Aussie women embrace solo travel

Posted on by

Travelling solo gives you freedom to do what you want, when you want, says Linda Bentley, author of thepackedbag.com.

The Sydney-based blogger admits it can be lonely at times but she finds travelling alone incredibly fulfilling.

Bentley represents the one in three Australian women who travel solo for leisure, according to new TripAdvisor findings.

TripAdvisor's inaugural Women and the World Travel Survey has found that Aussie women are embracing independent travel.

The study of more than 3200 Australian women found that 33 per cent travel solo for leisure.

Of these women, 40 per cent are planning between two to four trips this year.

Eighty-two per cent of these solo travellers said their main reason for taking off by themselves was to "get away from it all".

Nearly half of the women (45 per cent) said a reason was being able to choose their own schedule without worrying about others - something Bentley, 39, relishes.

"If I feel like turning left and heading up that road I can," she says. "I can stop anywhere. It's just the incredible freedom of not having to consult anyone."

On average, Bentley spends between a third to half a year travelling abroad, every year. In her down time she's in Sydney working as a graphic designer to finance her trips.

The rest is here:

Aussie women embrace solo travel

Former director of travel agency fined

Posted on by

SINGAPORE - A former director of travel agency Mandarin World Holidays (MWH), Tan Siew Choo, has been convicted of conducting the business without a valid travel agent licence.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a statement that she was fined a total of $3,000.

A total of 28 complaints against MWH were received between 2008 and 2010, STB said.

MWH's travel agent licence was suspended from April 3, 2010, to July 1, 2010, following the complaints.

Its licence was subsequently revoked on September 20, 2010, after the firm was found to have offered travel-related services during the suspension period.

During a raid by STB on October 13, 2010, MWH was found to be providing travel-related services despite having its travel agent licence revoked earlier.

Offenders found guilty of carrying on the business of a travel agent without a valid travel agent licence face a fine of up to $10,000, up to two years in jail, or both.

For the latest list of licensed travel agents in Singapore, please visit the Travel Related Users' System (TRUST) website, https://trust.yoursingapore.com.

ljessica@sph.com.sg

Read the rest here:

Former director of travel agency fined

Woman fined for operating travel agency without valid licence

Posted on by

SINGAPORE: The former director of Mandarin World Holidays, Madam Tan Siew Choo, was on Tuesday fined S$3,000 for operating a travel agency without a valid licence.

Tan was found guilty and convicted of two charges under the Travel Agents Act. Two similar charges were also taken into consideration for sentencing.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said the company's travel agent licence was first suspended from 3 April 2010 to 1 July 2010, following complaints of negligence and unprofessional behaviour.

STB had received a total of 28 complaints against the travel agency between 2008 and 2010.

The agency's licence was subsequently revoked on 20 September 2010, after it was found to be offering travel-related services during the suspension period.

However, during a raid by STB on 13 October 2010, the agency was still providing travel-related services.

As this was a clear contravention of the Travel Agents Act, STB said it commenced investigations and subsequent prosecution against Mandarin World Holidays.

STB said it takes a serious view against errant travel agents and those who engage in unlicensed travel agent activities.

It will not hesitate to take necessary action to protect consumers' interests and safeguard the reputation of Singapore's tourism sector.

Read more:

Woman fined for operating travel agency without valid licence

The six best treks in the world, from Everest to the Bungle Bungles and beyond

Posted on by

By Sarah Gordon

PUBLISHED: 03:08 EST, 12 March 2014 | UPDATED: 03:08 EST, 12 March 2014

The world's tallest mountain is once again open to visitors as the trekking season begins and adventurers flock to hike up to Everest's iconic Base Camp.

Perhaps the most famous trek in the world, the Everest Base Camp route, rising up through the Himalayas to 5,364metres is tackled by tens of thousands of tourists every year. No wonder trekking companies say it is their best-seller.

But you don't have to follow the crowds - there are plenty of amazing hiking routes around the world. MailOnline Travel and World Expeditions have put together their pick of the top six awe-inspiring treks on earth.

Everest: Tackling the tallest mountain in the world is the trek climbers dream of

Pitch your tent: Everest Base Camp sits at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres

Length and ability: 18 days, moderate

This classic trek through traditional Sherpa villages to the base of the world's highest mountain and nearby peak of Kala Pattar is, of course, a showstopper. It is packed with 'grab your camera' moments as you take in vistas of Mount Everest, pass ancient monasteries and spot wildlife a-plenty en route.

But, if you're looking to get off the beaten path (the Everest route can get busy in peak season) why not try...

View original post here:

The six best treks in the world, from Everest to the Bungle Bungles and beyond

LEGOLAND, Resorts World Genting Gets Overwhelming Response In Sri Lanka

Posted on by

By M.Saraswathi

NEW DELHI, March 12 (Bernama) -- LEGOLAND theme park and Genting Resorts World were among the participants in a travel market organised by Tourism Malaysia that received tremendous response from travel agencies in Sri Lanka.

"We must thank The LEGO Movie as it has attracted almost half of the 70 per cent of the agents I met here.

"It has also made it easy to explain to them on what they can expect from the theme park," LEGOLAND Manager for Tours and Travel Owen Tan told Bernama after the travel mart that was organised in conjunction with Tourism Malaysia's Visit Malaysia Year 2014 in Colombo.

The sales mission to Sri Lanka was the largest ever and the first after a four-year gap.

There were 50 participants from Malaysia comprising hoteliers, event operators and travel agents and 160 outbound travel agents from Sri Lanka.

The South Asia market, mainly India and Sri Lanka, are seen as among the key markets for LEGOLAND given their close proximity, he said, adding that the theme park was keen to enhance its marketing efforts in the region to create more awareness.

"There is another 30 per cent of outbound travel agents who have no knowledge of the theme park. Hence, we need to capture that as well," said Tan.

The LEGOLAND Theme Park in Malaysia is Asia's first. There are a total of six LEGOLAND Theme Parks in the world.

For Resort Genting World, it aimed to replicate its success in India.

Read this article:

LEGOLAND, Resorts World Genting Gets Overwhelming Response In Sri Lanka

How IBM Is Using Watson And An Innovative Workspace To Crunch Big Data For Big Solutions

Posted on by

IBM loves Big Data. The bigger it gets, the more servers, storage, and services Big Blue would like to sell you (a lot more, please). But the volumes involved have already grown so big that IBMs own researchers struggle to get a handle on it.

Last year, for example, IBM fellow Laura Haas asked one of her colleagues at the companys Almaden research center in Silicon Valley why he wasnt using bigger data sets. Because, he replied, it takes 80% of my time just to prep the data I have. Haas realized that the more IBMs research agenda was consumed by analytics, the more time and energy its experts would spend struggling with expanding data sets, slowing down the pace of discovery.

The obvious thing was to hand the volumes in question over to dedicated data scientists, but removing researchers from the loop would only make things worse. Plus, it seemed to cut against the grain of Big Data, whose value isnt governed by some function of Moores Law or Kryders Law in terms of the linear expansion of storage capacity or the falling costs of sensors.

Rather, its more a function of Metcalfes Law, which states that the value of a network is the square of the number of connected devices; the value is in the exponentially increasing connections, not the nodes. The same is true of IBMs people, too. Instead of sidelining its researchers, how could it bring more eyes--and different ones--to opaque data sets being crunched in the cloud?

The solution, unveiled at Almaden last fall, is the Accelerated Discovery Lab, a large, open space amply equipped with comfy furniture, whiteboards, and lots of screens, not to mention an ever-evolving mix of project teams, systems managers, visiting clients, corporate anthropologists, and drop-ins, not to mention a sliver of Watson IBM's newest super computer. As the labs name implies, the goal is crack the code on the optimal combination of diversity, proximity, physical space, and cloud computing to spot opportunities in the gaps between disciplines faster and more often.

We call it cultivating strategic serendipity, says Haas, who is also the director of technology and operations for the lab. Its those A-ha! moments you have in the shower or often around the water cooler. We want to bring people together in a rich enough environment they want to play in it, and then create serendipity by leveraging the connections in the room, the connections in the data, and our ability to see what users are doing.

The labs first project was to apply Watsons natural language-processing ability to new domains, with drug research at the top of the list. Working with computational biologists from the Baylor College of Medicine, IBMs data scientists began plowing through millions of papers, patents, and clinical studies culled from databases and IBMs pharma customers, before eventually narrowing their focus to the tumor-suppressing gene TP-53. Sifting through the literature for promising, but overlooked chemicals to treat mutated genes, within a few months the team found four candidates. According to Jeff Welser, the labs director of strategy and program development, historically, you find about one per year.

Thats pretty fast, but could it have been faster? Part of the labs mission is to test hypotheses about the space itself. Were trying to instrument our projects from the get-go, recording them from the day they start, Haas says, benchmarking their progress against similar teams that arent in the lab to see whether all those whiteboards and multi-disciplinary teams yield better tangible results.

While there are currently no plans to build similar labs in any of IBMs other research centers, Haas hopes to someday develop a software tool that might help the company manage its own far-flung resources. Imagine a version of Watson that recognizes who or what it is youre searching for, then begins suggesting data sets and colleagues working in tangential fields the IBMer might have otherwise never thought of.

For now, however, when it comes to cross-pollination, there is more than I expected, she says. And less than I want.

Read this article:

How IBM Is Using Watson And An Innovative Workspace To Crunch Big Data For Big Solutions

New stem cell center conducting clinical trials

Posted on by

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A new center at the University of Kansas Medical Center that focuses on stem cell research is conducting clinical trials only eight months after it opened.

Officials with the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center briefed a Kansas Senate committee on the clinics work since it was established last year.

Dr. Buddhadeb Dawn, the centers director, detailed clinical trials for the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He says the trials will help patients and make the state a leader in stem cell treatments.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports (http://bit.ly/1enOsv8 ) the center works on adult stem cell, cord blood and related stem cell research. It is prohibited from using embryonic stem cells or cells taken from aborted fetal tissue.

___

Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com

Read the original:

New stem cell center conducting clinical trials

Save The World "Climate Change" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Three How To Prep! – Video

Posted on by


Save The World "Climate Change" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Three How To Prep!
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

By: danielofdoriaa

Link:

Save The World "Climate Change" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Three How To Prep! - Video

Fukushima "Save the World" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Two How To Prep! – Video

Posted on by


Fukushima "Save the World" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Two How To Prep!
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

By: danielofdoriaa

Here is the original post:

Fukushima "Save the World" Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Ten) Part Two How To Prep! - Video

Tough times are opportunities to learn, says Yash Birla

Posted on by

Yashovardhan Birla, chairman of the Yash Birla Group, had a lively interaction with rediff.com readers when he hosted an exclusive chat on Tuesday.

A tragic twist of fate handed Birla a vast empire of companies, when his parents and sister died in a plane crash in Bangalore. He was just 22 years old and still a student in a college in North Carolina, USA.

During the chat, Birla discussed how he fights troubled times, his deep belief in spirituality and his faith in true love.

Here is the transcript:

Yash Birla: Hi folks, I am Yash Birla here, it's great to connect with all of you. Hope you'll enjoy reading my book, On a Prayer. Let's chat about it

suryakant agrawal: How was your spiritual journey. What was experience. Did you face the truth...

Yash Birla: Suryakant, truth is a realisation at every step of your spiritual evolution. The ultimate truth is experienced only when you as an individual don't exist, where our ego dissolves and our consciousness merges with the universal spirit. Which is the goal of every human existence

DR Gupta: Spirituality has no concern with wealth.We can centered our aim towards human beings.The image of Birla has always been seen since pre independence.I think Mr. Yash will carry on his legacy towards the path of Shri G.D.Birla.God bless this boy.

Yash Birla:Thank you so much for your kind words, and I definitely believe in your thoughts and hope to carry forward my family legacy to the best of my abilities

computergramm: ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR VISION OF EDUCATION FRENCHISEE U VE GIVEN IN DIFFERENT STATE ESPECIALLY IN bIHAR? 1. ARE FRENCHISEES PROVIDING QUALITY EDUCATION EXACT WHT U DID LOOK FOR?

Originally posted here:

Tough times are opportunities to learn, says Yash Birla

Ramtha Students Hit the Spiritual and Financial Jackpot

Posted on by

YELM,Wash., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A remarkable run of Washington's Lottery winners, all from the Yelm area, have cashed winning tickets in the past two months that total more than $250,000.The lottery champions gave credit to the teachings at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment because their winning numbers came to them after careful study and applying the school's disciplines.

The winners include:

Ingrid Plattmann: $230,000 on Jan. 11, 2014 Antonia Wood: $10,000 on Jan. 6, 2014 Hanami Hattori: $2,860 on Jan. 20, 2014 Ione Gleeson: $3,347 on Feb. 18, 2014 Anne Mickatavage: $5,070 on Jan. 20, 2014

Ingrid Plattmann made history in January when she won $230,000 playing the Washington Lotto game "Hit 5." "My favorite discipline is C&E," she said. C&E is a breath technique used to shift one's state of mind and create a new reality. She also used the Golden Egg, a process where Ramtha guides students into their visions of wealth. "I got amazing results in my personal learning about what my focus can do," stated Plattmann. "I used various disciplines and continued to conquer my limited thoughts."

While envisioning her success, Plattmann explained her experience. "In purchasing lottery tickets I looked at what amounts of money I could relate to and use. One day I saw the 'Hit 5' which starts at $100,000, and in that moment made it acceptable, then let it go. Ramtha taught us to create: dream the dream, become the dream, and let it go. It will unfold when we least expect it. And that's what happened with me."

Antonia Wood made a focus card and deliberately chose the winning numbers after viewing them while practicing RSE techniques, including the Neighborhood Walk, a discipline to improve awareness and general health. "I trusted that my numbers would come up someday," said Wood. "I realized I really needed to do some extensive repair work on my home, so I decided to get serious about manifesting the funds. I focused with acceptance and a clear intent to win NOW. Within days the numbers had made it all the way," she said. "I am grateful to Ramtha and JZ for their loving patience in helping us to realize that a focused mind can achieve wonders," said Wood.Most students won by predicting the numbers in the "Match 4" game.

The stories from all the winners, along with official photos from the Washington Lottery, can be found at: http://www.rse-newsletter.com/category/lotto-winners/. The Ramtha School of Enlightenment teaches students to capitalize on their natural mental abilities. According to Ramtha's disciplines, we have direct control over how our lives play out. These five students attribute their winnings entirely to the techniques they mastered at RSE. The frequency of these lottery winnings demonstrates these occurrences may have more do to with skill than luck.

About Ramtha's School of EnlightenmentRamtha's School of Enlightenment (RSE) was established in 1988 by Ramtha the Enlightened One as an academy of the mind that offers retreats and workshops to participants from all over the world and from all walks of life. Using ancient wisdom and the latest discoveries in neuroscience and quantum physics, RSE teaches students how to access the extraordinary abilities of the brain to "Become a Remarkable Life." Ramtha's teachings are not a religion. They offer a unique perspective from which to view the mystery of life.

For more information, please visitwww.ramtha.com.

Media Contact:Rob Wynne Phone:310.540.7204 Email:rob@wynnepr.com

Read the original here:

Ramtha Students Hit the Spiritual and Financial Jackpot

Marianne Williamson, Hollywood self-help guru, wants to heal Washington

Posted on by

Santa Monica, Calif. People here in the epicenter of Southern California enlightenment say miracles can happen anywhere, at any time, so tonight weve come with hopeful heart to an unassuming Unitarian Universalist church across from a rain-slicked Rite Aid parking lot. The sanctuary overflows with graybeard activists, insistent young vegans and various dharma seekers fixed on the words of a New Age guru who prefers not to be called a New Age guru.

Marianne Williamson, 61, a self-help author and spiritual sage, now wants mainly to be viewed as a credible independent congressional candidate for the seat that powerful Democrat Henry Waxman is vacating after 40 years. But the two-party system and a mocking media have conspired to reduce her to a footnote, she tells a couple of hundred vociferous supporters packing pews and lining walls.

The Democratic Party has simply decided that this is a Democratic seat, she says. That constitutes a serious force field, but she vows to subvert it. I feel metaphysically it is very important, because thats a sort of the political elitism that were making a stand against here, a stand for democracy.

Most politicians dont talk metaphysics. Well, wait. Theres Dennis Kucinich the former Ohio representative and hes up on the stage with Williamson, lending support and tutelage based on his years campaigning and on the Hill.

We tend to think we cant change things, Kucinich says. There is another reality that exists, thats waiting to be called forward in every moment. ... You are the ones who are calling forward a reality by the name of Marianne Williamson.

At one point, the clapping, whooping and cheering sustain for a full 30 seconds. Somebodys dog yips its approval.

How about electing some officials into our governmental leadership who understand what it means to live from the inside out? declares author John Robbins, a foe of Frankenfoods and GMO producers such as Monsanto. Who understand what it means to access and express the spirit of life?

Wouldnt that be a change? he shouts.

Wouldnt that be a miracle?

Capable of victory or not, Williamson is at least a plausible candidate, some analysts say. Helped by name recognition shes written 13 books since 1992, with sales of 3 million Williamson is poised to exploit an open June primary that will see Democrats, Republicans and independents running against one another in an unpredictable free-for-all. The top two vote getters, no matter their parties, will face off in the November general election.

Visit link:

Marianne Williamson, Hollywood self-help guru, wants to heal Washington

South Floridians Suspend to Find Enlightenment

Posted on by

Eric Madrid is a 32-year-old shaman with a cropped beard, a protruding lower lip, and dark curls grown long in the back. Although he typically wears an all-black uniform, from flat-brimmed cap to high-top skate shoes, he's barefoot and stripped to his skinny jeans this January night.

Madrid attracts new acolytes by posting pictures of his escapades on Facebook.

He lies prostrate on a long cushioned massage table in the dining room of his 1930s Design District home, which boasts a stripper pole and an antique metal bathtub for decoration. In the corner, propped between the linoleum floor and the wall, is a canvas spray-painted with the phrase: "Be who you want to be, just choose."

Diabolic Mikey a handsome, insanely tattooed 28-year-old who looks like Matt Damon's evil twin slips on a pair of white latex gloves so he can stick his friend in the right pectoral using a six-inch, six-gauge skewer that looks like the tip of a syringe.

Courtesy of Fakir Musafar

Fakir Musafar brought Okipa, a Native American ritual, into the modern era.

Courtesy of Fakir Musafar

Fakir Musafar hangs from meat hooks.

He tries once to pierce the shaman's skin. Then again. The veins in Mikey's neck bulge and his ears turn red as he gives it a third go. The skewer bounces off Madrid's armor-like skin. Ten minutes later, on the fourth try, it penetrates his hairless chest.

Madrid's eyes well up with tears. He grips his stomach with his left hand and clenches his toes. Pushing with all his might, Mikey is able to make the skewer go through about four inches of his buddy's skin and pop out the other side. He slips what looks like a tiny coat hanger on the skewer and secures it with a screw and nut on top. Eventually, three of these are inserted and secured.

Read the original post:

South Floridians Suspend to Find Enlightenment

Earth vs Astronauts: ‘Let’s Play’ Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4 – Video

Posted on by


Earth vs Astronauts: #39;Let #39;s Play #39; Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4
Alex Brooker takes on the Astronauts and, well, does pretty good actually. Play the game here: http://space.channel4.com/game/ It #39;s pretty easy to hit a targ...

By: Channel 4

Read more:

Earth vs Astronauts: 'Let's Play' Alex Brooker | Space Week Live | Channel 4 - Video

Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander – Video

Posted on by


Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander
The International Space Station has a new commander. Koichi Wakata took over the reins during a ceremony on the ISS which was watched by ground control. He i...

By: Universal Moves

See original here:

Koichi Wakata becomes International Space Station first Japanese commander - Video