Often, parents start with this preparation at a very young age. What is important, though, is not just allowing them to soak up the information in text books, but to show them and allow them to experience life. Take them to museums, musicals and other intellectual aspects. Provide for them the study plan and the work environment that they need to get good grades. Put rules and rewards in place for good behavior, good grades and success. And, make sure to get them the help that they need if they are struggling.
Tip Three: Preparing for college also means emotional preparation. While it is not hard to realize that your baby is growing up, you’ll need to prepare them for the real world by allowing them to make mistakes and helping them to learn from them. It is also important for them to develop social skills too. They need to be challenged and encouraged in a positive manner to succeed.
All of this is up to mom and dad to provide. Preparing for college didn’t seem to be all that hard when you went, did it?
woensdag 7 oktober 2009
woensdag 30 september 2009
5 tips to choose the online nursing school right for you
No one can tell you which online nursing school is right for you. As a rule, you must be the one who chooses which path to take and how you want to get there. The differences between the online nursing schools are varied and one needs to be aware that they all have their pros and cons. However, if you make a wise and informed choice then you are half way to your goal. If a nursing school fits with your schedule, needs and personality than there is nothing stopping you from succeeding.
Bear in mind that no matter which online school you choose you will still need to take part in clinicals which require ‘in person’ teaching to complete your degree. So before you have earned the degree you will need to transfer to a land campus school.
1. First and foremost check out the fees that the online nursing charges for their courses. This is probably the most important part of choosing an online nursing school. It is the common practice of all reputable online nursing schools to be up-front with their fees. They realize it is important to new students to know how much they will be paying for the course. This will help to build trust in the school as they put fourth the effort to respect their students by offering their fees in an honest manner.
2. You will need to check out the course requirements before signing up for anything. Each school has different requirements that must be met before entering their program. These may include a high school diploma, previous nursing courses, or specific course studies from other schools. All of these requirements are easily located in the prerequisite area of the course description.
3. Time available is very important when choosing an online nursing program. You will need to check and make sure that you have the minimum amount of time that is required by the school to dedicate to class and course type studies. Most of the schools that offer online programs operate on the same premise of standard schools and require that students complete a minimum number of hours in class room study to be eligible to graduate. All of the time that is required will be listed in the course description during the review process.
4. Degrees offered is another area where one should put fourth some effort in research. If the online program does not offer the degree that you need to get the job you want then it is useless to you as a school. Through most of the online nursing schools you can choose the type of degree that you wish to obtain and enter the course of study as set down by those guidelines.
5. Finally you should determine if the school you are looking at fits the individual needs that you have. If a school does not fit the most basic needs than it will not be of much worth to you as a student. If you have special needs or require an aggressive course study you should check with the online schools advisor to ensure that they can accommodate such a need or desire.
Bear in mind that no matter which online school you choose you will still need to take part in clinicals which require ‘in person’ teaching to complete your degree. So before you have earned the degree you will need to transfer to a land campus school.
1. First and foremost check out the fees that the online nursing charges for their courses. This is probably the most important part of choosing an online nursing school. It is the common practice of all reputable online nursing schools to be up-front with their fees. They realize it is important to new students to know how much they will be paying for the course. This will help to build trust in the school as they put fourth the effort to respect their students by offering their fees in an honest manner.
2. You will need to check out the course requirements before signing up for anything. Each school has different requirements that must be met before entering their program. These may include a high school diploma, previous nursing courses, or specific course studies from other schools. All of these requirements are easily located in the prerequisite area of the course description.
3. Time available is very important when choosing an online nursing program. You will need to check and make sure that you have the minimum amount of time that is required by the school to dedicate to class and course type studies. Most of the schools that offer online programs operate on the same premise of standard schools and require that students complete a minimum number of hours in class room study to be eligible to graduate. All of the time that is required will be listed in the course description during the review process.
4. Degrees offered is another area where one should put fourth some effort in research. If the online program does not offer the degree that you need to get the job you want then it is useless to you as a school. Through most of the online nursing schools you can choose the type of degree that you wish to obtain and enter the course of study as set down by those guidelines.
5. Finally you should determine if the school you are looking at fits the individual needs that you have. If a school does not fit the most basic needs than it will not be of much worth to you as a student. If you have special needs or require an aggressive course study you should check with the online schools advisor to ensure that they can accommodate such a need or desire.
dinsdag 29 september 2009
Bodybuilding Workouts
Bodybuilding workouts are the most important part of your bodybuilding endeavors, but many people have not done enough research to fully understand, and get the best from, their workouts. Here in this article we will show you how to maximise the results from your bodybuilding workouts.
Step 1
Put some real effort into it. Nothing important is ever achieved in this world without some effort, and if you are approaching bodybuilding in a half hearted manner, then you will only get half hearted results. Any results you will see will be far less than you would have seen if you had been dedicated to the task. If you really want the muscles and body you are working for, why not put in a full effort?
Step 2
Maintain your enthusiasm. One of the most important factors in keeping the right level of enthusiasm for your training is to time your gym visits judiciously. All gyms have some competition to use the equipment, and if you cannot get access to it, you may end up not being able to perform some of your most important routines. This is not only frustrating, it can lead to setbacks in your progress. If you can plan your gym visits for quieter times of day, such as morning opening, or early afternoon, that will help.
Step 3
Maintain your energy level.. Someone who is muscular is not necessarily fit, so you should work at being both. If your gym has a treadmill or an exercise bicycle, these provide the ideal opportunity to do some aerobic exercise in the middle of your bodybuilding exercises. Although this will add a bit of time to your overall workout, it will increase your intensity.
Step 4
Make sure each exercise is performed correctly. To maximise the effect of your bodybuilding workouts, they need to be performed as they are written in the textbook. Try to keep your back still while you are doing barbell curls. A large amount of your time will go to waste if you are not maintaining your effectiveness with correct technique. Get this part right, and you will gain far better results for your time.
Bodybuilding workouts need to be tailored to the needs of the individual, but the hints in this article should provide you with something to work on during your next gym visit.
Step 1
Put some real effort into it. Nothing important is ever achieved in this world without some effort, and if you are approaching bodybuilding in a half hearted manner, then you will only get half hearted results. Any results you will see will be far less than you would have seen if you had been dedicated to the task. If you really want the muscles and body you are working for, why not put in a full effort?
Step 2
Maintain your enthusiasm. One of the most important factors in keeping the right level of enthusiasm for your training is to time your gym visits judiciously. All gyms have some competition to use the equipment, and if you cannot get access to it, you may end up not being able to perform some of your most important routines. This is not only frustrating, it can lead to setbacks in your progress. If you can plan your gym visits for quieter times of day, such as morning opening, or early afternoon, that will help.
Step 3
Maintain your energy level.. Someone who is muscular is not necessarily fit, so you should work at being both. If your gym has a treadmill or an exercise bicycle, these provide the ideal opportunity to do some aerobic exercise in the middle of your bodybuilding exercises. Although this will add a bit of time to your overall workout, it will increase your intensity.
Step 4
Make sure each exercise is performed correctly. To maximise the effect of your bodybuilding workouts, they need to be performed as they are written in the textbook. Try to keep your back still while you are doing barbell curls. A large amount of your time will go to waste if you are not maintaining your effectiveness with correct technique. Get this part right, and you will gain far better results for your time.
Bodybuilding workouts need to be tailored to the needs of the individual, but the hints in this article should provide you with something to work on during your next gym visit.
vrijdag 18 september 2009
7 Tips for Teaching Children Science
Getting kids interested in science at an early age is very important. It's easier than you think. Science does not have to be something mysterious. It is happening all around us, and you can use everyday things to encourage your children's interest and knowledge.
Most parents believe that they can't help their children with science. But you don't need a advanced scientific degree to teach young children science. All you need is a willingness to try, to observe the world, and to take the time to encourage their natural curiosity.
You can help by having a positive attitude toward science yourself. Then start simply by asking your child questions about the things you see every day. Why do you think that happened? How do you think that works? And then listen to their answer without judging it or judging them. Listening without judging will improve their confidence, and help you determine just what your child does or does not know.
You can turn every day activities into science projects. For example, don't just comment on how bright the moon is one night. Ask questions about why it's brighter tonight, why does it change shape, etc. You can observe the moon's phases throughout a month, and turn that activity into a science project, without even mentioning the words "science project". For a child that likes cooking, observe how milk curdles when you add vinegar, or how sugar melts into syrup. Try baking a cake and asking why does the cake rise? What happens if you forget to put in some ingredient? Voila! Instant science project idea, without being intimidating to you or your child.
Different kids have different interests so they need different kinds of science projects. A rock collection may interest your young daughter but your older son may need something more involved. Fortunately, it's not hard to find plenty of fun projects. Knowing your child is the best way to find enjoyable learning activities. Here are some more tips:
- Choose activities that are the right level of difficulty - not too easy nor too hard. If you are not sure, pick something easier since you don't want to discourage a child by making science frustrating. You can always do the harder project later on.
- Read the suggested ages on any projects, books or toys labels, but then make sure that the activity is appropriate for your child, regardless of age. Your child's interest and abilities are unique. If a child interested in a topic,they may be able to do activities normally done by older kids, while a child who is not interested may need something easier aimed at a younger ages.
- Consider how well the type of project matches your child's personality and learning style. Is the project meant to be done alone or in a group? Will it require adult help or supervision?
- Choose activities matched to your environment. A city full of bright lights at night may not be the best place to study the stars. But during your vacation to a remote area, you may be able to spark an interest in astronomy.
- Let your child help choose the project or activity. It's easy enough to ask. Rather than overwhelm them, suggest 2 or 3 possibilities. When a child picks something they are interested in, they will enjoy it and learn more from it.
Go ahead. Try it and see for yourself how easy it is the spark the interest of a child.
Most parents believe that they can't help their children with science. But you don't need a advanced scientific degree to teach young children science. All you need is a willingness to try, to observe the world, and to take the time to encourage their natural curiosity.
You can help by having a positive attitude toward science yourself. Then start simply by asking your child questions about the things you see every day. Why do you think that happened? How do you think that works? And then listen to their answer without judging it or judging them. Listening without judging will improve their confidence, and help you determine just what your child does or does not know.
You can turn every day activities into science projects. For example, don't just comment on how bright the moon is one night. Ask questions about why it's brighter tonight, why does it change shape, etc. You can observe the moon's phases throughout a month, and turn that activity into a science project, without even mentioning the words "science project". For a child that likes cooking, observe how milk curdles when you add vinegar, or how sugar melts into syrup. Try baking a cake and asking why does the cake rise? What happens if you forget to put in some ingredient? Voila! Instant science project idea, without being intimidating to you or your child.
Different kids have different interests so they need different kinds of science projects. A rock collection may interest your young daughter but your older son may need something more involved. Fortunately, it's not hard to find plenty of fun projects. Knowing your child is the best way to find enjoyable learning activities. Here are some more tips:
- Choose activities that are the right level of difficulty - not too easy nor too hard. If you are not sure, pick something easier since you don't want to discourage a child by making science frustrating. You can always do the harder project later on.
- Read the suggested ages on any projects, books or toys labels, but then make sure that the activity is appropriate for your child, regardless of age. Your child's interest and abilities are unique. If a child interested in a topic,they may be able to do activities normally done by older kids, while a child who is not interested may need something easier aimed at a younger ages.
- Consider how well the type of project matches your child's personality and learning style. Is the project meant to be done alone or in a group? Will it require adult help or supervision?
- Choose activities matched to your environment. A city full of bright lights at night may not be the best place to study the stars. But during your vacation to a remote area, you may be able to spark an interest in astronomy.
- Let your child help choose the project or activity. It's easy enough to ask. Rather than overwhelm them, suggest 2 or 3 possibilities. When a child picks something they are interested in, they will enjoy it and learn more from it.
Go ahead. Try it and see for yourself how easy it is the spark the interest of a child.
woensdag 16 september 2009
Commit To Be Happy
Today, why not made a personal commitment to be happy, in spite of what life hands over to you. You have to admit that there are too many things over which you have no control. The only thing you can do is to stop allowing them to make dents in your spirit.
Happiness is not something that others can take from you. It's something that you would have to throw away on your own.
There will be times when things don't turn out the way you want them to. Your best friend at work may turn out to be a power-hungry corporate animal that backstabs you at every opportunity. The promotion you worked so hard for may go to someone else. Your partner might decide to leave me, a day before we are due to go for a vacation together. You may lose most of your savings in a market crash.
These are things that can happen to the most loving, compassionate, careful and reasonable person. But after the initial pain and shock, the decision whether or not to let yourself languish in despair is entirely up to you. You can allow misfortune to form the bulk of your life, or you can choose to leave what's past in the past, and move on.
One's friendly and caring behavior towards others should not be motivated by the thought of equally kind and affectionate responses. You understand yourself best, and regardless of how reasonably and responsibly you live your life, there will be people who won't see your point of view or share your motivations.
People have the right to act in any way they see fit. I don't have the right to judge whether their behavior is acceptable or not. They have to bear the responsibility for their own actions, and so do you. By feeling sorry for yourself, you are simply continuing the work for them, long after they have dealt their blow. You have to decide that, as far as possible, you will not allow these people to disturb your mind.
There are many things for which you can be grateful. There are yet unexplored experiences in which you can find enrichment and meaning. There are yet others who will like you for who you are, and in spite of who you are. If you spend my time being resentful and miserable, you are denying yourself the satisfaction of enjoying what this life has to offer.
There are enough unhappy people in this world who punish themselves and others constantly in a bid to find redress and compensation. But there is no satisfaction in retaliation and revenge. It's a waste of time and spirit.
"To be happy we must not be too concerned with others."
Happiness is not something that others can take from you. It's something that you would have to throw away on your own.
There will be times when things don't turn out the way you want them to. Your best friend at work may turn out to be a power-hungry corporate animal that backstabs you at every opportunity. The promotion you worked so hard for may go to someone else. Your partner might decide to leave me, a day before we are due to go for a vacation together. You may lose most of your savings in a market crash.
These are things that can happen to the most loving, compassionate, careful and reasonable person. But after the initial pain and shock, the decision whether or not to let yourself languish in despair is entirely up to you. You can allow misfortune to form the bulk of your life, or you can choose to leave what's past in the past, and move on.
One's friendly and caring behavior towards others should not be motivated by the thought of equally kind and affectionate responses. You understand yourself best, and regardless of how reasonably and responsibly you live your life, there will be people who won't see your point of view or share your motivations.
People have the right to act in any way they see fit. I don't have the right to judge whether their behavior is acceptable or not. They have to bear the responsibility for their own actions, and so do you. By feeling sorry for yourself, you are simply continuing the work for them, long after they have dealt their blow. You have to decide that, as far as possible, you will not allow these people to disturb your mind.
There are many things for which you can be grateful. There are yet unexplored experiences in which you can find enrichment and meaning. There are yet others who will like you for who you are, and in spite of who you are. If you spend my time being resentful and miserable, you are denying yourself the satisfaction of enjoying what this life has to offer.
There are enough unhappy people in this world who punish themselves and others constantly in a bid to find redress and compensation. But there is no satisfaction in retaliation and revenge. It's a waste of time and spirit.
"To be happy we must not be too concerned with others."
vrijdag 11 september 2009
A Great Loneliness
'Man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.
What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
Man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.
For whatever happens to the beasts,
also happens to the man.
All things are connected.'
Chief Seattle
Speech of 1854
Most people are now aware that we have some serious environmental issues facing us in the next few decades. The recent tsunami in Indonesia was a tragic reminder of the fragile balance of nature. There is nothing much we can do to stop these kind of events happening, except to install early warning systems. But global warming can be stopped or slowed down if and when we stop using fossil fuels and turn to renewable energy sources. The technology is being developed or already exists; wind and wave power, hydrogen fuel and nuclear fusion.
What can never be reversed if we let it happen is the loss of the diversity of life on our small, green and blue planet. The list of endangered species is growing all the time. Environmental awareness has been a long time coming. In a way we are the victims of our own success, at least in the West. Population growth makes it ever more difficult to preserve the wilderness areas which are so necessary for the survival of wildlife.
'When I was a boy in Scotland, I was fond of everything that was wild...
I loved to wander in the fields to hear the birds sing,
and along the shore to gaze and wonder at the shells and the seaweeds,
eels and crabs in the pools when the tide was low;
and best of all to watch the waves in awful storms thundering
on the black headlands and craggy ruins of old Dunbar Castle'.
John Muir
The first modern environmentalists, in a general way, were probably Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau, but the man who made a deep and practical impact was a Scot named John Muir. He was born in 1838 in Dunbar, not very far from where I was born, and he left Scotland for California at the age of twenty-eight. He called himself a 'poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and ornithologist-naturalist'. Today he is known as the father of America's national parks. On August 5th, 2004, former President Bill Clinton said of him, "One of the Americans who inspired Theodore Roosevelt to conserve our national forests was the naturalist John Muir, who once said, 'Everybody needs beauty as well as bread - places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul'. In today's fast-paced, high-tech world, Muir's words are even more compelling".
Another influential writer was Henry Beston. In 1928, after spending a year in a small wooden house on the Great Outer Beach of Cape Cod, he wrote an inspiring little book called 'The Outermost House', which contained the following passage:
'We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth'.
The Outermost House
Henry Beston
My own special interest is the wolf, that most misunderstood of all animals. Down the ages wolves have been the subject of much fear, hatred and mis-information and yet, of all the larger predators it is the least harmful to people. In a way, we know more about the character of wolves than we do about our closest relatives - the great apes - because their descendants are all around us, lolling about in front of the fire, or digging holes in the garden.
And yet the wolf has been hunted and persecuted almost to the edge of extinction. There have been no wolves in Britain for 300 years. The last one was probably killed at Helmsdale, some 40 miles north of where I live in the Scottish Highlands.
That the Vikings had a respect for the strength and sagacity of wolves is evidenced by the names given to ancient Nordic kings - Beowulf, Beadowulf, Wulfstan, etc. Even ealier is the legend of Romulus and Remus. The twins were found abandoned on the banks of the Tiber by a she-wolf, who fed them with her milk. When they grew up, Romulus built the city of Rome on the spot where the wolf had found them. Although no evidence to support the story has come down to us, there are plenty of authenticated stories of similar incidents, including three from Lucknow in India dated from 1844, 1954 and 1976.
One man who was centuries ahead of his time as a protector of animals was the Italian priest who became the patron saint of animals and the environment. Francis of Assisi was very much a lone voice, at one point pleading with the people of Gubbio to feed the notorious wolf which had been ravaging their flocks. His insight was all the more profound considering the relentless cruelty with which 'Brother Wolf', as Saint Francis called him, has been persecuted in the past fifteen hundred years.
In Anglo-Saxon times January was set aside especially for hunting wolves. It was known as wolfmonat or wolf month. Medieval folk-lore is full of stories about devil-wolves with dripping jaws and evil, slitty eyes. There are woodcuts of wolves with cloven hooves, carrying off little children, and there are children's stories like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and various tales about were-wolves.
The subject of all these stories must indeed be a ferocious animal, but in fact there is no authenticated instance of anyone being attacked by a wolf. I don't say it couldn't happen; I just say you're more likely to be struck by lightning.
That it is possible for people and wolves to live in the same world has been demonstrated by the various wolf programs on-going in north-west Montana, the Yellowstone area, Central Idaho and North Carolina. There is also a scheme, backed by Greenpeace and various politicians to re-instate the wolf in certain areas of the Scottish Highlands. In the U.S. ranchers are being re-imbursed for any livestock losses - which are surprisingly light - by an organisation called Defenders of Wildlife. This is what they say on their website:
'Some of the nation's most prominent biologists have estimated that protecting habitat for wide-ranging predators such as wolves will conserve 90% or more of overall biological diversity. Because wolves can require home ranges of several hundred square miles, their conservation can help to preserve a host of other species making use of the same habitat.'
It was the 'Defenders' organisation which led the successful fight to restore the gray wolf to it's former habitat in Yellowstone Park, and they are currently battling against recent legislation in Alaska to allow the 'hunting' of wolves from light aircraft and snowmobiles. This degrading and inhumane practice was banned in 1972 until last year, and ignores the weight of scientific thinking. It has received widespread public opposition. Alaskans have voted against aircraft assisted wolf hunting twice; in 1996 and 2000.
Killing wild wolves is supposed to boost the numbers of caribou and moose for the benefit of hunters, but biologists say that the larger prey species elude wolves 97% of the time, and that by eliminating sick and old animals, predation actually strengthens the gene pool.
Richard Fiennes, the distinguished U.K. scientist and biologist has summed up the case for the wolf as follows:
'The wolf appears to retain a respect for human beings, and is reluctant to attack them. Not so man, who now fears and abominates the wolf and does all in his power to destroy him. Alas, he fails to recognize in the wolf's descendants, whom he has domesticated, the great virtues and loveable characters of the ancestral wolf. If wolves must become extinct in some areas, let us yet give what honour is due to him where we can.
The old traditions of this gentle creature's savagery and ferocity linger on, and man's hand is against him, even when he does no harm. There are still enormous regions of the world, in America and Russia, where he can be left unmolested; let him so remain.'
The Order of Wolves
Richard Fiennes
What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone,
Man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.
For whatever happens to the beasts,
also happens to the man.
All things are connected.'
Chief Seattle
Speech of 1854
Most people are now aware that we have some serious environmental issues facing us in the next few decades. The recent tsunami in Indonesia was a tragic reminder of the fragile balance of nature. There is nothing much we can do to stop these kind of events happening, except to install early warning systems. But global warming can be stopped or slowed down if and when we stop using fossil fuels and turn to renewable energy sources. The technology is being developed or already exists; wind and wave power, hydrogen fuel and nuclear fusion.
What can never be reversed if we let it happen is the loss of the diversity of life on our small, green and blue planet. The list of endangered species is growing all the time. Environmental awareness has been a long time coming. In a way we are the victims of our own success, at least in the West. Population growth makes it ever more difficult to preserve the wilderness areas which are so necessary for the survival of wildlife.
'When I was a boy in Scotland, I was fond of everything that was wild...
I loved to wander in the fields to hear the birds sing,
and along the shore to gaze and wonder at the shells and the seaweeds,
eels and crabs in the pools when the tide was low;
and best of all to watch the waves in awful storms thundering
on the black headlands and craggy ruins of old Dunbar Castle'.
John Muir
The first modern environmentalists, in a general way, were probably Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau, but the man who made a deep and practical impact was a Scot named John Muir. He was born in 1838 in Dunbar, not very far from where I was born, and he left Scotland for California at the age of twenty-eight. He called himself a 'poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and ornithologist-naturalist'. Today he is known as the father of America's national parks. On August 5th, 2004, former President Bill Clinton said of him, "One of the Americans who inspired Theodore Roosevelt to conserve our national forests was the naturalist John Muir, who once said, 'Everybody needs beauty as well as bread - places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul'. In today's fast-paced, high-tech world, Muir's words are even more compelling".
Another influential writer was Henry Beston. In 1928, after spending a year in a small wooden house on the Great Outer Beach of Cape Cod, he wrote an inspiring little book called 'The Outermost House', which contained the following passage:
'We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.
They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth'.
The Outermost House
Henry Beston
My own special interest is the wolf, that most misunderstood of all animals. Down the ages wolves have been the subject of much fear, hatred and mis-information and yet, of all the larger predators it is the least harmful to people. In a way, we know more about the character of wolves than we do about our closest relatives - the great apes - because their descendants are all around us, lolling about in front of the fire, or digging holes in the garden.
And yet the wolf has been hunted and persecuted almost to the edge of extinction. There have been no wolves in Britain for 300 years. The last one was probably killed at Helmsdale, some 40 miles north of where I live in the Scottish Highlands.
That the Vikings had a respect for the strength and sagacity of wolves is evidenced by the names given to ancient Nordic kings - Beowulf, Beadowulf, Wulfstan, etc. Even ealier is the legend of Romulus and Remus. The twins were found abandoned on the banks of the Tiber by a she-wolf, who fed them with her milk. When they grew up, Romulus built the city of Rome on the spot where the wolf had found them. Although no evidence to support the story has come down to us, there are plenty of authenticated stories of similar incidents, including three from Lucknow in India dated from 1844, 1954 and 1976.
One man who was centuries ahead of his time as a protector of animals was the Italian priest who became the patron saint of animals and the environment. Francis of Assisi was very much a lone voice, at one point pleading with the people of Gubbio to feed the notorious wolf which had been ravaging their flocks. His insight was all the more profound considering the relentless cruelty with which 'Brother Wolf', as Saint Francis called him, has been persecuted in the past fifteen hundred years.
In Anglo-Saxon times January was set aside especially for hunting wolves. It was known as wolfmonat or wolf month. Medieval folk-lore is full of stories about devil-wolves with dripping jaws and evil, slitty eyes. There are woodcuts of wolves with cloven hooves, carrying off little children, and there are children's stories like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and various tales about were-wolves.
The subject of all these stories must indeed be a ferocious animal, but in fact there is no authenticated instance of anyone being attacked by a wolf. I don't say it couldn't happen; I just say you're more likely to be struck by lightning.
That it is possible for people and wolves to live in the same world has been demonstrated by the various wolf programs on-going in north-west Montana, the Yellowstone area, Central Idaho and North Carolina. There is also a scheme, backed by Greenpeace and various politicians to re-instate the wolf in certain areas of the Scottish Highlands. In the U.S. ranchers are being re-imbursed for any livestock losses - which are surprisingly light - by an organisation called Defenders of Wildlife. This is what they say on their website:
'Some of the nation's most prominent biologists have estimated that protecting habitat for wide-ranging predators such as wolves will conserve 90% or more of overall biological diversity. Because wolves can require home ranges of several hundred square miles, their conservation can help to preserve a host of other species making use of the same habitat.'
It was the 'Defenders' organisation which led the successful fight to restore the gray wolf to it's former habitat in Yellowstone Park, and they are currently battling against recent legislation in Alaska to allow the 'hunting' of wolves from light aircraft and snowmobiles. This degrading and inhumane practice was banned in 1972 until last year, and ignores the weight of scientific thinking. It has received widespread public opposition. Alaskans have voted against aircraft assisted wolf hunting twice; in 1996 and 2000.
Killing wild wolves is supposed to boost the numbers of caribou and moose for the benefit of hunters, but biologists say that the larger prey species elude wolves 97% of the time, and that by eliminating sick and old animals, predation actually strengthens the gene pool.
Richard Fiennes, the distinguished U.K. scientist and biologist has summed up the case for the wolf as follows:
'The wolf appears to retain a respect for human beings, and is reluctant to attack them. Not so man, who now fears and abominates the wolf and does all in his power to destroy him. Alas, he fails to recognize in the wolf's descendants, whom he has domesticated, the great virtues and loveable characters of the ancestral wolf. If wolves must become extinct in some areas, let us yet give what honour is due to him where we can.
The old traditions of this gentle creature's savagery and ferocity linger on, and man's hand is against him, even when he does no harm. There are still enormous regions of the world, in America and Russia, where he can be left unmolested; let him so remain.'
The Order of Wolves
Richard Fiennes
dinsdag 8 september 2009
10 ways to identify if your lawyer is right for you
An ideal lawyer will not just have a string of impressive credentials or gold lettering on his door. He or she will be caring, concerned, and devoted to their work. You need to think carefully before laying your trust in a lawyer after all in some cases your life, future, money or property will be in his hands.
Apart from doing extensive research to short list possible lawyers you must ensure that there is not conflict of interest, that you understand everything the retainer agreement states, and that you have checked the references and details regarding the practice.
You will know the lawyer you have chosen is the perfect one if:
1. He makes an effort to spend time to understand your case himself. He will not assign a legal assistant to take facts of the case down.
2. From experience and knowledge he will know what is relevant and what is not. He will set aside and ignore irrelevant facts, opinions, and personal emotions that cloud the case on hand.
3. He will insist that the footwork for the case be done thoroughly. All facts must be checked for accuracy and solid arguments jotted down with backing of earlier rulings.
4. He will not just focus on the problem at hand but examine the problem from all sides. This will create a complete picture highlighting all factors of relevance and the different ways one can approach the case.
5. He will use his foresight and anticipate moves by the opposition or opinions of the jury or judge and plan way ahead. Like a master chess player he will plan the case not by the day but by many hearings ahead.
6. He will not waste time beating around the bush or create verbose statements—many words strung together which look impressive but mean nothing. He will insist that the case and its arguments be clearly stated.
7. He will be self-disciplined, thorough, and self confident. Courteous at all times he will respect you as well as all the staff who work for him.
8. He is recommended by not just his friends and relatives but by other professionals of good standing and from his field.
9. He will not just present to you his victories but be happy to tell you why and how he lost certain cases.
10. He will lay the cards on the table and tell you clearly whether your case stands to win or loose. He will not claim that winning is guaranteed. He will be honest and upfront about his opinions and advice.
The bottom line is that the lawyer must be worthy of your trust. Use your inborn instincts and don’t go by the lawyer’s good looks or fancy car or office. After all it is competence in law and in court that is of essence to you.
Apart from doing extensive research to short list possible lawyers you must ensure that there is not conflict of interest, that you understand everything the retainer agreement states, and that you have checked the references and details regarding the practice.
You will know the lawyer you have chosen is the perfect one if:
1. He makes an effort to spend time to understand your case himself. He will not assign a legal assistant to take facts of the case down.
2. From experience and knowledge he will know what is relevant and what is not. He will set aside and ignore irrelevant facts, opinions, and personal emotions that cloud the case on hand.
3. He will insist that the footwork for the case be done thoroughly. All facts must be checked for accuracy and solid arguments jotted down with backing of earlier rulings.
4. He will not just focus on the problem at hand but examine the problem from all sides. This will create a complete picture highlighting all factors of relevance and the different ways one can approach the case.
5. He will use his foresight and anticipate moves by the opposition or opinions of the jury or judge and plan way ahead. Like a master chess player he will plan the case not by the day but by many hearings ahead.
6. He will not waste time beating around the bush or create verbose statements—many words strung together which look impressive but mean nothing. He will insist that the case and its arguments be clearly stated.
7. He will be self-disciplined, thorough, and self confident. Courteous at all times he will respect you as well as all the staff who work for him.
8. He is recommended by not just his friends and relatives but by other professionals of good standing and from his field.
9. He will not just present to you his victories but be happy to tell you why and how he lost certain cases.
10. He will lay the cards on the table and tell you clearly whether your case stands to win or loose. He will not claim that winning is guaranteed. He will be honest and upfront about his opinions and advice.
The bottom line is that the lawyer must be worthy of your trust. Use your inborn instincts and don’t go by the lawyer’s good looks or fancy car or office. After all it is competence in law and in court that is of essence to you.
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