The more I use QTSaver the more I know its secrets. No wonder that when somebody asks me to collect for him information on any subject in the world I'm doing it more than willingly. This time I was asked to collect interesting things about tennis shoes and here's what I collected.
http://tennis.about.com/od/clothingandshoes/a/faqshoesor.htm
Q. Can I play tennis in my running shoes? Q. Can I play tennis in my deck shoes? Q. Which is the best tennis shoe upper material: canvas, leather, or vinyl? Q. Why does the toe of my tennis shoe keep wearing out? Q. Can I fix the hole in the sole of my tennis shoe?
http://www.shop.com/op/aprod-p11740786
K-Swiss Women's Classic Leather Tennis shoe Item: 5006908
Breathable, odor resistant, removable insole. The original K-Swiss leather tennis shoe, a classic since 1966. Not quite what you're looking for?
http://www.tennisindustry.com/body_news.php3?id=323
Unlike the trend toward heavier racquets, Tennis shoes are getting lighter. The trick, of course, is to find places to take out the weight without compromising the shoe’s lateral and medial stability (in tennis-ese, making sure the player doesn’t get a nasty ankle sprain, or worse). In some cases, stability is achieved through a low-to-the-ground ride, in others the shoe may have a unibody construction (the upper is wrapped over the midsole and attached to the outsole).
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/feedback.html?pcode=HGML
From: Matt, Grand Forks, ND, USA 07/05 Comments: I have been playing tennis for many years and always have a hard time finding a tennis shoe that I can put on from the start and feel comfortable in. At a height of 6 "1" and weighing in at 215 this is the best shoe I have used for comfort and durability.
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/PTIMS/PTIMSReview.html
However, the Prince T10s more than lived up to my expectations. I've never had a pair of Prince Tennis shoes wear out fast, and the T10s have only added to my confidence in Prince durability." Noticing improved durability in the T10s compared to most other brands he's worn was Danny.
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/RMDBC/RMDBCReview.html
I put over 30 hours of play on these shoes during the test, and while I did see some outsole wear under the forefoot areas, the shoes are still going strong." Danny found the level of durability to be above average for a performance tennis shoe.
http://www.epinions.com/content_137767784068
I have always been hard on my Tennis shoes (as well as my running shoes, but that's for another review), and found that i couldn't get a pair of shoes to last more than a few months, even on the off season. So when my old shoes wore out, I looked through Tennis magazine's shoe review (remember this was a few years ago). There I saw that this shoe got Tennis magazine's editor's choice, and got highest marks in toe durability.
I haven't seen durability like this in a tennis shoe before. I got my first pair right before my season, and I was able to use those shoes for the next 6 Months.
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/feedback.html?pcode=RWN
10/05 Comments: This shoe is comfortable, but heavy on my feet. They feel a little awkward when I play tennis.
USA 8/02 Comments: The Reebok Net Master DMX White Tennis shoe is the ONLY shoe I use for Tennis. It is the only shoe I have found to be dependably comfortable. My only problem is, due to the fact that I play a lot of tennis, I go through a lot of shoes, and obviously I wait to long to order more because my size (9) is always sold out.
USA 8/02 Comments: This is my first pair of Reebok Net Master DMX shoes and I absolutely love them. The shoe was recommended to me at the tennis shop. I have high arches and get cramps in my feet when I play for long periods of time.
http://www.nextag.com/--zz68853748zB2z2--COMPARE-PRICES-html
Wilson Advantage Club Tennis shoe Style: Athletic - Shoe Type: Tennis The Wilson(r) Advantage Club(tm) women's tennis shoe offers dependable performance on and off the court.
Specifications for Wilson Advantage Club Tennis The Wilson(r) Advantage Club(tm) women's tennis shoe offers dependable performance on and off the court. The Leather upper with stitch detail provides comfort and durability, while the non-marking high-abrasion rubber outsole with herringbone tread pattern offers great traction you need on the court.
tp://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Reebok%20Overhead%20Smash%20Tennis%20Shoe%20Women's%20:2001923809
Description: The women's Overhead Smash tennis shoe from Reebok features a carbon rubber heel strike and herringbone outsole delivers durable traction on a variety of surfaces. The low-cut design gives you added mobility, while the IMEVA midsole offers great cushioning.
http://www.watercolorpassion.com/tennis.html
The red shoe laces were in the boots, and I elected to go with that. "Leather Green" Watercolor -- 32" x 45" Private Collection Tennis shoes have such wonderful character, they are hard to ignore. But, as I write this (Oct 99), I realize it has been a couple of years since my last tennis shoe painting.
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=98&topcategory=Sports&searentry=tennis
Avoid playing on surfaces with no "give" such as cement, asphalt, or synthetic courts. To prevent lower back injuries when playing tennis on hard surface courts, wear heel inserts to absorb the shock. Wear Tennis shoes with good support to prevent ankle injuries.
http://ks.essortment.com/howtocleanten_rbjw.htm
If your white canvas Tennis shoes are looking a little dingy and washing them in the machine is simply not going to do the trick, use white shoe polish to make them look brand, spanking new. If you want to add a little more pizzazz to update your shoes and are not afraid to let your imagination run wild, the following ideas may be a great way to breathe new life into your childrens' or your own worn Tennis shoes.
http://www.ksoutlet.com/rlm/newsite/system7.0/system70-menu.htm
BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE BEST TENNIS SHOE ON THE PLANET..........
The K-Swiss "7.0 System" Tennis shoes are the most technologically advanced in the world. This group of Tennis shoes is specifically designed to meet the unique performance demands of serious tennis players. Check out some of the great "7. 0 System" Features below.....size conversion table CUSHION-BOARD CONSTRUCTIONTM Placement of the buffer board beneath the midsole instead of the more common placement directly under the insole provides more cushioning, shock absorption and prevents the shoe from twisting. This patented technology was first made famous in the K-Swiss Premiere (with SI-18TM) K-Swiss set out to make the best Tennis shoes in the world.
http://www.his.com/~melodyl/links.htm
A link back to our site would be nice. This site has a complete history of every kind of tennis shoe. It includes hundreds of images.
For the history of Tennis shoes link is: http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/sneakers/sneakers.html It has a glossary with definitions of all vocabulary, companies, shoes, and persons involved with them. I used Charlie's small Converse tennis shoe button, background and Nike shoe images.
http://www.garagelogic.com/decgler.htm
On the way out of Death Valley, in the middle of the desert, they had a second flat tire on one of the rear tires of the car, and no spare available. My grandfather found a perfectly round hole in the tire (a tubeless tire). While he was looking for material to use to plug the hole, he noticed that his kids were wearing Tennis shoes. He had one of his daughters remove her shoes, and he used a knife to cut a round piece from the sole of her tennis shoe, just large enough to fill the hole. He removed the tire and inserted the piece of tennis shoe into the hole.
http://www.tennisserver.com/set/set_03_02.html
Pallis: I can no longer find the information on the Footjoy site but when the information was out there, this almost sounded like a shoe using thermo-regulating or "smart materials" (materials intended to adjust or compensate over a range of conditions). A colleague and I discussed this and he questioned whether a tennis shoe (with current technology) would benefit from this. Golf foot motions are clearly less quick, not as varied and more in contact with the ground and foot then in tennis and he questioned how workable this might be today.
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/NSAM/NSAMReview.html
In 2004, Nike released several SHOX basketball shoes, including the SHOX Explosive and the SHOX Elevate. Nike introduced the SHOX Glamour women's tennis shoe a year later. Developed for WTA professional Serena Williams, the SHOX Glamour was the first tennis shoe to feature SHOX technology. With female players already enjoying the benefits of SHOX technology on the tennis courts, the guys were left eagerly anticipating the release of the SHOX Ace men's tennis shoe.
http://home.sc.rr.com/carsan/tennisshoe.html
BACK Granny's Tennis shoe
This story may explain alot to some people who know me and make those who don't,wonder. Back many,many years ago when I was about four or five years old, my brothers and cousins would play terrible tricks on me.
http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article344.html
"Bill's philosophy — and it's an immensely challenging one for all of us — is that in true situation comedy, you can put the characters in a funny situation and let the humor evolve naturally. "At one point, I remember, he held up a tennis shoe and said; 'I'd rather that you held up the tennis shoe, and instead of telling a joke about the tennis shoe, Just say, 'This is a tennis shoe.' What he meant was that a joke should work from the inside out — not as an unrealistic tag-on.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/06/Business/Tennis_shoes_trounced.shtml
The tennis shoe was once all things to the American foot. For decades, many of us did so much more than play tennis in Tennis shoes. We hiked, played basketball, biked to school, touched our toes in physical education class and even shopped - sometimes for more Tennis shoes. "For a long time, 'tennis shoe' was a generic term that most of America used to describe what they wore for any sport," says Michael May, a spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association in North Palm Beach. "But now consumers may have a hard time even finding a shoe made specifically for tennis." In the 1970s, shoe manufacturers, often the same ones that make Tennis shoes, steadily began introducing specific models for everything from aerobics to walking.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Friday, October 28, 2005
Free URL Submitter
Here's a tip for those of you who want to promote their site without paying to an expert and without buying a URL submitter software – look in your search engine for the words Free URL Submitter.
It took me a lot of time to arrive to these magic words. They led me to submitexpress and to raziskovalec. In the first you can
In the second you can Submit your website URL to about 130 search engines.
It took me about five hours to submit to 10 search engines manually and then 10 more minutes to submit to more than a hundred.
It took me a lot of time to arrive to these magic words. They led me to submitexpress and to raziskovalec. In the first you can
submit your website URL to 20+ top search engines for free,
including Google.
In the second you can Submit your website URL to about 130 search engines.
It took me about five hours to submit to 10 search engines manually and then 10 more minutes to submit to more than a hundred.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Blogtopsites
This is a screen shot of this Blog on Blogtopsites
You are invited to rate the site and/or comment on it.
Next week starts a new academic year in Israel and QTSaver will be tested at the Center for Heavy Sighted Students in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Let's see if this will change our rating - now we are on the 45 place in the Internet category...
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Homonyms synonyms unique words and relevance
Matthew Koll's insight about needles and haystacks is bright but not clear enough. It is a beautiful metaphor but I found it hard to interpret it to concrete and useful distinctions. So here's my attempt to simplify the problem of searching by machines.
Searching is simple. Finding is complicated.
Computers are simple. Language is complicated.
Computers look for a match between words in a query and words in a result. They don't care about the meaning of these words.
The simplest case is when there is one unique word with one unique meaning.
For example: 'tinnitus'. Most search engines will find most of these words without any problem. I tried a list of 100 such words on QTSaver and it found 99 of them.
Then there is a case of one word that has many meanings (synonyms).
For example: 'elders', 'old', and 'senior citizens'.
The computer will find one match or many matches.
It can find one right match and then there is no problem.
It can find one wrong match and then the user feels frustration.
It can find many matches from which one is the right one and the others are wrong and then the user feels confusion.
In case many meanings have one word (Homonyms)
For example:' apple' from the tree and ' apple' the company.
The computer can find a right match or a wrong matche or both. And again, if it found a right one there is no problem, and if it found wrong ones the user is either frustrated or confused.
Search engines try to tackle these problems by advanced searches, by suggesting words to refine the query, by clustering, by ranking etc.
The more they try the more they get sophisticated.
The more they get sophisticated the higher the expectations the users have to find what they look for.
The higher the expectations the deeper the frustration when they don't find it.
Search engines are very clever machines but the human language is very stubborn. Even if you send every query to a human search expert there will always be unanswered queries. Why? Because the complexity of language is too much for the simplicity of machines
To add a little color to this post I looked for the word homonym in QTSaver and got Alan Coopers' wonderful insight into the nature of homonyms:
Searching is simple. Finding is complicated.
Computers are simple. Language is complicated.
Computers look for a match between words in a query and words in a result. They don't care about the meaning of these words.
The simplest case is when there is one unique word with one unique meaning.
For example: 'tinnitus'. Most search engines will find most of these words without any problem. I tried a list of 100 such words on QTSaver and it found 99 of them.
Then there is a case of one word that has many meanings (synonyms).
For example: 'elders', 'old', and 'senior citizens'.
The computer will find one match or many matches.
It can find one right match and then there is no problem.
It can find one wrong match and then the user feels frustration.
It can find many matches from which one is the right one and the others are wrong and then the user feels confusion.
In case many meanings have one word (Homonyms)
For example:' apple' from the tree and ' apple' the company.
The computer can find a right match or a wrong matche or both. And again, if it found a right one there is no problem, and if it found wrong ones the user is either frustrated or confused.
Search engines try to tackle these problems by advanced searches, by suggesting words to refine the query, by clustering, by ranking etc.
The more they try the more they get sophisticated.
The more they get sophisticated the higher the expectations the users have to find what they look for.
The higher the expectations the deeper the frustration when they don't find it.
Search engines are very clever machines but the human language is very stubborn. Even if you send every query to a human search expert there will always be unanswered queries. Why? Because the complexity of language is too much for the simplicity of machines
To add a little color to this post I looked for the word homonym in QTSaver and got Alan Coopers' wonderful insight into the nature of homonyms:
I consider homonyms to be the prime numbers of the English language. Like
primes, they cannot be predicted by any rules of grammar or diction. In the way
that you can't search the number line for primes, you cannot systematically
search the dictionary for homonyms. You just have to find them, like Easter Eggs
in the dictionary.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Picasa
A friend recommended me to download Picasa and so I did.
In order to learn quickly about Picasa I did a Meta search on Qtsaver and here's what I got (after a slight editing):
Definition:
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. http://www.picasa.net/
Features:
You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips.
Free Download and takes seconds to install. http://www.picasa.net/
Picasa is marketed as being easy to use and it offers many one click effects such as color enhancement, red eye reduction and cropping. Other features include slide shows, printing and image timelines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasa
In Picasa, it only takes seconds to re-name one picture or a group of pictures.
Use labels to tag your photos into quick groupings inside Picasa. Viewing and sharing the pictures you grouped under a label is easy – they make great slide shows and movies or you can email them to friends.
Give a gold star to any photo you love: it turns your favorites into visual standouts at a glance. Picasa even has a star search that reduces your entire photo collection to the best of the best in less than a second.
Have photos you want to keep to yourself? You can add passwords to any of your Picasa collections (this does not affect which pictures you and others can see on your computer’s hard drive). tp://www.picasa.com/features/index.php?tid=Y2NpZD0zNzQz
What's new in Picasa 2.1? ...Here's what's new: Picasa is now available in Chinese (simplified and traditional), Dutch, English (U. S. and UK) , French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. When you start Picasa, the software will automatically match your system's native language. To change the language in Picasa, go to Tools Options. Change the language using the pull down menu on the "General" tab. You will need to close and re-open Picasa to see your changes take effect.
Post a photo to your Blog in one click. Picasa's new "BlogThis!" button replaces the "Blogger" button and allows you to upload your photos directly to the Blogger web editor, without the need for a Hello account. To use, select a photo in Picasa and click the "BlogThis!" button.
"CD Cover Size" is now one of the print layout choices. Improved RAW handling Picasa supports more RAW formats and cameras in this release, with improved color-balance support and faster speed. Work with your highest quality files from these camera manufacturers: Canon (RAF) New models supported include the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (aka the 350D), Pentax *istDS, Konica/Minolta Maxxum7D (aka the Dynax 7D). External drives Find photos on external drives using Picasa. Simply go Tools Folder Manager to choose whether Picasa should scan a connected external drive to find pictures. When you unplug and reconnect, Picasa will find your pictures instantly (with no scanning), and will also preserve your labels. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05101401picasa_21.asp
Select a group of pictures choose one of the beautiful templates, and Picasa will create a collage that expands your creative horizons. http://www.picasa.com/features/features-create.php
System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0+ http://www.picasa.net/
Installation:
Picasa: Free download from Google Home. Picasa will not uninstall other programs or add any non-Picasa programs or files to your computer. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Picasa, clicking the Free Download button above will install Picasa 2 on your computer without deleting or overwriting the older version of Picasa. Picasa 2 will maintain any albums and any edits that you made to your photos while using older versions of Picasa. Note: keeping two copies of Picasa on your computer may take up more disk space than you desire. http://picasa.google.com/download/
About the company:
Picasa, Inc is a Pasadena, California based digital photography company that produces an automated digital photo organizer application of the same name. In July 2004, Google acquired Picasa from Idealab and began offering Picasa for free download.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasa
Google purchased Picasa (an image software maker) in 2004 and its photo sharing utility Hello, integrating the latter with Blogger, thus allowing users to post photos to their blogs. Thus photoblogging became a reality with the integration of Blogger and Hello. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger
Competition:
Microsoft Office Picture Manager - basic photo management software (similar to a basic version of Google's Picasa or Adobe's Photoshop Elements). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office
iPhoto is part of the iLife suite of applications and comes bundled with every new Macintosh computer. iPhoto can import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos. It is often compared to Google's Picasa and Adobe's Photoshop Album.... iPhoto allows easy importing from digital cameras, scanners, picture CDs and the Internet. Almost all digital cameras work without additional software, as do many scanners. iPhoto supports most common image file formats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhoto
Leads:
pictures
software
hello
computer
photos
photo
time
download
folder
automatically
In order to learn quickly about Picasa I did a Meta search on Qtsaver and here's what I got (after a slight editing):
Definition:
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. http://www.picasa.net/
Features:
You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips.
Free Download and takes seconds to install. http://www.picasa.net/
Picasa is marketed as being easy to use and it offers many one click effects such as color enhancement, red eye reduction and cropping. Other features include slide shows, printing and image timelines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasa
In Picasa, it only takes seconds to re-name one picture or a group of pictures.
Use labels to tag your photos into quick groupings inside Picasa. Viewing and sharing the pictures you grouped under a label is easy – they make great slide shows and movies or you can email them to friends.
Give a gold star to any photo you love: it turns your favorites into visual standouts at a glance. Picasa even has a star search that reduces your entire photo collection to the best of the best in less than a second.
Have photos you want to keep to yourself? You can add passwords to any of your Picasa collections (this does not affect which pictures you and others can see on your computer’s hard drive). tp://www.picasa.com/features/index.php?tid=Y2NpZD0zNzQz
What's new in Picasa 2.1? ...Here's what's new: Picasa is now available in Chinese (simplified and traditional), Dutch, English (U. S. and UK) , French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. When you start Picasa, the software will automatically match your system's native language. To change the language in Picasa, go to Tools Options. Change the language using the pull down menu on the "General" tab. You will need to close and re-open Picasa to see your changes take effect.
Post a photo to your Blog in one click. Picasa's new "BlogThis!" button replaces the "Blogger" button and allows you to upload your photos directly to the Blogger web editor, without the need for a Hello account. To use, select a photo in Picasa and click the "BlogThis!" button.
"CD Cover Size" is now one of the print layout choices. Improved RAW handling Picasa supports more RAW formats and cameras in this release, with improved color-balance support and faster speed. Work with your highest quality files from these camera manufacturers: Canon (RAF) New models supported include the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (aka the 350D), Pentax *istDS, Konica/Minolta Maxxum7D (aka the Dynax 7D). External drives Find photos on external drives using Picasa. Simply go Tools Folder Manager to choose whether Picasa should scan a connected external drive to find pictures. When you unplug and reconnect, Picasa will find your pictures instantly (with no scanning), and will also preserve your labels. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05101401picasa_21.asp
Select a group of pictures choose one of the beautiful templates, and Picasa will create a collage that expands your creative horizons. http://www.picasa.com/features/features-create.php
System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0+ http://www.picasa.net/
Installation:
Picasa: Free download from Google Home. Picasa will not uninstall other programs or add any non-Picasa programs or files to your computer. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Picasa, clicking the Free Download button above will install Picasa 2 on your computer without deleting or overwriting the older version of Picasa. Picasa 2 will maintain any albums and any edits that you made to your photos while using older versions of Picasa. Note: keeping two copies of Picasa on your computer may take up more disk space than you desire. http://picasa.google.com/download/
About the company:
Picasa, Inc is a Pasadena, California based digital photography company that produces an automated digital photo organizer application of the same name. In July 2004, Google acquired Picasa from Idealab and began offering Picasa for free download.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasa
Google purchased Picasa (an image software maker) in 2004 and its photo sharing utility Hello, integrating the latter with Blogger, thus allowing users to post photos to their blogs. Thus photoblogging became a reality with the integration of Blogger and Hello. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger
Competition:
Microsoft Office Picture Manager - basic photo management software (similar to a basic version of Google's Picasa or Adobe's Photoshop Elements). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office
iPhoto is part of the iLife suite of applications and comes bundled with every new Macintosh computer. iPhoto can import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos. It is often compared to Google's Picasa and Adobe's Photoshop Album.... iPhoto allows easy importing from digital cameras, scanners, picture CDs and the Internet. Almost all digital cameras work without additional software, as do many scanners. iPhoto supports most common image file formats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhoto
Leads:
pictures
software
hello
computer
photos
photo
time
download
folder
automatically
Monday, October 24, 2005
Blog Directories
I'm always thrilled to discover the bursting power of Web 2.0.
It started with wondering how people are willing to expose their private secret diaries in public. I read Tsuguya Sasaki's Reflections-Shmeflections and it started a few years before I read my first Blog. I think he earned his place in the history of Blogs.
Then I was puzzled to see the pace of creating millions of Blogs every new year.
Then I discovered the phenomena of Blog readers, subscribed to Rojo, told my friends about it and heard their surprised reactions.
Eventually I stumbled upon Robin Good's list of Blog Directories where you can read all the Blogs that are in your subject. It seems that these Blog Directories are gaining a lot of exposure since there are so many of them.
Robin Good wrote:
In Robin's list there are Directories for Blogs and Directories for RSS feeds. In the first ones you need to fill in your website address and in the later ones you need to fill in your
RSS address which can be found on your Host settings pages. It looks like this: (http://qtsaver.blogspot.com/atom.xml ).
It started with wondering how people are willing to expose their private secret diaries in public. I read Tsuguya Sasaki's Reflections-Shmeflections and it started a few years before I read my first Blog. I think he earned his place in the history of Blogs.
Then I was puzzled to see the pace of creating millions of Blogs every new year.
Then I discovered the phenomena of Blog readers, subscribed to Rojo, told my friends about it and heard their surprised reactions.
Eventually I stumbled upon Robin Good's list of Blog Directories where you can read all the Blogs that are in your subject. It seems that these Blog Directories are gaining a lot of exposure since there are so many of them.
Robin Good wrote:
As more people utilize RSS newsreaders and aggregators to keep themselves
informed, the ability to maintain high exposure and visibility is gradually
shifted from a complete attention to major search engines and content
optimization techniques to an increasing awareness of RSS feed directories and
search tools.
In Robin's list there are Directories for Blogs and Directories for RSS feeds. In the first ones you need to fill in your website address and in the later ones you need to fill in your
RSS address which can be found on your Host settings pages. It looks like this: (http://qtsaver.blogspot.com/atom.xml ).
Sunday, October 23, 2005
A Close Look at What I Did in this Blog
Yesterday I submitted my Blog to write-it-up.com.
It was an opportunity to take a close look at what I did in this Blog in the past few months (accept for having lots of fun).
So here's what I wrote:
QTSaver is a Blog dedicated to a new research tool, QTSaver Micro Content
Engine, on http://qtsaver.dynalias.com/.
This tool extracts info from multiple sites into one document, which then can
be sorted so that in a very short time you can write an article without using a
word of your own.
The Blog discusses various issues concerning the
development of a new search engine.
Like: finding a name, designing the
interface, relevance of results, microcontent vs. macro content, competitors,
visitors, investors, developing team, search strategies, search tips, using new
Web 2 tools, the future of the Web, publicity.
The Blog is also a guide book to the search tool, with quotes from real search experiences that prove the advantages of using this software.
The Blog brings fresh updates about advancements in the development of the tool.
In the Blog you'll find readers' comments about their experiences while using the
software or about subjects the Blog raises, like dealing with fraud, or
plagiarism.
The Blog is run by Zeevveez, 57, inventor and R&D manager of Qtsaver.
Here's what an anonymous reader wrote about this Blog:
Hey, nice posts. I added you to my bookmarks. Just wanted to say everything you posted was a good read. Its nice to see that some people create decent and entertaining Blogs, yours kept me reading for well over 10 minutes. Thanks!
And here's what the Blogger (me) said about his Blog:
I am convinced that the voice of QTSaver must be heard.Publicity is the bridge over the gap between the importance of QTSaver and its
anonymity.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
QTSaver Meta Search Research
Now that we have a new Meta Search tool we started checking what its worth.
The tests are not scientific enough - they were meant only to show trends.
We executed 100 queries that we took from a list of names of famous people and from a list of names of diseases and rated the results as:
No results - 1.
Bad – irrelevant -2.
Ok- relevant but not rich enough - 3.
Good- relevant and gives a good picture of the subject – 4.
Very good - relevant and gives an excellent picture of the subject -5.
We checked QTSaver-Wikipedia and QTSaver-Dmoz.
Than we took another list of unique phrases and checked the QTSaver Meta search.
Results show clearly that Metaserch is better than each search engine alone.
(in previous research QTSaver-Google gave 85% relevance. We never checked QTSaver-Yahoo).
In Metaserch there are no cases (in this research) of no-response (while in each of the other engines there are meaningful percentages).
In Meta there are less "bad" results and more "good" and "very good" results.
Sum of Meta Ok+ results is 99% which means that the user gets a reasonable answer for almost every query that he has and in most cases he gets a satisfying answer.
Checking the first 50 queries from this Meta list shows that the different search engines "help" each other in giving the answer, and on 24% of the answers were found in all search engines.
Wikipedia answered 50% of the queries and "raised" the average quality of the results.
Dmoz answered only 32% of the queries.
To sum it all up - the results are better than expected. In other words - I'm happy...
The tests are not scientific enough - they were meant only to show trends.
We executed 100 queries that we took from a list of names of famous people and from a list of names of diseases and rated the results as:
No results - 1.
Bad – irrelevant -2.
Ok- relevant but not rich enough - 3.
Good- relevant and gives a good picture of the subject – 4.
Very good - relevant and gives an excellent picture of the subject -5.
We checked QTSaver-Wikipedia and QTSaver-Dmoz.
Than we took another list of unique phrases and checked the QTSaver Meta search.
Results show clearly that Metaserch is better than each search engine alone.
(in previous research QTSaver-Google gave 85% relevance. We never checked QTSaver-Yahoo).
In Metaserch there are no cases (in this research) of no-response (while in each of the other engines there are meaningful percentages).
In Meta there are less "bad" results and more "good" and "very good" results.
Sum of Meta Ok+ results is 99% which means that the user gets a reasonable answer for almost every query that he has and in most cases he gets a satisfying answer.
Checking the first 50 queries from this Meta list shows that the different search engines "help" each other in giving the answer, and on 24% of the answers were found in all search engines.
Wikipedia answered 50% of the queries and "raised" the average quality of the results.
Dmoz answered only 32% of the queries.
To sum it all up - the results are better than expected. In other words - I'm happy...
Friday, October 21, 2005
Meta Micro Content Engine
Yesterday QTSaver started extracting multiple large chunks of microcontent from four sources:
Google
Yahoo
Wikipedia
Dmoz
It is on http://qtsaver.dynalias.com/index1.html and it is a test version for a limited period.
And here is what you get in one click:
Search results for laurel leaves
Search engine: Meta-search (DMOZ + Wikipedia + Google + Yahoo)
-----------DMOZ: ----------------
Kalite Baharat-Nurettin Izmirli: http://www.kalitebaharat.com.tr
With over 25 years of experience in the spice industry, our main goal is to maintain customer satisfaction with the highest quality products at the most competitive prices. Kalite Baharat is a leading export company of oregano, laurel leaves, sage. Kalite Baharat is in the business of processing and supplying culinary herbs.
Our facility is a state-of-the-art processing plant, ensuring high quality herb production. Its initial merchandising focus is on oregano, laurel leaves, and sage. Today, Kalite Baharat has become one of main suppliers in these spices.
Quercus laurifolia (Laurel Oak): http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/qlaurifolia.htm
Quercus laurifolia fact sheet Laurel oak Fagaceae Quercus laurifolia Michx. Leaf: Alternate, simple, entire margins, occasionally with shallow lobes, widest near the middle, 3 to 5 inches long, 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide, thick and persistent, shiny above, pale and smooth below.
-----------WikiPedia:----------------
Asterix : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix
Those characters usually stick out visually, by not having the round, oversized noses otherwise typical of Uderzo's style. (Obelix and Co. also includes two Roman legionaries drawn to the likeness of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.) Other side characters allude to people related to the place Asterix is visiting.
In Asterix in Britain, the Britons are used to drinking hot water with a drop of milk. Only when Asterix puts in tea-leaves, given by the druid, the habit becomes tea-drinking. In Astérix in Spain, Astérix ends up in a circus in front of a bull (not a lion, there).
Then Whosemoralsarelastix steals his own money, putting the blame on Asterix. Asterix leaves the village in search of the money to recover his honour.
Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (Les Lauriers de César) Rome Thoroughly chagrined by his succesful brother-in-law, Vitalstatistix gets drunk and boasts to create a salad containing Caesar's laurel wreath. With Asterix and Obelix, he travels to Rome to retrieve it.
One particularly obnoxious soldier is given the Village, by Caesar's hand, which he promply sells for wine. Pushed by his dominant wife, the innkeeper leaves Rome and attempts to claim the village as his own. Rivalries ensue, temporarily splitting the village in half.
Bay leaf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_leaf
JPG bay leaves Bay leaf (plural bay leaves) are the aromatic leaves of several species of the Laurel family (Lauraceae). Bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance, and may be used fresh or dried.
The leaf of the bay laurel or "true laurel", Laurus nobilis, is a culinary herb often used to flavor soups, stews, and braises and pâtés in Mediterranean Cuisine.
The leaf of the California bay tree (Umbellularia californica), also known as 'California laurel', 'Oregon myrtle', and 'pepperwood', is similar to the Mediterranean bay, but has a stronger flavor.
The leaf of the Cinnamomum tejpata tree, similar in fragrance and taste to cinnamon bark, but milder. In appearance, it is similar to the other bay leaves, but is culinarily quite different, having an aroma and flavor more similar to that of Cinnamomum cassia.
Delphi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi
Another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly to pick laurel, a plant sacred to him. In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a laurel wreath picked in Tempe.
The shrine dedicated to Apollo was probably originally dedicated to Gaia and then Poseidon. The oracle at that time predicted the future based on the lapping water and leaves rustling in the trees.
Historically, two parties dominated Jersey politics throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century: the Rose Party and the Laurel Party. Originating in the 1770s, the Jeannot party formed around the radical lawyer and Constable, Jean Dumaresq, who opposed the cabal of Jurats who surrounded Lieutenant-Bailiff Charles Lemprière (whose supporters became known as the Charlot party).
Politics of Jersey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Jersey
This is likely to change with the introduction of ministerial government expected in 2006. Historically, two parties dominated Jersey politics throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century: the Rose Party and the Laurel Party. Originating in the 1770s, the Jeannot party formed around the radical lawyer and Constable, Jean Dumaresq, who opposed the cabal of Jurats who surrounded Lieutenant-Bailiff Charles Lemprière (whose supporters became known as the Charlot party).
The Jeannots rapidly adopted the nickname of Magots (cheese mites) after their opponents boasted of aiming to crush them like mites. The Charlots and Magots contested power at elections until in 1819 the progressive Magots adopted the rose as their emblem, while the conservative Charlots wore laurel leaves. The symbolism soon became entrenched to the extent that gardens displayed their owners' allegiances, and pink or green paintwork also showed political sympathies.
-----------Google: ----------------
What are laurel leaves? - : http://www.killerplants.com/whats-in-a-name/20041001.asp
What are laurel leaves? - killerplants.com What's in a Name? Free Newsletter Signup Sponsored By: What are laurel leaves? By Chelsie Vandaveer October 1, 2004 Also Sponsored By: Gurney's Seed and Nursery—Click here.
Apollo's bay or laurel (Laurus nobilis Linnaeus) is the source of the culinary spice, bay leaf; a seasoning added whole to cooking food, then removed and tossed away before serving. Bay leaf is common in kitchens coming down through the ages from its home along the northern Mediterranean and Asia Minor.
According to Pliny the Elder, wreaths upon the brows of victors began with Livia Drusilla, the wife of Caesar Augustus. Legend says a gift was dropped in Livia's lap by an eagle, "a hen of remarkable whiteness...it was holding in its beak a laurel branch bearing its berries." The hen and her descendents lived at The Poultry, the country mansion of the Caesars on the Tiber River. advertisement Triumphs of Caesar Andrea Mantegna Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com The laurel branch was planted and propagated, "...the laurel grove so begun has thriven in a marvelous way....
"The laurel itself is a bringer of peace.... With the Romans especially it is used as a harbinger of rejoicing and of victory, accompanying dispatches and decorating the spears and javelins of the soldiery and adorning the generals' rods of office.
(Book XV, Natural History, trans. H. Rackham, 1945, Loeb Classical, reprinted 2000) We speak of laurels, of distinction and honors acquired, but actual crowning with laurel wreaths dwindled with the Renaissance. The berry of the laurel, bacca laurus, or baccalaureate is the distinction bestowed when one is ready for apprenticeship to master an art or science.
Arboles Ornamentales is a beautiful website with numerous photographs of trees. To view close-ups of the leaves, flowers, and berries of Apollo's laurel, click on the link: http://www.arbolesornamentales.com/Laurusnobilis.htm Suggested Reading: Why was this tree sacred to Rome? Herbal Folklore - September 2, 2002 What spice was as valuable as gold and silver?
Plants that Changed History - May 21, 2002 Sweet Leaf Plant Gurney Seed and Nursery® The Natural Sugar Substitute.—Glossy foliage just 10 inches tall, sprinkled with snowy flowers. Dried leaves are 300 times sweeter than sugar. Bring in for the winter.
Laurel leaves: http://www.wiu.edu/users/muvck/laurel.htm
In Greek and Roman times, laurel leaves were woven into a crown and given to outstanding citizens who performed a heroic action. Laurel leaves, also known as bay leaves, are infamous for their bitter, spicy taste found in many food dishes. Not only are bay leaves used for culinary purposes, but they also have medicinal and cosmetic value. The leaves of a laurel grow on trees or large bushes. A laurel plant can also make a successful house plant.
He never went outside to play with other children and because of this, his growth and development seemed to be restricted or slow-moving. When laurel plants are young, they are single-stemmed. When Larry was introduced in the story, he could also be called "single-stemmed."
However, towards the end of the story, Larry begins to accept his father, especially after Sonny is born. This is when Larry's perspective begins to branch out, just as a laurel plant develops multiple stems and thick foliage as it matures.
As a result of Larry's acceptance of his father and new baby brother, Larry seems to earn the crown of laurel leaves. His acceptance and maturity about the situation, especially for a six-year old boy, could almost be defined as a heroic effort.
Laurel leaves ((the Daphne & Apollo fanlisting )): http://www.jedi-hobbit.net/laurel/
About ------- Welcome to Laurel leaves the official fanlisting for Daphne & Apollo as approved by thefanlistings.org. This is a fanlisting for the Roman/Greek myth between the nymph Daphne and the god Apollo.
Bay Laurel leaves (cut) - per oz: http://www.scents-of-earth.com/laurel.html
Bay Laurel leaves (cut) - per oz.
Laurel leaves (cut), a.k.a Bay Laurel or Bay, laurus nobilis - from Greece. Laurel leaves provide a balsam-like, spicy fragrance to any mixture.
Laurel leaves were used in Ancient Greece for fortune-telling and good luck. The winners of ancient Olympic Games were given wreaths of Laurel leaves, which were placed atop their heads.
The Laurel tree is associated with Apollo, the healing god.
Laurel was used in ancient Greece to fumigate or cleanse a space to protect against infections and disease.
Laurel is believed to intensify dreams and spiritual insights, sharpen awareness and expand the senses.
Crossed Laurel Leaves Antique Quilt from the International Quilt ...: http://quilting.about.com/library/library2/bl_galleryho-antq-laurel.htm
Crossed Laurel Leaves Antique Quilt from the International Quilt Festival, Houston - the biggest quilters show in the world - Quilting
SearchQuilting International Quilt Festival Crossed Laurel Leaves Quilt from the Marcus Bros. Textiles "America Collects Quilts" section of the exhibit Crossed Laurel Leaves - a quilt from Pennsylvania, 1859.
Back to Antique Quilt Gallery Index Photos taken by Susan Druding with a Nikon Coolpix900 digital camera. The URL of this page for bookmarking or linking is: http://quilting.miningco.com/librarylibrary2/bl_galleryho-antq-laurel.htm Susan Susan Druding, Quilting Guide Email: quilting.guide@miningco.com Previous Articles Indexed by Date -or- Indexed by Topic From Susan C.
-----------Yahoo: ----------------
botanical.com - A Modern Herbal Laurel (Bay) - Herb Profile and Information
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/larbay10.html
Laurel (Bay) Botanical: Laurus nobilis (LINN.)
Daphne. ---Parts Used---Leaves, fruit, oil. ---Habitat---Shores of the Mediterranean.
The smooth bark may be olive-green or of a reddish hue. The luxurious, evergreen leaves are alternate, with short stalks, lanceolate, 3 to 4 inches long, the margin smooth and wavy. They are thick, smooth, and of a shining, dark green colour.
The shrub has been cultivated in Britain since the sixteenth century. It is the source of the ancients' crowns and wreaths for heroes and poets, and the modern term of 'bachelor,' given for degrees, is probably derived from bacca-laureus, or laurel-berry, through the French bachelier. The Delphic priestesses are said to have made use of the leaves.
It grows well under the shade of other trees if they are not too close, and is useful in evergreen plantations. The leaves are much used in cookery for flavouring. They are often packed with stick liquorice or dried figs.
The wood is sweet-scented, and is used for marqueterie work. Onguent de Laurier is prepared from the oil with axonge and the colouring and scenting principles of the leaves and fruit.
Constituents---A greenish-yellow volatile oil is yielded by distillation from the leaves which contains a high percentage of oxygenated compounds. The berries contain both fixed and volatile oils, the former, known as Oil of Bays, includes laurostearine, the ether of lauric acid.
Medicinal Action and Uses---Leaves, berries and oil have excitant and narcotic properties. The leaves are also regarded as a diaphoretic and in large doses as an emetic. Except as a stimulant in veterinary practice the leaves and fruit are very rarely used internally.
Oil of Bays is used externally for sprains, bruises, etc., and sometimes dropped into the ears to relieve pain. The leaves were formerly infused and taken as tea, and the powder or infusion of the berries was taken to remove obstructions, to create appetite, or as an emmenagogue. Four or five moderate doses were said to cure the ague.
The oil of Pimenta Acris, from which bay rum is distilled in the West Indies, and which is also called oil of bay. The leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus, or Cherry Laurel, to which the name of Laurel is now always applied. The margin of these short, strong serrations at intervals.
Laurel Tree: http://www.2020site.org/trees/laurel.html
The name is said to be connected with the Latin word laus, "praise;" but the origin of the associations of the name is Greek. Apollo having slain the Python, the ancient serpent, formed from the slime left after Deucalion's flood, fled for purification to the laurel-groves of the vale of Tempe. Here he became enamored of the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river Peneus, and on his pursuing her she took refuge in her paternal stream, and was metamorphosed into a laurel. Apollo, returning to Delphi, instituted the Pythian games to commemorate his victory, and the prizes there awarded were chiefly crowns of the leaves and berries of the shrub, which henceforth was looked upon as sacred to the god--the Laurea Delphica, or Apollinaris.
The Laurel was also believed to be a protection against lightning; and accordingly, the Emperor Tiberius, when it thundered, wore a laurel-wreath made from the tree, at the imperial villa on the Flaminian Way, which sprang from a shoot said to have been miraculously sent from heaven to Livia Drusilla. Used as an emblem of truce, like the olive, both trees were equally forbidden to be put to any profane uses; but the crackling of burning laurel-leaves was also employed as a means of divination.
Lindley argued that the true Delphic Laurel was Ruscus racemosus, sometimes called the "Alexandrian Laurel," a low-growing, berry-bearing shrub, with glossy green leaf-like branches, akin to our English Butcher's-broom; but it is more generally considered that the Daphne of the Greeks was our Bay-tree (Laurus nobilis), fine trees of which now adorn the banks of the Peneus.
Its popular name has now, however, been completely transferred to a totally different and unrelated plant, the "Cherry Bay," or "Cherry Laurel" (Prunus laurocerasus, L.). There is little in common between the two plants beyond the evergreen character of their leaves.
Belonging to the natural order Rosaceae, the Cherry Laurel was referred by Linnaeus to the genus Prunus, and is retained in that position by Bentham and Hooker. The genus Prunus is characterized by its fruit being a "drupe"--a succulent fruit, formed from one carpel, with a strong inner layer, or "endocarp," and containing two pendulous ovules, only one of which commonly matures into a seed.
The calyx falls off with the petals. The Cherry Laurel differs from the Plums, and agrees with the Cherries, in the absence of "bloom" from the surface of the fruit; but, together with the Bird-cherry (Prunus padus) and the Portugal Laurel (P. lusitanica), it constitutes a distinct sub-genus (Laurocerasus), characterized by having "conduplicate" leaves and "racemes" of flowers, which appear after the leaves, whilst the rest of the genus have their flowers either solitary or in "fascicles." A "fascicle" is a tuft of flowers whose stalks spring nearly from one point, whilst a "raceme" has an elongated main stalk, or peduncle, giving off successive lateral "pedicels," or flower-stalks.
The Cherry Laurel is exceptional among its congeners in having green shoots, and the yellowish-green tint of its leathery evergreen leaves is also characteristic. They somewhat resemble those of the Orange or of the Magnolia.
They are "ovate-lanceolate" in outline, are provided with a few scattered teeth along their margins, and (like those of many allied "drupaceous," or "stone-fruit" trees) have from two to four glands on their under surfaces. The "racemes" are shorter than the leaves, and the fruits are "ovate-acute" in outline.
The species is one of rapid growth, increasing from one to three feet in height in a single year; but with us it is somewhat more susceptible to the action of frost than its congener, the Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica). Its long racemes of small white flowers are produced after the young leaves, during April or May; and the fruit, which is green at first, ripens to a pure black by October.
The Cherry Laurel is wild in sub-alpine woods in Persia, the Caucasus, and the Crimea, and was first introduced into Europe by Clusius in 1576. He received it from David Ungnad, who was at that time ambassador of the Emperor, at Constantinople, and it is related that all the plants sent home by Ungnad to Vienna perished with the exception of one Horse-chestnut and one Laurel, the latter tree being then known as "Trabison curmasi," the "Trebizonde Date, or Plum."
"It is now got into many of our choice English gardens, where it is well respected for the beauty of the leaves, and their lasting or continuall greennesse. The fruit hereof is good to be eaten, but what physicall vertues the tree or leaves thereof have it is not yet knowne."
"Resembling (for the first twenty years) the most beautiful-headed orange in shape and verdure, and arriving in time to emulate even some of our lusty timber-trees; so as I dare pronounce it to be one of the most proper and ornamental trees for walks and avenues of any growing." "The leaves," he continues, "boiled in milk, impart a very grateful taste of the Almond; and of the berries, or cherries rather (which poultry generally feed on), is made a wine, to some not unpleasant . . . and of the wood are said to be made the best plough-handles."
He then relates, with doubts of his own as to the tree's having come more probably "from some colder clime," the not improbable story that the Laurel was introduced "from Civita Vecchia in 1614, by the Countess of Arundel, wife to that illustrious patron of arts and antiquities, Thomas, Earl of Arundel and Surrey." The Countess certainly did return from Italy in that year, which would be consistent with Parkinson's possession of the shrub prior to 1629, and there are still a number of very old laurels at Wardour Castle, the family-seat.
Ray, in 1688, in his "Historia Plantarum," speaks of the Laurel as being then very common in gardens and shrubberies, and remarkably hardy and quick in growth, braving our winters even in exposed situations; but, on account of its thick and woody branches, not fitted for the close-clipt "topiary-work," then so much in fashion. We may, perhaps, attribute to the introduction of the Laurel, and the naturally rapid increase in the popularity of its bright foliage, the victory of a more natural and less formal style of gardening over the Dutch taste for mazes, alleys, peacocks, and tea-pots in yew or box.
Philip Miller, in that store-house of the botanical and horticultural knowledge of his time, the "Gardeners' Dictionary" (Sixth Edition, 1752), speaks of the Laurel as being susceptible to frost if "pruned up, in order to form them into stems," and recommends as preferable the massing or clumping of many plants together, as then first carried out by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey.
"The Berries have long been used to put into Brandy, to make a sort of Ratafia, and the Leaves have also been put into Custards."
The infusion of the leaves, known as laurel-water, seems first to have been recognized as "one of the most speedy and deadly poisons in Nature," about the year 1731, by the Abbe Fontana, whose experiments are described in the 70th volume of the Royal Society's "Philosophical Transactions"; but it was the murder of Sir Theodosius Boughton by his brother-in-law, Captain Donaldson, by means of it, in 1780, that first directed general attention to it; and it was not until 1802 that Schrader identified the results of the distillation of the leaves as oil of bitter almonds and prussic acid. Though a few crumpled leaves may produce sneezing, and will rapidly prove fatal from their fumes to moths and butterflies, they may, like peach-kernels, be used in small quantities for flavoring with impunity.
US Dispensatory, 1918: Laurocerasi Folia. Cherry-Laurel Leafes. Prunus laurocerasus. : http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/usdisp/prunus-laur.html
Cherry-Laurel Leaves Other tomes "Cherry-Laurel Leaves are the fresh leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus, Linn."
Cod.; Kirschlorbeer, G.; Lauroceraso, It.; Laurel-cerezo (Hoja de), Sp. Prunus Laurocerasus is a small evergreen tree, rising 15 or 20 feet, with long, spreading branches, which, as well as the trunk, are covered with a smooth, blackish bark.
The leaves are oval-oblong, petiolate, from five to seven inches in length, acute, finely toothed, firm, coriaceous, smooth, beautifully green and shining, with oblique nerves, and yellowish glands at the base. The flowers are small, white, strongly odorous, and disposed in simple axillary racemes.
The fruit is an oval drupe, very similar in shape and structure to a small black cherry. The cherry-laurel is a native of Asia Minor, but is cultivated in Europe, both for medicinal use and for the beauty of its shining evergreen foliage. Almost all parts of it have more or less of the odor of hydrocyanic acid.
In their recent and entire state cherry-laurel leaves have scarcely any odor; but, when bruised, they emit the characteristic odor of the plant in a high degree. Their taste is somewhat astringent and strongly bitter, with the flavor of the peach kernel.
Cherry-laurel leaves are sometimes substituted by the leaves of other species of Prunus. These are readily distinguished in that they do not possess the characteristic glandular hairs which occur on the basal portion of the leaves and petioles of P.
Cherry-laurel leaves yield a volatile oil containing benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid by distillation with water, which they strongly impregnate with their flavor. One pound, avoirdupois, of the fresh leaves yields 40.5 grains of the oil.
The oil resembles that of bitter almonds, for which it is said to be sometimes sold in Europe, where it is employed to flavor liquors and various culinary preparations, but, as the glucoside of cherry-laurel leaves is decomposed more slowly than ordinary crystallized amygdalin, it is liable to hold hydrocyanic acid, and hence to be poisonous. The glucoside referred to has been termed laurocerasin, or "amorphous amygdalin."
That the oil exists already formed, to a certain extent, in the fresh leaves, is rendered probable by the fact, stated by Winckler, that they yield it in considerable quantity when distilled without water.
The fresh leaves are used to flavor milk, cream, etc., and more safely than the oil, though they also are poisonous, when too largely employed. Uses.—The leaves of the cherry-laurel possess properties similar to those of hydrocyanic acid, and the water distilled from them is much employed in various parts of Europe for the same purposes as that active medicine.
But it deteriorates by age, and therefore, as kept by pharmacists, must be of variable strength. J. Broker, a Dutch pharmacologist, has satisfied himself, by numerous experiments, that the proportion of hydrocyanic acid in the leaves varies with the season, the age of the plant, the character of the soil and of the weather, and thinks that, in consequence of this variability, they are inferior for medicinal use to bitter almonds, which in this respect have a more uniform composition. He found the proportion of the acid in the leaves greatest in July, and least in February.
Leads:
bay
plant
oil
flavor
berries
cherry
prunus
trees
fruit
tree
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Right but Not Relevant
Search engines look for matches between keywords the user enters and words in the retrieved documents.
If you got any result for your query it means that the result is the right one and that there is such a match.
In everyday life when you communicate with human beings and ask a question - the moment you get the right answer you are satisfied and your quest is finished. With search machines getting the right answers might be only the beginning of the quest.
There are close to 135 million right matches for the words John Smith in Google. Putting these words in quotes reduces this number to 3,590,000. We assume that one or more of these are relevant but how should we find out ?
People say that clustering helps in solving this problem. I typed the words "john smith" in Vivisimo and got the following list:
I hope that this illustration helps you understand how complicated is this issue and what are we dealing with when we talk about relevance of search engines. All search engines are very good at finding unique words like "laurel leaves" and all search engines are helpless when they deal with problems like "John Smith".
Between these two extreme examples there is a gray area and that's where you can see which search engine is better than the others and in what feature. In this area QTSaver has two advantages that might help decide if you are on a wrong track:
a. The leads are a list of special words that give you an overview of the subject. If you are looking for a dentist and the leads are telling you about a flower shop it means that you need to refine your search.
b. The proximity of the paragraphs helps understand quickly where you are. In seconds you can read few paragraphs and see if they talk about your subject or not. In a regular search engine you need to read a few pages in order to arrive to the same conclusion.
If you got any result for your query it means that the result is the right one and that there is such a match.
In everyday life when you communicate with human beings and ask a question - the moment you get the right answer you are satisfied and your quest is finished. With search machines getting the right answers might be only the beginning of the quest.
There are close to 135 million right matches for the words John Smith in Google. Putting these words in quotes reduces this number to 3,590,000. We assume that one or more of these are relevant but how should we find out ?
People say that clustering helps in solving this problem. I typed the words "john smith" in Vivisimo and got the following list:
"John smith" (205)
Captain John Smith (50)
Pocahontas (23)
Colony (12)
New England (9)
Coach (7)
Scotland (7)
University (7)
Texts (7)
Collection (8)
Real estate (6)
I hope that this illustration helps you understand how complicated is this issue and what are we dealing with when we talk about relevance of search engines. All search engines are very good at finding unique words like "laurel leaves" and all search engines are helpless when they deal with problems like "John Smith".
Between these two extreme examples there is a gray area and that's where you can see which search engine is better than the others and in what feature. In this area QTSaver has two advantages that might help decide if you are on a wrong track:
a. The leads are a list of special words that give you an overview of the subject. If you are looking for a dentist and the leads are telling you about a flower shop it means that you need to refine your search.
b. The proximity of the paragraphs helps understand quickly where you are. In seconds you can read few paragraphs and see if they talk about your subject or not. In a regular search engine you need to read a few pages in order to arrive to the same conclusion.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Great Readers
I already wrote about great supporters, but it is a real pleasure and honor to meet a great reader.
Yesterday I had the chance to read the comment of such a reader even though he wrote it as an anonymous:
know his name...
Yesterday I had the chance to read the comment of such a reader even though he wrote it as an anonymous:
hey nice posts i added you to my bookmarks. Just wanted to say everything youI just hope that i'll have the chance to know more about my great reader, for instance - to
posted was a good read.Its nice too see that some people create decent and
entertaining blogs, yours kept me reading for well over 10 minutes.Thanks!
know his name...
Categorize Postings
In case your Blog software doesn’t provide an option to categorize postings you can bypass it by saving your posting on Yahoo myweb2 or on Furl or on Blinklist that do provide this option. This way you and the users can easily get a list of all your postings on a certain topic.
It is also a great and quick way to publicize your postings because there are many people that otherwise won't read them. For example: entering to Google the words 'QTSaver blinklist' provides 182 results!
As for myself I found it very efficient to publish and categorize my postings on all three. It takes a few minutes but my Site Meter tells me that visitors come from Yahoo myweb2 from Furl and from Blinklist.
I'll categorize this posting under 'TIPS".
It is also a great and quick way to publicize your postings because there are many people that otherwise won't read them. For example: entering to Google the words 'QTSaver blinklist' provides 182 results!
As for myself I found it very efficient to publish and categorize my postings on all three. It takes a few minutes but my Site Meter tells me that visitors come from Yahoo myweb2 from Furl and from Blinklist.
I'll categorize this posting under 'TIPS".
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Wrong Impressions
A month ago I wrote a letter to the AFB American Foundation for the Blind and only yesterday it was published. I discovered it by following a link from my Site Meter.
It felt good to read the letter: I liked the graphics and I thought it will expose QTSaver to many potential clients. My satisfaction was interrupted by a comment left by a frustrated user:
It felt bad to cause such frustration to the first client that responds from this distinguished site. So I started reading articles about accessibility on the Web and it seemed that QTSaver homepage is fine and no rules of accessibility were violated. Then I asked another visually impaired user to help me solve this problem. He replied immediately:
Eventually I felt good again but I'll feel fine when this user will tell me that he solved his problem and succeeded visiting my site.
It felt good to read the letter: I liked the graphics and I thought it will expose QTSaver to many potential clients. My satisfaction was interrupted by a comment left by a frustrated user:
I tried your link and never got any farther than your copyright page. With the
Google search I got a list of words but didn't get very far with them wither.
Did I miss something?
It felt bad to cause such frustration to the first client that responds from this distinguished site. So I started reading articles about accessibility on the Web and it seemed that QTSaver homepage is fine and no rules of accessibility were violated. Then I asked another visually impaired user to help me solve this problem. He replied immediately:
The combo box is working fine and also the button - the problem might be with
his software - check if he's working with Virgo or with Jaws.
Eventually I felt good again but I'll feel fine when this user will tell me that he solved his problem and succeeded visiting my site.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Laurel Leaves
Today I started exploring the new features of QTSaver.
Until now searching QTSaver was based on Google and Yahoo API. Today we added Wikipedia and Dmoz API.
Google and Yahoo are machine collections of documents while Wikipedia and Dmoz are documents collected by human beings.
Wikipedia and Dmoz are much more structured than Google and Yahoo and at first sight their results on QTSaver seem "nicer": more organized and more to the point.
Still, if one reads Wikipedia or Dmoz source pages relevance is far from satisfying. These are still "old world" macro contents and there are irrelevant contents mixed even with the most highly accurate answers. For example: I entered the words: Laurel Leaves
Wikipedia brought every thing about laurel including laurel leaves, but I wanted only laurel leaves. QTSaver extracted the relevant excerpt for me.
Here is the excerpt from QTSaver:
Here is the source page from Wikipedia:
Kalite Baharat is a supplier of raw materials for the spice industry. With over 25 years of experience in the spice industry, our main goal is to maintain customer satisfaction with the highest quality products at the most competitive prices. Kalite Baharat is a leading export company of oregano, laurel leaves, sage.
Laurel Leaves - Hand Select Quality (4-7cm or 5-10 cm)
Laurel Leaves -Fair Average Quality
Laurel Leaves -Cut & Sifted 2*2mm
DAUN SALAM - Indonesian Laurel Leaves - 1 ozfrom: Wira Aksara, Jakarta 4. rmg's Price: $10.00Prices subject to change.
Laurel Leaf Headpieces The economy laurel leaf headpiece is a great accessory for the price. Made of lightweight foil, green fabric, or heavy goldtone plastic "leaves" that are on an elastic band.
Lenox Laurel Leaf Table Linens feature laurel leaves in a lovely lattice design on cotton/polyester .
In Greek and Roman times, laurel leaves were woven into a crown and given to outstanding citizens who performed a heroic action. Laurel leaves, also known as bay leaves, are infamous for their bitter, spicy taste found in many food dishes. Not only are bay leaves used for culinary purposes, but they also have medicinal and cosmetic value. The leaves of a laurel grow on trees or large bushes. A plant can also make a successful house plant.
Mystic Realm Herbal Lore - Bay THE MAGIC KITCHEN BY CELLI LAUGHING COYOTE The stately Laurel or Bay if you perfer. Beautiful tree that can grow to 20 feet it is usually found in the garden as an ornamental tree. Nice for the garden and you will be able to have all the fresh bay leaves you need during the summer. LAURUS NOBILIS Other names Bay or Laurel are know by BAIE, BAY LAUREL, BAY TREE, DAPHNE, GRECIAN LAUREL, INDIAN BAY, LAURIER d'APPOLLON, LAURYER SAUCE, LORBEER, NOBAL LAUREL, ROMAN LAUREL, SWEET BAY. According to Greek and Roman myth, the nymph Daphne was changed into a laurel tree by her father, the river god Peneus, to keep her from being attached by the love smitten god Apollo.
Medit. region The true laurel of antiquity. The very pleasantly aromatic leaves of this attractive plant are the bay leaves used in cooking. The leaves also yield an oil used in perfumery and medicine. In ancient Rome a garland of laurel leaves symbolized victory or accomplishment. Can grow to tree-size proportions in mild climates, but also does very well as a container plants.
On with my garden inventory - after close inspection I find that I have a Laurel tree - a whopper. Google tells me that it is a great source of Bay leaves (which sounds a bit silly - Laurel trees have bay leaves - but I concluded that Bay was probably a Laurel subspecies. My inital irritation at having spent fortunes on bay leaves for my stews and curries in the past, subsided when I inpected the leaves on the tree and found they were far bigger and fatter - and maybe even greener than the ones I use for cooking.
Re: Laurel Tree - or Bay ? The message from "Mike Lyle" contains these words: Older cookery books can be misleading by using "laurel" for "bay"; the original 1861 Mrs Beeton is, in my opinion, plain wrong. The 1906 edition is clearer, and says the "cherry-laurel" is sometimes used with discretion to give an almond-like flavour -- I don't think I ever would, though. I think that "almond flavour" is the cyanide content of the laurel leaves. Butterfly collectors used to put their victim in a jar with laurel leaves for the cyanide gas to kill them.
Re: Laurel Tree - or Bay ? On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:31:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: and laurel a bit like bitter almonds, due to the prussic acid content. So, if you wish to avoid cyanide poisoning, don't use laurel as a flavouring... When I used laurel leaves to kill bugs a long time ago in my youth (when it was still ok to collect birds eggs as well,) I assumed that it was cyanide in the leaves wot done it. But you said the leaves contained prussic acid, which confused me !
The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, or just Laurel, is an evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10-18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region. The leaves are 6-12 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a characteristic serrated and wrinkled margin.
They are odourless and kidneyshaped. The oil of Pimenta Acris, from which bay rum is distilled in the West Indies, and which is also called oil of bay. The leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus, or Cherry Laurel, to which the name of Laurel is now always applied.
Archon Books, 770 pp., Hamden, CT. Bay laurel, sweet laurel, laurel, or sweet bay, Laurus nobilis L.an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor, has been admired for its beauty and aromatic leaves since Greek and Roman times. Currently, the plant is both cultivated and collected from the wild in many Mediterranean countries.
The main constituent of the essential oil includes 1,8-cineole, - and -pinene, sabinene, l-linalool, eugenol, eugenol acetate, methyleugenol, l--terpineol acetate, -phellandrene, plus other esters and terpenoids (1.2-20, 1.2-120, 3.1-65, 14.1-9). The high concentrations of oil catechins in bay laurel leaves are maintained by drying (6.3-55). The dark to bright green leaves are very fragrant, and after drying they are broken, cracked, or cooked to release the characteristic aroma. Dried leaves are used as a flavoring for soups, fish, meats, stews, puddings, vinegars, and beverages. Oil of bay or oil of laurel leaves, the essential or volatile oil obtained by steam distillation, and an oleoresin have replaced dry leaves in some food preparations. Several varieties and leaf forms of bay laurel are available for growing as ornamentals.
Bay Laurel is used in aromatherapy for muscular and arthritis pain. What It Is; Why It Works The Bay Laurel is native to the Mediterranean region, where it is known more for its culinary than medicinal value. The strong aromatic whole leaves of the Bay Laurel are used as a seasoning in casseroles, soups, and stews. The evergreen leaves of the laurel were made into wreaths by Greeks in ancient times to crown Olympic champions. Bay Laurel leaves and berries are valued medicinally for their oils, which show some antibacterial and antiviral action.
Possible Drug Interactions No interactions have been reported. Special Information If You Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding Due to its historical use as a uterine stimulant, Bay Laurel should be avoided during pregnancy and nursing. How To Prepare To prepare Bay Laurel tea, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed leaves per cup of boiling water, steep 10 minutes, then drain before drinking.
Do not give this plant too much water, it needs very little - especially in the wintertime. To use the Bay Laurel leaves you can pull individual leaves off the sides of the stem. Cutting off the tip will create branching which will make a fuller shrub type plant.
You will not notice the scent of Bay Laurel until you cook the leaves, the flavor is stored in the leaf and not strong until the oils are released in the pot. For cooking, keep in mind that fresh Bay is stronger than the dried leaves so don't overdo it.
California Bay Laurel Soap - 100% scented and colored with real California Bay Laurel leaves
Until now searching QTSaver was based on Google and Yahoo API. Today we added Wikipedia and Dmoz API.
Google and Yahoo are machine collections of documents while Wikipedia and Dmoz are documents collected by human beings.
Wikipedia and Dmoz are much more structured than Google and Yahoo and at first sight their results on QTSaver seem "nicer": more organized and more to the point.
Still, if one reads Wikipedia or Dmoz source pages relevance is far from satisfying. These are still "old world" macro contents and there are irrelevant contents mixed even with the most highly accurate answers. For example: I entered the words: Laurel Leaves
Wikipedia brought every thing about laurel including laurel leaves, but I wanted only laurel leaves. QTSaver extracted the relevant excerpt for me.
Here is the excerpt from QTSaver:
Search results for laurel leaves
Search engine: Wikipedia
Bay laurel Laurus nobilis, the original true laurel
that is the source of bay leaves used as a seasoning. It was
also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and therefore the
expression of "resting on one's laurels". Azores Laurel Laurus azorica is the only other species in the same
genus. California laurel Umbellularia californica is a related
tree or large shrub.
Here is the source page from Wikipedia:
Laurel
1. From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia.
Laurel can refer to:
Places
Philippines
Laurel, Batangas
United States:
Laurel, Delaware
Laurel, Florida
Laurel, Indiana...
People
The name Laurel is widely used in
English, once being a moderately common name typically for girls; also as
Laurie.
Jose P. Laurel, former President of the
Philippines
Stan Laurel is one half of the comic duo
of Laurel and Hardy
Others
Some trees and shrubs in the laurel
family Lauraceae are called Laurel
Bay laurel Laurus
nobilis, the original true laurel that is the source of bay leaves used as a
seasoning. It was also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and
therefore the expression of "resting on one's laurels."
Azores Laurel Laurus azorica is the only other species in the same
genus
California laurel Umbellularia californica is
a related tree or large shrub.
Other unrelated plants that have been mis-named as laurels:
Cherry laurel, often just called laurel in
gardens, is an evergreen cherry, Prunus laurocerasus
Portugal laurel is also an evergreen cherry, Prunus lusitanica.
Spotted laurel refers to variegated cultivars of the
Aucuba Aucuba japonica.
New Zealand laurel is now
referred to by the Maori name of Karaka.
Laurel is
an English coin.
Using the suggested-words-feature in QTSaver brought me even more new and accurate information:
http://www.mondialint.com/2709.htm
Seems that demand is regular but totally not exceeding the supply of the raw material. New Crop Laurel Leaves in full season but prices are firm due to high demand for lower grades FAQ, Mainly purchased by Far East importers / Hong Kong. We also recommend our buyers to ask their suppliers for a guarentee of free of ``Mersin Leaves`` and ``Sumac Leaves`` for Laurel Leaves. Especially some traders / exporters from Turkey are mixing it with ``Mersin Leaves`` in order to bring the price down of the Laurel Leaves.
Kalite Baharat is a supplier of raw materials for the spice industry. With over 25 years of experience in the spice industry, our main goal is to maintain customer satisfaction with the highest quality products at the most competitive prices. Kalite Baharat is a leading export company of oregano, laurel leaves, sage.
Laurel Leaves - Hand Select Quality (4-7cm or 5-10 cm)
Laurel Leaves -Fair Average Quality
Laurel Leaves -Cut & Sifted 2*2mm
DAUN SALAM - Indonesian Laurel Leaves - 1 ozfrom: Wira Aksara, Jakarta 4. rmg's Price: $10.00Prices subject to change.
Laurel Leaf Headpieces The economy laurel leaf headpiece is a great accessory for the price. Made of lightweight foil, green fabric, or heavy goldtone plastic "leaves" that are on an elastic band.
Lenox Laurel Leaf Table Linens feature laurel leaves in a lovely lattice design on cotton/polyester .
In Greek and Roman times, laurel leaves were woven into a crown and given to outstanding citizens who performed a heroic action. Laurel leaves, also known as bay leaves, are infamous for their bitter, spicy taste found in many food dishes. Not only are bay leaves used for culinary purposes, but they also have medicinal and cosmetic value. The leaves of a laurel grow on trees or large bushes. A plant can also make a successful house plant.
http://www.weaversites.com/AshevilleNatural/mountainlaurel.html
This "anchoring" causes the stamens to form little springs, and as the flower matures, the ends of the stamens are suddenly released from the petals , literally catapaulting their pollen into the air. There is one other laurel species you might see in our area, though I haven't - Kalmia angustifolia, or Sheep laurel. It is a smaller plant, the blooms grow less clustered, are usually much pinker,and the leaves grow mostly in whorls of three as opposed to the alternate leaves of Mountain Laurel.
Mystic Realm Herbal Lore - Bay THE MAGIC KITCHEN BY CELLI LAUGHING COYOTE The stately Laurel or Bay if you perfer. Beautiful tree that can grow to 20 feet it is usually found in the garden as an ornamental tree. Nice for the garden and you will be able to have all the fresh bay leaves you need during the summer. LAURUS NOBILIS Other names Bay or Laurel are know by BAIE, BAY LAUREL, BAY TREE, DAPHNE, GRECIAN LAUREL, INDIAN BAY, LAURIER d'APPOLLON, LAURYER SAUCE, LORBEER, NOBAL LAUREL, ROMAN LAUREL, SWEET BAY. According to Greek and Roman myth, the nymph Daphne was changed into a laurel tree by her father, the river god Peneus, to keep her from being attached by the love smitten god Apollo.
Medit. region The true laurel of antiquity. The very pleasantly aromatic leaves of this attractive plant are the bay leaves used in cooking. The leaves also yield an oil used in perfumery and medicine. In ancient Rome a garland of laurel leaves symbolized victory or accomplishment. Can grow to tree-size proportions in mild climates, but also does very well as a container plants.
On with my garden inventory - after close inspection I find that I have a Laurel tree - a whopper. Google tells me that it is a great source of Bay leaves (which sounds a bit silly - Laurel trees have bay leaves - but I concluded that Bay was probably a Laurel subspecies. My inital irritation at having spent fortunes on bay leaves for my stews and curries in the past, subsided when I inpected the leaves on the tree and found they were far bigger and fatter - and maybe even greener than the ones I use for cooking.
Re: Laurel Tree - or Bay ? The message from "Mike Lyle" contains these words: Older cookery books can be misleading by using "laurel" for "bay"; the original 1861 Mrs Beeton is, in my opinion, plain wrong. The 1906 edition is clearer, and says the "cherry-laurel" is sometimes used with discretion to give an almond-like flavour -- I don't think I ever would, though. I think that "almond flavour" is the cyanide content of the laurel leaves. Butterfly collectors used to put their victim in a jar with laurel leaves for the cyanide gas to kill them.
Re: Laurel Tree - or Bay ? On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:31:01 +0100, Jaques d'Alltrades wrote: and laurel a bit like bitter almonds, due to the prussic acid content. So, if you wish to avoid cyanide poisoning, don't use laurel as a flavouring... When I used laurel leaves to kill bugs a long time ago in my youth (when it was still ok to collect birds eggs as well,) I assumed that it was cyanide in the leaves wot done it. But you said the leaves contained prussic acid, which confused me !
http://www.florilegium.org/files/PLANTS/Laurel-Tree-art.html
As the story goes, Apollo loved the nymph Daphne and pursued her relentlessly. Cupid shot Daphne with an arrow, which caused her to hate Apollo; finally the gods turned her into a bay laurel tree. Apollo declared the tree sacred and thereafter wore a wreath of bay leaves on his head in remembrance of Daphne.() The Greeks came to believe that the tree would protect them from natural disasters, especially lightning.
From the days of ancient Rome to modern times many households would add several bay leaves to containers of stored grains and beans to repel grain beetles, and add them to boxes of stored clothing to repel moths. History of this Project I started growing this tree about 6 years ago from a seed. There are no pictures of the early development of this tree as I was not a member of the SCA at that time and was growing it for my own enjoyment rather than with an eye towards an A&S project. Traditionally, laurel or bay trees are started from root cuttings.
The Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae), also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, or just Laurel, is an evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10-18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region. The leaves are 6-12 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a characteristic serrated and wrinkled margin.
They are odourless and kidneyshaped. The oil of Pimenta Acris, from which bay rum is distilled in the West Indies, and which is also called oil of bay. The leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus, or Cherry Laurel, to which the name of Laurel is now always applied.
Archon Books, 770 pp., Hamden, CT. Bay laurel, sweet laurel, laurel, or sweet bay, Laurus nobilis L.an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor, has been admired for its beauty and aromatic leaves since Greek and Roman times. Currently, the plant is both cultivated and collected from the wild in many Mediterranean countries.
The main constituent of the essential oil includes 1,8-cineole, - and -pinene, sabinene, l-linalool, eugenol, eugenol acetate, methyleugenol, l--terpineol acetate, -phellandrene, plus other esters and terpenoids (1.2-20, 1.2-120, 3.1-65, 14.1-9). The high concentrations of oil catechins in bay laurel leaves are maintained by drying (6.3-55). The dark to bright green leaves are very fragrant, and after drying they are broken, cracked, or cooked to release the characteristic aroma. Dried leaves are used as a flavoring for soups, fish, meats, stews, puddings, vinegars, and beverages. Oil of bay or oil of laurel leaves, the essential or volatile oil obtained by steam distillation, and an oleoresin have replaced dry leaves in some food preparations. Several varieties and leaf forms of bay laurel are available for growing as ornamentals.
Bay Laurel is used in aromatherapy for muscular and arthritis pain. What It Is; Why It Works The Bay Laurel is native to the Mediterranean region, where it is known more for its culinary than medicinal value. The strong aromatic whole leaves of the Bay Laurel are used as a seasoning in casseroles, soups, and stews. The evergreen leaves of the laurel were made into wreaths by Greeks in ancient times to crown Olympic champions. Bay Laurel leaves and berries are valued medicinally for their oils, which show some antibacterial and antiviral action.
Possible Drug Interactions No interactions have been reported. Special Information If You Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding Due to its historical use as a uterine stimulant, Bay Laurel should be avoided during pregnancy and nursing. How To Prepare To prepare Bay Laurel tea, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed leaves per cup of boiling water, steep 10 minutes, then drain before drinking.
http://www.somaluna.com/product.asp?p=139
Laurel Leaves (Bay Leaves) Laurel Leaves (Bay Leaves) (laurus nobilis) Other names: Bay Leaves, Sweet Bay, True Laurel, Laurier d'Apollon, Roman Laurel, Noble Laurel, Daphne. Uses: Divination, Courage, Success, Competition.
Do not give this plant too much water, it needs very little - especially in the wintertime. To use the Bay Laurel leaves you can pull individual leaves off the sides of the stem. Cutting off the tip will create branching which will make a fuller shrub type plant.
You will not notice the scent of Bay Laurel until you cook the leaves, the flavor is stored in the leaf and not strong until the oils are released in the pot. For cooking, keep in mind that fresh Bay is stronger than the dried leaves so don't overdo it.
California Bay Laurel Soap - 100% scented and colored with real California Bay Laurel leaves
http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/bay.html
Bay Leaf Laurus nobilis Fam: Lauraceae The bay tree is indigenous to Asia Minor, from where it spread to the Mediterranean and then to other countries with similar climates. According to legend the Delphi oracle chewed bay leaves, or sniffed the smoke of burning leaves to promote her visionary trances. Bay, or laurel, was famed in ancient Greece and Rome. Emperors, heroes and poets wore wreaths of laurel leaves. The Greek word for laurel is dhafni, named for the myth of the nymph Daphne, who was changed into a laurel tree by Gaea, who transformed her to help her escape Apollo’s attempted rape.
Doctors were also crowned with laurel, which was considered a cure-all. Triumphant athletes of ancient Greece were awarded laurel garlands and was given to winners at Olympic games since 776 BC Today, grand prix winners are bedecked with laurel wreaths. It was also believed that the laurel provided safety from the deities responsible for thunder and lightning. The Emperor Tiberius always wore a laurel wreath during thunderstorms. Spice Description The bay leaf is oval, pointed and smooth, 2.5 - 8 cm (1 to 3 in) long. When fresh, the leaves are shiny and dark green on top with lighter undersides. When dried the bay leaf is a matte olive green.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
What People Say about QTSaver
Allen Searls, Wondir Community VP
"I found it very different and very cool… It's really a search engine that delivers large snippets of micro-content and displays them as results, rather than links… he's got a new slant. Worth watching how this develops."
Ziv Dascalu, Search Engines Marketing Expert:
I must say that I really enjoy it and think that there is a lot in it".
Chaz1 – "stumble upon" Suggester
Interesting multi-search concept; give it a try!
"I found it very different and very cool… It's really a search engine that delivers large snippets of micro-content and displays them as results, rather than links… he's got a new slant. Worth watching how this develops."
Ziv Dascalu, Search Engines Marketing Expert:
I must say that I really enjoy it and think that there is a lot in it".
Chaz1 – "stumble upon" Suggester
Interesting multi-search concept; give it a try!
Lawnorder
QTSaver is a Web 2.0 tool that "extracts info from multiple sites into one document, which then can be sorted. It can be used so that in a very short time you can write an article without using a word of your own". This sounds like the dream of many a lazy graduate and / or college student! (And the nightmare of many a teacher grading essays...). But it would be a great tool to grab news for a political Blog, for instance.
Programmableweb
QTSaver uses Google and Yahoo APIs to extract microcontent from multiple sites and allows you to rearrange the excerpts.
Hedva - Infobroker:
I searched for two professional terms in the medicine field and received concentrated answers without effort in comparison to Google that requires entering links. In this sense you really deserve a pat on the back”.
Frank – "heavy surfer"
I made a few searches. I liked that the first thing you get is a definition of the subject I searched. Also there is no flood of ads.
Jonathan – programmer
I got good results. What you do is a Meta search and it can be very interesting because it is a hot product currently and if you do it right you'll be able to sell it.
Amit – Infobroker
You don't have a way to prefer academic sources. I understand your attempt to facilitate search but you've got nothing new to offer an experienced Infobroker.
Tzur – programmer
At times it's VERY slow.
Non of the Leads were relevant.
Joseph – Professor in the university
I checked your program – it gave more concentrated results than Yahoo, but in some cases there were many answers in Yahoo to my queries while your program gave no answer at all.
Mike - Website administrator
Your research tool looks great! I am going to keep playing with it. I think it is a great new way to look up information about specific topics. Very clever!
Nitsan – computer expert
Great to hear that a hobby can lead to something so profound and professional.
George - retiree
How are teachers to ensure, in the future, that the essays their students are supposed to write aren't "QT-produced"? However, for researchers, for example, who don't need to produce original work but only to weave or combine a series of facts or statements into a whole, QT could clearly be most useful!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
The $100 laptop
When I published Oni's vision about Education for All on August 03, 2005 I didn't expect it to become true in the near future. Anyhow the publication triggered people to send me newspaper clippings and that's how I stumbled upon the following amazing attempt to make this dream come true on a huge scale:
I just sent emails to this group and hope we can cooperate.
In January 2005 the MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a
$100 laptop. The plan was to manufacture 50,000 to 100,000 units in fewer than
12 months, with an eye on building about 100 million to 200 million units by the
following year. The mission
was to bring computers and the Internet to children in the poorest and most
remote parts of the world. The world's children
(0-18 years) number over two billion. Nearly 9 out of 10 live in developing
countries. Nearly one billion are of primary school age. As the
world enters
the second century of the Information Age, more than 85 percent of the world's
children have no regular access to a telephone. The majority have never
made or received a telephone call…
I just sent emails to this group and hope we can cooperate.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
New Homepage
After long and fruitful discussions this is a draft for QTsaver's new homepage.
The general idea is to leave the user no space for hesitations, no need for any help...
You are invited to send your comments.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
My Web Too
Since Web 2.0 is all about sharing information I suggest to design this sign for the next Web 2.0 conference.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Importance and Anonymity
Last week I invited Bloggers who are interested in the future of the Internet to take a look at QTSaver. There happened to be a conference about Web 2.0 issues in San Francisco so that I had many candidates to choose from. I started with very high hopes and the posts from the conference were quite interesting. Checking my site-meter I saw that a few Bloggers accepted the invitation.
Inviting people is a very boring task. The reports about the conference started to repeat themselves. I looked at pictures of the people in the conference - they looked very happy with their glasses of wine in their hands. My overall impression was that there was nothing exciting new breakthrough but when people are meeting on such a large scale this promises to have some effect on the future. Anyhow it was another proof that Web 2.0 is alive and kicking.
I started suspecting that I I'm targeting the wrong audience and I started asking myself whether these Bloggers are happy to get the invitation. From day to day I felt that this path is mistaken. The work was too much in relation to the consequences. Most of the few visitors that checked QTSaver didn't leave any comment and didn't return. Eventually I stopped the campaign and started thinking how to reach bigger audiences with lesser effort.
I knew that electronic newspapers are very hard to reach because the editors are flooded with suggestions. On the other hand I could not afford to pay for PR. My best friend in situations of crisis is QTSaver. I entered the words submit software article and started surfing. After a few moments I found an unbelievable list of article-directories. It was very surprising to me because I didn't know that there is such a thing. Happily I chose the first link and started publishing. Let's see what this direction brings.
I am convinced that the voice of QTSaver must be heard.
Publicity is the bridge over the gap between QTSaver's importance and its anonymity.
Inviting people is a very boring task. The reports about the conference started to repeat themselves. I looked at pictures of the people in the conference - they looked very happy with their glasses of wine in their hands. My overall impression was that there was nothing exciting new breakthrough but when people are meeting on such a large scale this promises to have some effect on the future. Anyhow it was another proof that Web 2.0 is alive and kicking.
I started suspecting that I I'm targeting the wrong audience and I started asking myself whether these Bloggers are happy to get the invitation. From day to day I felt that this path is mistaken. The work was too much in relation to the consequences. Most of the few visitors that checked QTSaver didn't leave any comment and didn't return. Eventually I stopped the campaign and started thinking how to reach bigger audiences with lesser effort.
I knew that electronic newspapers are very hard to reach because the editors are flooded with suggestions. On the other hand I could not afford to pay for PR. My best friend in situations of crisis is QTSaver. I entered the words submit software article and started surfing. After a few moments I found an unbelievable list of article-directories. It was very surprising to me because I didn't know that there is such a thing. Happily I chose the first link and started publishing. Let's see what this direction brings.
I am convinced that the voice of QTSaver must be heard.
Publicity is the bridge over the gap between QTSaver's importance and its anonymity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)