Death. It’s as much a part of life as being born and, by far, more fascinating to poets. The amount of poetry written about death and dying could lead you to believe that the topic plays on the mind of poets quite frequently. And why shouldn’t it? People have been fascinated with death as far back in history as history goes, so the records tell us.

Ancient Egyptians’ lives were intertwined with their fixation of death and the afterlife. As most people know, Egyptians mummified the body after death and buried it with worldly items it would need in the afterlife. Many of these same Egyptians worshiped Osiris, the king of the dead, who had a large cult following. Greeks believed that mortals lived out the afterlife in Hades. Hades was home to both the Elysian Fields (a paradise) and Tartarus (an abyss of suffering). Modern Christians believe in Heaven (a paradise) and Hell (a place of damnation) and that you are judged upon death then sent to live out your existence in one of the two places. Many other religions believe in reincarnation (the soul being reborn into another body).

No matter what your belief on death, it either already has, or will, touch you at some point in your life - be it sooner or later, you cannot escape it. And when it does touch you, how will you react to it? If you are a poet, perhaps you will write about it. When you do write about it, how will you approach it? Let’s look at a couple of examples of what two others have done.

Emily Dickinson in Because I Could Not Stop for Death takes a very mellow approach to death and is quite accepting of it. She writes:

Because I could not stop for Death–
He kindly stopped for me–
The Carriage held but just Ourselves–
And Immortality.

In complete contrast, Dylan Thomas in Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night states:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

What approach will you take? What angle will you give it? Where are you coming from? Maybe you’ll emulate one of these poets or carve your own path somewhere in between. Whatever the case may be, remember to be descriptive, choose your words carefully, and try to say what you’re going to say in a fresh, new way (I know that’s easier said than done).

Terry J. Coyier is a 37-year-old college student studying for an Associates of Applied Sciences degree. She is also a freelance writer who writes about bipolar disorder. Terry was diagnosed with bipolar ten years ago. She lives with her son in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. Terry is an author on www.Writing.Com/ http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Writers and her personal portfolio can be viewed here.

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) — Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesyof Thomson CenterWatch:

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When you think of window blinds, do you picture some white heavy wooden things that hung in the windows of your Grandmother’s house? Window blinds today can be a decorative accent to any room, no matter whether it is a country, traditional or contemporary style. They can be more than just a means to add privacy to your home and keep out excess heat and sun. Today’s marketplace offers a large choice of materials, colors and styles of window blinds that can match any room.

Window blinds come in a variety of price ranges as well. You can find ready-made blinds at your local home store, discount store or specialty shop. While you are restricted to only popular sizes at a discount store, a home store will cut blinds to the size you actually need. A specialty store can make or order blinds in custom sizes to fit your needs. One of the advantages of shopping at a specialty store is that installation is available. However, if you are an ardent do-it-yourself person, installing blinds can be done by an amateur.

Selecting a style of blinds that fit your budget, style and room can be fun. You can select from one of many categories:

* Wood blinds fit a classic and natural style. Real wood requires more attention than faux. Faux wood is either composite or PVC. The operating mechanism can be cord. But many families prefer the safer lift technology that requires a soft touch. Wood blinds are generally 2 slats. The wider the slat the less light that can come through. Color and wood tones should compliment your room rather than jump out at you. Many people opt to use a valance or cornice to add needed layers.

* Vertical blinds can make a room feel taller and mysterious. On a sliding door or living room window, these blinds don’t have to remind you of the 80s with big flowery patterns and cold surroundings. The pull mechanism can be from either side or even operate from a remote control. Careful not to mix patterns that will be outdated in a short time. Many vertical blinds add a soft texture that brings out your furniture’s beauty.

* Aluminum blinds are typically trendy and inexpensive. Most are mini blinds that spruce up a kid’s closet window or look great in a play room. However, they tend to bend or dent easily. So try to pick a place where kids aren’t hanging on them a lot.

* Top or bottom hanging blinds are interesting ways to let light shine into your room. Blinds don’t have to operate just from the bottom up. You can select a blind that slides from the top down with the light touch of your hand. If you want more options than just tilting slats upward or down, you can select a blind that pushes down and leaves the bottom half shut for added privacy.

For more information about how to select a blind for your room, call your local Eddie Z or visit adblinds.com http://adblinds.com

Copyright 2006 Annisha Delaney. All rights reserved. Annisha Delaney owns Ad Blinds - a popular source of information about blinds. Visit her archive of articles at: www.adblinds.com/newsletters/ http://www.adblinds.com/newsletters/ .

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Many in Government are talking about accountability in business as a result of the accounting and stock market scandals. President Bush signed the Corporate Fraud Law, which was supposed to make CEOs accountable. They are still missing the point about accountability. What they are really talking about is responsibility to the law, not accountability! In addition, they are talking about accountability as if it were something that can be legislated or directed - it cannot!

What then is accountability? Accountability is a combination of responsibility and standards (ACCOUNTABILITY = RESPONSIBILITY + STANDARDS). This implies a definable and measurable commitment to deliver a specified result. In other words, to paraphrase Harry Truman, it defines where “the buck stops”, which is at every level of responsibility. A great part of the confusion comes from a lack of distinction between responsibility and accountability. Responsibility refers to the duties to be performed, describing what should be done without specifying how well or how timely tasks should be performed. Responsibility is an action, accountability is a result (compared to standards).

The next logical question is: Who are we accountable to? Responsibility and accountability by their nature infer a relationship. The answer to the question is; our stakeholders. Stakeholders are individuals or organizations who are involved in or may be affected by the activities of the enterprise. There is a diversity of stakeholders within any enterprise or organization. Each stakeholder has a different and unique need that must be met by the organization. For example, an employee has a need for security, a paycheck, and a safe working environment. On the other hand, an investor has a need for a reasonable rate of return on their investment. A customer has a need for a quality product or service that provides value. The local government has a need for tax revenues and so on.

The business community has failed at the point of the stakeholder, because it has taken an unbalanced approach to meeting stakeholder needs. For business to be successful, it must be accountable at all levels to all of the various stakeholders. For many years, business has focused on meeting the needs of the investors rather than meeting the needs of all of the stakeholders. For example, a company decides to cut costs to drive up its perceived value to investors, and lays-off 1,700 employees. What is the impact on the stakeholders? Investors see improved cash flow and reduced liabilities, thereby making the perceived value of the company stock greater. The CEO realizes increased value to their assets (stock and stock options). The laid off worker is out of a job and realizes diminished value to their assets. The retained worker realizes greater demands on their time, decreased quality of work life and home life, greater stress, etc.

The impact on the organization is greater turnover (voluntarily and involuntarily) which drives costs up, increases waste, reduces effectiveness, and in many cases loses customers. The myopic view of stakeholders is threatening the long-term viability of the enterprise or organization.

Business needs a fresh look at how it is conducting itself in order to re-establish the trust of its stakeholders. A few arrests won’t do, new laws won’t do, and the words of our politicians won’t do. We need to re-think our business structures in terms of true accountability to our stakeholders - ALL of our STAKEHOLDERS! This requires reinvent our business in such a way that it is accountable at all levels. Accountability must be linked throughout the organization to its strategic purpose, its vision and values, and to all of the stakeholders.

Accountability requires a commitment from all parties. That commitment must be based upon an obligation to obtain predetermined results in a given activity. Such commitment will only come when both parties have a say in building the accountability. Such accountability does not just happen, it requires a system.

Any such system must take into account the obligations that all enterprises or organizations have to their stakeholders. Without an obligation, there can be no accountability. In business there are five fundamental obligations, they include:

* Survival obligation
* Essential work obligation
* Principal markets obligation
* Principal product obligation, and
* Principal territory obligation.

These obligations exist at all levels of the organization, though they may be stated a bit differently at each level or from department to department. They drive the company’s mission as well as its strategic purpose. The five fundamental obligations provide the basis for defining the work in terms of “Continuing Vital Activities.” These activities, which if not performed according to certain standards, could impair overall operating results.

Continuing Vital Activities (CVAs) are the framework within which realistic and achievable objectives are developed. They help focus the work so that objectives reflect what needs to be done (results based objectives), rather than what will ensure that bonuses are obtained (permissive objectives).

We need to change from the system of permissive objectives that many organizations have fallen victim to one that links concrete results to the obligations that the organization has to the stakeholders. These objectives require that standards be applied to ensure that the necessary results are obtained. The greatest barrier to effective results oriented objectives is a resistance by managers and subordinates alike to define appropriate standards. Standards development must be a part of any accountability system if it is to succeed.

There is a program available for building a true accountability system within an organization - it is called the “Accountability Focused Management” system provided by The ALERA Consulting Group, Inc. The “Accountability Focused Management” system provides a systematic structure built upon the five fundamental obligations. It creates an atmosphere of mutual commitment to those obligations by both management and personnel. It helps organizations analyze work to identify Continuing Vital Activities necessary for the success of their day-to-day operations. Once the CVAs have been identified for a position, the “Accountability Focused Management” system requires managers and subordinates to sit down and discuss the nature of the work in terms of the results the manager needs to get from the subordinate. The subordinate then defines the standards he is willing to, or capable of, achieving in the required time frame. The discussion between manager and subordinate produces a “Results Commitment” for each of the identified CVAs.

The Accountability Focused Management system changes the focus from responsibility to accountability.

www.AleraGroup.com http://www.AleraGroup.com

Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.

AP - You can skip the mouth-to-mouth breathing and just press on the chest to save a life. In a major change, the American Heart Association said Monday that hands-only CPR - rapid, deep presses on the victim’s chest until help arrives - works just as well as standard CPR for sudden cardiac arrest in adults.

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Many mothers-to-be choose to buy large clothing than maternity wear because the latter is much more expensive. It is quite irritating that once a piece of clothing gets the maternity label, it immediately becomes over-priced. Frugal women have found a clever way out of the situation - they purchase regular clothes in larger sizes.

When pregnant, searching for the right clothing is sometimes tricky. Although there are many large-sized clothes only few actually look good. Consequently, finding proper large clothing is a bit of a challenge. Here are some tips what you could look for when you are searching for clothes while expecting a baby.

First of all, even if you don’t feel like spending money on maternity wear, you’ll still have to buy at least some pants designed for mothers-to-be. There is no getting around it. You can find many nice and comfortable maternity pants; maternity jeans are also available if you would like to invest some more money in clothing. Whatever you choose, just keep in mind that when it comes to pants large clothing will simply not do.

As far as buying underwear is concerned, you don’t have to worry about it. You can just purchase large clothing that suits you best. Finding larger sized panties and bras will be an easy task.

If you are a nursing mother you might want to have nursing bras. My advice is not to bother buying them. Find nice bras in large clothing stores instead. When trying on some pay attention if they provide enough support and if they are easy to unfasten. I personally didn’t like the difficult clasps of the regular nursing bras, so I purchased some larger-sized bras.

Many mothers-to-be insist on having maternity shirts but you can save some money and buy big shirts instead. I had a favorite shirt which I wore during most of my pregnancy; it was not a maternity shirt, I took it with discount from a large clothing store. My husband’s large clothes were quite helpful, too. As I had a winter pregnancy, I needed large pullovers and big button down shirts which I was lucky to find in our closet. My husband didn’t mind giving them to me, so I had plenty of comfortable outfits to wear at home.

When you are expecting a baby, you should invest some money in purchasing a few pairs of good maternity pants. As far as all other types of clothing are concerned, you can buy them all from a large clothing store. You can also buy a large hospitable robe or any kind of sleepwear, but don’t bother looking for maternity night gowns as they are not comfortable at all.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning clothing. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting www.theclothingcorner.com/clothing/clothing/a-look-at-large-clothing.html http://www.theclothingcorner.com/clothing/clothing/a-look-at-large-clothing.html

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One of the first things any body should do when they are going to choose healthy snacks and appetizers over their normal choice of food is to prepare a list before they go shopping and then make sure that they stick to it. Just because you have decided to take on a more healthy life style it does not mean that you have to give up on all the foods that you have previously eaten, you just need to learn to make better choices and try to eat more organic and raw foods instead. Even if you find that you are not overweight a diet that also consists some raw foods will be healthier for you in the long term. So make your list and stay well away from the biscuits and sweet aisles.

The first thing you really need to do if you are serious about having a more healthy diet and lifestyle is to clear your kitchen cupboards and fridge/freezer of all those fatty foods that are lurking there. Items that you should no longer have in your cupboards or fridge/freezer are chips and microwavable foods.

Once you have rid yourself of all that old junk food and made room for the healthier options, you now need to replenish your cupboards with the healthy options. At the shop buy fruit, vegetables and nuts, which you will be able to use to make fresh appetizers and snacks from. You may even consider purchasing some dried fruits (bananas, apricots, peaches etc.,) as they are good for snacking on, but remember to keep away from those that have added sugars.

If you are able to invest a good quality food process and juicer or just a juicer on its own for making natural juices and smoothies (yoghurt and fruit juices combined) and for helping to chop up all those fresh fruit and vegetables that you are now going to eat. Ensure that you have plenty of space in your fridge for keeping all those healthy vegetables and fruit fresh when you bring them home.

A perfectly healthy appetizer for either in the evenings or at dinner parties for guests to snack on is slices of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber and olives placed on the table with a small container of low or fat free ranch dressing in to which the vegetables can be dipped.

However, if you are the kind of person who really must have some sort of meat in their diet, then try having fish (either sushi (raw fish) or fresh tuna (which can be cooked (seared) quickly) and provide with it some soy sauce for dipping into.

If you really do want to stay as fat free as possible and live a more healthy life style then eat as many raw organic foods as you can.

Kerris Samson a work from home mum now living in Spain who has spent a large amount of time researching the subject of organic products for a healthy lifestyle. If you would like to know more please visit www.wholesomeorganics.info http://www.wholesomeorganics.info .

AP - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama secured the backing of a second female senator on Monday as a top supporter of rival Hillary Rodham Clinton raised expectations for Obama in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary.

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Just as there are highly talented musical acts that never make the big time, there are musical acts that make the big time, only to never go anywhere. Some of these acts make the big time and make a fool of themselves, while others make the big time, make an impact, and make a quick getaway. Some are lucky enough to have at least one hit, while others are stuck with a few mediocre hits that come back to haunt them decades later. Some are loved for a while, only to fall from grace quickly, and some just never gain acceptance. The following is our list of the top five busted musicians, bands and solo acts who sang the wrong tune.

Milli Vanilli: Ah, Milli Vanilli. Just like our parents remember where they were when Elvis died, those of us who were children of the 1980’s remember where we were when Milli Vanilli’s secret came out. The singers that brought us “Girl You Know It’s True,” Milli Vanilli won a Grammy in 1990 for Best New Artist. This, however, was short lived after it was revealed that their talent had less to do with music, and more to do with lip singing. Still, those of us who were true fans didn’t blame it on the duo; we blamed it on the rain.

Ashley Simpson: While performing on Saturday Night Live in fall of 2004, Ashley Simpson was caught pulling a “Milli Vanilli” when it was revealed she wasn’t actually singing. This was followed by an ill-received performance at the Orange Bowl and a slug of condemnation. Still, Ashley Simpson has two huge things working for her: she’s released two number one albums and she’s young enough to bounce back from any criticism accrued. Plus, she can benefit from having her manager, who also happens to be her father, on her side. He seems just a tad crazy.

O-Town: A group that came together through the reality series, Making of the Band, O -Town got on the literal band wagon just a bit too late. As the boy band fad started to fade into the night, O-Town found that they were unable to gain substantial success. The group was together for only a short time and though they did release two albums, O-Town disappeared from the scene as quickly as they came into it. This is, however, old potatoes: the manager of the group, Lou Pearlman, apparently has more pressing worries on his mind.

Eddie Murphy: We love his stand up, we love his movies, we even love when he lends his voice to an animated donkey. We just don’t love his music. Though he can actually hold a note quite well, the songs Eddie Murphy released have to be tunes that even he looks back on and says…”wha???” Still, Eddie did have two hits with “Put Your Mouth on Me” and “Party all the Time.” The latter song was voted, in 2004, as number eight on the list of 50 Worst Songs of All Time by Blender magazine.

Gerardo: After playing the part of Ricky in the film, Can’t Buy me Love, Gerardo Mejia became a singer…sort of. He was known more for his sexy appearance, his six packed abs, and his dance talent than he was for his booming voice. Still, he reached the top of the charts with his hit “Rico Suave,” a hit that - admit it - you know you’ve sang along with. One of the first performers to merge Latin and English, Gerardo occasionally calls himself the “Latin Frank Sinatra.” Uh….right.

Jennifer Jordan is a senior editor for www.iturbocharge.com http://www.iturbocharge.com . Possessing an infatuation with pop culture - and a gift for stalking - she keeps up on the latest news of the musical world.

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What do you think of when you hear the word herbal? Definitely in most cases you associate it with something healthy and something good for your body, skin and well-being.

What about Herbalife? The name says a lot and provokes you to think about it as something good and something that will give you energy and as the name suggests life.

Herbalife is a natural product. It is made of basic nutrient compounds, vitamins, minerals. Herbalife is 100% organic and is a very high quality product. The main Herbalife Vitamin Supplement ingredients are actually grown in pesticide free zones so that none of the materials are contaminated.

The benefits of Herbalife vitamin supplement are many. One of the main benefits is that the main Herbalife meal replacement contains your complete daily vitamin and nutritional intake in less calories then a normal meal.

Herbalife Vitamin Supplements are perfect for weight loss and keeping your body healthy. Weight loss comes down one basic factor, Outgoing (or used) Calories Vs Incoming Calories.

So as you can imagine being able to get all your daily nutrition and vitamin needs through herbalife vitamin supplements in less calories then a normal meal allows for accelerated weight loss whilst still being health.

Advanced Herbalife Vitamin Supplements

Herbalife also have many other advanced vitamin supplements all designed to help you make the most out of every day. Some of the more advanced vitamin supplements are anti-oxidant formula’s and energy supplements.

Having used the full herbalife vitamin range for more then 2 years I can honestly say that these advanced herbalife vitamin supplements helped me more then any other vitamin range on the market.

Herbalife Vitamin Supplements for Your Skin and Hair

Herbalife don’t only do supplements in a pill form, they also offer advanced solutions for your skin and hair problems.

They provide solutions to people with oil skin and oily hair to people with dry skin and dry hair and everything in between..

Of course as with all their products you can be guaranteed that herbalife vitamin supplements weather for your hair or for health are 100% natural, grown and produced in pesticide free zones and can definitely give you vast improvements with your health.

So if you are thinking about using herbalife vitamin supplements then I recommend you contact your local herbalife distributor and talk to them about a possible solution for any ailments you may be worried about. As a herbalife user I have never been let down by the quality of their vitamins.

Beverly Taylor

AP - The bitter weekend divorce between two actors unions in upcoming contract talks with Hollywood producers mirrors a scene from a daytime soap opera - and casts stars from the genre in pivotal roles.

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Today, the hectic time table that everyone has makes it rather difficult for each and everyone to make a visit personally to a shop, and walk down aisles of clothes, toys, jewelry or tools, to choose on the perfect gift to buy. It sometimes seems to be a complete waste of quality time that could have been utilized somewhere else. And it is this kind of people and anyone else in general, who prefers online shopping than real time shopping.

Buying gifts for near and dear ones through the internet saves a lot of time for the buyer. There is no need of actually visiting the store to buy gifts. Everything can be done while sitting in the comfort of the home. All one has to do is to type the name, or the kind of gift that they need to buy, and enter that name or phrase in a search engine. Immediately you will be shown lists of numerous online stores that sell all these products.

You then visit a few online stores to decide on the best gift, and best price for your near and dear one. And once you choose the gift, you can pay through e-banking like merchant accounts and their shopping carts. You will have to furnish some information as to the address for the gift to be shipped and perhaps some contact information. And once the payment is cleared, you will find the gift shipped to the recipient, on your expected date of arrival.

There are all types of gifts available on the internet; let it be jewelry, electrical items, clothing, chocolates, flowers, in fact, the item that you name is very much likely to turn up in any of the many search engine searches. Besides saving on your time, you also save money as you don’t have to travel to the shopping center or store, spend money on fuel or use public transport. Everything can be done from a single computer and table in your home or office.

There is no need of you getting ready to go shopping. If desired, you can also shop while in your pajamas or nightdress! No one will know, or even bother to know. You not only save in time with online shopping by not having to visit the shopping center, you also save time by not having to go on looking for the item that you need in the shopping center. You just have to type the specific item in a search engine, and you will be provided with numerous items and gifts that suit the description or name that you provide.

So the next time you need to buy gifts for someone, consider online shopping as the better alternative, where you can save both in time and money while coming up with an exquisite gift for the special people of your life.

Thomson Chemmanoor is an enthusiastic writer for Digital Labz, Web Design Houston Company and the following websites: www.uniquegiftings.com http://www.uniquegiftings.com & www.giftbasketer.com http://www.giftbasketer.com

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If you are interested in alternative health medicine you are not alone. This sector of the health care industry has taken off, and there is no reason to believe that things are going to die down anytime in the near future. More and more people are deciding that alternative health medicine is the way to go. After all, many see this as safer and also an overall better way of getting their illness under control. Of course, this has a lot to do with personal preference, but in the long run there are definitely some benefits that are offered by alternative health medicine.

Finding the alternative health medicine that you need is not quite as easy as getting your hands on more traditional medicines. But with that being said, you should be able to get what you want if you are willing to learn a bit about the alternative health medicine industry. To find alternative health medicine, you will probably want to start out with a doctor who practices this. By doing this you will be able to benefit in a couple of ways. First off, your doctor will be able to tell you what type of alternative health medicine you should be taking. In addition to that, they can also tell you where you can find alternative health medicine. They may even be able to give you what you need on the spot; within reason of course.

Alternative health medicine may not be as popular as more standard methods, but with that being said, more people are becoming aware of the benefits. If you are interested in what alternative health medicine has to offer, get in touch with a doctor who specializes in this area. You may be surprised at just how many alternative health medicine options are available to you.

Laurie J. Raphael

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The GPS system is a worldwide navigational system operated by the US military. The system is maintained by USNO, the United States Naval Observatory. The Global Positioning System is implemented from space by 24 satellites in high orbit. Each satellite has precise timing equipment that can be used to triangulate position for navigational purposes. Low-cost GPS antennas and receivers are now widely available and provide precise time and frequency information worldwide.

This article presents an introduction to using the GPS system for computer timing applications. It describes the equipment that can be utilised to provide a precise time resource for computers and computer networks.

Each GPS satellite has a highly accurate atomic clock timing reference, which can be used by NTP servers to synchronise computer networks. Each satellite continually broadcasts accurate time and positioning information. This information can be received by a GPS receiver and externally mounted GPS antenna. The timing information received is referenced to UTC time. The system is a free to air service requiring no set-up or subscription fees.

Many Network Time Protocol (NTP) server systems utilise GPS time as an external timing reference to synchronise Windows, LINUX, UNIX and other operating systems and network infrastructures. GPS is an ideal time and frequency source because it can provide highly accurate time anywhere in the world using relatively cheap components.

Each GPS satellite transmits a very low-power radio signal at two frequencies; L1 and L2. L1 is the civilian frequency band transmitted at 1575 MHz, while L2 is used for military positioning purposes. The radio signal transmitted by each satellite can easily pass through material such as glass and plastics but are blocked more substantial materials used in buildings. The signals travel by line of sight. The ideal location for a GPS antenna is on a rooftop with a good view of the sky.

The radio signals can be received by a low-cost GPS antenna. The antenna is essentially a high gain amplifier, which is used to amplify and transmit the weak radio signals down a coax cable to a GPS receiver.

The cable length that can be utilised between a GPS antenna and receiver is critical. The maximum distance that can be utilised is dependant on the gain of the antenna and the quality of the coax cable used. High antenna gain and high quality coax allows for much longer cable runs.

GPS signal amplifiers can be fitted inline on the coax cable to boost the signal and increase cable length. GPS amplifiers are generally powered from the coax cable. The higher the amplification, or gain, provided by the antenna, the longer the cable length that can be utilised.

Roof-mounted antennas can be prone to lighting strikes or other voltage surges. A lightning strike up to a quarter of a mile away can damage electronic components. Therefore, it is recommended that a surge suppressor be fitted. Lightning or surge suppressors are installed inline on the GPS cable and redirect any surge to earth. Various types of surge suppressor are available, from gas discharge devices to solid-state multi-strike devices.

GPS receivers decode the received signal from the antenna and provide easily readable information in a serial format. Most operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, LINUX and UNIX as well as time server systems can utilise the time output provided by the GPS receiver for accurate synchronisation. Many different GPS protocols are utilised, the most popular being NMEA. The NMEA protocol was developed by the National Marine Electronics Association. The protocol specifies a set of sentences that contain time and positioning information obtained by the GPS receiver. The sentences can be parsed by a PC or time server to obtain accurate time.

To summarise, the GPS system is an excellent source of precise time for NTP server systems or for synchronising stand-alone Windows, LINUX and UNIX PC’s. By using relatively low-cost components, the Global Positioning System can provide time sensitive applications with precise timing information.

David Evans is an experienced technical author in the telecommunications and network time synchronisation industries. You can find out more about GPS NTP Time Server and Windows Time Server systems at: www.timetools.co.uk/time-servers/ref/windows-time-server-solutions.htm http://www.timetools.co.uk/time-servers/ref/windows-time-server-solutions.htm

AP - Four days a week Todd Matthews earns $11.50 an hour working for an automotive parts supplier. He punches in at 4:15 a.m., punches out nearly 11 hours later, then drives half a mile to his little beige house on a hill where, in the distance, he can glimpse the Appalachian mountains.

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