Posted on October 10, 2010, 5:42 am, by author, under
Hobbies.
The writing equipment that dominated the past for thousands of years is the quill. Its usage started in 700 AD and was even then used after the discovery of the fountain pen. The quill pens are prepared from the bird feathers so they tend to be light in weight, but they surely show a measurement on some scales such as the digital scale. When we talk about writing, the quills that happens to be the toughest are the ones drawn from living birds. For perfect results, the plume is drawn during spring from the five external left-wing feathers. A right-handed writer would love to have such a quill that is drawn from the left plume as they are turned outwards and further from the writer. According to the kind of writing you do, there is a range of different kinds of plumes that are drawn from birds.
For example, goose feathers were most frequently used whereas the premium grade swan feathers were uncommon and more costly. As for the crow feathers, they were believed to be the best for creating fine lines. Other species of birds whose feathers were used for preparing quills, include eagles, owls, turkeys and hawks.
You can’t start writing with a plume soon after drawing it, it has to be cut to turn it into a quill. The people of older times used to cut the barrel or shaft of the plume that they required a sharp knife which was called the pen knife. The scribes along with stationers of that time used to sharpen and slit the tip to make a nib for writing. It’s just amazing to see how the writing of each quill varies. This variation results from the growth of the wing shaft along with the cutting of the quill maker. So every quill is unique just as the writer or the maker of that quill. The choice, trimming, shaping of a quill is quite tedious, but is even an art at the same time.
The individuals of previous times used to have faith that feathers belonging to a goose were ideal for preparing quills. Often, only two or three feathers are the correct ones from the whole lot. For good writing, the nib has to be shaped to a very fine point. A slit is then made at the bottom of the shaft. This slit permits the smooth travelling of ink. Only the goose plume’s shaft has this characteristic to keep the ink until when light force is applied. The force makes the ink to flow to the nib in the needed amount.
Quills have a huge role to the initial scribes who used to write and adorn their manuscripts using these equipment. This is why the old manuscripts of the Bible and the Magna Carta were written by quills. Moreover, this instrument was used to create masterpieces of literature, books along with other historical documents that left a great impact on this world. Conversely, quills have left a great impact on history all along their period of rule.
Posted on August 28, 2010, 2:40 am, by author, under
Hobbies.
Are you among those people who use a gram scale to measure every food product prior to use? Have you tried another approach to measure your own weight using weighing scales prior to every meal? If a question comes around on whether you want to lose your weight or not, the reply would be a yes. However, different people wish to lose weight without switching their diet. Some people simply can’t stop consuming greasy food, getting off their couch and can’t even add physical exercise into their daily life.
Lucky for them there exists a way out to weight loss via cosmetic surgery, diet pills and other additives. However, lucky as they might think themselves to be, they are not in reality. You will see these people getting entrapped for any weight loss frauds. Besides, they shift from one product to another in search of that one product that can actually help them.
In their desperate attempts, people keep on wasting too much on these items claiming weight loss; however, the true solution relies in something completely distant. The truth is that there are no shortcuts. Even after getting cosmetic surgery removes the excessive fat from your body; it’s still no use until you change your diet. If you keep on eating the way you used to, then the stubborn fat will deposit somewhere else on your body. You see, the surgery simply can’t make you a healthy person. It’s just a proper diet that can do that. The similar wrong approach also applies to food intake as well. Many people take food rich in refined carbohydrates, and then they will use the weight reducing pills thinking that it will decrease their weight. It just doesn’t work in this fashion. If you are determined to lose weight, then the first thing that you have to do is prevent food that gives rise obesity. Food made from refined flour or sugar along with processed foods are the items that have to be removed completely from your diet. In order to get a healthy body, junk food should be absolutely driven out of your life. A healthy body can’t go with processed food and soft drinks. Doesn’t matter how many additives or pills you take but at the end of the day, you will have an unhealthy body, if junk food is still a part of your diet.
Another aspect that can be a guarantee to a healthy lifestyle is physical exercise. Though it takes time to give visible results, it will make you fit from inside out. Exercise gives you greater metabolism that helps to melt excessive calories. If you include exercises such as biking, jogging, swimming, etc. to be an addition to your daily life then you can even get away with having a few processed foods.
If you are bothered by being overweight then the solution lies you should give a closer view of your own living standard. After doing an examination of your lifestyle, you should be capable to gather sufficient strength to bring alterations in your routine without the requirement of any shortcuts.