An Age of Magic

Remember when dad would hold a slide-night…?

And friends and family would find all kinds of excuses to avoid being invited…? my dad was a devoted fan of the camera and slide film in particular and I have boxes of old slides from the days of my childhood. These days it is not the usual way to take photos, everything is digital now, but the slides had their own unique attraction about them and I still love to hold them up to the light and look over them. Dad’s old projector gave up the ghost years ago.

I was looking some time back through some catalogues from camera stores and was amazed at how those things have changed over the years – and their prices too. These days a slide projector will set you back a few more dollars than when dad bought one depending on what you buy and what it does. We still have the projector screen that dad bought when mum stopped him pegging up her good white sheets for screenings but I’d kind of like to resurrect the traditional slide night as we have a collection of slides of our own from as recent as eight years ago. They sit in boxes at the moment but are well stored.

The best way to buy one these days is to have a look at a site featuring projector reviews as these machines have moved on in technology since the 60’s and 70’s – they range fairly broadly in price too so if you are wanting one just to show your holiday slides you’d not be wanting to spend too much money.

Popularity: 11% [?]

News species still being found deep in the Amazon jungle.

Scientists have discovered a new species of  Amazon monkey species in Colombia, which they say is at risk as its home is gradually destroyed. A team of researchers from the National University of Colombia observed 13 groups of the new species – dubbed the Caqueta titi monkey because it was found in the southern state of Caqueta, near Peru.

The new variety of titi monkey, which has the scientific name Callicebus caquetensis, is the size of a cat and has greyish-brown hair. What sets it apart from other types of titi monkey species is its lack of a white bar on the forehead. The find was announced by Conservation International, a group that helped finance the research in remote rain forests that until recently were considered too dangerous for scientific work due to the presence of leftist rebels

The research team, including professors Thomas Defler and Marta Bueno and student Javier Garcia, visited Caqueta in 2008 – three decades after Martin Moynihan, an animal behaviour expert, first caught sight of the species in the area.

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Solving the age-old problem of acne.

The internet has become a very interesting tool in recent times to the extent that people are now using it to diagnose their own illnesses. Would you try such a thing…?

Most families, years ago, had one of those medical encyclopaedias that sat on the bookshelf in the living room or study. If the kids came down with some strange rash Mum would run to the book and look it up but always head off to the doctor in the end.

I suppose the internet, with it’s seemingly endless store of information, has replaced the old family medical bible and this has proved to be a divine providence for some people. One lady suffered recurring miscarriages until she looked up her symptoms online and took her information to the doctor – she now has two healthy children. Another lady in the UK was desperate to find out what was causing her little girl’s sudden blackouts – scans and tests had not revealed the cause – she went online and after a few weeks of searching discovered the actual cause. Result…? her little girl is now receiving the treatment she needed and is doing well.

It seems that a ‘find-it-yourself cure can be found online so long as you are diligent and willing to put in the time to do the searching. Depending on what the condition is just a few keywords could suffice; then there are conditions which are very well served on millions of websites enabling people to stay up to date on new advances in treatments. Just for an example; those with recurring acne will be able to find a myriad of brands of best acne medication online these days – the words  will lead you to a host of solutions.

Just remember though, as informative as the internet can be, don’t forget that your doctor needs to be kept in the picture along the way.

Popularity: 18% [?]