In a foreign country, a man visited a local restaurant. He didn't speak their language. He ordered something indecipherable off the menu. When the waiter brought him a plate of delicious looking fried noodles, he smiled and made an OK sign at the waiter with his thumb and forefinger linked in a circle. Looking angry, the waiter then picked up the dish and thrown it to his lap. What he did wrong, he wondered. Well, nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to using hand gesture in another country.

    Gestures have been used to replace words in many countries, and they are often specific to a given culture. Gesture may mean something complimentary in one culture, but is highly offensive in another.

    The gesture “thumb-up” is commonly misinterpreted. In English, it is popularly known as 'thumbs up', despite the fact that the action is commonly performed with only one hand. English-speaking Caucasians use it to signal 'OK', which is the same meaning as O.K. ring gesture. The two can in fact be used almost interchangeably.

    Avoid using this gesture in Southern Sardina or Northern Greece unless you want to invite a fight. While American, British and Australian would use the thumb up to signal hitch-hiking to the drivers, this message will not encourage a Greek driver or motorist to stop to give them a ride.

    There are no right or wrong signals, only cultural differences. Lack of cultural understanding will lead to disharmony among people from different cultures. When we know what to look for, such encounters with other cultures are actually very interesting, fascinating and fun. It is certainty a great topic to discuss over a cup of coffee and cakes.

    At least 40% of Australian households now have at least one home “Internet of Things” device. These are fridges, window blinds, locks and other devices that are connected to the Internet.

    While the Internet of Things (IoT) may lead to more efficiency in our daily lives, my research shows that consumers are exposed to many risks by the use of IoT devices, ranging from disclosure of private information, to physical injury and problems with the devices themselves.

    Australia has no specific laws aimed at addressing IoT issues, and current laws intended to protect consumers have gaps and uncertainties when dealing with IoT devices. Many IoT device manufacturers and suppliers show little regard for customers' privacy. Some even make money from customer data.

    Consumer electronics company Vizio recently agreed to pay US regulators US $ 2.2 million, after failing to get appropriate permission from users to track their TV viewing habits.

    Late last year, the Norwegian Consumer Council found that a children's doll recorded anything said to it by children and sent the recordings to a US company. The company reserved the right to share and use the data for a broad range of purposes.

    IoT devices have the potential to collect more private data about individuals than was possible with previous devices. All this data can then be used to study consumers, predict our behavior, and sell us products at times when our willpower is lowest. Some companies are currently using technology to track consumers through stores and send their messages to mobile phones. This may be linked to our purchase history.

    Consumers are exposed to significant risks from IoT devices, from the use of data, to security flaws and devices no longer being supported. They should think long and hard about the risks they are taking on with IoT devices. Do you really need that internet-connected hairbrush?

International Kids Club in Switzerland

    Lovell Camps Kids Club

    Lovell Camp runs a daily Kids Club. It is an English language Montessori style club. Kids Club is open from December through March and in July and August. Children will have a wonderful and safe learning experience which includes language activities, cooking, arts and crafts (手工)， citizenship, songs, dance, etc. Learning outside the classroom plays an essential role at Lovell Camp, enabling children to experience the outdoors. So if you are a parent looking for information about what our club can offer your children, then you will find all the information you need right here.

    Admission

    Lovell Camp Kids Club is for pre-school children between 2 and 5 years old. Lovell Camp provides Kids Club sessions for a period of one or more weeks, half or full day reservations and optional daily skiing lessons during the winter season.

What Transportation to take?

    Our club works closely with the Flight Centre, a highly reputable company able to offer great deals on international flights. They will work with your family to find the best flight route for your children and advise on arrangements for your children. Your children will be met by a club counselor(辅导顾问) upon arrival to Switzerland.

What's Included?

    Fees include healthy snacks, school supplies, equipment and hikes. The skiing option fees include transportation to and from the ski hill, professional ski instructions, ski pass, ski snack.

    Fees do not include : ski rentals and equipment, camp T-shirt and long-sleeved shirts, baseball hats, transportation to and from Kids Club to home, medical insurance.

What Do You Do Next?

    The first thing you need to do is register your interest online by clicking in the register button, or call our office at 01383-435-991.

    In 1996, someone found some very old clothes in an old mine in Nevada, USA; they included a pair of dirty old jeans. Today, those jeans are very valuable, and they are now in the Levi Strauss Archival Collection in San Francisco. The jeans, which are over 120 years old, are the oldest pair of Levi's 501 jeans in the world.

    They are almost the same as a modern pair of 501's; there are just some small differences in the detail. For instance, today's 501's have two back pockets, while the old pair just has one.

    In 1853, a young tailor from Germany, called Levi Strauss, began working in San Francisco; Levi sold thick canvas(帆布) to miners; the miners used the canvas to make tents.

    One day, a miner told Levi that he could not find trousers that were strong enough for work in the gold mines. Levi decided to make some trousers out of canvas. Very soon, he sold all the canvas trousers he had made! They were just what miners wanted.

    However, the canvas was rather heavy and stiff(坚硬的). Levi therefore began to look for a different textile(织物). Soon he found a heavy textile from France; it was denim(斜纹粗棉布). Denim was a bit lighter than canvas, but it was very strong. It was ideal for miners.

    However, original denim was almost white, and miners did not like the color! Their denim trousers got dirty as soon as they began working! Levi Strauss therefore decided to use colored denim, and he chose dark blue. In 1873, he began to make denim trousers with metal rivets(铆钉) to make them stronger. “Blue jeans” arrived!

Levi's jeans were so popular that his company got bigger and bigger. Soon, other firms were making blue jeans too. Miners liked them, but so did cowboys and other working men. Blue jeans became classic American working trousers. After the Second World War, jeans became popular all over the world. Today, blue jeans are made all over the world.

I was ever bullied badly when I was in high school. One kid in particular would try to make me feel worse in every way he knew. For example, he would throw stuff at me constantly, hit me on the head, punch me, call me ugly and stupid, make fun of me and, of course tell me he would beat me up if I ever fought back. It was like his daily mission. And it was my daily mission to just get through the day. What could I say? It made my world very small because that was my main focus—just surviving. Everything else fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, that included any form of social life. So not only was my world tiny, but it was very lonely.

    Looking back to that time, which was about 11 years ago, my biggest mistake was not bringing anyone into that world of mine. I was too proud and embarrassed to get help. I would rather not face the fact that I needed help because in my mind, that would mean that the bully had won. It would also mean that I was weak.

Let me just say this—-bullying someone is a weak choice. The only reason why they come after you is that they don't think you will do anything about it. Does that make anyone strong? Absolutely not. Be stronger. Reach out to a parent, a teacher or a friend for help. Simply admit that you are struggling and need help.

    You can put it like this: Somebody who is weak and trying to build himself or herself up has chosen to do that by putting me down. The only reason why they are doing it is that I am nice and I haven't done anything about it yet. Well, I am through putting up with this. I have basic human rights that they are trying to take away to feel better and that is just not OK. How do I handle this the right way? I don't want the pain cycle to continue and I don't want to become someone I don't want to be.

I will close by saying this—-I am not just surviving. I am just enjoying my life. I graduated from college with honors, by the way. You don't have to wait to live. Do something today.

    Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.

    Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport's rules require that a race walker's knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. It's this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.

    Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.

    However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.

    As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner's knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport's strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.