Fine Jewelry Forms And Functions

The visual appeal of fine jewelry has never ceased to amaze us. In fact, jewelry pieces have been objects that denote social status especially during ancient times. They have significantly shaped many traditions that we know today. From necklaces and earrings, to rings and bracelets, these adornments have provided humans with worldly satisfaction that no other material could induce.

There are many types of fine jewelry pieces to choose from. Some are used as adornments, while others are used as symbolic tokens for certain occasions. There are also pieces that are inexpensive and simple in finish, while other articles are very expensive and made from the finest materials. Some of the most popular and commonly used pieces would be discussed here to provide further understanding about their qualities and uses. Rings are perhaps the most common articles of jewelry that almost all of us are familiar with. These jewelry pieces may come in the form of plain cylindrical bands as seen from wedding rings ornamented with precious stones like diamond heart setting, spiral or serpentine coils, signet rings, and open on one side. Rings are used for differing purposes but usually they serve as symbolic tokens given during special events like betrothals and weddings, or just to highlight one's fingers. In the case of signet rings, they commonly bear the emblems of fraternal orders or other organizational insignias.

The necklace is another popular form of jewelry worn around the neck. Generally, necklaces come in four different forms: close fitting collar band decorated with precious stones or beads, chain necklace with a pendant, raw of beads in graduating sizes set in a wire or chain, and strings of different lengths of necklaces worn on top of each other. Necklaces can be created from various materials but works well with metals, gemstones or the combination of two, and they are usually partnered with pendants made from gemstones with the diamond heart being one of the most sought after pendant design. To further highlight the beauty of necklaces, they appropriately worn with dresses that have low necklines as this design helps the jewelry to become the focal point of the person's upper body. 

Meanwhile, earrings are articles of jewelry used for the ears that could be set against the earlobes or are left as dangling drops. One of the most usual forms of earrings set on the earlobes are large pearls, while popular hanging earrings are chandeliers and hoops. Traditionally, it is a requisite to have the ears pierced when wearing earrings as this practice was once considered a barbaric act. Today, earrings can be worn by means of clipping them to the ear, though the method of ear piercing is still practiced. 

The bracelet is another type of fine jewelry, worn on the arm. This large ring-like piece may come as closed band, spiral coil, open on one side, closed with clasp or flexible rings formed as links. Other than the aforementioned pieces, there are other types of jewelry that one may encounter in the market including pins, cuff links, anklets, chains, brooches, and collar buttons to name a few. Generally, there are many jewelry pieces that vary in function, quality and design; it is already up to the individual what jewelry to use in accordance to his or her desired function.

Fine jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings are commonly used as personal adornments. However, they can also be used to signify societal status, as a form of currency, symbolism as well as artistic display. They can be made from precious metals set with gemstones just like a diamond heart setting and may come in varying finishes depending on the wearers preference.

Take Flight while you are Writing

Always clinging to your promotional airplane stress ball fearing the worst when you fly? Well, with the smooth and quick way in which this customized pen writes, you’ll think all flights are just a breeze. Every time you write with this pen, you’ll feel as if you’re embarking on your own journey, making turns in every direction. So quit fretting when you hear the word flight, because you’ll know how smooth they are every time you right.

Spy Camera Makes Espionage Profession Perfect

There could be any reason, but sometimes couples suspect each others and want to keep track on their every step. However, most of the prefer to call them who are involved in espionage or spying; while others prefer to get the house installed with spy cameras so that every activity and moment can be tacked from the comfort of smart phone, laptop or computer from anywhere.

Spy cameras are available in an assortment of forms that are fixed so carefully and effectively that one can hardly find out that they are under tracking. Apart from this, spy camera has sufficient memory for storage of data. In this way all the storage data can be viewed later.

Most of the people earlier though that these spy gears are only for professionals and those who are working as espionage expert; but the real fact is that they can be used by anyone and easily. Now you can buy spy cameras easily at cost-effective price.

The Benefits of Yoga for the Mental Level

Mental balancing

A common breathing (pranayama) practice in yoga is the “alternative nostrils breathing” (Nadi Shodhana Pranayama). Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of the electrical impulses of the brain have shown that breathing through one nostril, results in increased activity on the opposite side of the brain. The regular practice of alternative nostrils helps to improve communication between the right and left side of the brain.

Benefits for the Spiritual Level Self-knowledge

Yogic philosophy and practice lead to increased Self-knowledge. This experienced knowledge is merely the spiritual side of yoga practice, which has as a goal to cultivate the “Observer” and increase the knowledge of the nature of the Self.

Knowing the Self, the Observer, which is a genuine kind of knowledge, tends to get lost in the hectic pace of our daily lives and pursuit of desires. The discovering of the Self, inside us, is indeed the most precious spiritual value in our life.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/yoga-articles/the-benefits-of-yoga-548787.html

The Truth Behind Silent Generators

No matter if you are using silent generators or not, the benefits that these alternative sources of electrical power can offer are out of the question. They can be a real life saver if power failure occurs and the need to make a major electronic equipment function is absolutely necessary. If you live in an area where power interruption is as constant as 3.14, you may be plagued by the sound of generators that you and your neighbours use during these outages. Imagine using a super quiet generator instead? It will not only provide power but can also be a great stress reliever as you do not only have electricity but silence as well.
The noise that a regular generator produces is definitely not pleasing to the ear, which is a sad reality for generators. While the light that they give can make the eye pleased, the noise that they produce annoys the ears. This is why many people prefer a quiet generator to avoid the deafening sound that its noisy counterparts produce. These types of generators are a perfect solution to the problem of noise that regular generator give out. This is possible as the materials used in manufacturing silent generators effectively prevent the reverberation of the noise that its mechanism causes.
Silent generators can be used in both residential and commercial areas. Any place where a regular generator is used, the silent generator can also be used. Whether it is a hospital, a business area or a home, generators that produce no noise can be used. To put it simply anywhere the owner wants the silent generators to be installed, no doubt it can be done.
Ordinary people are put off from using silent generators as they regard it as expensive and out of their league. The most common form of silent generators are solar types which does not have noisy engines and works in the most quiet way as compared to other generators types. It is true that they cost more as compared the noisy ones but the silence and comfort as well as the power that it produces is surely worth its price.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5725530

Selecting A Computer Speaker

A computer speaker is probably the last thing that calls for an active selection, if we go by the most people buy their computers. The speakers that are shipped along with the computer are generally used and rarely does a customer ask for better models at the time of shipping.

So, whats wrong in going for an average 2.0 speaker? Two things;

1. The sound card which is available in most of the computer configurations available these days is capable of very high quality output. However, it gets limited by the type of speaker you have as it(speaker) may not have the kind of frequency range that is signalled by the card. Essentially, you are forcing some high quality input into a system that is incapable of deciphering the signal properly.

2. What do you want the computer to do? If your computer is just for professional purposes, you need not bang your head about speaker issues. But if you plan on watching videos, play games and want an interactive experience, you will definitely need more two small PC speakers which cannot give you the sound fidelity that you desire.

Speakers are generally numbered in terms of 2.0, 2.1, etc. This is done on the basis of the number of speakers - like 2,4,5,6,7 and the .1 represents a sub-woofer.

Whats a sub-woofer? A sub-woofer is a loudspeaker capable of reproducing sounds of an extremely low frequency - in the range of 150Hz to 20Hz. This is the one that is responsible for the amplification of bass beats to a high fidelity level.

What are the characteristics that you should look for in your speakers?

Frequency response – It is the frequency range that your speakers can give. Higher the range, better is the sound.
Signal to Noise Ratio – This ratio is responsible for the sound fidelity and should be in near about 80dB (decibels)
Certification – Look for THX certification if possible. it is a quality assurance system which shows whether your speakers exhibit exactly the same sound when it was created.

Though a relatively unimportant part, the computer speakers can enhance the audio experience from your computer which you might not never have though about.

Motherboard Troubleshooting

The motherboard is the heart of any personal computer. It is the motherboard that handles system resources (IRQ lines, DMA channels, I/O locations) as well as "core" components such as the CPU, math coprocessor, and all system memory, including DRAM, BIOS ROM, cache, and CMOS RAM. Indeed, most of a PC's capabilities are defined by motherhboard components. This chapter shows you how to recognize symptoms and translate error information into motherboard repair. You will typically find the following elements on your motherboard:

• CPU (central processing unit). The CPU is a programmable logic device that performs all of the instruction, logic, and mathematical processing in the PC. This is the single most important IC in the computer CPU failure can disable the entire PC.
• MPC (math coprocessor). The MPC is a programmable logic device (closely related to CPU) which is tailored for handling floatingpoint math operations. Math-intensive application software which is written to take advantage for the MCP can realize substantial improvements in performance. All contemporary CPIs now integrate math coprocessor functions without the need for a seperate MCP.
• BIOS (basic input /output system). This is the code used to control the motherboard's hardware and perform low-level motherboard operations. Traditionally, BIOS has been stored on DIP ICs which can be easily removed and replaced as needed. Such ICs starts with a "27" prefix, them have two or three digits indicating the number fo kilobits (divide by 8 for kilobytes). For example, the 2764 is a ROM providing 8 kbytes of storage. If flash BIOS is used, you will find the BIOS ROM in a PLCC holder.  
• CMOS / RTC. This is a dual-function IC which maintains system setup variables in up to 128 bytes of low-power CMOS RAM. It also supplies a real-time clock which keeps track of the date, day and time. Traditional PCs used the Motorola MC146818, but many other variations have come into use. You can often locate the CMOS/RTC IC by its large, rectangular shape. IT will also locate the COMS/RTC IC by its large, rectangular shape. It will also be located near the system backup battery.
• Clocks. Proper synchronization and signaling of the motherboard requires the use of precision oscillating ICs. There are typically two clock ICs, one for the 14.318-MHz OSC signal on the ISA bus, and one driving the CPU clock (and other processing ICs). The CPU clock IC accepts the Power Good signal from the powersupply and generates the system Reset signal. The OSC clock IC also produces a 1.19-MHz signal for the PIT.
•  PIT (programmable interval timer). The interval timer provides three channels for the PC, Channel 0 is set to produce an interrupt every 54.94 ms (the RTC time base). Channel 1 is programmed to produce an interrupt every 15.12 us to signal the start of a memory refresh cycle, which must be performed at least once every few milliseconds. Channel 2 is a noncritical timer which serves to support speaker signals.
• DMAC (direct memory access controllers). DMA is critical to operation of an XT or AT system Normally, the CPU must handle each bytes of data transferred in the system-a slow process when large volimes of data must be transferred. DMA allows data transfer without the intervention or the CPU. A single DMA controller provides four channels (an AT uses two DMACs to provide eight channels).
• DMA page registers. These are relatively simple buffers that point to the 64-kbyte area (page) that DMA transfers will take place from (or to). Early PCs used one page register, but i386 and later systems often use two. Remember that is a common for newer systems to indicate a fault in the second page register because the page registers are usually integrated into chipsets.
• PIC (programmable interrupt controller). The PIC recognizes and prioritizes hardware interrupts, then passes the interrupt signal to the CPU along with a vector which points to the location of the interrupt handler routine. The XT used one PIC which supplied eight channels, but ATs use two PICs for sixteen channels (IRQ o-15).
• KBC (keyboard controller). The KBC is a very specialized single-chip microcontroller (including its own small amount of BIOS) designed as an interface between the system and the AT serial keyboard. On system initialization, the POST will cause a KBC self-test. If the self-test passes, the system can proceed to test the keyboard. Another vital part of the keyboard controller is that it handles the A20 gate. The A20 gate handles access to extended/ expanded memory (protected-mode addressing). If the KBC fails, the system will be unable to work in the protected mode.
• Gate A20. This is the simple gate that controls address line A20, and thus controls protected-mode operation by accessing memory over 1 Mbyte. The A20 gate is operated from the KBC.
• BUS controller. This device accepts control and timing signals from the system and generates the I/O and memory read and write signals needed to transfer data among system components also manages the translation of 16-bit words into 8-bit words for single-byte data transfers, and then the translation back again.
• UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter). UTARTs are the key components in seral communications ports. They translate parallel data into framed serial data for transmission, and reverse the process to convert framed serial data back into parallel data during reception. Current systems use 16550A UTRATs. When a serialport error is reported, the UART has probably failed. UARTs incorporated in the motherboard are typically provided with jumpers that will set the port I/O address and IRQ line, and allow you to disable the UART in favour of expansion board communication devices.
•  DRAM. General storage and main system memory is priovided by dynamic RAM. Modern DRAM ICs can hold a great deal of data, but it must be refreshed every few milliseconds-otherwise, the data will be lost. A key purpose of the DMAC and PIC is to manage refresh. Some DRAM is fabricated on the motherboard, but much more DRAM can be added in the form of SIMMs.
•  Cache. Cache has become an important element of PC performance improvement. If data and instructions are loaded into fast static RAM in advance of the CPU's need, memory wait states can be eliminated. Many systems are equipped with 128 to 256 kbytes of externated. Many systems are equipped with 128 to 256 kbytes of external cache, but some systems can have up to 512 kbytes of cache. To boost performance every further, newer CPUs are designed with a small amount of internal cache. If external chane fails, you may be able to circumvent teh error by disabling the cache through the CMOS setup. If internal cache fails, the CPU will have to be replaced.