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Passing by their front window, you can’t help but notice how On Off Digital World is full of technological marvels, all the latest in consumer electronics today, but their real bread and butter comes from selling to tourists some desperately needed photography equipment. Located in almost right in the middle of Manhattan, they get a lot of foot traffic from all the tourists who flock to The Big Apple day in/day out. Tourists are a naturally captive audience, willing to pay just about any price, as they are on holiday and unlikely to shop around for bargains on esoteric hardware and supplies when photo ops abound and time is ticking by.

The ancient Mongols have been caricatured as a bunch of short swarthy people riding horses and living out of a camping tent while hacking their way all over the world, but the truth is relatively different.
Far different, in fact; for one thing, the ancient Mongols were most proficient with the bow and crossbow, though of course they also knew how to work a sword and ax like any other self-respecting marauder!

And that camping tent…isn’t.
These are yurts, that happen to be like Native American tipis, only more spacious and likely even hardier, tougher, competent to withstand the strong wind-swept steppes of Eurasia.
Furthermore, though they did not achieve the high degree of civilization for example many of their Chinese, Arab, and Indian subjects did, they were not stereotypical barbarians, either, yet fairly enlightened as conquerors went in those times, fierce only in war but relatively easy-going as rulers.

Actually, ancient Mongol rulers easily traded their nomadic lifestyles for the settled living of their subject peoples.
From Persia and Babylonia to India and China, many Mongol rulers gave up the “camping tent” and lived most of their lives in opulent palaces.
Such soft living may have precipitated the eventual breakup of their empire into a series of smaller successor-states.
Over not much time in any way, Mongol conquerors adopted the culture of the natives and would then become a part of the locals’ own histories, such as the Mughal Empire still fondly were recalled by Indian chroniclers or the Il Khanate still remembered in modern-day Iran.

In fact, the Manchu elite of China might have had their Mongol relatives in mind when insisting on regularly scheduled hunts to keep their royals and nobles reminded of their hardy heritage!
For it was an imperial Manchu decree, no less, that institutionalized the traditional hunt so that you can counteract the effects of palace life – not to mention the soft culture of subject native peoples!

The Mongolian yurt is no camping tent but a veritable mobile home – latch it to a few horses as the locals do and you can virtually call it an RV!
Yurts are much more complex compared to Native teepee (also spelled “tipi” today) more acquainted to most Americans, but sometimes be positioned in mere minutes: under ten, generally – which makes them comparable to a camping tent in this respect!
They are larger than teepees and house several components of full-sized furniture, yet with adequate manpower (typically a family of ten or so individuals) they are rapidly set up and can be just as quickly packed up.

The potency of the ancient Mongolian empires is usually attributed to their speedy and hardy horses, and the people’s intimate relationship with them.
But a case can be made that their yurts were also a contributing factor, possibly secondary in value but deserving the reputation of a top-five placement nonetheless.
Far from being a flimsy camping tent, the yurt was a true home for these roaming warriors of destiny, who followed treasure and adventure to create a history like no other in the world.

After all, though the ponies helped them ride for a long time, it was the yurt that provided housing for their support – wives, families, and non-fighters who contributed them the essential supplies.
Unlike the cities to which the Mongol warriors laid siege, their own homes were safely and securely far behind, and the total mobility the yurt provided proved to be a great tactical along with strategic advantage.

The Mongols did not come by their empire through fear and terror on it’s own, in spite of their historical status.
As much as their steeds and yurts helped them conquer, so too did a relatively enlightened hands-off policy help them maintain their holdings.
Subject towns, cities, and whole countries had but to acknowledge Mongol suzerainty, in effect paying out a regular tribute, and were mainly left on it’s own to otherwise continue their matters in pretty much the same manner as before.

Going to enjoy the Great Outdoors?
Make sure to pack a backpacking tent or you just might regret it.
Mother Nature is no one to trick around with, and she can be quite unpredictable!
Thus, even if it is just a relatively short hike for at least half a day’s travel time, be sure to shoulder a lightweight backpacking tent, just in case (of storm or a whole lot worse).
This way, you will at least have shelter and not be completely subject to the elements.

Sounds like sound judgment, right?
Yet many hikers take to the trails without so much as a thought to the possibility of disaster.
Of course, many individuals who enjoy the wild do so without schlepping along a backpacking tent, nonetheless light, and manage to survive perfectly.
Certainly, many such folks may be experienced survivalists!
But due to the fact it’s better to be safe than sorry, even at the cost of some inconvenience, it is more than advisable that one is carried.

It’s just common sense.

Besides, you weren’t going to go off totally empty-handed, were you?
After all, what’s a hike with a corresponding picnic at some point!
And if you’re going to schlepp something along, why not one of the most important pieces of gear with regards to anything outdoors-y.

You’re going to need your food and water in any care for sure.
It’s only just one more step to carrying a full-fledged tent, only designed to be as light-weight as possible for unexpected overnight stays.
The possible inconvenience is slight and pales in comparison next to the peace of mind that comes from being totally prepared.

So enjoy Mother Nature and her bounty – but don’t tempt fate!
Do the right thing and be pro-active, not merely reactive: don’t leave home without your tent!

Must have a vacation? don’t we all! but allow us to face the facts a vacation can be really expensive. I realize in these difficult economic times many people do not have the additional money sitting around to afford a trip. But we should not overlook that a getaway does not consistently need to be a major cost. There are scaled-down vacations one can take to retain their sanity while still enjoying themselves on a terrific getaway. One of the main travel sites to offer great promotions and special discounts is Travelocity. They have great deals and discounts and you may also find Travelocity Coupons to make the price even better. So when you’re about to pull your hair out, stop and consider taking a beneficial trip, even if the spending budget is constrained.

Individuals quite frankly don’t take an adequate amount of vacations. And once we do take vacations, we often take along our work. This habitual pattern of taking work with you simply leaves us in the mindset of work. The exact same mindset we are trying to break free from. Vacation trips will offer you many many benefits. For one it can help us avoid becoming burnt out. Aside from that it permits us to keep our stress levels lower. A getaway also can help bring people closer together. However you want to look at it, vacation trips work. If you are nervous about the price of a vacation why don’t you use one of the widely used travel web sites such as Travelocity. You can even find Travelocity coupons to aid you in saving a lot of money on your vacation. I am not sure about you but I am becoming good already.

If you love fishing, the same as I do, then simply you need to try out Kayak Fishing. It is a whole entire new encounter in fishing. In my encounter I was fishing with a colleague of mine when he questioned if I had ever gone Kayak Fishing, I exclaimed no and he swiftly pulled out the kayak which was stored away on his fishing boat. I started from right there and found the time of my life. I certainly suggest any and all fellow anglers give it a go. I feel you will find it to be highly enjoyable and will want to go on telling your friends about Kayak Fishing!

Mention Texas and people think about wide open spaces. No one first imagines the tall towers of Austin, its bustling downtown and rather cosmopolitan atmosphere.

As a residential property developer of several years, Isaac Toussie has often thought about the differences between urban and rural markets. In this article, we are going to use Isaac Toussie’s first-hand professional experiences to consider the matter. But you should know right at the outset that what follows is just being presented for human interest purposes only and not meant to serve as any kind of professional advice. All readers are urged, strongly, to consult licensed professionals when making business decisions of any consequence.

Longer lifespans have led to more and more people retiring to the good life in much more rural areas. Such long-time city-dwellers can really make their retirement dollars stretch in these inexpensive locales. Many of the houses are much larger than what could be had for the same price in the city, and they are often built from scratch to specification!

But before you take the plunge, consider that big rewards come from big risks – and big risks mean a high probability of failure. Losing money is never fun, but losing money you have is better than losing that which puts you into debt! So always make sure that you could afford, literally, a worst-case scenario before getting involved in high-risk gambles.

For example, rural areas lack many of the simple everyday conveniences most people take for granted. The store may be several tens of miles away instead of a simple five-minute drive. This is why it’s typically harder to sell a rural home as opposed to an urban one. Which in turn is why you’ll likely need to depend much more heavily on advertising to sell your property, as less people will be driving by and see your for-sale sign. By the same token, it’s also harder to find good investment opportunities, even though they are not uncommon.

Another intriguing and potentially problematic issue unique to rural realty is the fact that because homes are much larger and often built along one-of-a-kind designs, they are more difficult to appraise. Unlike mass-produced housing, typical rural properties like farms, ranches, mountain homes, lake homes, and so forth can often be quite different from one another in their features and characteristics. It will also be much more difficult to find qualified and reliable contractors and laborers in the countryside. Specialized workers will almost certainly come at a much higher price in rural areas simply because there are less experienced craftspersons available to go around.

It’s fascinating to watch old science fiction movies and compare the technology onscreen with current state-of-the-art technology in real life. For example, isn’t it funny that the world of interplanetary travel depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” should not have thought of mobiles and invented them – though in fact, such devices were in reality just another five or so years away from commercial feasibility! And it’s funny how with all the cinematic attention focused on such grand ambitious technologies like extraterrestrial travel the wonders that really did take place, in the real world, should carry, arguably, a lot more weight, impacting as they do our lives in maybe much more important ways. Take, for instance, the kind of rides offered by serial entrepreneur Zalman Silber.

Zalman Silber is the founder of a number of tourist attractions in the United States and Australia. Some are really great, such as Skywalk and The Edge, while others are rather uninspired, such as the Skyride and Oztrek. These last two are billed as an immersive you-are-there experience for the whole family – blah blah blah – but they’re hardly more than travel flicks the kind you can get on public TV, educational fare you’ve had a million times over already in school, even. They are helicopter fly-bys of New York and Sydney, respectively, with the only concession to “multimedia” (a buzzword that’s been commonly used to ballyhoo them) being so-called motion seating providing kinetic feedback in sync with happenings onscreen.

Nothing, as mentioned already, anyone hasn’t seen before.

Yet such things were to be found in many a science fiction film (albeit B-grade knock-offs, admittedly), someone’s vision of what hi-tech audio-visuals would be like one day! Certainly, that just speaks to the poverty of the imagination on the part of the writers more than anything else, but the point is that such contemplation makes for much amusement when screening the science fiction films of yesteryear.

Or take one of the earliest scenes from “Logan’s Run,” when the title character uses a kind of television-teleporter to find a date. Instead of going to a bar, the people of that world use this device to summon dates! It’s nothing short of a kind of 3-D Craig’s List!

These “everyday details” are especially likely to show up in the more thoughtful and interesting movies, and on the whole make up one useful yardstick by which much of the best examples may be separated from the mundane. For most sci-fi flicks focus on laser guns and starships, but leave out what really makes science fiction interesting in the first place, the nexus between science and technology and the everyday lives of human beings.

See how the worldwide web has changed everything? And what is it but a network of computers connecting to one another, serving up information, usually in a graphical (and truly multimedia) way? Nothing particularly incredible here; no “warp drive” or “plasma cannon” here – proving the old adage that life is stranger than fiction!

Racing isn’t on the minds of most bicycle commuters, unless they happen to be messengers or deliverymen who, normally, ride to work! And in such cases, it would not be too surprising to find them employing what could pass for ad hoc racing strategies of the sort found in informal alleycat contests.

It may seem surprising that people who need to ride all day, every day, would also ride so fast, particularly when not actually on the job but merely commuting there. Wouldn’t such people rather take a little break from any kind of racing for a while? Wouldn’t it make much more sense to slowly ease oneself into one’s day instead of rushing, rushing, rushing all the time?

Most people would agree. But for the speedsters, it’s all about the speed. For such people, it is like how fish need to swim and birds have to fly. It’s not so much a conscious choice as an inborn need. If anything, it is how they warm up for the day ahead.

Of course, the majority of people commuting by bicycle would like to get there as quick as possible, too. But for them, what’s possible is a great deal more limited, in all likelihood, than for the racers who tend to make their living from bicycling all day.

Such people have so much practice, and they’ll have accumulated so much experience. They are virtually fearless – and though fear usually lend wings to feet, fear when bicycling, particularly in an urban environment, can be an impediment to speed.

In fact, habitually slow riders tend to be those with no confidence. They’re afraid – and understandably so. But the fear slows them down – not that speed is an absolute necessity for them anyway. The point is that it isn’t a matter of some being fast so much as others being slow.

Unless you’ve got one of them portable Coleman Roadtrip grills, camping food will probably mean some thing like an MRE, or Meal, Ready-to-Eat. Originally developed for the U.S. military, MREs are self-contained lightweight rations available in a wide range of flavors. They’re also produced by other nations for their militaries, with all the familiar flavors a local would expect!

As an example, MREs for South Korean troops feature such regional delicacies as kimchi, while Italians enjoy beef tortellini; Swedes and Norwegians get cod stew with sour cream and potato, and Poles make do with bogracz (beef goulash). And though soldiers in the field can’t use camping grills for obvious security reasons, thanks to the marvels of modern science MREs now provide hot food flamelessly!

Today’s MREs contain a Flameless Ration Heater, or FRH, that will raise the temperature of an eight-ounce entree by a hundred degrees Fahrenheit in no more than twelve minutes. FRHs use a simple chemical reaction to supply heat sufficient to warm up the precooked contents of an MRE.

The concept is to use the natural oxidation of a metal to produce heat. MREs now reach boiling point within seconds, steaming and bubbling! In ten minutes or so, dinner is ready. As can be imagined, they aren’t anywhere near the power of your least expensive Coleman Roadtrip grills, but they ain’t any person spending the night outdoors.

No, combat cuisine does not compare to camping fare, but it’s not actually that bad, and, frankly, isn’t roughing it part of the overall experience, regardless of whether in the military or living out of doors?

Of course, you could just opt to go totally authentic and hunt game and roast it over a campfire spit! But an MRE is really a nice compromise between that and a Coleman grill.

Many will call it reckless, yet there is no doubt that cycling fast, almost racing, in New York City traffic is quite the adrenaline rush. It is one thing to go against another bicyclist – and they are out there, too – but quite another to go against cars and trucks and buses and motorcycles.

Obviously, one doesn’t exactly go against motorized vehicles. You will find no racing strategies for that. It isn’t even a contest. But part from the thrill of riding in heavy traffic comes from the illusion of passing them by. For in heavy traffic, cars can’t go too fast, relatively speaking – relative not only to their true potential but also, more importantly, to their true customary practice.

And so the daring cyclist (for it still demands quite a set of nerves) will be able to keep up with them, oftentimes, and taking advantage of lights to bypass car after car after car when cross-traffic allows it. It isn’t real racing, nonetheless it sure feels like it to the cyclist! It’s about the only time anyone will ever be able to pass car after car after car….

You will even be able to weave in and out of traffic, too, if your handling skills are good. Situational awareness is also a must. And since it’s rush hour, drivers are arguably much more attentive: so many cars, so many witnesses….

Of course, the streets of Manhattan are fun without cars, too, for instance early on a Sunday morning or, even, late at night when even the revelers have gone home to bed. New York being New York, there will still be motorized traffic on the streets, however at such times, while you cannot exactly “race” cars, there’s still just the sheer joy in having the streets seemingly all to yourself, relatively speaking.

The NEMO Equipment tent is the main product category of NEMO Equipment, an outdoors company specializing in high-level design and engineering. The company was started by Cam Brensinger while still in school, and was moved after his graduation to its present location between New Hampshire’s gorgeous White Mountains and RISD and MIT, the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From the very beginning, the NEMO Equipment tent was destined to put the new company on the map, targeted as it was to bring significant innovation to the industry. Early ideas researched the possibility of creating an entire tent from one compound beam instead of sewing them together.

Once successfully developed, the company began hiring its first employees. Its experience in the field even allowed it to offer consultation on human habitats for lunar and martian exploration! And so, with its credibility thus established, the organization branched out beyond the original NEMO Equipment tent to research other designs for an increasingly diverse market of outdoorsmen and women.

The spirit of extreme sports had by then taken hold of campers, hikers, climbers, and trekkers alike, and so the AST range of products designed for extreme conditions was unveiled. Industry accolades poured in right alongside increased sales, and no less than U.S. Navy Seals have endorsed NEMO products for real-world use that’s reliable like no other.

Most recently, NEMO Equipment has been exploring greener products, work that has resulted in the first-ever nearly hundred percent recycled tent, with poles made of bamboo. Product lines have expanded to offer tent accessories and even fan gear, in response to the company’s dedicated following!

Actually, the company is staffed with people whose pastimes often incorporate company products. Being avid outdoorsmen and women themselves has surely lent the business invaluable marketing insight.

It’s crucial to go with the right equipment when in the great outdoors. Though amazing, Mother Nature can be deadly – quickly. One crucial part of anyone’s gear when experiencing our national parks needs to be portable shelter – in other words, a tent. Something like the Big Agnes tent, as fine a line as any made anywhere.

They are made from dye-free fabric that’s breathable but waterproof, venting moisture to the outside while keeping everyone dry inside. Their poles are constructed from an anodizing process that is environmentally friendly.

You see, tent poles usually need two extremely toxic chemical substances as a part of the anodizing process. However the Big Agnes tent are created from a unique process that eliminates phosphoric and nitric acid, eliminating the polishing stage altogether.

This also has the added benefit of reducing waste water, because with out employing these toxic chemical substances, any rinsing water that is used could be safely recycled. Of course, there are lots of reasons why a Big Agnes tent is such a best-seller.

Top quality and reliability is one, plus design and features. And the company’s reputation for other merchandise is solid, which makes consumers of portable sheltering curious about the entire Big Agnes product line. Indeed, it appears that the business is most famous for its sleeping bags, which are unlike traditional designs in that the bag and the pad are united into one.

How they do this, they slide the pad into an built-in sleeve located at the bottom of the bag. This way, the top two-thirds is insulated as per usual but the bottom simply contains the pad, doing away with insulation material that loses most of its ability when compressed under the weight of a body anyway. For many individuals, such details do not really matter, but for true enthusiasts, such craftsmanship is important.

Green energy. You hear about it all the time nowadays. The U.S. needs it. China is getting ever more involved with it. Green energy. But what does it all mean? Our newspapers tell us that it is the wave of the future, the only way forward. Yet nothing is happening in this nation, where most green technologies have been invented, and it’s China that seems poised to dominate this industry of the 21st Century.

So what makes for green energy, and why is it so crucial? The term is more accurately referred to, technically speaking, as sustainable energy, energy that meets present needs without compromising the environment upon which future generations will also depend.

To be regarded as sustainable typically means to be renewable in such a way as wind, solar, and water-generated energy is. Conventional fission power, or nuclear, energy is technically a green form of energy though many environmentalists believe that its potential hazard far outweighs the advantages to be derived.

Moreover, disposable of spent nuclear fuel rods is a major challenge, with a high likelihood of leagage in most scenarios. Now how has China gotten into the issue? Well, it’s not only the world’s fastest-growing economy, but also its fastest-growing polluter, rivaling the United States.

It also happens to be the largest market for eco-friendly technologies and, as the “workshop of the world” also the single largest manufacturer of all the hardware involved. And so any conversation on anything green must, in the end, focus on the role of China.

But what is China’s position in all of this? As it is always been: driven by necessity. With the world’s largest population living only on a mere fraction of its arable land, the nation is highly sensitive to all kinds of issues related to the environment, energy policy, and economic growth. Going green, China’s leaders recognize, is the best chance they’ve got to not only survive in the post-industrial world but also to prosper.

Fishing is a popular sport even in our world of modern day conveniences. It seems simple enough, conceptually, but in reality there’s a lot technical knowledge involved. Even the simple fishing rod is not immune – there are, for instance, over three hundred various kinds of Lamiglas fishing pole available. Lamiglas is a specialty manufacturer with specific rods for specific breeds of fish.

To a layman, it may seem surprising, but given all of the different species of fish there are to be caught, it is logical for a rod to be produced with performance characteristics that will best help the angler get his or her catch! Such a variety of rods also makes sense when you consider that there are tens of millions of recreational fishermen and women around the world.

And so each Lamiglas fishing pole is made by hand, individually, with good old-fashioned craftsmanship right alongside the most modern advances in materials science. That’s over three hundred fly, surf, fresh and salt water rods for steelhead, salmon, bass, and just about any other type of fish. Lamiglas fishing poles are popular with recreational anglers. At fishing tournaments, it’s interesting to see all the various designs sported, each individually suited to all the different personal casting styles and fishing conditions possible!

This profusion of rods is most common to sport fishing, but their advanced technologies make them particularly appropriate for subsistence fishing, also known as artisan fishing, an ironic synonym that usually conveys connotations of upscale excess but which here in this context probably refers to the fact that such fishing, in order to be environmentally sustainable, takes the type of care more commonly associated with the endeavors of traditional artisans and craftsmen.

Subsistence of artisan fishing is almost always less intensive and less stressful on fish populations than are modern day industrial techniques, which fact is due in large part to its more traditional methods and individual scales.