Posts Tagged ‘reference’
Places in Formentera, Spain
February 9, 2010
You won’t be short of places to visit on Formentera. It has sights of natural beauty such as Platja des Canyers, and man-made features such as Ses Salines. Let’s look at some of the options…
One beach that is often overlooked is Ses Salines. It is just down the road from Llevant, and only a couple of kilometers from Es Pujols. It is not as good as either of those beaches, but at least you get to avoid the crowds.
One of Formentera’s smaller beaches is Platja des Canyers, but it is eighty five meters of white sands and blue seas. It is notable because of the surrounding cliffs which are stunning. To get there just head to Es Pujols and turn off en route to Es Trucadors.
One of the best things about destinations in Formentera is the beautiful countryside that you have to travel through to get to them. That is certainly the case with Cala Saona where you cycle through fields of figs and forests of pine to get to one of the finest natural coves on the Balearic islands. It’s almost as beautiful as the journey.
Back in the sixteenth century the port of would have had 400 boats anchored at any one time. These were a mixture of trading and fishing vehicles. Today you can lie on the beach and try to imagine the scene all those years ago. But however noisy those young German tourists may be, it is hard to picture the place as a bustling port.
One of the perks of the area is the the nearby clifftop walks which you can enjoy. The most famous of these is Punta Rasa, which takes 30 minutes to get to, and delivers dramatic views as far as mainland Spain. Beneath the waters are a network of caves, so the area is popular with divers.
There is one hotel here. It is large and unattractive.
Espalmador is the island just north of Es Trucadors and is known for its sulphur mud baths. These do not have proven scientific benefit, but that doesn’t stop thousands of holidaymakers from rolling around in them naked. It is quite an amazing site to behold, and you may even see some mud wrestling.
If you are considering traveling to Ibiza then this article is fairly useful. Try: http://www.squidoo.com/Traveling-to-Ibiza
Mitjorn Beach Formentera
February 8, 2010
Platja de Migjorn stretches across Formentera’s south coast and is a whopping five kilometers in length. It is made up of areas of rocky coastline with sandy patches in between. It is popular with nudist bathers, but there are plenty of people who decide to keep their swimsuits on too. The beach extends from Es Pal Mas all the way to Es Copinar. At the Maryland end of the beach is where you will find the larger resort-style hotels.
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Since Platja de Mitjorn is such a long beach there are multiple access point to the sea. As you drive along the main highway that runs through Formentera’s Isthmus, the PM-820, you will see small paths and roads that connect to the ocean. Only those on bicycle and car get to travel down the narrow paths to the most secluded parts of the beach. Es Alrenals and Maryland at the Eastern end are the most developed part of the beach, with Riu Hotel, Es Arenals Hotel, and more.
The Italian restaurant Lucky has built up quite a reputation over the years, and it provides one of few places you can get decent food on Platja de Mitjorn. It is known for good fish dishes and is well worth making the turning a kilometer eight of the highway to check it out. Next to Luck is a trendy hang-out called Blue Bar. The offer snacks and massages, which is just about all you need for a relaxing day by the sea.
As you head east you come to the beaches of Es Arenals and Maryland. These are resort-style hotels with tennis, table tennis, mini golf and swimming pools. They lack the authenticity of a farmhouse holiday, but have great facilities. To get to this part of Mitjorn you should turn off at the thirteen kilometer mark of the highway.
Remember this is just one of Formentera’s many beaches, and there are plenty more to explore. For example, Ses Plagetes, which is just across the road from Mitjorn.
Formentera is the smaller of the beautiful pine islands. To find our more about these amazing islands please check the web site: http://hubpages.com/hub/Pine-Islands
Speeding Offences Danger In The U. K
January 5, 2010
Speeding offences are some of the highest causes of traffic incidents today in comparison with that of drunk driving. Some people think that cars are toys and the faster they can go the cooler they will appear in front of their friends.
Safety should be all drivers main concerns when they venture onto the motor ways. Teens are the worse ones to break the speeding laws as they get peer pressure from so-called friends to go faster and see how fast their cars are. These lapses in serious judgement can kill you and your passengers or an innocent who may have their own children and loved ones int he vehicle with them.
Once caught speeding the officer can do one of two things. They can hand out a citation or give you a set date for court which you must then appear at to take care of your fines.
If your speed is clocked way over the limit posted then you run the risk of facing serious criminal charges and will be carted off to the jail for processing.
How much do you think showing off of rushing to get somewhere is worth to your life and the lives of those around you when you are driving? Take the time and go the limit and save lives, one of them may be your own.
Adults should be aware of their surrounding as well as the speedometer when driving as well as the younger teenage drivers. This will help to prevent injuries and insure everyone gets to where their going safely. People who take it a little slower on the roads may get their just a little slower but they will arrive with their passengers unharmed and able to spend time with their loved ones instead of in a hospital or worse.
Do not put everyone at risk when driving, be able to follow the driving laws. They are their for everyone’s safety. Those who get speeding offences should be held accountable for their actions and country’s and states should make these even harsher to get the point across.
Do you have many Speeding Offences on your driving record? If you do you may need to get some Driving Legal Advice. Make sure you don’t pay more than you really should with the best help today!
Learn Spanish Free By Using Pronunciation Practices
December 21, 2009
If you want to learn Spanish free, you simply need to practice your pronunciation. It might seem demanding at first, but honestly learning any language can be difficult; all languages use various pronunciation keys to string sounds together to form words.
Spanish is no different, but when you consider how many exceptions to the rule there are in English, the Spanish language and its emphasis on phonetics is actually fairly simple.
The Sounds Of Spanish Vowels
Spanish vowels all have strong sounds that help anchor each word. “A” sounds like “uh,” while the “e” is pronounced “ay,” an “i” becomes “eee,” and “u” is spoken like “ooh.” The only vowel that remains the same from English to Spanish is the letter “o,” which maintains its “oh” pronunciation.
Let’s take a one Spanish sentence and examine how it is pronounced using these sounds. Our sample will be the easy sentence “I like to eat the cheese.”
Quiero comprar pantalones nuevos.
“Me gusta” are the first two words, which are pronounced “May Goose-toe” and it means “I like.” The following word, “comer,” is spoken as “koh-mare” and it means “to eat.” Finally, “el queso” means “the cheese” and it is pronounced “el kay-soh.”
The Sounds of Spanish Consonants
Consonants in Spanish take a backseat to the vowels, much like they do in English, but even so there are more rules to watch out for here than before, and even a couple extra “letters” come into play. The first, “ch,” is pronounced just as they would be in English.
The letter “c” on its own becomes an “s” sound when it shows up before an “e” or an “i,” like in the word “cero,” which is how you say “zero” in Spanish. A “g” letter in front of an “e” or an “i” causes that “ch” sound, but anywhere else will mean that same letter will sound like a hard “g,” like in the English word “go.”
Additional complications arise with the letter “z,” which results in a “th” sound like in the English word “width.” The letter “h” is always silent. Another new sound is present with the “ll” used frequently in Spanish, which usually brings about a sound not unlike the “y” sound in “you.” One example is “llamar,” which is pronounced “ya-MAR.”
Then there’s the little tilde that shows up above many Spanish words, such as in “el nio.” In this case, this word makes the same sounds as the “ll” did. As a result, it is pronounced “el neen-yo.” These are the majority of Spanish sounds, so as long as you practice these often, you’ll be able to say whatever you want.
Even so, the ground we’ve covered in this article certainly isn’t everything, but it’s a good start for those who want to learn Spanish free. There are a couple more sounds which can come in handy.
One would be “qu,” which makes a nice “k” sound. Any “r” should be rolled off the tongue if you are capable of dong so. And the “y” letter is pronounced like its English counterpart, except that when it’s alone it becomes an “eee” sound.
An answer to quickly learning this ever-growing language is — teach yourself Spanish. On the web you can find many sites that offer free Spanish lessons for you to try — in exchange of your email subscription to their mailing list. Be sure to check out all the various services offered and assess which one would work for you best.
Learn To Speak Italian
December 20, 2009
Spoken by over 60 million people, Italian is a romance language that hosts a large number of cultural works known worldwide. Considered to be the closest living language to Latin, Italian’s grammar is considerably simpler than its ancestor’s.
Many people learn Italian today for many different reasons. Getting an edge in the job market by learning Italian or learning simply because one has Italian ancestry are two of many reasons. Many people learn Italian for an upcoming vacation or intend to retire to Italy. In any of these cases, learning the Italian language can be a great experience.
Knowing another Romance language already can greatly speed up your Italian studies. The grammar between Italian and other romance languages like Spanish and French is very similar and almost exactly the same in many cases. If you studied a romance language even in high school, you will find many similarities to help you.
Italian is considered to be a very beautiful language. English speakers know that Italian has much emphasis on vowels including the fact that many, many Italian words end in vowels.
Tricky Italian points for English speakers include determining gender for nouns since words are either of the masculine gender or of the feminine gender. Additionally, verbs are conjugated with very different forms depending on the subject of the sentence.
Similarities, however, include word order. English and Italian have very similar word orders and both are considered to be subject-verb-object languages. You will find that it is very easy to start making Italian sentences even as a beginner.
Because so many people are interested in learning Italian, there is a great variety of Italian language learning programs for you to choose from. From audio programs to traditional textbooks, you will never be at a loss for materials to learn from.
If you decide to learn the beautiful Italian language, remember to make a serious commitment. Learning any foreign language can be a tough process but if you stick with it and make a consistent effort over a long period of time, you will continually improve your Italian abilities. That being said, don’t forget to relax and enjoy the language, as well! You can read a good Italian novel or listen to Italian music among many other fun activities. These practices will not only improve your Italian but can be some of the most fun and rewarding experiences for you in your Italian language pursuit.
Author Robertson Kunz has a language learning guide: foreign language fluency. Italian learners: learn fluent Italian.
Poker Legend Stu Ungar Remembered
December 12, 2009
Stu Ungar didn’t have much going for him in most areas of life. In fact, it could very well be argued that he was downright inept in most areas of existence. He also had a self destructive streak that manifest itself in heavy drug use and other behaviors. Ungar, however, had one great gift–he was a prodigy with a deck of cards. He would become one of the first superstars of poker before it became a fixture on ESPN, but wouldn’t live to enjoy the ‘boom’. Ungar would eventually be done in by his baser elements, and would be found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room in November,’88.
For those unfamiliar with the big guns of high stakes poker, the only way to describe Ungar’s abilities is a metaphorical comparison to sports. With a green felt table and a deck of cards involved, Ungar was ‘Jordan-esque’. With Ungar, his greatest accomplishment was undoubtedly three World Series of Poker victories-a feat not unlike MJ’s six NBA titles. Texas Hold-em poker, the game of choice for the cognoscenti, is a seemingly simple game that belies its deceptive complexity. The successful player needs to be able to instantaneously plan strategy based on a number of ever shifting variables. Countless volumes have been written on the subject, but Ungar was able to perform complex analysis and strategy with amazing speed-almost instinctively. Between his three WSOP victories, and countless more informal victories and profitable poker room sessions, Ungar won millions of dollars playing poker. The amazing subtext to Ungar’s sheer mastery of Texas Hold’em was the fact that it was the third card game he had mastered. Ungar first came to Las Vegas as a gin rummy prodigy; he had beaten all of the good players on the East Coast and moved to the desert mecca in search of new opportunities. He had soon run the table of Nevada’s gin players, and then turned to blackjack out of necessity. He was quickly barred as a card counter at a number of Southern Nevada casinos. Needing a new vocation, he took up poker.
Ungar’s problem was that he was awful at basic survival skills. He fought a number of addictions-most notably to drugs and sports gambling. After his WSOP win in’97, he was nearly broke and wasted away from drug use by the time the’98 tournament rolled around. Vegas casino owner Bob Stupak provided the $10,000 he needed to defend his title, but as the games began Ungar cowered in his darkened hotel room unable to pull himself together enough to play.
There are countless other Ungar stories that evoke the same theme: he once paid cash for a new Mercedes and drove it until it simply fell apart from lack of basic maintenance. He signed his mortgage paperwork at the table in the Dunes poker room and was taken aback that he couldn’t make his down payment in chips.
Tragically, Ungar’s death came as he’d began to show signs of turning his life around. Noted casino owner and longtime friend Bob Stupak had stepped in to help Ungar pay off his debts, clean up his life, and provide the stake money to enter the major poker tournaments. Ungar was found two days after the two had formalized the agreement in a contract. Ungar also left behind an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, who still live in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was listed as “coronary atherosclerosis” and a mixture of drugs including cocaine, methadone and Percodan were found in his system.
Many of the famous gamblers of Las Vegas legend such as Puggy Person and Doyle Brunson have been tough, larger than life individuals with a healthier than normal dose of self-preservation skills. In this respect, Ungar was an anomaly among gambling greats-he was physically frail and almost completely helpless away from the poker table. At the table, however, he became an almost unbeatable adversary. His story is certainly not one that the modern day, publicity conscious Las Vegas will celebrate. He will be remembered, however, as part of the tradition that gives the city its unique character. From the mobsters that pioneered the city, to the Rat Pack that civilized it, to the corporations that cleaned it up, characters like Stu Ungar have provided Las Vegas with its unique character.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
categories: poker,gambling,sports,recreation,entertainment,celebrities,travel,leisure,reference,finance
Japanese vs. European Languages
December 10, 2009
Anime is a great cultural item that has made learning Japanese particularly inviting to many English speakers. It is also a big reason that many people in all parts of the world want to learn Japanese.
However, there are other reasons, too, for wanting to learn Japanese. Some people are interested in Japanese because Japan is the second largest economy and it would help them greatly in their business efforts. Some people are impressed by Japan’s deep cultural traditions.
Japanese is a language like any other foreign language in its approach but we also must remember a few things if we want to be successful in learning it.
For English speakers, Japanese is a more difficult language to learn because it does not use the roman script and also because there are few cognates.
European languages, especially the romance languages, are a lot easier for English speakers to learn because they share many grammatical similarities and the vocabulary is often similar due to Latin influences. So, it is very easy to pick up vocabulary in these languages because the words are so similar to the English words already.
This means that learning Japanese is a little bit more tricky but I am not saying that it is impossible.
What this truly means is that you must have a strong desire to learn that Japanese language if you are going to be successful in becoming proficient in it.
If you really want to learn Japanese to a high level, then make sure that your reasons for studying it are strong.
Whether you want to have a better glimpse of the Japanese culture and traditions or whether you want to have a better understanding of your favorite anime series, make sure that the desire is strong in your heart for learning Japanese.
Whatever the case may be, remember to keep this reason foremost in your mind and that will help bring the spark to keep you going in the long process which master a foreign language like Japanese entails. Good luck and I hope that you continue to make progress in learning Japanese.
Author Robertson Kunz has a language learning guide: learn a foreign language fast. Japanese learners: learn Japanese.
Future Book Betting Traps And How To Avoid Them
December 3, 2009
Sports betting futures wagers can be an entertaining and profitable investment, but there are a number of pitfalls. These are some things to avoid:
Don’t bet at the first place you look: In other words, shop around for the best price. This is essential to all aspects of sports betting, but especially important with futures wagers. You’ll find more disparity between prices from book to book on futures than any other betting proposition. From a theoretical standpoint, a little work can yield much better value. From a practical standpoint, that means a higher payout should you win. The reason for this is that individual sportsbooks’ aren’t as worried about what the other guys are doing as they are with most other bets. Once the futures “market” is set books move the lines almost exclusively on their own financial position. The market simply doesn’t respond as quickly to futures wagers as it does to individual game lines so it is essential to do the extra work to get the best price on your proposition.
In a competitive field, don’t obsess with picking the winner: This may sound like a strange concept, but once you understand the theory behind it it makes perfect sense. In a large field–the NCAA basketball tournament is a perfect example–the top few favorites are invariably priced at odds that are less than the ‘true odds’ of them winning. On the other hand, there are always teams that fly ‘under the radar’ available at higher prices that present a betting overlay.
In mathematical terms, we’re simply not being offered odds on a favorite that offer a good value in comparison with the ‘true odds’ of the event occurring. Let’s say we bet Duke at +200 to win the NCAA tournament. If we could magically play the NCAA tournament over 100 times, would Duke come out on top more than 33 times? If not, they’re a poor value at the price. At a higher price, I might be interested but at +200 the value is simply not there.
Note that the more competitive the market, the more difficult it is to find good value on the favorites. Since you can make a case for quite a few teams to win the NCAA tournament at this point this particular futures market is clearly a very competitive one. In a less competitive marketplace it might be possible to “pick the winner” and have it be a good value though you will pay a price for this. Here’s a (thankfully) hypothetical example: let’s say the UFC decided to hold a one night round robin tournament with 5 competitors. Competitor #1 would be heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. The other four competitors would be professional figure skaters Elvis Stojko, Rudy Gallindo, Brian Boitano and Evgeni Plushinko. Even if he didn’t bring his “A game”, Lesnar would be essentially have a 100% certainty of beating the four untrained fighters, who also happen to be rather effeminate. If a sportsbook installed Lesnar as a -1000 favorite a bet on the 63 265 pound takedown would still be theoretically a good value. It’s always difficult to risk so much to win a little, but from a strictly theoretical standpoint its a good play.
Don’t try to make a huge profit with little risk: Sports betting provides few opportunities to make a ‘big killing’. It may happen occasionally, but even the big payouts when it occurs doesn’t make chasing big longshots a good value. If you’re serious about sports betting it is crucial to maintain your focus on the underlying numbers and look for value at all times. If you want to take a longshot at a huge jackpot, play the lottery but don’t try to do it at a sportsbook.
Wagering value is just as important at the bottom of the barrel as it is at the top. Just because you’re getting a huge potential payback on a big dog doesn’t make it a good value. Make sure that the payback you’re getting presents an overlay situation–even on a huge underdog.
Don’t bet one-sided futures or propositions: Though many of these are not futures per se, a lot of sportsbooks offer silly propositions on nonsport events as a way to get publicity, or just to be funny. Its important to make a distinction between this type of silly bet and more realistic nonsport propositions which frequently present good wagering value. Im talking the really outlandish stuff here. Not too long ago, a sportsbook posted a line on Martians landing on earth and painting the White House red by the end of the year. The “YES” was +2500 or thereabouts, which is far from reflective of the “true odds” of this unlikely event. Even if you’re the type that collects classic Art Bell shows on tape and believes in UFOs you wouldn’t place the probability of this happening at more than a fraction of a percent. The book only offered the “YES” side of the proposition, meaning that you couldn’t lay even a huge price on the more likely outcome. Another book had a futures offering for what would happen first with Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. All of the options were very unlikely–Ashton and Bruce fighting on PPV and my favorite–and the longest odds–Ashton, Bruce and Demi hopping in bed together and releasing a porno video documenting the event. You’d receive a sizable payback if any of the events ever transpired, but I’m not exactly sure how to compute the “true odds” on “when pigs fly.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
Del Mar: Southern California’s Horse Racing Capital
December 2, 2009
Though it is sometimes overshadowed by more famous tracks back East like Churchill downs and Belmont Park, Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California has a rich and fascinating history. Located 20 miles north of San Diego and known for its iconic slogan “Where The Surf Meets the Turf”, Del Mar has not only hosted the best horses and jockeys on the planet but a ‘who’s who’ of show biz elite.
The Del Mar Race Track was founded in the late’30′s by a group of business and show biz elite, including Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy and Jimmy Durante. During much of the pre WW II era, horse racing ran a close second to baseball in mainstream popularity, so these racing enthusiasts were clearly at the right place at the right time in terms of market forces.
The starpower drawn to the course was unprecedented. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late’30s and early’40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour
In’38, Del Mar hosted an internationally anticipated match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. This event drew a record crowd and gained worldwide notoriety for the track. Seabiscuit won the $25,000 winner-take-all duel by a nose, and would forever be enshrined in the annals of American popular culture. Horse racing at Del Mar continued to be a smash until the facility went dark in’41 due to World War II. It would remain closed until’45, and for a time was used as a training facility by the military.
After the war, Del Mar reopened with a bang. Following the surrender of Japan, President Harry S. Truman declared a national holiday for August 15,’45 and on that day Del Mar attracted over 20,000 fans through its gates who wagered what at the time was a record $958,476. The postwar prosperity was also a boon to Del Mar, which also benefitted from the Santa Fe Railroads daily Racetrack Special that brought bettors down from Los Angeles to enjoy a day at the track. During the latter part of the decade a new crop of Hollywood glitterati would flock to Del Mar, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante. Durante would become such a regular that the turf course at Del Mar would later be renamed in his honor.
The annual race meet at Del Mar remains a highlight of the summer to this day. Del Mar remains one of the top tracks in the country, and have recently upgraded their facility with a state of the art grandstand and was one of the first tracks to install a new synthetic racing surface.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.
MMA Flashback: Aoki Beats JZC In Rematch
November 27, 2009
After a controversial no contest in their first matchup, there was no doubt as to the winner of the DREAM 2 rematch between Shina Aoki and JZ Calvan. Aoki controlled the fight from the opening bell and used a wide repertoire of submission attempts to keep his opponent off balance. Most impressive was Aokis dominance of the ground game, which many observers considered to be JZs edge in the contest.
Aoki scored early with a takedown and controlled Calvan on the ground, working a heel lock attempt before taking his opponents back and attempting a rear naked choke. In the second, Aoki put on a submission clinic and demonstrated his ungodly flexibility as he spun from an armbar to a triangle choke and back again. Calvan was able to counter or escape, but looked completely out of sync as he generated almost no offense whatsoever over the 15 minutes.
Aoki was very emotional in his postfight speech to the crowd, while JZC just looked disgusted with himself for losing such a one sided contest.
With the victory Aoki advances to the semifinals of the lightweight GP tournament. Thats the plan at least, as Aoki made some statements in the Japanese press leading up to the fight that win or lose there would be no way hed be ready for the next round with only half the preparation time as the rest of the field. Hopefully the impressive victory and the enthusiastic response from the holiday week Tokyo crowd will change his mind as hes now the man to beat even with the short prep time.
The rest of the card was devoted to the opening round of the middleweight GP tournament. Taiei Kin defeated Minowa-man Ikuhisa Minowa in a very closely contested and entertaining fight. Minowa was clearly tired in the 2nd, and that likely sealed the deal for Kin.
Korean judoka Yoon Dong-Sik also advanced with a unanimous decision victory over Shungo Oyama. Most of the damage in this fight came from Yoons ground and pound from full mount, and he controlled the tempo from the outset. Two one sided contests followed, with Zeleg Galesic submitting Magomed Sultanakhmadov via arm bar in a minute and a half of the first round. That was followed by the MMA debut of former Pac 10 wrestling standout Ian Murphy, who had a worst case scenario draw against BJJ specialist Ronaldo Jacare. From the opening bell it was clear that Murphy was in over his head, and the result was as one sided a contest as youll ever seen on a major MMA show. After withstanding a beating and several arm bar attempts Murphy finally tapped to a rear naked choke.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer who has written on sports gambling and how to successfully bet on NFL football. He has appeared as a guest on TV and radio talking about boxing, cricket and NFL pointspreads. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a lynx.