Tips for writing a blog

When i started blogging i knew like what to do but then just to make it clear i started surfing about tips for making a good blog and i came across many things and the below are few best points that i came across.Just have a glance if you are new to blogging and its just a "turnback to the basics"

• Long, thoughtful, provoking and inspiring articles – every now and then. You don’t want to overwhelm your blog followers with three or four blog posts a week that span several screen lengths. But once in a blue moon – go for it!

• Short thoughtful, provoking, and inspiring articles – get the difference? You don’t have to write a novel. Just a paragraph or two.

• ”How-to’s” – 3 steps, 5 secrets, 3 tips types of articles. For example, three things you need to pack for a day-long hike. Or five must-haves in your make-up kit.

• Quotes – yours or others. You can just post the quotation, or you can explain why this particular quotation is particularly inspiring to you.

• Resources – this is where you share your favorite things: books, tools, other coaches/consultants/experts.

• Quick stories about something that happened to you that highlights a perspective you believe in.

• Poems or songs about your movement that would be inspiring to your tribe

• Events you are offering/leading – yes, you can even post sales-type posts in your blog. (Which is really handy when you have your blog linked to social networks.)

• Stories about your friends – their shifts, aha’s, awarenesses, why they work with you, results, profiles. Stories show what you do, much better than you just telling what it is you do.

• Updates, feedback, buzz about events you are leading, such as “The top 3 questions I’m getting from my friends...”

• Stories, themes or trends you are seeing with your mates/colleagues.
  

• Free checklists - you probably have all kinds of “get started quick” type of lists – use these as special blog postings to generate credibility and expertise

• Any events where you are appearing, being interviewed, telesummits, and the like. Let people see what you’re doing!

• Photos – photos – photos! They are inspiring! Of you, your surroundings, your clients, people you are with, you and your mentors.
  

Simple Science -- Refraction

I wanted to make glass disappear in a liquid . I was just browsing about it and found the way.This simple video shows how the glass gets disappeared inside the liquid.

Step 1:

Get a glass rod made from pyrex. This was the hardest part. I got one from the high school chemistry department. Using hollow glass objects like test tubes and pipets and eye-droppers isn't as impressive. The double wall nature of these objects makes it more than twice as hard to make the object disappear. Plus having a glass rod results in a simple test to see if your liquid's index of refraction is too high or too low (explained below in step 4). Pyrex has a low IOR compared to other glasses. Fortunately it is a very common glass. Most glass blown decorations are also pyrex so you could try one of those if you have one.

Step 2:

Pick two liquids that can be mixed together . One with an index of refraction higher than glass and one lower.Baby Oil's IOR is slightly lower than glass. Oil is slightly higher.You only have to mix for 10-30 seconds before testing. It requires 1 to 3 minutes each time you add a drop of water. Also it gets bubbles in it easily and they take 30-60 minutes to reach the surface and pop.

Step 3:

Next is to find a suitable transparent container and put a horizontal line on it or behind it for testing purposes.

Step 4:

Testing! Put your liquid in your container, insert glass rod. Hold rod vertically and tilt it to the left or the right. If the horizontal line tilts in the same direction, then the index of refraction of the liquid is too low. Water is a good example of this. Here is a picture with water - note that the red line is angled roughly twice that of the rod but in the same direction. If the line tilts in the opposite direction your IOR is too high. As you get close, the tilt is very subtle and you have to look at the edges, tilt the rod more, or hold the rod farther from the horizontal line (towards the front of the container).

Step 5:

Mixing - obviously steps 4 and 5 are repeated alot to get it perfect.If you add too much water (easy to do) and your container is getting too full, put this mixture aside and use it instead of water next time. The mixing goes much faster because the difference in IOR between the two liquids isn't as dramatic.

TEMPERATURE! - I've read that temperature will affect IOR so make sure you do your testing with the liquids at room temperature or at the temperature which they will be used. This goes for your glass also.

Simple Science -- Magic Sand

Magic sand is ordinary sand which has been coated with trimethylsilanol, a compound which makes the sand resistant to water. The result is a hydrophobic sand which can be used in all sorts of interesting ways. Magic sand was originally developed for use in the cleanup of oil spills, but it has come to be used as a children's toy and educational tool instead. Many stores which sell science-orientated kid's toys stock magic sand.

Because magic sand resists water, it performs very strangely when it is exposed to water. Individual grains of sand tend to stick together in the water, creating blocks of sand underwater which can be molded into various shapes. When scattered lightly across the surface of water, magic sand will stick together and form a thin layer of sand which eventually get too heavy to float, sinking slowly to the bottom. Magic sand also appears slightly silvery underwater, thanks to the bubble of air which forms around the granules of sand.

When lifted out of the water, magic sand is perfectly dry and free-flowing. People who grew up playing with magic sand may remember how mesmerizing the mysterious substance was, as the seemingly solid underwater shapes would dissolve instantly when pulled out of the water.

The idea behind this sand when it was initially developed was that it could be scattered across an oil spill to bond to the oil. As the sand bonded with the oil and to itself, it would grow extremely heavy, eventually sinking to the bottom of the ocean and taking the oil with it. However, magic sand proved expensive to manufacture, and doubts were raised about the environmental soundness of this cleanup method.As a result of its commercial failure, the manufacturer was left wondering what to do with its new invention. The solution was to dye the sand in eye-catching colors, label it “magic sand,” “Mars sand,” or “space sand,” and sell it as a toy. Magic sand was immensely popular in the 1980s, much to the chagrin of parents who had to clean up after their children, and it continues to be used in scientific demonstrations of the properties of hydrophobic materials.

You can make magic sand at home, should you feel so inclined. Magic sand can be made by baking sand to remove the moisture and then coating it with a water repellent such as 3M's Scotchgard, tossing the sand to ensure that it is evenly coated.