Funny Stuff is all around

Archive for May, 2008

The story of Diane de Poitiers should serve as a motivation to all of us who feel not-as-young-as-we-used-to-be. Diane was born in 1499, the daughter of Jean de Poitiers and thus a member of a very ancient line. A beauty from a very young age, at 13 she married into another distinguished line when she became the spouse of Louis de Breze who was 39 years older than Diane and a grandson of Charles VII.

When she came with Louis de Breze to the court of Francois I, she found herself immersed in the wonderful Renaissance atmosphere that she loved. This was a time when France was discovering the new wonders of architecture and art brought back to France by Francois I from his travels in Italy, where, of course, the Renaissance was in full swing.

In 1531, her elderly husband died, but Diane remained at court. Whilst there she not surprisingly managed to catch the eye of young Henri who later became Henri II. Although she was in her 30s by then, and surrounded at court by many women who were much younger, she was considered to be one of the dazzling court beauties. Before Henri’s arranged marriage to Catherine de Medicis in 1533, Diane became his mistress. Henri was 14. Incidentally, at the time of the marriage, Catherine was herself something of a looker and she was 18 years younger than Diane.

Despite Henri seemed to try to shun Catherine as much as he could, continuing to pursue his interest in Diane. [Spin] |You might guess that [/spin]Catherine de Medicis did not take nicely to her husband’s pursuit of Diane, especially when Diane was officially acknowledged as his mistress three years after the marriage. The age dynamic added insult to injury, and things just seemed to go from bad to worse for Catherine.

As Henri’s wife, it was of course her duty to produce an heir (or better yet, several of them), preferably male, since, a daughter could not succeed to the throne in France. Catherine appeared to be incapable of fulfilling her duty in this respect. Of course, this failure may have had something to do with the fact that Henri seemed resolute to spend all his time, day AND night, with Diane.

Now this is where the story gets really good.Diane appreciated that there was no love lost between her and Catherine, of course, but she was also conscious that if Henri’s marriage were annulled because there was no heir, he might have to marry someone even less accommodating. Being something of a pragmatist, she made a deal with Catherine, agreeing that on some evenings Henri would spend a few hours in Diane’s bed, then go to Catherine’s for a while, then return to Diane’s bedchamber. We are told that Diane also gave Catherine some practical hints which we guess were not directed toward how she could cook a better pot roast.

This apparently did the job, because the future Francois II was born in 1544, followed by the future Charles IX in 1550, and the future Henri III in 155l, plus several other children..

So Diane did not exactly marry a younger man. She did come close, managing to retain Henri’s interest and love until his demise in 1559. Although Diane did present an enduring distraction, Henri II managed to enjoy some other interests. One of them, unfortunately, was jousting.

Often Henri would host a huge fete, which would customarily involve consuming copious amounts of wine, eating the French equivalent of a bar-be-que, and enjoying, as entertainment, a sort of recreation of a medieval tournament. Now this would have been fine, as long as the King just sat in the stands and barracked for his favorites. But that was not the sort of man Henri was.

So, on one of these memorable tournaments, Henri, always the life of the party, mounted his horse and prepared to have a go at his opponent with what we believe were tipped lances. This did not turn out to be a good idea. Although the sport was aimed at simply knocking your opponent off his horse, something went horribly wrong. Henri zigged when he should have zagged and the next thing he knew he had been nearly run through by a lance, which pierced deeply into his eye.

Henri should have known better than to intentionally expose himself to such danger, because there was really no able heir ready to succeed him. In spite of his heroic efforts to produce children by his wife Catherine de Medicis, not one of his sons was yet of age to assume the throne. This meant, of course, that when he succumbed to his injuries subsequent to the tournament in 1559, he left France in the hands of at least one minor children.

In any case, witha new king on the throne, Diane suddenly found herself persona non grata at court. Since Catherine de Medicis was now in a better position to exact her revenge, being the mother of the king instead of simply an out-of-favor wife, she began to pressure Diane to hand over one of the most important presents she had been given by Henri II - the castle of Chenonceau, something of a sore point between the two women.

Diane loved the castle of Chenonceau. In 1547 Henri II had made her a gift of the castle and in 1551, she had become the Duchess of Valentinois there. If the accounts are correct, she ran the castle with an iron but artistic hand, turning the already lovely area into a garden spot with plants and trees personally selected by her, including such exotic offerings as artichokes and melons. The balls and hunts given by her at Castle Chenonceau became legendary.

By 1552, Henri was spending most of his time, frequently without Catherine, at Chenonceau. It was probably expected that Catherine would want Chenonceau returned if anything untoward ever happened to the man in both women’s lives. But when Henri died, Catherine discovered that Henri had not simply given Diane the use of the property instead, the title to the castle had been given outright to Diane, in spite of legal restrictions which specified that such royal property could not be alienated.

Since it was potentially no longer part of the royal estate, it would be difficult for Catherine to assert a claim to Chenonceau on purely legal grounds. On her side, Diane had not been naive enough to trust that all would be well forever between her and Henri, and she had sensibly set about to make her own castle of Anet quite comfortable just in case.

A period of sparring ensued, but since Catherine’s power was clearly on the ascent, Diane did the sensible thing and decided to yield, however painful that may have been for her. There is some reason to believe that Catherine offered to provide her rival with the castle of Chaumont in exchange for Chenonceau, but in the end, Diane retired to Anet, where she died in 1566, seven years after Henri’s passing.

We run a luxury wedding castle near Blois, for up to 15 people ideal for visiting vineyards, Loire Valley chateaux and relaxing.
It is a perfect location for a castle wedding. Why get married in your home town when instead you could get married in a fairytale wedding castle.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Most new puppy can be very intelligent and owners need to realize that in the first step of dog behavior training. However, this is good news because it means that your dog’s training is not going to be too difficult if you go about it accurately. Here is some solid advice for those interested in dog training and what is involved:

Specifics

The timing of corrections and congratulations needs to be regular when you are training your dog. Your actions should be near flawless. Dog behavior training allows little room for error. If you do not advise or praise the dog while the action is occurring, it will be too late. In this type of training, you need to assist the dog as the behavioral action is occurring.

Consistency

When training your dog, you need to be consistent. If you never want your dog to scratch the door, do not ever let him do it no matter what the situation is. Dog behavior training is very sensitive to regularities.

Be habitual with your actions. If you do not want your dog to go on the sofa, then he never be allowed on that sofa—or your bed. In dog behavior training you learn that dogs do not understand the concept of occasionally or “if.” They only understand consistent permission or no permission– ever.

Good Boy!

In dog behavior training and dog exercising, we often center on perfection in our dog, but do not congratulate the dog’s good behaviors as much as we should. If your dog is sitting where you want him to be sitting and minding his own business, tell him he is a good dog. In training our dogs, we believe in giving praise when the dog is not being naughty.

Try not to get too angry when he does something bad. In training our dogs, we believe that you should reinforce positive actions and let bad ones slide once in a while.

Stand Your Ground

If you do not show your dog who is boss, your dog just may show you. You have to command your dog when dog behavior training. Do not be weak or shaky when you ask for an action. When training your dog, if dogs do not comply, we show them the way.

When you are dog behavior training, let your dog know exactly what you want from him to avoid dog diseases. Once he starts to really communicate with you, you will find it easier to explain good behavior.

When it comes to handling Home Improvement DIY Projects, it is important that you get the proper items or materials that you need, such as floor tiles or light fixtures. You would also require the right tools in order to complete the task. However, No Home Improvement Project can be completed without the proper. If you do have some home improvement experience, there is a good chance that you already have most of the tools needed.

The tools you need will all depend on the remodeling project that you are doing. Which is why it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with project instructions, as well as the tools needed before you get started. If you are buying your remodeling materials from the home depot, it may be a good idea to save yourself an extra trip and buy your needed tools all at the same time.

Most people like to put up a front especially at the home depot just to look more knowledgeable. But if you have any question you are unsure of before beginning your DIY project, do not hesitate to ask the senior staff at the home depot or store for their assistance and recommendations. Most of them have the necessary skills and knowledge to advice you on the various aspects of your project. Take some notes and be sure to compliment them too. The best way to start is the right way to start.

In many ways, Hit List should have placed second in the Comparison of tracking website visitor’s software, but its performance when processing our 80MB log file was six times slower than WebTrends’, which greatly affected its score. Nevertheless, we found that
Hit List offers an impressive set of reporting features and some management features that neither WebTrends nor NetIntellect offers, such as managing your log-file database, for example. Users are also given the ability to access and create reports remotely, which is a feature that the WebManage solution lacked.

Hit List also provides flexible reporting options, including path, trend, or iis log statistics analysis. Further, it was the only solution that allowed us to optimize, cycle, and update the entire log-file database. Performance was Hit List’s only drawback.

Although Marketwave officials identified Hit List Professional as its midrange solution, it was not designed to handle log files larger than 50MB, and as a result is best-suited for those sites generating an average number of hits that is less than 600,000.

Pros
(1) Database maintenance
(2) Flexible reporting options
(3) Wide range of log-file support
(4) Individual remote report access

Cons
(1) Slow performance when handling files larger than 50MB
(2) Must manually enter advertisements to be tracked

WebTrends, the market leader and a pioneer in visitor marketing, is the perfect solution for Web developers who want to get a better handle on providing a stable environment for their company’s Web site. Of the three solutions we tested, it provided the most comprehensive set of features, including log-analysis reports to help you understand traffic patterns, its own link-analysis utility, proxy server analysis, and device management capabilities. For its well-rounded approach to Web site maintenance and its comprehensive analysis features, we awarded WebTrends a Test Center Hot Pick.

Priced at $599, WebTrends costs about twice as much as the others, but you also get twice as much, and it offers the greatest number of utilities of the three solutions we evaluated. In addition to its log- and link-analysis tools, WebTrends includes built-in utilities for monitoring whether devices are up and recovering devices that are down. For instance, should a Web server go down, WebTrends can be configured to reboot a designated machine, thus ensuring that your site is always available. When there are problems with devices, administrators can either be paged or sent an e-mail. This kind of support ensures that Webmasters can respond quickly to problems that can result in downtime, and that your customers are not trying to access your site and finding it unavailable for hours at a time, which is a good way to lose customers.

The numerous Toronto condos follow the trend of modern beauty of contemporary buildings.
As you walk through Toronto’s Waterfront, you can be deceived into thinking you’ve entered a holiday paradise. There are shops and restaurants as well as cultural and family events to see, but perhaps the biggest thrill you can find in Toronto’s Waterfront is living there one of the luxurious condominiums that are abundant.
Let’s look at some examples.
The Toronto Waterfront neighbourhood looks like a green belt speckled with rubies of industry and it offers everything from fine dining at top notch establishments like The Mizzen to sushi and even a Shopsy’s for those heading to the baseball game at the nearby Roger’s Center. When you leave Union Station for the short walk that passes right under the bustle of the Gardner Expressway, you might think you need a passport because you’ve traveled to another city in another time.
If you ask a Toronto real estate agent which building to look at, he or she would certainly take you to The TiptopLofts. The condominiums themselves are the product of a renovation from the old Tip Top Tailors that had been a Toronto landmark for years. The resurfaced stone facades out front and even some of the original light fixtures in the lobby can fool you into thinking you’ve traveled back in time. Still, TiptopLofts is much more than just a place paying homage to the past.
The penthouse lofts of the TiptopLofts condominiums offer a panoramic view of Lake Ontario and Centre Island, and the condominium also offers a state of the art fitness center, a catering kitchen, and a board room.
Perhaps the most luxurious condominiums located at Toronto’s Waterfront are the aptly named WaterClub Condominiums located at York Street and the Queen’s Quay. The three phases of the complex include just over 1000 units as well as a host of amenities for buyers like a marble or limestone flooring in the foyer and bathroom and granite countertops. The WaterClub condominiums also boast indoor/outdoor pools and underground parking. The WaterClub units are also close to the CN Tower and shopping at the Queen’s Quay Terminal.

Have you ever thought about setting up hidden cameras at home or work? Maybe you’ve considered a nanny cam to make sure your kids are being treated well. Or a refrigerator cam to find out who’s been eating your salami on rye.

Whether your interest in hidden cameras falls under the category of security or fun, you may be surprised to learn how many options you have. You can buy hidden cameras that mimic items you’d commonly find in your home or office, and look very convincing.

Want to find out which child is downloading R-rated movies on your cable account? Try a hidden camera DVD player. Want to see if your son is really going to bed or staying up late to chat online with his friends? Use a camera disguised as a cube clock. Who’s leaving the toilet paper roll empty? The air freshener cam will show you. You can also get cameras disguised as computer speakers, mantel clocks, smoke detectors and EXIT signs.

You can probably think of some really fun, and possibly not altogether nice, things to do with some of these hidden cameras. It is fun to look at the various options and think about what you’d like to do. But hidden cameras can also serve very useful functions, and if you’re concerned about your home or office security or the welfare of your children when you’re not home, installing a hidden camera can help you feel more secure.

Hidden cameras secreted in books and clocks may seem like something out of a not-very-good mystery movie, but with today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to buy cameras that look like almost anything except a camera. Whether you’re looking for a hidden camera for home, the office, or just for fun to tease your family and coworkers, you’re sure to find something that literally fits right into its surroundings.

Pet Insurance

The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

Many people could not contemplate a life without their dog as they see them as more than a family member but as a regular companion that they may not have ever experience in another human being. Dogs are always there when you need them, ready to go out for a walk if you are of just keeping you company when you would prefer a night in. It is understandable why many people prefer the company of their dog over that of another human being when they so rarely demand anything other than your love.

Picking a Dog

So how do you show your love for this greatest of family pets; well, by arranging dog insurance for their health so they can remain your companion for many years to come. Insurance policies for pets cover many different areas so you can custom them to suit your situation but at the very least you want a policy that covers regular health visits to the vet. These dog insurance policies make it easy for the owner to look after their pet without any financial concerns bothering them.

Picking a Puppy

Truthfully, the only difference between you and pet insurance experts is time. If you’ll invest a little more time in reading, you’ll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to pet insurance.

As the facilities and technology in the world of animal health care are making major advancements in terms of providing superior treatment to the animals, the cost of such treatments is hitting the roof. Treatments like a hip replacement or kidney transplant which were earlier inconceivable in case of animals are now being provided for animals. Just like people, dogs too can be prone to certain conditions and disease, some of which may be caused by genetic traits.

Pet Guide

Unfortunately many conditions that dogs suffer from, only happen after a set age and are not visible when they are young but by the time they do appear the dog is a much loved family member. This type of dog insurance plan does mean that providing health care for them does not become a matter of financial worry, frustration or even stress which is something some dog owners feel when it comes to paying out thousands of dollars for medical treatment. Even on a regular basis a dog requires close attention to his health in terms of the best foods, nutrients and hygiene; regular check ups can include expensive vaccinations, maintenance procedures such as ear and teeth cleaning, de-worming, getting rid of unwanted mites and ticks and even minor infections.

All these processes form an integral part of the dog’s regular check up by the vet so dog health insurance often covers the necessary processes thereby enabling the owner to provide the best care for his beloved pet. With all this, you and your dog should have a long life together. So it is advisable to check with the other pet owners and companies providing such insurance and acquiring proper dog insurance for your precious companion.

There’s no doubt that the topic of pet insurance can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about pet insurance, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.

The latest budget photo printer from Canon is the Pixma iP2600, which is a replacement for the Pixma iP1800 and is available for less than £30. This is a basic photo printer with few features, having no PictBridge port or memory card slot but is capable of producing excellent sharp prints and presents a pleasing sleek design.

Design
A lot of work has been put into the design of the Pixma iP2600 and Canon are to be congratulated on a job well done. The smooth exterior, a space saving 5.6×17.4×10 inches is complimented by a glossy black look, with a slightly mirrored finish that looks very sleek sitting on your desktop. A far cry from the usual boring grey plastic body that usually signals an inkjet printer. The output and paper trays both fold into the unit when not in use, creating a sleek box that more resembles part of a high end Hi-Fi system. The output tray has a slightly flimsy arm which extends to catch loose paper, but lacking a stop cap at the end tends to let sheets fly off the end, annoying, but not critical. The minimalist control panel has only two buttons, one acting as a paper feed button and the other doubling up as both a power button and error warning light. The power cord fits into the rear of the printer and the USB port is also located here. It is worth noting that a USB cable is not supplied, so you will have to purchase one as an extra. At this price you cannot expect PictBridge or memory card slots, so all images will have to be sent to your photo software on your PC and printed from there.

Cartridge supplies
Only two cartridges are required in the Pixma iP2600, a black ink cartridge and a three-colour cartridge. There are two capacities of each available, the standard black cartridge, PG37 has 11ml of ink and the higher capacity PG40 has 16ml. The standard colour cartridge, CL38 contains a total of 9ml of ink, 3ml of each cyan, magenta and yellow, whilst the higher capacity CL41 contains a total 12ml of ink, 4ml of each colour. With the PG40 costing less than £14 and the CL41 less than £17, these cartridges represent the best value for use in this printer.

Performance
In speed tests the Pixma iP2600 performed very well. It managed to produce 5.68 pages per minute of black text, which compares well with both the HP DeskJet D4260 and the Lexmark Z845, that are both more expensive printers. The canon also performed well in quality tests, the characters formed were precise with crisp edges and created no blurred areas, in colour graphics tests most documents came out with solid colours and nice even distribution of colour. The only slight area of concern was in portions where gradual colour gradients occurred but these imperfections were barely noticeable to the bare eye and only a perfectionist could grumble.
4×6 photos printed on Canons semi-gloss paper were also impressive. They were not perfect but were well balanced and even, a difficult job for a budget printer.

So with solid printing performance at relatively quick output speeds and acceptable photo prints, the Canon Pixma iP2600 is an affordable choice and is a printer that performs well above its weight, making it probably the best budget buy under £50.

Women are quite complicated beings, we are fascinated by things men would never be able to comprehend, but you have to admit it is great looking fabulous whilst being complicated. Every new season the magazines reveal their latest fashion finds and you ponder what you will be buying to have the perfect wardrobe.We al know temptation is a bad thing, but you have to admit resisting a gorgeous designer handbag is a tall order.

Sometimes you know a handbag is expensive but when you have a look at the price tag, you turn white. They always cost more than you expected. We all know it is absurd spending your whole paycheck on a designer handbag you won’t be using the next season. You should rather opt for a classic or perhaps designer handbag rental which is quite a plausible solution. It is the Netflix of handbags, why this hasn’t happened sooner is quite a good question.

This concept is great and gives you the opportunity to have as many purses as often as you want. These companies have good quality, authentic handbags, and if you really cannot live without the specific handbag you rented, you can even buy it. Think about it you could have a sensational handbag as your companion and leave your friends green with envy.Only you need to know that it is borrowed.

As part of the latest generation of video gaming systems, the PS3 delivers on performance, looks and quality of entertainment. With this chic and stylish gaming setup, the latest games are within your reach, with stunning graphics and easy handling.

With more than 12.8 million units sold worldwide, it is easy to see why the PS3 is so highly sought-after, and why gamers everywhere love their new consoles that they have shelled out so
much money for. The chance to actually win a PS3 would be a very rare occasion, saving you a lot of cash. It would be a chance that you shouldn’t ignore!

Now, at gamerzreviewz.com, that chance could be yours. Millions of people have paid money for this expensive piece of gaming equipment and have not regretted it, and now YOU can Win a Playstation3 without having to pay a single penny.

Think of the money you could save by simply taking advantage of the competition at gamerzreviewz.com and having the chance to win a PS3, rather than heading down to your local video game store and parting with a huge pile of cash that you could be spending on so many other things.

Picture your brand new PS3, a graphical powerhouse that runs almost silently. how will you spend your evenings? Watching your favourite movie on Blu-ray, or perhaps playing the latest game online with your friends? You’ll love the graphics capabilities for both choices equally - all of the PS3’s games AND all the movies on Blu-ray discs are both in high-def!

When you win a PS3, you win the built-in Wi-Fi and flash reader, and the backwards compatibility with all your favorite classics. You win the chance to own some of the newest games that are appearing just for the PS3. You also get to experience the impressively user-friendly interface that makes gaming all the more enjoyable.

It’s family-friendly too! The card reader allows you to view your digital images and photographs to share with the family in large format, with a digital photo album! This makes the PS3 more than a games console – it’s also a powerhouse of entertainment.

A great feature of the PS3 is perhaps its ability to download demo games for almost all of the biggest gaming hits. These are easily moved around and replaced as you wish.

Win a Playstation3