Kenya is more and more popular with foreign tourists – not surprisingly, if we look what the country has to offer. What are the top seven things to see and do in Kenya?1. Going on a safariKenya maintains a well-managed system of national parks, who are among the finest of Africa. This has made Kenya the top safari destination in the world. Masai Mara and Amboseli National Park are the most popular wildlife resorts, and they draw in the tourist high seasons (July-August and December-January). However, there are plenty of hidden gems for safaris left.My favorites are the impressive Mount Elgon National Park – the area around Africa’s third-biggest mountain – and the small but beautiful Saiwa Swamp National Park. Both attract few visitors but are of a breathtaking beauty and tranquility.2. Visit the Swahili coast regionWithin Kenya, the coastal region stands apart. Arabs have frequented this part along the Indian Ocean since the 9th century, and this has led to the rise of the famous Swahili culture – the vibrant mix of African, Arab and Indian cultures. Many people are Muslim here, although of a liberal type.If you have the chance, watch a Taarab performance, seductive African-Arab-Indian music played at weddings and other festivities. And of course, Kenya has 500 kilometers of white sand beaches with excellent and affordable beach resorts, where you can dine and sip Martinis right at your private beach.3. Visit a tribal villageEspecially the Masai, Samburu and Turkana peoples still live a traditional, tribal lifestyle. It’s possible to visit their villages and do a tea drinking ceremony or watch traditional dances. However, ask a travel guide to direct you to a good opportunity, as too much of tourist visits turn into demoralizing high-pressure sales events.4. Experience the Wildebeest MigrationPerhaps the best of all Kenya travel tips. Each year in September-October, between half to one million Wildebeest suddenly gather on the Serengeti plains in Tanzania, after which they trek in a big circle through the south of Kenya and back again. It’s one of the biggest wildlife shows on earth. Some lodges are strategically placed so you’ll be right in the middle of it.5. Take a balloon tripShort hot air balloon trips over one of the major wildlife resorts – especially Masai Mara – have become increasingly popular. They typically leave very early in the morning so you’ll spend the first hours after sunrise gliding over the Kenyan plains, which is the best time for animal watching. There’s breakfast with champagne after landing. Priced around $400, they aren’t cheap, however.6. Visit Nairobi Who’s afraid of big bad Nairobi? It doesn’t have the best reputation, but actually I like Nairobi, and if you take some common sense precautions, nothing unpleasant is likely to happen to you. Nairobi is a really cosmopolitan place, where Africans and whites of all nationalities gather.My favorite places include Simmers, for a late breakfast with good coffee and newspapers, and the New Florida nightclub (nicknamed “Madhouse”), which indeed is a pretty crazy place in the early hours… And just outside Nairobi is the huge Nairobi National Park, making Nairobi one of the few world capitals where you can be in the middle of the wild bush with a 30-minute taxi ride from the city center.7. Go diving in the Indian OceanKenya has great possibilities for diving and snorkeling, even by professional standards. The reefs at Watamu National Park along the coast are in an excellent condition. There are many of very exotic fish, in every color and shape conceivable. Fishers are totally banned from the waters, so you’ll not be disturbed. Even harmless whale sharks visit the waters regularly, a highlight for any diver.With this list of Kenya travel tips, I still haven’t mentioned trekking the permanently iced Mount Kenya, the huge pink flamingo population of Lake Nakuru, the coastal city of Mombasa with it’s ancient fortress, the paradise island of Lamu, the dhow races, and much more.
Two Most Popular Housing Options in Toronto: Condos and Town Houses
Living in Toronto means living in Canada’s vibrant and largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario. Many homes and town houses in the city do not resemble the downtown character of the commercial skyscrapers. In fact many of the homes in this city date back to the Edwardian and Victorian eras. Of course, there are hundreds of smaller communities that boast newer homes and modern style real estate. Condos are very fashionable in Toronto and one of the main reasons is they are relatively cheap to buy or rent.Condos are the cheapest and you’ll find prices ranging from $59,000 Canadian dollars for a three-bedroom condo in a high rise area and close to downtown, which can be about the same price as you pay for a plot of land measuring around 4,000 sq ft in the more desirable locations of Toronto. There is a trend for land or plot buying as once you invest in a plot you are essentially investing in an area that will soon become very desirable and sought after real estate country.Town houses are very popular and a three bedroom house (or bungalow) can be yours for just $85,000 in Pleasant View area of Toronto. A two-bedroom, one bathroom home in Toronto’s Emerald Street would still cost well below the $100,000 mark and these types of properties are excellent for first time buyers or investors looking to buy to let.A decent and spacious condo, often coming with two bathrooms can be easily sought for around $110,000. There are a number of affordable homes in Toronto and if you are seeking luxury then you’ll find plenty of real estate that would be fit for a king. Oakland Park Court, for example, on the Burlington water front estate boasts properties with six bedrooms and every one of them coming with an en suite bathroom in a home with its own private harbour to boot!The real estate market in Toronto is starting to perk up once more following years of being stuck in a housing price slump. The world economic recession and housing market crash that began in 2008 hit many cities in Canada, with Toronto being hardest hit of all in Ontario but the trend has stopped and investor confidence is returning at last in this great city. Real estate should see prices beginning to cautiously move back upwards in the next five years, so buying now can be a sound investment plan.
5 Types of Web Videos Every Company Must Use
In the past, internet videos were rather scarce until YouTube. But with YouTube’s reputation and the surge of video streaming websites like Vimeo, you can’t click on a page without one popping up. We use them for a variety of reasons; gag reels, “how to”, courses, movie previews, TV shows etc. This surge of utilizing internet videos is thanks to how simple it is nowadays to publish and share these videos everywhere. This type of access allows any video the opportunity to go viral and yield thousands or comments and even millions of views. With all this in mind it is rather shocking that little companies don’t use internet videos that much to market themselves, items and solutions. So here are some thoughts for how your company can begin using videos:
1. Present your company to customers, guests and others with a video backgrounder – Any business can get the ball rolling by producing a video that introduces your business on your home page. This video can assist you in introducing both yourself and your company to potential customers. An essential advantage to producing this video is that it can individualize your little company to guests.
Some of the best videos about little companies actually have the president informing the visitors of the company’s roots and beginnings. Genuine videos like this assist in developing trust with customer and prospective customers that have no clue about the company or president. Furthermore, everyone enjoys a great tale so focus on making the story only about half a minute to a minute long to achieve a successful video.
2. Give your clients a practice video with an item your company offers – Often customers are searching for an item or device, locate it on a site but then have no clue about how the item works. Many customers that click on a site and because they become puzzled about what the item may do, they click off and attempt to locate a site that describes the item clearer.
This allows company owners an excellent opening to create a small video that explains what the item is and how it works. The web video doesn’t have to be flashy and can just be an employee that does a walk through narrative that explains why and how to utilize the item. An item becomes a lot more attractive to a client when they hear a vibrant voice detailing the items capabilities and how it is going to better that client’s life by using it.
3. Displaying some actual clients where they discuss your item – This might be the most undervalued video promotions method for little companies. With the increase of smartphones on the market and flip-cameras, when you encounter a client you have a chance to record a fast client recommendation. Think about using a client getting together or your next convention to record a fast video of the client.
Do not be timid about asking because the worst thing that can happen is the client will decline. If the client knows you, they will be more than agreeable to do a 30 to 90 second video recommendations. Even if you don’t get that opportunity you can always request a client shoot a video on their smartphone and send it to you. The quality might not be as good, but with all the resources that are available especially on many of Apple’s items a clip can be edited rapidly. After these videos have been received you can create a “Client Recommendations” area of your company web page and upload videos there.
4. Use video to help inform clients, the commerce and guests- There is an idea of informing your clients or the public as a means to develop trust and a strong status and that you are knowledgeable about what you are dealing with as a company. Small companies should use this idea to consider developing and disseminating their own instructional videos for clients and the public. Actually, these kinds of videos are often unappreciated but can really be beneficial for clients.
These types of informational videos can be used to record short advice. Another method to help inform clients is by using this as a chance to have workers or supervisors record important guidelines for your client group. By using your workers it gives your video a more genuine look and also permits them to use actual samples in those videos. These samples produce informational guidelines and an extremely useful web video to not only assist clients but also enhance the company.
5. Display to the public the videos where you are a an innovator that is introducing an essential subject to followers – As an addition to instructional videos, there is an increase in something called innovator leadership clips These videos differ from instructional videos by coming from convention messages, expositions, online seminars and connected doings. These clips are a snap to produce and can be recorded at a convention or an event exposition, don’t forget to get your own speech on camera and upload it to your site. The worth of this type of video is that it generally displays an entrepreneur as a professional in the field.
This assists in illustrating to prospective and actual clients is that you are reliable and that other individuals think what you say about the field, items and solutions of your company is vital. This greatly helps develop your reputation as a trusted informational resource. Once clients view you and your company as a trusted domicile for data that will be extremely beneficial for your standing and the way your company is recognized in the field.
The previous tips are only a few methods your company can begin successfully employing to internet videos to promote your little company.
Work At Home Employment – Tips on How to Be Successful If You Want to Work at Home
So do you want to know about some tips that will help you succeed when work at home?I understand how a lot of people these days are working from home, and there are still many others who are looking for a work at home employment opportunity.For those of you who are already working at home, you must know how comforting it is, right?And for those of you who are still searching for a work at home employment, keep going you will never regret it.Working at the luxury of your own home is something really wonderful, but unfortunately, a lot of people fail at it, do you want to know why?To get a work at home employment and make some money is something, and to be a successful home worker is something else.I have been working at home myself for a long time now, and I know what it takes to be successful in it.Now you must want to know about these tips that will help you succeed, am I correct?Well, let me tell you about these tips… and they are:1- You must be determent, put a plan and set targets.
2- You must always motivate yourself, to keep going.
3- Treat your work as if you had a daily job, wake up early it will help to be more productive.
4- Avoid any distractions while working; switch off the TV and anything that could keep you from working effectively.
5- Make yourself a special working space, if you can get a small office in your home.
6- Do not do home tasks in the middle of your work, set yourself working hours and respect them.Warning: Do not take these tips lightly, a lot of people struggle working at home because they do not follow these simple rules.
Health and Fitness – Walk Your Way to Fitness
Do you remember your first tottering steps? Then you felt steadier and the steps turned more into a run and soon nothing could hold you down, you were up and away – you could walk! How much walking do we do as we grow into adulthood? Sadly the number of people who spend most of the day sitting down continues to rise. Buy you could make a difference to your health and fitness, start walking to feel good.How exactly does walking help us stay healthy and fit? Tons of research and various studies have been conducted, all reaching the same conclusion, walking helps to control diabetes and heart trouble, reduces high blood pressure, increases longevity and so much more. What is important is that feeling of health and fitness you get as you walk.Walking as an exercise does not require any great investment, I would say investment is practically zero except for a pair of comfortable shoes to walk in. Carry your socks with you when you go shopping and wear them when trying on the shoes, which should be comfortable to move about in. It is recommended that you start off slow, walk to warm up and gradually increase your speed. Set a pace that you are comfortable with and keep to it, there’s no marathon to be won.Some of the health and fitness benefits associated with walking are detailed below to give you the impetus you need to start walking.
Many of us experience symptoms of depression and stress from the fast paced, highly pressured lives we live. When you walk for approximately 30 minutes a day you will find that feeling of depression being lifted.
It would be great to improve the functioning of our minds and you can do this with walking as studies have shown. Walking for approximately 2 hours a week will help you improve your thinking and reasoning powers. In simple terms the brain begins to function better!
Walking improves your physical functioning, as well as your cardiac and respiratory functioning and helps to prevent many of the ailments associated with aging
Medically the benefits of walking have been proven time and again to help prevent type 2 diabetes through weight loss; strengthen your heart, prevent coronary problems and improve mortality rates. You can prevent cancers from attacking your body and increase bone density.
Why not begin walking your way to a healthier and a fitter life – it’s free!
Digital Photography Tips To Take Better Digital Photos
Digital photography is a great hobby to get involved with. It can be a lot of fun and it allows you to unleash your creativity. One of the benefits of using a digital camera is the ability to shoot as many pictures as you want and delete those that you are not satisfied with. In order to improve your picture taking, learn to take better digital photos by understanding what makes a really decent photograph beginning with the basics of photography. By following these digital photography tips to take better digital photos, you will be able to create and capture exciting and beautiful scenes and portraits like a skilled photographer.Identify your subjectLooking through your camera’s viewing window, do you know what you’re shooting at? What do you want to take a picture of? What is it that captivates your interest? Identify the beauty and the excitement that you see, and get a sense of the essence of your subject. Is it awe inspiring, peaceful and serene, or bursting with action and life? Identify your subject and capture its essence.FocusYour digital camera’s auto focus is sufficient for most picture taking conditions, but digital cameras have a slower reaction time to get in focus. To compensate for this, you should press down on the shutter button only half way until you here a beep and do not release the button yet. Your camera will set the shutter speed and aperture and your subject is in focus. Now you are ready to press the shutter button all the way down.Rule of thirdsWhen composing or lining up your shot, you may find that using your camera’s framing guideline makes things a little easier. A framing guideline looks like a tic tac toe board. Two vertical lines and two horizontal lines divide the viewing frame into equal parts. Putting an object or line in the exact center should be avoided. Try putting those objects on the intersections of the lines of your framing guide. This allows the viewer’s eyes to travel towards the subject or the highlight part of the photo that you want to emphasize.FramingTake advantage of using natural formations that can frame your subject. Just like those postcards or calendar pictures of tropical beaches and coastlines that make use of palm trees with overhanging branches that create a natural frame around the main subject. Wedding photographers make use of arches and doorways to naturally frame the wedding couple. Framing can serve two purposes; it draws the viewer’s eyes to the main part of the photo, and it provides a sense of distance as in landscape photos.Lines and shapesHorizontal lines in a photo create a calming effect, vertical lines create a sense of strength, diagonal lines create movement, and S-shaped lines like a winding road, can create a dynamic effect that leads the eyes into and through the photo. Using lines and shapes with the rule of thirds can really create a well balanced and composed photo.These are just a few of the digital photography tips that you can use to take better digital photos. Choose your subject, line up and focus your shot, remember the rule of thirds, and try framing your subject. You will notice that you are improving and taking better pictures the more you learn what makes a great photo.
Low Cost Health Insurance For Families
With millions of jobs lost and recent economic recession more families are looking for low cost health insurance. Even when some people do have jobs a low of small employers cannot afford to offer health coverage anymore. If you do not health insurance and looking for low cost health insurance, you are not alone, there are options available to you.It is never easy to know that you do not have health coverage and fear of what might happen when medical bills arise. Having a simple health plans or a discount card is much better than having nothing at all. When you have health insurance you also become a member of a vast network of doctors and hospitals. Insurance companies you leverage of their members to negotiate lower rates for medical services. For example if a doctor changes $120 for doctor office visit, insurance companies will negotiate with doctor for a lower fee of $60. The benefit you get from it is if you have a basic high deductible medical insurance plan that does not cover anything until you meet a $5000 deductible. When you go to a doctor you are only will be paying negotiated rate of $60 and not $120. Also with average discount card you will save on average of 50% on any kind of lab work. When you have any health insurance plans your money goes a lot further. Insurance companies have leverage of members on their plans to negotiate lower fees with doctors.One simple option you can pick is a discount plan. All of the major medical insurance companies offer it. Aetna and Assurant health are just some of the major insurance companies to offer discount plan. For a really low monthly fee of as low as $20 you can have the benefit of the negotiated rates. It is one way to get low cost family health insurance. If you do not have or cannot afford health or dental insurance you should definitely get yourself a discount card. Even while you are shopping for medical insurance you might want to consider getting one, before it is too late.The other option is to apply for the most basic health insurance plan that is available. All of medical insurance plans from well known insurance companies cover you for millions of dollars and have maximum out of pocket for you. Every plan that you compare has a number that is called “maximum out of pocket”. The is the maximum that you can be out of your pocket in any given year before insurance company pays 100% for all of your medical expenses. Even if that number is $10,000 it is still infinitely better than being responsible for $300,000 medical bill.Having any health insurance plan from well known medical insurance company is infinitely better than not having anything at all. You can go to one of the hundreds of insurance websites online and simply apply for the cheapest plan. Every health insurance plan has a discount plan build in, plus you get a additional benefit of health insurance coverage in case of really large medical bills. Get something while you still can, while you are still healthy. I know I have learned it the hard way by not having health coverage and ending up in the emergency room. That taught me a lesson.
The Reasoned Decrease in Automotive Sales Caused Havoc in Businesses Globally
In reason years there was a massive decrease in automotive sale’s all over the world. There were no predictions what so ever before hand. The motor industry was hidden by this recession like a tsunami while they thought they were on the brink of a massive wave.In a matter of very short period sales dropped to a record low globally. That caused manufacturers to have surplus stock that wasn’t planned for and all car stock yards globally became over stocked to the max. All these manufacturers had systems in place to predict their possible future sales and still they didn’t see this coming. Not even the financial institutions or the financial gurus gave any warnings beforehand about the resection that was about to hid the world economy.All this caused massive decreases in turnovers in businesses in the automotive trade, which on the other hand caused a lot of workers in the automotive trade to lose their jobs. But everything wasn’t just for the bad as a lot as businesses had to close their doors due to this. All these owners blame everything else except them self, but the only reason for closing, is their lack of business skill, and not adhering to the universal laws in business. In nature this happening is called a culling process and in business it is called a sifting process.I consider myself lucky because very soon after I became a business owner twenty years ago I realized I don’t have the necessary skills and mindset to run a business. This realization caused me to invest in myself and to get rid of my ignorance, I had to educate myself or else I would fail in business If you are in business and don’t realize you have to educate yourself constantly as rules and regulations change all the time your destiny will be failure.Nobody ever thought a decrease in automotive sales caused by an unforeseen recession can harm businesses as much as it did in reason years. These businesses were harmed solemnly due to the owner’s ignorance and lack of business skills. The business owners that are doing their homework constantly are the guys that are not worried about the economy as they have systems in place and didn’t experience much effect during this time. Most of them survived this recession and came out stronger in any case due to their business skills.
Digital Microscopes in the Elementary Science Classroom – Effective, Affordable, and Easy to Use
Advances in digital microscope technology over the last few years have resulted in great benefits for students. While there are many different types of digital microscopes, they fall into one of two main categories, those that connect to the TV and those that connect to the computer through a USB port. Instead of students being required to share microscopes and discuss their findings without any references, the digital microscopes allow the entire class to view specimens and discuss findings as a group.One type of digital microscope plugs into a data projector or television. This makes the process of teaching science to a classroom much more dynamic, easier and more cost effective. The presentation of specimens and discussion can be accomplished easily by placing the television in the front of the classroom where all students have a clear view of the screen. The educator places the specimen under the handheld microscope for view by the entire classroom.The educator is able to use the television to point out details of the specimen, encourage participate by all students, and fulfill the objectives of the lesson plan using one microscope. There is no need for software or extra equipment to make the microscope a vital part of the educational process.Students will be able to learn the steps for dissecting specimens properly without the normal trial and error that often accompanies this process. In addition, group discussion, questions, and answers always serve educators well when presenting new or unusual content to students. Teaching students about the cellular structure of animals and plants can be easily accomplished using the large, clear, and crisp picture provided by the television screen or data projector.An added benefit of this type of system is that students with special needs, who may not normally be able to handle the small controls of a microscope or be able to navigate the intricacies of the scope, will be able to participate and learn easily with the rest of the class. This inclusion of all students in the science exploration process will expand and empower students with special needs to participate in learning more actively.The scopes made for use with televisions or data projectors lack the functions and features of the scopes that integrate with a computer using a USB port. These systems are able to record still images, do time-lapse videos, and provide a continual flow of information to students relative to the specimen they are studying. An educator can easily develop a lesson plan that will include the splitting of a cell, or the growth process of fungi or bacteria and treat students to the wonderful excitement of watching nature in action.The most effective microscopes for education use are designed to provide greater magnification of 10x to 200x or higher. They also include easy-to-use controls for LED lighting which will allow for adaptation to light sources in the classroom more easily.Many teachers find that using the digital microscope in conjunction with desk microscopes allows for more flexibility in teaching techniques and methods. It is very powerful to have the instructor be able to display what the students are looking for in their desktop microscopes. The interaction of students and educator when students know what they are looking at allows the educator to focus on the project and specimen at hand for the entire class instead of spending time at individual desks telling students the same information.The benefits of using a digital microscope in elementary science classrooms are tremendous. The SmartScope by SmartSchool Systems is affordable and easy to use and opens doors for educators and students. Educators are able to create dynamic lesson plans that utilize the full applications of the microscope while the students benefit from the wonderful world that has been opened to them through this modern technology.
Stock Quotes – Things to Know
Stock quotes are the information about the price of stock at a particular time. They are displayed either as fractions or decimals. Stock quotes provide most valuable information about stock and stock market changes. They are also the primary tool for traders to execute trade. Quotes are also available for other derivatives like futures, options, forex currencies etc.Stock quotes can be grouped into various types as historical stock quotes, delayed stock quotes and real-time stock quotes. Historical stock quotes are stock prices and change patterns before certain period of time – useful to understand and determine periodical stock trends. Delayed stock quotes are usually free stock quotes provided by various institutions, journals, portals, etc. which have 15 or 20 minutes delay. They are useful for most stock market investors and small scale traders. Real-time stock quotes, also known as live stock quotes or streaming stock quotes, are provided by specialized quote sites and through stock market trading systems with less than a minute delay. Live streaming stock quotes are vital for online day traders trading according to very small changes in stock prices.The presentation of stock quotes can vary greatly, they may be graphs with values, simple line of phrase with alphabets and decimals, or tables showing values. Similarly stock quote presentation of different sources may also vary from single ‘last price’ value to full details including the price change of the day, the trading range of the day, 52 week (one year) range, the volume traded, the average volume of trade, market capitalization, earnings per share (EPS), dividend yield, P/E ratio, closing price, highest price of the day, and lowest price of the day.By theory, a stock has a set of stock quotes as bid price and ask price. The bid price is the price which market makers or specialists are ready to pay for the stock and ask price is the price at which the market maker is ready to sell the stock. The difference between the ask and the bid price is the spread, which is mainly responsible for liquidity in low priced stocks. The need of ask and bid prices in a stock quote is purely because the market need a market maker to buy the stock whenever one trader sells it and to sell the stock whenever on want to buy it.A stock trader can find stock quotes from a variety of resources. Free delayed stock quotes are available from newspapers, journals, company websites, stock market, market maker and stock broker websites, popular search engines and portals like Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money, and various financial websites. As told earlier real-time stock quotes are paid services. These services also provide timely alerts and triggers to automate and better execute traders, and are integrated with powerful mathematical and visual tools to formulate right trading strategies. Recently Google and CNBC have presented their readiness to provide free real-time stock quotes of NYSE stocks to SEC, which if come true will be an added benefit to all type of traders.