Windmill Blades - And From What They Are Made

Decades ago if you drove by a field and happened to see a windmill spinning in the wind, chances are the blades were made of wood. With new inventions and better technology today, wood is still used as material for turbine blades. The design is different however. And a lighter wood material is used, in order to carve the blade and faster speed rotation. By knowing and understanding the different types of blades, and how they improve or decrease the effectiveness of a wind turbine, you can purchase this alternate energy source with confidence. Knowing it will meet your needs.

The most recent blade design is made of fiber-glass and epoxy resin. Although this blade is in its first stages and not yet marketed, what makes it unique is its curvature like tip. This allows it to catch low wind speeds and would be considered a good design for a wind turbine used in the Midwest.

Some turbine blades have actually been made with the raw material made for PVC piping. In strong lengthy winds they have been found to break, but inexpensive to replace.

Researchers have done experiments with several different materials for turbine blades. Weight, wind resistance, durability, speed rotation, sound output, and of course cost are evaluated. Glass has never been used in experiments although plexi-glass was tested. It failed due to not being able to withstand long periods of wind, and the sound output was ineffective.

Many materials have been tested poly foam and aluminum, to name a few more and their performance again was different. They were also found less effective.The turbine blade made of carbon fiber is light weight, and has a razor sharp edge which allows it to literally cut through the wind and makes it virtually silent. This is the material preferred and used in most wind turbine machines sold today.

Another factor evaluated was how many blades would be placed on a turbine windmill. Three blades almost instantly became the most popular. More blades seemed to increase noise and slow down the actual rotation of the turbine's propeller formation. After more research was done the concept of using more than three blades was no longer a factor.

The bigger commercialized wind turbines were more effective in putting out the expected wattage than one with six blades. This was proof that three blades were better. These turbines are as big as two football fields or more in size.

The smaller wind turbines for home use also remained with the propeller style and three blades as a result of its performance, producing the correct type of wattage expected. Carbon fiber blades in the right formation were the inventive solution for the vertical windmill and the wind turbines of today. The wind turbine blades as a whole are simply part of their design, an important part to the quality of performance of the entire wind turbine machine.

Auto Responder Software Or an Online Auto Responder Service?

Is auto responder software that you install on your PC or website worth the cost, time and effort or is there an easier way to capture your customer details and make money from them?

There is a huge amount of auto responder software out there but much of I can be complicated to install, difficult to manage, time consuming to send emails and offer you no protection against spam complaints. With increasing spam legislation this is something you really need to be aware of.

In my opinion it is much easier to use on of the top autoresponder services. They are very cheap even for a brand new website. They are incredibly easy to use and best of all mean you can have a form up on your website to capture your customer or prospects details within quite literally a few minutes.

Now I had previously used a few different types of auto responder software and didn't really know what I was doing. I wasted countless hours for very little before I decided to take a punt on the autoresponder services.

The advantages that they offer over auto responder software are that you can manage multiple mailing lists from a single page; you can add your form within seconds to many different websites. In fact you don't even need to do that; people can join your list by simply sending an email.

Auto responder software often doesn't have the ability to track ip addresses making it very difficult for you to prove that the person did sign up to receive your emails in the event of a spam complaint against you.

The various services are so cheap and easy to use that I would never bother with auto responder software. I prefer to use my time on other more productive activities such as getting new visitors to my website.

St Therese Enlightens the Soul Through Spiritual Communion With the Saints

This beautiful nun vowed she would come down and let fall a shower of roses before she died at a very young age. The more I learn about St. Therese, the more I understand she has the capability to commune with us and even bring us into a communion with the saints in heaven. She brings roses to those who seek her help.

St. Thrse of Lisieux known as the Little Flower and Saint Theresa wrote one of the most widely read spiritual books in the world entitled, Story of a Soul. She penned the manuscript while in the Convent of Carmel in France where she died very young of tuberculosis. Her vocation was love and her mission was to teach her little ways to souls. While dying she asked God to allow her to spend her heaven on earth doing good until the end of the world. She also declared "after my death I will let fall a shower of roses" and vowed "I will come down!"

Have you been a witness to the presence of St. Therese? The experience was probably subtle since she practices little ways of teaching souls to love the Lord. I have been privy to her little ways and amazed at the realization of her presence and gifts. It is indeed a great blessing to know this beautiful saint, and I am honored that she is the one I chose as my patron saint when confirmed in the Catholic Church many years ago.

I treasure the little ways in which she has communed with me. My first impression of St. Therese was as a young child gazing upon her picture. She was such a beautiful nun clutching the crucifix and roses with the black veil of her habit framing her face. This picture hung in Lillian's living room where I spent many hours as a young child. She was a babysitter who was more of a grandmother to me. I had lost my father and maternal grandmother by age four, and Lillian more than filled a void in my life. She absolutely adored and spoiled me. She and her husband also imparted in me a reverence for prayer and devotion.

Quietly and surely Saint Theresa has always watched over me. At age 12 I chose her as my patron saint because of that lovely picture. Speed forward to age 36, and I am trapped in a frightening and devastating marriage to a sociopath. I don't know which way to turn and depression and grief overwhelm me. At this point I spoke to a co-worker who was also a psychic and she informed me that I had a spiritual guide. She described her as a woman with dark hair standing behind me. I had no idea who this spiritual guide might be - but I asked whoever she was to please help me.

I returned to my office where I was alone at my desk and I began to pray for help. I had a pencil in my hand and a yellow tablet on my desk. My prayers were pleading for help because I didn't know which way to turn. My life was so hopeless with no prospect for escape. While praying silently I noticed my pencil move. I then watched in amazement as that pencil began to gently glide across the tablet. Words appeared which I will never forget: Lousy World Better Love Now.

Fast forward another ten few years and I am very happily married to a wonderful man. We are in Los Angeles working on the Northridge Earthquake. One Sunday we took a break and he drove me to a flea market being held at the Rose Bowl. As we meandered up and down the aisles of merchandise in that parking lot, my eyes fell on the beautiful picture of St. Therese. It now hangs in my bedroom twenty years later and I still marvel that I found St. Therese at the Rose Bowl, no less.

I did not discover the presence of St. Therese until years later. It was after I had started my own search for spiritual truth. That journey began when I was about 43 years old and I picked up the Bible that Lillian had given me and read it - all of it many times. My study evolved from that intense study of the Bible to include apocryphal books and lost ancient manuscripts. I read books on Kabala, Eastern mysticism, Zohar and Jungian theories. Then to my surprise I discovered the Western mystics.

I had been raised in the Catholic Church but had no idea that we had Western mystics! I was fascinated by St. Teresa of Avilla, St. John of the Cross and astounded by St. Therese of Lisieux!

I found St. Therese in her book, Story of a Soul. She had always been with me and I hadn't noticed before. It was while reading this book that I came across her dying days that told how the pen she used to write with became too heavy. She finished her last words writing with a pencil! Oh, yes, I recognized her then!

Our relationship has continued to grow and I marvel at the roses I find along the path and silently acknowledge the help and guidance of my wonderful St. Therese.

On a recent trip to Chicago I was delighted by the water tower of roses across from my hotel room in Rosemont, Illinois. I knew that St. Therese and Mary Magdalene were greeting me when I arrived.

Therese leads me onto the right paths in my search for truth about mysteries of the Bible. She brought answers to my questions about the mysterious Mary Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus. She shines a new light on the bible stories and persons of old. She brings answers that complete the story. St. Therese inspires me to write.

St. Therese wrote her manuscript until the pencil fell from her hand. The last words she wrote are "... through confidence and love." The book was first published in France and entitled Histoire d'une Ame in 1898. It quickly became a spiritual classic read by millions and was translated into languages around the world. Therese was born on January 2, 1973 and died on September 30, 1897 at the young age of 24.

I believe St. Therese still guides my pencil. I have no doubt but that St. Therese can come down and has come down. She showers those who can see with her roses!

Uncover the Facts About Reverse Osmosis Systems

Ever wondered how a reverse osmosis system, also referred to as a ultra filtration system works, It's basic process involves the movement of water through a membrane which has microscopic openings that allow the water molecules, but not larger compounds, to pass through. Reverse osmosis systems are typically used to reduce the levels of total dissolved solids and suspended matter. Some membranes may also have an electrical charge that helps in reducing some chemicals at the membrane surface.

Originally developed for commercial use where mineral free water was required, a reverse osmosis system was a good solution to sterilize the water, removing all unwanted sediments and minerals. The result being what was considered clean, sterile water. These systems were readily available and quickly adapted for home use.

At the time that home based reverse osmosis systems were introduced, little research was done regarding water quality and its effect on our overall heath. The basic approach was to rid the water of the gritty heavy sediments and foul tasting minerals. No consideration was given to the other dangers that may exist. As we would soon discover, many sources of contamination were being found in our drinking water, leaky fuel storage tanks, manufacturing waste products and medical waste to name a few.

The effectiveness of these water filtration systems were soon called into question due to the fact they were never really designed to handle these types of contaminates. From a scientific perspective we soon realized that many of the compounds that were being analyzed were molecularly smaller than a water molecule and therefore would simply pass through the water filtration process.

This concern triggered more research which revealed that traces of more than 80,000 of what is now defined as SOC's or synthetic organic chemicals could be found in almost any public water supply. 2100 of these SOC's have been linked to diseases such as cancer and heart disease. It was now more apparent than ever that reverse osmosis systems were not the total answer to the ever increasing problem.

When evaluating reverse osmosis systems please keep in mind that the most effective system is one that utilizes a combination of processes. The best are those that incorporate a multi media filter process consisting of carbon filtration, ion exchange and sub micron filtration. This type of system will produce true healthy, great tasting water void of chlorine, lead and other SOC's (Synthetic Organic Chemicals). This process produces clean, pure water which has been stripped of harmful SOCs but retains optimal levels of essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium which are critical to our overall heath.

Now you know a reverse osmosis system is certainly a step in the right direction but may not necessarily be the best choice. Complete your research and determine which type of filtration system you feel will truly provide safe, healthy water for you and your family.

The Zen of Ocean Swimming

Ocean swimming was never something I had considered despite having swum competitively in the fourth grade and during my senior year as team captain for our high school swim team.

Truth be told, I never really enjoyed competitive swimming. As a fourth grader, I joined the YMCA swim team thinking it was some after-school program devoid of all the basketball, football, and other team sports in which I possesed neither the interest nor the ability. Understandably, after a year of intense training for meets which I really preferred not to participate in the first place, I chose not to continue after my first season.

Growing up like many other island kids and progressing from bodyboarding and bodysurfing to surfing made me quite proficient at swimming and it was a natural for me to sign up when my high school, during my senior year, re-instituted its swim team. For me and some of my surfing buddies it was a shoe-in for a letter and the try-outs turned out to be a piece of cake! As it turned out, I was assigned to swim the breaststroke (in my mind the ugliest stroke of all) and the 200-meter individual medley, both in which I bronze medaled but never really saw as enjoyable. Perhaps, as I look back on our swimming days, it may have been because we never used goggles!

My senior year in high school went quickly and the whole prospect of swimming was something I gladly left behind without even the slightest feeling that something I had done every day for an entire season would be in any way missed. Yes, it was time to close the chapter of swimming in my life and replace it with more appealing activities like surfing, diving, and boating.

During my four years of college and the fifteen years that would follow I grew impassioned with sailing and never had a second thought about swimming until after the end of a five-year relationship. As is often the case for individuals after a major beak-up, I needed to do something different. That's when swimming came back into my life.

Over the years, I had gained some thirty-five pounds beyond the one hundred and fifty with which I left high school not to mention the unhealthy cigarette habit I had picked up along the way. Realizing I needed to regain something of my old lifestyle, I turned to the fitness regimen I knew best, swimming.

I went to the local pool and soon lost interest with the never-ending laps, interrupting flip turns, and overall boredom which I remembered so well from my training sessions back in high school. One day, I went to Ala Moana Beach, a lagoon which was protected from the ocean swells by a large fringe reef and measured just over a kilometer from one end of the park to the other. A group called the Waikiki Swim Club, a masters swim group, would meet every Saturday morning with some members swimming to the half-way mark and back for a kilometer while others swam to the far marker and back for a two-kilometer (2K) swim. The best in the group were doing the "2K" in under a half-hour, a feat which really impressed me!

For some reason a sense of competitiveness I never knew existed arose in me and I wanted to do the 2K in under a half-hour! Soon I found myself going every day to Ala Moana lagoon, before and after work, and also during the weekends. On some evenings, I would be swimming in darkness with only the lighted elevator shaft of one of the Waikiki hotels to guide me back to my starting point.

It was during these long laps at the Ala Moana Beach lagoon that I discovered the "zen" of ocean swimming. Up until this point, all of my swimming experience had been limited to either anaerobic sprints or longer gut wrenching power swims where all you could think about was the finish and your coresponding time. Here, with ocean swimming, in absence of lane lines, markers and other swimmers thrashing about I was on the verge of a kind of swimming where you could truly experience the environment of which you were a part. It was a kind of swimming in which I would find one could actually enter a "zone" similar to that experienced by distance runners.

After running into the reef a few times, I changed my stroke to roll from left to right allowing me to see to my left as much as I saw when breathing on my right. The increased rolling seemed to considerably cut down my drag and increase the glide I'd get with each stroke. On the down leg, with the wind behind be, my strokes could be long and slow while the return leg required shorter and quicker strokes to push through the wind chop which I was now swimming against. These varying conditions combined with my new "view" on both sides during my 2K swims in the lagoon made for an interesting forty minutes which I would later work down to my under-thirty-minute goal!

Around the point when my times were in the mid-thirties for 2K in the lagoon, I discovered the "high" that so many runners experience. Until that time, I had never heard of such a condition for swimmers. It came for me when I was encouraged to swim the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, a 2.8-mile swim along Oahu's Waikiki shoreline. As a suggested practice for the event, a fellow swimmer suggested I start swimming 4K at the lagoon, twice the yardage I had been swimming each day.

To my surprise, doubling my yardage wasn't difficult at all. Instead, what I discovered was somewhere in between the second and fourth kilometer was what I considered to be the swimmer's equivalent of a runner's high! I found that for a period of time after I had been swimming for awhile I would get a second wind then enter a "zone" where my stroke seemed almost mechanical and I felt neither fatigue nor the usual longing to be done with my swim. Instead, I felt I could keep on swimming forever at what was about a three-quarter speed! For the first time in my life, I truly enjoyed swimming.

My new interest in distance swimming made it an activity I wanted to do every day. I found myself going to pools and swimming laps non-stop for over an hour straight and, within four months of returning to swimming, I entered my first rough-water swim and soon after that clocked my first under-thirty minutes at Ala Moana Lagoon.

After a couple of years of swimming regularly, I seemed to get burned out and again let swimming out of my life in favor of other activities. I returned to swimming in my early forties, a stint that lasted for a year, and then returned again the year I turned fifty. On this last return I started swimming with some masters swimmers who were in their sixties and winning their age group events. They encouraged me to swim again in the Waikiki Rough-water Swim which I did, then the Double Rough-water which is simply the course of the former plus returning to the starting point!

As seems to be my pattern, after the "Double," I had again reached a major goal and let my swimming fall along the wayside. A few weeks ago, I hopped on the scale and saw I was up to 200 pounds once again, a weight I swore I'd never again reach. For some reason, though, the idea of getting back into swimming just seemed so difficult to pursue until my daughters, ages seven and eleven, said they'd go to the pool with me!

Over the last week, we've gone every day to the fifty-meter pool in our neighborhood recreation center. For now, the laps are arduous and the thought of once again experiencing a "swimmers high" seems far-fetched if not impossible. But as I roll from side to side and see one daughter swimming her first real laps then rolling to the other side to see the younger kicking on her board with an expression of outright glee, I can't help but feel I'm "back in the zone" and, once again, swimming is a part of my life.

The author, Richard Young, is the creator of hawaiibeachcombers.com, a website about Hawaii beaches presented through his favorite sports like fishing, kayaking, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, and windsurfing. He has participated in a number of ocean swimming events which include the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, The Maui Channel Relay, and the Waikiki Double Roughwater Swim. His current passion is kayak fishing and is among the recreational activities presented in his website.

Educating Consumers Can Translate Into Affiliate Success

Your site fills the needs of a niche, and you're getting to be the "go to" place for your subject. You have a great archive of articles, and you authoritatively answer questions from your target group. What's missing? Product or service reviews.

By reviewing products and services, you provide your merchant partners with an invaluable service - pre-selling. You've already done the first step of the work when you decided to form affiliate relationships with certain companies. You know the buyers of their products and services. But different people want different versions, price ranges and features. You are ideally situated to help them move forward with a purchase, one that makes commissions for you!

A product review can be in-depth descriptions and discussions of individual products, in a "Featured Product" showcase. A second form is the comparison of several products, for instance, stadium blankets. Read through product descriptions and come up with the attributes that people look for in stadium blankets. Then make a grid with affiliate merchants listed in the left column, and half dozen of the most important attributes listed in columns across the top. Then fill in the information about five or six products. You will also want to have a column for your comments, and perhaps a designation of "Best Value" or "Hot Product".

Have fun with it. Use things, try things on, and really learn about your merchants or advertisers. And if you find that the products of a particular merchant just aren't measuring up, you might want to investigate further. The quality of merchant products does reflect on your site, and you need to constantly be guard it. By doing product reviews, you'll be doing a service to your site as well as to your site visitors.