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When most people visit Niagara Falls, they often head straight for the canadian Side of the falls. Just across the Niagara River, in the united States, are some too-often-overlooked attractions and views of these majestic wonders. In the usa, one would be hard-pressed to differentiate Niagara Falls, New york from any other small upstate town. Aside from a small collection of hotels and attractions around the falls, and the towering Seneca Niagara Casino, the American side of the falls has little to distinguish itself as one of the most-visited vacation destinations in the country. It is only until visitors approach almost the brink of the falls themselves where they see that the American side has many wonders to behold.

Niagara Falls State Park
The united States part of Niagara Falls is in the Niagara Falls State Park (sometimes called "New york State Park" or "Niagara Reservation State Park"). Started in 1885, the park is the oldest state park in the united States. It was landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted who was one of the initiators and designers of the Niagara Falls State Park but he is better known for another creation: New york City's Central Park.

The Niagara Falls State Park manages and operates many of the attractions on this side of the falls. The park encompasses all of the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Goat island (and surrounding islands), and about one third of Horseshoe Falls. Although the park itself is open year-round, including the Visitors Center, most of the attractions are seasonal and thus off-season adventures offer less direct activity with the falls.

The Visitors Center features general information about the falls, including a snack bar and gift shop. The large garden outside is maintained seasonally. Also in the Visitors Center is the Festival Theater, a year-round attraction which features the 1999 history channel movie, "Niagara Falls: A history of the Falls."

While most Niagara Falls visitors will agree that the canadian side of the falls is superior, with better views of all that great water, a distinct advantage to the American side is interestingly enough much closer access to the falls themselves, by actually standing "on top" of them (plus, visitors get a great view of Canada!).

Goat island
Goat island is the piece of land that separates Bridal Veil Falls from Horseshoe Falls. Accessible by car and part of the Niagara Falls State Park, Goat island has an interesting location. From here, visitors can see rapids up close, which lead to the American / Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls. It is additionally the location of several of the parks best attractions. Though the island is big, because of its location and the surrounding hostile waters, it is slowly eroding and will eventually disappear as the three Niagara Falls move upstream over many years. Goat island is where several of the Niagara Falls State Park attractions are located, including Cave of the Winds. Shuttles take visitors around Goat island and throughout the park, but there are additionally many walking paths, benches, and scenic vistas on which to stroll around endlessly.

Luna island
Luna island is the tiny island that separates the Bridal Veil Falls from the American Falls. It is accessible on foot, but no cars are allowed (the island is so small, more than a few cars wouldnt fit, anyway). The walkway to Luna island is on Goat island. The walk to Luna island is worth it, as it situates you in between two waterfalls, which is an unusual place to be.

American Rapids
The rapids approaching the American Falls visible only on the American side, roar through the middle of the park and around the several small islands before toppling over the brink of the American Falls. The rapids reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. At night, they may be illuminated with bright spotlights for a more unusual view.

Terrapin Point
Horseshoe Falls is bordered on the canadian side by Table Rock Point, and on the American side by Terrapin Point. Here, visi-tors can feel the mist of Horseshoe Falls as they look across the gorge at canada. More remote than Table Rock Point, Terrapin Point has great views of the canadian Fallsview resort sections, and the mist here can be just as powerful as Table Rock, if the conditions are right.

Cave of the Winds
The curious name of this quintessential attraction is misleading. Cave of the Winds is not a cave, but rather a walkway that leads visitors over to the base of Bridal Veil Falls the smallest of the three Niagara Falls. The attraction, however, used to be a cave. Named after the Aeolus, Greek God of wind, it stood behind Bridal Veil Falls and was a popular tourist spot as early as the 1800s. The earliest tourists had to climb down a rope, and eventually a staircase, to reach the cave. However, there were occasionally cave-ins, which killed or injured tourist. It was intentionally destroyed in 1955 because it was in danger of collapsing.

Visitors are given a poncho and special footwear prior to commencing the hour-long adventure. In groups, they are led with a tour guide down an elevator to near the base of Bridal Veil Falls. From there, they walk on a wooden walkway to what has been dubbed the "hurricane Deck" the closest accessible point to the falls. It is at this point where visitors get positively soaked, sometimes even more than on Maid of the Mist. Ice makes the attraction largely inaccessible in the winter, and also requires the decks to be completely re-built each year a process which can take weeks.

Observation Tower
Located just beyond the Visitors Center in the Niagara Falls State Park, the Observation Tower is the best place in the united States to view the American and Horseshoe Falls. The tower extends out a little bit from the mainland, but still does not come close to the spectacular views from the canadian side of the falls. Still, the tower offers a very different point of view than the one most visitors are used to. Also, there is a Maid of the Mist dock at the Observation Tower. When boarding here, the tour encompasses basically the same experience. However, near the dock, there is (when weather permits) a path where visitors can walk up next to the American Falls kind of like the Cave of the Winds, but free, and you dont get as wet.

Whirlpool State Park
Located on the American side of the Whirlpool Rapids area, the Whirlpool State Park is a hearty adventurers place. Here, a crude cement staircase makes a long descent into the Great Gorge, down to nearly the water level of the rapids. For those who dont wish to make the difficult descent, there is still the perfect place for picnics and play on the upper level, with great views of the whirlpool and rapids.

Dirk Vanderwilt is the author of several travel guidebooks for the Tourist town Guides series. Tourist town Guides offer independent, honest advice about America's top tourist hotspots.

For more information, visit http://www.touristtown.com

// posted by 91850 @ 2:43 PM 0 comments

The first defense against unhealthy responses to stress is not Tylenol, Motrin... but instead deep breathing. Caution, if you suffer from panic - anxiety and or agoraphobia, this technique is not recommended until after the symptoms are history. This is because breathing techniques require internal focusing which is not recommended for anxiety sufferers. For them external relaxation techniques are recommended - see the resource box.

In response to stress, it is normal that our breathing is immediately affected. It becomes shallow and upper chest which is actually part of the defense mechanism. Even that a sigh is usually a tense upper chest unhealthy breadth.

We generally make three basic mistakes in breathing:
Were so consumed with our appearance that we learn to hold in our stomachs which greatly limits our breathing to the upper chest.
Then when we do take a deep breadth, we force our lungs to expand against our chest putting chest muscles in spasm. This can create chest and back pain.
Some of us lift our shoulders to take in that deep breadth. It's called "clavicle breathing" and it contributes to neck and headache.

Life is about stress and as we adapt to higher and higher levels of stress from one year to the next, our normal breathing becomes tense. Even as we sleep, we may breathe in a tense manner. The tense breathing also starves the body of much needed oxygen, affects our posture, and blocks our chakras--the natural flow of energy through our bodies.

No matter what the physical health problem--headaches, neckaches, muscle pain... (all direct effects of stress), or disease such as cancer, heart disease... it's important to address breathing (except for anxiety sufferers as previously noted). The problem is that no one makes any money from deep breathing. No drugs are required so you will not hear an announcement on the radio, "Remember to do your stress reduction deep breathing exercise!"

Look for times during the day when you are feeling stressed, under pressure, in a rush, defensive, tense... It's during these times that instead of tensing as you normally would, that you instead remember to do your stress relief deep breathing.

And all you have to do to engage your first defense against stress is to consciously become aware of your breathing. Then shift from your upper chest tense breathing consciously to an abdominal breath.

How to take an abdominal breadththe first defense against stress:
Let your stomach and abdomen relax.
Breathe down through your chest into your stomach.
Let your stomach expand outward.
Let your chest expand slightly at the end of the breadth.

As you exhale:
Pull your stomach inward.
Expel all the air up through your chest.

If you can hear yourself breathe, you are breathing too fast. Ten to twelve breaths per minute is find. If you feel your shoulders lifting as you inhale, it is a tense breadth. Just let your shoulders be loose and limp as you inhale and exhale. Let your arms hang from your shoulder like rope.

If you have the time, take a class in Yoga breathing to get in some serious breathing. Yoga will provide many healthful benefits.

When to do your deep breathing: Make a list of times during the day when it would be appropriate to take advantage of the deep breathing stress management technique such as:
Whenever you're at a red light.
As youre waiting for your computer to load a program or shut down.
Before answering the phone or making a phone call.
As you listen to someone conversing with you.
Before eating or drinking.
Before entering a building or an office.
Whenever you notice yourself feeling stressed.
Whenever you can remember to take a deep breadth.

Remember, no one makes money on deep breathing so you will not hear an announcer on the radio reminding you to take your deep breadth exercise to manage stress.

See the resource box for a ready made cd for Abdominal Breathing with four different deep breathing exercises (including one to help reduce hyperventilation).

Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E NGH certified makes it easy to manage stress with http://www.dstressdoc.com breadth management techniques that also reduce hyperventilation. He is a is a prominent figure in the field of stress management and personal change. He is the creative force behind the best selling http://www.DStressDoc.com hypnosis self help cd's and a specialist with http://www.PanicBusters.com

// posted by 91850 @ 10:38 AM 0 comments

A voice over Internet Protocol, or voip, transmission is initiated by converting voice into digital format. This can be done by Analog Telephone Adaptor (ATA) or by the computer itself using software. In the public Switch transmission Network (PSTN), the dialing of the number initiates the call by connecting the call to the public switch and routing the call to the correct partys telephone number through the telephone network.

A voip network also has similar functions like that of PSTN, in addition to the IP provider and Internet Service provider (ISP). The major components of a voip network are user devices (one or both ends), a call processing server, voip gateways, gatekeepers and an IP network. The user device consists of voip phones, traditional phones with accessories and computer-based devices. voip phones may be hard or soft phones.

A voip hard phone is like a traditional phone, but instead of a phone jack, it has an Ethernet port through which it communicates directly with a voip server or another voip phone. It doesnt need a personal computer, only an internet connection. These hard phones may also come cordless.

A dialup hard phone is one with a built-in modem instead of an Ethernet port. A wifi hard phone is built with a wifi transceiver to connect to a wifi base station to be connected to a remote voip server. This can be used to transfer calls to a GSM network.

A soft phone is run by software in the computer. This requires appropriate hardware such as a microphone, a speaker or a usb port. Once dialed, the phone number is processed by the call processor, which is actually hardware running a database mapping program called soft switch; the software manages all connections. This is also called IP PBX (private branch exchange), similar to the PBX of the PSTN lines.

There are gateways and gatekeepers that control the call admission and bandwidth management. They also control the creation of IP packets that contain the voice data and other information about the call.

Finally, there is the IP network, which consists of distributed routers ensuring connectivity. This IP logical switch is referred to as the soft-switch architecture. These four components form the phone system for voip, in addition to the software and various protocols through which the call is smoothly communicated.

VOIP provides detailed information on VOIP, VOIP providers, voip Phone system, voip Solutions and more. voip is affiliated with Wireless IP Phones.

// posted by 91850 @ 6:41 AM 0 comments