Fascinated with images from the Mars Rover? It turns out you don't have to go to space. The following spots may look like they are on another planet, but they are right here on earth.

    * Socotra Island, Indian Ocean

    The largest of the four-island Socotra Archipelago, the island has about 250 species of plants that are not found anywhere else in the world. This includes the canopy-topped dragon's blood tree, which has blood-red resin(树脂）that runs down if the trunk is cut deep. It can grow to 10 feet with a bulbous(球根的）trunk that swells with water absorbed in case of dry weather.

    See it for yourself: There are regular flights from the Yemen capital of Sanaa on(Felix Airways) ($ 180 each way)

    * Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona

    This wilderness in Northern Arizona/southern Utah is home to some of the most striking landscapes in the American Southwest. The nearly 300,000-acre site is known for its abundance of colorful shale（页岩）and Navajo sandstone that has been eroded(侵蚀）by the elements to create cliffs that rise as high as 3,000 feet. In the northwest of the park is the Coyote Buttes, where you'll find The Wave, a wall of red sandstone that twists and turns in a way that just doesn't look natural —but is.

    See it for yourself: Permits are required to hike in Vermilion Cliffs. Paria Canyon and Buckskin Gulch permits are available at on-site pay stations or in advance ($5 per person).

    *Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

    The huge size of the Perito Moreno Glacier is unbelievable— it is more than 50 miles in length and 500 feet deep. The terminus(终点）of the glacier is Lago Argetino, where a 50-foot blue-hued ice wall rises from the lake. The Perito Moreno is also one of the only glaciers left on earth that is still growing.

    See it for yourself: Many tour companies offer day trips to Perito Moreno from El Calafte. Viator's full-day tour includes transportation from a local hotel and a guided tour for $ 106 per person.

    Why do you go to the library? For books, yes－but you like books because they tell stories. You hope to get lost in a story or be transported into someone else's life. At one type of library, you can do just that－even though there's not a single book.

    At a Human Library, instead of books, you can "borrow" people. Individuals volunteer as human "books" and participants in the event can "read" the book－meaning they would have a one-on-one conversation with the volunteer and share in a dialogue about that individual's experience. "Books" are volunteers from all walks of life who have experienced discrimination (歧视) based on race, religion, class, gender identity, age, lifestyle choices, disability and other aspects of their life.

    For a certain amount of time, you can ask them questions and listen to their stories, which are as fascinating and as attractive as any you can find in a book. Many of the stories have to do with some kind of stereotype. You can speak with a refugee (难民), a soldier suffering from PTSD, a homeless person or a woman living with HIV. The Human Library encourages people to challenge their own long-held beliefs to truly get to know, and learn from someone they might otherwise make a quick judgment about.

    According to its website, the Human Library is "a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered." It provides the opportunity for the community to share and understand the experiences of others in their community.

    The Human Library Organization came to be in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000. Ronni Abergel and his colleagues hosted a four-day event during a major Northern European festival, hoping to raise awareness about violence among youth. After the success of this event, Abergel founded the Human Library Organization, which has been growing ever since.

    Though there are a few permanent human libraries, most aren't places at all, but events. Though many do take place at physical libraries, you don't need a library card－anyone can come and be part of the experience. There have been human library events all over the globe, in universities and in pubs, from Chicago to Tunis to Edinburgh to San Antonio.

    The stories these "books" tell range from fascinating to heartbreaking and everything in between. And that's the very point of the organization－to prove that no person can be summed up in just one word. It seeks to show people that you truly can't judge a book by its cover－or by its title or label.

    BackJoy Orthotic Seat: Easy, Drug-Free Relief from Back Pain

    Why BackJoy?

    BackJoy is an innovative device that provides relief from back discomfort by aiding in maintaining your posture (姿势) anywhere you sit, hard or soft seats.

    Proven effective � over 2.0 million units sold, durable to provide long-lasting support

    Recommended by doctors and nurses

    Safe and effective � a natural alternative

    Back Pain Is A Problem!

    We average over 9+ hours of sitting each day!

    80% of adults will suffer from back pain in their life

    Back pain is the No. 2 reason for visiting the doctor

    Mom was right: “Sit up straight!”

    How to use

    BackJoy is made small on purpose. It is designed to cradle the space around the two sitting bones at the base of your pelvis and must be smaller than your buttocks to do so.

    Sit on top of it

    Handle goes in front and between your legs

    Pull it tight & cup to fit

    Feel it cup & lift your hips above the seat from below you

A Different Kind of Spring Break

    For many American university students, the week-long spring break holiday means an endless part on a sunny beach in Florida or Mexico. In Panama City Beach, Florida, a city with a permanent population of approximately 36,000, more than half a million university students arrive during the month of March to play and party, making it the number one spring break destination in the United States.

    A week-long drinking binge is not for everyone, however, and a growing number of American university students have found a way to make spring break matter. For them, joining or leading a group of volunteers to travel locally or internationally and work to address problems such as poverty, homelessness, or environmental damage makes spring break a unique learning experience that university students can feel good at.

    During one spring break week, students at James Madison University in Virginia participated in 15 "alternative spring break" trips to nearby states, three others to more distant parts of the United States, and five international trips. One group of JMU students traveled to Bogalusa, Louisiana, to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Another group traveled to Mississippi to organize creative activities for children living in a homeless shelter. One group of students did go to Florida, but not to lie on the sand. They performed exhausting physical labor such as maintaining roving invasive plant species that threaten the native Florida ecosystem.

    Students who participate in alternative spring break projects find them very rewarding. While most university students have to get their degrees before they can start helping people, student volunteers are able to help people now. On the other hand, the accommodations are far from glamorous. Students often sleep on the floor of a school or church, or spend the week camping in tents. But students only pay around $250 for meals and transportation, which is much less than some of their peers spend to travel to more traditional spring break hot spot.

Video calls are a common occurrence, but have you imagined being able to touch the person on the other end of the line? Scientists are making this a reality.

Researchers at the University of new South Wales, Australia have invented a soft skin stretch device (SSD). A haptic device that can recreate the sense of touch. Haptic technology mimics the experience of touch by stimulating localized areas of the skin in ways that are similar to what is felt in the real world, through force, vibration or motion.

Vibration is the most common haptic technology today and has been built into many electronic devices such as one attached to the back of the trackpad (触摸板) in laptops, which simulates a button clicking. However, haptic feedback with vibration becomes less sensitive when used continuously. The existing technology also has great difficulty recreating the sense of touch with objects in virtual environments or located remotely. According to Mai Thanh Thai, lead author of the study.

The new technology overcomes issues with existing haptic devices. The research team introduced a novel method to recreate the sense of touch through a soft artificial "muscles".

"Our three-way directional skin stretch device, built into the fingertips of the wearable glove we also created is like wearing a second skin-- its soft stretchable and mimics the sense of touch-- and will enable new forms of haptic communication to enhance everyday activities" said Thanh Nho Do, senior author of the study.

Imagine you are at home and you call your friend who is in Australia. You wear a haptic glove with the SSDs, and your friends also wears a glove with integrated 3D force sensors. If your friend picks up an object, it will physically press against your friend's fingers. And their glove with 3D force sensors will measure with interactions. The force signals can be sent to your glove so your device will generate the same 3D forces. Making you experience the same sense of touch as your friend.

The haptic devices could be applied in various situations, allowing users to feel objects inside a virtual world or at a distance. It could also be used in medical practices. Doctors can feel a patient's organ tissues. With surgical tools without touching them.

Recently, I carried out an investigation to discover what it was that prevented people from journalling. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} So, today, I want to introduce a very simple tool — The MicroMOVEment Wheel. It will help you pick up your journal even at times when you really don't feel like it.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} She describes creating this method so she could use it as a creative planning tool for her writing projects and goals. While it was originally aimed at writers, you can use this technique to help you complete any project in a fun and creative way.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Here's how it works. Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a large circle, and then another smaller circle in the middle, In the center circle, write down what you are inspired to achieve. Remember, journaling does not need to feel like a chore in your day. So come up with descriptions for your journalling that are inspiring and energizing. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} These are what SARK refers to as the MicroMOVEments. Each MicroMOVEment is five minutes in length, So, in the case of journalling, that would represent a minimum of up to five minutes of journalling in one sitting, on any given day.

Let's say you're new to journalling. By setting aside five minutes out of your day, you could write one word in your notebook that sums up a feeling or an experience. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The idea of the MicroMOVEment is to create easy steps to get your journal writing or writing projects moving. When you keep the steps small, it will become doable and achievable.

A. Next, divide the rest of the circle into eight equal parts.

B. It is the brainchild of international bestselling writer SARK.

C. There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to journalling.

D. Where to start and not having enough time were amongst the top responses.

E. Daily tasks such as sweeping and washing are time-consuming and laborious.

F. Then, list any associated words, images or thoughts that are generated by the word.

G. The medicine with this approach is breaking your actions down into the tiniest steps.