Government Grants for Alternative Energy

In his State of the Union Address for 2007, President George W. Bush called for a 22% increase in federal grants for research and development of alternative energy. However, in a speech he gave soon after, he said to those assembled, I recognize that there has been some interesting mixed signals when it comes to funding. Where the mixed signals were coming from concerned the fact that at the same time the President was calling on more government backing for alternative energy research and development, the NRELthe National Renewable Energy Laboratory of Golden, Colardowas laying off workers and contractors left and right. Apparently, the Laboratory got the hint, because soon after the State of the Union Address, everyone was re-hired. The second speech of the President's was actually given at the NREL. There is almost unanimous public support for the federal backing through research grants, tax breaks, and other financial incentives of research and development of alternative energy sources. The NREL is the nation's leading component of the National Bioenergy Center, a virtual center that has no central bricks and mortar office. The NREL's raison d'etre is the advancing of the US Department of Energy's and the United States' alternative energy objectives. The laboratory's field researchers and staff scientists, in the words of Laboratory Director Dan Arvizu, support critical market objectives to accelerate research from scientific innovations to market-viable alternative energy solutions. At the core of this strategic direction are NREL's research and technology development areas. These areas span from understanding renewable resources for energy, to the conversion of these resources to renewable electricity and fuels, and ultimately to the use of renewable electricity and fuels in homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles. The federally-backed Laboratory directly helps along the United States' objectives for discovering renewable alternative fuels for powering our economy and our lifestyles. The NREL is set up to have several areas of expertise in alternative energy research and development. It spearheads research and development efforts into renewable sources of electricity; these would include such things as solar power, wind power, biomass power, and geothermal power. It also spearheads research and development of renewable fuels for powering our vehicles such as biomass and biodiesel fuels and hydrogen fuel cells. Then, it seeks to develop plans for integrated system enginnering; this includes bringing alternative energy into play within buildings, electrical grids and delivery systems, and transportation infrastructures. The Laboratory is also set up for strategic development and analysis of alternative energy objectives through the forces of economics, market analysis and planning, and alternative energy investment portfolios structurings. The NREL is additionally equipped with a Technology Transfer Office. This Office supports laboratory scientists and engineers in the practical application of and ability to make a living from their expertise and the technologies they develop. NREL's research and development staff and its facilities are recognized for their remarkable prowess by private industry, which is reflected in the hundreds of collaborative projects and licensed technologies that the Laboratory now has with both public and private partners.

Gourmet Belgian Chocolates: A Taste of Heaven on Earth

When you think of gourmet food, you'd think of edibles that is expensive, heavenly delicious, and of very high quality. Gourmet Belgian chocolates are considered to be the best kind of chocolate in the world. It is so delicious that people from all over the world flock to Belgium just to experience the taste of the original Belgian chocolate because nobody in the world has successfully duplicated these sweet little things. Belgian chocolates are the toast of the chocolate world. It is the gourmet of all chocolates that exist and nothing beats it for being in the number one list of all chocoholics. Even diabetics crave for it! The good thing is that there are now sugar-free Belgian chocolates that are now available in the market. The special factor that makes Belgian chocolate standout among its contemporaries is the great respect for the chocolate manufacturing techniques that have been perfected by Europeans for centuries as well as the excellent quality of the ingredients used for making the chocolates. In the age of mass production, everything seems to be just the standard to deliver the products to as many people as possible which sometimes have sacrificed a bit of quality of the products. Good thing that Belgian chocolatiers did not give in to the pressure of the global market and still stick with the old tradition of small production but with topnotch quality tastes of their chocolates. The country of Belgium is populated with chocolate shops and manufacturers that up to now are still making chocolates by hand and/or with the original equipment from the olden days. The chocolate in Belgium is like wine to France. Like the French wineries, chocolatiers in Belgium provide chocolate tasting programs for the visitors to sample the gourmet chocolates. Although Belgian chocolates has been around for a long time, the new way of making chocolates that is very popular nowadays only started in the early years of the 20th century. This new way of making chocolate is the placement of a filling inside a chocolate nugget. Fillings can range from fruits, creams, hazelnut, coffee, or other forms of chocolate. This kind of chocolate is called pralines, which refers to the chocolate covering. Another factor that makes gourmet Belgian chocolates special is the technique of storing the chocolate nuggets before filling it up. The course of making the chocolates is quite interesting as the grounded cocoa beans are combined with the mixture of cocoa butter and sugar. It is then eventually spread out by tempering or gradual heat addition. A lot of chocolate houses in Belgium obtain their chocolate in forms of solid. These solid forms of chocolates are then heated again for it to be formed or structures into the desired shape and taste. Since the chocolates are not chilled, Belgian chocolates have the luck of preserving the cocoa essence much more than the other inferior chocolates. A lot of Belgium's old family owned chocolate houses have their own line of gourmet Belgian chocolates. They have been around for a long time and can be trusted of the high quality chocolates they manufacture. Through the years and generations of family owners, they have perfected the way of making the perfect gourmet Belgian chocolates. These delicious sweets may come with a price but once you have tasted its palatable flavors you will realize that it is worth all your money. You can actually taste a part of heaven. And that is what makes gourmet Belgian chocolates tick.

Golden Glam

Throughout the years, gold has always been considered one of the most precious and sought after metals. It has been the passion of a lot of treasure hunters and at the hearts of many who have lusted after the glint of riches that that particular metal can provide. Aside from being used as currency, it has been the primary metal used in jewelry dating perhaps farther than ancient Egypt. While gold used to be used primarily as a status symbol that usually connoted power, you will find gold nowadays within the circuitry of your computer and other electronic gadgets because of its superior conduction power as well as its resistance to most chemical reactions. However, the use of gold in jewelry has not stopped. In fact, more than in the usual traditional jewelry pieces, gold is now used in more modern and fashionable body jewelry. Body jewelry refers to the non-conventional body adornments that has become a large part of our pop culture. From large, ostentatious pieces of jewelry in the form of over sized pendants or large rings popularized by hip-hop artists called "bling bling"; to more deviant body piercing jewelry that adorns every conceivable and inconceivable part of the human body, body jewelry has become part and parcel of modern day fashion. True to form, you will find very fashionable gold body jewelry available in the market to suit your needs and style. Gold body jewelry is more popular for "bling bling" articles than body piercing jewelry. This is probably due to the fact that for one thing, gold still remains a precious metal and therefore command a higher price than other types of metals used in these types of jewelry. More common and more affordable types of metals used in body jewelries are silver and stainless steel. Another factor that may inhibit the use of gold in body jewelry may stem from the fact that gold has a very malleable property or state. This means that the higher the concentration of gold used, the more likely it is easier to be bent and deformed. This is especially unfortunate for body jewelry that will experience a lot of wear and tear as it is worn very close to the body and may snag or catch on the clothes one is wearing. Luckily though, gold body jewelry need not be made of real gold. Gold body jewelry can be made of painted or plated metal to mimic the color and other properties of gold and this allows one to enjoy the look and feel of gold without the encumbering cost as well as the delicate property that it is known for. Of course, these faux gold body jewelry items are not meant to maintain the look of gold for very long. Eventually, after much use, the faux gold body jewelry will begin to lose its luster and eventually tarnish. If it is a good quality faux gold body jewelry however, the fading and tarnishing will be gradual, and on some occasions, if the base metal that was painted was of a good quality, the metal will maintain a polished, albeit whiter or silver look. Whatever the case, do go out and scout for great gold body jewelry finds in the market. Gold body jewelry compliments darker and warmer skin tones and is best to show off a nice tan.