TIPS FOR GOOD SLEEP

                                Stick to a schedule.


    Erratic bedtimes do not allow for your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms. Mum was right when she set a time we always had to go to sleep as kids. Also, make sure you try to keep the same schedule on weekends too, otherwise the next morning, you’d wake later and feel overly tired.

                                Sleep only at night.


    Avoid daytime sleep if possible. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute, power naps.

                                      Exercise.


   It’s actually known to help you sleep better. Your body uses the sleep period to recover its muscles and joints that have been exercised. Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise every day can help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in the morning or afternoon. Exercise stimulates the body and aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.

                           Taking a hot shower or bath


  Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles. 
                          Avoid eating just before bed.


     Avoid eat large meals or spicy foods before bedtime. Give yourself at least 2 hours from when you eat to when you sleep. This allows for digestion to happen (or at least start) well before you go to sleep so your body can rest well during the night, rather than churning away your food.
Avoid caffeine. It keeps you awake and that’s now what you want for a good nights sleep. We all know that. 
                              Read a fiction book.


    It takes you to a whole new world if you really get into it. And then take some time to ponder over the book as you fall asleep. I find as I read more and more, regardless of the book, I get more tired at night and so find it easier to fall asleep. Different for others?
                          Have the room slightly cooler.


      I prefer this to a hot room. I prefer to turn off the heat and allow the coolness to circulate in and out of the windows. If I get cold, I wear warmer clothes. It also saves on the bills as you’re not going to require the heat all night long.
                                 Sleep in silence.


    I find sleeping with no music or TV on more easy and restful. I guess others are different, but sleep with no distractions is best for a clearer mind.

                          Avoid alcohol before bedtime.


   It’s a depressant; although it may make it easier to fall asleep, it causes you to wake up during the night. As alcohol is digested your body goes into withdrawal from the alcohol, causing nighttime awakenings and often nightmares for some people.

LARGEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD

LARGEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD

Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas – 3,002 Rooms    The Mirage, Las Vegas – 3,044 Rooms  Disney´s Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter, Lake  Buena Vista – 3,056 Rooms  Caesars Palace, Las Vegas – 3,340 Rooms  Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu – 3,386 Rooms  Flamingo Las Vegas, Las Vegas – 3,565 Rooms  Shinagawa Prince Hotel, Tokyo – 3,680 Rooms  Circus Circus, Las Vegas – 3,774 Rooms  Bellagio Las Vegas, Las Vegas – 3,993 Rooms    Aria Resort & Casino, Las Vegas – 4,004 Rooms  Excalibur Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas – 4,008 Rooms  Ambassador City Jomtien, Pattaya – 4,219 Rooms  Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas – 4,332 Rooms  Luxor Las Vegas, Las Vegas – 4,408 Rooms  Encore Las Vegas  – 4,570 Rooms  Wynn Las Vegas/Encore Las Vegas, Las Vegas – 4,570 Rooms  Asia Asia, Dubai – 6,500 Rooms  The Venetian, Las Vegas – 7,117 Rooms  MGM Grand Las Vegas, Las Vegas – 7,372 Rooms  Izmaylovo, Moscow – 7,500 Rooms

Unique & Special Postage Stamps

These are some really unique postage stamps, from a stamp that looks & smells like chocolates to a cloth stamp to even a CD-ROM stamp!

  

This stamp was printed on silver foil by the government of Tonga:



(images by Rod Perry, via)

These stamps issued in Malaysia feature a variety of nocturnal animals and actually glow in the dark:





In 2004, Switzerland issued this wooden stamp made from 120-year-old fir trees:



Switzerland also produced this embroidered stamp in 2000, celebrating the world-famous embroidery created in St. Gallen, one of the Swiss cantons:




This Austrian stamp from 2005 is similarly made of threads, embroidered into the design of the Edelweiss, the well-known alpine flower. The stamp was issued in honour of the Austrian embroidery industry, which dates back to the eighteenth century. The stamp has a self-adhesive backing, but can even be worn if so desired 



Austria Post also produced in the world’s first stamp made of soccer ball material in 2008, to mark the UEFA Euro soccer tournament:


(on the right: famous Lufthansa's soccer ball airplane paint scheme)

In 2006, Austria issued this curious stamp, which could even be said to be out of this world. The stamp contains 0.03 grams of dust from a meteorite found in Morocco two years earlier, which was fixed to the stamp with a special adhesive:




These cloth stamps from Grenada, the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, honour the humble teddy bear:




The Rock of Gibraltar is one of the world’s most recognized natural features and it appeared on this Gibraltar stamp in more ways than one in 2002. The stamp’s top layer is actually embellished with finely pulverizedpieces of rock from the famous landmark:




This 2007 stamp printed on thinly sliced cork is from Portugal, commemorating the country’s cork industry, which produces around 30% of the world supply:




A Singapore souvenir set of $5 stamps from 2008 was covered in beads on a sheet shaped like a handbag:



Several countries around the world have produced scented stamps offering a variety of different aromas. The small Himalayan nation of Bhutan was probably the first nation to issue this type of stamp in 1973. These stamps were perfumed to smell like roses:



In celebration of the Year of the Pig in 2007, China really did issue a stamp bearing the aroma of sweet and sour pork (above, right). It is rumoured that the stamp’s adhesive actually tasted a little like the famous Chinese delicacy, but this is far from established fact.

Issued to raise awareness of the dangers of forest fires, these Brazilian stamps smell of burnt wood:



Also from Brazil, where most of the planet’s supply of coffee beans originates, this stamp is scented with thearoma of coffee, one of the country’s largest exports:


(images via) 

Another country renowned for a product derived from beans is Switzerland, world famous for its chocolate. This stamp was sold in a foil-wrapped booklet, similar to most chocolate bars. However, the stamp merely smells likechocolate and apparently when licked tastes exactly like glue:


(image via)

In honor of the centenary of the Nobel Prizes in 2001, the United Kingdom issued this stamp with the scent ofeucalyptus. When the stamp is scratched, eucalyptus aroma, hidden in tiny capsules in the stamp’s top layer, is released:



The stamp shown above right is giving off sandalwood scent; it comes from India.

Several countries have placed moving images on their stamps. This one from Austria includes forty eight images, which allow a three second “movie” to appear when the stamp is viewed from certain angles.


(image via)

The small Himalayan nation of Bhutan is famous for its stamps, including the first ever stamp made of steel:



These embossed stamps, depicting famous world leaders, are printed on plastic:



These stamps issued in 1973 by Bhutan are also real phonograph records. They contain traditional folk songs and an oral history of the kingdom, in both English and Bhutanese, and really can be played on a record player:


(images via)

More recently, Bhutan introduced postage stamps that doubled as actual CD-ROMs. One is entitled “Bhutan: In Harmony with Nature”, the other “Bhutan: 100 Years of Monarchy”.

 

10 Oldest Mosques in the World

                               10 Oldest Mosques in the World

The designation of the oldest mosque in the world requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest mosque congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old mosque buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as mosques and those that were shuttered for many decades. In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence, and early congregations that ceased to exist.

01. Quba Mosque, Saudi Arabia

First Built: 622

 

02. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Saudi Arabia

First Built: 622

03. Masjid al-Qiblatain, Saudi Arabia

First Built: 623

04. Jawatha Mosque, Saudi Arabia

First Built: 629

05. Masjid al-Haram, Saudi Arabia

First Built: 638

06. Great Mosque of Kufa, Iraq

First Built: 639

07. Mosque of Uqba, Tunisia

First Built: 670

08. Imam Hussain Mosque, Iraq

First Built: 680

09. Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem

First Built: 705

10. Al-Zaytuna Mosque, Tunisia

                                                              First Built: 709