What is Sauna

For anyone not afraid to strip naked and in overall good health, i.e. no history of stroke or hypertension, there is nothing quite as beneficial to body and mind as taking a sauna bath. If you have never experienced it, it is a treat, and treatment, not to be missed. (Sauna is not recommended for children.)

A modern Sauna is a small to medium sized room, made entirely from wood, accommodating from four to eight people. It generally has two levels of benches, a lower one that would correspond to the height of an average chair and one that is double that height and therefore closer to the ceiling where the heat is strongest.

The heat elevates your body temperature, akin to having a fever, which destroys toxins in your system and eliminates them through intense perspiration. Sauna temperatures around 180 degrees Fahrenheit ("dry heat")or slightly higher are achieved by a specialized electric stove with a top layer of hot stones through which the heat escapes into the room. When water is poured on the stones to raise the level of humidity, the temperature is greatly increased and could reach a danger-point for the body, causing heat stroke. If high humidity levels are desired ("wet heat"), the temperature setting must be lowered proportionately, i.e., for 100% humidity, temperature should be around 100 degrees.

Sauna baths are generally taken in the nude, sitting or laying on a towel to absorb sweat.

The concept of sauna as a purification of the body has been practiced in various cultures, since the ancient times of Roman baths, for ceremonial as well as therapeutic purposes.

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UP IN ARMS

Forbes v Bloggers

An Amalgamated Perspectives Editorial


"You might be aware of the pissing match currently going on between the mainstream media, i.e., the corporate 'News' moguls, and the Blogger community. Confronted with the fact that the not-so-new phenomenon of blogging is taking up more and more bandwidth in cyberspace, the media giants take a stand.

Whereas Business Week and Fortune Magazine came out in support and praise of the ever expanding blogosphere, Forbes, while initially positive, published an article by Daniel Lyons accusing Web logs of "spewing lies, libel and invective". Predictably, this affront hit like the proverbial match in a powder keg: Acerbic volleys have been flying ever since.

We cannot help but notice, that BOTH sides are guilty of hyperbole and slander. The very practices that each side condemns, each side also engages in. What does this scenario remind you of? Yes, it is suspiciously reminiscent of the infantile squabbles in kindergarten! Whoa, is it not time that we put these childish rivalries behind us?
Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing except when it is (ab)used for petty and inflammatory obfuscation.

C’m on, guys, enough already: it is high time to kiss and make up. Let us rise above all this self-defeating anger mongering and come together in TOLERANCE and Peaceful Coexistence.


After all: The World Wide Web is big enough for all of us."

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[See also: a Post by Jason Goldman]
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[About us: The AMALGAMATED PERSPECTIVES Platform]


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The Phenomenon of Blogging REVIEWED

An editorial by Ana Elsner


You have signed on with a blog host. You have designed the layout of your pages.
Welcome to the Blogosphere! ... So, what next?

Obviously you feel the urge to communicate. The question is: What do you wish to say, and to whom are you addressing yourself ? - Answering this question will define your blog's platform, i.e., its basic theme and content. It will also determine your blog's readership and popularity.

Weblogs seem to fall into at least five general categories:

- The primary motivation for the blogger novice is to keep an online DIARY of his or her personal life, and share with the world-at-large their innermost hopes, fears and other private matters, concerns, events and affairs. This type of blogging seems to be born out of a sense of isolation and can be understood as an attempt to 'reach out'. These blogs, while often fascinating, can also be too recondite and boring to those of us, not enrolled in PSYCH 101.

- Another type of blog is the 'insider' SPECIAL INTEREST BLOG where all content and links center on a specific hobby, profession, pursuit or mission (such as photography, singers or bands, cooking, pets, to name just a few). These blogs have a devoted and highly interactive online 'tribe' of followers who, depending on geographic proximity to each other, will also meet in person or come together in support of a cause related to their common interest. Such blogs are self-limiting in that they appeal only to an exclusive group.

- Gaining in popularity are TUMBLELOGS. They are a type of modified 'remaindered links' style Linklog with minimal commentary, a maximum of eye-catching visuals, sparse text, little cross-blog chatter and the barest whiff of a finished article. They serve as a sort of 'switchboard' for the trigger-happy blog browser flitting about at break-neck speed, never stopping long enough to investigate any topic in depth.

- A fourth type of blog is pure and flagrant SOLICITATION in the weblog format. It serves no other purpose than to push products or services, which are often of dubious legality. Such blogs are stuffed with popular keywords in order to lure the searchbots to index their pages and thereby drive traffic to their site(s). Should you accidentally land on one of these, your screen will instantly light up with flashing banners, pop-ups and other annoying, if not harmful little programs. In addition to sending out cookies, many of these 'pseudo' blogs run sophisticated listbots on your harddrive that harvest additional data and send it back to their server. Blogsurfer beware!

- By contrast, there are the INTELLIGENT and INFORMATIVE BLOGS that aspire to meet the highest of journalistic standards. They are dedicated to bringing their readership a wide array of well written, well researched and thought provoking articles and news items. They are de facto Online Magazines rivaling those you pick up at the local newsstand. Their content delivery is made with conviction as well as with humor and promotes further reading. Rather than merely compiling a long list of links and condensing each post to the proverbial soundbite, these WEBZINES feature comprehensive articles that develop a topic from start to conclusion. Such blogs are made by writers for writers. They will not, however, appeal to the 'on-the-fly' websurfer with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

Being a blogger means that you are the captain of your own ship in cyberspace. You map your course by the content you choose to present. Blog on!

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[See also: "On Cruising the Blog-Scene" ]

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[Related Post: "What type of blog is this?"]

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