DEEPEST SEA CREATURES

In 2008, a team of researchers exploring the Japan trench with a remotely operated vehicle filmed footage of the deepest-known species of fish. The fish, known as snailfish, had never been seen alive before. Scientists had only five pickled specimens that had been dredged up from the deep and preserved for study. The biologists who discovered these live fish had expected to find fish living at these extreme depths (25,272 ft) to be very slow and sluggish to conserve energy in this extremely low-energy environment. But the video clearly shows a large group of them very actively moving and feeding.

Because the fish live in complete darkness, they use vibration receptors on their snouts to navigate the ocean depths and to locate food. Their eyes appear to be virtually nonexistent. Eyes in most organisms are designed for gathering light in the creature's visual field and transmitting it to the brain - giving it useful information about its environment. In a world where no sunlight ever penetrates there's probably little use for eyes. The researchers on this project have said they expect to find fish living even deeper than these!

The Hadeep project, which began in 2007, is a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab and the University of Tokyo's Ocean Research Institute and aims to expand our knowledge of biology in the deepest depths of the ocean. The researchers have been looking at the Hadal zone - the area of ocean that sits between 6,000 and 11,000m (20,000-36,000ft). It consists of very narrow trench systems, most of which are found around the Pacific Rim.

FACTS ABOUT PLANT

A notch in a tree will remain the same distance from the ground as the tree grows.
Banana oil is made from petroleum.
84% of a raw apple and 96% of a raw cucumber is water.
The largest single flower is the Rafflesia or “corpse flower”. They are generally 3 feet in diameter with the record being 42 inches.
Onions contain a mild antibiotic that fights infections, soothes burns, tames bee stings and relieves the itch of athletes foot.
Quinine, one of the most important drugs known to man, is obtained from the dried bark of an evergreen tree native to South America.
The rose family of plants, in addition to flowers, gives us apples, pears, plums, cherries, almonds, peaches and apricots.
No species of wild plant produces a flower or blossom that is absolutely black, and so far, none has been developed artificially.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
The bright orange color of carrots tell you they are an excellent source of Vitamin A which is important for good eyesight, especially at night. Vitamin A helps your body fight infection, and keeps your skin and hair healthy.
A plant’s stem appears and grows upward shortly after the primary root appears. It continues to grow above ground level.
Water and minerals flow upward through the roots into the stem of the plant and then into the leaves of the plant.
Pistils have three parts – the stigma, the style, and the ovary.
Petals are usually colorful, and they attract insects and birds that help with pollination.
Fruit is really the part of a flower in which seeds grow. Cherries, apples, and even milkweed pods are fruit.
Buds are small swellings on a plant from which a shoot, leaf, or flower usually develops.
The primary root is the first thing to sprout from a seed, and it grows downward.
A seed contains its own food supply, which helps the sprouting plant as it begins its new life.
Roots are covered with root hairs that absorb water and minerals.
Grapes and clematis have stems that climb with tendrils, which hold onto a surface, as the stems get longer.

WORLD SOFT AND LIGHTEST WOOD BALSA

which weighs only half as much as cork. The balsa tree, from South America, grows quickly, reaching a height of 70 feet in only seven years. Balsa wood was used for building rafts for centuries.

WINDOWS MAINTENANCE

Compared to its shaky predecessors, Windows XP rivals the Rock of Gibraltar. But this doesn’t mean you can just compute and go. Periodic maintenance is essential to keep your computer humming along.


Start with Disk CleanUp. It does quite a few things to free hard disk space including removing temporary Internet files, files in the Recycle Bin, installed programs that you do not use, and old Restore Points.

To use Disk Cleanup, double-click My Computer, right-click the hard disk on which you want to free space, and select Properties. Click Disk Cleanup on the General tab.

On the Disk Cleanup tab, click to select the check boxes of the files that you want to remove, click OK, Yes, and OK. When done, click the More Options tab. Here, you can remove Windows components that you do not use. On the More Options tab, you can also remove installed programs and restore points, too.

Next, get the hard disk in tip-top shape. Disk Defragmenter and Chkdsk (which replaced ScanDisk found in earlier versions of Windows) are important tools.

Run these as a pair at least monthly starting with Chkdsk. As its name implies, ChkDsk scans the hard drive for errors. It should be set to automatically correct any errors. The most common type is orphaned data located on the hard drive. This is most often caused by an improper shutdown or system crash.

To use Chkdsk, click Start and My Computer. Right-click the hard drive you want to check, and click Properties. Select the Tools tab and click Check Now. Check both boxes. Click Start. You'll get a message that the computer must be rebooted to run a complete check. Click Yes and reboot. Chkdsk will take awhile, so run it when you don't need the machine.

Next comes Disk Defragmenter. When you save a file, bits and pieces of the file can be scattered on the hard drive. Disk Defragmenter puts these bits in contiguous order, so the file can be more easily reconstructed. That speeds up opening files.

Disk Defragmenter shares the Tools tab with Chkdsk. Click the Defragment Now button.

Another area that can stand an occasional scrubbing is the Registry. This massive database tells Windows how to run. As you install and delete programs, remnants are usually left behind in the Registry. Eventually, this debris can make Windows shaky.

The Registry is a critical part of Windows. Before cleaning it, back it up. Click Start and Run. Type "regedit" (without the quotes) in the box and click OK. In the Registry Editor, click File and Export. Select a folder in which to save the backup. Name the file Registry Backup and click Save. If cleaning the Registry leaves your computer unstable, double-click the Registry Backup file to restore it.

Two free programs EasyCleaner 1.7 (http://www.toniarts.com/ecleane.htm) and RegSeeker 1.30 (http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm) make light work of cleaning the Registry.

Despite regular maintenance, Windows XP can still misbehave. Here's where Dr. Watson can help diagnose the program. Dr. Watson creates a log file that lists everything that happened. It is difficult for the everyday owner to understand, but could help a technician. Open Dr. Watson by clicking Start and Run. Enter "drwtsn32" in the box (without the quotation marks) and click OK.

INCREASE INTERNET SPEED

If you use Windows XP Professional then it is possible to squeeze an extra 20% out of your internet connection. By default Windows XP Pro holds back 20% of your Internet speed for various services like windows update and spyware checks.

If you want to tap into this locked speed then make the following changes:

1. Go to Start-> Run-> and type gpedit.msc
2. Expand the Administrative Templates branch
3. Expand the Network tab
4. Highlight QoS Packet Scheduler
5. Click on Limit Reservable Bandwidth and check the enabled box
6. Then Change the Bandwidth limit % to 0 %
Once you have done this click apply and restart your PC. After rebooting you should see a noticeable improvement in your net speed.

INTERVIEW POINTS

Do some research on the business before the interview.
Practice interviewing.
Go alone. Do not take children or friends.
Greet the employer with a handshake.
Make frequent eye contact.
Smile, be polite, and try to relax.
Listen carefully to the questions asked. Ask the interviewer to restate a question if you are confused.
Answer questions as directly as possible.
Be upbeat and make positive statements.
If you've worked before, talk about what you learned from it.
Use examples of how your skills and abilities would fit the job.
Bring your "Fact Sheet" with telephone numbers and addresses of your references and former employers, just in case you are asked to complete an application.

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